Chapter 4
Yesterday was truly exhausting.
The head maid, who was supposed to be competent, collapsed, and Liera was crying so hard I couldn't get a word in.
Apparently, young Kuzutos couldn't even walk around the manor unless he was holding Liera's hand.
H-How awful...
What kind of mentality do you have...?
It's your own manor! Walk by yourself!
It's far more embarrassing to parade around the manor holding Liera's hand!
Though, at this point, maybe young Kuzutos had nerves of steel.
And naturally, everyone in the manor was suspicious of how I'd suddenly become a decent person.
Well, of course they were.
Until yesterday, the little brat had been blathering, "Feed me! Make me go 'ahh'!" and now he was suddenly worrying about the maids' working conditions and telling them to "let her rest."
Of course, everyone asked me this:
"What happened to you all of a sudden, Ultos-sama?"
In response to the servants who suspected I had a fever, I answered in a way that would dispel that impression:
"I've awakened to noblesse oblige."
That's right.
—This was the secret plan I'd come up with.
'Noblesse oblige' means that those of high status—in other words, nobles—must fulfill their duties honorably, in accordance with their station.
In other words, my excuse went like this:
1. Young Kuzutos suddenly awakens to noblesse oblige (lol)
2. Naturally, young Kuzutos regrets all his scummy behavior up to now
3. Young Kuzutos becomes completely serious
4. And then, he becomes a background character in the story and lives quietly~
That was the plan.
Mm, a truly beautiful progression.
If anything, since my goal was to cut down on scummy behavior, 'Kuzulesse Oblige' might be more accurate, but...
Oh, well.
Incidentally, it was pretty baffling that a brat who liked big breasts would suddenly awaken to noblesse oblige, but
it seemed everyone in the manor still remembered young Kuzutos's former brilliance, so they somehow accepted it as 'a temporary lapse in judgment.'
It was probably lucky that, appearance-wise, I was still just barely a pretty boy.
If I looked like the greasy guy I became in the story, I doubt anyone would have understood.
Good for you, Kuzutos.
For having a handsome face as a child.
But...
Don't forget.
All I'd managed to do was finally convince everyone in the manor.
That's right.
Unfortunately, young Kuzutos had already revealed his scummy nature outside the manor, too.
"Hey, why's the young master at the training grounds?"
"Yeah, just the other day he was throwing a fit about not wanting to hold a sword."
The soldiers' bewildered voices passed right through my ears.
Yep.
This was reality.
I was at the training grounds now.
At the training grounds, located a little way from the manor, the Randall family's soldiers were working up a sweat.
This world was very similar to the world of an 18+ game.
And the game was a wonderful one, with power struggles, magic, tears, eroticism, friendship, and a punching bag named Kuzutos.
In the Graseria Kingdom, where the game took place, monsters had been appearing frequently in recent years. To deal with them, nobles hired private soldiers and recruited adventurers.
Meanwhile, Kuzutos's parents had told him something like, "You should wield a sword, too, and fulfill your duties as a noble!" But our young Kuzutos was on a whole different level.
Astonishingly, young Kuzutos had answered them like this:
"I'm not training unless there's a busty female adventurer in bikini armor!"
...
...........
..............
I can't take this anymore.
The worst part was that I was Kuzutos himself.
Right?
He was the very definition of a spoiled noble's brat, wasn't he????
House Randall was one of the most distinguished families in the kingdom.
Their status in the story was far and away the highest—nothing like that of the commoner protagonists.
And yet...
Their son had gone and declared, "I only accept busty adventurers in bikini armor!"
The soldiers who heard this were disheartened.
Apparently, the adventurers burst out laughing.
Rumors even spread that "the future of Randall territory is bleak," and the talented adventurers they'd worked so hard to recruit fled. That was a truly scummy thing to do.
Actually, since Kuzutos would eventually be beaten to a ridiculous degree by the protagonist's group and suffer one humiliating comeuppance after another, the phrase "the future of Randall territory is bleak" was, in a sense, accurate, but...
And so young Kuzutos ate whatever he wanted by making people feed him, skipped training, and steadily started down the road to becoming a pig.
—But I couldn't allow that future.
That's right.
I was going to live decently in this world.
In front of the soldiers watching me from a distance, I picked up a wooden sword.
Then I walked over to a man.
"What is it, young master?"
"Enrique. Train with me."
The man—Enrique—answered in a listless tone.
"Young master, there aren't any women in bikini armor here."
Laughter rang out a moment later.
There it is.
I'd expected it, but they looked down on me so much it was painful.
No, I get it, okay?
If my future employer were a perverted scumbag who liked bikini armor, I wouldn't like him either...
In short, the people who'd been motivated had completely disappeared because of young Kuzutos's "bikini armor comment" the other day.
And all that remained were people who'd stayed for the money.
There was no way Kuzutos would be accepted by people like that... hence this situation.
Enrique was an adventurer, too, and it was obvious he was one of the men who'd stayed for the money.
Honestly, it would be difficult to get people like this to listen.
But...
I couldn't back down.
I didn't want to get fat and suffer a humiliating comeuppance.
If anything, I was the sort who'd rather watch someone else get their comeuppance peacefully from a distance.
I smiled faintly.
"Enrique. Are you scared?"
"Well, well... Young master."
As he said that, Enrique stood up.
I watched him, thinking I might have gone and done it.
My strategy was simple.
No matter how much I said, "I've awakened to noblesse oblige!" the soldiers and adventurers here weren't going to react.
If so, what I needed to do was simple.
I had to swing a sword a little in front of everyone and show them I was serious.
Our exchange seemed to have attracted the attention of those around us, and gradually people began to gather.
Enrique picked up a wooden sword, too, and started rolling his neck with a series of cracks.
"Are you sure? You might get hurt."
Enrique smiled challengingly.
Going into this completely unprepared...
Time and again, I was being made to clean up after young Kuzutos.
But I simply replied, "Of course."
—If things continued like this, it was obvious I'd be killed in the near future.
"Well, an injury or two won't be a problem."