Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Twenty-One

The moment he made it home there were a multitude of surprises awaiting Copper Plum. One of the first was that Tarnished Tiara wasn’t acting like a completely spoiled brat. Instead she was actually trying to hold a conversation with him. She was being her normal self, which meant that she was still being fairly bitchy, but she was actually acting as if she wanted to spend time with him. It was surprising, but at the same time it seemed that she had become a little closer to him after the events of the duel.

The other surprise was that Duke Filthy Rich hadn’t been lying when he said that there would be servants sent ahead of them. Practically an army worth of servants had arrived, and they were all prepared to wait on Diamond Tiara. She waved them off, mostly, but he noticed that at least one or two of them remained close to her. From what he’d learned in etiquette class there was a very real chance that some of these maids and butlers were actually lower nobility.

They most likely were doing the service that was required of them in order to complete the contracts set out by their families. It was something he would have had to do if he wanted to remain in the capital before his promotion. Now he was high enough ranked that there likely would be some lower ranking nobility that would align with his house, and they would need to serve him, or his father, for a period of time.

It was enough to make his head hurt, and he chalked it up to the weird mechanics of the dumpster fire dating sim that this world was more or less part of. He rolled his eyes at the thought of everything. Still, at least for now he was home, and even better there was no sign of Delicate Emerald. That was worth all of the labyrinth raiding that he could handle. The simple truth was that Delicate Emerald made things far harder than they needed to be.

She often caused more problems, especially to his father, than she was worth. The way his father talked about how she had been before made him wonder if it was all an act, or if something had actually changed her. Part of him believed it was something that must have changed her. Something had happened to cause her to become so vile and cruel toward men in general. There was absolutely no other explanation. In a way he honestly hoped that it was something that had happened. That some traumatic situation had made her into the cruel person she had become.

He wanted to believe that, because if that wasn’t the case then his father had horrible tastes when it came to women. Knowing that he wondered if he was in the same boat. Looking at both Applebloom and Diamond Tiara he felt that wasn’t the case. At the very least the both of them were much kinder than most of the other girls at the academy. There was a real sense of kindness about them. Still, ultimately he was a mob. Sure, he wanted to live a life that was more or less quiet, but he had an understanding that it wasn’t the case now.

“Captain?” came the voice of Artemis, “You seem to be lost in thought.”

He smiled at her, “I was,” he admitted, “I was thinking that things were peaceful here. Honestly, they feel a little too peaceful. I am honestly surprised that Delicate Emerald isn’t here. Normally she would be her normal self at this point. I’m guessing that she’s still in the capital?” he asked as he looked at his father, “I mean, I didn’t see her airship.”

Gold Bit shrugged as he sat there, “Honestly she may or may not come back. She is actually pretty upset that she can’t use the airship that you gave to us. The fact that you tied it to the property, and determined that it was only to be used in connection with the property, or in connection with our official business in Court was enough to keep her from just using it. She’s been threatening to not come back if I don’t declare that her actions would be representing us in the Court.”

He rolled his eyes as he listened, “So, basically she wants you to give her the ship so she can brag about it,” he said as he shook his head, “That’s oddly typical.”

“Tell me, I don’t know Mrs. Bit, do I?”

Gold Bit shook his head at the question asked by Diamond Tiara Rich, “I’m afraid not,” he admitted after a moment, “Mrs Bit is Baroness, and as such she is lower sixth ranking. I’m afraid that her appearance is mostly in the lower court. As such she is supposed to be in attendance for the commoners that reside in our domain, but I don’t think that she actually attends the courts as she’s supposed to. Most of the time I have to write letters directly to the Kingdom, and usually I’m writing to our overseeing representative,” he admitted as he looked at her, “I’m afraid that what Mrs Bit does, most of the time, is merely show off the wealth that is allotted to her.”

Diamond Tiara sat there for a moment, “Wait, she does not sit in the court to oversee the laws being passed for the commoners?” she asked her voice sounding surprised, “While I understand that it can be taxing the need for it is far greater than most of us know. Dadd… My father has pointed out the need to ensure that ensuring the commoners in our domain are treated fairly is one of the most important things any noble can do,” she stated, her voice firm, “I honestly believe that he’s telling the truth. Those who do the bulk of the living and dying for our kingdom should be represented.”

Copper smiled at the words. It felt good and right to hear that. He couldn’t help but agree with her words. Of course his own view was certainly different from the rest of this world’s views. He still had the memories of his previous life, and while some of what he remembered certainly helped him not all of it did. The fact that the world he came from was a helluva lot more equal than this one certainly stuck out in his mind.

True repression was happening here to absolutely no end. There was no doubt that women were the ones that received preferential treatment. Of course that was exactly how it was in the dumpster fire of a game he played too. Everything that happened in it was all geared toward the experiences of the protagonist. And currently she was pushed to the side. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that it had been done completely on purpose.

The more he thought about it the more he realized exactly how unfair everything was. Maybe it was wrong to call it unfair. There was absolutely no denying that it honestly wasn’t fair, in the slightest sense of the word, but it was most certainly biased. It was the one thing that he could count on about this place. How wholly biased and lopsided the power structure was. For a man to have even a small amount of power was nearly unthinkable.

He stopped that line of thought after a moment. Going there wasn’t going to do a whole lot of good, and he knew it. Instead he looked at those with him. Being quiet wasn’t really helping things, and he knew that, “Personally I feel the same,” he said after a few moments as he looked at Diamond Tiara, “The problem is that since Delicate Emerald is the matriarch of the family she doesn’t exactly need to give a good reason for what she does. She also has the right to push what duties she thinks that she can off onto my father.”

Diamond Tiara looked at him and shook her head, “That’s insane,” she said after a few moments, “She should want to do these things. They’re part of what she is meant to do. For her to not do it means that she wants to simply live as if she is still in the Academy for the rest of her life. That can’t be the case, right?”

She looked at Gold Bit who shrugged, “She wasn’t always like this,” he admitted after a moment, “But at some point she changed. I know that it happened during the Academy, and it never got better. I never found out what changed her. I wanted to, I wanted to find the cause and see if there was a way that I could reverse it, but I never have. She doesn’t even stay here most of the time. Usually she lives at the Capital, and she claims that doing so is because she has needs to be present with all of the other nobles. She likes to claim that her being there is increasing our holding.”

He shook his head at that, “There’s times that I truly wonder if perhaps she was simply replaced. If the girl that I had fallen in love with had been completely replaced with someone else. It would certainly make more sense than her simply changing like she did without any warning,” he said all of this, his voice sounding defeated, “It’s why I have high hopes for Copper. I want to see him find someone that will not only want to be with him, but will want to be on equal footing.”

Applebloom smiled, and Copper watched as she nodded, “That sounds purty good,” she replied, “Bein’ equal is the right thing ta do. The problem is that thar’s a whole lotta nobles that ain’t cotton ta that notion.”

Diamond Tiara nodded, “I’m afraid that she’s right. Most of the noble women see themselves above the men and boys. They consider themselves as far higher up socially. I feel that such things are wrong, but I can see where the thought comes from. One only has to take a moment to see that some parts of our society have led to this condition. In truth, I see no reason for a gender equality movement to take place. To expect both men and women to stand up for the kingdom, and to see them held to the same accountability.”

She looked at Copper for a moment, “In many ways you have breathed some much needed fresh air into the academy. Your presence there has ensured that some of the tried and true traditions are being changed. They’re being slowly turned to be less favorable to just the girls, and instead have been made to be a little more obtainable toward the boys as well. It’s a change that is long since needed.

He nodded at her, “Thanks, but that wasn’t exactly my intention,” he replied, “At first I was really there to just find a wife. I would have been happy with someone that was a decent human being. But, what I’ve found is that most of the girls in our classes are horrible examples of the worst kind of entitled there is. It’s almost like I’m seeing examples of the Delicate Emerald I grew up with everywhere I look. Sorry, but I don’t want to be with someone like that.”

He shivered, “So, in truth I’m not really sure what it is that I really want, or should do. For now the best that I can come up with is to just keep going,” he said before a green flame flashed in his father’s house. He watched as his father stood and walked toward the area that received letters, “Dad?”

His father looked at the scroll, and then looked to him, “Son, it’s for you.”

He took it, and he saw the official wax seal of the royal family, and right below it was the seal for the Rich family. He swallowed, hoping that it wasn’t anything bad, and he opened it. His eyes studied the scroll for a moment before he felt his knees trying to give out. Artemis came to him and helped keep him steady, “How?” he asked, his voice horse, “How in the hell did this happen?”

Without warning his father took the scroll and looked at it, “Son, congratulations are in order!” he exclaimed, “I’m happy to know that your actions won’t be coming to bite us in the butt,” he said as he looked at the letter again, “But according to this you’re now officially going to be of a far higher standing than I am. You were already promoted, but you’ve been promoted again. Son, who is Earl Shimmer, and what was it that you did for his daughter?”

He had to take a moment to think, “Oh, I saved Sunset Shimmer in the labyrinth. She was stung by a crystal wasp, and I had Applebloom give her an antivenom. When she did it cleared her system,” he replied and then looked at the letter again, “How could he think that having me promoted to upper fifth ranking would be appropriate for that?! I just did what anyone else should have done!”

The commotion was enough that no one heard the door opening, and no one heard the resounding footsteps of the lady of the house. The way she stomped toward the sitting room was showing the evidence of how little she cared for the manners and niceties when it concerned her own family. Copper Plum didn’t even get a chance to say a word before she strolled up him and angrily eyed him.

“Stupid boy!” she shouted, her voice shrill and harsh, “How dare you make a mockery of our family?! How dare you challenge the prince to a duel, and how dare you win?! Did you not understand exactly what it was that you were getting into?! I’m ashamed of you, of how you acted, and I am absolutely floored by your complete disregard for the standing of our family, of me, in the noble courts?! If it were up to me I would ensure that you were sent to pay for this humiliation with your life!”

“You son has done a great deal to help me,” Diamond Tiara said as she stood, “He came to my aid when no one else would, and he has so kindly offered me the chance to enjoy a short stay here. I’ve accepted.”

Delicate Emerald studied her for a moment, “And what is your name, my lady?”

“I am Diamond Tiara Rich, of the Rich Duchy,” she said, her head held high, “I am the first daughter of Duke Filthy Rich.”

Delicate Emerald’s eyes widened, and Copper watched as she began to stammer, “Oh, well welcome to our humble home,” she said, her voice trembling a little, “I never expected to see someone so well respected, or connected, to visit our small domain. Please make yourself at home,” she said as she backed up, “Unfortunately I have just remembered that I have urgent business in the Capital. I shall have to make my leave, but know that every single courtesy will be extended to you in my stead.”

With that she left and Copper felt lighter as she left. A good part of him couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she wasn’t here to continue her tirade against him and his father. Instead she left, her tail between her legs, and he couldn’t help but smile at that fact. Watching as she left the house he moved toward the window and watched as her airship once again lifted into the air. Soon, it was gone, and she was gone with it. He grinned as she left, feeling far more light than he had before, “Thanks,” he said as he watched her gone, “I mean it.”

He looked at Diamond Tiara who stood there for a moment, “I don’t know exactly what it is that you both obviously deal with, but I can tell that it is far more than either of you deserve,” she said as she studied him, “That said, please could you show me to the room that I can use for my stay here?”

He nodded, and he walked with her down the hall. Most of the time he had to sleep in a completely different building. Usually he was forced to live more or less inside of an old shack, but now the house was repaired, expanded, and all of his siblings had a room in it. That included him. It felt nice knowing that there was a place for him to stay and live while home from the Academy. As they walked he saw the expansion. He heard his father, and he watched as his father walked past, “Please, the following rooms are for visiting guests,” he said as he opened a door, and inside it was actually pretty nice, “I hope that they are up to your standards.”

She nodded, “Thank you,” she said as she stepped inside, “And Copper, thank you for everything. I understand that you might not have wanted the promotion, but believe me when I say that you are truly deserving of it.”

She closed the door, and he watched as Applebloom stepped into her own room. There was a moment that she seemed to be completely floored, “This is more than Ah have at the Academy,” she said as she stood there, “Ah mean it, this room is huge, thank y’all fer it,” she said with a hug to Copper, “Thank y’all so much!”

He nodded, “It’s fine, and I’m glad that we could get you a good room,” he replied as the door closed. He then watched as his father walked toward another room, “Here’s your room son. Your sister has a room a little further down the hall, and of course all of your brothers have rooms as well. Your servants have a room on the next floor up,” he said this as he looked at Artemis, “Look, I’m not naive, but what i said before still holds true. There are a lot of nobles that will use a relationship with a demi-human against you. Be careful.”

With that he walked toward Artemis, “And I can’t deny that you’ve chosen a good man as your master, but please don’t get him into any unneeded trouble. He’s a good kid.”

She smiled, “I know,” she said, her voice gentle, “I would never cause my Captain any undo stress or anxiety.”

He nodded, and with that he left. Copper watched his Dad, and then he opened the room itself. It was twice as big as his room at the Academy. Which of course had been four times bigger than the room he’d shared with his brothers before. It was amazing to see something so fantastic before him. Part of him wondered if it was really right that he have the ability to sleep here. He almost wondered if he should go sleep aboard the ship, but then he had to remember that his Dad had made the alterations for them.

He heard Artemis outside of the room, and he turned to see her standing there. Obviously she was of two minds, and he could see that her other self was also considering what to do. After a moment he watched as she moved toward him, “Captain,” she said her voice soft, and her other body moved as well, “I am well aware of your thoughts. I know that you want to wait, to give me a chance to mature emotionally. I can respect that, but at the same time, I want this so badly. Please, allow me to stay with you tonight. If nothing else than as a mere body guard.”

He looked at her, “Artemis, I’m home. Right now I don’t think that I need a body guard, and besides, I’m certain that you can get to me if you wanted to, right?”

She nodded, “Then please, go with Dad and find your room. I’m sure that it is right above mine. I promised that we would see where things will lead, and I will keep my word. I promise that I will see where this leads with us.”

She nodded, “Very well, my Captain,” she replied, “I will follow your command, but, I may come check on you during the night. I would be lax in my duties if I did not.”

With that she walked, and noticed that her clothes were tighter than they should have been. She had shrunk her clothes to accent her features. There was no doubt on that. He shook his head. He wanted her to grow a person before they did anything, but now part of him wondered if she would always be a little bit perverted. That same part of him also realized that he didn’t really care. So far, the only ones that he’d even consider being with were a protagonist that he couldn’t get too close to, a noble girl that was too high on the ladder for him, and an artificial intelligence that shared several android bodies. Of those the A.I. wanted to mate with him almost constantly. If this were an anime he would have no doubt that it was the making of a harem one.