HTPTMOTMM Chapter 7

From what I'd overheard earlier from Cheswick and Minuel, I'd already deduced there was some institution that trained reserve guardians. But I hadn't considered this particular wrinkle.

So I could understand, in theory, why the guardians at the estate might feel insulted—might think I was looking down on them.

Understanding didn't mean I felt like explaining myself. Frankly, I had zero interest in clarification. It was obvious they were looking for a fight, and the way they'd been needling me since the start made their motivation transparent: they thought I was some elite academy graduate and were letting their hostility show.

'But really—insecurity, territorial nonsense, whatever the reason... with children present, is this the attitude guardians should be displaying? Isn't this grounds for professional disqualification? Hello?'

"More importantly, Raven," Cheswick said, eyes narrowing in that smile-not-smile expression as he turned to someone else, "now that you've met Lynne in person, what do you think? Familiar face after all?"

He tilted his head with deliberate casualness. "From what we discussed earlier, it sounded like you'd heard Lynne's name before at Stella."

The orange-haired man who'd been running his mouth earlier about people who like to stand out suddenly choked on his water, coughing like he'd swallowed wrong.

Come to think of it, Cheswick had mentioned there was one elite-trained guardian here. Room 4, wasn't it? Must be this orange-haired man.

"Ah, so that's the Stella operative Cheswick mentioned earlier?"

I studied him, thinking: So this is why elites have a bad reputation. Maybe the other guardians had similar thoughts about me, but this man was actually obnoxious, so my assessment was justified. I was also curious, though.

He's heard my name before?

Was this part of the game's settings too? Did selecting the guardian profession automatically make your character some elite graduate or whatever?

The man called Raven quickly cleared his throat. "Ahem... Even within Stella, if you're from different cohorts, you might not know each other."

After that, he fell silent. Unlike before, he seemed oddly stingy with words.

"Anyway, introductions seem necessary. Let's go in order."

The short-haired woman next to the pink-haired boy from earlier pushed up her glasses, redirecting the conversation. The profiles I learned were as follows:

Room 1

• Ward: Lusca A calm, cold-impressioned boy with black hair and blue eyes. Neat appearance, not much of a talker.
• Guardian: Marianne A beauty with long red hair and scarlet eyes, frigid demeanor. The spicy older sister type who'd given me that helicopter-parent energy when we crossed paths in the corridor earlier.

Room 2

• Ward: Minuel A boy with a bob-cut blonde and golden eyes, strong self-love. Prickly personality, does whatever he wants.
• Guardian: Cheswick A man with slightly scruffy dirty-blond hair and thick glasses covering half his face, foolish-looking exterior. Though I'd glimpsed quite pretty purple eyes by accident. Somehow gave off lazy, sloppy vibes.

Room 3

• Ward: Vivi The cotton-candy pink-haired boy with pale sky-blue eyes who'd spoken to me first in the dining hall. Cute, fluffy impression with good social skills.
• Guardian: Eugenia An intellectual-looking woman with navy-blue bobbed hair and teal eyes. Seemed like she'd follow rules religiously! Just caught a glimpse of her folding her napkin alone, matching even the pattern perfectly!

Room 4

• Ward: Leo A lively, mischievous-looking boy with brown curly hair and orange eyes. Actually bright and energetic personality.
• Guardian: Raven A sleazy-looking man with layered-cut orange hair and black eyes. Supposedly an elite from Stella—curious if that's even true.

Room 5

• Ward: Sergio A quiet, gentle-looking boy with long sky-blue curls and light green eyes. Large, dewy eyes give him an overall sheep-like quality. Docile personality.
• Guardian: Olivia A sharp-featured beauty with long straight olive-green hair and brown eyes. Easiest appearance to memorize by name. Seems to dislike elite graduates. Was the most hostile toward me in the dining hall, at least.

Room 6

• Ward: Jay An intelligent-looking boy with red hair and silver-gray eyes. Wearing glasses makes him look even smarter. But also oddly vacant somehow.
• Guardian: Gilbert A straightforward, taciturn man with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. Actually doesn't talk much. Makes his personality hard to read.

Room 7

• Ward: Dian The world's cutest, prettiest, most lovable white kitten of ours, with flowing silver hair between short and long, and ruby-gem sparkling red eyes.
• Guardian: Lynne Dian's butler with purple hair and pink eyes, appearance customized with blood, sweat, and tears. Further explanation omitted.

'Not like I can memorize all this now anyway.'

Just organized it in my head for the moment. I'd naturally memorize faces as I saw them going forward.

'Or maybe the bug will get fixed before I memorize them and I won't need to see their faces again.'

"The food has arrived."

Right on cue, maids wheeled in carts. Round covered plates were delivered to everyone.

"Let's eat first."

Formal meal time began in the uncomfortable atmosphere.

I heard someone explaining today's dish beside me, but mostly tuned it out. My head was full of thoughts about eating quickly and getting to Dian.

Finally, the maids lifted the plate covers. But what was placed before me wasn't the food I'd been waiting for.

"Huk!"

Clang!

The maid dropped the lid she'd been holding in surprise. Seeing her reaction, it seemed the maid who'd carried the plate hadn't known about this nasty prank either.

Or she was an excellent actress. But this maid was one of the NPCs I'd known when I'd selected the maid profession in-game, and she wasn't usually good at acting.

"Waah! Wh-what is that?"

"Hiik...!"

Others looked at the plate in front of me and gasped from all directions. From their reactions, at least they hadn't all conspired together for this stunt. Even Cheswick was frowning with an ambiguous expression.

I looked down at the plate and tilted the corner of my mouth slightly.

What was on my plate wasn't the same dish as everyone else's, but a flower dyed an ominous red as if doused in blood. This wasn't an ordinary red flower, though.

"Why is there a corpse flower..."

One of the guardians muttered in a hushed voice.

The ominous red flower that bloomed in-game where people died.

But looking closely, this wasn't actually a corpse flower. It seemed like someone had deliberately dyed a white flower that resembled a corpse flower red... Whoever did it, it was a low-quality prank.

"The Redford Estate's welcoming gesture is amusing."

I lifted my head and smiled at the people seated around the table. Then I picked up my fork and stabbed the flower. People stared at me with horrified eyes. Feeling their gazes, I put the flower in my mouth and chewed it thoroughly.

"R-right now, wh-what are you eating..."

The woman with olive-green hair—Olivia, Room 5's guardian—stared at me with a shocked face. I asked innocently, "Why, don't the other guardians usually eat things like this?"

I normally subscribed to the policy of not getting angry at game characters, but this time I felt a bit dirtier.

"I thought someone had gone to the trouble of preparing this for the welcome party, so I assumed everyone here normally enjoyed this kind of twisted taste?"

So I smiled and spoke sarcastically. The people who'd been hostile toward me fell silent.

"Anyway, thanks for the welcome gift."

I lifted my water glass, rinsed my mouth once, then wiped the corners with my napkin before pouring the remaining water onto the plate. The pigment bleeding from the flower turned the plate blood-red.

"With this much effort, you must have anticipated quite a reaction from me. It'd be disappointing and impolite to just ignore it, so..."

Soon the red water overflowing from the plate began soaking the table. I set down the empty cup with a sharp thunk and stood up from my seat with a bright smile.

"Looking forward to returning the favor."

Honestly, I wanted to fetch a candlestick and hold a flower-burning ceremony, but there were children in the dining hall. So being the normal, good person I am—unlike the culprit—I decided to restrain myself for now.

'So they're picking a fight with me right from the start?'

Looked like this 44th playthrough was going to be quite entertaining from the beginning.

"Young master!"

I threw open Dian's door wide.

Dian, who'd been sitting alone on the bed like the protagonist of The Last Leaf, gazing forlornly out the window, startled and turned to look at me.

"Lynne? Why are you back so fast? Is the welcome party already over?"

I'd returned before even eating the main course, so yes, I was back quickly. But the atmosphere in the dining hall wasn't one for eating anyway.

"I came back quickly in case our young master was lonely!"

"L-lonely? Who! I'm fine by myself!"

"Really? I was really lonely without you, young master."

I approached Dian, holding trays in both hands.

"Have you had dinner?"

"Uh..."

Dian hesitated. This wasn't the 'uh' of affirmation but the 'uh' of hesitation. As evidence, a covered plate still sat untouched on the table.

I frowned slightly as I set down what I'd been carrying. I'd hoped not, but checked the plate in case they'd played a prank on Dian's dinner too. Fortunately, it was a proper meal with a mouth-watering aroma.

"Not yet, I see. If your stomach's not upset, eat with me."

"Didn't you eat at the welcome party?"

"I came back early to eat with our young master."

That's why I'd deliberately stopped by the kitchen. Fortunately, most of the maids weren't hostile toward me like the other guardians, so I could get proper food.

"I-I'm not particularly hungry, but since you're asking, I'll eat with you."

Dian spoke with false indifference, as if doing me a favor, and rose from the bed. Right at that moment—

Grumble!

"..."

Dian's face flushed bright red.