by Dojyomaru
When Souma turned to the line of teachers and said that, the principal and all of the faculty bowed their heads as one, as if to say they accepted his request. Souma nodded, then turned to the students.
“That was my request to the school, but I have a wish for you, the new students coming to this academy, too.”
“““.........”””
Hearing the king had a wish for them, the new students waited with bated breath to hear what he might say. After a brief dramatic pause, Souma’s wish was...
“I want you to really enjoy your time at school.”
“““...Huh?”””
...That was it.
Looking at the blank stares he was getting from the students, Souma laughed and said, “It may only be four years, but it’s still four years during your youth. The knowledge and friendship you cultivate in a place like this will be an asset that lasts you for life. We’re creatures whose heads and bodies work more efficiently when we’re enjoying ourselves. That’s why I want you to enjoy learning, enjoy spending time with your school friends, and get the most out of your school life. While you’re doing that, I want you to look for something that you can get absorbed in.”
Souma brought his hands down on the podium with a bang, then grinned and continued, “If, among the things you enjoy, there is one that you can get absorbed in and you want to master it, that’s a great strength in and of itself. It doesn’t matter how small it is, or that no one else can understand it. Naturally, you have to avoid causing trouble for others in the process, but when a person has something they enjoy and are absorbed in, they shine brighter than other people. Someone will be watching that effort, and recognize you for it.
“That’s true of the country, too. In fact, in the music program at Ginger’s Vocational School, there’s this one student pursuing a fanciful topic of research that seemed like hogwash at first glance, but the reports say they’re getting some interesting results. We plan to do everything the country can to test it soon. It involves knowledge of magic, so the Royal Academy will be cooperating, too.”
Even if their research looked like hogwash initially, it could find recognition. These words from Souma earned more applause from the existing students than the new ones. Those cheers came from the members of minor research societies. Their work, which they thought might never see its day in the sun, might receive the recognition it deserved. Seeing the reaction from those students, Souma gave a satisfied nod before continuing.
“You can work hard if you’re having fun. And if you work hard, people, and the country, will be watching. So, to all you new students, I’d like you to enjoy your school lives. That is all.”
With Souma’s congratulatory address finished, the students clapped and cheered. In the middle of that applause, Souma came down from the stage. When he did, he glanced towards Tomoe, and gave her a little wave, warming her heart.
Thank you, Big Brother. I’m going to do my best! Tomoe gripped her hands into fists in front of her chest so Souma could see.
The entrance ceremony ended, and Tomoe and the other children moved to their classrooms. There were six classes in each year, and each class had thirty students. Tomoe and her group were in Class 1-1.
Class assignments were made based on the results of the entrance examination, irrespective of social class, and the most gifted students were assembled in Class 1. While social class was not a factor considered in the assignment, the upper classes often hired talented tutors, which resulted in Class 1 overwhelmingly being made up of the children of the nobility.
“Isn’t this great, Yuriga? We made it into the same class.”
“Of course we did... is what I’d like to say, but it was exhausting.”
Yuriga, who was sitting next to Tomoe, stretched out over her desk. They were apparently free to choose their own seats, so Tomoe had taken one a little to the right of center (closer to the hallway), while Ichiha sat behind her, and Yuriga was to her left.
Tomoe and Ichiha had always had good grades, so it was seen as a given that they would make it into Class 1.
“You really did your best, Yuriga.”
Yuriga’s academic ability would normally have put her in the lower half of Class 2. Not wanting to be put in a lower class than the others, Yuriga had begged Hakuya for help, and studied like mad for the entrance exam. Thanks to that, she made it in to Class 1, but thinking back to those days spent studying always seemed to depress her.
“But you didn’t really need to push yourself to get into the same class as us, did you?” Ichiha asked. “I mean, Class 2 is right next door. It would have been easy to come visit, wouldn’t it?”
Yuriga snorted. “I am going to learn in this country, and become someone who can be of use to my brother. Do you think I could let you two stay ahead of me?”
“You say that, but the truth is you were worried about being in a class full of people you don’t know, right?” said Tomoe. “That’s why you studied so hard, so you wouldn’t be separ—aww, aww, aww.”
“Be quiet, you little kid!”
Yuriga pinched Tomoe’s smiling cheeks. As Ichiha smiled wryly at them getting along as well as ever, things were getting noisy over by the blackboard.
“Looks like they’ve finally settled on one.”
“A-Ahahaha...”
“...Honestly, I can’t see why they care,” Yuriga said in exasperation.
Over at the blackboard, there was a lottery in progress. It was to decide “Who will sit next to Tomoe?”
Tomoe might have been a former refugee, but she was now the king’s younger sister. It was only natural that the people of this kingdom would want to get closer to her; by sitting next to her in class, for instance.
That being the case, when they learned that seating was free, their classmates crowded around, saying, “Please, let me sit next to you!” They were very pushy about it.
“I-I’d like to sit close to Ichiha and Yuriga... I think...” Tomoe managed to force those words out despite feeling intimidated.
None of her classmates wanted to earn her scorn, so those two seats were secured. That left the seat to the front and to the right of her. That is ultimately what led to the current situation, and judging from the noise over there, one of those seats had just been decided.
“...The Kingdom sure is peaceful, huh.” Yuriga sighed, and Tomoe smiled happily.
“Of course it is. Big Brother and Big Sister are ruling it.”
“That’s not what I meant. I was being sarcastic. Sar-cas-tic.”
“Murgh...”
“Ahaha... Oh! It looks like they’ve settled on the other person, too.”
When Ichiha pointed to the blackboard, there was one student jumping for joy in the middle of her dejected peers. It was a petite girl who had forced her short hair into two pigtails.
The girl looked towards them, then rushed over. With distinctive beady eyes, she slammed her hands down on Tomoe’s desk and asked, “Lady Tomoe! Would ya mind me sittin’ in front of you?”
“S-Sure. Go ahead...” Tomoe answered somewhat hesitantly, and the girl’s face burst into a beaming smile.
“Thanks! The name’s Lucy Evans; thirteen years old. I’m the daughter of the representative of Evans Company, and we do business in the capital. Pleased to meet ya!” The girl who called herself Lucy introduced herself energetically with a mix of merchant slang.
Lucy of the... Evans Company? Though she was intimidated by the girl’s vigor, Tomoe remembered them.
The Evans Company was a fairly influential merchant family in the capital, engaged in the operation of restaurants and cafes. They were the first to serve dishes incorporating the recipes from Souma’s world that Souma and Poncho had published, and that had brought them great profit. Her house was one of common birth, but they might have had more influence than a minor noble. She had heard Roroa saying, “Nyahaha, there’s some companies on the Elfrieden side with an eye for business, too, huh!” with a cheerful smile on her face
.
Huh? Roroa? That’s when Tomoe realized something. It was about Lucy.
The merchant slang, the beady, personable eyes, and the pigtails, even if her hair wasn’t quite long enough... She was exactly like a mini-Roroa.
“You look... like Roroa?”
“Nice one, Lady Tomoe! You noticed!”
Th-This is a lot of pressure... thought Tomoe.
Then, putting her left hand over her chest, and raising her right hand into the air, Lucy declared, “I’m an adorin’ fan of Lady Roroa. She’s a lovely princess, but she’s also got a good head for business, and that’s won her every merchant’s heart. We always thought of Amidonia as full of uptight men, so who’d’ve thunk there’d be a lady like her there. She’s a business goddess! The way I talk, and the way I look, I’m doin’ it all out of admiration for Lady Roroa!”
“O-Oh... I see...”
Though she was intimidated by the way Lucy was touching her hair as she rambled on, Tomoe managed to nod along. Then, with a sideways glance, she looked to Ichiha or Yuriga to rescue her.
However, Ichiha put his hands together in a silent, “Sorry, I can’t help you,” and Yuriga looked away, resolutely ignoring her.
While Tomoe was agonizing over what to do... it happened.
“Ohh, would ya be so kind as to introduce me to Lady Roroa some—Gwuh!”
Mid-sentence, someone pulled on Lucy from behind. For a moment Tomoe wondered what was up, but then she saw the dark elf girl with short silver hair behind Lucy.
“How about you calm down a little? Can’t you see you’re bothering Lady Tomoe?”
“Velza?!”
It was Velza, daughter of Sur. It seemed she had grabbed Lucy by the scruff of the neck, and was dragging her away from Tomoe.
Then, still holding Lucy by the neck, Velza introduced herself, “Hello, Lady Tomoe. I will be sitting to the right of you, so I hope we will get along.”
“You were participating in the lottery, too?!”
“Yes. In considering the future, I believed it would be best to be seated next to you so that we might form a bond. Fortunately, I was able to draw the seat beside yours, and I am pleased by that.”
“I-I see...” Tomoe gulped.
There was a feeling of heaviness behind this talk of the future. Though she wasn’t as pushy as Lucy, Velza had a certain tenacity about her, too.
“Hey, hey, would ya mind lettin’ me go now?” Lucy, who had ended up like a kitten being carried by her mother, protested. When Velza let go, Lucy angrily said, “What’s the matter with you. Treatin’ me like an animal. Did ya hear me meowin’ or somethin’?”
“I wouldn’t want to have trouble communicating, so please, be human.”
“Oh, come to think of it, I might’ve heard Roroa meowin’ as a joke before,” Tomoe commented.
“Meowhat?! Is Lady Roroa a cute goddess?!”
““She’s a queen!”” Tomoe and Velza retorted in unison.
“Well, aren’t you all oddly in sync.”
“I agree. It feels a lot like watching His Majesty Souma banter with his queens.”
When Yuriga and Ichiha said that with exasperation and a wry smile respectively, the three looked at one another and then laughed.
“I guess you’re right, huh? I have a lot of respect for Big Sister and the other queens.”
“Lady Aisha is the pride of all women living in the God-Protected Forest.”
“Lady Roroa for life!”
Each had a different woman she admired and was trying to be a bit more like, so perhaps that was why their interactions had come to be similar, too.
After a hearty laugh, Tomoe rubbed the corner of her eye and said, “Ahaha... Hey, since you’re both my classmates, can we not do the whole ‘Lady’ thing? I’d really be happier if you’d just treat me like a friend who sits next to you in class.”
“Okay! If that’s what you want, Lady Tomoe... I mean, Tomoe.”
“...Yeah, if that’s how ya want it, I can do that, Tomie.”
The two both gave hesitant nods. From the way she’d already given Tomoe a pet name, you could see Lucy was similar to Roroa in her ability to close the emotional distance between herself and other people.
“I, for one, don’t mind you calling me Lady Yuriga, you know? I am the younger sister of a king, after all,” Yuriga said, maybe because she felt left out.
Tomoe sensed what Yuriga was thinking and chuckled.
“Very well, Lady Yuriga,” she said, bringing a hand to her chest and bowing.
Ichiha, Lucy, and Velza did likewise.
“““Very well, Lady Yuriga,””” they said in unison. Yuriga froze solid, her cheeks twitching.
“...No, don’t do that, after all. It’s kind of creepy.”
“Don’t say that, Lady Yuriga.”
“Gahhhh! I’m sorry, now stop it, you little kid!”
A red-faced Yuriga was pinching Tomoe’s cheeks, and the smiling Tomoe was at her mercy. The remaining three watched them warmly.
They continued chatting until a woman with pointed glasses entered the classroom.
“Hey, hey, Tomie.”
As the first day of lessons came to an end, and Tomoe was preparing to go home, Lucy called out to her while kneeling backwards in her chair. Ichiha, Yuriga, and Velza all came over to see what was up.
Tomoe tilted her head to the side as she asked, “What is it, Lu?”
“I was thinkin’, since we’re all friends now, maybe we ought to go somewhere and have fun?”
“Somewhere... You mean in the castle town?”
“That’s right. You come to my place, and I’ll hook ya up with a whole lotta sweets.”
As Tomoe was considering how she’d respond to the pushy Lucy, Velza interjected, “Lucy, don’t you think that’s a bit too much to ask? Tomoe is His Majesty’s little sister, so I doubt she can go play in the castle town so easily.”
“Well, it won’t be easy without King Souma’s permission. In my case, I’m allowed to go anywhere in the capital. My big brother’s very hands-off, you see.”
“Setting Yuriga aside, there’s a carriage coming for us, too. Oh! I need to report I joined the Monster Research Society. I’ll probably be staying late on meeting days.”
“You’re all no fun,” Lucy said, puffing up her cheeks. “Hangin’ out together after school. Stayin’ together durin’ the summer break. Ain’t that the joy of school life? His Majesty said we were supposed to enjoy our school lives, didn’t he?”
“That’s the same king we’re telling you she needs permission from,” Yuriga sighed, but Tomoe tried to mollify her.
“Now, now. Lu, I really can’t go off without Big Brother’s permission. I made everyone worry the last time I snuck off on my own...”
Tomoe must have been talking about the time they were in the Chima Duchy. When she slipped out of the room she had been told to stay in out of curiosity, some nasty men had picked on her and almost sparked an international incident.
Nothing happened because Ichiha, who she met that time, protected her, and Souma and the others found them in time, but she didn’t want a repeat of what happened there.
At Tomoe’s words, Lucy came to her senses and sat down normally in her chair.
“O-Oh, yeah,” she laughed, rubbing her head with her hand. “I was so gung-ho on gettin’ to know ya, I got ahead of myself. I wasn’t thinkin’ about your position at all. Sorry.”
“Nah. I want to go out and play with everyone just as much as you do. That’s why I’ll talk to Big Brother and the others about it. They’re all really nice, so if I bring it up with them, I’m sure they’ll work things out for us.”
Lucy smiled as Tomoe gripped both her hands. “No need to push it too hard, ya hear? This’s just a selfish request of mine.”
“Sure. I’ll do what I can to get that selfish request granted.”
Tomoe felt highly motivated.
◇ ◇ ◇
That night. Tomoe visited Li
scia’s room alone.
When she went to the governmental affairs office to see Souma, there was only Hakuya inside. He informed her that Souma had been relieved of his work for the day, and he had gone to Liscia’s room to be with Cian and Kazuha. If she wanted to see him, she should go there.
When she knocked, she heard Liscia say, “Come in,” and upon entering, she found Souma and Liscia sitting on a king-sized bed holding the babies.
On Souma’s lap was Kazuha in light blue baby clothes, and on Liscia’s lap was Cian in red baby clothes. They were only four months old and couldn’t sit on their own yet, so without support, they would fall on their backs.
The full-body baby outfits they wore were hand-made by Souma, and were modeled on bizarre creatures called Machapin and Zukku from his old world. The faces of the characters on the hoods looked kind of silly, but the two babies wearing them were super adorable.
They were in the middle of playing with stuffed animals and dolls. Cian was holding the hand of a doll like he was shaking hands with it, and Kazuha was hugging a stuffed bear as she nibbled on its ear. Th-This was a carnivore woman (in infant form)...
“Is something up, Tomoe?”
“You came here for a reason, right?”
Tomoe came back to her senses upon hearing Souma and Liscia call out to her.
“Oh! Um... I had something to talk to you about...”
““Something to talk to us about?””
From there, Tomoe told them about what had happened at school. That she had made friends with the dark elf Velza and the merchant girl Lucy. That she had been invited to play after school by Lucy. And that she had wanted to go and play with everyone.
When she had gone through all of that, “Hmm...” Souma groaned in thought, stroking his jaw. “Well... What do you think, Liscia?”
“What do I think? I’m worried, of course.”
“Yeah... We’ve told Naden she’s free to do what she likes in the capital on her days off, but that’s only because of how powerful she is.”
“I can’t see Tomoe being able to protect herself...”
The two frowned. Tomoe thought she might not get permission. While she tensely waited for them to come to a conclusion, “But...” Souma said, “How was it when you were at the Officers’ Academy, Liscia? Did you just go back and forth from the castle to the school?”