Getting Used to Earth

The fridge opened, revealing a desolate place, the sight causing Kaus's face to grimace. “Your Majesty? When was the last time we went to get groceries?” The swordsman asked, causing Iscodaya, who was writing down his homework, to sigh.

“Wasn’t it your turn to get groceries this week?” The Prince asked, causing Kaus to avert his gaze, “I swear, you’re getting too addicted to that console, I’ll have to call in Uncle Jion to discipline you again.”

At the mention of his name, Kaus flinched, “I-I am not addicted,” he protested, staring Iscodaya deep in the eye, begging. “I am still doing my sets every day, I am not lazy nor undisciplined, the presence of Master would not make a difference.”

Iscodaya sighed as he scratched the back of his head, “Fine, but you’re spending too much time on that thing, I’ll have Yuuma sign you up to kendo or volleyball.” In the end, the two went out to the night streets, going into a local curry restaurant that caught their tongue.

The two had spent over two months in the world known as Earth; though they had a rocky beginning, the two had been cruising ever since Iscodaya found out about the internet. Studying human culture and trends, the Prince and his servant were getting better at their roles.

Especially in school.

“Hey, have you seen this picture?” A girl asked, shoving a phone in front of Kaus. The swordsman giggled uncomfortably.

“Y-yeah,” he quickly responded, trying to give out vibes he didn’t want to talk. But the girl insisted, “Hasegawa, class is about to start.” he stated, yet the girl ignored it.

But

“Get back to your seat, Hasegawa,” an irritated voice remarked behind the girl, and instantly, she yelped.

“K-Kousa, I-I didn’t see you there,” she fearfully reacted as she shuffled back to her seat. Seeing this, Kaus sighed.

“Did something bad happen?” Kaus asked as his Prince sat down beside him. Iscodaya didn’t initially respond, but then.

“I didn’t get a legendary character in my mega roll.” Hearing Iscodaya’s reasoning, Kaus couldn’t help but think it wasn’t a good one. But due to him knowing he’d get a stinkeye or an earful if he mentioned it, he kept silent.

During class times, as Kaus had expected, Iscodaya shone brighter than any student in the classroom. Always asking questions, noting everything down, and always answering, even if he was wrong or right. This made him a bit of a beacon at first, but because of his relatively grumpy personality, he never maintained that attention.

But what surprised Kaus was that during lunchtimes, instead of going by themselves, Iscodaya insisted they hang out with Yusuke and his friend group. Though the friendlier they got with them, the more questions they would ask about their background.

“Say~ not to mean it in a bad way, but you guys don’t look like normal Filipinos,” a girl from the friend group stated. This was a question Iscodaya and Kaus knew was going to come up eventually; after researching their supposed country of origin, Iscodaya really wanted to smack the scientists who gave them it, for the natives and they looked nothing alike.

But, with enough brainstorming, the two got their excuse, “Yeah, we get that a lot, our grandparents were from Russia before they moved to the Philippines when they got married. But our parents were born there, and coincidentally, their partners also had the same situation,” answered Kaus, his practice making his excuse perfect.

“Our parents basically lived all their lives there, so they consider themselves Filipinos, so do we by default,” added Iscodaya, causing Yusuke’s friend group to nod in acknowledgement. The two had even learnt the language of their country of origin, in case they needed to prove it.

Overall, the two were getting comfortable with their school environment.

Almost too comfortable.

As Iscodaya was on his notebook, solving an assignment set for next week, a cold object touched his cheek, causing him to reel back a bit. A giggle came from his side, as he adjusted his glasses, “Not funny, Kei.”

Iscodaya looked up from his desk, only to see the smiling face of Kei, her hand holding a boxed drink. “It was pretty funny,” she remarked, giving Iscodaya the box. “It’s only fair for me to tease you if you keep asking for favors, it’s like you see me as a servant.”

Iscodaya rolled his eyes at the statement as he folded his book and stood up. He leaned against the window, his gaze turning away from Kei. The young girl chuckled as she came closer to him.

With her arms behind her back, she asked, “Aww~ is our Prince upset? I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” Her tone was taunting, treating Iscodaya like he was a child. This made him a bit annoyed, as he grabbed her chin and lifted it to silence her.

“Shut your trap,” he replied with slight anger, but as an answer, Kei smugly smiled. The two went back and forth, with Kei endlessly teasing Iscodaya, while the young boy was trying to make her stop, though not in a hostile way.

The friend group, seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh, “Of course it would be Kei to not care about how scary Iscodaya is,” commented Yusuke, as he continued to giggle. Though one man was not laughing with the others.

Kaus watched on, his face unreadable, but his thoughts, “So that’s why you wanted to hang out with them more.” Kaus didn’t know what to feel, happy for his Prince showing more emotion than normal, or concerned that he might get too attached.

But this conundrum he had was interrupted with a surge of mana. Phrines was calling. With an excuse to go to the bathroom, Kaus isolated himself as he used his mana to create an orb. On the other side was one of the Three Generals of Phirines, Serioth, and what he said to Kaus caused his eyes to widen.

Five minutes went by, as Kaus returned to the classroom. Though it looked like nothing was wrong with him, Iscodaya noticed his tapping fingers, a clear indication that there was something wrong. And the question in his mind was answered as Kaus approached him.

“Auntie wanted to talk to you,” he openly remarked, but Iscodaya knew what it truly meant: Phirines needed him.

With a sigh to play the part, Iscodaya stood up, “What does Mom want now?” he muttered as the two left the classroom. The duo found a private place, and there, Iscodaya cleared his throat, “What is it, Irom?” He asked, his voice completely serious.

Kaus bowed slightly as he began to recount, “Your Majesty, Braja has cut ties with Phirines. His Highness asked for you, Prince Daranya, Prince Senodaya, and their swords to find out why.”

Hearing this, Iscodaya slowly took off his glasses, revealing his scarlet eyes, “And let me guess, the Eternals have reinforced their borders with us?” He asked, causing Kaus to nod, “...The tribes of Eternals and Phirines are about to go to war again, and Braja decided to cut ties now… what cowards.”