Chapter 2: The Academy

Chapter 2:
The Academy

 

IT WAS THE START of a new trimester at the academy. I woke up early and sat on the side of my bed to chat with Luxion. “So, what’s the word?”

Luxion had been gathering information since our arrival in the republic. Our first order of business was to find the sequel’s protagonist.

Fortunately, we had already identified one of the love interests: Loic Leta Barielle, a boy with distinct red hair. According to Marie, all the love interests from the second game had strong, defining quirks. I thought the same could be said of Julius and the others. If these guys were even more over the top, then I was already terrified.

Loic was the heir to House Barielle, and the protagonist had an easy time cozying up to him. Of all the possible options, his route seemed the most likely.

“Why don’t you wash your face before I give my report?” Luxion asked.

I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. “I’m too curious about what you found. Hurry up and spit it out.”

“You leave me with no choice. Very well, to summarize: I still haven’t identified her.”

“What?” I asked, exasperated.

“Today is the first day of term. Spring break isn’t exactly the best time to investigate relationships at the academy. Also, we have a small problem.”

“What kind of problem?” I asked, slipping my hand under my shirt to scratch my chest.

“I followed Marie’s information and searched for a student with the last name Beltre. There are ten at the academy.”

I hadn’t expected that. “So what? If you’ve gotten that far, surely you can figure out who she is, right? You just have to search for someone with twintails and a candid personality.”

“And therein lies the issue. I didn’t find one girl, I found two. Twins, to be precise. That doesn’t exactly line up with what Marie told us. I have been unable to identify which of them is the protagonist. You and Marie will have to confirm it for yourselves.”

“Come again…?” I frowned. I didn’t hear anything about the protagonist having a twin sister.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, a ruckus was breaking out at the mansion where Marie and her entourage were staying.

The diplomats had prepared an impressive residence for His Highness—a colossal mansion with an expansive garden. Even the foyer was massive. For Marie, it was like stepping into a dream. However, reality wasn’t so kind. They might have been given a huge estate, but they lacked the staff to properly manage it.

“Didn’t I tell you guys yesterday? I’m pretty sure I did! ‘Tomorrow is the start of our new trimester, so make sure you prepare beforehand.’ That’s what I said, right?!”

Julius and the others dashed about in a panic, fishing their uniforms out of their luggage.

As Marie chastised them, Julius tilted his head in confusion. “I took your words to heart, but no one prepared my uniform for me.”

Jilk nodded. “Why didn’t the help hang them out for us?”

Marie cradled her head. “We don’t have any ‘help’ here! Not a single person. Isn’t it obvious that you’d have to prepare by yourselves?!”

“We’ve got Kyle, right?” Greg said, taking his shirt out and pulling it over his head.

The elf he spoke of was dripping in sweat. While the five men slacked off, he and Carla were rushing around, trying to get things ready.

“Are you a complete moron?” Kyle grumbled as he ironed a shirt. “I had to prepare a meal for eight people, and you expect me to do everything else too?”

A vein bulged on Greg’s forehead. “What’s with the attitude?!”

“It’s too early to get angry,” Brad said, checking the hem of his pants. “More importantly, these are too long. Carla, be a dear and fix them for me.”

Tears welled in Carla’s eyes as she rushed to tailor all the boys’ uniforms. “Please just put up with it for today.”

“I am afraid I cannot do that. You see, I am quite finicky about the length of my pants. Fix them immediately.”

Carla glanced between the mountain of uniforms and the clock. Then she turned to Marie. “My lady,” she sobbed. “There’s no way I’ll make it in time.”

Marie smacked Brad over the head. “You heard her. We’re not going to make it! Shut it and make do!”

Sadly, that was hardly the end of their problems.

Chris was already wearing his uniform. With nothing better to do, he grabbed a wooden sword. “I’ll go practice for a bit.”

Marie stepped in front of him. “No! You’ll just get sweaty! Be patient. We’re leaving in a few!”

It was barely even dawn and already their mansion had descended into chaos.

Ever since we came here, I haven’t had a moment of rest, Marie thought dolefully.

They wouldn’t even have been in this predicament if not for the queen. Her Majesty had purposefully reduced their staff, leaving them to struggle through their trip without help. In fact, it was the whole point of this journey. So now, on top of worrying about her own studies, Marie had to manage their daily life as well. Normally, she would have coordinated with the others beforehand to better ensure their independence, but there simply wasn’t time.

“By the way,” Julius asked innocently. “Are we going to make the opening ceremony in time?” He stared up at the clock and did absolutely nothing to speed them along.

You jerks! Help out a little, would you?!

Marie screamed, and her voice carried all the way through the mansion.

 

***

 

I shifted in my seat in the academy’s reception room and checked my pocket watch. Everything in the republic was so unnecessarily extravagant, including the furnishings. Just how rich was this country?

It was time to leave, but Marie and the others still hadn’t shown up. I’d even waited an extra ten minutes, until the professor who had come to entertain me had to leave.

“They have some nerve being late on their first day,” I scoffed.

Luxion blended into the background with his cloaking device. Now that the coast was clear, he used a projection to relay information to me. He had planted drones all over the school, and one of the feeds showed Marie and the others rushing toward the building.

“It seems they neglected to prepare last night,” Luxion remarked.

“Too bad. I wanted to talk to them before school.”

I still had close to no information about this sequel. Luxion had gathered some intel, but I had no idea how much of it was accurate.

“Guess we still don’t know which twin is the real protagonist.”

“According to Marie, she should have twintails. However, each twin has their hair in a side ponytail.”

“As if it wasn’t bad enough that there are two of them, now their hair doesn’t match the description? How the hell are we meant to tell them apart? Surely at least one of them has the twintails Marie told us about.”

It seemed as though our twintailed protagonist had transformed into ponytailed twins. It didn’t help that they were identical. According to Luxion’s investigation, the only difference was their personalities. Noelle was energetic, lively, and active, while Lelia was a fairly average girl. Oh, and apparently their hair was differently colored.

And their breasts. Noelle’s look bigger. Maybe a C-cup? I nodded. “Yup. Guess we’ll be telling them apart by hair and chest size.”

“That is quite possibly the most reprehensible way to distinguish between them.”

“Is pink her natural color? This world sure has some crazy stuff.”

“I notice you ignored my comment.”

We bantered back and forth for a bit, then Luxion suddenly went silent. His feed cut off too. Someone was approaching.

I straightened my back and readjusted myself in my seat as the professor returned to the room with a male and female student in tow.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. The remaining exchange students have arrived, so we’ll guide you to your classes. These two will be showing you around.”

The boy looked rather plain, but he seemed kind. “I’m Jean. If there’s anything you’re unsure about, please feel free to ask.”

The girl was another matter. “Nice to meetcha.”

They spoke the Holfort Kingdom’s language fluently. The boy sounded more formal while the girl used slang. More importantly, the girl was Noelle Beltre—one of the game’s potential protagonists. She stood in front of me and grinned while I stared at them wide-eyed. The two exchanged troubled looks.

“D-did I sound unnatural or something?” Noelle asked.

Jean shook his head. “I think you sounded fine.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Nah, you both sounded so natural that it just took me by surprise is all. Name’s Leon, by the way.”

As we exchanged obligatory greetings, I couldn’t shake my shock. Who would have guessed that I’d meet the game’s possible protagonist by chance?!

 

***

 

We didn’t attend the opening ceremony. Or rather, we couldn’t, because we didn’t make it in time. There were some basic introductions in class, but it was still a bit of a sad start to the new term. And because our group was split up, there was never more than two of us in any given class.

The more time I spent in this place, the more it reminded me of my old world. The classrooms were set up exactly as I remembered in Japan—from elementary all the way up to high school.

The devs probably used Japanese schools as a model for this place, so I guess it isn’t surprising.

Even the desks and the chairs were exactly as I remembered. Some of the minute details were different, but the uniform definitely made me feel like I’d traveled back in time. That made it all the more strange to see students with vividly colored hair—from red to blue and every shade between. Nostalgia mixed with discomfort. Some things felt so out of place that it was jarring. I stared into space, feeling dazed.

In front of me, Noelle twisted around. “Hey, is it true you’re already a knight?”

Seemed she was curious about me. She wasn’t exactly ladylike, but she was lively and expressed her interest without hesitation. It made her seem almost restless.

“It’s true.” My reply was a bit curt, but it wasn’t because I disliked her. I simply wasn’t accustomed to speaking Alzerian yet. Plus, if this girl really was the protagonist of the second story, I couldn’t risk getting too close to her.

According to Marie, there was a point in the game where foreign students from the kingdom came to study. Assuming you had your save data from the first game, one of the original characters would make a cameo, but only one. At present, all five idiots had come, along with Marie and her little entourage.

“You really are incredible, Bartfort. And I hear you’re the heir to an earldom?”

Yeah, it made sense that she assumed that was the case. Anything else at my age was pretty unheard of. “Nope. I’m straight-up an earl. Bit of an upstart, I guess.”

“Wait, so you became an earl purely through acts of merit? At our age? The kingdom sure is incredible.”

Honestly, Noelle wasn’t that interested in me. More than anything, I think she felt bad. The reason for her pity? Well.

“Lord Brad, please, tell us more!”

“Aw, no fair. Give me a chance to talk to him!”

“Um, what kind of girl is your type?”

Flattered by the girls’ attention, Brad responded happily. Yup, total narcissist. He basked in the flood of compliments, as was his wont.

“My type, hm? I like quiet, petite girls that stir my protective instincts. In fact, I already have a fiancée. Sorry, but I won’t be able to return your affections.”

The girls let out shrill cries.

“What? Lord Brad has a fiancée? And he’s so faithful! How wonderful!”

Most of the girls in our class had flocked around him. Admittedly, he was quite good-looking, so long as he didn’t open his mouth. Still, it was like some celebrity had dropped by.

Noelle glanced at me and flashed a troubled smile.

Meanwhile, the boys shot jealous glares at Brad, and none of them bothered to strike up a conversation with me. I was so plain and forgettable that I faded into our surroundings. I might as well have been a background character.

“Uh, sorry they’re being like this,” said Noelle. “They’re all a bit excited.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. It was the same at Holfort Academy.”

Although the discrepancy really didn’t bother me, Noelle went out of her way to talk to me anyway. She seemed rather headstrong, but she was kind. Maybe that wasn’t surprising, since we suspected she was the protagonist.

Hm, maybe I should try to collect some info.

“By the way, do you have any siblings?” I asked her.

“I do. A twin, in fact. My little sister,” Noelle said eagerly. “She’s way more ladylike than me and lets everything roll off her back. Plus, she’s smart and super reliable. But, much as I hate to break it to you, she already has a boyfriend. So don’t go hitting on her, okay?”

“Oh, yeah? What a shame. How about you, Miss Noelle?”

I nearly slipped and blurted out, Don’t worry, I’m already engaged to two sexy ladies with great personalities. Fortunately, I managed to swallow it back. It was a bit tricky to go around confessing that I had two fiancées. People would probably judge me for it, so I figured it was best to keep it to myself.

“You can drop the whole ‘Miss’ thing,” said Noelle. “I’m single at the moment. I’m not the most well mannered, as you can probably tell. And besides, guys don’t usually bother with me. A certain someone always butts in when they try. But I’m open to applications if there are any good guys out there looking for a partner.”

She was fun to talk to, but what really bothered me was this “certain someone” who always butted in, and how she was “single at the moment.” Her little sister was already dating someone, but I still had no idea whether she was the protagonist—or if Noelle was. Although, at this point, the younger sister seemed more likely.

“Who did you mean when you said a ‘certain someone’?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“I doubt you would understand, Bartfort, even if I explained it. But I’m talking about the princess of the Rault family. She’s a real nuisance, and she likes to pick on me.”

Oh, boy, House Rault was the final boss of this game, and their princess was messing with Noelle?

“You can just call me Leon, you know.”

I was so focused on trying to figure out this protagonist riddle that the high-pitched squees around Brad’s desk didn’t even register.

 

***

 

The sun didn’t reach behind the academy’s main building. It was dark there, and the air was frigid. It was also deserted, which made it the perfect meet-up spot. After school, I summoned Marie there so we could work out which twin was the real protagonist. Alas, Marie was tired and dived into complaining before I could even get started.

“I told them, you know. ‘Get everything ready the day before.’ So why does all the blame fall to me? Why am I the bad guy? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

There hadn’t been much on the schedule today: just the entrance ceremony for the first years and the opening ceremony for the first day of the trimester. It was only just past noon, and the sun was still high.

One of the things that struck me as different from the Holfort Academy was the lack of student dormitories. Because of that, the crowds around campus thinned as soon as school let out.

“Enough of your whining,” I snapped. “Tell me which of these girls is the protagonist.”

“I already told you what I know.”

“Just look at this, okay?”

Marie peered at Luxion’s feed. Her eyes went wide, and she cradled her head in her hands. “Why the hell are there twins?! This wasn’t in the game!”

“Like I told you: We’re in trouble. One of them has to be the protagonist. Given what you said about her personality, Noelle seems like the best fit, but Lelia’s the one with a boyfriend.”

I had extracted some information from Noelle, but it wasn’t enough to be sure.

Marie glanced between their pictures, deep in thought. “I never dreamed her hair would change. It’s hard to tell. The protagonist didn’t get many face shots in the game. Oh, hold on! There was a CG of her in a dress where she had her hair pulled to one side.”

“Since reality is already different from the game,” said Luxion, “and this ‘protagonist’ has changed her hair, it’s possible there are a number of other differences as well.”

Maybe the hairstyle was entirely insignificant. Either way, I just wanted to find the protagonist quickly so I could make sure she got together with a love interest. I never dreamed we’d encounter an issue like this, let alone so soon after we’d arrived.

“Lelia has a boyfriend. Is it weird for her to be dating someone this early in the game?”

I hadn’t played the sequel, so I didn’t know how quickly things moved.

Marie cupped her chin thoughtfully. “They get together around the middle of their second year, but once they get close, the other students start gossiping about their relationship, or something like that… Oh, wait. Maybe that’s a different game.”

She frowned as she combed her vague memory. “I’m pretty sure there’s some fuss about a duel, and the guy who stands up for the protagonist becomes her lover. If there are several guys who step in, she gets to pick which one she wants. I think.”

“Great. A duel again?” The original game had one too. Maybe girls enjoyed seeing guys fight for them?

“Do you have any pictures of Lelia’s boyfriend?” Marie asked.

Luxion played back a video he’d taken. “This is what I captured thirty minutes ago.”

The girl on the feed greatly resembled Noelle.

That has to be Lelia.

Her hair was completely straight and a dark shade of pink. She looked as headstrong as her sister, but somehow she seemed even more unruly. The other person was a boy with blue hair that fell freely down to his shoulders. He had green eyes, was a bit shorter than most boys our age, and was so thin that I was sure he didn’t have any muscle. Still, he had a gentle air about him.

“That’s Emile!” Marie blurted. “Easy-Pick Emile!”

“What’s with the creepy nickname?”

Apparently, his full name was Emile Laz Pleven. He was the second son of the Pleven family, one of the Six Great Houses. Emile was also one of the potential love interests. According to Marie, in the fandom, he had the unfortunate (and cruel) nickname of Easy-Pick.

“It’s because his route is so easy,” Marie explained. “Even if you screw up and can’t get any of the other guys, you can still clear the game if you pick Emile midway through.”

I stared at the feed, listening in on their conversation.

“Lelia, um, w-would you like to go on a date next weekend?” Emile’s cheeks flushed. It was pretty innocent and endearing, but Lelia acted like she was used to this kind of attention.

“Sure, but don’t even think about taking me to an art museum. I want to go shopping.”

“N-no art museums? Really?”

“We went to one last time and the time before that. Let’s go somewhere else for once, okay?”

“Y-yeah. I guess you have a point.”

Marie listened eagerly, drawn in by their exchange.

“It’s kinda embarrassing watching them like this,” I said. “Do you think Lelia is our protagonist?”

Marie nodded solemnly. “It looks like it. I feel like I’ve seen this dialogue before. And Emile is one of her love interests. It seems a bit early for them to be so close, but they did have the same kind of chemistry in the game.”

Marie didn’t remember the specifics, but she confirmed that she was now certain.

Luxion shut off the feed. “In that case, shall we assume Lelia is the protagonist?”

Marie folded her arms. “I was sure she’d go after Classic-Boy Loic. It’s kind of surprising she would end up with Emile.”

Classic-Boy Loic, huh? I shrugged. “Personally, I’m surprised that she’s such a normal girl. From a personality point of view, Noelle seems more like the protagonist type.”

They might have been twins, but they were super different as people.

“Really?” said Marie. “But Lelia is dating Emile. She has to be the protagonist. If only the villainess would show up and start bullying her, then we’d know for sure.”

Villainess? So, there was a rival in the sequel, just like Angie in the first game? “The sequel has one too, huh?”

“They aren’t simply duking it out for love. This villainess is the daughter of House Rault, which is politically opposed to the protagonist’s house. She’s a year older, but she’s constantly going after our girl.”

“Hey, hold up a second.”

“What?”

I thought back to my conversation with Noelle. “I think Noelle is being bullied by her.”

And she’d never said anything about her little sister being a victim too.

Marie’s face scrunched up, and she clapped her hands over her head. “Ugh! I don’t even know anymore!”

What was going on with this game?

Luxion bobbed thoughtfully. “Based on the information we have, I would conclude that the protagonist’s power comes from her Priestess bloodline. If that is true, then either of these girls could be the one we’re looking for.”

“Th-that’s right!” Marie lifted her chin. “In the game, she was the only surviving member of the Lespinasse family and she had Priestess blood. Since both girls fit that description, either one of them could be the protagonist!”

“Since they’re twins, maybe they each inherited a role from the original?” I suggested. “So, one has a boyfriend, while the other is being targeted by the villainess.”

“I can’t say one way or the other,” said Marie.

We were no closer now than before, but I supposed things could have been worse.

“Either way, we need to investigate them both.”

“Indeed,” said Luxion. “I shall continue gathering what intel I can.”

We were no closer to identifying our main girl, but the situation wasn’t hopeless yet.

 

***

 

School had ended, but the girls still clamored around Brad as he walked down the halls.

“Lord Brad, this building has special classrooms in it.”

“It even has a music room.”

“There’s also a kitchen for home economics, where the girls make sweets. Speaking of, please eat some of the cookies I made!”

A handful of girls had volunteered to show him around, and Brad didn’t seem all that bothered by their affections.

“I appreciate you ladies helping me out.”

He shot them a smile, and their cheeks lit up.

Meanwhile, a group of male students sat on some nearby stairs and watched the scene unfold. They were a shady-looking bunch, uniforms hanging loose and unbuttoned. Their leader had a vein popping on his forehead. He had short, wavy purple hair and matching eyes. Brad’s hair was the same shade, and it infuriated this guy to see the girls fussing over him. However, hair color aside, he lacked Brad’s dashing good looks. He was slender, his skin was an unhealthy color, and there was a half-finished bottle of alcohol on the stairs beside him.

His name was Pierre Io Feivel, and he was the second son of the Feivel family, another of the Six Great Houses. He wasn’t the heir, but he still had enough status to earn his own group of flunkies. They all had crests on the back of their right hand—not tattoos or scars, but proof of the Sacred Tree’s protection. Of all of them, Pierre’s crest was the most unique. Only members of the Six Great Houses were blessed with it. To the Alzerians, a crest was a mark of nobility.

“Why are they squawking over some third-rate noble?” Pierre snapped.

Right away, his panicked lackeys tried to placate him.

“They’re too lowly for you to concern yourself with.”

“Agreed. Besides, those girls are all peasant-born. That’s the best those Holfort nobles could hope for.”

“Yeah, they aren’t at the same level as you, Lord Pierre.”

As they laid on the compliments, Pierre snatched up the bottle and threw his head back, draining it dry. When some liquid spilled out, he wiped it away with his sleeve. “Time to have some fun. It’s been a while,” he said, grinning wryly.

“We gonna mess with those same guys as last time?”

“That’s not a bad idea, but it’ll be more fun to torment those guys from Holfort. If we rile them up enough, maybe we even start a war. Then I can make a name for myself in battle.”

Pierre didn’t seem to care about the bloodshed that would cause, and he wasn’t the only one.

“Sounds good to me. If that happens, I wanna to go into battle with you.”

“Me too! I’d love to earn some medals.”

“Count me in!”

They all grinned at each other. None of them seemed concerned by the thought of war. If anything, they wanted it. The crests on their hands made them confident of their victory.

Pierre glanced down at his own hand. “Yeah, let’s enjoy ourselves. We’ll start with…ah yes, the ones looking after the exchange students.” He grinned. “Let’s take our time. Make them suffer. It’ll be entertaining to see how far we can push them before they lose it.”

Thus, Pierre focused his attention on the new students.

 

***

 

Lelia and Noelle lived in an ordinary apartment. It wasn’t too far from the campus, and it was clean and spacious enough for them to live in relative comfort. Former retainers of House Lespinasse had prepared the place for them, and they continued to look after the girls in secret, even now.

At the moment, Noelle was wearing an apron and cooking a meal. Around her, the kitchen was orderly with white walls and appliances. Noelle hummed to herself as she worked until Lelia slipped in through the front door.

“I’m home,” she said without much emotion.

“Glad you’re back!” Noelle replied cheerfully. “Dinner will be done shortly.”

“Okay.”

Noelle was used to her sister’s curtness, but the exhaustion on Lelia’s face worried her.

“Did something happen?”

Lelia paused for a moment. “Hey, you were selected to look after the exchange students, right?”

“Yeah, because you refused.”

Noelle quirked a brow, wondering why Lelia was bringing this up. Her sister’s expression was unreadable and a little discomforting. Noelle turned the burner off and planted her hands on her hips.

“Did you notice anything weird about them?” Lelia asked.

“Weird? I suppose a little, but they seem to be pretty popular with the other students. I’m sure you’ve heard about what a stir they caused with the girls, right?”

“I have. What bothers me is that boy. The plain one. And the two girls.”

Was she talking about Leon?

“Oh, him? Come to think of it, he was pretty interested in you. He looked disappointed when I told him you were taken.” Noelle chuckled, but Lelia didn’t even crack a smile. Why was her sister acting so strangely? “What’s really bothering you?”

“Nothing,” Lelia said, and she wandered off to her room before Noelle could ask anything else.