Chapter 50

The early morning classroom was... smelly.

Mr. Clemen was shouting.

"Hey! Who did this? We need to clean up! We need to clean up! Home room is canceled, and everyone will clean!"

Trash was scattered on my desk, including some food waste.

The textbooks and notebooks I had left in the classroom were in a terrible state.

They were torn to shreds, and the desks and chairs were also battered.

"What a mess."

The students in the class exchanged glances, unable to say anything, and silently began to clean.

No one spoke to me.

I never thought I would experience bullying in another world.

But—inside, I couldn't stop laughing.

◇

Mr. Narcissus's private room.

When I visited with Mr. Clemen, we ended up sitting on the sofa to talk.

While drinking the tea I had prepared, the three of us had a discussion.

Mr. Narcissus, looking apologetic, said,

"Really, I don't know what he's thinking... By the way, Mr. Clemen, aren't you a bit too close?"

"Oh, how improper of me. But the sofa is a bit small. Please bear with it, Narcissus-kun."

"S, sure."

The two in front of me were sitting very close, their shoulders touching. However, from my perspective, Mr. Clemen still had some space.

...I'll keep quiet about it.

"I heard Pierre isn't coming to school?"

Mr. Narcissus, concerned about Pierre's absence, replied,

"He seems to be playing with the armor you brought. I'm getting a lot of complaints from the port, which is troubling."

Mr. Clemen agreed.

"It has a lot of power. Is it already mainstream in the kingdom?"

Arogants—while reported as a replica to the kingdom, Luxion said it had been modified and optimized more than before.

"That's a lost item. I discovered it. It's not mainstream."

Hearing "lost item," Mr. Narcissus's eyes lit up.

This person loves dungeons and lost items.

I knew he would be interested.

"You entered a dungeon at your age and found a lost item? That's impressive. Tell me about it—Mr. Clemen, your face is too close."

"Narcissus-kun, this isn't the time for such talk."

But I—

"No, it's a good time to talk. Maybe it would be good to enter a dungeon with Mr. Narcissus. After all, there are many problems with coming to school now."

Mr. Clemen, with his large body, looked dejected.

"I'm sorry. The students are silent when it involves the six major noble families. This never used to happen."

In the past—when the Respinas family still existed?

Contrary to Mr. Clemen, Mr. Narcissus showed enthusiasm.

"A dungeon, huh? Sounds good. It would be a great change of pace. Do you have a place in mind? If not, I can pick a few candidates."

Excited, Mr. Narcissus looked at me.

"Then—let's go to the Respinas Cave."

Mr. Narcissus was a bit surprised.

"That's a high-difficulty dungeon. It will take time to prepare, and we need to gather more people."

The Respinas Cave is a high-difficulty dungeon, even in the game.

It was written in Marié's notebook.

"Don't worry. I'll arrange the people. There are some who need to be useful from time to time."

The two tilted their heads.

Finally, it's time for them to work hard.

◇

The port where Einhorn is located.

A large gray machine passed by the airship at an incredible speed.

"Get out of the way!"

Pierre, riding Arogants, was playing around the port where airships enter and exit.

Passing through the gaps between airships, Arogants shook the airships as it passed through.

On Einhorn's deck, Pierre's followers and vassals were present.

They were eating and drinking, bringing food from the food storage and alcohol they had brought themselves.

The vassals who came to investigate Einhorn were also neglecting their work and playing around.

Watching from the shadows, it was Luxion.

Protests from the surrounding airships were silenced when they saw the Fauve family's flag on Einhorn.

On the deck, the vassals were drinking and talking.

"Does the young master like that toy?"

"It looks bad, but it has power. They say he brought it back to modify it."

"Still, how do you investigate an airship that doesn't need people?"

They came to investigate Einhorn, but all they understood was that "they couldn't understand it."

Einhorn itself could be reproduced with the world's technology.

However, they couldn't investigate the robots that were operating it.

Disassembling the robots would make it impossible to move Einhorn if they transported it to their territory.

Pierre and his followers were wreaking havoc.

They were quite disliked in the port.

Luxion flew from the ship to the location of the workers in the port.

There, three workers were complaining about Einhorn.

"What a joke."

"Last time, a merchant ship lost balance and people were injured."

"Isn't it a royal ship? Why don't you protest?"

"The second son of the Fauve family took it. I heard he took it forcefully."

Gradually, what Pierre and his followers had done was becoming known.

Pierre, riding Arogants, was boasting and landing on the deck of other countries' ships, pointing weapons and intimidating them.

"I am Pierre of the Fauve family! Is there anyone who wants to fight me?"

Intoxicated by Arogants's performance.

Since no one wanted to fight, he took off, looking bored, and repeated his mischief.

"Is there anyone who will fight me?"

Seeing Pierre's repeated mischief, his followers and vassals were laughing.

Then, suspicious-looking people were heading towards Einhorn.

They were dressed in flashy suits.

Under the suits, they were hiding weapons, but Pierre's followers were inviting them into Einhorn.

◇

Marié's mansion.

When I showed my face, a frightened Marié brought tea.

After drinking it, I said,

"The water isn't the right temperature. I demand a redo."

"Yes, yes!"

Seeing Marié hurriedly lowering the cup, I felt a bit sorry for her but kept quiet.

It would be good medicine for her.

She gets cocky quickly.

...If I said this, a round person who usually gives me sarcastic comments would be here, but I feel lonely without them.

Zirk entered the room.

"Bartholomew, please don't bully Marié. We have faults, but this treatment is too harsh. If you must, do it to me!"

He said this just because I asked for a redo.

His brain is still dominated by love.

"Is that so? Then, you're in the team for this mission."

"Team?"

Chris entered the room.

"Hey, Marié was measuring the water temperature with a thermometer while crying. What's going on—"

"Should I take the sword expert with me?"

"Huh?"

Then, Julius entered the room.

"Hey, Marié was alternately pouring hot water and cold water into the teapot, muttering something. What kind of experiment is this?"

With the three of them in the room, I stood up, thinking this group would do.

"Alright, you three, get ready."

The three, tilting their heads, were confused.

Marié returned to the room.

"I've made it again!"

Taking the cup, I drank the tea and smiled, telling her,

"It's still bad."

Marié's crying was a bit amusing.

"By the way, Marié, can I borrow these guys? For about two weeks."

Marié looked up.

"Julius and the others? It's fine, but—"

Julius was very surprised.

"Marié! Hold on. You haven't confirmed anything, and you're lending us out?"

Marié had a cold expression.

"There are many problems, and we can't even go to school. Everyone is just playing around."

Zirk tried to justify himself.

"No, we're not just playing around."

Marié looked at me.

"Where are you going?"

"To a dungeon. I need to recover some items."

Marié tilted her head.

"Then, wouldn't Greg be better?"

"He has a tough look. He's perfect for guarding the mansion. These three are fine. Also, take care of Noel."

Chris was a bit angry.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Marié clapped her hands.

"Yes, everyone, get ready. Don't cause trouble for—Lion. Make sure to earn some money."

Hearing this, the three looked very awkward and then looked at me.

Julius asked me.

"What are you thinking... No, what do you intend to do, Bartholomew?"

I twisted my mouth into a crescent and announced to everyone in the room.

"...I'm the type who retaliates when attacked."

I will give the Republic of Alzer a fitting response.

◇

Léa was a bit anxious.

The speed at which she walked through the school corridor was faster due to her anxiety.

(What's going on?)

Pierre had been bothering the exchange students.

That might be possible for the usual Pierre.

The game and reality are different.

Léa thought so and had warned him.

(I was wrong. Five exchange students came, and I thought a few of them were unknown mobs, but they... are the same as me.)

A clearly mob-like male.

A slightly cute female and an ordinary female... since they came as exchange students, it wouldn't be strange if there were other students.

Rather, she thought it was lucky to see a male from the Holfaht Kingdom.

But...

"Hey, did you hear? The girls from the Holfaht Kingdom keep slaves by their side."

"I heard that. That Marié girl has a cute elf as a servant. I'm so jealous."

"Her name is—Kail, right?"

Hearing such rumors and investigating, she found many strange things.

Her efforts to avoid them as much as possible had backfired.

(Without my sister, what can I do?)

Léa was a reincarnated person.

She knew the otome game and the first game.

She knew that Kail was the protagonist's dedicated servant.

Investigating hurriedly, she found many things that were hard to believe.

When she went to Lion and Brad's classroom, an acquaintance came out.

"What's wrong, Léa?"

"Hey, about the exchange students—"

The acquaintance led Léa to a quiet place and talked.

"They're not here now. More importantly, you should be careful. Pierre has his eye on you. You're close to Emile, but you never know what he might do."

"U, um. More than that, can I ask about the black-haired boy?"

The female acquaintance tilted her head.

"Not Brad? You like plain boys, don't you?"

"It's not like that."

Facing the smiling girl with a serious expression.

The girl seemed to understand something and talked about Lion.

"Lion... Fau Barthalomew, I think. He's a count, apparently. Brad said he distinguished himself in the war with the principality, but it seems suspicious. He doesn't look capable. Oh, but the airship Pierre took was his, apparently."

Léa was suspicious.

(A count with an airship? Distinguished in the war with the principality? The war with the principality can't start so soon, and it's not the time when it ended.)

Léa, suspicious of Lion, asked more.

"Do you know the small girl?"

"Marié? She's Brad's fiancée, isn't she?"

Hearing this, Léa was suspicious.

"When I asked other classes, everyone said she was the fiancée of a different boy."

In one class, she was Julius's fiancée.

In another class, Greg's name came up.

That's why it's suspicious.

"By the way, I heard that Lion and Marié were whispering in the courtyard. She seems to be a boy-loving type, so maybe she's popular?"

Léa realized.

(Whispering? Maybe they're consulting with each other as reincarnated people?)

Léa, who wanted to make contact quickly, listened to the exchange students' stories.

"Hey, where are they now?"

"Exchange students? They're not coming to school now."

Léa felt dizzy.

(No one is coming to school? At least one of them should show up!)

◇

The Respinas Cave.

In front of the cave named after one of the seven major noble families, I was carrying a rifle and other equipment.

"Perfect weather for an adventure."

Mr. Narcissus, who would usually point out my statement, said,

"The weather doesn't matter much since it's a cave."

But—

"Exactly, it's perfect weather for an adventure. Look, the sun seems to be blessing us!"

Julius, with high spirits, drew his sword and raised it to the sky.

Chris did the same.

He drew his sword and smiled, looking at its shine.

"Even in this situation, I get excited."

Zirk, agreeing with Chris's happy smile, checked his pistols and rifles, and checked the remaining ammunition.

"It's exciting. I wasn't enthusiastic at first, but standing in front of a dungeon makes me excited. I even brought some bombs today."

Facing our excited expressions, Mr. Narcissus looked pale.

"Y, you guys, what are you looking for in a dungeon? And, the bombs are a bit much..."

Zirk, smiling, said,

"Don't worry. I have knowledge of explosives. I can make them work even inside the cave."

"That's not what I meant!"

The three, looking excited.

The teacher, looking confused.

We five are about to challenge a high-difficulty dungeon.

"Wait for me, Seedling. I'm coming to get you now."