Book 8: Chapter 4: Randy

Book 8: Chapter 4: Randy

***

Inside his home, Marion woke up in his bed next to a sleeping woman. Shed called out to him the previous day.

Having woken up, Marion raised his hand. By doing so, the windows no longer blocked the sunlight from penetrating into the room.

The room came to life and began to move on its own, preparing for whatever was in store for the morning.

Marion climbed out of his bed and got ready for work.

As the woman showed no sign of waking up, he called out to her.

My lady, it's time for you to wake up.

Hearing his sweet and gentle voice, the woman woke up from her slumber.

Then, she remebered what happened last night and covered her body in a hurry.

You're cute.

Marion found the woman's reaction to be rather lovely and reached out to touch her hair.

The woman turned bright red and rushed to the shower room with her clothes which were scattered around her.

She was so enthusiastic about it yesterday Now, I should really start heading to work.

He looked out the window that overlooked the gray scenery which was the Capital.

I don't like how dark and squalid the Capital is That said, I do like the fact that there are a lot of beautiful women here. [1]The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

That was his impression of the Capital.

Good morning, Liam-senpai.

Marion greets me with a friendly smile.

I've been meeting him at the elevator almost on a daily basis.

As always, you reek of perfume.

Marion whisks out his terminal to brag about his achievement from last night.

I found this cute girl and managed to lay my hands on her. Oh, this is the one I'm talking about.

It seems like the smell of perfume around him is from the woman.

The picture of the girl that he's showing me right now is different from the previous one.

He gives off the impression of someone who always hits on women at night.

Apparently, a lot of women are decieved by his cutesy appearance.

All I can say to that is He's quite good.

Marion then proceeds to show me his recent achievements.

All his targets seem to be mature women. Is he into strong-looking beauties?

How 'bout it, Liam-senpai? Wanna do it as well? It's pretty much an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The eyes of ordinary women change the moment you tell them that you're an official working for the palace.

After all, officials are considered winners among winners within the Empire.

Hence, they're extremely popular in the Capital.

Tell them that you'll be returning to the countryside when your training's over. I bet they'll scatter the moment they hear that.

I'll do just that when I break up with them. Even so, does Liam-senpai have no interest in women? Is it because you feel bad for your fiance?

Feel bad for Rosetta? Is he stupid?

Why should I care about what Rosetta thinks?

She belongs to me, not the other way around.

It's just that Amagi and Brian will start bugging me if I play around too much.

Amagi will be like; You laid your hands on them, so you should take responsibility. While Brian will be like; Lord Liam's finally taking an interest in women! Oh but please be careful of honey traps. Everything's fine aside from that.

Wait a sec Do they want this to happen?

They'll probably be noisy about it if I were to so much as touch a single woman, so I won't be doing that.

None of the women here would suit my standard.

That's quite the bold statement. One night stands are quite fun, you know?

Seeing Marion being all smiles, I can't help but think that he'll be stabbed by one of those women eventually.

Then again, he's an aristocrat.

If he really does end up getting stabbed by a commoner, he would be seen as a failure among the aristocrats.

We get off the elevator once it arrives at our floor.

As I'm heading to my seat, I stumble upon Randy and his goons chatting near my desk early in the morning.

Congratulations, Lord Randy.

Thanks.

By joining the Cleo Faction, the Lengrand Family will rise to an even more prominent position.

Randy did not belittle Liam's personal skills and the Banfield Family's military might.

He knew that it was Liam who defeated the Berkeley Family, also known as the Pirate Nobles.

Randy pondered about his future plans.

(Liam will be expelled from the Capital in the near future. We just have to be patient until then.)

With Cleo's help, Randy was getting ready to kick Liam out of the Capital.

(No matter how much military might you have, you won't be able to survive in the world of politics.)

Randy was picking a fight with Liam through political means, something which could not be swayed by military might alone.

In the back palace, there was a building dedicated to Cleo's use, and Lysithea was fuming with anger inside it.

Cleo, why did you agree to Randy's ideas!

Cleo was signing electronic documents in his office, documents which were petitions from poverty-stricken aristocrats asking for support.

Some of these petitions looked clearly suspicious, yet Cleo signed them and promised support as if he was trying to splurge money.

What are you talking about, Sister?

Lysithea noticed the petitions and criticized Cleo for promising help so carelessly.

Y-you're going to sign all of them? If you thoughtlessly give them support, more and more people are bound to come knocking on your doors!

They're in dire need of help after being attacked by the Kingdom of Dominion. It wouldn't be right to abandon them.

Given these reasons, Lysithea couldn't say anything back in return.

You should first consult Count Banfield about this.

Cleo let out a small laugh.

W-what's with that laugh? Count Banfield's the one who's funding you. Don't you think it would be unreasonable of you to not consult him?

Cleo continued to sign the documents, but gave a small nod to acknowledge Lysithea's logic.

But of course, I'll talk to Count Banfield about it later on. I'm thinking of giving him an important task while I'm at it.

Lysithea was relieved to hear that.

After taking in the Lengrand Family, Cleo had been trying to set them up against Liam, and she had been feeling a sense of crisis from knowing that.

That's good. It would be a bad idea to make light of Count Banfield.

I know, I know. As nothing more than a pretty decoration, I need the support of a powerful aristocrat if I wish to survive.

Oblivious to politics, Lysithea took Cleo's words at face value.

So, what important task are you going to give to Count Banfield?

Cleo's eyes were on the electronic documents, and he was signing them without paying too much attention to their contents.

One of the aristocratic households fell to ruin. Their territory is under the direct control of the Empire, but because it's located at such a remote area, someone needs to be dispatched there. I'm thinking of sending Count Banfield.

Huh?

Lysithea was so shocked by his words that her reaction was delayed.

An aristocratic household has fallen to ruin. Since the lord was gone, someone had to be dispatched to take control of his planet Everything made sense up to that point.

The problem laid in the fact that Liam was being dispatched there.

You're planning on removing Count Banfield from the Capital!? Y-you can't! It's because he's here that nobody's making any moves! Cleo, you must rethink this!

Not only is Count Banfield very skilled militarily, he's also good at governance. He was able to successfully revive his territory after all.

Even if he's the right fit, it wouldn't do to dispatch such irreplaceable personnel!

Seeing that Lysithea was about to cry, Cleo described the situation of the planet which Liam was scheduled to be dispatched to.

Sister, that just goes to prove how important that planet is. Faced with the Kingdom of Dominion's invasion, the Empire's citizens are evacuating. It's crucial that we hold onto a base which can provide logistical support to the army confronting our enemies. They're begging for someone with both military experience and skill. I can't refuse them.

Lysithea became silent after being told that it was necessary for the Empire.

Cleo pushed on.

I've also received the Prime Minister's permission. Although it won't be easy on Count Banfield since he's still young and in training, the Prime Minister believes that he will live up to our expectation. Besides, if he pulls this off, we can prevent Brother Calvin from claiming all the credit. We would be recognized as having played a part in the war.

Lysithea's shoulders dropped.

I'm relieved to hear that Cleo's thinking about things from various angles, but without Count Banfield, who will protect you and back you in his absence?

Cleo answered calmly.

I'll have the Lengrand Family do their best.

***

Brian (): It's painful. Enemies are appearing left and right. It's painful.

Wakagi-chan (): Get hyped! Volume 6 of The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs' will be released on July 30th, so get more hyped!

Wakagi-chan (; > <): Kuuu! I should work even harder to promote the products

Wakagi-chan (*): R-right. For the sake of promotion, I'll-I'll strip! I'll reveal my nudes! Surely, that will make the readers go wild! It will double the sales, no doubt! It's Naegi-chan's nudes, you know! Kyaaaa~!

Brian (;`)?: Aren't plants normally naked?

[1] Liam should take a page out of Marion's book.