Cannon fodder is too lazy to act

8

"You look so cute in that uniform, Kai!" Mother Nanaia squealed as she squeezed the fan between her hands, looking at him with stars in her eyes. "We should commemorate this moment with a photograph! Hold still, Kai!"

Nanaia pulled her son towards the window, where the sun illuminated Kai's small figure; dressed in the gray plaid sailor uniform. "Now, give me a smile, Kai," Nanaia said as a servant carried over a tall folded mechanic, that unfolded itself and revealed a crystal cube wrapped in fabric.

Kai gave a reluctant smile on the face of the 'camera'. A magic circle appeared in front of the cube, and Kai's image appeared like a projection. Nanaia hurriedly rushed to call over the servants.

"Hurry, bring over the blank canvas!"

Kai moved aside as two servants holding a white canvas moved in front of him, and the next second the projection was pushed forward; a flash of light blinded everyone in the room before disappearing.

Nanaia smiled, smiling at the portrait of her son.

"Alright, I'll see you off, Kai."

The portrait was promptly taken elsewhere while Nanaia guided her son away.

Esmond snorted as a crowd of students circled around him. The crowd of kids looked at him with adoration, but he also saw something extra in their eyes, and as children, they couldn't hide the emotions hidden deep in their desires very well. Greed and envy, they all spewed out pampering words yet all of them were hollow.

Kai looked at Esmond in the distance, the top of his blue head glaring amongst the ordinary colors. He watched as the prince was circled with adoration and praise, despite doing nothing. Although he was drowned in love, his expression was sour and he looked displeased; at once the plot of this 'game' was recalled by Kai in his mind.

Esmond Aethalweald, the crown prince of the country Alkibaides. He's the only child born from the current queen, the only legitimate heir amongst all his other siblings born from the King's harem. Although his mother moderately spoils him, he has a busy schedule despite his age; he is the future of the kingdom after all.

His attitude can be described as arrogant in the face of others, with an innate sense of superiority towards others and this doesn't come unwarranted. Esmond was incredibly talented; so much so the head priest of the church predicted him to one day become one of the ten wizard saints on the continent. And as I witness his abundant potential talent, Kai was able to attest to this statement.

Kai, even as a cannon fodder who decided to take classes early and learn extra material, still struggled to conjure up this thing called 'magic'.

Yes, Esmond would be a great man in the future. His road ahead was bright and prosperous, as long as the heroine chose his route.

If not...Kai thought of his(E) bleak future. Esmond would become a traitor to his own country.

Kai looked down at the notebook in his hand, the familiar writing of his original world neatly scrambled the pages; all detailing the numerous routes and plots of the game. In the chart, Esmond's name was marked bold in red and a graph followed his name which depicted his routes which split into 3.

Romance, Traitor, Death. At the end of each end of the routes, Kai had put notes of his own endings.

Okay, ???(Most likely dead), Definitly dead. If the heroine chooses any other routes other than romance, he's dead meat. But then again, even without the heroine, the game's plot will most likely send him to death's door alone.

A war is coming soon.

Kai moved his attention to Sigrun's name, which was also heavily bolded in red. Sigrun would be the future general of this continent's military forces, one of the best of the best. Although Kai saw him as nothing as a kid right now, as he's only 15, recalling the moments the two did meet the most striking thing about him was his height which was quite tall for a teenager who lived in poverty. Sigrun held an innate talent in strategy and combat, with effective strength not appropriate for his age, speed(physically and mentally), and great knowledge in battle which he managed to gain experience from being drafted into the war early on. Not to mention he was also a skilled mage, though not as prominent as Esmond, he was still better than the vast majority.

Sigrun, Kai echoed the name in his head, his brows subconsciously furrowing as he walked. Sigrun wasn't an obvious capture target, he was a hidden one, only being able to be unlocked if the heroine happened to decide the Traitor route for Esmond. Although through a hazy memory, Kai still wasn't able to fully discern how the two would be able to connect with this route, he came up with some theories though.

After becoming a traitor, Sigrun, as a military official put a bounty on the ex-prince head and sought after him for treason. Or, After being a traitor, Esmond targets the heroine who is a vitally integral part of the Kingdom and Sigrun is put beside her side as her bodyguard.

There are many theories really, but Kai found these two the most possible with the fragments of memories he has of his past.

Now as for Kai, himself. He didn't appear very much in the plot, more like a name in passing. But from his own personal knowledge, as he is now, Kai figured out a few things. His family was dying out, literally. Bother his father and eldest brother passed away early in his rebirth, and even so, he still held fond memories of them. His mother became a widow and was severely depressed, and though she tried her best to hide it from him, it still shows. His family held close ties with the monarchy, as his mother is very close confident of the current queen and he was able to approach the crown prince because of this reason.

He held a reputation for being the crown prince's dog, as he was always seen diligently following behind the prince and obeying his orders exactly like a dog. Towards other people, he is seen as reserved and arrogant; ignoring others as if they were the plague and acting disgusted if they even tried to approach him.

Kai closed the book in hand. Facing the crowded classroom in front of him. There was no blue-haired prince in his sight which was slightly off his memories, he remembered that these two always seemed to be together and always had the same classes.

Oh well, Kai thought as he took a random seat. It's not like it matters anyways, I'll be dying soon either way.

Especially because of the war that was approaching.

He had no intentions of saving himself, no, he just wished this would end faster.