After guiding me and Misha to the guest room, Schneizel said, "I'll bring my daughters," and disappeared somewhere.

  "This is amazing..."

  While waiting for Schneizel to return, Misha, who had been curiously surveying the guest room, let out a murmur. Her gaze was fixed on the furnishings and decor adorning the room.

  Luxuriously decorated tableware that clearly wasn’t meant for mere eating, enormous paintings leaning against the walls—everything glittering was undoubtedly real gemstones, and the paintings were likely the works of famous artists.

  Just how much would one of those cost...?

  It had been a year since I arrived in this world, and though I’d trained myself to have at least a noble’s eye for quality, I still couldn’t begin to guess the value of the items dispyed in this room.

  "Haaah..."

  Only now did I truly feel overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the ducal house, and a wave of nervousness crashed over me.

  Will I be okay? Will I be able to get along with Sarasvati and Lucy, Schneizel’s twin daughters?

  "I wonder what Lady Sarasvati and Lady Lucy are like. I hope they’ll get along with Norl," Misha mused.

  "Who knows? I haven’t even heard any rumors about them."

  As I answered Misha’s question, I mentally reviewed my game knowledge.

  I knew everything about the twin heroines’ personalities—down to the smallest detail.

  If I had to describe Sarasvati in one word, she was a spoiled, temperamental wild child. She’d gre mercilessly at anyone she disliked, hurl insults, and in the worst cases, even resort to violence.

  I remembered how much trouble I had in the game because of her innate dislike of people—unless you broke through that barrier, you couldn’t even enter her route. She was just that difficult.

  Lucy, on the other hand, was a girl who showed no interest in anything outside of her family and swords—another troublesome type.

  Silent, expressionless, indifferent. She wouldn’t harm you, but unless something extraordinary happened, getting close to her was impossible.

  In the game, the protagonist built a retionship with her by impressing her with his exceptional swordsmanship—but how the hell was I supposed to get close to her?

  While I was lost in thought, the door to the guest room opened again.

  Schneizel must have returned. Misha and I hurriedly stood up to greet them.

  First, Schneizel entered. Following behind him were two girls with striking crimson hair tied in twintails.

  Their bzing, vivid red hair immediately drew the eye.

  They were one year older than me—nine years old—and tall for their age, with long, slender limbs.

  And, as expected of twins, their faces were nearly identical.

  Ah, so these are Sarasvati and Lucy.

  I’d seen them countless times in the game, but reality was completely different. I’d never seen girls this cute back in Japan. Their features were perfect, as if chosen by the world itself.

  Of the two, the one brimming with energy was Sarasvati, while the slouching, lethargic one was Lucy.

  Sarasvati looked at me. Oh no, she’s definitely going to gre at me. She’ll curse me out. And depending on how I react, she might end up hating me completely.

  What do I do what do I do what do I do—

  "Nice to meet you. My name is Sarasvati. Pleased to meet you."

  "……Huh?"

  A polite bow and a gentle smile. The girl who introduced herself as Sarasvati was the very picture of a noble dy.

  Her name was the same as the heroine I knew from the game, and her twintailed crimson hair, delicately refined features, and voice—everything matched what I’d seen in the game.

  But… this wasn’t right. The Sarasvati I knew wasn’t like this.

  "Norwin?"

  This is where she’d say something like, ‘What the hell are you staring at?’ right?

  Huh? What? Huh? Whaa—?!

  As I stood there gaping in shock, Schneizel peered at me curiously.

  "Hey, kid, at least greet them properly."

  "Ah… eh?"

  "Hey. Hey. Seriously, what’s wrong with you?"

  "It’s fine, Papa. He must just be nervous since it’s his first time."

  "But he’s gotta at least say hello!"

  Huh? What? She’s… being considerate? No way.

  Why—? Could it be that the game and reality are different?

  My only lifeline—my game knowledge—doesn’t apply here? Why?!

  "……No way."

  I stood frozen in disbelief. Schneizel leaned in again, looking concerned. Is my face really that bad? Well, yeah, I guess so. The girl whose actions directly tie into Clesancia’s survival is behaving differently from the game.

  If this keeps up, I won’t be able to save Clesancia.

  "Don’t tell me you fell for Saras at first sight?"

  "N-No, that’s definitely not it!"

  "Hey, what’s with that instant denial?! Why’d you answer that part so smoothly?!"

  "No no no no no—!"

  Schneizel grabbed my head in a vice grip.

  Sarasvati, unable to watch, intervened with a "Hey, what are you doing?!"—but even that kind of help was something the original Sarasvati would never do, making it all the more terrifying.

  "Papa! You’re being mean to Norwin!"

  Ah, the way she yelled just now had a hint of the game’s Sarasvati.

  "But this kid—"

  "No ‘buts’! You always jump to using force—!"

  And thus began the scolding session. Even the strongest man in the world was powerless before his beloved daughter. Schneizel shrank back pathetically.

  Jumping in here would only make things messier, so I decided to ignore it—no, more like escape reality—and turned away.

  "Ah."

  "……Ah?"

  And in the direction I turned, there stood the other red-haired girl.

  The listless, bnk-faced one—Lucy, the younger twin.

  "Nice to meet you. I’m Norwin."

  "……I know. Papa told me."

  "I see."

  "……Yeah."

  After that brief exchange, she brushed me off as if she had zero interest.

  This doesn’t bode well for building a good retionship.

  That said, this reaction was normal based on the game. From what I could tell, Lucy’s personality wasn’t too different from the game’s version.

  Lucy was a girl born with supreme talent in swordsmanship and a fighting spirit—but seemingly left everything else behind in her mother’s womb.

  So to get close to her, I’d first need to show her enough strength to pique her interest.

  "Norwin."

  Sarasvati, having finished scolding Schneizel, tapped me on the shoulder.

  "Lucy’s really shy, so I’ll introduce her for her."

  "Ah, thank you."

  "……Don’t need to."

  "Yes, you do. You’re going to be living together from now on. This is Lucy, my twin sister. Be nice to her, okay?"

  "Understood. I look forward to getting along."

  "…………"

  Lucy averted her eyes and fell silent. She clearly had no intention of warming up to me. Getting close to her is going to take a lot of time.

  Sarasvati, whose behavior differed from the game, was hard to read too. Will I really be able to handle this?

  This was an incredibly rocky start. But for better or worse, my life as Schneizel’s disciple had begun.

  ---

  "Haaah, I’m exhausted."

  Back in the room Schneizel had provided, I ignored unpacking and immediately flopped onto the bed.

  "I’ll take care of unpacking, so you can rest if you want."

  Misha, who would now be working as my personal attendant in this mansion, happily began organizing my belongings.

  "You seem happy."

  "Hehe, maybe so. I finally feel… free."

  Free, huh? Yeah, I guess so. I’d escaped the shackles of Endenberg. And under Schneizel’s protection, Misha was now completely beyond the reach of her family or former fiancé.

  From now on, my life would revolve around training as Schneizel’s disciple—but I’d also have a fair amount of freedom.

  "We’ve finally made it this far."

  "Yes… but this is just the beginning. I think you can do even greater things, Norl."

  "Doubt it. If it weren’t for you, Misha, I’d probably still be stuck in that annex."

  "Fufu, in that case, let’s keep doing our best together."

  "Yeah."

  Even as we chatted, my thoughts kept circling back to the twins.

  They were a major obstacle in saving Clesancia.

  Lucy, the sword-obsessed prodigy, and Sarasvati, the genius who refined mediocrity to its absolute peak.

  In the future, both would become world-css swordmasters. But right now, they were still just kids. That vampire from before was way more intimidating.

  At this stage, I could still influence them. I could either bring them to my side—or crush their potential as enemies.

  The biggest concern was—

  "Sarasvati."

  If she’d been the same as in the game, I could’ve used my knowledge to steer things. But the real Sarasvati acted differently.

  So, what now? Do I treat them as enemies and nip their future in the bud? Or do I take the risk and try to bring them to my side?

  I owed Schneizel. I didn’t want to crush their potential if I could avoid it.

  "Guess I’ll try my best to get along with them."

  Having made up my mind, I turned my thoughts to the days ahead.

  First up—Sarasvati. I’d start by figuring out what kind of person she really was.