“The name of that person is...... Duid Moonlit. A son of a viscount from the Dragoon region, and also a new student of the Royal Academy."
......Huhh?
To be honest, I had completely forgotten about his existence ‘til now since he barely had any presence. If I recall correctly, he's also in the Hill Road Club and I had also seen him in the commoner's dormitory.
"......Have you heard of the name?"
"No, not at all."
Even I was surprised, much less the girls as they looked at each other in skepticism. However, it seemed like one of them actually knew of Duid.
Heh, I presumed so, given how they had been privy about the Academy's situation in detail.
"......I'm from the Dragoon region, and I’ve heard that name before. If I'm not wrong, he’s enrolled in Year 1 Class E this year. Though, since he’s from a faraway countryside, he has hardly been involved in any adventurous event...... That's basically it."
Sorry for being such a boring country bumpkin, alright?
Viscount Moonlit’s territory was adjacent to our Rovenne territory, with a mountain range separating the two. Just like us, the Moonlit territory has no specialty to speak of, but they were a bit closer to the city and father saw them as his rivals.
Oh, yeah. I think my father had blabbered something about how he was vexed to see Moonlit's son scoring higher than me in the mock exam during my last dinner with him......
I believe I had spoken with him a few times as well, though I had completely forgotten about this rivalry.
"But of course, this is why this is a brand-new piece of information. There's a reason why many have yet to know about him."
Makite-san's enthralling tone was now one octave higher.
On the other hand, the girls further closed the gap, perhaps unable to hear clearly with the buzz in the hall. I even heard someone making a gulping sound, and for the record, I hadn't enhanced my hearing yet.
Makite-san gazed at the face of the girls, laced with an invisible tension, and continued his explanation.
"You see, the Viscount Moonlit territory is actually… adjacent to Viscount Rovenne's. I have concrete information that the two viscounts are on good terms, as it can be seen that they're actually working on the research of selective breeding of wheat together."
"Huhh!?"
My astonished voice unwittingly leaked out. I mean, I have never heard of it, you know. But… I do remember he kept complaining about how he had to tag-team with Moonlit all the time for this or that, frustrating him. Could it be that? That quarrels are often a sign of friendship?
"......Oh, I think I remember hearing about this. It was something like loaning the wheat Allen-sama's dear father had researched. Viscount Moonlit himself had confirmed the effectiveness as well when Viscount Rovenne had spoken of his research results in front of 'Empress' Meria Dragoon-sama during the spring's noble gathering. "
What......!?
So he had really been on good terms with Viscount Moonlit, huh? And I didn't even catch the slightest wind about it.
If anything, though, I was finding it hard to believe that my father would actually present his research result in front of the Marquis, but maybe it was really like that if even two strangers from different places were saying the same thing?
"But please wait, that's not all there was to it. While one can connect the dots by seeing that they are literal neighbors and the heads of the two families are working together, there is one more important aspect about Duid-kun."
Makite-san deliberately paused his words and pulled on the strings of suspense. And just as he had hoped, the girls further tightened their circle and leaned closer than ever. Even some of the people behind them had started to pay attention quietly.
Actually, I was just as curious where he was heading with this.
"You see, Duid Moonlit, too, had moved to the commoner's dormitory at the same time as Allen Rovenne, right after the entrance ceremony, apparently. You ladies are already well aware of the stringent requirements to get into the Royal Academy, yet we have two qualifiers, and that too from adjacent territories, which is so rare. Isn't this one hell of a coincidence?
I believe Duid-kun has been placed in Class E, which means he has to pay the regular fee to live in a noble dormitory. Yet, he decided to move into that commoner's dormitory, which was teased as the 'loser dog's dog house' back then. Just which noble would rather hold mere thousands of rea more dear to him than getting into a noble dormitory after getting into that 'Royal Academy'! I definitely don't believe anyone would be willingly to do that!"
Makite-san asserted strongly.
......Duid-kun, so you were with me on the journey to the commoner's dormitory, huh? I didn't know, truly, but I could relate. It wasn't like our families were rich enough to give us a huge allowance, and the years of frugal spirit reared its head at this time.
"It… truly does sound strange when putting the pieces together."
The girls nodded with strained expressions.
"I have considered one possibility. Viscount Rovenne's and Viscount Moonlit's families have known each other for so long, then it should be true that Allen-kun and Duid-kun have known each other from childhood.
In the countryside far away from anyone's knowledge, they must have sworn together to cultivate their talents and make their names known throughout the kingdom. And now that they have passed the entrance examination for the Royal Academy together, they naturally choose the commoner's dormitory to live together, whose motto is 'unaffected and sincere' which is the recent fad."
With that, Makite-san finished his story.
Wow, it's off by such a long shot that even I felt moved by his words. Was this how those baseless, cryptic rumors about me started......?
"T-Then, Duid-sama is Allen Rovenne-sama's......"
"......Close friend since childhood."
"Living frugally in the commoner's dormitory to not be swayed by money and working together with Allen-sama, this only makes him another hidden heroic candidate, doesn't it?"
Crap. Maybe others had also started picking up the strange vibe from here as they strained their ears and concentrated mana to enhance their hearing.
I knew I couldn't let it go on. This bizarre misunderstanding would surely lower the credibility of Makite-san if others picked up on it, and that would be unpleasant to see, considering how he had been kind to me.
I lost the optimal time to reveal my true name, but I guess there was no stopping this now. I decided to bite the bullet and followed up.
"Err, it's really an amusing hypothesis, Makite-san. But I think you're misunderstanding the facts."
Makite-san didn't look offended when I interjected, my tone lower than usual, as he shifted his amicable gaze to me.
"Oh, do you also have something new to add? I know what I had talked about just now is mere speculation after all. It's fine, speak freely!"
Better now than never. I feigned calmness and spoke in a casual tone while revealing my identity.
"I should apologize to you, Makite-san! Actually I'm that Allen! It was kind of hard to say, so I stayed quiet. Ahahahaha, hahaha… haha......"
I tried to stay calm, but the girls stared at me as if they couldn't wait to poke holes into me with their stares alone. Hell, if anything, I was picking up a vibe similar to being caught up in the dark side of a religious war. Their hazy eyes were staring at me with frigid looks, as if saying 'How dare you heathen dare to blasphemy our great god’. Oh my god, what's with them!?
On the flip side, Makite-san chuckled in amusement.
"Pork-kun. I'm really glad to see you decided to participate in the conversation now. But you know, it takes more than one meeting to typically laugh at someone's joke. I'm sure you can do better with more training."
"No, I really wasn't joking."
"Pork-kun, you should take more pride in your name! I wouldn't discredit your feelings, since I can relate to them, but don't stray from the path too much. I’m sure there will come a day when you’ll understand the depth of your parents’ love!"
…………
◆◆◆
As the bustle in the gathering was reaching its peak, Kate, the glasses-wearing girl giving off an aura of a class president, entered into the banquet hall through the side door on the right, much like how Allen had entered.
She had fallen behind her schedule due to some family circumstance. So after entering the hall, she picked a glass of orange juice and walked in the direction of the hosts, Jeu and Fey.
Her family, the Salquamp, was a tad different from the typical noble family. They were court nobles without any peerage, and her family had been holding the position of Historian for generations, recording down the events of history happening in the continent, starting from the Yuglia royal family.
As someone who had grown up in the Royal Capital, she was acutely familiar with the types of banquet hall like Rune Makize and knew where the dishes and drinks would have been placed. Plus, hierarchy-wise, her family was a simple Baron family, so she didn't ask any servant for help as she briskly walked down and picked whatever she wanted by herself.
"Allen?...... What’s he doing here?"
She had been just walking down when she heard a group of around 40 people letting out gasps at the new revelation about Allen Rovenne, and Allen had been hearing all this with dead fish-like eyes while holding a plate with desserts piled up on it, quite an informal scene for a formal gathering.
She also heard one of them calling him ‘Pork’.
"?? You and your antics never end, huh?......."
◆◆◆
"Sorry, it took me a while to arrive."
"Hey, it's fine. I'm glad to see you here. Also, the dress looks fabulous on you."
Following Kate’s greeting, Fey complimented Kate on her black dress, adorned with subtle glitters.
"Fufu, thank you for the invitation. You look no less stunning in your sequin camisole dress as well."
"Thanks."
"It's been a while, Kate-san. The brooch on you makes a nice accessory. It’s beautiful, just like the color of your eyes. There are quite a lot of people who want to meet you. Have you been finally freed from teaching your little brother?"
In contrast to Fey, Jeu was wearing a light pink, one-piece afternoon dress with a modest neckline and a hemline that reached her ankles, keeping her skin mostly covered.
"Your choice is as classy as ever huh, Jeu? You look fantastic.
Yeah, I barely made it through, so I’ll return to the dormitory straight from here. But sheesh, that little one really only knows to give others rough times. Would you know, he skipped studying just a while ago, and would always feign dumb whenever you asked him something? Then he has the cheek to study all of a sudden.
Did he really think I'm free just for him? And dear goodness, his inspiration even comes from Allen's performance during the Rising Star Cup. Well, there's still one and a half years until his turn, so maybe he might make it if he keeps the same pace. Though, as his big sister, it's really not a nice feeling to know who his role model is. —Anyway, did you notice that?"
"Fufu, it must have been rough for you, Kate-san. But excuse me, what do you mean by 'that'?"
Jeu seemed to have no idea what Kate was talking about and tilted her head. Kate sighed and pointed toward the huge crowd that had formed nearby the food and drinks table, looking exhilarated for some reason.
"They're calling him Pork."
Fey and Jeu turn around to look at where Kate was pointing and notice a familiar figure, chewing on chocolate cake while making all sorts of expressions. Like a gourmet who was taste-testing the food.
"......Heehee~. That's quite an unexpected scene. Everyone, since Allen seems to be busy eating cake, how about we greet him?"
E/N - F for Allen. This is how BL fanfics about you start.