Guardians of the Prince

author’s note: this was written in commemoration of collaboration on other works

The ground at last stopped rumbling, and after a while I finally, slowly, lifted my head. The dust was still dancing, and I breathed in a bit of it and had a coughing fit.

Suddenly, a sharp pain ran up my body from below my knees.

(Thoughtless…)

With a low moan, I disparaged myself internally.

This summer, a rare large storm had come to Vio Rizonna. The ground here was plainly loose, and yet I’d carelessly gone right up to this mountain, neglecting basic emergency management tenants.

I was at an archaeological site, slightly to the west of the Shiinium. Every time I came to the Shiinium, I would drop by here, it was somewhere I could relax and rest. I could feel time stretching back to ancient history, and my savage heart calmed down.

The Crown Prince was on a study trip, and was staying near here for a little while, and I’d finally managed to make it here on my first half day off… And now this.

I twisted my upper body, trying to ignore the pain, and was able to confirm that a stone pillar had collapsed under the weight of the sediment and was now firmly atop both my legs. I could only barely feel them, so perhaps the fact that they were apparently entirely crushed was a small mercy. However, I couldn’t move at all… What was I supposed to do now?

A pulsating pain rose all the way to my brain. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

Just at that moment, I heard hooves in the distance. I returned my creaking upper body to its original position.

A single anpy appeared from the shadows of the mountain forest. Riding it was a lone woman.

She sucked in a breath and quickly dismounted the anpy… Or more accurately, she dangled from the anpy’s neck, and then let go and dropped down. It seemed to be the best she could manage.

She somehow hit the ground safely, and came rushing over. Her face was familiar. She was nanny to His Highness, Prince Ouji. Her name was… What was it again? My twin brother Idine seemed quite interested in her, but she was definitely Lahzt’s girl, wasn’t she? Or wait, actually, she was Lord Fatido’s, wasn’t she? Either way, I didn’t care.

“Oh no, Mr Endie!?”

She apparently remembered my name. She dropped to her knees beside me, and her face went pale when she saw my legs, and without any unnecessary banter, she took out a small notebook.

“I’ll call for help from the Shiinium.”

“Idine’ll come…”

“Okay.”

She wrote smoothly.

“Idine’s Shin…”

“I remember it.”

She finished her memo, muttering something I didn’t understand about being able to write ‘bara’ and ‘yuutsu.’ 1

She whistled for a postey, and put the memo in the tube on its leg, and then the small orange bird shot into the sky like a bullet.

She shrugged off the shawl she had around her shoulders in place of a cloak, and then folded it and put it under my head. And then she rolled up her left sleeve. A familiar string of characters was etched like a tattoo on her arm.

I hadn’t heard His Highness’s nanny was a Shiinoce…

She took in a quiet breath, and then expanded her Circle Art. A circle of green-glowing characters appeared around her arm, and slowly rotated.

She held her hand over my body, and a warm feeling gently permeated my body. It was a healing art.

It felt pretty clumsy to me, since I was familiar with Idine’s healing arts, but even so, my pain got significantly better.

“Do nannies use healing arts now?”

Somehow, I’d gotten quite good at speaking frankly.

“I’m Koume. And I just learned this recently. I met a very good teacher.”

She – Kohme, that’s right – held her arm up with a serious expression on her face. Just chatting seemed to have jostled her concentration.

“I can’t do anything but lessen your pain, but…”

“I appreciate it,” I answered shortly, and then stayed silent so as not to disturb her.

She kept her hand over me, staring fixedly at my legs. Her small but plump lips opened slightly, and she focused, breathing slowly. She was small in every facet, but her black eyes were large, and declared her strong will.

When we’d met previously, she’d looked less reliable…

Even so, these healing arts were leagues different from Idine’s. Idine’s technique felt like he was blowing away your pain with a massive wind, but this woman’s arts were more like a plant sucking up water from the earth. It felt like something was soaking into me.

Eventually, she heaved a big sigh and lowered her arm.

“I’m sorry, that’s all I can do.”

“That’s plenty.”

We chatted, and I was distracted from the pain. She was going to keep me company until Idine arrived with help.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was on an errand for Professor Lemonina, and I saw the mountain had collapsed, and I wondered if anyone was up here. What about you, Mr Endie, why are you here?”

“It’s my hobby.”

“Oh?”

“Visiting historical ruins.”

She muttered something incomprehensible again – Oh, a mystery hunter! – and flashed a grin.

""

“I like that too, visiting ruins.”

She was calm and relaxed, without any ulterior motives. Unlike me, she was living her life without any major hindrances, such as not being able to speak to people.

Well. Speaking of things you couldn’t say.

Remembering something, I said, “I once told you to show me your name, I believe.”

Kohme’s eyes went slightly wider. Her cheeks stiffened, just a little.

And after a moment’s thought, she put her right hand softly on her left, and removed the ring from her ring finger. Under it was a Shin name.

When I saw the seals, I got the impression of a small white flower with a sweet scent. Kohme smiled.

“I was very rude that time. I apologize.”

I think the rude one was me actually, but okay.

However, certainly now, I felt I’d been sidestepped. Intuition maybe?

I tried to show her my seal, as a courtesy, but I couldn’t move my upper body very well. I lifted my left arm a little at the elbow and pointed it toward Kohme.

She hesitantly took my hand. Cool, slender fingers slipped off my ring. The friction, and her gaze, stimulated my nerves.

She took in the meaning of my seal.

“A person standing tall, even in the midst of a storm…”

She muttered a thank you, and returned my ring immediately to its original position, and then gently lowered my arm.

A sweet scent, like Kohme’s name, faintly wafted from the shawl I was using as a pillow.

Which reminded me that it had been quite a while since I’d used any woman’s lap for a pillow.

Glancing sideways, I stared at her knees, which were wrapped in her apron and touching the ground.

A hissing sound cut through the wind, and a postey landed on that knee.

“Ah, from Mr Idine… What is this?”

She opened the letter, and then apologized to me, and ran her eyes over the note.

Pick you up!? Seriously, you came on the pretext of work again… Overprotective much? It’s out of the question right now. Make It Back On Your Own.

She scribbled a new note and the postey flew off again.

— Who the hell’s he talking about, huh? Hmph.

I was getting a little queasy, and shut my eyes.

Eventually I heard many hooves approaching. When I opened my eyes, I saw Idine at the front.

After that, a little while passed, and my legs healed, and rehabilitation ended, and I returned to work at the Royal Palace.

One day, I heard that His Highness Ouji had come to the castle for the first time in a long while. I headed for the wing where His Highness spent his leisure time.

I had just turned the corner in the hallway, when I bumped into the very person I was looking for.

“Oh, Mr Endie! You look like you’re back to full health.”

She seemed to be carrying some kind of sheet in her arms, and looked up at me, her face lighting up.

Kohme was tiny. Today, she was standing, so it felt kind of excessive.

I thought back.

The other day at the Shiinium, there had been a symposium on medical treatment, and Idine had participated in it.

I was idling around the dorms at the royal palace, just getting to catch my breath before the end of my rehabilitation, when a note arrived.

If you’re free, come pick me up.

I reluctantly took out a car on Idine’s message, and went to the meeting hall.

Idine was right outside the hall, and was chatting with some female soldiers who’d come from another planet on cultural exchange.

Eventually, he finished his chat and came over to me.

“That’s culture shock, huh. They even have healing arts too…”

He seemed to find it interesting. When I turned around, the soldiers were rushing over to Lahzt and just starting up a conversation with him, but…

I spotted Kohme’s black eyes.

Kohme was supposedly born and raised on this planet, but her features looked a lot like those women’s when I looked closely. And her unconventional healing arts…

There must be some way of investigating the origins of those female soldiers. But I decided to leave it be. Exposing a grown woman’s secrets was just boorish.

Although I certainly was intrigued.

“Do you have a moment right now?” I asked bluntly, and Kohme seemed confused.

“Oh, ah, I was just taking this to the laundry, but… What is it?” she asked back, without really answering.

“Who taught you to ride an anpy?”

“Mr Kahzam, but uh…”

That guy? A man with dark green eyes who couldn’t best me at martial arts no matter how he tried.

“I’m the better equestrian.”

“Are you?”

I took the sheets from Kohme’s hand, and asked a passing maid to take them to the laundry.

And then I took Kohme’s arm and started walking.

“Where– are we going?”

“The riding grounds. I’m going to teach you to ride a bit better.”

“Oh? I– That’s okay, I don’t have much time to practice anyway.”

“Then I’ll come with you to practice. As thanks for the ruins. Since I am in your debt.”

Internally, I asked myself, Oh is that all? and when a smile unconsciously played at the corners of my mouth, I could see that Kohme was startled.

“Scary! I’m fine! Thank you though!”

""

“If you don’t walk, I’m going to carry you.”

I readjusted my grip on her slender arm, and carefully started turning back down the hall.

From beside me came that soft, sweet scent.

[I can’t believe I’m still doing this Endie Edition – end]

Footnotes

bara = rose; yuutsu = gloomy, depression