"Alistair, Alistair, time to go to school."
Early Monday morning, Kasumi Haruno, already ready for the day, gently shook Alistair in bed, softly calling his name.
"Ugh, Kasumi, you go first. I'll sleep a bit more."
Alistair wrapped himself completely in the blanket, his voice muffled.
"But I've already made breakfast, you know. It's best to eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good when it's cold. How about you get up and eat breakfast, and then you can go back to sleep?"
Kasumi Haruno gripped the blanket, speaking with a touch of helplessness. She genuinely didn't mind Alistair not going to school on time. Firstly, the school's policy was lenient, and even if it weren't, nothing would happen to Alistair. What Alistair revealed last night was enough to let him run rampant at school.
"Didn't I just get a secretary last night? Just let her make another meal. What's the point of having her if she doesn't do anything?"
Alistair's muffled voice came from beneath the blanket, clearly unwilling to get up.
"Sigh, alright. I'm going to school first, then. Remember to eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast is bad for your stomach. Well, I'm off."
Kasumi Haruno instructed him.
"Okay, I remember."
Alistair's lazy voice drifted out. Even if his body suffered from some ailment, the Horse Talisman could cure it, but a girl's concern should always be well-received.
"Kasumi-nee, Big Brother Alistair isn't up yet?"
Ryūto Haruno's voice came, followed by the sound of footsteps upstairs. Then, Ryūto Haruno, carrying his school bag, walked in.
"Big Brother Alistair, it's almost eight o'clock. Time for school."
Ryūto Haruno called out from the doorway.
"Alright, Ryūto, Alistair wants to sleep a little longer. Let's not disturb him. Come on, let's go to school."
Kasumi Haruno walked out the door, nudging Ryūto Haruno's shoulder, urging him to leave with her. Both she and Ryūto Haruno were still mindful of the school schedule.
Clank!
With the sound of the door closing, the room fell into silence.
"Phew~ I feel like getting up but also don't."
Alistair threw off the blanket, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Last night's events had shocked him somewhat. He originally thought he was just an ordinary third-generation rich kid, but it turned out his family was incredibly powerful. However, if they were so powerful, how did both his parents die? He also happened to be a noble, although in this area, the status of noble was practically useless. Perhaps the only useful privilege was the right to legally take multiple wives.
But even that was possible in the demi-human district. If they accepted you, you could legally have multiple wives, as human law only governed humans; the demi-human district created its own laws, much like an autonomous region or "one country, two systems."
Since demi-humans and humans differed in many ways, the demi-humans had their own laws, with only some core laws being the same as the human side. For example, regarding childbirth, demi-humans were divided into various species, but most had surprisingly low fertility rates. Fortunately, those species also had longer lifespans, so overall, they weren't overly worried.
The separation of the demi-human and human districts was partly due to this as well. Take the female elf species, for example. They might still look like maidens at over two hundred years old, having outlived several husbands. A new husband could potentially be a classmate of their own grandson, provided they had children, because not every elf woman who married a dozen or twenty times had a single child.
So, the division of the country into human and demi-human districts wasn't without reason. However, not all were like this. Species like the dog or cat tribes, or other bizarre species, had the opposite problem—alarmingly high fertility rates. One slip-up could mean instant impregnation, and they often gave birth to several children at once. Single births or twins were the minority for those species, meaning their reproduction was restricted.
Speaking of demi-humans, Alistair remembered he still had a demi-human apartment building to claim in the demi-human district. But because of that creepy Hachishaku-sama figure, Alistair currently dared not set foot there. He was terrified of being sought out the moment he arrived. Alistair currently lacked the psychic resistance abilities or tools and wouldn't dare go. He could easily be captured and continually "drained of life," leaving Alistair powerless, merely a rag doll for her pleasure.
Forget it, time to get up.
After lying there for a while, Alistair lost the desire to continue relaxing. He got up, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast.
Clatter.
Thud.
After finishing breakfast, Alistair grabbed his belongings, closed the door, and headed out.
At school, in the classroom.
"Koyama-kun, a senpai (upperclassman) from the Student Council is looking for you."
A call from outside the door brought Alistair, who was spacing out, back to attention.
"Coming, coming."
Alistair stood up and walked outside, finding a familiar face.
"Hello, Koyama-kun. My name is Yuka Tachibana. I'm in my second year. I'm here to take you to the Student Council office."
The beautiful girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail nodded to Alistair and introduced herself quite directly.
"Uh, hello. I am Alistair Koyama, from Class 1-H."
Alistair was slightly surprised that the person who came for him was this girl he had seen a few times, but he didn't hesitate, introducing himself just as directly.
"Class H?"
Hearing Alistair's self-introduction, Yuka Tachibana instinctively glanced at the class sign on the door.
Class G... wait a minute, he just said he was from Class H. Class H is at the end of the other corridor, isn't it?
Yuka Tachibana looked at the class sign, then looked down the distant corridor towards where Class H should be, feeling a little flustered.
"Did you switch classes yourself? Skipping your original class to attend this one? You... 4."
Yuka Tachibana asked instinctively, but then stopped herself. After all, there were many eccentric people at this school, and even more delinquents. It wasn't her place to interfere. She was just curious why he would switch classes since the lessons were the same; only the teachers were slightly different. But she quickly decided it was his business and had nothing to do with her.
"My girlfriend is in this class."
Alistair shrugged, knowing what Yuka Tachibana was implying.
"Mhm, understood. I'm here to take you to the Student Council. We are colleagues now."
Yuka Tachibana nodded and walked ahead to lead the way for Alistair.
"Colleagues, huh? I think I was supposed to be the Treasurer."
Alistair walked behind Yuka Tachibana, rubbing his chin as he recalled. He remembered Anna Komiya had asked him to be the Treasurer on Saturday.
"That's right. The current Treasurer is in the third year and is about to step down. She needs to prepare for her final exams. Getting into a good university is hard. If she doesn't prepare early, her chances of getting into those good schools are too slim. I'll also be stepping down when I enter my third year to prepare for the exams and strive to get into a good university to become a strong woman like my mother... Sorry, I lost myself there. Just pretend you didn't hear what I just said."
As she spoke, Yuka Tachibana suddenly brought up her own plans, clenching her fist to cheer herself on. She then realized she was telling all this to someone she had just met and quickly apologized. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt the need to share her thoughts. She felt Alistair gave her a good vibe, different from other boys.
"It's fine. Your plan is great; no need to be shy. I don't know your family situation, but I admire that kind of ambition."
Alistair shook his head, indicating it was fine. He genuinely thought Yuka Tachibana's goal was good. He admired any girl who wasn't a lazy freeloader. That's what self-reliant girls were like, unlike the kind he saw online before transmigrating, who were either "watermelons" or "potatoes" and whose comments were utterly ridiculous.
Even girls like Kasumi Haruno and Mina Morita, whose dream was to be homemakers, were genuinely willing to handle all the household chores and were obedient, rather than just using the title as an excuse to suck blood. Well, there were girls like that in reality, but they were the minority.
In short, perhaps because he had seen too many ridiculous girls before transmigrating, Alistair basically held an appreciative attitude towards any girl who was halfway decent now.
"Really? Other boys all think girls should just stay home and be housewives. I didn't expect you to think this way."
Yuka Tachibana's impression of Alistair improved even further. Very few boys would endorse her idea of becoming a successful career woman. She used to mention it, but everyone laughed at her, so she stopped bringing it up.
"Everyone has their own aspirations. For example, my girlfriend's dream is to be a housewife. It's just that most girls share that kind of ambition. I don't care; everyone has the right to their own path."
Alistair said casually. Having grown up in that country, even though he knew his thinking was skewed due to certain experiences, he understood the principle that everyone had the right to choose. However, Alistair didn't believe everyone had the right to choose. Those who actively messed with him wouldn't get a choice—at least not until they took a beating.
"Mhm, I think so too... Alright, we've arrived at the Student Council office. Let's go in."
Yuka Tachibana was about to continue when she led Alistair around a corner, and the Student Council office was right ahead. Yuka Tachibana stopped the conversation, opened the door, and walked inside with Alistair.
"Oh, hello, Koyama-kun, you're here. Come on over. I'll introduce you to everyone."
As soon as the door opened, Anna Komiya, standing nearby, looked over. Seeing it was Alistair, she waved him over, but she didn't call him by his first name. In a public setting, especially at school, she was very mindful of maintaining her image.