Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! Volume 7 E-Book

Rhythm Aida

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I'm Gonna Tell Her How I Feel!
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 329

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I’m Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! Volume 7

Leseprobe

“The Piggy Duke was intelligent, strong, kindhearted, and sadly, too stubborn for his own good. From another perspective, the story of Shuya Marionette can be interpreted as his tragedy.”

—Director of Shuya Marionette

Prologue: I Always Overdo It

“Ohoink... Ohoooink!!!” I howled with effort.

Everyone has their shortcomings, ones that manifest in all kinds of ways. For example, some people have character flaws like selfishness, a foul mouth, or violent tendencies. Others might have superficial flaws, such as being as overweight as an orc. With that in mind...

What would the former Prodigy of Wind’s shortcoming be?

I took a deep breath. “Ohoooi... Ohoooink!”

Heh heh, I suppose it’d be my habit of overdoing it!

When I was a kid, I wanted so badly to be with the girl I liked that I evolved into the blackhearted Piggy Duke... Actually, I guess it’s more accurate to say that I devolved.

Thinking back now, there were so many other better options out there. Truthfully speaking, I just couldn’t stand the idea of walking down the predestined path of a House Denning heir, and that drove me to take the most drastic course of action. But in hindsight, well... Playing the villain wasn’t exactly my brightest idea.

Many, many things have happened since then, both good and bad. Now I get to live my best life at Kirsch. At the very least, I managed to accomplish my biggest goal to stay together with Charlotte, so I’d call that a win.

I grunted yet again, huffing and puffing from the exertion. “Oi... Ohoooink!”

Speaking of overdoing it, take what I’m doing right now, for example. Do you hear these bellows of agony? Sounds like an orc on its deathbed, doesn’t it? Yeah, that’s me. Of course it’s me! Who else could it be?

You might be thinking, “An orc? At this point, you’re a wayyy more horrendous monster than that.” But let’s chill with those comments, because yes, it’s me.

“Ohoink... Ohoooink!”

I was doing dead lifts with metal barbells I’d made with earth magic. Some of the students passing by acted as if they’d just seen a ghost, but I ignored them.

Oh, oops. My custom-made weights slipped from my grasp and crashed into the ground, leaving a large dent in their wake. I should’ve seen that coming. Lifting something that weighs as much as I do sure is tough. But I finally reached my goal!

I collapsed onto the chilly ground, brimming with a sense of accomplishment. The dazzling sun blinded me as I gazed up into the sky not a moment later, and I fell into a thoughtful silence. One month has passed since that day...the day I fought the witch and completely and utterly lost.

And as you might have guessed, ever since that day, I’ve been single-mindedly devoting every waking moment to whipping my body into shape.

I heard one student’s hushed whisper. “Look, our resident Mister Cyclops is here. One minute he’s putting on weight, and then the next he turns around and trims down. That guy’s rushing through his life like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Hey, don’t point at him,” another warned. “Did you already forget what happened to the guy who mocked that place a while ago? Called it filthy? He couldn’t stomach food for days!”

I’ve come to a conclusion. You see, even if I have this so-called knowledge from the anime, in the end, I can’t predict everyone’s behavior. Not even in my wildest dreams did I ever foresee the Dream Dealer Witch, one of the Three Musketeers, joining the fray. And this is me we’re talking about!

“Look at the Piggy Duke’s bod. Jeez, I wouldn’t question it if he said he was a mercenary from somewhere. He’s practically a miniature ogre.”

“You know, I think he used to be more approachable before. He isn’t like, big and towering or anything now, but just standing near him feels intimidating... Oh, he got up. Yikes, he’s looking our way! Run!”

Ever since the day I woke up with the knowledge of the anime, I always ended up overthinking things. Because of that, I’d spent all my time lately tempering my body so that my anxiety wouldn’t run wild. And I had incredible results to show for it too.

I’d obtained a physique that would send people reeling on sight—that much was obvious based on the reactions from the other students earlier. I didn’t mind them much, though, because after my life-and-death game of tag with that witch, I realized something—that when push comes to shove and I’m batting above my league, the only thing I can rely on is my own body. Fate could—and probably would—betray me, as was its wont, but my body wouldn’t ever let me down.

“Say, Miha. Weren’t you just saying a little bit ago that you were into muscular guys?” one girl whispered. “What about him?”

“Oh, that body is too much. I can still clearly picture how Lord Denning looked before. I’m honestly not sure how to react to this new figure because of that. I think he was more charming and cute back when people called him an orc.”

The first girl hesitated. “Wait, how are orcs cute?”

As a result of staying firm to an excessively fierce weight-loss regime—well, more like a muscle-building regime—before I knew it, nobody talked to me at school anymore. There used to be quite a lot of people who’d come up to me and ask me for magic tutoring before all this went down, you know. But now, well... Honestly, this is nothing new.

Next thing I knew, the day had flown by, and I realized that I’d gone the whole day without speaking to a single soul.

“Look, it’s You-Know-Who. Lord Cyclops. He’s staring off into the distance... I wonder what’s on his mind,” one girl whispered.

“Not sure. My guess is that he’s thinking about muscles, but who knows...?”

Even such a stoic man needed someone to talk to regularly to maintain his mental health. And who was the number one contender for company to chat with every day?

Do you even have to ask? It’s Charlotte, of course.

A girl giggled nearby, then said, “Char, that’s ridiculous! Hey, have you done your homework yet?”

Huh? Huuuh? Well, would you look at that! I’d spotted Charlotte, my dearest friend. She looked deep in conversation with the girl strolling through campus beside her, who I could only guess was her friend. The difference between them and me is like night and day... Here I am, sitting on a stack of clay drainage pipes, glaring at everyone. What a thug.

“Are you for reeeal? You’ve studied that far ahead? You’re such a good student, Char. I can’t compare at all!” the girl whined. “Since you’ve finished already, let me have a look at the assignment! Pretty please?”

News of our return to Kirsch has to have reached my father and the rest of my family by now. Yet House Denning hasn’t moved at all to force us back home. That she-wolf Mallow is just that influential in our household. It doesn’t even stop there! She even managed to convince them to allow Charlotte to take magic lessons. I cannot overstate how amazing that woman is.

The girl talking to Charlotte began fawning over her. “Listen, Char, you’re improving in leaps and bounds! In the few years after I awoke my magic, I couldn’t do anything with it. But look at you! You should have more confidence in yourself! You’re terrific!”

Hmm, by now, it’s been about a month since the empire withdrew their troops from the battlefront. Nowadays, nobody fears the possibility of an upcoming war.

As I sat, I overheard other students chatting around me as well.

“...Hey. When do you think he’ll come back? Professor Loco Moco, I mean.”

“Oh, him? We all thought he was back for good, but then he vanished with the headmaster and Professor Yugiri... Well, knowing the professor, he’s probably off somewhere having fun or something,” someone said with a shrug.

“I wonder what souvenirs he’ll bring back this time,” another kid chimed in.

“Forget about that; have you guys heard the news? Word on the street is, Professor Yugiri was secretly scouting talented people for Princess Carina’s future Guardian Knight during her time at Kirsch.”

“They usually pick the Guardian Knight from the ranks of the Royal Knights, though. I mean, if you’ve got incomparable skills like Denning does, they’d probably make an exception, but otherwise? Nah.”

Professor Yugiri was a Royal Knight who’d taken up a job as a professor at Kirsch. There’d been a lot of speculation about why she came to Kirsch in the first place—the theories ranged from looking for potential Royal Knight candidates among the students to a mental health vacation. But no one learned the truth about her presence until the very end, and by that point, Professor Yugiri had already received her orders to return to the Royal Knights. Had everything gone according to plan, Professor Loco Moco would’ve returned to Kirsch in her place.

But then that incident happened. I didn’t even want to think about it. Because of everything that went down, the headmaster had rushed towards the capital with Professor Yugiri and even Professor Loco Moco in tow, despite the latter having only just settled into his new position.

“Things are pretty dull without Professor Loco Moco around. I liked those half-hearted lessons of his...”

It should’ve come as no surprise, then, that the absence of the most popular professor at school left much of the student body feeling dejected.

“I know this is probably beating a dead horse, but listen to this! So, Tully went into the forest to see the fallen meteorite, and apparently there’s nothing recognizable left of the place. It’s like the apocalypse happened there. Completely wrecked, according to Tully...”

People celebrated the meteorite in the forest as a monument, one celebrating the new future that awaited this world. It marked Dustour’s withdrawal from Daryth and the beginning of peace that would last centuries. The Age of Dawn, they called it. Well, that’s what people said, anyway, but in truth, that thing had been made manifest by a warrior from the enemy nation.

The powers that be, including the staff at Kirsch, swept the Dream Dealer Witch’s rampage completely under the rug, leaving not a single trace behind.

“I planned on joining the army, but what should I do now that it’s not really needed? Hmm...”

“Yeah, it’s probably about time that we start thinking about that seriously. Even if I went back home after graduation, my bro would just use me as his gofer.”

A laid-back, carefree atmosphere hung over the school despite such a close brush with disaster. That wasn’t such a bad thing, though. Ignorance is bliss, after all, and the presence of an agent of Dustour in the forest was a truth best left untold to the masses.

Now, if only I could erase Professor Yugiri’s memories of Charlotte, then everything would be perfect. The professor did promise that she wouldn’t cause us any trouble, perhaps out of gratitude to us for saving her life, but still... Charlotte was my retainer hailing from Huzak, a country renowned for its destruction at the hands of monsters.

“Huh,” Charlotte’s friend muttered. “A retainer of the great House Denning has to shoulder some pretty high expectations in terms of skill, huh? That sure sounds tough, Char.”

Oh? Are Charlotte and her buddy heading to their next class already? I leaped down from the pipes and approached them with casual, nonchalant snorts.

Lately, Charlotte didn’t accompany me during my workouts. I get that she had classes now and was busy revising notes and preparing ahead of time. Charlotte never had the education that nobles like me received, so she must’ve been working her head off. Of course she inevitably wouldn’t have as much time to spend with me, but...

I called out to her. “Hey, Charlo—”

“Ah, Char! Lord Denning is calling for you... H-Huh?! Where are you going, Char?! Class doesn’t start for a little while yet! What? What preparations?!”

And yet...and yet... I sniffled inwardly.That the same young woman who’d served for ages as the blackhearted Piggy Duke’s retainer, not even batting an eye at the very presence that supposedly scared crying children into silence, would end up fleeing in a cloud of dust, just like this...

“Ah, Lord Denning, my deepest apologies!” Charlotte’s friend bowed her head apologetically in my direction. “We’re in a bit of a hurry!”

I gave her an exaggerated, pompous nod, as if Charlotte’s behavior hadn’t affected me at all, but on the inside, I nursed an utterly broken heart. But hey, I tried to convince myself, Charlotte’s responsible, so she probably doesn’t ever want to be late to class. What an earnest student. I’m so proud of her.

“A hardworking student is an admirable one, oink,” I muttered slowly.

All right, knock it off with the denial already and think, Slowe. What the heck was that just now? I mean, I’m used to people reacting in such a depressing way towards me by now. But Charlotte’s always stayed firmly on my side, even during my darkest moments. And she definitely just fled at the mere sight of me.

I stifled a sigh. “I bet she’s doing this because of what happened that day, huh? I’m not imagining it, right? She’s definitely doing it on purpose.”

It’d all started the day that the musketeer had taken Charlotte hostage. We drove back the witch with the help of the Great Spirit of Darkness, and while we managed to defend the shaky peace of the continent...

My life had been smashed into pieces becauseCharlotte was avoiding me.

There was a long stretch of dejected silence before I let out a disconcerted oink. The sad thing was, I could come up with several reasons that could explain her behavior. I’m starting to suspect it’s because I dragged her into too much danger... Did she realize that as long as she’s by my side, these life-threatening situations won’t stop? Or is she just completely fed up with me?

A voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. “Hey. Whatcha doin’? Ya look like the world’s about ta end, ya know.”

The end of the world. This guy’s right. That describes it perfectly. To me, Charlotte avoiding me isn’t much different from the apocalypse, and—

“Wait...” I slowly turned around. “Was that...?”

“Yep! I’m back, Denning!”

Standing behind me, arms crossed and the very picture of passion as ever, was none other than Professor Loco Moco, the former Royal Knight who’d gone to the capital alongside the headmaster and Professor Yugiri.

Chapter 1: Am I a Celebrity Now?

“Ya look downright awful, Denning.”

It’s a little hard to explain my relationship with this professor. You see, in general, teachers or teacher-esque characters tend to serve as guides to the protagonist in the anime. But I’m stronger than him, so we’re closer to comrades now than anything. But anyhow, there’s one thing I’m sure of... Just like in the anime, I can definitely rely on him, and I’d actually been more anxious for his return than anyone else’s. In fact, I am so peeved right now because he should have been back way sooner!

“Professor Loco Moco! When did you get back from the capital?!”

“Just now. And so here I was, mindin’ my own business and sneakin’ around the school when I saw ya standing here lookin’ all miserable. But wow, Denning, look at ya. Sayin’ that ya’ve slimmed down would be the understatement of the century. Ya know, I’m actually speechless with how overboard ya went on the whole workin’ out thing.”

I clenched my jaw. “Then I suppose I owe you a lifetime of gratitude for making me so worried that I couldn’t help but work out to burn off some steam,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

“Worried?” He cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. “Hold up, have ya really been that worried this whole time?”

“Of course I have. One of the Three Musketeers attacked me directly, and then I was abandoned here at Kirsch before I had the chance to see things to the end... It was torture.”

The professor sighed. “So, yer still hung up on the fact that we didn’t bring ya along to the capital.”

The professor acted like it was nothing, but to me, that incident—no, that crisis—threatened to ruin everything I’d done up to this point. Thinking back on it now, I should have done whatever it took to join them in the capital. Because I’d stayed on campus, they’d left me completely in the dark, and I took out my frustrations on my own body.

I changed the topic in hopes that maybe putting some of the professor’s fears to rest would loosen his tongue. “You don’t have to worry about things on Kirsch’s front. Everyone here has already forgotten all about it.”

“Yer right, that does seem to be the case. They say the meteorite in the forest’s a monument celebrating the beginning of a new age, aye? Good for them, I guess.”

“You teachers were the ones who twisted the story that way, though,” I reminded him.

The story of the meteorite coincidentally falling in the forest was a complete hoax. After the Great Spirit of Darkness helped me chase off the witch, the professors had immediately rushed over from campus. Every last one of them had been left wide-eyed with shock at the disastrous scene they found.

Naturally, trying to deceive the teachers was nigh impossible. I gave them my testimony on everything that’d happened, though my revealing of the Great Spirit of Darkness’s identity sent them into a frenzy. The Great Spirit apparently had no intention of hiding who she was, so anyone with enough talent could glean her terrifying existence with a single glance. So I thought that it was better for me to explain instead of letting the Great Spirit stir the pot by saying whatever she pleased.

“Anyway, Professor Loco Moco,” I said, “don’t you think it was cruel of you to give me the silent treatment for an entire month? Thanks to that, my body transformed into this”—I gestured down at myself—“due to all the anxiety and stress.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t ya be thankin’ me instead? Mages nowadays tend to rely completely on their spells and neglect their physique. Takin’ an opportunity to train yerself so thoroughly is a good thing.”

“So, did you come back alone, Professor?” I asked slowly.

“The old coot said he’s still got stuff to do at the capital, so yeah, ’m here alone.”

“Alone...”

“Actually, Denning, ya really shouldn’t ask any more questions. Don’t go around pokin’ yer nose into this stuff.”

“Professor, may I remind you that I was directly implicated?”

“I’m sayin’ this for yer own good.”

I hesitated. “Is the Great Spirit of Darkness still in the capital?”

The professor held his tongue, making it very clear he had no intention of divulging any more information. I didn’t really think I could wrestle the info out of him either. I know they left me behind because they wanted to put some distance between me and this incident.

I did feel that this incident had unprecedented implications, so I’m not surprised they’re trying to keep me out of it. If I put even a toe into it without thinking, I’d probably bestuck as a pawn in this stupid conflict until it’s over. That’s how ridiculously large its scope is.

The professor grumbled, “Ugh, yer so annoying. Maybe I shouldn’t have talked to ya after all.”

“You should have just brought me along to the capital in the first place, then.”

“Ye’ve already heard it all from the old coot. The Great Spirit of Darkness clearly has a strong interest in ya, and that’s the problem. I’m sure ya know that she’s famous for scoutin’ out talented mages and bringin’ them back to the empire. We’ve lost countless Daryth mages who ended up defectin’ to the north because of their fascination with the Great Spirit of Darkness.”

I know that. Nanatrij is a collector through and through. Her room is stuffed to the brim with extremely rare and valuable items. Her “collections” include humans as well, and all the mages who catch her eye are the best of the best. I heard she even took Headmaster Morozov in as her disciple when he was young and trained him in Dustour. It was Shuya and the Guardian Sword of Light she obsessed over in the anime, if I remember correctly.

“But the current situation is dire enough for us to ignore something like that,” I argued. “One of the most powerful military assets of the empire has brainwashed one of our Royal Knights.”

The professor glanced around, flustered. “Shush and watch yer mouth. Like I said, yer walkin’ into forbidden territory if ya head any further. And don’t keep bringin’ up things from the past. We absolutely shoulda contacted ya before now, sure, but think about what we’re dealin’ with here. Even leavin’ a paper trail was a risk.”

He continued on, not leaving me any room to respond to that. “Look around us. Everyone here is baskin’ in the peace we have. The fact that I was able to come back means that things have calmed down to a certain extent. So don’t ya worry. I can at least promise ya that the witch hasn’t done anythin’ since then. Even if she does, we’ve taken flawless countermeasures. That hag won’t be able to do a single thing.”

Asking me not to worry is a tall order. The enemy, one of the infamous Three Musketeers, is serious about starting a war. How could the professor be so calm? Is it because Nanatrij has agreed to cooperate fully in this regard? I mean, yeah, she is the one who decides how the Dustour Empire moves, so if she wishes for a truce, the empire will have no choice but to stay still. Is he implying that we shouldn’t worry about a lone warrior like the witch?

“Lettin’ your thoughts run all over the place will get ya nowhere. Those chaps in the capital are doing somethin’ about it. So just keep on keepin’ outta it for yer own good, all right?”

“For my own good?”

“Even you, Denning, probably have secrets that ya don’t want people pokin’ their noses into. Am I right?” Professor Loco Moco bid me a nonchalant farewell in his usual drawl before turning on his heel and walking away. “See ya.”

I stared at his back, rooted to the spot.

●

I couldn’t find any words to say, but my thoughts ran wild. Secrets I don’t want others to know about? There’s obviously more to that... I happen to know of one thing that he might be referring to—Charlotte’s true identity.

“No way, right?” I muttered to myself.

On that fateful night, Professor Yugiri had discovered who Charlotte was. The Great Spirit of Wind’s incessant screaming and squawking at the Great Spirit of Darkness was a dead giveaway, and the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

“Hey! I just saw Professor Loco Moco!” someone shouted.

“Oh yeah, he ended up going to the capital with Professor Yugiri, didn’t he? Let’s go talk to him!” another said excitedly.

I ignored them and focused on my train of thought. But I talked with Charlotte, and we both came to the conclusion that blindly worrying about it would be pointless. Sometimes it’s important to go with the flow. That’s what I told Charlotte so that she wouldn’t panic, anyway, but it’s not completely untrue.

Besides, Professor Yugiri promised that she wouldn’t cause us any harm. I don’t know how much I can trust her, but she owes us a life debt. I wonder how much she has reported to the queen and her court...

I sighed. “Well, I’d better brace myself for the worst-case scenario just to be safe.”

At a time like this...there is only one thing I should do.

“Oh... Ohoooink!”

Let me be clear: I am not howling. Lifting the barbell takes everything I’ve got, that’s all. I have put in all this effort to improve my endurance so that I never, ever make the same mistake that left me completely drained by the end of that game of tag.

“Ohooooooink!” This time, I grunted longer and louder.

It’s good to build muscles. Muscles have never let me down.

Everything is fine. Nanatrij is on our side as well, and the many fierce warriors in the royal capital have the current Guardian Knight, Sir Delfrey, leading the charge. We even have the Great Spirit of Light, Lectrikuhl, so a lone witch of the empire should be a piece of cake.

“Hold up, Alicia!” a familiar voice yelled.

“Oink...” I heaved, my snorts slowly turning confused. “Oin... Oink?”

“Why has my debt grown?! Something’s definitely not right here! What kind of crappy calculations did you do to cause it to increase so much?!”

While I was over here worrying about the fate of the world, this familiar someone sounded downright blissfully ignorant by comparison. I kept doing my dead lifts even as I looked over to the source, and I spotted a pair coming my way. Oh, hey. Straightening all the way up while lifting the barbell is a pretty good exercise too. I’ll note that.

“Shuya!” the other half of the pair snapped. “You birdbrain, have you already forgotten how much money I wasted because I ended up joining you on that stupid trip?! Of course the cost for all of that’s included as well!”

“But we planned that trip together, and I had your permission! I clearly remember that you were itching to leave before we left too!”

“Do you need your eyes checked?! I only went along because I was worried about you, that’s all!”

“Either way, I could never earn this much! It’s impossible!”

Ah yes, the bickering old couple never changes, huh? I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

It seemed that Alicia had pulled off an escape from her imprisonment in Cirquista at the hands of the king, managing to leave her home country once more. Now, she was enjoying the peak of her youth at school.

“Oh, whatever. Call it impossible all you want, but you owe me this money! Surely that fortune-telling of yours could earn you something! You used to earn a decent amount with that crystal ball, so why did you quit?! Reopen your shop immediately!”

“That crystal ball turned out to be a cursed magical artifact! I heard the voice say that it would never let me off the hook if I threw it away, so I still have it, but I won’t actually use it for telling fortunes anymore!”

I heard that Shuya doesn’t talk to himself anymore. He could probably lead a peaceful, normal life from here on out. Personally, I would’ve preferred it if he threw away that crystal ball, but that’s probably asking too much. Nobody knows how the Great Spirit Eldred sleeping inside the crystal ball would react if pushed that far.

“At any rate! Pay me back by the end of this month, Shuya! I’d tolerate even just a tenth of the total sum!”

“I told you it’s one hundred percent impossible!”

I’m so jealous of these two right now. Charlotte’s avoiding me... Still, I’m curious what’s going to happen to these two in the future. In the anime, they grew closer because of the war with the empire. If things stay peaceful, will they still become a couple?

My irritation spiked, causing my arms still lifting the barbell to twitch and fall. How dare they flaunt their lovey-doveyness right in front of me...! Why the heck should I worry about their future?! I already have my hands full, thank you very much!

“Even if you can’t afford to return it all at once, Shuya, paying it back little by little is fine. But you must pay me back! Promise me! Ah, right! Make sure to put it in writing! A verbal contract is insecure!”

Insecure, huh...? I thought wryly. Charlotte’s likely way, way more insecure over her cover being blown than I am. If her identity becomes public knowledge, there’s the very real possibility of people putting her on a pedestal and celebrating the revival of Huzak royalty. Charlotte doesn’t want anything to do with that kind of thing, though.

I felt a light bulb go off in my head. “That’s it!”

I’d been so completely invested in muscle building that, without realizing it, I’d left Charlotte to deal with the gravity of her situation all on her own. I could take out my stress by working out, but Charlotte...didn’t have anything like that.

“I can’t let this go on, oink,” I declared.

Charlotte’s anxiety must be crushing her right at this very moment. How could I have been so oblivious to her feelings?! I kicked myself for being so careless. Oh spirits, what a terrible sin I have committed! I played the part of the blackhearted Piggy Duke for such a long time so that I can be with her at moments like this, didn’t I?!

I’m so sorry, Charlotte! I’ll head there right away!

Everyone, you remember what happened this morning, right? Yes, I’m talking about the incident when I swear Charlotte’s eyes met mine but she still pretended she didn’t see me.

At this point, I’m not just speculating; I’m absolutely certain. Up until now, I’ve only suspected it to be the case, but I’ve truly evolved even further from the earnest Piggy Duke into the dazzling, charming Piggy Duke! I can do this!

I made a beeline for the female dorms, where Charlotte lived. I’ll go and see the truth for myself.

On my way, I heard girls around me whispering.

“H-Hey, that’s Lord Denning. Look at him... I used to think that members of House Denning all looked ambitious and aggressive, but...well... That doesn’t really describe Lord Denning...”

“To think that he was once an orc in human flesh... It all feels like a fever dream or something.”

“He’s so burly and manly compared to before. I do think that he might have gone a tad too far, though... But to be honest, I think it fits what I know about him.”

A chubby guy with initiative—that’s who I am now. I’m not the earnest Piggy Duke, but the Piggy Duke who charges in head-on.

Still, I must say that I feel so awkward and out of place here at the female dorms... Should I get someone to go fetch Charlotte for me?

I was about to ask a girl lounging around apparently doing nothing when she beat me to the punch. “Um... Shall I call Char here for you?”

I’ll get nowhere if I just stand around. With that in mind, I gave the girl a great big nod.“Oink!”

Charlotte came out in a flash. “M-Master Slowe! Pardon me, but you really shouldn’t be here!”

“What’s the problem with me coming here?”

“That’s not what I meant at all, but, um...” Charlotte groaned. “Ugh, just come over here!”

I let Charlotte usher me away from the area. Everyone stared at us with curiosity burning in their eyes, but such things no longer bothered me. I’m the Charging Piggy Duke, after all.

“Charlotte, you’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you? You completely ignored me this morning.”

“This morning was...well... How do I put this... Um, I wasn’t trying to ignore you or anything, but... More importantly, please don’t just show up to the girls’ dorm again! When you’re around, Master Slowe, you give everyone a nasty shock!”

“What did you just say? You make me sound like a monster... True, I might have been an orc among humans in the past, but I’d like to think I’ve become a lot more prim and proper lately.”

“Th-That’s not what I’m trying to say at all! I mean, this isn’t a place where a grand and noble person like you should lower yourself to come...”

“I guess you do have a point there. Noble students wouldn’t normally come around here, but still...” I muttered slowly.

“It’s improper! Master Slowe, please be more aware of the impression people have of you!”

“Huh?” My eyes widened. “What did I do this time?”

Nothing came to mind. I couldn’t remember picking on anybody, nor had I secretly defeated a baddie sneaking around school. I was pretty sure that I had been living as the good old ordinary Mister Denning.

“N-No way... Master Slowe, y-you... You’re still oblivious after all the ridiculous things you’ve done?”

Charlotte face-palmed, but I really, truly didn’t know what she was getting at. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve only been an average Joe recently, don’t you think?”

“I’ll be blunt, then... Master Slowe! How long are you planning to continue doing dead-lift workouts while making those weird grunts of yours?!”

“Huh? What do my workouts have to do with anything?”

“On your days off, you weight lift and weight lift and weight lift the whole day away in the spot behind the school building! Do you know what people call the place you chose as your workout area? They call it the slaughterhouse of Mercenary Slowe Denning, and they say that you will beat anyone who dares to go inside to a pulp!”

“Th-That’s a misunderstanding, Charlotte. You see, someone tried to steal my equipment. I only scolded them a little bit so that they wouldn’t ever do such evil deeds again, and—”

Yeah, true, that has happened a few times. I made my equipment out of magic. Some guy tried to steal it, thinking he could make a hefty sum if he sold it to the right enthusiast or whatever. So I set a trap and that moron got caught in it. That’s all.

“And I’m trying to say that you went too far! Master Slowe, you’re so, you know, extreme! Sure, a lot of things have happened since you declared that you’d trim down, but you didn’t have to go this far!”

“You think so, oink?”

“Don’t ‘oink’ me! Please don’t joke around! You’ve even started being careful about your diet, unlike before. You only eat things that are nutritious now!”

“Of course I’m watching my diet. I’m doing my best to learn, after all.”

Even if food is a matter of life and death to me, I don’t ever want to get fat again! In fact, I haven’t just opened my eyes to the marvels of weight loss and muscle building; I’ve also learned the wonders of self-management. My gym feels more like boot camp than an exercise facility because of the strict standards I hold myself to now. The atmosphere in there probably freaks the other students out.

“And! One more thing!”

“What’s that?”

“You may have turned into a muscle-head, but nothing can change the fact that you’ve become a very respectable person! That’s why, well... You’ve become entirely independent nowadays, and...”

“And...?” I prompted her.

“And you no longer need someone useless like me around, do you, Master Slowe?!” she yelled. “You don’t need me! You don’t need a retainer anymore!”

Leaving that echoing in my ears, Charlotte fled towards the dorms.

●

I returned to my gym and reflected on what Charlotte had said to me.

“Charlotte was pretty upset...”

As I lifted an even larger barbell than before, I thought back on our conversation. She said I’m independent now. True, I’ve been trying harder than necessary lately because I want to impress her with how much I’ve improved. Thanks to all my efforts, even Alicia mentioned that I’m, and I quote, “not too bad nowadays.” For Alicia of all people to say such a thing is a compliment of the highest order.

“Does Charlotte really think I don’t need or want her around because I’m independent now? If that’s what she’s worried about, it’s not true at all...” I mumbled to myself.

I’d even started preparing my own food for the sake of my diet, though it wasn’t anything fancy. I made chicken dishes to snack on during my breaks between workouts, choosing only things that would aid my physique.

Now, I know that everyone calls my gym a slaughterhouse, but let’s ignore that for the moment. She’s right... I think I really haven’t needed Charlotte’s care recently.

“But well, that’s because...” A while ago, I told Charlotte that I wanted to tell her something once I trimmed down. Basically, um, something like a confession, so, you know... Charlotte seemed quite moved at the time. After the witch incident, that conversation has kind of been left to gather dust, but I haven’t forgotten about it at all.

“Huh, if I look at it that way, maybe I am distancing myself from Charlotte.”

Just like Charlotte said, I was slowly letting go of her hand, little by little.

“Professor Loco Moco! Please tell us which students Professor Yugiri considered promising!” one student shouted.

Due to Professor Loco Moco’s return, today’s Practical Magic class had an alarming attendance rate. Even all of the regular hooky players showed up. To make matters worse, someone had asked whether Professor Yugiri had truly been scouting potential Royal Knight recruits. The professor had to go and put his foot in his mouth with his response of, “Why do ya know that?” After that, of course, chaos broke loose over the class. Everyone swarmed the professor, eagerly asking about who Professor Yugiri had chosen.

I, for one, didn’t care about any of this approval stuff. “Leaving the nest and learning to stand on my own, huh?” I muttered.

Charlotte’s words weighed heavily on me, and while she hadn’t been wrong, that wasn’t the only reason I had started to spend less time with her. Ever since Charlotte had received permission to attend classes, I hadn’t wanted her to take time out to look after me. I didn’t want to force her into the “retainer” box at all. If she had things she wanted to do, she had the right to do them. If she had things she wanted to learn, I wanted her to learn as much as she could.

A voice came from behind me. “What’s wrong, Lord Denning? That was a huge sigh. That’s pretty much the norm for you, though. And why were you peeking in my direction so candidly earlier?”

My eyes lit up, and I spun around. “M-My lord and savior has arrived!”

“Lord Denning... What did you just call me?”

“Uh, never mind. It’s nothing of concern, Tina.”

She’s here! She’s finally here! The commoner girl who would always point me in the right direction whenever I hit a brick wall! No, I should call her a goddess and my holy savior. She was a bubbly first-year who would brighten every room she entered, and despite the fact that I was one year her senior, I was extremely indebted to her.

I won’t exactly call her a friend; I think I could go so far as to call her my greatest life consultant. There’s actually a story behind that.

When the stress was eating away at me because I couldn’t go to the capital with the headmaster and company, she guided me and helped me see the light. Yep, you guessed it—it was Tina who told me how exercise could be a great stress relief, putting me on the path of muscle building.

“Wow, Lord Denning, your body looks like it’s been through the wringer. Up close, you almost look like a stranger,” Tina commented before cutting to the chase. “So, what’s up?”

“Hey, Tina, do you think I’m an independent person right now?”

“I-Independent? Th-This is rather sudden.”

Among all my associates, Tina was the toughest one. She constantly fought tooth and nail for her place in this school. On the night of the battle with the witch, there had been a festival at school. It was at this festival that this girl had apparently managed to rip off enough money to pay for an entire year’s worth of tuition!

I wondered what I looked like in Tina’s eyes. She probably sees me as someone who lives life on easy mode since I have House Denning backing me up.

Tina thought for a while, then she gave her reply. “Um... I think you’ve been pretty self-sufficient and independent lately, Lord Denning. I mean, you look like you’d even survive being abandoned on an uninhabited island or something.”

“Y-You think so?”

“Yes! Actually, I’d say you’ve gone much further than just being independent,” Tina declared.