Chapter 4

"Often forgotten, but Dragon Academy is a dating sim. In other words, it's all about the romance."

"I remember, you mentioned that the essence of a dating sim is the romance."

"The protagonist Alicia gets close to the handsome guys and falls in love... and the villainous lady, that's me, interferes in the middle of it all."

Mary explained matter-of-factly, and Adi, who was reading a book across from her, nodded in agreement.

...His eyes remained on the book. This servant even gave a perfunctory response without looking at his master.

By the way, the two were currently in the school library.

With no users around and the library committee members away on business, it was the perfect place for their mischief.

"So, I'm thinking of interfering with Alicia's romance. Adi, what do you think?"

"That sounds good, doesn't it?"

"...If you don't close that book soon, I'll tell your father."

"Come on, Miss, let's do our best! What should we do first?!"

"Hey, your priorities are all messed up! The difference between me and your father is too extreme, isn't it!?"

I'm still the daughter of the Albert family! Mary raised her voice, and Adi laughed to cover it up.

"So, Miss, what do you mean by interfering with Alicia's romance?"

"You smoothly brushed it off... But anyway, right now, Alicia is setting flags."

Currently, the males Alicia is close to are three in number.

Among them, the one she is particularly close to is Patrick Dice, the student council president, who is hailed as the best student in the long history of Carelia Academy.

He is well-versed in both academics and martial arts, with a handsome appearance and a noble lineage, making him a high-spec character typical of a dating sim. With his azure hair and matching eyes, he looks like a prince.

In Dragon Academy, he has a high difficulty level to pursue, and his initial affection level is the lowest among the characters. He even tells the protagonist, who is from a commoner background, "Don't talk to me so casually" upon their first meeting.

However, such a cold and distant attitude ignites the hearts of female players, making him the most popular character in Dragon Academy. His merchandise also sells the best.

In reality, Patrick is also the most popular among the male students in the student council, who are all exceptionally good-looking. His popularity extends beyond the school, to the point where it's not an exaggeration to say that every young lady has fallen in love with Patrick at least once.

These three, the student council president, the student council secretary, and the physics teacher, are the characters Alicia is currently close to.

However, except for Patrick, the other two have high initial affection levels in the game and are friendly regardless of the protagonist's status. In reality, they are also kind and treat everyone equally.

Most likely, the curious secretary took an interest in the commoner Alicia, and the kind physics teacher couldn't bear to see her struggling with her status, so they each offered to help her in her daily life.

Given Alicia's current growth, it seems to be progressing smoothly.

Their relationship is more than friends but not yet romantic, and there's no sign of her entering any specific route.

From here, she can become close to new target characters or increase her necessary stats to enter a specific route. The branching point is still ahead.

"It's not something to praise, but it's going smoothly. If it continues like this, there shouldn't be any problems."

Mary, who was explaining Alicia's status and romantic situation, nodded in agreement.

"Of course, Miss, but you must have done a lot of research on Alicia."

"...She's been talking to me a lot lately. She tells me all sorts of things happily."

What does that mean... Mary muttered, averting her gaze, and Adi turned away, unable to answer.

"Obviously, she thinks we're friends," Adi couldn't bring himself to say. Mary, too, had a vague sense of it, but since she was aiming for a downfall, admitting it might break her heart.

"Anyway! Now that I know Alicia is close to three people, I can't just let it be!"

In Dragon Academy, the villainous lady Mary often interfered with the protagonist Alicia's romance.

She would act affectionately with the target characters in front of Alicia, boasting about her noble lineage and how they were a perfect match. At the Albert family's parties, she would even choose the character with the highest affection level as her escort.

In some routes, she even got engaged to the target character. Of course, she did this knowing that the target character liked Alicia, rather than because she didn't know. She would interfere without any regard for the consequences.

Ultimately, she would be condemned for all of this, so it was only natural that Mary, aiming for a downfall, would mimic this behavior.

"Alicia said she's going to the city today. She mentioned that she's going to greet someone who helped her when she transferred."

"Did she tell you that herself?"

"...Not only did she tell me, but she even invited me to go with her."

"Wow..."

"Stop it, don't pull away! I might cry! Right now, we need to interfere! I'm sure there was an event in the city in the game."

What was it? Mary tried to recall.

There were several scenes in the city, and one of them involved Mary. As far as she could remember, the character was the student council president, Patrick. In the scene, he was in a carriage with Mary...

"I remember! The protagonist sees me and Patrick in a carriage!"

In the game, the protagonist Alicia heads to the city.

On the way, a carriage carrying Mary and Patrick passes by her. Seeing them leaning close and talking affectionately, Alicia is hurt and even suspects that they might be dating.

However, if you pursue Patrick's route, it becomes clear that this is just a misunderstanding. Mary had planned to show this to Alicia and had practically coerced Patrick into the carriage.

The details are not fully explained, but in the game, Mary likely used her noble lineage to pressure Patrick. "Do you know which family is greater, mine or yours?" and he would have no choice but to nod.

"I see, that does interfere."

"Right? So, I'm going to invite Patrick to the city!"

Fortunately, Mary and Patrick are acquainted. They are both from prestigious noble families and had met in society before they met at the school.

Moreover, they often asked each other to be escorts at parties. The Albert and Dice families have been close for generations, and given their backgrounds, it's not unusual for them to have such a relationship. Additionally, both Mary and Patrick are known for their beauty, which everyone envies.

"Since we've known each other for a long time, if I say, 'I want to talk a bit, I'll take you in my carriage,' he'll come along, right?"

"...In a carriage? By the way, Miss..."

"What is it?"

"We commute by bicycle."

...

"Right...!"

Mary collapsed to her knees, a posture unbecoming of a noble lady, but the despair was palpable.

"Who makes a noble lady, second only to the royal family, commute by bicycle?"

"Well, it's you, Miss."

"Because it takes 50 minutes to go through the main streets by carriage, but only 15 minutes through the back alleys by bicycle! It's a huge time waste!"

"Indeed, there are many narrow streets around here that carriages can't pass through."

"It's inefficient, nonsense!"

Adi sighed but nodded in agreement with Mary's complaint.

If they went to school in a large carriage from the Albert family's mansion, they would have to take a long detour through the narrow alleys. Additionally, the entrance to the school is always crowded with carriages, making the boarding and disembarking process very time-consuming.

On the other hand, by bicycle, they could exit through the back gate of the Albert family's mansion, speed through the back alleys, and park the bicycle in an empty lot at the school. The total time required is about 15 minutes. If asked which method is more efficient, the answer is clearly the latter.

However, bicycles are for commoners. Poor commoners use bicycles to move around efficiently, while wealthy nobles travel leisurely in carriages. It is unthinkable for a noble lady to ride a bicycle herself.

"I messed up. A villainous lady wouldn't ride a bicycle, no matter how inefficient it is..."

"Miss, even ordinary noble ladies don't ride bicycles. That's why our school doesn't have a bicycle parking area. I just realized this now."

"So, what about Patrick? Should I get a carriage from the Albert family?"

"......No, I'll invite him as is!"

"You're inviting him?! On a bicycle?!"

"I'll take him with me!!"

Even if she knows he will refuse, she can't retreat! Adi, who was about to say something in exasperation, swallowed his words.

The person in question is the student council president, Patrick. He wouldn't ride a bicycle, a commoner's vehicle, even if it were a carriage.

So, Mary is determined to face this with the expectation of failure. In that case, Adi decided to just pick up the pieces... As he was mentally setting up Mary's gravestone, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.