Side: Theiamillis
It had now been well over a year since Theia first came to Earth. She’d matured a lot in that time, though her growth was completely mental. Physically, she hadn’t changed much at all.
“Hmph! This damn thing!”
Theia was currently ripping apart a piece of paper and stamping on the shreds that fell to the ground. But even that didn’t seem to soothe her rage—her cheeks were still puffed out in frustration. Perplexed by this display, Koutarou turned to Ruth, who was pouring tea.
“What’s got her all worked up?”
“Well, you see... that document she just tore up was the results of her physical...”
“Ah, I get it.”
Ruth had only answered Koutarou indirectly, but Koutarou knew exactly what was going on when he heard the word “physical.” He knew Theia was sensitive about her appearance. And, armed with that knowledge, he called out to her with a wry smile.
“Say, Theia, you know it’s okay to be short, right?”
“You wouldn’t understand how short people feel, you giant oaf!”
It may have sounded like Koutarou was trying to comfort her, but he was only adding fuel to the fire.
“Hey, your height works to your advantage too, you know?”
“How, exactly?!”
“I mean, I already know better, but I’m sure it makes strangers think you’re cute.”
Theia had matured over the past year, but she was still brash, violent, and impulsive. Her petite build helped soften the edges of her personality, however. It was a lot easier to forgive what appeared to be a temper-tantrum. Theia would get away with her outbursts a lot less if she had the stature of a grown woman.
“Are you saying that I look like a child?!”
“I’m saying you probably do to people who don’t really know you.”
“Grrrrr... Curse those ignorant fools...”
“Forgive them, will you? I’m sure most of our classmates would never in a million years think they’re going to school with the princess of a galactic empire.”
Theia was a reasonable, egalitarian princess—but no one on Earth saw her as a princess. Her looks, sadly, didn’t help any in that department either.
“Urk...”
Theia couldn’t argue with Koutarou there, but she was still angry... And that anger was slowly starting to turn on him.
“Then what do you think, Koutarou? By that logic, you should be a good judge since you know me so well.”
Because Koutarou understood Theia’s position, he should be able to evaluate her fairly. That’s why she sought his opinion—surely how he thought of her wasn’t influenced by her appearance.
“I think you’re overthinking this.”
“How so?”
“Well... Ruth-san.”
“Yes?”
“Could you stand next to Theia for me?”
“Certainly. I don’t mind, but...”
Although puzzled, Ruth complied and moved right over next to Theia.
“Hyah!”
Once she was in place, Koutarou let out a shout and delivered a karate chop straight to Theia’s forehead.
“Ow! What are you doing?!”
“Calm down. This is exactly what I’m talking about.”
“What?!”
“If you had a more mature appearance—like Ruth here—I wouldn’t be able to hit you so casually. I’m saying that even I am influenced by your appearance.”
“...”
Theia silently put her hands on her head as she listened to Koutarou’s explanation. She could still feel the stinging sensation where he’d smacked her, and she didn’t hate it. She knew good and well that she’d miss it if he stopped doing it.
“I-In that case, I guess I’ll stay like this a little longer...”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Very good...”
Theia was still sensitive about her height, but the point Koutarou made helped calm her emotions. Maybe being short wasn’t so bad after all.
“I can’t accept this!”
However, just as Theia was calming down, someone else flew into a tizzy. That someone else, you ask? It was Ruth.
“Master, treating people differently because of their appearance is outrageous! I demand that you treat me just as violently and absurdly as you do Her Highness!”
“R-Relax, Ruth!”
“Ruth-san, you’re being unreasonable!”
Ruth was so worked up in a temper-tantrum of her own now that it would take Koutarou and Theia some time to calm her down again.
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