The Prince, the Princess, and the Vanishing Classroom

While the relief of not having to enter that haunted classroom again was, in a sense, a cause for celebration, the situation in *this* classroom was far from cheerful.

“Hmph, hmph~”

The reason, of course, lay with the ‘Prince’ beside me, who was currently gracing me with a charming smile, his face turned slightly in my direction—A-Class, it seemed, was Prince Aoyama’s domain.

“Making noises like that could lead to misunderstandings, Aoyama-kun.”

Casting a subtle glance his way, Colt offered a gentle warning in a low voice.

“I wouldn’t mind if everyone misunderstood~”

Leaning slightly closer, Prince Aoyama whispered, his voice barely audible to anyone but Colt, as he playfully brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Wouldn’t such a gesture typically leave girls flushed with a hint of intoxication, their hearts fluttering?

Alas, this tactic held no sway over Colt; at most, it merely prompted her to note the absence of bad breath.

As for why Colt found herself seated beside him, it was purely because no one else dared to take the spot. Our class’s desks and chairs, naturally, wouldn’t be moved to A-Class, nor would anyone have the courage to do so. Consequently, we were forced to share desks and chairs with the visibly reluctant students of A-Class.

This, then, presented an intriguing dilemma.

While separate seating arrangements in the cafeteria were manageable, the current situation—sharing a desk and chair with the ‘Prince,’ involving a degree of physical proximity—would undoubtedly draw intense scrutiny for anyone, male or female. Thus, however unwillingly, the girls had no choice but to make this painful sacrifice.

‘Hmm? Was Colt not worried?’

‘Of course~~ Who did they think Colt was? The ‘Black Princess’ wasn’t a title earned for nothing; anyone who dared to trouble her without sufficient skill would certainly learn a harsh lesson.’

Incidentally, due to his height, Prince Aoyama’s seat was in the innermost position of the last row, effectively the very corner of the classroom.

As for Xiaobai, Colt would never allow her to sit with a boy; she would undoubtedly be taken advantage of. Therefore, Colt had forcefully seated her with a shy girl who seemed perpetually fixated on Xiaobai’s chest, expecting no major incidents beyond a blush or two. In truth, Colt’s primary reason for sitting with Prince Aoyama herself was Xiaobai. Had Xiaobai been seated with that smooth-talking individual, even without physical contact, she would surely have been tormented to the point of despair by his ‘sweet nothings.’

“You’ve already failed, you know.”

Shaking her head in feigned disappointment, Colt mockingly drew a large ‘X’ in the air before Prince Aoyama.

‘Honestly, one should consider their target before repeatedly challenging them. His hopes were at an absolute ‘zero’ degree.’

“Understood, my beautiful and proud Princess.”

Smiling, Prince Aoyama uttered these words, then promptly fell silent.

Regrettably, precisely because of that statement, his score had only risen to twenty-nine points, still a resounding failure.

****

The uninspired first class concluded as simply as it began, melting away with the passage of time. The material presented by the teacher at the podium remained painfully obvious, failing to pique Colt’s interest in the slightest. Aside from the occasional glances from the boys and girls turning back towards them, there was nothing noteworthy. Most of the boys, Colt presumed, were looking at her, while the girls focused on the other side.

‘Were they perhaps worried their ‘male god’ and ‘female goddess’ might unite? That they might become a couple?’

‘How utterly ridiculous~’

“Leidi, could you help me…?”

After class, Xiaobai approached, her face tinged with embarrassment, clutching a textbook and a translation dictionary. While she could comprehend spoken Japanese, she couldn’t fully recognize the written characters in the book, much less grasp their precise meanings.

“I know.”

Colt gave Prince Aoyama a meaningful look, and he, understanding immediately, vacated his seat. ‘Good, Colt would award him half a point for that.’

“What don’t you understand?”

Taking the dictionary from Xiaobai’s hands, Colt prompted her to indicate the parts she found confusing.

“Here, everything beyond numbers and the alphabet is completely lost on me…”

With a wry smile, Xiaobai opened her notebook.

However, the notes scribbled on the blank pages were, inexplicably, sporadic and fragmented.

“It’s been days, and you still haven’t mastered the hiragana and katakana? You’re a bit slow, aren’t you?”

Though her words teased, Colt dutifully opened the dictionary and patiently guided Xiaobai step by step.

“It’s clearly just that you’re too smart…”

‘A tiny murmur, did she think Colt couldn’t hear her? So adorable.’

“Now, watch, it goes like this.”

Shoulder to shoulder, slightly squeezed together on the chair, Colt patiently instructed her.

“Mm-hmm, I think I get it.”

She nodded earnestly, as if truly grasping the concept.

“Don’t say ‘I think’…”

Colt couldn’t help but interject.

Just as they were engrossed in their studies, heads bent low,

“Wah!”

“Oof!”

Two students suddenly landed on the floor with a thud.

This wasn’t some prank played by classmates; rather, the chairs that should have been beneath them had simply… vanished?!

“G-ghosts! It’s haunted again!”

Yamada exclaimed in a panic, pointing at the two fallen students.

Immediately thereafter, one chair after another began to disappear before everyone’s eyes!!!

“Everyone, run!”

Having recently experienced a similar supernatural event, the students of their class reacted instantly, grabbing others and scrambling for the exit.

“Xiaobai!”

Colt swiftly pulled Xiaobai up, preparing to escape as well, but—

“Watch out!”

Xiaobai quickly yanked Colt back.

“Clang!”

“Crash!”

“Thump!”

The vanished chairs continuously plummeted in front of them, blocking their escape route!

‘Damn it! What in the world is happening?!’

“Leidi-chan! Bye-chan!”

“Be careful!”

“Get out of there!”

Those who had escaped were too terrified to re-enter, only able to shout desperately at them from a distance.

“Leidi, let’s push the chairs aside together!”

“Okay!”

The words barely left her lips before they sprang into action, but an even more dire event unfolded at that very moment—

“Ah—!”

“Ah—!”

The instant their hands touched the haphazard pile of chairs before them, all of the chairs vanished!

Losing their balance instantly, they tumbled to the ground.

Through her wavering vision, Colt saw the desks disappearing one after another, leaving the entire classroom eerily empty.

‘A terrible premonition seized her!’

“Ah—!”

The girls outside the classroom suddenly shrieked.

Colt looked up, quickly turning around to see—

A chaotic jumble of desks and chairs, sprawling every which way and filling her entire field of vision!

“Leidi!”

“Colt-kun!”

In Colt’s infinitely slowed perception, Xiaobai scrambled up in a panic, throwing herself onto Colt, shielding her with her own body. Simultaneously, Prince Aoyama, having broken free from the girls clutching at him, surged towards them.

Then—

“Thump-splash!”

“Crash-clang!”

“Snap-crack!”

“Rip-tear!”

Amidst a cacophony of jarring collision sounds, they were buried.