Volume 2: Chapter 22 - Happy Campus Life

After school, I went to find Toke, planning to walk back to the dorms with him. This had become my daily routine.

"Toke, let's go."

"Alright, just a moment."

Judging by the reactions of the other students his Class, it seemed Toke still hadn't made any friends besides me. Looking at his face, I suddenly had an idea in my mind.

It had been over a few months since school started, and I came to almost every day, so I was pretty much a familiar face. Most students were no longer surprised to see me here looking for Toke.

Only occasionally would one or two hidden gazes fix on me, but I chose to ignore them.

On the way, I asked Toke about his current situation.

"No one's bothered you, right?"

"That's right, Rankdor and his group haven't done anything excessive to me again. In fact, it feels like they're deliberately avoiding me."

It seemed the Anglus Family name was indeed effective, though I still preferred not to use it if I could avoid it in the future.

"It looks like Rankdor and his group have thoroughly recognized their mistakes and completely mended their ways. Excellent."

"I don't think so… Speaking of which, is your family of very high status, Robert? I heard Rankdor's family is one of the more famous noble families in the country. It's quite unbelievable that he's been so well-behaved since that day."

"Hm? I did tell you my full name is Robert Von Anglus, didn't I? Did it not ring a bell?"

"Uh… I'm sorry, I don't really have any concept of noble family names. Could it be that Robert is the child of one of the top noble families in the whole country?"

Seeing Toke's face immediately turn pale, I couldn't help but laugh and pat him on the back.

"Haha, it's not that exaggerated. It's just a noble family with a bit of fame, that's all. You can just continue as you are now."

"Eh—"

Toke was probably the only person in the entire school who could still interact with me naturally after learning my family name.

"Um, excuse me, are you Robert?"

At this moment, a girl's voice suddenly came from behind, causing both Toke and me to stop in unison.

I had a feeling about what was about to happen!

"That's me. And you are?"

"I'm Lige Banbister from C Class. I have something I'd like to say to you. Is now a good time?"

"No problem. Do we need to go somewhere else to talk?"

"If possible, it would be best to go somewhere else."

"I understand. Toke, wait for me here for a moment."

"O-okay."

So, under Toke's surprised gaze, the girl named Lige and I moved to another place suitable for two people to talk privately.

...

I returned about ten minutes later.

"Robert! C-c-c-could that just now… have been a c-c-c-confession…"

Stolen novel; please report.

Toke seemed unusually excited. As soon as he saw me return, he eagerly wanted to know what had happened.

But it was understandable. This was the first time he had seen a girl actively approach me to talk. As a boy just entering adolescence, he was undoubtedly very sensitive and concerned about such a seemingly romantic development.

"Was it really a confession?"

"…Yes, it was."

"Woah! But why do you seem so calm? Has this not been the first time?"

"…It's indeed not the first time."

To be precise, this was the fifth time since school started, and I was pretty much used to it. But there was no need to specifically point it out, or it would make me seem like I was showing off.

"No way! That's too unbelievable!"

Even though I was the one who was confessed to, Toke seemed as flustered as if he himself had been confessed to. It was quite amusing to watch.

Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his mood visibly dropped.

"I see. I guess I won't be able to walk back to the dorms with Robert anymore. After you two start dating, you probably won't have time for me, the third wheel, right?"

"Wait, why are you advancing the conversation assuming I'll agree to date her?"

"Eh? You didn't agree?!"

This was the most surprised Toke had ever been.

"No."

"Why?!"

"Why what? All the girls who've confessed to me so far have only been after my family's status. Not a single one genuinely likes me. Why would I choose someone like that as a dating partner?... Hm, on second thought, there was indeed one who was a little naive and made me moved but she also came for my family too."

"No one genuinely likes you… Can you tell?"

"Of course I can tell. Twelve-year-old girls usually have very clumsy acting. You'll understand once you experience it yourself."

"I probably won't have that chance."

Toke fell into a self-deprecating mood. Even if it was just pretend, he would surely be overjoyed if a girl actively confessed to him. Should I comfort him?

"Besides, you're overthinking things. What do you mean 'no time for me, the third wheel'? Even if I really got a girlfriend, I wouldn't neglect you, because you're my only friend."

"No, you should neglect me. It would be too bad if you and your girlfriend had problems because of me."

No matter what, I wouldn't choose to date a girl who had issues with my choice of friends. Anyway, I felt it was too early to consider these things.

"Don't worry. As long as you work on your charm as a man from now on, there will definitely be girls who like you."

"Impossible. No matter how hard I try, I'm just the son of a frontier baron. There's no way a noble young lady would be interested in such a poor noble."

"That's not necessarily true. I know of a case where even a commoner was fiercely pursued by noble young ladies. So, I think the most important thing is indeed a man's charm."

Although it was a plot point from a novel, it was something that was definitely going to happen in the future. Toke would witness that day sooner or later.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could such an absurd thing exist? You're terrible at comforting people."

So Toke also thought this kind of plot was too fantastical?

Indeed, apart from the heroines, there were few young ladies who didn't care about the other party's family status. Even if they were from a baron's family like Toke, the female side wouldn't look for a noble boy of equal standing, but rather aim for higher status.

Boys from baron families could be said to be among the lowest status people in this school.

"Anyway, we're only twelve years old. School life has just begun, so there's no need to rush about this."

"That's true. If I think about it, even if a noble young lady was willing to be my girlfriend, given my family's economic strength and political standing, her family probably wouldn't agree. School romance seems unrealistic no matter how I look at it. The most likely scenario is that I'll marry a farmer's daughter in the future."

"Marrying a farmer's daughter, huh…"

It sounded pretty good. In this other world, farmers' daughters were depicted as hardworking, kind, simple, and virtuous. They didn't have the bad habits of noble young ladies, and there was no need to consider various family issues… Wasn't this an ideal Marriage partner?

"What should I do, Toke? I think I also kind of want to marry a farmer's daughter now."

"Is there something wrong with your head? You really are too strange for a noble."

Toke genuinely looked very worried about me.

How rude! I was actually quite serious about considering it.

On the way back to the dorms, I chatted with Toke about the day's fresh happenings, and another unremarkable day passed.

No pressure from studies, no more worries about interpersonal relationships, and temporarily forgetting the anxiety about the future. School life with friends was just this peaceful yet fulfilling.

Recently, even Princess Yumina and my other classmates, who initially treated me as a villain, seemed to have slowly accepted the fact that I was a Class A student. No one had brought up the entrance exam incident again. However, it would still take more time, or an opportunity, to establish normal conversational relationships with anyone.

Because I, the son of a marquis, often hung out with Toke, the son of a baron, it frequently drew strange looks from other students. But no one dared to bother us or gossip in front of us. The Anglus Family name was indeed very useful as a shield at such times. So, as long as I ignored those gazes, I could have a normal school life.

Everything seemed to be falling into place. I never doubted that my future life would develop in a good direction, and that these ordinary yet precious days would continue indefinitely.