Karl and Erich walked side by side without a word. Karl was busy scanning their surroundings, searching for a quiet place where they could talk, while Erich felt too burdened to be the first to speak. It didn't help that from Erich's perspective, Karl's expression looked particularly serious.
'A good person.'
Those two words suddenly flitted through Erich's mind as he watched Karl—words he'd never once thought in his entire life: 'a good person.'
Growing up, Erich had never encountered anyone he could call good. Their father, the family head, went without saying, and even their mother was somewhat ambiguous. Even Karl, his older brother, occupied a strange gray area that made Erich tilt his head in uncertainty if asked whether he was a good person. Before meeting Luize, the concept of a good person had been nothing more than an ideal to Erich.
The reason such words came to mind now while looking at Karl—not even Luize—was simple. It was because of a recent conversation with Luize.
For Erich, the time before going to the club room—that is, regular Academy class hours—was the best time of all. Thanks to the fortunate coincidence of being in the same class, he could talk with Luize alone without any interference. During those hours, they could discuss all sorts of things, and Luize's lively nature sometimes brought up unexpected topics.
"Do you hate Karl, Erich?"
Like that, for instance.
Caught off guard by Luize's direct question, Erich looked at her in surprise. She blinked at him with eyes that seemed both genuinely curious and concerned. At that look, Erich awkwardly scratched his head. Seeing how Erich always tensed up in front of Karl, Luize must have been worried about their relationship as brothers.
"No. I don't hate him. I just find him a bit intimidating."
"Why? Did something happen when you were younger?"
At that, Erich's lips curved up ever so slightly. If he had to choose when things between him and Karl had been relatively good, it would have been when they were children.
"Nothing happened. If anything, I think that's why it's awkward."
If something had happened, if they'd talked more and he'd grown familiar with Karl, wouldn't he not find his brother so intimidating and uncomfortable? Erich sometimes thought that. Though it was already too late.
"It's just... the atmosphere he gives off is a bit heavy, you know? Unlike me, he's been working as an official for several years now, so I haven't seen him often. That's all. It's nothing special."
He tried to smile and brush it off, but Luize tilted her head as if she couldn't understand that answer.
"Really? It seemed to me like Karl really cares about you."
"He does?"
Now it was Erich's turn to be puzzled. This was the Krasius family, where you could say everyone left everyone else to their own devices. Yet Karl, whom he rarely saw since becoming an official, cared about Erich? Even coming from Luize, it wasn't particularly believable.
"Yeah. He's always watching you, you know?"
And what Luize said next went like this: During club time, he was always watching Erich, and sometimes when she passed by Karl from a distance at the academy, his gaze seemed to be on Erich standing beside her. Though he didn't express it, he always seemed to be mindful of Erich.
"Even when I first met Elder Brother Karl, he spoke warmly to you."
"Did he...?"
Erich wondered how those gruff words could possibly be considered warm. Still, he didn't argue back—first, because it was Luize saying it, and second, because Erich himself had begun to harbor a faint hope. What if Karl really was concerned about him, just as Luize said?
'Does he really... think of me as his younger brother?'
Like any ordinary siblings, they could get along amicably without avoiding each other. That possibility stirred Erich's heart, and perhaps sensing his feelings, Luize continued with a soft giggle.
"You know, I used to wish a lot that I had an older brother? So when Elder Brother Karl agreed to be our advisor, I was a bit excited and happy."
"So my brother gained a younger sister without even knowing it."
"Hehe, I guess so? That's why it would make me really sad if Elder Brother Karl and you didn't get along."
"Because both Elder Brother Karl and Erich seem like good people to me."
At those words Luize added, Erich couldn't bring himself to speak.
'Good people, huh.'
Luize's voice as she spoke with a bright smile still echoed in Erich's mind. Wouldn't Erich also wish for Karl to be a good person, to become good brothers? He simply hadn't been able to approach him because he instinctively shied away.
But not anymore. With Karl taking on the role of club advisor, Erich had gained both the necessity and courage to face his trauma, and through his conversation with Luize, he had found hope that he could overcome it.
'Thanks to Luize, I'm finally facing it.'
For years, Erich had avoided Karl, using instinctive aversion as his excuse. He had feared him without properly talking to him or even observing him. But now, he finally felt ready to truly see Karl.
Perhaps sensing this change in Erich, Karl, who had been walking ahead, turned around to look at him. Before they knew it, they had reached a place where not a single presence could be felt. Let's grow closer to my brother, little by little, starting here. With that resolve, Erich opened his mouth to speak.
But Karl was slightly faster.
"You like Luize, don't you?"
Ah.
Is this... what a good person is like...?
Erich's vision went dark.
***
'This should be fine.'
After searching for a suitable spot, I found a place where people rarely came and no presence could be felt nearby. Here, we could talk without any burden. When I turned around, Erich's lips were moving as if he wanted to say something, but I decided to speak first.
"You like Luize, don't you?"
It was too aggressive and provocative as an opening line, but I hoped Erich would understand. To make him stronger right now, shock therapy was necessary. Vague consideration would only make the boy weaker... What Erich needed wasn't defeat through consideration, but victory through shock.
Yet, without understanding his brother's deeper intentions, Erich's soul dared try to flee. Not a chance. I continued immediately.
"I wondered if there might be some deep connection between you two that I didn't know about, but that's not it either."
If that were the case, it would have been fortunate. It would mean there were shared memories incomparable to the other four. But Erich didn't have that.
"And honestly, have you expressed your feelings? That's not it either."
A grand confession might get grandly rejected, but at least it would make the other person recognize you as a romantic interest. But Erich didn't have that either.
"Is there an overwhelming reason for her to choose you...? You know the answer to that, don't you?"
You don't have anything like that. You have to go with purely building a connection between just the two of you.
Having gradually approached Erich, I placed my hand on his tattered shoulder and met his eyes.
"Right now, you're at the biggest disadvantage among the five."
Erich said nothing. His eyes had clouded over—it seemed he'd taken the shock a bit too hard. Of course his mind would be in chaos, with his brother suddenly pummeling him without pause about his undisclosed romantic endeavors.
But it couldn't be helped. Destruction was the preliminary stage for recreation. This shock would become the foundation for a successfully strengthened Erich. I believed this without a doubt. I believed in my younger brother.
"...But still, you're not planning to give up just like this, are you?"
Of course, if I ended things here, Erich might pull out a knife from somewhere and try to stab me. I probably wouldn't die from being stabbed, but things would be too awkward between us afterward. So after delivering the shock, I needed to breathe vitality into him with hopeful words.
I casually moved beside Erich and draped my arm over his shoulder.
"Luize personally created the Baking Club. Don't forget that."
At those words, Erich's clouded eyes turned toward me. Look at that—mention Luize's name and he reacts immediately.
"You know Luize likes baking, right? Do it with her. I know you have zero baking skills, but at least pretend to help from the sidelines."
Actually, Luize might even be delighted to see an inexperienced Erich and help him out. Veterans are always crazy about newbies, after all.
"Make things together when she's baking, and if you can't keep up, at least ask questions. Even sharing a hobby like that gives you an advantage."
High-ranking officials with an enormous gap in status versus a classmate with a shared hobby and a relatively smaller status gap—if she needed to rely on someone, who would she turn to? Is there even a comparison?
As my words continued, life began returning to Erich's eyes. Yes, that's right. After delivering the shock, new knowledge flows in smoothly. Without that shock, with everything blocked up tight, we wouldn't have achieved this level of effect.
"Actually, the status difference? It might work in your favor. What kind of family is the Naierd family?"
"A barony, so..."
"Exactly. A barony. By simple calculation, it's only two ranks below the Krasius family."
Of course, that's only when calculating by the five peerage ranks. The Krasius family can't be treated as a simple count house. But compared to the imperial family, royal families, and Saint Candidates above, it's relatively favorable.
That's why I could feel Erich's mind racing. Having let everything go and then receiving it anew, he must be seeing things differently now. And I added quietly, both to confirm and finish him off: three out of the four are foreigners who'll have to return home after graduating from the Academy.
That day, Erich grew stronger.
He'd at least leveled up from a Baking Club member who couldn't bake to one who could.
After belatedly coming to his senses and glancing at me awkwardly, I sent Erich back to the club room first. I instructed him that if the members asked why he came empty-handed, he should make an excuse—say the ingredients he'd expected to arrive today had been delayed and would come next time.
As for me, well, since I was already out here, I might as well get some fresh air before heading back in. I felt like I'd gotten overheated from talking too much.
"Pathetic fool."
Tsk. I clicked my tongue once and leaned against the wall. I'd spared no advice I could give for my younger brother's sake, but I didn't like the situation itself—that I had to give such advice in the first place. It wasn't even particularly special advice to begin with.
I don't understand it. If you truly want to win someone's heart, aren't there things you should instinctively do?
What's more, the Luize I've observed so far is actually quite simple. If you just help her out when she's in a bind, provide what she needs, respond enthusiastically to her efforts, and show genuine appreciation when tasting her finished dishes—winning her heart should be easy.
And yet, not a single one of the Five Men is doing it properly. Does love really make people lose their intelligence?
If that's the case, then whoever among the Five Men ends up with Luize will be in a pitifully diminished mental state. I should offer my condolences to Luize in advance...