Boyhood (4)
After three full days of travel, they arrived at the Erhardt Duchy.
Edwin, who had spent the entire journey firmly in Sir Sero's custody, was overcome with feeling.
The three days it took to reach the duchy. Terrible, but rewarding.
Sero talks way more than you'd expect, so it was noisy as hell—but thanks to that, I managed to match the duchy's major regions and industries against the data from the game.
Today my Endurance finally went up, too.
Not from horseback riding, though. From the diary's daily random reward.
"Edwin!"
The carriage window swung open and Serifina stuck her head out. With half her body already hanging outside, she was promptly hauled back in by Head Maid Elise—only for her head to pop out again a moment later.
No matter how I look at her, she's just an ordinary little girl.
Over the past three days, Edwin's assessment of Serifina had shifted. From "a regressor" to "there is no way a human with that level of intelligence is actually an adult."
Even granting that Serifina was a bit of an airhead—wasn't this a little too childish?
"This is your home now!"
"Thanks."
And Edwin had been granted a special privilege: the right to speak casually with Serifina.
In novels you see plenty of commoners who don't show nobles any respect and just yap away in informal speech, but in reality? This is a seriously big deal.
The Duchess said she'd raise me as a knight, and none of the knight trainees getting the same education—not even Sero—can talk casually to Serifina.
Honestly, he was more excited about the knight lessons than the privilege itself.
I'm Having Trouble Being Too Loved at the Academy 2 was a Princess Maker-style game mixed with an academy setting. The main path to raising stats and learning skills was through classes—which meant that outside of the diary, he now had a stable way to grow stronger.
About seven years left until academy enrollment, give or take. If I want to actually matter from the original story's starting point, I need to stack stats in advance.
Edwin looked toward the Erhardt estate with anticipation. More precisely, toward the city where the estate stood.
Most romance fantasies used a medieval fantasy backdrop, and noble residences were commonly built inside villages, cities, or castles. Naturally, I'm Having Trouble Being Too Loved at the Academy 2 had gone with the same setup.
The Erhardt household sat at the heart of a massive city called Ern City—on high ground enclosed by the inner castle walls.
The first time he'd seen that setting, he'd thought:
What is this, a royal palace? At this point he's not a duke—he's basically a king.
"Edwin. Don't we look like royalty?"
"Hey. You shouldn't go around saying things like that."
Edwin hastily cut her off, alarmed.
Even if it's their own territory and everyone's on their side, openly calling yourself a king under a clear absolute monarchy? This is exactly why the duchy gets the destruction ending.
"Hup!"
Serifina clapped both hands over her mouth in shock.
It was extremely cute.
If I had a daughter like this, I can see why dads turn into complete daughter-obsessed fools.
How was anyone supposed to hold out without spoiling her?
Still wearing a doting father's smile, Edwin spotted a group emerging from the city: knights with armor polished until it gleamed, and a boy approaching under their escort.
That's Leonhardt von Erhardt.
In Too Loved at the Academy 1, he always fought for first place in the popularity polls. He was popular in 2 as well.
Yeah, he really is that handsome.
Edwin wrote in his diary out of habit. And Serifina read the diary out of habit.
Serifina spotted Edwin too. Her little head ducked back into the carriage; a moment later the carriage stopped, and she came bursting outside.
"Oppaaaa!"
Serifina ran on her short little legs, pitter-pattering across the ground. Seeing his adorable younger sister, Leonhardt leapt down from his horse, closed the distance in an instant, and swept her into his arms.
"Serifina!"
"Oppa!"
"A full six days and fifteen hours. Every minute, every second without you felt like a year."
"So how many years is that?"
"Five hundred seventy-two thousand, four hundred years."
There it is. Leonhardt's signature obsessive-male-lead line.
Honestly I hate calling guys who like girls that, but it fits his character description perfectly.
Anyway, hearing that hundreds-of-thousands-of-years speech in real life... yeah, the only evaluation I've got is "this guy is completely insane."
"Oppa. Are you all better now?"
"Look at this."
With a flourish, Leonhardt held out a sheet of paper. Serifina scrunched her face up trying to read it, but it was packed with metaphors and elaborate turns of phrase, making it nearly impossible to understand.
Clever Serifina chose a different approach.
"Explain it to me!"
"Oppa isn't hurt anywhere. I'm healthy enough to give Serifina a piggyback ride around the duchy a few times over."
"Really?"
"I even brought a priest."
A priest who had been surrounded by the knights stepped forward with a polite cough.
"I can state with certainty that Young Master Leonhardt is in good health. Both physically... and mentally."
Did the priest just hesitate a little on "mentally"?
Well, treating a siscon as a mental illness is a stretch.
Liking your little sister too much isn't a disease. And it's not like he's crazy enough to want to marry her.
In I'm Having Trouble Being Too Loved at the Academy 2, Leonhardt had been an unromanceable character.
While Edwin watched the siblings' reunion and wrote in his diary, Leonhardt set Serifina down naturally and walked over toward the carriage.
The Duchess had already stepped down and was waiting for her son to come greet her. But Leonhardt gave his mother a single glance, then changed direction and approached Edwin instead.
He looked Edwin up and down.
So this is the friend Serifina mentioned over the communication crystal.
Based on appearance alone, an ordinary commoner. But he was far too composed for a mere commoner. The way he mixed among the knights looked natural. Even the eyes looking back at him held no awe.
And last of all—Serifina calling him a friend.
This was a child so well-raised that she wouldn't even form the first syllable of the word "friend" for other noble young ladies.
It was far too suspicious.
So he began applying pressure.
"Who is this little boy?"
The Duchess muttered something about how raising a son was useless after all, and Edwin felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Hold on. This is the first time this kid and I have ever met, right?
Why is he radiating murderous intent?
"Edwin is my friend!"
Serifina wedged herself between them. Leonhardt's killing intent thickened another degree.
"Oppa, why are you pretending not to know Edwin? I wrote about him in my letter."
Serifina shot Edwin a sidelong glance, then proudly rose up on her tiptoes.
"Edwin. I said a lot of nice things about you to Oppa."
"...Like what?"
"Umm. That you're handsome, and fun, and refined? Anyway, I said a lot."
She looked at him as if expecting praise. Edwin's mind went roughly blank.
She went and praised another guy that much to a severe siscon...
Yeah, no wonder Leonhardt hates me.
"Oppa, do you not like Edwin?"
"...Of course not. But Serifina. I've always told you—when you make friends, you have to choose people of the right station."
Leonhardt asked sharply,
"Name."
"...Edwin."
"Surname?"
"I don't have one."
"Origin."
"Bear Village."
Edwin answered without a moment's hesitation. A wise transmigrator always figured out their body's background in advance. The characters in I'm Having Trouble Being Too Loved at the Academy might turn into idiots when they fell in love with the heroine, but in every other respect they displayed insight matching their intelligence. He didn't want to mumble through something in front of them only to suffer for it later, so he'd done his homework.
"Parents."
"My mother passed away early, and my father, who was a hunter, died not long ago as well."
He'd laid out this body's entire background, but Leonhardt's killing intent didn't lessen in the slightest.
"Do you know this?"
"..."
"An ordinary commoner can't answer this calmly in front of me. Even some of the secretaries who work for our family stammer and get scared when I question them like this—but you're far too composed."
What? This is just picking a fight.
I was being perfectly polite, respectful, and by-the-book. If I'd stammered like he said, he'd have ripped into me with "You think the likes of you can be Serifina's friend?"
"And you look far too well-educated. Be honest. Through Serifina, you—"
"That's enough."
Unable to watch any longer, the Duchess intervened.
"Leonhardt."
"Mother. I regret that an unpleasant incident occurred during your outing. And I am glad you've returned safely."
"So you finally noticed I was here. I thought I'd lost my son."
At the Duchess's grumbling, Leonhardt's aura dipped slightly.
"This child saved us."
"I know."
"Then why are you so suspicious?"
"That's exactly why he needs further investigation. Isn't it all a bit too convenient?"
Okay, that one I get.
Even in real history the Middle Ages were full of schemes, and this is a romance fantasy packed with even more outrageous conspiracies.
Pretending to be a benefactor who warned about a bandit attack—there's a non-zero chance of planting a spy.
As expected of one of Too Loved at the Academy's officially recognized brains. Very sharp.
"Heh heh!"
Stuck between her mother, her brother, and her friend, unable to do anything useful, Serifina suddenly grinned.
The spirit said my Oppa is smart.
Serifina knew exactly what "smart" meant. Whenever she did something, Oppa would praise her with, "Serifina, you're so... smart!"
Anyway, it was a good word—and good words beat bad words. So Oppa's "crazy" illness was all better!
Excited, Serifina took Edwin's hand.
The Duchess and Leonhardt, mid-argument. Head Maid Elise. Sir Sero and the soldiers. Even Edwin. Everyone froze in blank surprise at this sudden hand-holding.
Only Serifina beamed.
"Now that we're home, let's go to my room!"
"...Huh?"
Go to her room?
We haven't even entered the city yet—what does she mean we've arrived home?
No, wait. Even if we were home, why would we go to a room together?
"Edwin is my friend."
"Right?"
"Friends have to live together."
Serifina's logic was simple. She liked Edwin more than Oppa. So friends were as close as family. So she had to live with her friend!
"Let's hurry home!"
"Just wait a moment."
The Duchess separated Edwin and Serifina. When Serifina started to whine, the Duchess soothed her with practiced ease.
"Were you planning to walk all the way to the house? We need to take the carriage, so you'll have to be apart from Edwin for a little while."
"Okaaay."
"And even if you're friends, you can't live together."
"Why not?"
"You don't even share a room with Oppa. So if you shared a room with a friend..."
"But I like Edwin more than Oppa?"
Silence.
A silence like death itself wrapped around the entire area.
Flustered, the Duchess shot her son a look, then led Serifina back to the carriage. She'd left her daughter's education to tutors and neglected her. She needed to properly educate the girl before she caused another incident.
Once the women had left, only the men remained outside the carriage.
"Ha."
"..."
"Ha... hahahahahaha!"
Leonhardt laughed like a man who had lost his mind.
Pulling the "I like this other boy more than Oppa" card right in front of a siscon. Serifina. You're throwing me to the wolves...
Because of you, Leonhardt's gone completely off the deep end...
The endless laughter cut off abruptly.
Leonhardt said coldly,
"Fine."
"...?"
"From today on, you're under my surveillance."
Leonhardt ground his teeth.
"How dare you make Serifina say she likes you more than me... I'll figure out what your goal is, what your true identity is—one by one, right in front of me...!"
Ah.
I'm fucked.