31. First Day of School
31. First Day of School
After I turned ten.
That is, ever since I regained my Past Life's memories, I had never once worn feminine clothes.
Skirts, of course, but also bright-colored clothes, lace-trimmed clothes, short shorts, tight-fitting clothes—I'd never once worn any of them.
Would I be crazy enough to wear that stuff?
I even tried to avoid wearing the goddamn underwear if I could help it.
So one day I tried going around wrapped in bandages, but it was so uncomfortable I couldn't stand it.
It was annoying as hell, and on top of that, not wearing them meant it showed through my clothes, so I had no choice but to wear them.
But then.
That same me.
Right then.
Was wearing a skirt shorter than the underwear I wore in my Past Life.
"Huk... I've never seen that young lady's bare legs before..."
"...Stop."
"You look so, so, so, so good! Why are your legs so pretty, my lady?!"
"Eurasia... stop."
"How are they so smooth? Your kicks are incredibly heavy, my lady, so how can they be this slender? They even look so soft and tender...?"
"Please... stop..."
My face burned so hot with shame it felt like it would burst.
My crotch felt bare. It was cool. The goddamn ventilation was incredible.
"...I've never seen her this embarrassed before. So you really are a girl, huh?"
"Haah..."
"And, just as Dame Eurasia said, your legs... are pretty. Enviably so... And what, are you the type to turn red all over when you're embarrassed? Even your legs are all red—"
"Aaaaaah!!!"
"Hik?! Y-you scared me!! Why are you screaming?! You think I can't scream too?!"
"Both of you... shut up. Close your mouths and... get lost."
"What do you mean, get lost? You have to come too, you know? At this rate we'll actually be late, so hurry up and come out."
Stella looked at me with a smirk and let out an infuriating little snort.
"What, worried because the skirt's too short? You don't need to worry about that. The academy uniform has all kinds of magic on it, so your underwear won't show as long as you don't flip your skirt up. And honestly, this isn't even short."
As Stella said, the academy uniform had all kinds of magic on it, and I'd been told there would be absolutely no accidental exposure like that.
They said that even in a typhoon, the skirt would never flip up.
But if this isn't short, then what the hell is supposed to count as short?
I put all of that into the sharp, stinging glare I aimed at Stella.
"Eugh, what. I'm serious. If you don't believe me, look around the lecture hall later. There'll already be girls wearing theirs shorter."
"...You shortened yours too?"
Stella averted her eyes.
"...A, a little?"
"Bullshit. You've got it hiked all the way up. Tch."
"What?! Hey! If anything, mine isn't even shortened, okay? Here! Look! There's barely any difference from yours! And I told you to watch your mouth!"
"If you're gonna do that, why not just walk around in panties?"
"What are you even..."
Clicking my tongue, I looked at Eurasia.
"You didn't shorten yours, right, Eurasia?"
"...Hehe."
"Hah."
By now, I couldn't even laugh.
I barely kept my soul from leaving my body and rubbed my brow.
Good God.
Even Eurasia shortened hers?
Seriously, did kids these days not even consider this short?
"Wh-why don't you swear at Dame Eurasia?!"
"...Because Eurasia wouldn't have shortened hers as much as you. At most a little."
Eurasia's eyes shook violently.
"...Eurasia?"
"Hehe."
"...Why on earth? Stella, she's short, so she's doing it to make her legs look longer. But Eurasia, you're not. You're pretty enough just wearing it normally... No, I won't allow it. Lengthen it right now. I can't stand seeing you go around like that."
"Stop bringing up my height! And you're seriously too much. What are you, Eurasia's parents? Just hearing you talk, you're a total old geezer."
"Old geezer? Hah, hey. Even if I'm not Eurasia's parent, I'm, uh, well? I mean, I'm..."
What should I say?
I'd rather die than call myself her older sister.
But I can't exactly say older brother either, not with this body.
Then, mom? No.
Dad would only get me laughed at.
What the hell am I supposed to call myself...?
"What? What are you, then?"
I looked at Eurasia.
For some reason, she was wriggling her body as if embarrassed.
For now, I was certain she wouldn't be any help with my question.
"...Just shut up."
"You've got nothing to say, right? So stop lecturing me and Dame Eurasia too. Besides, Dame Eurasia is practically your older sister here."
"Older sister? O-older sister??"
"This is Karelai Academy. You are a student of Karelai Academy. And at this academy, there are no gaps based on status. So Dame Eurasia is no different from an older sister to you."
"Then why do you keep calling her 'Dame Eurasia' with the honorific?"
"...I-I'm going to call her... casually from now on!"
Eurasia's eyes went wide.
"Th-then... is it all right if I call you casually too...?"
"Yes! I mean, uh... yeah! Casually... call me casually...!"
"...Okay. I'll do that, Stella. Hehe..."
"Heuk... okay... Eurasia... big sis."
"What are you two— no, never mind. Let's... let's just go."
I clenched my trembling fist and stood up.
My legs felt exposed. Nothing restricted my movement.
I felt uneasy. It seemed like one wrong step and I'd show the whole world my panties.
Even though I knew it wouldn't go down, I tugged at the hem of my skirt anyway.
It was pointless. Thanks to Stella and Eurasia's subtle smiles, my shame only grew.
"...Can I wear gym clothes underneath this?"
"I heard gym clothes are only allowed during practical training."
"...I see."
"My lady, you really don't need to worry so much! It suits you so well and you look really pretty!"
"That's not what I'm worried about, no... haah..."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Then I felt the back of my skirt being lightly tugged, and Eurasia's hushed voice came from behind.
"My lady, and when you get up like you just did, you have to smooth down the back of your skirt as you stand. If it's folded... it could be awkward."
"...But you said it's enchanted, so it's fine."
"Well... I heard it automatically smooths out when it rides up or gets wrinkled, but folded fabric is something the magic can't fix. So when you sit too, you have to arrange it properly like this. Around your bottom, like this."
"...O-okay, I get it, so stop touching my butt."
"Huk... yes!"
I rubbed my inexplicably ticklish butt as I started walking. The skirt swished and tickled my thighs.
Since I usually wore pants, now that I was in a skirt my legs felt a bit cold... and empty.
"If you're cold, wear stockings like me."
"I'd rather freeze to death."
"Huk... oh, no, my lady!"
*****
After leaving the dormitory and arriving at Signia's main building, we headed to the central hall to look at the class assignment list posted on the bulletin board.
"Waaah!! I'm in the same class as you, my lady!!"
"Really? I thought we'd be separated."
Eurasia, now in the same class as me, giggled and pulled me into a hug.
"What do you mean you thought we'd be separated?! Surely... you didn't want to be separated from me?!"
"No way."
Simply put, I thought that if I ended up in the same class as Eurasia, the balance might be off.
But, well... I suppose they could reasonably put us together. The professors probably hadn't seen me take down a basilisk.
And besides, my practical exam was a failing grade, and they made a whole goddamn scene about it. So rather than thinking about me, they probably separated Eurasia and Stella.
And... since they probably know about my relationship with Eurasia, they put us together.
Well, that last thought was just my own delusion.
"...U-um."
Meanwhile, Stella, who ended up in a different class alone, became gloomy.
"So you got dropped alone. Sad?"
"Wh-what?! Dropped? No way. I'm the one who dropped you. So I'm not sad. Why would I be sad? I'm not even disappointed. Hah! If anything, it's... it's a good thing."
"Hear that, Eurasia? We've been abandoned by Stella. As expected of Lady Stella Verheigen, the marquis's daughter—a self-motivated, proactive, splendid genius Wizard who became the youngest 3rd Circle and even entered as the second-ranked student. Taking on both of us all by herself. So cool. You're the best."
"Ugeut... No! Stop! I said don't praise me like that! And I... I only dropped you!"
"Then want me to call you a pathetic magic brat instead?"
"Don't call me pathetic!"
"You bitch when I compliment you, you bitch when I insult you. What the hell do you want?"
"Just, just... just don't say anything."
I let out a snort of a laugh and pressed a macaron into Stella's hand.
"Get along with your classmates. Don't pick fights. If anything's hard, tell your homeroom professor right away. And if that doesn't help, tell me. I'll hear you out."
"...Don't say old-geezer stuff while wearing a skirt."
Stella quivered and barely managed to spit that out.
After hearing that, I jabbed Stella in the side harder than usual as I entered the classroom.
She let out a 'Hiyak!' and doubled over.
"Don't go off and mope alone. I know you're proud, but you don't have to put up a front with me."
Stella's mouth fell open blankly.
"...What do you mean, I don't need to put up a front with you? What... what are you trying to say?"
"Who knows."
Leaving Stella standing there with that blank look, I went straight into my assigned class.
After me, Eurasia said goodbye to Stella and cautiously followed me in.
All eyes turned to me.
Most people averted their eyes the moment my gaze touched them, but two did not.
Twitching ears. A puffed-up tail.
Her tousled light-brown bob swayed with the movement of her ears, and her matching eyes sparkled.
It was the squirrel Beastkin I had seen at the entrance ceremony.
The little Beastkin's dainty lips parted.
Pre-tty.
Her eyes dropped to my skirt.
Her expression crumpled. Then our eyes met.
The squirrel's ears drooped. Her tail curled up.
She hugged her curled tail with both arms and began trembling.
I was so dumbfounded by that reaction that I laughed in disbelief.
At that, she covered her eyes with both hands and trembled even harder.
Why cover your eyes, though?
As I tilted my head, I became aware of the other person's gaze.
Platinum blonde hair. Eyes the same color as her hair.
An imperial princess who, despite being a seventeen-year-old brat, looked at the world with the detached eyes of someone who had already lived out her life.
Silina de Hermann.
That gaze wasn't exactly welcome.
She didn't seem interested in anyone, so why was she staring at me so intensely?
I swallowed a small sigh and patted Eurasia's stiffened back— tap tap.
"Let's go sit."
Just as I started walking,
"Huh...? My lady!!"
The world flipped upside down.