The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 04: Academy Enrollment

Chapter 04: Academy Enrollment

Several more years had passed since I began blacksmithing. At last, the spring of my fifteenth year arrived.

“Everyone’s crying their eyes out like crazy.”

“Big brooo…! Don’t gooo!”

“Yeah! Without you, we’ll never survive Mom’s training!”

“You were our only source of comfort, big brother! I hate the noble academy!”

“You know all of you are gonna have to attend it too, right?”

It was the morning of my departure, the carriage waiting out front.

My little sisters—still hopelessly clingy—were bawling in unison.

Being loved this much felt good, sure, but it also left me a little lonely.

As I thought that, my parents stepped over.

“Alright, break it up! Shoo, brats, shoo!”

“Gyaah! Mom, come on!”

“Mom, you’re the real mother-con here! Learn to let him go!”

“Don’t let her hog big brother all to herself!”

“I said scatter!”

With the overwhelming power gap, my sisters didn’t stand a chance—Mom flicked them all away like flies. Just because this world had flipped gender roles didn’t mean she had to rough up her daughters like that…

Then, Mom turned to me with a smile.

“…You’ve really grown, Tect. So, can you smith properly now?”

“Yeah. Yesterday my master bawled her eyes out while telling me I’d graduated as a full-fledged smith.”

“Good. Then go with confidence. Oh, right. The young lady of our lord’s house is supposed to be enrolling this year too, so if you see her, mind your manners.”

“Yeah, I know. We used to be close back in the day, so I’ll just treat her normally.”

I felt a little nostalgic. The lord’s daughter of the castle—she was the daughter of the local lord.

Because Mom was a high-ranking knight, I’d met that girl when we were kids. I remembered her as small and cute—just a hazy childhood memory.

Even if we got close now, our families weren’t a match, so I couldn’t exactly make her one of my wives. I’d have to get ridiculously strong and pick up plenty of commoner girls instead.

…Come to think of it, at the Noble Academy there probably weren’t many commoner girls at all. Maybe a scholarship student or two? Mostly other knight daughters, I guessed.

While I was lost in that thought, Dad stepped forward.

“Tect. You’ve always been weirdly obsessed with women’s work… but you know hardships are coming for you, right?”

“I know, Dad.”

Dad knew about my duty to take ten wives. I figured his words were meant to encourage me.

Instead, he said, 

“If you fail at getting married, you’ll die penniless—so do your best. But don’t just fawn over women all the time. Nobles’ men are trash, but if you make enemies, you’re done. Be careful.”

I suddenly felt like I should talk with Dad more seriously. Up to now, I’d been thinking only about getting stronger and hadn’t learned how to fit into the guys’ world at all.

It hit me that this was bad. Real bad. But I had no choice—do it I must. I’d try my hardest.

“Alright, everyone—I’m off.”

“Have a safe trip!!”

And with that, I climbed into the carriage, leaving my home behind while my family reluctantly saw me off.

After several days of carriage travel, I finally arrived at the Noble Academy.

“Whoa… that’s amazing.”

We crested a small hill, then rolled down the slope. Beyond it, the academy came into view.

It looked less like a school and more like a sprawling castle, countless spires stabbing into the sky with a whole student town sprawling at its base.

Surrounding it were forests, wide open plains, even jagged mountains—an abundance of nature in every direction.

No doubt about it—if anywhere had the materials I needed for special weapons, it was here. My chest thumped with excitement.

I leaned out the carriage window, drinking it all in—

When suddenly, I spotted something near the trees.

“Hm…? Excuse me, could you stop here?”

I asked the driver, and she pulled over by the woods. I hopped down and walked closer.

There, I found a girl—probably another new student like me.

“Uuugh… they left me behind… Should’ve known a cheap shared carriage was a bad idea…”

She had long black hair with bangs that nearly covered her eyes, the academy uniform under a sturdy hooded cloak, and a rose pinned at her chest.

Cheap shared carriage? That was usually for commoners—or struggling nobles trying not to stand out.

I glanced back at the one I’d ridden in. Mine was a proper private carriage.

“…Ah.”

Right, that’s it! I’d basically been treated like a girl from my past life and given a proper carriage to ride in! Ugh, thinking about it that way feels kinda gross. Embarrassing, even!

Come to think of it, my sisters always had to ride in rougher carriages, didn’t they? Man, this sucks. Getting better treatment than the girls makes my skin crawl.

While I was stuck in those thoughts, the girl suddenly noticed me.

“Huh?”

I cleared my throat, forcing myself back to normal, and called out.

“Um, are you okay? You looked like you might be in trouble.”

“Hyah! A-A b-b-boy!? N-No, I-I-I’m not suspicious or anything, I swear!”

Her long bangs drooped over her face as she panicked, waving her hands frantically. I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“I’m not suspicious of you. You’re a new student too, right?”

I mean, she was a girl—why would I even doubt her?

…Wait. No. That’s exactly why, isn’t it? Right, this was a chastity-reversed world. My brain kept glitching over it…

As I wrestled with that thought, the girl hurriedly explained herself.

“I-I was riding a shared carriage to the academy, but during the last rest stop I went to relieve myself and—somehow—they forgot me and left me behind…!”

“Ah, I see. Yeah, that’s definitely a problem. Walking, it’s still a long way from here.”

Well, not as long as the distances I usually ran during training. Stamina wasn’t much affected by magic, so for an untrained girl it’d be a brutal trek.

So, I made her an offer.

“Then, wanna ride in my carriage?”

“Eh…? Ah, um, i-is that… really okay…?”

“Of course. Helping each other out is important.”

After all, my goal was to become the ultimate super-gentleman—strong, kind, and dependable, always rushing in to protect girls in trouble. Without that, I’d never pull off being a knight with a harem.

Even aside from that, it was only natural to be kind to girls.

I held out my hand to her.

“I’m Protelclus—but everyone calls me Tect. What’s your name?”

“M-My name is… Wiz Delphia.”

I took her hand and helped her up. It was so delicate, so slender. Aside from their magic, girls really were fragile creatures.

“…I-I-I held hands with a boy. I actually h-held hands with… w-with… w-with a boy…!”

“Uh, miss?”

“H-Hyah! I-I mean! Y-Yes!”

I couldn’t help but smile wryly—this girl had been panicking nonstop since the start.

“C’mon, you’re riding the carriage, right? Hop in already.”

“Y-Yes! R-Right away!”

Flustered, Wiz scrambled to grab her luggage and hurried into my carriage.