Chapter 03

“I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it…….”

Even in the short moment of waiting for her turn, Priscilla was shivering like a leaf in the wind. If someone saw her, they would wonder why she was like this.

I put strength into our intertwined hands.

“It’s going to be okay, Priscilla. See, you’re moving just the way you want it. So calm down. Don’t tremble.”

“……Yes.”

Although it took several more comforting words, Priscilla regained her composure as if the time where she needed my word for comfort never happened. With a bright smile, her fingers dug into my hand like a claw, clutching it hard.

The crown prince who had been watching us opened his eyes in surprise.

“Did you guys really just meet today? It doesn’t seem so to my eyes. If you’ve been lying to me, you should be prepared.”

“We will explain later. You didn’t want to be late either, did you?”

“I see. I’ll let this slide for now.”

The crown prince surprisingly dropped his inquisition swiftly. Was it because he schemed something like this before? It’s an unknown situation for me at the moment.

I was planning to explain everything later anyhow. If I let it slide so casually after coming this far, the aftermath would be unbearable, both for me and the Crate family.

However, I should at least have a talk with Priscilla before that.

There was no need to tell him in advance about the fact that we were reincarnators and that Priscilla, before she met me, was trapped in this world, infinitely regressing.

“Next, there will be a welcoming speech by Crown Prince William Ercarencia Anna Cresenne von Euperantis Bellium. Everyone, please stand.”

During our conversation, the previous turn had completely ended, and the crown prince’s name was called. It was an incredibly long name, just as I thought when I first tried to memorize it.

“I’ll go first. I’ll take my price for this separately for joining in your little game, so add it to the list.”

“I thought you were also interested in this proposal, Your Highness. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have joined us. So please reconsider.”

“Ha ha! Have you noticed? I won’t deny it. It’s my first time trying to end a welcome speech like this. I’m looking forward to it. Don’t mind it, it’s just something I wanted to try.”

The crown prince, who lightly grinned, walked briskly toward the stage. Immediately afterwards, there was applause like thunder. Priscilla and I also clapped lightly.

Even though he looked androgynous, the hairs stood on my back at the sight of a man giving me a knowing smile. If I didn’t clap here, it’s blasphemy.

“……Really, really……things are changing.”

Despite clapping harder than anyone else, Priscilla teared up. Her expression was half worry, half joy. Perhaps there was slightly more joy than worry.

Her feelings must be complicated. That, after hundreds of repetitions, her prison like regression finished so simply. Also, that for the first time in hundreds of years, an event unknown to her was unfolding. It might not feel real to her.

It’s okay. In a little while, she’ll feel it in every bone in her body.

“Ah, ah. Can you hear me well?”

The standing applause continued for almost five minutes. As the sound began to recede, the crown prince, who had received enthusiastic cheers from thousands, lightly spoke into the microphone. It was also a magic item.

“First, let me express my sincere welcome to you for entering Bellium Academy. Your standing here at this moment, in this place, testifies that you are talents that would not be pushed away anywhere in the empire.”

At his words, the students were visibly moved with a great amount of emotion.

When else would they receive a compliment directly from the crown prince? It was a rare experience that one might not encounter twice in their lifetime.

“So, diligently sharpen your talents. That’s all.”

However, despite the waves of emotion that washed over them, the crown prince left without any hesitation as soon as he finished his words.

Rumors began to spread in the hall due to the welcome speech that ended not even in a minute but within 30 seconds. The teachers sitting across us also wore faces full of perplexity.

The one causing a scene was no other than the Prince, so no one dared to ask him.

“……”

Only one person, the chairman who claimed to have shared history with the Bellium Academy, was looking at us with a fascinating gaze.

Especially by the intense gaze he was giving towards me, it seemed like he had vaguely identified the cause of this situation.

“Ugggh……hhhh……no……this……in the original work……there wasn’t……such a thing…….”

Priscilla was sobbing in a hushed voice with her face buried in my back as if she was worried about someone hearing her. I merely held her hand and let her cry as much as she wanted.

There was nothing else I could do for her.

“Now it’s your turn.”

I nodded and gently took Priscilla’s hand.

“Well, it’s time to end your hesitations. It’s time to leave, Priscilla. It’s no longer merely observing, it’s time for your hands to directly twist the story. You’ve been waiting for this day, haven’t you?”

“Uh-huh… yes… Sob, sob. Yes, sure… Yes, with my own hands… I’m going to do it myself…”

Priscilla hastily wiped away her tears, used a faint illusion magic to hide the redness under her eyes, and stepped forward. As if taking turns with the Prince, he stood beside me now.

I was about to involuntarily step back, remembering his earlier smirk at me, but I abruptly stopped. It would end badly if he were to question why I was trying to distance myself from him.

“You seem to be in high spirits, Your Highness.”

Instead, I diverted the conversation.

“You observed well. It wasn’t a bad experience. Finishing the greeting quickly and seeing all the people here look so flustered. Both were not bad experiences.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

“But there’s another reason why I’m in such a good mood.”

“Oh?”

“The biggest thrill is yet to come. Didn’t you just say something about ‘it’s time to twist the development with your own hands’?”

His red eyes were fixed on me. He looked like he couldn’t hold back his curiosity about my intention behind those words.

It doesn’t matter. I had already prepared an excuse. Would I blabber such words with the prince right next to me without thinking it through? Of course, I had taken the aftermath into consideration.

“Second-year valedictorian, Priscilla Agnes.”

Her clear voice echoed throughout the auditorium. The prince’s blood red eyes, which had been staring at me, turned towards the stage. He seemed more interested in Priscilla’s speech now.

Holding the microphone in both hands, Priscilla began her speech with a faltering smile.

“Congratulations on your admission. That’s all.”

After finishing her speech with just nine syllables, Priscilla, confident more than anyone else, left the stunned audience behind and began moving.

“…I did it.”

Upon returning to me, she leaned against me, staggering. It seems her legs gave out entirely. I carefully made her sit on the sofa.

Priscilla looked up at me and smiled painfully.

“I went and said it.”

“I know. I watched the whole thing. You did incredibly well.”

“Yes… Sob… Sniff… Really… With my own hands…”

Her laughter turned to tears. Like she was releasing all the suppressed emotions from hundreds of years in one go, Priscilla poured out her sadness in silence.

I patted her on the back and turned around. I could feel the stern yet confused gaze on the back of my neck.

“I’m looking forward to your speech, Mira Crate.”

The prince was probably not only referring to my welcoming speech as a first-year valedictorian.

“You can look forward to it, Your Highness.”

I had planned something in advance too.

In two ways, that is.

I slowly walked towards the stage. The attention pouring down on me was no joke, probably because the speakers before me had left such a shocking impression. Not one person took their eyes off me or did anything else.

But that didn’t mean I was feeling pressured. I’d come too far to feel pressured by something like that.

“If I want my role to deviate the most from the original plot…”

That seems best, indeed.
.

.

.
“It seems it’s not something planned in advance, Butler.”

“Yes, if it was a premeditated welcoming speech, she shouldn’t be wearing that expression.”

“What’s going on?”

“Heh, how would an old man like me know about what’s going on inside the academy? That’s why I want to hear a younger person’s opinion.”

“Well, like you said, a maid like me wouldn’t know about the inner workings of the academy either.”

Although both of them implied such, neither Beatrice nor the white-haired, wrinkled old butler were just ordinary as their words suggested.

Because they would not send such an average guard to escort their beloved youngest son.

Thus, they could discern the surprise spreading on the faces of the teachers seated above. This was why they realized the event was not premeditated.

Amid the noise of thousands bursting at once, the last one walked out. The butler instinctively raised his  camera.

“The young master is coming out.”

“…”

There was no response.

“Ah… young master… shining brightly even in a place like this… very, very splendid…”

Beatrice was already busy using her  camera with a blissful smile.

The butler watched this and chuckled, capturing the youngest master in his own camera. It was no longer surprising. He had seen Beatrice’s expressions plenty of times.

Whether due to loyalty from watching over him since childhood or slightly warped maternal affection, Beatrice’s loyalty had strange part to it.

However, she vehemently denied that fact.

Regardless, the two busily recorded the image of the young boy standing in front of the podium with their  cameras that would drain an amount of money that would make an ordinary person’s hand shake.

The master looked happy, so they both pushed it aside for now.

“I’ll keep it short since the previous speakers did.”

Mira swept his gaze over the students with a confident smile, and his gaze stopped in one place. Naturally, the butler’s gaze also followed him.

In the place where his gaze stopped, there sat a girl with bright blonde hair and blue eyes, and a girl with blue hair and golden eyes.

“Even next year and the year after, the person standing in this place will be me.”

Mira’s lips curled up slightly as he looked at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

“I’ve given the proper welcome speech then. That’s all.”