Chapter 42

After arriving at the school with Mize, I took a seat by the window, periodically checking what was going on outside.

The assailant who targeted Mize never came onto school grounds.

There were probably two reasons for this. One was the high level of security. As well as guarding the student dormitories, there are knights patrolling the perimeter of the school at all times. Since this is a royal academy, it is managed by the government.

It would be risky to confront the country’s elite knights.

The other reason is that there are many powerful people in the school.

Farnese Evans, the swordsmanship instructor, was rumored to have been a member of the King’s Guard in the past. There is also a rumor that our homeroom teacher, Sylphia Makina, is an expert in the field of magic.

The truth of the rumor is not clear, but as a student, I know very well that the two of them are indeed strong.

In order to avoid confrontation with them, the assailants must be cautious about entering the school.

Lunch break.

I stood up and went to the courtyard to meet with Glan, Mize and Elysia, but Mize didn’t wait for us and walked quickly out of the classroom.

In her hands, instead of a lunch box, she was carrying a magic textbook for her next class.

“Where’s Mize?”

I asked Elysia as she approached me.

“She probably went to ask the teacher in the staff room about a problem she didn’t understand. She’s been doing it for quite a while now.”

I agreed with her.

Mize sometimes came late to the courtyard, but I didn’t know that was the reason.

“I just remembered something, so I need you two to go to the courtyard first.”

“Something to do? Well, whatever. Let’s go, Glan.”

“Okay. Hey, Tweight. Do you want me to buy you some bread?”

“Yakisoba bread.”

“Alright… Tweight, you sure like B-grade type stuff, don’t you?”

I like it because I feel that the messy flavoring is very human-like. It was a refreshing change from all the nutrition-first food from the agency.

I left them and followed Mize.

As I passed students on their way to the cafeteria, I thought about Mize.

Maybe I don’t know her as well as I thought I did.

I knew she was a dynamic person, but she was much more than I expected.

Could it be possible that she ran away from home…?

It reminds me of another princess I know.

Sofia Terraria, the princess of the Terraria Kingdom, spent most of her days unable to leave the castle until she joined the Party of Heroes. I’ve heard that because of this, after she joined the party she behaved in an unorthodox manner and caused some trouble.

People with high power often tend to be constrained.

If you think that Mize ran away from home because she didn’t like the constraints… unfortunately, it fits.

–I found her.

When I sneaked a peek inside through the window of the staff room, I saw Mize talking to Sylphia-sensei. She opened her magic textbook and pointed to a chart.

After a few moments of talking to Sylphia-sensei, Mize’s eyes lit up and she thanked the teacher. It seems that the problem has been solved. Mize left the staff room with a happy expression on her face, bowed politely, and closed the door.

I silently watched her back as she walked down the corridor with a light step.

“You.”

Just then, a voice called out to me from behind.

I turned around and saw a strange male student there.

He was wearing a white school uniform – a student from the Heroic Department. However, his eyes were not looking down on me for being a regular student. It was as if he had found a friend by chance, and was pretending to be a reliable senior.

“It seems that you, too, have been charmed by Mize-chan.”

“What?”

I tilted my head as he suddenly said something that made no sense to me.

“Welcome to the Mize-chan Guard. By the way, are you a Paternalist? Or are you a Purist?”

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Haha, excuse me. You don’t have to say it. The way you looked at Mize was like a father watching over his beloved daughter. That means you’re a Paternalist, just like me.”

I really don’t understand what you’re saying.

What should I do? Should I call a doctor?

“Hey! There’s a Paternalist scouting for new recruits!”

“What? Stop him! We can’t have any more Paternalists!”

From the other side of the hallway, two boys appeared.

“Damn you pedophiles! You can always come to me if you need anything! We Paternalists welcome you!”

With that, the boys from the Hero Department left.

“…what was that?”

Tilting my head, I headed for the courtyard.

“Yeah, that’s the Mize-chan Guard.”

“Mize-chan Guard?”

I wondered at Glan’s words.

When I arrived at the courtyard, I told Elysia and the others what had just happened.

Of course, I hid the fact that I was looking for Mize. I only explained the part about how I got tangled up in an unknown way with an unfamiliar student from the Hero Department.

“In short, it’s Mize’s fan club. Though she doesn’t recognize it.”

“…I see.”

I know what a fan club is.

It reminds me of a country I visited as part of a mission during the Great War. In that country, there was a woman who was known as “The Diva”. And men and women, young and old, who surrounded her, said they were The Diva’s Fan Club… In this case, Mize is probably in the same position.

“I’m sorry. I know there are people like that, but… I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“…No, it’s not really a bother, and it’s not Mize’s fault.”

It seems that an unofficial fan club is not very desirable for her.

When I saw the pained expression on Mize’s face, I somehow realized what she was going through.

“He was talking about Paternalists and Purists. What did he mean by that?”

“The Guard is not completely monolithic. The Paternalist, who woke up to paternal love after seeing Mize, and the Purist, who wants to be Mize’s lover if possible… At first, both of them were in collusion with each other, both of them longing for Mize, but it seems they have recently split up.”

“…So it’s a civil war?”

Oddly enough, Mize seems to be in a similar position as a princess, despite her hidden identity.

The two factions surrounding her are hostile and a civil war has broken out.

The person in question was red-faced with embarrassment.

“But actually, Mize fits the description. Her hair is beautiful and her skin is smooth… Honestly, as a person of the same sex, I think she’s attractive… Why don’t you try singing and dancing? I think you’ve got the potential to be an idol, and you can win the hearts of all the boys.”

“Oh, no, that’s… too embarrassing, I can’t do that.”

Mize said as she kept her face down.

She is usually rather cheerful and dynamic, but she is not comfortable with being the center of attention.

–When you think about it carefully, it’s a strange story.

The Holy Arcadia Kingdom is as big as the Kingdom of Terraria.

No one at school knows the face of its second princess. Not even the teachers.

From the looks of it, there was no sign of her in disguise. This means that she has been attending the school with her real face.

Was there a reason why she hadn’t come out in the open before?

If that’s the case, it makes sense that she’s not used to being the center of attention.

“Oh, excuse me. I have to return a book to the library, so if you’ll excuse me first.”

With that, Mize put her lunch box in her bag and stood up.

The three of us watched her walk away.

“Mize is a hard worker, isn’t she?”

“I guess so. The Paternalists say that she’s very attractive.”

“That might make some sense. I mean, …Glan didn’t join the Guard, did you?”

“You can’t be in the Guard of someone who you’re usually with… I mean, I tried to get in, but they got so jealous, they almost hit me.”

“…Are the boys at our school all idiots?”

Elysia gives Glan a dumbfounded look.

I listened in silence to their friendly exchange, and slowly stood up.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

I said something appropriate and followed Mize again.

She hadn’t brought the book she had borrowed from the library with her to the courtyard. So she must have walked through the classroom at least once.

“…… hmm?”

On the way to the classroom, I found Mize in an unexpected place.

For some reason, Mize was staring at her reflection in the glass window of the school building, some distance away from the crosswalk.

This area is a quiet place where people don’t stop by.

What on earth is she doing in such a place?

I wondered if she was doing her hair.

“Hmmm, hmmm. I’m~ an idol~”

Mize suddenly started to sing.

And it was accompanied by improvised choreography.

“I’m Mize Howence, an idol~. I am…”

Oh, come on, Your Highness.

It seems that she was inwardly happy to be told by Elysia that she had the qualities of an idol.

She seemed to have some knowledge of dancing, and her performance was not as impressive as if it had been improvised.

However, there was no “desu desu” in it.

“……”

“……Ah”

As I was thinking about my impression of the song and dance, I noticed Mize looking at me.

“Tw, Tw…eight, san, …?”

Mize’s cheeks flushed.

What should I say?

I’ll just give my honest opinion.

“I think it’s good except for the lyrics.”

“—-?!!!！！！！”

Mize rushed off, leaving me standing in the middle of the street.