First of All, Let's Hide My Younger Brother

“That was really amazing, which family is she from?”

“The young lady saved us!”

When I heard the people cheering, I was stunned.

Is it done? Did I beat it?

I looked at the direction of the guards, all of whom were staring blankly at me.

“The blood demon, she… the blood demon alone…”

As the atmosphere grew chaotic, an old man who appeared to be the chief of the security stepped in and took control of the scene.

Only then did the guards rush over and cover the blood demon’s body with a net that has a magic stone attached to it.

To prevent it from waking up, they even put a huge stake on the floor and tied it firmly to the monster with a rope.

It was like Gulliver, who had fallen into the small country named Liliput, and was captured and being restrained.

It was then.

“Lady Kayla?”

I turned around in response to the voice calling me and was startled.

I was surprised to see Kratier students arriving in blue, knight uniforms, with Lithaus at the forefront.

Each Kratier student is equipped with a sword and a rifle on their waist.

The sword is placed on the left, and a small rifle is placed on the right. The latter probably contained magic bullets inside.

‘It seems that Kratier students have been deployed instead of the Guardian Knights.’

「Lithaus, who has recently been appointed as a knight, was a young man with overwhelming skills even among the students.」In the original story, it was described in a lengthy explanation.

Franz followed after him in terms of such skills and prowess.

“Did the young lady… killed that blood demon by herself?”

Lithaus asked with a slightly stiff expression.

I held out my hand and showed him [Schuette] which emitted a blue light.

Only then did Lithaus and the students who were guarding behind him came to an agreement. 

“Vesta’s [Schuette] is great after all.”

“Right, there’s no way that kid took on a blood demon by herself.”

The whispers were annoying to hear, but what they’re saying are true, so I didn’t respond.

Lithaus, whose eyes are fixed on [Schuette], slowly lifted his head and looked over my shoulder.

I automatically turned my head where his eyes are on.

At the end of Lithaus’ gaze was a girl wearing a black hood.

“E-Estelle!”

Lithaus ran to the girl.

The girl staggered to her feet, obediently grasping Lithaus’ outstretched hand.

In an instant, the hood came off, and the girl’s rich pink hair was exposed.

In a moment, the girl looked startled, and Lithaus hurriedly pulled up the hood and put it back on.

The two of them appear to know each other. They act familiar with each other.

A beautiful girl with pink hair, named Estelle, and Lithaus.

For a moment, my heart felt like it dropped.

I remember now. The girl’s identity.

No, that person is not a girl.

That person with long pink hair is actually a boy who just looks like a girl.

He’s the crazy obsessed fanatic Astaire whom I was doing my best to avoid.

Astaire Lische Erbach.

Astaire had to grow up wearing girls’ clothes from an early age.

Because he is cursed.

「If the child is a boy, he will die before his coming-of-age ceremony.」

In the original story, Astaire would appear in women’s clothes at the age of fifteen or sixteen years old.

In this world, a person is considered as a legal adult once they turn sixteen, so it was only for a short time that Astaire dressed in women’s clothing.

But I didn’t expect that Astaire was dressed as a woman even in the early days of <Magical Mirage>.

Astaire’s colored image was only shown on the cover, and even then, he was depicted as a man instead of wearing women’s clothing.

Also, I only saw Astaire’s cross-dressing in black and white.

So, I didn’t realize right away that the girl with pink hair was Astaire.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

At that moment, Astaire, who was being supported by Lithaus, raised his head, and looked at me.

A purple gaze, like amethyst, is openly fixed on me.

Why is he looking at me?

Why?

Come to think of it, earlier he had been looking at me with a resentful gaze.

Did I do something to offend him?

I’ve helped him with the best I could and never harmed him, so why?

I turned my body to avoid Astaire’s gaze.

Coincidentally, the head of security approached me and asked me for a testimony.

So, I ran towards the platform where the guards were standing with a thought in mind.

Let’s make Franz the master of [Shitsuro] as soon as possible.

Somehow, it feels like Astaire’s deep purple eyes are still following me.

4. Astaire Lische Erbach

Spirits always accompanied Astaire.

Only Astaire, a descendant of the Spirit King, could see the presence of the spirits that are invisible in the naked eye.

- You’re the loveliest kid in the world. You are much prettier than any other girl.

That day, as usual, the spirits whispered the sweetest words to Astaire. 

From a young age, Astaire had to wear girls’ clothes, so she thought she was a real girl.

Just like a typical girl, Astaire played with dolls and pretended to have a tea party with a toy tea set when she was young.

She also loved reading princess stories before falling asleep every night.

Among them, Astaire’s favourite book was a story about a knight rescuing a princess trapped in a tower.