“Oh?
Princess Minara and little Kousuke.” Minato turned back and smiled.
“I am not a princess here, Sensei,” Minara smiled helplessly.
“And I’m not little anymore, Minato-sensei!” Kousuke protested immediately.
“Right, right.
My apologies.” Minato chuckled.
“You two were barely toddlers the last time I visited Ryusai.
How have you been?”
“We’ve been great,” Minara replied politely.
Her beautiful blue eyes naturally drifted toward the boy standing beside Minato.
Shinazu also looked at the two newcomers and froze.
Princess Minara Hinokami…
He recognized her instantly as the royal princess he had seen at the academy gates.
Then his thoughts returned to the conversation from earlier.
Marriage into the royal line…
His eyes slowly moved toward Minara, and suddenly
NO NO NO NO NO!
His face turned bright red and violently shook his head.
What am I thinking?!
The three stared at him in confusion, while Minato raised an eyebrow.
Shinazu immediately straightened his posture under their gazes.
Minato’s lips slowly turned into an amused smile.
He had taught for decades, the boy’s thoughts were written all over his face, and they were absolutely hilarious which made him chuckle though he tried to cover it with his hand.
Shinazu nearly died from embarrassment.
“Minato-sensei!” he said hurriedly.
“It’s almost time for class!
I’ll see you later!”
Without waiting for permission, he turned around to escape.
That was the only best option in his mind.
But just as he lifted his feet, a firm hand caught his shoulder.
“Wait.”
Shinazu froze.
What now?!
Please, not here!
Minara and Kousuke exchanged confused glances wondering who exactly was this boy, and why did Minato seem so familiar with him?
Shinazu slowly turned around.
“Minato-sensei…
the class is about to begin.
I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
“Hmm?” Minato adjusted his glasses.
“About that.”
Shinazu’s instincts screamed danger.
“You three are in the same class.”
…
“Why don’t you go together?”
…
“And perhaps become friends with each other.”
The smile on Minato’s face was pure, but Shinazu could clearly see the schemes hidden underneath.
I knew it.
I KNEW HE WAS UP TO SOMETHING.
“Well then,” Minato smiled.
“Don’t be late.” And with that, Minato happily abandoned him.
Meanwhile, an awkward silence fell over the remaining trio.
Kousuke looked at Shinazu.
Shinazu looked at the sky.
Minara looked at Kousuke, and Kousuke looked back at Minara.
Nobody knew what to say.
“You seems so young.
How old are you?”
“Hey!” Minara whispered sharply.
“Where are your manners?”
“What?”
“Sorry about him,” Minara turned back to Shinazu and smiled warmly.
“Fourteen.”
Both siblings blinked in surprise.
“Fourteen?” Minara looked amused.
“You’re younger than Kousuke.”
“A kid?” Kousuke grinned.
Shinazu’s brow twitched.
“You don’t look much older than me.”
Kousuke puffed his chest proudly.
“I’m sixteen and taller than you!”
Is two year really that important?
Shinazu stared at him blankly.
Minara giggled softly.
“My name is Minara, and this noisy child is my younger brother Kousuke.”
“Hey!
I’m not a child!”
Shinazu nodded politely.
“My name is…”
Suddenly, his entire body froze.
Coming from the opposite side, he saw her.
A girl dressed in the official uniform of the Himetsu Royal Academy, a white inner shirt, white trousers, and a black coat adorned with golden ornaments, the high-quality fabric perfectly tailored to her slender frame.
Her long, silky black hair moved gently in the breeze, and her sharp, beautiful facial features were illuminated beneath the bright morning sun.
She moved with elegant steps and intense golden eyes which parted the crowd without a need to say.
The girl from the garden whom he had run away from and somehow accidentally proposed, as what he thought.
And she was coming directly this way.
Shinazu’s mind went completely blank.
His heart began to hammer wildly against his ribs as a cold sweat instantly breaking out across his back.
Oh no.
Not her.
Why is she here?
NO.
NO NO NO NO NO.
WHY IS SHE HERE?!
She had not noticed him yet, because in her view only Minara and Kousuke’s heads were visible, while Shinazu still had hope because of his short height and the crowd moving along the way.
Shinazu immediately bowed deeply.
“I-I’m sorry!”
Minara blinked.
“Huh?”
“I just remembered something!”
Kousuke frowned.
“What thing?”
“A very important thing!”
Minara looked thoroughly confused.
“But class starts in just five minutes.”
“I need to go!” Shinazu insisted, neither sibling understood what was happening.
Shinazu continued frantically, “It was nice meeting you!”
Then he ran.
He actually ran away, leaving behind two completely dumbfounded royals.
…
Kousuke stared at his sister.
“What just happened?”
Minara blinked.
“I…
don’t know.”
At that exact moment, the girl arrived.
“Elder Sister,”
“Akira!”
Minara welcomed her with a smile, while Akira gave a small calm smile.
But then Akira’s golden eyes narrowed slightly as she looked toward the distant figure of the boy sprinting away.
“Elder sister, who was that boy?” She asked curiously.
“Um, I don’t know much either,” Minara admitted.
“Takahashi-sensei said he is in the same class with us, so we were just talking.”
“…but he just ran away in hurry saying some very important thing came up,” Kousuke pointed out, shaking his head.
Akira found herself deeply intrigued, her gaze lingering in the direction he had fled.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the far corner of a distant corridor, a boy was hiding his face, desperately trying to calm himself down with a shaking hand pressed tightly against his pounding heart.
Ringg-!
As Shinazu was frantically trying to calm his racing heart, the loud academy bell echoed across the campus.
“Oh, no!
I’m late!”
Realizing his peaceful morning had completely slipped through his fingers, he broke into a sprint, rushing toward his designated classroom with all the speed his legs could muster.
Navigating the massive, elegant corridors of the academy took far longer than he had anticipated, and by the time he finally reached the white ivory double doors of his classroom, he was panting like he had been chased by a monster.
He slowly, carefully pushed the right door open, only to find that the teacher had already taken her place at the front desk.
She paused, and looked on the left a boy with sharp eyes.
“Late on the very first day?”
Shinazu swallowed hard, bowing his head immediately.
“I am incredibly sorry, sensei!
I had an urgent matter to attend to.”
“And what exactly was that matter?” she asked, her voice flat and demanding.
“Oh, I…
I accidentally forgot my storage ring back in my room, so I had to rush all the way ba..” He fabricated the lie right on the spot, trying to look appropriately apologetic.
“Don’t just stand there gaping at the entrance,” She cut him off in the middle, possessing no patience for fresh excuses.
“Come in already and take that last seat.”
Shinazu nodded quickly, relieved to escape further questioning.
He hurried up the tiered rows with quick footsteps, acutely aware that twenty different pairs of eyes were totally locked onto him, tracking his every movement.
“Isn’t he way too young?” a noble boy whispered near the front.
Another sneered, “A puny kid, huh?”
So, it’s him…
Shinazu strictly avoided their piercing gazes and hushed whispers.
Keeping his head down, he navigated to the desk in the very back where a single spot remained.
He quickly slid into the seat right beside a student without turning his head or looking at her.
Taking a slow breath, Shinazu finally scanned his new environment.
The classroom was breathtakingly elegant, resembling a royal council chamber more than a schoolroom.
White stone walls and pillars adorned with intricate golden borders while a thick red carpets lined the floors on which ten white marble desks and joined rosewood seats with fine red cushioning, each designed to comfortably accommodate two students together, were neatly arranged into two columns and five rows.
The room rose in tiers, each row sitting slightly higher than the one before it, all facing a large green board and a polished teacher’s podium at the front while the bright sunlight passed through the tall arched windows framed by heavy red curtains, while crystal chandeliers overhead shimmered with light.
There was no way any single place in this academy looks anything less than a royal palace.
Shinazu thought sitting perfectly quiet and maintaining an innocent posture with his eyes fixed on the desk, hyper-aware that his desk partner was a girl who was scanning with narrowed eyes.
After he finally settled, the teacher addressed the room.
“Greetings to all of you.
From this moment onward, you are all officially students of our prestigious Himetsu Royal Academy of Magic.
I am your class teacher, Kana-sensei, and this will be your official class placement.
You will remain in this exact room, with these exact same classmates and myself, for the next five years of your education, so I certainly hope you won’t get bored with one another.”
The lady looked almost too perfect, her calm and intelligent jade eyes resting beneath red under-rim spectacles.
Her midnight hair was colored with vibrant teal streaks, tied up in a towering ponytail, complementing her crisp, gold-trimmed white silks.
A collective murmur passed through the students.
“Now,” Kana-sensei continued, resting her hands on her podium, “you shall all introduce yourselves one by one.” She gestured girl in the front row.