Two weeks had slipped by in the blink of an eye, and the morning of the elementary school entrance ceremony finally arrived.
The school they were enrolling in was a twenty-minute bus ride away.
It was a bit too much to expect a young child to navigate that distance alone on their first day.
And so, I stepped out of the house with them, playing the dual role of chaperone and attendee.
Raiko accompanied us.
For official purposes, their address was listed as my home. Our relationship was filed under the category of distant relatives.
Registering them under the Zenin name would have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. While the girls despised the clan, changing their legal surnames entirely was a logistical nightmare, so we left it as it was for now.
Maki and Mai sat side-by-side in the two-seater. Mai swallowed hard, her throat bobbing with visible nerves.
Even Maki, usually so stoic, showed a flicker of tension in her eyes.
Excitement mixed with anxiety. It was their first real foray into a world outside of cold dojos and oppressive mansions; naturally, their minds were racing with a thousand different thoughts.
'Adorable.'
Seeing them sit there clutching their small backpacks brought a smile to my face. This was a sight far removed from the battlefields I was used to.
Maybe I should just escort them every day? It wasn't as if my schedule was packed, and the peace of the routine seemed like a luxury I could afford.
"I'm feeling quite nervous myself," Raiko murmured as she stood beside me.
It was rush hour. The bus was packed with commuters, and predictably, almost every eye was glued to Raiko.
There were gazes of base desire, stares of pure awe, and looks of confusion. She drew attention like a sun draws planets.
"You and me both," I replied.
"Do you think they'll be bullied? Children who stand out as much as they do are often made into targets." Raiko's expression clouded over with maternal worry.
She adored children, but she wasn't naive; she knew that the innocence of youth could often hide a cruel streak. I shared her concern, but I wasn't truly worried.
After all, I had left their social education in the hands of the two Koyanskayas.
"Yaskaya taught them well, so don't worry too much. Besides, Maki is strong. She'll be fine."
Maki possessed a legendary core of resilience. In the world I knew, she had never shown weakness except when Mai died—even when she was charred by the flames of the Special Grade Curse Jogo, or while living through the hellish abuse of the Zenin clan.
"Ah. You're right, of course." Raiko offered a bright smile, her worries quelled. She knew my words weren't mere empty comfort; they were a testament to the potential I saw in them.
With that settled, we hopped off the bus. Following the map I'd memorized, we soon arrived at the school gates.
"There truly are so many children," Raiko whispered, her eyes widening as we crossed the threshold of the elementary school.
The yard was teeming with life. Kids running toward the entrance, others clinging to their parents—it was a chaotic, vibrant sea of energy.
"Want to hold hands?" I asked, extending mine.
Maki and Mai hesitated for a moment, clearly weighing the pros and cons of appearing 'childish' in their new environment. Eventually, they both reached out, clutching my hands as we walked across the courtyard. Raiko followed closely behind, keeping a watchful eye on our flanks.
—An entrance ceremony for a human elementary school. I came out of curiosity, but this is rather underwhelming.
Koyanskaya of Darkness—my current Foreigner-class backup—spoke into my mind through our mental link.
—From your perspective, maybe. But for the kids, this is a life-altering event. First, we take them to their classrooms. Then the parents listen to the orientations.
—Is that so? When I glimpsed such scenes in the records of Chaldea, they always seemed far more poignant...
—That's because those were movies and dramas. Real life is just people moving through procedures.
—True enough.
Fiction adds a layer of emotional paint to the mundane to make it meaningful. The Foreigner seemed to accept my logic with a cool, detached clinicalness.
—You still can't find any affection for them?
—Master, don't misunderstand. I 'love' humans in my own way. However, I cannot love those specific children.
Objects to be toyed with, oppressed, or broken—to the Foreigner, that was the extent of her interest in the majority of mankind. Paradoxically, her words put me at ease. If she didn't 'love' them in her twisted sense, it meant they weren't targets for her cruelty.
"Master. I've found the classroom. This way."
"Raiko, we have to check in at the auditorium first. I know you're eager, but..."
Raiko pointed toward a large notice board where lists of names and classroom assignments were pinned. She was taking the lead now.
The building was large and the interior layout was like a labyrinth. It felt alien, yet there was a deep-seated nostalgia in the air that only a school can provide.
'It really has been a long time.'
Walking down a hallway lined with identical classroom doors made me feel as if I'd regressed in age myself.
"Here we go."
We found the room and saw the sisters to their seats. The children who had already arrived stared at us with wide, curious eyes.
It was inevitable. Maki and Mai were canonical beauties even at this age. Raiko, radiating an aura of stunning maternal grace, was a magnet for attention. My own shock of white hair drew a few glances, but I was mostly overshadowed by the dazzling presence of the women and children with me.
"Could the parents please step this way for a moment?"
Just as the room reached its capacity, a woman who appeared to be the teacher stepped inside.
'Time to head out.'
I looked at the twins. I needed to say something before I left.
"We'll be right here to pick you up when you're done. I'll be waiting outside the gate. Do your best."
"Of course. Don't worry about a thing. You're going to do wonderfully," Raiko added, offering her final words of encouragement.
I patted them both on the shoulder and stepped out into the hallway.
The ceremony was held within the classrooms rather than the assembly hall, with the principal's address being broadcast via television. It felt slightly unusual, but school cultures varied depending on the administration.
Left to their own devices, Maki and Mai sat together, processing their nerves. Everything was too new. The Zenin mansion had been a desert devoid of peers their own age. This environment was bright, loud, and bustling. And most of all, the young teacher standing at the front spoke to them without a trace of malice or hidden agenda.
It was their first taste of normalcy.
"Now then, shall we introduce ourselves?" the teacher began, calling names based on the attendance list and assigning permanent seats. One by one, children stood up to speak. When their names were called, the twins stood up and performed exactly as they had been taught at home.
"I am Zenin Maki. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"I am Zenin Mai. I look forward to studying with you."
The sisters sat down with impeccable posture and poise. Their movements were so refined that the teacher blinked in surprise for a second before regaining her professional composure.
"Alright. We'll begin proper lessons tomorrow. The textbooks and supplies you'll need are..."
After the introductions, the teacher went over preparations and handed out notices. Once the formalities were completed, the first 'day' was over.
"You guys are so pretty! Where do you live?"
"Where did you get that backpack?"
The moment class was dismissed, the surrounding kids—mostly girls—swarmed them. Both boys and girls were naturally drawn to the sisters; high-tier beauty has a magnetism that transcends age.
—You girls possess exceptional looks, so humans will naturally gravitate toward you. When that happens, do not be the one to create an enemy. However, if the other party harbors hostility first...
Amidst the noisy clamor, the twins recalled Koyanskaya's specific instructions.
"I don't really know about the bag since it was a gift, but we live over in the Adachi area," Maki answered smoothly.
"Whoa...! Where is that?"
"It's a bit far. It takes about twenty minutes by bus."
These were children who had only just left kindergarten. To them, even something as mundane as taking a bus alone was a marvel. They were shocked to hear the twins 'lived apart' from their parents—though the girls explained that their parents were busy working elsewhere, which was technically true enough. Maki and Mai managed the social minefield as they'd been trained and eventually made their way out of the building.
They looked absolutely drained.
"Sister, they talked so much. It was weird," Mai sighed, linking her arm with Maki's. She was exhausted from the overwhelming surge of interest.
"Tell me about it. Is this the difference between kids and adults?" Maki let out a heavy breath of her own. The air in the classroom had been far different from the warm, if slightly tense, atmosphere of our home.
"But Big Brother isn't like that."
"That guy... no, Big Brother is different. He doesn't even go to school." Maki corrected herself quickly, shaking her head. The title 'Big Brother' felt incredibly foreign on her tongue. Her heart gave a strange little flutter at the sound of the familial term.
"Ah, you're here?"
As they reached the main gate, a white-haired boy greeted them. I was smiling as I always did, with Raiko standing beside me. Just by existing, we were drawing a significant crowd. Beautiful, cool, and seemingly approachable—at their young age, the students and parents felt that charm even more directly.
"Yeah," Maki nodded, stepping toward me while holding Mai's hand tightly.
Two weeks passed. Eventually, the sisters declared that they could commute to school on their own.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes. You've taught us everything, so we can do it. We have money and our transit cards."
"Don't worry so much," Mai added, her confidence showing as they boarded the subway.
Was it really okay?
'This is a strange feeling.'
There were children back at Chaldea, but at their core, they were Heroic Spirits—beings infinitely more powerful than the average human. But these were real children. Sending them off into the world felt inherently different.
—Ibuki. Sorry, but could you just follow them until they reach the school gates today?
—Got it, Master.
—Thanks. I'll be waiting at the bus stop.
Ibuki-douji, who was today's invisible backup, vanished immediately. I just had a lingering feeling I couldn't shake.
"My Lord, aren't you being a bit overprotective? The little ones have heads on their shoulders; even if they're brats, their wits are sharp enough to manage."
Shuten-douji, who was on duty today, let out a light laugh. She clearly found my fussing amusing.
"I just want to confirm they get there safely. Once I know they can handle the first day alone, I'll stop."
"Truly? I thought you were starting to become one of those helicopters I've heard about, but I guess not."
"I just want to make sure the first button is fastened correctly, that's all."
I sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. Shuten sat beside me, wearing a persistent, playful grin.
"Well, thanks to your fussing, I get to spend some quality time like this. Not a bad way to spend a morning."
"You're not bored?"
"Just being by your side is enough for me." Shuten linked her arm with mine, her eyes curling into crescents. She managed to be both lethally seductive and oddly cute at the same time. Her presence was so potent that commuters boarding the bus would freeze mid-step for a second just by glancing her way.
—Master. Nothing happened. They arrived safely.
About thirty minutes later, Ibuki's voice echoed in my head. With the good news confirmed, I finally relaxed and stood up.
"Alright. Mission accomplished. Let's go."
"Right behind you."
After that, I stopped escorting them to the bus stop. I simply saw them off at the front door. The sisters seemed a little disappointed at first, but they adapted within a day or two. Humans are creatures of habit; when a presence that was once there disappears, it leaves a void—even if the change was made by one's own will. This went doubly for children.
A month passed as they settled into the rhythm of school life. On a Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM—a luxury only possible for those in lower elementary grades—I took the sisters out with me.
"Um, Big Brother. Where are we going?" Mai asked after we'd navigated the subway and walked for nearly thirty minutes. Perhaps because she'd finally opened up, she had become just as affectionate as Maki lately.
"To a place an acquaintance of mine just opened."
I pushed open the door of a building. I had transferred the ownership to Toji, but as the financier who built the place, I treated it as my own. I had the keys, but I didn't need them; the place was open for business.
"Toji."
I stepped inside with Ibuki-douji leading the way. The sisters hesitated at the entrance before cautiously following us. The walls were covered in mirrors, and the floor was lined with heavy rubber mats. In the corner stood rows of exercise machines and a rack filled with wooden swords and spears. At a glance, it looked like a high-end gym; from another angle, it looked like a facility for professional combatants.
"Oh, you're here?"
Toji, who had been lifting weights in the corner, looked up to greet me. Megumi was standing just behind him. The goal for today was simple: a face-to-face meeting between the twins and Megumi. Since I'd called ahead, it was no surprise they were waiting. Both Ibuki and Raiko—who was today's backup—were currently in spirit form.
"Yes. I hope we didn't keep you waiting?"
"Nah. Got here thirty minutes ago? I've just been warming up," Toji said, letting out a yawn as he set down a pair of dumbbells.
The weights were 100 kilograms each, yet he handled them as if they were made of balsa wood.
"Wow."
The exclamation escaped my lips before I could stop it. The sheer physical prowess granted by the Heavenly Restriction was truly in a league of its own. I shook off the awe and turned to the sisters.
"Maki, Mai. This is Mr. Toji. And the boy standing behind him is Megumi. Say hello."
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