kscans

Chapter 67 - The Foreign Prince and Little One

"But it’s hot, isn’t it."

The sun was high in the sky, and Frontier was in the height of summer. It was more bearable than Japan since there was no humidity, but the glaring sunlight was still painful. That’s why the students wore long sleeves even in summer. The female students took off their boleros, and the male students changed from jackets to just vests for school.

It was only a slight change to lighter clothing, yet for some reason, his sister looked strangely alluring. Little One looked up curiously at her brother, who was sticking closer to her than usual, on guard.

Brotherly foolishness at its finest.

The twins, having shed a bit of their fresh first, year student vibe and now exuding a faint newness, were moving between classrooms when they came across a group arguing a short distance away.

"Is that..."

"It’s Prince Pacesta."

Being harassed by several large students near the lake was Prince Pacesta, an international student from Flowers. It seemed something had been taken from him, and he was desperately chasing after the object that the bullies were tossing around.

"Please give it back!"

"Huh? Can’t hear ya. You don’t need this, do ya?"

Being dangled just out of Pacesta’s reach was a grade badge. Without it, he couldn’t open the doors to the special classrooms or use any of the school’s facilities.

"Hey, you there!"

The twins rushed over, and their opponents frowned suspiciously at the sight of them.

"What are you doing? Isn’t that badge Prince Pacesta’s?"

The students who had been harassing him looked at each other and burst out laughing. They guffawed with a lack of refinement. But to Little One, who was used to nobles, it was a refreshingly cheerful smile to see after a long time. It was just a shame the reason was so base.

"So what? It’s none of your business."

The three of them snickered, looking down on the twins with similar features. Tanned skin and silvery, white hair. They had a distinct, foreign look, different from the people of Frontier. Pacesta, who looked like he was about to cry, glanced back and forth between them and the twins nervously.

"Lady Hiro? Lord Haya, too. I am fine, so please don’t mind me."

What are you talking about with a face like that.

Chihiro glanced at Pacesta and silently took a few steps back. As if by prior arrangement, Chihaya knelt down. The next moment, Chihiro ran, scrambled up Chihaya’s back, used his shoulder as a springboard, and leaped into the air. Surprised by the little girl who had jumped higher than their own height in an instant, the boys froze, and Chihiro snatched the badge from their hands.

…or she was supposed to.

"Huh?"

By a split second, Chihiro’s hand grabbed empty air. The boy who had protected the badge from her with a quick spin grinned. He moved like someone accustomed to roughhousing. However, taking advantage of the opening, Chihaya swept the opponent’s leg. The tilting boy’s eyes widened in shock, but he kicked off the ground with his remaining leg and did a backflip. He landed on both feet and stared at the twins with a genuinely surprised expression.

"...Whoa, that was close. Who are you guys?"

But without a moment to catch his breath, the twins charged at him with fixed stares. Closed in on instantly, the boy with the badge ran and jumped into the nearby lake. With a loud zaban, a large splash erupted, soaking the hem of Little One’s skirt.

"""Wha...?!"""

The boy swam around with a triumphant look on his face.

"Ha ha! If you want this, come and get it."

The twins were speechless, and the other two boys watched with smirks. They had been in Frontier for two years. They knew that the people of Frontier couldn’t swim and avoided entering the water. Their homeland, Donautil, was a land that prospered thanks to the fertile soil carried by its large rivers. It was natural for children to play in the water and learn to swim. This one thing was their pride, something they wouldn’t lose to Frontier in.

"To go into the water... You will drown! Please stop!!"

Pacesta’s face drained of color as he trembled. Like Frontier, Flowers also avoided water. Ignoring the frozen Pacesta, the twins’ lips curled into a smirk.

""So what?""

With mischievous smiles, the twins dove in without a moment’s hesitation. Little One, raised on Earth, of course, and Chihaya, who had been swimming in rivers and lakes with Little One since he was born, had no aversion to water.

Let me tell you, in my life before my last one, I got the 'Kappa Award' every year. Don't underestimate me!

It was a coveted award at her local elementary school. A small medal given to those who could swim two hundred meters breaststroke, one hundred meters freestyle, and twenty, five meters underwater. The pride of that medal, which had instilled in the young Chihiro the spirit of ‘you can do it if you try,’ was still her driving force today.

The two who jumped in closed in on the boy with incredible speed. Since Dorfen and the others had strongly objected to the swimsuit Little One had designed, the twins had practiced swimming fully clothed. By now, they were used to swimming in a skirt that billowed out.

Showing your legs is a real no, go, huh. The sadness of having no compromise.

Little One thought, her mind wandering to useless things.

Panicked by the two approaching him, the foreign boy flailed his arms and legs and frantically started swimming away.

Why? Weren’t all the people of Frontier unable to swim?!

This, too, was a misunderstanding.

Southern Frontier faced the sea. Naturally, there were people there who were skilled swimmers. The twins had often gone to the seaside forest to play and escape the summer heat.

Unaware of this, the boy swam away as if fleeing, with tears in his eyes.

"What the heck! Who are you guys?!"

Chihaya grabbed the fleeing boy by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to the shore with a backstroke. From his hand, Little One took the badge. Being dragged so easily by Chihaya, who was more than a head shorter, the boy, still with tears in his eyes, shouted loudly.

"You guys! Do you know who I am?!"

"I don’t know," she said.

"How would we know?" he said.

The two replied coolly.

At that moment, the remaining two, who had been dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, rushed over to the drenched boy.

"Are you all right, Prince!"

Prince?

At their words, Little One narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked at the soaked boy.

"I’ll, I’ll file a protest! I’ll get you expelled!"

So this one is a prince of somewhere, too.

Giving him a cold, exasperated glance, Little One handed the badge to Pacesta.

"You’ve had quite an ordeal. Now, let us go."

Overwhelmed by her graceful smile, Pacesta thanked Little One, who was still drenched. Still, he looked at the two with anxious eyes.

"It’s because of me... What should I do, you’re soaked to the bone."

In front of the flustered Pacesta, the two flicked their fingers. A warm breeze suddenly blew, instantly drying the twins’ clothes. It was a grooming technique taught by Romel. A rather useful spell.

"Please do not worry. Now, we will be late for class."

Leaving the three dumbfounded foreign boys behind, the twins returned to the school building with Pacesta.

"So that’s magic..."

The boy, still soaked, stared blankly at their backs.

He was the fourth prince of the northeastern kingdom of Donautil. Seeking the reason for the revival of magic in the neighboring country of Flowers, he had discovered Frontier’s involvement and, against the opposition of those around him, had come to study abroad. He had been trying his best to learn even a little of the principles of magic to contribute to his own country, but he was frustrated that he was still vague on even life magic. Unlike him, who had been studying for two years and still couldn’t master life magic, the princes of Flowers who had just enrolled were learning magic with ease.

This was largely due to the fact that magic had already begun to recover in Flowers, but the prince of Donautil did not know that.

Out of childish jealousy, he had been harassing them when he met with this outrageous situation.

Despite it being his own fault, his resentment shifted from Pacesta to the twins, and he glared at their distant, shrinking figures with a fierce look.

"I won’t forgive you. I’ll show you!"

Unaware that a splendid counterattack awaited him, the prince, acting every bit the privileged class he was, would soon have his revenge strike Little One.

And so, Little One constantly gathers hate from all around.

But she is always doing just fine♪