Breaking Noses and Harvesting Praise (3)
I hadn’t noticed while she was seated, but standing face-to-face like this made it obvious. Princess Eletra’s outfit was also quite revealing. A pure-white dress with a plunging neckline that showed off her cleavage, paired with stockings that matched the color perfectly. It looked exactly like a party-themed skin you’d see in Astra Radius if they ever dropped one.
‘Eletra was a 5-star character, after all.’ Unlike some others, though, she wasn’t a gacha reward. A cold, icy beauty. Getting too close felt like you might lose a finger. And maybe that wasn’t even a metaphor.
“This is exactly what I needed…!”
The Princess Eletra standing in front of me had sparkling eyes full of excitement. But I kept my tone even.
“I had heard that Your Highness has a deep interest in spirits.”
“…!”
Spirit observation. It was Eletra’s hobby. In my original world, it would’ve been the equivalent of birdwatching or butterfly collecting. Not bad in itself, but not exactly the most encouraged pastime among nobles.
“Even so, this couldn’t have been easy to obtain…”
Yeah. No kidding. Shindras’s Petal doesn’t grow in this region. The Academy is located in the eastern empire of the continent. Meanwhile, Shindras’s Petal can only be found in a remote corner of the southwest. Just transporting it all the way to the eastern empire was a massive undertaking.
‘Well, for me it was just a click in the shop.’
Hmm. Maybe the shop system itself was an insane cheat?
‘If I play the market right…’
While I was lost in thought, fresh interest bloomed in the princess’s eyes.
“If you’ve presented a gift to a princess, it’s only proper that you receive a reward. What do you desire?”
This was exactly why Eletra was a living hidden piece. Within this region, there was almost nothing she couldn’t give me if she set her mind to it.
By now, every eye at the party had long since locked onto me and Eletra. In front of all of them, I stated my request clearly.
“I would be grateful if you could bestow upon me Vade’s Elixir.”
The moment the words left my mouth, disbelieving snorts erupted from every direction.
“Elixir?”
“Not even a low-grade one, but one crafted by Sir Vade himself…!”
“An elixir isn’t exactly pocket change…”
“Just for handing over a single hobby item? There’s no way he’d get an elixir for that…”
Princess Eletra nodded without hesitation.
“Very well. I will obtain and deliver an elixir crafted by Sir Vade within three days.”
The entire hall erupted into a fresh wave of murmurs. I gave a small bow.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
With that, my business here was finished. I had zero interest in this boring party, so it was time to leave.
“Hold it right there.”
The cadet who had been picking a fight with me earlier growled.
“You asked for my name earlier.”
“You don’t have to answer. I’m not interested.”
If this were a game, he’d be nothing more than a random NPC—background character C at best.
“Magnum Rodrimuor.”
“I see. I’m Gilliam Everchess.”
A vein bulged dramatically on Magnum’s forehead.
“I already knew that, you bastard…!”
Whoa. So cartoonish anger lines really do exist in real life. At this rate the guy was going to have a brain hemorrhage before thirty.
‘This is exactly why romance-fantasy worlds are a problem.’
But I didn’t need to deal with Magnum myself.
“Rodrimuor.”
Princess Eletra cut in with a voice like ice. It was completely different from the sparkling look she’d given me moments ago. This cold demeanor was her default setting.
“Didn’t I clearly state from the beginning that I required no assistance from you?”
“However, Your Highness, this man is clearly disrespecting you! Otherwise, how could he demand something as absurd as Vade’s Elixir in exchange for a mere hobby item—”
At the words “mere hobby item,”Eletra’s fist clenched tightly. But Magnum, drunk on his own righteousness, didn’t notice.
“—I shall discipline this wretch severely in Your Highness’s stead!”
“…Magnum Rodrimuor.”
Even though her voice was low, it carried clear power and fury that echoed throughout the entire hall.
“Why is it that even when I phrase things nicely, you still fail to understand? Are you truly this disappointing to me? Or is your intention to make me displeased?”
“Y-Your Highness, I…”
Eletra didn’t even bother listening to his excuses. She clapped her hands together sharply.
“If that is the case, then congratulations, Magnum Rodrimuor! You have accomplished your goal splendidly! It seems you’ve finally discovered your true talent—perhaps you should devote yourself to that path instead?”
By romance-fantasy world standards, what Eletra had just said was more damaging than stabbing him with a sword. He had been publicly humiliated in front of every noble freshman. And by the princess herself, no less. It was the equivalent of slashing his reputation across the entire imperial noble society.
The eyes that had been on Gilliam now turned toward Magnum. And they were even colder than before.
“She’s right, actually…”
“Her Highness did say she was uncomfortable from the start, but he just wouldn’t take the hint…”
“Maybe he was just trying to get close to her with ulterior motives?”
Gilliam didn’t care about any of this. Personally, he wasn’t bothered, and more importantly, he had nothing left to lose. The disgrace of the Everchess family. The notorious slacker. No matter how influential the nobles in this romance-fantasy world were, they couldn’t strip any more reputation from someone whose reputation was already at zero.
After thoroughly crushing Magnum, Eletra turned her attention back to the man who had caught her interest.
“Everchess, would you step outside with me for a moment?”
When he had first entered the hall earlier, she had heard people murmuring. Really came without a partner. No female companion. It was an interesting detail. Very interesting. Especially since she herself had also come without a partner.
If the princess called for someone, they should appear immediately. Yet there was no response.
“…Everchess?”
Only after calling his name several more times did she realize the truth. Gilliam had already left the party.
“…Huh?”
Eletra’s body trembled with disbelief.
Hmm.
Crunch.
I popped one of the finger-food crackers topped with cured ham into my mouth and gazed up at the night sky. The moon looked the same, but the constellations were different. Not that I knew the constellations from my original world anyway, so I couldn’t compare them.
Anyway. After observing things all day, one thing was clear.
‘Everyone here really does think like they’re in a romance-fantasy novel.’
If this world had been built exclusively for romance-fantasy tropes, it might not have been such a big problem. A world that ignored the laws of physics and biology and somehow spat out a hundred thousand knights from a single count’s territory would probably run on its own internal logic somehow.
But that wasn’t the case here.
This world was built around a subculture game themed on the stars.
‘And every subculture game has to have an ‘enemy.’’
The Void Beasts mentioned during sparring class were the prime example. There were many other types of ‘enemies of humanity’ in this world as well.
‘And yet all these noble heirs have nothing but romance-fantasy flower gardens inside their heads.’
The emperor and the other high nobles were probably the same. House rivalries. Honor. Romantic entanglements. While the world’s most powerful people obsessed over such things, actual external threats—enemies that weren’t even human—were attacking them.
What would happen then?
It was obvious. They’d all go down together.
The one silver lining was that the world wouldn’t collapse immediately just because I didn’t act right this second. But the grace period wouldn’t be very long. Five or six years at most. The Academy, for reference, was a four-year program.
‘So what I need to do is…’
First, I had to get stronger. That was obvious. But that alone wasn’t enough. Even a hero needed comrades and people supplying resources from the rear if they wanted the power to save the world.
‘I need to normalize this Academy.’
I’d show these romance-fantasy-brained idiots what reality looked like. Tell them that if they kept betting their lives on such trivial nonsense, they’d all be dead within a few years.
‘…Good. Direction decided.’
Now all that was left was to squeeze a few more Praise Points out of Marong and—
“Hek, heeek… w-wait…!!”
I turned my head to see Princess Eletra panting heavily in front of me. Her forehead and shoulders were glistening with sweat. Even the exposed upper part of her chest was damp.
“Your Highness.”
“Hek, hek… yes?”
“You seem to lack exercise. You should build up your stamina a bit more.”
And, hmm. It was about time I started developing a new point-farming target anyway.
“The way you’re speaking to me…”
“Your Highness.”
“?”
“This might be sudden, but may I offer you some praise?”
“…”
Eletra narrowed her eyes. The political instincts she had cultivated in the imperial palace kicked into gear.
‘So the elixir was only the first reward after all.’
The infamous slacker had suddenly changed his behavior. But it was unlikely he had awakened to some noble mission to save the world.
‘Gilliam is clearly drawing up some grand scheme for his own purposes.’
Had he grown afraid he wouldn’t inherit the ducal title? Or had he genuinely fallen for a woman? It wasn’t unheard of for a man to reform through the power of love.
Power? Or love?
Either way, in order to obtain it, Gilliam was flattering her and trying to extract something beyond the elixir.
‘So you were just another filthy opportunist after all.’
Eletra gave a cold smile.
“Go on, then. Praise me.”
I’ll listen to whatever flattery you spew. And once you’re done, when you ask for some reward in return, I’ll refreshingly turn you down. Eletra had always hated people whose words and true intentions didn’t match.
Three minutes later.
“Your face is beautiful and your personality is refreshingly straightforward—it’s incredibly attractive—”
“W-wait, wait, wait, stooop! Stop for a second!!”
The target feels both flustered and delighted.
Praise Point: +100 (0→100)