Seele sat alone in the library, spacing out.
If any of her classmates were here to see her sitting alone, they would surely be astonished.
After all, at school, the new student Seele and Bronya were practically a set, always inseparable.
But now, Seele was here all by herself.
Something about this was decidedly not right.
However, it couldn't be helped.
Just a short while ago, at the dinner table, Big Brother had spoken about the "Artificial Herrscher" Project.
Afterward, Mei-neechan made a phone call to consult with her father, Uncle Ryoma, and was then picked up and taken to Mexico.
Bronya-neechan, who was supposedly incapable of acquiring a Herrscher's power, obtained an alternative method to wield it with Big Brother's help and was then sent to the Anti-Entropy headquarters.
Then, a certain one-armed, white-haired uncle also came and took Kiana-neechan, who often bickered with Bronya-neechan, away to train in the Kaslana family's Gun Kata.
In an instant, the only ones left at St. Freya were her and Big Brother.
And Big Brother was one of this world's top researchers, who often had many experiments to conduct and was rarely seen.
"It feels… a little lonely."
The girl, who had been constantly surrounded by a group of people ever since leaving the Sea of Quanta, murmured softly, her expression a little downcast.
"Lonely?"
A female voice, similar to Seele's but with a completely different charm, sounded in her ear, laced with a teasing tone.
"If you're lonely, then just put on some pretty makeup like Auntie Himeko taught you and go find your Big Brother."
"I imagine that guy, who his own adopted daughter calls a 'loli-con' and a 'soft-girl-con', wouldn't be able to hold himself back if he saw you all dressed up."
"Who knows, the raw rice might just get cooked."
"O-Other me, what are you saying!!"
Without a doubt, after hearing her other self's teasing, the innocent Miss Seele's entire face turned as red as a cooked shrimp.
"Big Brother has a ton of experiments to do right now, I can't go and disturb him!"
"Disturb?"
"Seele's" voice continued to echo in her ear.
"A beautifully dressed girl throwing herself into his arms is a bona fide bonus, you know."
"A bonus?"
White Seele was still a little dazed.
"Er, well, calling it a bonus isn't quite right. The subsequent events might leave your Big Brother's body looking a little haggard."
The girl with the charming tone offered an explanation so proper that it made Miss White Seele's face flush beet red and steam start to rise from the top of her head.
"T-That kind of thing is too soon to do now!"
The girl, blushing like a sunset, flusteredly retorted to her other self.
"I'm only turning fifteen next year!"
The little fool is a lost cause.
Miss Dark Seele thought.
Seele was born in the Republic of Estonia, where fifteen is the minimum age for marriage with parental consent.
For the little fool to mention the age of fifteen here really brought to mind a certain subtext.
—Marriage.
"Oh? So you're really not going to consider it?"
Miss Dark Seele, knowing her other self was already a lost cause, tried to test the extent of her surrender.
"You've sensed it too, haven't you?"
"Seele's" voice sounded beside her.
"A lot of girls like your Big Brother."
"For example, that Mei-neechan who's always making tea for everyone. For example, that Kiana who's always slinging her arm around your Big Brother's shoulders. And for another example…"
She paused there, letting Seele think for herself.
"Other me… the last person you wanted to mention is Bronya-neechan, right?"
Seele, who had learned from Bronya-neechan that Big Brother had known her long before they met, suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Every one of her dates with Big Brother could be seen as an act of betrayal towards Bronya-neechan, who had known him first.
"Um… other me, should I be more proactive now?"
Prompted by her other self, the girl, who seemed to realize her path to love might have many obstacles, cautiously asked her other self.
"Big Brother… is a bit of a blockhead. He doesn't seem to know that I like him."
The girl known on the streets as Dark Seele the Heroine sensed her other self's reaction and sighed internally.
The little fool is a complete and utter lost cause.
However, it wasn't that hard to understand.
The guy Seele called Big Brother was the one who had torn open the Sea of Quanta and pulled her out from the endless void.
A person like that was undoubtedly Seele's hero.
And for Seele, who yearned for the romance of fairy tales, her resistance to a hero appearing before her was decidedly low.
That Li Zihan fellow had a handsome face, and his various abilities were incredibly strong. It was only logical that her other self would surrender so completely.
"Seele" recalled the face of that frankly out-of-spec guy and thought idly.
If he were only faithful in his relationships, that guy would be a perfect lover.
"Seele," who also knew the "Big Brother" Seele spoke of, looked at the Seele who had clearly already given herself away and sighed internally.
Back in the world bubble, when that guy berated that monster Kevin for Seele's sake, he was indeed very handsome. Even I was a little moved.
If the little fool could walk all the way with him, it would truly be a perfect ending.
Unfortunately, the little fool's Big Brother is a playboy pretending to be dense.
Li Zihan was an absurdly capable person.
Despite being a mere Branch Vice-Commander in name only, he could mobilize the resources of Schicksal HQ, his authority as high as the Overseer's.
He wasn't from the Previous Era, yet he had close dealings with its trailblazers and could even direct them to some extent.
Furthermore, he also had an extremely close relationship with Anti-Entropy—he could even use certain conditions to get a Herrscher core from the Anti-Entropy Sovereign and give it to Bronya as a gift.
A person who could do all these things, and he couldn't see the feelings of the girls around him?
Utter bullshit.
A guy who could constantly navigate between the top players of this world, relying on information disparity to gain numerous benefits, couldn't read the emotional cues of a few young girls?
Could he be any more ridiculous?
"Seele," who had clearly sensed certain thoughts from a certain someone, felt a little displeased.
That guy was good to all the girls around him.
Unbelievably good.
To chat a little longer with Mei and explain the situation, he directly postponed a meeting with the Schicksal Overseer. Because Kiana yearned for family affection, he decided to resurrect her long-dead mother through Chaldea. To help Bronya get a little stronger, he demanded the Herrscher of Reason's core from the Anti-Entropy Sovereign…
It was obvious. The things he did for the girls around him could truly be described as earth-shattering and heaven-moving.
Being pursued like that, it would be a miracle if one didn't fall for him.
"Seele" was certain that if he confessed to any of the girls around him, the outcome would be a success.
But that guy didn't do it.
He just maintained a relationship with those girls that was close to, but not quite, that of a lover, and continued to raise their favorability.
Miss Dark Seele only had to think for a moment to get the answer.
He wanted to use the state of equilibrium among the girls to raise all of their affection for him to an even higher level.
So, what was the situation now?
In just one day, Raiden Mei, Bronya, and Kiana had all left St. Freya Academy.
For him, who had worked so hard to achieve a relative balance, this should have been a terrible thing.
So, why didn't he stop it?
After all, with his abilities, leading Raiden Ryoma, Welt, and Siegfried to St. Freya Academy wouldn't have been a difficult task, right?
Why let the girls around him scatter all at once?
What was he trying to avoid?
He's avoiding the incident that would be triggered by having too many girls around him.
"Little fool, lend me your body for a couple of days."
Miss Dark Seele, having clearly thought of something, spoke to her other self.
"E-Eh—, did something happen?"
Miss White Seele, who hadn't thought as much as her other self, was stunned and then asked.
"It's nothing. I just want to confirm a few things."
Miss Dark Seele smiled at her other self.