Chapter 07
Pulling myself together, letâs get back to discussing the rest of the capture targets.
First up is the man who currently stands as the most critical figure.
Why is he the most important, you ask? Because just like Beatrix, he entered the academy this year, putting him in a position where he will be her classmate for years to come. In other words, he is a man who will inevitably have a lot of contact with my little angel.
The third capture target is Safia.
The eldest son of a Marquis, he is a calm, collected, and gentlemanly beauty of a character. His Trait is “Ice.” Destined to eventually inherit his family’s marquisate, he is a highly capable, brilliantly intelligent perfectionist. Because of his outstanding talent, excessive expectations were placed on him from a young age, and in his desperate struggle to meet them, he developed a nervous side that made him excessively fear and loathe even the smallest of mistakes.
Appearance-wise, he has flowing, translucent light-blue hair and deep blue sapphire eyes. He leans overwhelmingly toward the beautiful rather than the dashing side, and the sheer glamour when he stands next to a heroine is unmatched. Utilizing his brilliant mind, he handles the problems that crop up during the game in a calm and precise manner.
Fortunately, he isn’t a two-faced, sinister character. It seems a segment of the female player base expressed some disappointment over that fact, but… I mean, isn’t it just normally better for someone to have a genuinely good personality? I understand that two-faced characters enjoy a lot of popularity as fictional tropes, but as for me, I want to scream at the top of my lungs: “Imagine if the person you were actually dating turned out to be a sinister backstabber?!”
The real Safia, free of any hidden malice…
Well, I’ve only met him a handful of times in person, so I can’t claim to know the depths of his personality, but he was a perfectly nice kid. His manners were flawless, and he was highly intelligent. Even from the rumors floating around, I can see glimpses of him working desperately hard to live up to everyone’s expectations, just like in the game.
Though if I had to say one thing, I did find myself thinking that he doesn’t need to push himself so hardâthat it would be perfectly fine for him to live a bit more honestly, like the child he is.
Granted, this is coming from me, someone who studied himself half to death. I was completely devoid of any childlike innocence or charm myself, after all.
Still, when you look at a kid around the same age as your own little brother or sister, seeing them force themselves to act grown-up looks a bit painful, and it makes you want to step in and spoil them.
That very Safia is the only capture target who is in the same school year as our heroine and villainess.
For the time being, those are the three capture targets Beatrix will be interacting with this academic year.
Come next year, another brand-new capture target will enroll in the academy.
The fourth capture target is Merald.
The third son of an Earl, he is an innocent, puppy-like character. His Trait is “Slash Nullification.” Being the youngest child with two highly capable older brothers, Merald grew up with a lot of freedom, developing an honest and incredibly affectionate personality. He aims to become a knight, making him a bit of a muscle-brain (?). His swordsmanship is genuinely remarkable, but because of his small stature, he used to worry and fret over it.
He features bouncing, honey-colored hair and sparkling emerald eyes. Combined with his petite build and little-brother status, he is the quintessential cute-type, looking exactly like a puppy. His role as a knight who protects the heroine with his trademark swordsmanship is a perfect blend of cool and cute! Aside from being a favorite character for many, he enjoyed broad, mascot-like popularity among older female players.
Except, this guy gets huge later on.
Right around the time the heroine is about to graduate, he undergoes a miraculous growth spurt, ending up taller than absolutely everyone else. Seeing Merald grow into such a dashing man, the fan base split perfectly down the middle between cheers of “He’s so handsome!!” and laments of “My precious little puppy is gone…”
By the way, I am destined to eventually be overtaken in height by every single one of the capture targets…
Right now, because of our age gap, I look down at them, but itâs a bit bittersweet to think that one day Iâll be looked down upon by these cute little brothers. But since I already know what their final forms look like, itâs practically a foregone conclusion to me.
…How tragic. Ah, of course, Beatrix is never going to surpass me in height, okay!!
And it’s not like I’m short or anything, anyway!!! I am exactly at the average height!!!
Make sure you don’t misunderstand that part!!!
Now that I’ve tossed out an excuse directed at nobody in particular…
The real Merald, before he sheds his puppy persona…
Is a dog. A total puppy.
I mean, I don’t know what possessed him, but he completely ambushed me out of nowhere one day. I don’t mean to brag, but I excel in both literary and military arts; contrary to my appearance, I am actually quite strong. Thanks to the brutally harsh training of a brutally strong master, my skill with a blade easily eclipses that of an average knight. Having apparently caught wind of those rumors, the puppy came charging right at me.
“Please spar with me!!”
He launched his assault without even introducing himselfâa completely unknown kid putting on a full-on blitzkrieg.
Well, I knew who he was because of the game, but still. It gave me quite a shock. Plus, looking at those glittering, sparkling eyes of his, I could have sworn I saw a pair of fluffy ears and a tail popping out of his head and rear.
A muscle-brain. He was a kid who truly lived up to the title of a muscle-brained puppy without a single shred of deception!
When I humored him with a brief match, his swordsmanship was every bit as impressive as advertised. Also, he took an immediate liking to me.
Wagging his imaginary tail with absolute abandonment, he shouted,
“Please spar with me again sometime!!”
And with that, he dashed away. A literal whirlwind of a kid.
So, all in all, there are four individuals he will be interacting with at the current academy.
Garnest and Dia are on fantastic terms with Beatrix, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about on that front for now.
She even calls Garnest by his first name, you know? I’m so jealous…! I mean, being called “Dearest Brother” is irreplaceable, but still.
Perhaps out of a bit of adolescent embarrassment toward a brother who is only a year older, she usually calls him just “Garnest” without any titles. But the moment she’s feeling down or vulnerable, she calls him “Big Brother Garnest”!! Is that not the cutest thing alive?!
As for her relationship with Dia, they are so lovey-dovey it threatens to fracture big brother’s fragile heart.
I am still not permitting you to lay a finger on her, okay!! Holding hands is the absolute limit of my tolerance!!
Safia, who will become a regular fixture in her life starting this year, is a good kid, so I’m sure they will get along swimmingly. In fact, given their family backgrounds and personalities, I have a feeling they might become quite close. Merald, who enrolls next year, is a puppy through and through, so I can’t imagine him becoming hostile toward Beatrix or anyone else, for that matter. It feels like her three years of academy life are going to pass by without a single issue.
And so, the remaining problem is__________
