“Leeds, I suddenly have a bad feeling about this…” I said in a whisper.
“How funny! I was thinking the same thing. If the two adults look like that, what on earth happened to the children?” Leeds whirled around. I followed his eyes…and froze.
“…Huh?”
Two young men were standing where the twins had just been.
They both had handsome, chiseled features. Their glossy blonde hair was eye-length, and their bright blue eyes were somber. Nearby on the ground were a dagger and crossbow, but they felt like miniatures next to the two well-built men. Leeds let out a whistle at their beauty. Except he hadn’t whistled because these men were his type.
It was because they were completely naked.
“Eeeeeeeek!”
I covered my eyes. My heart leaped violently in my chest. My pulse was racing.
Wh-Wh-Why are they naked?! Who are those people?! What happened to Dum and Dee?!
As I staggered around, my toes collided with one of the bottles. A tag was attached to the neck labeled: “Drink me.”
Drink me?
On the cake plates, the raisins were arranged to spell out: “Eat me.”
The four consumed these. Then, a light appeared and drew a clock in the air before the four were replaced by strange young men and boys.
“Phew! That was scary. I couldn’t see a thing!”
A handsome young boy emerged from underneath the top hat. His wavy, silver hair looked like it was spun from moonlight. The boy’s long eyelashes were accentuated by sapphire eyes, and he had a dainty little nose and lips like a doll.
But it wasn’t his looks that had me so startled.
It’s Rabbit!
The boy looked exactly like my memories of my childhood friend. He was the very same Dark I knew from years ago. Only the two visible horns on the top of his head were different.
“It’s you, isn’t it, Dark?” I ventured. “So that boy is Jack, and these men…”
Leeds had draped a blanket over the two men. The one with the mole under his left eye spoke first.
“I’m Dum.”
Then, the one with the mole under his right eye followed up.
“I’m Dee.”
“I knew it!”
I felt like I was about to faint. My angelic little twins had turned into broad-chested men with defined abs! The children’s clothes scattered around only made it all the more tragic.
Aaaah… Now, how am I supposed to get my fix of cuteness…?
I cried into my sleeves, unable to accept this reality.
Little Dark brought his hand to his chin. “We were caught in a trap. Your guard dog and I were transformed into ten-year-olds, while the twins look to be about seventeen now. Perhaps drinking the juice sends you backward in time, and the cakes advance you.”
With that suggestion, Dum and Dee tried drinking the juice while Dark and Jack bit into the cakes.
But nothing changed.
“I guess it doesn’t work. I doubt a demon child could take things this far on their own, so this must be the work of a named demon,” Dark theorized.
“So, a demon is somewhere around here too…? I’m just glad you’re all alive. My power should work if a demon did this to you.”
I put my arms at my sides, cleared my mind, and concentrated. Then, I folded my hands at my chest and focused on my prayer.
Please release them from the demon’s spell.
My stigma instantly turned hot on my chest. A white band of light slipped from my chest and out of my clothes, engulfing the other four members.
I possessed the ability to undo abnormalities caused by demons.
My powers felt like they were responding, but then…
“Huh?”
The light dispersed, leaving the four unchanged.
Dark flapped the dangling sleeves of his shirt sadly. “It looks like the caster is more powerful than you, so we’ll have to find the demon who laid this trap to undo it. I’m sure they’ve already sensed that their trap was activated, too.”
“Does that mean they might come here?” I asked.
The blood drained from my face. Dark’s response came without any hint of humor.
“If I caught someone in a trap, I’d want to finish the job as soon as possible. We should change into clothes that are easier to move in. Fortunately, I happen to have just the thing in my luggage. Can you bring me the green trunks, Leeds? There’s three of them.”
“I won’t be able to carry them all by myself,” Leeds said.
“I’ll come too,” I volunteered.
Leeds and I went outside to find the green trunks from the stack on the wagon. We finally spotted them at the bottom of the pile but couldn’t pull them out.
As we worked hard to yank the trunks out, Leeds suddenly stiffened.
“Bad news… Someone’s coming from the forest. I see a lantern light swaying.”
“You what?!”
We would be backed into a corner if this were the demon. It would be foolish to fight without weapons and difficult to resist. Tragically, they could burn the log cabin down with us inside it to reach a guaranteed bad end.
That meant the demise of not just me but of everyone.
“Hurry!”
We finally dislodged the luggage trunks, threw them into the rest area, and closed the door again.
I whipped my head toward the figure emerging from the forest. They were headed our way. My pulse was pounding in my ears.
“Don’t step out from behind me, my lady.”
Leeds pressed me against the door with his back protectively, his hand instinctively moving down to the chain around his hips. I stuck my hand in my pouch, too, and gulped.
The sky above the old castle turned orange as the sun set.
With the warm glow at his back, as if the forest itself were on fire, the person emerged wearing a black robe.
I squinted my eyes to get a better look at him. He was a tall, skinny man who looked to be roughly eighteen years old. He was holding a lantern but no weapons. I couldn’t tell if he was a demon from this distance.
“Hello! Isn’t this a lovely island? Are you here alone?” Leeds called out to the man first.
Speaking to a suspicious person directly was a way of preventing violence in itself. Most people were startled into giving up if they’d approached with the intent to attack.
The man froze, and his face turned angry. Perhaps Leeds’ move had worked.
“Don’t I look like I’m alone? This island is home to a boarding school. Did you think it was a resort?” The man stroked his maple-brown hair. His words prickled with irritation. His short robe, tailcoat, trousers, and shoes were all black. Only his necktie and vest were bright gold, like flowers blooming in a fertile field.
It was most likely the school uniform. But we couldn’t let our guard down—a demon could disguise itself as a student, after all.
I called out to him next. I wasn’t going to back down in the face of someone mysterious like this. “No, we knew what it was. We’re a group of first-year students and their attendants.”
“But that can’t be. This is a boys’ school. Go back to the mainland… No, I guess the boat’s already left, now that I think of it.”
The ship that brought us there was already a distant speck on the horizon.
In other words, the six of us were trapped on an island with a demon.
On the other side of my back, drenched in cold sweat, I heard the cabin door creak open.
“The young lady comes from a baron’s family. On the trip here, I heard her mention that she plans to attend finishing school.”
The person who emerged was Dark—clutching the brim of a hat too large for his head. As soon as I laid eyes on him, I could swear I saw flower petals dancing in the wind around him.
He’s…so stinking cute…!
The cheeks of his baby face were tinted pink, and the green tailcoat and white lacy blouse he wore were perfect for him. His plaid trousers went down to the knee, and jeweled belts held up his socks. It was an incredibly intricate design all around.
What an amazing piece of art! It must be a new illustration they were adding to the game, right?! The kind you go back and look at in the gallery again later!
As I was letting my fangirl heart get the best of me, Jack rushed out of the cabin next.
“He’s right. Don’t try and pick fights for no damn reason.”
Jack was wearing the same clothes as Dark, only with much limper bows. I knew he didn’t care about how he presented himself, which only made the beret on his head stand out all the more. It was so cute that I thought my heart might explode.
If the developers made merch out of these character versions, it would sell out instantly.
I can picture it now… In my past life, I would have bought as many items as they let me…!
While my favorite character may have changed now, I still couldn’t resist the urge to fangirl over Jack. Dark shot me a glance.
“I think she came to Ark School by mistake. Isn’t that right, miss?”
“Y-Yes, exactly! How utterly careless of me! Oh ho ho ho!” I tried to play it off with laughter. The student sighed with resignation.
“That’s not good. There isn’t even a place for you to stay out here. What now…?” The man had just met me, but he seemed to be giving real thought to my conundrum. He didn’t seem affected when he saw Dark or Jack, either.
I guess that means he isn’t the demon who laid the traps.
Leeds and I exchanged nods before I spoke next.
“In that case, may I stay at Ark School until the next boat arrives? I don’t need to be treated as a student. I’d be happy to clean or do kitchen work as needed.”
“You can’t!”
“You can’t!”
I heard deep voices, followed by hands being placed on my shoulders from behind.
“You’re nobility, Alice. You can’t mop floors.”
“You’re a young lady, Alice. You can’t bake cakes.”
Wrapping their arms around me from both sides were the Tweedles, now in their new clothes.