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"Don't let him get away!"
"Everyone surround him! We have to catch him!"
Lithia was sitting quietly beneath a tree, book open in her lap, golden ponytail over one shoulder.
The shouting reached her before anything else did. The noise made it completely impossible to concentrate. She closed the book with reluctant hands.
"Honestly. The racket."
A girl with short green hair came running up.
"What is happening out there?" Lithia asked.
"Kenshi is being chased by the upperclassmen," Lapis replied gently.
Lithia sighed.
"There is always something. Everyone seems determined to make Her Majesty Lashara's life interesting."
She looked at Kenshi's situation for a moment and made up her mind.
"Well. It would be a shame to let him become a plaything for that lot. Let's go collect him."
A brief explanation of the situation.
Kenshi had, through sheer quality of work and general presence, made himself rather popular among a significant portion of the female student body. Word had gotten around that he was Lashara's servant and that he was, in various assessments, exceptional. The conclusion a particular group had reached was that whoever caught him first would get to...
Just as Lithia was rising to her feet, Kenshi shot past her like a launched projectile.
The wind from his passing lifted her skirt.
Lithia watched his retreating back, face flushed, teeth clenched.
"That wild animal actually..."
"Student Council President," Lapis said carefully, "they are not just failing to catch him. They cannot even keep up with him."
As if to illustrate the point, one of the pursuing students collapsed onto the path in front of them. Lithia looked in the direction Kenshi had gone. The ground behind him was scattered with exhausted girls.
Something seemed to occur to her. Her expression shifted.
"Are they heading into the forest?"
Lapis was already moving. "I will contact the Security Force."
"Please do."
A note: the forest was under the jurisdiction of the Security Force. Entry without permission was not permitted for ordinary students.
At dusk, a figure moved through the trees with practised ease, arriving shortly at the clearing.
She took in the scene of female students resting on the ground and walked quickly to Lithia's side.
"Lithia. What happened here?"
"They chased that wild animal into the forest, ran themselves into the ground, and got into difficulty. I borrowed your people without asking. I apologise."
Aura nodded in understanding, then looked around the clearing.
"This is quite a sight."
"It really is, isn't it."
The familiar voice came from behind them both. Aura and Lithia turned.
Kaito and Sakuya were standing at the edge of the clearing.
Both girls bowed immediately.
"Haruki-sensei! Miss Sakuya!"
"Ha. Sakuya and I just came to have a look. So nobody managed to catch Kenshi, I take it?"
Kaito waved a hand easily.
"Correct. That wild... Kenshi has not been caught, and..."
Before Lithia could finish, Kenshi came jogging into the clearing with two female students carried over his shoulders. He blinked at the assembled group, handed the two off to a member of the Security Force, and came over.
"Kaito, Miss Sakuya, Princess Aura. What brings you all out here?"
"Entertainment, mostly. So, is it fun being chased by half the student population?"
Kaito regarded him with an amused expression.
"Please don't joke about it. It is genuinely a problem."
"Then why not just let yourself be caught? It would also..."
Something crossed Kenshi's face at those words. He shook his head quickly, waving both hands.
"No. Absolutely not. I have a very bad feeling about what would happen."
Kaito looked at him with an expression that contained a trace of genuine envy.
"You really do not appreciate what you have. I would not mind being chased, and no one is lining up to chase me."
Kenshi rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile and looked at the sky.
"Anyway, it is getting late. I should head back. Student Council President Lithia, Princess Aura, see you tomorrow."
He bowed to everyone present and was gone before the sentence had quite finished echoing.
"Kenshi really does have energy to spare. I cannot keep up with that at my age."
Kaito stretched out a hand and massaged his shoulder theatrically, sagging slightly as though the weight of years had finally caught him.
"Hehe. Haruki-sensei, you are not old at all. There is no one at this academy more handsome than you."
Lithia looked at him with a warm smile.
"Ha, I do enjoy hearing that. Feel free to say it more often."
"Since you like hearing it, I will."
Lithia's expression flickered with something surprised and unguarded.
"Lithia, it is getting late. We should go back." Aura leaned close and tugged gently at her skirt. "Haruki-sensei will want to rest as well."
"Oh! I am sorry for keeping you."
"Not at all. I only came because I had nothing better to do."
Kaito glanced at the darkening sky.
"It is getting on, though. You two head back first. Sakuya and I will walk a little longer."
"Yes! Good evening, Haruki-sensei, Miss Sakuya!"
Kaito nodded with a smile as they went.
He watched their retreating figures.
"Good kids, those two."
"Master. You are only five years older than them."
"Cough. That is beside the point."
The peaceful rhythm of academy life continued, punctuated at regular intervals by Kenshi being chased down by someone.
During this time, Mexiah attempted, as she had in the original story, to turn Kenshi into something of a personal massage service. Kaito stepped in before it could go anywhere. These were his students, after all, and anyone who had seen what Kenshi's massages actually did to people would understand why this was a matter requiring intervention. A week off school was no small thing.
After that, recommended unanimously by the academy's faculty, Kenshi officially enrolled in the Holy Land Academy as a first-year student.
"Since this is your first class, I would like to assess your level first."
Mexiah stood in the training ground in her instructor's uniform, wooden sword in hand, facing Kenshi who held one as well.
"Understood, Miss Mexiah."
Two exchanges later, Mexiah stopped.
She stepped back and let Kenshi observe from the side, then walked to where the Headmaster was standing.
The Headmaster looked puzzled.
"Why is Kenshi not participating in the class?"
Mexiah's expression was complicated.
"His technique is unconventional, but his swordsmanship is at the level of a master. In a direct exchange, I cannot match him." She paused. "In this entire academy, the only person who could surpass him in swordsmanship is probably Haruki-sensei."
"Is that so."
The Headmaster looked genuinely surprised. She had not expected that the young man who had proven so exceptional at every form of practical work would also be at that level with a blade.
"Headmaster, why not have Kenshi's swordsmanship training conducted separately with me going forward?"
Kaito's voice arrived at exactly the right moment.
"Haruki-sensei!" × 2