It didn’t take much effort for me to fall asleep after I had returned from training with Evangeline and Mizuki. The hot shower helped, of course, but I had never imagined playing a children’s game could be so exhausting. Then again, I could never play with the other kids back then, so I suppose I had no way of knowing that. On the other hand, it was far more likely that my exhaustion was the result of facing off against “Sensei Dioli”. I wondered if Mizuki was left as equally worn out as I was, but she never responded to the text message I had sent her before I went to bed.

Strangely, mom informed me the next morning that Mizuki had come to the door and asked her to let me know that she was going ahead to school on her own—something she had never done by choice. The last time Mizuki walked to school without me was five years prior, and it was because I was extremely sick and couldn’t get out of bed, let alone the apartment. Apparently, she hadn’t provided a reason for walking alone, and again, she didn’t answer any of the text messages I sent her as I made my way to St. Cirelia High.

My best friend’s odd behavior was concerning, but I figured I would have the chance to confront her about it in class. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal that she had decided to walk alone, but it was abnormal for us. Not answering her messages was also out of character for Mizuki, as she was never the type to take longer than a few minutes to respond to a message. But for all I knew, her phone could have been malfunctioning or the reception could have been bad. Jumping to conclusions was something I wanted to avoid despite my worry.

Speaking of abnormal, the minute I had stepped into the building, an amusing silence befell the bustling halls. The same had occurred the previous day, but I thought it could have been a one time phenomenon. It seemed, however, that I was wrong about that.

In the aftermath of my brief fight with the jerk who had shoved my childhood friend, rumors had begun to spread that the Princess was protecting me from the consequences of knocking him out. The gossipers had reasoned that if that was the case, then I must have been immune to any and all punishment. Therefore, it seemed everyone now walked on eggshells when I was around. I didn’t think incessant staring could get any worse, but it turned out it was far more insufferable when accompanied by dead silence as opposed to feckless mudslinging.

When I got to class, Mizuki was sat in her chair. Her dark eyes were fixed on her hands which fidgeted on the surface of her desk.

“Good morning, Mizuki,” I said, taking my seat beside her.

“Morning,” she replied, flatly. She didn’t even turn to look at me as she spoke.

“Is everything okay? You’re acting a bit strange.”

“…I’m fine.”

I had only ever seen her act in such a cold manner with me in the wake of her mother leaving her and her father. The way she was behaving didn’t seem related to anything quite so serious, but it was still something that alarmed me greatly. I wanted to confront her about it, but I knew I only had so much time before the teacher would arrive, and I had something else important to tell her.

“Oh, okay,” I said, unconvinced. “Listen, after school I have to head to Crystal Park.”

“Crystal Park? Why?” she asked. Her voice was a bit more involved, but she still didn’t look at me.

“A certain blonde demanded my presence.”

“…Oh.”

“Y-yeah, I just figured I’d let you know. By the way, you walked home with Eva yesterday, right? How did that go?”

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“…”

“Mizuki?”

The door to class swung open, and in walked two individuals: the teacher, and the boy I had punched out two days prior. The latter refused eye contact and shuffled sheepishly to his seat in the back, while the former announced the initiation of roll call.

There was an awkward air that permeated the room for the duration of class. I couldn’t put my finger on what was going on with Mizuki, but it was beyond unusual. We were always unhappy to a degree but seeing her like that brought terrible memories flooding back to me. More than ever, I was annoyed with Cynthia for tying me up in whatever it was that she wanted. It was bad enough that the entire “marriage” situation had effectively hijacked my life, but it was also preventing me from comforting my friend. In fact, I had been spending a lot less time with Mizuki in the days since the accident, and I wasn’t happy about it.

After the bell rang, Mizuki rose from her chair and disappeared from the room before I had an opportunity to approach her.

Mizuki had never avoided me before. Again, the lone exception to that statement occurring during what had been the darkest time in her life. That was understandable. Whatever had been going on since I returned from Eva’s training was not. However, as much as I wanted to know what was wrong with my best friend, I decided that giving her space was for the best. If she didn’t tell me what was going on by the end of the night, I would confront her.

I kept to myself for the rest of the day, and after the final bell, I had set out for Crystal Park.

***

Yet again, I found myself sitting on a bench, staring up at a sherbet sky. Like the other day, it seemed I had arrived before the person who requested my presence. I was never one for punctuality, but it seemed like I had it down to a science compared to the people who fancied themselves timely.

This is going to be a little while, isn’t it? Déjà vu.

Crystal Park was the closest anyone in Valport could get to nature without leaving the city. It was a rather large park—the largest and best in the city, replete with trees and a big lake. It might as well have been called “façade park”, however. The cute little flower patches that decorated the area sporadically couldn’t mask the smell of exhaust from traffic, nor could the laughter of children playing on jungle gyms and swings hide the endless sirens and honking of vehicles. And there was nothing that could blot out the sight of towering skyscrapers that ruined whatever illusion the very existence of Crystal Park was meant to provide.

Before I could sink any deeper into the whirlpool of my mind, I took notice of a shape drawing ever closer from the corner of my eye. I centered my view on it. “It” was a person wearing a trench coat, top hat, and thick sunglasses.

You’ve got to be joking me.

The person approached and took a seat beside me on the bench.

“May I ask why you’re dressed like a cartoon detective?” I asked.

“Shut up,” returned a predictable, feminine voice.

The ongoing chatter of parkgoers that had faded into the background before had since dialed down to a series of whispers, and the idiot that sat beside me had quickly become a magnet of stares. It was a contagious condition, of course.

“You know, that ‘disguise’ is doing the opposite of what you want it to. You might as well just take it off.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, for starters, I assume you arrived in a royal car, right? There’s no way that went unnoticed. And the moment you started walking towards me, a bunch of men and women in black appeared all over the place. Lastly, you’re sitting with the most hated person in the kingdom. There isn’t a long list of individuals who would subject themselves to that willingly. Should I go on?”

“All right, all right, gods. You’ve made your point,” she said, irritably.

The trenchcoated girl rose beside me and undid each button on her awful costume. One by one, her hat, glasses, and coat came off as a man in black approached to collect each article of clothing. Needless to say, the girl beneath it all was Cynthia Rose von Eisenhardt.

For the first time since our cursed, chance encounter, I witnessed the sight of the princess in normal clothes. She was wearing an open, black jacket and a white and blue striped tank top beneath it on her torso. Blue, denim short shorts and black sandals completed her casual look. Between her usual dress and the outfit she had arrived to the park in, it seemed like her bare legs were always on display. Not that I cared or anything, there was just something obnoxious about that fact that I couldn’t quite place.

As one would expect, despite the fact that it was clear from the beginning that Cynthia was the one wearing that goofy disguise, the princess of Steylia randomly showing up in Crystal Park caused quite a stir. Thankfully, agents of the royal guard immediately got to work dispersing the growing crowd of dazzled onlookers as Cynthia turned her attention to me.

“Come on, let’s go over there. We need to talk,” she said, taking the lead.