Terres regained his consciousness but couldn't open his eyes.

He was laying on a soft bed and someone was caressing his head.

"M-mom...?"

Terres made a huge effort and lifted his eyelids that seemed to be weighted with lead.

But what he saw wasn't his mother or even his father but the black-haired heroine that for some reason was a boy.

The wrong-gender heroine, Meru seeing him open his eyes and look straight at him flinched and quickly took back his hand.

"I-I see you are awake now, how long were you going to sleep?"

He said while turning his face away to at least partially hide his blush.

Hmm...?

"How long was I out?"

Terres asked and Meru perked up since it looked like he won't be asked about all that head-patting.

"You've been like this for almost two days, you know! What's going on with you? I was the one being hurt! Why are you the one recuperating!?"

"Uuu... I'm being scolded..."

To tell the truth, Terres was still dizzy, he didn't plan to say that out loud.

"N-no, it's not like that...!"

After hearing the brown-haired boy sad voice and seeing teardrops in the corners of his violet eyes, Meru got flustered and grabbed Terres's hand without thinking.

"Hey, I'm not mad, you know? I was worried. Worried, you know? Your spirit was dancing around you like crazy but you still didn't wake up so I got nervous!"

And he tried to explain himself.

"Trispi did...?"

Terres looked around and indeed, his green spirit was zipping through the air above him emitting as much healing light as it could.

"Thank you, Trispi."

Terres smiled and raised his hand. The green spirit blinked and landed on the presented palm, it looked like it was nuzzling against it and the tickling sensation made Terres laugh.

Meru looked at him surprised and then he realized that he was holding on to his other hand and hurriedly let go, he even hid his hands behind his back as if to make sure he's keeping track of them.

"How are you feeling...?"

He asked nervously and Terres looked at him and tilted his head.

"Normal, I guess."

"Then will you be going to the entrance ceremony or do you prefer to stay in bed...?"

At Meru's question, Terres blinked a few times.

"But... entrance ceremony is in two days..."

He said.

"No, It was supposed to be in two days after the day we met, and you have been unconscious all that time, so it's today. In like an hour or so, actually."

"Eh...!?"

Shocked Terres stared at Meru, then he looked at the window while realizing that he's in a room that he saw only through the TV screen - the dormitory's room for the first year students, and then back at Meru.

"In an hour!?"

He repeated horrified.

"Yes."

Meru raised his brow and confirmed.

Without further ado, Terres jumped out of his bed, turns out that he was wearing his pajama so he got a little grumpy. It meant that somebody not only changed his clothes but even rummaged through his luggage! But since there was so little time he just ignored the fact and took it off, seeing him strip, Meru gasped and hurriedly looked away.

Thanks to his knowledge of the game he knew that the dormitory rooms had their own bathrooms so he just entered there without asking any questions.

And thanks to that Meru was left alone in the room. He was already ready for the ceremony, he actually came to check up on Terres since he was a bit worried about him.

With nothing to do, he just stayed in his place and nervously rubbed his left arm.

He flinched at the sound of running water and his face got hot.

"No! What am I thinking about!?"

He Said to himself and shook his head, but his eyes subconsciously wandered towards the bathroom door.

Terres took a whopping thirty minutes to bath and walked out of the bathroom tightly wrapped in bath-towels and walked towards the wardrobe, just as he expected, his clothes were already neatly placed inside.

"Why did you cover your chest too!? Aren't you a man?"

Meru couldn't resist asking him with a chuckle when he saw him.

"Hey! I'm self-conscious, alright? Now turn around!"

Terres scoffed at him and grabbed the edge of his towel securely.

"Huh!? Why?"

Meru tilted his head and Terres blushed.

"Because I said, I'm self-conscious, haven't I!?"

He stomped his feet like a hissy-princess, Meru sighed and turned his back at him.

"And don't peek!"

"What are you, a girl!?"

Meru almost fell on the floor when he heard Terres's angry voice.

Terres glared at him and after making sure that the black-haired boy isn't looking he removed the towels and started dressing up.

Then he started feeling weird.

What if...?

He thought and sneaked a quick peek.

Nope! Definitely a boy!

He instantly turned back red as a tomato.

"You can turn around."

Terres said to Meru after a few minutes, and the black-haired boy looked at him.

"Good, if we take any more time we'll be late."

Meru complained and stood up.

"Eh!? But My hair isn't completely dry yet! I'll catch a cold if I'll go like this!"

But Terres stopped him by loudly complaining.

"You'll be fine, let's go."

Meru just waved his hand dismissively but Terres didn't budge.

"You can go on ahead then. I don't want to miss the first week of school because of this!"

He scoffed at him and turned away with a grumpy expression.

Then he picked up the towel that he had on his head before and proceeded to slowly and thoroughly dry his hair with it.

"Wha...!?"

Meru who was about to walk out froze mid-step and glared at Terres's back.

"Do you even know where the main hall is!?"

He asked agitatedly.

"I do. Thanks for your help but I don't need your guidance!"

Terres just shrugged his shoulders and continued taking care of his hair.

"You little...!"

Meru got hot under the collar, he didn't take care of that little ungrateful cute bastard for two days to be ignored like this!

He decisively walked up to Terres while rolling up his sleeves.

"Give me that, you ungrateful gnome!"

Meru pushed aside Terres's hands and grabbed the towel, then he proceeded to vigorously rub it against Terres's head.

"Ow! Stop it! It hurts!"

Terres cried but Meru didn't let him go.

"You said you want to dry your hair so I'm helping you! Stop complaining!"

He said and started rubbing even faster.

Terres couldn't handle it anymore and he grabbed his arms. Meru stopped moving so the brown-haired boy could look up at him with his violet filled to the brim with tears.

"Meru, you big bully, I told you to stop...!"

He sobbed, unintentionally being overwhelmingly adorable.

Meru felt as if lightning has struck him and he froze for a few seconds.

"Meru...?"

Terres asked and the black-haired boy shook his head like a wet dog, then he frowned and pulled the towel over Terres's eyes.

"Hey...!"

Terres complained and let go of Meru's hands.

"Where's the comb? You surely won't want to leave your room with messy hair either!"

Meru sighed angrily and started looking around.

"I-in the desk drawer, maybe...?"

Shocked Terres put his towel to the side and pointed.

The comb was indeed there so Meru grabbed it and walked up to the shorter boy.

"Hold still."

He demanded and started working on his hair.

"Ow! Meru! You're pulling way too hard!"

"No, I'm not! We're about to be late so stop complaining!"

"Uuuu...! Be gentle with me!"

"...! You little...!"

Terres couldn't see it because his head was held in place but Meru blushed really hard.

"Good, it looks decent, let's go!"

After a minute or two Meru put the comb down and grabbed Terres's hand.

"Let's go or we're really going to be late!"

He said and pulled the shorter boy to the door.

"Wait! I want to check how it looks!"

Terres tried to oppose but there was no way that he could overpower Meru.

"Argh! You look super pretty, alright? Let's go!"

Meru exclaimed with a frown and pulled Terres through the door and out to the hallway.

"But I don't want to look pretty! I want to look manly and cool, like you!"

Terres complained and Meru got really embarrassed.

"We're going to be late, let's run!"

He said and went into a full sprint right after.

Needless to say, Terres could barely keep up. No, he could keep up only because Meru was still holding his hand.

But only after a minute of the full-Meru speed Terres felt his lungs burning and his muscles screaming.

"M-Meru...! P-Please stop..! I-I can't...!"

Poor Terres couldn't even speak properly.

"Ah! Sorry!"

Meru glanced at him and instantly slowed down.

"I forgot that not many people can keep up with me, sorry!"

He said and let go of Terres's hand.

"M-Meru... You... bully...!"

Terres was breathing heavily, he stopped completely, slouched, and put his hands on his knees.

"Hey! I said I'm sorry!"

Meru felt really awkward. It was true that not many people could keep up with him but it was the first time that someone ended up in such state after only a minute!

"You aren't nice at all! You're not gentle and you're bullying me! You aren't the heroine at all, you imposter! Where is the real heroine!?"

As if it wasn't enough Terres, after calming his breath, started angrily scolding Meru using arguments that Meru couldn't even understand!

"What are you talking about? What heroine?"

He asked baffled but Terres only stuck out his tongue at him and run in one of the side hallways.

"I'm going to find the real heroine! I'll find my own way from here, you can go to the entrance ceremony alone!"

Terres called and turned the corner.

"Wha..!? What's his deal!?"

Meru raised his hand angrily. He frowned and turned around while shaking his head as if he couldn't believe the whole situation but as he made a few steps he stopped and turned around towards the hallway that Terres disappeared into.

"That little fool! That's not even the right direction, he's going to get lost!"

Meru clicked his tongue and went after the short boy.

Navigating through the academy building turned out to be harder than Terres expected. After all the game wasn't a free-exploration kind of game but a set-path one. But certainly, he wasn't going to turn back and return to Meru with his tail between his legs!

I'm sure Meru is the false heroine! How come a man could be the heroine of an otome game, that doesn't make sense! The Galgartian prince was simply faster and picked her up first, it's all just a coincidence with Meru! Ys, It's a coincidence that his biome is the same as the heroine in the game, or maybe it's something like the spelling of his name and the country he's from is slightly different!

Terres was traversing the empty hallways while thinking intensely.

If I remember correctly, the real heroine and the prince of Galgartia kingdom would bump into each other in the hallway and the prince would show her the way to the main hall. If I'll just find the prince, I'll find the heroine!

His plan wasn't bad at all, but the thing was that most of the hallways looked exactly the same and he quickly got completely lost.

Come on...! How hard is to find a stereotypical blond prince with a golden spirit floating around!?

Terres gritted his teeth.

Now that he thought about it, Meru had a pink spirit accompanying him just like the heroine... He realized that there were too many similarities between Meru and the Heroine...

But if it's like this, how will the script play out!?

While deep in thoughts, Terres stopped paying attention where he was going.

"Ugh! Who is it now!?"

And he ended up bumping into someone.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I wasn't...!"

Terres started apologizing but the words stuck in his throat when he looked at the person he bumped into.

It was a tall blond handsome boy with cold blue eyes and he had a golden spirit dancing around him, golden spirits were boosting the strong will of their masters and it was common for the golden spirit to choose a member of royalty as its master.

Terres realized that he was standing before the prince of Galgartia kingdom...!

"Ugh! First that black-haired brute and now this...? Hey, you, introduce yourself!"

The blond prince was very annoyed but Terres simply didn't know what to say, he was prepared to tail the prince, not to talk with him!

At his lack of response, the prince squinted his eyes.

"Oi. I'll have you know that I'm the prince of Galgartia, Michaelus Alfansus Galgar! Show some manners and respond!"

The prince puffed out his chest to make himself look more menacingly and Terres shrunk back.

Now Michaelus became even more suspicious.

"Did you try to steal something from me...!?"

He took a step back and glared at Terres, then he started checking his pockets.

Ugh! I have to run!

Even though completely innocent, Terres decided to retreat without explaining anything.

Seeing that Michaelus read it as the admission of guilt and rushed at him.

"Stop right there, you little thief!"

He called and grabbed his hand forcefully pulling it up.

"Give me back what you stole, this instant!"

He demanded and shook Terres body as if expecting his things to start falling out of the brown-haired boy's pockets.

"No, I...!"

Terres finally remembered how to speak but it didn't matter at the moment.

Because suddenly a hand appeared and pulled him back while another hand pushed against Michaelus's chest and send him flying a few feet back and tumble on the floor a couple of times.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Are Galgartians only good for bullying those weaker than them!?"

Terres raised his head and saw Meru.

The black-haired boy was glaring at the fallen prince with murderous intent while protectively hugging Terres with one hand.

"Y-you again!? I wasn't bullying anyone! That kid stole something from me!"

The prince hurriedly got up and face the furious Meru.

"No, he did not."

Meru said adamantly and then glanced at Terres whose face was smooshed against his chest.

"You didn't, right?"

He asked and Terres quickly shook his head.

"See, he didn't!"

Meru looked back at Michaelus as if that was definite proof.

"It seems that making false accusations is just in Galgartians blood! What do you want to do with Terres!?"

Meru moved a bit so that Terres in his arms would be less visible.

"No! But he bumped at me at didn't respond and was acting all weird...!"

Michaelus got red in the face from the accusation.

"Then what did he took from you!?"

"He...!"

The blond prince started to check his pockets, he must have found everything in its rightful place because his puffed up chest deflated and he started fidgeting anxiously.

"Well? I'm asking you what got stolen!"

Meru pressured him and Michaelus looked away.

"Nothing..."

"I knew it! Very Galgartian-like, you think that you can do anything just because you feel like it! Don't try to pull off this sort of stunts ever again or I'll have to teach you how we treat the likes of you in Tresonte!"

Michaelus only clenched his teeth and said nothing.

Meru glared at him some more and then turned around.

He stopped hugging Terres but instead he held his hand.

"You little gnome, you got lost, didn't you!? We're going straight to the main hall, no looking for the heroine or whoever else!"

Terres got scolded by Meru.

And he had to admit, that Meru's behavior was exactly like the behavior of the heroine from 'Im streben nach glück!' and he obediently walked together with the black-haired boy.

"Meru, have you met the prince before...?"

Terres asked glancing bashfully at the taller boy.

"Hm? Oh, I bumped into him just before I found the two of you. He was acting all high and mighty and thought that I was lost and offered to lead me to the main hall, he got all grouchy when I told him that I'm looking for someone and I don't need his help."

It was the event! It definitely was the event but he broke it!

Terres realized and felt weird. Meru really was the heroine...

He looked down at their joined hands and then up at Meru's face, the male heroine was still a bit agitated after the encounter with the Galgartian prince.

"Meru, is there someone that you like?"

Terres asked suddenly and Meru almost tripped.

"Wh-why are you even asking that...!?"

He gasped and blushed, turning his head away.

"I was just wondering."

Terres innocently tilted his head and kept looking at Meru with pure eyes.

"Th-there might be someone, but I'm not exactly sure if it's something serious..."

Meru answered without looking at Terres.

"Oh! Who is it?"

Terres continued asking and Meru was feeling more and more awkward.

"It's someone really pretty and cute. They act weird from time to time but I think that they're a good person..."

Meru answered in a roundabout way.

"Ooh? Is that person really pretty?"

Terres leaned forwards and smirked teasingly.

"Yes, but they're more cute than pretty."

Now Meru was completely red and Terres straightened his back satisfied.

He definitely likes some girl from his father's territory! There are no pretty and cute men after all! Since I know the game I'll protect him from falling in the scripts traps and being forced to romancing men! I'll protect him because he's my friend!

He decided and clenched his free hand into a fist.

"Um, Terres? Is something wrong? Does your hand hurt?"

Meru was looking at him with a worried face so Terres quickly smiled and released his fist.

"No! Of course not!"

He smiled beautifully and started waving his hand while still holding Meru's.

The black-haired boy's heart skipped a beat.

The two of them entered the main hall just in time and Michaelus went inside right behind them. It seemed that the blond prince was following them while keeping his distance in case that Meru would notice him.

They all were quickly sent to the place where all the freshmen were supposed to gather and the entrance ceremony started.

After the long speech of a headmaster, a tall platinum-haired young man walked to the podium. He was handsome in that intelligent kind of way, just one look at him was enough to make people think 'That's a reliable student council president!'. And it was even enhanced by the jet-black spirit resting on his shoulder. Black spirits were extremely helpful for people in power, some would say that even more than the golden ones because the master of a black spirit would be extremely sharp at noticing lies, malice, and deceit.

Terres got nervous, the young man at the podium was another capture target. He was a third-year student and a son of the founder of the merchant country Donrobos, Victisso Golger.

According to the game script, while giving the welcoming speech to the