Prince Kaito

The man dressed in white held his head as he landed on boxes of fruit near a food stand. The bodyguards stand near him, extending a hand towards him.

“Are you alright, Prince?” the bulky bald bodyguard asked.

The other bulkier bodyguard, who had pushed Amada, stared intensely at her. “What are you doing to the Prince?!” The stubble on his beard and grey hair exposed his experience as a bodyguard.

“Prince? I have no idea who that man is.” Amada clarified. She looked past the bodyguard who blocked her view. She thanked him as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, “Sorry about that, mister. But thank you for catching me.”

Anojin and I ended our fight as we watched the young man drag his body out of the destroyed boxes.

“It’s… quite….al…right.” said the young man.

His voice was calm, and his tone was forgiving. For someone who looked like a high schooler, his personality was very mature. His hair slightly frizzed up from the fall.

After brushing away the dust from his white suit, Amada stared at the man’s beauty. The young man’s face was smooth and clean, like opening a new phone fresh out of the box.

He undid his messy bun and unleashed his long, silky blonde hair into the air. It flowed gently in the air as he swayed his head. Amada couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his appearance.

The young man kindly asked Amada with his charming tone, “Are you alright? I’m relieved I broke your fall. That was a rough landing.”

He tied his luxurious hair back into a messy bun, leaving his front hair strands exposed near the edges of his hairline.

His charming tone sounded genuine compared to Anojin’s forced persona. If I were that man, I would have been annoyed after randomly falling, maybe even angry. But instead, he kept his composure.

Amada paused for a moment. Her face turned crimson while gazing at him. “Oh, umm…”

…

Before Amada could finish her sentence, Anojin jumped in front of her with his hands extended. Her face returned to normal as she averted her eyes to Anojin’s back.

“Listen here, you rich boy. I don’t know who you are, but hands off, Amada.” Anojin insisted, his eyes glaring hard at the boy.

The bodyguards shielded the young boy, taking a defensive stand. A fight was brewing in the wind.

The bulkier bodyguard standing in front of him yelled with so much compassion. “Do you not know who you are dealing with?!”

“Not really,” Anojin sluggishly said, uninterested in the boy’s identity.

The bodyguard gasped loudly. “This is the Prince Kaito of Stalu. The younger brother of the 32nd King of Stalu!, King Endo Rissigala!”

Everyone surrounding the streets overheard the bodyguard reveal the prince’s identity. Some stopped walking while others stopped conversing with each other. The whole capital froze in time. Gossip filled the air with shocked gasps, spreading like a virus. “What!”

Prince Kaito shook his head in disappointment. “There goes my time visiting the capital. I should have brought a disguise.”

The bodyguard turned his body to Kaito and clapped his hands as he pleaded for forgiveness. “I’m so sorry, prince! Please forgive me.”

For such a menacing presence, his loving personality didn’t fit his physique.

“It’s alright, Gralan. It’s not your fault.”

Anojin continued ranting towards the prince. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the prince! I will not let you flirt with Amada!” Anojin sharply turned his head back to Amada and threw a thumbs-up and a warm smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Amada. I’ll protect you.”

Amada responded with a forced smile of her own to Anojin. “Thanks, but I don’t think I need any help at all.”

Prince Kaito gently waved his hands, “You must be misunderstanding. I do not want Amada. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt.” His words sounded sincere and thoughtful. However, Anojin took his words as shots fired at him.

“Oh, so you think I’m stupid?!” Anojin unholstered his shield from his back as he took an offensive stance. He barked, “Alright, let’s go!”

The prince’s guards shield him once again, preparing for a battle. The prince tried to calm everyone down before. “Everyone, let’s just calm do-”

“Get behind me, Prince!” rudely interrupted Gralan. “I’ll protect you even if it costs my life!”

Anojin might still have some fire left inside him from our little brawl and is pushing it towards Prince Kaito. Kaito looked like he did not want to fight, but Anojin was itching for one. So, before he caused a national incident, I ran towards Anojin to stop him.

“What are you doing, you dumb crusader?” I asked, arriving at the scene.

Anojin snapped back at me. “Shut up, you fake hero! I’ll deal with you after I take care of this guy!”

The prince carefully examined me behind his bodyguards. He couldn’t see my body because of his blocked view, except for my face. As his eyes locked onto my face, his face rose in excitement. “You!”

…

Gralan twisted his body and curiously asked, “Is everything alright, Prince?”

“That young man... Excuse me!” Prince Kaito shouted towards me.

When his eyes gazed in my direction, I didn’t think he was speaking to me. I turned my head around to check if someone was standing beside me. I moved around randomly, forcing his eyes to track me.

Kaito nodded at me once I stopped moving, confirming my suspicion. He really was speaking to me!

“Are you the one they call, Takumi?!”

I stood there with knitted brows, unsure how to respond. Why was that man asking about me? What does royalty want with me? How do I speak to royalty? I didn’t have proper speech training, so I hesitated while responding. “Umm… y-yes?”

As the bodyguards lowered their guard, they made room for Kaito to examine me thoroughly. The prince burst into joy. “It really is you! I saw you in the papers, but didn’t want to believe it. I came down from the mountain to verify it myself. Fate must have really brought us together.”

“You should join us for dinner today. I would like to speak with you. Of course, your friends are more than welcome to join if they wish.”

“Why do you want to talk to this faker of a hero?” Anojin butted into the conversation, questioning Kaito’s proposal. “He’s a fake h-”

Amada quickly covered Anojin’s mouth to prevent him from ruining the conversation. I was overwhelmed by the sudden invitation from Prince Kaito. Questions clouded my thinking. There was one thought that I could not erase: Why did he call me Takumi, and not Mr. Satori?

Curiosity had piqued my interest. On top of that, I recently set a new goal: find the Tri-Carver. And coincidentally, fate has made that goal easier for me. Thank you, fate for this scenario! I hope it doesn’t go downhill from here.

“Sure, I accepted your invitation.” I calmly exclaimed.

A warm grin formed on Prince Kaito’s face, pleased by my response. “Excellent! Let’s get going, then.”

…