The Little Prince (4)
The roar tore through my eardrums like it meant to rip them apart. Blade fragments soared like butterflies before twisting into a single raging storm. I muttered under my breath.
“This… I didn’t see coming.”
Standing before the steel wave was a platinum-haired girl. Charlotte stood frozen in place, dazed. The sudden loss of control must have stunned her. She reached out to reclaim the flow, but it was already far too late.
That was why the girl chose to shoulder everything alone. To keep anyone else from getting hurt.
A festival of swirling petals. Charlotte quietly braced herself for the coming impact.
……So twisting the flow by pushing herself past her limits was her way of protecting me.
Who could have guessed she would redirect the attack like that? Thanks to her, my plan to lose in a spectacular fashion had evaporated.
She truly had an unpredictable personality. She had been mercilessly driving me into a corner only moments ago, yet the instant real danger appeared she stepped forward to shield me. As expected of that eccentric, four-dimensional girl.
Well… that very trait was part of what made the character so charming.
What now?
If I left her there, she would be injured. No matter how talented, Charlotte was still a young girl. This was the early stage of the original story; her power lacked stability and she could not perfectly control it. A genius still in the middle of her growth.
A collision now would mean at least light bruises or cuts. In the worst case she might be carried to the infirmary in terrible shape. The priests on standby would heal her immediately, of course… but the thought of my favorite character getting hurt sat like lead in my chest.
Damn it.
Yet saving her myself made me hesitate. The loss would be too obvious. I had spent my time here as an unnoticeable extra, carefully hiding my strength and playing the weakling. Rescuing Charlotte now would make everyone suspicious.
The students could not see through the barrier. The faculty, however, were another matter. They were watching the match this very moment.
For a second I considered blocking every magic tool’s view, but my remaining output made that impossible. I had to choose: save Charlotte for a fleeting sense of satisfaction, or let her get hurt to protect my future stability.
What do I do…?
In less than five seconds, ten thousand thoughts flashed through my mind. As I stood there, unable to reach a decision, what pushed against my back was—
“……It’ll hurt.”
A single, unshaken murmur. The platinum-haired girl who had been standing so calmly gently closed her eyelids, as though slipping into peaceful sleep.
I let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha.”
Seeing that, how could I possibly leave her? The dilemma had been foolish from the start. Hadn’t I entered the academy to watch over these children? Wanting to stay by their side as a supporter, yet trying to dodge my own responsibility?
“I suppose I need to reflect.”
Snap!
I flicked my finger. The crisp sound rang out, and my vision blinked.
The next instant I stood behind Charlotte. She remained motionless, not even preparing for the impact.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I gently wrapped my arms around her, drawing her slender frame against me. At the same time, my other hand prepared the Lie.
The air screamed as it was torn apart. I pointed a finger toward the tsunami of blades, feeding it exactly the right amount of power. A faint smile crossed my lips.
What I spoke was darker than anything. What I accomplished was more ecstatic than anything.
The youngest ossuary in the world. I am the star’s emissary—or the fangs that stake their flesh upon a protest.
“Shatter.”
Lie — Shatter
BOOM—!
The pouring steel fragments exploded into countless pieces. Unable to withstand the immense pressure, the surrounding landscape split and split again. The solid barrier collapsed. A gray flower garden turned to dust and scattered. It was a scene that resembled a destruction which perhaps had never truly existed.
What had once been a single world was devoured by paradox, slowly dyed in beautiful collapse.
A little too much?
I dusted off my hands with a calm sigh. I had tried to control my strength, but the barrier’s instability caused it to shatter along with everything else.
“Huu.”
As I steadied my breathing, I felt a small wriggling movement against my chest. The platinum-haired girl in my arms tilted her head up. Her clear blue eyes gazed at me, full of confusion.
“……?”
“Are you alright?”
I asked lightly, checking her condition. Fortunately she seemed uninjured. A sigh of relief left me.
Charlotte still looked as though she hadn’t quite caught up with events. I deliberately tossed out a playful line.
“Well, well… May I consider this as you owing me one?”
“…….”
“Hehe.”
A sly smile lingered on my lips. I continued to hold Charlotte gently until every side of the barrier had completely collapsed.
“I forfeit.”
With Charlotte’s declaration, the match ended.
The aftereffects of hypnosis must have lingered; the girl stood with unsteady legs. Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
The students had not seen what happened inside the barrier. All they remembered was me barely holding on before Charlotte deployed her domain. Their bewilderment was only natural. They had expected me to be thoroughly crushed. Instead the complete opposite had occurred. Question marks were bound to rain down.
Leaving the noisy students behind, I looked at the girl standing before me.
“…….”
“…….”
Charlotte was staring back. The silence stretched until she broke it.
“I was right. You really are the person I thought you were.”
She spoke plainly, then paused as if thinking before continuing.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Why did you save me? You could have just left me.”
“Well.”
I gave a light shrug, pretending to ponder the answer. In truth I already had a clear reason. I reached out and gently poked her cheek. The soft sensation made her tilt her head.
“……?”
Those eyes were so innocently clear. A gentle smile rose to my lips on its own.
“I simply… didn’t want you to get hurt.”
This time it was not a lie. It was pure sincerity.
“Does that answer your question?”
“Not really.”
“A shame.”
“Yeah.”
Her blunt, curt replies somehow made me smile even wider. The usual ominous smile full of darkness. How inconvenient this trait could be at times like this—preventing me from laughing freely.
As I let out a quiet sigh, an unexpected compliment flew my way.
“Your smile is pretty.”
The speaker was none other than the little prince. Hearing such words for the first time, I blinked with several question marks hovering over my head.
“……Are you speaking of me?”
“Yeah.”
“Which part, exactly?”
“It’s a clean color. That’s why it’s pretty.”
What did “clean color” even mean? While I looked at her with puzzled eyes, the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
“I think I can watch over you a little longer.”
“Hmm?”
“I still don’t know whether you’re a good person or a bad one. So… yeah. I’ll watch.”
“In other words, you’re withholding judgment.”
“Something like that.”
This was unexpected. Once she learned of the ominous power I possessed, I had assumed she would at least show some aversion. Instead Charlotte displayed interest. Eccentric? Pure? I couldn’t decide which… but it was exactly the reaction I remembered from the Little Prince.
“Are you a bad person, by any chance?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your Highness possesses mysterious insight. Nine out of ten people would probably call me a bad person.”
“Even if it’s only one out of ten, that doesn’t mean it’s always wrong.”
“Well said.”
After exchanging those simple words, the announcement signaling the end of the test rang out.
The 7th Test has concluded.
Students who have finished the test, please follow faculty guidance and exit the arena.
“Looks like this is the end.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be going, then.”
“Okay.”
We each turned and walked away slowly, backs to one another as though the conversation had never happened, heading toward the passages from which we had entered.
Charlotte Little von Staufen forfeits. The winner is Yuda Snakers.
And so the class assignment test came to a close.
Meanwhile, in the faculty waiting room.
All the professors, including the dean, had gathered in the spacious area to evaluate the class assignment test. It was an important academic event that should have been conducted with utmost seriousness, yet the room was filled with uproar.
“What the hell did I just witness?”
“Rewind it! Quickly! Surely the recording glitched!”
“……This is impossible.”
“Magic of this level from a mere student…?”
The professors stared at the screen with dazed expressions. On the image transmitted by the magic tool, a single scene from the seventh test played on endless repeat.
“Shatter.”
The narrow-eyed boy chanted lightly. Immediately afterward, the solid steel flower garden shattered into pieces. Watching the barrier being miserably crushed, the professors could not hide their shock.
“Just what… is that?”
A professor’s quiet murmur echoed. The rest of the faculty stared blankly at the golden-haired boy who smiled with such ominous grace.