“What? Piss pants? Are you talking about me…?”
Under an unresistable threat, Bratten’s head was forcibly outfitted with etiquette. Even though he could hear Viola laughing from behind, Bratten couldn’t even manage the simple task of turning his head.
If he lost focus even for a moment, his body and mind were about to declare their independence.
In the face of a survival threat, the pride of a noble was easily crushed.
“Not yet, huh. Anyway, what’s going on with my party?”
“Th-those guys…?”
‘How on earth am I entangled with a guy like him?!’
In a situation where his classmates, who would typically swagger next to him, were frozen like they had encountered a beast, Bratten, the heir of the esteemed Trismegistus family of alchemy, mustered up his courage to shout.
“D-don’t you know what happens when you threaten a no-noble?!”
“Oh, you’re a noble, huh?”
To Bratten’s head, the gaze of ‘So what?’ caused a frenzy of thoughts.
‘What is this? Why is he so confident?’
Despite Kalon Academy’s philosophy of equality among students, it wasn’t entirely free of class influences. Besides, an outsider wouldn’t have any shield at all.
Yet, why was he so confident? Bratten desperately tried to evade the cold gaze pressing down on him and stammered.
“W-well, if you knew I was a noble, then remove your gaze…!”
“Isn’t it on you to step aside first? Was this your seat?”
At Johan’s rightful remark, Bratten moved without realizing it. Instinctively swift movements caused his lackeys to stick to him in surprise.
“J-just you wait!”
‘How can he be exactly like the character in the game?’
Johan thought as he stared at Bratten’s figure hurriedly fleeing with ice-cold eyes.
——————
I never expected to meet original characters like this.
He wasn’t particularly important and was the kind of delinquent that you could call a strong candidate for poaching should one be reincarnated into the Survival Academy. In the first episode of the original work, he’s mocked as a piss pants for wetting himself upon seeing a monster.
He was a momentous character that appeared before even the heroine in the trailer, becoming the meme of all memes.
To think I’d meet such a character like this. Not exactly pleased… I shoved aside the image of the toothy man from my mind, plopped down, and asked what had happened.
“So, he suddenly started picking a fight, huh?”
“Yeah. That bastard should focus on studying at a time like this. A brat from an esteemed family getting middle grades, why is he bothering me?!”
It seemed Viola had plenty to vent, spouting insults in succession. It wasn’t just a couple of times, but he had persistently tormented her throughout the semester. She ended by saying he was a nasty guy who was jealous because his grades were lower despite him not bowing to her.
…Even in the game, he was the guy who picked fights when the protagonist scored high, so it’s no different here.
“Watch your words.”
Millia will try to learn from them.
“Sorry. Every time I see that guy, I can’t help but curse…”
“I understand how you feel, but don’t let it bother you. There’s no need to be disturbed just because a dog barks.”
“Dog? Pfft.”
Apparently, my words were so funny that Viola doubled over laughing. She didn’t stop laughing for quite some time. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she finally looked more refreshed and said.
“You must be the first to call him a dog.”
“He really has made such a fuss but hasn’t heard that at all.”
“Despite how he looks, he’s from an esteemed family.”
“Esteemed family?”
Millia seemed not to grasp the meaning of the term “esteemed family,” tilting her head and alternating her gaze between Viola and me.
“Yeah. Trismegistus? Right? He’s the heir to such a family. Even nobles have to bow down to him.”
“A brat who runs wild just because of his family history…”
We shouldn’t let him harm the kids. But then, I can’t monitor everything either.
I’m not some overly protective parent, and I can’t keep tabs on every single friendship. However, since Karina will be transferring in from the second semester, she might provide some basic restraint. After all, whether he’s a descendant of an esteemed family or not, he wouldn’t be any different in front of her.
If he acts rudely in front of Karina, I can use that as an excuse to knock him down.
“Millia. Elisa. If that guy tries to mess with you, tell me right away. Got it?”
“Okay!”
“Y-yeah…”
“Don’t hesitate to speak up either.”
“Um… thanks.”
What, why the surprised face? It’s only natural to look after my subordinates. I waved away Viola’s complicated stare and cut a big chunk from the pudding that had come out for dessert. The sight of a cute little pudding being mercilessly sliced in half was brutal, but such is the truth of the world.
Wow… wow… what a sinful man.
I let Rue’s nonsense drift through one ear as I popped the pudding into my mouth.
Oh, it’s sweet.
—————————–
“Johann! Look at this!”
“…A schedule, huh.”
On the paper Millia presented was a roundish handwriting with a schedule written on it. It gave off a collegiate vibe, with some blank spaces here and there. I recalled my college life that I hardly remembered and read the names written beneath the class titles.
So they had been sticking together for the past few days and creating a schedule.
“Looks like they organized who would be in the same classes.”
“Yep! There are a lot of liberal arts classes that we can take together in the first year, so the four of us can attend together!”
“Four, huh…”
Did they all end up in the same lecture unintentionally?
If so, that means I can naturally keep an eye on them. Which also means I can prevent any riff-raff from approaching Karina. Either way, it means I can intervene in the original storyline to some extent, right? So, I might be able to actively resolve incidents better than in the first semester.
“Hehe, I can’t wait to attend classes together!”
“It probably won’t be that fun.”
“Huh? Have you taken a class before, Johann?”
Her ruby-like eyes looked up at me. Apparently bursting with curiosity at my comment, Millia took a step towards me, tilting her head up.
I can’t be honest about it, so I’ll vaguely muddle through.
“I’ve taken something similar before.”
Though it was so long ago that I barely even remember. I have no idea what the content was, just that it was boring and utterly useless.
Well, what kind of practical classes could you offer on a deserted island anyway?
“I see—heh. It would have been fun to attend school with you, Johann! Taking classes together! Doing homework! Taking exams!”
“I’ll pass.”
“Chee.”
“W-well, I thought it would’ve been nice to attend together…”
What? When did you come here? I looked down at Elisa, who was standing behind me, bowing her head down. Elisa fiddled with her hands, mumbling inaudibly in a small voice, and lightly tugging at my sleeve with her index finger.
“Um, hello.”
“Hey. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Hi, Elisa! It seems like today is the first time I see you! Did you go outside?”
“Ah, hello… um…”
It was nice to see them getting along. I let out a sigh of relief inside as I watched Millia cheerily greet and Elisa hesitantly return the greeting.
At least with two friends, Elisa wouldn’t be walking alone like in the first semester.
“I really hope the second semester comes soon—I want to make a lot of friends!”
“Friends?”
“Yep! I’m going to make 100 friends!”
Now that’s a grand dream.
“You can do it, I believe in you.”
“Right? Hehe.”
Millia clung to my arm like a puppy, rubbing her face against it. Given her movements, I can easily imagine that if she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously by now. She must have been a dog in her past life. Delightful and playful.
“By the way, where are you going, Johann?”
“I’m going to Karina. I have something to report.”
I had just finished discussing the escort personnel with Principal Merlin.
The roster to ensure Karina’s escort, including the security force, had been finalized, and I received the schedule.
It’s a simple plan where we are the main escort, and the security force patrols around the building.
I was currently heading to Karina with the roster in hand, just in case of any unexpected situations.
By the way, I’d agreed to take on the escort within the school.
Surprisingly, that was Karina’s request.
If Renny took on the school escort, she would collapse from overworking, and the reason presented was that I was more suited for the position.
I still remember clearly the image of Renny sitting in the corner, utterly despondent, as she heard that decision made alongside her. If I was shocked hearing it, how must Renny have felt?
Renny seemed to take that shock very hard, as she spent almost two days wandering around in a daze.
Though Karina seemed quite troubled by it as well, she didn’t reverse her decision.
Perhaps it would be more troublesome if she did.
Since Karina’s reasons for her choice weren’t unreasonable at all, Renny reluctantly nodded and went into the office, leaving her mark on my shoulder the day before.
I’m a bit scared that our relationship might have soured for no reason.
Renny wouldn’t hold a grudge over something like that, right? Honestly, I can’t be sure. But considering the friendship we’ve built so far, she wouldn’t, or at least I hope so.
“Let’s hurry! I’m going to show Karina the schedule I made!”
She’s so innocent, just like a child going to show her drawing to her mom.
I followed behind Millia, who was cheerfully skipping along, and soon arrived at Karina’s door.
I was about to knock immediately, but then I realized that both my hands were currently sealed.
Noticing this somehow, Millia quickly knocked on the door and shouted.
“Karina! Are you in? We came!”
“Yes, I’m here. Please come in.”
A beautiful voice came from beyond the door. Once Millia received Karina’s permission, she boldly opened the door.
Ah.
“Y-Your Highness Johann?”
“Wow! Karina! You’re wearing a school uniform!”
“Ah, y-y-yeah. I just tried it on once…”
Karina’s shy glance shifted between me and Millia. I could do nothing but blankly gaze at her figure.
A skirt that reveals her knees paired with a blazer over a shirt. And the presence of her bosom above the fabric was unparalleled.
Bosom.
With pink hair shyly positioned atop it.
There stood my known image of ‘Karina.’
“…You’re beautiful.”
Such a sight stirred up nostalgia within me.
To see the image I could only find in the game come to life.
The fact itself moved me.
“Um, um… th-th-thank you…”
“What about me?! What about me?!”
Ignoring Millia’s whiny voice pulling my arm from the side, I suddenly blurted out the thought that popped into my head.
“…Now, it’s really just the beginning.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.