After leaving the classroom with Miyu,
"It's been a rough first day, huh? You okay?"
"Y-yeah. Thanks. You saved me… Hey, big bro."
"What is it?"
"Where are we?"
"Huh?"
When Miyu asks, I look around and realize we're in a completely unfamiliar place—a forest.
Uh… The classroom got way too noisy, and some classmates were trying to follow us, so I wanted to get as far away from the school building as possible.
It's good to create opportunities to talk with classmates, but in that situation, Miyu would've just gotten more confused.
Well, that aside, where are we?
Did we get lost?
Lost in our own school?
How big is this campus!?
Why is there a forest on the grounds!?
Someone's gonna get stranded here someday! (Probably!)
For now, maybe I should look for a map…
With a campus this big, there's gotta be one somewhere.
Wait, wouldn't it be faster to sense the energy around us and find someone?
As I'm thinking that, Miyu tugs on my uniform sleeve.
"Hey, big bro. Is that a student over there? There's someone."
"Where?"
"Over there, walking on that path."
"Good job, Miyu. Hey, you there! Can we talk for a second?"
I call out loudly to the male student for help.
Hearing my voice, the guy runs over to us.
"What's wrong? You look like you're in trouble…"
He's a kind-looking guy with blond hair.
I explain the situation to him.
"Yeah, we got lost. We were wondering if there's anyone around…"
"Hahaha… Well, this campus is huge. Every year, there's always at least one freshman who gets lost. I'll take you back to the school building for now."
He answers with a refreshing smile.
Wait, it happens every year!?
Do something about it, Kuoh Academy!
"Thanks. You really saved us."
"Thank you very much."
"No need to be so formal. I'm a freshman too."
"Oh, really? You seem to know the campus really well, though."
"Well, I have a friend who goes here. I've visited a few times. I was just visiting the club they're in earlier."
"I see. Are you joining that club?"
"Yeah. Uh…"
"Ah, my bad. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Hyoudou Issei, from Class 1-C. And this is my little sister, Hyoudou Miyu."
"I'm Hyoudou Miyu. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Kiba Yuuto, from Class 1-B. Nice to meet you, Hyoudou-kun and Hyoudou-san. …Huh? You're siblings, so are you twins?"
"No, I was asked that in class earlier, but we're step-siblings."
"I see. Well, here we are."
While talking with Kiba, we've arrived at the school building.
Whew, I was almost stranded on campus.
"Thanks, Kiba. You really saved us. Let me treat you to something next time."
"No need to worry about it, Hyoudou-kun. I have somewhere to be now, so let's catch up later."
"Sure. See you."
"Thank you, Kiba-san."
After Kiba guided us, we parted ways here.
Once Kiba's figure is completely out of sight, I check with Miyu.
"…Did you notice?"
"Yeah. Kiba-san isn't human, right? And there seem to be a few non-humans in this school."
"Yeah. He was good at hiding his presence, but it was clearly different from a human's. Ddraig, do you know anything?"
I decide to ask Ddraig.
I knew there were non-humans in this world, but this is the first time I've actually met one in this world.
Ddraig would probably know something.
'That's a devil.'
""A devil?""
Miyu and I ask Ddraig in unison.
'Do you remember what I told you before?'
At Ddraig's words, I search my memory.
"You mean the race that sealed you, right?"
'Exactly. In this world, the beings spoken of in myths actually exist. Devils are one of them, mentioned in the Bible. I told you before that long ago, there was a war between God and the angels, the fallen angels, and the devils, right?'
"Yeah. And after their numbers dwindled, the three factions called a truce, right?"
'Correct. One of those three factions is the devils.'
"But even though they're called devils, Kiba-san didn't seem evil at all. If anything, he seemed like a kind person."
As Miyu says, I didn't sense any malice from Kiba. I also think he's a good guy.
'Well, "devil" is just a term for a race. Just like humans, there are good people and bad people among them.'
I see, so just because they're devils doesn't mean they're all evil.
I'm glad Kiba isn't a bad guy. Even if we're different races, I'd like to get along with him from now on.
Just as I feel relieved at Ddraig's explanation—
Growl…
Miyu's stomach lets out a loud rumble.
When I look at Miyu, her ears are bright red.
"It's mean to laugh, big bro!"
Miyu starts hitting me lightly, protesting cutely.
Yeah, she's just too adorable.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm hungry too, so let's head to the cafeteria."
For now, I pat Miyu's head to apologize.
When I pat her head like this, Miyu's mood always improves.
"Yeah!"
It seems patting her head has cheered her up.
"Let's go, big bro!"
Miyu grabs my arm and starts running.
Was she that hungry?
"Alright, alright."
I let Miyu pull me along as we head to the cafeteria.
By the way, Miyu ended up ordering three full meals and finished them all.
Needless to say, everyone in the cafeteria was shocked by Miyu's appetite.
Well, I was shocked too. This is the first time I've seen her like this.
The cafeteria lady was even happy watching Miyu eat so deliciously.
---
After that, we spent a peaceful year as students.
Studying, participating in school events, spending time with our classmates.
And we've also become good friends with Kiba.
I think both Miyu and I had a very fulfilling year.
---
This marks the end of the prologue.