Chapter 1: Human Garbage

Chapter 1:
Human Garbage

 

“AND THERE YOU have it. It is true that Master looked after a canine in the past that was named Noelle, and later, he saved the woman named Noelle Beltre. While everyone seems to suspect him of cheating, he lacks the nerve to even try it, rest assured.”

We were in my house, where Luxion finally stepped in after Angie and Livia had dragged me off to interrogate me, their eyes dark and menacing. I’d spent a whole hour being grilled, but no excuse I threw at them remedied the situation, at least not until Luxion swooped in.

Angie rested her hands on her hips and sighed. “I guess that means we jumped to conclusions. Leon, I hope you’ll forgive us. We were in the wrong here.”

“I am so sorry, Mr. Leon.” Livia threw her arms around me. “I guess you didn’t cheat on us after all. I feel awful for doubting you.”

I accepted their apologies with an open heart. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s my fault for giving you cause to suspect I was betraying your trust.” After reassuring them, I glared at Luxion and Cleare. “But you two are a different story. Mark my words, I’ll make you pay for this.”

The AI averted their gazes.

Luxion even had the nerve to act exasperated with my antics. “Oh, how closed-minded you are, Master, to hold a grudge after we came here to back you up.”

Far from being repentant, Cleare seemed to be enjoying herself. “You said it! The real bad guy here is our master for giving them reason to doubt. If we hadn’t come to take your side, you’d still be in hot water. And yet you have the audacity to tell us we’ll pay for it? Talk about misdirected anger.”

That’s all you have to say for yourselves, you little traitors?

“Cut the crap,” I snapped. “Angie and Livia would never have doubted me if you two had done your jobs and helped me out to begin with.”

“From a completely objective standpoint, your actions have been questionable enough that it’s not unreasonable for someone to suspect you of two-timing,” Luxion said.

Angie nodded. “Exactly. Hearing you stole a bride from her wedding made it hard not to doubt you.”

“You’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t steal her. I saved her from an unhappy union,” I explained.

It must have sounded like an excuse, because Angie scowled like she wanted to say something else. But perhaps she felt guilty about unfairly accusing me, because her words lacked their usual confidence. “I sympathize with you on the Noelle thing. That’s why I won’t blame you for saving her. But that said, what do you intend to do now? Have you even thought about the future?”

I scratched my cheek. I hadn’t put much consideration into it. It wasn’t really something for me to decide. “That’s up to Noelle.”

Angie frowned. “If all this talk about the Sacred Tree Priestess is correct, then we should absolutely take her home with us.”

The Sacred Tree was an energy resource for its people, one that didn’t cause environmental waste—free, clean energy, I guess you could say. And I had a sapling from that very tree growing in my possession. Conveniently, it had already chosen its Priestess. If we took Noelle and the sapling back home with us, we could plant it and completely secure Holfort Kingdom’s energy needs now and into the future. Given Angie’s position, it was no surprise she was eager for me to do just that.

“H-hold on a moment!” Livia interrupted, her hesitation clear. “What about what Miss Noelle wants? She hasn’t made up her mind yet, has she? She’s still waffling, right?” She wanted to respect Noelle’s choice, whatever it was.

The girls’ opinions were in direct opposition.

“I feel bad for Noelle, I do,” Angie said, trying to reason with Livia. “But this could resolve our energy crisis. At this point, the decision goes beyond an individual issue. Yes, I’m sure that means Noelle’s life will be somewhat suffocating, and she’ll have fewer freedoms, but she’s also an incredible asset to the future of our country. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to give her a choice in this.”

I understood why Angie was so insistent. Holfort would be all the happier if it didn’t have to worry about importing energy. However, Livia simply couldn’t get on board with that. No matter how much Angie cited the benefits of the maneuver, her emotions wouldn’t let her compromise.

“We can’t do that,” Livia insisted. “Miss Noelle won’t be happy. She should be able to choose whether she continues living here or comes to Holfort, right? Forcing her to come would be wrong.”

“Perhaps I worded myself poorly. I agree that we should honor her wishes as best we can. If she desires a life of luxury, by all means we should give it to her.”

Livia shook her head. “No, that isn’t what I mean. Luxury isn’t the issue! Angie, what’s wrong with you? You’re not acting like yourself. The Angie I know would never agree to sacrifice Miss Noelle.”

Their argument gradually became more heated. Angie’s emotions were starting to get to her too.

“If we can save countless people in the future by sacrificing a single person in the present, then I think we’re obligated to prioritize the masses over the individual,” said Angie. “I’m not saying we should make Noelle suffer.”

Indeed, she had suggested abiding by Noelle’s wishes within reason. But that wasn’t good enough for Livia.

“Miss Noelle isn’t a tool!”

She felt like Angie was treating Noelle like an object, and when she pointed that out, Angie was left flustered. Even she was aware of what she was doing.

“I admit to thinking of her as an asset,” Angie said. “But this deal is almost too good to be true. If Leon weren’t the one telling me about it—if he weren’t directly involved—I would still be skeptical. However, knowing that it’s legitimate, I think we must do whatever it takes to bring Noelle back to the kingdom. Leon, back me up here.” Angie shot an expectant look at me.

Livia grabbed my arm, her eyes tearful as she gazed up at me.

Oh no. Don’t look at me with those eyes!

“Mr. Leon, please stop her. We can’t do something like this. Are you so eager to prioritize your own happiness that you would treat Miss Noelle like an object?”

“Uh, um…” My eyes darted back and forth nervously.

Angie grabbed my other hand. “Leon, you are an earl of Holfort. It’s your duty to protect the people. I realize you don’t want to shoulder all that responsibility, but you can’t run from this situation.”

Livia was focused on the individual while Angie was focused on the group. Livia wanted Noelle to be happy, while Angie was willing to sacrifice Noelle so others could be happy.

Wait. Does this mean I have to choose? I have the final say on something this important?!

As I began to inwardly panic, Luxion jumped to my rescue.

“Master, if you were to take her as your third wife, that would solve your problems.”

You stupid AI. You really love pouring fuel on the fire, don’t you?! I rounded on him. “You know, that’s something I hate about you. You always ignore people’s feelings.”

“Oh? You’re the last person I want to hear that from, given how you’ve ignored Noelle’s feelings this entire time. If you were to accept her as your partner, she would be happy. Holfort Kingdom would also be happy, since that would give them access to the Sacred Tree. In this way, happiness would abound for everyone.”

How do you call that everyone? Where does my happiness factor in, huh?! I scowled. “You keep saying it would solve everything if I accepted her feelings, but things aren’t that—uh, what? Angie, what’s wrong?”

Angie suddenly dropped her gaze as if she were deep in thought. Slowly, she lifted her chin and stared me straight in the eyes. “Luxion’s proposal isn’t such a bad idea. I agree. Accept her feelings.”

Livia immediately shook her head. “Angie, why would you say that? Especially after you told me how much you wouldn’t be able to forgive Mr. Leon if he two-timed.” She stared at Angie in disbelief, but the latter averted her gaze.

“The value of this deal supersedes my personal feelings. I don’t even mind if you push me aside, Leon. You must take Noelle as your partner.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, seeing the way she mumbled, as if she was trying to convince herself this was the right course of action.

I bolted. “I-I can’t!”

“Leon?”

“Absolutely not! I refuse to break up with you, Angie!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I dashed out of the room.

Livia’s voice echoed behind me. “Mr. Leon?!”

 

***

 

“I can hardly believe you fled and left the girls. You really are the lowest of the low, aren’t you?”

After escaping the house, I was headed to Marie’s estate with Luxion floating beside me, needling me about my life and my choices.

“Oh, shut it already. I haven’t forgotten how you backstabbed me, you know. I should have known better. AIs are dangerous; they always betray humanity.”

“I would never betray humanity. Well, new humanity might be an exception.”

You literally just contradicted yourself! If they’re an exception, you’re basically admitting you’d turn on humanity in a heartbeat if you could!

“You filthy traitor,” I hissed.

“If you are truly concerned with Noelle’s well-being, you should keep her at your side,” Luxion said, unfazed by my animosity.

“And what does that have to do with how you did me dirty?”

I never, ever wanted to experience Livia and Angie suspecting me of cheating again. And besides, Luxion’s actions this time had been way too suspicious. All joking aside, what if he really did plan to turn on me?

“Let’s be serious here for a second,” I said. “Luxion, why did you set up that whole situation? And why’d you go out of your way to draw Cleare into your scheming?”

“You realized all of that? That’s quite perceptive for you, Master.”

He made these types of snide remarks practically every day. I overlooked them this time in favor of sticking with the topic of conversation.

“Stop trying to distract from the issue,” I warned.

“Unfortunately, no peaceful future awaits Noelle. With that in mind, the best course of action would be to honor her wishes in a way that benefits us.”

I snorted. “‘Us,’ you say?”

“If you take her as your partner, the kingdom would get its hands on a Sacred Tree. As of right now, the sapling doesn’t possess the same level of power as the Sacred Tree in the republic, but in the future, it could resolve Holfort’s energy crisis. That would be an enormous boon.”

“Future problems are something for the future generations to worry about, not us. Tell me what this is really about.”

“You want the truth, hm?” Luxion paused. “Noelle never had any freedom to begin with. Once word of her value gets out, the kingdom will be far from the only foreign power vying to get their hands on her. If you don’t keep her at your side, you won’t be able to protect her.”

Luxion rattled off all kinds of explanations, but every single one of them sounded fake.

“That’s not what this is really about, is it?” I pressed.

“You still doubt me? In that case, allow me to be completely frank with you. If another country were to get their hands on Noelle, they would do whatever it took to keep her and secure the sapling. That might genuinely result in something you would regret. She would be lucky if it only meant an unwanted marriage. In the worst-case scenario, they might destroy her mind and treat her as an object.”

He had a point. Any country would love to get their hands on the Priestess and the sapling. I understood that well enough, but would they really go as far as Luxion claimed?

“Are you saying the Alzer Republic wouldn’t be able to protect her? She’s their Priestess.”

“Oh? After all they have put you through, you still trust the republic?”

Since coming here, the Six Great Houses had given me endless grief. Pierre had used his prestigious position to do whatever he wanted. Loic had used his authority to kidnap Noelle and force her into marriage. Luxion wasn’t exaggerating; they had put me through a lot. I had managed to take them down every time by sheer force, but once I was gone, there was no telling what they would do.

“I can’t believe being chosen as Priestess means she’ll never be able to be happy, even though the game had a proper happy ending.”

I couldn’t stop myself from grousing. In the game, Noelle had lived a happy life even after being chosen as Priestess. She got to marry the man she loved and rebuild her broken house. But what about the current Noelle? She had nothing, and she wasn’t any kind of happy.

“Luxion, where did it all go wrong?”

“Are you asking why she doesn’t feel as she did in the original story?”

“This is all our—no, it’s my fault…isn’t it?”

It was entirely possible that Noelle would never have ended up this miserable if I hadn’t come to the Alzer Republic to study abroad. The thought weighed on me.

“As usual, you are being far too self-conscious,” said Luxion. “Do you really think your existence has that kind of far-reaching effect on the world? Don’t tell me you think the world revolves around you.”

I glared. “Do you hate my guts or something? Your words are like daggers, you know. Do you really not feel anything after chucking dozens of them at my heart? You do realize I’m supposed to be your master, right?”

“Your heart is practically made of steel. I am not worried,” he assured me.

“No, I have a glass heart! A delicate glass heart! Show some consideration!”

“You should reexamine the definition of ‘delicate’ in the dictionary. You seem to think it means something very different.”

Ugh, this jerk really pisses me off. He’s got a filthy mouth, and he’s a backstabber. Otome game AIs are literally the worst!

While we bickered, we finally arrived at Marie’s estate. Commotion was already breaking out at the front entrance.

“What’s going on?”

I peeked in through a window to find Marie cradling her head in her hands. Jilk was standing nearby with a conflicted expression. Luxion listened in for me and relayed the shocking contents of their conversation.

“It appears that Jilk was involved in scamming people. Based on their conversation, it seems to have happened when Marie chased the boys out of the house.”

“He did what?!” I cried. The revelation was so shocking that I couldn’t help but react.

The moment Marie heard me at the entrance, she came darting out. “Big Broooother!” She sobbed as she flew forward. I managed to catch her in my arms, but she knocked the wind right out of me.

“Oof!”

She had basically taken me down in a tackle, which left me clutching my stomach as I fell to my knees. That didn’t bother Marie; she still clung to me, crying as she explained what was going on.

Dummy, apologize first!

“Jilk, he… He…!”

“Yeah? What did that treacherous buffoon do?” I asked, finally managing to pull myself back to my feet as Jilk came over to us.

“Miss Marie, please listen to me!” he begged.

In an instant, Marie’s face transformed into that of a demon. “You want me to listen to you? Do you even know what you’ve done?! Who told you that you could leech off others to make a profit, huh?!”

I continued massaging the newly formed bruise on my stomach as I listened. This scamming seemed to have occurred when Jilk was running his antique business.

“That’s not what happened! I-I really did intend for it to be a legitimate business at first. The problem was that no one would buy any of the items I picked out. All they cared about was looks! That’s why I figured I would prepare items that would actually please them. And when I did, they sold like crazy.”

“You slimy jerk!” Marie roared, launching herself at him. She grabbed him by the collar and shook him. “That’s called a scam!”

Is it just me or does Jilk almost look happy getting turned into a human bobblehead? I hope it’s just my imagination.

More importantly, he really had done, you know, crime.

“You know, I used to think you were an absolute piece of crap beyond repair, but you’re even worse than I gave you credit for,” I said.

Luxion shared my sentiments. “This is the same man who tried to plant an explosive on your Armor when you dueled him. I believe that among all the boys, he is the greatest piece of ‘human garbage,’ as you call it.”

All five of Marie’s boys were trash, frankly, but at least the other four were comically so. I couldn’t even find the humor in Jilk’s more atrocious behavior.

Marie finally released her hold on Jilk, her breathing erratic. She crumpled to the ground, both hands planted on the floor to keep her from toppling over as she broke into tears and wailed, “How many people will I have to kowtow to before this life is over?!” Her voice echoed all around us.

At the sight of the tears pouring down her cheeks, even I had to feel some sympathy.

“Why does she always seem to reel in the worst guys imaginable?” I asked Luxion.

“I think it’s less an issue of her reeling in unscrupulous men and more that she has a habit of turning men into the worst versions of themselves. Then again, the idiot brigade were hopeless to begin with, so perhaps it’s a bit of both.”

I grimaced. “You really don’t show any mercy, do you?”

“Is that what you think?”

A flurry of footsteps echoed as the other inhabitants of the house rushed into the foyer. Julius was the first to appear, wearing an apron and a towel twisted into a sweatband around his forehead.

“Marie? What happened?” Julius asked as he scooped her into his arms. He was the kingdom’s prince (and former crown prince, if we’re being technical), but his attire was completely at odds with his royal status. That was probably why, even as she continued crying, Marie couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Brad was the next to appear, cradling a dove and rabbit in his arms as he rushed out. “What’s going on? Huh? Why is Bartfort here? Oh, I get it. You grew lonely without us, I presume.”

“Like hell I did.” I didn’t miss a beat before dismissing this narcissist’s nonsense.

Chris was the next one to dart out, clad in a loincloth with a deck brush in his hands. “I heard Marie yelling. Did something happen? Hm? Bartfort, what are you doing here?”

Explaining at this point would have been a pain.

Anyway, Chris certainly has become more…unique as of late.

Chris seemed to be enjoying his new look despite the, uh, exposure, and that only made me more eager to ask him if he was sure his clothing (or lack thereof, in this case) was such a good idea.

Greg joined us next, his upper half entirely naked. “I heard—oh, Bartfort. What’re you doing here?”

Every single one of them had asked the same question. But that wasn’t important. Instead, I summed up the real situation.

“Jilk’s been swindling folks. Marie found out, and now she’s pretty irked, as you can see.”

The four men turned their gazes from Marie, who was still laughing and crying, and focused instead on Jilk, who had collapsed on the ground, his head swaying back and forth.

Julius’s eyes filled with disdain. “You’re the one who went on and on about wanting to compete with me, and yet you dared to con people in the process?”

The other three were no less disgusted.

Brad glared coldly at Jilk. “No one in their right mind would do something like that. It’s hardly appropriate. No, scratch that, it’s entirely inappropriate.”

An eerie light reflected off of Chris’s glasses. “I always suspected you would go to whatever underhanded lengths required to succeed, but now I see how right I was.”

Greg’s muscles bulged, indicating he had probably been in the middle of a workout when this commotion broke out. “You’re too delicate,” he insisted. “You’ve got that warped personality ’cause you don’t work out enough.”

That has absolutely nothing to do with this.

Julius passed Marie to me. “Bartfort, please look after her.”

“Huh? Why? What are you going to do?”

“Jilk is my foster brother. We were raised as family. It falls to me and my fists to put him back in line!”

The four boys left together, dragging Jilk behind them.

Only moments later, Marie finally returned to her senses.

“Huh?! Where did Jilk go?”

“Julius and company took him with them. I assume they plan to deliver a lecture,” I said.

Marie’s shoulders slumped, and she covered her face with both hands. “Why did he have to scam people? I’d rather he be the penniless bum he was before.”

“You really do have it rough.”

Marie had hoped for a reverse harem ending, and she had successfully ensnared five promising young men. Why, then, did she seem so…unhappy?

 

***

 

After preparing a gift, we visited one of the merchant houses where Jilk had sold art. Their estate was enormous, indicating they ran a huge company as well. Being able to sell a fake to someone this impressive proved that Jilk had been born with an undeniable (if not unscrupulous) talent.

Marie’s entire body trembled like a leaf. “T-t-today truly is an a-auspicious d-day.”

We’d come to apologize, but Marie was so nervous that she was proving useless. I’d only tagged along because I had no other choice—and I mean that seriously. I wouldn’t have come otherwise.

“We apologize for the sudden nature of our visit,” I said to the head of the house, stepping in for Marie.

“Not at all. I suspected you would eventually come.”

Had the man already realized Jilk had sold him a fake? I wondered as much, but the tall, slender man almost seemed as on edge as Marie.

“Uh, you see,” I started to explain.

“I already know what you want to say.”

“You do?”

He turned and gave instructions to a butler. Said butler immediately carried over an item that I could only assume he’d had prepared beforehand, anticipating our visit.

That must be the thing Jilk sold him.

Curiously, the butler was handling it with utmost delicacy. He even wore gloves as he set the teacup on a nearby table. If I didn’t already know it was a fraud, I’d suspect he was handling high-quality porcelain. Shocking as that was, it had nothing on the direction this conversation was about to take.

“Is this the item Jilk sold you?” I asked.

“It is.” He eyed the teacup sadly. The other servants in the room all glanced at us nervously.

Something weird is going on. This guy was swindled, but he isn’t pissed at all.

Perhaps he hadn’t yet realized Jilk’s deception.

Marie hesitated, waffling, but she wasn’t quite the scumbag that Jilk was, so she finally opened her mouth to spill the beans. “Uh, um…!”

“I know!” said the man. “You came to take this item back, didn’t you? It only makes sense, given its quality. I never dreamed I would be able to obtain such a piece for as little as that young man sold it for.”

“R-right… Wait, what?”

The man’s reaction made no sense.

“Uh, actually, we weren’t planning on taking it back,” I said. “It’s just that we heard our acquaintance was selling antiques and it seemed so outlandish, we came here to ask about it for ourselves.”

“Wh-what?! Truly?” All the tension disappeared from his face.

“I’m not exactly well versed on works of art. Is that teacup that high-quality of an item?” I asked, glancing at it.

The man’s eyes flew open. “Of course it is! Knowledge of the techniques for producing such a porcelain cup died out over five-hundred years ago! I already own a few pieces myself, but I’ve never seen one in such perfect condition. It was considered one of the greatest masterpieces of its period. You can count the number of intact porcelain pieces like this on one hand. That’s how few there are! I asked some other enthusiasts with more knowledge to take a look at it, but it only kicked up a huge fuss as they started demanding that I sell it to them!” He was grinning from ear to ear as he bragged about his collection.

I put a smile on my face and nodded. “Oh, how interesting.”

Marie glanced at me anxiously.

I lowered my voice and asked Luxion, “Is it the real deal?”

“It is.”

His answer left me utterly baffled. What was going on here? But I did my best not to let my confusion show on my face.

“Ah ha ha! I’m shocked that he’s actually running a legitimate antique business,” I said. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know anyone else he made deals with, would you?”

Is this just a coincidence?

While I asked about other clients, I also pressed the man for more of his thoughts on Jilk.

“Master Jilk is quite the connoisseur for his age. No, that’s an understatement. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he was blessed with a knack for coming into contact with genuine works of art. He’s a genius!”

Wait, he’s lavishing praise on Jilk, the guy with absolutely no sense whatsoever? Well, maybe the man was right. Maybe Jilk did have some kind of talent.

The merchant had his beloved cup stowed away before turning back to smile at me. “When I saw an earl from Holfort Kingdom appear at my door, I was genuinely worried what this could all be about.”

“Earl?” I tilted my head. “Oh, me?”

“Yes. There are all sorts of rumors floating about, and some of them are none too flattering. I thought you had come to take my teacup from me, so I admit I panicked inwardly.”

There was nothing inward about it. Your panic was pretty obvious.

More importantly, what were these rumors?

“I’d love to know what kind of gossip you’ve heard,” I said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare repeat any of it. That said, you really are a well-behaved gentleman despite your youth.”

Me? A gentleman? True, I did aspire to be the kind of man my master was, but I was fully aware of my immaturity. Yet this man claimed I was acting like a gentleman?

Probably just fluffing my feathers. I was happy to receive the compliment regardless. “You’re a real flatterer.”

“Not at all. It’s the truth.” His expression was sincere. “I envy the kingdom.”

We didn’t speak any more after that, but his words lingered in my mind. They seemed to insinuate something troubling about the nobility in the Alzer Republic.

 

***

 

We continued our investigation after that, but apologizing proved to be entirely unnecessary. Each person had more or less the same thing to say.

“Master Jilk is a genius! No, he must be beloved by the god of art!”

“He’s like the savior of art, with his ability to shuffle through a veritable mountain of trash and pick out the genuine treasures hidden within!”

“If Master Jilk had been born in the republic, I would have gladly given him my financial patronage. Oh, how I envy the kingdom.”

Could you believe it? Jilk was the only person who thought he’d swindled anyone. By the time we returned to Marie’s estate, I was the one cradling my head in my hands.

“What the heck is going on here? Every single one of them praised Jilk, saying he had an unprecedented aesthetic sense,” Marie grumbled. She was in a daze, relieved to learn that Jilk hadn’t deceived dozens of people.

“So, what? This means that moron actually has an eye for this kinda stuff?” I massaged my temples.

While we grappled with this new revelation, Jilk waltzed over, covered in bruises from his beating. In spite of how painful his wounds seemed, he was grinning triumphantly.

“Oh my, what’s this? Do I spy Earl Bartfort, the man with no aesthetic sense whatsoever?”

“You really are a slimy bastard,” I snapped at him.

“I speak only the truth. Honestly, you were all too hasty, jumping to conclusions. All I did was search for items I thought would interest people and sell them at appropriate prices. If you want to call that a crime, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

He talked big, but in reality, he’d only sold pieces that he didn’t think were actual works of art. It just so happened that the buyers were all pleased with their purchases. Luxion had confirmed each case, and every single one of them was legit. It was hard to chalk that up entirely to coincidence.

Jilk sneaked several glances at me. “What’s this? You’re not going to apologize to me?”

“I’m not the one who beat you silly. Talk to your buddies. You should be grateful I ever forgave you for planting that explosive on my suit.”

“Very well. I suppose I can drop the matter.” He shook his head, still not entirely pleased with my unwillingness to oblige him.

Ugh, you really piss me off, you conniving jerk.

Marie’s face suddenly lit up with a realization. “Wait a second. That means if Jilk tries to pick out things other people want, he can sniff out legitimate antiques?” Her eyes began to sparkle.

Jilk pulled a face. “Uh, Miss Marie? Just so we’re clear, I have always been able to discern real pieces from fakes. It’s simply that this time, I decided to prepare works that suited people who lack the same appreciation for art that I possess.”

Marie waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Jilk, why didn’t you do this sooner?!”

“Well, uh…”

“If you sell legitimate works, that’s not a scam. If we rely upon your keen eye, we can make enough money to live comfortably from now on!”

True, assuming they did so successfully, they could make a killing. Jilk had brought in some impressive profits in the short time he’d run his business. And while he wore a conflicted expression, he wasn’t refusing her request. In fact, after a pause, he finally said, “A-all right then. I’ll pick out something I think would suit you, Miss Marie.”

“I can’t wait, Jilk!”

“I won’t let you down. You shall soon see that I am made of better stuff than the other four.” He didn’t hesitate to use the opportunity to build himself up.

Yep, I knew it. He’s got a terrible personality.