The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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“Yes, yes? Friends…? Ah, yes! Sure! Actually, I was just wondering when I should tell Dokan, and I never expected he would come to me first…”

“No, no, I understand. We’ve both been… busy in many ways during this time. Me too, and you, Anastasia.”

“R-right…?”

The reason for our busyness was left unspoken, but it was something we both implicitly understood.

“Yes. That’s all I have to say. Hmmm… How are things going with Eric?”

Dokan could have just left, but out of curiosity, he asked her how far things had progressed.

“W-what? How do you know that?!”

“With how obvious you’ve been, I’d say it’s harder not to know. I’ve even heard rumors; love has bloomed even in the frozen north.”

“…Ahhh… That can’t be… It was supposed to be perfect…”

Seeing her flustered, Dokan thought that if there were no war, Eric would have a hard time. But that was only provided there was not a war.

From the moment Dokan entered this world, he had been determined to suppress any feelings of guilt, thinking that there was no way to turn back. Even when Anastasia saw his bittersweet smile and mildly got angry at his smirk, Dokan skillfully deflected it.

“No, I was just thinking that Eric will have to work hard in the future.”

“What do you mean by that…? Eric working hard? The only one suffering right now is… Ah! I shouldn’t have said that…!”

“Have you said everything you wanted to, Dokan?”

Ho-yeon had been silently watching their conversation, but as trivial topics began to arise, she started to feel irritable.

Friends can banter like that, but Ho-yeon tightened her grip on Dokan’s wrist, signaling it was time to wrap things up and leave.

“…Oops, I should be going now. Is that alright?”

Seeing Ho-yeon firmly gripping Dokan’s wrist behind her, she realized that Ho-yeon was signaling to her too.

“Ah… Yes. Um, Ho-yeon? You have to tell me how you got in when we head to the Elves’ Forest, okay? It’s a promise!”

Once she responded with a ‘yes,’ Ho-yeon began pulling Dokan along. Anastasia shouted anxiously for an explanation as their backs receded.

Ho-yeon only nodded in response.

“So, who’s next?”

With enthusiasm, Ho-yeon tried to get the particulars sorted with Dokan, but he scratched his head awkwardly and replied.

“That’s all there is. It’s over.”

Ho-yeon had intended to sort through the relationships with dozens of girls, but hearing him say it was all over after just two made her confused.

“…There’s no prior meeting or anything…?”

Surely, he wouldn’t end up with just this given how popular he seemed; Ho-yeon thought. Not knowing who was the reason for his few friends, she asked him.

“Nope. Actually, there’s one person I should meet, but… I haven’t seen them lately.”

“I see… That’s fewer than I thought… Ugh, um. How about we hang out? Like going to the zoo or just a stroll… Let’s go anywhere!”

Since this could be a sensitive topic, Ho-yeon tried to steer the conversation away with her limited talking skills. Dokan, having heard her whispering, decided to indulge her efforts.

“Should we? Then let’s go to the zoo. We went to the botanical garden last time.”

When she recalled the time they went to the zoo and the divine beasts had sneakily escaped, she wasn’t particularly keen, but being with Dokan made it seem fine.

“Shall we skip the magical beasts this time…? If you don’t want to, it’s fine if we don’t see them.”

Although many creatures look peculiar and consider her partner their next meal, Ho-yeon wanted to see more of the monstrous beasts this time.

“Nothing wrong with that. But just answer one thing for me. What did your mother ask you…?”

“…Huh?”

– – – –

How do you know that? I should have started with that, but I couldn’t respond properly due to my surprise. It was something my mother said only to me!

“W-wait… how did you…?”

It wasn’t something I couldn’t say nor an embarrassing question to keep secret, but I had to ask how he knew.

“Aha… I had a conversation with your mother while you weren’t looking.”

Through the diary. After hearing that, the words stopped making sense in my mind. Most importantly, I needed to know something right away.

“Content… Did you see it…?”

“I did see it, but I didn’t understand what it meant. Oh, I’m really sorry for secretly looking through the diary.”

Phew… Thank goodness…

I had written down all sorts of embarrassing things like making world maps on the bed as a kid, catching frogs out of hunger while wandering around the mountains, arguing with Dad during puberty while hiding under the blanket and crying, and getting caught sneaking ingredients from the kitchen without telling Mom.

I’m glad he didn’t recognize it…

“…Forget it. It’s natural to be curious about that. Hah… As long as you didn’t recognize it… But still. If you’re curious about something like that, just ask, okay?”

After all, it could be told normally. I didn’t want either of us to end up upset over something trivial.

It would be asking too much to read the diary aloud. But surely, Dokan wouldn’t make such a request since he’s kind.

Well, if she talked to my mother, it would have been through the diary. And maybe my mother directly told her about her question.

Unless that’s the case, there’s no way for him to know. At least, I never mentioned it.

“…Hmmm. Anyway. You asked what the question was? ‘Can humans live without God?’… That’s the question. I don’t know my mother’s intention, but there’s probably something deep behind it… right?”

Or maybe not. My mother often asked philosophically simple questions just to tease me. What’s for sure is that I have no idea.

Can we live? Sure, we could, but ‘well’ is another story. If you ask if we can develop… um.

“I’d say, ‘It takes too long.’” There’s no integration, and most teachings at the so-called elite institution, the Academy, are just about overwhelming others.

Pure science and magical studies are nearly nonexistent.

“I see. Can humans really live without God…? I wonder. So… that’s what was behind it.”

What does it mean to come to such conclusions? Is it because you’re the protagonist? By the way, maybe my mother connected with Dokan because he’s also a protagonist.

Even if she doesn’t know this world is a novel… she must realize he’s something special. If that’s the case, everything falls into place.

“…What? Did you figure something out…?”

Let me know! I wanted to grasp even a little of my mother’s intent.

“No. It’s embarrassing to even say I figured something out. Alright. Let’s go. Since the monsters are a bit dangerous, I’ll stick close to you.”

But Dokan hooked his arm around mine and headed towards the zoo without leaving room for my questions. Isn’t it usually the guy who protects the girl when things are dangerous?

Something feels reversed. No, it’s probably a sensible decision since being next to me is the safest. Sometimes it seems like he only acts rationally.

“…Oh. Let’s go.”

Yet, I appreciated that part too. In other words, it meant he could alert me to things I might overlook.

We might scream from a startled beast, but… well, let’s gloss over that since I’d just be a spectator.

– – – –

I couldn’t help but wonder what our mode of transportation would be. Would it be the carriage we came to the Academy in, or something entirely unexpected?

Considering the technological level and environmental conditions, using ley lines for teleportation like back home would probably be out of the question. Still, I wanted to see just how impressive this continent, which calls God a demon, truly was.

“…An airship…? I can’t believe I’d see something like this.”

Honestly, I expected something like a train at best, so this was surprising. Plus, with mana swirling all around, it seemed like it wouldn’t just float around aimlessly.

The interior looked so spacious that compared to the one back in my world, this one seemed far better.

Even though it was spacious, oddly, it felt lacking for hosting the entire first-year class. After all, how many hundreds of people would fit?

Of course, within a few dozen steps of me, there was nobody except Dokan, like an invisible wall had been set up around us.

I thought this place was one where people rode around in carriages, but it seemed pretty good.

“Yes… I’ve only heard of these in stories too. I’ve never seen one with my own eyes. They say it’s used for military purposes in the Empire… I never thought I’d get a chance to ride in one.”

Even if he didn’t recognize it himself, it looked like he never expected to ride in one either. I didn’t know either.

“Where are you? Ho-yeon? Dokan? Ah, you over there! Have you seen Ho-yeon around?”

“Ah… um… I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Anastasia. I have a party waiting, so I must be going…”

“Ah, wait! Hah. Where could she be…”

From a distance, I could hear Anya’s voice desperately calling for us. Oh, right. We promised to tell how we got in.

“Here.”

“Whoa, Ho-yeon? Where… Ah, there you are!”

Weaving through the crowd, Eric and Anya appeared. Maybe it was from traveling, but they looked more dressed up than usual.

“…Anya, just to check, is airship travel common on this continent?”

Um, that’s the first thing. If such things were common here, I might reconsider things a little.

“No. A ship this large is barely in the double digits. Though smaller or moderate-sized ones aren’t that rare. Anyway, do you remember what we promised last time?”

“Of course, I do, so that’s how it opens.”