If You Don't Want to Lose Anyone

The two girls were openly displaying naked hostility toward each other.

“Who do we have here~ If it isn’t our dear second-place student?”

“You…!!”

“Oh my, how sharp. To get this rattled over just a few words.”

I hurriedly dragged my dazed mind back from the standoff between the two girls. What is this…? Were the two of them always on bad terms?

There had been mentions in the original work that Clara, the top student of the grade, frequently clashed with the second-place student. But no matter how generously you interpreted it, the looks they were giving each other right now seemed ready to trade slaps.

Strange. Ariel wasn’t the type to pick fights with anyone…

“First place by a measly three-point difference…!”

“Either way, you’re admitting you’re beneath me, correct?”

“Iiiiiik…!!”

Ariel was being completely overwhelmed in the verbal exchange. As if delighted by the sight, Clara continued to ridicule her with a thick sneer.

“No matter how hard you struggle for the rest of your life, you’ll only ever be chasing my heels. Wouldn’t it be better to just give up now?”

By this point, it was painfully obvious who the problem was. So Clara was the issue.

I let out a complicated sigh and swept my bangs upward. ……Yeah, Ariel must be an eyesore to her.

To Clara, who harbored a manic obsession with the top spot, Ariel—whose grades rivaled her own—could only be seen as a threat. On top of that, Ariel belonged to the Lisite family, which did not get along with the Misof Marquis House, Clara’s own family. Even setting those factors aside, her personality was simply garbage.

In the early stages of the original work, it must be even worse. Sharp, prickly, and someone who enjoyed being nasty. The national team senior who had once recommended books to me had liked this character, calling her a tsundere. I didn’t really understand it. I hadn’t particularly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hated her, but she wasn’t a heroine I liked, either.

“Clara…! How can you speak to Her Ladyship that way…!!”

“Hmph. What does it have to do with you?”

“Haah… I apologize, my lady.”

Our protagonist, Alan, was trying to restrain Clara while carefully watching Ariel’s reaction. Yeah, Alan, you really have it rough. At this stage, he was probably being yanked around by the heroines in every direction.

When Alan, who had been wearing a subtle expression, met my gaze, he stiffly grabbed Clara’s hand and pulled her along.

“……”

……So he was wary of me, not Ariel. Well, it must feel awkward to have the third-rate villain you thought you’d personally defeated suddenly appear before you again. Still, it stung a little to be looked at with those eyes.

“We’ll take our leave now. I hope both of you have a peaceful day.”

“W-wait, Alan…! Suddenly grabbing my hand…!!”

Clara’s face flushed bright red at the unexpected hand-holding. She quickly fell into a lovestruck daze and was dragged away by Alan.

Ariel watched the pair with an expression of pure disbelief.

“……I hate them.”

“You should get along with your friends.”

“Do they look like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠friends to you?”

“……”

I couldn’t bring myself to nod.

An unexpectedly chaotic first meeting with the protagonist. Leaving the shock behind, we resumed our walk toward the dormitory.

When we arrived, Rachel greeted Ariel with explosive enthusiasm. Watching the two of them care for each other filled me with a strange sense of warmth. Yes, this was what friendship looked like. In truth, it felt closer to a nanny and child relationship, but if I said that, Ariel would pout and accuse me of treating her like a little kid again.

“Ughhh!! Rachel, let go already…!”

“Hehe~ Our young lady is just too cute…!!”

“Mwaaaah…!!”

While spectating Ariel being devoured by Rachel in real time, I leaned back in my chair. There had been a small incident, but today had still been a peaceful day. I trained with Ariel, tested the special skill Super Sensory, and unintentionally forged a new acquaintance with the protagonist.

……Though Alan did seem uncomfortable around me.

Even so, it had been quite a fulfilling day.

As I languidly recalled the day’s events, a familiar mechanical sound rang in my ear.

“Ah.”

Right, this had been there too. A new main quest. I had missed it earlier because I was at the training grounds.

Well, the content is pretty obvious.

I reached out and clicked the small text box.

“Hmm……”

The quest content was exactly as I had expected. The academy banquet held to celebrate the end of midterms in one week. The ‘First Princess Assassination Incident’ that occurred there was the largest-scale event to appear while Alan was still a first-year. I remembered that the story’s tone grew considerably darker from this point onward.

Still, I didn’t expect this part.

My eyes were fixed on the condition attached to the quest. Solve the incident with your own power alone. In other words, it forbade giving any hints about the event to the faculty.

Alan occasionally received quests with similar restrictions. This is going to be a headache.

Not being able to utilize the academy’s forces was a rather heavy handicap. It meant I would have to handle every difficulty that arose by myself from start to finish. Well… the status window would probably allow the professors to intervene belatedly during the incident, but by then Lucy would likely already be a cold corpse.

“……”

In truth, I could simply ignore this incident. Even if the quest failed, the only penalty I would receive was Lucy’s death. Moreover, the world would flow according to the original story, allowing me to deal with future events more proactively.

……Even if I think like this, I’ll end up going anyway.

Though they were Raiden’s memories, I didn’t want to watch someone who had once been a close friend meet their death. Besides, if I could resolve this tragedy well, it might lighten the dark atmosphere of the original work. There was no real reason not to go.

I’ll need to prepare to some extent.

I organized my thoughts and rose from my seat.

That evening, after finishing dinner, I immediately headed to the first-year dormitory. There was no special reason—I simply wanted to meet our protagonist. With a major event looming, I felt I should at least give him a small warning.

Of course, due to the condition, I won’t be able to tell him about the assassination itself.

The only thing happening on that date wasn’t just the First Princess’s assassination. The Saintess and the Second Princess, who would be enjoying the banquet among the juniors, would also get caught up in assassination attempts. Fortunately, as the word “attempt” suggested, Alan would splendidly stop them… but I had to eliminate as many variables as possible.

Believing everything would go smoothly was nothing but arrogance. It would be pointless if I saved Lucy only for the Saintess and Second Princess to die. Therefore, I needed to warn Alan to stick right beside the Saintess and the First Princess.

……Of course, since this was the period when Alan was unconsciously charming every woman around him, the heroines themselves would probably refuse to leave his side. Still, unease was unease.

“But this feels a bit……”

Didn’t it seem like I was doing his chores for him? I was working hard because of my contract with the status window, but it still felt strange.

“I never said I was dissatisfied with my current role… but well, I’m not sure.”

The protagonist. It was a word I had once admired, but now I understood how far removed it was from me.

The protagonist would have his own hardships too.

“If I took the protagonist’s seat, the entire world might turn into a tragedy.”

That’s how it had been so far.

I let out a small, playful laugh and spoke.

“……I think I’d be satisfied just being Extra A living peacefully in a quiet village.”

“Humble, my ass… Even that feels excessive for me.”

I continued my conversation with the status window while standing in front of the main gate for several minutes. Before long, I spotted a golden-haired boy approaching the dormitory building from afar. As always, it was noisy around that guy. Well, he did have the charm to gather people. It was exactly what you’d expect from the protagonist of the novel I had loved.

It was a little sad how he froze the moment our eyes met, but there was nothing I could do about it. I raised my hand in greeting with a calm expression.

“You’re here.”

“……Young Master Lisite?”

Alan stood there stunned, while the four heroines behind him sent hostile glares my way. I ignored their hostility and greeted them as well.

“I see precious guests are with you.”

The Empire’s Second Princess, Neria von Lietro. The Holy Empire’s next Saintess, Loraine Marlena. The eldest daughter of the Misof Marquis House and first-year top student, Clara Misof. And finally, the second daughter of the Roben Duke family, Abby Roden.

I’m the eldest son of a duke myself, you know.

Two of the four held higher status than me, and the other two were nearly my equal. A completely insane harem party. If these people started catfighting, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continent itself would shake.

I shook away the useless thoughts and bowed my head.

“This humble servant who has received His Imperial Majesty’s grace greets the Empire’s second star.”

“……It is nice to see you. Please raise your head, Young Master Lisite.”

Her words and expression didn’t match. She looked like she had seen something unpleasant. Well, from Neria’s perspective, who cherished her older sister dearly, Raiden could only be an eyesore. Still, it felt a little bitter. When we were young, Raiden, Lucy, and Neria had often played together.

“May Tinamius always watch over you. This servant greets one who carries a noble will born of the divine.”

“May Tinamius watch over you. It is good to see you, Mr. Raiden. You seem very different from when we last met.”

The Saintess, Loraine, smiled awkwardly at my polite greeting. It was bold of her to address the eldest son of a ducal house by name, but since Saintesses were treated similarly to members of the imperial family, it wasn’t an issue. It also aligned with the academy’s policy of not distinguishing between nobles and commoners. Among the group, she was the one showing the most favorable reaction.

“Lady Roden, and Lady Misof. It has been a while for you two as well.”

“Yes, Young Master Lisite.”

“……I greet the Empire’s blade.”

Abby answered in a rigid tone, while Clara bowed her head as if she had no choice. Those two likely didn’t hold very good feelings toward Raiden either. After all, it had only been half a year since Raiden had pestered the heroines and made a nuisance of himself. They were probably thinking Here we go again. Don’t worry. I have zero interest in any of you.

“I’d like to speak with the two of us alone for a moment, Reinhardt.”

“……You wish to speak with me, sir?”

Alan swallowed hard. I could see his golden eyes trembling.

“You’re too tense. Don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.”

“Y-yes… Then shall we move to another location?”

Contrary to the reaction he had shown, Alan nodded rather obediently. That was only natural. A mere third son of a viscount family could hardly refuse a request from a ducal house. Even Neria, who clearly looked displeased, kept her mouth shut.

“It will only be a short while. I swear I will do nothing that harms you.”

“Yes……”

“Do I need to pinky swear for you to believe me?”

“N-no! I’m sorry!!”

When I frowned at his lukewarm response, the boy and girls flinched. They seemed more intimidated than I had expected, but I understood. Raiden’s glare was quite frightening. His face had always been cold to begin with.

“Follow me.”

I left the area together with the golden-haired boy. Only after reaching a deserted alley did I stop walking. I finally spoke to Alan, whose wariness had reached its peak.

“Alan Reinhardt.”

“Yes, Young Master Lisite.”

“Third son of the Reinhardt family… and the chosen Hero of this generation.”

“……!?”

Bewilderment flooded his golden eyes. He must not have expected me to strike there. At the current point in time, no one except Alan himself knew that he was the Hero.

Watching the boy’s face turn deathly pale, I continued.

“Trials will begin soon.”

If you don’t want to lose anyone, follow my words.