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Sorting Things Out

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*****

I wonder if Grandpa is eating all by himself back at the estate in Azenda. Or maybe he's having a lively dinner with the knights?

The thought crosses my mind as I look down at the main dish of our dinner: duck confit. It's one of Servas's absolute favorites.

For Servas and Claude, who constantly travel back and forth between the Royal Capital and the Azenda Margraviate, eating alone is probably nothing new. They're adults, after all. In fact, with their schedules packed with one official banquet after another, a quiet meal alone might actually be a relief. Still, Magnolia can't help but feel a little lonely on his behalf.

「What's wrong?」

Claude asks, noticing that Magnolia seems a bit down.

「I was just thinking... Grandpa might be lonely eating all by himself.」

Claude can't help but smile at her unexpected words. It's true—a dining table without Magnolia is bound to feel dull and lonely.

「Why don't you write him a letter after dinner? We can have a crow deliver it.」

When she pops into his office after dinner, a crow is already waiting by the window. The bird lets out a soft caw the moment it sees Magnolia. She walks over, strokes its feathers, and offers it a single grape, only for the crow to croak in dissatisfaction.

「Looks like he wanted meat instead,」 Claude chuckles.

「Hey, you already ate your meat, didn't you? This is dessert!」

「...Caw.」

It seems the bird is willing to eat it despite the complaints. After slipping the letter into the message tube, the crow takes off from the balcony, circles wide in the sky, and flies straight toward its destination.

As the two of them stand side by side watching the bird disappear into the distance, Thomas sets some tea on the table and quietly excuses himself.

「Is Gai back already?」

「No. Apparently, he's doing a more thorough sweep.」 Claude replies, locking the window.

It turns out Gai has slipped into the royal palace, taking advantage of the opportunity to dig around for information.

「Is there something bothering you?」

「No... nothing that affects us directly. Just a handful of unsavory characters poking around, I suppose.」

(Yeah, it's probably best not to touch that topic for my own sake. Steering clear of all that is definitely the safest bet.)

「So, how was the young lady from the Rishua house?」

He is referring to the girl who is supposedly a reincarnator from another world. Truth be told, Claude has been curious and likely wanted to see her for himself. However, he refrained from joining them out of consideration, thinking it might be awkward for an uncle to crash a girls' tea party and that a viscount's daughter would feel incredibly nervous around an adult from a margrave family.

Though if it were Violet, she probably would have been absolutely thrilled to have him there... Magnolia thinks, pondering where exactly she should start.

「Well, she was very friendly and seemed like a really nice girl...」

Claude double-checks the document covered in elegant handwriting. It's a summary Magnolia compiled from the notes she received and the information she gathered during their talk.

According to the notes, this world is identical to a "game"—a form of entertainment like a board game where images pop up—created in a place called "Japan on Earth," where they used to live. It's essentially a fictional setting, like a novel or a play.

...Claude understands the words, but the actual concept totally eludes him.

He knows what a game is. He figures it's a pastime or a competition, like chess or card games. But apparently, characters materialize like pictures and actually move. Not cards or game pieces, but actual people. Even the scenery and buildings do. On top of that, these moving people perform a drama. He can grasp the literal meaning of the explanation—that players enjoy watching a script unfold while making choices to alter the story—but it still sounds bizarre.

And的情ly, a script or story almost identical to this very world exists over there.

「...Was this game created by someone who 'reincarnated' to 'Earth' from our world?」

Otherwise, how could they possibly know about their country, its systems, and even the names of the people here?

「No, I doubt it. I mean, I guess it's not completely impossible, but it's more like a common 'trope' or premise. There's a whole genre of stories with the setup where 'a certain person'—like me or Lady Rishua—reincarnates into a world that perfectly matches a game made back on Earth.」

「……」

Claude wears a thoroughly complicated expression. But realizing that stalling here won't get him anywhere, he apparently decides to just swallow his disbelief and accept it.

「...So, a baron's daughter raised as a commoner enters a romantic relationship with the prince, Lord Louis, my brother, and Brian? And if she wins everyone over, even I end up in a romantic relationship with this little girl?」

*Absolutely impossible.*

The canyon forming between his eyebrows is getting dangerously deep.

...Judging by his face, he has definitely cooked up an image of an utterly scandalous, loose-lived little girl in his head.

「Ah, well... how would it work in the real world, I wonder? Maybe she unconsciously acts in ways or makes gestures that just happen to charm people? Plus, even if she's a little girl right now, she'll have grown into a young lady by the time she enters the Academy.」

「First of all, she's a baron's daughter, right? No matter how much the school° claims everyone is equal, no fool is actually going to act as if they are. ...In a way, the Academy is a microcosm of society. It's a place to learn how to behave so you don't make critical blunders once you enter the real world.」

He makes a perfectly valid point. While minor slip-ups might be overlooked, there was no way a student would be forgiven for a catastrophic glass-shattering blunder.

「Well, it's a tricky subject... but some people are just naturally popular, right? Even if they act completely normal, they just can't help turning heads.」

That is just the nature of a heroine.

Perhaps hitting a bit too close to home, Claude lets out a soft sigh, but pushes through anyway.

「Any sensible person would have the decency to refrain from actions that could lead to such misunderstandings with a prince. Besides, doesn't the prince already have a fiancée? And isn't she from a marquess's family?」

He looks back down at the paper, his blue-violet eyes scanning the text as if double-checking a list of absolute absurdities.

「It's only natural to call out a young lady for acting so bizarrely. I can't comprehend why the adults around them would just stand by and watch. And to top it off, the engagement gets broken so this girl can become the crown princess...? Just how many years of intensive training do they think Lady Gardinia has undergone?」

...He is totally right. Without training from a young age, even her etiquette as a baron's daughter would be questionable, let alone handling the role of crown princess. Anyone with a normal sense of self-preservation would find the whole idea terrifying.

「Heroines really are something else. So tough.」

「That is hardly the point.」

Claude gives her a stern look as she offers her sincere admiration.

「Well, I think things around me will change drastically. My own mindset is completely different, so I have absolutely no intention of acting like that. Plus, Father holds a different position now and is already highly cautious of the royal family.」

「...So you won't end up imprisoned?」

「Nope. I don't plan on getting engaged or becoming a crown princess candidate. To be completely honest, even if it sounds disrespectful, I'd rather pass on the prince entirely... I have zero interest in bullying the heroine or getting involved with her at all.」

Claude turns his attention to the other side of the paper, examining it carefully.

「The real issue is this one...」

His voice sounds bitter, as if a headache is coming on.

Yes, he is looking at *Pre-Koi*.

「This Prince Julius actually exists. An imperial prince of the Marinase Empire shares the exact same name and age.」

So the adult game love interest is real.

「Sounds like a crisis of chastity...」

「A crisis of majesty?」

「No, no... chastity! Virginity! This prince is the lead character of an eroge... an adult game, you see.」

Claude blinks his sharp eyes, tilting his head slightly.

「An adult game?」

「He's originally the protagonist of a completely different game, but he makes a guest appearance in this one too.」

「...Why?」

「Who knows?」

Magnolia shrugs. As for why, it is undoubtedly due to some behind-the-scenes corporate decisions to push the project through.

「It seems Lady Rishua didn't know everything either, so there are still plenty of question marks... But because of how his character is set up, some highly scandalous, even—uh—incidents tend to happen, which means my virtue is on the line. Not to mention, world peace itself is in jeopardy.」

「But doesn't that whole plot hinge on you being imprisoned? If you aren't imprisoned, then the war shouldn't break out, right?」

「True. Let's hope so.」

「Besides, in this one, I'm supposed to develop romantic feelings for you? And on top of that, I revive a principality and raise an army just to rescue you? The whole thing is utterly ridiculous.」

Magnolia hadn't written down Claude's true identity in her notes. Setting aside whether Claude himself knew, if he found out that Violet—who shouldn't have known anything—possessed such secrets, he might just casually have her assassinated to keep her quiet.

「And in reality, we've already met and are living under the same roof... so I don't think it'll actually happen. But since we don't know what kind of narrative railroad force might come into play, I figured it's best to share what I know, just in case.」

She also decides to keep the details about Colette and Iris to herself. There is no point causing unnecessary confusion.

「Who is this 'third man' mentioned here?」

「No idea. Usually, these games have several capture targets... I mean, love interests, so he's probably just a new option.」

「There are far too many unknowns...」

Claude lets out a massive, heavy sigh. Magnolia can entirely sympathize with how he feels.

「Well, at the end of the day, all these plot points are triggered by meeting people at the Academy. That's why my current plan is simply not to enroll.」

「Isn't it a bit hasty to make such a definitive decision?」

「I understand the value and meaning of attending the Academy. But considering what's at stake, if there's a way to avoid it completely, I absolutely want to take it. Getting involved and accidentally triggering some narrative force sounds like a massive headache. And judging by the Queen's behavior... keeping my distance seems like the best way to keep trouble away.」

It turns out Gai had indeed been watching the tea party from somewhere and had given Claude a highly detailed report. On top of that, a letter had already arrived today from the palace, subtly pressuring her to visit the castle as soon as her health improved.

「Well, it's an option. We still have time,」 Claude conceded.

Though his expression remains deeply skeptical, he seems resolved to re-read the list of unbelievable plot points once more.

*****

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