Life's a Pay to Win Game

by swordmaster888

Eminence in Shadow and Mobuseka Crossover. I read some fanfics that had self inserts take over, and some stuff that was like Light vs Shadow. So I since I made the connection of Luxion Light and am not that fond of how the self inserts kinda make the original protagonist needless, here we are. I'm pulling from as many sources these stories have as I can

7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello. On QQ this fic has a nsfw scene. Fanfic and SB don't like that, so those versions won't have it. It's not too important, but it was fun to write. I'll probably have more of them throughout the story, just because. As for how far it goes this time, about third base.

Disclaimer: I do not own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs, nor do I own The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.

-Cid-

Alexia left shortly after accepting my confession, leaving me to think about the angry elf that was no doubt going to be pouty for a while.

"CIIIIIIIIID!" Shrieked Claire as she began to strangle me.

Daniel and Raymond do their best and fail to stop her. I just let her, as a mob like me wouldn't be able to stop her. Although the fact that she's shaking me is a bit annoying now.

" . . . !?" exclaimed Claire, surprising me.

"What do you mean family seduction techniques? I was trying to be as pathetic as possible!" I gurgled out.

"YEAH! AND YOU ASKED OUT THAT HUSSY THE EXACT SAME WAY DAD ASKED MOM!" Claire lets go of me and begins to wildly mess with her hair. "GAH!"

I couldn't help but shout back at this point, "There's no way that's how our parents got together! Besides Momma said Pops was from an arranged marriage!"

Claire began to strangle me again, "SHE LIED BECAUSE SHE WAS EMBARRASSED! WE ARE LIVING PROOF THAT IT WORKED!"

As my consciousness faded, I realized that I had been thinking about how things worked in this world entirely based on my own worldview. As the eminence in shadow that'll only work 99% of the time. When it comes to stuff like romance, however, that's the 1%. I should ask someone else for help when it comes to stuff like this, and I have just the sap in mind.

-Leon-

I gaze upon my hard work with a smile on my face. The table and chairs at the perfect angle, the tea at the perfect temperature (thank you Magic), the baked goods fresh from the box, and everything spick and span (thank you Luxion).

[This is extremely elaborate. And just a few days ago you were about to hire a professional to get it over with quickly.]

I put my hands to my hips as I laugh at how foolish I had been, "Yeah, I guess. It's all thanks to my master. I've been given a new life, you see."

[I suppose since you are going to have a couple of girls over, scum like you would want to put your best foot forward.]

I squint. "They're here for a platonic meeting and you know that Luxion."

[…Sure.]

I flicked Luxion again.

[I feel no pain from that master.]

I take a seat as Luxion flies around the room, likely looking for something to criticize.

[I cannot understand this world. Why go for these elaborate mating displays? Is it not enough to simply choose the optimal partner based on genetic information?]

"Well outside of the blood tests Mitsugoshi administers, this world doesn't have the means to check genetic information like that. Plus, there's the whole thing on 'love' and 'emotions' that drive a lot of marriages." I said.

[Well then, I guess I have nothing to add.]

*Knock**Knock*

Oh, that must be the girls now. They're here earlier than I expected but I guess that's noble women of that caliber for you. I wave at Luxion for him to activate his cloaking skill again as I answer the door.

"LEON! I NEED YOUR HELP!" yelled my black-haired unassuming elf loving friend.

"Cid," I said as I grabbed his shoulders, "calm down. What's wrong?"

-Cid-

Leon's shoulders shake terribly as he does his best to not laugh. "*Snrk* What?"

I level a glare at him, "Something is seriously wrong with this world!"

"Tell me something I don't know." Chuckles Leon as he reaches for some tea.

I angrily take a bite out of one of the biscuits Leon gave me, "She shot down a duke's son in a second, but when I come along, she's just like, 'okay'?! It's suspicious! Plus, not to mention all the stuff I've been hearing lately! All the nobles, both Holfort and Midgar are saying stuff like 'Look it's the princess' boyfriend!' or 'Eh, he's so plain!' followed by 'Did he threaten her with something?' and sometimes a 'Imma kill the guy'!"

"Sounds about right." Shrugged Leon.

You don't get it Leon! I'm standing out too much! Alpha hasn't even gotten here yet! If I exert my real power, it won't even seem like a surprise, which means that I won't be an Eminence in Shadow, but just another OP isekai protagonist! You can't do this to me! Do you even know how much I sacrificed for this! Two entire lifetimes, untold number of bonds, and… and… I NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS, FAST!

"A-anyway," I state, "I don't intend to actually go out with her. I might be a noble but I'm way out of my element."

Leon raises his teacup, "Not to mention Alice."

"Exactly," I nod. Hopefully she'll be fine. I'll do my best to make things up to her. "We'll have to break up soon. I don't want to stir up any more trouble. Do you have any idea on how to do that?"

Leon hums. "I'm guessing… that you can't just dump her since she's a princess. Especially one of your own kingdom."

I nod, although I admit I didn't realize that at all.

"What if… she was to dump you? Would there be any punishments for that? I mean I guess depending on why she dumps you. Maybe you should just be honest on why you asked her out. Surely, she'd understand the political hoops you'd have to go through to be with Alice." Offered Leon.

Oh, poor, naïve, Leon fou Barfort. Of course, a hero like you would say something like that. But I know better, all fantasy princesses are either complete saints, or the very opposite. Given that most commoners I know, such as Olivia and the shades, are some of the best and most selfless people I've ever met, the nobility would likely be the opposite unless they go through some kind of character growth. I came to you for advice but I can already tell it wouldn't help me at all.

But… having her dump me… you know, it is Beta's turn next. I'll just bide my time for a bit, to help show off the difference between me and Alexia, then go over ways to with Beta on how to get dumped. Beta always did like to write stories where the protagonist would leave one girl for another. Admittedly she always insisted that the second girl was a silver haired elf with a beauty mark. Standard kid stuff.

"Thanks Leon, I'll think about it." I nod as I leave.

As I walk out, I see Olivia and two other girls walk towards Leon's tearoom. Huh, good for her, I was worried that she didn't have any female friends. Although it's a little weird how much she's changed since we first met, I guess that's just what puberty does though. Now that I think about it, I'm probably going to see those three with Leon from now on, considering what he was. Pfft, harem protagonist. Lame.

…

Why do I feel a chill down my spine? And the sudden urge to get the shades presents?

-Olivia/?-

When Mister Leon had dropped me off at my home, I was heartbroken. After everything we had been through, and how he even got me to be able to attend the academy with him, I had thought he wanted me to marry me. I thought we'd be together forever. I…

I can't let be separated from him again.

But Mister Leon had insisted that he made a promise to my parents. *sigh* I knew then for certain that he was a little dumb. But I love that part of him. And he didn't abandon me, he even left a part of the lost item he found, Luxy with me so we could send each other letters for free. With how far his house is from mine that'd normally take a lot of money and a lot more time, but twice a month for free was a god send.

But I wanted more. I need more.

But that wasn't the only thing that Mister Leon left with me. He left me the necklace.

My necklace. The necklace he gave me! HE HAD TO REMEMBER! This was proof some part of him remembered!

According to him, it was a necklace that would give me a boost in basically everything, especially my light magic. But that wasn't all that it did. I… had these dreams. It was me and Mister Leon. But he wasn't called Leon, his name was Lea. He was older in those memories and God did he wear it well. But I think these were the same dreams that Mister Leon had when he had those fevers as a kid. Where he was some kind of luggage carrier. But that was wrong.

My Lea was so much more. HE DESERVES TO BE REMEMBERED FOR SO MUCH MORE!

In my dreams Lea was the leader of our group. Just like Leon was during our journey to the hangar of the lost winds, in fact, in my dreams I didn't see the founding family heirs at all. I saw four other girls and one boy. One girl reminded me a lot of Alice, because she was also a blonde elf. Next to her was a silver-haired girl who I think reminded me of one of the Midgar students. Another girl was a golden-haired cat therianthrope, who rang a bell but I couldn't place. But then even stranger, was a girl who looked just like me. She called me Onee-sama, it was cute but weird at the same time. There was also this boy, who looked a lot like Cid, the elf, cat, and silver haired girl would fight over him a lot. We all followed Lea.

Those were the days. How I wish they didn't end.

But eventually, in my dreams the boy and the three girls didn't show up. I felt like I lost something precious, and it hurt. It was just me, the other me, and Lea… those dreams often were sad, and it broke my heart to see the same kind of expression on Lea and the other me. Most of those dreams were spent by my trying to cheer them up, but… sometimes I had dreams that were… a little naughty.

A/N: This section is only on QQ, and if You're on QQ and don't want to read it, skip down

Basically Ann and Lea having fun in a hotspring

A/N This is where the scene ends.

I often woke up from those dreams and immediately started writing to Mister Leon. Asking if he ever dreamt of me. I never asked if his dreams were naughty too, but God I hoped so. He said he hadn't, at least not of the past. He only dreamed of the future now.

Thinking of Mister Leon just made me so happy. I loved hearing about his days, how he would argue with Jenna until his mother separated them, how he would go hunting with his father and Nicks, how he doted on Finley and Colin. I wanted to be there. I felt like I needed to be there.

When Mister Leon sent me a letter saying that his ideal future was one where his wife and him would stay at their farm, living easy lives while going to dungeons every now and again. I saw myself and him doing that. I saw the past me, other me, and Lea doing that.

And one day, after a dream that I woke up too soon from again, I realized I had a red eye. The local doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eye, just that I may have awakened some kind of power, likely that my recent adventure had made me a lot stronger very quickly, and this was my body's way of expressing it. I thought Mister Leon would make a really cute, surprised face if he saw me with a red eye when we met again, so I decided to keep it a secret from him for now.

Lea always loved my red eyes.

I was looking forward to seeing Mister Leon again, I had trouble sleeping the day before. Luckily the thingy Luxy left with me had an alarm too. My parents sent me off with a smile and a tease of "don't worry if you have to come back early with a baby." Geez~

Who am I, Mary?

…Mary? Who's Mary… Mary? …Where did you go?... I'm sorry.

Eventually I did get to the capital, it was so pretty, but I didn't want to see anything. Not by myself. I knew it would be so much better if Mister Leon was with me. So, I waited by the gates since I hadn't seen Luxion's ship yet. When he did show up, he looked just like Lea did. Sigh~ I always knew life on the farm took a bit of muscle, but he toned wonderfully~ And he did look so surprised to see me! I just couldn't help but hug him tightly.

And he remembered how I used to call him Senpai! He noticed me!

While we were talking to each other some "important" people crossed our path, I guess we were still in the gateway, so it made sense. Some colorful haired boys passed by us…

And I was so fucking angry.

So, I just looked at Mister Leon. When he looked back, he was so cute. But then someone passed by us. A girl. The way Mister Leon looked at her…

Grr… but she looked just like me. Her name was close too, so I guess it's fine. Plus… Lea left all those years because of those five… I suppose I owe it to him. It was a misunderstanding, but I was never able to resolve it.

After Mister Leon was done drooling after the girl, he looked at me. I did my best to smile at him, but he looked nervous. Then he mentioned something about a partner, and we were angry. But then Luxy showed up and explained that Partner was the name of Mister Leon's ship. Teehee. Mister Leon then mentioned how if we didn't hurry and sign up for the dorms, we'd have to stay on Partner… together… for an entire year. I did my best to make that wonderful future come into fruition but unfortunately his siblings came and made us take our time, boo~

Lea~ *Whine* don't you want to have more cuddle time~!

While Miss Jenna's boyfriend dragged me by the scruff of my neck, we ran into the girl from earlier, Angelica. She was super pretty, it was hard to stay mad at Mister Leon. If I were a boy, I would totally act like he did. Thankfully, I'm a girl, and girls just like boys.

I suppose it was a bit narcissistic to feel that way.

Miss Angelica walked up to me and helped explain a few rules of the academy out of Noblesse Oblige, whatever that means. Basically, that to help fit in, I should get her a gift, and she'd wait until we visited the dungeons for me since I was a commoner. She then smiled a really pretty smile and said she'd hope Mister Leon and I would enjoy our stay at the academy. I thought about having Mister Leon seduce her and making her the first out of five, but then Miss Jenna ruined things by remarking that Angelica was the fiancé of that damned prince who ruins everything. And if things couldn't get any worse, even though classes weren't separated by gender anymore because of the merger with Midgar's academy, I found out that Mister Leon and I had different lectures and elective classes! Gah!

Why does the universe keep trying to separate us!

Because of that, I decided to just spend all of my time with Mister Leon whenever I could. But he was always so shy! I guess he wasn't used to girls being nice to him, or me rubbing my chest on him whenever I could. That's what Mom said I should do to get him though… well that and make him cookies. Mister Leon loved my baked goodies almost as much as I liked making them for him! Anyway, after the opening ceremony I chased down Mister Leon, and he got all shy again and started running. I chased after him, since he wasn't really going that fast, I knew he wanted me to follow him.

We'd follow you to the ends of the earth~

Eventually I lost track of him and stopped near this tree. Because of this I ran into this mean little girl. She tried to hurt me with her words. Saying all of these rude things about my appearance, saying I belonged in a brothel more than an academy.

But I'm used to dealing with people like this.

I grabbed the girl by her shoulders and brought her in close. I was going to probably shoot my eye laser at her (non-lethal version, it would upset Leon otherwise) but then that damn prince that ruins everything showed up again, coming from seemingly nowhere. He took her away, like ripping a teddy bear out of my grip. She slapped him, and then ran off. But then I realized something, that prince probably came from wherever my Leon was. So, I asked him-

"Where is my senpai."

-and he pointed it out immediately. I helped Leon down from the tree and then dragged him to the dorms to cuddle for a while. It was so cute how much he fidgeted on my lap.

A lot of our days were like that, with me taking up Leon's time. We didn't just cuddle though. We'd spend time with the others, including his new friends Daniel and Raymond, study, spar with Claire, and eat together. It was great! Leon was hopeless when it came to history and Language Arts, but he was amazing at math and science, so we were able to help each other out wonderfully! Plus, when it came to magic, Leon and Cid both had some pretty interesting ideas. Claire would let me test them out on her and showed me how to use a knife just in case I ever ran out of magic. Then, every now and again we'd all eat lunch and dinner together. But sometimes, it was just Leon and I… I love my friends, but I love it when it's just Leon and I.

But at some point, I realized that at the end of the day, I'm still a commoner. Legally, Leon still has to marry a noblewoman. I wasn't sure what to do, Claire was nice, but I feel like I should start with someone else. I wanted to get Angelica. I felt like I needed to. I don't know why. There was just some kind of pull towards her. Like… I needed to interact with her. But luckily the opportunity presented itself yesterday.

Poor Angelica, abandoned by a prince that doesn't deserve her and the way he had chastised her in front of everyone made that clear. I saw Leon about to step in, but it'd be a bit too forward for that yet, so I did it first. It felt good to chastise a prince and get away with it, and it was even better when Mister Leon joined in and made fun of the prince's brother.

I should have known all five of them would be just as bad as they were in our past life.

They left and I got an in with Angelica. Then today she went to my room to pick me up, none of her followers with her, and I had an idea.

"Miss Angelica?" I asked.

"Yes Miss Olivia?" she answered.

"Would you mind if we invite one other person to tea with Mister Leon?"

Angelica stopped walking and looked at me, more confused than anything. "I suppose not. Who did you have in mind?"

I smiled and explained, "Well, Mister Leon mentioned someone else the other day that might also be having a bad day. Miss Atlee, I think. Maybe she could use some new friends…?"

Angelica stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then nodded. "You're right. I don't know if she'll be willing to attend a tea party with a boy she doesn't know, but given we're friends I should have checked up on her by now. I hadn't due to my duties keeping me busy… among other things."

I smiled and nodded.

"Very well, I believe her dorm is this way. We should bring my followers as well." Angelica led.

We picked up Angelica's two main followers, as we didn't want to make things too serious looking. The girls didn't seem to enjoy my presence, but I didn't care. We walked over to Miss Atlee's room and things already seemed bad. We could hear her crying from out the door. A tall boy with a tan and some white hair that I think was dyed waited outside the door. He bowed to Angelica and greeted the rest of us.

"Clarice…?" asked Angelica at the door.

A weak voice that broke my heart came from the other side, "Angie… What are you doing here?"

Angie? THAT'S SO CUTE! I wanna call her that!

"I…" Angelica struggles to find the words. So, I decided to step up. Angelica looks equal parts grateful and suspicious.

I bowed in greetings, forgetting that there was a door.

*KNOCK*

"What was that?" asked Clarice.

As everyone outside tries hard not to laugh, I answer, "Ouchie. Sorry, um greetings, Miss Atlee. My name is Olivia, the scholarship student. I'm guessing you heard, but I bowed in greeting."

Clarice laughs as she talks, "*Pfft* yeah, I heard. What are you doing with Angie?"

"I wanted to ask if you'd like to accompany us for some tea. My friend Mister Leon must have a tea ceremony with some women for his class, but he didn't feel like pursuing any of his classmates and instead wanted to do something with friends. We invited Miss Angelica the other day and would like to extend it to you." I said.

"Well thanks I guess, but why would I want to get caught between the adventurer of the lost winds and his lover? Or do you not think I'm miserable enough as is?" asked Claire with a very condescending voice.

"We aren't lovers, yet" I say with a smile and blush, "but if it helps any, he was the guy who humiliated Lord Mamoria the other day."

I hear a bunch of rustling from behind the door, "Why didn't you start with that!? Wait for me there!"

Angelica nurses a coming migraine as I giggle. Shortly an auburn-haired beauty *cough* girl with piercings and a glare that did things to me *cough* will do things to Leon emerged. She and a few of her followers went with us to Leon's tearoom. We passed by Cid on our way there. I can't help but wonder how things are going with him and Alice.

-Leon-

More people than I expected showed up to my tearoom, but following the teachings of my Sensei I don't let that affect me!

"Wow these cookies are so good!" cried Clarice.

Luckily, I had some of Olivia's cookies lying around. One thing I learned about tea is that just getting the most expensive stuff doesn't work, you need to pair it with the tea. Thankfully, I've been able to use Luxion to help make the blends I used to have in my old world, and what's better is that somehow Olivia's cookies are like the cheat item of the tea world. They pair with everything!

"You should thank Olivia, she's the one who made them. Family secret recipe if I remember correctly." I say while pouring some more tea for the standing followers.

Angelica smiles behind her cup and adds, "perhaps we could hire your family for a few events then."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Mom and Dad would probably faint at the offer, let alone any event." Laughed Olivia.

I see some of Angelica's followers laugh at the idea. I recall a few things from Alto Liebe namely how Angelica's followers would bully Oliva. Angelica normally would claim she had nothing to do with it, but that was proven wrong by Julius during the condemnation event. But thinking on it now, when I just spent the better part of an hour with the supposed villainesses of both Julius and Jilk's routes, when they did nothing but ask about our adventures, laugh with us, do their best not to cry whenever Julius and Jilk were mentioned… I have my doubts about who were the real villains.

This Dan guy seems alright, and all of Clarice's other followers don't seem like the type to do anything stupid. But Angelica's cronies were the ones who usually ended up taking their frustrations out on Olivia… I got an idea.

"Hey Olivia," I call, and she turns with a smile, "out of curiosity, did anyone else try to invite you to a tea party? I'm worried how they might react if you don't show up."

Olivia starts to shake her head before remembering something and pulls out a purple envelope from her book bag. "I did get this invitation from Lord Field, but I thought nothing of it. I heard he's the type to brag about his looks a lot, so he probably sent one to every girl."

Angelica hides a laugh behind her hand as she speaks, "Lord Field may do the former, but I don't believe he would have done the latter. I would attend if I were you. He normally sends out those invitations to those he finds interesting."

"With all due respect, I've never spoken to Lord Field. Plus, everyone is under the assumption that Leon and I are together. I can only imagine that these," Olivia deadpans and cups her chest, "are what he finds interesting."

Claire snorts in the most unladylike manner and we all do our best to ignore it as Dan helps her clean off the crumbs from the cookie she obliterated in her hand.

"Besides, I only have the envelope, some girls ripped up the invitation in front of me once they saw I got it." Said Olivia. She opened the envelope and showed everyone how there was nothing inside.

Perfect, that's what I needed.

"Wow, I know some people have issues with a commoner attending the academy but that's just ridiculous." I said.

Angelica and Clarice both nod.

Clarice then puts her hand on Olivia's shoulder, "They didn't do anything to you, did they? I can have Dan beat them up if they did."

Dan smacks his fist into a palm to back up the claim, though the smile he wears as he does so show that it's only meant halfheartedly. Olivia shakes her head and smiles to show she's alright.

"Ugh, such backwards thinking… er, the girls who tore up the letter, not you Clarice." Said Angelica.

Clarice merely waves it off with a laugh, and I move in for the kill.

"It's not as backwards as you'd think" I say nonchalantly. While I don't look directly at Angelica's followers, I can see them tense a little bit in the reflection of the teacup as I refill it.

"What do you mean Sir Barfort?" asked Angelica.

"Oh," I say as I approach the table, "It's something you see all the time. People that think they're some kind of big shot thanks to being a part of someone's retinue and they pick fights as they please. I mean after all if you try to fight back, you'd be fighting with the person whose name they're using, since they're likely to believe their subordinates. You'd see it all the time in the boonies with people claiming they're part of powerful families and were just visiting and stuff."

"How horrible!" claimed Clarice, "But surely the girls here are better than that."

"Oh sure, in most cases. But let's say… I dunno Lady Redgrave's followers here," I say as I step behind them, making them both gulp, "were to be displeased with Olivia's inclusion in the academy. So, one day they decide to make it clear by bullying her. Then, when Olivia threatens to tell the teachers they say something like 'like the teachers are going to do anything to the Redgrave's daughter!' Well, not that they would be stupid enough to do that."

The two girls tense up more.

"Is it really so stupid?" asked Dan "The plan seems airtight to me."

I shrug, "Sure, if things were limited to just the academy. And I guess 'legally' they are with the crown prince's declaration. However, once school ends? If everything that they did was blamed on Miss Angelica here, she got a bad reputation, and then she told her father after?" I drag my thumb across my neck.

"A bit crass, Sir Barfort." Said Angelica, "But what do you mean by the use of 'legally'?"

"Oh, well I mean it's not like everyone has actually listened to that declaration." I said. "I caught a few messenger pigeons, some servants, and even the nobles themselves spreading information about the school. Heck, just by going to my ship alone I was surprised about how up to date the merchants were on everything… including my altercation with the five heirs yesterday."

Everyone looks surprised at this, aside from Olivia and me.

"I… I haven't even broken the declaration to talk to my own father, and you're telling me the entire school was ignoring it!" seethed Angelica.

I raised my hands, "Oh no, not the entire school. Most of us have kept our heads down. Although I do have records of the people who sold information if you'd like."

Angelica's two followers begin to talk, "How on earth did you acquire that!?"

I chuckle before raising my hand, "Luxion?"

[You called master?]

Angelica, Clarice, and their followers immediately jump in surprise at the talking floating orb appearing in my hand without the use of a teleportation spell. As Luxion began to speak, Dan grabbed the nearest bread knife and brandished it in self-defense.

[I'd put that down if I were you.]

"What is that thing!?" yelled Clarice.

"That's Luxy!" said Olivia, "Isn't he cute?"

Everyone sweat drops at that.

"You have rather strange tastes Olivia." Said Angelica.

As Olivia pouts in response, I talk again, "This is my familiar Luxion. And this orb you see here is one of his many bodies. I have multiple around the school monitoring things. It's how I knew of Lady Atlee's unfortunate predicament."

"That… that doesn't seem legal." Said One of Angelica's followers.

I shrug, "I have the king's permission."

Everyone's surprised at that.

"How on earth did you manage that?" cried Angelica. "When would you have had the time to speak with him?"

"Huh, what do you mean, Ann?" I wink. "I just talked to him after I talked to you."

Angelica begins to blush. Olivia does a little as well, but Clarice looks on like a kid that got a new toy.

"Ohoho! What's this Angie? Since when did you give a man permission to call you by a nickname?" She crooned.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" shrieked Angelica, "I gave him a fake name! I didn't expect him to recognize me!"

"Why would you give my Leon a fake name?" said Olivia in a voice that had everyone scoot away from her. And what did she mine by her Leon, gosh…

"Well…" I begin, "it was a bit after my ceremony, I had been talking to Cid about how much I didn't want to be in the advanced class while we were in the garden. After I split up from him, I ran into Miss Angelica here. Although I couldn't really see her at the time, Luxion could. He told me after I saw you again on the first day."

Angelica nods. As her blush fades she clears her throat and speaks again, "I see… but what was this about the King's permission, surely you know you need more than-"

[Here you go. A written letter from the king stating we could do as we please when it comes to monitoring the academy.]

Angelica closely examines the letter that Luxion had taken out. With shaking hands, she can do nothing but state "I-It's real!"

All of the others can do nothing but gasp.

"There you have it," I laugh. As I do, I see Angelica's followers get more and more nervous.

"U-um, it has been lovely Sir Leon" says would-have-been-bully-one.

"But we've been here for so long, so we should get going." Says would-have-been-bully-two.

Angelica pouts slightly but acquiesces. "*Sigh* They're right. But I would be remiss if I didn't ask if we could do this again sometime, especially considering what I've learned today."

"We'd love to have you over more Miss Angelica!" said Olivia on my behalf. I mean I agree, and I like that she did a bit, but like… c'mon Olivia.

"And what about me? Or does Sir Leon only want blonde haired maidens in his tearoom." Teased Clarice.

"Orange is close enough, you pass." I snark.

Clarice laughs and pats me on the shoulder as she leaves. "Okay, just leave a letter with Dan when you guys want to meet up. I'll be waiting~"

Everyone but Olivia files out of the room. I can tell she has questions, so I sit down by the window and motion for her to sit next to me She puts her head on my shoulder, and I run my hand through her hair as we relax. I look out the window to enjoy the scenery.

…

Is that Cid? Why's he on all fours? Wait, did he just go after a coin like a dog catching frisbee? And who's that girl?

"Ne, senpai?"

"Uh, yeah Olivia?"

"So, I know how you got the King's permission for Luxion to monitor stuff. But I need to ask, why did you do that in the first place? You don't seem like the type of person to stick your nose into things when you can help it, especially not something like that."

"Well… let me tell you how things went that day."

-P2W/Leon-

This was just after I had separated from Angelica and Cid. I was still in the garden actually.

Did you get lost senpai?

…No.

…

Okay a little. Anyway, I was doing a bit of reflecting. About everything. About why I went on the adventure, about how I met you guys, about how much I hated Zola, about how much I was worried about my parents, about myself, and about what we saw during the last bit of our adventure. You ended up passing out, but if you remember what Claire and I told you guys, the only reason we beat Luxion is because of how Shadow Garden showed up to save us. If they hadn't… well, we could probably guess what would have happened.

Mister Leon…

So, as I walked in the garden, getting lost in the hedge maze, I came to a decision underneath the stary night sky. I wasn't going to take this lying down. I don't want to become some major world power, but I don't think I can just plug my ears and close my eyes given everything I know. Like that guy we found in the dungeon Claire was being kept in, what was his deal? What was Shadow Garden's deal? What about Shadow himself? Luckily, I had just gotten Luxion, and when I had talked to him about my concerns, he mentioned something to me.

What?

[I believe I had mentioned at the time, that I had to kick Shadow Garden out of my hangar due to them sticking around even after you all had left. It was a bit difficult to do, but not impossible for me.]

Whaaaaat!? How'd you do that?

[The armor I had attacked you all with was not the only one in my possession. Nor was it anywhere close to the strongest. There was one dog therianthrope that was a bit tricky to overpower, but once I had, most of the others thought it'd be more trouble than it was worth to attempt to stay on my base.]

Oh… okay, but what was the plan from there?

Basically, I wanted to make sure that I knew everything that was going to happen. I needed to gather information, and based on that Luxion and I would act. After all, no matter how much I wanted a peaceful life there's no way I could live it if the world was ruled by terrible people, and well I hadn't been hearing good things about the crown prince.

Yeah… He's not so great now. What do you plan on doing? Should I send a letter to my parents saying goodbye any time soon?

What? No… I mean, I appreciate it but no. I think we should nudge the prince into becoming better.

Ew.

I know, I know. Honestly with how much Angelica had been crying I don't think he deserves it, but with how politics and stuff work, we need him to be King. Or at the very least, we should consider it our plan A. For Angelica's happy ending. Since ideally, in the political sphere side of things when angelica and Julius get married the faction under King Roland and the one under Duke Redgrave will merge.

Does that really need to happen though? I don't think that Angelica would really be happy even if she married Julius.

…Yeah, I know what you mean. Okay, A for Angelica's Presumption. Anyways, plan A is kinda screwed already. From what I've been able to observe with Luxion's help, Julius is head over heels for that little gremlin. Lafan, I think. So is the rest of his friends.

The five idiots, I'm familiar.

HAHAHA! Yeah! The five idiots. Anyway, now we go to plan B, which is what I discussed with the King.

Was he also lost in the hedge maze?

Well, he wasn't lost. I found him because I saw some maid's clothes thrown on the ground. I was a little worried at first, so I took out a weapon and called out to make sure everything was okay. But uh, I ran into something else.

Mister Leon…

What? I didn't think anyone could be so bold as to do that in the garden given that the throne room and other surrounding areas have a pretty clear view of the garden. Well, apparently the only person bold enough to do that was the King himself. The maid ran past me with her clothes in hand and I saw the King dress himself.

…I don't… I don't even know what to say.

Right? He made me stand guard as he got dressed. Since I had the opportunity I decided to talk to him about my plan.

How'd that go?

He didn't really care. Like legit. I don't think he could have cared less. But when I mentioned Shadow Garden he seemed interested, a little.

…Do you think it's because Shadow Garden is mostly comprised of women?

I didn't mention that so probably not. But he knew nothing about them apparently, and Queen Mylene never seemed to mention anything about that to him either. It's when I talked about the pills that he got interested in the conversation. He got dressed and had me sit near a gazebo with him in the center of the maze… It was clean, apparently there's a bed there he uses.

Ew.

Yeah. I said as much. He laughed at me and said if I had his kind of power I would do the same.

Would you?

If my wife was like Zola maybe. Otherwise, no. Anyway, once I talked about how there's stuff going behind the scenes, he got excited. He wanted me to go after Shadow Garden and look into who their enemies might be, but I shut that down. See, the way I know stuff like this works, if I do that I'll just constantly be chasing after Shadow Garden. So, my idea was, that the kingdom could do that, but I could set a trap for Shadow Garden.

A trap?

My surveillance system. Basically, besides you and the King, and no one knows about everything I have planned just in case.

But didn't you just tell Angelica, Clarice, and their followers about your surveillance system?

I told them I had it, not what I planned on using it for. For instance, plan K.

Plan K?

K, for King Me.

A/N: Wow, I think this chapter is even longer than I meant for it to be. It's kinda weird feeling as a result. I dunno, I'm not as happy with it as I am with other chapters. Anyway, I should be getting to the dungeon crawl next chapter, where I'll get into more lore considering what's in the dungeon.

Anyway, let's get through some comments.

From QQ-

It was kind of funny how three people let me know about the broken image. It's been fixed-ish.

Just_AJ: Glad you liked it.

Someone ani: Haha, yeah, I don't know how I did it. Didn't have much to do after finishing my job applications. Yeah, poor Cid always suffering from success. And glad you caught that joke about Cid carrying them, honestly I forgot I put that in there. I'm guessing you're a Nu fan, based.

PieMan 1994: Thanks!

From -

Findarato: Well I got into it a little bit this chapter, but yeah I'll bring it up again when Mylene shows up. She's one of my favorite Leon ships too.