"Hmph. Do you think, just because that good-for-nothing Edward is your owner, you can do whatever you want?"
Teen sneered as he looked down at Milleia and Jayden, who were silently cleaning up the food he had knocked over.
A nasty smirk spread across his face as he lowered a hand toward Milleia's bent, defenseless figure.
"You're awfully cocky for a mere viscount's son."
"...!"
His hand froze.
Then he turned, slowly.
"Hey, look, it's Edward!"
"Is he really going to fight?!"
"Dunno, but I heard he's weak anyway!"
"Who cares? Teen insulted him to his face. This is going to be a nice show."
"Edward…"
Teen glared at me.
Grey-haired, hands in my pockets, I stared back without bothering to hide my irritation.
'That bastard. How could he give me such a look?'
Regardless of the fact that I left my House, I was still the son of the most powerful Duke in the kingdom.
I felt quite irritated that a bottom-feeder like Teen Masta dared glare at me as though we were equals.
Let alone, status, his face and his ridiculous name were miles away from mine.
Edward's noble pride and Nyrel's old resentment mixed together in my chest and turned into one very simple urge.
Beat him up.
[
'I'm fine, Cleenah.'
I walked forward until I stood right in front of him.
"Edward?"
Jayden and Milleia straightened at once, forcing awkward smiles.
They had originally planned to share a table with me. Right when they had finally found a free one, these three idiots had barged in and shoved them away.
"What was your name again?" I asked, loudly, exaggerating a hand around my ear as if I couldn't hear him.
The entire first floor fell silent.
Teen's two cronies stared at me, pale-faced.
No one answered.
I was a duke's son.
And something in the way I carried myself now clearly wasn't the same cowardly, avoidant Edward people thought they knew.
"Edward, you were disowned by your father," Teen sneered, trying to sound confident. "You don't scare anyone with your status anymore."
He was sweating.
This was his gamble.
If I backed down like the rumors claimed, he'd gain a reputation overnight.
If I didn't however...
-BAM!
My foot smashed against his ankle.
Before he could fully fall, my fist shot up in a sharp uppercut under his jaw.
It all happened in less than two seconds.
No one reacted in time.
-BAM!
Teen flew backward and crashed straight into a nearby table, sending plates, cups, and food flying while the girls seated there screamed and scrambled away.
"Kyyaaa!"
"Ah!"
"Move back!"
Chairs screeched.
Students scattered.
A clear ring of open space formed around us almost instantly.
Milleia clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock.
Jayden let out a shaky little laugh, staring as I walked toward the groaning Teen.
"I asked his name," I said calmly, making sure everyone on the floor could hear me, "but he refused to answer someone way, way, way, way higher than him in the noble hierarchy. So I'll ask again. What is his name?"
""Hiii!"" his two friends squeaked the moment my eyes landed on them.
"T-Teen! Teen Masta!" One of them blurted out.
"Teen. Teen Masta," I repeated, looking down at the boy clutching his bleeding mouth.
"Never heard of that house."
I sighed.
Then narrowed my eyes.
"A nobody from some god-knows-where noble family dares show that kind of attitude toward the eldest son of Duke Falkrona?"
I raised my foot over his leg.
"Edward Falkrona. That's enough."
"Hm?"
The voice cut in just as I was about to stomp down and break something important.
I turned.
An auburn-haired girl stepped out from the crowd.
Her hazel-brown eyes were sharp and beautiful. Her hair was tied in a neat French braid, and even in the academy pinafore, she carried herself with the perfect posture of someone used to authority.
Louisa Trueheart.
A [Sub-Heroine] of the First Game.
The Student Council President.
And, more importantly, someone who had known me for years and had absolutely no patience left for my nonsense.
"Louisa…" I muttered.
"Fights are prohibited outside sanctioned friendly matches and Eden Battles under a professor's supervision," she said sternly.
"I'm not fighting," I said without missing a beat. "I just tripped and my hand slipped."
Silence fell following my words.
Even the cafeteria seemed offended by how weak that excuse was.
Louisa's expression didn't change.
But one of her eyes twitched.
"Then why is your leg raised over him?"
-Ding!
[A] I needed to wipe my shoes. [100 AP]
[B] I was stretching. [30 AP]
[C] I wanted to break his leg. [150 AP]
[D] I saw your beautiful face and jumped in excitement, then ended up like this. [250 AP]
"..."
What the heck?
I had been fully prepared to say, like an honest man, that I had intended to break his leg.
But the familiar game-choice window had appeared in front of me.
'Jarvis, AP means?'
[Affection Points. Reminder: you have less than a week to repay the 440 Affection Points you borrowed for the mask.]
That damned mask.
I snorted inwardly and stared at the options.
Honesty gave me 150 AP.
Flirting with Louisa gave me 250.
Louisa and seduction?
Absolutely not.
Let's not become a clown.
[
'Shut up.'
"Edward…"
Milleia's soft voice pulled me back.
She was looking at me with open worry.
I sighed.
"Oh, that?" I said lightly. "I needed a mat to wipe my shoes."
Then, just to fully commit to the answer, I dragged my sole across Teen's blazer.
"Edward."
Louisa's voice sharpened.
She was genuinely angry now.
Fair enough.
I had been difficult before, but this was clearly another level.
The worst part was that we had actually gotten along as children, before my mother's death and before the mess in the Trueheart family soured everything.
We had barely spoken in years.
And yet, because of that shared past, she still addressed me by name in a way she never would with a stranger.
"This guy shoved Milleia and Jayden," I said, jerking my chin toward them. "Knocked over their food. I happened to be here, so, as a noble, I humbled him. That's all. Right, guys?"
"Yes!!"
His two cronies nodded so hard I thought their heads might fall off.
Status.
Still useful.
[
Terrified? Then how did they even pass the entrance exam?'
Louisa turned toward Milleia and Jayden.
"Is that true?"
They nodded quietly, choosing honesty in front of Louisa.
"..."
Louisa closed her eyes for a brief moment.
When she opened them again, all softness had vanished.
"The First-Year Basilisk Class will have Eden Points deducted for causing trouble on the first day."
Her gaze moved once between me and Teen.
Then she turned and walked away.
Thankfully, none of the other major characters decided to involve themselves.
That would have been a headache.
I looked back down at Teen.
"Are you proud of yourself, Pasta?" I asked.
"It's Masta!" He snapped.
"Because of you, our class lost Eden Points on day one."
I crouched so my eyes were level with his.
He tried to look away.
I grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look back at me.
"You're an ant to me," I said quietly. "I don't have time to play with people like you. I'm already busy enough with bigger third-rate villains. So either you fix your pathetic self and start contributing to our class… or you keep acting like an angry little villain and…"
I let the sentence trail off and patted his cheek lightly, smiling the entire time.
[
'Intimidation Cleenah. Now he'll imagine the worst possible ending himself and behave to avoid it.'
[
My smile twitched.
I had just defended my friends!
Why was I treated like an asshole?!
"Let's find a table. I'm hungry," I said, standing and looking over at Jayden and Milleia.
"But…" Milleia started, glancing at the mess.
"The cleaning staff will handle it," I said. "Don't steal their work. They'll get angry."
"I don't think they'll be angry," Milleia said pouting. "They'll probably be thank—"
"What are you doing, Lyra? Not going up to the fifth floor?" I cut in, noticing her appear behind us.
"No way," Lyra replied instantly. "Way too much pressure up there."
I smirked.
She was right.
The fifth floor was packed with [Main Characters].
Trouble central.
…
…
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Lyra Kertalir. Just call me Lyra."
We found an empty table soon enough, mostly because the previous group occupying it fled the second I approached.
Lyra dropped into a seat with us and immediately started talking to Milleia and Jayden.
I didn't mind.
Actually, it was ideal.
Lyra was strong, smart, and useful. Having her attached to our class would help a lot with the rankings.
And as a [Sub-Heroine], she was another possible route for Jayden if he played things right.
He was already fidgeting slightly just from sitting near her.
Unlike Milleia's gentle, innocent warmth, Lyra had that cool noble aura that naturally put people a little on edge.
"I'm Milleia, Lady Lyra," Milleia said, bowing her head a little.
"J-Jayden Rayena, Lady Lyra," Jayden added nervously.
"Hey, drop the 'Lady,'" Lyra said, waving a hand.
"But you're the daughter of a Marquis…" Milleia said hesitantly.
"We're in the academy," Lyra replied with a bright, almost tomboyish grin. "We're classmates. Treat me like any other girl."
"Yes!"
Both of them accepted right away.
They had never really had noble friends.
Or academy friends, for that matter.
And now, in the most prestigious school in the Celesta Kingdom, they were sitting at the same table as a Marquis's daughter and talking to her like equals.
For them, this was probably the beginning of something huge.
For me?
It was the party forming itself neatly around the protagonist.
Exactly how I needed it.