The World of Otome Games is Tough For Mobs - Volume 13 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Departure

“SOMETHING SHADY IS going on with the empire’s movements?”

“Yep. They’re taking their sweet time advancing toward us,” Cleare said. “Fact and the others think it’s suspicious how slow they’re going.”

It was midnight when Cleare gave me her report. The Vordenoit forces had already departed and were making their way here, but their pace was eerily slow. That fortunately gave us more time to prepare, but it was hard to believe a Demonic Creature like Arcadia had reduced their speed without good reason.

I sat at the edge of my bed with my hand on my chin, thinking this news over.

Angie, who was wearing her hair loose at this point, said, “Don’t you think they’re just being cautious to avoid surprise attacks?”

I certainly thought that was possible, but the two AIs didn’t.

“Nah,” said Cleare. “No chance.”

“A surprise offensive would pose no threat to Arcadia at his current power level,” agreed Luxion.

All of old humanity’s AIs had been on standby. That is, until Arcadia’s reawakening. Then they’d commenced what was basically an ill-advised offensive against him. The empire probably thought of their surprise attacks as random, but they were actually calculated sacrifices that had gathered all the data we now possessed on Arcadia. That data was what allowed Luxion and the others to calculate the enemy’s offensive capabilities.

Noelle had also let her hair down, having finished in the bath only moments earlier. She gently dabbed at her hair to soak up moisture from it. “Do you think maybe the rest of their ships are just slow, and he’s matching their pace?”

“We looked into the speed of their warships already,” said Cleare. “Even accounting for that, they’re still moving way too slowly.”

Livia stepped out of the bathroom. Having finished dressing, she made her way to the bed. “Do you think they’re trying to give us a chance?” she suggested. She’d apparently been able to hear our conversation the whole time.

As of right now, the most powerful Lost Item in the world was the one new humanity had left behind—Arcadia himself. Even Luxion would find it almost impossible to take Arcadia down alone. Given his immense advantage, it made sense Livia might think the empire had underestimated us so much that they weren’t putting a lot of effort into this invasion. 

Luxion was quick to shoot that down. “No,” he said. “Arcadia is not the type to be so conceited as to willingly provide us with more opportunity.”

Cleare added, “Agreed. He’d more likely charge ahead of everyone else and invade alone to wipe us all out.”

Angie sighed. “You and these Demonic Creatures are awfully extreme about this. You absolutely hate one another.”

The opponents’ two civilizations had been wiped out long ago, but somehow old hostilities and hatred had carried on.

“We were created to exterminate new humans,” Cleare explained, as if she thought all the blame lay with the enemy. “We would do anything to make that happen, and I do mean anything!” she added with great emphasis.

None of us knew quite how to react, although her voice sounded cheerful enough. Were we supposed to mirror her happiness? Or should we be terrified?

Noelle forced a smile. “Well, if that’s what this is about, you don’t have any personal grievances, do you? You’re just doing this because old humans told you to. If they asked you to stop—”

“New humans who’d become arrogant due to their magical abilities wiped out all the executives capable of handing down that order.”

“Oh, um… Well, uh…” Noelle’s eyes darted toward me. “Leon, help!” She couldn’t find a rebuttal on her own.

“But I’m your master now, right? So give up your grudge and follow my orders,” I said.

“Meanie! Do you have any idea how much those jerks made old humanity suffer? You’re heartless!” Cleare cried.

I shook my head. “That happened eons ago. It has nothing to do with us.”

“Yes, it does! And in a big way too! It’s the whole reason the imperials are coming after you!”

Livia wrapped her arms around herself and blurted out, “I just have to wonder why it came to this. It would’ve been so much better if both sides could have looked for a more peaceful way to solve their differences.” Her voice was heavy with sadness. Angie approached her from behind and embraced her.

I flipped onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. “You said it. I don’t know how we even got here.”

Who was really in the wrong? Or was this all preordained by the game developers—merely an element of the world’s lore? I’d worked hard to get past the idea that this was all just part of the game, but I couldn’t shake the urge to grumble about how ridiculous and unfair it was.

“A peaceful, happy, dreamlike world would’ve been better than this,” I said. “Now I look back fondly on how carefree I was when I first came to the academy.”

Luxion drifted closer to me. “Oh, indeed. It was about this time during your first year when you had that absolute failure of a tea party trying to land yourself a fiancée. Is that what you are so nostalgic about? You wish to return to that?”

At the mere suggestion, Angie, Livia, and Noelle glared daggers at me.

I’d better watch myself here, I thought. I was normally pretty dense at times like this, but my instincts were ringing alarm bells. I had to choose my words carefully now. “I’ve only got bad memories when it comes to bride hunting. I’d rather go back to the time when I got to enjoy tea parties in peace. What I wouldn’t give to buy a new tea set, leaves, and sweets to go with them.”

At that, Livia brightened and giggled. “An excellent idea. I’d love to sit and enjoy tea with everyone again.”

“You’d like to buy another tea set?” Angie asked, sounding cheerful despite her show of exasperation. “You’re certainly obsessed.”

Noelle leaned forward, interest piqued. “Ooh, having tea in the afternoon is super posh, like what the highest-ranked aristocrats do—although for us it just means enjoying drinks and snacks after school. Not that I dislike the way we do it, of course.”

The more we talked about the subject, the more happy memories flooded back to me.

“I can just picture it—looking for perfect tea leaves and snacks on the weekend,” I said. “And sometimes needing to plan well in advance and make a special order at a shop for the snacks to be ready on the day of the party. Then I’d spend time and effort on…”

Setting up a tea party in this world was more time-consuming than in Japan, given the lack of conveniences. Tons of preparation was involved, but I enjoyed that part. It was a hobby for me.

The three girls sat quietly and let me continue to ramble.

“…then I’d turn to Master for advice. Make sure that I’d put together a perfect combination of tea set, leaves, and snacks. It’d be nice to have him instruct me on the finer points of those aspects. In fact, it would be perfect if the two of us could have a party together.” I closed my eyes as I spoke, picturing it. The more I talked, the more excited I got.

“Master, you are an utter fool,” Luxion interrupted, ruining the bit of happiness I’d found in my imaginary scenario. “It seems I cannot expect you to mature at all on the romantic front.”

“Why not?” I asked, opening my eyes and heaving myself upright.

Angie and the other girls were smiling at me, but their mirth didn’t reach their eyes.

Angie’s crimson glare pinned me in place. “What a cruel man you are, Leon, to ramble endlessly about your Master despite our situation.”

“I assume this means you would invite him before you would think of inviting us?” Livia asked, hands pressed together in front of her mouth and a smile plastered on her face.

Noelle had balled her hands into fists. “Forget your fiancées, it’s all ‘Master this’ and ‘Master that.’ Didn’t it at least occur to you to lie to us and pretend you’d put us first?”

Well, crap. Speaking frankly pissed them all off.

I attempted a placating smile. “I just don’t want to lie when it comes to tea, you know?”

All three of them inched toward me, each with a hand raised.

“Oh, Master, you are such an idiot,” said Cleare.

“Indeed,” Luxion agreed. “I see no other option than for you to reform your defective personality, Master.”

***

When I met with Mr. Albergue the next morning, both my cheeks were red and swollen. He was overseeing the forces sent by the Republic to aid us, and he’d brought Miss Louise along.

“What happened to your face?” he asked, immediately concerned.

“I was smacking my cheeks to energize myself for the battle, and I did it a little too hard,” I lied. I was too embarrassed to tell the truth—that my three fiancées had slapped me.

“Oh, uh, all right,” he stammered, not sounding entirely convinced. “If that’s all, I suppose it’s fine.”

“In any case, I appreciate the Republic’s assistance. When this is all over, I promise to see you duly compensated.” I grinned at him.

“Of course. We’ll be looking forward to it. Having said that, are you sure about you-know-what?”

I blinked at him. “‘You-know-what’?”

He opened his mouth to explain further, but Miss Louise quickly cut in. “Father, Leon’s awfully busy. Let’s not waste time with idle chatter, all right?” She was smiling, but something in her tone brooked no argument.

Mr. Albergue hesitated, as if he wanted to pursue the matter further. Yet she had a point—I was very busy—so he seemed to think better of it and resigned himself. “I suppose…you’re right about that. In that case, we can discuss it more once this is all over. I’ve been thinking I need to have a long discussion with you anyway,” he told me.

“Sure. I don’t mind.” But who knows if I’ll even survive this? I thought. I knew better than to voice that, though. Dense as I was, I realized it wasn’t an appropriate thing to say. Plus, I’d feel awful displaying my own insecurity in front of an ally who was going out of his way to join us.

Miss Louise grasped my right hand in hers. “You have to come back alive. Don’t leave me like my little brother did.” The Guardian crests on the backs of both our hands let off faint light as if resonating.

“Of course,” I said with a fake smile before parting with the two.

***

As I headed toward the royal harbor, Luxion alerted me, “Master, Hertrude is up ahead. It appears she has been awaiting you.”

Miss Hertrude was clad in a black dress, looking casual enough that I had a hard time believing she’d come here intending to wait for me, as Luxion suggested. A small gathering of knights stood at a distance. I assumed they were her bodyguards—House Fanoss’s knights. Although they eyed us worriedly, they hung back.

Miss Hertrude brushed a hand through her hair, the long, silky black strands billowing almost like a cape behind her. She hadn’t grown any taller since our last meeting, at least not as far as I could tell, but she did seem more mature somehow.

“You weren’t waiting for me specifically, were you?” I asked.

She sniffed, eyes moving away from me. “I wish I could say that you’re being too self-centered, but that’s exactly right.”

Why would she be waiting for me? We weren’t particularly close to each other. I had to assume this was about compensation. “If you want to ask about remuneration in case this venture is successful, you’ll need to talk to Cleare and—”

“That is an important matter, to be sure,” she interrupted, “but I have something more important to discuss with you.”

“Oh. Uh, okay.”

She inhaled deeply. “Make sure you come back to us. It would be inconvenient for both me and for my dukedom if you became a dead hero rather than a living one.”

“So you’re not worried for my sake, but for your own and your house’s, huh?” I chuckled. It was just like her to frame it that way.

Miss Hertrude scoffed at me. “That is a given. I benefit most if you come back alive. You must return and fulfill your promise to me.”

Promise? Oh, right. I had sworn to give her whatever she wanted. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to see that through, but I went ahead and nodded anyway. “And you’re asking this of me even though you plan to go out on the battlefield yourself?”

House Fanoss’s general would hand out orders to the fleet, but I’d heard that Miss Hertrude would accompany them as a representative of her house. I personally didn’t think she needed to risk her life going to battle, but she’d apparently refused to budge on that.

“Unlike you, I know when to retreat,” she said. “You are the one I am worried about.”

“You’ve got me there.”

Miss Hertrude spun, turning her back to me, and started walking off. Her voice was quiet as she said over her shoulder, “Try not to break the hearts of the people who love you. Don’t forget it’s difficult for the ones left behind as well.”

Her words stabbed deep. I opened my mouth to say something, but no answer came forth. Soon enough, she was out of earshot. I scratched the back of my head and finally managed, “Guess she saw right through me, huh?”

“She was probably trying to warn you against dangerous behavior. She knows you tend to push yourself far past your limits,” Luxion said.

“Makes sense.”

It was odd having a former enemy worry about me like this. Felt like something straight out of a shonen manga.

***

As I neared the harbor, I found government officials lined up along the path on either side. Minister Bernard was among them, his face sallow and gaunt.

“They are civil officials,” Luxion told me.

“That’s pretty obvious, but thanks.”

Ink from all the paperwork they’d been tackling stained their hands and sleeves. Exhaustion was plain on their faces, but they stood a little straighter as they noticed my approach. It would be a stretch to say they looked perfectly groomed, but still, their show of support was heartwarming.

“This is a little embarrassing,” I told Minister Bernard as I approached him.

His cheeks turned ruddy. “I admit I’m not used to gestures like this either, but this is all we can do, since we aren’t fighters.”

He and his men had been drowning in paperwork as they got ready for the battle ahead, and they’d probably still have their fair share to do out on the field. Worse yet, if we got back safely, they’d most likely have even more waiting for them. They looked like they wanted (and desperately needed) to dive into bed and get some sleep, but they’d gone out of their way to come see me off.

After I'd made a bit of lighthearted conversation with the minister, Miss Clarice and Miss Deirdre approached us. They had to be fatigued as well, but they’d dressed for the occasion and used makeup to hide any circles beneath their eyes.

Miss Clarice tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Please return to us alive.” She bowed her head politely. She hadn’t spoken in the tone I’d expect from an academy alumna speaking to an underclassman.

Miss Deirdre snapped her beloved folding fan shut and followed Miss Clarice’s example, lowering her chin. “I wish you luck on the field.”

I was surprised none of the men there glared in envy at me for having two gorgeous women come see me off. The officials’ faces were all hard lines and edges, not a smile in sight. Honestly, I wasn’t used to having no one disparage or deride me. It made me uncomfortable.

Minister Bernard gently slapped my back. “Well, off you go, then. It’s about time for you all to depart, right?”

“Yes, I guess it is.” I hesitated and then asked, “Uh, did you see anyone else off? Like those five morons?”

At the very mention of them, he and the rest of the officials burst into exaggerated laughter, but it quickly died down. The blank looks that came onto their faces afterward were unnerving.

“I wouldn’t subject myself to that even if someone asked me to,” said Minister Bernard.

As if to reinforce this, some nearby officials started venomously grumbling about the idiot brigade.

“All those nincompoops do is make more work for us.”

“I won’t soon forget how I resented the way they ruined all the hard work that went into arranging and formalizing their engagements. Not until the day I die.”

“Jilk is a bastard for betraying Lady Clarice. He’s the only one I hope doesn’t come back alive after all this.”

Yikes. These guys hate their guts. Honestly, I couldn’t blame them. “Oh, erm, all right,” I said, unable to come up with anything else.

***

When I finally reached the harbor, the idiot brigade was there waiting for me with an extra guest. It’s a whole sausage fest here. Wonderful.

“Milaaady!” Loic screeched, throwing himself at Marie only for Julius to hurriedly block him. Well, he did more than block. He kind of punched Loic. Several times, in fact.

“Don’t come near her!” Julius howled.

Loic grappled with Julius, seizing him by the collar and swinging his fist in return. “I am here as a representative to greet her on behalf of the Alzer Republic!”

Honestly, they’re like children. I glanced at Marie. Her face was twisted into a bitter smile, suggesting she shared my opinion.

As the Saint, Marie was clad in a white outfit complete with the holy relics. A high-ranking priest and a group of temple knights stood immediately behind her.

“I guess you told the truth when you said they’d finally recognized you as Saint,” I remarked.

She blushed and kept her gaze averted. “Well, I just have this aura that I can’t hide. It was kind of a given that they’d name me Saint.” She was obviously getting carried away and exaggerating, but that was her personality. I was relieved she was being her usual self.

“Just try not to make any big mistakes and piss them off again,” I said.

She puffed out her cheeks and stared up at me. “I’m not going to make any mistakes.” She did seem much more composed than the five idiots and the bonus idiot quibbling with them.

“Okay, then. I’m leaving the Licorne to you.” I gave them a wave.

A little flustered, she waved too. “Yeah. Um, Big Bro…”

I paused to glance back at her. I wouldn’t waste time scolding her for calling me that in public. Not this time.

Marie smiled. “Make sure you wrap this up cleanly.”

That was probably her way of wishing me good luck. Seeing this battle through would be easier said than done, but I got the idea.

“Come on. You hardly need to tell me that,” I shot back teasingly.

I marched up the Einhorn’s gangplank, stopping midway to look back at the idiot brigade. “If you aren’t getting on, I’ll leave you behind!” I bellowed at them.

They scrambled to grab their luggage and hightail it up the ramp behind me.

***

As Julius and the others headed into the ship, Marie shouted after them, “Make sure to look after my big brother, you guys!” Tears welled in her eyes as she clenched one fist in the folds of her skirt.

They each turned to look back at her with reassuring smiles. 

Julius bobbed his head. “We will.”

“We’ll drag him back home safe and sound,” Jilk promised, running a hand through his hair.

Greg flexed his arms, showing off his muscles for her. “No need to worry with us on the job, Marie!”

“Indeed, there’s no need for concern as long as we’re with him,” agreed Chris, sliding a finger up the bridge of his nose to adjust his glasses.

The last idiot, Brad, winked at her. “For you, we’ll give this all we’ve got.”

Leon hovered at the entrance to the ship, waiting for them to join him. Marie stared at him, wiping a stray tear. Loic, who stood beside her, yanked out a handkerchief and offered it.

“Here,” he said.

“Thank you.” She took it and dabbed her cheeks. She refused to budge from her spot until they disappeared inside the ship and its door closed after them.

Loic stayed with her, watching the Einhorn fire up and take off. “There they go,” he said.

“Time for us to be on our way too. Be careful not to overdo it out there, Loic,” responded Marie.

Her concern delighted him, but he forced his lips into a straight line, intent on taking this seriously. “Of course. I’m not planning to die any time soon. You be careful too, milady.”

Marie only smiled forlornly, not responding.