“Huh? Rubian?”

Sortie grabbed hold of me. The boatman who had been rowing looked puzzled too.

“What is it? Should I turn the boat around?”

“N-no. I just feel a little....”

Clutching the boat, I answered haltingly.

My back throbbed in a sudden flare, as if it were burning, and then it died down just as quickly.

Damn it.... Of all times.

I bit down on my lip and squeezed my eyes shut.

The pain was so brief it vanished almost the instant I became aware of it. The problem was that the filthy feeling it left behind lingered.

The sensation of the mark growing.

I never wanted to know what this felt like for as long as I lived.

“Rubian. You’re breaking out in a cold sweat....”

“I-I’m okay, Titi.”

Hoooo.

After letting out a long, deep breath and lifting myself back up, I saw the worried face of the girl in front of me.

“I think I got a little seasick.”

“Y-you did?”

“Yeah. It’s actually my first time riding in a boat like this.”

I flashed Sortie a grin.

“Boatman! P-please go slowly. My friend says she’s seasick....”

“Ah, yes, of course. Understood.”

A short sigh slipped from my mouth.

So now it’s gotten to the point where it happens whenever it feels like it.

Once I had recognized the sensation of the mark growing, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Fear rushed over me in an instant.

And at that moment, I just needed someone to pat me and tell me I was okay.

“Dad....”

Ugh.

Thinking about it made me miss him.

Dad, Mom, Grandpa too....

To tell the truth, I’d been a little happy when I saw my brothers earlier. Part of me had wanted to forget everything, run straight to them, and beg them to carry me on their backs.

“You miss your parents, Rubian?”

“Yeah. A little....”

“...Actually, me too.”

Sortie gently took my hand.

We stared out at the calm lakeshore and sniffled a little.

*****

Meanwhile, the two brothers from the Zebbert family who had left the library were deep in thought, their expressions grave.

“Brother, no matter how I think about it, we can’t just leave it like this, right?”

Liam gave a cool nod.

“Right. They definitely said she came to camp, so why hasn’t our fairy shown herself even once yet...? We need to look into this more actively.”

Liam straightened the crooked ribbon tie of his younger brother, which had been bothering him for a while now.

Boyd was in the third year of the elementary division, while Liam himself was in the third year of the middle division, so their tie colors were different.

“I feel like they said it was strange she wasn’t there at the entrance ceremony too.”

“Exactly.... Brother, this is just my guess, but what if Father did something again so he could have fun with Ruby all by himself without us?”

Boyd fumed, landing completely on the wrong conclusion.

“Ah! I wanted to go too! The southern vacation!”

Because it had overlapped with the Academy’s start-of-term schedule, the two of them had not been able to go. It was the kind of thing that could leave a grudge for a very long time.

“So what do we do? You’re close with the professors, Liam. Why don’t you ask them?”

“Hm.”

“Ah, just say you’re thinking of joining the university research division! Then ask about Ruby!”

“Should I...?” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Liam’s face turned thoughtful.

Having held on to first place for six straight years, he was the kind of talent every professor coveted.

The Academy’s university research division, which one could enter after the third year of the elementary division, the third year of the middle division, and the third year of the upper division.

And yet, strangely, the university research division had no fixed graduation term. Some people quit after just a year, while others stayed for life....

Liam had always thought that was a mystery.

It was then that his eyes narrowed.

“Wait. More than that... there might be a faster way.”

That was because, in the distance, he had spotted a blond head busily darting glances around.

“Come to think of it, besides our fairy, there was one little kid who stood oooout ridiculously well. About her age too.”

“Ah...? You mean....”

Liam pushed up his glasses and fell silent.

Reading the answer from that silence, Boyd’s round eyes curved as he let out a low chuckle. The brothers quickened their pace.

At that very moment—

Khalid clicked his tongue, displeasure plain on his face.

Because he had just been kicked out of the infirmary. The library keeper had been unnecessarily diligent and brought him all the way to the physician.

“Now then, Khalid? You look so healthy and sturdy I’d say your future is promising.... Stop skipping out and hurry back.”

...What a pain.

With a blank face, the boy brushed a hand through his hair.

His steps as he headed for the residence hall, where class activities were taking place, were heavy.

If it weren’t for Ruby, I never would’ve come to a place like this.

Honestly, he had expected to be placed in the same class as Rubian, and the fact that he had not been only made the whole thing less interesting.

“...Why am I not in the same class as you?”

“Look at your face. You’re mad again.”

“I’m sulking. No one told me about this.”

With that capable look she always wore, Rubian had explained patiently.

“It can’t be helped, Khalid. From the outside, we look like there’s an age gap between us.”

“...It’s only two years.”

“In the world of children, two years is a lot. And I’m living as an eight-year-old right now.”

“So you’re saying... I’m too old?”

That was what twelve-year-old Khalid had said.

Then he added gloomily,

“I want to go home....”

“Hey! It’s fine! Mentally, we’re both old fogies anyway!”

“...Is that supposed to be comforting?”

Anyway, for one reason or another, Khalid found the Academy boring.

Of course, there was a reason he had come here—something he needed to do.

I need to meet ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) someone named Yuliope.

But because he still had no idea what kind of person she was, it was hard to approach her carelessly.

In any case, it was an irritating place.

In the dormitory, the boys—including his roommate—kept pestering him relentlessly, and outside, girls’ gazes struck him just as openly.

Khalid changed direction and chose a path with fewer people. There was no problem—he had already memorized the layout of the surrounding area.

I’d rather be up north practicing swordsmanship.

It was a place where there wasn’t even a trace of tension to be found. A place so calm it was almost slack.

As he walked through it, Khalid somehow felt like an outsider.

Then again, that was true no matter where he went.

Even I feel unfamiliar to myself sometimes, when I don’t even know my own past properly.

Where could I ever put down roots?

Walking along the narrow path, Khalid looked up at the sky. The bright autumn sky looked just like Rubian’s eyes.

But Rubian... I hope she doesn’t think that way.

Because she had said her dream was to become “a normal child.”

So this must be the kind of “normal” Rubian wanted.

A place like this—ordinary, peaceful, calm.

Then he just hoped this place would become somewhere comfortable and pleasant for her.

But if that’s the case... doesn’t that make me the one thing around her that stands out the most?

Khalid slowly curled his hand into a fist.

It was then.

“Grab him.”

Without warning, his vision went black.

“What—!”

Before he could even finish speaking, a hard hand clamped tightly over his mouth. His hands and feet were bound in an instant.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a place so calm it was practically slack?!

Out of habit, he read the presence of the assailants. Three of them.

“Good. Drag him into the back.”

A damp, sinister voice gave the order. Khalid struggled, only to be dragged off somewhere into a shadowy back path.

“......”

With a disgusted look on his face, Khalid glared at the three boys standing before him.

“From now on, you answer everything I ask with yes or no. Got it?”

The dark purple eyes of Assailant Number One suddenly came close.

Khalid shook his head and worked the handkerchief loose from where it had been tied around the bridge of his nose.

It smelled very nice.... Apparently they had put some thought into selecting the blindfold.

His wrists had been tied behind the chair, as though they had seen something like this somewhere before. Of course, it also looked like it would come loose if he put in even a little strength.

“Where is my sister?”

Boyd Zebbert asked threateningly, staring down at Khalid.

“...You dragged me here to ask that?”

“Wait, Boyd.”

At that moment, Assailant Number Two—with a sharper look about him—cut in.

“You told him to answer with yes or no, so what kind of question is that? Calm down.”

“Ah, right.”

“Move. I’ll do the interrogation.”

Liam stepped forward, pushing up his glasses.

“You. Have you seen our family’s fairy? Answer yes or no.”

“Yes.”

At once, Liam froze.

“What do you mean, just you? You insolent little brat.”

As Liam lunged as if he were about to tuck Khalid’s head under his arm, Boyd hurriedly held him back.

“Brother, brother. You calm down too!”

“Haha. Really, both of you....”

In the end, the one who burst out laughing was Assailant Number Three, Licht, who had been standing a little farther back this whole time with a bright smile on his face.

“You can’t threaten someone like that after kidnapping him.”

“This was kidnapping...?”

Boyd’s jaw dropped open.