#syokurusu

I’ve been short for as long as I can remember.

When my class was lined up from shortest to tallest, I was always the first one in line.

To no surprise, others would make fun of me by calling me “Shorty” or “Tiny”.

To be fair, maybe they had no ill intentions and were only teasing me because they thought my reactions were funny.

Still, it really pissed me off because that's a sensitive subject for me!

That’s why I researched how to get taller, and even took karate lessons so I could get strong enough to show them who’s boss despite my height! Or so I’d thought…

Nobody in my class took my concerns seriously.

“It’s fine to be short though, isn’t it? It doesn’t actually matter.”

“I agree! Syo-kun, your cuteness is part of who you are. I want you to stay like this forever!”

Sheesh, they don’t get it at all…

I don’t want to be cute! I want to be cool!

Driven by my annoyance, I tried even harder.

“Hmm, so taking calcium alone isn’t enough… What about vitamins then…”

“Syo-chan, you need to go outside and get some sunlight as well.”

My little brother Kaoru noticed me mulling over it and chipped in with his advice.

“Sunlight, huh… Then I’ll go jog five kilometers every morning…!”

I kept researching how to get taller.

I recorded my height in a journal and kept experimenting.

“Urgh… I’m not getting taller at all.”

Every day, I would measure my height by marking it on a pole, but noticed no change.

“Ah, I grew five millimeters.”

“Seriously?!”

As I was doing this every day, Kaoru started joining me to measure his height as well.

Yet, for some reason, Kaoru was the only one getting taller.

I don’t get it. I’m trying way harder than him!

Not only that, we’re twins, and I’m the older brother! Why is my little brother Kaoru getting all the height…

What on earth am I doing wrong!?

As we kept measuring our heights together every day, Kaoru grew one, then two centimeters over me.

At some point, our mother piped in.

“Smaller son of mine, the size of your body has nothing to do with how grand you are as a person. Become an outstanding man!”

She would give me such nonsensical advice and...

“Don’t refer to me as ‘smaller son’!”

Dammit… Just watch me!

… But she did have a point… You can always build up your personality despite how you look.

All right!

That’s when I made my decision to aim to become a chivalrous man!

The first step was to get a servant. I think this idea was inspired by the drama I was into at the time.

Anyway, a man with authority has servants! At least that was what I thought.

“I’m recruiting for servants!”

I called out to my classmates.

“And?” “What? Is this some kind of game?”

Of course, my classmates barely reacted.

“That’s right, I want servants! From this day forward, I declare myself as a prince!”

“Riiight.”

“...”

They brushed me off…

No, I can't let this get to me! This is because I’m still not up to snuff! I’m sure someone will be glad to become my servant once I assert dominance! 

Believing that to be the truth, I kept trying.

I trained my body and my soul, and even rewatched my favorite drama so many times that I memorized it! I worked hard enough to deserve to be a prince!

… But I was met with failure.

I ended up graduating from middle school with not one person agreeing to become my servant.

“RAHHH! This time for sure!”

I yelled to myself as I grabbed my favorite hat the day before the entrance ceremony for Saotome Academy.

This is the last time I'm gonna try! I’ll give up if I can’t find anyone.

That’s what I would think to myself sometimes.

“What’s wrong, Syo-chan? What do you mean ‘this time’?”

My roommate Natsuki asked me out of curiosity.

Not only is he extremely tall, he’s also annoying and loves cute and small things.

His height alone already triggers my inferiority complex…

“Hehe, Syo-chan, you’re so cute when you’re trying so hard!”

He gives me that IRRITATING grin that I would imagine he would make when playing with a dog or a cat.

“Shut up!”

Not only does he call me “cute”, the word I hate being called the most, it stings even more that he says it with no bad intent.

Dammit! I’m so pissed off. Argh, I swear I’ll get back at everyone by getting a servant!

After the entrance ceremony, I called for candidates to be my servant in my class!

“Anyone who wants to join my retinue, raise your hand~!”

I raised my voice as much as I could, but got no response.

Hey, don’t look at me like that! Stop whispering to each other!

Ahh, dammit! I see… So asking for servants is a futile effort? Was this all pointless??

No, I won’t believe it! Thanks to my hard effort last year, I managed to grow a whole centimeter. I’m going to become a great man for sure! And a great man naturally attracts servants!

“…!! Quit ignoring me! Not even one of you is interested!?”

I yelled, partly out of desperation.

Whatever. If this is all pointless, then so be it. But I’m not going to give up so easily. I’m going to give whatever I’ve got.

“M-me!”

“...”

… Huh? Did someone say “me”?

Huh…? Really…? I’m not hearing things?

As I looked at the person that had raised their hand timidly, it turned out to be that rude girl that had mistaken me for a middle schooler this morning.

Did my shouting scare her? What if she answered because she felt intimidated by me…?

If that was the case then I’d feel sorry for coercing her.

I had to make sure… so I asked her again.

She’s okay with it… She actually WANTS to be my servant.

FOR REAAAAAAL???

It’s real… I got one—a person that recognized my dominance!

This is crazy. I’m overjoyed!

A servant! Getting one was evidence that I was indeed a great man!

Yeah, so everything I did wasn’t in vain at all!

Alright! I'll work harder to become an even greater man for the sake of my newly found servant too~!

Afterwards, we had to pick partners, so I immediately partnered up with my servant.

The name of my servant and partner was Haruka Nanami. She was a bit of a klutz but an earnest and good person.

The next day…

“Good morning, Your Highness!”

When I entered the classroom, Haruka was cleaning my desk.

“Yo… Hey, what are you doing?”

“Um, I wondered if there was anything I could do as your servant! And so I was doing what I could in my own way…”

She said a little bashfully while grasping the cleaning cloth tightly in her hand.

… She was so committed! Was it just me or was she even more committed than me?

“Oh, and… I’m sorry about yesterday. I was so rude during our first meeting…”

Oh, right. The first impression she made was terrible.

She had mistaken me for a middle or elementary schooler… But… she meant no harm.

“It’s fine. It didn’t bother me.”

“Thank you so much! Oh, how kind! I’m so happy to be the servant of such a great person!”

‘I’m so happy to be the servant of such a great person.’

That line echoed inside of my head.

Happy… she said she’s happy…

… Of course she would be! After all, I'm such a CHARMING prince! Uh-huh, people who get it, get it! Hehe~ I’m so going to boast to Natsuki about this today.

“Um! I will work hard as your servant, so feel free to tell me what to do.”

“Roger! Oh, in that case, join me after school today. Let’s explore the academy grounds together!”

“Okay!” 

Haruka had a big smile on her face. Ah, this feels great.

I do have a younger brother, and though he’s very attached to me, we're the same age; and he has been a little cheeky recently, so it’s not like he idolizes me.

“Hah, aren’t you in high spirits, Shorty.”

“He must be happy to have found a servant. However, this is like watching children play pretend.”

In the corner of the classroom, Ren and Tokiya were whispering to each other.

Oh, and by the way, I got to know Ren and Tokiya during the orientation day and we’ve been stuck together ever since. We’re frenemies!

It kinda seemed like they were talking about me, but I didn't mind!

An outstanding man doesn’t get bothered with small things! Yeah!

… But it did irk me a bit when Ren called me “Shorty”.

I’ll tell him to stop doing that next time.

Then after classes…

“Huh? Where is she…?”

We'd agreed to meet in front of the classroom. I've been waiting for a long time, yet she still hasn't arrived.

Was cleaning taking her this long? Or did she realize she hated being a servant after all?

If the latter was the case then we’ll stop the servant thing so she can continue normally as my partner…

“Your Highness! I apologize for being late!”

Haruka was panting frantically as she came running at full speed.

“So—since we’re going… exploring… I prepared... a few things! Ah—”

After sprinting over to me, Haruka staggered.

“Watch out!”

I instantly caught her.

“...!!! U-um, s-s-s-s-sorry!”

As I held her in my arms, she turned bright red and kept apologizing.

“Ahh! I’m also sorry! I didn’t think…”

I released her and quickly turned my face away.

“Oh… no… You saved me. Thank you…”

Clearly embarrassed, she hung her head and thanked me in a small voice.

Her face was so red. Ah, that’s true. She was… a girl after all.

… Even if she wasn’t my servant, she was my partner, so if anything were to happen, I have to protect her!

“That’s quite the luggage you carried here. What is it?”

“Oh… um, I brought the floor plans of the academy buildings, also sweets, and then I also brewed some coffee… As a servant I had to prepare properly…”

“I see, you’ve worked so hard, thank you!”

She… was a bit strange, but she really was a good and hardworking person.

“Ah… um, was I helpful?” 

She asked insecurely while glancing upwards at me.

“Oh, you’re really thoughtful! You’re right, maps and rations are essential for going on an adventure! Yup!”

Was she trying to play along? Or could it be that she's just really into this kind of stuff? If that’s the case, I would be so happy! I don’t want her to feel obligated, so I would love for her to enjoy herself.

“I’m glad!”

She breathed a sigh of relief. She’s so dedicated!

“Hey, why are you working so hard? Even if you didn’t do much for me, I would already be satisfied if you just kept me company!”

“Ah… That’s because I was so happy.”

“Huh…? Happy about what?”

Did I do something for her?

“You let me be your servant and partner, Syo-kun. I know that I’m the one who offered to be your servant, but I was so glad that you allowed me to. That’s why I wanted to be as useful as possible.”

She said that as she blushed bashfully with a bright smile.

I’m the one getting the most out of this. I was overjoyed to have someone who would go along playing this game with me…

Yeah, I’ll do my best, too! I’ll become like a prince and protect my servants!

“Thank you! Then I’ll definitely protect you as a prince! There’s no point in being a prince if I can’t do that. I’ll do my best to have you follow my lead!”

“Waa! I’ll follow you for the rest of my life, Your Highness!”

This really does sound like a game of pretend.

If Tokiya and Ren heard this, they’d probably mock me for playing around like this at this age.

But I think this is fine for the two of us.

I figured that this is just another form of trust.

I was happy that she offered to be my servant, and I guess she wanted to return her gratitude in her own way. 

I figured I’d let her do what she wanted for now, but I wasn’t trying to be literal about these roles. 

I was the prince, and she was my servant. It would be ideal if we just respected each other and manage to make awesome songs!

Ah, actually, what kind of songs did she make?

“Great! As your prince, I command you to make a song and play it for me!”

“Of course! Ah, I just came up with a song just now. Can I try playing it?”

She declared to me with excitement as she points to the piano in the corner of the classroom.

“What?! You already thought of one?!”

My eyes flew wide open from shock. Were songs that easy to make?!

“Yes! I thought of so many songs as I was talking to you, your Highness!”

She pumped her fist with a reassuring smile.

Ah… She was really enjoying herself. She could make a face like that?

“I see… Then go ahead and play it. I’ll listen.”

“Sure!”

She started playing the piano and…

Ah… Her expression changed. I’m floored…

She was so timid when I would talk to her, but she was so confident when she was playing the piano. So cool!

Why was she so different? Is the one playing the piano really her? She made this song?

I could see her playing right in front of me, and yet her personality did such a 180 that I started to doubt what I was seeing.

This is crazy… I can’t take my eyes off of her…

Did I… end up partnering up with someone extraordinary…?

I can’t let this song beat me!

As a prince, I can’t let my servant’s song overpower me.

I would have to make sure to do my lessons and become good enough to sing her songs! If I couldn’t, then I didn’t have the right to say that she’s my servant.

I wouldn’t be able to continue to be her prince.

I must keep my word! I wouldn’t be worthy as a man, otherwise!

“... Um… How was it…?”

After she finished playing, she asked me as she timidly looked up at me.

Does she seriously not realize how mindblowing her songs are? Anyone would agree that that song was impressive.

Have more confidence! You should be proud of yourself.

If she didn’t know, then I’d make her know!

“That was a great song! I felt passion light in my heart! Instead of going out for an adventure, let’s do some lessons! Let’s make a terrific song and debut together, partner!”

I patted Haruka’s shoulder.

“P… partner…”

Haruka’s face goes tomato red from surprise.

Huh…? Did I say something weird?

“Umm, s-so… you’re okay with someone like me being your partner… instead of a servant?!”

She asked me, flustered.

“Huh? Yeah, we’re paired up, which means we’re partners. Am I wrong?” 

“No, you’re right! I’m on cloud nine! I’ll do my very, very, very best!”

She didn’t seem to be saying that just to be polite. What was the celebration about? Why was she so happy?

I was the one who should be happiest about this. Why was she looking at me with so much glee?

Not only was I overjoyed when she became my servant, she even ended up a partner that could even make astounding music. I couldn’t be happier as a singer myself! I need to step up my game!

“It is an honor to be Your Highness’ partner! I will make wonderful songs for you!”

She looked at me with a gaze of respect, brimming with delight.

I was a bit embarrassed, but I’ll do my best to meet her expectations!

But… did I do anything to deserve being looked up to this much…?

… GASP! Wait, she understands how amazing I truly am!

Is that why she’s so amazed by me! I see, I get it now!

People who get it really get it! I see now. In the future, yours truly is going to be a famous star and you’ll be a famous composer!

That’s my prediction for us! We’ll do our best to make that come true, partner!