Mobuseka Volume 6 Chapter 2

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 2 "Serge"

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Part 1

It was about halfway through the winter break when Lelia returned to the mansion.

She lives with her fiancé, Emile, who has been worrying about her because she has not been back for a while.

"Lelia, what do you mean you challenged the dungeon!?"

Emile's questioning was bothersome, and Lelia's attitude was nonchalant.

"Like I said, I'd challenge the dungeon before winter break."

"I didn't know it was this serious!"

From Emile's point of view, he thought it would be easier.

But when he heard that she had taken on the dungeon for real, he couldn't resist and questioned Lelia.

"Why are you doing something so dangerous? You don't need to do that, you live well enough, don't you."

"Like I said, I had something important to do."

She can't tell Emile the details.

As a result, Lelia's explanation was unconvincing to Emile.

Looking at the situation was Ideal, who was by Lelia's side.

Suddenly, he appeared.

[Nice to meet you, Emile. I am Ideal. A spaceship that serves Lelia-san —— Oops, it doesn't get the point across. It's an airship.]

In the face of the Ideal that appeared, Emile seemed confused.

"A-Airship? This small?"

[Ah, my main body is in another place. Lelia-san and Serge-san picked me up and this is how I got out. No~, they really helped me.]

"——Eh? Was Serge with you?"

Seeing Ideal speaking fluently, Lelia immediately stretched out her hands.

She catches Ideal.

"W-Why did you come out!"

[No, I thought it would be easier to clear up any misunderstandings if I explained.]

"I-Idiot! I told you not to come out!"

[Eh? I thought the instructions I was hearing were —— to hide for a little while?]

Realizing that she had given the wrong instructions, Lelia turned her attention to Emile.

While she was struggling with how to explain, Emile asked her in a harsher manner than before.

"Lelia, what does that mean!? Why are you with Serge?"

Lelia was a little surprised to see Emile, whose voice had gotten louder.

She had not expected the timid Emile to be so angry.

"W-What? It doesn't matter! I just needed some help conquering the dungeon."

"I didn't hear anything about you being with a man! Lelia, we're engaged, right?"

Lelia recalls turning down Serge's advances and choosing Emile.

So it made her even more angry at Emile for not believing in her.

(I turned down Serge's advances, and you suspect me of cheating?)

Lelia raised her voice more than Emile.

"Nothing happened! More importantly, are you going to question me like that every time I do something? Don't be jealous of a guy friend!"

"Of course I'm jealous. Of all people, Serge? You think I don't know how Serge feels about you?"

"——What? You don't believe me?"

When she squinted her eyes and made a low voice, Emile's shoulders shook.

"N-No, that's not what I meant."

Emile is susceptible to pressure.

She thought he would back down if she said it strongly enough, but today he was more resistant than usual.

But that's about the extent of it, Lelia thought.

"Let’s not talk about this again. ——Okay?"

"Y-Yes."

Once Emile's problem was taken care of, Lelia turned her attention to Ideal.

"You too! From now on, don't show yourself in public without permission!"

[My apologies. I was careless. I regret it.]

Lelia could not blame him any more because he showed a praiseworthy attitude.

At the same time, it is true that her instructions were not good.

So without further ado, the conversation is now over.

"I'm going back to my room."

Lelia walks back to her room alone.

Only Emile and Ideal were left in the room.

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Part 2

The mansion of the Rault family.

There, Alberg called Serge to his office after he returned home.

Alberg, the head of the Rault family, was taken aback by his adopted son, Serge's eccentricity.

"If you come back, please contact me."

Serge is sitting on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

He fluttered his hands.

"I know."

"You don't understand, so here I am, giving you a reminder. I see you were back a while ago, but where have you been for a while now?"

"Well, there are various things."

Alberg makes a bitter face towards his son who doesn't answer.

The reason he adopted Serge was to make him the heir of the Rault family.

After his biological son, [Leon Sara Rault], passed away, Alberg adopted a child.

That's Serge.

However, Serge longed to be an adventurer and had not even attended school properly recently.

"Serge, from now on you must refrain from adventures."

"Haah!?"

"I only approved it during the long vacations of the academy, but you ignore it and do whatever you want. Did you really think this would be acceptable?"

Alberg thought he was saying the obvious thing.

But Serge's reaction was different.

"——I don't think you’ve ever acknowledged me."

"You're talking about that again? I accept you as my son. You too, at least a little——"

"I am his substitute, right?"

"Nobody said that."

"I wonder."

He was talking about Leon —— Alberg's biological son.

Ever since Serge was adopted, he hated being compared to Leon.

(This makes it difficult to introduce Leon-kun to him. But I will tell him eventually.)

A young man named Leon, who was from the Kingdom of Horfalt.

In addition to being a reflection of his own son, Leon, he is the subject of various topics of conversation in the Republic.

It was impossible not to tell Serge.

"——Serge, the New Year Festival is coming up. You should also participate."

"New Year's Festival? It's just a festival, isn't it? I'm not a kid, so why would I go out of my way to participate."

"This year it has a different meaning. Be sure to participate. Also, there is someone I would like to introduce to you."

"Who?"

If I tell him who here, Serge will not participate in the New Year's Festival.

Alberg decided to keep Leon a secret for a while.

"I'll introduce you later."

"Tsk!"

Serge clicked his tongue, stood up and left the office.

Alberg looked sad as he watched his son's back.

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Part 3

Ange and Livia will be staying, so we will return to Marie's mansion.

Reason? Because Cordelia-san said, "This house is too small for Angelica-sama to stay!".

Ange didn't say anything in particular, as if there is no time for argue.

I'm in the dining room of the mansion, letting out a sigh.

"Haa, how did this happen?"

As I was fretting, Julius, sitting next to me, poked me with his elbow.

"Oi, Baltfalt."

"What?"

"What? My ass! Are you going to do nothing in the face of this situation?"

Besides Julius, who is whispering to me, the other idiots, who can no longer stand the atmosphere of this place before the meal, look at me accusingly.

Their eyes are saying.

[You have to do something about this]——they said.

When I turned my gaze, Ange and Livia were sitting next to each other.

But there is no conversation.

Ever since Noel's matter, they have been without conversation.

However, both of them seem to be concerned about the other, and seem to want to talk to each other occasionally.

I'm sure they would like to talk about various things in front of republic-style cuisine.

However, the two of them are currently fighting.

As a result, a strange atmosphere was created in which people wanted to have a conversation but were unable to do so.

Cordelia-san, who was standing behind me, cleared her throat deliberately.

"——Leon-sama, why don't you explain the dish to Angelica-sama and Olivia-sama? It's a very unusual dish for the two of them."

"Eh? I don't know much about it."

Disappointed voices can be heard from the surroundings.

Then, Noel gave an explanation out of courtesy.

"E-Etto, this is a republican-style soup. Crustacean broth is major~"

Unable to bear the silence at the table, she tries to explain, but that ends quickly.

Ange briefly thanks her.

"I'm sorry to bother you."

"N-No."

The conversation breaks down.

It had been like this for a while now.

The usually noisy dining scene has quieted down and the clinking of dishes can be heard.

——What should I do about this?

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Part 4

After eating, I decided to talk to Marie about the fight between Ange and Livia.

Inside the mansion, adding Luxion, the three of us are discussing the situation.

"I want to do something about the situation between Ange and Livia. You guys, lend me your wisdom."

[It's so refreshing that you are relying upon others for attaining your objective]

I sharpened my gaze at Luxion's sarcasm.

"Whose fault do you think it is?"

[The fact that Master was suspected of cheating and the fact that they are fighting are two separate matters. Can you please not make it all my fault? It's offensive.]

"T-This guy."

It's certainly not Luxion's fault, but it's like my affair story caused a heated fight between the two of them.

I think this guy deserves at least a little bit of the blame.

While we were glaring at each other, Marie looked at us and shook her head.

She had a look on her face that said, "These guys don't understand anything".

"I don't care about their fight. It's Noel who is the problem. Aniki, what are you really going to do? I'm worried about what's going to happen to Noel."

Do you hate Ange and Livia that much?

"What do you mean you don't care? It's a big problem for me. It bothers me just as much as the Noel matter."

Marie distanced herself from me with a very disgusted look on her face.

"Are you serious? Shouldn't you be more worried about Noel than the two of them fighting like children? Aniki, being dense is a sin."

"I'm not dense."

The moment I said that, Marie said, "Eh?!" and showed a surprised face.

Luxion said [There's a limit to how insensitive you can be], shaking his single eye sideways in amazement.

The reaction of the two of them is cold.

"W-What?"

"——That's enough. Noel is seriously worried. You should give her a follow-up, too. It's so pitiful, isn't it?"

"Is it okay for me to say this or that? It's Noel's problem. Besides, Noel is——"

She is the protagonist of the second work of that otome game.

Couldn't she have had the happy future that she was supposed to have?

Somewhere along the line, I wonder if it's okay for me to twist it.

Luxion and Marie looked at each other and have faces that said, "This guy is a pain in the ass".

"Isn't it stupid that we have come this far and have to worry about the original work and all that?"

[Oya, you didn't know? Master is stupid to begin with.]

These guys are too merciless to me.

"You guys think too much! A-Anyway. let Noel make her own decision, despite our poor moves."

"I think if aniki tell her to follow you, everything will be solved, right?"

I shake my head at Marie's irresponsible statement.

"It's Noel's life. I don't deserve to choose."

"——Aniki is really terrible, isn't he?"

Terrible? It's different.

If I bring her home, what awaits Noel in the future is the treatment of a priestess of the sacred tree.

Even if she does not come to the kingdom or remains in this country, her position and treatment may be the same.

I just —— want to at least respect her wishes.

"——So, back to the topic, the problem is Ange and Livia?"

"Like I said, a fight like that is just a cute little thing. They'll make up if you leave them alone, so worry about Noel! Men are so stupid!"

[Worrying about the little things and postponing the big problems —— having a no-good Master, I'm glad I could be of service to you.]

Luxion is full of sarcasm and cynicism as usual.

Does he really not think of me as his Master? Such a question comes to mind.

Marie was looking down in front of me.

"Aniki, are you sure that you want to leave this to Noel? If you tell Noel, she'll definitely——"

I can guess what she wants to say, but I hesitate to do it.

If I ask Noel to come to the kingdom, I'm sure she will come.

But will it really make Noel happy?

"Don't expect so much from me."

When I said that, Marie said, "Because——" she was still trying to say something.

A knock is heard in the room, and Cordelia-san's voice comes from behind the door.

"Leon-sama, you have a visitor."

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Part 5

"Hi~, how are you?"

My guest was Louise-san.

Her name is [Louise Sarah Rault] ——She is the villainess of that second otome game and daughter of the last boss, [Alberg Sarah Rault].

In the game, she was the bad girl who bullied the protagonist, but from my point of view, she's a caring older sister.

She is also the person who, shortly after we met, said things like "call me onee-chan" to me.

Normally that would be a scary story, but to me, who has a terrible big sister —— "With pleasure!" I'd like to say, that's how much she's a very kind woman.

No, if I really could have chosen, I would have chosen this person.

Why isn't this person my big sister?

It reminds me of my big sister, Jenna, in my hometown in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

She was a terrible sister, to put it mildly.

When I went back to my parents' house, I looked at her face and said, "Change!" It shouldn't be my fault for saying it.

Her fluffy yellow-blonde hair reaches her shoulders and she has kind eyes with purple pupils.

She is a senior student at the academy and is really like an older sister.

——How much better it would have been if this person had really been my big sister.

Even though I have mixed feelings, I respond with a smile.

"I've been through a lot of betrayal and scene of carnage in a short period of time, but I'm fine."

Louise smiled as if she was troubled by my response, but she seemed somewhat happy.

"Sounds like you're doing all right as long as you can keep the light talk. I'll hear what bothers you later, but I'm here today to invite you out."

"Invite me out?"

"New Year's Festival of the Six Great Nobles"

"New Year's Festival? Ah~, if I remember correctly——"

It was in the story I heard from Marie before.

This is one of the events in the second game.

The event would have occurred when Noel, the protagonist, was in the second year.

If things have been going well so far, the capture target will invite her to the New Year Festival and declare a formal relationship with her or something.

"Ara, you know it? Once a year, we swear an oath of allegiance to the sacred tree. But now it's a bit of a festival."

"Festival?"

"There's a cave in the sacred tree, created by the roots of the tree. There is a monument there. Only the younger generation, like us, pledge lasting allegiance there."

Luxion, who was by my side, asked questions on my behalf.

[So it's not an awe-inspiring ceremony, but a festival for fun? And you've come to invite Master to this festival?]

"Right. At first it's a solemn ceremony, but after that it's like a party."

As I admire such a festival, Louise-san comes up to me and puts her face close to mine.

"That's why Leon-kun, I want you to join as my partner."

"Aah, a partner, is it?"

At first, I didn't understand what was being said, and as I nodded in agreement, I felt a chill run down my spine.

In the reception room, footsteps can be heard.

When the door opened, Cordelia-san was there.

She moves away from the entrance and let Ange pass.

"That's an interesting subject. Leon, let me hear it."

The next person to enter the room was Livia, who was supposed to be in a fight with Ange.

"Leon-san, I heard that a beautiful woman came to visit you. You're very popular."

The two of them are smiling, but it seems like they suspect that I'm cheating on them —— are they here to probe me?

When I glared at Cordelia-san, she didn't even look at me. ——You are my enemy too?

"B-Both of you, you get it wrong. T-This person is——"

When I was thinking about how to introduce Louise-san, the person in question happily put her hands together.

With sparkling eyes, she approached Ange and Livia and shook their hands.

"Could it be that you are Angelica-san? And that girl over there is Olivia-san, right?"

"U-Umu. Right, but——"

"E-Etto."

They were bewildered by Louise-san, who was suddenly treating them favourably.

Leaving the confused two, Louise-san continues happily.

"I was surprised when I heard he had two fiancées, but even I, being the same sex, am jealous that the girls are so lovely. You're a lucky man, Leon-kun. Ah, I'm Louise. Louise Sara Rault. I hope we can get along."

When Ange recovered from her confusion, she looked astounded but her expression softened.

"You're the young lady of the Rault family, aren't you? You seem to be very close to Leon."

"We get along well. Of course, it's not a relationship between a man and a woman."

At Louise-san's words, Livia looks relieved.

"I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay. There was some misunderstanding, right?"

When Louise-san turned her head towards me, she gave me a teasing smile.

"Leon-kun, you have such lovely fiancées, you shouldn't be playing with other women."

"I-I'm remorseful."

Then Louise-san turned her face to them and told them again what had happened.

"I don't mean to be rude out of the blue, but I'd like to ask Leon to accompany me a bit. ——I won't cause you two any trouble."

Ange tilts her head.

"Ask Leon?"

From there, Louise-san tells the reason why she invited me.

"I made a promise to my little brother a long time ago."

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Part 6

When Louise left, I was stopped by Livia.

"Leon-san!"

"W-What is it!?"

In response to my surprise, Livia continues talking without regard.

Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Make Louise-sam's wish come true! Please!"

"Y-Yes."

The reason Livia is crying is because Louise-san invited me to the New Year's Festival.

Louise-san had a little brother with the same name as me.

Leon —— or because of the similarity in atmosphere, I was liked by Louise-san.

That's the reason why she treats me like a little brother.

And Leon —— Leon-kun died more than a decade ago.

"I want you fulfill her promise to her deceased brother. Please fulfil that wish."

"It would be fine if I could take his place."

In other words, I'm a substitute for Leon-kun.

However, to be honest, it's a heavy burden for me to have to stand in for her younger brother I don't even know.

I accepted it, but now, more than that——.

"More importantly, has Livia made up with Ange?"

Livia's shoulders shudder, and she awkwardly and embarrassingly turns her gaze away from me and looks down.

"I-I want to apologise. I want to apologise and make up with her too. But I couldn't agree with the way Noel-san was treated. Leon-san, what do you think?"

"Me? I think Noel should choose."

Livia puffed out her cheeks at my curt answer.

"Leon-san is mean."

"Why?"

"To be honest, I feel that you are thinking about me and Ange, and I am happy about that. But I don't want Noel-san to be unhappy because of that. Besides, I can understand what Ange is saying."

"Livia?"

"I understand that Noel-san is a special person, unlike me."

Look at Livia, who is looking down, "No, you're more awesome than her!" I wish I could say that, but there's no point in saying it in the current situation.

"For me, Livia is more special."

Livia raises her head and her ears are even red and her mouth is agape.

Then she puts her hands on her chest and breathes in before looking at me with moist eyes.

"Leon-san, you have become a better talker since you came to the Republic. You've said those things to other people too, right?"

"Areh? Am I that untrustworthy?"

I smiled and tried to cover it up, and Livia grabbed my arm.

"Ange is worried. Please talk to her, Leon-san. I'm sure Ange is waiting for you."

You look like you have a lot on your mind too, but then you tell me to put Ange first?

——The two of them really get along well.

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Part 7

When I visited Ange in her room, she was sitting on her bed.

After listening to me, she just drops her upper body and lies down on the bed.

Even though I'm here, she's showing off her defenseless appearance.

"I see. Livia said something like that."

"Why don't you two make up?"

At my words, Ange's upper body jolted and wake up.

On that occasion, it is a secret that I could see inside her skirt at that time.

"E-Even I would like to make up with her right now! B-But —— what can I say? I was trying to push Noel onto you for pure profit. I wasn't looking at Noel personally. That's a fact."

"Whoever can get their hands on the sacred tree, they'll try to make a profit."

If there was a large sum of money lying in front of them, anyone would pick it up.

Well, if tens of millions were actually on the street, it would be scary.

I'm small-minded and greedy, so I'm not a man made enough to blame Ange.

"Besides, the benefits included a lot of people, didn't they? You didn't see Noel, but you wanted to help the people of the kingdom, didn't you?"

Whether it is Livia or Ange, they are acting for others.

I wouldn't be able to follow their example.

"You're kind. I've certainly thought of the people of the kingdom, but what I have sought is my own benefit."

"Ange's benefit? Making the family home, Redgrave House, bigger?"

If you obtain the sacred tree, you will gain great power within the kingdom in the future.

The sacred tree has that much power.

I think it's natural for Ange to put the interests of the Redgrave House ahead of her own, as nobles think about their own families.

I don't think of it that way though.

However, Ange shakes her head.

"The first thing I thought of was you. I knew that if you had strong power in the future, you would be happy. But you wouldn't want power to make Noel unhappy, would you? I realised that after the fact."

Ange's first thought of profit was —— me.

"My happiness?"

"I was blinded by profit. Please forgive me."

"No, no, I don't mind —— then make up with Livia."

"T-That's another matter! W-What do you think I should —— say to apologize to Livia?"

Ange was a cool girl a while ago, but when it came to Livia, she became a cute girl who couldn't be relied upon in any way.

"Just do it normally."

When I looked at Ange and laughed, she stood up and beat me lightly.

"D-Don't laugh! I am seriously troubled!"

"It's all right. If you two go sightseeing together —— Ah, that's no good. You might run into trouble if I leave you two alone. Okay! I'll show you around the Republic."

"R-Really?"

"I promise."

When Ange stops hitting me, she hugs me in her arms.

"You'll have to give me a good tour. I forgot but this time I was looking forward to some sightseeing. Besides —— ah!"

Ange seemed to remember something.

She looks embarrassed as she says she forgot about it.

"Leon, I'm sorry. A lot has happened and I forgot to tell you."

"Eh?"