Careful, careful~

"..."

Melinda glared at her in silence, her eyes so severe that the line between physical and mental damage was beginning to blur.

"I…! I can explain…! U-KYAAAH!?"

Bjorki Em'ralido sat up, hurriedly explaining while massaging her bum, but got interrupted by Melinda simply throwing the blanket over her and then picking the created bundle up.

"Wh-what?! HEY! R-release me! Help! HEEEEELP!"

Bjorki, in the makeshift sack thrown over Melinda's shoulder, began to kick up a fuss and screamed.

"..."

Alas, it was all for naught as her captor was too indifferent, and her expression would only turn more severe with each hit the blue-haired girl landed on her from within the blanket.

Melinda exited the dormitory and casually strolled towards the Academy's gate while her rather noisy baggage was getting all the attention.

"...gh…"

She let out a scoff when Bjorki's elbow jabbed her under her ribs, but then her expression turned brighter once she spotted not just Zane but also Catherine and even Ross waiting for her.

"Cath~! Oh? What's with the baggage?"

"HEEEELP! I, THE ROYAL PRINCESS BJORKI EM'RALDIO, AM BEING ABDUCTED! HEEEEELP!"

The gold-haired girl raised her brows, seeing the large suitcase carried by Ross, but before the black-haired girl could answer her, the blue-haired one, indeed the makeshift sack, attempted to rupture the eardrums of everyone within her range.

"Y-you see… I was g-going to go b-back home f-for the b-break but my r-reservation for the teleportation a-a-array got delayed because of u-un-unexpected m-maintenance…"

Catherine furrowed her brows at the blanket Melinda was carrying, especially since she recognized the pattern of the blanket she had in her room, and said, without acknowledging the screams.

"You're looking great, Ross. Keep up the good work!"

"Bu-hi."

"HEEEELP!"

Melinda winked at the hooded Pigkin Orc, who responded with a short snort of acknowledgment, soon interrupted by yet another Bjorki scream.

"Is that so? Would you happen to have enough time for a meal? I don't know whether Zane already invited you, but we would be very happy if we all had a meal together~"

"I would also like to ask ahead of time… are you adamant about going back home for the break, or would you consider a little journey to Koboldia Town with us?"

Melinda smiled and offered, seconded by Zane, who tilted his head in a friendly manner and nodded encouragingly at the girl and her monster.

"O-oh?"

Catherine perked up, clearly not opposing to the idea, putting one hand to her mouth and then discreetly glancing at Ross with the corner of her eye.

"W-we'll gladly jo-join you for th-that meal a-and d-d-di-discuss th-that little journey."

"Great~!"

The black-haired girl nodded after a moment of consideration, making Melinda cheer out with a big smile.

"ARE ALL OF YOU DEAF!? HEEEEELP!"

"..."

Bjorki fought against the blanket fiercely, unknowingly earning herself a scornful glare from Catherine, which the gold-haired girl picked up on and breathed out.

"Sorry for turning your blanket into a trash bag, but I found a rather large piece of garbage rummaging through your room. Oh, I broke a piece of wall and the door to your room, by the way."

"HEEE… who are you calling a piece of garbage…!? KYAAAH!? W-watch it!"

"...?!"

Melinda ended up explaining apologetically before shaking the makeshift sack and causing the girl inside to cry out in anger while Catherine stared at the scene in disbelief.

"Sh-she was in m-my r-room!? Wh-why!?"

"I dunno. Oh, look. A garbage man."

Catherine finally gasped, earning herself an approving look from Zane because of what she focused on, to which Melina shrugged her shoulders before glancing back and snickering.

The person she referred to was none other than Bojrki's older brother, Magnus Em'raldio, the crown prince of Emeraldios Empire.

The impressively tall and muscular blue-haired man was literally charging at the gold-haired girl, straying off the paved path and cutting it through the lawn.

It was clear that he wasn't coming there to talk but to valiantly take back his captured little sister without any room for questioning or negotiation involved…

*WHAM*

"GHRAAAOOOOOOOGH!"

"!!!"

Only that the next moment, Zane's size increased with such speed as if he shot out like a geyser, only to then fall forward over Melinda, slam four of his now six elbows against the ground, and then open his bear-trap-like jaws, unleash a chilling roar that stopped Magnus right in his track.

Magnus was a towering figure, but even so, he had to look up at the fearsome visage of the monstrous man… nay, the straight-up white-haired monstrosity with a myriad of combat-knife-length jagged triangular teeth, drooling while staring down at him with its distorted venomously-green eyes that seemed void of any semblance of reason.

"Thank you, Zane. Hello, Your Highness."

"..."

Melinda stepped out from underneath the monstrosity, patting its thigh before approaching its arm and speaking to the threatened blue-haired man.

*thump*

"UGHFNN…!"

"I'm glad you're here. Take her, and prepare her stuff. She's spending the winter break with me, and we're going on a trip to Kobolida Town, so make sure she's prepared."

The gold-haired girl gently lobbed the blanket containing the blue-haired princess at Magnus's feet and declared after Bjorki's pitiful cry.

"Maaaag…!"

The blue-haired girl cried out, hurriedly trying to stand up, tripping and finally stumbling her way to her older brother behind whom she hid, clinging to his leg.

"She's not going anywhere, and you're going to answer for treating her like the…."

Magnus straightened his back and declared, braving through Melinda's glare and responding with his own sharp stare.

"Nho hone… ahhshed yhoy fhor yhour ophinhion…!"

*tsssss*

"!!!"

But the next moment, the monstrosity growled lispingly, drooling all over the place - and each spot that came in contact with its saliva would start melting while unleashing copious amounts of stinging gray smoke, causing the blue-haired man to grab and push his sister behind him while also keeping away from the corrosion.

"Zane…? That's enough. You… you can stop, don't you…?"

"...!"

Interestingly, the next person to address the monstrosity wasn't Magnus with a challenge, but Melinda with worry, gently touching one of its elbows and asking in concert, resulting in the creature flinching and…