Chapter 61

Bruce stood at the classroom door, his mouth agape in a dazed expression.

"From now on, you have to go and get your own food. Both meals and snacks."

"What, what?"

"If your arm is broken, I'll let you ask your friends for help. So if you really don't want to move, come to my room! I'll break your wrist…."

I held up both hands in the air, miming the act of breaking something, and added,

"…I'll break it for you!"

At those words, the surrounding murmurs fell silent as if doused with cold water.

Bruce's face gradually turned pale.

"Hey, there are so many kids here, that's too much…. This is a given, everyone does it…."

"Sure, so what? Can't you see the color of my name tag?"

I tilted my head mockingly and added,

"Seriously? You don't want to listen to me?"

"No, no…."

"Hmph."

At that moment, someone's laughter broke the oppressive silence.

A boy sitting at the same table.

'Golden.'

The color of the name tag caught my eye first, followed by the name.

'Gerald Schmidt?'

My mind raced.

The youngest son of the Schmidt Dukedom.

He was destined to become a Holy Knight and join my father's ranks.

Incidentally, he is the antagonist in my story.

He is supposed to hate Cheshire to the core.

"Ha ha ha!"

Gerald laughed, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

He then looked at me.

He smiled, his light purple hair and deep purple eyes contrasting with his translucent skin, making him exceptionally handsome.

Indeed, in this world, the more important characters have their beauty upgraded.

"Interesting."

"Hey, big brother. What do we do?"

"What do we do?"

Gerald shrugged at Bruce, who was whining.

"You have to listen."

"Eh, eh?"

"Listen, Bruce."

"…"

"Go and get your own tray."

As he spoke, Gerald's eyes remained fixed on me.

His face, with a strange smile, didn't look like that of a boy his age.

"Ha, huh…."

In the end, Bruce shuffled over to the serving line.

Gerald continued to look at me, and I met his gaze without flinching.

* * *

That evening.

Just before bedtime.

I climbed up to the top bunk and pulled the blanket over my head, unfolding the 'gift' from Riko.

Riko's gift was very useful.

It contained information about a few noble children in the current training facility who needed to be kept in mind.

Gerald Schmidt was number one on the list.

'I knew he was in the training facility from reading Riko's letter in advance, but…'

I never expected he would be Cheshire's roommate.

'Cheshire joined the facility two years earlier than in the original story!'

If it had followed the original, Gerald and Cheshire would have been in different years and wouldn't have met.

However,

'Characters related to the main plot are somehow entangled even if the original story changes a bit. Just like how my father found Cheshire as if by magic when he arrived in the capital.'

The coherence of the original story was truly terrifying.

[Gerald Schmidt

The youngest son of the Duke of Schmidt, who is doted on by his family.

He joined in March this year, so he must be in the 1026th batch like the young lady.

However, unlike the 1026th batch, who are mostly 9 years old, he is 11.

The Duke of Schmidt had begged the royal family for leniency, delaying his entry by two years.

He wanted to keep him as close as possible before he would be drafted as a young soldier after graduating from the training facility.

Incidentally, the eldest and second sons of the Schmidt family had already died in battle.]

In the original story, Gerald, who became a Holy Knight, greatly admired my father.

Perhaps because of this, he felt inferior and jealous of Cheshire, who was better than him in everything.

He always tried to sabotage Cheshire whenever they went on missions together, putting them in danger many times.

Incidentally,

The large-scale demon extermination mission in the second volume of the original, where they had to eat dry sweet potatoes without water,

Do you know why our brother Leon died?

'It was because of this guy!'

"…Dealing with the demons was always a challenge for Cheshire. Their power was evenly matched.

The demons could nullify more than half of Cheshire's attacks, and in the space where their power was prevalent, he couldn't even adjust the density of time.

'The extermination will end here. Our side has suffered heavy losses, and the terrain further in is treacherous and unfavorable.'

'If you're scared, the Holy Swordsmen can retreat.'

Cheshire's decision was mocked by Gerald Schmidt. It was a conflict that had already happened dozens of times during the extermination period.

'If we don't completely exterminate them, everything will be in vain. All our efforts will be wasted. I'll take care of the mission, so the cowards can leave.'

'Is the mission more important than the lives of your subordinates? If there's even a slight chance of success, I wouldn't stop you. But this is a death sentence.'

'Then watch and see. Whether it's a death sentence or the birth of a hero.'

'Knight Gerald!'

Gerald led the Holy Knights and left first. Leon Antres approached Cheshire, who was grinding his teeth as he watched them go.

'Hey, that kid really doesn't listen. Is he not afraid of anything? It seems like he does the opposite of whatever you say. He's a real pain in the neck.'

'…'

'What are you going to do? You have to go, right?'

They couldn't succeed in the extermination on their own. To minimize casualties, the Holy Swordsmen had to be mobilized.

In the end, Cheshire forced the mission and regretted the decision for a long time.

……

A near-total defeat.

Would they survive? The situation was uncertain and dire.

"Cheshire! Damn it, it's dangerous!"

When Cheshire turned around at Leon's voice, which had fallen like a bolt of lightning from behind, it was already too late.

"…Brother?"

"A, ah…."

"Brother!!!"

The monstrous arm had pierced through Leon's body, who had stepped in front of Cheshire.

As Leon, pale with shock, turned to Cheshire and opened his mouth—

"Ches…, cough!"

'Uaaaaaah!'

I swallowed a scream and pounded the pillow.

After that, the demon's arm, which had entered Leon's body, came out again, and he spat blood and so on….

The description that followed was not suitable for all ages, so for the sake of my mental health, I'll stop here.

"Brother…, huh, huh."

I clenched my teeth and tightly gripped the blanket.

Save our Leon.

Although it's still a long way to the second volume of the original, I've already made changes, so who knows what might happen.

Moreover, the biggest problem is.

This guy, Gerald Schmidt.

'How can this guy be on our side…'

While he may be an antagonist from Cheshire's perspective, he is an ally from the revolutionaries' perspective.

'He's a pain in the neck, but there's nothing I can do about it.'

Of the five ducal families in the empire, three joined my father's rebellion.

The Antres of my twin brothers, the Libre of Uncle Axion, and the Schmidt.

'Given that he delayed his entry by two years because he couldn't bear to see his precious son suffer, it's obvious that Gerald's father shudders at the forced conscription.'

Having lost two sons in the war.

It was clear how much the Duke of Schmidt cherished his youngest son, Gerald.

'But what can I do if he's on our side! He was the one I liked the least!'

Gerald is really… more annoying than most antagonist extras.

Because of this guy, I had to eat dry sweet potatoes several times.

I thought for a long time.

'Sigh, there's nothing I can do. Even though I don't like him, Schmidt is a significant force and an ally.'

After making my decision, I folded Riko's letter.

Gerald is eleven now.

He's still young.

Maybe it's not too late to change him.

So,

'From now on, I'll give him a strict mental education and try to raise him to be a good person.'

* * *

The next day, 7:00 AM.

Breakfast time.

The children were chatting with their roommates while eating.

Cheshire was there too.

Of course, they were just roommates; the commoners weren't included in the conversation.

"Brother, brother! You must be a gold, right? I'm so jealous."

"Maybe. We'll have to see."

As Bruce kept talking to Gerald, Gerald only gave brief, faintly smiling responses.

"They say gold hasn't come out for years, but two will come out this time! That's really impressive."

There were two gold name tags in the 1026th batch.

The name tag color indicated the expected rank based on the parents' status.

The two golds Bruce mentioned were Gerald and Lilius.

"Hey, they're here."

"They're here…."

Bruce and his sidekick Simon glanced at the entrance to the dining hall.

Cheshire lifted her eyes slightly.

Lilius and her roommates.

Lilius was always the center of attention just by walking around. Everyone in the dining hall was watching her.

"Why is she getting her own tray?"

Bruce grumbled as he saw Lilius in line for food.

"I get that she likes Cheshire's face, but… I don't understand why she's doing this."

Bruce was suddenly startled. Lilius was approaching their table.

"What, what? She's coming here?"

It was true. Lilius stood next to the table.

Bruce was flustered.

"I, I didn't make Cheshire do it today!"

"Is that so? Good for you."

It seemed Gerald didn't have any business with Bruce, as he gave a brief response.

Then, he stood still and stared at Gerald before placing something next to his tray.

It was a glass of juice served for breakfast.

"…?"

Gerald looked up.

Lilius smiled.

"Drink it."

"…"

What's going on? All the surrounding children watched them with interest.

Gerald, who had been staring at Lilius, soon smiled brightly and nodded.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Enjoy your meal!"

Lilius then turned and left as if she had no more business.

After Lilius left,

Everyone's mouths were agape.

"What! Hey, that's great for you, brother?"

"Looks like she wants to be friends with you, brother?"

Bruce and Simon chattered.

At that moment, Gerald suddenly looked at Cheshire. Their eyes met in the air.

'…What?'

G