My, You Must Be Tired of Being So Popular

Chapter 56

"…Huh?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

A younger sister?

Why is a younger sister suddenly coming up here?

"No, you had a younger sister?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then why are you trying to make me eat with your younger sister?"

Lucius's eyes had a flicker of madness in them.

Then, with an utterly serious expression, he laid out the important matter.

"I'm not saying this just because she's my younger sister, but she's really pretty."

This guy is seriously insane.

His younger sister is pretty?

What a total lunatic.

"You don't believe me."

"No, it's not that I don't believe you. I just hate that kind of expression itself."

Honestly, if my older sister or younger sibling ever started seeing someone, I'd want to crack that bastard's skull open and dissect his brain.

Is this bastard actually human?

Lucius shook his head firmly.

"The reason I rate my little sister's looks highly isn't because of some empty sibling affection, that sort of thing."

"Then?"

"She looks like me."

"…Huh?"

"We're twins."

This bastard really is a complete lunatic.

How narcissistic do you have to be to say you're pretty because someone looks like you?

As I gaped in shock, Lucius drove the point home.

"You're not going to go back on your word, are you?"

"…"

"But if you really want, you can buy me one meal a day for a full year. Actually, even then it would only be one-tenth of what I lost today."

Ah, shit.

I'm in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation.

Option one: get introduced to this bastard's younger sister.

Option two: eat one meal a day with this bastard for a whole year.

Just imagining the latter made my stomach twist.

I'd have to hear the sound of a calculator being tapped every time I ate?

I'd choke. I'd be choked.

"For the record, my younger sister only shares my looks. She's a very boring, ordinary human being."

"…Isn't that high praise?"

"Exactly. From my perspective, she's dull, boring, and has values and goals that don't suit this face at all, but from a man's perspective, there's probably no more old-fashioned womanly image that could be called a proper woman. Calling her an old-fashioned woman—doesn't that count as high praise for men?"

Well, that's true enough.

But still.

I'm supposed to meet this lunatic's younger sister?

Genetics don't lie.

"I'll think about it."

"Please make your decision before the Region Tour ends."

"Okay."

I turned away with a tired expression.

Lucius, who had folded his notebook away, had already reopened it and was cheerfully jotting things down.

That devil.

* * *

Splash, splash.

"Ugh, ah, this is fucking refreshing."

As I soaked my body in the cold valley water, a hearty, folksy vibe burst out of me.

After washing up, my whole body felt refreshed.

I wasn't the only one; the other male students had similar expressions.

"I feel like I can live, seriously."

"Now that we don't stink, we finally look human."

I wanted to soak in hot water, but I wasn't about to ask for that much.

Just being able to wash my whole body in a clear stream like this was enough to be grateful for.

I shook out my wet hair roughly and came out to the water's edge.

But then.

"Lord Cassian."

"Jeez, you scared me!"

My heart nearly stopped.

Lucius suddenly popped out from somewhere.

Where the hell did he appear from now?

Is he a ninja?

Is this the setup for a ninja extermination ending this time?

"When did you wash up?"

He definitely hadn't been there when we all got into the bath earlier.

Lucius was already clean and even changed into fresh clothes.

His hair was fluffy, with no hint of being wet.

"I handled a lot of chemicals, so I washed separately with my portable wash kit."

"…Were those things really that dangerous?"

"No, but you never know."

If that's the case, then you be the one to watch out, you bastard?

Are we lab rats or what?

I gave a dumbfounded snort of laughter.

"You suddenly feel like you're showing your true colors."

"That's why you started speaking casually too, Lord Cassian, didn't you?"

Fuck.

Come to think of it.

I was speaking informally to this bastard without even realizing it.

I shouldn't be getting friendly with this bastard so casually.

It feels like I'm being dragged along.

As I flailed in embarrassment, Lucius grinned.

"No take-backs. Just speak casually."

"Can't I just be a little uncomfortable?"

"If you're going to pay me back for the meal, we'll be seeing each other often anyway. Isn't being formal exhausting too?"

"…"

He wasn't wrong, though.

Why does this feel so gross?

This must be how it feels when a loan shark says, 'Call me big brother, punk.'

"...Fine. Got it."

"Good thinking."

Lucius nodded in satisfaction.

I shook my head and headed toward the tents.

Then.

"Lord Cassian!"

A familiar pink-haired girl was trotting over from over there.

"Ah, yes."

Lily must have washed up too, because her hair was damp.

Hmm.

Usually, she dried fluffy, and the stray wisps fluttering around made her look unmistakably like a dog, but today...

'Hmm. She's still a dog, though.'

More like dog fur soaked through with water.

It looked like clumped-up puppy fur right after a bath and before drying.

Lily asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Have you eaten yet? Everyone over there is making dinner right now!"

"Don't worry about me and take care of yourself, Lily. Have you eaten?"

"Hehe. I was going to eat with you when you got here, Lord Cassian."

What a good girl.

What a loyal little puppy.

"Yes. Then let's go."

Then Lucius casually slid up beside us.

"I'll come with you too."

"..."

What is this bastard?

Whether I looked at him like I'd just bitten into shit or not, Lucius bowed to Lily with a smile so pleasant he looked like the nicest person in the world.

"Sorry for the late introduction. I'm Lucius from the Alchemy Department."

"Ah, yes. I'm Lily."

So they had a very peculiar habit of not even exchanging surnames.

I could understand Lily, since she was from a fallen family, but you, Lucius—judging by how extravagantly you spend money, your family must be loaded too, so why?

Lucius lifted his head and casually threw out bait.

"If you ever need motion-sickness medicine, come find me anytime. I'm very good at making all kinds of tonics and emergency medicines."

"No! Thank you for the offer, but I can't possibly take advantage of you so carelessly."

Lily waved her hands frantically.

...What?

Why does this conversation feel weirdly uncomfortable?

Lucius looked a little hurt.

"Take advantage? You're the closest friend of the person I've decided to support."

"Sponsor?"

Lily's eyes went wide.

"Yes. So we can become very close soon..."

"Enough."

Thump.

I reflexively reached out and clamped my hand over Lucius's mouth.

It was a bit crude, but I couldn't help it.

The moment this bastard started saying things like younger sister and introduction, who knew what garden of misunderstandings might bloom in Lily's head.

"Mmph, mmph?"

"Don't go spraying misunderstanding-bait all over the place."

Lucius slipped free of my grasp and smiled brightly.

"Yes. Understood."

Look at him, that eye-smiling bastard.

I sensed it instinctively.

This bastard was seriously a high-level operator.

He was trying to scare me into making a quick decision before I thought too long.

"Let's just go eat."

I pushed Lucius along and took care of Lily.

* * *

After dinner.

I was speechless at the sight before me.

"..."

A huge army-green tent.

That drab, rugged sight you only ever saw in the military.

"Ah, fuck."

The curse slipped out on its own.

We're sleeping in a 24-man tent.

Fuck, I really wanted to set it on fire.

I didn't need to see it to know what was waiting inside.

The smell of sweat, foot odor, and someone's snoring and teeth grinding.

There are bastards who think torture only counts if you rip out every fingernail and toenail, but that's because they're ignorant idiots who've never experienced the horrors of communal living.

As I stood there in a daze, the tent flap fluttered and someone came out.

"Oh? Lord Cassian!"

He was a male student from my group.

When he spotted me, he shouted toward the inside of the tent.

"Hey! Lord Cassian's here! Make room!"

Crash, bang!

"There you are!"

"Here! We saved the place of honor all the way in the back for you!"

"We even laid out two mats on the floor, so it'll be super soft!"

The guys who came spilling out of the tent were all looking at me.

There was no way a bunch of goons would welcome a gang boss like this in the real world.

But their tone was oddly not even respectful, which made it even more bizarre.

"...What are you doing?"

"Ah, shouldn't a hero be treated like a hero?"

"We'll sleep near the entrance. You've had a rough time, so we can't make you catch a chill too."

Why the hell were their eyes sparkling like that?

It was driving me crazy with pressure.

Meanwhile, Lucius clicked his tongue behind me.

"My, you must be tired of being so popular."

"...What about you?"

"I have my own private tent."

Lucius pointed with a finger to a neat, comfortable-looking one-person tent far away.

"Because of my alchemy equipment, it also regulates humidity, and the soundproofing is perfect. Of course, I wanted to stay with all of you, but since I apparently have to stay up all night writing safety reports on the chemicals I used this time, Professor Wilhelm was kind enough to allow me to camp separately."

"..."

Should I just kill him?

Murderous intent really surged up.

As I clenched my fist, Lucius smiled slyly and whispered,

"If you give that proposal I mentioned earlier a positive review, I'll consider sharing a tent."

"Get lost."

"How unfortunate. Then sleep well. It should be a night with the smell of sweat for company."

Lucius waved obnoxiously and disappeared into his own little suite.

I let out a deep sigh and stepped into the entrance of hell swarming with twenty-four grown men.

"Ha..."

This is fucking disgusting.

* * *

That night.

While Wilhelm was in his private tent writing up a Region Tour report, an agent whose gender was impossible to tell entered wearing a black uniform.

Without taking his eyes off the map, Wilhelm asked.

"Is the investigation finished?"

"I thought it would go smoothly, especially with the cooperation of the agents assigned to escort Her Highness the Princess, but..."

There was a subtle note of embarrassment in the agent's voice.

Wilhelm's brows twitched.

"But?"

"There are more magic beasts than expected, and the individual beasts are also unusually ferocious."

The increased ferocity of the magic beasts meant the concentration of negative mana in the area had grown denser.

The problem was what had caused that negative mana concentration to thicken.

"Is it possible a dungeon appeared nearby?"

"We can't rule that out, but we haven't found any traces of a dungeon yet."

"The mana detector?"

"Since we're near the capital, we didn't predict we'd need a high-grade detector, so we only brought a mid-grade one."

The agent bowed their head.

"According to the results from that detector, it's clearly true that the mana concentration throughout the forest has risen, but we haven't found the dungeon entrance."

Detectors that can locate magic beasts and dungeons are extremely expensive because they're consumables.

Maybe that would be different for a Grand Tour, but bringing a high-grade detector on a Region Tour near the capital, where purges are carried out constantly, was close to a waste of budget, so Wilhelm had no intention of faulting them for that.

Even for a Region Tour that only covered the capital area, the escort detail following them was already excessive, and that was because the contents of the Region Tour Wilhelm had forced through were so unconventional.

"Hmm."

Wilhelm stroked his beard.

In the end, either there was a nasty high-tier dungeon that even a mid-grade detector couldn't find, or the forest's negative mana concentration had simply risen temporarily.

'Logically, the latter would be more likely.'

The capital area was a region where full-scale magic-beast culls were carried out several times a year.

The odds of a high-tier dungeon suddenly popping up were lower than the odds of being struck by lightning while walking down the street.

Even so, Wilhelm decided to be a little more cautious.

Because the students' safety came first.

"Cancel tomorrow's schedule entirely and camp here for now. Send an urgent message to the capital and request that a high-grade detector and additional investigators be dispatched."

"Understood."