Midnight Mayhem
“Eek!”
“Hngg~”
Irshu and Tarshu flailed their arms desperately. Watching the sight, Abel hurriedly sorted through his thoughts…
“Get this out of the way, Abel.”
“Let me do it, my husband.”
“What do you mean ‘do it’! And drop the ‘husband’ bit!”
Right. Before things got even messier, let’s straighten this out quick.
Irshu and Tarshu. Twin princesses of the Winter Duchy. First-years at the academy like him. Cryokinesis users—at least upper-tier level. They’d put up a solid fight during the academy raid. As for their role… yeah. Probably decent side characters, he figured.
He was convinced they were there to balance things out—too many dudes crowding the scene would reek of bro sweat, so tossing in some feminine fragrance made sense. Sure enough, that powerhouse quartet hadn’t batted an eye at these stunning beauties. No reaction whatsoever to the twins thrashing about like that. Hard to believe they were lively guys in their early twenties.
That just reinforced his certainty. Ah, they’re just a fleeting encounter, nothing more.
But then.
The princesses suddenly drifted right into his lane and floored the accelerator. Aiming straight for Abel himself. No real prior interactions, and now they were tossing around “husband” and “let’s hit the bed” like it was nothing.
His heart in the face of this? Obviously slice it clean with a rejection and dive back into training? Sadly, no. It split sharply into two.
One side: Why the hell are these princesses acting like this? No matter what, the noblest women in the duchy throwing themselves at a foreigner? Wasn’t this tarnishing national pride? Worries like that piled on.
The other side… yeah. He’d admit it straight up. He was just a man, after all. Stunning beauties—twins, no less—coming on this strong? Acting like a heartless rock and saying, “Nah, go home,” was brutally tough. He knew he shouldn’t, but he kept clearing his throat awkwardly.
I’m not impotent or a saint. They’re pushing so hard it’s shaking me up.
Someday. Not now, but later. When the time came, he’d meet a woman, marry, share love, have kids. Stick together till his black hair turned white.
But that was later. Abel’s goal right now—his one burning desire—was simple. Become a stronger ability user. A greater one. Carve his name into this ability-user world’s history. Even as an extra, claim a protagonist’s spot through sheer power.
This world wasn’t easy. The academy attack proved it. Not some punks popping out for a smash-and-grab. People died. Got hurt. The wails from the joint funeral still rang clear in his ears.
Half-assed is no better than having nothing, Abel thought. Dropped into this world? Might as well aim for the top. Better to have power and still fall short than be powerless and miserable.
“Lady Irshu. Lady Tarshu.”
He pushed the two princesses back again, his voice grave as he reined them in. But the vixens were already set on sinking their teeth into their prey. They lunged to hug him once more, forcing Abel to shove their heads away while pressing on.
“I’m not getting into anything like that with you two.”
At his words, the sisters froze in perfect sync. Disbelief leaked from their eyes.
“…Why not?”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Give us a reason.”
“Tell us.”
That’s the reason—no interest, he wanted to say. You vixens. Er, princesses.
Abel spilled his guts in detail. But even to him, who wasn’t exactly normal, the princesses seemed off—what the hell’s with these girls? No way they’d take it at face value. Invalid reason. Give another. Or we do what we want. Their bulldozing left him wondering if they’d snuck booze at dinner or spiked the food with something.
“I have a dream. To become a stronger—more perfect—ability user.”
Irshu and Tarshu nodded. They looked just like a pair of obedient kittens sitting pretty. Even this stoic guy had to pause, charmed for a moment.
“To achieve that, some things have to take a backseat.”
“Why push us back?”
“We can do it together.”
“That’s the thing—together, I can’t focus at all…”
The princesses turned to each other, asking in unison.
“Irshu, gonna distract him?”
“Gonna distract him, Tarshu?”
“Not me.”
“Me neither.”
After that self-Q&A, they fixed their gaze on Abel again. Our intent’s clear. No plans to derail or stop your dream. So accept us already, their eyes pleaded. Leaving Abel even more tongue-tied.
He’d never yielded or dodged before, but this temptation hit harder than ever. Hell, he even considered leaping out the open window.
That’s why the knock that followed was pure salvation to him.
This won’t do.
Seria shot up from the bed where she’d been lying dazed, resolve hardening. Yeah. This absolutely wouldn’t do. What a waste of precious time. She was set to spend a few more days at the Rothschild estate, then a week back home in her barony. Couldn’t just let it slip by doing nothing.
Her life had been pure luck. Lost her birth parents, sure, but gained amazing adoptive ones who showered her with love. Servants and villagers treated her like nobility despite her commoner roots. They kept her from identity crises.
Then Ability Awakening. Became an ability user. Even got into the Continental Academy—tough for most. And there, she tangled with incredible people. Empire’s third prince. Republic prime minister’s son. Heirs to top elemental masters.
Other ladies would kill for one such stroke of fortune. Four guys pursuing her? And all elites? They’d scream it was the luck of a lifetime.
But…
Too much for Seria. Overluck turned scary. Beyond human limits, it wasn’t fortune—it was a curse.
And above all, no matter how many great people fawned over you, your eyes naturally went to the one you liked.
“I made it this far, but… haaa…”
Embarrassing to admit. Couldn’t even voice it yet. But she knew. She had feelings for Abel.
Weak now—embarrassingly so—but like her flames, it could erupt big one day.
She’d planned to take it slow at first. Plenty of time to explore her heart.
But things kept getting weird. The four guys begging her to notice them. Meanwhile, Abel suddenly cozy with the two new princesses.
So why Abel? Why him?
Lots of reasons. Handsome. Cool. Showed real manhood time and again. From orientation, the academy attack, to revenge on the enemies. He always stepped in front of her. He’d deny intent, but who wouldn’t fall for that?
Especially those words in the carriage to the academy. His gentle smile, words of comfort and cheer—etched deep in her mind.
“Look at those stars. Tiny, right? Maybe smaller and dimmer than fireflies.”
“No one calls them worthless. Smaller than fireflies, not shining like sun or moon—they’re still stars in the sky.”
“No reason to belittle yourself now, or feel anxious. We’re all the same. Starts as a firefly. But the future? No one knows.”
That moment, Seria gained two stars. One: people she wanted to protect. The other: a star to shine beside.
The man who cheered her on so hard—she wanted to show him this firefly becoming a star. Needed to get closer.
She’d just been watching till now, but… Those princesses are too aggressive.
She threw on her top and left the room. Perfect excuse, too. Abel was always fired up about ability training. Hook him there, slip in other talk naturally.
Knock knock.
“Abel? It’s Seria. I was reading that ability book and had a question…”
“Seria? Thank you. Come on in.”
Door opened in under five seconds. His beaming smile made her heart pound.
So she missed it. That odd “thank you” from him.
“…Huh?”
Inside, Seria froze. Snow-white hair. Two identical princesses in pajamas, perched on the bed.