Boyhood (6): When It's Wet... It's Big

"Get some rest."

Under Leonhardt's watchful gaze, Edwin stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

Click.

Alone at last, Edwin felt exhaustion slam into him all at once. Every muscle he'd been holding tight without realizing it finally let go the moment he was by himself.

The second he sank into the mattress, getting back up felt like a crime. Even so, Edwin wrenched himself free of the bed's wicked embrace. It wasn't superhuman willpower that did it.

The diary.

Ever since he'd accidentally stained it with blood, the diary had soaked into his body. An item he'd only ever handled with his mind now materialized in the real world. Edwin sat at the desk and opened it. The list of rules written on the first page greeted him at once.

I'm Too Loved at the Academy, It's a Problem was a game that ran on a pure otome-style training system. Stats started at F-Rank—0 to 99—and could climb all the way to 999 at SSS-Rank.

A single free point every day might sound like a joke, but a full year of daily rewards alone was 365 points. Parked entirely on one stat, that was enough to take something from 0 all the way to a D-Rank 365. Add the monthly +5 bonuses and the yearly attendance reward on top of that…

And it wasn't as if Edwin planned to spend those seven years doing nothing but eat and sleep. Building four or more SSS-Rank stats before the story even began didn't feel unrealistic.

Edwin started looking forward to the future. Seven years of living large in a ducal house, then waltzing into the academy and thrashing Pingcheng and his underlings on day one for a clean happy ending.

Of course, it's random, so there's no guarantee I only get the stats I want. But the diary's cheats don't stop there.

He'd only just awakened the diary, so the only theme he'd finished was "Daily Life." He still didn't know what reward would drop, but as someone who'd cleared both 1 and 2 of Too Loved at the Academy, Edwin had a pretty solid guess.

Which was exactly why the coming knight training had him excited. Training would raise his stats on its own, and if he diligently wrote training diaries, related Traits and Skills would start dropping too.

And then there was the real reason he'd summoned the diary the moment he got to his room.

Edwin swallowed hard and rubbed his hands together.

So what kind of rewards am I getting?

Patience had never been his strong suit. He checked the completed achievements immediately—and froze in confusion.

Wait. These achievements aren't ones I earned—they're achievements from Serifina's point of view?

He felt deflated for a second, then had to admit it made sense. This world was the game I'm Too Loved at the Academy, It's a Problem. It was a training game for Pingcheng, the protagonist of part 1, and Serifina, the protagonist of part 2. Why the system only applied to Serifina clicked into place.

Which meant that if Edwin wanted to get strong, he had to raise Serifina too. He'd already decided to go all-in on the Serifina coin. How much did that really change the original plan?

Once he'd checked every reward, Edwin flipped the page, intending to reread what he'd written earlier. A line he hadn't seen on the day he first obtained the diary appeared.

Without meaning to, Edwin found himself picturing the Serifina he'd spent the last three days with. The quirky, bright, kitten-cute little girl.

A soft dad-smile was just starting to form at the memory of her cuteness when—

Knock, knock.

"May I enter?"

"Huh?"

Someone was at the door. Edwin frantically reverse-summoned the diary, and four maids filed in at once.

"Thank you for granting us permission."

"I did?"

"Your bath is ready."

Edwin was a hardened veteran of every web novel under the sun. He had zero interest in third-rate-protagonist nonsense about being embarrassed or insisting he could bathe just fine on his own.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

The maids flinched. His easy acceptance clearly threw them. Edwin immediately regretted it.

Still, better to have a cover story just in case.

"Serifina bragged so much about how the maids help her bathe. She told me how wonderful baths are, so I've been looking forward to it."

He deliberately put on a pure, childish tone. Mimicking a kid while being an adult inside gave him a twinge of self-loathing, but as a professional transmigrator he shook it off without a second thought.

"...This way, please."

And so the bath began. Naturally the maids stayed fully dressed in their uniforms, and Edwin kept his undergarments on. Standard etiquette for a gentleman's bath, or so they said.

Even so, Edwin had no choice but to leave one particular record in the diary.

"Oing?"

Serifina, mid-bath with her mother attending her, lit up and checked her diary at once.

"Wow!"

She flipped the page.

"That's right! I am!"

Another flip.

"...Mom."

Serifina's throat tightened for a moment, and she buried herself in her mother's arms.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Nestled safely against her mother, Serifina thought it over. Thanks to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Spirit, the mom who'd almost died was alive. That was why she liked Edwin even more!

More than her big brother. More than cake!

The true Serifina checked the next entry.

"...?"

Serifina tilted her head. They were taking a bath—what was big?

She looked around. Mom. Obviously bigger than Serifina! The maids. Obviously bigger than Serifina!

"Ohhh, I get it!"

"Get what, dear?"

"Mom, Mom. I want to grow big fast too."

"All of a sudden?"

"Because Edwin likes big things!"

"—Cough!"

The Duchess choked. Without meaning to, her eyes flicked down to Serifina's chest, then she firmly shook her head.

There's no way this child knows what she's saying.

A mother knows her daughter. This was the same girl who'd tried to sleep in the same room just because she'd made her first friend. Sexual knowledge? Not a chance.

"Big how?"

"Like a grown-up! Serifina wants to become a grown-up really fast!"

"I see."

Of course a child would want to grow up quickly. She'd simply used Edwin as the excuse.

And a mother always has the right answer ready for a child who wants to grow up.

"If you eat every meal without being picky, never skip your baths, work hard at your lessons, and listen carefully to Mommy and Daddy—then you'll become a grown-up much faster."

"Uung... that sounds hard..."

The Duchess let out a soft laugh. Still too little for the lecture to stick.

But with Edwin around, even a little nudge should be enough to keep her on track with all of that.

Thinking about it that way, Edwin really is a gift the Spirit granted our house.

Then, unbidden, the image of her son—wary and hostile toward the boy—rose in her mind.

Edwin came into our household all alone. He must be frightened and lonely already, and now my son has threatened him on top of that. How terrified must he be?

Maternal instinct flared hot and sudden.

I should be on that child's side.