episode_0190

As the second year at the Academy began, about two weeks had passed since then.

The second semester at the “Luminor Academy” was already halfway through, flowing smoothly compared to my concerns about potential disruptions in the story due to various events at the end of last year.

Natalie and Thomas had rejoined the hero party that had a momentary rift, awkwardly trying to mend their relationship.

And I heard directly from Agnes that she had started interacting with the hero guild again.

“…We need to work together because of the successor. If not him, it would be the fourth or fifth prince, but I’d rather have a hero than them.”

“You’re right, Agnes. Especially Prince Machart will soon…”

“Will soon what?”

“…Soon be known for frequently hosting parties. Parties that only invite noblewomen. To be honest, it doesn’t leave a good impression.”

I almost blurted out that he would soon be doomed unconsciously. I need to be careful.

The fact that Machart, among the royal family, was involved in the first prince’s death by collaborating with the demons had not been revealed yet.

I almost said that I didn’t want to see Agnes get involved with some weirdo and fall together, but that would only lead me to unnecessary trouble with the royal family.

“I don’t know if it’s a party or what, but I don’t like Machart. I’ve only seen Antonio once, so I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

“Is that so?”

…Was there an episode where Agnes met Prince Antonio? I’m not sure, but there must be more episodes that I don’t know about since Agnes wasn’t the main heroine in my past life.

Seeing Agnes mention Antonio’s name, it seems like they did share some story, and there’s no way for me to know what happened between them.

“Compared to that, Bolt, the hero of the guild…”

“Bolt, the hero of the guild?”

“Yeah, that weird name. At least you can see what he’s thinking. He’s also close with Seraphine. In that sense, he’s better.”

At this point, it seems like Agnes doesn’t have a competitive spirit towards Seraphine. It looks like the story won’t progress towards the heroine route with her.

Personally, I didn’t feel too bad about it. Even though Agnes may be a brat, I can’t easily hand her over to the hero as a harem member.

Other than that, I roughly grasped the storyline about the hero and the surrounding characters through Agnes.

There were no plans to approach Liria and Kael, the first-year students. That was an obvious decision.

There was no need to recruit another character who uses a spear like Barbarian Liria when Thomas was already in the party.

Liria’s only character trait was being able to handle a spear, and her performance was significantly inferior to Thomas in the same position.

Similarly, there was no need to recruit Kael either. As a fighter, he was clearly overshadowed by Seraphine.

Although he could be useful in episodes where Seraphine was absent, his performance was definitely lacking for the final battle.

On the other hand, Seraphine is not only an essential companion but also the main heroine with excellent performance and beauty, so there’s no way she can be a rival.

“Considering the number of party members the heroes have gathered so far…”

For now, the number of reliable companions the heroes have gathered is five.

Serista, Sirena, Natalie, Thomas, and Agnes were likely to be companion characters who would accompany them until the ending.

In addition to the essential companion Seraphine, Luke, who has synergy when recruited with Seraphine, would also be included.

If the hero himself is included, that makes a total of 8 people.

As mentioned before, the maximum number of members in the Demon Lord Subjugation Force was 8.

So, at first glance, it may seem like they have already filled all 8 spots, but…

“…I still need to fill one or two more spots.”

According to the teachings of the Aurelia Church, which states that the hero and the saint are one, Serista is considered as one with the hero.

And since Seraphine is an essential companion that must be added, and Luke has not been confirmed to be recruited yet, there are at least one to two spots left.

“I hope they don’t bother me by insisting on bringing Lillith along.”

Of course, objectively speaking, bringing Lillith along would be the right choice, but I was determined to somehow prevent that route.

The orthodox story of killing Ethan and ‘saving’ Lillith in the original story was definitely not an option.

I didn’t want a future where I would be recruited normally without any relation to Ethan.

Having graduated from the Academy and lived a wandering life traveling around the world for a few years was enough, even just experiencing it in the game.

“If you’re going to recruit someone, recruit Orion instead of me. She’s good at magic too. She can even use auxiliary magic.”

Perhaps Seraphine and the other female characters would welcome Orion with open arms. At least from their perspective, it would mean one less heroine fighting over the hero.

With those thoughts in mind, as I pondered about my future actions, the conversation naturally shifted towards Agnes after just discussing Prince Antonio.

“…Speaking of Antonio, it reminded me of something.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“His birthday party in two weeks.”

“Oh, I see. Already at that time.”

“…At that time?”

“…Oh, it’s nothing, Agnes.”

Since I had experienced many events related to Antonio’s birthday party in my past life, I unintentionally spoke in a tone that seemed familiar.

After the incident at Seraphine’s birthday masquerade a few years ago, noble events gathering at the palace had not occurred for a while, but with Antonio’s birthday party as a starting point, events gathering at the palace had begun to open again.

Having played the 25th round of ‘Luminor Academy,’ it was an event that I definitely wouldn’t forget.

“Since you know about Prince Antonio’s birthday, Agnes, are you going to attend?”

“…Are you not going, Lillith?”

“I’m just a mere noble from the Rosewood Viscount family. I’m far from being invited to the prince’s birthday party.”

“A mere noble… I’m just a minor noble from my family too. I’m going because my family told me to. Our status is similar, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…Really? Oh, okay.”

That’s right. It makes sense. It was absurd to think that Agnes would take the time to participate in such social events in the first place.

Considering her personality, she probably would have hidden in a corner like she did at Seraphine’s birthday and might come back the same way this time.

Moreover, since she had heard a word from the elders about hiding her true identity with disguise magic at Seraphine’s birthday party, she probably wouldn’t be able to hide in a similar way this time.

Agnes, who heard the news that I wouldn’t be attending, muttered with a slightly disappointed expression.

“…I thought Lillis would be coming too.”

“She said she couldn’t make it. Besides, I didn’t even receive an invitation in the first place.”

“…Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do about it then.”

“Since it’s a royal family event, wouldn’t Princess Seraphine be there? I heard she has a personal connection with you.”

“…Seraphine is busy. She can’t just spend the whole event with me.”

Maybe she’s not busy and just knows how to stick by her side all the time.

But then again, imagining the situation of actually attending, she didn’t seem like she would be that busy. In the first place, the only time I would participate in such an event would be when I’m accompanying Edan, and Edan wasn’t the type to go around meeting people left and right.

“But it’s still strange. You really won’t be attending? Didn’t your fiancée come forward?”

“Of course, a letter of attendance was sent to Lord Edan.”

“…So you’re not attending the Blackwood’s Prince’s birthday party?”

“No? Lord Edan will probably attend. It’s separate from me.”

“…What?”

Agnes looked at me with increasingly strange eyes as I answered. She seemed to have some misunderstanding about me, so I explained to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

“I’m only explaining this to you, Agnes, but in fact, Lord Edan and I are not engaged.”

“…Really?”

“Everyone seems to misunderstand that Lord Edan and I are engaged, but in reality, we are just a maid and employer relationship.”

“So sharing a room with your temporary lover….”

“It’s due to personal reasons. If I attend the academy and also become Lord Edan’s exclusive maid, it’s an unavoidable choice.”

Agnes looked at me with a slightly shocked expression at my words. Then, with a somewhat bewildered look, she muttered softly.

“Last time, everyone thought you were lovers. Was that all an act too?”

“No, we are indeed lovers.”

“Are you teasing me again?”

“Why? Just because we’re lovers doesn’t mean we have to be engaged. Do you think that holding hands means you have to get married, Agnes?”

“N-no, but…”

Although we are temporary lovers, the fact remains that Edan and I are indeed in a relationship. Agnes still seemed confused by my answer and asked me one last question with a puzzled expression.

“Sharing a room and being in a relationship, but not engaged? Isn’t that strange?”

“Love and marriage are different, Agnes. Besides, Lord Edan should find a better match than me. How can the eldest son of a duke marry the daughter of a viscount?”

“…Are you satisfied with that? I would feel quite empty if it were me.”

“As long as the Elizabeth family can enter the main house with their abilities, it’s special. That’s how the relationship between the main and branch families works.”

In fact, if we were to be precise, my position was that of a commoner, not even a member of a branch family. But since Agnes seemed to be asking something she shouldn’t, I tried to lighten her burden a bit.

“And Edan and I aren’t even that close. We haven’t even shared a moment of intimacy like ordinary lovers.”

“…Cough, cough, why are you telling me this?”

“If it were a typical engagement, moments of intimacy between a man and a woman would be common. I just wanted to explain that Edan and I never crossed the line between being engaged and lovers from the beginning.”

“I don’t need…! And I didn’t want to know…!”

Although she may look young on the outside, Agnes is an adult. Despite her appearance, her innocent reaction made me laugh more than I expected.