I was summoned by my father.
And not just me — Kathia, too.
Neither of us knew what it was about, so we both tilted our heads in confusion.
"Could it be... the talk of an engagement?"
"Huh? Whose?"
"Like I said — mine and yours."
Kathia's out-of-the-blue words left me completely at a loss.
"No way. That can't be right."
"Well, not from our perspective, sure. But how does it look to everyone else? A man and woman the same age, from families of similar standing. And we seem to get along well. So it wouldn't be strange if people started saying we should get engaged now while we can."
When she put it that way, it wasn't entirely impossible.
I was a member of the royal family, and Kathia was a lady of a prestigious duke's house.
We were well-matched.
"But are you okay with that?"
"Of course not. I can't even imagine marrying a man. But it's going to happen someday, right? So I'd better steel myself for it."
"So you do think about stuff like that."
"Rude. But realistically, having you as my fiancé would be easier than some stranger I know nothing about. You know about my situation, and if it comes to it — well, it'd be a little unsightly, but we could annul the engagement by mutual consent."
So that was an option too.
I'd never really thought about having a fiancée before, but since I was a member of the royal family, such a proposal could come at any time.
In that case, having Kathia — someone I was already comfortable around — as my fiancée might actually be convenient.
With one exception.
"What about
"Oh."
Right.
My little sister Sue wouldn't tolerate anyone getting close to me.
Kathia had only recently started to let her guard down around me, but who knew what would happen if the topic of our engagement came up.
"If that happens, that kid might actually kill me."
"That's going a bit too far."
"...I think it's entirely possible."
Sue had grown up to be a bit... eccentric, but surely it wouldn't go that far.
While we were going back and forth, a man and a small girl entered the waiting room.
Kathia and I stared at the two newcomers, jaws agape.
Their ears were longer than those of humans.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is
The elf, Potimas, introduced himself in a flat, indifferent tone.
It was my first time meeting an elf.
I knew elves existed, but seeing one in the flesh really drove home the fact that this was indeed another world.
"Hmm. You have it."
An uncomfortable sensation washed over me as Potimas narrowed his eyes.
"Oka, these two have it. The rest is your domain."
"Yes, yes~. Understood~."
"Well then, I'll take my leave."
"Good work~."
With that, Potimas promptly left the room.
Kathia and I could only stand there in stunned silence.
He'd left before we even had a chance to introduce ourselves.
Not knowing what to do, we turned our gaze to the small girl who remained.
"Hmm hmm~. Then let me introduce myself~. My current name is Filimes Harifenas~. Nice to meet you~."
Kathia and I exchanged glances.
Even after a little girl introduced herself, we had no idea what to do next.
"When someone introduces themselves, it's only polite to introduce yourself in return, don't you think~? How about it~?"
"Forgive my manners. I am Shurein Zagan Analight, the Fourth Prince of this country."
"I am
Urged on by the girl, we hastily introduced ourselves.
"Mm-hmm~. A prince and a duke's daughter~. Nice~. That's so moe~."
I froze at those words.
Between her peculiar way of speaking and her mannerisms, she reminded me of someone I knew.
Kathia, standing beside me, seemed to think the same — her eyes were wide.
"No way — Oka-chan!?"
"You shouldn't add -chan to your teacher's name~. But that's correct~."
Standing before us was none other than our teacher from our previous lives — Okazaki Kanami, a.k.a. Oka-chan.
This teacher, known affectionately as Oka-chan, was quite the hopeless person.
She'd gotten hooked on a manga character's speech pattern back in school, and it ended up becoming her natural way of talking.
Influenced by a Sengoku manga, she'd gone on to a university specializing in history.
She'd devised a reverse-Hikaru Genji plan and become a school teacher.
She really was a hopeless teacher.
But paradoxically, that very hopelessness was popular with the students.
"So? Why are you in this country, Sensei?"
"Because I found out you two were here~. It's become quite the hot topic~. That multiple extraordinary geniuses had been born in Analight~."
We spoke to our long-lost teacher in Japanese.
We'd already told her our names from our previous lives.
The moment she heard Kathia's name, her eyes went wide, and in the next instant she was muttering "Moe~" or something.
"You came all this way just to see us?"
"That's not the only reason~. I am still a teacher, after all~. I think it's important to check on my students' well-being~. Well, at this point, having been reincarnated and all, 'well-being' is a bit of a moot point~."
She said it with a hint of humor, but I thought her sense of duty was admirable.
I'd been so focused on just surviving in this world.
The thought of looking for other classmates had never even crossed my mind.
"This world is much more dangerous than Japan~. If I can protect them, I should do so as soon as possible~."
That was something I'd never considered either.
With monsters and whatnot running around, it was obvious when you thought about it, but I'd simply assumed that because I was safe, the other classmates must be too.
"So, Sensei, you came here to protect us?"
"Oh no no~. Given your positions, I can't just casually take you away~. In principle, we only protect those who request it, at the elven village~."
"So you've already found others?"
"Yes~. Twelve are at the elven village, and including you two, five more have been successfully contacted. I've confirmed the whereabouts of about two more, so I'll be going to see them later~."
Our class had had twenty-five students.
That meant six were still unaccounted for.
But on the flip side, it meant there were only six students whose whereabouts were unknown.
Finding those students in this vast world must have been incredibly difficult.
"Sensei, you went through all this trouble for our sake..."
"It's a teacher's duty~. Besides, most of the students were found in human territories, living as humans~. It wasn't as difficult as you might think~."
Even so, it was clear she'd invested considerable effort.
I bowed to her once more.
"Well, we have a lot to catch up on, but I'll be enrolling in a school in this country soon~. Let's have a proper talk then~."
Kathia and I would soon be attending the same school.
A new life was just around the corner.