The day was Monday, and I was heading towards the school early in the morning. After I saved Arian yesterday, I returned to my house and rested for the night. As for Pixie, she woke up early in the morning after using too much magic power to heal me yesterday. As I walked at a leisurely pace, Pixie followed me as she stretched her arms with a yawn.

“So are you sure that the curse will go back to the book once I finished everything I need to do with the cursed girl?”

“Correct. That is why, even though I lost consciousness yesterday, the curse is now longer on Arian’s body. That is why you don’t have to worry anymore, Prince,” Pixie said with a smile and flew past me. Then, she faced me and continued her float forward.

“With that said, we need to find another princess,” I followed with a serious face.

“The curse will enter the first girl that it will sense. Considering that fact, I’m sure that all eight princesses were still inside that place called ‘school’ when you opened the book. The curse can’t travel that far so it would’ve searched for the nearest girl it could find. That’s the nature of all those curses.”

“And to find them, I need to stroll around to locate one, huh,” I whispered and arrived in front of the school’s gate. “Let’s do that after class.”

“Oh~ That’s Arian, right?” Pixie said with a big smile after she saw a girl a couple of strides away. “Hey! Arian~”

“Wha-- Don’t call her!” I reacted in a flustered expression, but I was already too late.

“Hm?” Arian hummed as a response and faced us. She became surprised after seeing me.

Because of that, I averted my gaze from her.

“Pixie, how are you?” Arian asked with a smile.

“As you can see, I am now fully recovered after one night of sleep!” Pixie responded cheerfully.

“Thank goodness then,” Arian replied with a smile and looked at me.

“...”

“...”

Both Arian and I stared at each other and averted our gaze away after a while.

“S-so you can still see Pixie,” I commented as I tried my best to act normally.

“Y-you’re right. Is that bad?” Arian asked with a worried look.

“Maybe it’s because you got cursed. But don’t get it wrong. You are now free from the curse. I guess it’s a lingering effect from it,” Pixie explained with a smile.

“I see,” Arian said with a sigh of relief. “It will be too sad if I can’t see you anymore so I’m glad.”

How can these two become this close in only two days? I can’t understand ‘friendship’.

“Uhmm... Prince...” Arian muttered, somewhat with a blushed face.

“Wh-what is it?” I responded after my shoulders twitched out of surprise.

Why am I this nervous anyway?

“Let’s go?” she followed and smiled.

“I’ll be waiting for your answer after saving everyone.”

Her words from yesterday came back to my memory.

Jeez, I need to get a grip.

“Yeah,” I responded with my usual poker face and we walked towards the classroom.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

After the class, I immediately roamed around the school grounds to find a princess.

“Pixie, is there a time limit in saving a princess?” I asked as I walked on the pavement. “I mean, what if the jinx activates without me meeting the cursed girl? Is that possible?”

“It won’t,” Pixie responded with a smile as she flew next to me. “You are the prince of this world. It’s your destiny to meet everyone before the worst outcome happens. It will appear before you encounter the girl, but it can’t fulfill its last desire. That is to bring demise or misfortune to the princess’s life.”

“Demise, huh,” I whispered in a serious expression.

I can’t afford to fail even once. This is my responsibility for opening the book. I won’t hesitate to throw away my life to fix the problem I brought to this world.

“Prince!” Pixie called after the crown on my head emitted a bright light.

“A princess?” I reacted and looked around.

Then, a tall, slender girl passed me as her long platinum blonde hair swayed in grace.

“How beautiful...” Pixie whispered, entranced by the appearance of the girl.

“Beautiful, huh,” I repeated as I watched her walk away from us together with seven girls behind her.

“There’s no doubt about it. That white-haired girl is a princess!” Pixie said, and my crown glowed once again.

We looked in the opposite direction and saw a girl in a side ponytail. In appearance, she looked younger compared to the surrounding students having a conversation with her. She was wearing a white blouse and a black straight skirt. Black high heels also accompanied her clothes. Because of the semi-formal clothes, I immediately recognized her.

So a teacher is also a princess.

After a minute, they disappeared from our sight. And when the light disappeared, it glowed again, making it three times in a row.

“And the third one...” Pixie whispered and looked at the building behind us.

I followed her gaze and saw the ITS building of our school, a tall tower exclusive to a certain person. The crown ten stopped its production of light.

Three princesses right off the bat?

With that new knowledge, we sat on a nearby bench to discuss our plan.

“This will be difficult, Pixie,” I said in a stern expression.

“Why? Do you perhaps know them?”

“They are famous here, you see. The blonde girl from earlier is the student council president of this school. She’s a senior and her name is Yuki, the ‘Glacial Queen’.”

“Glacial... Queen?” Pixie repeated, puzzled.

“It’s a nickname given to her by the guys of this school. The reason for that is that she rules the students like a queen. And she’s cold to the male students of the academy. Some say she hates men because unlike her treatment to us boys, she’s kind and approachable to girls.”

“Now that attitude might cause some problems,” Pixie commented, nervous. “How about that young girl in a side ponytail?”

“She’s not a young girl. That’s Ms. Bella, a teacher of this school,” I replied. “She already graduated from college and started teaching here right after graduating. That is why she’s not young anymore, probably around mid-twenties.”

She even resembles 'her'.

“That girl? And here I thought she’s at least two years younger than you,” Pixie reacted, surprised.

“Well, if you based it on her looks and height, you’ll conclude it like that all right. She is well-loved by her students because of her cheerful and kind personality. That’s the reason she’s famous throughout the school. Not to mention she’s cute.”

“C-Cute? D-do you perhaps... like those kinds of girls?” Pixie asked, taken aback.

Wait... those kinds of girls?

“Hey, if you’re mistaking me for a pedophile, you’re very wrong,” I retorted with serious eyes.

And she’s already an adult anyway, so why the heck am I even explaining myself?

“I see,” Pixie replied and looked at the tower near us. “How about that one up there?”

“That, huh,” I followed and also looked. “This is more like a rumor, I don’t know if this is true or not. In that building, there’s a certain someone. That one is responsible for all the information technology systems of the entire school. That student is a genius since birth. To hire that individual at a young age, this academy gave her a scholarship for her service. They gave her that entire tower containing everything she needed in work and life. Because of that, she doesn’t have to leave that place anymore until graduation.”

“Wait. So... that girl has a tower for herself?” Pixie asked, shocked. “And that tower contains all necessities in life. And because of that, she now refuses to go to the outside world? I didn’t expect you to have a genuine princess in your world!”

“Well, more or less. I don’t even know her real gender until this crown radiated earlier. Considering that story is true, I need to enter that tower. Even if the students shouldn’t be there,” I continued and stood up. “I have a feeling that I need to save them one at a time. Is that allowed, Pixie?”

“Well, if you ask me, that might be the best action. You don’t want to get accused of womanizing, right?” Pixie asked and flew up.

They won’t forget what happened in the retrieval of their curses, right? Then that alone makes this look like I’9m womanizing.

“Do I get the decision on which to save first too?”

“Correct. You’re the prince of this world so it’s up to you,” Pixie replied with a smile.

“I see. Then... I choose...” I said with a serious face.

“Choose...” Pixie repeated in anticipation.

“... to go home first,” I continued with an unchanging expression.

“...”

“...”

“What?” Pixie reacted, dumbfounded.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

After Igave Pixie my decision, we walked back to my house as the sun started to set.

“Hey, are you sure about doing nothing for today?” Pixie asked in a worried look. “We already have a lead, right?”

“Lead, you say...” I whispered and stopped my walk.

“Pardon?”

“What do you expect me to do? I need to seduce the man-hating president, the well-loved teacher, and the locked-tower genius, you know!” I shouted in frustration.

“Prince... snapped,” Pixie muttered in shock.

“Not only one but three consecutive missions in hard mode? I’m not one of those masochistic gamers who find thrill in doing impossible tasks!” I continued as I thrashed around.

“Get a grip!” Pixie yelled and struck me on the head with her wand.

*pop*

Thanks to that, I came back to reality.

“S-sorry about that. I lost my composure. I’m fine now,” I said with a serious face and fixed my glasses.

“Jeez. Don’t forget that you saved one princess already,” Pixie said and gave me a warm smile. “So believe in yourself, Prince. No matter what happens, I’m sure you can do it. I’m also here to assist you, right?”

“I guess... you’re right,” I responded and smiled after. “Thanks.”

“Now that’s the usual Prince I know,” Pixie followed in a cheerful tone and we continued forward.

“But whom do you think I should save first?”

Pixie made a thinking pose and exclaimed.

“Prince, your crown!” she pointed, and I looked up in reflex. The crown glowed once again.

“Ahhh!” a girl yelled as she fell from above a tree. I somehow caught her in my arms, even though the fall took place quickly.

“Ughhh,” I reacted after the sudden impact and weight I felt on both my arms and legs.

“Prince, are you okay?” Pixie questioned me with a worried expression.

“Yeah...but...” I answered and looked at the girl in my arms. “Are you okay?”

The girl continued her stare at my eyes with a surprised expression.

Now that I noticed it, she’s wearing our school uniform.

“Uhmm...” I mumbled, not sure what to say next while I carried her in bridal style.

The girl who fell from the tree was a pretty girl with black silky hair and brown languid eyes. She was also thinner and lighter than Arian. She was holding one of her shoes too.

Is she the same year as me?

After five seconds, she became shocked, and her entire face got red in an instant.

“I’m sorry!” she shouted and jumped off me. Then, she covered five meters away from me in a split second. It left a straight cloud of dust on her path. “Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome,” I responded, surprised at how fast everything happened. After she heard my reply, she immediately rode the nearby bus and left the scene.

“Prince...” Pixie called, and I looked at her.

“That girl is like the wind all right,” I commented and noticed the shoe she left behind on the ground. “How come she didn’t notice the fact that she’s missing a shoe after running that fast?”

“I think she became flustered because you caught her like that.”

I picked up the black shoe and looked at Pixie once again.

“Pixie, is there a princess in your world that attended a ball? Then, she left her shoe, resulting for the prince to find and marry her?”

After I heard that, Pixie became a little astonished and answered, “Yes, there is. And the prince will learn her identity because that glass shoe will only fit her.”

“I see,” I replied and made a serious look. “Then, our next princess will be that girl...‘Cinderella’.”