The world of otome games is harsh on the extras, please be kind to me!
It's already the third year of my life at the elementary school.
I had obtained permission and was making my way to the Seventh Weapon Factory.
I had come to check on my beloved machine, butâ
"What are you all doing?"
Many were rubbing their cheeks against or hugging the completed Avid.
Nias, in particular, was clinging to it like a cicada.
Moreover, they didn't even notice when I called out to them.
"Avid, you've done a great job. I'm so happy."
âIt seems the modification of Avid was quite intense.
Nias had broken down.
When I looked up at Avid, it didn't seem much different from before.
However, the frame and armor were all made of rare metals.
Its performance surpassed the current models.
âI was satisfied with the catalog specifications.
Butâ
"I don't like it."
As I muttered this, Marie, who had noticed me, quickly closed the distance and knelt down, panicking.
"Is there something I've done wrong!"
Is this guy a ninja?
Well, that's fine.
"I also sent a gold ingot. While black armor with silver is nice, I prefer gold."
Then, Nias turned around.
"Who are you! To think you'd try to give this child such a nouveau riche color scheme!"
She outright called my taste nouveau riche.
Marie stood up and took hold of the hilt of the sword she had strapped to her lower back.
Then, the blade part appeared from the hilt.
A storage type, it seems, is quite convenient.
"Nias, you were an excellent engineer. As a reward for completing Avid, I'll end it with one strike."
Nias shouted at me.
"Ah! Master Liam!"
It's as if she saw a ghost.
"Nias, step away from Avid. Master Liam's beloved machine will be stained with your blood."
"Stop it."
I stopped Marie, who had a cold look in her eyes and was about to strike Nias.
"Nias, as a reward for completing Avid's modifications, I'll pretend I didn't hear your words. Repaint the silver parts of Avid in gold."
Then, Nias had tears in her eyes.
"No way!"
"You!"
Refusing outright is not allowed.
Marie began to draw her sword, but I decided to hear her out.
"The silver parts are connected to the frame. They are all mithril, which is more valuable than gold. I worked so hard to process it!"
"Still, I like gold! How about I dye the parts that aren't silver in gold?"
"That's bad taste! Not understanding the beauty of the adamanthite shine is just wrong!"
The family crests and patterns on Avid were all silver.
Nias opposed repainting them in gold.
âIf it weren't you, I'd have you beheaded immediately!
"If we paint over this mithril, the performance will drop. In numbers, it's a 2% to 5% decrease in performance."
âThat's not a problem.
"Then, repaint it."
"Originally, there was no painting at all! This black is also adamanthite! Ah, Avid will be defiled by such bad taste."
Nias was crying while hugging Avid.
Marie looked at me.
"Master Liam, shall we torture her?"
"Rosetta is my favorite. I'll forgive her this time. Butâsince you hate it so much, as a punishment, you'll do the painting yourself."
I made Nias, who was reluctant, paint Avid.
"Uwaan, Master Liam is such an idiot!"
Watching Nias cry while painting was also enjoyable, but after adjusting Avid, I returned to the elementary school a few days later.
The elementary school without Liam.
Rosetta had been summoned by the officials who were supposed to monitor her family.
"âYou want me to participate in the tournament?"
The officials said to Rosetta, who looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes.
"Since it's the elementary school, why not participate as a memory?"
"Would the daughter of the Claudy family be afraid to participate?"
"Even if you have to rent the machine, you can borrow money. I can introduce you to someone who will lend you the money."
She would inevitably lose disgracefully.
And the person she would borrow from would be a loan shark.
No decent place would want to deal with the Claudy family.
"âI understand."
But, she couldn't refuse.
She couldn't endure the long hours of persuasion by the officials.
Sometimes, they would persuade her for days without allowing her to sleep or eat.
"They are the next Duke! This year, besides Sir Derrick of the Berkeley family, there's Liam, who has gained a name in pirate hunting. It will surely be an exciting match."
They called Derrick "Sir" but referred to Liam by his nameâthis alone revealed their true nature.
They were corrupt officials close to the pirate nobles.
(They probably want to laugh at me getting injured in the match.)
The match was dangerous.
Sometimes, it even resulted in deaths.
They probably wanted to laugh at her participating in such a match with an outdated machine.
Rosetta's heartâwas already broken.
(I might as well find peace in that match.)
Then, the official drove the point home.
"Ah, and by the way. It's better not to have strange dreams. Lord Banfield is considering marrying you, but once he learns about the debt the Claudy family carries, he'll run away. How about getting some essence from Liam? Why don't you beg that Liam, whom you dislike, for his essence? We can handle such negotiations for you."
Knowing that she disliked Liam, he said this.
Rosetta had already given up on everything.
"âDo as you please."
Not only Liam was preparing for the tournament.
Approaching the planet where the elementary school was locatedâwere the warships of the pirates.
Derrick had gathered hundreds of them.
However, this force was not to attack Liam.
"Just this much?"
The pirates looked uneasy at Derrick's frustration.
"R-Really going to fight the pirate hunter Liam, Sir Derrick?"
"No matter how good the reward, fighting that Liamâ"
"Even famous pirates couldn't do anything against him."
Derrick snapped his fingers at their cowardice.
The lights in the hangar turned on, illuminating a new mobile knight.
The pirates were in an uproar.
"This is the new model from the First Weapon Factory. I begged to get it. I'll use this to kill that Liam."
Derrick's plan wasâ
"The tournament at the elementary school allows only one mobile knight to be brought in. On the day of the match, we'll enter the atmosphere and surround Liam at the venue. Ignore any obstacles. The officials monitoring the Claudy family will lend us a hand."
The officials, who derived pleasure from tormenting the Claudy family, would not allow Liam's engagement to be recognized.
Therefore, they were helping Derrick.
Derrick was frustrated.
Not only because of Liam, but also because he couldn't recover "it."
He couldn't search for "it," which he had lost in the Banfield territory, due to the Banfield army's interference.
"If I can just get rid of Liamâ"
At the elementary school, the students were now hiding in their dorms, unlike before.
The same went for the students of the second building.
They couldn't go to other buildings and show off.
If they met Liam, they would be the ones bullied.
The days of bullying freely were in the past.
Now, they lived in fear of Liam.
"âYou must definitely kill Liam. If you surround one person with new models, there's nothing to be afraid of."
He's just a bit stronger.
There's nothing to fear if you surround him.
Derrick, believing this, bit his thumbnail.
(That's right. It's fine. The exterior is a mobile knight used by pirates, but the interior is a costly new model. I'llâkill that Liam with this!)
At the first building of the elementary school.
In the boys' restroom, Kurt and Wallace were talking.
"I? I won't participate this year."
The topic was about the tournament.
"You also have a master's license, right?"
Kurt, the heir of a baron's family, had no intention of participating in the tournament.
"There are no spare machines at home. Besides, with a rented machine, I can't even compete with Liam."
"You're in a tough situation, aren't you?"
"It's much better now. I've borrowed ships and other things from Liam."
Thanks to the support, his territory was more prosperous than before.
But it was only slightly better than before.
Kurt didn't have the luxury to be extravagant.
Wallace looked worried.
"Can't you stop Liam from participating? If Sir Derrick attacks, it will definitely be during the tournament."
Kurt told the worried Wallace that it was impossible.
"Liam doesn't easily change his mind. Besides, he had his eye on Sir Derrick a while ago. He probablyâreally intends to do it."
"The opponent is a pirate noble! He has many friends outside his family."
Especially the bad nobles have many friends.
"Then, Liam will show no mercy."
Wallace was very troubled.
"I can't abandon my patron, but he's too clean and uprightâdamn it, my life is always full of difficulties."
Being born into the royal family was troublesome, and the patron he finally found was also troublesome.
At the Banfield family's headquarters.
Invited were the previous and current heads of the Claudy family.
Without any servants, the two of them were invited to Liam's mansion.
Greeting them were the butler Bryan and the knights and servants.
"We have been waiting for you. However, we only invited two of you?"
Bryan, who smiled, looked at the imperial officials standing behind them.
"We are like the guards of the Claudy family. Please don't worry."
They said this, but they were giving Bryan sharp looks.
They didn't seem friendly at all.
Selina silently observed this.
After moving the two to the parlor, the officials tried to follow, so they were made to wait in another room.
"Bryan, I'll handle those officials."
Selina said, and Bryan nodded.
"I wanted Selina to join the meeting with the Duke and the former head, butâunderstood. I'll leave it to you."
Bryan was determined to finalize the engagement.
In the parlor.
The former head, who looked unwell, was supported by the current headâRosetta's mother.
Bryan rushed to the former head.
"Are you alright? I'll call a doctor immediately."
However, the former head shook her head.
"It's too late. Now, I just want to use this life for my granddaughter."
The former head, who had lived in harsh conditions and poverty, had a weakened body.
"âSir Bryan, we must decline the engagement."
"Why? Sir Liam is serious."
"Because of that. The kindness to the Claudy family is greatly appreciated. However, the burden the Banfield family will carry is not just debt. Can't you see those officials who call themselves guards? They areâjust there to torment the Claudy family."
They act on the orders of a long-dead emperor, doing as they please.
They are a cruel and ruthless group, capable of any atrocity.
They enjoy seeing people suffer.
The current head, the Duke, bowed deeply.
"At least, I would like to receive Sir Liam's essence. For the continuation of the Claudy family, please, I beg of you."
Hearing the Claudy family's situation, Bryan almost cried.
He thought,
(Sir Liamâdid you want to help these people? I am proud of the kind Sir Liam I have known since childhood.)
Bryan wiped his tears with a handkerchief.
"âWe must decline."
When the two looked disappointed, he quickly added an explanation.
"Sir Liam's wish is to welcome Lady Rosetta as his wife. This Bryan will not budge on this point!"
The former head shook her head.
"It's impossible. They don't listen to reason. Their two-thousand-year-old job carries that much weight."
The orders of a long-dead emperor.
They have been acting on them for two thousand years.
After so long, everyone thinksâ
âThere's no other way.
"Sir Liam won't be defeated by such things. Besides, we have the Empire's permission. The debts and crimes of the Duke's family will be carried by the Banfield family. Are you still dissatisfied?"
His words didn't reach the two, whose spirits were already broken.
Still, Bryan desperately tried to persuade them for Liam's sake.
In another room.
Selina was talking to the officials.
"We already have the Empire's permission. Your job is over."
The officials, sitting on the sofa with their feet on the table, had a haughty attitude.
"That doesn't matter. This is the order of the late Emperor. Even if we lose our positions, we are proud of our job. Now, we will only monitor the Banfield family."
Over two thousand years, they had become a deeply rooted organization.
They were a troublesome group.
"âWill you oppose the Banfield family?"
One of the officials said.
"Marriage is impossible. Sir Liam has gone too far. The darkness of the Empire will swallow him."
Selina narrowed her eyes.
"Do you think you can get away with harming Sir Liam?"
"He's just a kid who's a bit stronger. Too bad."
Seeing their attitude, Selina understood.
(HeâPrime Minister will have a hard time.)
Selina's shadow twitched slightly.
Two red eyesâwatching the officials.
Bryan (´ďźĎďźď˝) "Sir Alistair's beloved machine being painted gold by Sir Liamâthis is tough."