Silence falls.
As I plant my face into the floor─practically licking it─I notice something unusual in the corner of my eye: a pair of petite feet.
I’m pretty sure I landed in front of the headmistress’s office desk, which means her feet should be hidden behind it.
Which means these small feet belong to someone other than the headmis─“Ahah!” I hear a laugh.
Ahah?
The voice continues, “Is it customary in this kingdom to burst into a room apologizing?”
It sounds bright and full of youth. It obviously belongs to a girl about Char’s age, and not to the headmistress who’s got the mature woman’s charm.
What the heck? I raise my head.
“Are you Haruto Zenfis? The boy Theresia was talking about? You are, aren’t you?”
There stands an innocent and beautiful looking girl.
At first glance, she looks to be about Char’s age based on her height. Her hair is long and silver. She looks down at me with her shimmering and curious golden eyes. She’s wearing the academy’s uniform, but I’ve never seen her before.
“Uh, sorta…” I mumble. I look away from her as I rise to my feet the way an introvert would when they meet a new person.
But the mysterious pretty girl comes around in front of me. Her boobs are pretty big for her age; they do a little bounce as she stops right up in my face.
“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “I’m so happy to meet you this quickly. I sincerely mean it! Theresia told me all about you and I’ve been so curious!”
The headmistress? What sort of ideas did she plant in this little girl’s head about me?
I look across the headmistress’s desk with blame and accusation in my eyes.
The headmistress─Theresia Montpellier, was her name?─is an alluring woman with light pink curls and a gentle disposition.
Apparently, she’s not as young as she looks. My mom and the queen look younger than they really are, too. The women in this world are seriously ageless.
Theresia asks, “Haruto Zenfis? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden─”
“Let’s put that aside for now!” I exclaim.
“O-Oh? Very well, then.”
“What’s the meaning of this?”
I came all this way because she summoned me, and I ended up making a fool out of myself in front of a pretty girl. Yeah, yeah. It’s my fault too for sliding in with a dramatic apology without any warning, but still.
I point to the girl. “Who is she─huh?”
A shadowy figure steps in between her and me.
I can’t believe my eyes.
He looks identical to the pretty girl.
With the exception of three things:
His hair is tied loosely in the back, and he’s wearing a boy’s uniform. Naturally, his chest is flat. And unlike the innocent and cheery girl, he’s giving me an icy cold glare.
Oh, that’s four.
“Is it customary in this kingdom to point your finger in someone’s face?” he asks.
Even his voice is just like the pretty girl. His word choice isn’t, though.
He adds, “Such a gesture is prohibited in the empire because it can cause one to be suspected of exercising magic.”
Empire? Oh, right. They were corroborating with Gizelotte to act against my dad a long time ago. Why’s he bringing them up now? Eh, whatever.
“I’m sorry about that,” I say. “But can’t you tell by looking whether someone’s about to conjure magic?”
What’s going on? Why am I being confrontational?─Something I’d normally never do.
The reason is probably because of that.
His golden-colored eyes.
Despite being a guy who has zero talent in noticing someone’s hostile or malicious intentions, I can sense the bloodthirsty aura. But if I act sus and try to escape from his stare…
“Brother Haruto?”
…I’ll risk letting my sister─who followed me here for some reason─be exposed to it. Something inside me is blaring a warning: avoid that from happening at all costs.
On the other hand, I can’t just surprise-yeet him into mystery space-time in front of Char. Not to mention the headmistress is here, too. Mission impossible.
Oh, what to do?
“Uranis, stop interrupting me!”
The boy called Uranis steps to the side at the lighthearted and melodic voice’s command.
Once again, the pretty girl is in front of me with the same smile on her face.
If anything, it’s starting to scare me.
“I forgot to introduce myself again. My name is Yulia Martienna. Today’s my first day here as an exchange student. I’m a first-year, just like you. But I’m twelve years old, so I’m a bit younger. Nice to meet you!”
The pretty girl, Yulia, introduces herself as if nothing happened.
I glance to her side.
The male student is standing as still as a doll.
“And that one’s Uranis. He looks just like me, but his personality is the polar opposite of mine… Or not quite? He’s just a little too serious.”
She gives me a sloppy introduction of the boy with a big grin on her face. The boy doesn’t so much as twitch a facial muscle.
Are they…twins? I heard that fraternal twins don’t really look alike, but… Oh well, I won’t let that worry me.
“Yulia Martienna. May I ask you to stop right there?”
I turn to the exasperated voice and see the exasperated headmistress.
“Haruto’s appointment was arranged first. May I ask you to please wait patiently until we are done?”
Looks like they’re here because they decided to interrupt my meeting.
“Hmph, fine then. All right, Haruto. Talk later.”
Yulia the mysterious exchange student gives me a wink, trots over to the corner of the room…and sits down on the sofa.
You’re not gonna leave?!
Plop.
She nestles down and continues to grin at me.
She then opens her mouth and says, “Charlotte, why don’t you come sit down? We can continue our conversation from earlier.”
How dare she call my dear little sister’s name so casually… Wait, “continue”? “Earlier”?
Instead of answering her, Char looks at me with a little smile as if to say, “don’t worry,” before heading over to Yulia.
“The headmistress and Brother Haruto have something to discuss right now. Perhaps we should wait for them to finish first?”
“You think so? Well, I’m curious about their meeting, too. I suppose I can keep quiet and listen in.”
They seem to know each other already from somewhere. My alarm didn’t go off then, so I guess she’s not dangerous. We’re all in the same room now; if anything happens, I can deal with it.
On the other hand, this Uranis boy is quite a puzzler. He’s standing behind the sofa Yulia is on, spacing out at the air or wall or wherever his eyes are fixed on. What the heck is with him?
Geez, they’re completely identical.
Not just in appearance.
They both have a mana level of 24/48. Their elements, in order, are Darkness, Fire, Wind, Earth─they’re high-quads. These two are probably super skilled. Their max mana levels are higher than the Flash Princess Gizelotte’s.
But they’re nothing threatening. Clearly, Charlotte’s potential is way higher. Just goes to show my little sister is way more amazing!
Nevertheless, I keep my guard up and face the headmistress while keeping Char in my peripheral view.
“And? What do you want from me?” I ask.
I fully intend to leave if she attempts to scold me about my laziness in front of Char.