Chapter 104

The sound of Pitea Gelgerten’s voice echoed as people in the waiting room began to enter one by one.

They were all companions of the young ladies who had received invitation cards.

I, being Flora Bargrand’s companion, had to follow her inside as she mentioned.

Before entering, I checked once more.

I had everything I needed.

I also confirmed how people looked at Carsein.

I avoided any problematic choices to some extent.

But a sentence caught my eye.

“This area is a warning zone!”

As I approached, a sign indicating the danger level appeared right away.

Below it was a sentence filled with the system’s power, constraining players’ actions.

“If a fight breaks out, additional choices may appear. Be careful!”

Entering there when the danger level is this obvious…

There’s no way to avoid this spot.

“If you forcibly leave your seat, your recognition among nobles will decrease greatly, and you’ll be restricted by Arina.”

If it were just about reducing affinity with Arina and Flora, it might be worth trying, but being confined or barred from the Rusmaier territory could lead to a bad ending.

But clearing the episode?

The conditions for clearing the episode are quite strict.

“You must finish dining at the tea party hosted by Pitea Gelgerten.”

“If you cause friction with nobles, your achievement level will drop significantly.”

“If you don’t meet certain achievement levels, penalties will be imposed on managing the Rusmaier territory.”

There’s no escape. You have to complete this episode.

In summary, it means…

“There won’t be any penalty for legally leaving here, right?”

There isn’t any.

While there is a failure penalty, the condition for clearing the episode is simply finishing the tea party.

So, it shouldn’t be that hard.

Thinking so, I raised the corners of my mouth.

***

As time passed, people started to come in one by one.

Seats filled up gradually, and the voices of the young ladies grew increasingly expectant day by day.

Enough people had gathered.

Everyone who had been given invitation cards attended, and with other companions joining in, there would be many more watching eyes.

A tea party usually doesn’t invite many people; it’s just about having tea and snacks while chatting.

But this wasn’t just a simple tea party.

It promised an interesting sight, something you can only see here.

It was going to be a unique and enjoyable tea party.

When all the scheduled guests arrived, the organizer, Pitea Gelgerten, stood up.

“Then, let’s welcome our guests slowly.”

“Yes!”

Finally.

At last.

The young ladies, brimming with anticipation, gave an affirmative response without missing anyone.

Among them,

“Yes!”

Flora, who brought Carsein, was included.

“It’s better to introduce each person slowly. Let me call one by one.”

Then, a young lady raised her hand.

“Why do we have to call each person one by one?”

“It’s difficult to get to know each other if we welcome everyone at once. Slowly. To foster friendships, it’s not enough to just know which noble brought whom. We need to know more details.”

Therefore, it’s better to introduce each person individually rather than rushing in together.

The organizer, Pitea Gelgerten, explained why they should do it one by one.

“I’ve written the order on the lottery slips for those waiting. They will come out in that order. Wouldn’t it be fun to guess whose companion is who?”

“That sounds interesting. It feels like a game starting with introductions.”

“We’ll not only guess but also vote on who made the most impression, and the person with the most votes will receive a gift.”

“Really? That sounds so much fun!”

“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder who everyone has brought.”

The young ladies laughed and chattered.

But behind their smiles, there was a cunning smirk hidden, though no one noticed.

Unaware of this, Flora thought it sounded fun and chimed in.

“Alright, first person, would you please come forward?”

“Thank you for inviting me. I am—”

Introductions began one by one.

As companions of nobles, they had impressive lineups.

Each introduction came with the name of their family, and there were also skilled boutique owners, jewelers, and appraisers introduced.

However, there was not a single commoner among them.

At least, they were nobles without titles, some owning land or servants, fitting into the upper echelons of the Empire.

As each person was introduced and sat down, the last seat remained empty.

The young ladies, full of anticipation, waited for the final number.

“Number 30, would you please come forward?”

Pitea Gelgerten smiled and called out the last number.

But Number 30 did not appear.

“Number 30, Number 30?”

To everyone’s surprise, the person who should have come last was Carsein Bargrand.

Flora was the first to react in the hall filled with murmurs.

“Could it be, could it be…”

She clenched her lips and entered the waiting room.

But surprisingly, even though her number was called, Carsein was still leaning against one wall, reading a book.

Since he hadn’t gone back to the Duke House, she felt relieved. But then, anger suddenly surged.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“What am I doing? Reading a book,” Carsein replied casually, flipping the pages.

“Then why are you doing this? You’re Number 30. Here, your lottery slip is right here! Just come in!”

Considering the people who came in when their numbers were called, Carsein couldn’t have missed hearing his number. Moreover, he was told beforehand to come through that door.

She couldn’t understand why he didn’t come in.

“Tsk.”

Flora closed the book with a snap.

Then, she grabbed Carsein’s hand firmly, intending to pull him to his feet.

“Get up. Get up!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“You need to go over there!”

“Well, I think it’s best if I just go back to the Duke House.”

“Ugh!”

Flora finally lost her patience and raised her voice.

“If you just leave here, I’ll tell your sister. I didn’t take good care of you!”

After all, you came here because of Arina’s request.

If she said she didn’t take good care of you, you’d lose the right to participate in the Eastern Nobles’ Meeting.

So, you need to be nice to me. You need to listen to what I say.

Flora’s mind had changed into thinking like this.

Unaware that her words bordered on coercion.

Whether her threat worked or not, Carsein unfolded his arms and stood up.

“Fine. I’ll do what you ask.”

Immediately, the frown on Flora’s face softened.

“Really? You’re not going back to the Duke House?”

“Yeah.”

Carsein’s unusually compliant attitude was surprising, but it didn’t matter. His gaze from here would change drastically soon.

Perhaps, even Carsein himself would be surprised.

Seeing such a future, she started to look forward to his reaction.

“Let’s hurry! I need to introduce you properly.”

With a bright smile, Flora entered the tea party hall first.

And seeing her, Carsein chuckled.

“You really think your place is over there, don’t you?”

Carsein muttered softly.

Though he was smiling, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Sure, this works too. It’s time to show reality.”

Two people with contrasting smiles walked toward the tea party hall.

***

As they got closer to the tea party hall, they seemed not to care much about how I would react, chatting rather loudly.

Instead of noticing that Number 30 hadn’t come in for a while after being called, it felt natural to them.

Of course, I was going to ruin this natural atmosphere now.

Click.

“So, about that kid.”

“Hey, hey.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly… Ah.”

When the door opened, their gazes converged.

“Who is that person?”

“Look, lady. Listen closely.”

“…Ah!”

As expected, the knights reacted similarly.

Few people recognized Carsein correctly, regardless of gender.

This meant that few people had seen Carsein, who rarely went out, since the memorial.

“Flora looked pretty young in the memorial. Considering that, it’s not strange she didn’t recognize me at once.”

I probably hadn’t been here for more than a year.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

“I wonder why he’s wearing such plain clothes.”

But the news about Carsein’s attendance spread quickly among them. In this brief moment, word about who I was had already spread.

Ding!

At the same time, a choice appeared.

“This can’t be helped.”

The curfew time restriction was critically detrimental to me.

I needed to find a rational reason to avoid a fight with them.

But, of course, things wouldn’t go as planned.

“This area is a warning zone!”

“If a fight breaks out, additional choices may appear immediately. Be careful!”

This was the situation where the system’s power was most evident.

“The guest who was Number 30 has finally arrived. Please give a brief self-introduction. By the way, don’t reveal who you’re accompanying.”

The host of the tea party, Pitea Gelgerten, gestured lightly as she spoke.

Honestly, I wondered if anyone here didn’t know who I was, but it was proper to do it formally.

At the same time, a choice appeared.

“Pitea Gelgerten requests an introduction. How would you respond?

[1. (Mockingly) Are you pretending to be oblivious even though you know everything?

[2. It’s truly foolish that someone still doesn’t know anything about the Bargrand Duke House.

[3. (Ignoring Pitea Gelgerten’s words) I’m Carsein Bargrand. End of story.]

…

…

“These choices are obvious, aren’t they?”

My intuition kicked in because I was used to it.

Their eager gazes. They were like predators ready to pounce.

Only in this high-ranking gathering, composed of high nobles and the upper echelon of the Empire, would a peasant like Carsein face challenges from any direction.

Should I crush them with the Bargrand Duke House’s power?

That’s impossible. In this special place called a tea party, their public opinion would bury me.

Fourteen choices appearing in such a situation. It’s hard to guess the correct answer. It’s truly a fucked-up situation.

But I know.

The rule is to act unexpectedly in situations like these.

“This is a good excuse. This will do.”

I don’t know which choice is the right one.

But I can twist the choices to make my own right answer.

Receiving a piercing stare, I moved to one side of the wall.

[10. (Annoyed) I was just asked by Arina to accompany Flora.] ☑

“I’m here only as Flora Bargrand’s bodyguard.”