Almost an hour later, I exited Kaylee's room. That's how long it took me to explain to her about Mother, Clan Leone, and so on. Not because the explanation itself was long, but because Kaylee kept interrupting me to ask questions.

It turned out that Kaylee really had no idea that Mother used to belong to Clan Leone. A part of me thought she knew, or at least suspected it, but no. This revelation blindsided my little sister.

It also explained a few things she went through. In the First Timeline, Kaylee encountered members of Clan Leone a few times. However, they always treated her with hostility. Sometimes, they even attacked her. She never knew why, until today at least.

I left Kaylee, to give her time to come to terms with everything, and headed towards my room. It had been a long day. Traveling, dealing with Kaylee, rescuing Harvey from the bullies, dealing with Kaylee again, etc. I wanted to take a nap.

However, on the way to my room, I encountered Harvey. He looked like he was walking on eggshells, looking around everywhere, afraid that he might make a mistake. When he saw me, his nervousness grew even more palpable for some reason.

"Lo-Lord Gabriel," he said, "can we talk?"

Well, there went my plans.

"Sure." I said, gesturing to him. "What did you want to talk about?"

Harvey looked around again.

"Not he-here." He said. "Somewhere private."

Fair enough. We were in a hallway within the manor. It wasn't exactly the best place for a private conversation. I gestured for Harvey to follow me and led him to the manor's drawing room.

After we sat down, I waited for Harvey to begin. He didn't speak up right away. Instead, he sat there, looking down with his hands on his knees. I didn't push or prod him along. Instead, I waited.

"Lord Gabriel," Harvey said after a while, "I appreciate your help earlier, and I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I can't accept your sponsorship."

Huh. I think that was the first time I heard him speak so many words without sputtering or stuttering.

I shook my head. That wasn't important right now. Instead, I studied Harvey. He hunched in on himself, as if expected to be rebuked or yelled at.

Hmm, I needed to handle this with care. While I wanted to sponsor Harvey, for both selfless and selfish reasons, I wouldn't force it on him. Still, I would like to help him out, if possible.

"May I know why?" I asked.

Harvey flinched.

"I… I don't deserve it." He said in a quiet voice.

Harvey then waved his hands in a panic and started speaking, the words rushing out of him.

"I know that th-this is a great op-opportunity, and I was so happy when you offered it to m-me. Ho-However, after thinking it ov-over, I can't accept it." His shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry for re-rejecting your kindness, after ev-everything you've done for me. You should spo-sponsor someone more de-deserving."

By the time he finished speaking, Harvey resembled a sad puppy on the verge of tears.

"What do you mean you don't deserve it?" I asked. "You reached the top spot for this year's final exams. Not just for your grade, but for the entire academy."

Harvey shook his head.

"Th-That's nothing special." He said. "Any-Anyone could do it if they worked hard enough."

I raised an eyebrow at that. While there was some nepotism involved, the Solarian Imperial Academy took education seriously. If a student earned a certain grade or rank, they earned it. It didn't matter what their status was or which family they belonged to. Even if status mattered when it came to grades and scores, this wouldn't apply to Harvey, a commoner.

If Harvey didn't think reaching the top spot was difficult, he was either pretending to be humble or he was being sincere. From what I observed of him, it was the latter. That alone told me how smart he was, which made me want him even more.

"I don't think that's true." I said. "However, even if that were the case, you're the one who reached the top spot. You're the one who worked hard enough to make it that far. Why wouldn't I want to sponsor someone like you?"

Harvey didn't respond for a long while.

"I don't want to disappoint you." He said. "Your father said he would investigate me, correct?"

"Yes." I said with a nod.

"Then he'll find that I'm not special, that I'm not worthy, that I'm…" He paused. "Nothing. I thought it was best to tell you the truth myself first. That way, you won't get angry at me for tricking you."

The more Harvey spoke, the angrier I became. Not at him, but at those who did this to him. I didn't know the exact details, but it was clear to me that Harvey suffered while attending the Solarian Imperial Academy. Someone, or someones, shattered his confidence and self-esteem. Otherwise, why would he put himself down like this?

I wanted to tell Harvey otherwise, that he was worthy and deserved to be sponsored by House Sturm, but I held back. My intuition told me that words wouldn't work. However, I had to do something. I couldn't just let Harvey leave without a fight.

Plus, I wanted to find the people who harmed Harvey. Maybe I wouldn't be able to do anything about them, but I at least wanted to know their identities. That way, I would be ready if the opportunity came up.

However, that was a problem for later.

"How about this?" I asked. "You're afraid of disappointing me. In that case, why don't we wait until after my father finishes his investigation? I'll decide whether to sponsor you after that. Until then, we'll keep our options open. Deal?"

Harvey looked like he wanted to object, but nodded his head in the end.

"Besides," I said, "even if I don't end up sponsoring you, I'd still like to be your friend, Harvey."

Harvey started and looked up at me for the first time since this conversation began.

"Wh-What?" He asked. "Friends? With m-me?"

I gave him a gentle smile.

"Yes." I said. "So, what do you say? Will you be my friend, Harvey?"

Harvey stared at me for several moments, before he nodded and gave me a shy smile.

"I'd love to be your friend, Lord Gabriel." He said.

"Gabriel." I said. "Since we're friends now, you can drop the honorifics."

Harvey opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated.

"Yes?" I asked in an encouraging tone.

"In that case, can I call you Big Bro?"

I had to admit, the idea appealed to me more than I expected.

"Yes." I said, a wide smile spreading across my face. "Yes, you can."

Harvey gave me a smile that lit up the room.

"Thank you, Big Bro!"

With that, I spent the rest of the day with my new friend.

When dinnertime came, Harvey and I joined the others in the manor's dining room. In addition to Kaylee and my parents, Leroy, Lorelei, and Corrie were there as well. Technically, Leroy shouldn't have been there. As a retainer for House Sturm, it was inappropriate for him to eat with his masters. However, I insisted.

Leroy and I ate together plenty of times when we lived in the Icefall region. Why change things now? It would be one thing if it were just me, Kaylee, and my parents. However, since we had other guests, I saw no reason to exclude Leroy. While the rest of the world saw him as just a House Sturm retainer, I saw him as a friend.

Kaylee looked startled when she saw my friends at the dinner table. However, if she had any comments, she kept them to herself. That said, I think she was distracted by other thoughts. She kept glancing at Mother several times throughout dinner. Perhaps she still found it difficult to believe that Mother was a martial artist, one who once belonged to Clan Leone.

Dinner was a casual affair, at least among the younger generation. While my parents engaged in the conversation from time to time, everyone else did most of the talking. To my surprise, Kaylee managed to ingratiate herself among my friends with ease. At first they acted awkward around her, but she won them over in the end. Even Harvey warmed up to her.

This surprised me. Given Kaylee's vengeful and wrathful nature, I expected her to have a cold demeanor like Father. However, she was more gregarious and charming than I gave her credit for. No wonder she managed to make so many connections and alliances.

After dinner, Harvey decided to head back to his dorm room. I tried to convince him to stay over for the night, since I was worried that his bullies might come after him again, but he was adamant. He didn't want to take advantage of our friendship. I found his attitude admirable, and a little annoying.

For my own peace of mind, I decided to escort him back to his dorm. Harvey tried to persuade me otherwise, but I insisted. So with that, Harvey and I set out with Leroy in tow.

It was still a little light out by the time we left the manor. With summer in full swing, the days were longer and the nights shorter. The Solarian Imperial Academy looked beautiful at dusk. The buildings gleamed in the light of the setting sun. A sense of peace and serenity filled me.

Along the way, Harvey and I talked about his family. Well, I asked questions and he answered. He came from a family of cobblers that lived just outside the walls of Sunheart. As soon as they realized that Harvey had a gift for academics, they poured everything they could into his education. When he got accepted into the Solarian Imperial Academy, they threw a large party for him.

From the way Harvey spoke about them, it was clear that he was close with his family. However, when I asked if he planned on visiting them for the summer, he shook his head. Airship tickets were expensive. So, to save money and avoid burdening his family even further, Harvey planned on staying at the Solarian Imperial Academy for the summer.

This gave me an idea. My family and I were going to Sunheart anyway, so why not bring Harvey with us? However, I decided to wait until after Father finished his investigation before broaching the subject. By then, I'd be free to sponsor Harvey. Otherwise, he might reject my offer.

During the first part of our journey, we didn't encounter that many people. However, this changed as we drew closer to Harvey's dorm. We encountered others going about their own business. Most of them were students in their black robes. However, we also saw others as well. Friends and family of the students, like me, I assumed.

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Harvey and I drew a lot of stares, as everyone gazed at us in bewilderment. Then again, we made for an odd pair. Harvey, a commoner without magic, and me with, well, my face. I ignored the stares, but Harvey seemed to wilt under the attention. To combat this, I threw my arm around his shoulder.

"Worry not, Harvey." I said. "Big Bro is here."

After a moment, Harvey nodded and stood a little straighter.

Harvey's dorm was a three-story building located in the more worn part of the Solarian Imperial Academy, the area that received less attention from the higher ups. When we arrived, we saw a familiar group of people: Harvey's bullies. They stood at the entrance to the dorm, as if waiting for us.

They were accompanied by a young woman who was about my age, or a little older, with fair skin, curly blond hair, and brown eyes. From the black robes she wore, it was clear that she was also a student. I sensed that she was at the upper end of Second Circle, like Kaylee.

At first I thought this young woman was related to one of Harvey's bullies. However, she looked nothing like any of them. Then again, family members didn't always look alike. Still, I doubted that was the case here.

I looked over at Harvey, to ask if he knew this young woman, but paused when I found him frozen with fear. He stared at the young woman with an expression of dread on his face. However, before I could say anything, a voice interrupted me.

"There he is!"

I looked over to find the lead bully pointing a finger at us, his face twisted with anger. Well, that answered my question. They were waiting for us.

"He's the one that attacked us, Lady Daisy!" The lead bully said. "He must be friends with that peasant."

The young woman, Lady Daisy, frowned at us before walking in our direction. The group of bullies followed after her. Any students along their path moved out of the way. Hmm, that meant she held some status.

I stepped in front of Harvey, shielding him from Lady Daisy.

"Don't worry," I told him, "I'll protect you." I glanced back at Leroy. "Be ready."

Leroy nodded, a serious expression on his face. By the time I looked back, Lady Daisy and the group of bullies had stopped several feet away from us.

"You have some nerve," Lady Daisy said with a sneer, "attacking my people and then running off."

I glanced at the group of bullies standing behind Lady Daisy, before I focused on her again.

"Your people?" I asked.

"Yes." Lady Daisy said in a haughty tone. "Each of them comes from a vassal family that serves my House. An attack against them is an attack against me."

"Yeah!" The lead bully said. "If you give us the peasant and get on your knees to beg for forgiveness, Lady Daisy might forgive you."

Lady Daisy glanced back at the lead bully. He fell silent with a contrite expression on his face. However, when she looked back at me, she said nothing to contradict his words.

By this point, a small crowd had formed around us, whispering and gossiping amongst themselves. No doubt they found all this entertaining. From what I heard, they expected Lady Daisy to win this exchange. Ignorant fools.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" I asked. "I don't even know who you are, which means your House can't be that important."

A hush fell over the area. Many in the crowd looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and pity.

"I'm not surprised." Lady Daisy said, looking her nose down at me. "Since you decided to help that peasant over there, you must be a country bumpkin from a regional House." A few members of the crowd snickered. "I am Lady Daisy Philips of House Philips."

I resisted the urge to snort. While the Houses stood at the top of Luminian society, not all Houses were equal. There was a hierarchy among them, though an informal and unofficial one. A House's standing was determined by a number of factors such as power, influence, wealth, and so on.

At the bottom were those whose influence was limited to their respective territories, which encompassed an entire region at most. Thus, they were called regional Houses. Most Houses fell into this category, including House Icefall.

Above the regional Houses were the lesser Houses. These ones were more powerful and wielded more influence. However, their reach was still limited to their territory and the surrounding territories. Lesser Houses often had regional Houses as vassals. Given the situation, House Philips likely belonged in this category.

Next were the central Houses. In addition to being far more powerful and influential than lesser Houses, they also had a presence in Sunheart, thus the name. Central Houses often had lesser Houses as their vassals. If the Jeffers family ever broke off to form their own House, they'd be a central House.

And above them all were the great Houses, who wielded the most amount of power and influence in Luminian society. These were the big players, the ones whose actions could affect the Solarian Empire as a whole. House Sturm and House Thorne fell into this category.

While these names and categories were all unofficial, they still held a lot of power. I never paid much attention to this, since I disliked interacting with high society. However, that would have to change, at least a little bit. While I planned on immersing myself in Murim, I couldn't ignore high society altogether.

"Out of consideration for your ignorance," Lady Daisy said, "I will give you one chance to make things right. Give us the peasant and apologize. If you do, I will let this go."

I scoffed.

"As if that will ever happen." I said.

Lady Daisy's face twisted with displeasure. A petty part of me found this satisfying. However, before I could say more, I heard Harvey speak up behind me.

"It's okay, Big Bro." He said in a small voice. "I'm the one they want." He gave me a sad smile. "I don't want you getting in trouble for my sake."

"See?" she asked. "Even the peasant knows his place. You should follow his example."

I looked back at Harvey and stared at him in disbelief. Did he really think I'd cave to some petty brat on a power trip? In terms of status, I stood far above Lady Daisy, even as the embarrassment of House Sturm. Didn't he know that?

Actually, he might not, now that I thought about it.

I looked back at our interactions over the past day and realized that I never told him that I belonged to House Sturm, nor gave any indication of it. Harvey was a commoner, so I doubted he'd recognized me as a Sturm based on my hair and eye color alone. Hell, even the other House scions failed to recognize me.

Huh.

"Harvey," I said, giving him a reassuring smile, "don't worry. Your big bro is more amazing than you realize. I've got this." I turned around and faced Lady Daisy again. "I'm not handing Harvey over. Nor am I apologizing to your cronies."

The crowd broke out into murmurs.

"Fine then," Lady Daisy spat out, her face twisted with anger. "Looks like I need to teach you a lesson first!"

Lady Daisy started to speak an incantation and form mudras with her hands. The crowd moved further away, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Given their reaction, it was clear that this wasn't an unusual occurrence. Just how much did the faculty let students get away with here?

Before Lady Daisy finished casting her spell, I rushed forward and used [Lightning Dash], closing the distance between us in less than a second. At the same time, I summoned my Aura. Ozone filled the air and the sound of thunder rang out as an illusory dragon formed around me.

Lady Daisy's eyes widened as I grabbed her by the throat, lifted her up and slammed her onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. However, I took care not to cause too much damage. I wanted to intimidate Lady Daisy, not kill her. I even loosened my grip on her throat so she could breathe.

"Lady Daisy!" The lead bully cried out.

He and his friends started to cast their own spells. However, before I could deal with them, Lady Daisy stopped them, saving me the trouble.

"Stop!" She gasped out. "Don't hurt him!"

The bullies stopped casting their spells and stared at Lady Daisy in disbelief. However, she ignored them. Instead, she focused on me with fear and dread in her eyes.

"I… Apologize." Lady Daisy said, still short of breath. "I didn't realize… You were a Sturm."

Another hush fell over the area, this one deeper than the one before. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the group of bullies start to tremble.

"It appears that you aren't completely ignorant after all, Lady Daisy." I said, baring my teeth at her in a smile. "Good. That will make this much easier."

"Please," Lady Daisy said, "don't kill me. I-"

I cut her off with a dismissive gesture.

"Don't worry," I said, "I don't intend to kill you. In fact, I'm in a rather good mood. I'm willing to forgive you for your rude behavior earlier."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Lady Daisy's eyes.

"Thank you-" She started to say, but I cut her off again.

"However," I said, an edge to my voice, "I'm far less willing to forgive you for the way you treated Harvey. I consider him my friend, and I don't like it when people mistreat my friends."

Despair snuffed out the glimmer of hope. Lady Daisy opened and closed her mouth several times. I let go of her throat and grabbed her by the cheeks.

"Listen to me well, Lady Daisy." I said. "Leave Harvey alone. If you mistreat him again, I will make you regret it. Do you understand?"

Lady Daisy nodded several times.

"Yes!" She said, her voice a little slurred.

"Good." I looked over at the bullies and the surrounding crowd. "This applies to the rest of you as well."

They all gave me a general murmur of assent. With that, I let go of Lady Daisy and walked back over to Harvey. He gaped at me, his jaw hanging open.

"Come on." I said. "Let's get you back to your dorm."

Looking dazed, Harvey nodded and started walking towards his dorm building again. Leroy and I followed him. The other students gave us a wide berth. By this point, the bullies had rushed to Lady Daisy and started tending to her. However, I ignored them.

The interior of the dorm building was rather spartan, at least by House standards. It had the bare minimum of furniture needed, with little in the way of artwork. At least Harvey's dorm seemed cozy.

It was a small room located on the third floor, with enough room for a bed, a chest for storage, and a wooden desk. A window on the far wall looked over the rest of the Solarian Imperial Academy. An ornate glowstone lamp hung from the ceiling. All in all, it wasn't any worse than some of the college dorm rooms I saw back on Earth.

Harvey walked over to the bed and sat down on it, as if his legs lost strength. I walked over to the desk and sat at the chair in front of it. Meanwhile, Leroy remained outside, guarding the entrance.

I looked at Harvey, who stared off into space.

"You okay?" I asked him.

Harvey started, as if waking up from a daydream, before looking at me.

"A St-Sturm." He said.

"Yes." I replied.

"As in Ho-House Sturm."

"Also yes."

"One of the mo-most powerful Ho-Houses in the entire Solarian Em-Empire?"

"Correct."

Harvey stared at me for a second, before he shot off the bed and fell to his knees in front of me.

"I apo-apologize for my insolence, Lo-Lord Gabriel." he said, the words gushing out of him in a torrent.

Before he could continue, I stood up and pulled him to his feet.

"Enough of that." I said. "What's wrong with you? You didn't act this way before."

"Th-That was before I kn-knew you were a Stu-Sturm!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why should that matter?" I asked. "I'm still the same person. Just treat me like you did before. Go on. Call me 'Big Bro.'"

Harvey trembled.

"I wou-wouldn't dare." He said.

I grasped Harvey by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes… Well, glasses.

"I gave you permission, remember?" I asked. "You're my friend. There's no need for formalities between friends."

Harvey stared at me for several long moments.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why what?"

"Why wo-would you want to be friends with so-someone like m-me?"

From the tone of his voice, I suspected that my answer would make or break my friendship with Harvey.

"You remind me of myself," I said, opting for the truth, "back when I was your age." I gave him a self-deprecating smile. "My talent for magic is abysmal. The vassal families and collateral families of House Sturm disdained me, and I was too afraid to reach out to my family. I was all alone, with no one to turn to. Or so I thought." I let out a chuckle. "Things are better now, but they were pretty bad back then. At the time, the one thing I wanted most in the world was for someone to hold a hand out towards me. Sound familiar?"

Harvey stared at me with a stricken expression on his face. He didn't respond, but he didn't need to.

"Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there." I continued. "However, I want to be there for you the same way I wish someone had been there for me." I grinned at him. "See? It was never about you. It was always about me."

Harvey looked down and fidgeted in place.

"Is that true?" He asked. "Or is that a lie to try and get me to work for your House? If so, you don't need to bother. You're the only one who treated me with kindness ever since I came to this place. For that alone, I'd work for your House, even if it's a fake kindness."

Harvey spoke in a steady voice. A part of me wondered if his stuttering was all an act to make himself seem like even less of a threat. Given his lack of magic, it was probably the best way for him to avoid trouble. However, given what happened earlier, it didn't seem too effective.

"It's true." I said. "Let's be honest. Given the difference in status between us, I don't need to resort to lies. I told you that story because I want us to be friends, and I figured honesty was the best policy."

Harvey didn't respond right away.

"Would you say the same if I told you that everything I did was an act to get your sympathy?" He asked. "Or at least your pity?"

I mulled it over.

"That depends," I said, "was it all an act?"

"Some of it was, yes." Harvey said. "For example, as you can tell, I don't actually have a stutter. Nor do I need these glasses."

Perhaps I should have felt betrayed or hurt that Harvey's sad puppy act had been just that, an act. However, I was the one who shoved myself into his life. Of course he wouldn't open up to me right away.

"Eh," I said with a shrug, "it's my fault for falling for your act then. However, about this? Let's start over, this time for real." I let go of Harvey's shoulders. "Greetings, I am Lord Gabriel Sturm of House Sturm."

Harvey remained still for several seconds, before he raised his head and removed his glasses, revealing his light gray eyes.

"I'm Harvey," he said, "A cobbler's son and student of the Solarian Imperial Academy."

"A pleasure to meet you, Harvey. I like you. Let's be friends."

Harvey chuckled and shook his head.

"I like you too, Lord Gabriel. Even if you are a bit impulsive. Yes, let's be friends."

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