What's with This Love Letter...? (1)

"I'm going to the bathroom for a bit."

I slipped away from Isabel and Lucia, who were engrossed in talking about clubs.

I could clearly see brown, blond, and navy-blue hair over in that corner, couldn't I?

They had to be Leonir, the Crown Prince, and the son of the Northern Grand Duke, respectively.

The three of them had supposedly been friends since childhood.

If you were going to sneak a look, you could at least have worn a hood.

The three of you are standing in a line, so it's obvious to anyone who sees you.

-Tap tap

"Excuse me, could I ask for directions?"

"……Hmm?"

"How dare you—do you know who this gentleman is?!……Huh?"

"Hello?"

When the son of the Northern Grand Duke saw me tap the Crown Prince's shoulder, he stepped forward, then froze in place.

Why? What's the problem?

Is it your first time seeing a classmate?

"Weren't you just over there……? How—"

"Wow—the top student! Good evening. What a re.al co.in.ci.dence to meet you here, huh?"

While the son of the Northern Grand Duke was flustered, Leonir quietly grabbed his arm.

You guys, sit this one out for a moment.

The main event is over here.

"His Highness Crown Prince Cedric."

I looked at Cedric.

"……What is it?"

"Sorry to ask this when we've just met, but since we're academy students, may I speak informally with you?"

This may seem to have come out of nowhere, but it's a serious matter!

I have to ask!

Even if status wasn't considered within the academy, he was the Crown Prince.

What if I casually spoke informally and offended him?

In the original story, the Crown Prince wasn't particularly rigid, but I asked just in case.

Above all, he might become my future brother-in-law(?) someday.

It would be nice if we got along.

"…Very well."

Cedric gave a perfunctory nod, his expression strange.

Was he thinking, What is this crazy kid?

Okay, then, to the point.

"You guys like Isabel, right?"

"……!! How did you know?!"

"Hey! Why are you reacting like that?!"

Leonir and the son of the Northern Grand Duke were startled out of their wits.

Cute. So cute.

They look perfectly normal, so why are they so clumsy?

I looked between the three of them while holding back my laughter.

Did you really think I wouldn't know?

Even while talking to me, your eyes keep drifting toward Isabel!

"Calm down, calm down. My lovely classmates?"

""……….""

All three of them merely cleared their throats for no reason.

Actually, I quite liked this situation.

Honestly, I preferred having these guys stick close to Isabel.

As befitted romance-fantasy male leads, all three of them were overwhelmingly strong for their age.

So even when I wasn't around, these guys would be able to prevent most of the incidents that occurred early in the original story.

That was why I had gone out of my way to find them.

I'll help you get close to her quickly!

I'm a master of romance, after all.

Though I've never actually dated anyone.

"You're curious which club Isabel is joining, right?"

"…Yeah."

The three of them nodded at the same time.

"She says she's starting a farming club."

"…!!!"

This time, all three of them grimaced simultaneously.

Just as I expected.

Farming is a bit much, isn't it?

I can't picture you three lined up with hoes, working the fields either!

"Think you can keep up with her?"

So I needled them a little.

"What do you take me for!"

"You think I can't handle something as trivial as farming?"

“It's fine. If I can't do it, I'll learn.”

They were so easy to read!

I grinned and turned away.

Then, boys, I'll leave Isabel in your care.

***

The next day arrived.

I sorted out what had happened yesterday, then went to see the Extreme King.

Maybe it was because the Crown Prince and the sons of other prestigious families were joining a mere farming club that the Extreme King found it strange.

For the first time in a while, I got to see the Extreme King flustered.

"Did I hear that correctly?"

The Extreme King pressed a finger firmly between their brows.

"So you're planning to put all the children of the empire's key figures in one club so they'll be easier to protect from demon worshipers?"

"Exactly."

Then they sighed as if they were frustrated.

"Don't you think that could make them targets instead? And what's with a farming club?! A farming club!"

That's…… because it's a romance fantasy.

What can you do when the heroine wants to farm?

I cleared my throat and got to the point.

"So, why don't you serve as the club adviser, Extreme King?"

That was actually why I had come to see the Extreme King.

A club needed an advising teacher in order to be established.

"Did you already assign it to me…?"

Despite their complaints, they were honestly the best person for the job.

No matter how I thought about it, there couldn't be a better arrangement.

After all, the children of the empire's important officials would all be gathered in one club.

And later, even the other leads from the original story would join one by one, apparently.

If someone of the Extreme King's caliber protected them, the demon worshipers wouldn't be able to approach easily.

But.

"Phew…."

The Extreme King sighed deeply, then vigorously tousled their hair.

"I'd like to, but I can't."

“…Huh?”

“Being a professor is much more work than I expected.”

Then they tapped the stack of papers on their desk.

"There's too much work right now, and it's exhausting. I had no idea being a professor was this hard! If I'd known this was how it would be, I wouldn't have done it! Aaaaaaagh!!!"

The Extreme King had broken down……?

Come to think of it, my original plan had been to gather all the protagonists under the Extreme King and search for the possessed demon on my own……

"Still…. I do have a fairly trustworthy child in mind. I'll mention it to them. They'll probably take it on."

It was a little disappointing.

The most important thing was that the original story's protagonists would all be gathered in one place.

Even if the adviser wasn't the Extreme King, I could just pay a little more attention.

More importantly, did the Extreme King have a friend?

"What were you just thinking? It was extremely unpleasant."

"It's just your imagination."

Was the Extreme King using mind-reading or something?

I'd better make a quick escape before they pried any further.

***

Time had passed since I enrolled in the academy, and I opened the familiar dormitory door and stepped outside.

"You came out earlier than I expected, Rowoon?"

"Mmm~ Good morning."

When I came down the stairs, Isabel waved at me from where she was leaning against a pillar.

After I was late on the second day, Isabel had worried that her younger brother might go astray again, so she came to pick me up herself every morning.

"Isabel."

"Hmm? Why?"

"By the way, Isabel, don't you have any friends?"

Isabel's foot, which had been leading the way, stopped dead.

She slowly turned her head and looked at me without saying a word.

No, seriously, I wasn't teasing her. I was asking because I was curious.

In the original story, Isabel always walked around with one ordinary-looking female classmate, as befitted a romance-fantasy heroine.

Having at least one female friend beside the heroine was common sense in romance fantasy, wasn't it?

But it had been over a week since enrollment, and strangely, my sister seemed to spend time only with Lucia.

Actually, the original story had changed so much by now that I wasn't particularly concerned.

"A friend…? I have Lucia."

"I suppose…."

She was closer to a puppy than a friend, but whatever.

“But what about Lucia? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her today?"

Come to think of it, no wonder I had felt oddly empty—Lucia wasn't there.

Lucia, who adored the commoner siblings, had followed Isabel and me every morning so the three of us could go to school together. Why wasn't she here?

"She said she was going earlier than us to correct the courses she'd registered for."

"So the correction period ends today?"

I knew this would happen.

This was what happened when a young lady from a prestigious magic family signed up for every course under the sun!

"Oh, right, Rowoon."

"Hmm?"

"I succeeded in starting the farming club I mentioned!"

"Oh~ It got approved?"

Isabel smiled brightly and clasped her hands together.

"Yeah! The clubroom is pretty spacious and clean, and the adviser is really kind, too! Let's go together with Lucia after classes."

And so, Isabel, who had said she would start a farming club, ultimately succeeded.

The founding members were Lucia, Isabel, and me.

The club president was naturally Isabel.

Ah, you're wondering where the original story's male leads went?

Those idiots said they would apply after the club was formed.

Apparently, they thought Isabel might feel burdened if they suddenly pretended to be close and asked to start a club together.

It was strangely reasonable, so I couldn't argue with them.

"Does Sis have any thoughts about dating?"

At my sudden question, Isabel stopped walking and quietly looked at me.

"…Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just been a really long time since I heard you call me Sis…"

"There's no one around, so what's the harm?"

Isabel gave a small laugh at my words, then started walking again.

Her pink hair, caught in the morning sunlight, swayed softly with every step.

As we walked, the Combat Department building soon came into view.

"Academy life is still too busy for me to date…. I can't really imagine myself dating…."

Isabel toyed with her hair for a moment, then turned her head.

"What about you, Rowoon? Do you have any thoughts about dating?"

"No."

As if~

I have a real age, so there was no way fifteen-year-olds would look like romantic prospects to me.

"Even if someone confessed to you? You're handsome, Rowoon, so I think it's entirely possible…?"

"Come on……."

I snorted and shrugged.

Surely that wouldn't happen.

There were plenty of guys around me who were handsome and well-born, like the original story's male leads. Why would they choose me?

Thinking that, I opened the classroom door.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Top student!"

"What's going on this early? Leonir?"

"Oh, good morning, Isabel! Hehe. Ah, but that's not it! There's a letter on the top student's desk!"

Startled by how much noisier the class was than usual,

"Huh… a letter?"

"What is it, what is it? A love letter?"

"Whoa! Our top student gets love letters too?"

I froze when I looked at my desk.

"…There really is one."

Because a single white envelope lay neatly on top of it.

What's more, anyone could tell that it had been handwritten!

Well, they do say that words can bring things to pass….

What is this, a situation straight out of a web-novel cliché?