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 16: Like Cats and Dogs

Chapter 16: Like Cats and Dogs

My relationship with Aegis went all the way back to childhood.

Back then, my mother was racking up medals left and right for her exploits on the battlefield, and she happened to be on good terms with the lord of the castle. Because of that, my family was often invited inside the castle grounds.

“Tect!”

Normally, girls didn’t get many chances to hang out with boys. And among nobles, those chances were even rarer. Maybe that was why Aegis got unusually attached to me.

“Tect! Wanna go climb trees together!?”

“Tect! Doesn’t it look amazing to jump off this waterfall!?”

“Tect! A monster showed up! Let’s kill it!”

Looking back, Aegis had been an absolute wild-child princess. 

At first her sisters played along, too, but one by one they dropped out… and in the end I was the only one still running errands and playing with her.

Aegis had always been ridiculously strong—despite her slender little arms, she could beat monsters to a pulp without breaking a sweat. Her bloodline was famous for that: their bodies naturally amplified physical strength with magic even without casting spells, which gave them that oddly delicate-but-powerful build.

On top of that, she specialized in physical-enhancement magic—so she wasn’t really a “small girl” so much as a “tiny giant.”

“I’m not a ‘tiny giant,’ thank you very much. My bloodline’s title is The Little Fortress. Don’t go mixing it up, okay?”

I didn’t really get the nuance, but apparently that distinction mattered to her.

Since Aegis was the firstborn daughter of Marquess Aragonia’s legal wife—the one who actually held the household’s real power—she’d been doted on nonstop growing up.

Maybe that was why, whenever my family visited the castle, Aegis would call for me by name and drag me off. My sisters used to rage about it, yelling, “Don’t let her monopolize Tect with raw political power!”

It had been a while since I’d seen her, though—supposedly she’d been busy.

“Didn’t think you’d actually place first in the entrance exams.”

“Ehehe, I know, right? While we couldn’t meet, I worked hard polishing myself as a woman.”

We got caught up chatting about old times, and before I knew it we were laughing like no time had passed.

Meanwhile, someone else sat there like the embodiment of pure void.

“…”

Wiz stared at me with a blank, deadpan expression.

And wow—the atmosphere turned awkward fast. Both Wiz and Aegis were my friends, but whatever tension was simmering between them wasn’t going to evaporate on its own.

“W-Well, uh, that’s how it is. Aegis is my childhood friend.”

“…I see…” Wiz muttered, sounding like she might actually crumble into dust.

…Was she okay? She looked so drained it worried me.

Then Aegis suddenly spoke up.

“And of course, I’m his fiancée~♡”

“Bwah—” “Haaaah!?”

I nearly spat my drink, and Wiz shot to her feet, absolutely furious.

“W-Wha—wha-wha-wha-wha—!?”

“What’s wrong, little gloomy girl? You sound like some outdated pop song.”

“I am not gloomy! And we already introduced ourselves, remember!? I’m Wiz! Wiz Delphia! Get it into your head!”

“Eh~? Sorry, I can’t be bothered to remember the name of some weak gloomy girl who let a boy get hurt, even with a fancy bloodline title.”

“Ghh—grrhhhhh…!”

Wiz ground her teeth, glaring daggers at Aegis, while Aegis smirked and provoked her even more.

I’d suspected it, but yeah—these two had terrible chemistry. Aegis was sunny and sharp-tongued; Wiz leaned more toward the introverted side. Oil and water.

Not to mention, the bench we’d been sitting on earlier was still in splinters. Pretty sure Wiz didn’t do that. That had to be Aegis picking a fight and wrecking it in the process. She’d always been rough with other girls.

So now the three of us were sitting on the bench next to it. And if anyone asked what happened to the first bench, I planned to play dumb.

For now, I decided to back Wiz up.

“Aegis, I don’t know where you heard about that injury, but it was just a scratch—so small I didn’t even notice it during the fight. The only reason I stayed in the infirmary was because everyone was being overly protective.”

“Tect, you could be gushing blood from your head and still call it a scratch. Forgive me if I don’t trust your judgment.”

“Even though I appreciate you defending me, that wound was a serious injury. Hospitalizing you was the correct decision.” 

“…Wait, why did I suddenly end up surrounded on all sides?”

Seriously. I’d stuck up for Wiz, and now she was glaring at me too.

“And what’s this about being his fiancée!?” 

Wiz snapped, zeroing in on the one topic she refused to ignore.

Aegis puffed up proudly.

“A fiancée is a fiancée! Tect and I are lovers who promised our future to each other~!”

“Grhh… grrhhhhh…”

“Wiz is… glitching like a broken robot…”

I cleared my throat, ignored Aegis’s nonsense, and explained properly to Wiz.

“That was just a childhood thing. A silly promise we made when we didn’t even understand what social ranks meant. Don’t take it seriously.”

“Whaaaaaat!? Tect, do you hate me!? You won’t marry me!?”

“This isn’t about feelings. It’s about status. A marquess’s daughter from a prestigious bloodline can’t just marry the son of a knight.”

The difference in rank was too big. Between Wiz and me it was basically negligible—but with Aegis, marriage was flat-out impossible.

“Muuu! If you’re gonna be mean like that, Tect, then take this!”

“Whoa—”

Aegis suddenly hopped right onto my lap.

Thanks to her insane magical body-strength, her movements were sharp and fast—but her weight was exactly what her tiny frame suggested. She was light. Really light.

“Heh. Prime seating.”

“You spoiled little princess.”

I just shrugged at her smug satisfaction. Honestly, it wasn’t worth making a fuss over.

“W-Wh-Wh…”

That’s when I noticed Wiz looking like she’d just taken a bullet.

“…Wiz, you okay?”

“W-What do you mean, am I okay!? Of course I’m not! H-How can you just sit there letting some little brat plop herself on your lap like it’s nothing!?”

“Well, this much is fine, isn’t it?”

She’s light. And cute.

Aegis shot Wiz a victorious grin.

“Up until now, maybe you thought you had Tect all to yourself—like some senior princess with her own harem or something. But sorry, nope. Tect is my Tect!”

“Blood Rose—”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

I stopped Wiz as she tried pulling her rose staff out from her chest pocket.

“Wiz, no. You can’t just whip out weapons like that.”

“This little brat is tiny. If I used the Blood Rose staff, I could squash her like a goblin.”

“That’s exactly why you can’t do it.”

“Excuse me? Are you underestimating The Little Fortress? You think something strong enough to beat a goblin could beat me? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Aegis, don’t take the bait either.”

The two girls were locked in a glare-off, sparks practically flying, and I had absolutely no idea where to put myself.

Hoping to steer the conversation away from a duel, I sighed, pulled the folded blueprint from my pocket, and started skimming it.

Aegis immediately perked up.

“Oh, that’s not the same design you showed me before.”

“Yeah. The last one’s already finished. This is the next project.”

“You finished it!? Ah, I see… so that’s what the whole Orc Forest thing was about.”

She nodded like everything suddenly made sense—only for Wiz to latch onto that.

“Wait—this brat actually knows about the pile bunker!?”

Before I could answer, Aegis jumped in with a smug grin.

“Of course I know. I was the one funding the materials, aside from the high-purity magic stone. By the way, Tect, you even showed your inventions to this gloomy girl?”

Two pairs of not-so-happy eyes drilled into me. Sitting there felt like being roasted alive. So I decided—might as well put everything on the table.

“…Aegis, can I count on your help for this next invention too? I’ve made almost zero progress so far.”

“Of course you can! You can lean on me as much as you want, my Tect ♡”

“Wh-What!? T-Tect!?”

Aegis beamed proudly while Wiz went into full-blown panic mode.

I turned to Wiz as well.

“I want you to keep helping me too, Wiz. Even if the blueprints don’t work out perfectly, you’ve got the knowledge to figure things out, right?”

“Y-Yes! I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”

“…What’s with this gloomy girl? She’s more capable than I expected.”

Wiz’s teary-eyed smile earned a pouty glare from Aegis.

As they both watched me ask for their help, the air between them tightened with subtle tension.

Then the two of them finally spoke.

“Understood. I don’t like this brat being involved, but if she’s funding the inventions, I can’t ignore that.”

“Haah… well, you’re right. I don’t understand the mechanics of Tect’s inventions anyway. If the gloomy one’s needed, then fine—I won’t get in the way.”

Hearing them grudgingly agree, I gave a firm nod.

“Alright, then let’s get started right after class today. First step—securing a forge.”

“Yes!” “Okay.”

They both nodded at the same time, immediately turned to glare at each other, then both went “hmph!” and looked away in unison.

Still very much like cats and dogs—but at least they’d found a temporary truce.

I lifted Aegis off my lap and stood up.