The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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While I was sipping on my strawberry milk and looking at him, he seemed even more irritating.

I would have preferred if he had just grovelled for forgiveness, but he was giving me the attitude of a condemned prisoner waiting for execution and that of an absolved sinner at the same time, which made it worse.

He knew he had done something wrong but had this expression that said, “But you’ll forgive me, right?”

Half of my desire to tell him to leave was genuine, but come on, who actually leaves after being told to?

…I was thankful he brought the strawberry milk at just the right moment, but that was that, and this is this.

Right now, I was seriously contemplating whether I should scold him or praise him. Given what he did yesterday, he deserved a hundred more punishments, but the strawberry milk was holding me back.

However, seeing Dokan with even a slight smile made me feel like dishing out a punishment for no reason.

This state was repeating itself a few times. It was a cycle that couldn’t be deemed desirable.

“…So, I’ve made it clear what you did wrong.”

He was still slurping his strawberry milk, but it felt like the emotions had been conveyed clearly.

Dokan’s smile had slightly faded. But soon, he regained his composure and began replying to my question deftly.

“Even though the Princess is worried, it seemed like a reckless act that could have cost me my life. I consider it a grave prank.”

Oh, a prank. A prank, huh.

I genuinely thought the sky was falling when I thought Dokan was going to die, but it seems he viewed it as a prank.

…I can’t just let this slide.

I put down my strawberry milk with a clatter and glared at Dokan.

“You called that a prank?”

“…I also think I went too far. I will reflect on it.”

Hmph. Even pretending to reflect at this point would just be counterproductive. If there was a time he could have reflected, it would have been right after he played that little stunt with his divine powers.

He should have been begging for forgiveness in a panic, not with that lukewarm smile.

How could he laugh when I almost started crying, thinking he was actually going to die? Of course, we were both here doing this now, so it was fine, but still.

“…Yeah. You seem to be reflecting a little. So…”

I picked up the strawberry milk again and took a sip, feeling the heat inside me gradually cool down.

Well, it turned out alright, and the fact that he brought me exactly what I wished for made him less deserving of scorn.

He was my precious friend, after all. Dokan was just trying to prove quickly that he wasn’t affected by his divine powers.

Thinking about it, Dokan had more than enough redeeming qualities to be forgiven.

Compared to protagonists in other stories who run away claiming they did nothing wrong, this was practically angelic behavior.

Yeah. Let’s just end it here. I kicked him last time.

“Come over here.”

“Yes.”

I pressed down on the head of the boy who was kneeling in front of me with just the right amount of force.

“Ow ow ow…”

He didn’t make a peep when I stomped on him, but now that I’m pressing down with my hand, he’s being all dramatic. Maybe I pressed a bit harder out of annoyance.

“…Sigh. I’m asking you, please don’t pull stunts like that. Got it…?”

Letting go of my iron grip, Dokan massaged his forehead and responded with a surprisingly serious demeanor.

“Again, I’ll keep that in mind. I won’t pull any pranks that would surprise you from now on. Truly.”

When he said that, it felt like he meant he would continue with annoying pranks that wouldn’t surprise me, but I couldn’t tell if he was just saying that or if he really would keep it in check.

I don’t know. I should just finish my strawberry milk.

“Is the strawberry milk good?”

“…Mhm.”

…Wait, did Dokan bring this on purpose? Such a sly little devil.

But it was delicious, so I’ll let it slide. The smoothness of the milk combined with the luxurious creaminess and the soft strawberry scent made it genuinely tasty.

I’m not joking; I could feel the taste of happiness the moment I put it in my mouth.

Still, it’s not a total meal, and it’s pricey. After spending a month at the Academy, I realized it wasn’t something I could buy every time I wanted.

So did he buy this expensive drink for me? It seemed like he didn’t have much money, which was pretty touching.

…Wait, isn’t it the norm for protagonists in novels to have endless pockets full of goodies?

This guy bought his own clothes at the department store, so he must’ve found a way to keep getting money.

Let’s enjoy it as long as we can.

“So… is that all you came here for, to apologize?”

What? No fun plans or anything? Just a serious apology?

…Honestly, just being together was fun, but human nature always makes us greedy for ‘just a little more.’

“Actually… that is part of it. By the way, Ho-yeon, did you vote?”

Vote?

…Wait, do they elect a king here? Or is it for the headmaster? Since this is a no-plot-is-ever-untangled Academy story, I guess there could be something like that.

Was there even a vote in the first place?

I pondered Dokan’s words but couldn’t recall anything.

Shaking my head a couple of times at him, Dokan reassured me.

“It’s okay if you don’t know. Want to go vote? It’s about deciding the destination for our school trip, and we’d all prefer to go somewhere we like.”

Right. Now that I think about it, I feel like there was something like that.

But… isn’t it usually already decided? Listening to students and picking a spot seems inefficient and would take forever.

And honestly, my absence wouldn’t change the outcome.

“But hey, do we really have to vote? Doesn’t it just end up with the people in charge making the final call?”

“Really think that way?”

Dokan looked at me as if he didn’t quite agree with my opinion.

Truthfully, if I hadn’t grown up on the Eastern Continent, I might have had the same opinion as him, but now that I’ve actually seen the gods, voting and democracy felt like such a hassle.

“I just think it would be simpler to delegate all decisions to the most capable person. It just feels like a bothersome method.”

“But there isn’t such a person, and even if there were, who’s to say their choices would satisfy everyone? I think voting is the method that’s most agreeable to everyone… that’s my take on it.”

Hmm. It does seem like the most sensible thing to produce is democracy.

“Is that so… okay. Let’s go vote then.”

I can’t change anything anyway, and since I’m a student for now, I might as well roll with it.

Dokan didn’t seem to want to elaborate on the importance of voting any further; instead he dusted off his pants and headed toward the student council building, where the voting booth was.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think of a place to travel to? You didn’t even know about the vote, right? Then… where do you want to go?”

On the way, Dokan asked where I wanted to go for the trip.

But I’d been living my life pretty far removed from the idea of ‘travel,’ so I had never thought about where I wanted to go.

Coming here was an exception. I came to see him because he was the protagonist of this world. It wasn’t because I wanted to visit the Academy.

“…I don’t have any.”

“No? Not even an island or the Great Elven Forest… nothing at all?”

“No.”

Honestly, just being around the area of the Academy was more than enough to see. There’s a department store and a zoo; why would I bother with travel?

“Who knows? You might find something if you go. The strong contenders for our travel destinations are the Great Elven Forest and the island to the east. There are others too, but… they’re not very popular.”

“I see.”

Whether it’s an island or a forest, to be honest, neither sounded particularly appealing. In my mind, the thought kept swirling that my absence wouldn’t affect the outcome at all.

But it looked like Dokan really wanted to see me vote… if I had to choose, maybe the forest would be better.

Apparently, that tree in the common area was a child of the World Tree. If that’s true, then what I was carrying in my pocket must be some kind of fruit… similar to that.

My mother said it was okay, but I might be stealing something quite magnificent.

“Anything bothering you?”

“Ah…? No. Nothing at all.”

Dokan asked at a rather bad moment, almost catching me off guard, but I managed to brush it off.

I don’t know for sure, but I couldn’t help but think the Great Elven Forest might have the original World Tree as well.

If it’s the original, I can only imagine how easy it would be to breathe. I was naturally excited.

Anyway, when we arrived at the student council building, there was a proper voting booth set up in one corner.

They had even made example images and pamphlets, saying, “This is our benefit!” and trying to appeal to voters, but I had already made up my mind, so I didn’t pay any attention.

I just stamped my vote and dropped it in the box and, having been in a lighthearted mood, came out to see Dokan sneaking out from over there.

“Where did you vote?”

Honestly, I simply couldn’t resist asking what he voted for.

Dokan didn’t seem to have any intentions of hiding it and openly told me.

“I decided on the Great Elven Forest. What about you, Ho-yeon?”

“I’m with you on that. What a coincidence.”

As we were chatting idly and returning to the dorms, it felt like someone stopped us in our tracks.

When I looked to see who it was, it was Stephanie.