Completely understandably, both Angie and Clarice had extremely complicated feelings when they found out about me hanging out with the love interests. On the other hand, they both told me that it would be wise to have them as allies politically.

"Regardless of our feelings on the matter, your position in the court would greatly improve by befriending them." Angie said with a sour expression, one she proceeded to cure herself of by hugging Livia. Those two, I swear.

There had been rumors rolling around about Julius and the boys being disinherited by their families for all losing to me at the same time in front of nearly all their peers. However, it didn't come to pass as they didn't utterly humiliate themselves in combat due to the sheer difference in power between them and myself. They had conducted themselves as best as they could against impossible odds. At least, that was the official word from the crown. It reminded me too much of the old corporate-speak back from work in my old life. Spinning things to sound positive just to cover up failures.

I don't know if any of the houses really believed it, but that was how it went. Interesting that there was no mention of Marie at all in the news nor the prospective engagement between myself, Clarice, and-slash-or Angie though.

"So this is what's called the bonding of men?" Raymond asked as he sat next to me at one of the long tables in the Academy library. Daniel was poring some subjects that he was having trouble with, Chris was actually helping him. I had just finished helping Greg with some math, while both Julius and Jilk were absorbed in their own studies.

"Don't be so dramatic. At least be glad that there are more people to help with studies now." I whispered to him. He nodded in realization that some of the top students of our year were actually at our table. In a rare feat of coincidence, Marie wasn't present in our little study session. It seemed that the tiny knockoff had a class that was exclusively for girls only. When I thought about it, I had heard that Livia and Angie were also having that class but I never really paid any attention to the details about it.

"Leon, may I have a moment?" Julius called out as we were about to leave the library. The rest of the boys, which now included Raymond and Daniel I suppose, went on ahead and decided to get some food. Julius led me to one of the more isolated areas of the library. Were there just designated areas here for privacy purposes?

The prince looked at me with a complicated expression, seemingly having trouble getting the words out. I raised a brow and thought about why that was. "Please don't tell me that you're going to ask me to join you five in Marie's boy-harem."

"No! Of course not!" My eyes widened at the indignance in his voice. Julius cleared his throat and recomposed himself. "That is not what I wished to talk to you about."

"Good, because I would've just jumped off the island if you did." I seriously stated with a determined nod.

Julius winced at my words. "Do you hate Marie that much?"

"More petty annoyance at this point. Don't worry, I won't do anything to harm her." I clarified. She still messed up the plot, such as there even was anymore, but I didn't want to hurt her over it or anything. Not anymore, anyway.

"I understand that my love for Marie is not allowable, however–" Julius began with a sad sigh but I interrupted him because he could continue.

"Julius, we've already been through this." I said with a roll of my eyes. Honestly, these guys were always so dramatic at the weirdest times. "I don't care if you love Marie. I don't even care that you're still hanging around her even though you lost, do whatever you want. My problem with you was how you treated Angie, that's it."

"I understand. I hope she finds the happiness she is looking for with you." He responded with a relieved smile. I chose not to comment about how certain he was that I was going to marry Angie. When I thought about it, I remembered that Jilk asked me to make Clarice a happy bride as well when we talked while eating meat skewers. Thanks for making it seem like you two just dumped your ex-fiancées on me while sounding grateful.

"So what was the thing you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, I was getting hungry too and wanted to catch up with the others to eat.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to talk to you in order to warn you about something." Well, that got my attention. "I have heard that my mother wishes to speak with you about what happened in the duel."

"Doesn't she already know? I mean, it was a pretty hot topic for a while." I sighed. She definitely should know all about it. Angie's dad was able to piece everything together in a pretty short amount of time. I was sure that the QUEEN had ways to do the same.

"I believe she wishes to take your measure herself. I apologize in advance, I would have stopped her if I was able." Was I going to be scolded by Julius' mom for bullying him?

"It's fine. It's just a talk with a concerned mother. When should I expect a visit?" I asked instead.

Julius nodded and hummed in thought. "I don't know of any specific dates, but I have a feeling that it would be during the school festival."

"Oh? How do you figure?"

"There will be many more people from outside the Academy visiting and most of the students will be distracted by their own activities. It would likely be an easy task for mother to slip in undetected." He explained. It was true, with everything happening everywhere.

The students weren't actually required to do anything or host activities, but the Academy offered extra credits for effort and success of any student-made attractions. Regardless of time and place, there are fewer things students love more than extra credits.

"That makes sense. Thanks for the warning." I said with a nod. I blinked when the subject actually brought something up I never thought about. "But there is something I'm wondering about."

"What is it?"

"Has your mother ever met or spoken to Marie in person?" I couldn't help but snort in amusement at the faces Julius was making at that moment. I wished that I had a camera. "Ah, looks like I won't be the only one getting a visit from her then."

The rest of the guys worriedly asked why Julius was so pale when we finally caught up to them at the cafeteria. I might not even have been the one in actual hot water when the Queen showed up.

A couple of days later, I finally had a chance to relax and have tea with Angie and Clarice. Livia was originally there as well, but she excused herself in a hurry. When Clarice asked her why she couldn't spare a few minutes to hang out, my best friend just smiled apologetically.

"I'm going to study at the library. There are a few things from Magic Studies that I'm having trouble with." The three of us easily accepted the excuse. Magic Studies was pretty hard, even the material for First Years. It wasn't a surprise that Livia was having challenges with the subject.

"So any advice to not make myself look like an ass in front of the Queen?" I asked my two–Friends? Girlfriends? Angie and Clarice! I asked them while I poured us all some tea.

"Well, Angie would know more about the Queen since she spent a few years learning etiquette at the Palace." Clarice confidently stated as she ate some sweets I prepared.

Angie nodded after thanking me for the tea. "Indeed. As a lesson in propriety and humility, I spent an extended amount of time working as Queen Mylene's personal maid."

Wait, really? A Duke's daughter being told to serve as a maid? How did that even work? Did Angie walk around in a maid unifor–

"You're imagining Angie in a maid uniform aren't you?" My expression was as granite when Clarice asked that question.

"You can't prove anything." Clarice just smiled wider in response.

"I wouldn't mind wearing one for you, if that is what you wish." Angie immediately said with a happy smile. Excuse me? Miss Redgrave? Should you really be so enthused about dressing up as a servant?

"See that? Aren't you happy to have a woman like Angie be so willing to do that?" Clarice asked in a passionate voice while embracing Angie from the side. "If you want, we can even both be your maids for a while and tend to your every need."

"Did you have to phrase it like that?!" I asked, my face feeling hot. All Clarice did was just to waggle her eyebrows at me. Angie was blushing but wasn't giving even a bit of resistance. Hello? Angie? Your friend just implied something pretty risque.

"As long as we don't take things too far…" My face felt like it was on fire with the way she shyly trailed off like that. Even Clarice was surprised that she was actually willing to–

"Okay, back on topic. Queen. Visit. Help." I struggled to say through gritted teeth. Clarice thankfully let Angie go and the two of them took a moment to recompose themselves. I took that chance to move my seat closer to the table for purely innocent reasons and not to hide anything incriminating from view.

"If it truly is just her wanting to talk to you about what happened, then you should be honest and respectful to her." Angie said when she got ahold of herself again. She then went on to talk more about the Queen and her background.

"Wait, she's not from Holfort originally?" I asked in surprise. I never really looked too deep into the character lore in the game outside the important ones, so it was a surprise.

Turned out that Queen Mylene was actually from the United Kingdom of Repard. It was a smaller country that was made up of several even smaller states that banded together because of certain circumstances. The Queen's family was one of the ruling houses of Repard and she was apparently sent to Holfort to marry the King so the two nations would be bound by marriage.

I blinked when I realized something that I might be able to use. "So she never attended the Academy then?"

"I don't think so, why?" Angie's head tilted cutely at my question.

"You think she's ever attended a Tea Party before?" I followed up as I bit into a biscuit. Clarice and Angie looked at each other in alarm before they both leaned forward on the table. I actually jumped a bit in surprise at their action.

"Leon, please don't try to seduce the Queen." The two of them said at the same time. Wait, what?!

"What? No! That's crazy! I was just wondering if she ever experienced it before!" I quickly protested. They seemed to calm down, marginally, due to how alarmed I was at their words.

Angie pouted at me a bit but then looked contemplative. "Unlikely. She married the King quite young. It actually makes her competency at managing the kingdom's affairs more impressive."

"Isn't that the King's job?" I mean, that was the job description wasn't it?

"I'm not sure myself but, when I served as her maid, I couldn't help but feel that Queen Mylene was quite overworked." She frowned as she looked to the side, recalling a memory. Aha! I clapped when I saw the opening!

"Well, if that has continued then wouldn't it be better if she had a place to relax for a bit? Maybe vent about how stressful work can be?" I suggested as I deeply understood the feeling of being forced to take a workload that was way above what you were supposed to be responsible for.

My smile faltered when the two of them looked at me blankly before sighing at the same time.

"Leon, you realize that way of thinking is what got this whole thing started?" Clarice pointed out while gesturing to the three of us. I mean, she was technically correct.

The circumstances were totally different though!

"I'm not going to try to seduce a woman old enough to be my mom, c'mon!" I asserted with a shake of my head. "I just don't know what else to do. My best skill outside piloting Black Getter is hosting Tea Parties!"

The two girls still seemed skeptical about the whole thing even after our Tea Party ended. Seriously! She's literally married to the King of Holfort! The hell would make her interested in a kid like me?!

One of the things that I wanted to make sure I was able to do while at the Academy was to be able to practice piloting. Unfortunately, my higher rank still did not afford me special treatment in terms of Armor storage space. Fortunately, Control had a pretty nifty solution to that.

I smiled as I looked at the large angular black box that was now placed in the space that my personal Armor would have, if I had a regular sized one. It was as large as Black Getter's head, which made sense as it was actually a piloting simulator. Control immediately suggested bringing a simulator here when I brought up my concern on getting more piloting hours. It was originally located in the lab but we managed to transplant it here. Control even made modifications to ensure that it was portable. Well, relatively portable. I did have to pay a premium to be able to safely move it from the Nagare's hangar to the school, but it was all worth it.

When I asked why we didn't do this the first time I got to the Academy, Control just pointed out that we didn't know about the storage capacity situation at the Academy so it might have been a waste of time and effort at the time.

Hello, Leon. Do you feel any discomfort?

"Nope. Feels just like Black Getter's cockpit." I said, adjusting my seat to the way I liked it. "Say, where have you been recently anyway? Researching more cultural stuff?"

In a manner of speaking. I am presently investigating something that I have noticed recently.

"Anything dangerous?" I asked with a raised brow.

I can safely say that it is something that will never harm you or those you love.

Strangely specific, but okay. "Well if you need help, I'm here."

The offer is noted and appreciated.

"So how is this thing being powered anyway? I didn't see any power cables leading anywhere." I asked as the screens started lighting up to a gentle blue standby screen that had the Saotome Research Lab logo on it.

Don't worry about it.

Of course.

"Right, what's on the menu?" I asked stretching out. I didn't wear my pilot suit in the simulator at Control's suggestion. They noted that I might not always be able to wear it when I launch with Black Getter, like in emergencies and stuff.

Since you have an acceptable grasp of the controls, I am hoping to move forwards to actual combat simulations.

"Oh? Against what? Armors?" I asked, gripping the levers and feeling a bit excited.

I presently do not have enough data on Armors to be able to construct simulation scenarios featuring them.

A bit disappointing, but it made sense. "Okay, then what'll I be going up against?"

The things that I do have extensive data on. The Enemies of Humanity.

"So the things the other Getter pilots fought against." I asked, getting nervous about the whole thing.

Correct. We will be going through different types. Ideally, it will only take about a week for you to clear each scenario.

"A monster a week huh?" I asked with a chuckle, remembering the old Sentai shows I watched as a kid.

We will start off with a relatively straightforward foe.

The screens changed and I suddenly found myself in the sky. A very modern looking city was situated below me. I had almost forgotten what buildings from Earth looked like. Black Getter's warning tones got my attention and I looked up to see what I was going to be up against.

"That is a flying saucer with two sauropod heads coming out the sides." I blankly observed as the thing moved closer. The monster then spotted me and decided that it took offense to my presence. "Why are there lasers coming out of their mouths?!"

Don't worry about it.