episode_0019

Tap tap-.

Fine raindrops fell.

The dark sky seemed to be slowly swallowed by dark clouds, and soon enough, rain began to fall in earnest.

Thin dots formed drops on the dry ground.

The wet marks gradually spread, covering the ground with dampness.

For spring rain, it was quite fierce.

It looked like it would pour heavily.

Due to the unexpected downpour, people sought shelter.

But even amidst the falling raindrops, a lone girl wandered through the academy district.

“……”

Her school uniform was disheveled.

Through her damp pink hair, blurry green eyes were visible.

The girl was stumbling as she walked.

Where was this place?

Where was she heading?

Fragmented, crude questions muddled her mind… but they were washed away by the rain as if they had never been there.

The girl simply took steps to keep herself from falling.

Thud thud-.

Her precarious steps were filled with emptiness.

As she swayed a few times from intense exhaustion, a chilling voice suddenly whispered in her ear.

“How pathetic.”

A scene from just a few hours ago flashed before her eyes.

A blue-haired girl stood in the center of the arena. Regia was looking up at her, kneeling.

Contempt clearly sparkled in the blue eyes.

“To think you were evaluated as a ‘rising star’ with such meager skill… it’s truly laughable.”

She couldn’t do anything.

She was defeated helplessly.

Perhaps due to the pressure, mistakes kept popping out.

Her summoned beast didn’t respond to her call, and the basic magic she managed to conjure was abysmal.

“You need to realize your place.”

“This place is for those who are qualified… It’s not a place for a mere commoner to covet.”

Regia bowed her head deeply.

She must have been scared.

Perhaps exasperated by such a shabby appearance, the blue girl turned her back after leaving one last remark.

“Leave, outsider.”

They were exceptionally painful words.

Sharp thorns pierced into the girl’s lungs.

Her body’s balance swayed precariously.

“……Ah.”

Her vision blurred with heat.

A lukewarm streak ran down her cold cheek.

“How foolish.”

The girl mumbled, wiping away her tears.

Fearing someone might see, she anxiously hid her vulnerable state.

She bit her lip firmly.

‘Perhaps.’

Perhaps she had thought too complacently.

She had thought only good things would happen once she entered the academy.

She had thought she would settle down her life as a wanderer, make many friends her age, and have fun.

It seemed there was no place for her here either.

It was a familiar loneliness.

Even though she didn’t want to cry, she couldn’t suppress the sobs that escaped her.

The fine rain thickened.

Before she knew it, it had turned into a downpour.

Whoosh-!

Even as the rain poured heavily, the girl walked on.

Constantly wiping away the water she couldn’t fully dry, she spit out bitter sorrow between her lips.

“Ugh, uh… sniffle…”

She was truly like a drowned mouse.

Her wretched steps continued to wander.

Just as her legs began to ache and her eyes, soaked with tears and rain, started to sting.

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

“……?”

No, in fact, it hadn’t stopped.

The sound of rain still lingered in her ears, and damp raindrops still splashed at her feet.

Something was simply blocking the rain.

What could it suddenly be?

With that question, she lifted her bowed head, and golden, glittering hair appeared in her vision.

His characteristic narrow eyes formed a smile.

The boy stood holding an umbrella in both hands.

“……Young Master Snakers?”

Regia mumbled blankly.

Even though her reaction was somewhat dazed, the boy didn’t mind.

“You were here, Regia.”

“Young Master, why are you in a place like this…?”

“Huhu.”

He simply replied.

“I came to find a friend.”

Tap tap tap-.

Water droplets fell from the tip of the gently tilted umbrella.

The boy’s unexpected appearance, and his unexpected words. Regia was frozen for a moment.

***

“I came to find a friend.”

He spoke with a faint smile.

Green eyes gazed blankly at him.

After meeting her gaze for a moment, a belated sense of relief washed over him like a wave.

‘Finally found her.’

He had been worried because of the fierce rain.

He wondered if she might be crying somewhere strange… but thankfully, she was standing where he remembered.

It seemed to be following the original story so far.

“Regia.”

“……Yes.”

“Shall we get out of the rain first?”

The girl replied weakly.

Her slender shoulders trembled as if from the cold.

The tear marks, covered by rainwater, added to her pitiable state.

She seemed to have a complicated mind.

Whoosh-!

First, he needed to escape this terrible weather.

He held the umbrella over the girl and walked towards a nearby structure with a roof.

There happened to be a carriage stop nearby.

“It’s perfect for taking shelter from the rain for a bit.”

We sat side by side on a bench.

He didn’t say much.

It seemed she needed time to calm her crying for a bit, so he simply remained silent.

Pitter-patter-!

The raindrops falling on the roof were quite noisy.

Thanks to that, the sound of her swallowing her tears was also buried.

No, in fact, it wasn’t completely buried… but he decided to pretend he couldn’t hear it.

For our protagonist.

“……”

The silence continued for a while.

What broke the rigid, frozen stillness was none other than Regia’s voice.

She seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

“I’m sorry, Young Master.”

However, that didn’t mean her tears had stopped.

She had turned her head as if trying to pretend, but watery streaks still remained on her cheeks.

He asked softly.

“What are you sorry about?”

“You said we’d go back together after the exam… but I just left on my own.”

“You did.”

“Young Master came to find me, even in this terrible weather, for hours…”

Her green pupils trembled sadly.

Dew formed on her eyelids. The sparkling light couldn’t bear its own weight and dripped down.

“I, I absolutely didn’t mean to bother you, Young Master…! It’s just that, I, suddenly, my stomach felt queasy…”

“I see.”

“I, I really mean it…! For a moment, my mind went blank, I, I couldn’t think of anything. I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Ahem.”

He smiled wryly.

To be so desperately mindful of others even in this situation, it was truly a Regia-like reaction.

A regrettable yet affectionate feeling welled up.

He quietly raised his hand.

And then placed it on the head of the rambling girl.

“Regia.”

“So I wasn’t trying to ignore you, Young Master… Huh? Yes, yes?”

Regia was flustered by the sudden touch.

After a brief pause with a smile, he calmly spoke.

“You worked hard.”

“Huh…?”

“I’m talking about today’s class placement exam. You truly worked hard.”

At the unexpected words, the girl made a dazed expression.

She probably hadn’t expected to hear something like that.

Following the disheveled pink hair. He slowly stroked the girl’s head.

As if comforting an injured child.

“I just wanted to tell you that.”

In the original story, no one had comforted her.

A girl hated by none other than the Duke’s eldest daughter. Moreover, she was a commoner, so no one would want to get close to her.

So Regia cried alone.

Even until the moment the terrible downpour stopped.

“Outsider.”

She had lived her entire life trembling in loneliness.

Only now had she ended her wandering and stepped into the world, but what awaited Regia was still solitude.

The girl couldn’t bear it and sniffled for a long time.

‘I wanted to comfort her countless times.’

Of course, it might be trivial pity.

Soon, good friends would appear by her side, and she was destined to be loved by many.

Perhaps at that time, such humble encouragement wouldn’t be needed.

But.

“It’s okay to waver a little. You’re only taking your first steps.”

Because it’s not yet.

Because right now, no one else will offer you warm comfort.

He wanted to stay by her side.

‘If it weren’t for your stories… I would have lived as a loser long ago.’

This was a form of repaying a favor.

He had endured a period filled with despair thanks to their stories, so now it was his turn to be a pillar for them.

He quietly murmured.

“Everything will be alright.”

Regia stared at him silently.

The girl sat there, dazed.

As he waited for a response for a moment, suddenly, tears began to well up in her eyes again.

Drip drip, the tears fell.

“Oh dear.”

“……Huh?”

She belatedly realized she was crying.

Regia hastily wiped her eyes, forcing a “I’m okay” expression.

“Ah… th-this is nothing, n-nothing at all. It’s just that, suddenly, dust, dust got into my eye…”

“Regia.”

“Yes?”

“Are you really okay?”

“……”

Her lips closed involuntarily.

It seemed he had hit the mark.

The girl seemed to stutter for a long time, then bowed her head deeply and mumbled.

“I’m… okay.”

“Really?”

“Really. Just a few months ago, when I was traveling alone, I wandered through deserts with not a single person. Compared to then, this is nothing.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well… deserts are lonely. There are no people, you see.”

Deserts are lonely.

The endlessly stretching sandy plains resembled a vast, open sea.

Naturally, it was an environment where humans couldn’t survive, and even if they did, their numbers would be very small.

Compared to the academy bustling with students…

“But Regia.”

Is that truly the case?

“Being lonely among people is the same, you know.”

How many people there are isn’t important.

What’s important is whether there’s someone you can lean on.

Most people can’t readily nod their heads to this question.

This is precisely why we suffer from endless loneliness, even though we live in a forest of people.

“Sometimes, being among people… can be lonelier than a desert.”

“……”

Regia didn’t deny it.

Was she agreeing?

Or was she simply lost in thought?

The pitiable silence continued. He didn’t know what meaning was hidden behind it.

But it was a sad expression.

He didn’t like that.

It pained him to see the protagonist so intimidated.

He always wanted her to shine brightly.

Because he was still alive to see that.

“So I want to ask.”

“……Yes?”

“As I told you last time… I truly wish for you, Regia, to become my friend.”

“Me…?”

She asked with a questioning look, as if not understanding.

Tears still traced lines on her face. He gently wiped the girl’s cheek.

“If only you, Regia, would permit it.”

He might not be able to do anything grand for her.

“But I still wish to alleviate a little of your loneliness.”

Her slender shoulders trembled.

A profound question was embedded in her voice, hoarse from crying.

“……Why, exactly?”

The girl asked.

“Young Master, why exactly… are you doing all this for me?”

From their first meeting, he had been excessively benevolent.

During the entrance exam, he saved her from being bullied, and afterward, he was the only one to congratulate her on her admission.

At the academy, he accompanied her so she wouldn’t be bored.

Today, he comforted her distraught heart because of the class placement exam.

And now…

“I don’t understand why Young Master would show interest in someone as pathetic as me.”

He was offering to be the friend she had so desperately wished for.

It was a terribly sweet temptation.

Like the cunning flick of a snake’s tongue.

While it had an unsettling atmosphere, the girl couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

“Why, exactly…”

“Well now.”

He put his index finger to his lips and smiled mischievously.

“It’s a secret.”

Before long, the sound of rain was no longer heard.

What followed the end of the shower was sunlight, peeking its head through the clouds.

The last question followed.

“What do you say, Regia? Will you allow me to draw close?”

Regia bit her lip tightly.

Following the warm sunlight, the tears in her eyes sparkled with a beautiful light.

The girl stopped crying.

Instead, she simply smiled brightly.

“Yes…!”

The clear, bright answer came back.

She seemed to be regaining her spirits. Indeed, such an expression suited Regia best.

He set aside his pride and stood up.

“The rain has stopped, just in time. Shall we go back?”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“Haha, you can just call me by my name now, you know? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Ah… th-that’s still, too difficult…”

“What a pity.”

The light conversation continued.

We walked along the rain-soaked sidewalk.

“You don’t need to worry about today’s exam. Regia, you’re going to be in the top-tier class.”

“What? B-but I messed up the exam so badly…”

“Someone recognized your potential, Regia. They’ll probably take care of it.”

“Such a gracious thing… But Young Master, how do you know all this?”

“That’s a secret this time too.”

“……Che, that’s unfair.”

In two days, the academy’s official schedule would begin.

The story of [The World Seen by the Little Prince], as he remembered it, would unfold.

His heart was filled with excitement.

Various characters like Regia, Charlotte, and Emilia would meet in one classroom.

Since he was at the top of his class, he would also go to the top-tier class.

‘The homeroom professor of the top-tier class… wasn’t his name Cadell?’

He moved his feet, recalling the face he would soon see.

It was definitely that way…

“Greetings, everyone. I am Selena Drunkerd, the chief professor who will be the homeroom teacher for the top-tier class for the next year, starting today.”

Why are *you* here, damn it?