episode_0061

“… … So, you came to us to get the other girls away? ”

Alice said that with an expression that made it seem like she didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry.

The place we are sitting now is a nearby Korean restaurant.

Thanks to Jake, who ended up following us while we were walking around here and there, we ended up needing a table that could seat seven people at once, and ended up sitting around a large round table.

The distance between us was quite far, but I thought it was better that way. It would be a little less uncomfortable.

“To be honest, yes.”

Jake, who finally told us his true purpose in order to ease Charlotte and Alice’s guard, was barely able to sit down. The location was between me and Leo. The other girls were reluctant to sit next to Jake.

Since there are only kids who are naturally very honest, it seems like a thug style like Jake’s doesn’t fit well.

Jake, on the other hand, was a very diligent person who was consistently practicing every day and was in the top tier in terms of grades. Well, of course, no one would know that unless they were paying attention to it.

By the way, the thing that Roti hated the most was the words that were used to disparage Jake. Roti knew better than anyone that Jake was training hard in a place that no one else could see, so he couldn’t stand people ignoring and belittling his efforts.

Although he was always expressionless and calm, it wasn’t entirely impossible to read his emotions.

“From the moment I got off the train, he started screaming and clinging to me.”

Jake said that with a deep sigh.

It may not be the system here, but it’s not like there aren’t any kids in the same class. Oh, but I didn’t see any inside the cafeteria.

“Well, he’s the son of a duke. And he looks like he’d be easy to get over.”

“You’re being too harsh on me.”

Jake said that in response to Alice’s evaluation, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

Well, Jake was a character who was very confident in himself. That doesn’t mean he was arrogant, but it means he had no hesitation in his actions and plans.

And Jake’s plan was always toward Lotti. In the end, they would live happily ever after, ignoring all the attention from those around them. That was what Jake wanted.

“Don’t be so harsh.”

Leo, who was listening to the story, said.

“Jake must have a lot of troubles too.”

“… … How do you know about that suffering?”

“… … .”

When Claire immediately refuted Leo’s words, Leo was left speechless for a moment.

In fact, even in the original work, it is not described as being extremely popular from the very beginning. The content of the game is to slowly conquer the story by going through each episode and each event.

That doesn’t mean that Leo’s image is being received badly by the group. Up until now, there hasn’t been a single man in the group other than Leo, but no one has shown any resistance or felt awkward about having Leo among them.

In a way, this could be said to be the introduction to the harem series.

“So you approached Sylvia?”

Alice asked Jake that.

I don’t know what the principle is, but Alice was able to read my expressions. At least she seemed to be convinced that I wasn’t in love with Jake.

“Yeah. Because Sylvia doesn’t have any other noble girls around her.”

It’s not just noble men that girls approach.

As of now, three weeks into the semester, two groups have formed on campus. This means that even though the class is only fifteen students strong, factions have formed.

In fact, it was inevitable. The nobles gathered their power around the dukes. And the dukes also gathered their power among themselves.

Although the emperor currently wields absolute power, he is not strong enough to either receive a piece of that power or take away the power itself.

Either stick to the Emperor, or rely on the powerful dukes around you. And the best way to do that is to become close friends from childhood.

Going to school together was also a part of that process.

That’s why the duke’s daughter often became popular in various ways at school. Whether or not you really liked her was up to you, so you couldn’t really say anything, but apart from that, it was also something that had some political purpose.

And if you look at it that way, Sylvia Pengriffin should have been one of the people at the top of power in name only… … Well, there were rumors and atmospheres. There were hardly any girls who approached me on purpose.

Thinking about it this way, I feel a little jealous of Jake. I feel like I wasn’t popular with women when I was a man or when I became a woman.

… … Well, let’s put those depressing thoughts aside for now.

“No matter what, using people for that purpose… … ”

But it seemed like he still wasn’t very happy about the fact that he was trying to use his friend for that purpose.

And, honestly, that feeling was a little touching.

Actually, I didn’t do anything special after I entered the academy. I just followed him around and had meals together.

But how happy I am that they treat me like a member of the same group. And they are characters from games I like.

Even from Charlotte’s perspective, I wasn’t a very favorable person.

“It’s okay.”

I told Charlotte.

“It’s not particularly harmful, so I don’t really care.”

“Look at that.”

Even though I tried my best to defend him, Jake kept adding more words and getting glares from people.

“That kind of story—”

Alice was trying to say something to Jake,

“Your order has arrived.”

I was cut off mid-sentence after hearing the somewhat stiff voice of the clerk.

“… … .”

A few employees came between us and brought us the food we had ordered.

There was no separate menu. It seemed that this restaurant had set menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It seemed that they had set menus because they were a place that operated a guest house for business people… …

“… … .”

The people sitting around the table, including Charlotte and Alice, suddenly became silent.

“Then, enjoy your meal.”

The employee looked at our expressions and greeted us as if nothing had happened, then turned around and went back to the counter.

“Uh… ….”

Jake, who had been speaking nonchalantly with a cheerful expression just a moment ago, looked like he didn’t know what to say after seeing this food.

“So, this is.”

I followed the other kids and looked at the food that came up to my seat.

At first glance, it looked like an incredibly fat sausage. To be honest, it was closer to a ball than a sausage, but in this world, sausages were also a regional food of the empire, so it wasn’t strange.

Actually, it was a bit of a strange food to call it a sausage.

“It’s Haggis.”

Everyone looked at me at what I said, then looked back down at the food.

It was a pretty famous dish among the British foods I knew before coming here. It seems like people in various European countries consider it a ‘strange food’…

Basically, this worldview was a groundless fantasy, but they still tried to somehow match the location of things like regional food. Since it was the ‘north’ of the country that was modeled after ‘England’, it seemed to be modeled after Scotland.

While everyone else was looking at the food without saying anything, I picked up my fork and knife.

Well, it was still a lot better than other weird foods.

I’ve never had haggis, but I’ve heard rumors about it. They say that haggis and black pudding are acceptable foods for Koreans.

I think the taste was like a salty mixture of sundae and sundae accessories.

It seems like I’ll be able to taste my hometown after a long time.

*

“So… … .”

I ate deliciously, Alice, Claire, and Leo managed to finish it all, Jake and Mia had some left over, and Charlotte couldn’t even finish half of her food.

“… …Is northern food mostly like this?”

Charlotte couldn’t say anything about the food at the tea house. She couldn’t say anything especially since I was enjoying it so much.

If it’s bread and bread, you could say that the empire is tastier, but this food wasn’t even a food that overlapped with bread, let alone bread.

As a royal, Charlotte would know how foolish it is to disparage local cuisine.

“There is bread in the North too.”

“That’s fortunate… … .”

Charlotte let out a deep, heartfelt sigh at my answer.

Normally, you wouldn’t have been impressed by having to eat tasteless Imperial Bread, but Charlotte seemed to think it was better than Haggis at least.

Well, it can’t be helped since Belbourg’s motif is France and Belgium.

I’ve heard that there are sausages in France that smell like shit, but I don’t think it’s necessary to point that out here.