Ch.157Meow (3)

“Look at this. It’s tanghulu made with sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.”

“That’s just plain old matang.”

While the Rheinland siblings were having their meaningless chatter festival, Rustila and Zernya were in sharp opposition.

Of course, on the surface, everything seemed calm.

Indeed, subtle power struggles always take place beneath the surface.

“Sorry for just eating what you treat me to.”

“Huh?”

“Eidel, want to go to a steakhouse with me next week? My treat.”

Eidel, who had been fooling around with Seti, turned his gaze toward Rustila.

In truth, this was somewhat of a calculated remark.

A clever woman never suggests going Dutch with a man she likes.

Rather, she lets him treat her at first. That way, she can use the excuse of feeling sorry to set up the next date.

“Steakhouse? Oh, that place? It was delicious.”

Eidel nodded. A sign of agreement.

Zernya felt a moment of panic.

“Yes, yes, let’s go there. You said it had a good atmosphere, right?”

“But aren’t final exams starting next week?”

She hurriedly threw cold water on the plan. Eidel smiled bitterly with a look of sudden realization.

“Ah, you’re right.”

Zernya felt relieved inside. Thankfully, final exams had saved her.

“Then we can go after finals are over.”

…Dead again.

“Will that be okay? Aren’t you busy with research?”

“Well, think of it as your senior treating you to a meal. This isn’t something to skimp on time and money for.”

Rustila pretended to cover her mouth while giving Zernya a sidelong glance. 50% moved, 50% smug. Just awful.

Glances sharper than the winter wind crossed the table, interfering with their plans. The tense power struggle continued.

Meanwhile.

Eidel’s thoughts on watching the two girls’ real-time conflict were as follows:

1. Wow.

2. Amazing.

3. Two girls are fighting over me.

I admit this might make me look like garbage from certain perspectives. It’s kind of like leading them both on.

But honestly, if you’re a man, isn’t it okay to enjoy it a little?

Above all, I haven’t confessed to either of them, nor have they confessed to me. It’s barely safe to say so. Yes, absolutely.

Anyway, for these reasons,

“Wow, this just keeps going down endlessly.”

“Stop eating my popcorn, you crazy bastard!”

Seti’s specially purchased instant popcorn disappeared in an instant.

“What the hell. Who ate my chicken leg?”

“Yummy~”

Seti hummed a tune. There was sweet corn syrup seasoning on the corner of her mouth.

“Little sister. Little sister. Little sister.”

“Aack! Brother! I’m starting to remember that day!”

Eidel raised his fist but then gave up when he saw his little sister curling up and trembling pitifully.

Right, you don’t hit the major shareholder. Of course not. Not in front of others.

And so the meal that was satisfying for some and uncomfortable for others was coming to an end.

After clearing the dishes, Sonia climbed on top of the sprawled-out Eidel and began massaging his shoulders.

Thump thump thump thump.

“You’re quite tense, sir.”

“Thaaank youuuu.”

Having beaten him whenever he misbehaved in his younger days, she had developed a skilled touch in controlling the intensity. She knew exactly what was comfortable and what would hurt, as clearly as solving a simple math problem.

Sonia smirked. Her gaze flicked toward Rustila and Zernya before returning to Eidel.

The two girls who had been eyeing each other warily flinched.

Normally, they would have simply thought an android was providing a service.

But now, with nerves on edge from their love rivalry, the robot didn’t look like just a robot anymore.

“Ack, ugh, there. There, a bit more. A bit harder.”

“Young master, you’re being indecent.”

In fact, it was questionable whether Sonia was even a robot at all.

What kind of android would repeatedly sigh with excitement while giving its human a massage?

Even her expression was concerning.

Occasional flashes of maniacal smiles crossed her otherwise expressionless face.

The two girls rushed over to Eidel, who was sprawled out on the sofa.

“What have you been doing lately to get such muscle tension?”

“If it’s a stiff neck, I can prescribe you some medicine that works well for me.”

It might be childish jealousy.

But since her appearance was no different from a human’s, if they felt threatened, they could admit to feeling threatened.

“This should be enough.”

Tap.

Sonia shrugged and stepped back.

Rustila and Zernya, who had been about to massage Eidel’s shoulders in place of the robot, momentarily froze.

“……”

“……”

Thinking about it, they had no justification.

Zernya struggled with whether it was appropriate to touch Eidel’s body with impure thoughts.

And Rustila wondered if giving him a massage would be something couples do, and shouldn’t a c-confession c-come f-first?

Anyway, while the two hesitated, Seti started pounding on Eidel like washing clothes in a stream.

“Hey, does that feel good?”

“Ack! Ack! Aack!”

“Next year is the family head selection ceremony, and here you are slacking off. Your first and second brothers are working hard, but what are you doing sprawled out here?”

“I-I’m working hard too. Ack!”

“So what research have you been doing this semester?”

Seti knew that Eidel was working hard. Looking at his achievements, they were quite impressive. Still, she wanted him to be even better.

If things go wrong, neither she nor Eidel might become the family head. In that case, it wouldn’t be bad to clearly support Eidel instead.

But seeing him like this made her somewhat worried.

Seti asked again.

“What research have you been doing lately?”

“……”

Eidel was at a loss for words, and Zernya swallowed a gasp.

The reason Eidel’s research had stalled was, in fact, due to the irregular polyhedron. And the irregular polyhedron incident had turned into a disaster because of the Adelbein family.

“I can’t find a suitable material for making a non-resonance device. Right now I’m focusing on broadening my background knowledge.”

“Then, is there anything I can help with?”

“Well…”

Eidel tapped around his lips with his finger as if organizing his thoughts.

“First of all, irregular polyhedrons are absolutely out of the question due to ethical issues. It might not be bad to collect crystals again. To properly control crystal properties, we need a constellation about the size of the 12 zodiac signs.”

He knew several figures who dealt with the 12 zodiac signs. Arnold’s star cluster was one of them.

But.

“…It has to be a star cluster that helps with property changes. Finding that is incredibly difficult.”

If he could conduct trap research, it could be generalized. At the same time, even if many people were harmed by outer gods, they could recover quickly. It was an essential process for the safety of scientists embarking on graviton bomb research.

In short, it was a difficult task.

“The 12 zodiac signs…”

As Eidel’s face darkened, Rustila also began to worry.

She suddenly checked the time.

It was time to go home.

“Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now. Alright. Rustila, would you like to have coffee for dessert before you go?”

“Coffee? Sure. But I’m not going to leave.”

Eidel’s face went blank. For a moment, he thought he had misheard.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

That statement bleached Zernya’s mind.

“Stay, overnight?”

“Sonia. Do we have a spare room?”

“We do have one. The closest room is across from Miss Seti’s. Shall I show you there?”

“Great. Thanks.”

Since Seti nodded like a ghost, it was as good as having the homeowner’s consent.

Only Zernya was horrified. But she couldn’t say anything. It was up to the homeowner to decide who could stay in the house.

“Is your father not coming home today?”

“The head of the family said he has a business trip. Not official business, but something internal to the family.”

“Is he attending an elder council meeting?”

“That might be the case.”

In fact, Sonia knew but deliberately didn’t mention it. Arnold had ordered her to keep it secret.

Right now, the head of the Rheinland family was meeting with the Kersil couple.

***

In the simply decorated reception room of the Kersil family.

The head of the Rheinland family, Arnold von Rheinland, was occasionally picking at refreshments while conversing with the Kersil couple.

A family of doctors and a family of legal professionals.

At first glance, there seemed to be almost no point of contact that would require them to meet.

Nevertheless, Arnold had made time to come in order to finalize the legal procedures related to the expansion of the Rheinland medical system into the western region.

“Are you sure it’s alright to offer it at such a bargain price, less than expected?”

“It’s fine. Really.”

Lloyd Kersil stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

As the paperwork was being finalized, belated small talk began.

“You mean about the marriage of your third son?”

“Yes. I hear my daughter and young master Eidel were classmates at Academia. My daughter speaks so fondly of the young master that I thought I’d like to arrange a match between them.”

“I see.”

Arnold sipped his tea and fell into thought.

Though it was small talk, marriage was a very important matter. Especially if it was a political marriage between two of the top ten families.

“I have three sons and one daughter. The eldest is already a proper doctor, and the second is in medical school. Only my third son and daughter are pursuing different majors.”

Since Rheinland was fundamentally a medical family, the implication was that if someone were to marry Eidel, they shouldn’t have any thoughts of interfering with family matters.

“We would be happy as long as our daughter approves.”

The Kersil couple had a stronger desire for Rustila to live safely and happily for a long time. Although it was a distorted method, marrying into the Rheinland family was a good means to that end.

Since their daughter approved, if she got pregnant quickly, she would have to take a break from her investigator work, and if this was repeated, she would eventually face retirement without any other incidents.

They had not the slightest thought of manipulating the Rheinland family.

Rather, it was an opportunity for safe social advancement.

“We’ve heard that young master Eidel is a solid person. If our intentions align, perhaps this would be a good opportunity for our families to interact…”

“Please wait a moment.”

Arnold raised his hand to stop him.

“This is a major family matter, so I need to think it through carefully before making a decision.”

“Of course. Perhaps the young master already has someone in mind?”

It was an ambiguously roundabout question. It could be asking whether there was already an arranged marriage partner, or whether there was another girl who had already captured Eidel’s heart.

Since it would be rude to ask the former directly, he deliberately used this euphemism.

“That, I would have to ask my son to know.”

For Arnold, who wanted Zernya as his daughter-in-law, this was an unwelcome proposal. First, he would need to visit the Adelbein family at some point.