Am I being bullied right now? sfx: dramatic tension
Lily Baker pondered seriously.
Though she was common-born, she grew up in a fairly wealthy household. She took pride in starting her mornings earlier than most nobles.
Her parents ran a famous bakery in the Imperial Capital. If Lily hadn’t gone to the academy, she would be the one to inherit the bakery—or it would someday be passed on to her husband. Who that would be, she didn’t even know herself.
However, since she was enrolled in the academy, running the bakery may become a bit challenging. Her parents hoped she would rise higher, and Lily wanted that too. If she graduated with excellent grades after four years, it might just be possible.
Of course, without a care in the world—looking back now, she had no idea what she was thinking—she spoke to the Crown Princess.
Her homeroom teacher, Ada, had entrusted Lily with just about everything that a class representative would do. Announcing schedules to classmates, collecting assignments, relaying sudden notices… While it wasn’t stated outright, Lily seemed to hold a similar position as class representative for Class C. As time passed, it appeared that not just her homeroom teacher but also the other kids in her class accepted her role.
Therefore, even though no one assigned her the job, Lily felt a sense of responsibility.
Roti felt out of place in class.
When it came to hanging out after school, she was always with Jake.
There were various rumors about their relationship, but only a handful of people truly believed them. It just seemed illogical for the heir of the Duke’s household to see a commoner as a romantic partner. Usually, those rumors were simply good excuses for gossiping about someone.
In Lily’s case, she held onto a ‘what if’ feeling, but she knew that the reason Roti was by Jake’s side was clearly because of her role as a maid. Whether or not they had feelings for each other was something Lily wouldn’t know unless she asked directly.
And she had no plans to ask. After all, it was a personal matter.
The reason Lily spoke to the Crown Princess wasn’t due to that; it was purely an impulse driven by a sense of duty.
It was also somewhat due to guilt.
And the answer she received was—
“Uh, what should I do…?”
Lily, however, had quite a few friends. The half-year she had spent getting to know her peers her age was plenty of time to bond.
Of course, she couldn’t say she was as close to them as the kids she grew up with in the neighborhood, but that would be resolved as they continued to get to know one another.
Being in the southern territory of Lindbergh, a famous resort area, there were already friends with set plans—
What choices would her parents make?
The image of her parent’s faces, shouting “Seize the opportunity!” popped into Lily’s mind.
It wasn’t helpful at all.
“…Hoo.”
As she adjusted her slipping glasses with her hand, Lily spoke.
Alright.
Even though she hadn’t done any practical work together, watching the noble class students during lessons, she figured that her absence wouldn’t cause any significant issues for the noble class. Everyone was talented. Lily still remembered the mock battle led by Jennifer-sensei.
Experiencing comrades falling one by one to bullets that seemed to fly towards them in a situation she couldn’t see clearly was a memory she wouldn’t easily forget, even if it was virtual.
Jennifer was a noble and often heard people say that she only looked after the noble class. However, as she observed the movements of Crown Princess Sylvia Fanggriffon, those voices gradually diminished.
Yeah, that’s right.
So, this could be the benevolence of Princess Sylvia.
She was merely given the opportunity to come check on whether Roti was struggling or doing well.
Thus, waking up early tomorrow morning to decline wouldn’t be a big issue—
—she thought naively.
Then, when someone knocked on her door around four in the morning, she reconsidered.
Is this, like, bullying? sfx: suspicious thoughts
*
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Claire said, as bright as a morning sun, even after waking up early.
Since she had already mentioned it the previous evening, Lily Baker’s existence quickly fit among them.
It was slightly ambiguous to call her common-born… but people like Sophia, who was common but not really, and Roti, an outright commoner, were already part of their group. Even if she tried to refuse now, her status couldn’t serve as an excuse.
Moreover, her claim of having plans with friends was—
“So you agreed to meet at ten in the morning, right? Then let’s finish this quickly and meet comfortably!”
With Claire’s terrifying logic, all reasoning fell apart.
Looking at Alice and Charlotte behind her, the thoughts of ‘does that make sense?’ transitioned to ‘but she must be serious.’
At first, Lily Baker wore a doubtful expression as if she were unsure about her ears, but after seeing Alice and Charlotte’s faces, she changed to doubt the whole situation.
Since their gazes were on me, I stared blankly back at them with a straight face.
Why. What. Why.
You were the one who spoke first!
“Your name was Lily, right?”
Leo, who was beside Claire, spoke up, and Lily Baker’s face turned crimson.
Though I couldn’t tell if it was because of me, Leo seemed to be unconsciously showcasing his harem protagonist talents within our group. Still, as a harem protagonist, he looked quite handsome. Plus, he was tall and broad-shouldered.
That meant he was directly the type of guy girls found popular.
“Nice to meet you.”
As Leo smiled and extended his hand, Lily Baker looked utterly conflicted, wondering if she should grab her skirt or hold Leo’s hand.
Watching her like that was quite amusing.
After all, even in the original story, she was that character who ended up getting dragged into the group after following Roti around.
…
Hmm.
Is this bullying?
Who cares, she probably doesn’t even know!
I chuckled to myself while quietly watching the two.
*
Anyway.
Returning to the matters of Roti and Jake, I had a plan in mind.
Of course, I never intended to execute that plan right away.
To be precise, I needed to confirm a few things before putting it into action.
“Indeed, it seems too large and heavy for practical use.”
I said, holding a rifle that was almost as big as a .50 caliber sniper rifle.
At least, it was way too big to shoot while standing. Sure, anti-tank sniper rifles were also nearly that size, but I hadn’t shot one myself.
“Still, you’ve prepared a decent Marmaros tank for it.”
“That’s true, but…”
…I wondered if there’d really be a use for it unless it was absolutely necessary. Hmm, maybe it would come in handy to incinerate whoever was riding inside the carriage with the carriage itself.
“For now, let’s use it for hunting, and we’ll see later whether I can use it in actual combat.”
“Right, which weapons you choose is entirely up to you.”
Alice shrugged her shoulders casually.
However, the way Jake looked at the rifle I was carrying didn’t seem very approving.
…Given that animal protection laws hadn’t been enacted in this world yet, I began to wonder if Jake wasn’t particularly fond of animals.
But soon, I’d find out why.
Bang!
The sound of the shot was as loud as the gun itself.
Even while aiming down, the recoil slammed against my shoulder.
Indeed, the power of the gun was ‘expressive.’
However, the real issue was that the firearm’s power was just too evident.
The elephant, unaware of us, had its skull shattered.
My bullet pierced its forehead, and after a moment, it seemed like the elephant was pushed back as it plopped down on its backside.
And as it toppled over, its long legs shot up into the air, trembling.
“…”
In response to the sight, even Leo and Claire, who had caught a rhino just the day before, stood there with their jaws dropped open.
All the other elephants in the vicinity bolted, leaving only a few small calves behind.
Even as we approached the dead elephant, the calves fussed around their mother until they finally scattered when we laid hands on it.
“…Yesterday, we were hunting beasts that threatened the village.”
Leo muttered, and I finally understood why they were so taken aback.
“All I need are those tusks over there. The rest… well, those vultures will take care of it later.”
Ah.
I see now.
I understood why Jake didn’t approve of the ‘request.’
Well, for now.
At least I was able to test the firepower of the firearm.
To steer things in the direction I wanted, I would also need to turn back time.
…Again.
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