ALL NOVEL My plans
When I went back to my seat after being called to the stage, I noticed that the atmosphere had changed. There were gazes of surprise, astonishment, jealousy, malice, and others. I wasn't that surprised since I already knew that this would happen. This was what happened to Riel in the game. As soon as people found out that a mere commoner was, by the academy's standards, better than them, they began to despise him. But what really drove in the nail was the fact that Riel had chosen to be unaffiliated and independent. When some of the arrogant nobles offered Riel a position as a servant, he quickly denied each and every offer. It wasn't because they didn't offer enough, especially since a highly talented commoner would be in high demand as a servant with some even offering him land that was owned by their parents.
But what they didn't know was that Riel had zero interest in those kinds of things. It wasn't that it went against his principles, nor was it out of pride, but rather Riel had zero interest in almost anything at the time. Having lost everything, he was just broken. If I can recall, he even contemplated whether or not living was worth it. In fact, the only reason why he even applied for Aerith was that the knight commander who had taken care of him had urged him to go. Even during his training, Riel wasn't even motivated and merely did what he was told to do. He wouldn't start unless told to, nor did he stop unless told to. There was even an occasion when the knight commander had to leave in the middle of their training and came home to a fatigued and nearly dead Riel that kept on swinging his sword. When asked why he didn't stop, he replied with "Because you didn't tell me to stop".
Because no one knew about that aspect of Riel and that Riel had never bothered to say anything about it, they never offered him anything remotely close to what he wanted. As a result, he was seen as an arrogant and insolent commoner who doesn't know his place. Because of that, he was quickly ostracized and became an outcast. The only one who didn't treat him as such was Tsurugi, but Tsurugi couldn't see him as anything but a rival. Luckily, someone saves Riel from that sad mentality of his, and unfortunately, it had to be Liz.
I didn't expect that Liz would be the heroine, especially when her personality is very different from what you'd expect from a noble. She's clumsy, frank, brash, and airheaded, but I guess she seems to be an outlier of some sort. Even though I already knew that the heroine's personality was unpredictable because, in the game, the heroine's personality was determined by the player's choices which meant that in one playthrough the player could be the prime example of a noble, but in another, we could've had Liz. And to make it worse, there were no illustrations or pictures of the heroine. In all of the cutscenes, the heroine had never been in any of them. This meant that the only piece of information one could use to identify the heroine was the fact that she was the only daughter of the Harmonia Family, and I did not expect her to be the heroine at all.
And just when I've resolved to not get involved with any of the main cast, especially the heroine, I've already met the worst of them all. As for Tsurugi, well, he doesn't have any hostility towards me, so I count him as safe, but in Liz's case, I've even fallen for her. Wait a minute, what if I give up on her? I mean, I'm pretty sure that she doesn't think of me like that at all, in fact, she treats me just like how one of my friends in my past life had treated me. And I don't think that I'm that in love with her, especially when we haven't even known each other for that long. Let's face it, this was probably some childish crush that I have because of teenage hormones, I am at that age after all. Plus, even if I were to actually go for her, it'd probably end up like how most of my crushes ended up, being friendzoned. And lastly, I do not want to get involved in that mess called "The Great (Reverse)Harem War", a war fought between two or more people who have fallen in love with the same person. When I think about how all of them are high-ranking nobles, with one of them being the Royal Prince, I become 1oo% sure that I do not want to get involved with that mess. Speaking of which, I wonder what Tsurugi thinks of her.
"Hey, Tsurugi." (Riel)
"Yes, Master?" (Tsurugi)
"I told you to stop with the Mast—ugh forget it! Anyways, what do you think of Elizabeth?" (Riel)
"Well, she seems like a good fit for Master." (Tsurugi)
"W-what are you saying?!" (Riel)
"Well, doesn't that girl like Master?" (Tsurugi)
"There's no way that's possible." (Riel)
"If Master says so, but don't you like her though?" (Tsurugi)
"W-what?! N-no way!" (Riel)
"Sigh, if Master says so." (Tsurugi)
"You—sigh, forget it. I'm asking if you like her or anything." (Riel)
"Me? Well, I do think she's pretty, but that's pretty much it. Besides, I wouldn't dare compete against Master." (Tsurugi)
"You, you just, ah forget about it!" (Riel)
You know, for a person that calls me Master, he seems to be a pretty cheeky student.
"But anyway, it's impressive that you managed to get first place in every category. I already knew that you were gonna be first place in the combat part, but I didn't expect you to get first place in the others as well." (Tsurugi)
"Well, even I didn't expect to get first place either." (Riel)
"You know Master, humility is a virtue, but I think you're overdoing it a bit too much." (Tsurugi)
"But I wasn't lying. I really didn't expect it." (Riel)
"Now I'm beginning to think that you downplay yourself." (Tsurugi)
"Really? I don't think so." (Riel)
"Now I'm sure that this is all just an act." (Tsurugi)
"No it's not!" (Riel)
"Yes it is." (Tsurugi)
"Hey Yoru, Haru, what do you guys think?" (Riel)
"I agree with Tsurugi-sama, Riel-sama is undervaluing yourself so much that it feels fake." (Haru)
"I too agree with Tsurugi-sama. However, if it is false, I suggest that Riel-sama should thoroughly reevaluate yourself." (Yoru)
These three really flatter me. Maybe I am undervaluing myself just a bit too much, but I can't really take full credit here. After all, 90% of it is this body and not me.
"I don't know about that, but I guess I'll keep it in mind." (Riel)
But still, it doesn't hurt having people praise you.