The Aches and the Prince’s Arrival

“Xiaobai, it’s time to wake up.”

I, already washed and dressed, gently shook Xiaobai, who lay motionless on the bed. What a sight she was, her bathrobe looking utterly out of place. Why wouldn’t she wear the pajamas I had made for her? They were undeniably beautiful.

“Le-Leidi…” Xiaobai’s voice, still half-asleep, was soft and muffled.

“It’s almost time to get up. We still have school, you know.”

Plucking out a set of lingerie adorned with pale yellow lace trim from the closet, I swiftly approached her, knowing it wouldn’t do if she managed to escape.

Not that she had ever actually succeeded in escaping, I chuckled.

“Huh?”

I reached her side, but Xiaobai remained utterly motionless.

Today? Was she not going to resist for once? Had she finally embraced her identity as a girl?

“Leidi… I’m so sore…” Xiaobai opened her eyes and spoke, her face etched with utter helplessness. Yet, she remained lying there, motionless.

“Huh?!” What’s going on? Is she sick?

I placed my hand on her forehead, comparing it to my own temperature. It felt perfectly normal.

“My whole body aches… it hurts to move…” Even turning her head seemed difficult for Xiaobai.

No way… After all the muscle-soreness relief treatments I had given her last night, was this still the result? What would Xiaobai be like if I hadn’t done anything at all? It seemed absolutely necessary to discuss her training regimen with Mao Mingdao.

“I’ll help you up first… After a few more days of exercise, you’ll probably get used to it.”

“Thank you…”

Lifting Xiaobai, who felt like a dead weight, and leaning her against me, I slowly helped her out of her bathrobe. Normally, I’d just yank it off, so this docile Xiaobai was quite an unfamiliar sight.

Hm? Why wouldn’t the bra clasp quite close? The size I made should have been correct… Could her chest have grown even larger? If she was developing so well, she could at least share some with me!

****

“Xiaobai seems really tired,” Mao Mingdao remarked, glancing back at us from the passenger seat. “She hasn’t said a word since we got in the car, just sitting there motionless.”

Mao Mingdao, seated in the passenger seat, turned to look at us. He was now our personal bodyguard, accompanying us to school, though at school he would switch shifts with Samidare Ruka.

“Mao Mingdao… could we discuss adjusting her training regimen? I feel like Xiaobai’s body can’t quite handle it…”

“Unfortunately, no,” Mao Mingdao replied with a wry smile, refusing my request. “To reach a level of strength where she can truly protect herself and you, this amount of training is actually quite minimal. She’ll get used to it in a few days.”

“It feels like my whole body has been soaking in vinegar…” Xiaobai, slumped beside me, spoke with only her mouth moving. Oh, it broke my heart to hear her.

“Vinegar-braised pork is quite delicious, you know,” Mao Mingdao said with a silly grin, uttering something completely out of left field.

Was that supposed to be a joke? Mao Mingdao, if you can’t tell a joke, don’t try. That didn’t even qualify as a bad pun.

“Mao Mingdao, please… don’t make me laugh,” Xiaobai pleaded, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she weakly pressed her stomach. “Even laughing hurts right now.”

“Ah, my apologies.”

Mao Mingdao dutifully turned his head back to face forward, leaving me alone, dumbfounded and detached.

Honestly, Xiaobai… your sense of humor is a bit odd, isn’t it?

****

“I’ll be nearby, so go to school without worry.” After getting out of the car, Mao Mingdao waved a hand without looking back and walked to the opposite side of the street to keep watch for us.

“Understood, thank you.” I gave a simple wave in farewell.

As for Xiaobai…

“Don’t just collapse onto me like that,” I admonished. “I’d welcome you clinging to me like a little bird, but this state of yours, like a pile of mud, makes me want to keep my distance.” My face was truly etched with disdain.

Xiaobai reluctantly straightened up, walking with stiff, jerky movements. Don’t make movements that utterly contradict your beauty! Are you doing the robot, seriously?!

Unable to watch any longer, I stepped forward and walked alongside her, supporting her by the shoulders. It seemed she wouldn’t have the energy to pay attention to all those piercing gazes today, which was probably a good thing, to some extent.

[Oh! They’re here! Quick, take pictures!]

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The moment we stepped through the school gate, a wave of shutter clicks erupted from the teaching building. Honestly… that sharp-eyed student, where did you come from? Are you a sentinel or something?

[No matter how many times I see her, the younger sister is so cute~ Her clinging to the older sister looks absolutely wonderful!]

[Photos of the two sisters together are sure to sell well!]

[How lovely~ How lovely~]

[Ah~ I’m melting~]

Couldn’t they say something else? I was already tired of hearing it.

Still so popular today, it seemed.

Xiaobai, however, ambled along, leaning on my shoulder, though the expression on her face was anything but happy. It seemed she had no energy left to run; she could only resign herself to being a stationary target, bombarded by all sorts of gazes.

After changing our shoes, we ascended the stairs and entered our classroom. All the way, Xiaobai remained leaning on me. I was truly glad for the lie I’d told back then; if we hadn’t claimed to be biological sisters, such intimate displays would surely have landed us in the principal’s office, mistaken for a same-s*x couple.

“Hm?” both Xiaobai and I mumbled simultaneously. She, too, straightened up.

Outside our classroom, many girls stood pressed against the windows, chattering excitedly, though I couldn’t tell what about.

[What’s—] Ignoring the girls with flushed cheeks, Xiaobai and I entered the classroom.

[Ah, Leidi, you’ve arrived.]

Before I could finish my thought, I was met with an extremely bright smile from a face I’d rather not have seen, immediately followed by a chorus of infatuated screams.

[Kyaa! Look, he’s so handsome!]

[Quick, help me! I’m going to faint!]

[I’m in love!]

…

Prince Aoyama, of course… No wonder there was a crowd of girls outside the classroom.

Glancing at the situation inside the classroom, I saw the girls were just as infatuated as those peering through the windows. The boys, however, all looked like comedic performers, glaring at the person in front of me with bitter, resentful expressions, their arms crossed.

Whose fault was it that they weren’t as handsome as him? And they should really put away their jealousy. Otherwise, their chances of getting a girlfriend would become even slimmer.

[Prince Aoyama, is there something you need in our class?] I asked first. Class A and ours didn’t really have any interactions, and having just transferred, he certainly wouldn’t be a class representative. It must be something personal, like that last time?

[Last time, all the girls helped me out, didn’t they? I’m here to give my thanks.]

It seemed I had guessed correctly.

Saying this, he pulled out a stack of something from his pocket. They looked like discount vouchers.

[Actually, my family owns a dessert shop, and these are dessert vouchers. With these vouchers, you even get priority service.]

With a captivating smile, he first handed me one, then gave another to Xiaobai, who had somehow appeared behind me.

[Younger sister-san looks beautiful today, too.] Prince Aoyama smiled, turning his face to Xiaobai behind me.

Since Xiaobai had the persona of not speaking Japanese, she could only smile silently behind me. From the feeling emanating from her back, was she trembling? Was she angry?

[Hmph.] I gave Prince Aoyama a faint smile. Your compliments are useless; you won’t charm Xiaobai.

Afterward, the smiling Prince Aoyama handed the vouchers one by one to the girls in the class.

Watching the girls’ delighted expressions as they received the vouchers, the disappointed looks of the girls outside the window who wanted but couldn’t get them, and the comical, bitter expressions of the boys, who looked as if they’d been forced to drink bitter gourd juice. I felt like I could probably paint a work as emotionally rich as *Sunflowers* right now. How amusing.

[The boys get some too.]

Oh? Not bad, it seemed he wasn’t just handsome; he was quite clever. His score among the girls must have risen even higher now.

The smiling Prince Aoyama then placed the vouchers one by one on the desks of the silent, scowling boys, as none of them reached out to take one.

Ah! Yamada seemed to have taken one by hand… While it was highly likely an unintentional act due to his low emotional intelligence, it was still commendable.

[Well then, goodbye everyone.] With a bright wave, Prince Aoyama unintentionally “ushered” the girls outside the window away.

Returning to our seats with Xiaobai, Takagi, Aki, and Ami immediately crowded around us.

[Leidi-chan! This is a voucher for “Beethoven”! It’s a voucher for “Beethoven,” the place where you can never get a spot on TV!]

Takagi was so excited, her round glasses seemed to sparkle. This shop called “Beethoven” seemed very famous… but was it okay for a dessert shop to have that name?!

I picked up my voucher and glanced at it. The printing was exquisite, and from its appearance, it seemed to be a themed shop. Beethoven… was it a music theme? It didn’t look like it; the décor seemed more like a haunted house.

[Too bad it’s in Kobe, though. I was hoping to go after school, but it’s quite a long train ride,] Aki said, shaking her voucher unhappily.

[Huh? Really? Aki, I didn’t even notice!] Ami exclaimed, looking surprised as she examined her voucher.

Kobe, huh? Where exactly was it?

My gaze scanned the voucher, finally landing on the address in the bottom right corner of the back.

…

…

I fell silent.

“Leidi, what’s wrong? Your expression suddenly turned ugly,” Xiaobai asked, poking me worriedly.

I never expected this…

“The address of that shop… it’s near the ‘Chrysalis’ museum…” I stated the terrifying truth to Xiaobai, my face devoid of emotion.

At this, Xiaobai’s face turned as grim as mine.