Chapter 10:

Leo strolled into his dorm room with a casual swagger. 

“Hey.”

Two of his roommates were gone. The last one, Ed, looked up as he entered. He shot an ingratiating look at Leo. 

“Ah, Sir Leonard, did you grab me some food?”

Leo tossed a box towards him and shook his head.

“I’m not doing this every time. You owe me.”

Ed bowed his head. “Thank you, Father. You are so kind to your son.”

Leo chuckled and sat down at his desk. “Just call me Leo. I hate my full name.”

Ed shot him a thumbs-up and tore into his food. The boy made disgusting smacking sounds as he chewed through his dinner. Leo, revolted, shook his head and turned away.

He kicked his feet up on his desk and thought of his dear friend. That rabbit-like girl that flew into his arms without hesitation in front of the entire crowd. And she was the one embarrassed? She’d hidden her face and hadn’t noticed the smirking glances of the surrounding students.

Leo had only said they were fiancés to protect Eres. Leo had the station to refuse the advances from other girls—he was a Duke’s son, not easily approached. The only one that could cause him trouble was Celise, and he had been abundantly clear he was already taken. 

But a commoner girl, a maid, scoring at the top of the exam? No backing? She’d be eaten alive.

As if Leo wouldn’t be embarrassed too, announcing it like that in front of hundreds of people. The only reason he could stay calm in the first place was because Eres had looked so pathetic when they’d walked up on stage.

Wasn’t he the hikikomori? How she’d teased him, only to be the one with stage fright. He smirked at the remembrance of her trembling, tearful face. 

Hopefully she wasn’t sitting on her bed, mouth glued shut, tears in her eyes at the idea of talking to strangers. 

She couldn’t be that much of a shut-in, right?

“…”

***

Eres sat cross legged on her bed, head dazed at the stream words spouted by her roommates.

Celise was mid-story about how Eres had defended her from Shiera and danced with Leo, sparking rumors for months. 

Her face twitched as Celise exaggerated the story to fairy-tale level proportions. Where had an assassin come from?! 

Eres stared at the princess in shock, wondering how Leo had sword-fought bandits without her noticing. 

Arille was eating it up. She leaned in, nodding her head as the tale grew ever more out of control.

When had the princess gotten this mischievous? 

“Then, after Leo slew the last bandit, Eres jumped into his arms and they kissed…!”

“?!”

Eres threw a pillow at Celise, nailing her in the face.

“Hey! Stop lying to Arille, you’re giving her strange ideas!”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry.”

Arille, only now noticing Celise had been teasing her, flushed. 

“Wha—Princess?!”

She pushed her shoulder and stared at her, aggrieved. 

Celise shrugged. “You looked so interested, I had to spice it up.”

Eres fell back against her bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt the bare mattress beneath her head.

“Hey. My pillow. Give it back.”

“No way~ this was a gift from Lady Eres.”

“Hah? You want me to have neck pain tomorrow?”

Celise giggled. “That’s just a reminder of our friendship.”

“We can be friends when you give my pillow back.”

Immediately, a fluffy white mass smacked against the wall above her and fell onto her face.

Eres pushed it under her head. Much better.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Celise popped her head over the bed frame. 

Eres jumped, startled. What was she even standing on?!

“So, we’re friends now?”

Arille popped up next to her. “I wanna be friends with Lady Eres too!”

Eres tried to suppress a smile. “…Fine.”

They shot brilliant grins and disappeared beneath the frame.

Hah…kids. Such a pain.

Eres sat up. “Hey, where’s our other roommate? Do you think she got lost?”

Celise, who had just sat on her chair, looked up. “Well, classes don’t start until the weekend’s over. It’s not entirely unusual for students to show up last minute, from what I hear.”

“Hmm,” Arille, having just climbed on her bed, said, “Maybe we should tell someone if she’s not here tomorrow.”

Celise shrugged. “The adults will sort it out.”

Eres raised an eyebrow. “Should a princess be this lackadaisical?” 

“Ooohh~ no wonder Lady Eres was first place,” Celise teased, “Such big words for a small girl.”

“…I’m not that small.”

Arille chuckled. “Lady Eres, you’re shorter than us, hehe.”

Eres stiffened. Was she? No, surely not. It was just the joke of two children. And besides, even if she were, that wasn’t a problem. It was just height.

Just. Height.

“…”

Eres flew from her bed, pulling Celise to her feet. The girl, startled, broke into a smug grin when her eye-line rose past Eres.

Celise reached out and rubbed her head. “I can see why Sir Leo likes to do this.”

A sound came from behind her as Arille dropped from her bed. Another hand fell on her head.

Eres turned around to see another giant looming above her. 

“…!”

This…! This couldn’t be! She ate! She ate tons! She had gorged herself every meal with Leo! Could this be the result of malnutrition from childhood…?

No, Leo must have used magic to siphon her height potential. There was no way that guy could shoot up so quickly otherwise. 

Her lips trembled as her roommates monopolized her head.

She swatted them away and retreated back to her bed.

Eres pulled the blanket over her head and tried to ignore the smug giggles of her roommates.

Hmm? When had it started raining? Somehow, it had found its way to her eyes.

***

Eres woke to darkness and the muffled sound of light sobs.

She rubbed her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? She sat up, pulling the blanket from over her head.

The room was dark now, and her roommates were laying in bed. 

The sniffling stopped as Eres’s movement rustled her sheets.

Eres’s head tracked towards the sound. Arille? Her brows furrowed.

She let out a quiet whisper. “Arille…? Are you ok?”

No response for a moment, until a quiet “mmm,” responded. 

It was obvious she was trying to quiet her crying, but that made it even louder when she broke.

“…Homesick?”

“Mm.”

Eres rubbed her head. She hopped out of her bed quietly, and climbed the ladder, peaking her head over Arille’s bedrail.

Arille sat up, rubbing her eyes. They looked at each other for a moment, before Arille scooted over for Eres to climb in. 

She paused for a moment, before sitting next to her. 

She settled in, and Arille’s hand lightly tugged at Eres’s shirt sleeve. She trembled, tears streaming down her face.

Hah…kids. So troublesome. Eres reached out, and, partly in revenge, gently rubbed the top of her head.

The girl leaned over, pressing against her shoulder. Her body shook, but the cries quieted. 

Eres rubbed her head for maybe an hour, before Arille fell asleep.

Sharp tongues, but still kids. She chuckled. Eres laid Arille down, moving the pillow beneath her, and hopped down. 

No way she was gonna get sleep now. She pulled on some casual clothes and stepped out of the dorm room. The door nearly closed before she remembered her key, and pocketed it before slipping out again. 

She’d had that happen too many times in the past to be so careless. 

She wandered down the hall, went downstairs, and stepped outside. 

Eres shivered at the chill. Should have brought a jacket.

She sat on the bench and listened to the quiet sounds of night. 

Her head leaned back, eyes catching the brilliant sight of stars overhead. 

It was times like this she remembered she was in a different world. No light pollution to dampen the experience. 

The stars were all in different positions, no constellation familiar. A pang ran through her heart. 

Homesick, huh? 

Eres rubbed her eyes.