Save 04 - The villain Rudel

After leaving the auditorium I quickly made my way to the front desk where all the students left their belongings. Upon entering there were several students lined up, I stood behind a guy and waited my turn a little anxiously.

It was the turn of the boy in front of me, he said his name and presented a piece of paper with a number on it that was used to mark everyone's belongings. After receiving his things he left and it was my turn at last, but I was pushed aside by a boy in a white uniform.

"I am the heir of Count Leto, I demand my belongings and those of my vassals this instant."

"Yes!!!"

After he white-uniformed student introduced himself, the receptionist handed his things to him and his entourage.

I watched them leaving the place in a pretentious manner, I approached the receptionist whose face of dread was removed for one of annoyance the moment he saw me.

"I-I'm Baron Bradford and I've come for my things."

The receptionist watched me disinterestedly as he handed me my things, then gave me directions to my dorm.

It was on the east side of the campus, the dorm is called New Moon, very strange name for a building, while the west dorm was called Moonlight. Both buildings had a counterpart. One for men and one for girls, the east side has a seven story dormitory.

The first floor which is the entrance and dining hall. The second floor which is for the teachers who patrol preventing students from escaping, the third floor is the floor for commoners and the fourth floor is where I go which is where the barons are. From the fifth floor onwards are the higher ranks such as viscounts, earls and margraves. For both boys and girls it is the same concept of classes and rules.

While the other dormitory has the same number of floors, this one has only counts, marquises and apparently sons of dukes and royalty on the top floors.

Thinking about the terrible classism of dormitories I arrived to my room, it was bigger than the ones at home, but it still looked small, but spacious, opening one of my suitcases a medium sized gray sphere with arms came out. It was Ixion, my disrespectful servant.

As he came out he started to inspect my room in which I will live in for three years, as I watched him inspecting someone knocked on the door and I told Ixion to hide and went to open.

"Hello~~" -said in a friendly way a guy I never saw in my life.

◇

I was in the city, to be more specific it was a bar, I think they are called a pub; since the food was just snacks and warm beer. I was with several guys who seemed to be freshmen, I know, since a tall guy with tanned skin was in the middle of the bar giving a welcoming speech.

*cough*

"I thank you all for coming, I'm the heir to the Viscount Bersi, agrarian house. And I am in my second year, it is a pleasure as a senpai to meet all the kouhai we will have this year."

Bersi-senpai welcomed us boys, apparently the girls will have something similar. All of us present were in black uniform, there was no one in white uniform, and that made me strange?

When our senpai finished talking we started drinking and chatting with each other, it seemed like a good place to make friends... but the reality was different.

One of Lyle's good advices was that any meeting between nobles will always be for profit and not for friendship. When he senpai introduced himself, he mentioned his rank and also that he had an agrarian house, which indicated that he said it so that some nobleman who wants to invest in his territory or relate with them.

I put on my best face and good optimism, but it seems that life enjoys making fun of me, every time I mentioned my rank or surname. They would ignore me or say they were busy with the wall.

I was at a table eating some very badly cooked fries and drinking a beer that burned my throat, as in this world they consider you of age at fifteen it didn't matter if I drank alcohol, maybe that's a good point of this world?

I was filling my throat with warm beer and some guys at the next table were talking very loudly and I could hear them.

"I was telling you, this year among the new students there are many aristocrats from important houses, there are even commoners with potential."

"I remember hearing that, they say that among the commoners there is one who conquered an island and the adventurer's guild made a fuss about all the treasures he brought back!"

(That... sounds very familiar, no, That's my story!) -That's what I thought as I heard the distortion of my story. The guys continued.

"You know what the other weird thing is?" -said one of the boys.

"No." -answered the boy they asked.

"There are rumors that a rarity came this year, a commoner who can use magic power!"

"Gosh, how horrible and humiliating it must be for the nobleman who found out his commoner son had magical power."

The boys' horrible talk left me very intrigued about what they said, a commoner with magic power... that's a rarity and shame that nobles would rather take to the grave.

The table behind me also spoke in their own circle.

"Seriously, Kadoc! I just need to meet for a whole weekend your father and this one will help our territories!"

"Kakaka, that's right, my father the great Baron Lebron is a very generous name as long as he gets a reward he will help anyone. The same can be applied to me."

(Wooh, wooh! Really what I heard or what I think I heard?)-panic took over me, so I paid what I consumed and ran out of that place to my bedroom.

Despite the terrifying event I heard and the bonds that were forged without taking me into account, that didn't stop my optimism towards my new first day of school starting tomorrow.

"Tomorrow will be a good day I'm sure." -I said in a confident tone as I walked towards my dorm.

◇

Once again I was very optimistic and perhaps incredulous.

It's been two weeks exactly since classes started, I thought it was going to be a bit of fun being this is a fantasy world...what a fool I was.

"As you may know, the first three generations of mobile knights were too huge to use and maintain, it was thanks to the ancient thaumaturges that improved the magical tools during the war. That being how the fourth to sixth generation of smaller mobile knights, which looked like armor, was born."

The man who talks a lot is a professor, this is the historical engineering class. The classes look so easy to understand, but that's the problem, they're not. There is too much useless information they mix up during class, every time they asked me a question I would answer what was in my notes, only to be ridiculed by the professor.

It is not enough just to say how it works, you have to demonstrate it based on your magic power, they give more importance to magic formulas and evocations than how to use it, it would be the same to say that it is more important to know how a TV turns on than the components with which it is made.

An elementary school style alarm sounded, that indicated that classes were over, I am still in the morning period, then the afternoon classes start after noon.

All the students in the classroom leave to go to the next class, the system is so wonderful that we are separated into five different classes.

Class one consists of only commoners, apparently there is no separation of men and women in the respective general classes. But in cases like my history class, it seems that only boys attend while girls go to another class, isn't that a bit sexist?

Class two is mine, it is made up of only barons and baronesses, class three is for all viscount sons and daughters. The real excitement comes now as class one to three is made up of students in black uniform while class four and five are all in white uniform.

All the heirs and heiresses of counts, earls, margraves, marquises, dukes and royalty are divided into these two classes. I'm not surprised, actually, since unlike us who only use a section of the north building, they use the whole building.

"Next up is etiquette class... again I must be bored listening to that old man." -I said to myself as I headed to the next class.

◇◇◇

As Rudel was walking, he passed by a classroom that had also finished their class, in that class were of only viscounts, out of all the students there was a small young girl with orange zucchini shaped hair, L-shaped sideburns, hazel eyes and with round glasses. Her name was Erselica van Reinfield and she is also a reincarnate like Rudel.

Her classmates were walking out as she was writing in her notebook and muttering under her breath, anyone would think she was an applied student but she wasn't, what she was writing had nothing to do with classes, but something else much more important.

"It's been two weeks since we started the game prologue, the events of getting to know the main characters and game system should have been completed by now. If it wasn't for the annoying girls and their meeting, I could have seen at the first year's meeting, how the prince ridiculed that Rudel pest, Muhhh I'm so annoyed I missed it!"

Erselica speaks as if she knows this world, which she does, due to the fact that this world is actually that of a certain RPG game. In her past life, Erselica, she really liked this game, it was because the character designs and voices were by very famous artists, the developer of the game was also renowned, they put out strange games, but they were all of a very similar generic theme.

Erselica was very fond of this game which despite being for a male audience, had a high rate of female audience. Erselica, in every sense of the word, was an excessive fangirl.

But the most curious thing that made this game popular was not only the voice actors and famous character designers nor much less its story, it was a smaller factor, but whose importance was so great that its sales went beyond selling out the merchandise.

And that factor was Rudel, the villain.

In the game, the character of Rudel van Bradford, was nothing more and less than someone disposable and hateful, bribed teachers to pass subjects, harassed and used commoner girls, threatened to destroy the territory of those who saw him wrong.

A detestable character without a doubt, many tried to sympathize with him after learning that his horrible family sold him as a nobleman's partner to pay their debts.

But this one disappointed and angered them, as he escaped from there ending up on an island where he found a lost object, which allowed him to do whatever he wanted, returned home and took over the territory by selling his family to slavers. "Even if her family was terrible, selling them was not an option" people thought.

Erselica, was upset because she had missed several events of humiliation to Rudel, as the protagonist was the prince of this country. This one forgave all the insults to Rudel, generating to this one a mistake thinking that he was someone untouchable, it should be emphasized that the protagonist was a self-insert type character so his personality in this world was unknown to Erselica.

"I will definitely be present at the next event, since that event is where the beautiful prince saves that girl from Rudel's clutches."

After thinking about the next events of the game, Erselica, did not pay attention and did not notice that all her companions had already left leaving her alone, this one noticing it, ran out so as not to be late.

◇

(Etiquette is really boring.) -I said in my head. It was due to the class given by a man of elegant appearance; gray hair, monocle in his right eye and a mustache hiding his mouth.

He was explaining the correct use of forks at a gala party, it was really boring just listening to the things he was saying. This class was given to all the first years, we boys were instructed on how to organize and act correctly, while the girls were taught about tea parties.

"As you know, at the end of the month you will start your practices of organizing parties and gatherings, we will go over everything you have learned up to that date so that it will turn out perfect for your first party."

The old man was speaking very motivated, but most of us didn't give any importance to what he was saying, myself included.

"Healthy food is very important as a starter course...-Mr. Rudel, could you please come over here."

The old man called out to me, it was just me and no one else of the mumbling. Damn my luck I said between my teeth.

I got up from my seat and went to the old man, the guys around me were muttering.

"How pathetic, they called him because he was falling asleep."

"In the end a poor country ignoramus will always be one."

"He'll never understand the importance of lessons, this peasant."

Arriving at the teacher's table, the teacher placed me to one side and began to talk nonsense.

"Mr. Rudel, you don't seem to understand how important etiquette and manners are, but don't worry, I'll teach you the wonderful world of order!"

"...Sure..."

I reluctantly replied as he adjusted his tie for the boring explanation.

◇

"Uwaaah!!! I'm so sorry professor, no, master!!! I was a fool and didn't understand the art of order!!!"

I was on my knees with my head bent down, the class was already over and the students were coming out looking at me with strange faces.

I was in this position because the teacher's etiquette class was a revelation to me. It's not just about making things look nice and neat, it's about a discipline like martial arts, the order of leaving everything impeccable is the same as finding yourself and pride, knowing that people are enraptured by your composure. It was truly a new world and I didn't understand how wonderful it was.

"Calm down, Mr. Rudel, I understand how you feel, but you shouldn't call me master."

"Huh? Why?"-I replied stunned at what my master said.

"You see, to this day, the discipline and order I teach is still incomplete, so calling me master is a title I don't deserve."

What a disciplined and wonderful person he is.

"I called you for the reason that you among all the students were the one who needed to know order the most."

He knew that the students didn't pay attention to him and yet he still did his best to teach, but what an educated man he was, I feel trashy for badmouthing him.

"C-can I at least call you an instructor? -I asked him sheepishly and he answered me. "Of course, after all I am your teacher, please allow me to instruct you in the field of order."

"Yes, thank you very much!!!"

Saying that, my eyes lit up like stars and my instructor smiled making his mustache look like a mustache, people passing by in the hallway looked at us funny.

◇

"Plates ready, napkins ready, music... somehow ready, I think now everything is ready for when they arrive, don't you think so?" -I asked Ixion, who was organizing the whole place to make it impeccable.

"Master, are you sure about this?"

"Eh? Of course, it will be a success I assure you."

Ixion, looked at me with his eye in a concerned tone and I answered him without any fear. The reason he was asking was because the end of the month was here and we guys were organizing small meetings for the students to come. The reason for this was not to make use of what we had learned, but to demonstrate the capital that one has to invest in order to achieve future negotiations with the heirs and get a girl interested in marriage.

The place where the meetings were held was a room which was borrowed, of course there are larger rooms, but these were only lent to those of wealthy or prestigious houses, its location was the north building which was a huge clubhouse.

Someone knocked on the door, I told Ixion, to hide like an ornament as I managed to open the door.

"Welcome be, I hope you have a good ti- woahh."

After opening the door and saying my host lines I was pushed in by several guys and girls coming in, I remember inviting only girls, so why reason there are guys?

They started eating and leaving a pig sty, I tried to approach to talk, but some ignored me and others ordered me to serve them drinks as if I was a butler.

After devouring all the food and dirtying up the place, the guys and girls said goodbye saying I should have more for next time.

I sat down tiredly on a chair, Ixion, took off his camouflage and approached me.

"I told you maybe it wasn't a good idea, this is the third time they've done this to him."

"I know, but I didn't want to give up just because of a few falls."

As I optimistically replied to Ixion I remembered the first time I organized a meeting, it was a resounding failure and I ended up crying, is it wrong for a man to cry? Well, I don't mind since I am man enough to cry.

The second time was less painful and now that the third time has passed, I didn't bother so much.

"Ixion, I'm going for a walk, fix and clean everything you want."

"Understood."

Ixion answered me and set about cleaning everything, I left the room and walked around for a few laps.

While I was thinking about how to improve for the next meeting, I overheard some guys talking and what caught my attention was that they were talking to a girl.

"Hey, I'm telling you that I'm inviting you to my meeting, you should be thankful that a viscount personally invited a commoner!"

"That's right, you should be grateful that you're the only woman at our meeting."

"Commoners are not allowed opportunities like this, be grateful!"

"This... I... I... can't..."

From the conversation I overheard, it seemed that those guys wanted to take advantage of that commoner girl in their secret meeting that only has men.

I could see how one of the boys grabbed the girl's shoulder and slowly pushed her away, I had heard of commoners approaching nobles, but this didn't seem to be the case.

"Master, I'm done cleaning up, you can go back now."

"Oh, Ixion! Excellent timing, I want you to do this..."

After being surprised by Ixion's arrival I grabbed him and whispered....

"P-Please leave me alone, I appreciate your invitation, but I didn't come here for that but to use the kitchen."

"Tchh, this commoner won't respond nicely, let's grab her by the legs and take- dahh."

The boys who were harassing the girl suddenly started making strange sounds and fell to the floor convulsing. You could see their hair standing up and smoke coming out of their mouths.

I told Ixion to give them a lesson not to do improper things, the reason I did it was not because I was a good person or because they were harassing her, but to get even for how annoyed I was.

"Good, today's act of justice was a success, let's go back to the bedroom to rest."

"Master, you are a liar, you know that?"

"Umm, I don't know what you're talking about so I'd better forget it."

"..."

Ignoring Ixion we went back to the dormitory to forget today, tomorrow I will try harder to follow my instructor's order of perfection.

◇

I can't believe it, what I didn't expect happened.

"I-I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday."

The girl who was being bullied yesterday was in front of me, I couldn't believe it and even more so that she found me easily.

"Ah! You might wonder how I know. It's just that yesterday after those guys fell unconscious I could hear you talking to someone and when I tried to reach you I only saw your shadow, but today I saw you passing by here again and I quickly recognized you by your silhouette, I was a little scared to do so without confirming before if it was you, but from your reaction I notice that it's true then."

(This girl deduced all that from my reaction? I don't believe it, there must be some hidden trick). -I was saying to myself while analyzing what was going on. No matter what I say, it looks too unreal for it to be true.

(Come to think of it, I've heard that there are commoners who work for nobles as spies, that's right, this girl is a spy for yesterday's guys who found out my identity). -I came to the conclusion after some thought. My peaceful days were in danger because of this girl, what should I do.

"U-Umm, I baked you some cookies as a thank you. I don't know if you like pecans, but, it's the only thing I could get from my dorm's kitchen and the kitchen in this building is the only one open for students so... this..."

From her babbling I could understand how yesterday's situation happened, she wanted to use the kitchen, but she ran into those guys. And now she in order not to suffer more harassment decides to drug me and take me to those guys.

No matter what you try to do, I won't let them kidnap me to beat me up.

I gladly accepted the cookies to eat later I told her. I thought he would retreat after his failed plan, but he just stood there playing with his hands.

"..."

"Is something wrong?"

I asked him now that his plan failed to find a counterpunch on his part.

"...name."

"Huh?"

"M-may I know your name?"

I didn't expect that answer, I stood for a few seconds thinking and answered her.

"Rudel. Rudel van Bradford, third son of a baron."

(I don't care if you call that guy here or if he's hiding somewhere, I'll face him! If I could conquer an island, I'll be able to defeat a noble!) -I thought about answering her that if she said something that seemed to be a trap.

The girl then hearing by my name made her eyes sparkle and made a joyful expression, she wore a black uniform, she was a commoner, but her hair was light blonde with a bob style cut and her eyes were light blue which shone with light.

"Nice to meet you Rudel-san, my name is Irisdina."

◇◇◇

This was a game world and there were many events that happened and Erselica, missed out on them, like this one. The first meeting between the villain Rudel and the main heroine, Irisdina, the future wife of the protagonist and queen of Altfode.

________________________

(The correct pronunciation is Airisdina.)