Chapter 252

“Huff!”

How could my mood change so suddenly?

Just a moment ago, I was filled with worry.

I was anxious about whether Carsein would be called to his family and what they might say to him.

Even the thought of him facing punishment made me uneasy.

I didn’t expect my mood to change so quickly.

I had just taken a sip of cold water to quench my parched throat after drying up in the sun when I returned.

“Huh! Who’s all riled up, and now you’re surrounded by girls giggling?”

Seeing that made me feel irritated.

Even now, thinking about it, it makes my cheeks puff up.

Harnier glanced behind her.

Carstein was fidgeting restlessly, scratching his head.

“…Umm. Harnier?”

Thinking this was his chance, he spoke up.

“If… if I did something wrong…”

“Don’t say anything!”

“But if I did something to upset you…”

“I said don’t talk if I’m not upset!”

Seeing him like that made my blood boil again.

The image of the noble ladies clinging to Carstein just moments ago wouldn’t leave my mind.

“Huff!”

She turned her head and started walking silently again. Meanwhile, Harnier walked on, lost in thought.

“—? —!”

Why does this man have so much popularity!

In the past, he was treated as a troublemaker causing all sorts of accidents, but now he has risen to become the best lord who has perfectly revived two territories.

With abilities already perfect, he comes from the House of Bargrand. Even though he’s adopted, any noble girl would take interest in such a family.

His looks were also impeccable.

Tall with a muscular build. His balanced physique and drastically changed appearance… it was enough to stir any woman’s heart.

Such an ideal groom, no noble girl would let him go.

“—, —!”

But still, I came first.

I still have the upper hand as his fiancée.

He agreed to continue our relationship even after the contract.

So, I just need to find a way to keep him from being taken away.

Yes. That’s right. They’re just ordinary girls after all.

If I can become more special than those ordinary girls, then I can become more special to Carstein.

To do that…

“Harnier!”

“Gyaah?!”

Her body was suddenly pulled back from behind.

Startled, Harnier was about to ask why, but her forward view revealed the reason.

-Pong.

Lost in thought while walking, she hadn’t noticed the pond in front of her.

“Oh…”

In short, she almost fell into the water.

“How can you walk without looking where you’re going?!”

“…”

“No, I can’t allow this. I know you’re angry, but this is too much.”

“Hold on! Gyaah?!”

“Stay still.”

Carstein lifted Harnier up without listening to anything else.

“Put me down. I wasn’t trying to get into the pond…!”

“You’ll receive your punishment later, so don’t move.”

“…”

Ah, really.

My mood changed again.

It feels like I’ve become a capricious person, changing moods so suddenly.

‘But… maybe this isn’t so bad…?’

After seeing her surrounded by other girls and feeling jealous, now being held like a princess, I couldn’t help but soften.

Harnier subtly leaned against Carstein.

***

Though I managed to stop Harnier from falling into the pond, I wasn’t sure what to do next.

‘Should I sit her somewhere first.’

Looking around, I found a bench near the path and headed towards it.

As I sat Harnier down, she suddenly grabbed my collar.

…Here it comes.

My throat tightened with tension.

Where should I start the conversation?

Just as I was hesitating.

“Oops.”

She grabbed my arm. Naturally, my body leaned towards hers, and we ended up sitting side by side on the bench. Then Harnier spoke.

“Sit down too. If you stay like that, we can’t talk properly.”

“Uh… um… Okay.”

That’s right.

Taking a deep breath, I cautiously asked her.

“Are you still mad?”

“I told you I’m not mad.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

…She seemed mad before.

I couldn’t help but think so, seeing her scratch her cheek.

I remember her eyes turning sharp and cold.

“Since you don’t believe me, how about this.”

-Tap.

“…”

“Because I’m tired. You can lean on my shoulder.”

I wondered if this would work, but since she said it would, I decided to stay quiet.

I extended my arm to make her more comfortable leaning on my shoulder.

“…You really are…”

“If you don’t like it, I’ll stop.”

“No, it’s fine. Who said they didn’t like it? It’s comfortable, so keep it up. By the way…”

As she squirmed slightly in my arms, she continued speaking.

“Did you choose a sponsor for the martial arts tournament?”

“Yes, I did.”

Then Harnier abruptly raised her head and asked.

“You chose a sponsor already? For the tournament?”

“…Yes.”

Is there something wrong with this?

Her round eyes gradually turned sharp.

“…Who is it? Someone famous?”

“Heh. No, just an ordinary retainer from the House of Bargrand. A capable one too.”

“Mmm. Capable, huh. That’s good.”

Uh, what?

Her gaze became even sharper.

What’s going on? Did I say something wrong?

“Well, of course. With your abilities, many women would want to be your sponsor.”

Hmm? Wait.

“That’s not it.”

“What?”

“Ptuo Duke is a man.”

“…A man?”

Ah, now I understand.

There was some misunderstanding.

“I read in books that sometimes a noble house introduces the daughter of another house as a sponsor. Are you worried someone will misunderstand because you have a fiancée and brought in another female sponsor?”

“Eh? Ah, well, yes…”

Hmm. If that’s the case, I can understand.

I briefly explained about Ptuo Duke and clarified that there was no such issue.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t know that…”

“It’s okay. I forgot too. We need to be more careful.”

Right. I shouldn’t get entangled with other women, especially since I’m engaged.

Even if it’s business, misunderstandings could jeopardize our contract.

“Anyway, you can relax. Just—”

Bam.

“Wait, let’s stay like this for a moment. And please, don’t say anything!”

“Uh… okay…”

Harnier leaned on my shoulder again.

I wonder what’s going on.

Maybe it’s just my mood, but Harnier felt warmer than before.

For a moment, I tried to shake off this confusion by looking at the stars.

By the time I thought it was time to head back.

“…She fell asleep.”

Harnier was sound asleep, breathing softly and deeply.

As I gently tidied her purple hair with my fingers, I recalled her words.

‘Wasn’t she saying she was tired earlier?’

She was always busy, but today must have been even busier.

Probably getting up early to prepare for this.

Still, she should sleep in bed. Harnier.

Holding her, I stood up from the bench.

Soon, we arrived at the place where Harnier stayed.

Since it’s best not to visit the House of Teresia often, I looked around.

But…

“Oh my!”

“Shh. Quiet!”

“Goodness.”

Why are they reacting like this?

Is it strange to carry my fiancée inside?

They either whisper or cover their mouths.

“There…”

“Our young lady certainly…”

“Aaah. I’m so happy.”

No.

Just tell me where her room is!

There’s no choice.

I’ll have to ask directly.

“Where’s Harnier’s bedroom?”

“—Bedroom?”

Why are they reacting like this?

Is it such a big deal?

“Hem, hem. Why do you need the bedroom?”

“To lay her down. We can’t stay like this forever.”

“The young lady’s bedroom? That’s—”

-Smack.

What was that?

Someone fainted?

“I’ll show you. You remember me, right?”

“Yeah… right.”

“Go straight and turn left once.”

Finally, I found the location of her bedroom.

However, it felt like I was going in circles.

Why did they give me such confusing directions?

…It took me a while to finally lay her down on the bed.

“Done.”

Laying her down in the bedroom and covering her with a blanket, everything was settled.

“Mmm… Carstein… thank you… for helping me…”

“What’s this, a dreamtalk?”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Now, it’s time for me to go back and rest.

‘The Yellow Dragon Martial Arts Tournament requires caution due to condition-related status ailments.’

Condition degradation shows a noticeable decrease in stats, so checking the status window frequently would solve it.

Just as I was checking my stats…

…Something was off.

Lv. 70

→ Strength 6.53

→ Agility 7.81

→ Endurance 8.09

→ HP 6.39

→ Resistance 1.65

→ ??? 70%

Condition degradation status hadn’t appeared yet.

My stats, which I had steadily increased through training, were normal.

However, there was a significant change.

‘Level 70…?’

The high level of 70 was intriguing.

With RPG elements included, the higher the level, the more experience points needed for the next level.

Therefore, leveling up was quite difficult. Even if I chose to defeat monsters and clear sub-episodes to gain extra experience, reaching this level was impossible.

The last level I saw was 63.

Jumping from 63 to 70 in one go? Without any additional experience episodes?

It doesn’t make sense.

Today, my schedule was limited to the Hall of Exchange.

…In other words, there was no other way to gain enough experience for leveling up.

It’s unlikely that such experience would come from this situation without completing a main episode. Also, the SP between my strength stat and level disappeared, and the ??? stat showed a different message.

The ??? stat initially displayed decimal values, but recently it increased by 1% each level accurately.

In other words, it seems the level went up to increase the ??? stat.

This speculation led to a clear conclusion.

“Impossible.”

My gaze returned to the sleeping Harnier.

Yes, now that I think about it, there were many oddities.

All characters in this game have a friendship box.

Even if they are enemy entities, a friendship value exists, and even if they completely turn into enemies, the box won’t appear, but before that, a faint box would at least show up.

Of course, there were cases like Heron and Sheiden where the friendship box didn’t seem to appear, but upon closer inspection, it turned out that conditions were met and the friendship appeared.

But Harnier was different.

She never showed any friendship box, and there was no related content. Actually, was there any connection with episodes at all?

No friendship box, no encounter in the game. She was a mysterious figure.

‘If that’s the case…’

Could there be something hidden about her?

This question arose when—

-Ding!

→ Unveiled the secret of the ??? stat.

→ Provided rewards upon completing hidden conditions!

【Will you be able to obtain it this time?】

“…”

Upon seeing this text, I immediately realized it wasn’t just a simple reward.

But my thoughts became complicated.

Will I be able to obtain it this time?

What kind of nonsense is this?

What does this have to do with the secrets of this world?

“No. Forget it.”

Before the window providing only questions, I resigned myself.

I had gathered enough information.

The fact that a hidden stat related to Harnier existed.

The fact that through a character unseen in the game and with no friendship box, the ??? stat could be increased.

Perhaps this was linked to the method of clearing the game.

…There was one thing bothering me.

“Mmm… Carstein…”

She was there.

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