At the gates of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, Matthews brought his younger sister Mia, who had finally gotten her wish and bought several new dresses, to enroll.
After Mia took another talent test, she was allowed inside. Matthews carried his sister's luggage and followed her in. After paying the tuition, he escorted her to dorm room 519.
"Do your best at school, sis!"
"I know, big brother!"
Then his sister kicked him out, saying that boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory.
"Tsk, I'm your brother."
Matthews didn't argue with her. Instead, he wandered around the magic academy. A statue stood in the school plaza, standing over ten meters tall.
Matthews touched it with his hand. It felt like it was made of bronze.
"Such a waste to use so much bronze. If it were put to good use, they could cast so many bronze pots. There'd be enough to open hot pot restaurants all over the Imperial Capital!"
"Olifar, a great water deity. When he was young—"
Just as Matthews was—
"Smack—"
Matthews was engrossed in reading the plaque beneath the statue when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"Who is it!"
He turned and saw a pretty girl with long, wavy blond hair and blue eyes, gazing at him with her big, sparkling eyes.
"Hey, I spotted you from way over there. I can't believe it really is you!"
Matthews thought carefully for a moment. As far as he could remember, he hadn't met any beautiful girls from another world since coming here. If he'd transmigrated into someone else's body, then maybe he'd inherited a debt from some past romance.
But he'd brought his own body here. Who was this girl staring at him with shining eyes? Unsure, Matthews pointed at himself, then at the girl, and asked, "Miss, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
"No. Your name is Matthews, isn't it?"
As she spoke, she snapped open a folding fan Matthews had made. Matthews went through the customers he'd conned outside the Imperial Capital academy. Most of them had been chuunibyou kids. There was no way any of them had been a young woman of seventeen or eighteen.
"Ah, I remember now. You're the pretty girl named Kelly who I gave a gift to in Karim City."
The girl smiled at Matthews. "I really like the folding fan you gave me."
"Especially the line, 'To be with you is the longest confession of love.' Though I have no idea what these two birds you drew are. I looked through all the books I could find, but I couldn't find any birds like them."
Matthews thought to himself, Of course you haven't. These are mandarin ducks I drew. They definitely don't exist in this world.
"Haha, that doesn't matter. They're an ordinary animal from a legend in my hometown. The male and female each have only one partner for life, so they're used to symbolize faithful, unwavering love."
"Wow, really? Where's your hometown? I want to raise a pair of these animals too!"
Matthews awkwardly changed the subject. "They're only legendary animals. They don't exist in real life."
"Oh, right. What brings you to the magic academy?"
Kelly answered directly, "I'm a student here. But how come I've never seen you at the academy before?"
"I'm not a student. I'm just here to see my sister off to school."
Just then, Nina came over, ignoring Matthews completely. She said to Kelly, "Come on, let's head back to the dorm first."
Kelly nodded, then said to Matthews, "I'm off. Maybe we can chat again sometime."
"Sure!"
After Nina led Kelly away, she asked, "Why were you chatting with him? He's not a student here, is he?"
"No, he was just bringing his sister to enroll."
Nina looked at her grinning friend and asked seriously, "You haven't actually fallen for him, have you?"
"How could I? I just saw him today and went over to say hello!"
Nina continued, "Good. I hope not."
"Have you ever seen a bird called a mandarin duck?"
Nina saw her friend unfold the fan she'd gotten from Matthews again and said calmly, "Didn't we look it up before? I don't think there's any such creature."
"He just told me they're birds that symbolize love, and that each male and female has only one partner for life."
Nina was more down-to-earth than her friend, who longed for love. As the daughter of a small-town lord, she'd long understood what she needed if she wanted to establish herself in the Imperial Capital, where nobles abounded. It certainly wasn't some useless love that she could look at but never enjoy!
But she didn't contradict her friend. "Sure, if we get the chance, it might be nice to find a few and raise them."
Kelly sighed. "Sigh, he said they're just legendary creatures. They don't exist in real life. Do you think that kind of selfless love really exists?"
Nina looked at her friend, lost in her daydreams, and sighed inwardly too. Every young girl dreamed of love. She also longed for a prince who would come to marry her, riding a Saint Realm magical beast—the Seven-Colored Unicorn.
Then she thought it over and came to her senses.
"Maybe it does. I believe you'll meet someone like that someday!"
After the two of them left, Matthews lost interest in the statue and turned to go. Just then, his sister Mia came out with her roommate.
"Big brother, this is my roommate!"
"Hello."
"Hello, Mia's brother."
As someone who'd been through it all, Matthews knew that his little sister, who was almost eight, was enrolling for the first time. As her big brother, he had to make her look good, so he said, "Come on, I'm treating everyone today. Let's celebrate your first day at school."
"Wow, really? Long live big brother!"
As Mia's little girl roommates cheered, a boy's delighted voice rang out.
"Wow, big brother, it really is you!"
"Huh? What's going on?"
Matthews wondered if he had any younger brothers here. Then he saw Winter, the little boy from the Utteridge Clan whom he'd first conned into buying a folding fan for twenty gold coins. Winter was looking at him with delight.
Matthews said guiltily, "Ah, it's you."
Seeing Winter gaze at Matthews with admiration, Mia gave her brother a look that clearly said, You made this mess, so you deal with it!
Winter, already acting like an old friend, asked Matthews, "Big brother, where are you all going?"
"Ah, I'm taking my sister and her roommate out to eat. Want to come with us?"
"Really? That's great! Come on, I know a place with delicious food."
With that, he immediately headed for the academy gates. Mia looked thoroughly unhappy. In her eyes, Winter was an idiot whom her brother had tricked into buying a worthless folding fan for twenty gold coins.
"Big brother, you deal with him."
When Winter saw that Matthews hadn't followed, he turned back and called, "Big brother, come on!"
"Ahem, I'm coming, I'm coming."
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