"Augusta's getting everyone armor?" Robert asked.

  He had an eyebrow raised, and his arms were folded. I managed to find him working in the gardens outside of the academy on my way back, so I decided I might as well ask him about his measurements.

  "Yes, she is," I answered.

  "You mean, you are getting everyone armor and Augusta is paying for it?" Robert questioned, pointing at the girl in the process.

  "That...ummm..."

  "Dante, I know you can't afford suits of armor for all of us," he said.

  I let out a deep sigh.

  "Robert, I can."

  Augusta, who had been silent up until this point, spoke up.

  "Even if Dante can, he shouldn't have to," her voice was stoic. "I'm wealthier than him by a lot."

  "Yes, and that is why she is being generous," I said.

  Robert shook his head.

  "Dante, we both know that Augusta's only doing this because you'd go into debt to buy us all armor if she didn't," he replied. "She wouldn't buy any of us armor if you didn't want to. You're just trying to give her credit for the idea because she's paying for them."

  Augusta turned to me.

  "I told you he wouldn't fall for it," her voice was ice.

  Well, at least Robert didn't seem afraid of Augusta anymore. Or he was at least better at hiding it. I guess that finding out she was dating me shattered everything he thought he knew about her.

  Either that or just most of what he knew about her. Robert is right about Augusta's motivations. She wasn't really close to anyone other than me as far as I knew. Hopefully, she'll have more friends in the future. It'll probably happen after she stops punishing herself and opens up more.

  "But at least he'll give us his measurements," I said. "You will, won't you, Robert?"

  The boy shook his head. Then, he stopped mid-shake. A contemplative look crossed Robert's face.

  "Normally, I wouldn't accept charity from a noble. But you're not a noble, Dante. So, I suppose this doesn't count as pity," he stated.

  "Soooo..." I spoke.

  "Give me a bit," the boy said. "I'm in the middle of gardening, but I'll get you my measurements."

  I clasped my hands together and bowed.

  "Thank you, Robert."

  He scoffed.

  "I should be the one thanking you. You're giving me armor."

  Augusta sighed.

  "Dante, let's get going," she started walking away.

  "Just give me one more moment," I said.

  The girl nodded and stopped where she was, some distance away from Robert and I. Then, I leaned closer to the boy before whispering.

  "Umm...Robert, you know the rumors about Augusta?" I questioned. "How she..."

  He held up a hand.

  "Don't say it."

  "Why...why not?" I asked.

  "Whatever rumors there are about the Bloodbath Princess...about Augusta, I'm going to pretend I never heard them. I'm just going to assume that they're slander nobles say about their enemies," Robert answered. "Augusta has a terrifying power, and she's ridiculously strong. But, as far as nobles go, she isn't that bad. At the very least, she isn't as bad as people claim she is."

  "Don't you want to know the truth?"

  "No. I don't care. I'd rather start over from zero with Augusta."

  I gave him a slight smile.

  "Thank you once again, Robert," I said.

  He scoffed.

  "That's just self-satisfaction on my part," Robert stated.

  With that, I walked over to Augusta. The two of us made our way to the proper campus when she said something that shocked me.

  "You whispered something to Robert. Will he be okay?" Augusta asked in her stoic voice.

  "Yes, he will," I answered. "I didn't think you'd ask."

  My girlfriend tilted her head.

  "Why wouldn't I ask?" she questioned. "Even if we aren't friends, I don't want Robert to die."

  Relief flowed through me. Augusta did care about Robert, at least a little bit. But she didn't try to interact with many people other than me. Though Augusta was clearly talking to Millia, I knew full well she didn't like her.

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  "Augusta, you're punishing yourself more than I thought, aren't you?" I wondered.

  My girlfriend looked away.

  "Dante, even if it wasn't my fault, the guilt won't disappear overnight. I can't bring myself to stop punishing myself," Augusta said.

  I shook my head.

  "It looks like I'll have to keep a closer eye on you," I replied.

  "That's fair. I'm already keeping a close eye on you," she stated.

  On the one hand, Robert seemed to be wrong about Augusta only caring about me. On the other, this meant Augusta was still in horrible shape. And on the third mutant hand, I hadn't noticed it until now. I had failed as a boyfriend, and that weighed on me.

  "If you want to talk again, I'm here for you," I said.

  "I do, Dante, but not yet," Augusta replied.

  After a moment of hesitation, she spoke again.

  "There...is some thinking that I have to do, Dante. When I'm done with it, we'll talk again."

  I placed a hand on Augusta's shoulder.

  "I'll wait as long as you need me to, Augusta," I told her.

  "Thank you, Dante," she replied, a faint smile crossing her face.

  When we entered the halls of King Casimir Academy, I saw Janek looking at some birds through a window. I approached him.

  "Perfect timing, Janek!" I said. "Could you give me your measurements?"

  He turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

  "My measurements?" he questioned.

  "Augusta's buying armor for everyone," I explained.

  Janek shook his head.

  "Thank you, Augusta," he stated. "But I can buy my own armor."

  "Are...are you sure? Augusta could get you some really good armor," I said.

  Janek shrugged.

  "She could, but Augusta is the princess of the kingdom to our West. Some day, they may go to war with Katow. Her kingdom's armies might march on this very city. Would you trust armor given to you by a potential enemy?" the boy questioned.

  I sighed and shook my head.

  "Alright, if you must know, this was my idea. Augusta's just paying for it," I said.

  "That much was obvious," Janek replied.

  I facepalmed.

  "He didn't fall for it either, Dante," Augusta stated.

  "Thanks, Augusta, I noticed," I said.

  After shaking my head, I spoke.

  "Then, why won't you accept the armor?"

  "Because it is still being paid for by Augusta," Janek explained. "If the blacksmith had to choose between listening to your or her instructions, he would obey the one paying. And that isn't considering that she's a princess."

  Some very good points. However, I had another solution to that.

  "Augusta, would you be fine with just giving Janek the gold if he swears on his honor to use it to buy armor?" I asked.

  But Janek was the one who responded.

  "I am a noble. I do have my own money to get armor of high quality," he answered.

  With a sigh, I accepted that Janek wouldn't take any armor that Augusta was involved with.

  "Okay, I understand," I nodded.

  When I was about to leave, Millia ran over to me.

  "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" she said. "Where the hell were you?"

  "I was buying armor with Augusta," I replied. "Speaking of which, I need your measurements if you want armor too."

  Millia shrugged.

  "I'll send you them later. Augusta, I need to borrow your boyfriend for a moment. Important business," she said.

  My girlfriend gave her a single nod.

  "If it's important, go ahead," Augusta replied.

  With that, Millia yanked me into a nearby classroom. It had people in it. So, Millia pulled me out of the room and into the next one over. Thankfully, it was empty.

  Taking a deep breath, Millia closed the door. She looked me up and down.

  "Dante," the girl said. "You seem intact."

  "Yeah. I am," I replied.

  Millia folded her arms.

  "I'd have thought he'd have had you and Augusta spar," she stated.

  "He did," a flicker of annoyance passed through me. "Augusta is very good at holding back."

  The girl shrugged.

  "I guess so. But I remembered some lore from the Duke's Duplicity," Millia said.

  "What's that?" I asked.

  Millia held up a finger.

  "Augusta wasn't at the tournament because of the evaluations, the same evaluations you went to today," she answered. "At first, I thought it was because the guy in charge of the tournament was sexist, but he let other girls in."

  I nodded.

  "Even if he's sexist, he's able to be somewhat objective at least. He said I was too strong to enter," I said.

  Millia let out a deep groan. Her arms dropped to their sides, and her body hunched over.

  "Fuck. Just fuck," the girl shook her head.

  "How bad is this?" I questioned. "It's just a tournament. Tournament arcs in anime are mostly filler anyway."

  "You haven't been watching the right anime," Millia scoffed.

  She took a deep breath before speaking.

  "Dante, that tournament is key to getting Prince Boleslaw in the party," the girl explained.

  I blinked in shock. I was not expecting that.

  "He joins the party? I mean, I suppose it's obvious in retrospect, but still," I said.

  "Just...just let me think," Millia shook her head. "In the Duke's Duplicity, Dante enters the tournament and wins."

  At that point, I realized that Millia was thinking aloud more than telling me about the game.

  "He defeats Prince Boleslaw, which earns him the prince's respect. He then joins Dante," the girl nodded.

  Then, a smile crossed her face.

  "I've got it, Dante. I will enter the tournament and defeat Prince Boleslaw. I'm in the party, so I can get him to join it by defeating him," Millia declared.

  "Was Millia in the tournament in the original game?" I asked.

  She shrugged.

  "It depends on the route you're in. If you're romancing Millia, she gives you her favor and doesn't compete. Otherwise, she does," the girl answered. "But I'm a lot stronger than Millia was in the Duke's Duplicity. I can at least get far enough to fight Prince Boleslaw. And if I train hard enough, I can beat him."

  "You say you're stronger than the game's Millia was, but the only time I've had a chance to see you fight, you had a panic attack," I pointed out.

  An expression of shame crossed Millia's face.

  "I spar a lot in gym class," she said.

  "Yes, but I'm busy sparring with Augusta whenever that happens. She's probably not even using 10% of her power, but I have to concentrate to stand a chance against her," I replied.

  "That's...a good point."

  If I was some omniscient third person, I'd probably see Millia sparring more. But my attention, as it should be, was fully on my girlfriend.

  "Just leave it to me. I can handle this. So, trust me," Millia said.

  "Alright, I will," I nodded. "I have my own stuff to worry about anyway."

  Namely, what I was going to do on my date with Augusta. I'd need to do something that lets her know that I appreciate her as a girlfriend. I want to make her feel special.

  But there was something else I needed to worry about, something that I'd have to do over the course of the current Duke's Duplicity arc.

  "Right. You are too occupied to worry about my stuff, Dante. There's the game you're making. And you need to deal with the bonding events, then the expeditions. Janek's bonding event is first, followed by Robert's, and the new party member's is third. Now, we don't have much time before Augusta will get impatient, so..."

  "One thing instead," I said.

  Millia grimaced.

  "Instead? What are you talking about?" she asked.

  She stopped when she saw my face. There was a mixture of determination and sorrow in it.

  "There's something I want to know," I answered. "Millia, is there any way we can save Crummel from his fate?"

  Hesitation flashed through the girl's mind. Then, Millia shook her head.

  "Save Crummel...he's already on the path to doom. There isn't anything we can do," she said.

  "I'm saving Augusta. Can't I save him too?" I questioned.

  "Augusta's situation is different. Part of what made it tragic is that she could have been saved," Millia stated. "But Crummel...he...he..."

  I could see Millia struggling. Then, after a moment, she took a deep breath.

  "Dante, I don't know if we can save Crummel. But we could try. I'll come up with a plan. And it might just work."

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