This Is More Like It

“Dong—”

The heavy tolling of the bell announced the arrival of dawn, as honey-colored sunlight reached the wind vane atop the clock tower first.

“Miss— Miss—?”

Veronica was violently shaken awake.

She lifted her head from her knees, yawning sleepily.

“Ah... it's Lisa.”

Beneath her messy hair, there was a prominent red mark on her forehead from resting on it for so long.

The straight-laced knightess stared speechlessly at Veronica, who looked completely disheveled, like a sloth.

This was the first time she had ever seen her neat and tidy lady in such a miserable state.

Her collar was loose, there were quite a few mud stains on her skirt, her hair was a mess, and her eyes were... a little swollen?

She was deeply worried: Could the young lady... have been brutally beaten by Young Master Lynn?

Veronica stood up, and the oversized coat draped over her shoulders slid off.

“Is this... Young Master Lynn's?” Lisa picked it up, and her thoughts instantly took a turn.

“Oh...? I guess that guy has a bit of a conscience after all. At least my hard work last night... guiding him didn't go to waste.”

Lisa's eyes widened. She felt as if she had uncovered the absolute truth.

But—

“Miss, you look very happy.”

“?” Veronica turned around, only then realizing and touching the upward curve of her lips.

“This suits you much better than your usual cold expression.”

“Miss, you should smile more often.”

At this moment, having firmly chosen her side, Lisa screamed in her heart: I'm sorry, Lilian.

(A certain pink furball who had just been dragged out of her blanket by Lynn sneezed.)

...

An "uninvited guest" had arrived at the estate of the Reinhardt manor.

Its streamlined, oval structure was filled with power and beauty, and various cutting-edge magical technologies, shimmering with light, were engraved onto runestones.

Beside it, the solemn knightess was introducing it passionately:

“Indeed, this is the crystallization of our Holy Cathedral's latest magical technology. It's a new vehicle currently in the prototype stage—a magic airship!”

“Although it currently suffers from high energy consumption and is difficult to mass-produce, once improved, it will surely lead the next great revolution in the magical world...”

The curious Lilian's eyes had completely turned into stars, showing none of the hostility she had toward Lisa yesterday. “Wow, that's amazing! So cool!”

She poked it here and touched it there, having the time of her life.

Meanwhile, on the sofa nearby, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Fluttering her folding fan, Veronica scoffed disdainfully, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. “Little Lisa~ open the ventilation window, please.”

“Sitting next to certain people makes the air feel so dirty~”

Crossing his legs and burying his face in a magic tome, Lynn shot back without even looking up, “Lilian, you should keep your distance from pampered young ladies like her. Otherwise, you might contract bratty-girl syndrome.”

“You ungrateful, perverted muscle-demon!”

“You petty, flat-chested shorty!”

As their intense gazes locked, sparks practically flew between them.

“...”

Lisa meekly lowered her head.

She exchanged a look with Lilian, who also had a bitter expression on her face.

Amidst their agonizing anticipation, the airship finally landed in Count Gunier's domain as scheduled.

Feeling as though they had been granted a divine amnesty, they immediately pulled Lynn and Veronica apart and ran off in opposite directions without looking back.

Having been dragged several hundred meters away by Lilian tugging at his hem, Lynn helplessly poked her small head.

“You silly girl, what are you so afraid of her for?”

“But... but she's the Saintess, after all...” Lilian stuck out her tongue.

Although she had a great time bickering with Veronica at the Adventurers' Association yesterday, thinking back on it a day later...

“She's the Saintess, but I'm the next Grand Duke Reinhardt.”

Lilian quickly shook her head. “That's not what I meant.”

“It doesn't matter who Lady Veronica is. If she insults you, Young Master, I will definitely talk back. It's just...”

“It's just... I just... didn't want to see you unhappy, Young Master...”

“The Saintess slandered you like that, so you must have been upset deep down. You just couldn't show it because of your status. So I thought... if I selfishly dragged you away, you wouldn't have to force yourself to talk to someone you dislike.”

With a flushed face, she twiddled her fingers. “S-so, Young Master, if what I did was wrong, I...”

“What on earth are you thinking, you silly girl!”

Her cherry-blossom hair was instantly ruffled into a bird's nest. The culprit smacked his lips in satisfaction at how soft it felt and replied helplessly, “I wasn't bickering with Veronica out of anger.”

“Really?” Lilian was half-skeptical.

“Truer than pearls.”

After all, who would hold a grudge against a wealthy lady who practically threw money around?

Veronica was Lynn's personal sugar mommy!

Even though Lynn's initial impression score with her was already in the negatives, negative scores had their own advantages!

Raising someone's favorability was hard, but making them hate you was incredibly easy.

Just like now, Lynn only had to mock Veronica a few times, and the notifications for Emotion Points would flood his screen.

Before Lynn could lose himself in his beautiful visions of the future, a noisy commotion dragged him back to reality.

“Are you fucking blind?! How dare you look down on this young master!”

“Do you have any idea who I am? It'll scare you to death!”

Lynn frowned and looked toward the source of the noise, instantly sucking in a breath of cold air, doing his part to contribute to global warming.

This was the stuff! This was the classic, textbook arrogant young master trope!

As expected! My life in another world...

“Let me tell you, my big brother is Lynn!”

Wait, what?

Lynn's grin as a spectator instantly froze on his face.