episode_0015

A day has passed, and life at the academy finally begins in earnest.

Shasha woke up first and woke me up, then helped me wash my face.

Still half-asleep, I changed into suitable pajamas.

Shasha took my hand and led me out of the dormitory.

“Eeeek….”

“Don’t make weird noises, come on, let’s go!”

I wonder why she’s so excited.

I’ve been restless since yesterday, unable to sleep well due to staying up late chatting, which made me tired as a result.

Why do kids have such good stamina?

Being dragged along by Shasha, I looked up at her with sleepy eyes.

“……Mmm.”

While it’s nice to see Shasha so lively, maybe she needs to tone it down a bit just in case she makes a mistake.

I whispered quietly, small enough that others wouldn’t hear but Shasha would.

“Shasha, I know, but we need to be careful while we’re here, okay?”

“…Okay.”

Her excitement seems to have died down more than expected, but it’s better to stay calm rather than get too carried away and make a strange mistake.

We need to face reality.

In a hierarchical society, we must objectively assess our position to navigate smoothly.

“Since we’ve been hanging out with the prince all month, everyone knows we’re friends with him, but I’ve explained before that this isn’t necessarily a good thing, right?”

“Yeah….”

Being known as the prince’s friend within the academy had its advantages.

It can easily diffuse most conflicts just by being associated with the prince.

However, not everything is perfect; it was no different in this case.

We are friends with the prince but commoners nonetheless.

There’s no better bait than this.

Surely there are those who seek to use us as a bridge to the prince.

It’s inevitable.

The prince isn’t one to easily distance himself from others.

“If they ask you to introduce them to the prince, what did I tell you to do?”

“…Brush it off first and then tell Ria.”

“Yes, we must never become someone’s pawn.”

Despite being children, we must be wary of their pure desires and potential malice, sometimes even more so than adults.

Haven’t we seen episodes in novels where characters approach the female lead in this manner?

“And finally….”

“I know, never show that we’re close to the prince.”

Shasha, true to her commoner roots, never forgets something she’s heard once.

“…You truly are a genius, Shasha.”

Those who already know are aware, but there’s no need to flaunt it and draw unnecessary attention to myself as if I’m some delicious prey.

I smiled contentedly, feeling the satisfaction of the past week’s education paying off.

“Sorry for nagging so much, but please understand.”

I reached out and patted Shasha’s shoulder.

These were essential lessons we must learn to live at the academy, not choices.

“It’s okay!”

Shasha nodded vigorously, looking sheepish yet cheerful towards me.

Her childlike innocence was incredibly endearing.

“As expected, Shasha ranks fourth in beauty.”

I rank first, the princess known as the Star Child ranks second, the villain Yeina ranks third.

Shasha comes last.

“…Why am I pushed back another step…?”

I tilted my head towards Shasha, who pouted discontentedly, staring at me.

What’s with the obvious statement she’s making?

“…Is it because you met someone prettier than Shasha?”

“Lia seems too straightforward….”

“That’s my charm.”

She has a personality that can’t really lie.

Shasha isn’t exactly ugly, but since we both don’t fit the norm, I hope she doesn’t lose her self-esteem.

“Sometimes I want to shut Lia up.”

“…That’s cruel.”

Why would a 10-year-old say such things?

No matter how kind Shasha may seem, she eventually realizes that people in this savage era are, well, savage and shivers slightly.

I wonder how much they argued.

They arrived at the classroom where the first joint class was being held.

The prince was sitting in the front row.

I didn’t think it necessary to draw attention by going there, so I wandered around until I found Seina sitting in a secluded corner and approached her.

“Seina!”

I called out cheerfully, making Seina startle and look back and forth between me and Shasha next to me.

Her reaction, resembling a cat puffing up its body, seemed cute, so I smiled.

Oh, I should introduce them.

I introduced Seina to Shasha.

“Say hello, third-ranked Se.”

“…Oh, um. I’ll be fourth….”

Shasha stared at Seina’s face intently, then sighed and accepted the fourth rank calmly.

“Hello… I’m Shasha, Lia’s friend.”

“…Yes, yes…. I’ve heard a lot about you… nice to meet you….”

“Heard a lot?”

Shasha looked at me as if asking if she had talked about herself, so I shrugged.

I usually didn’t talk about absent people, whether good or bad.

Then where did she hear about it?

Curious, I naturally sat next to Seina and leaned in slightly.

“What story is that…?”

Seina timidly replied, filled with innocent curiosity.

“Oh, um…. I heard a lot of rumors….”

Rumors?

“What rumors?”

“It’s a rumor?”

What rumor could it be?

I didn’t know either, and judging by Shasha’s reaction, she seemed clueless too.

“It’s said that the prince has two women now….”

“Who said that? Tell me their names.”

Seeing me getting annoyed, Seina flinched and shrank, so I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Yeah, not the right attitude to show in front of a kid.

But Shasha, blushing like that after hearing such words, doesn’t she seem too girlish?

…Ah.

Am I the only one here who’s not acting like a girl?

I had a momentary realization, my mind freezing for exactly 8 seconds before snapping back.

Right, that rumor is spreading.

“…No, well, it’s nothing… Seina, where did you hear such things?”

“…Um, well… everyone was saying it….”

Everyone.

It means the rumor is so widespread that it’s impossible to pinpoint who started it.

Even if it’s a widely spread rumor, why haven’t I heard of it?

Setting aside that question, I felt I should at least clarify things a bit with Seina.

If I don’t correct this, I might worry that Seina will misunderstand me later.

“It’s a completely groundless rumor; our relationship is not weird at all, we’re just friends, not something strange.”

Not like the prince’s women or anything, we’re just simple friends.

For a moment, my voice might have been loud, and it seemed necessary to address the stares we were getting.

Friends.

It felt like showing off too much closeness with the prince.

Although we are close, what word could make it seem a bit more distant than ‘friends’?

Without much thought, I blurted out a word that came to mind.

“…No, not even friends, maybe more like a commoner serving the prince? How could a commoner be friends with a prince?”

When I told her not to look at me like that, as if I were the prince’s servant,

the gazes around us subtly changed.

“L-Lia? Your words are a bit strange!”

“Is this… getting a bit closer?”

Perhaps it would be much better to say I’m a slave.

Feeling like my head wasn’t functioning properly after hearing such absurd words, I tried to correct myself once again. As I opened my mouth, a sharp pain shot through my forehead.

Ouch!

But it’s a familiar pain!

Tears welling up, I raised my head while clutching my throbbing forehead. Deron, who was sitting in the front row like a model student, was now glaring down at me with his fist clenched.

All eyes were on us.

Shasha and Seina, having somehow become friendly with each other, leaned on each other, avoiding our gaze,

Deron and I froze awkwardly under everyone’s scrutiny.

“…What’s going on over there? Please take your seats as the class is about to begin.”

If the professor hadn’t walked in at that moment, we might have remained frozen for a few more minutes.

It was truly a relief.

I heaved a sigh of relief and vowed to personally confront the one spreading such baseless rumors someday.

It’s unforgivable that these kids are already spreading such gossip.

Blushing deeply, I hung my head.

Being ridiculed by kids was not a pleasant feeling.