Chapter 15

The prince must also learn martial arts.

The teacher is... Shriggan.

"Vital points of the human body! For the face, it's the eyes, ears, and nose! For the neck, it's the throat! For the body, it's the stomach and ribs! For the legs, it's the shins and the top of the foot, and then, the jewels!"

"...Um, is that really martial arts?"

"Are you kidding me? The prince is only ten, so first, hit the vital points, and then run away. In short, it's self-defense. Once you can do that, I'll teach you swords and spears."

"That doesn't seem like something a royal should do, does it?"

"Surviving on the battlefield is the top priority. Since you're going to kill them anyway, how can you hesitate to kick the jewels?"

"You really became a knight, didn't you?"

It's a no-holds-barred fighting technique.

Aim for the face and break the nose.

Palm strike the chin.

Lift the leg that's trying to kick you and make them fall.

Press the head down and hit the face with your knee.

If you're in a headlock, headbutt the back of their head.

Step on the top of their foot hard.

Every move ends with a kick or stomp to the jewels.

It's scary...

Of course, Shriggan is properly using protective gear. These are techniques to take down an adult, even a child. If they really work, even Shriggan would be taken down.

"Got it? No hesitation. Half-heartedness is the worst. If you hesitate, the situation will only get worse. You can't stop until you've stomped the jewels."

"As a man, it's tough to do..."

"Of course, it is. This is self-defense for women."

"Wow..."

"In other words, the current prince is at the level of a woman or a child."

"...He's a child, after all."

"Sometimes I think, 'Isn't he older than me?' But his body is that of a child. Once he can do this, I'll teach him noble things like swords and spears. Until then, it's all self-defense practice."

"Okay."

After that, it's dance practice.

There's a huge gap. From a brutal fight for the jewels, akin to a wild animal's battle, to an elegant and refined social dance with a lady.

If you don't properly switch your mindset, you might accidentally kick Celea's jewels.

"Hey, Shinya! You're slow!"

The teacher's gap is also huge.

"I'm late. Sorry."

"That's fine. Celea is amazing! Take a look!"

"Huh, what?"

Celea, wearing a thin dance outfit, answers shyly.

"I was here early, so I was practicing in front of the mirror, remembering the old days, and the teacher saw me."

What were you doing?

"Please, Celea, do it one more time—!"

It's rare to see the teacher like this.

*tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi*

What is that step!?

It's strange! Why does it end up like that? It's mysterious!!

It looks like she's walking normally, but somehow she's moving backward!

"Why can you do that!?"

"When I was little, it was a bit of a fad. We used to do it when the puddles froze in winter. There was one kid in the class who could do it, and everyone tried to copy her."

"How do you do it?"

"Stand on your tiptoes with your right foot and slide your left foot back with your heel on the ground."

"Uh-huh."

"Then, stand on your tiptoes with your left foot and put your right foot's heel on the ground."

"Uh-huh."

"Then, slide your right foot back with your heel on the ground."

"Celea, actually, the weight is not on the foot you're sliding, right?"

"Yes."

The teacher is impressed.

"...It's an optical illusion. Amazing."

"I didn't come up with it. It's a technique by a singer and dancer named Michael."

"I don't know him or have seen him."

Of course, it must be from Celea's past life.

"Everyone will be surprised. Let's definitely master this! We can practice this today. I want to learn it too!"

Then, the teacher joined in, and the three of us practiced the mysterious step.

"You should practice with slippery shoes. That's why they practice on ice. Everyone, change your shoes!"

Sure enough, the teacher mastered it quickly and became very good at it.

Next was Celea, and I was the worst.

The three of us moved to the rhythm *tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi*.

It might be a bit creepy.

It's hard to do it smoothly without stopping. The teacher can do it right away.

"Amazing! This will be a killer move to surprise everyone."

"Then, teacher, let's keep it a secret until you can do it too."

"Hmm, that's a shame! I want to use it. But since Celea taught me, it should be our secret move..."

The teacher thinks about it.

"Okay, I understand. When we officially debut at a dance party, let's include this in our routine. What should we call this step?"

"This has a name. It's called the 'Moonwalk.'"

Why the moon, Celea...?

"The moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth, making the body lighter. It's like walking in space, which is why it's called that."

I don't understand what you're saying.

"I don't get it either, but it is a mysterious step. I can imagine it—! Leave it to me! I'll make sure we can show it off in the best way!"

The teacher is really interesting.

At three o'clock, we take a break for tea time.

"Sister! Let's play!"

"Sister! Mother said we can have dinner together today!"

Celea has gotten quite close to the younger sisters.

Mother also likes her. However, "dinner together" is essentially a lesson in dining etiquette.

"Learn by doing" is Mother's motto. She wants Celea to be able to do it naturally and without thinking.

It's not easy for Celea to eat a meal without being on guard.

Since there's some time before dinner, we decided to play with the younger sisters.

"Big sister! Me too!"

...My younger brother, who has become more cheeky recently, is also joining.

Ever since the eldest sister, Saran, married into a neighboring country, he has been trying to compete with me. Maybe he doesn't want to be seen as a child by his new sister-in-law. He cried the most on the day Saran left home to get married.

"What should we do?"

"Pig's tail!"

I only know card games like Bridge and Poker, which involve techniques and psychological warfare, but Celea knows a surprising number of card games. Simple ones that children enjoy.

Games like "Joker out" and "Pig's tail" are purely based on luck, but the younger sisters love them.

"I used to play these with the children in the hospital room when I was hospitalized," Celea says. She's surprisingly good at playing with young children.

"Let's play 'Big Rich Man'!"

My brother is being demanding, but what's that game? I've never heard of it.

It turns out that the loser becomes a poor person and has to give their best card to the Big Rich Man, who then gives them their worst card in exchange. What a cruel game.

"If you keep winning, you'll always be the Big Rich Man. Is it okay to play a game that teaches children the reality of a class society from a young age...?"

"It's fine. When you get four cards, you can say 'Revolution,' and the card values reverse, making the Big Rich Man suddenly become the poorest."

"Is it okay to teach children to aim for a revolution...? Let's start with 'Pig's tail' first."

I don't want my brother or sisters to become people who enjoy looking down on the poor or terrorists aiming for a revolution. That's not good for a royal.

After dinner, a carriage from the duke's residence comes to pick us up. Bel, Celea's maid, is in it.

The three of us secretly check the information in Celea's room, which used to be Saran's.

"Hans' restaurant is a regular, slightly upscale restaurant, but the potato chips, French fries, and fried chicken they serve there became so popular that they opened a branch specializing in these items, which is the place we visited the other day."

"Is that so..."

Bel has gathered the information we asked for and is reporting it to Celea and me.

"Since it's popular, they might open another branch."

"A lot of vegetable oil is needed. Where do they get it from?"

"From the baron's rapeseed oil. They're increasing production because of the store's popularity."

"So they have connections with the baron's family."

"Yes. They're also building a large chicken coop in the baron's territory. They've added new items like biscuits with maple syrup and cabbage salad, which are becoming popular. They also sell fruit juices with carbonated water, all produced in the baron's territory."

Celea nods.

She knows about these things, which means they existed in her past life. I've never heard of them before.

"The most surprising thing is that all of this was thought up by Hans' daughter, Rinse."

Daughter!

Is it that girl?!

"The same age as the prince and the young lady, ten years old, and she keeps coming up with new menu items... Oh, she doesn't cook herself, but Rinse comes up with the ideas, and Hans turns them into dishes."

She's only ten. If she could cook as well, that would be incredible.

"But to make a small store profitable, she established a self-service system where customers pick up their orders at the counter and started takeout, which no other restaurant offers. She also shows business acumen."

That's amazing! For a ten-year-old!

"...I'm surprised."

Celea looks troubled.

"How did you gather all this information, Bel?"

"As the young lady's maid, I have the authority to use the Colete family's spies. I infiltrated one of them as a part-time worker at Hans' restaurant."

"That's scary! That's scary! Are you investigating me too?!"

"Of course."

"Terrible! You haven't infiltrated anyone into the palace, have you? Right?"

"You don't need to worry. Most of the prince's information comes from Shriggan."

Yeah, Shriggan should be fired.

"Since our family is providing the prince with the information we gather, I hope you understand. If you don't, we can't cooperate."

Yeah, Shriggan can't be fired.

"Hey, Bel, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Are you not afraid of Shriggan's face?"

"Once you get the hang of it, it's easy."

"It's a technical issue!?"

I don't understand. Bel is.

"There's still a lot we don't know about the chicken recipe. As the young lady said, we've found out that they fry the chicken in a pressure cooker, a sealed container. The problem is the herbs and spices, which are still under investigation."

"No, I don't want to know that... Stop it."

I'm not investigating to eat fried chicken every day. I want to know about Rinse, but I can't tell Bel that...

"I don't understand why the young lady and the prince are so interested in this one store. If you have a specific request, I can gather more precise information, but can you tell me the reason?"

Bel looks puzzled.

"Sorry. It's just that I'm a bit curious."

"There's nothing wrong with the store's success or the baron's territory becoming prosperous. However, from our perspective, the issue is whether Hans' store will expand and if the relationship with the baron will become stronger. We want to see if it will become a force we can't ignore."

She's quite capable, having already formed a relationship with a noble.

By the time we start attending the academy together, she might have the kind of reputation and ability to enter a noble school as a commoner.

Using the "past life knowledge" Celea mentioned.

That's where the real competition will begin...

Next time: "16. The King's Birthday"