"Clive! Clive! Handsome Clive! Chant with me!"
"Clive! Clive! Handsome Clive!"
"You're too quiet! Anyone not shouting loud enough will do five hundred squats!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Those booming voices thundered through the venue of the Culture Festival's Handsome Man Contest.
This was an event where the Academy's most attractive men participated in revealing outfits while various ladies gathered to discuss which man best suited their tastes.
It was supposed to be that kind of event, but...
"Send your cheers to Lord Clive! I'll strike down anyone who doesn't shout until their lungs burst!"
"Clive! Clive! Clive! Clive!"
This year, a truly bizarre group occupied the very front row.
This dangerous-looking mob, clad in festival happi coats and headbands over their plate armor, was the Clive Cheer Squad, led by Student Council Officer Treisa Val Lindblum.
"Apparently, the program is delayed due to unexpected trouble, but that's exactly why we must persevere!"
Treisa shouted with a demonic expression.
"That is exactly why! We will cheer with all our might and secure Lord Clive's victory!"
"Ooooohhhh!"
Low roars echoed through the hall, but surprisingly, every single one of those voices belonged to a woman.
"...What a terrifying group."
"The Lindblum family has always been a lineage that produces excellent knights, after all."
Alicia filled me in as she watched me gulp in apprehension.
Even among the soldiers of the Brave Territory, there weren't many who possessed this much raw intensity. To see it coming from students was something else entirely.
"...That's frightening."
"They have a reputation for being perfect as both knights and wives—the women especially."
According to Alicia's explanation, Treisa had possessed a strength that rivaled any man’s since she was a child, and she was constantly surrounded by women drawn to that power.
In other words, she had a massive following.
Initially, these women approached Treisa with the same infatuation one might have for a prince, sighing things like, "Lady Treisa..."
However, they were gradually forged by Treisa’s training, and before they knew it, they had transformed into formidable female knights who shouted, "Lady Treisa!" with military discipline.
"How stupid. It smells like sweat. I'm not into the 'prince' type of woman. They should just get 'killed and done with' already."
"Where did that come from?"
"But while Clive was in my reverse harem, that woman's jealous face was strangely erotic. Slurp."
Watching the valiant women, Patricia muttered something nonsensical with an unreadable expression.
Is this girl abnormal?
Between her bizarre behavior of rubbing her face against Alicia's lap and everything else, I was only teaming up with her now because I had no choice. Once this business was over, I was going to keep her as far away as possible.
She was a danger to Alicia.
"Ragna, I think she probably knows where Mariana is."
"Yeah, but if I approach her now, I feel like she'll literally cut me down."
Even though the barrier was gone, when we left the duel venue and returned to the main Academy grounds, daily life was continuing as if nothing had happened.
"Why hasn't a panic started? It would've been easier to talk to them if everyone was at least a little bit worried."
I had expected things to be chaotic after the Guardian Barrier vanished, so this was a bit of a letdown.
"Everyone at the venue passed out like they were sleeping when Belias appeared. The information just hasn't leaked yet."
"So the panic is coming eventually?"
"Who knows? There's a chance their perceptions were partially distorted. They went through the trouble of making the barrier vanish; for the Royal Family, the best move would be returning things to normal as if nothing happened, right? Are you an idiot for not even realizing that?"
"You've got a sharp tongue, you shitty brat."
Can't this girl speak without taking a jab at someone?
Well, whatever. If I just viewed her as a brat acting tough, she was almost cute.
"You really were wearing a mask... You should have been an actress..."
Alicia, who only knew the version of Patricia that had carefully built a reverse harem, looked exasperated by her current prickly attitude.
"She's just a brat, a total shitty brat. Honestly, she could learn a thing or two about grace from you, Alicia. If you treat her like you're dealing with a brat from the neighborhood, she might be easier to handle."
"I suppose you're right. Back when I was engaged to Edward, there were times I looked down on men of low status as if they weren't even worth my interest, so maybe it's something similar."
"Could you not lump me in with you? That smug look on your face is annoying."
"Now, now! No using dirty words."
"Hey, don't pet me!"
"Hehe, I think I've figured out how to deal with you now."
Setting aside the past, Alicia began to stroke Patricia's head, perhaps trying to keep things civil for the moment.
It was hilarious to see Patricia actually being handled like the brat she was.
Serves her right!
"............Still, it's not bad. If it doesn't matter to the 'story' anymore, then, yeah."
...Wait, Patricia didn't seem to mind it that much either.
This was a bit different from what I expected.
"For now, I'll go ask. I think I'm the most suitable person for the job."
"I'm counting on you."
I didn't feel like I could enter that crazy circle, and Patricia had been viewed as an enemy by Treisa back when she had Clive in her entourage.
The role naturally fell to Alicia.
"Clive! Clive! Clive! Clive! Chant with me!"
"Clive! Clive! Clive! Clive!"
"Treisa-san."
"Clive! Clive! Clive! A-Alicia-sama!"
"Clive! Clive! Clive! A-Alicia-sama!"
"What happened to your Student Council duties?"
"Ah, no, well...! This is also a vital duty!"
"Ah, no, well...! This was also a vital duty!"
"All of you, stop that for a second!"
Treisa's orders were absolute; it was amusing to see the cheer squad shouting their hearts out even for a clearly unintended command.
Realizing she was neglecting her responsibilities, Treisa's eyes darted around and she began to sweat the moment Alicia stood before her.
"I was worried about you, so I had Mariana go look for you when there was a good breaking point in her work...?"
Knowing exactly what was going on, Alicia pressed her without letting her smile falter.
"Could you tell me what the situation is right now?"
"U-um, well..."
I called Alicia in this state her "Noble Mode."
The innate aristocratic aura she projected made the difference in their standing painfully clear.
"Captain! Who is this woman?! This isn't like you, Captain!"
"Besides, we're currently warming up the venue!"
"There's been a slight delay due to trouble, so we're keeping the energy up!"
"Y-You guys!"
Several women stepped forward from behind Treisa to defend her.
"I see, so you were 'warming up' the venue."
"The Captain is Lord Clive's fiancée. It's only natural for her to cheer for him!"
"The sight of Lord Clive winning and the Captain's triumphant figure... Ah, just imagining it is so valiant and beautiful, a true page of youth!"
One female knight wiped away her sweat, speaking of her delusions with a blissful look.
The more she spoke, the paler Treisa's face became.
It felt like the squad was becoming unstoppable in a completely different sense. They weren't just followers; they were fans of both Treisa and Clive.
"Treisa-san, is your official role that of a 'crowd-warmer'?"
"...N-No."
"You've certainly become high and mighty. You didn't leave the handling of the actual trouble entirely to Mariana alone, did you?"
"Well..."
"Are you talking about that girl with the bottle-bottom glasses? She was so moved by the sight of the Captain cheering for Lord Clive that she took the initiative and ran off to handle things herself!"
Treisa's fangirl chimed in helpfully.
"Are you one of the contest organizers? If so, please hurry up and get the show moving. Show us Lord Clive's heroic figure! And let us see Lady Treisa cheering him on!"
"H-Hey, stop it!"
At this point, Treisa looked like she was on the verge of tears, so Alicia sighed and offered her a way out.
"Treisa-san. Come with me. If you want to see his heroic figure that badly, then resolve the trouble yourself."
"Y-Yes... Y-You guys, wait here. I'm going out to handle this personally!"
"Yes! Captain!"
I had been watching to see how it would play out, but Alicia's skill in rebuking Treisa while letting her keep her pride was impressive.
As expected of Alicia.
I've fallen for her even more.
"Not bad, was it?"
"Right? Heh."
"Why do you look so proud? It's creepy."