No Easy Mode in My Romance Fantasy #4

As I lay dying of aura deviation, regret was the only thing left in my head.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Should've just taken a sword through the chest and gone to Cordelia for help the proper way...

Looking back, it was obvious. Both Thalia and Cordelia had warned me how dangerous this training was. And I had still charged in like an idiot, thinking, Eh, I tried it once before and nothing happened. What could go wrong~?

So I made a resolution. If I survived this, I was going straight to Cordelia. For all her eccentricities, she would know a training method that wouldn't actually kill me. And she could heal me if things went south.

Yeah. Definitely. That had been the plan.

But now... I was having second thoughts.

I lived, didn't I? So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I don't need Cordelia's help after all?

Yeah, yeah. I know this is the classic "it all worked out in the end" cop-out. But I did control my aura. I almost slipped into deviation, and I overcame it.

Nyeeeh~

I grinned and opened the status window.

A satisfyingly packed trait window. It looked a whole lot better than that empty status screen from the beginning.

Come to think of it, I had been on the verge of dying and Soft Kiss never even triggered. So the "near-death" condition really only kicked in at the actual brink.

Current Status: [Shameless]

The current status was a little weird, sure. But so what!

This wasn't shamelessness — this was intelligence. You stupid status window—

"...Brother, hic, you're okay now, right?"

Ariella's frightened voice yanked my consciousness back to reality. I stroked her hair again.

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

"Mmh, I really thought you were going to die..."

I kept stroking her hair, over and over, then bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Ariella squealed with laughter.

"Hweeh, heehee! Wh-what. Brother. That's so embarrassing all of a sudden... uuuugh, but it feels nice...!!"

I could kiss her cheeks as many times as she wanted. Ariella had saved my life more times than I could count. She'd pulled me out from under the goat-headed monster. In 1-B, the Demon Crystal Sword she'd given me had let me tell the fake Thalia apart, so that counted as saving me too, if only indirectly. And then there was just now.

What even was this kid, when you thought about it?

"Ariella, I feel like I've asked you something like this before, but what are you, really? What's with that staggeringly powerful mana of yours? Where did you come from?"

"Mmm, I already told you, Brother."

But Ariella's answer was as vague as ever.

"Ariella is Ariella. I live in the cracks of Sheol, and I love you so, so much. That's all I can tell you."

That left me with nothing to say. Yeah. Did her identity even matter? She'd saved me. She liked me. She called me Brother and tagged along after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me wherever I went.

I'd never had a little sister in my previous life, but now I got it — little sisters were basically angels. So all those little-sister-obsessed guys had been hogging this privilege to themselves?

That's actually infuriating.

I pulled Ariella into a hug. You're my little sister now!!

"That's right, our Ariella is the best!! Mmm, smooch smooch smooch!!!"

I peppered her cheeks with kisses, and Ariella let out a delighted little laugh.

"Hweeh, Brother. You're being so generous today!"

"Of course I am! You saved my life. Obviously I'm going to spoil you. Aigoo, you precious thing!! Smooch smooch smooch!! Smooch smooch smooch smooch!!!"

I kept kissing her until she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Hah, hoo, uh, uheheheh!! Brother, th-that's enough...! Ariella's gonna, hngh, hic, ahaha!! I-I'm gonna die!!!"

"There we go, there we go, kisses kisses!!"

After a long barrage of kisses, it was time to part.

"Haa, hoo, uuugh, you're leaving now, aren't you?"

"...Yeah. I have to go back."

I had a lot to do. Crossing from here into 1-B hadn't woken me from the dream, so I would probably wake the moment I went from 1-B to 1-C.

I had no idea what would be waiting in 1-C. A monster, maybe, or a psychological attack like the fake Thalia. Or some completely different kind of assault.

Honestly, I was scared. I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay here forever, trading jokes with Ariella.

But this damn Sheol wasn't about to allow that.

Creeeak.

Sure enough, crossing into 1-B didn't wake me. And beyond it stood a door even larger and sturdier than the one I had come through. That had to be 1-C.

"...Alright."

Opening this door wouldn't send me into the next room immediately anyway. That's what I told myself as I opened it with a trembling heart.

I woke up in my own room.

"Good morning, my lord."

"...Good morning, Thalia."

Thalia raised an eyebrow at my greeting.

"You seem rather listless today."

"Huh? Ah... no, I just... had a dream I didn't like."

"A dream?"

"Yeah. A dream. A goddamn dream."

I sighed again. If only it really were a dream. Hoo.

I let Thalia dress me in my uniform and headed to the academy. Then I greeted people I was not remotely happy to see, as if I were delighted.

"Hey, everyone! Good morning! Yoo-hoo!!"

Wow. That was aggressively popular-kid of me. I bellowed my greetings.

"M-my lord? What are you doing...?"

I ignored the look Thalia was giving me — the one reserved for lunatics — and went around striking up conversations with my classmates.

"Hey, nice weather today, huh? The sunlight's dazzling!"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Right? Just like your looks! Hahahaha!!"

"Huh...?"

A friend wearing a bewildered expression. Seemed a little embarrassed. I turned to another.

"Yo, that sword is sick. Where'd you get it?"

"Huh? This is my family's heirloom blade..."

"Whoa, it's literally glowing!! I'm so fucking jealous. I should've been born your parents' kid. Damn, those jewels are insane!! Think you could ask if they're still taking adoptions?? Hmm??"

"Both my parents are dead."

"Ah. Sorry."

Awkward. But I didn't give up. Other students.

"Hey. Your walking posture is so cool — wanna be friends?"

"Wh-what. Who are you."

"Aha, you there, passing by! Ever thought about being my best friend?"

"Uh, me? Why all of a sudden...?"

"We're all friends here, aren't we? So starting today, this is day one of our friendship!!"

Plenty of them were bashful, but I reeled them in with my astonishing social skills.

"Wow, looking sharp again today? That brooch pin you sneakily added to your uniform is gorgeous!! Doesn't that violate the dress code?"

"Th-thanks. It probably won't get flagged. But who are you...?"

"Wh-wh-what? You don't know me? It's me! Edwin Faldemont, Prince of Lamedia!! The most dashing gentleman at the Losdea Imperial Academy!! Tsk, this won't do. We're going to have to be best friends starting today."

I wandered around like that for quite a while. Thalia tried desperately to stop me more than once.

"M-my lord... please, your dignity...! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

"What did I do? I'm trying to build good relationships with my classmates."

"This is hardly the conduct of royalty!"

"Tsk!! Thalia. Don't you know that at the academy, everyone stands as equals regardless of rank? Are you saying I should change my attitude based on status? That's not like you, Thalia. I thought better of you..."

I ignored that kind of talk. After I'd greeted my fill,

"Good morning, Lianette."

I toned it down in front of Lianette. In front of the heroine, I had to farm affection the normal way.

"Good morning, Edwin. Aren't you going to the Magic Department today?"

"Ah, actually, I'm thinking of dropping it."

"Oh my, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why?"

"My talent for magic is rather lacking. It's only been a few days, but I can barely keep up with the lectures."

"Is that so? That's a shame. I've been taking magic classes too, so I felt a bit of a kinship. Well, do your best."

"Yes, you too, Lianette."

After we parted ways, Thalia frowned at me.

"And why are you suddenly normal this time?"

"Normal? I'm always normal. And I'm a man who knows how to adapt his attitude to the situation."

"A moment ago you said you wouldn't change your attitude based on status."

"Tsk, don't pick at my words."

I grumbled at Thalia for no good reason.

Damn it. I don't want to be doing this either!!

I checked the status window again.

This explanation. At first I had only fixated on the time limit and despaired, but thinking about it now, the second condition was just as brutal.

"Hrm..."

The tasks I had completed so far: four. Yeah. Just four. After all that suffering, only four!!

I don't even know how you get tasks in the first place!!

The only confirmed condition for generating a task was forming a new bond. With Cordelia, with Thalia, with Ariella — every time a bond formed, a related task appeared.

So the method I had wrung out of my brain was this.

Become an absolute social butterfly.

I may not look it, but I was a super-extrovert who even went to clubs in my previous life. Making six friends? Easy.

Ah, here come some more. My new prey!!

"My lord, please stop...!"

I lightly ignored Thalia and offered my greeting.

"Hey there, handsome and pretty friends!! Aha, you two are a couple, right? So lovey-dovey. You're not? C'mon, don't lie!! Anyone can see you're a couple... What? Who am I? It's me! Prince of Lamedia..."

Bonds. They'd pile up soon enough, right?

Probably...?