Chapter 8 - I Don’t Need Any Followers, Really! (取り巻きなんかいらんっつーの)

A few days had passed since the first day at school.

Just as Ekaterina had expected, she was still alone.

No. Actually, a group of girls called her out. She was relieved when they invited her to join them for lunch during the lunch break on her first day attending the class.

But that was the beginning of the disaster.

Ekaterina joined the girls’ trio and ate at the cafeteria.

There, she immediately thought.

(This is not good.)

In the beginning, the trio tried to flatter Ekaterina. But she didn’t know how to react to their overreacting compliments, so she could only reply with a wry smile. Since Ekaterina wasn’t very responsive, the trio immediately got absorbed in their conversation.

The topic of their conversation was, to say it simply, backbiting and abusing other people. Among the girls in the class, they didn’t seem to like Flora, who used to be a commoner (plus she was also a beautiful girl) and the daughter of the Count that had a sparkling atmosphere (like she was in the high position of the school caste).

They also gossiped. They made a scandal from a groundless rumor and convinced each other with, “It’s clear that she’s xxx!” “Yes, yes!”

At this point, all Ekaterina could think was “Uwahhh…” But she also remembered something.

(Ah! These girls are the Yes-Yes Trio!)

Turns out these three girls were Villainess Ekaterina’s followers in the game.

Ekaterina didn’t notice it because their characters didn’t have a name or a distinct face. All they did was follow Ekaterina and say, “Yes, yes!” By the way, Yes-Yes-Trio was the random name Ekaterina gave to them when she played the game in her previous name.

(Not good. Staying with these girls is the same as going straight to the destruction flag.

And I can’t stand listening to this conversation any more.)

Upon finishing her meal, Ekaterina elegantly wiped her mouth with a napkin, showcasing her manner as the lady of the Duke family. Then she stood up.

“I’m sorry. I have to meet my brother, so I will take my leave here. Have a nice day.”

(Thank you, Mina. I’ll run away by using Brother as my shield! Just like your advice!)

True to her thought, Ekaterina ran away.

Even so, the Yes-Yes-Trio was persistent.

When Ekaterina was alone, they would immediately approach her. No matter how many times she ran away, they would come again. Ekaterina hoped they would soon realize that she didn’t like them considering how she kept running away from them, but they didn’t get it.

Apparently, they desperately wanted to have a little share of Yurinova's wealth and Ekaterina’s privilege. From the first time they had a meal together, they always tried to find a chance to do that.

...They most likely preyed on Ekaterina in the game.

During the short breaks between the classes, Ekaterina, who couldn’t afford to slack off on her study, felt a sense of crisis and worked hard to review the lesson and prepare for the next class. She repeatedly told them, “I don’t have time to chat. I beg your pardon.” After a while, they didn’t approach her anymore at that time. But it might also because they wouldn’t be able to get any advantages from her in such a short break.

Then they would often crowd together and start saying nasty things loud enough that Flora, who sat next to Ekaterina, could hear it. Flora only focused on reviewing the lesson and didn’t respond to them at all, but Ekaterina was irritated.

And the biggest problem was the lunch break. The Yes-Yes Trio would approach her, so she couldn’t eat in the cafeteria.

Then, she asked the staff at the dining hall of the dormitory to make a sandwich for her and brought it to the academy. But when she was eating on the bench in the schoolyard...

“Miss Yurinova~”

When she saw the Yes-Yes-Trio running towards her, she almost spitted out the sandwich from her mouth.

“You shouldn’t eat alone in a place like this. People will laugh at you,” they said with a grin.

Just give me a break!

Whose fault do you think this is? Also, a corporate slave like me wouldn’t mind eating alone like this! My mentality was strong enough! If I could only live depending on other people, then I wouldn’t have survived working until I died!

But Ekaterina couldn’t yell all of that, so all she did was run away in silence.

She didn't want to bother Alexei. Even so, the only way to avoid those trio monsters was to stick to Alexei.

Yeah, let’s do that.

Ekaterina went to the classroom of the third year students, full of anger. But she was surprised when she arrived there.

“Duke? He’s in the office,” Alexei’s classmates said.

His classmate was a manly handsome man. He had fiery red hair and golden eyes. Even so, he looked friendly and amiable.

Huh? Ekaterina faintly remembered that there was this type of capture target in the game. But she only did the prince route, so she didn't remember anything else.

“The office…?”

“Yeah, seems like he rented the academy meeting room to do his work in managing his territory. He’s always there during lunch and after school since we’re still in the first year.”

So Brother was also working in the academy!

No, wait. Brother had been working since he entered this academy!? Even before he was a Duke!?

And when he returned to the dormitory, he would be studying until late at night… Oh no, the death from overworking flag was no longer a joke!

And his classmate was calling him the ‘Duke’, huh? It sounded more like a nickname than a title.

Ekaterina went to the office with the kind manly man telling her the location.

There, Alexei was sitting in front of a large desk full of papers. His subordinates, who were people with important positions in managing the territory, surrounded him. Some were reporting something, and the others were writing documents on other desks. It reminded Ekaterina of the atmosphere of her office or executive room in her previous life.

Brother was working very hard!

“Ekaterina. What happened?”

“Um… I wanted to eat lunch with Brother.”

Brother smiled and accompanied me to the cafeteria.

However, Brother had to work longer than usual after school since I took his time, right? I also troubled his subordinates. This made me feel really guilty.

Damn it, Yes-Yes Trio!

When I asked Brother how he usually ate his lunch, he said that they would bring him the recommended menu from the cafeteria. I asked if he wanted to have something easier to eat that would taste delicious even after they cooled down, but Brother only shrugged. Seems like he wasn’t very interested in food even though he was in a growing age.

Hmmm.

After that, the Yes-Yes Trio rushed to Ekaterina’s room in the dormitory. There were ten first year dormitories, yet why were they all staying in the same dormitory? What bad luck.

But in the game, Ekaterina, the Yes-Yes Trio, and Flora, the heroine, were assigned to the same dormitory too… I-it couldn’t be helped.

And Mina chased away those three girls in mere seconds. I was surprised since I thought they would persist.

“Thank you, Mina. What did you say to them?”

“I only told them My Lady is studying. After that, I glanced at their necks and kept silent, imagining how much power I should use to choke them until they stop breathing.”

“...I see.”

My beautiful maid was a psycho.

Well, I’m grateful for that, so whatever. Hmm, is this really fine, me?

“My Lady, are they bothering you?”

I didn’t know how to answer Mina. I feel like if I say, “Yes,” something terrible might happen. I’m overthinking it, right?

“No, not that severe. They’re just slightly annoying. I feel like I’ll lose if I admit they’re bothering me.”

“I understand. Slightly annoying, huh.”

I still had a feeling that something dangerous would happen… oh well.

“I will take care of them myself. Don’t worry, Mina.”

They wouldn’t approach me during the small breaks and when I was in the dormitory. My current problem was during lunch break.

And I wanted to improve Brother’s diet.

Right! It’s a lot more fun to think about Brother than worrying about the Yes-Yes Trio. I wanted to make Brother understand the excitement of a meal!

Working without taking a lunch break was what I did in my previous life as a corporate slave!

Alright. Let’s work hard. Not for the Yes-Yes Trio, but for Brother.

But I might have to make some changes in my plan to break the destruction flag...

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