“…So, you came to us to get rid of the other girls?”
Alice said with a face that couldn’t decide whether to laugh or get mad.
We were sitting in a nearby Korean restaurant.
Thanks to Jake clinging to our group after some back-and-forth walking, we needed a table big enough for our total of seven people, and as a result, we ended up sitting around a large round table.
The distance between us was quite far, but I actually thought it was better this way. It might be a little less awkward.
“To be honest, that’s true.”
In the end, Jake finally sat down after telling us his real motive to ease the tension between Charlotte and Alice. He ended up sitting between Leo and me. The other girls were hesitant to sit next to Jake.
It seemed that Jake’s rogue style didn’t quite mesh well with the overwhelmingly diligent personalities around him.
Although Jake was among the top students and had a diligent personality with a steady training routine, it’s not like anyone would know that unless they had a keen interest in him.
For the record, Roti’s most hated words were those that dismissed Jake. She knew better than anyone that Jake was training hard where no one could see him, and she couldn’t tolerate any slander about his efforts.
Always expressionless and calm, Roti was still a character where reading her emotions wasn’t completely impossible.
“From the moment we got off the train, you were squealing and sticking to us!”
Jake let out a big sigh and said that.
This wasn’t the Imperial Capital, but it wasn’t like there were no classmates around either. Well, they couldn’t see us in the restaurant, though.
“Well, he is the Duke’s son. Plus, he looks like he’d go along easily if you approached him.”
“You’re being too harsh.”
Even though Jake retorted to Alice’s assessment, it didn’t seem like he was in a bad mood.
Actually, Jake was a character overflowing with self-confidence. It didn’t mean he was arrogant; rather, it indicated he never hesitated in his actions and plans.
And Jake’s plans always aimed at Roti. Ultimately rejecting all the surrounding gazes, his goal was for the two of them to live happily ever after.
“Don’t go too far with it.”
Leo, who had been listening to the conversation, said.
“Jake must have his own struggles too.”
“…And how would you know about those struggles?”
“……”
Claire immediately countered Leo’s remark, leaving him speechless for a moment.
Well, the original story didn’t describe him as having tons of popularity right from the start. The game’s content was about gradually going through episodes and relationship events, slowly progressing.
But Leo’s image was definitely not taken negatively by the group. Even though Leo was the only guy among us, no one felt discomfort or awkwardness about him being in the group.
In a way, this could also be seen as the intro to a harem scenario.
“So you approached Sylvia?”
Alice asked Jake that.
I don’t know the principle behind it, but Alice could read my expressions, at least enough to be sure I wasn’t in love with Jake.
“Yeah. Sylvia isn’t surrounded by other noble girls.”
It’s not just the noble girls who approach boys either.
At this point, three weeks into the semester, two groups had formed within our fifteen-member class. It’s quite something for a small class, really.
Honestly, it was inevitable. Nobles tend to gather strength around the Duke. And these Dukes band together to consolidate their power.
Right now, the Emperor wielded absolute power, but to share that power or to seize it would be impossible with just sheer individual strength.
You either stick to the Emperor or lean on powerful dukes around you. And the best way to ensure that is to grow close from a young age.
Hanging out in school is part of that process.
Thus, the Duke’s daughter often became a popular person in school. Whether anyone genuinely liked her or not was up to the individual, but politically, it contained a degree of strategy as well.
By that definition, Sylvia Fanggriffon should nominally be considered at the pinnacle of power, but… well, rumors and attitudes play a role. Hardly any girls came to me on purpose.
Thinking like this made me a bit jealous of Jake. I realized that whether as a man or a woman, I seemed to have no popularity among girls.
…Well, let’s put aside that gloomy thought for now.
“Still, using people like that…”
But a bad feeling lingered at the thought of using a friend for such purposes.
And I was honestly a little touched by that.
Since entering the academy, I hadn’t done anything special. I just followed around, ate together, and that was it, really.
But still, being treated as part of the same group felt so nice. Especially with characters from a game I used to like.
Even from Charlotte’s point of view, I wasn’t someone worth looking up to.
“It’s okay.”
I said to Charlotte.
“It’s not like it caused any harm, so I’m not too bothered by it.”
“See, that’s what I mean.”
Even though I went out of my way to defend him, Jake added another remark, earning glares from everyone.
“Talk like that—”
Just as Alice was about to say something to Jake,
“Your order is ready.”
The rather stiff voice of a staff member interrupted in the middle.
“……”
clink-clink, several staff members brought the food we ordered to our side.
There were no separate menus. It seemed like this restaurant served pre-determined breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Considering it also ran an inn, that made sense…
“……”
Everyone at the table, including Charlotte and Alice, suddenly went silent.
“Well then, enjoy your meal.”
The staff, oblivious to our expressions, cheerily said that and headed back to the counter.
“Um…?”
Just a while ago, Jake had been speaking nonchalantly with a clever expression, but looking at this food, he seemed at a loss for words.
“So, this is…?”
I looked at the food that had come to my spot, following the other kids’ gazes.
At first glance, it looked like an enormous fat sausage. Honestly, it was closer to a round ball than a sausage, but in this world, sausages were considered a regional dish of the Empire, so it wasn’t too strange.
Although calling it a sausage was a bit odd.
“It’s haggis.”
Upon my declaration, everyone glanced at me before looking back down at the food.
This was quite a famous dish from Britain that I had known even before coming here. Europeans seem to consider it a ‘disgusting food’…
Although this world could be considered a low-fantasy world, it at least tried to align regional foods decently. It seemed this northern country was based on Scotland, as an inspiration.
As everyone was silently staring at the food, I picked up my fork and knife.
Well, at least it was much better than some of the other bizarre dishes that could come out.
I hadn’t eaten haggis before, but I’d at least heard rumors. I was told that haggis, along with black pudding, was something that could be somewhat edible by Korean standards.
They said the taste was like a mix of sundae and sundae ingredients, made salty.
Finally, I could relish a taste of home after a long time.
*
“So…?”
I enjoyed my meal, Alice, Claire, and Leo managed to eat pretty decently, while Jake and Mia left a bit, and Charlotte couldn’t finish half the food.
“…Is northern food usually like this?”
Charlotte, who couldn’t bring herself to say anything about the food in the restaurant, especially since I was eating quite well, had nothing to say.
If it were about the imperial bread, I could roast it as tasteless, but since this dish wasn’t bread nor anything even remotely similar, I couldn’t really say anything.
Being a royal who learned manners, Charlotte would know how foolish it was to belittle local foods.
“There is bread in the north.”
“Well, thank goodness for that…”
Charlotte replied with a genuine sigh of relief.
Normally, she wouldn’t have liked the idea of having to eat the tasteless imperial bread, but at least it seemed better than haggis in her view.
Well, the inspiration for Velbur came from France and Belgium, so what can you do?
Although I heard there were smelly sausages in France, I didn’t think there was any reason to point that out here.
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