Is it really okay to use Getter Rays in a world of Otome Games? [MobuSeka/Getter Robo]

“You look like shit.”

Those were the first words that Marie and I exchanged when we saw each other again the following morning. She was probably exhausted from her ordeal the day prior, while I was exhausted from the attentions of three enthusiastic girls and one very pent up ghost last night.

I had waited for her with Julius and Kyle at the Academy gates. Surprisingly, Livia, Angie, and Clarice opted to be present for the occasion as well. She was being escorted by the Academy’s Master of Tea and Gentlemanly Perfection. I gave him a deep bow as he walked past us and proceeded to make his way back to the Academy offices. Marie was wearing an Academy uniform set, likely provided by The Master.

“I heard what you did for me from the Queen. You really just go and do the first thing that pops into that head of yours, huh?” She had a grin on her face but I could easily see the tears she was holding back. She likely knew that her suffering from her former family was finally over.

“It’s worked out pretty well so far.” I answered with my own grin, getting choked up myself. She then decided to ruin the moment by being herself. Walking up close to me, she placed a hand on my chest and looked at me with upturned eyes.

“So, should I just call you Big Brother now~?” I flinched at the sultry way she asked that question. My salvation from the awkwardness came in the form of a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind, batting away Marie’s hand in the process.

“You may be Leon’s sister now, but please don’t forget who he really belongs to.” Livia stated in a sweet tone of voice that hid an obvious threat as she embraced me from behind. Angie and Clarice also stepped up to flank me and claim each of my arms.

“Ho~” Far from being intimidated from their united front, Marie just smiled and raised an eyebrow at the display. “So the three of you can learn after all.”

Before anything could start between my sister and my lovers, Julius stepped forward and embraced Marie like it was the most natural thing to do. “I’m glad that you are back safe and sound.”

“Thank you for bringing my situation to the Queen’s attention, Julius. I knew that you would come for me.” My sister’s entire demeanor changed as she kissed Julius before turning to Kyle, who had also walked up to her. “Thank you for doing what I asked, Kyle.”

And thus, Marie Fou Lafan returned to the Academy as Marie Fou Bartfort a few days before classes started up again.

…

“On one hand, I am baffled that you actually went and adopted that Lafan girl.” Jenna started while sipping the tea I had prepared. She then hummed before continuing her thought. “On the other hand, that means that there is a chance that she might marry into the Crown. I’m not sure if I should praise you or laugh at you.”

Both Jenna and Nicks were in my usual tea room as they were both very curious about the letter I sent back home about adopting Marie as my sister. By extension, she was their sister now as well after all.

“Congratulations on your engagement with Daniel, by the way.” I said instead, making her choke on her drink while Nicks shook his head at her.

“How did you know?!” I grinned at the question and leaned back into my chair.

“I didn’t. Thanks for confirming though.” I poured as much smugness in my voice as I could. Jenna clicked her tongue and looked away, caught in my little verbal trap. There was a reason why it was a classic back on Earth.

“Cute. Our parents are working out the details, but yeah. Daniel will be my husband once he graduates.” It was actually pretty cute how she blushed and smiled as she said that.

“You two are good for each other, I’m glad.” I genuinely meant that too. It was great that a bout of madness from my friend managed to open an opportunity for them to find each other. Jenna looked like she didn’t know how to feel about my words while Nicks just planted his forehead on the table.

“Great, that means that I’m the only one who hasn’t found a partner yet.” His lamentations made Jenna scoff even as I patted my older brother’s shoulder.

“Have you even been trying?” Nicks groaned at our sister’s question. That was when I finally noticed something different about Jenna.

“Where’s Miauler?” I asked, making her blink.

“Oh, I terminated his contract after my engagement was finalized. It didn’t seem like it was worth it anymore, so he’ll probably be sold to someone else soon.” She said with a wave of her hand. That made sense, I suppose. Then again, she was probably worried that Daniel would take her having a demi-human servant the wrong way now that they were engaged.

“Wait, Jenna’s right. What have you been doing to find a bride?” I turned back to the more important topic of our brother’s current relationship status.

“Okay, look–” Jenna cut off whatever Nicks was about to say.

“He hasn’t been doing anything based on what I’ve managed to gather from the General Studies girls.” She said with her eyes closed before drinking the rest of her tea and asking me for more. I rolled my eyes and poured her another cup. "He hasn't even taken advantage of the fact that he's the Doom Knight's brother."

“You’ve been spying on me?!” Technically, Jenna probably just asked around or had someone else do it for her.

“Nicks, you’re graduating this year.” I reminded him and he shrugged at me

“Unlike you, I’m not under pressure to find a bride as soon as I graduate.” I mean, that was true.

“That doesn’t mean that you should slack off either.” I nodded and pointed at Jenna when she said that.

“What am I supposed to do?!” Nicks continued lamenting even though he was totally the cause of his own problems. It was like looking into a broken old mirror for me.

Jenna and I looked at each other as we both knew that he wouldn’t make the effort himself. One silent argument between us later, I sighed and put it upon myself to try to find my older brother a match. I wondered if Deirdre would be interested since she did wish for a good man during the school trip.

It couldn’t hurt to ask.

…

I was lying in bed with Clarice as we enjoyed each other’s warmth. It was just the two of us that night as Livia said that she wanted some Angie Time before dragging the poor girl away to her bedroom. I wasn’t about to complain as it gave me a chance to focus on giving a lot of affection to Clarice, which she very vocally appreciated. When I first saw all of her the night when the three girls jumped me, I was surprised at how fit she actually was.

“Defending ourselves and those we love using our bodies has been a tradition from my mother’s side for generations.” She said when I brought it up while admiring her perfect abs. Livia then demonstrated the best way to tease Clarice to make them ripple in a very hypnotic way.

“Are you sure you want to wait until we graduate before we get married?” I asked as she laid her head on my chest. It was a topic that had come up a few months ago, and something I asked as we relaxed. My engagements with her and Angie were back on track, while Livia just said that she was fine to get married whenever and just asked to have some time to let her family know about it.

Huh, I didn't know anything about Livia’s family when I actually thought about it.

“I want it to be special, with all of us married to you. Together.” Clarice answered while I was thinking. That was fair. It would probably end up a nightmare to plan for though.

“I’m fine with it. Will you be able to survive the wait though?” I teasingly asked as I stroked her side.

“Hey now, I’ll already be a proper noble lady by then. That means that I can just visit whenever I want on the grounds that my beloved is the Doom Knight and there is nothing anyone can do about it.” She growled out before rolling on top of me.

Ah, it seemed that Clarice could be pretty fearsome in her own right.

…

“What’s the commotion about?” I asked Raymond and Daniel, who was going to be my brother-in-law in a couple of years, as we looked at a few billboards with a bunch of students looking at things posted on them.

“Oh, it’s for the Academy’s exchange program to other countries.” Raymond answered to my surprise. Exchange program?

“We have that?” It was something that was never even brought up in the game at all.

“It’s to promote good relations between the nobles of different countries. Those that sign up for it spend a year of their studies in whichever country they choose.” Daniel started explaining while we walked closer to see which countries were offering exchange programs. “It’s also used by houses to secure international ties with other noble houses if they can secure engagements along the way.”

While we were looking at the lists, I noticed Marie standing by herself in front of one of the boards with a disgusted look on her face. I excused myself and walked up to my sister.

“What’s wrong? You look like you swallowed a bug.” Marie glanced at me and nodded towards the board she was looking at.

“Alzer Republic. It’s promoting entrants for the exchange program with their Academy.” I read out loud. I’d never heard of such a location before. Then again, I haven’t heard of most of the countries in this world aside from the ones featured or mentioned in the game.

“Alzer is the setting for the sequel.” My eyes widened at her words as an uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach.

“You don’t think that the sequel has already been going on while we’re–” Marie interrupted me by turning around and starting to walk away. I quickly caught up to her as she started ranting.

“Nope! I don’t want to think about it! One is enough!” She hissed out angrily.

“But what if there’s another person with our circumstance there?” I brought up the possibility. If the two of us could be reincarnated, who was to say that there wasn’t someone else in Alzer that was dealing with their own messed up Dating Sim scenario?

“Then they can deal with it. I won’t go near that place or their blasted tr–fuck!” I blinked at how emphatic her curse was.

“What’s wrong?” Because there definitely was something wrong for Marie to act out that way in public.

“There’s a bad end in the sequel that I know of where the Alzer Sacred Tree causes the end of the world.” She whispered while burying her face in her hands. With a possibility like that on the table, there was only one thing I could really say.

“Fuck.”

…

“There are more of those stories from your world, not just mine?” Livia asked in surprise when I finished explaining what I learned about Alzer from Marie.

Speaking of.

“I’m surprised that you actually told them about us.” My sister commented as she drank her tea. We were back in my tea room with Angie and Clarice also present alongside Livia. The school year was starting to wind down and there was a lot more free time allotted so students could prepare for the finals.

“Please don’t phrase it like you’re having a love affair with our Leon.” Angie flatly told Marie, who just stuck her tongue out at her. Control broke stealth and floated between Marie and myself, clearly intrigued by the situation.

How poorly can the situation deteriorate if left to the worst outcome?

“I never actually got the seque–second story.” Marie corrected herself, remembering what I told her about the analogies I used to explain things to my lovers. “I just heard from those who did about a bad ending where the tree goes out of control and causes all the floating islands in the world to fall to their doom. I don’t know how exactly it can do that though.”

Marie proceeded to tell us about the other things it could do. From providing infinite power for everything in the country to making sure that its defenders could never fail. The more we heard, the more ridiculous it sounded.

“I’ve heard of a holy tree in a far off land but Lea and I never actually went there to check. I certainly didn’t know that it could be capable of such a thing.” Anne chimed in, taking over from Livia for a moment, confirming that it was definitely something that had been around for a pretty long time. We were all silent as the clear threat loomed out in the distance with complete uncertainty on how it would turn out.

There is also the possibility that there is something else that is providing the miraculous effects and that the tree is merely a façade.

I groaned at Control’s point as we already knew that things in this world were different from the game. Why couldn’t it be different in the sequel as well? “Someone will have to go and check.”

And from my track record, it probably had to be me. Then again, there was also Fanoss to worry about as well. Dammit! What the hell do I–

“I’ll go.” Marie suddenly spoke up, her back straight and her expression resolute.

“What?!” I yelled out.

“I’ll sign up for the exchange program to Alzer and see if there are any fires that need to be put out.” She confirmed my fears with a nod. Was she nuts?! She was the one who didn’t want anything to do with the damn place!

“Alone?” Clarice asked, actually sounding worried for my sister. She didn’t need to as Marie just scoffed and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Do you really think that Julius and the others would let me go there by myself? They’ll obviously sign up alongside me.” That made a lot more sense. The boys wouldn’t stand for their love to go into a strange place without them. They would definitely be good enough to deal with whatever was there if Marie was herding them.

“Why do this though?” Angie asked, not sounding convinced. Her eyes widened at what Marie said next.

“Because I just got my big brother back and I am not going to lose him because of a fucking tree!” She snarled out with an expression that made my lovers lean away from her. For some reason, I felt really proud of her.

…

The Holfort Academy graduation ceremony was about as grand as I expected it to be. The families and supporters of the students who would be graduating were present as well as some representatives from the Crown. The King wasn’t present but Mylene was there to give a speech to the graduates about upholding the values and ideals that Holfort represented.

The whole thing took up half the day, with the other half being a big feast. Minister Atlee was there along with his absolutely beautiful wife. It was clear where Clarice got her looks from.

“Please take care of our daughter. She means the world to us and she clearly thinks the world of you.” Clarice’s mother said to me before shaking my hand with a grip that was probably tighter than it should have been. The steel in her eyes made it clear that I wasn’t getting a third chance if I messed things up with her daughter again.

Message received.

Clarice then led Livia, Angie, and myself back to her room for a more private celebration.

I wonder if all of these strenuous activities was actually helping me improve my stamina to pilot Black Getter? Probably something I should test at some point.

…

The school year ended for the rest of us a few days later. Clarice went back to her family’s lands for now, promising to visit whenever she could. When asked what she was going to do with her sudden abundance of free time, she said that she was going dungeon diving with her mother. Well, that was definitely a side of her I wish I knew about earlier because it was really hot.

While Marie and the boys prepared to move to Alzer for the exchange program, I was called to the Palace by a messenger. Surprisingly, it wasn’t from Mylene but from the king instead. Oh no, did he find out that I had been having an affair with his wife? The most recent time we had together was a week before Clarice’s graduation where I told Mylene about my real circumstances as a reincarnate.

When I arrived at the audience chamber of the Palace, the king was sitting on his throne and was talking with someone else. Someone very familiar, who made my spine tingle in a familiar way. Why the hell was she here?!

“Ah! There he is! I would like to formally introduce to you Viscount Leon Fou Bartfort! Holfort’s Doom Knight!” The king said in full bravado, obviously trying to look and sound impressive. The girl we met in the Southern Island turned to me, this time wearing a resplendent black dress befitting her actual station.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Viscount Bartfort.” ‘Gertrude’ greeted me with a perfect curtsy.

“This is Princess Hertrude Sera Fanoss. She is here as part of the exchange program between the Academies and will be staying in Holfort for her second year of schooling.” I was getting a sinking feeling as the king introduced her to me as well as explained why she was here. The bad feeling was confirmed with the next words that he spoke. “As you are both in the same year, I thought it brilliant for you to be assigned as her personal protector for the duration of her stay.”

I stood stock still as the Final Boss walked up to me and smiled. “Fate has brought us together once more, Bringer of Doom. I shall be in your care.”

Was it too late to keep Marie and the boys in Holfort?!

 

Louise Sara Rault was no stranger to social and political obligations. She was the eldest daughter of her house, with her father being Acting Chairman of the Six Great Houses. Due to her status, she was relied upon by her family to take up certain responsibilities. One of those responsibilities had apparently become receiving foreign royalty who had chosen to study at the Alzer Academy as part of the student exchange programs between the nations.

She personally had no interest in the kingdom of Holfort, being raised to consider them as a third-class kingdom due to their reliance on so-called adventurers. Louise even used to think that their insistence to dress up the children of noble houses as adventurers and have them delve into dungeons was an elaborate prank, not a proud tradition. It was why she still couldn’t take Serge seriously even after he grew up and the pain he caused her finally faded to a dull ache.

Regardless of her opinion on their country’s new guests, she would not be the one to bring shame to her house by being anything less than a perfect host.

When she arrived at the harbor to greet the newly arrived prince, she was admittedly surprised at the method of transportation they had. The massive red ship cut a striking figure as it slowly docked without so much as a sound. Louise was fairly certain that Holfort did not have the capability of building such a thing, thus it must likely have been a Lost Item.

Her surprise was further compounded when the person who disembarked the ship was not the Crown Prince of Holfort. Instead, it was a small girl with long blonde hair who was followed by an even smaller elven boy. The boy was carrying several bags of luggage so Louise assumed that he was her servant. Schooling her expression into a perfect smile, Louise waved at the girl and approached.

“Welcome to the Republic of Alzer. I am Louise Sara Rault, daughter of Acting Chairman Albergue Sara Rault. It is a pleasure to meet you.” She introduced herself with a curtsy. She noticed the girl’s eyes sharpen for but a moment before it returned to normal. The girl smiled and introduced herself with her own curtsy.

“Greetings Miss Rault. I am Marie Fou Bartfort.” Louise noted that the girl’s smile seemed to widen as she said her name. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Forgive me, but I was instructed to receive Prince Julius Rapha Holfort and escort them to the mansion they will be staying at.” The girl, Marie, nodded at her confusion and pointed towards the direction of the red ship’s aft.

“Julius and the others are still unloading their Armors and supplies from my brother’s ship.” Louise made sure not to give any outward reaction to how casually the girl seemed to speak about the prince. She also mentally filed away the mention that the impressive looking vessel belonged to the girl’s brother. “They should join us shortly after they’re done handing those over to the Academy staff.”

“You seem rather well acquainted with the prince.” Louise said, blatantly fishing for more information. Marie simply giggled and tilted her head in a manner that would have likely stolen the hearts of several young men at the Academy.

“You could say that. He is good friends with my brother and I am personally quite close to Julius.” Marie stated sweetly. So her confidence stemmed from being friends with royalty? It wasn’t anything new to Louise. Indeed, there was no shortage of people who thought themselves special by association with members of the great houses. Louise smiled at the girl but internally scoffed at her. She was of no notice and would likely just be seen as the prince’s pet.

What can a single girl like her even do?

…

Marie Fou Bartfort felt a wave of nostalgia as she watched Louise Sara Rault introduce herself to her lovers. It was just like her luck to immediately run into the sequel’s Villainess as soon as she had arrived. It was good that her brother and Control made sure that the drone that was floating above her head was also a stealth model. The Nagare launched from the harbor after they were all safely back on the ground, likely headed back to Holfort.

It irked her a lot that she had to spend a year away from her brother just as they were finally back to being an actual family again. She blamed her brother’s new attitude rubbing off on her for her inexplicable actions.

“Apologies for the wait, Marie. Louise has arranged transportation for us to the mansion we will be staying at.” Julius informed her when she approached everyone else.

“That’s wonderful. Thank you very much for your courtesy.” Marie said to Louise in practiced ease, making sure to put forth a front of being a proper lady.

“It is the least that the Alzer Republic can do for the crown prince of another nation. Please follow me.”

Louise apparently had some official business to talk about with Julius, so they were split up as they were transported to their new accommodations. Julius and Jilk rode with the Villainess while she rode with the others.

“So what did you guys think of Miss Rault?” Marie asked the boys she was riding with.

Chris nodded and adjusted his glasses. “She is a proper lady of her house. Perfect manners as far as I could tell.”

“Quite the beauty as well, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was already engaged.” Brad noted while stroking his chin. Oho? Was she going to have to remind him of her superiority to other girls again?

“Her house must be pretty damn important if she was the one sent out to meet us.” Greg pointed out, making the others hum in consideration. Marie already knew that, though. From what she could remember of the discussions about the second game, the Villainess and her family were directly the main antagonists and would cause the most problems. Marie wasn’t sure yet how to approach things, but she decided to start by confirming the status of the Protagonist and her Capture Targets once they get to the Academy.

“Mother’s breasts are bigger.” Kyle proudly stated before completely detaching himself from the conversation and looking out the window. Marie felt a bit bad about bringing him after Leon explained to her the relationship between Kyle and his own new elven maid. Sure, she was a creepy cultist and freaky science experiment but that was just an unfortunate turn of events.

“What about you, Control?” She asked the final member of their group. Marie raised her brow at the lack of response and wondered if the AI decided to spy on whatever Julius and the others were discussing. That was until Control actually spoke out.

There is something very strange with the energies circulating around this island.

Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.

Marie sighed and wondered what her big brother was up to.

…

I had a weird sense of nostalgia as I watched the projected live footage that Control was showing me. It was a reminder that once upon a time, I considered myself as nothing but a background character. A mob. Why, you ask?

“Getter Tomahaaaaaaawk!” Because I was watching Deirdre completely demolish the series of training stages, that took me weeks to get through, in a single sitting. We were all in the hangar area with Deirdre in the simulator while Control and I watched her progress from outside.

It was insane how well Deirdre was taking to piloting Black Getter, like watching a natural athlete finally discovering what sport they were meant to play.

It appears that Miss Deirdre is a natural fit to pilot a Getter Robo.

“She definitely hasn’t been hitting the same problems I did when I started out.” I agreed with a nod while watching her weave between Mechasaurus attacks with a confidence that I didn’t develop until much later in my training. She was even flying in ways I didn’t consider when I was starting out.

Such things are not unheard of. Do not consider this as evidence of your own inadequacies.

“I’m definitely happy for her. I’m actually wondering if we can give her another Getter Robo to pilot. It’d be a waste if she just ends up as my backup pilot.” I told Control. Contrary to being jealous, I was actually glad that we found someone else who could handle piloting Black Getter. That meant that I didn’t have to be the only one who could act as the Big Stick whenever the situation called for it.

Black Getter F is meant as the final Getter Robo.

“But can’t we build another one from its spare parts?” I argued, the distant memory of a Gundam movie where such a thing was done gave me the idea. Despite not having a face, I could tell that Control was hesitant about releasing another Getter Robo upon the world.

I shall take it under advisement.

That was good enough for me. I wasn’t about to push the idea down their throat. We continued to watch Deirdre have fun until she finally called it quits. She was eventually brought down by a group of Mechasaurus that also gave me a rough time the first few tries.

Deirdre exited the simulator covered in sweat, her uniform showing how much effort she put in. Despite her obvious exhaustion, the girl just looked at us with a bright smile on her face.

“That was the most exhilarating experience I had ever had! Thank you both so much for the opportunity!” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke and I couldn’t help but get infected with her joy.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I said as she practically vibrated in place. She was definitely good for some more runs down the line. “We’ll arrange more sessions for you to progress through the rest of the simulator missions.”

“You would let me pilot Black Getter again after this?” She asked in complete surprise. I laughed and nodded at her shocked expression.

“Control and I have actually been thinking of having you as my backup pilot for Black Getter in case I won’t be able to during emergencies or whatever.” Deirdre’s eyes widened at my words, gulping at the implication of her having an opportunity to pilot Black Getter for real. Control added their own words of encouragement when she still looked uncertain.

It would be a waste of your newly discovered natural talent otherwise.

“I am forever in your debt, Leon, Control! You are irreplaceable friends! If there is anything in my power to accomplish, do not hesitate to ask it of me.” She told us, reminding me of another thing that I had to deal with. I did think that it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“Actually, there is one thing I’d like you to take a chance on.” My friend nodded in eager attention. She then flinched and blushed at my next words. “You’re still looking for someone to be your husband, right?”

I managed to convince Deirdre to have a Tea Party with Nicks. I would be technically hosting, but the event would be about the two of them.

The only thing left would be to actually schedule it and hope that my older brother doesn’t blow it.

…

“Please forgive the deception during our first meeting, Livia. You must understand that there are still quite a number of people who would not appreciate my presence.” Hertrude Sera Fanoss sweetly said to Livia. We were in my usual Tea room along with Angie to facilitate this little reunion. Sadly, Deirdre couldn’t be present due to a prior commitment.

“I understand, Hertrude. Angie and the others told me about the history between our countries. I wish that such suffering had not happened.” Livia sadly said. I had already briefed my lovers about who Hertrude was in the scope of Livia’s story from my old world and what she represented. They were both surprisingly calm with having the Final Boss in our midst like this.

“And you already prove yourself better than most in that regard.” Hertrude smiled as if she didn’t just deliver a very thinly veiled insult. While Livia accepted our new guest with open arms, Angie was not of the same opinion.

My other lover was absolutely irked at how quickly Hertrude made herself comfortable in Clarice’s usual chair. Livia didn’t seem to share the same discomfort and was just happy to see a friend again. The irony of which was not lost to me at all.

“If I may ask,” Angie finally spoke out in a cool tone. “What exactly are Leon’s responsibilities towards you, your highness?”

“Please, just call me Hertrude.” The princess simply took it in stride and gave her explanation to us. “As for Sir Bartfort’s responsibilities. I suppose that I am meant to be by his side whenever possible.”

“I understand that such a thing would not be possible at all times, of course.” She added when she noticed Angie and Livia’s expressions. She had probably already pieced together what our relationships were considering we hadn't yet told her that the three of us were lovers.

“Angie and I can protect you whenever Leon can’t!” Being the sweetheart that she was, Livia immediately volunteered herself and Angie.

“I would be in your debt, Livia.” The girl shook her head at Hertrude’s words.

“Not at all. Leon always likes to say that friends don’t keep score like that.” Oh sure, first she steals some of my uniform shirts and now she’s stealing my lines too. I had to order a fresh set when Livia, Angie, and Clarice took all of my old ones for themselves. I couldn’t really blame them as seeing the three of them wear my shirts was a view I would never trade anything for.

“Then I shall appreciate the gesture for what it is then.” Hertrude said with a smile before she gave me a sly grin. “Though, I am surprised that Sir Bartfort ascribes to such a cute sentiment.”

“Leon acts prickly at times, but he’s just a big softie when it comes down to it.” Livia agreed with her own grin. Feeling threatened, I turned to the only ally I had left at the table.

“Angie help, I’m outnumbered.” I lamely begged, only for my future bride to also grin at me.

“I’m sure that the fearsome Doom Knight can handle it.” I wasn’t aware that it was already Bully-Leon-O’clock but here we were.

“Still, I am grateful that you accepted me so readily. It is quite a shame that you waste such a compassion here in Holfort. You would be much better served coming to the Principality.” Angie and I stiffened at the obvious offer from Hertrude. We looked at Livia and she also looked a bit uncomfortable. The princess was about to continue when Livia’s face suddenly morphed into an angry scowl.

“Your games are tiresome, girl. I only endured it for the friendship you have developed with my host. No more.” Livia was wearing the Saint’s Necklace this whole time?! Wasn’t she worried that someone could identify it or maybe even steal it?! “Tell me what it is you actually wish to accomplish by coming here, Hertrude Sera Fanoss.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Hertrude was no match for the original wielder of Compelling Voice. It was definitely a surprise to see how easily Anne could use it with Livia’s body using just the necklace. How strong would those two be with all three relics?

“I need Livia to come with me so we can save my sister, Rauda.” Hertrude immediately said, surprising us with her motivation. Even Anne looked like she wasn’t expecting this response.

“Tell me everything, girl.”

What she ended up telling us made me plant my head on the table and groan.

 

“Control, does the Dragon God she’s describing seem familiar to you in any way? Is it the Getter Dragon from the murals I saw in Elven Island?” I asked after Hertrude gave us a summary of what Fanoss had been plotting behind the scenes. The confirmation that their so-called Dragon God was a giant robot which was probably also a Getter Robo was already pretty alarming.

From initial descriptions, it appears that what Fanoss has uncovered is not an original Getter Robo G model. Instead, it seems to be a Getter Robo D2 model.

“Is that a good thing? I can’t really tell.” I followed up because I had no idea. A few moments passed with no answer. “The lack of response is really making me nervous, Control.”

Apologies, I am merely calculating the possible outcomes. Getter Robo D2 is a Mass Production Getter Robo. It integrates technologies from both the G model as well as Shin Getter Robo. Functionally, it is meant to surpass the capabilities of Getter Robo G.

“I can hear the ‘but’ from here, Control.” I was already rubbing my forehead with the way they were lining up their response.

However, Getter Robo G has the penchant of evolving into exceedingly superior forms under great duress. Overall, facing a deteriorated D2 model would be better for us.

Okay, sure. There was one other problem though. “But that means that it would still be a full-sized Getter Robo?”

Correct. D2 models are slightly taller than Getter Robo G at fifty-five meters due to the elongated horn on its head.

“That would make it almost ten times the size of a standard Armor.” Angie pointed out in obvious alarm. It was understandable as we were talking about an utterly gigantic robot by this world’s standards that had similar capabilities as Black Getter.

“What’s wrong Leon?” Livia asked worriedly when I started hitting my head on the table again.

“Black Getter is eighteen meters tall.” I told her and she slumped in her seat. The size difference between a Getter D2 and Black Getter was around the same ratio as a regular Armor was to Black Getter. How strong would its Getter Beam even be at that scale?

Keep in mind that even though they may have a D2, it is tens of thousands of years old now and does not have access to its original power source anymore.

“What are they planning to power that thing with then?” I asked Hertrude after Control made a great point.

“The elves.” We all froze at her answer.

“What?” Livia whispered in horror.

“Vandel and his ilk have been researching how to convert the elves’ life force into power for the Dragon God. With their long lifespans, he figures that they can provide more energy than humans or other demi-humans.” Hertrude explained, a bit of anger seeping through her voice. Huh? What was that about?

“Can they do that?” Angie asked, shaking her head in revulsion at the possibility.

I am uncertain. Getter Rays are sometimes described as the power of life itself. It may be possible, but we have never needed to try that method of powering any of the Getter Robos before. Any means of doing so at this point will likely need to involve magic.

“You said that you’re here because you want me to save your sister?” Livia changed the subject to the other major thing we learned after Anne got tired of the word games and just used Compelling Voice on Hertrude.

“Rauda is like an empty doll ever since Vandel tried to have her control his Dragon God using the Flute of the Hundred Demons.” Hertrude answered in a strained voice.

“Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all.” I muttered. I’d bet good money on the flute being related to the Hundred Demon Empire as well.

“Where is this flute now, girl?” Anne asked.

The princess sighed and shook her head. “It is in Fanoss with Rauda. I planned to have it sent to me should my attempt to recruit Livia end in failure.”

“And what would you do with that flute if I refused?” Livia asked nervously. Hertrude set her shoulders and looked at my lover with full conviction.

“I would use it to summon monsters in the middle of the Capital and hold it hostage until you agreed.”

“Wha–why?!” I yelled out.

“I have to save Rauda. Nothing will stop me. Nothing.” She answered me with gritted teeth. Okay, I get it but that was just way too drastic.

“I say we dispose of he–Anne! No!” Livia interrupted Anne’s casual suggestion of murder.

“Assassinating the Princess of Fanoss would cause a war.” Anne took back control and scoffed at Angie’s words.

“In case you haven’t been listening, they are already preparing for war as we speak. Is this not the inevitable outcome of the stories you spoke of?” I nodded at her question, but there was something else I wanted to know more about.

“Why do you think that Livia can save your sister?” Hertrude grimaced at my question.

“I was given a prophecy by an elven elder before she was taken to be processed. Livia would bring me hope, my sister salvation, and would bring doom upon our enemies. This was even before Rauda was reduced to the state she is presently in.” I would have normally dismissed that kind of thing as pretty stupid, but we were way past not considering prophecies and the like to have a possibility of happening.

If I may ask. How did Fanoss manage to enter Holfort’s borders and abduct most of the elven population while stealing an entire part of the ruins, including a Getter Robo, without alerting the army?

Well, the obvious answer there would be that there were traitors in Holfort. The scarier answer was that they had magic or technology that could let them just show up and do all that stuff at will.

“Vandel arranged the attack with traitors from your nobility, a group calling themselves The Forest of Ladies. Rauda and I then used the Flute of the Hundred Demons to summon a great guardian monster.” Well, it wasn’t fun to find out that there was literally a conspiracy group in the nobility. On the other hand, at least they didn’t have teleportation.

“Traitors? Do you know specifically who they are?” Angie’s eyes sharpened at the mention of traitors. I was pretty sure that she would immediately go to her father and brother if she got any names.

“Vandel was the one who was colluding with them. Neither Rauda nor I know which of your nobility are involved.” Of course, because that would have been too easy. Control then spoke up next with a question of their own.

What did this guardian monster look like?

“It is a gigantic great masked knight that has a blade-like horn on its head. It was able to spew out great beams of destruction from its shoulders. Its claws were able to dig up the ruins and it was powerful enough to carry the Dragon God.” Hertrude spoke with a bitter expression, likely reliving the whole experience. The reason why was revealed as she continued talking. “Rauda and I very nearly passed out from the strain of keeping it under control for the time it took for it to secure the Dragon God to our largest ship. We dismissed it from this realm the moment the work was done.”

“Anything you recognize?” Control bobbed their probe up and down in confirmation of my question.

Denkoki. It is a Hundred Demon Mechanized Beast. Ironically, it actually faced Getter Robo G when it was first created. If that flute can summon Enemies of Humanity, then we must destroy it as soon as possible.

Control was absolutely right. If that thing could summon monsters that could fight a Getter Robo, then it would be a really big threat as long as it existed.

“Can you have the flute sent here now?” Hertrude shook her head at my question.

“Asking for the flute would be tantamount to telling Vandel to commence the invasion of Holfort. He might just do so even with the Dragon God being incomplete.” Well, we definitely didn’t want that to happen.

“Leon, perhaps we should involve Queen Mylene in this now. Even if the invasion won’t happen this year, we could at least have some preparations done in the meantime.” Angie suggested and I immediately nodded at that wonderful idea.

“Vandel and the old Warhawks have already anticipated that someone might figure out their plan. They have been using the facilities that we took from the Elven ruins to constantly generate and send out monsters against your country.” Hertrude informed us. Well, that definitely confirmed that it was Fanoss’ fault that there was a big increase in monster activity.

“I don’t suppose you know how we can shut those down, do you?” Sadly, she shook her head in the negative.

“I’m afraid not. All that is being handled by those men.” I sighed but nodded in understanding.

“If I promised to help heal your sister, but you have to join forces with us to stop Fanoss, what would you do?” Livia suddenly gave a pretty wild proposal out of nowhere. Was she really expecting Hertrude to suddenly switch teams that easily?

“As long as you allow me to kill Vandel personally, I would have no issues with siding with you.” I guess she would. Wait, was this part of the mind control too?

“You would betray your country, just like that?” Angie asked her incredulously.

“Vandel turned my sister into a vegetable for his ambitions. He and his fellows were also responsible for the deaths of our parents when they wanted to sue for lasting peace with Holfort when we were very young. Why would I stay loyal to a country that has brought me and my family nothing but misery and death despite our service for it?!” Holy shit! I was looking at the wrong person as the Final Boss. It turned out that Vandel was a way worse monster than I ever expected. Based on Angie and Livia’s expressions, they agreed.

“Anne, is she still under your control?” Livia’s expression changed, indicating that Anne was taking over.

“Partially,” She began, looking at the girl in question. “I changed my command to make her more agreeable and open to us. She still has free will, such as it is, but she will always favor our opinions and inputs over that of others.”

“It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but as long as she is not a slave to you then I suppose that it is no different from us convincing her to trust us ourselves.” Angie was pretty reluctant about the casual use of mind control, which was understandable.

“I’m not too keen on letting Vandel finish his Getter Robo, but I can’t really see a way for us to get to him without starting the war ourselves.” I growled out in frustration. If we only knew about the attack on Elven Island then…I would have been up against a Hundred Demon Mechanized Beast that was way bigger than Black Getter. We may have won with the Nagare helping, but the damage the fight might have done would have probably been unacceptable anyway.

“We should still definitely tell the Queen about this. I shall ask father if he can arrange an audience with her.” Angie reminded us. How I missed Julius being around so I could just ask him to bring me to his mom.

“I should probably ask her for an official way for us to be able to visit her whenever we need to while this is going on as well.” I nodded and raised a brow at the girl when she scoffed.

“Yes, I’m sure that the ability to be able to visit her in private by yourself anytime you wish has nothing to do with it. Just a happy coincidence.” Angie flatly stated with her own raised brow. I winced but Livia saved me by nuzzling against the other girl’s neck.

“Leon has to take care of Queen Mylene too, Angie.” She said while planting soft kisses on Angie’s neck. Right in front of Hertrude? Really? The girl in question seemed fascinated by the display of love.

“I know that…” Angie mumbled while valiantly putting absolutely no effort in pushing Livia away.

“Any other suggestions?” I turned to Control while the girls had their fun.

I shall begin construction of a second Getter Robo as you had previously suggested.

“Wait, really?!” I exclaimed so loudly that the girls turned to us.

The looming threat cannot be dismissed. It is a clear and present danger that may not be surmounted with only Black Getter F and the Nagare, not without great cost to innocents.

“Another Getter? Who will pilot it?” Angie asked, gently pushing her loving Livia away from her.

“Deirdre.” My two lovers blinked at the name I gave them. I laughed at their surprise and explained why. “Yeah, it turns out that she is a way better pilot than I am and is learning at a ridiculous rate. We actually have her as my backup for Black Getter in case I can’t pilot it.”

“Will it just be another black bunny?” Livia excitedly asked Control.

I have gathered enough data in regards to Miss Roseblade’s piloting style. I believe that building a Getter Robo that is suited for her combat ability would be ideal. It will ultimately be a modified variant of Black Getter F. I have already created a pilot suit for her, in fact. It is currently stored in the Nagare.

“When can you get it finished?” I asked, eager to have some help in big fights.

I am already designing it at the labs and should have it built and ready for testing before summer break.

“We can give it to her as a birthday present!” Livia happily said. “Deridre told me that her birthday is in the summer!”

“Well, that works out.” I noted with a chuckle. Yeah, she was going to go nuts with that kind of birthday gift.

“I shall also feel out the opinions of my father and brother in regards to the monster situation and anything about this Forest of Ladies business.” Angie stated with a determined nod. She would be the best one to handle the political side of things aside from Mylene.

“I have another suggestion.” Anne suddenly spoke up, taking control once again. “While our current symbiosis is excellent, I would like for Livia and I to become stronger still.”

“You want the other relics.” I immediately picked up on what she wanted. Anne nodded in confirmation.

“You said that my bracelet is in the Capital’s Dungeon.” She stated, recalling something I said a while back.

“We’d need a reason to go down there.” I muttered. We could probably get permission to delve into the dungeon, but likely not to the depth where the bracelet was located at.

“Then it will work out.” Angie informed us with a smile. She then sighed when Anne, Livia and I looked like we didn’t know what she was talking about. “We’ll have a practical exam in the second term for our Adventuring Classes. It requires us to get to a certain depth in the Capital’s Dungeon.”

“We can make the cover story of preparing for it while we look for the bracelet. Who would we bring?” I asked, open to suggestions. My immediate answer would have been the boys, but they were abroad. I was thinking of asking Daniel and Raymond as well, but I wanted to know what the girls could think of first.

“Well, both Clarice and Deirdre have already cleared the required depth for the exam.” Angie pointed out, making me smack my palm on my forehead. Of course they did, why didn’t I think of that? The girls giggled at my expense.

“I would also like to help, if you allow it.” Hertrude offered with clear determination. “I am unsure about this whole relic business, or why there seems to be another woman speaking from Livia’s body, but I trust her implicitly. My sister depends on it.”

I can also bring one of my combat drones as well.

So the tentative team would be me, Control, Angie, Livia with Anne, Deirdre, Clarice, and Hertrude. Clara would probably jump at the chance to join as well. That was already eight strong. A Full Party, as it were.

“Well, looks like we have a lot of work to do then.” Despite saying that, I was actually smiling.

At least Control and I didn’t have to deal with all of this by ourselves anymore.

…

“It hasn’t even been a week since we left, big brother.” Marie told me in a flat tone. “How can things go so crazy already?”

I was back in my room and Control was using the drones that Marie and I had to transmit to each other so we could talk. Based on the pajamas she was wearing, my sister was also getting ready for bed.

“In my defense, things were already going crazy in the background even before we found out everything we did from Hertrude.” I pointed out before flipping things around. “How are things on your end?”

Marie groaned and looked up to the ceiling. “The protagonist is an amoeba.”

“Excuse me?” I blinked at what she just said.

“She split into two and I have no idea which one to look after.” Marie tried to clarify but that wasn’t helping either.

“I still have no clue as to what the hell you are talking about.” I told her as much with a shake of my head.

Miss Marie is speaking metaphorically. There seems to be no singular protagonist as we found that there are two girls with the name Beltre. A pair of twins, Lelia and Noelle.

“And you don’t know which one of them is the protagonist?” Marie’s frustration was understandable then.

“The heroine of the second game didn’t have siblings and there was no default name for her either.” Marie showed her frustration by punching her pillows. “Apparently, the first name is a blank space while the last name would always be Beltre when you start a new run.”

“What about the love interests? Anything on them?” I changed the subject to the other end of the equation.

“Control has found one so far, Loic Leta Barielle. Handsome redhead but is apparently pretty intense.” She said, though it sounded like she wasn’t personally interested in him as a guy. “Trying to look for any of the others is pretty hard with our current arrangements.”

“Why? Is someone restricting you guys?” Was Alzer treating them poorly because they’re foreigners?

“The opposite.” Marie waved off my concern with a sigh. “The chairman of the great houses apparently is taking Julius’ presence seriously so he actually has his daughter acting as a guide for us.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” I pointed out with a tilt of my head.

“His daughter is Louise Sara Rault, the main villainess. The chairman is Albergue Sara Rault, the final boss.” Well, that was definitely not the people we needed attention from.

“Fuck.”

“I know, right? I even found out from her that she has a younger brother who might also be a potential love interest. I’d need to investigate more to find out for sure.” Marie said irritably. I recalled the conversation with everyone earlier and had an idea.

“Looks like we both have our work cut out for us.” I started slowly before broaching the topic. “You can always let Julius and the boys in on this. I’m pretty sure that they would believe you being a reincarnate and my sister in our past life.”

Marie just looked at me blankly before closing her eyes and shaking her head. “...I’m tired. Goodnight, big brother. Please cut the connection, Control.”

What was that reaction about?

 

Marie Fou Bartfort stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. It was supposed to be the face of a young woman who had finally gotten everything she could possibly want in her new life. Cute looks that could make a guy’s heart skip a beat with just the right angle and application of body language. Handsome, wealthy, influential, and devoted young men who were at her beck and call. Money, status, and the envy of her peers. Her beloved big brother, who she thought lost to her from her previous life, had even returned to her. After everything had gone wrong in her life on Earth and again in Holfort, she finally did it.

She had won.

It was all perfect.

“You can always let Julius and the boys in on this. I’m pretty sure that they would believe you being a reincarnate and my sister in our past life.”

The memory of her brother’s words from a few days ago made her frown in annoyance. She knew that he was just trying to be supportive and giving her advice, but his decision making was colored by his experience with his own harem. She scoffed at the hilarity of the brother she remembered as an awkward nobody, who she still loved dearly, becoming a harem protagonist. Sure it was with a monster and a bunch of defective losers, but she would tolerate them as long as they made him happy.

Alas, not everyone could take the same path that he did. Marie had to claw her way up from the dirt to get to where she was now.

“Don’t take her away! She’s all I have left!”

“You should have just let me take the money! Stupid bitch! Now I have to make sure you don’t take this to the cops! What a worthless whor–”

“Marie? Are you still finishing up in there? The servants have finished preparing breakfast for everyone.” Jilk knocked on the bathroom door. Last night was his turn with her and he always woke up first so he managed to get ready for the day before she did. It was a reminder of how well her life had been going.

“I’m fine Jilk.” Marie said out loud as she used her hand to wipe away the condensation that had built up on the mirror, her own warped face looking back at her.

“Give me back my daughter!”

“Just die already!”

“Everything is fine.”

…

Marie was thankful that the villainess was a year ahead of them. That meant that she wasn’t hanging around and making a fuss the whole time they were at Alzer Academy. Control had been going around on their own, trying to gain any information about the possible love interests or either of the twins. It was just good luck that Marie and Brad ended up sharing a few classes with one of the possible protagonists.

“So you came here all the way from Holfort with a bunch of hot guys, including a prince? That’s amazing!” Noelle Beltre said from the seat in front of Marie. The way Alzer Academy was set up reminded Marie far too much of a Japanese High School. It seemed that the developers of the second game decided to play it safe and go with what was familiar. A dull wave of nostalgia swept over her the first time she saw how everything was set up, the only thing missing were sliding doors. It was quickly washed away with the reality that she didn’t really remember much from her own high school life back on Earth at all.

Marie lightly laughed in a disarming manner, a skill she had perfected during her days as a hostess. “I was just lucky enough that they chose the same exchange program that I did.”

“Are any of them single?” Noelle asked, leaning in conspiratorially. They both glanced to another part of the classroom where Brad was surrounded by girls due to his good looks and natural charisma. Marie grinned and decided to have some fun with him.

“Oh no, all five of them are very much taken!” Marie said loudly enough that Brad stiffened and immediately started making excuses to the girls who wanted to get to know him better. How was she supposed to see them as anything but boys when they acted like this? Leon totally wouldn’t have acted like that.

“That’s a shame. Their girlfriends are pretty lucky girls.” Noelle noted with a sad sigh, the feeling of getting one over another Otome Protagonist made Marie smile. Still, she was here talking to the gyaru-looking blonde girl for a good reason.

“What about you though? I would have thought that you already have a man.” Marie set her line out and gave it a little tug to see if the girl would bite. “What about that guy you’re always with?”

“Nope, sad to say that I’m still single. I would love to have a boyfriend but there are factors that prevent me from getting one normally.” She admitted easily enough. Marie raised a brow when Noelle looked away with a sad smile. “I definitely don’t want to drag Jean into my life’s problems more than I already have. He deserves better than that.”

Marie hummed along with the explanation. Looks like there was something there after all, albeit with apparent obstacles. The name Jean didn’t bring up any memories though, another anomaly caused by the protagonist being split into two different people? Something to get back to later on.

“What about your sister? You mentioned before that she already has a boyfriend.” Marie asked with an interested expression after giving Brad another glance. Ah, he had taken to diligently going over his notes for the next class instead of flirting. Such a good boy.

“Not really surprising that someone as pretty, smart, and classy as Lelia managed to get the attention of one of the great house’s sons.” Marie’s eyes dulled at the way Noelle laughed at her own words. She recognized that laugh anywhere. It was the one she herself made every time she wanted to convince someone that she was fine and that there was nothing to be worried about.

“Oho? Do tell.” Of course, that wasn’t relevant anymore. Noelle didn’t seem the type who was perceptive enough to pick up on that brief slip.

“Emile Laz Pleven is his name. They’re pretty cozy together whenever I see them.” Marie’s eyes narrowed at the name. That was definitely one of the capture targets. At least one of the twins was making progress. Noelle then looked like she tasted something bitter. “I am happy for her, just wish that the shrew would leave me alone long enough for me to find a good guy myself.”

The shrew was likely the villainess, Louise Sara Rault.

“Any idea why she’s focusing on you? Why not pick on your sister as well?” Noelle gave her a long suffering look at the question.

“Like I said, her boyfriend is a member of the great houses. She won’t mess with her because of that, so she takes it all out on me instead.” Noelle answered with a pout while looking away. So the children of the great houses avoid conflict with one another? That was something useful to know.

Marie reached out and gave a reassuring pat on the blonde girl’s arm. “I’m sure you’ll find the right man for you. You never know, he might already be in arms reach.”

“Thanks for the support. What about you though? Got anyone special?” It was a clumsy attempt to change the subject, but Marie couldn’t help but give a fond smile when she thought about her question. “Oooh! I know that smile! Come on girl, don’t leave me in suspense!”

Marie giggled at how invested Noelle suddenly became. Girl talk never really changed, no matter where she ended up.

“We were apart for a long time and only rediscovered each other through a weird coincidence. I definitely can’t imagine living my life without him anymore.” Marie said without naming any names. Noelle’s eyes sparkled as she filled in the gaps with her own imagination.

“Is he back in Holfort? Don’t you miss him?” Marie’s smile became a bit sad but she nodded at the question all the same.

“He is, and I do. But I’ve been without him for years, I can wait for one more.” Noelle let out a jealous sigh and looked away from Marie.

“Lucky~”

…

It was dinner and everyone was gathered at the dining table after they thanked the servants for the food. Julius was at the head of the table, with Marie to his left and Jilk to his right. Chris was sitting beside Jilk, with Brad next to him. Greg sat to Marie’s left and let out a frustrated sigh that got the attention of the rest of the table.

“Ugh! I hate that there aren’t any adventuring classes on offer out here.” His friends easily agreed with his sentiment. Marie didn’t mind not having to go down deep dank caves filled with traps and monsters.

“Indeed. We may need to venture out on our own if we want to keep ourselves from losing our sharpness while we are here.” Chris said as he cut into his meal. He and Greg’s rivalry had become friendlier as time went on. It was a shame that the tension between them was gone, but Marie was fine with not having to break up their fights anymore.

“A dungeon expedition sounds like a wonderful change of pace, don’t you think so?” Brad put forward the idea. Marie’s face remained impassive as she let the boys discuss the matter between themselves. If they wanted to play adventurers to occupy themselves, then she wouldn’t stop them.

“We’ll likely need to ask the Holfort Embassy for guidance on that front.” Julius muttered, getting everyone else’s attention.

“How come?” Greg asked. Jilk wiped some sauce from his lips before answering on his best friend’s behalf.

“Adventuring is looked down upon in Alzer, as you all know.” We all nodded at his words. “Yes, so we need to make sure that we won’t be upsetting anyone if we do decide to delve into a dungeon for training.”

“What’s wrong, Marie?” Chris asked suddenly, making them all look at her. Was she making a face without realizing it? Marie recovered by shrugging and giving them a sweet smile.

“Just thinking about how different the atmosphere of the Academy here is compared to the one back home.” It was almost boring how easily they accepted her words. Not a peep of challenge as to what else she might have been thinking about. Not a single word of concern unless her mask slipped.

How could she possibly love them when they never bothered to try to know what her life was like before she came to the Academy? Even after she was released from the Palace dungeons, and was only allowed to remain in the Academy thanks to Leon’s quick thinking, they never bothered to ask how those animals treated her in the past.

Why should she rely on anyone else when her brother was the only one who had always proven that he could be counted on when it came to her well being? The only thing she had ever known from other men was bitter disappointment.

“I know what you mean. Nobles and Commoners freely intermingling like that is unheard of in Holfort.” Marie easily slipped out of her thoughts and back into the conversation with Julius’ words.

Marie told her boys that she wanted some time alone after dinner, but not before reminding Chris that it was his turn that night. She left the blushing boy to be teased by his friends and met with a waiting Control in her room.

Miss Marie, I have uncovered some additional information about the possible love interests based on the criteria you have outlined.

It was not the first time that Control’s convenience made Marie jealous of her brother. Such feelings were fleeting as she was now also being helped by the AI. Marie sat down on her bed and reviewed everything with Control.

Hugh and Fernand of the Druille house were apparently already out of contention. Hugh was to be engaged to the villainess, while his older brother Fernand was already out of the Academy and was a politician. It seemed that their flags needed to have been raised the school year prior. Shame, but there was nothing to be done.

Emile was already with Lelia, which confirmed Noelle’s words from before. Nothing to worry about there other than letting nature take its course. Hopefully, neither of them ruin what they already have and cause her more headaches.

Louise’s younger brother was also confirmed to be attending the Academy, Serge Sara Rault. Though it seemed that he was adopted into the household. Marie’s lips quirked at the coincidence. He was the delinquent type who didn’t show up to class a lot and favored going into dungeons instead. The only reason why he doesn’t get in trouble for that was because his adoptive father was effectively the ruler of the country.

The only ones remaining among the great houses who would have made sense were Pierre Io Feivel and Loic Leta Barielle.

Control immediately emphasized that Pierre was not a viable option. The behavior and rumors surrounding the boy painted a picture of an abusive child who was never disciplined properly when they were young. Bullying, blackmail, extortion, assault, possibly even rape. Marie mentally chalked him up as a possible antagonist for the twins with how cartoonishly evil he seemed to be. The power of the great houses must have been pretty incredible if they could cover up all that.

Loic was not any better, unfortunately. It made her initial assessment of him completely wrong in hindsight. He was actively pursuing Noelle and was even claiming that they were already in a relationship to anyone who would listen. The fact that Noelle never mentioned him during their talks already raised red flags for Marie. Especially with how much Noelle went on about wanting to have a boyfriend. It was further confirmed when Control said that the few times he observed the two interact, Loic was aggressive to the point of harassment regardless of how much Noelle rejected his advances. More red flags.

Marie’s hands clenched into fists so tightly that she could feel her nails dig into her palms. She was very familiar with the types of men that Pierre and Loic resembled.

“Thank you for all that, Control. You went above and beyond with all this.” She really did appreciate everything the little drone had done so far. It would have taken her weeks to find out all that on her own.

It is no different to what Leon and I did when we were uncovering what you had been doing with Prince Julius and the others last year.

“Yeah, that figures.” Of course they investigated her actions. It was probably what eventually led to Leon getting to know the losers.

I would like to note that there does not seem to be any unifying bond between the possible love interests this time, aside from the two who are siblings.

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” The whole point of Julius and the others being friends was to give the player an excuse to be able to easily interact with the love interest of their choice. The sequel was intended to be a lot easier in terms of gameplay, the other side of it was that the player needed to work harder for their flags. It was the whole reason why Emile was so easy to romance, in case the player messed up with the other Capture Targets.

Based on all information gathered, the only real viable option that would not end poorly for Noelle would be Serge.

“And that opens up another can of worms because he’s Louise’s adopted younger brother.” Marie continued the train of thought with Control’s drone bobbing up and down in agreement.

Do we instead hedge our bets on Lelia instead? She has already secured one of the love interests.

“I’m not Leon, Control. Giving that many leading statements gets pretty obvious to someone who is used to them.” It was a bit amusing to watch the little floating sphere back away from her, like it was startled or something. “I’ve figured out that we might need to think beyond the designated Capture Targets if we want Noelle to get a guy.”

My apologies. I had thought that a similar method would work with you.

“I don’t know what kind of issues you helped my brother get through, but I’d like to thank you anyway. It’s pretty nice to see him so happy.” She meant every word of it as well. If only they had someone like Control during their previous life.

You’re welcome. If there is anything you would like to talk about as well, I will always be available.

“Mommy!”

“Die! Die! Die!”

“I think I’ll be fine for now.” But that didn’t mean that she was ready to talk about her life after her brother died.

I understand. Do you already have a plan of action then?

“I think that it’s time for me to take a page from Leon’s book.” Marie said with a more genuine smile.

…

“Hello there, you’re Jean right?” The rather plain looking boy with brown hair looked surprised when Marie approached him in the hallway.

“Oh yes, can I help you?” He asked with an awkward smile. If he was placed in any other setting, he might have been considered quite handsome. The boy next door look still had its own merits. Sadly, this world had people who looked like supermodels as the norm.

“My name is Marie,” She introduced herself and assuaged his concern with her next words. “Noelle has told me all about you.”

“Nothing too embarrassing, I hope.” She laughed along with him at his self-deprecating joke. That was a point in his favor. Being able to make fun of yourself was a good trait to have for anyone.

Marie tilted her head and set out her line. “Not at all, I am curious though.”

“About what?” A soft tug and Marie knew that she had him.

“How did the two of you become such good friends?”

Marie’s smile grew wider as Jean spoke about how his aging dog and Noelle shared the same name. The ease in which he told her about their relationship was just too good.

She could definitely work with this.

 

“Roseblade? You set Nicks up with a Roseblade?” Jenna asked with a bit of alarm. She, Nicks, and I were back in my tea room talking about the Tea Party I managed to set up between him and Deirdre.

Nicks had graduated in the same ceremony as Clarice and was now working under our father officially to help manage all the new growth in our family’s territory. He was given time off from his work when my mom found out that I might have found him a match. Dad was annoyed but could not overrule his loving wife if he wanted her to stay loving to him. Thus, Nicks found his way back to the Academy.

“What do you have against Deirdre?” I narrowed my eyes, feeling a bit defensive of my friend. My older sister just rolled her eyes and waved off my concern.

“Her, I don’t really have an issue with. However, I’ve heard rumors about her older sister. Dorothea Fou Roseblade, the Academy’s Golden Girl of her year.” Huh, Deirdre never mentioned that she had a sister. Then again, I never really told her about my siblings either until I brought up Nicks. Jenna then turned to the man in question. “You were there before she graduated, right?”

“Miss Dorothea? Yeah, I was in my first year when she was already in her third year.” He confirmed with a nod. That would make her two years older than Nicks and three years older than Deirdre.

I filed away that piece of information and spoke up. “So what’s the big deal about Deirdre’s sister?”

“She was at the top of her year her entire time at the Academy. Three years and no one could come close to her academic and practical scores. She was perfect in everything.” Jenna was surprisingly knowledgeable about an alumnus that was already out of the school by the time she would have started. Was she an admirer or something?

“Not really seeing anything wrong with her so far, Jenna. She sounds awesome, actually.” I pointed out. Nicks just opted to stay out of it and let the two of us talk amongst ourselves.

“The problem with Dorothea is that she never managed to secure an engagement her entire stay in the Academy. In fact, she’s still unmarried to this day.” I blinked at Jenna’s explanation. What? That was crazy! If she was the best of the best of her year, the guys in her generation should have been tripping over themselves trying to secure an engagement with her!

“That does sound pretty weird. Do you know anything about it?” Nicks looked at me with wide eyes as he sipped his tea. C’mon man! This could be our new sister-in-law we’re talking about here! You could be more involved, you know?

“I’m in General Studies. Everything I know about Miss Dorothea is from what I heard from others during that time. At most, I saw her every now and then around campus from a distance.” Nicks told us before narrowing his eyes in recollection. “I can’t say that I ever heard her be involved with anyone from that time though.”

“See? If she is unmarriable, who’s to say that her younger sister is any different?” Jenna scolded me while pointing at Nicks. “You’re really useless when it comes to this stuff.”

“At least I’m actually trying to do something to help Nicks. You’ve been too busy scaring off some of the new first year girls who were just trying to ask Daniel for directions.” The look on her face when I shot back with that made Nicks and I laugh.

“He told you that?!” She actually looked pretty hurt so I decided to give her a break.

“No, Raymond did.” Jenna’s expression immediately changed to a far colder one as she muttered to herself about teaching my other friend a lesson. “Don’t harm our friend, Jenna. I’ll tell Daniel.”

“How dare you use my fiancé against me.” She mumbled unhappily and just decided to chomp on some snacks.

After a few minutes of more small talk and Nicks telling us how Finley and Colin were doing, he finally broached the subject of the Tea Party. “So, anything I should know about Miss Deirdre so I don’t embarrass myself in front of her?”

Jenna also looked at me in curiosity as I thought about the question. Livia knew Deirdre better than I did as a girl, all I really understood about her was that she really liked Black Getter.

“Honestly, just treat her with respect.” I told him the most obvious, yet important thing he could do. “She’s pretty friendly and doesn’t put people down like some of the other girls. She really likes Black Getter so I guess you can use that as a conversation starter.”

“Easy for you to say, you have like three girls all over you.” It was actually three girls, a ghost, and a very full-grown woman. I wasn’t going to correct Nicks’ misconception though.

“Nicks, you’re a grown man. Act like it.” Jenna told him with a sigh.

“Just relax and talk about anything. I’ll set everything up beforehand so you don’t have to worry about the drinks and snacks.” I said more supportively. Once I was done, all Nicks really had to do was break the ice and make a good impression. I was totally not ignoring how unconvinced he still looked by the time we finished talking to him.

I was sure that it was going to work out.
…

Nicks Fou Bartfort sat across from the third-year girl that Leon set him up to have a Tea Party with. He had heard of the younger Roseblade sister before but this was the first time he had actually seen her personally. She was pretty different from her older sister in terms of her style. The long curls of her hair made a very striking impression. When he followed Leon’s advice to talk about his Black Getter Armor, Deirdre immediately went on and on about how much she loved the intimidating machine. It was pretty startling to watch a girl be so invested in something that was predominantly male oriented.

Deirdre Fou Roseblade’s first impression of Leon’s older brother was that he was much more reserved than her friend. He had told her that he was an alumnus from the General Studies section of the Academy but not much else. She jumped at the chance to speak about Black Getter when he brought up the subject. Of course he would know about it, his brother was the Armor’s pilot. Nicks looked like he was listening intently to her stories about her training in the simulator but she could tell that he wasn’t really that interested in it.

When she asked about what he was doing after he graduated, Nicks started speaking about his experience in helping his father manage the family lands. They both quickly realized that they really didn’t have anything in common with each other. Deirdre thought it was a shame as Leon went through all the trouble to set them both up with each other and she did genuinely think that Nicks was a good man. Though it didn’t mean that they couldn’t be friends. Nicks thought that Leon was right and she was a great girl, she was just a bit too intense for him and she didn’t seem interested in the things that he did.

Nicks was about to thank her for her time and end the Tea Party when the doors suddenly burst open. The two of them turned to the source of the commotion and saw a young woman in a purple dress that had long straight blonde hair and blue eyes. Nicks’ eyes widened when he recognized who just showed up.

“Dorothea! What is the meaning of this?!” Just as Deirdre exclaimed, the one who interrupted them was none other than her older sister. Nicks was wondering what she was doing here when the woman walked up to the younger sister.

“I told you not to accept this Tea Party invitation. What if he turned out to be someone unscrupulous?” Nicks felt a vein pop on his head. The hell was this woman talking about?

“Excuse me? I happen to trust Leon. If he says that his brother is a good man, then I will believe him. From what I have seen so far, he is correct in his assessment.” He felt a lot better when Deirdre took his side and defended his dignity.

“That still does not mean that he is worthy of a Roseblade.” Dorothea adjusted her argument instead. Rude. She didn’t even know anything about him and she was already judging him.

“You just want me to end up like you, still unmarried even after graduating.” He had to hold back his laughter at how casually Deirdre said that. Her older sister didn’t seem to be expecting such words as she recoiled like she was struck.

“I’m just looking out for you, sister. It’s been clear that you don’t really think your actions through based on your letters.” Oh yeah, that was definitely the wrong thing to say based on Deirdre’s frown. It got even worse with her next words. “I mean, really! Piloting an Armor? A noble lady doesn’t do such things!”

“I happen to enjoy piloting Black Getter and I am thankful to Leon and Control for giving me the opportunity even though I am a woman.” The younger sister slowly said through gritted teeth. Nicks could empathize as he was getting really pissed at the older sister as well.

“And this is why you won’t be able to find a ma–” Both sisters froze at the sudden loud noise close by. Nicks slammed both his hands on the table and stood up, knocking down his chair in the process.

“SHUT UP!” Dorothea took a step back as Nicks walked around the table and stepped between her and her younger sister.

If there was one thing he always understood, it was that his siblings had to find their own way in life. As much as he wanted to help them whenever they were in trouble, they would never learn if he did that. The results with Leon and Jenna spoke for themselves. The effects were a bit skewed with Finley so far but Colin was doing good progress into eventually being able to find his own path.

Nicks knew that he was making a mistake. He knew that he was blowing it and wasting the hard work that Leon put into this Tea Party so he would have the chance to find a good bride. But as an older brother, he couldn’t stand how Dorothea was acting anymore.

“Ah!” She yelped as he went and grabbed her by her shoulders.

“I don’t know what your problem is with your sister, but you sure as hell don’t get to tell her how to live her life like that!” He yelled while shaking her a bit.

Deirdre looked up at Nicks’ back as he stood between her and Dorothea. She never noticed how much taller than her he was or how broad his back actually was. A strange new feeling settled in her chest as he started berating her older sister.

“I get that you’re trying to look after your younger sibling, I’ve done that too! But you can’t live their life for them! You have to let them make their own decisions and let them live with those decisions, they won’t ever grow up if you don’t!”

The Roseblade name was always respected at the Academy thanks to her older sister. Deirdre herself started attending the Academy at the perfect time. It was long enough after Dorothea’s time that people didn’t compare her to her older sister, but was recent enough that their family’s name was synonymous with success and excellence.

The side effect of that was people always saw Deirdre as superior to them, and she proved time and time again that she was. Leon and his lovers were the few who looked at her as an equal and not someone to look up to. They considered her as a friend instead of an idol.

What she was currently experiencing with Nicks was completely different from anything she had encountered before.It was the very first time Deirdre found someone outside her family actually protecting her instead of confidently expecting that she could handle the situation herself. The realization made her eyes widen and her cheeks burn up.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?! Answer me!”

For Dorothea, being yelled at and manhandled by Nicks brought out a very new feeling in the very core of her being. She was the greatest of her year. Unparalleled and perfect in every way. Every boy who tried to court her wilted the moment she challenged them in any meaningful way. It was so disappointing that she never ended up getting married to anyone. All she wanted to do was prevent her younger sister from suffering through the same disappointments that she did.

Instead, Dorothea realized that her sister found the one man who was actually willing to stand up to her. Even better, he was doing so for the sake of her darling younger sister. The fierceness of his voice and the fury in his eyes made Dorothea’s heart throb in a way she had never experienced before in her entire life. Has she finally found the one? She had to know.

"So what will you do next, you brute? Will you pin me down on the floor? The wall? The door? And right in front of my dearest sister?" Dorothea excitedly asked in quick succession as her breathing grew harder and her face heated up. The unexpected reaction snapped Nicks out of his anger. He quickly let go of the older woman and stepped back, only to be stopped by the table behind him.

“If I recall from Deirdre’s letter, your name is Nicks, correct?” The man in question hesitantly nodded as Dorothea stepped forward and smiled. “Nicks, yes. I can get used to calling out that name.”

“Is there something wrong, dearest Deirdre?” She asked as the hand she was about to reach out and touch Nicks’ face with was intercepted by her younger sister, Deirdre holding onto her wrist with an iron grip.

“Nicks is having a Tea Party with me, dearest Dorothea.” She calmly explained to her older sister even as both their arms shuddered from straining against one another. “It is quite rude of you to take away his attention from me.”

“Not at all. I merely wish to get to know him better, for your sake as well.” Dorothea also calmly explained to her younger sister as she kept trying to free herself. Nicks watched all this and was quickly losing patience at their antics. These two were supposed to be the best of the best of their respective years?

“What a coincidence, that is what we were doing before you quite rudely interrupted us.” Deirdre responded, standing up so the two sisters were face to face with each other. The younger sister still had her older sister’s wrist in her hand. Nicks finally decided to take a page from Leon’s book himself and do something crazy enough to maybe work.

“Will the two of you stop barking at each other like a couple of mutts?! You’re sisters dammit!” He yelled at them both, startling them enough for him to pull their arms off each other.

He glared at them both before speaking again in the tone he used to cow his own younger siblings whenever they went too far. “Now, will the two of you cut this shit out and get along or do I have to collar you both?!”

He wasn’t sure if he got the right reaction when both girls looked down shyly, blushed, and fidgeted.

“Yes.” They both said at the same time. Nicks breathed a sigh of relief and more calmly asked Dorothea if she wanted to join them for the rest of their tea party. She graciously accepted and things pretty much settled down from there.

Nicks was so relieved that the two sisters stopped arguing with each other that he never followed up on what exactly they meant when they answered ‘Yes’ to him.

…

I was surprised when, a few days after the Tea Party with Nicks, Deirdre apologetically told me that she wasn’t going to be able to join our party when we went into the Capital’s Main Dungeon.

“I have to go home and talk to my family about a few important things.” She explained before giving me a wistful smile, she was even blushing! “Your older brother is a wonderful man, Leon. Be proud of him.”

I couldn’t help but grin as I watched Deirdre walk away with an actual skip in her step. Looks like Nicks made a really good impression on her. That was fantastic!

I guess that meant that he won’t have any issues with marriage anymore.

Mission Accomplished! Good work, Me!

I was waiting at the Dungeon Entrance for the others in my pilot suit. Control was going to escort them here so I decided to check to see if there would be a lot of people around. Thankfully, there weren’t that many so far.

“Ho there, friend! Might you be the infamous Doom Knight?” I blinked at the familiar voice that called out from behind me. I turned around at the sounds of armored footsteps and took a step back when I saw who it was.

Resplendent in gleaming white armor and a blue hooded cloak. There was a longsword strapped to his waist that had a pretty elegant looking pommel. The most striking thing about the new arrival was the mask he was wearing to cover his eyes. Though it did nothing to cover the very familiar blue hair of a man he had seen a few times before.

“C-can I help you?” I asked in a slightly higher pitched voice because I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

“I see that you are about to delve into the dungeon yourself. I would like to ask if you would let me join your party. It would be a good experience for me to have an adventure with the Doom Knight.” Yeah, that was absolutely the last thing I was expecting to hear when I woke up this morning.

“I see. Umm…what should I call you?” Roland Rapha Holfort, dressed up as the Masked Knight that helps the main protagonist sometimes in the game, grinned even though his disguise didn’t work on me at all for some reason.

“You can just refer to me as Masked Knight!”