Chapter 18

The port of the airship in the capital.

It is located on a floating island a little away from the capital. The place where airships repeatedly enter and exit looks more like a station or a bus terminal to me.

A small airship that can carry dozens of people arrived at the port from the capital, and my airship, the *Partner*, was already waiting at the designated spot.

"Hey, you're here. Right on time."

Lukseon, who was hiding in my luggage, replied.

*This is nothing for Partner.*

Partner is reproducing the disguise Lukseon had assumed.

Lukseon's shape is futuristic, or rather, unnatural for an airship in this world. After all, it's a spaceship.

That's why I had it disguised, but there are a lot of people who want to get inside.

If Lukseon's secret is revealed, there will be people who will try to take it from me, even if it means killing me. That's why I had a new one built, the *Partner*.

Lukseon, in fact, often boasts about Partner.

Is it a case of parental blindness?

*...Master, are you aware?*

"I can see it."

I could see Wayne and... Livia standing near Partner. Livia was holding Wayne's luggage.

When they noticed me approaching, they handed over the luggage and waved as if nothing had happened.

They seem to think I haven't noticed.

I hadn't heard that Livia was here. Moreover, Livia's attitude is... she doesn't seem to be in high spirits.

"Baron, over here~"

Seeing Wayne, I think women are scary.

*Women are scary, aren't they, Master?*

"Isn't it that you're hated by them?"

Thus, as I arrived at the two of them, a familiar face approached.

Red and purple... Greg, carrying a spear, and Blood, with a very unpleasant look on his face.

"Ugh!"

"...Why is Baltofalt here?"

Their attitude is so bad that my heart, fragile like glass, is hurt.

"Got a problem, you losers?"

As I shot them a glare, both Greg and Blood came up to me and started to bully me.

They really are bad guys. With their hair colors, they look like delinquents.

"Are you going to do something about it?"

"Don't think you can get away with it forever."

As they tried to intimidate me, I honestly went behind Livia.

"I have plans with Livia and the others. Go somewhere else."

However, neither of them left the scene.

Greg scratched his head, and Blood glared at Wayne.

"What's going on here?"

Wayne, who looked troubled and seemed to be avoiding our gaze, looked like he was hiding something. Well, he is.

"Hehe, hehehe... Well, the Baron's airship is taking me to my family's place."

Upon hearing this, we exchanged glances.

"Huh!? You want me to let these delinquents on my precious airship!"

My words made Greg and Blood snap.

"Who are you calling a delinquent!"

"You're really a pain in the ass, you know!"

As we glared at each other with Livia in between, Wayne apologized.

"S-Sorry! Actually, I had invited Master Blood as well."

Everyone's gaze turned to Blood, who reluctantly explained.

"...She's a foster daughter of my ex-fiancée. She asked for help, so I decided to lend a hand. There's a reward, and the sky pirate is a bounty head. I thought I could help Marrie by deciding to hunt down the bandits."

It sounds like he's saying something reasonable, but in fact, he's saying something quite crazy.

Is it wrong for students to hunt down bandits? No, that's not it.

This is, after all, the world of a dating sim. Boys seek visible results like bandit hunting to be liked by girls.

...When I think about it, this world has been crazy from the start.

Greg pounded the floor with the butt of his spear, which he is proud of. He looks impressive with his spear in hand.

"I decided to join after hearing that story."

What can you do with just a spear?

The characters in a dating sim really are crazy, aren't they?

"What about the other three? You know, the black and green one, and the blue one."

Blood shouted.

"Stop calling us by our colors! The other three were called back to their families. Marrie has something to do, so she's not coming. Well, even if she had nothing to do, it's too dangerous, so I won't let her come. So it's just us."

...These guys are crazy. What do they plan to do with just two people?

Moreover, they hardly have any weapons.

Sky pirates usually have airships, so how do they plan to fight?

Wayne urged us on.

"W-Well, let's do our best with this group. Look, Olivia also asked us to help."

Livia was looking down.

When she didn't say anything, Wayne made a small, inaudible click of his tongue.

I scratched my head.

"...Just get on for now. You guys, don't cause any trouble."

Greg clicked his tongue.

"I'm not a kid to cause trouble."

I laughed through my nose.

"I warned you because you're a kid."

"Are you gonna do something about it, you!"

"That's proof you're a kid, you idiot!"

I pulled Livia's hand and fled into Partner, with Greg and Blood, and Wayne, who was smiling, following behind.

◇

The student dormitory.

Ange, who was holding a gift, walked to the dormitory used by ordinary class girls, looking a bit nervous.

"Is this okay?"

She had bought it for Livia, but Ange, who doesn't usually shop for herself, was at a loss.

If she had consulted with Leon, he would have already gone to the Wayne family's territory and wouldn't be at the academy.

"That idiot. He even sent a ship for the sake of someone he's trying to use."

She was worried about Leon, who had gone despite her trying to stop him.

She had informed her family, but Ange doesn't have a personal airship to use freely. Unlike Leon, she can't act on a whim.

She wanted to talk to Livia before chasing after them.

She was at a loss as to what to say.

When she reached Livia's room, Ange was surprised.

"What is this?"

It wasn't a room used by academy girls.

Livia's room was in a storage area, and it was clear from the graffiti that it was poorly treated.

Ange knocked, but there was no answer.

"L-Livia, it's me..."

When she called out and got no response, she thought Livia wasn't there—

"Oh, it's Lady Angélica."

Turning around, she saw a third-year girl and her followers.

"...It's you."

Ange, who called the older girl by her first name, narrowed her eyes and looked down on her. The other girl understood and looked resentful. They both exuded a hostile atmosphere.

"You seem to dislike the upstart baron family."

"You speak highly of your own family. The daughter of a family that rose to power through wicked deeds is truly shameless."

The reason Ange disliked the other girl was that they were from opposing factions.

At the same time, the baron family had a lot of bad rumors.

If it were just rumors, it would be one thing, but it was known that they had actually engaged in evil deeds.

The other girl's family had gone to great lengths to rise to power.

Moreover, the girl in front of her was Blood's ex-fiancée.

From her appearance, it was clear that she had a large number of personal servants and that her followers were quite flashy.

(The nouveau riche taste is cute. They all have slaves of subhuman races...)

They were a typical group of academy girls.

The other girl clicked her tongue.

She seemed to have enough sense not to attack Ange, who was a duchess's daughter.

"Bringing your favorite commoner to greet you, you must really care for her."

"...What do you mean?"

The other girl leaned in close.

The strong smell of perfume made Ange wrinkle her nose.

"Lady Angélica, you must keep your favorite followers and cute pets properly restrained. It would be sad if they died, wouldn't it?"

Ange glared at the other girl, who was smirking.

"...So it was your doing, huh?"

"If you had known, you should have stopped her. The daughter of a duchess is cold, isn't she?"

However, Ange wasn't flustered.

(You idiots. Do you know who you're dealing with? If you think Leon is just an excellent guard dog, you're finished.)

Ange was suspicious of Carla's request.

She knew who Carla's followers were.

Usually, a student's followers are close—foster children or children of vassal families. It was suspicious that Carla hadn't asked her foster parent for help.

(Why did Leon help her, knowing what was going on? He's as unreadable as ever.)

Ange, on the contrary, pitied the other girl.

"By the way, your favorite commoner pet is out."

"Out?"

"Yes, she went to Carla's territory. She said she was taking a friend. Carla is quite the enthusiast, taking a friend to a dangerous territory infested with sky pirates."

—In an instant.

Ange grabbed the other girl by the collar and slammed her against the wall.

She tightened her grip on the other girl's chest and pinned her to the wall, lifting her with one arm.

"Hey, what did you do to Livia?"

"K-Kill—"

Her feet were off the ground, and her followers and personal servants gathered to help her, but Ange glared at them.

"Don't touch me."

With a cold, chilling voice, everyone froze, and she turned back to the other girl.

"I'm short-tempered. Speak quickly. What are you planning?"

"R-Release me—Do you think you can get away with this?"

The other girl, who hadn't expected Ange to attack, was somewhat flustered but seemed to think Ange had attacked her, so she took a bold stance.

"I'm the one asking the questions. If you want to make a fuss, you can do it later. There have been many duels and many fools who have been disrespectful to me. It will be a good lesson."

The fact that many of those fools were girls was a source of worry for Ange. Boys were more reasonable.

The other girl was laughing.

"Find out for yourself."

Ange threw the other girl to the ground and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"I will."

Ange walked a little away, turned a corner, and then ran.

(I need to contact Leon quickly. No, I should go myself. But if they went by Partner, it will be hard to catch up.)

◇

In a room on the *Partner*.

I was playing cards with Blood and Greg.

Of course, it was a gambling game.

The two of them had serious expressions.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Greg was groaning.

"Wait! Give me a little more time to think!"

The amount of money I had won from them was considerable. Both of them had money, probably earned at the school festival.

Of course, the cards were rigged.

—I was cheating them out of their money.

Well, it's like a fare. These guys need more social education. I'll teach them the harshness of the world before they get cheated and suffer.

I was just playing to pass the time, but I never expected to be playing cards with these guys.

They placed their cards on the table with determined looks.

"What do you think of this!"

Blood was also being bold. Looking at his hand, it seemed like he could win.

"I'll win this time!"

Then I slowly showed them my cards. Since my hand was stronger, I won again.

"Sorry, I won again."

Greg clutched his head.

"No way! This is a scam, right!"

Bread was also crouching.

"How many times have we lost? This is impossible!"

As I collected the cards, I told them.

"You guys are really stupid."

They glared at me, but it seemed their wallets were empty, and they couldn't play anymore.

As I was putting away the cards, Greg asked Blood.

"By the way, what's your ex-fiancée like?"

Blood, looking at his empty wallet, answered.

"...She's a rare type of girl. She doesn't seem to be from a family higher than a baron."

Saying this, Blood seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"I only met her a few times before entering the academy. It was a simple political marriage, so there were no complications like with the prince or Jilc."

Greg, who was unfamiliar with noble affairs, didn't seem to know Blood's ex-fiancée.

I put away the cards and listened to the conversation.

"She's not interested in me. What she wants is blood. The Field family's blood. Her family is a nouveau riche family of merchants."

In the Holfaht Kingdom, where adventurers became nobles, those born into nobility are descendants of excellent adventurers. Even if they rise to nobility, they are considered respectable if they have succeeded as adventurers.

They may be treated as upstarts, but they are still treated as nobles.

However, there are exceptions in this kingdom.

That's the family of Blood's ex-fiancée.

Originally a small baron family, it became a baron family after being taken over by a merchant.

It's infuriating for the kingdom's nobles, but they operate in a gray area, skirting the law and doing as they please. However, because of this, they also have many enemies—

Greg recalled and looked up a bit as he spoke.

"Come to think of it, they were active in diplomacy with the Grand Duchy."

"Thanks to that achievement, I was chosen as a marriage partner. My family is close to the Grand Duchy, so when the talks were concluded, they asked my family to consider a marriage. My family thought it would be good if they didn't have to fear the 'Black Knight.'"

The Field family, as a border baron, would be in trouble if a war broke out with the Grand Duchy. To prevent this, Blood was to marry the daughter of the other family.

"Regardless of the circumstances, it's a good family, isn't it?"

"That's why it's troublesome. Actually, Wayne hinted at the annulment of the engagement and asked for cooperation. He's cunning. If the parents are like that, the foster child is the same."

Greg nodded solemnly.

"It's the same for me. I only met my fiancée a few times. I can't develop any feelings."

...These guys have it tough. Come to think of it, Greg and Chris's fiancées don't appear in the game. What kind of people were they?

While listening to their conversation, I heard a communication from Lukseon. The two of them couldn't hear it.

*Master, it seems we have a welcoming party.*

There was still time before we reached our destination.

The welcoming party—

*Two sky pirate airships are approaching us.*

I stood up and prepared.

"You guys, it's time to work."

The two of them looked up at me, mouths open in surprise. From their lack of reaction, it seemed they didn't understand what I was saying.

"I said, the enemy is here, so get ready."

Greg stood up.

"S-So that's it."

Blood also stood up, but both of them looked confused.

"Rather, what should we do?"

...They're useless. I'll just have them stay out of the way.

◇

The sky pirate airships had black fabric with skull marks.

One of the captains of the sky pirate gang *Wing Shark* whistled as he saw the *Partner* from his airship.

"If we can get that, the boss will be overjoyed."

A subordinate pirate agreed.

"It's a big catch. And there are only four kids on board?"

"Yeah, three boys and one girl."

"Should we take care of all four?"

"Idiot. The three boys are rich nobles. We can sell them to rich old ladies for pocket money. The girl can be played with and then discarded. She's a commoner, so there's no ransom to be had."

The surrounding pirates showed enthusiasm, and the airship flying next to them began to descend.

They were approaching the *Partner* from above, intending to pin it down.

The captain rubbed his neck.

"One of them is said to be incredibly strong, but they're just academy kids