“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
Princess Asteria had returned to her dormitory after completing her contract with Mars.
Perhaps due to her political status as a princess, Asteria had been assigned the largest and most spacious room. Her room was so luxurious and dazzling that it felt more like a palace than an academy.
“I’m tired. Skip dinner. I’ll take a bath first.”
“Yes, right away. I’ll prepare it immediately.”
While the maids went off to heat the bathwater and make preparations, Asteria reclined in a luxurious chair and asked Leto, her most trusted personal maid:
“So, Leto, what did you find out?”
“Yes, I sent people to investigate, but there’s nothing different from the previous reports. However, it seems that Baron Noctus is currently short on funds due to a recent poor harvest. There’s talk that he opened up the storage for his people and has been purchasing scarce supplies, which led to the financial difficulties.”
“Is that so?”
Asteria recalled the bold young man who had confidently mentioned being a love consultant in front of her and had even demanded compensation.
“So… he asked for money as a reward for the sake of his territory? I thought he was just doing it for his own gain, but now I see him in a different light.”
Despite his ordinary looks and unimpressive background and whether or not he actually had any remarkable talent, the image of that man fearlessly making her an offer resurfaced in her mind, and Asteria couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
“Your Highness? Did something happen?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. You remember the eldest son of the Helios family I mentioned before? I got a proposal from his childhood friend. He said he’d help me with my love life in exchange for money.”
“What? A mere baron’s son dared to ask for money? How outrageous…!”
“Let it go, Leto. Rather than having someone hang around pretending to help and becoming a nuisance, wouldn’t it be better to buy him off cleanly with money? It seems he made that decision more for his people than himself, so let’s be generous with him.”
Hyperion Helios.
He had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and reached the level of Aura Lord. It was said that a single Lord was powerful enough to take on an entire small country.
He had no interest in politics, so he had secluded himself in a remote countryside far from the capital. However, word spread that he had sent his son to the academy, seemingly wanting him to see more of the world.
As someone who had never stepped into high society, she had initially intended to meet the son in hopes of recruiting such a powerful figure. But upon seeing him, she had been instantly captivated by his unexpectedly handsome appearance.
Normally, she would have sent someone to the Helios territory to investigate. However, the risk of offending a Lord who was near transcendent was too great. So instead, she had attempted to approach his seemingly naive childhood friend.
He didn’t seem frightened when he saw me.
Most ordinary people were intimidated at the mere sight of a princess.
There was the pressure of authority, and her appearance, which came across as more fierce than cute, added to the effect. Coupled with the expressionless mask she wore when dealing with others, people usually averted their eyes, fidgeted nervously, and focused entirely on reading her mood.
But that man, Mars Noctus, although he was clearly tense, had looked at her not with fear, but with the eyes of someone observing an unrelated third party. She found it oddly fascinating.
His expressions, which ranged from disappointment at the truth behind the letter to confusion at her proposal to intrigue at the chance to make money…. changed from moment to moment and were amusing to watch. But there wasn’t the slightest hint in his eyes that he saw her as a woman.
It was as if he were gazing at the pale figure of a woman trapped in a watercolor painting.
“Since it was a favor we asked of him, we should offer a reward. And since this is a personal matter, I’ll handle it from my private funds.”
“What should we do about that man? Should we have someone keep an eye on him, just in case?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. The fact that he made such a request shows that he’s exactly that kind of man. Once the Helios heir becomes my husband, there’ll be no need to keep ties with him. Besides, people who are so shallow and materialistic like him always destroy themselves eventually.”
With her maid’s help, Asteria undressed and stepped into the warm, heated bath.
“Haah~ I’m already looking forward to the day that man becomes mine.”
***
Clang—! Clang—!
“Oh? Mars, your sword’s gotten sharper than before. You’ve changed this much in just a few days… did you have some sort of revelation?”
Yes. You could call it a revelation… or more like enlightenment.
I had come to realize that an ordinary romance was impossible for me.
The shock from receiving three fake love letters (two from guys and one from a female friend) must have hit me harder than I thought, to the point that it even affected my swordsmanship.
“Hmm… I suppose you could call it a sort of enlightenment.”
“Yes, whatever it is, what matters is that it changes your mindset. I hope you’ll grow from that realization!”
After my sparring session with the professor, I returned to the waiting area and approached Pollo, who was watching me with eyes full of anticipation.
“Mars! I watched your match! You always seemed so annoyed before, but did you finally get serious?”
“No, not really… I guess I just had a lot on my mind and spaced out a bit. Maybe that brought back some old habits.”
As someone who loved swordsmanship, it seemed he had quite liked the way I performed just now.
No matter what, we were fellow students who trained under the same master, so the experience must have felt especially meaningful to him.
“By the way, Pollo.”
“Hmm?”
Pollo was swinging his hands through the air in strange motions as if replaying my duel and analyzing it.
“Are you, by any chance, interested in romance?”
“…All of a sudden?”
Even I had to admit it was out of the blue.
Bringing up romance in the middle of a swordsmanship class would’ve caught anyone off guard.
“Well, it’s just… It’s been a few weeks since we entered the academy, and we’ve met all kinds of people. I was wondering if there was anyone you liked. I mean, with your looks, I’m sure there’s no shortage of girls who’d be into you.”
A light probe.
First, I needed to figure out whether he was even interested in the opposite sex.
You had to dig a well in a place where there was a water vein. And digging endlessly into dry, barren land would only leave you with sweat and exhaustion.
Even if it was deep, it was only worth the effort if there was water to be found.
He probably couldn’t say these things to just anyone, but since I was his closest childhood friend, Pollo could open up about something this personal to me.
“Romance? Hmm… not really. I’m not particularly interested right now. Ever since I entered the academy, everything’s been so new and fascinating that just experiencing all that has been enough for me.”
“I see…”
Hmm… maybe it just wasn’t the right time yet.
Maybe it was thanks to his loving parents, but it seemed he did have dreams of getting married someday. Still, since he’d had so little interaction with people his age, it felt like Pollo prioritized his personal interests over romance for now.
At times like this, rather than pushing things too hard, it was better to help someone naturally grow accustomed to the idea of romance so they’d unconsciously become curious about it.
Of course, I was a lifelong single who had never even held a girl’s hand, but thanks to years of playing dating sims and watching romance shows, I considered myself to have a pretty sharp sense for love.
“What about you, Mars? Is there any girl you’re interested in?”
“Nope. Even if there were, she’d have to like me first…”
This world was like the setting of a dating sim.
To me, who had been reincarnated into this place, it was reality now. But from another angle, this was still a world that had once been a dating sim, filled with beautiful men and women.
Wherever you looked, there were handsome guys. Turn your head the other way, and there were beautiful girls.
Sure, every now and then you’d come across someone who looked like a subspecies of orc, but that was an extreme rarity. Even the farmers’ wives in the countryside were beautiful enough that, in my previous life, they could’ve easily debuted as rookie idols.
In a world like that, someone like me with my common brown hair, common blue eyes, and height and looks that screamed “plain”…. I simply didn’t stand out.
Whenever I went into town, no one ever took me for a noble. And whenever I visited Pollo’s house, the maids would always squeal and try to get Pollo’s attention….not mine.
“What about Luna? I feel like you and Luna would be a good match.”
“Hey. Be serious, would you? Like she’d ever like me?”
Luna was a maid around my age who worked in our household. Her mother was also a maid, and her father was a butler. Her entire family served our house.
Though we were nobles in name only and didn’t have much to show for it, they stayed loyal to us out of sheer devotion. Maybe that’s why Luna had spent a lot of time with me since we were young.
The problem was that, while she was always polite and respectful to adults, she acted especially cold and prickly only toward me.
It got worse as we got older. It was already frustrating enough being so plain-looking, but when even my one and only female friend treated me like that, I gave up on any childhood fantasies about having a sweet girl-next-door type of childhood friend.
“She didn’t shed a single tear when I left. Do you really think she has any feelings for me?”
“I don’t think so…”
“Anyway, that’s enough about Luna. What you’re saying is, you’re not thinking about dating anyone right now, right?”
“Mm… yeah, I guess?”
“Alright, got it.”
Pushing someone who said they weren’t interested would only backfire.
It’d probably just make them dislike you or doubt your intentions.
In times like this, it was best to slowly work your way in. Like a drizzle soaking through clothes without anyone noticing.
First, I needed to ask for help from the people funding me.
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