The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife?

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Chapter 38: Event, The Mob, Poolside – Declaration of War

Jelasis quietly sat down next to me without saying a word.

“…”

…Huh!? Why is he sitting next to me?

I deeply regretted leaving Mariana alone after she went off to look for her glasses.

In the midst of an incredibly awkward silence, I glanced at Jelasis.

His expressionless face stared off into the distance, giving off a dangerous vibe as if he was harboring deep, dark secrets.

However, his handsome features made this dangerous aura somewhat irresistible, likely striking a chord with one’s maternal instincts.

His character is crafted to evoke a motherly feeling in the protagonist, with dialogue and scenes where he seems to see her as a mother figure.

“You’ve got an impressive physique.”

He suddenly said to me.

“Eh? Oh, haha, yeah.”

I had decided not to interact with the characters meant to be pursued in the game, so I was at a loss for words.

I don’t talk to the boys at school at all, so being suddenly spoken to, I had no idea how to respond and panicked.

If this were a battle, I’d rely on strength to communicate.

If facing an enemy soldier, I’d use interrogation.

But I was never taught how to talk to students in the Brave household, and I hardly remember having conversations in my past school life, which left me flustered.

It felt like I was the very definition of a background character.

“Where did you get such scars?”

“From the Brave territory.”

I gave a harmless reply.

It’s normal for a battle-hardened soldier’s body to be covered in scars from enemies, and since those from the Brave family have a higher survival rate, it’s natural for me to have these.

Of course, I’ve also got plenty of scars from monsters, not just enemy soldiers.

I wondered if I should wear a hoodie like Jelasis next to me to avoid scaring others, but since Alicia, my fiancée, doesn’t hide her scars, I shouldn’t be sneaky about it either.

These scars are a badge of honor.

They’re proof of my life.

“A territory always at war with neighboring countries? Your muscles are impressive, you look strong.”

“You too.”

Up close, Jelasis in his swimsuit looked much more toned compared to the immature students at the academy, giving off a popular guy vibe.

The handsome characters designed to be pursued in the illustrations all have been practicing magic and swordsmanship from a young age, and all have athletic builds. However, Jelasis seemed to be of especially high quality even among them.

It wasn’t apparent when he was clothed, but he seemed even more solidly built than the son of the chancellor character, who is known for his swordsmanship.

“It’s probably the result of my family’s upbringing.”

“We both have our struggles, don’t we?”

“…”

And then, time flowed awkwardly again.

This is so awkward, Sebas!

What should I do in a situation like this!?

I was thinking about how to make friends, but I never expected someone to actually start a conversation with me.

Mariana, Alicia, please come back soon.

But then again, even if they came back, Mariana wouldn’t approach, and Alicia probably wouldn’t want to talk to Patricia’s faction.

How can I end this conversation?

Should I move somewhere else?

But I was the first to sit down, and giving up my seat now would be annoying.

While I was thinking this, Jelasis spoke up again.

“Have you ever held hands?”

“Ha?”

What’s with this all of a sudden?

“Ever been hugged?”

“No.”

“Ever been loved?”

Suddenly, he bombarded me with questions.

As Jelasis leaned in closer, I remembered, “Ah, this is the kind of guy he was in the game.”

When the protagonist advances Jelasis’s route, he, who had kept a certain distance from others, starts showing interest as if his previous attitude was a lie, bombarding the protagonist with questions.

This phase is called “Jelasis’s whatever phase.”

The naming sense is terrible, but skipping the flow of conversation to bombard with questions truly fits the “whatever phase” description.

It’s so out of the blue it could almost be considered scary.

And he always ends up saying, “You’re interesting.”

“You’re interesting.”

Hearing those words, I was in despair.

The fact that Jelasis said this meant that the “whatever phase” event with me was progressing.

Why?

We hadn’t interacted at all since I enrolled, so why is this happening?

It feels like a bug.

And it’s all because of Patricia being in the protagonist’s position.

She’s the reason he’s bugging out.

Well, my existence is also a reason for the scenario bug.

But, it’s a bit too much to blame it all on that short girl with the small chest, so maybe I should seriously look into the cause of this situation.

He’s the son of the Ignite family, who sent assassins after me and Alicia, so it makes sense to be wary of him, right? There must be something going on behind the scenes.

“Hey, do you enjoy bombarding people with questions?”

“Sorry.”

“…”

This conversation is going nowhere.

It seems I responded to his questions incorrectly.

I understand he’s designed to be this silent, mysterious character with a dark aura, but facing him in person is just exhausting.

“Why don’t you go back? Your friends are waiting for you…”

Go home, Jelasis.

You don’t belong here.

The reverse harem is where you should be.

“I was just kinda curious about you.”

As I urged him to leave, he finally dropped a voice line like those you get when you’ve really increased his favorability, and it almost drove me crazy.

This is what happens when Jelasis undergoes a sudden change, leaving the protagonist confused and asking, “What’s gotten into you?”

It’s a line from Jelasis right before he tries to kiss the protagonist out of sheer curiosity, leading to a heart-racing moment.

However, the protagonist rejects him due to the suddenness of the act, leading to a scene where she teaches Jelasis that you can’t just kiss someone out of the blue.

That’s how it was supposed to be, but the last thing I needed was for people around us to see two guys at the poolside getting too close for comfort.

If Alicia sees this and gets the wrong idea, it would be a disaster.

Disgraceful, really.

I should just quietly deliver a Brave-style rejection punch to that handsome face of his. I don’t care about his noble status or if he’s an enemy.

“Hey, what do you like about Alicia?”

Jelasis whispered in my ear, his face too close to mine.

“Why you? You’re not even supposed to be here.”

“Huh―?”

Before I could grasp the meaning of his words, I noticed Jelasis beginning to radiate magical power.

That’s when I realized I had encountered this source of magic recently.

“…The guy from the dungeon?”

“What if I am? You gonna make a scene here?”

I remembered when Jelasis evaporated Ekaterina’s water ball with a fireball without chanting.

At the time, I hadn’t paid it much attention, but the academy doesn’t teach chantless magic, and even if he were a target character, he wouldn’t be able to use it.

I should’ve been suspicious from that moment.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“It’s a declaration of war. You’re not worthy of Alicia.”

“Bring it on.”

Faced with his demonic smile and declaration of war, I honestly thought about ending him right there.

But then, members of the reverse harem called out to him.

“Jelasis, you’re not good with water either, right? Let’s practice together?”

“Hey Jelasis, what are you doing alone? Come over here!”

“I’ll be right there. I hate swimming, but I’ll try for Patricia.”

Everyone around started paying attention to me and Jelasis.

Because of Alicia’s position, I couldn’t cause a scene.

I promised to endure it at the academy.

“So, the two of you haven’t kissed yet, right?”

Seemingly anticipating this, Jelasis whispered quietly before diving into the pool.

“Jelasis, what were you talking about with that guy?”

“Miss Ekaterina was bothering them again.”

“Is that so? You helped them out, that’s very kind of you.”

“Good job, Jelasis. We shouldn’t tolerate discrimination at the academy.”

The reverse harem guys were having a great time.

“…I’m seriously going to kill, right now.”

I surprised myself with how deep and serious my voice sounded.

This declaration of war was pretty blatant.

Why are you, who have flags set with Patricia, targeting Alicia?

It makes no sense, being part of the reverse harem.

I’ve been watching them since I enrolled, and Patricia was supposed to be following the reverse harem route.

Damn it, more than that…

“―the two of you haven’t kissed yet, right?”

That parting shot echoed over and over in my head.

I couldn’t hold back the murderous intent any longer.

Forget about stopping the romance; my desire to kill was overflowing, almost to the point of lifting all the water in this pool and turning it into some kind of murder attraction.

Alright, alright, bring it on.

Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on.

I was getting tired of being sniffed around in secret.

Facing a declaration of war like this, it’s clear who the enemy is, which is more convenient for me.

“I don’t care anymore, those guys in front of me are the root of all problems. I’ll bring Onyx and burn down their houses—”

“―Hey!”

I was shaking with anger when Alicia hit me on the back of my head, bringing me back to my senses.

“Alicia.”

When I turned around, there she was, like an angel.

Even in a competitive swimsuit, her outstanding proportions were about to break the beast inside me out of its firmly locked cage.

That’s the feeling I had. Grrr.

“What are you muttering about so ominously?”

“Well, there’s someone I kinda want to kill.”

“Did someone from class say something to you? You have to endure it.”

Argh.

But I can’t stay silent when I’m being made fun of.

Darn it.

Alicia, having not heard my conversation with Jelasis, misunderstood something and glared at me, saying,

“Ragna, I heard from Mariana that many boys in your class are getting injured… You haven’t done anything impulsive, have you?”

Uh-oh.

The guys who played nasty pranks on me, I made sure they couldn’t do it again by making it look like accidents—breaking fingers or arms.

Nothing too serious, I thought, as long as it wasn’t discovered… But how did it get out?

Mariana?

Goddamn it, snitching isn’t cool!

“You can’t do it, going wild publicly will only make your situation worse. Especially showing off your power is a big no-no. I can endure whatever is said to me.”

“Woof…”

She pulled out a collar from around her chest area, so I quietly agreed to listen.

Today, I’ll reluctantly wear the collar.

But I won’t forgive that bastard, you know?

There are so many members of the reverse harem; missing one won’t be a problem, right?

“You look dissatisfied, but did you really understand?”

“Woof!”

“Good. And you don’t have to force yourself to wear the collar… You know, because of how it looks to others. This is something the servants gave me to use in case you did something unexpected.”

No, I’ll wear it quietly today.

Otherwise, I can’t calm my anger.

“Fueee, Alicia, do you know where my glasses are? I just got new ones, and now they’re gone! They’re gone!”

“They’re on your head, like a headband…”

“Oh, here they are! As expected of Alicia! My lifesaver!”

“That’s an exaggeration… Why is it that when I’m not looking, all sorts of things…”

By the way, the collar was warm.