Chapter 189: The Day Before The Academy [4] — House Frostbane Preparations

“Hm…” Timothy nodded. “Wait—you have two mothers?!”

“Hahaha! Is that the first thing you say?!” Anastasia laughed. “Yeah, I do.”

“H-How does that work?” he asked curiously.

“Uh, why do you have to phrase it like that? I don’t know the details…” Anastasia shrugged. “But they said they asked the Dragon King to help with his magic. So I’m… a magic child or something.”

“Hah… well, that’s amazing, kind of,” Timothy said.

“Kind of? Well, thanks?” Anastasia raised an eyebrow. “And how were you conceived? Did you sprout from a corn stalk?”

“No…” Timothy smiled faintly. “I guess maybe I did.”

“Hahaha!” Anastasia laughed. “Anyway, let’s do our best tomorrow. It’ll decide our future… and everything. This world can be beautiful, but outside it’s terrifying. I’ve seen it. We have to work hard so we can take our world back.”

“Yeah… I guess we do,” Timothy nodded. “Thanks, Anastasia… I didn’t expect you to be so friendly. You seemed kind of unapproachable when we first met.”

“What? I’m super friendly—I just look plain,” she sighed. “I guess I never tried hard enough to make friends either… I spent my whole life inside the house. My moms spoiled me too much—ruined some of my social skills.”

“I think you’re fine,” Timothy said. “Yeah.”

“Really? Aw, are you trying to conquer me now?” Anastasia teased, laughing.

“W-What?!” Timothy blushed. “I’m not doing anything like that… come on…”

“Okay, I was joking—relax,” Anastasia patted his shoulder. “Give me some of that ice cream.”

“W-Wha…?! Wait, it’s melting and I—” Timothy tried to protest, but Anastasia snatched it, finished the rest, and crunched the cone before winking at him. “What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing…” he muttered. Though he tried to act normal, he couldn’t.

That was definitely an indirect kiss—exactly like what Louis and Mirai had been doing. Of course he was going to lose his mind over it…

“Anyway, we should head back,” Louis said. Mirai clung to his arm, resting her head against it. “We need to wake up early tomorrow.”

At Louis’s command, the group returned to the castle for a light dinner with the rest of the staff—Catrise, Tisha, Pekorine, Gustaf, even Robert. Melisa and Selene were there too, upset they hadn’t been invited out.

“Not fair! Why couldn’t we go with you guys? Aren’t we friends?” Melisa demanded, eyes watering as she sniffed.

“I wanna go to a fancy restaurant…” Selene said, eyes sparkling.

“Maybe another day,” Louis said. “We just didn’t want to look after children.”

“So cruel!” Melisa wailed.

“Bad! Bad prince!” Selene barked.

“Aw, come on—don’t be mad at him. Isn’t he your adoptive father?” Mirai asked gently.

“I’ll take you both out to eat later,” Louis promised. “Just remind me when we have free time.”

“Really?!” Selene gasped.

“Woow!” Melisa cheered. “Yaaaay!”

Catrise smiled and patted their heads. “Alright, enough of that. Eat your dinner now, girls, then it’s early to bed so you can wake up fresh tomorrow.”

Over the past months, Melisa and Selene have trained diligently. Selene had awakened more of her true berserk-like power, becoming a wild, unpredictable fighter. Melisa had begun mastering her light elemental magic and the mysterious wings of light that sprouted from her small, featherless wings whenever she channeled holy light.

After months of effort, both had become competent enough to earn special scholarships to the Sinners Academy, skipping lower grades. They had learned reading, math, history, and language within a year, proving themselves geniuses and quick absorbers of knowledge.

With them included, Frostbane’s class delegation was sizable:

– Louis — Leader of House Frostbane

– Mirai — Subleader

– Zorba — Secretary, Magician, Necromancer, Alchemist

– Anastasia — Sword Master, House’s First Knight

– Timothy — All-Rounder, House’s Second Knight

– Agustina — Magician, Second Secretary

– Selene — Wild Card, Squire in Training

– Melisa — Healer and Medic

Every House member needed a defined role—that was how the academy functioned, and the game’s mechanics had carried over into reality.

These Houses were essentially teams or parties required to complete trials proving their growth and worth over the years.

While true Archetypes would be assigned later, these provisional titles were required to officially form a House, which Louis had successfully petitioned his father and the academy director to approve.

Additionally, Catrise and Robert would accompany Louis as personal servants. Mirai would bring Juliette, and everyone else could select a butler or maid. The limit was two per student, and servants could not assist or participate in any tests, academy rules for the many attending nobles.

“We have eight members… That should suffice,” Louis thought. “Though ten was the minimum, so we’ll recruit at least two more at the academy, no upper limit, so I plan to bring in even more…”

Lost in planning, Louis checked the time, finished his meal, and decided to retire.

As he headed to his room, he noticed Mirai trailing behind.

“Mirai? What is it? Go to your room—you need rest.”

“I know, but… Um…”

She was already in her cute pajamas. Louis looked at her, puzzled.

“Can’t we cuddle?”

“…?”

Louis’s eyebrows twitched—he wasn’t even sure what she meant.

Cuddling?

What?

“I promise I won’t try anything… I just want to sleep beside you.”

“…Why?”

“Because… because I want to? Wouldn’t it be nice?”

For a moment Louis wondered if they were moving too fast. He was still sorting through his own feelings, unsure exactly what they meant.

Yet when he remembered everything Mirai had done for him, the request didn’t feel unreasonable.

“Okay. Come.”

“Thank you.”

He took her hand gently and led her to his room. Louis stepped into the bathroom, then emerged in simple white shirt and boxers.

As he sat on the bed, Mirai hurried over, pulling the blankets over both of them.

He felt her feet brush against him beneath the covers—embarrassing—but he hid it as she wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s nice…”

“…Yeah.”

Louis smiled warmly, holding her close and hugging her tightly, refusing to let go.

As sleep took him, he whispered softly.

“Mirai… I’ll always… protect you…”

“Louis…”

Mirai smiled tenderly, kissed his lips as he drifted off, then closed her eyes—content to sleep beside the one she loved.

—–

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