First Friend
Overlord's Aura
He who is born with the Overlord's Aura shall naturally look down upon the world. Let the world naturally revere you.
[You feel the Overlord's Aura. Your actions are heavily restricted.]
"Ah, yes. Hello. Lady Aidrin of the Telrn family. Lady Adela of the Aspien family. Hm? Ah, dear me."
Drin only noticed the presence of the two girls after they offered their greetings.
"Did I perhaps interrupt your conversation?"
Yes. We were in the middle of a very intense conversation, and you just barged right in.
Aidrin and Adela forced those words back down their throats.
"Ah, no! Interrupt? Not at all! Lady Drin, please don't mind us—"
"Y-yes, just as Aidrin said—you don't need to worry about us, Lady Drin. Please, feel free to continue your conversation."
They treated Drin with a deference that went beyond polite, bordering on servile.
W-What on earth is this...!
'I'm the crazy one in this neighborhood.' Just a moment ago, these two beasts were radiating a murderous aura, looking ready to fight to the death. Now, without a single shred of hesitation, they had rolled over and bared their bellies.
Anyone watching would think our Lady Drin was threatening them at knifepoint.
Sillon found their behavior excessive, but quickly changed his mind.
Well, actually.
The issue did not lie with Aidrin and Adela. It lay with Drin and himself. Due to her Legendary trait, Drin naturally radiated the Overlord's Aura—an overwhelming pressure—on a daily basis. The only ones who could treat her normally without prejudice were those with abnormally strong mental fortitude, or freak cases like himself who were completely immune to mental interference for some reason.
Man, my 'Insight' trait is absolutely delicious.
Looking at Aidrin and Adela now, Sillon felt immense satisfaction with his trait choice. If not for Insight, he would have viewed Drin through a warped lens and missed out on her incredible talent (?).
"..."
Meanwhile, Drin felt her usual sentiment regarding the way Adela and Aidrin treated her.
They find me uncomfortable too.
They were uncomfortable with her family, with her atmosphere. It was familiar. She did not take it to heart, nor did she care. Normally, Adela and Aidrin were the kind of people Drin would not have spared a glance. But—
"Sillon."
"Yes, Lady Drin."
"Were you speaking with these ladies?"
"Ah, yes, indeed. You could call it a precious connection forged during this entrance exam. They are wonderful people who have shown interest in a lowly fellow like me."
"Hmm."
Sillon. Hearing him say that sparked her interest.
"How surprising. For you to form a connection so quickly, and with such noble ladies at that." Drin spoke with a slightly playful smile.
"Surprising? If that sounds somewhat loaded, is it just my imagination?"
"Hmm? Are you suggesting there was malice in my words?"
"Haha, of course not. By the way, Lady Drin, how about you? Did you manage to make any friends during the entrance exam? From what I saw, there seemed to be many who wished to be your friend."
"People who want to be my friend... I wonder." Drin smiled bitterly.
"Ah, dear. My apologies. I touched upon a sensitive topic...!"
But Sillon's exaggerated reaction made her bitterness vanish, replaced by a pout.
"What do you mean, sensitive topic? Putting it that way makes it sound as if I tried to make friends and failed."
"Ah, r-right... Yes, you are correct, Lady Drin. I spoke out of turn. My apologies."
"Ugh, stop framing it like that...!"
Was he truly reflecting on a slip of the tongue? Or was he teasing her under the guise of an apology?
To Aidrin, Adela, and Miz, the truth did not matter.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The most shocking thing to them was that Sillon was conversing so naturally with the Drin Libringer. How? What was their relationship?
Miz could not overcome her curiosity.
"...Miz?"
"What are you doing...?"
Adela and Aidrin, who had been half-dazed, snapped out of it in bewilderment.
"Lord Sillon...!"
Suddenly, Miz prostrated herself before Sillon.
"Lady Miz?! What is the meaning of this?!" Even Sillon was flustered.
"I, Miz Bowler, of the lowly Bowler bloodline, sincerely apologize for the disrespect I have shown Lord Sillon until now...!"
Aidrin and Adela could not keep up. Why was she doing this?
Wait, could it be? Was Sillon actually not a commoner, but the hidden heir of one of the Eight Great Families? Is that why he could speak so casually with Drin Libringer?
Growing serious, Aidrin and Adela followed Miz's lead and knelt before Sillon. Even if Sillon were an heir of the Eight Great Families, kneeling was not strictly necessary, but Miz's sudden action had completely paralyzed their ability to think.
What is this hilarious situation? Sillon thought, while outwardly maintaining a flustered expression.
"L-Lady Miz, what is this all of a sudden...?"
"Lord Sillon, if I may be so bold, might I ask about your true lineage...?!"
"Sillon, just what are you...!" Even Drin, swept up in the atmosphere, looked at Sillon with a grave expression.
Adela, Miz, Drin. All of them stared at Sillon with shocked faces.
"Sigh... I suppose I have no choice but to reveal it now." Sillon spoke with an air of profound gravity.
Their faces grew even more tense as they held their breath, waiting for his words.
"Actually, I am..."
Gulp. Thump, thump.
"...How should I put this? Just a nobody commoner."
"...Huh?"
"Why on earth did you ask such a question...? Ah! Don't tell me it's because I was speaking so comfortably with Lady Drin?"
"...Sillon and I only met for the first time today, though...?"
Sillon and Drin looked at each other, then down at the three women kneeling before him.
"..."
Miz quietly stood up, brushing off her knees. She turned to Aidrin and Adela, who were still kneeling.
"I think we can stand up now."
"..."
"..."
Their eyes stretched to their absolute limits. Aidrin and Adela glared at Miz as if they wanted to impale her with their gaze.
Miz avoided their eyes and mumbled timidly.
"I-I believe it was a reasonable suspicion. Someone had to do it..."
"Miz, you..."
"Miz...?"
Forgetting to even get up from the floor, the two directed their pure, unadulterated wrath at Miz.
Then, a hand was extended to them. It was Sillon.
"So that's what this was about? Haha, my goodness. Lady Drin. Just because I spoke comfortably with you, such esteemed ladies misunderstood and knelt before me. Just how incredible are you?"
"...I am the one who is curious. Just what kind of person am I in your eyes—"
Aidrin, carefully reading the room, took Sillon's hand and stood up. Adela, who had been about to stand up on her own, saw Aidrin and belatedly took Sillon's hand to rise as well.
"Well, I suppose this is partly my fault. If I had introduced Lady Drin to you all, and you all to Lady Drin right away, this wouldn't have happened."
Exactly!
"Allow me to take this opportunity to introduce everyone. Everyone, this is Lady Drin Libringer. Today, in the back alleys of Arien, when I was lost, shivering, starving—and dying a lonely death in fear and isolation—it was Lady Drin who saved me. Ah, by the way, the 'fear' part was actually caused by Lady Drin herself."
"P-Please omit the unnecessary details."
"Haha, but it is an undeniable fact that you were the first to extend a helping hand to a stranded foreigner in a strange land!"
"..."
Drin's expression turned pouty again as she looked at Sillon.
"Why do your words keep changing?"
"Pardon?"
"Hieek...?!"
Drin glanced at Aidrin before continuing.
"When you introduced her to me earlier, didn't you say *she* was the first to extend a helping hand to you? That she was a precious connection, the first friend you made since coming here."
"Hmm? Oh? Did I say that?"
"You did."
She remembered it clearly. Don't even think about lying.
Under Drin's interrogative gaze, Sillon fell into deep thought for a moment before letting out an "Ah!" as if realizing something.
"Ah, now that I think about it, I believe I did say something like that."
"..."
Drin glared at Sillon with immense intensity, but as her glare softened into a look of disappointment—
"Ahaha, but Lady Drin, you seem to be misunderstanding something. Back then, I definitely prefaced it with the word 'Academy'."
"Pardon?"
Drin hurriedly retraced her memories.
— Yes! Just as Lady Drin said, Lady Aidrin and I share an incredibly close bond. At least, that is what I believe! After all, Lady Aidrin was the first to extend a helping hand to me when I was all alone at the 'Academy'!
— Oh, I see. So it was Lady Aidrin who 'first' extended a 'helping hand' to you.
— Yes! I believe she is the first precious connection I made since coming to the Academy!
"..."
It was true. Sillon had clearly emphasized "Academy," but she had been so distracted by other parts of his sentence that she had completely ignored it.
"...Then?"
"Of course! The one who first extended a warm hand to me in Arien was you, Lady Drin. The first precious connection I made in Arien was also you."
"...Lady again." Drin mumbled softly, looking away.
"Pardon?"
"Why do you keep calling me 'Lady'? Unlike how you address them. Are you drawing a line between us?"
"Eh? Ahaha, of course not. It's just—how should I put it... I wondered if a lowly person like me had the right to address you so casually—"
"What nonsense. I am no different from them. I am merely a student of the Academy."
Merely a student of the Academy? Merely? I don't think so.
The same thought crossed the minds of the other four simultaneously, but none of them were reckless or dense enough to voice it.
"So... please treat me just as you treat the others. Unless you intend to keep your distance."
Drin looked at Sillon with earnest eyes.
"...Lady... Drin...?"
"..."
The corners of Drin's expressionless mouth slowly curved upward into a shy smile. Then, she spoke with casual playfulness.
"Yes, Sillon."
Drin extended her hand to Sillon. As he took it, she spoke.
"I, too, am your first friend in Arien. I look forward to working with you."
"Cringe," Miz muttered in a low voice, barely audible to Aidrin and Adela.
"Well then, shall we get going?" Drin said to Sillon, then looked at the other three. "Ah, if you don't mind, would you all like to join us? We were planning on having a simple meal."
Adela, who wanted to avoid Aidrin at all costs.
Aidrin, who wanted to avoid Adela at all costs.
"W-Would that really be alright...?"
"Oh, my, how delightful..."
They forced incredibly "joyful" (?) smiles.
"I just remembered I have urgent business—"
Miz, who was trying to sneak away, was grabbed by two strong pairs of hands.
And so, without any noise, conflict, or debate, a grand unification was achieved through a highly "peaceful" (?) process.