Chapter 27

In response to the playboy's question, Yūgram replied in a flat tone,

"Good morning, Digrē. I had a bit of an incident with Prince Alshain at breakfast, but it was just an apology."

"Yeah, I heard about it! That thing where you were approached by the foreign transfer student the Prince of Cavendish brought along! I'm glad you're okay. Ah! Sorry, good morning, Prince Alshain!"

"Good morning, Raver."

"No, no, you don't need to call me 'sir'! Just call me Digrē casually. It would make me happy."

"Alright, then I'll call you Digrē."

"Sure, go ahead! ...By the way, Prince Alshain, may I ask a question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"So, I've been wondering, is that child over there the Prince's...?"

"Ha-ha-ha!"

Shell, who had just stopped laughing, burst out again.

He was facing away, trying to suppress his laughter, but it was clear he was holding his stomach and laughing hard.

This was the third time this topic had come up, and it seemed to hit his funny bone every time, causing him to burst into laughter.

Even Jyū, who was looking away, was shaking with laughter.

"Kēta, you're a great student."

Before Alshain could answer, I tried to introduce myself to the playboy, but it didn't get through to him at all.

He patted my slightly deflated self on the back and said,

"No, this child is a mutant fairy who likes me and stays by my side."

"Wow! I've seen fairies a few times, but I've never seen one as big and presence-filled as this! A mutant! Wow, there are such creatures in the world! Um, Mr. Fairy, I'm Digrē Raver, the son of the head of the Raver Trading Company. Nice to meet you! I'd be happy if you called me Digrē."

Digrē introduced himself with a smile, took my tiny hand, and shook it.

"Wow, your hand is so small!"

"Hey, Digrē! Don't be rough! Be gentle! If you don't, you'll hurt him easily!"

"No, it's fine. Kēta won't get hurt by that, and if he really doesn't like it, he can put up a barrier to avoid being touched."

Before Yūgram could treat me like a baby, Alshain interjected,

"Wow! That's amazing! I'll lift you up, then. Here, up high!"

He lifted me up, and being swung up and down by a stranger I didn't know well wasn't a pleasant experience.

So, when he lifted me up and his grip loosened for a moment, I quickly flew away and landed on Alshain's knee.

Yūgram and Digrē looked at me with their mouths open.

Digrē, with his hand still raised, provided more material for Shell's laughter.

Yūgram, suddenly coming to his senses, looked at me with sparkling eyes and said,

"Kēta-sama, you're not only cute but can also use magic and fly! That's wonderful!"

What is this? A full-blown blank expression?

I could almost see flowers blooming around Yūgram.

Digrē finally lowered his hand and said, genuinely impressed,

"Wow, fairies really do exist! You're amazing, little one!"

"I'm not little! I'm Kēta!"

"Ah, sorry, Kēta-kun! Nice to meet you again."

I was happy that he corrected himself immediately when I protested, but it seemed that his dissatisfaction was showing on his face, and Alshain was patting him to calm him down.

"Digrē, that's not appropriate! Fairies have higher souls than humans, so calling them by their names is disrespectful! You should at least use 'sama' or 'dono'!"

"But he's so cute?"

"True! He is very cute, but some say fairies live longer than elves, so Kēta-sama might be older than us..."

As he spoke, Yūgram seemed to doubt himself and glanced at me.

Alshain and Shell were smiling wryly, so I decided to answer with my actual age!

"Forty-two."

I politely showed him the numbers 4 and 2 with my tiny fingers.

"Forty-two? So small and cute? I can't even say it properly?"

Digrē's words, which clearly didn't believe me, made my cheeks puff up unconsciously.

Turning away, I pouted, and Alshain said,

"Well, Digrē, fairies grow at a different rate than humans. Humans are considered adults at 18, dwarves at 30, and elves at 50. Considering that, it makes sense that Kēta-sama, who is said to live longer than elves, is 42 years old and looks like this."

"Ah, that makes sense, I guess?"

Digrē seemed to accept it reluctantly, while Alshain and Shell looked at me with a slightly strange expression.

"Come to think of it, I've never been concerned about Kēta-sama's age. Given his appearance, I never felt the need to ask."

"True, despite his baby-like appearance, his responses are very mature. I just accepted that fairies are like that."

Jyū had been silently laughing all along, and Prince Alshain had almost said 'holy beast' but was corrected by Shell. I patted his knee, thinking it was supposed to be a secret.

Well, I've already come to terms with my appearance, so it's up to the others to accept it or not. I'll just leave it be!

"Anyway, he's still cute! No problem! Kēta-sama, let's be friends!"

Yūgram, with his full-blown blank expression, extended his hand for a handshake.

This guy is like my second younger sister from my previous life, who believed that 'cute is justice.' It's very convenient for me, so I shook his hand with a smile.

Everyone seemed to accept it, so that's good!

Just then, a bell rang.

When I asked what it was, Shell explained that it was the signal for the start of classes.

I see, they use a bell in this academy. It sounds like a church bell.

The front door opened, and two people who looked like teachers entered.

One of them seemed familiar, but I wondered if it was just my imagination.

He waved at me. What are you doing here, Director Tailsmya?

The other teacher looked like a typical intellectual yakuza, with a sharp, stern face, light brown hair styled in a loose pompadour, square glasses, and a slightly rumpled dark gray suit that made him look oddly erotic and not at all like a teacher.

"I'm Kyle O'Donnell, your homeroom teacher. There's a school assembly after this, so move to the auditorium quickly."

"Wait, wait, wait, Kyle! You can't just end it there! Introduce me too!"

"You can do that yourself."

"You haven't changed a bit, you know!"

"Just do it quickly if you're going to."

"Alright, alright, I got it! Um, everyone, I'm Tailsmya Rest Fortunato, your temporary magic teacher for this year. Nice to meet you."

"Done? Then let's move quickly."

Director Tailsmya and the homeroom teacher seemed to know each other well and were chatting familiarly.

The students started leaving the classroom one by one.

Alshain carried me out of the classroom, and Director Tailsmya approached, looking very proud and handed me a small pouch.

When I took it, thinking he wanted me to make another one, I realized it already had magic on it. Upon closer inspection, I understood why he looked so proud.

The pouch was a magic bag.

I did a high-five, and Director Tailsmya, looking a bit embarrassed, touched my hands with both of his.

Upon closer inspection, the capacity of the magic bag I made was larger, but Director Tailsmya's magic bag had about half the capacity of Alshain's room.

"Director Tailsmya, you did it!"

"Yes, thanks to Kēta-sama! Seeing you make one in front of me gave me the final push to succeed! I've been researching for years, but I couldn't visualize the success until now. Thank you so much, Kēta-sama!"

Tears welled up in his eyes, which were already lined with wrinkles.

Alshain and Shell looked at him with warm eyes, while the homeroom teacher, who was walking behind, seemed indifferent.

Digrē, with Yūgram behind him, broke the awkward silence.

"What's going on? Is Kēta-sama already bullying the teacher? Isn't that a bit early?"

"Boo!"

"No, that's not it! I was just so moved by finally achieving the results of my long-term research thanks to Kēta-sama's hint!"

Director Tailsmya quickly covered for me, avoiding any dishonor of teacher bullying.

We started walking, presumably towards the auditorium. Digrē was asking Director Tailsmya about his research, but he said it was still a state secret.

I was surprised, "It's a state secret?" but Alshain emphasized, "It's a secret," so I nodded.

Yūgram was staring at me intently, the homeroom teacher was walking absentmindedly, Jyū was pretending not to know, and Shell was walking calmly at the back.

We were the last to arrive at the auditorium.