“Well, it’s good it was Kenya-kun, and then… Kaguya-kun and Reina-kun.”
Immediately after, Kenya and Kaguya dropped to one knee.
Reina also lowered her head in a bow.
“I thought I told you it wasn’t necessary inside the school?”
At those words, the three of them raised their faces.
With a surprised expression, Reina asked,
“Lord Highness, why are you here?”
Even Reina, who usually doesn’t show much emotion, was clearly shaken by this.
Even within the school, it was unusual for the Lord to appear alone without even a guard.
“I heard there were students practicing after school, so I came to see how it was going. Don’t mind me, please continue.”
“…But.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m just a little interested. I don’t discriminate or distinguish just because I’m a Second-Class. I’m a believer in using what’s available.”
“Huh!?”
Kaguya raised her voice in surprise at those words.
It’s not that Kaguya doesn’t understand what those words mean.
She knows that there are those among the Asgardians who advocate against discrimination.
They are considered inhumane, but all of them are regulated and suppressed.
However, the person in front of her now is the top of the Empire.
He had just said that even if they were Second-Class, he wouldn’t discriminate if they were useful.
“Did the royalty just criticize the Emperor?”
“Will you try believing my words?”
Then, the Lord approached Kenya.
He casually extended his right hand.
“In your culture, it should be the right hand, right?”
He was asking for a handshake.
Kenya understood that.
Kenya knew about this Lord.
He had an anti-discrimination ideology that was unbecoming of royalty.
However, he also fulfilled his duties as royalty and achieved remarkable results in wars.
Kenya couldn’t understand what kind of person he was just from the settings.
He didn’t know his aim or anything.
All he knew was that he was an incredibly terrifying strategist.
“Will I regret it if I take that hand?”
“That’s something you’ll have to judge someday. Well, it’s certain that it’s a bloodstained hand.”
The Lord grinned.
Kenya knew that there was something behind that fearless smile.
But Kenya took his hand.
He didn’t know what taking this hand would lead to.
However, Kenya didn’t think the Lord was a bad person.
In the game, he was a mysterious boy shrouded in mystery, and no one knew what kind of person he was.
But.
“I don’t know you yet, but I felt like I had to take this hand.”
Intuition moved Kenya.
The hand he shook back, royalty and Second-Class, ruler and slave.
Only the person himself knew the meaning of that hand being shaken, which should never have been shaken.
However, at this moment, fate had already been decided.
The fate of a battle that would engulf the world.
“Well then, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, I’ll watch your practice.”
“Yes, please. Feel free.”
The Lord watched the three of them practice for a while.
“Hey, wait a minute. Kenya, it’s hard to practice with him here!”
“I-It can’t be helped! We can’t tell him to go home.”
Kaguya and Kenya talked so that only the two of them could hear.
However, after a while, the Lord stood up.
“I’ll take my leave for today, I’ve disturbed you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Did you, by any chance, hear us? Did you hear us? We won’t be purged, will we!”
Kaguya spoke in a small voice while bowing.
The Lord seemed to smile a little at that.
And then he left the Simulator Room.
(So he was holding back at that time, huh? A skill level that surpasses the Ice Princess. If it’s him, then that plan too…)
The Lord smiled fearlessly.
One of the rulers walked lightly down the empty corridor alone.
No one heard the words of destruction that one of the world’s leaders muttered to himself.
“To obtain this world.”
…
“What was that all about?”
“Who knows? Let’s just call it a day for now.”
“…In the end, I couldn’t even reduce it by 10%.”
Reina looked dejected in front of him.
She was looking down sadly, and it was inevitable that he would reach out his hand at that gesture.
Pat
Kenya patted Reina’s head.
Because it looked so easy to pat.
“You’re strong enough, it’s only been two years since you started, right? You’re amazing.”
Reina looked up at Kenya through her fingers.
Kenya had been playing this KOG for almost six years, including his previous life.
He was honestly surprised at Reina’s strength, who had only been playing for two years.
But only Kenya knew that.
“Really?”
“Ugh!”
Her innocent eyes, like a child, and her unintentional upward glance.
Kenya almost had a heart attack and clutched his chest, people die from such preciousness.
Kenya, an otaku to the core, was grinning while looking at Reina.
Kaguya was watching that.
(What are they doing, flirting! Even though I said I liked him!)
Kaguya was starting to feel irritated at Kenya for reaching out to other women.
Not just Reina, but also the other Japanese women in the class were fawning over him, and Kenya was grinning, which irritated her.
(What is this, this annoyance?)
Seeing him getting along with other women made her irritated.
This was just like.
(No way… am I… jealous!?)
She realized that she was jealous of Kenya, who was still flirting with Reina.
This was jealousy.
“Kaguya? What’s wrong?”
“Huh!? That’s not it! You idiot!”
“Ehh…”
Kaguya was trembling and acting strange, so he spoke to her.
But suddenly, she threw insults at him, insults that had no context.
He was used to being insulted by Kaguya, but he thought they had become closer recently and that a dere side was near.
“Well, whatever. Let’s go, Reina.”
And so, they finished their simulator practice for the day, and Reina and Kenya headed to the Sylphid Estate.
The two of them walked side by side, with Kaguya watching from behind.
Suddenly, she noticed.
“Kaguya? What’s wrong?”
“Hah!?”
She was holding onto the sleeve of Kenya’s clothes.
As if to say, “Don’t go.”
When Kenya noticed and called out to her, she realized what she had done and turned bright red.
“I-It’s not like that! D-Die!”
“Gweh!”
Kaguya had realized her feelings.
She was embarrassed and insulted him, then pushed him away and ran away.
(What is this, I hate it. What is this?)
Just thinking about Kenya made her chest hurt.
She desperately ran away, not wanting anyone to see her bright red face.
Even a few tears were starting to fall, but now that it had come to this, even Kaguya could understand.
(Unbelievable, unbelievable, that I would like that pervert…)
But was it her pride that still wouldn’t let her admit it?
“There’s no way I like him!!”
Despite her own will, she couldn’t help but think about Kenya.