Conversations with Bina and the Unexpected Special Admission
I returned to the cafeteria a little late after finishing my conversation with Vina. I worried that if anything felt off, I wouldn't have any good excuse ready.
"I didn't know you like cats."
"……Huh?"
The moment we stepped inside, I heard those words. With elegant poise, Lottie lifted her teacup and shot me a glance that was oddly suspicious.
"I thought you were going to take me somewhere else and show me around. Turns out you just came after playing with me."
"Ah."
"Well, that makes sense. Now that I know, it's fine. When we get married, why don't we bring a cat to raise together?"
Lottie smiled sweetly and pressed the idea on me. Nodding felt awkward, and shaking my head felt even more so.
With no choice, I glanced away and coughed lightly before turning to Elena.
"……Did you enjoy the meal? Elena."
"You ignore me completely."
"Ah, ahaha……."
Lottie sipped her tea with a cynical murmur, and Elena scratched her cheek awkwardly.
She then looked at me cautiously and pointed at the table.
"We've eaten plenty already."
"Ah, got it."
"The rest…… you want some? Master."
Following her gesture, I looked down at the table. It had been piled high when I left with Vina.
"The rest…… thing?"
I stared at the neatly empty plates and let out a light chuckle.
"No, it's fine. Let's get up."
"Yes."
As if waiting for it, Elena rose to her feet, and Lottie slammed her teacup down.
Both of them seemed to have enjoyed the food.
……How fortunate.
*****
Time passed quickly. I had come to Haendel a bit early for my meeting with Tiamat, but it was only a day or two off anyway.
As I toured the city with the two of them for several days, the day of the entrance ceremony arrived.
I stepped through the gates of the academy again. Last time I had headed straight for the botanical garden, but today there was no need.
Tia, as the headmistress, must have been busier than ever. The grand hall where the ceremony was held would force us to meet her whether we liked it or not.
"……My only worry is that Lottie will overreact."
I glanced at Charlotte, who was happily laughing and exploring the academy with Elena.
That time, when I had barely escaped a close entanglement with Tia and returned, I had managed to calm her down somehow.
Lottie, however, must have guessed what I was thinking.
It's obvious, really. I had gone to meet Tia that day, and the moment I returned to the dormitory, the scent of another woman clung to me.
She would have figured out the other's identity in an instant…… so what I needed to do was prevent any sudden rash action from Lottie.
"……."
I felt frustrated and looked up at the sky. Could I really stop her?
Instead, stopping her might tear me apart?
'Pathetic guy…….'
I let out a tiny sigh no one could hear. As her older brother and a man, I couldn't control her at all. Where would I even use that power?
It would be best to settle this somehow someday. As I made that inner vow, I glanced around the spot where we had arrived.
I wondered if I might recognize any familiar faces. I had noticed several that looked like people I had passed by while playing the game.
'Aiden's nowhere to be seen.'
The one person I was most eager to check on had been decided long ago. The hero, Eiden Cashmil.
Based on past experience, that guy had probably formed his own self as a human, not tied to the game.
He was no longer a character being controlled by the player.
Could such a protagonist even obtain a grimoire? Or had he even tried to get one?
'I didn't find anything particularly special about Tia.'
The Grimoire of Greed was probably still with her. The others were Pride, Wrath, and then Gluttony…….
I stopped my thoughts and frowned slightly.
Why? A simple instinct, but strangely, I didn't think any of those grimoires would be in Aiden's hands.
And what could a protagonist without the magic book do, anyway?
I couldn't decide for sure, but my intuition kept whispering that he wouldn't go far.
At this point, if the original story remained unchanged, he was probably about to cause the Ice Daughter's rampage.
Maybe Lottie and I would be dragged into that event too.
"The entrance ceremony will be held in the grand hall! New students, the seniors wearing blue badges will guide you. Just follow them!"
……Well, as a new student, I had to focus on my role for now.
Just as I was about to follow the senior who was energetically waving his arms and gathering new students, a voice came from behind me.
"Archduke Havertz."
A mana presence I hadn't sensed before suddenly echoed.
I reflexively pulled Lottie closer to me, and Elena sharply turned toward the direction of the voice.
This kind of sudden approach was exactly what I had worried about since I brought Lottie out of the Havertz duchy.
Especially the thought that Kether might not have given up his obsession.
But the one who appeared through teleportation wasn't someone to worry about.
Black hair like the night sky, and gem-like crimson eyes that didn't match Lottie's.
"Elder Hela."
I released Lottie's wrist and gave a slight bow. It was because I knew the mage Hela Stasia well.
One of the key figures at the Imperial Academy. The Green Dragon's secretary and the real second-in-command.
She muttered with a surprised look.
"I didn't think you'd know me. It's not a common face."
"I couldn't possibly not recognize a 8th-circle mage right in front of me. Most powerful mages in the empire know each other's faces."
I smiled thinly in response, and Hela let out a light laugh.
"You say that as if you were ten years younger than me when you reached 8th circle, Archduke. It doesn't sound very sincere."
"Ah."
"Thank you. And…… you don't have to use honorifics."
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. It really did feel that way when she said it……
Lottie peeked over my shoulder, and I stroked her chin.
Hela stared at the sight with a bizarre expression, but it didn't matter. I had only come to ask about her reason for being here.
"Was the headmistress calling for me? Elder Hela came herself……."
"Ah…… no. Not that."
"I see."
I nodded quickly. The look behind me from Lottie was like a small dog growling low.
Hela gave me an odd look at my younger sister's expression and continued.
"Archduke Isaac Havertz, and Lady Charlotte Havertz. The two of you are scheduled to attend as special entrance students. The notice must have been lost."
"……?"
I was briefly stunned.
Special entrance students…… me and Lottie?
"……I haven't heard anything from the headmistress……."
With a slightly bewildered voice, I murmured, and Hela showed an embarrassed expression.
"That's right. I remember being told earlier that the Archduke would be contacted separately."
"Ahaha."
With just that one sentence, I immediately understood the connection. It seemed the headmistress, Tia, had simply forgotten to pass on even one word to me.
She had made excuses and skipped the actual message? Then.
I felt a strange emotion, but I didn't show it and cleared my throat.
"Then this year's special entrance students will be three in total. Me, Charlotte, and Arieta from Halcyon Canyon."
It was a line I had calculated. With this, more eyes would be on me and Lottie than I expected.
At that exact moment.
"Ah, that's not quite right. There's one more student."
"……Yes?"
Hela added, and I jolted and lifted my head. She didn't seem to take my reaction seriously.
"Eiden Cashmil."
Immediately, another name was mentioned.
"The 'hero' personally appointed by His Majesty the Emperor will be joining this year's special entrance students."
"……."
I hardened my expression. Hela's words had been that confusing to me.
She had clearly said hero. And it was the emperor himself who appointed him.
'……Why?'
A small sense of incongruity arose. Eiden being appointed as the empire's hero should have happened after the academy's entrance ceremony, right?
Why now?
I let out a confused groan, and a third person's voice rang out right then.
"Hero killer, Isaac Havertz……!"
"……."
"You killed my father in defiance of human morals! You had the nerve to set foot in an institution of education."
My brain instantly froze. I turned back with a face that showed no emotion.
There, a young man was striding toward me with a fierce expression.
The hero, Eiden Cashmil.
In this world, the protagonist.
His clear eyes flared as he pointed his index finger at me, unable to contain his rage.
"The new Archduke Havertz has the most cunning personality, they said…… Just as His Majesty the Emperor feared. Do you have no shame?"
I closed my eyes silently. My head was throbbing, not quite, but subtly.
It was one of the worst possibilities I had to keep in mind.
The Eiden Cashmil who had gained a self…… might not be able to become the 'protagonist' to me.
That is, to Isaac Havertz and Charlotte Havertz.
The hero could become an enemy.
Right now, like this.