That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 1 - Chapter 11.1

Chapter 11:

May Tea Parties

IT WAS ACADEMY CUSTOM for first-year boys to begin inviting girls to tea parties in May. Why May, you ask? Don’t know, don’t care. The simple fact of it was that from May onward, guys had to throw these parties on the regular or suffer the consequences.

Most of the boys hired people to do the setup and catering; that was much simpler. Not me, though. No, I’d had a fateful encounter with a certain individual that had changed my life forever. The individual in question was our etiquette professor, a man I had since dubbed “Master.”

To start, I’d had no interest in tea whatsoever. But one of Master’s personally brewed cups had radically changed my frame of mind. Who knew there was such depth to the art of steeping tea? I could never have foreseen that I’d awaken to such an incredible hobby in my second life.

“I have been reborn.”

Thanks to Master, I now understood that tea was a treasured cultural cornerstone.

My friends, Daniel and Raymond, gave me frosty looks.

“Must be nice being so simpleminded.”

“You have a new hobby. Adorable.”

What crawled up their butts and died? I could feel the envy in their voices. “Something wrong?” I asked when I finally decided to broach the topic. “You guys have been razzing me more than usual today.”

We were seated together on a bench in the inner courtyard. For being so physically close, I felt myself held at a distinct distance.

The light hit Raymond’s glasses, making them gleam eerily. “I’ve heard the rumors. Seems like you’ve gotten all up close and personal with one of the higher-ranked girls—one who doesn’t have a personal servant waiting on her hand and foot.”

Daniel made a fist as tears streamed down his cheeks. “You bastard! I wish I was in your shoes! Introduce us to some nice girls, too, why don’t you?!”

As much as they resented me for my supposed success, they weren’t above using me to find women for themselves. I could appreciate the practical stance. Unfortunately, they were operating under a considerably false assumption.

“You’re talking about Marie, right? Yeaah, it’s really not the way it seems.”

They exchanged looks, as if they’d somehow expected this response. My denial didn’t hold much water in their minds. They still suspected something was up.

“Oh, sure, ‘not like that,’” Raymond said mockingly. “Whatever. I still envy you for getting that close to a girl.” 

Daniel hung his head. “I’d sure like to do that with one who doesn’t have a servant.”

It was rare for upper-class girls not to have demi-human lovers hanging off their every word. Like, in gacha game terms, landing a girl like that was like rolling for an SSR—no, a UR. We’re talking odds of less than 1 percent. It was unfortunate, considering the general class girls didn’t have slaves at all. Either they were too poor to afford such an expense, like Marie, or some other circumstance prevented them from keeping one.

“Oh, it’s the prince,” Raymond said. 

As stated, Julius strolled into the inner courtyard. He was accompanied by Jilk, as usual—the guy who was basically his brother. A gaggle of female admirers scurried along behind them. They showered the boys with screams and squeals of adoration, though neither of the love interests seemed interested in all the noise. If anything, they looked troubled by the attention.

I should be so lucky. I thought. “Must be nice being them.”

Raymond and Daniel sneered at me and clicked their tongues. 

Hey, be nicer to me!

But the moment someone else entered the courtyard, Daniel’s gaze shifted toward them. “Oh,” he said, “it’s that scholarship student.”

As soon as Olivia arrived on the scene, Julius and Jilk made their way over to her. Unfortunately for all of them, yet another person made their appearance—at which point my friends and I made identical sour faces.

“Seriously? Even Miss Angelica’s here now?” I muttered, voicing the exasperation Daniel and Raymond surely felt.

The atmosphere grew oppressively tense. The prince was fawning over another woman while his fiancée looked on. Anyone could see where this was going—we were in for a real scene. Sadly, that premonition was right on the money.

“Your Highness, please think of your position!”

Julius rolled his eyes at his fiancée, as if he were a child sneering at his nagging mother. “Angelica, this is the academy. Don’t bring my status into this.”

“You may just be another student here, but there are limits to this behavior!” she insisted. “The fact that you would invite only the scholarship student to your tea party is proof of your utter lack of regard for your responsibility! I beseech you, reconsider immediately.”

This was a scene from early in the game in which the crown prince invited the protagonist to his May tea party, only for the villainess Angelica to swoop in. In the ensuing confrontation, he stood up for Olivia against her tirade. It was one thing seeing this play out on a screen; in person, it was way more intense. Part of me was interested in seeing what happened next, but the desire to flee was overpowering the impulse.

“Life’s so easy when you’re a hot guy,” I murmured. “You can flirt with another girl right in front of your betrothed and still somehow get away with it.”

Daniel quickly shook his head. “No, no, no. This is all sorts of wrong. And besides, the scholarship student’s a commoner.”

“If he’s only making her his concubine, who cares?” Raymond argued, not seeing the problem. “It’s happened before.”

That boggled Daniel’s mind. “Wait, really?”

There were Cinderella stories about common-born women entering the court in that capacity, yes, but the bigger issue was Julius’s attitude in front of his fiancée. From an outside perspective, the protagonist looked like the real villainess here.

We watched quietly until at last the group dispersed. Ultimately, things played out the way they had in the game, with Julius going to bat for Olivia. Thoroughly vexed, Angelica retreated.

I hopped off the bench. “Okay. Guess we should get going.” The boys grabbed my arms before I could start for the school building. “Whoa. What’s with you two?”

“We aren’t finished!” Daniel reminded me.

“It’s high time you fill us in on the exact nature of your relationship with this Miss Marie. We’re not just underdogs—we’re comrades-in-arms, right? It’s only fair that you share.”

We backwater barony bros had banded together, so he had a point there. I was also starting to realize that if I didn’t rectify this misunderstanding soon, it would only spell more trouble for me.

***

And so, I decided to check in with Marie.

“I didn’t get a single invite this month,” Marie announced dolefully. Not only had the five love interests snubbed her, all the other guys had, too. Now she sat in her chair with her knees hugged to her chest.

“In your case, I imagine they hesitated to invite you due to your objectionable family ties,” Luxion said. “There are significant drawbacks to marrying a woman from a house with such considerable debt. I am sure that influenced their decision.”

His cold reasoning made Marie shoot to her feet. “I’m sick of hearing logical arguments!” she shouted. “They should be judging me on my character, not my family’s!”

“Don’t ask for the impossible,” I chided her.

Aristocratic marriages were fundamentally political. There were plenty of cases where two individuals fell romantically in love only to be torn apart due to their respective house’s circumstances. All sorts of things could get in the way: a gap in relative status or their families aligning with different factions—things of that nature.

“But why?!” Marie demanded. “This stupid otome game world’s supposed to be great for women, isn’t it?!”

“Yup, and it’s nightmare city for the dudes.”

In a rather unfortunate twist of fate, it had wound up being a nightmare for Marie as well. My heart ached for her.

“Anyway,” I said, eager to bring up the topic that was gnawing at the back of my mind, “I need you to explain the nature of our relationship to my friends. They’re under the false impression that we’re dating. And thanks to that, they’re now insisting I need to introduce them to other girls.”

“Be nicer to me!” Marie huffed before her face softened a little. “Well, if that’s what they want, why not introduce them?”

“Because I don’t know any girls to introduce them to, obviously.”

She kicked my shin under the table. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean, huh?!”

“Ow!”

“You do seem to enjoy each other’s company,” Luxion remarked.

The spot where her foot had made contact hurt like hell. It was crazy how much power she packed into that tiny little body.

I waited for Marie to simmer down before I resumed our conversation. “Think about it. I meant I don’t know any girls worth introducing them to. My older sister, Jenna, is a serious scumbag. And I’d bet anything that her friends aren’t any better.”

Two of my siblings attended the academy with me: my older brother, Nicks, and my older sister, Jenna. Nicks was in the general class, which primarily consisted of students from low-ranking knight houses. He didn’t even have the opportunity to acquaint himself with girls in the upper class, which Marie and I were part of. Jenna was in the upper class with me, but ignoring the fact that anyone who’d be friends with her was a miserable human being—or so I suspected—if I asked her to introduce one of her buddies to one of mine, she’d probably say something like, “You want me to introduce my friends to dirt-poor bottom dwellers? Ew. No thanks. We wouldn’t even give those losers the time of day.” 

I supposed it’d be rich hearing that come from her, considering she was in the same boat, being from a poor barony herself.

I sighed.

But, to my amazement, Marie said, “If you’re in that much of a bind, I could set them up with some girls.”

“What, seriously?! You could do that?”

“You seriously think too little of me,” she snapped.

***

We arrived at the pub my poor countryside comrades frequented. Marie had brought a number of girls to introduce to them, and so the atmosphere had a notably different feel. Everyone—from those in my year to upperclassmen—grinned at me from ear to ear. It was a little unnerving, honestly.

“Leon, I always believed in you.”

“You’re the best friend a guy could ask for.”

“If you ever need anything, you know you can come to me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you out.”

I offered a strained, lopsided smile in return. These were the same guys who, just days prior, had glowered at me when we passed in the hallways. Now they were suddenly acting all buddy-buddy.

Marie had brought six girls with her. The first had long, wavy hair, which she nervously twisted between her fingers, and she showed no real interest in anyone else. The second was a petite girl who stared nervously at her lap. The third had frazzled hair and disheveled clothes speckled with dried paint. As for the final three, they were her old bullies.

“Hey,” I whispered to Marie, sliding up to her. “Where’d you find these chicks? I mean, I guess the better question is why you brought the girls who were picking on you.”

“We smoothed things over. Or at least, we’re at a point where we can have a normal conversation,” she said.

Wow, with girls who treated her like human garbage? She really is tough as nails.

“Oh, uh, okay,” I said awkwardly. “And what about the new faces?”

My friends and I had been gathering as much intel as possible on available girls who might not treat us like the scum of the earth, but I had never seen or even heard of the new girls who’d come to this little meet-and-greet.

Marie reached for the appetizers. “They’re shut-ins.”

“Shut-ins?!”

“See the girl twirling her hair? She’s super lazy. The nervous one doesn’t like crowds, so she’s always studying by herself in the dorm. The last one’s the artistic type. She doesn’t really give a crap about much else besides her hobby.”

So they all came with their fair share of baggage.

The light hit Raymond’s glasses at just the right angle, giving them an ominous gleam. “Miss Marie,” he said, “may I ask why none of them have personal servants?”

“Those three…” Marie paused to wash down the food she’d been gorging herself on, “simply don’t have the money to afford one.”

She was referring to her former bullies. The leader’s lips puckered in indignation. “Well, excuse us for coming from families too poor to shell out,” she huffed.

The boys quickly shook their heads. “No, that’s nothing to feel self-conscious about!” they insisted.

“As for the other three, they aren’t interested,” Marie continued. “The nervous one—Ellie—seems to be afraid of demi-humans. The lazy one—Betty—just hates them. As for the artistic one, Cynthia, she thinks they’re an eyesore. All three just want to get married and never leave the house. They don’t really care whether they live in the countryside or the capital. If a guy can provide them with the perfect environment for their preferred loner lifestyle, they’ll agree to get hitched.”

Betty, the one who was fiddling with her hair, didn’t want to work and would need a servant to look after her. The nervous one, Ellie, wanted plenty of books to read, so her partner would have to periodically buy her more. The final girl—the artistic Cynthia—just wanted to be left alone to paint.

Upon hearing these requirements, my friends and I practically vibrated out of our skin. You couldn’t find a better deal than this!

Daniel shot out of his seat. “All right. I’m going all out for this.”

“Hold up, Daniel! I’m going first!” Raymond insisted.

I shook my head, tutting at my friends. “What a sad sight, seeing such close friends at odds. As the host, I believe I should take it upon myself to speak with them first.”

Marie glared at me.

“What?” I said.

“Nothing.” She gave me the cold shoulder and resumed snacking.

Daniel and Raymond made faces at me.

“Leon, I can’t believe you,” said Daniel.

Raymond shook his head. “Yeah. You really are a jerk.”

I gawked. “Huh? Why?”

In the end, a bitter struggle ensued between the boys. These girls were too promising to pass up. In Japan, girls with baggage like this were deemed undesirable, but here, they were practically goddesses. They sounded almost too good to be true.

The pub turned into a boxing match as the guys decided to determine turn order based on whose fists did the best talking. That part was a little disconcerting. Still, I wasn’t above joining in to net myself a spot—but for some reason, I was forbidden from taking part. I didn’t understand. I wanted a partner just as much as the next guy, but no one would let me fight for my right.

***

At long last, I was able to host my May tea party.

“Guess you’re the only one who came,” I grumbled.

Marie’s eyes lit up as she gazed at the tea and sweets I had prepared for my guests. She was probably eager to dig in, but I forced her to wait until the tea was ready.

“Who cares?” she said. “One guest is better than none. Anyway, these sweets are from that really popular confectionery, right? I always wanted to see what they taste like!”

In May, male students rented rooms to hold tea parties for their female guests. It was traditional to provide beverages, snacks, and entertainment for the girls.

Luxion floated in the center of the room, his gaze shifting from me to Marie and back again. “Master, you should be grateful that your efforts have not gone to waste.”

“You’re right about that at least,” I agreed. “Everyone else only cares about the love interests’ parties. Only a little while ago a bunch of girls swore up and down that they’d come if I invited them. Where are they now? There’s not a soul here, save for Marie.”

It was a small consolation to hear that Daniel and Raymond were having similar issues. We had so many popular peers to compete with, and all of them had the finances to put on a spectacle at their parties. They invited large swathes of the female student body, which in turn discouraged those girls from bothering with any other events.

Honestly, the rest of us didn’t need girls comparing us to Prince Julius or his buddies. We couldn’t hold a candle to them.

“I really envy those guys,” I said wistfully.

Marie gave me a look, as if she was hesitating over whether to say something.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you feel ashamed, comparing yourself to them?”

I scowled. “Rubbing salt in the wound, huh?” I said as I poured the tea. “You’re the last person I want to hear that from. You were the one trying to chase them down for a reverse harem ending.” 

Once I set Marie’s cup in front of her, she picked it up and cradled it carefully in her hands, taking modest sips. “Oh, that. Thinking back on it now, I’m glad I didn’t succeed. Not that I’d have been able to, no matter how hard I tried.”

“So, you’ve finally given up, huh?”

Her surrender spoke to a complete lack of sincerity in her initial pursuit of that reverse harem to begin with.

Marie gently set her cup down before forking a bite of cake into her mouth. “It’s more like the love interests aren’t as attractive as I thought they’d be. They fawn all over Olivia while ignoring everyone and everything else. They’re kinda stupid.”

Basically, you’re bad-mouthing them because they turned you down, right?

“You make a valid point,” Luxion said, contrary to my own jaded perspective. “They are all already engaged, yet they spend a conspicuous amount of time with Olivia. It’s especially shameful given their respectable positions. I fail to comprehend this foolish behavior.”

“Luxion, you really don’t get it, do ya?” I cut in smugly. “What Marie’s trying to say is she resents them for picking Miss Olivia. It’s got nothing to do with whether they’re attractive. That’s just an excuse.”

Those guys had it all—looks, money, power. What was there to complain about?

Marie scrunched her face. “Personality is an important factor, you know. I’m trying to say that, in that respect, those five score a total zero.”

“Really? But they’ve got such good reputations.”

Maybe everyone around them was just a sycophant eager to get in good by showering the prince and his crew with empty flattery, but I hadn’t heard a single bad word spoken against them. And besides, Marie was the one who’d acted like personality came second to everything else. She was contradicting herself.

“Anyway, there’s no way I could have actually gone out with any of them when I really think about it,” Marie continued. She was sounding awfully composed compared to when we’d first met. “Did you hear? Brad rented out an entire park for his party.”

I nodded to myself. “Oh, right. I remember that plot point.”

“Yeah, well, it’s fine when stuff like that happens in a game, but it’s a bit overboard in real life, don’tcha think? I wonder how much he spent on that one event.”

When it came to finances, Marie and I were on the same page—we were practically commoners compared to our peers.

“Incidentally,” I said, pointing to the snacks she was chowing down on, “all those treats cost me a pretty penny.”

The confections in this world were crazy expensive. That was especially true for the ones I had procured, given I’d put in a custom order with a patissier.

Marie’s eyes went wide. “R-really? That much?”

“Yeah. A custom order from a famous chef doesn’t come cheap.” When I quoted the exact price, the emotion drained from her face.

“You could buy so much underwear with that money,” she muttered solemnly to herself.

I eyed her quizzically. “Huh? What was that?”

“Do you suffer from a shortage of hosiery?” Luxion asked.

Marie’s face heated. “Since I stopped growing, I’ve been using the same ones over and over again, and, um…even if my socks get holes, it’s not like I can afford new ones. I’ve just sewed the holes up myself.” She fidgeted in her seat, embarrassed to be sharing this information.

My eyes heated. I was on the verge of crying over the misery of Marie’s life—to think, she didn’t even have proper undergarments! “You…you should’ve said something sooner!” I snapped.

Rather than lazing around here and enjoying tea and snacks, we needed to take care of this problem stat.

Marie’s eyes misted over. “There’s no way I could just bust out something that shameful!” Her daily life was so strenuous that all of her attention and energy had been focused on desperately trying to climb out of the pit she’d been kicked into. She repeatedly slammed her fist against the table. “Do you have any idea how I felt?! My family told me they didn’t need to buy anything new for me because I wouldn’t grow any bigger anyway! You can’t understand what that’s like!”

That was inexcusable. My heart ached so much for her. 

“Okay, calm down,” I insisted, holding my hands out. “We’re going into town right now. We can at least get you the essentials today.”

“I don’t have the money. The adventuring quests—no, I guess I shouldn’t be calling them that, if this isn’t really a game… Anyway, we’ll be going into the local dungeon soon, so I figure I’ll earn some dough then. I just need to make do in the meantime.”

“With no finances of your own, you intend to make your own way through hard work,” said Luxion. “That’s a commendable attitude. I am impressed that you haven’t even begun to entertain the idea of resorting to crime.”

Isn’t he way too soft on her? And only her, at that.

“Huh? Are you for real?” I shot him a look. “She was trying to worm her way up the social ladder by seducing all the love interests. That’s hardly commendable.”

“I truly wish you would learn from her example, Master.”

What, you want me to try wooing a bunch of dudes for my reverse harem ending? I shook my head. Or maybe he means a regular harem, since I’m a guy. As if there’s any such thing as a harem in this world.

That kind of arrangement would be heavily frowned upon, and the women in this world were practically intolerable to begin with. If the alternative was living my life surrounded by women like my sister Jenna, then I dreamed of celibacy. Sadly, bachelorhood carried so much stigma that it wasn’t really an option, a fact that vexed me to no end.

Marie’s face darkened. “I have to at least work hard enough to buy my necessities. As soon as I’m able to enter the dungeon, I’ll be doing my damnedest in there every day. I need to earn my independence.” Those didn’t sound like empty words, coming from her.

“I’ll buy your essentials,” I insisted, “so don’t even think about doing something as stupid as dungeon diving every single day.”

Marie leaned forward in her chair and grasped both of my hands, smiling as she purposefully struck a cute, ingratiating pose. “You mean it?!”

“It’s just tragic for a girl your age to have socks with holes in them and stuff. I’ve got the money to cover that much.”

“Oh? Trying to save face? You can’t simply admit outright that you feel bad for her?” Luxion teased.

“Can it.”

Marie beamed as she went back to sipping her tea and sampling the snacks. Her complexion was much brighter now that she had one less worry on her plate.