The Outside

Years ago, in a realm known as Eon, a place existed in the peaks of a mountain range. Kramahir, a place known as "Where Rulers are Born," is famous all around Eon, where young princes and princesses learn the qualities of a royal.

One of these royals was that of the second Prince of Phirines, Iscodaya Kousa. Sent by his father along with his brothers to learn etiquette, the young Prince was currently in a session with one of the instructors.

“Your arm needs to be more fluid, Your Majesty,” the instructor remarked, his face baring the shape of a furred beast, as his yellow eyes watched the Prince try to dance. Stopping Iscodaya, the instructor showed the young Prince how to properly dance, his yellow mane and orange fur moved gracefully as he did so.

Iscodaya watched, questioning the lesson, “Shouldn’t I be learning something else? Such as a strategy?” The young Prince asked, leading the instructor to shake his head.

“Young Prince, dancing is important in the life of a royal. Yesterday, Kaus was learning about dance as well, so why shouldn’t you?” Iscodaya’s gaze shifted away from his instructor with the mention of his servant. Kaus was also learning etiquette, but he was in another sector that focused on servants.

“Because Kaus is going to be dancing with other people, I’m not,” Iscodaya replied, his tone bearing a lot of sadness. The instructor looked at Iscodaya, sighing with pity as he knew the young Prince had problems with how he viewed himself.

Iscodaya Kousa, the first ever being in Eon to not have any sort of magic. Due to classified information from the government of Phirines, no one knew if he was born without it or if it was removed. But his lack of it caused him to be isolated, not being able to take on the same lessons as his peers, and being bullied. His servant and brothers were the few things protecting him in Kramahir, but they were always busy.

His father, a feared warrior and King, often told off royals whose children would bully his son. But this made the young Prince more isolated, as no one wanted to speak or even be in his presence. Knowing this, Iscodaya’s instructor sat beside him.

“Hey, listen to me, your Majesty, you are a wonderful child,” he complimented, lifting his hands and rubbing his paws at Iscodaya’s head, careful not to let his claws touch him. “The people here might not like you, but that doesn’t mean you're unlikeable; you just need to find the perfect person that sees you for who you are.”

Hearing this, Iscodaya tried to hide underneath his robes, “Kaus and Daran say that I’m too mean, I even made Seno cry a few months ago.” The Instructor could hear the sniffles Iscodaya was making as he tried to hide his crying.

But instead of being mad, the Instructor smiled, “It’s because you think so much before you speak, and you naturally want to push people away. Sometimes, your Majesty, just say what’s on your mind, and don’t be afraid to let people in sometimes, okay?” Hearing this, Iscodaya peeked his eye out of his robe, it’s gaze looking at the Instructor, then looking down.

“O-okay.”

But in the present day, in another world known as Earth, Iscodaya accidentally lets out an intrusive thought, calling the girl next to him, Kei, beautiful. Though it was a bit embarrassing, Iscodaya didn’t mind it too much, for complimenting someone was very common in Eon, especially with the royals and nobility.

But as he saw Kei’s face light up with that familiar shade of red, Iscodaya remembered that he was in another world, “W-what’s with that reaction?” He asked, causing Kei to lightly pinch him.

“What’s with that sudden compliment?” She asked, her voice bearing the slight sound of an embarrassed anger. She quickly got her composure as she stared Iscodaya deep in the eye, “Why did you say that?” She asked, her hands on her hips, her brows a bit curled.

Iscodaya recognized the action and the tone of her voice, with a questioning gaze, he replied, “Cause~ it’s true?” Sounding like a question rather than an answer. Hearing this, Kei, yet again, got embarrassed.

She put a palm over her head, sliding it down out of frustration, “You-... you don’t romantically like me, right?” She asked, causing Iscodaya to quickly nod, his decisiveness a slight jab to Kei, “Then, can you stop saying things like that?”

Iscodaya’s eyes narrowed, “Is giving compliments like, something a couple would do?” Iscodaya asked, causing Kei to sigh.

“No, it’s not like that, it’s just that… compliments like calling someone pretty or beautiful are commonly used between couples or people who like each other.” Iscodaya let out a thoughtful murmur at Kei’s explanation.

“These human traditions sure are complicated,” Iscodaya thought, as he and Kei continued to search for clothes. But as Iscodaya looked through shirts, the thought of him slipping out made him a bit concerned, “I’m relaxing too much.”

While looking through clothes, Kei found a striped shirt that was black and red, “Iscodaya! Look, it fits you,” she called, putting the shirt in front of the Prince’s body. But as Kei was looking at Iscodaya, she realized how unique his eye color was. Bright red, a color she only thought belonged to characters in shows, “Can I ask Iscodaya, is your eye natural?”

Iscodaya stared up at Kei, her question one he and Kaus were constantly asked, “Yes, it is, so is Kaus’ hair, the school didn’t believe it at first.” But as Iscodaya was explaining, Kei looked deeper into Iscodaya’s face.

“Hey, you don’t look too bad,” she complimented. Iscodaya didn’t think about it too much at first, but as it set in, along with Kei’s earlier teachings, he couldn’t help but feel bashful.

With a bright red face, but a tipped-off expression, Iscodaya snarkily responded, “You like me or something?” This caused Kei’s eyes to widen as she instantly understood what Iscodaya meant.

“N-no it’s not like tha- I swear my head hurts.” The two continued going back and forth, with Kei trying to explain to Iscodaya the subtleties of speaking. But as they were finished, and Iscodaya got a few pieces of clothing through Kei’s recommendation, the two left the shop.

“So~ you satisfied?” Iscodaya jokingly asked, causing Kei to nod happily.

“Yup, though I would prefer for us to hang out a little bit more, but I had fun,” she remarked, leaving Iscodaya with a smile as she turned to leave.

But what shocked her was a tug, “Well,” Iscodaya’s voice rang out behind her, “I didn’t say we were finished… just that if you were satisfied with the clothes?” He stated, a clear lie, one he wasn’t trying to hide.

Kei turned around, her smile showing off her joy, “Well, if that’s the case,” she responded, slightly turning her head and baring a smug smile to slightly tease the boy, “Shall we go to the next location?”

The two hung out for a few more hours, eating food, talking about school, and generally walking a lot. Iscodaya learned a lot of things from Kei, but midway through his hangout, he completely forgot about the mission, as her energy and joy were too radiating that it blinded him.

Now realizing all of this, Iscodaya turned into a bashful mess as he walked through his apartment block. “I had too much fun,” he said to himself as he knocked at the door of his apartment. Though he was feeling a bit guilty for forgetting the mission, he couldn’t help but smile, for a rare time in his life, he enjoyed going outside.

“You naughty Prince.” But an angry voice got him out of euphoria, as the tall body of his blade, Kaus, leaned on the door, “Do you even KNOW how worried I was? I WENT AROUND SEVERAL BLOCKS TRYING TO FIND YOU!! I even told Master and His Highness that you’d be gone for ONLY A FEW HOURS!! YOU HAVE NO MERCY ON YOUR SERVANT!! YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW BRUTAL YOUR UNCLE CAN BE WITH ME!!!”

Though rare, Kaus’ scoldings go on for the whole day, and Iscodaya couldn’t do anything, for Kaus was in the right most of the time.