Chapter 12: Hide and Seek

About half a year had passed since we took in the exchange students and started the special class.

「Why are you so stupid?! Anyone could figure that out!」
「Eeh, I don’t get it. Whyyy?」

As usual, Sig and Rin’s bickering echoed through the classroom.

「Okay, that’s enough!」

But lately Luka had been stepping in between them.

「At first I wondered how it would turn out, but it looks like it’s going to work.」

Watching from a little distance, Violet smiled warmly.

She’d been timid after first coming to the classroom, but Luka was originally the responsible eldest sister who looked after her younger siblings. Lately she seemed to have gotten used to things, and we often saw her scolding Sig and Rin.

「Watching them like that, they really do look like real siblings, don’t they?」

Luka put her hands on her hips to scold them; Sig tried to justify himself and got an extra dressing‑down for it. Rin laughed and pointed at the sight, and got scolded just the same, wilting on the spot. Rin is usually unflappable, but she seems to have a weak spot when being scolded by Luka.

「I had considered taking on that role myself, but it seems Luka‑chan is better suited to it.」

As she watched Luka gently pat the drooping heads of Sig and Rin and speak to them with a kind expression, Violet said it in a slightly wistful tone.

「Violet‑san, you feel less like an older sister and more like a mother—always watching over everyone.」
「Oh my.」

At my words, Violet’s eyes widened in surprise. Maybe calling her a mother was rude to someone still so young.

「In that case, that would make us husband and wife, wouldn’t it? You’re the father of this class, Sensei.」

But her reply was unexpected.

「Uh, um, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that—」
「Nooo!」

Yuuki wedged herself between the flustered Violet and me.

「I’m gonna be Onii‑chan’s bride!」
「My, my.」

Seeing Yuuki cling tightly to me, Violet chuckled.

「I’ve told you again and again: I’m already married, okay.」

I stroked Yuuki’s head and spoke gently.
Of course, I figured her words were the momentary infatuation common to children.
But I knew from experience that if I took it lightly and didn’t face it head‑on, I would only end up hurting her.

「Uuuh…」

Yuuki pouted and grumbled, but she didn’t look all that hurt.

「All right, shall we start class?」

Once things had settled, I clapped my hands and waited for the students to take their seats.
Chairs sized for Violet‑san and Yuuki, and Sig’s chair with a hole in the backrest are one thing, but Rin’s wheelchair—now on its fifteenth iteration, combining lighter weight with sturdiness—and the long bench for Luka to lie prone on are, if I say so myself, pretty solid pieces of work.

「Sensei, what are we doing today?」

The class had started running smoothly not just because Luka had taken on the role of Class Leader. I, too, had begun to get a feel—bit by bit—for what to do.
More often than not, things went better if I gave them a goal and let them try it in their own way, rather than just handing them knowledge and having them all do the same thing.

「How about we play hide‑and‑seek today?」
「Hide‑and‑seek?」

It was Sig and Luka who cocked their heads at my suggestion.

「That’s a kids’ game.」
「What is hide‑and‑seek?」

But for opposite reasons: Sig because he knew it, Luka because she didn’t.

「Of course it won’t be ordinary hide‑and‑seek. You’ll hide and run using magic, and the tagger will use magic to chase. Being seen is fine, but if you’re touched, you lose. If you avoid capture until dusk, you win.」
「Sounds fun! I’ll be it!」

No sooner had I finished, doubling as an explanation for Luka, than Rin shot her hand up and volunteered.

「Then I’ll do it too!」

Competing with her, even Sig raised his hand. He always gets fired up when it’s a contest, which is convenient.

「Sorry, but the tagger’s already decided.」
「Eeeh—」

At that, Sig voiced his displeasure.

「Who is it, Onii‑chan?」

It was rare for me to assign roles unilaterally; Yuuki asked, curious.

「Today you’re all going to—」

I smiled and said:

「—spend the day in the forest running from Violet‑san.」


* * *


「Well then, I’ll be off.」
「I’m counting on you.」

After the others ran to hide in the forest, I counted slowly to a hundred, then sent Violet after them. Watching her back disappear, I took a small red fragment from my pocket—one of my scales I’d plucked while in dragon form.

「O thing most hard that wards off all, O red that glitters in the sun, O dragon scale that is a part of me. Become my ears and bring me sound; become my eyes and show what they behold.」

I scattered five of them on the ground and spoke the spell; flames rose, and within them appeared images of the students. I’d given them matching pieces—the spell uses those as the medium to show their surroundings.

First to come into view was Yuuki, sprinting through the forest with Rin on her back. A wheelchair can’t handle running around in an unpaved forest, so I had the two of them pair up.

Rin looks small because of the wheelchair and her childish face, but her lower‑body tail is long. Measured from tail‑tip to crown she’s probably taller than the long‑limbed Violet. She must weigh around forty kilos. There was nothing to say about Yuuki’s leg strength but ‘impressive’ as she dashed through the woods with Rin on her back.

Meanwhile Sig and Luka’s pair seemed to be pushing through trackless forest. They didn’t need to pair up, but I’d told them to move in twos to match Rin and Yuuki. Both have physical abilities beyond humans; the speed at which they tore through brush and shoved aside thickets was no different from running on open ground.

And behind them, Violet followed at an unhurried pace, walking the path as if out for a stroll. Perhaps the composure of an elder—she didn’t seem all that intent on catching them.

「You sure gave them a pretty harsh set of conditions…」

I turned at the sudden voice to find Nina staring into the flames.

「You think so?」

It’s true the forest is vast and full of hiding spots. Common sense says there’s no way to find someone hiding alone in all that. But Violet is an elf. Even if this isn’t her home forest, I figured she’d have plenty of ways to track them down…

「Anyway. What about lunch?」
「Ah—whoops, I forgot. Well, there are plenty of nuts and fruit in the woods; if they get hungry, they can pick something and eat.」

I doubt they’ll have leeway to hunt… though if any pair would try, it’d be Rin and Yuuki—both by temperament and ability.

「I can cook extra while I’m making mine.」
「You mean for dinner?」
「I said lunch.」

Nina spoke with a slightly peeved look, as if to say I was missing the point.

「Ah, they’re not coming back at noon. Maybe I should’ve scheduled a proper break?」
「Honestly…」

Nina sighed in exasperation.

「Against Violet, there’s no way they’ll last till noon.」
「I’ve got Sig‑kun.」

Her remark and Violet’s voice came almost at the same instant.
What?!

I whipped around to see Violet had somehow already caught up to Sig and had his flailing arm in her grip. I’d only looked away for two or three minutes—when did she…?!

Luka, having managed to split from Sig, was sprinting through the trees at full tilt, glancing back as she ran.

「You are me, I am you. Stamp your feet, swing your arms—run on, Shadow Double.」

When Luka spoke the spell, the shadow crawling along the ground suddenly gained substance, took on her exact shape, and ran straight ahead. It left faint footprints, snapped thin twigs, and scattered leaves as it went. Seeing that shadow off, Luka carefully slipped into the shade of a thicket to leave no trace.

From outside she would be invisible, but from within the shrubs she had a clear view. Luka stood her triangular ears upright and focused on approaching presences. The senses of the Lycos Centaurs—fine hunters—are far sharper than humans’ in both hearing and smell. There should be nothing that could draw near without her noticing—

「Luka‑chan, got you.」

—except an elf.

「Eep?!」

Hanging down from overhead, she silently parted the shrub leaves; a supple arm stretched to loop around Luka’s neck, and Luka let out a strangled little cry.

「Huh. She doesn’t look like she’s putting much strength into it, but that grip won’t be shaken off easily—and if you force your way out, it’ll break your neck.」
「Violet‑san, don’t hurt her, okay?!」

At Nina’s cool commentary, I hurriedly shouted at the scales.

「Please rest assured—I would never be so clumsy.」

She slipped down to the ground and patted the trembling Luka on the head.

「Now then, two left.」

She said it with a smile, her eyes already locked squarely on the direction Yuuki and the others were in.