I didn't want to update today since Sage_of_Eyes and SBK updated yesterday on SB. But I don't want to have this sitting down doing nothing, so here it is.

Reiki: Hachiman has the mentality of someone his physical age, maybe one or two years above but that's it. If you counted his previous life he would have an added age of around 31 though. But he isn't immune to the screwing up of puberty.

Dimiel: As mentioned on chapter 1, this is pre-canon Hachiman. A few years living in this world + what I said above brought out this version of him. He died to Yukinoshita's car running him over.

That's all. This chapter is pretty chill, so just enjoy.

"―Which made the popularity of King Ernestus pummel even more. One year later he was executed, before the unrest even hit its all-time point ironically enough, and this made the nobility tighten their hold on the trade routes even more. Not two weeks…" Sophia's rant kept going uninterrupted while Hachiman carefully kept the skirt of her dress lifted up enough so it wouldn't get all soggy.

Claes' not so-secret spot to cultivate her vegetables had a fountain just close enough to hang out around without being interrupted. Hachiman suspected it was there to begin with so the girl didn't have to go too far to get water, since it was so randomly built in such a place, but he never saw her use it for that so he wasn't sure.

Nonetheless, it served as a spot for the Ascart siblings to be on their own while the ditzy lady worked on her plants. No one would see Sophia getting her feet in the water and having fun like a kid should while Hachiman tended to her.

She insisted they should study for the upcoming exams though. And although Hachiman didn't understand how that could be considered fun, he was not one to decide how his little sister spent her time.

"Ok. So what did you understand from that?" Hachiman asked after Sophia stopped reading.

She put a finger between the pages she read and closed the book, holding it close to her body while kicking water here and there.

"That King Enestus wasn't particularly bright." Sophia stated "He was also of the Claes lineage."

"Did you call?" Claes popped her head from behind the fountain's main statue of a cherub with a vase. She still wore her working uniform, and looked rather dirty.

"Please tell me you didn't enter the water like that." Hachiman looked around Sophia's fit to see if any filth had gotten to her.

"I'm tip-toeing on the edge!" Claes looked rather proud of herself, before pushing herself back to a proper standing position and jumping off to the ground proper.

Seeing her without Campbell started being weird sometime around his own meeting with the blonde girl, as she was always around to pamper Claes and treat her to homemade food made with love and care for the gluttonous gorilla girl only.

Such a pure-hearted show of affection was too much for Hachiman to handle on a daily basis, but he still felt like something was missing when Claes wandered around without her not so-secret girlfriend already.

"Katarina-sama, have your studies gone well?" Sophia smiled at the ho-wielding girl approaching her, taking her feet out of the water and placing her hand on Hachiman's as a signal to release her skirt when she was on dry stone.

"Yeah! Everyone helps me study whenever they can, so I'm confident I'll make it in time for the tests." Claes puffed her chest, proud of having her circle of friends on speed dial when she needed to learn things quickly.

To be fair, if Hachiman could actually make friends he would do the same thing. It was the closest to having the internet at the tip of his hand like in his previous life. Just living people replacing the search engine and the online encyclopedia. The only downsides were the need to interact and keep a stable friendship with knowledgeable enough people at all times, the fact that it wouldn't help in physical practice, and the fact that it wouldn't help in magical practice either.

The first one was a no-brainer. Even if Hachiman thought about having these people replace his smartphone even after leaving the academy, the energy wasted on them would end up being too much. Maybe he wasn't the sharpest mind in the school, not even close when the princes were around, and compulsory school rotted his mind to the point the long winded private lectures were too much for his mind, but he wasn't dumb by any stretch of the word.

Sure, he would get in trouble due to his relatively short attention span. But that wasn't his fault at all. The modern world required more and more things to be done in shorter amounts of time, so information was compartmentalized and actions and processes streamlined. Even with Japan's work ethic of pushing more and more hours deep at work, Hachiman's mind simply ended up wired differently from the people of this world.

It was unthinkable that he would sit through the private tutor's lecture for hours on end, and although his ability to process and simplify information was considered outstanding in this world, the reality was that it was normal for his world and this world's education was way too boring for him to put more effort in it.

In the end, being rich was the ultimate cheat ability. Making it possible for him to think about this serious problem as a simple annoyance since he only would need to become the Prime Minister one day…

…

Yeah, screw that noise. He was still in serious trouble. But hey. He wasn't dumb, he would make it in time.

Probably, hopefully.

"Really?" Sophia's innocence was boundless. She actually believed this ditzy girl had things sorted out instead of just slacking by working on her field instead of actually studying.

"Y-Yeah, totally." Claes chuckled awkwardly, switching her weight between her feet as if to buy herself some time.

It was a good thing Claes was also rich. And that the academy couldn't fail her due to her laughable magical ability. Which Hachiman knew had its uses, but he could fly! Well, glide. Since he hadn't figured out how to keep himself airborne and lift up like birds. But Claes' magical power in comparison was non-existent.

True, he spent a ridiculous amount of time practicing his magic. But in Hachiman's defense, having magic was, is, and will always be way too cool for anyone his age to pass the opportunity to get it for themselves.

Having a grown man yelling at you about posture and strength, while later on having him coming at you with a stick was scarier than anticipated. But having a grown man yelling at you to concentrate? To see your fingertips gather power beyond reality and command an element of nature to do your bidding? Way too cool. Hachiman needed it. And honestly the prospect of being a mage carried his mind through the initial weeks and months of having reincarnated.

Magic was a part of him, as much as his original name was. He just couldn't imagine himself losing his power anymore.

"How is Nicol-sama? Are classes alright?" Claes tried throwing him under the bus to divert attention, but that only worked with more people than just his little sister.

"They are alright."

"Really? No problems at all?" Yes, Claes. He was actually able to catch up. Unlike some other people.

"No." He might never actually catch up in things like swordsmanship, but that was fine.

It was the sport of the nobles, or close to it at least. His modern sensibilities got in the way of learning. So once he got the gist of it, it was already a bit too late. Sparring with the prince didn't help, and Claes was unable to teach anything to save her life. But Hachiman wouldn't fail the physical tests in any case either.

It was fine. He conquered that fear some time ago. But the people that continued to polish their skills would always be better than him with the blade. In turn, his magic reigned supreme in his year and only a certain someone really stood above his weight class in terms of magic.

He remembered Claes' question. At the time he was the one closest to enrolling, but Claes' worries already played out since back then.

He remembered the two people she was anxious about, namely her brother and her fiancé. One an all-around genius, and the other a magical prodigy.

If things turned out really ugly, what would he do? In a serious fight, Hachiman might be powerful enough to beat the prince with his wind magic. But Keith Claes was a different kind of beast. One that no amount of talent could beat.

Capable of conjuring earth golems that would make any kaiju lover wet their pants in excitement, which would be funny if Hachiman wasn't trying to measure up if his wind magic could even scratch the constructs.

Claes could beat prince Gerald too. Maybe not if he combined swordsmanship with magic, but she would be able to defend herself. But no amount of sword-to-magic training would help against the younger Claes, not in a way Hachiman could see at least.

"Nii-sama?"

"Hmmm?"

Hachiman snapped out of his thoughts when Sophia pulled at the hem of his shirt. What was he thinking about?

"Are you alright?" Sophia's cuteness was amplified by her worried expression. But Hachiman felt a bit too out of the loop to really appreciate it.

Why was he thinking about that?

"Yeah, totally fine." He had been quite on edge recently too. This wasn't the first time his thoughts went in that direction.

Had he burned himself more than expected when he shooed Hunt away from the lovebirds? He thought he had time to put things behind him, but maybe he was being too optimistic.

Even after years there were injuries that would just keep on hurting. No matter if there was no scar left, or if the body was properly functional. Maybe the soul was the same. Hachiman was not really religious, but having reincarnated did put a big question mark on whether he was just a mind, or a soul, or whatever.

"There, there. It's okay if you're not ready for exams. Let's just keep working hard, okay?" Claes patted his back in an attempt to cheer him out. Her ridiculous strength made each hit feel like he was being bullied into stopping to frown, but he resisted the urge to push the girl aside.

What was wrong with him today?

"I'm kind of stressed out." Hachiman sighed "Too much to get over and review. I was hoping to just relax today."

"Nii-sama, there will be time to relax later. You should be studying." Sophia, as someone wholly used to this world's education, argued. She would never get it, so her argument was more or less invalid "Slacking off is no good!"

"I'm not slacking off, I'm taking some time to cool off." Hachiman retorted "Besides, isn't the prince going to have a tea party soon? Isn't that slacking off from studies?"

"Social gatherings are an important part of life, Nii-sama." Sophia replied with an absurd statement "Connections are important, after all."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Will you go, Nicol-sama?" Claes asked as if not to be left out of the conversation.

"No. Prince Gerald did not invite me." His words made his little sister frown, and the airhead stared at him like he was stupid. Mouth agape "Besides, even if I was invited I would not have gone."

"Eh? Why is that?" Claes asked as if she didn't know the answer already.

"They are boring."

"Ah." She did understand, though. Nodding sagely at him "Don't worry, Nicol-sama. You're not really missing out on anything."

Wow. Just wow.

Hachiman thought he knew death. Yet here he was, seeing Claes murder the image of her fiancée in front of the Ascart siblings. Did she even realize she was being a complete savage to the prince? Like, okay. That sounded like a legit thing to say. But for the people of this world? Just looking at Sophia cover her mouth like something scandalous happened told him. Claes, you should keep your words in check. The guy will not stop being royalty, y'know?

"Ouch." Hachiman held back a chuckle. Instead, he silently prayed for the poor bastard's pride. May it rest in pieces "I didn't know Claes had it in her to run someone in the dirt."

"Nii-sama, were you not aware?" Sophia asked bashfully. Like she was saying something she shouldn't while keeping her mouth hidden behind her history book "Katarina-sama invited Maria-san to the prince's gathering."

"Tsk."

"Did Nicol-sama laugh?" Claes didn't understand, or pretended not to at least.

This was a cold reminder the girl was way more cunning than expected. It was a rude awakening, but Hachiman had to accept he constantly fell for her facade of an airheaded dense girl.

Never mind she invited a commoner to a place royalty itself was summoning high society nobles, but showed how little she actually cared about the prince's persona by inviting her lover to his gathering.

Bold move, Claes. Playing such a curveball would largely be frowned upon, Hachiman knew. But Claes had no qualms of doing it since she probably felt safe enough with the net she built to protect herself with even the other prince, Alan.

Heedless of consequences, maliciously trying to get things her way… Hachiman was almost proud of the girl. Every time he remembered Claes' true nature he was reminded why he liked her so mu―tolerated her antics.

…

Yeah.

"I-Is that so?" Dammit! Why did he get flustered over nothing at all?! "Well, that's… Bound to be an interesting event, right?"

"Yeah! Maria-chan is always so sweet and caring! I'm sure it'll be fun." Hey, Claes. Don't just show off your girlfriend like that! It just helped Hachiman remember he's never had one! Did you want him to get depressed? Because that's how you make a reincarnated boy depressed!