Chapter 57: Schoolmate part 1

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Translator: Soafp

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From the entrance ceremony, 10 days have passed. Our daily routine is starting to settle.

“El, have you made any friends?”

In response to my sudden question, El offered a handsome reply.

“Yes. I’ve made friends who share the same aspirations as me.”

Honestly, until now, I hadn’t seen anyone who could become friends with El. Letting go, growing up, distancing yourself from siblings—I brush off the tears and celebrate El’s new step forward!

“I see. Next time, introduce me. Let’s have tea together.”

“Understood. Please bring your friends, too, Nii-sama.”

“Yeah, sure.”

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything in response to El’s words. Nero and Faristea are good people. But only Lewisbell isn’t warming up to me.

10 days should be enough time for someone to open up to others.

With such thoughts in mind, I head to Class D.

“Good morning.”

When I greet the class acquaintances, Nero, and Faristea, they respond warmly. But Lewisbell is different.

“…”

I sense a strong intention not to join the group.

If it weren’t for being in the same team, this might not have bothered me. But being one of the four members in our team, it’s a bit stressful that one person isn’t blending in.

Yet, forcing myself into someone who isn’t even a friend would only make things worse. I reluctantly leave it be.

One week later—

Lewisbell hasn’t come to school. It’s been a week already.

“Aldo-kun, Nero-kun, Faristea-chan, is it too much to ask that you check on Lewisbell after school ends?”

It’s an unexpected request from Anna-Sensei.

“I’m okay with that, but where does he live?”

“He resides in Count Sandra’s mansion in the noble district.”

“Count Sandra’s… Olivia’s house?”

“They’re half-siblings with different mothers.”

“So, he’s from a noble family?”

“But it seems he’s an illegitimate child and isn’t allowed to use the ‘Von’ title.”

“That’s complicated…”

“I’m telling you this because it’s you. Be good friends to him.”

“I’m fine with it, but he’s not opening up to us.”

“From an outsider’s perspective, I think he might like you more than you think.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s just a hunch.”

“A hunch huh…”

“Ara, don’t underestimate a woman’s intuition.”

I shrugged and looked at Anna-Sensei.

“Alright, it’s a deal.”

Saying that, Miss Anna left the classroom.

“Well, shall we go check on Lewisbell after school?”

“Yeah, sounds interesting.”

What’s interesting about it? It’s nothing but trouble, even if I think about it.

After today’s classes ended, I talked to El and the others at the entrance of the school building.

I told them that we were heading to Lewisbell’s house and asked them to go back home first.

It seems that Noel will accompany me as my guard.

“Nii-sama, are these your friends?”

El asked with great interest when seeing Nero, so I introduced them.

“Yeah, this is my friend, Nero.”

“I’m Elphus, Aldo’s younger brother. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Nero. You look as smart as Aldo despite having the same face.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nii-sama, come on…”

“Just saying it how it is. Everyone thinks so.”

Nero’s words didn’t carry any malice, but they were impactful.

Next, I introduced Marl.

“Nero, this is Marl, my childhood friend and El’s sweetheart.”

“I’m Nero. Nice to meet you.”

“W-What are you saying?! W-We’re not sweethearts…”

Her words got quieter and quieter…

“Do you dislike it?”

“N-No, I don’t!”

“I don’t dislike it at all.”

“I see…”

After parting ways with El and Marl, I headed to Count Sandra’s mansion with Nero. Goodbye, nosy onlookers!

The capital city has a concentric layout, with the castle at the center, the noble district encircling it, and the commercial district surrounding the noble area.

Each district is separated by walls, and entry and exit are restricted through gates in the east, west, south, and north.

The commercial and noble districts are further divided into east, west, south, and north sections.

The east section of the commercial district is filled with various shops and commercial facilities. It’s the go-to place for shopping and houses the academy.

The west section has the most residential houses and plenty of parks and playgrounds.

The south section features a straight main street from the castle to the main gate (south gate). It’s said to be used for knightly processions or grand events. There are also several large stores along the main street.

The north section reportedly has a red-light district and sadly, even a slum… I’m interested in the red-light district; someday I’ll have to visit it.

While the noble districts have east, west, south, and north sections, they lack distinct characteristics like the commercial district.

By the way, the Blue Ring family resides in the west section. Count Sandra’s family, however, lives in the south section.

We moved from the east section of the commercial district to the south section, then crossed the south gate of the noble district. We should arrive soon.

Nero and Noel aren’t doing much; they’re just leisurely following and observing their surroundings.

After asking several people for directions, I finally reached the south gate of the noble district.

I informed the gatekeeper that I wanted to go to Count Sandra’s mansion.

“You want to go to Count Sandra’s house?”

“Yeah, it’s my friend’s house, but he hasn’t been to school lately, so I want to pay him a visit.”

“I see. Then write your name and purpose here.”

“Understood. My name is Aldo. The purpose is to visit my friend. Alright, done writing.”

“Then you may pass. However, it gets stricter to enter at night, so make sure to return early.”

“Got it.”

After asking, I became curious about where Nero’s from.

“Is Nero’s house in the commercial district?”

“Yeah.”

“I see. By the way, which district specifically?”

“The North District.”

“Ah, that’s quite far, isn’t it?”

“Well, it is.”

As we were having that conversation, we arrived at Count Sandra’s mansion. I explained the situation to the gatekeeper.

“Excuse me. We’re friends of Lewisbell from the academy, and as he hasn’t been coming to school recently, we’ve come to pay him a visit.”

The gatekeeper seemed to have judged from our uniforms and appearance that we were indeed friends.

“Please wait a moment.”

One of the gatekeepers headed to the mansion to report.

After about five minutes, the entrance door opened, and Lewisbell, looking displeased, walked towards us alongside someone who seemed to be a butler.

“What are you here for?”

“We’ve come to visit.”

“Fine. Leave.”

“Well, leaving is fine, but…”

“What?”

“It’s your attitude. We’ve come all the way from the academy, at least some courtesy would be nice, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t ask for it.”

“That’s true, but…”

The butler, who had been listening to our conversation, interjected.

“Lewisbell-sama, they’ve come all this way to see you. Not even offering tea would tarnish the name of the Count Sandra’s house.”

“Suit yourself. It’s none of my concern.”

With that, Lewisbell turned on his heel and returned to the mansion.

“I apologize. Friends from the academy. Please, do come inside the mansion for now.”

“What do you think, Nero?”

“I’m feeling thirsty.”

The butler smiled politely and invited us in.