"Shidou! Where have you been?!"
The moment he stepped into the classroom, Itsuka Shidou was greeted by an indignant Yatogami Tohka standing with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed in frustration.
Shidou gave a tight, slightly bitter smile. He could feel the weight of several hostile stares converge on him at once, accompanied by a chorus of whispered comments...
"Itsuka-kun ditched Tohka again. No idea where he ran off to this time."
"Bet he's off sneaking around with another girl. Unbelievable—he's got someone as cute as Tohka and still doesn't know how to appreciate her…"
"Ma Ji washes pantyhose."
…He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but after those comments, the glares directed at him seemed to intensify.
Sneaking around with another girl… does that count as what just happened? Probably not, right?
He stole a quick glance at Origami, who sat quietly at her desk with a book in hand—her face, however, was slightly flushed.
Clearly, she'd heard the rumors too. She was probably embarrassed and using the book as a cover.
Still, now wasn't the time to be flustered by Origami's cuteness. If he didn't calm Tohka down, things could get ugly fast.
"S-Sorry, Tohka! I didn't mean to leave you on your own. I just had… something to take care of. That's all. Lancelot came to see me, actually."
"Eh? Lancelot?"
Tohka's anger visibly faded, replaced by a curious frown. "She came to school?"
"Yeah, she needed a favor… If you don't believe me, you can ask her when we get home."
"Hm… alright, then."
Shidou finally made his way to his seat—but didn't sit down just yet. Instead, he called out to Origami.
"Origami, you—"
"Ah! I-I'm sorry!"
Origami cut him off, face red, bowing slightly in apology.
"It's… it's my fault. I'm the one who caused that misunderstanding. If you want compensation or anything, I—"
"No, no, it's really fine."
Realizing what she was apologizing for, Shidou waved it off with a smile. "Stuff like this happens a lot. I've gotten kind of used to it."
He wasn't lying. By now, Shidou's infamous reputation had spread across Raizen High. Pretty much everyone knew he had "suspiciously close relationships" with several extremely popular girls.
Especially after that whole fiasco where Natsumi impersonated him—the school's image of him had taken an even greater hit. If the boys had looked at him like he was a class traitor before, now they looked at him the way normal people looked at… Banana Man.
"So yeah, it's no big deal. I actually came to give you this."
Shidou pulled something out from his pocket—a badge. The moment she saw it, Origami's eyes widened in shock, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"My badge…?"
She took it from him with trembling fingers, then beamed at him with radiant joy.
"Thank you so much, Itsuka-kun! Where did you find it?"
"Ah, uh… just, you know, picked it up on the way…"
Shidou gave a vague, mumbled answer—but Origami didn't seem to care.
Thank goodness… I didn't lose knight onee-sama…
Her thumb gently brushed across the image on the badge. With a long sigh, she looked visibly relieved, as if some heavy weight had lifted off her chest. She smiled softly, murmuring to herself in a dreamlike voice.
Shidou noticed the look of deep affection in her eyes. For a moment, he hesitated—wondering if he should just tell her the truth about Melusine's identity.
But right then, Tohka, who had wandered over out of curiosity, suddenly narrowed her eyes at the scene.
"Shidou… since when did you and the new girl get so friendly?"
"Tohka? We're not that close or anything…"
She tilted her head skeptically and then squinted at Origami—specifically, at the badge in her hand.
"But I just saw you hand her that metal thing… What is it? That little person drawn on it kinda looks like Lancelot…"
"!!!"
Shidou's face went pale. He immediately lunged to cover Tohka's mouth—but he was too late.
She had already said that name.
And Origami had heard.
"…Lancelot?"
"Uhh… what we meant was—"
Shidou's mind scrambled for a save, but before he could speak, Origami said something unexpected.
"You mean the Lancelot from Arthurian legend? The Knight of the Lake?"
"Ah? Oh—yeah! That's what we were talking about. Arthurian legend."
Shidou had almost forgotten. The name "Lancelot" to most people would conjure images of that Lancelot—the legendary Knight of the Round Table, known for his valor and perfection.
"You guys are into Arthurian legend too?"
Origami's eyes lit up with delight. It was the look of someone who had just discovered a kindred spirit.
Before Shidou could even respond, Origami launched into a monologue of her own.
"I've adored medieval European chivalry since I was little—pledging loyalty to your liege, defending your land and people, upholding justice and order… I think it's all incredibly noble. And when it comes to knightly culture, the first thing that comes to mind has to be the Arthurian legends, right? Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are practically the archetypes of it all—"
From there, Origami dove deep.
Not just Arthur and the Round Table—she started talking about Richard the Lionheart, William Marshal (hailed as the "most loyal knight"), Holger the Dane (origin of the Jack of Spades), La Hire who fought alongside Jeanne d'Arc (the original Jack of Hearts), and of course, Lancelot—origin of the Jack of Clubs.
Shidou knew a little about Arthurian legend. He'd read up on it after hearing Melusine introduce herself as "Lancelot," but his knowledge paled in comparison to Origami's encyclopedic obsession.
"So… is Lancelot your favorite knight, Origami?"
Finally finding an opening in her enthusiastic ramble, Shidou managed to ask a question.
"No."
Origami shook her head firmly. "Although Arthur and his knights are the epitome of chivalry, and Lancelot is often praised as the Round Table's strongest and most perfect knight—brave, powerful, gentle, respectful toward women…"
"But I can't get past the part where he had an affair with the queen. Not only that—when he fled with her, he killed Gawain's brothers. The fall of Arthur and the kingdom's destruction were tied to Lancelot's actions."
"So, if I had to choose… I think I'd say Gawain. He's considered the most elegant of all the knights. They called him the 'Flower of Chivalry,' the 'Falcon of May,' the 'Knight of Maidens.' He's even the original inspiration behind the whole 'Prince on a White Horse' trope. Pretty much every girl's fantasy traces back to him."
As she spoke, Shidou's smile slowly grew… strange.
What would she say if she found out her knight onee-sama's name is "Lancelot"?
Not the Arthurian one, sure… but the whole affair thing… might actually be accurate…
Origami looked like she had more to say—but the bell rang, signaling the start of class. With a reluctant sigh, she returned to her seat.
Shidou, meanwhile, exhaled a long breath of relief. Finally, it's over—
"Class is starting… Let's continue after, okay? There are still so many stories I want to share with you, Shidou."
"Eh? Eh?!"
You've got to be kidding me—!
---
In Japan, the New Year is not just about family gatherings or watching the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. It's also a time for hatsumōde—the first shrine or temple visit of the year, when people pray for health and good fortune.
From January 1st to 3rd, the sanganichi holiday period, shrines are especially crowded.
They say tossing money into the offering box isn't about the amount—it's the meaning that counts.
The five-yen coin, go-en, sounds like goen (fate or connection), making it the most popular offering.
That bit of trivia reminded Melusine of a certain misfortune deity so broke they didn't even have their own shrine…
Sixty-five yen sounds like "no good fate," while throwing in a five-hundred yen coin—Japan's highest denomination—can be interpreted as "no greater fortune can come." Shelling out one hundred times the usual amount and still getting no results… talk about a rip-off.
Of course, one could argue that the gods don't favor people just for throwing money at them. But if you toss in a ten-thousand yen bill (ichiman en), the sound-alike meaning becomes "perfection" or "completion"—highly auspicious. So where does that logic go?
Naturally, as a high school student, Shidou didn't dare offer that much. He gently dropped a five-yen coin, rang the bell, bowed twice, clapped twice, then bowed once more.
After that, he closed his eyes and made a wish.
"…Haa."
With a soft exhale, Shidou opened his eyes and glanced around.
The girls on either side of him had all copied his movements and were now praying with their hands clasped, eyes shut in earnest.
Everyone, that is… except one.
"Lancelot, why aren't you making a wish?" he asked, turning toward the most eye-catching figure in the group—Melusine.
"Emmm…"
She gave a conflicted hum, her gaze slightly troubled.
It wasn't that she doubted the wish would come true. If there were things even she couldn't achieve, what hope did this nameless local deity have?
Her real concern was…
Would the shrine explode from the sheer metaphysical imbalance if I prayed here?
She'd once seen a show where a woman—reincarnated from a celestial maiden—casually prayed at a minor earth god's shrine. The entire place collapsed. The poor god, ranked at the bottom of the divine hierarchy, couldn't handle the pressure.
And Melusine? A dragon of the Horizon. Her spiritual rank rivaled that of high deities. This humble little shrine's god probably didn't even rank as high as that land spirit.
Probably not… The shrine does have a lot of spiritual energy built up, but I don't actually sense any divine presence…
The shrine they were visiting was small, chosen only because it was close to home. Despite having come here many times, none of them actually knew who the enshrined deity was.
Melusine only recognized Inari shrines—she'd read a novel once where Inari played the lead. Though, as it turned out by the end, "Inari" was just a shell. The real identity was Tianming Xuanniao, a cosmic bird spirit who later became a manifestation of the Dao.
Melusine remembered her fondly. That same character once used a spirit-writing technique to summon herself instead of an evil ghost. Any malicious entities that tried to take over the protagonist's body were immediately incinerated by divine aura.
Readers had dubbed the moment: "Purify a few ghosts for dramatic effect before divination begins."
"Lan-chan! What did you wish for?"
As they finished praying, Honjou Nia ran up eagerly to Melusine.
Some people made their intentions obvious—like Tohka, who had wished for "lots and lots of food" in the new year. Very on-brand. Melusine figured she'd be better off telling them than the gods.
Others were too embarrassed to say. Like Yamai Kaguya, whose wish was for another date with Shidou. She found it so mortifying she refused to admit it out loud.
As for Melusine…
"Nothing special… just the usual. Wishes for luck, success, that sort of thing."
"That's it? Come on, it's your first New Year's shrine visit! You can't be that half-hearted—aren't you worried the god will get mad?"
Melusine smiled faintly.
"And one more thing…"
Her voice shifted ever so slightly, like a drop of dew falling onto a still lake—gentle ripples spreading across a quiet surface.
"I hope that—whether in the past or the future—those I love, and those who love me… may all find happiness."