I was leaning against the side of our beat-up blue car—the kind of car that wheezes like an old man every ti you turn the key. The morning sun was already climbing, casting a soft glow on the pavent. My nerves, however, were anything but soft.
I glanced at the rearview mirror for the hundredth ti.
The interview.
Elena's interview.
I couldn't breathe right. My chest felt tight, and not just from the coffee I'd chugged on an empty stomach. This was Morning Star Elite Academy—the kind of place that made my paycheck look like a joke.
"Alright, Yuuta," I muttered to myself, "Just stay cool. Breathe. Pretend like you belong here."
Right on cue, the apartnt door opened, and I looked up.
And there she was.
Erza.
Wearing a flowing white dress, sumr hat tilted just right, a pair of sleek black sunglasses resting on her nose like she belonged in so luxury fashion comrcial. Her silvery-white hair shimred under the sunlight. Honestly, I forgot how to breathe again.
She took one look at , her cheeks faintly pink behind the shades. "Well?" she asked, casually. "How do I look?"
I blinked, caught in the mont. "You look... like an absolute goddess."
Her lips twitched into a smile she tried to hide, eyes soft behind the lenses. For a second, everything slowed down.
Then—
"Papa! Mama! What are you doing?" Elena burst between us like a cannonball of energy.
Erza snapped her attention away, flustered. "N-nothing. Just your mama checking how ridiculous your Papa looks this morning."
"Wait, what?" I protested.
She ignored and opened the backseat. Elena practically bounced inside, her small fra stuffed into the cutest navy-blue school uniform I'd ever seen. Her hair was tied up in two tiny buns, and her excitent buzzed like an engine.
She pointed ahead dramatically. "Captain Papa! Let's goooo!"
I grinned, saluting. "Aye aye, Captain Elena. We're off to conquer the world!"
"Ugh," Erza groaned as she got in. "The two of you are absolute idiots."
"But you love us," I said with a smirk, starting the engine. The car coughed like it was offended but agreed to move anyway.
She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately."
Scene Shift
The car pulled up slowly in front of Morning Star Elite Academy.
And... wow.
Even though I'd seen the pictures online, nothing prepared for this.
The front gate stood like sothing out of a dieval painting—massive, iron-wrought, carved with ancient symbols and grand archways. The stone walls were tall, ivy-covered, and centuries old. It looked less like a school and more like a fortress that trained young nobles to one day rule kingdoms.
Erza's sunglasses slid slightly down her nose. "Is this a school or a museum?"
"It's both," I replied. "They've been around for over 800 years. Built in the age of the old Libeus Empire."
"No wonder you're nervous," she muttered.
"I'm not nervous," I lied,but I do nervous like a hell.
Elena jumped down from the backseat and struck a pose with her arms in the air. "Morning Star Academy! Here cos Elena!"
And that was it.
No more nerves. No more stares. Just , my daughter, and the Queen herself.
The academy gates opened like the entrance to another world.
The road inside was lined with luxury vehicles—sleek, polished machines that looked like they'd never touched a single pothole in their lives. There were cars with doors that lifted like wings, others that shimred like liquid silver in the morning sun.
Everywhere I looked, I saw people who didn't just live comfortably—they lived above comfort.
A man in a tailored white suit stepped out of a gold-trimd limousine. I swear, his cufflinks were sparkling diamonds. A famous singer I recognized from TV was laughing by the fountain, casually sipping imported sparkling water like she owned the planet.
"Wait... did that guy just accidentally drive into the wrong complex?" soone muttered nearby.
"Nah," another voice whispered. "I think he's actually here for the interview."
"Seriously? In that car?"
My second-hand blue sedan groaned as I pulled into an empty spot, surrounded on all sides by vehicles that probably cost more than my apartnt building.
I felt it—the weight of eyes.
Mocking. Judging. Scrutinizing.
Every step I took getting out of that car was like walking through syrup. People didn't even hide their disgust.
"Who let the broke guy in?"
"Must be a delivery driver."
"He's seriously wearing that to Morning Star?"
I kept my head down. My throat was dry, and my hands were starting to sweat. Truthfully? They were right. I didn't belong here. I wasn't part of this glittering, picture-perfect world.
And then...
The passenger door opened.
And Erza stepped out.
In an instant, the air shifted.
Those sa people—who were laughing, judging, mocking—fell silent.
She wore a flowing white dress that caught the breeze just enough to look unreal. Her silver-white hair glistened under the sun, her sumr hat tilting just so, casting a soft shadow across her porcelain skin. The sunglasses only added to the mystery.
She didn't walk. She glided.
And she wasn't just beautiful. She was regal.
A presence.
An undeniable force.
"Who is she?" soone whispered.
"She looks like an angel."
"Is that the Snow Queen from that fantasy movie?"
"No way. She's even more stunning up close..."
Erza glanced around, completely unfazed. She'd seen this kind of reaction before. She expected it. After all, she was once royalty—no, she is royalty. It was in her posture, in her stride. Like the ground itself made way for her.
?
I wanted to sink into the pavent.
And then ca the second wave of murmurs.
"Who's that guy next to her?"
"He's probably her assistant."
"Or her bodyguard. Driver, maybe?"
"No way he's her husband, right?"
I must've looked like a ghost. My confidence had already evaporated sowhere back on the highway.
Erza finally turned to look at . She saw it all written on my face.
She rolled her eyes. Then, before I could even brace myself, she slipped her hand into mine and pulled closer.
Her voice was firm, quiet—but sharp as a blade.
"Don't look weak in front of fools."
I blinked. "Huh?"
"You're my mortal. Why are you letting their voices matter?"
I tried to smile. "Yeah... you're right."
She wasn't done.
She leaned in—loud enough for everyone to hear—and said with a little smirk, "Honey, I'm so excited to see our child enroll here."
My brain short-circuited.
Honey?
The crowd gasped louder than I did.
"Wait... did she call him—?"
"She married him?"
"The goddess is married to that guy?"
Erza kept walking like it was the most normal thing in the world, dragging along.
I looked at her hand wrapped around mine.
No matter what the others said... she still chose to walk beside .
Elena ran up and latched onto both our hands, skipping between us with a giant grin on her face.
As we walked toward the academy steps, our daughter bouncing in the middle, I realized sothing:
Maybe I didn't belong here. But we did.
And we were going to walk through those gates like we ant it.
No matter what ca next.
(Class C)
We stepped into the long corridor outside Class C, and I swear it felt more like waiting to et a king than sitting in a school for an interview.
Parents in expensive suits and dresses lined the hallway. So were whispering interview tips to their kids like battle commands.
One kid had a full-on tutor beside him, running through last-minute equations like it was a university entrance exam. Another parent was aggressively flipping through flashcards like their child was about to sit for national diplomacy training.
I looked down at Elena, sandwiched between and Erza, happily humming and holding both our hands like she was here for a picnic. She wasn't nervous. Not even slightly.
We took our seats near the end of the hall. The mont we sat down, Elena looked around wide-eyed, then tugged on Erza's sleeve.
"Mama, doesn't it look like our castle? The windows and everything?"
I smiled, but I tensed up inside.
Please don't—
Erza, who was calmly flipping a page of the fantasy novel (Arrest police officer in another world)
she brought, replied without looking up,
"Hmm. Yes. But our castle's entrance hall was at least three tis bigger than this cramped room."
I sighed internally. Great. Now everyone was looking at us like we were international criminals casually discussing money laundering.
Oh God, inner was panicking. If these people saw our tiny apartnt with the peeling wallpaper and the bathroom door that doesn't close properly... they'd probably hold a charity auction on the spot.
Just then—cough, cough—the assistant appeared at the door.
"The headmaster will now begin the interviews," she announced with a sweet, practiced smile.
The parents around us suddenly sat up straighter. The tension in the room was thick enough to slice with a plastic knife. Everyone began whispering, so even flipping their own notes. One guy beside was literally sweating onto his tablet.
anwhile, I was dying. Not taphorically—actually, spiritually dying from nerves. My hands were shaking like I was being summoned by a royal court for treason. I clutched them together and silently prayed to every god I rembered from ani, mythology, and history.
Next to ? Erza was sipping tea from a thermos like she was at a spa. And Elena? She had taken my phone and was playing a bubble-popping ga with the focus of a monk.
"My queen and my daughter, ladies and gentlen," I muttered under my breath.
The assistant read the first na. "Manola family. Please co in."
A sharply dressed couple stood up with their son and walked in with the confidence of people who were used to winning awards just for waking up in the morning.
Fifteen minutes later, we heard shouting from inside.
"Are you that stupid!?" the father bellowed.
The mother joined in, "You're a disgrace to our family na! Just say sothing intelligent!"
Then crying. From the child.
I stared at the floor, stunned.
"...Wow," I whispered.
Erza raised an eyebrow. "What's the point of an interview if they treat their heir like that?"
I sighed. "Guess so people are more worried about their na than their kid."
Erza leaned back, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. "It's strange."
"What is?"
She tilted her head slightly. "This world. The pressure on children... even royalty in my realm weren't expected to act like polished politicians at age five."
I chuckled quietly. "Yeah. Welco to the human world."
She didn't say anything else. Just looked down at Elena and brushed a bit of dust off her shoulder with a fondness she rarely showed in public.
And for a second—just one second—I felt like maybe we weren't so out of place after all.
To be continue.....
[End of Chapter]
Yuuta: Hey, legends! Thanks for reading this far—it really ans the world to us.
Yeah, we noticed... so readers vanished like ninjas in the night. But hey, we're not giving up. We're just getting started.
Elena: tears welling up Papa... did they break their promise to stay with us forever?
Yuuta: gentle pat on her head No, sweetheart. Maybe the story didn't shine bright enough for everyone. But that's on —we'll make it better, together.
Erza: Hmph. Enough moping. Readers co and go. True warriors don't whine—they grind.
So, Yuuta, focus. We've got a world to shake and a story to finish.
Yuuta: You're right. No more sulking.
To those still reading—thank you. You're the real MVPs. And to those who left... we'll write sothing so good, you'll have to co back.
So don't forget to comnt, share your thoughts, and stay with us—because this next arc?
It's going to blow. Your. Freakin'. Mind.
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