The World of Otome Games is Tough For Mobs - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Collar 

The next morning was full of tension due to the events of the previous day.

Dorothea was blushing and looking down, while Nicks' face was red up to the ears, as if he was remembering what happened yesterday.

They were both nervous and did not speak.

- It seems like a real matchmaking meeting.

We were analyzing the situation in a separate room, looking at the image projected by Luxon on the wall.

However, the situation was different from the last time.

Deirdre-senpai was uneasy with Dorothea, who had a different attitude than yesterday.

- Sister, what happened to your usual attitude!? Last night you forced me to practice your conversation with you!

It seems the two of them have been practicing a simulated conversation with Nicks late into the night. What topics did they talk about? What kinds of questions did they ask? As a result, Deirdre-senpai seemed to be a bit drowsy, but it seems that she is so irritated by her sister's pitiful appearance that her drowsiness is gone.

Beside her, Clarice-senpai, who had been glancing sideways, was looking at the two with a serious expression.

- Nothing is going to happen if one of them doesn’t move anytime soon.

Dorothea was embarrassed unlike her attitude yesterday.

Her appearance is certainly that of a maiden in love, but Nicks seems to be feeling guilty for showing a rude attitude to his senpai yesterday.

- My brother won’t move. I know my brother. He is a sorry brother.

When I shrugged like this was unfortunate, Angie and Livia --- even Noelle --- looked at me and made a shocked face.

They seemed to be trying to say something, but their current interest seemed to be in the two of them not making any moves.

Livia seemed to be having a bit of fun.

- I wonder what's going to happen? I hope they will be able to talk to each other.

At Livia's question, Angie voiced her thoughts with a bit of emotion.

- It won't work if neither of them speaks. Why don't we make someone break that ice and bring up a topic? I can do it if nobody else wants to?

While Angie said she would come in and introduce a topic, Deirdre-senpai also volunteered.

- Then I'm the right person. I'm her sister, and Nicks and I are classmates.

Clarice-senpai didn't seem to be convinced by Deirdre-senpai's opinion.

- But we were in different classes, right? Even if we were in the same class, we wouldn't have had any connection. So, what about me, that has nothing to do with it?

For whatever reason, I feel like the girls are more excited than yesterday.

Noelle was sitting in a wheelchair, staring at the screen.

- I can't take my eyes off the screen for some reason.

Moving away from the girls who seemed to be enjoying this, I got into a conversation with Luxon, who came with me.

- They seem to be excited about love stories.

[It's a world where there's not much entertainment, so it's probably unavoidable.]

Unlike the world of my previous life, it is difficult to say that this world is full of entertainment.

Therefore, there are many girls who are curious about the love affairs of others.

[By the way, about the statements you made earlier about your unfortunate brother.]

- I just saw my brother who was silent without saying anything and I thought about that. It really is unfortunate.

[I have repeatedly advised you to look in the mirror and speak clearly. First of all, the people around you recognize that you are more troublesome than your incompetent brother.]

- No, I'm not as bad as my brother.

When I said that and looked at the girls, they took their eyes off the screen and looked at me.

Livia spoke to Angie.

- Do you think it's one of Leon's usual jokes?

Angie responded with great concern.

- Could be? I hope it's a joke.

Noelle denied my words with a shocked look.

- Leon is worse than Nicks when it comes to romance, you know.

When I received a shock from that disappointing assessment, Deirdre-senpai and Clarice-senpai also came over and spoke in a whisper.

- Which one do you think is worse?

- They're both terrible, but last night he came to my room and praised me on my looks, so it's a win for Leon?

-...Wait a minute. He did what??

It was last night.

At my senpai's request, I visited Clarice-senpai's room and praised her for her looks.

I just kept my promise, but for some reason the girls' gazes turned stern.

When I asked Luxon next to me for help, he made a stunned voice while projecting an image.

[Didn't you realize that praising just one person would cause problems?]

- Why can't they be happy when I just say something nice?

[If someone else does the same thing, the Master will surely blame him. There are limits to how light of a self-assessment you can have.]

Why do they blame me so much?

As I wished he was kinder to me, the image began to move.

- My brother is starting to move.

◇

- D-Dorothea!

When Nicks stood up and raised his voice, Dorothea, who was looking down, also looked up and answered.

- Y-Yes!

The two began to stare at each other.

However, Nicks couldn't stop sweating inside.

You seem like a different person than yesterday. 

The last time he saw Dorothea, she was a woman with a cold demeanor who wouldn't even look at him.

However, in front of him was a beautiful woman who seemed more attractive for her age.

Nicks couldn't tell which was the real Dorothea.

 B-But I have to say it correctly. 

He is a man who suddenly became the heir to a Baron family due to various circumstances.

He had not received a decent education at the academy and was learning various jobs while helping his father.

Dorothea, a true young lady, is unlikely to be his wife.

There is the case that their statuses were not balanced, but he did not think that a true young lady could live in the country.

- The Baltfault family is in a country compared to the city. It is also a very rural area.

Dorothea, do you want to live here?

Dorothea was a bit taken aback by the different way of speaking he had compared to yesterday.

- If I decide to get married, it doesn’t matter where I live. I-Is that wrong?

Nicks was confused by Dorothea's humble attitude when she asked yesterday, "Are you ready to become a pet?"

- W-Well, it's not bad ... but, you should think about it seriously. Because if you are used to living in the city, this will seem boring.

- W-Well ....

They were both confused.

As Nicks took a seat and closed his mouth, the conversation stopped again and the

quiet time continued.

This time Dorothea moved.

- Ah ... I have something to tell you.

What was placed on the table with a clang was a collar on a chain.

For a moment, Nicks wondered if she had lost her collar yesterday ... And then he realized that it was strange that Dorothea had a collar.

- Eh?

Why does this person have a necklace? Yesterday she ran out of the room when she saw him and did not return to the mansion from there. Also ... Isn't it different from the necklace Leon made !? 

The necklace was connected to another necklace at the end of the chain.

Dorothea wore one of the two necklaces around her neck.

And then she offered the other necklace to Nicks.

What is this? Seriously what is this? What does this mean? Maybe this is some joke that is popular in the city!? 

Dorothea smiled as her face reddened at the dismayed Nicks.

- I'm sorry I ran away yesterday. I've been waiting a long time ... I've been waiting a long time for someone to put a collar on me.

- Huh? What? But why two collars?

Dorothea continued talking to Nicks, who was confused and couldn't answer correctly after receiving the necklace.

- Honestly, I'm not interested in men who are content to be pets. What I wanted was a partner who would compete with me until the last moment, when one of us would take control. Should I obey the other, or should the other obey me? Any partner who can compete with me is the type of man I have been looking for. And when I saw you take the initiative, I could feel that it was destiny.

Any kind of expression disappeared on Nicks.

And then he realized.

This chick is terrible. It was already strange when I saw her happily wearing the collar, but I do not understand her desire to be a couple who wants to fight for the initiative. First of all, what I want is to have a good partner like our parents who get along peacefully. Isn't this exactly the opposite!? 

Nicks' ideal was the opposite of Dorothea's ideal.

Nicks, who understood that he would never do well, thought in various ways about refusing. However, Leon's smiling face flickered in his head.

This is all the fault of Leon who has put me in this strange situation! If he hadn't done something so unnecessary, she wouldn't have fallen in love with me! 

For some reason, Dorothea ended up falling in love with him.

Nicks was happy that a beautiful woman took an interest in him, but she is a person with whom he could not get along with in any way.

However, the other party was still a high-class young lady.

As he chose his words to gently reject her, Dorothea held out her hand. When she picked up the necklace that Nicks had on, she put it on as is.

Their necks were tied to each other with chains, creating an indescribable scene.

- I wanted to connect with my ideal man just once in this way.

Nicks couldn't stop sweating in front of Dorothea, who said that with an ecstatic expression.

This is an absolutely terrible personnnnnnnnnnnn !! 

Nicks was desperately thinking of a way to escape from this situation while throwing all the abusive words he had against Leon into his mind.

◇

-Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

After the second meeting, Nicks had a strategy meeting with me. The goal was to avoid a marriage with Dorothea in a friendly way.

Dorothea's eyes were burning for Nicks and seemed to show signs of a predator. He felt a strong will to never let him go.

- She wants them to be a couple that wears collars and values the tension between them, it's exactly the opposite of my brother's ideal. Why don't you just give up?

I raised both hands and showed a surrender pose in front of Nicks, who began to prepare his fist.

- OK let's talk. In this situation, we can trust Angie who knows a lot about the noble society.

When I turned to Angie, I kind of apologized to Nicks.

- I didn't think it would work that well. I would like to do something, but it is very difficult if the matter becomes so complicated. However, do I think Nicks has the option of marrying Dorothea?

Nicks shook his head from side to side many times, showing strong rejection.

- That's impossible!

- If Dorothea wasn't enthusiastic, she would have refused.

According to Angie's original plan, if she refused, this would have ended as a simple visit without any problems.

If Nicks didn't like it, it wouldn't be a problem for him to refuse.

Yet Dorothea was serious.

-This is complicated. Dorothea will formally request a match with the help of her parents'

household. If the Roseblade family gets serious, they will do their best to make it happen.

It seems that the Count's family will take their daughter Dorothea's marriage seriously. The true intention was poured out.

- It's scary that the Count's family will take it seriously.

Then Nicks grabbed my chest with tears in his eyes.

-It's your fault! Why should I be the countess's target?

- Her goal is not your life, but your chastity.

I was silently strangled giving him a thumbs up as a reward for having a beautiful woman aim for his chastity.

Livia, who was watching the exchange between the brothers, put her hand to her forehead and let out a sigh.

…. I'm afraid things have gotten complicated.

Angie seemed to be reflecting on it too.

- I thought it could be resolved peacefully without putting a hand into it, but it wasn't good to leave it alone. However, this marriage is not so bad.

Nicks stopped moving when he heard Angie and released me.

Luxon leaned closer when he stopped holding my neck.

[He deserved it.]

- I intended to be a bit mischievous. Why is it not so bad? Does it seem like this is just terrible for my brother?

Angie explained to Nicks, who nodded silently and repeatedly, as if it was just an unproblematic thing to do.

- I'm talking about how it's not so bad if families are connected, regardless of personal opinions. The Roseblade family is one of the most prestigious families. It has financial strength and authoritarian power. If you connect with such a house, you will be freed from unnecessary troubles. ... However, there is a certain degree of annoyance.

The annoyance Angie said is that multiple people will continue to meet with the Baltfault family.

In this case, the Roseblade family name will protect them from people with bad intentions.

Nicks was concerned about this matter.

- Is it good for the house? Yes, but ... I'm not sure if I can decide to marry because of that.

Nicks considered marrying to protect the house, but the nobles of the country are unfamiliar with noble society, for better or for worse.

As long as you follow the minimum rules, you are free to do whatever you want.

It is no stranger to power struggles, but it is a warm environment compared to true power struggles between nobles.

Yes, I was thinking of getting married at home, but I was also thinking of my happiness, with Nicks it was different.

- She fell in love with me, but I'm a phony. If she marries me, she will feel cheated. It's terrible to not marry for the sake of your home and then suffer without love, right? I can't let her go that far for the sake of her family.

It seems that Nicks was worried about Dorothea.

- Brother.

I was surprised that he thought of the other party.

Luxon spoke to me.

[He's a good brother. And yet you did something unnecessary and annoying ... you were rude to

both of them. How about reflecting on that, Master?]

- Don't put any more salt on the wound! ... W-Well, I'm sorry.

It's true that I crossed a line that I shouldn't have crossed, expecting the other person to hate me.

After Nicks took a deep breath, he gave us a forced smile.

- I'm sorry you had to go through this. I apologize. I am prepared to be beaten, and I will ask you to maintain your dissatisfaction with me.

- Brother, I'll go and apologize too.

- I don't want to cause you any more problems. While it's true that you worked on my behalf… ...But please just reflect on it. This is something that you must do!

He's kind even though he said that.

My family is really wonderful.

Except for my sisters, of course.

◇

Garden at sunset.

- In the end, I've only caused trouble for my brother.

As I sighed, Luxon and Noelle, in a wheelchair, were next to me. Angie and Livia accompanied Nicks.

By apologizing to Dorothea, having Angie by the side, the other party can't do anything radical… apparently.

I've even had Angie clean up my mess.

I intended that I should do something if things got out of hand, but there were many things to think about if that happened.

Luxon was impressed about my depressed state.

[You don't have to let it bother you. You aren’t afraid to take charge and make a crazy plan with your mouth, but when it goes wrong, you get depressed? That is bad character.]

- I can reflect too.

[I would like you to move a little more cautiously.]

- It is an unreasonable request for a fool. … To begin with, if I had moved more cautiously in the first place, we would not be suffering like we are now.

Noelle tried to cheer me up as I sat on the edge of the flowerbed in the garden and had a conversation with Luxon.

- Deirdre has already forgiven you, so you don't have to be depressed anymore.

- Still, I hurt her.

Right after that, I told Deirdre-senpai about the situation.

I told her that the collar thing was not real, and since we thought this was a formal matchmaking, we tried to make it fail.

Deirdre-senpai said… "I wish you hadn't made such a bad move and told me sincerely."

She accepted my apology, but was a bit sad.

I should have explained it to Deirdre-senpai beforehand.

Angie said, "Let's make use of this failure for next time."

From the beginning, Angie thought it would fail.

If I was allowed to experience failure, it would affect me strongly and I would be careful next time.

In a sense, this was a maneuver that could be done because the other party was an acquaintance, Deirdre-senpai.

However, I don't think I can have a decent relationship with her in the future.

I was too rude to Dorothea.

…Well, in any case, Deirdre-senpai said that she would put this matter aside.

Noelle tried repeatedly to cheer me up, but Colin came from the mansion.

- Noelle! It is already night and it is getting cold. Let's get back inside as soon as possible.

Colin quickly got behind Noelle and began to push the wheelchair.

- Wait a minute, I'm still talking to Leon.

Noelle tried to make Colin wait, but it was getting cold.

After all, it's cold when the sun goes down, so I decided to let Noelle go inside the mansion.

-It's okay. Colin, escort Noelle.

- Leave it to me!

Colin, who was pushing the wheelchair, took care of Noelle.

- Come on, Noelle.

- I'm sorry for always making you do that, Colin.

- No. I-I-I like to do it too, so it's okay.

Watching them leave, I realized that Colin had grown up a little.

- Colin is growing too.

[I judge that he is growing healthily both physically and mentally. Why don't you grow up too, Master?]

- If I think about wanting to grow up, no one will have a bad time.

◇

The next day, the port had a strange atmosphere.

- Thank you for taking care of us. I'm sorry it ended like this.

After Dorothea bowed to our family, she headed straight for the Roseblade family airship.

Dorothea, who was looking down and had tears in her eyes, entered without even looking at us, accompanied by the surrounding servants.

It seems that Dorothea cried when Nicks told her the truth.

My chest was tightening from her haggard appearance.

The servants and knights of House Roseblade had a very stern look in front of Nicks.

Standing next to Nicks, I whispered to him.

- Why didn't you blame it on me?

- You also have other business to attend to. It would have been pathetic for you to cover for me. Saying that, Nicks said goodbye to Dorothea and left the harbor.

Instead, Angie approached me.

- Don't take it literally. Nicks didn't want to bother you, so he kept what you planned a secret.

Apparently, Deirdre also heard about Nicks' explanation, but she didn’t say anything either.

- Did they do that for me?

- You have a kind older brother. Most people are not so lucky. Leon, you must take good care of your family.

The Roseblade family aircraft left the port and left.

In the end, Deirdre-senpai didn't even speak to me.

-… I lost a lot, huh.

As a result of my foolish actions, I lost a lot of things.

Angie spoke.

- Either way, if he rejected her, they would have grown apart. The other side must have been prepared for it.

◇

The Roseblade family airship.

In one of the airship rooms, Deirdre was comforting Dorothea.

- Coincidences are a dreadful thing, aren't they?

- Yes.

- It would be useless to tell you not to worry about that, right?

- Yes.

- There are as many men as there are stars. Perhaps among them you will find the man of your dreams.

- …that’s enough.

Dorothea, lying on the bed and hugging her pillow, turned her back on Deirdre. And then she told her about how she felt.

- I will forever stop pursuing my ideals. When I return, I will tell our father to use me for a political marriage. If I can't have what I want, I'd rather have nothing.

Deirdre saw Dorothea and let out a sigh, thinking she was seriously heartbroken.

How nice it would be if you turned him down like you normally do Due to Leon's unusual plan, things got even more complicated.

Deirdre believed that the Baltfault and Roseblade families could not establish a relationship.

But that doesn't mean they can't be enemies ... You've really made things difficult for me. 

The Roseblade family right now had no intention of retaliating against the Baltfault family.

It was also troublesome to have the Duke of Redgrave behind Leon, but the biggest problem was Leon himself.

Ask my father to leave my sister alone for a while? 

As Deirdre tried to leave the room, a gentleman rushed inside.

Originally this behavior was rude, but from the rush, Deirdre believed this was an emergency.

- What happened?

- Sky pirates! More than 10 aircraft are heading here!

- Ten aircraft? Why are there so many sky pirates here!?

The sky pirates attacked the airship bearing the Roseblade family crest.

◇

- Master Leon, please get well soon.

After saying goodbye, I lay down on the sofa in the living room and thought about various things.

Perhaps her appearance made her look depressed, but Yumeria, dressed in the maid's uniform, was worried.

Noelle was also sitting in a wheelchair, with a sapling - the little sapling of the sacred tree, freed from the jar, on her lap.

Apparently, she was holding it to get some fresh air.

- I know it’s hard when you’re having regrets, but you should try to feel better. Angelica was worried because you were depressed. She said, "I've gone too far."

Seeing my depressed appearance, even Angie seemed to have regretted overdoing it.

I really don't want to worry Angie; she was taking care of me to give me a lot of experience.

- You do not have to worry about that.

- No, I have to worry." So how about you sunbathe with this young one?

Noelle held the little sapling with both hands and offered it to me.

- With the little sapling?

Yumeria took both of my hands and explained it to me with a smile.

- Yes! This child should be outside, but since it cannot be planted anywhere, we take it out from time to time like now.

The little sapling, to be a sacred tree, could not be planted anywhere.

Not only was I worried about it being stolen, but depending on where they plant it, there will be concession issues down the road.

Therefore, it now had to endure in a narrow pot for the time being.

- Do you want to find a place to plant the little sapling?

While I was thinking about taking Luxon to go find a place since I was free, the interior of the mansion began to shake.

- What happened?

When I got up and went out into the corridor, an official who was supposed to be at the port came.

He was a civil servant who was in charge of administrative work and was a man who looked like an old salaryman seen in my previous life. He was wearing a white shirt and a black arm cover.

He was a slim person who wore glasses and had a weak constitution. Such a person ran into the mansion.

Right now, he was talking at the entrance of the mansion with my father.

- There are more than 10 sky pirate aircraft!? Is the Roseblade Family Airship Safe!?

- Y-Yes! A gentleman from the Roseblade family landed in the harbor with his armed unit. It seems that he was chased by more than a dozen sky pirates and is looking for help.

My father, who approached the official, made a complex expression when listening to the content of the story.

A country baron like us has a very small number of war aircraft. Even if you did have one, there would be a great upkeep cost.

However, the Baltfault family, who have recently been able to earn money, were increasing their war aircraft and increasing their military power.

Even so, he only owned three aircraft.

It was reckless to simply challenge more than three times the number of enemies, but it was the Roseblade family that was asking for help.

It was also not a good idea to abandon them.

I reached out to my father, who was asked to make such a difficult decision, and joined the conversation.

- If they tell me the location, I'll help with Einhorn.

My father, who was suddenly called by me, looked at me in surprise, turning only the upper part of his body.

- Leon? No, are you sure you can handle it?

My father knew how fast Einhorn was.

However, he was undecided for some reason.

-… As I thought, I can't. Anyway, just gather the people together and get ready to go.

- Yes.

As the official ran away, I put pressure on my father.

- Why? It's faster if I go myself!

- Why don't you look around a bit more?

My father was looking behind me as I left the mansion.

When I turned around, Livia was there.

- Are you going to fight again?

Livia, who looked very concerned, lowered her head.

- Livia? Nothing can happen to me. I have Luxon and Einhorn to beat up the sky pirates. I also have Arroganz, so there is nothing to worry about.

Livia lifted her face, but her expression remained cloudy.

- You told me you'd rest, right?

- But, Deirdre-senpai ...

I heard some footsteps, but it was Angie and Luxon.

You could also see Clarice-senpai's figure.

Angie was breathing a little roughly like she was in a hurry.

- Don't go, Leon. There are aircrafts of mine and of the Atlee family in the port. There are four in total, but with the addition of the Baron's strength, we can manage.

Not only Angie, but also Clarice-senpai didn't want me to go out.

- The Roseblade family is strong. They cannot easily lose against the pirates of the sky. The Atlee family will help too, so just rest, Leon.

-… No, I will help. It will be faster this way.

The Redgraves, the Atlee… and the Roseblades, who are fighting against the pirates of the sky, enjoy prestige in the Kingdom of Holfault.

They have strong military capabilities and are definitely reliable.

But it will be easier to get rid of them if I go out.

- I caused trouble for Deirdre-senpai. I'll come out as an apology.

- Wait, you idiot who does not understand anything!

When Angie tried to grab my hand, Nicks, running down the hall, grabbed my chest and pressed me against the wall.

- Brother?

Nicks wrinkled his eyebrows and stared at me.

- Leon, give me a hand. I need your help.

- What? No, I'm going out now.

- I'll save her. I'll take care of Dorothea somehow. I want to borrow your aircraft.