“This hair color belongs to the royal bloodline of the Ruvarsan kingdom.”

“That’s exactly right. You are now the first prince in the direct lineage of this kingdom. Judas Ruvarsan Archideon.”

“So you knew... As expected.”

“Oh, the wind knows everything,” Yuni said with a giggle and landed on the back of his hand.

The boy’s golden eyes were looking at her but grew somber with his thoughts.

“But why am I here?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.” She had never seen a dead human wake up in a different body.

Hearing Yuni’s firm statement, Egret grew more troubled. If even the king of the wind spirits did not know why this had happened, then something had gone very wrong.

Perhaps the gods are involved in this.

He furrowed his brow. Seeing him do so, Yuni flew up and tapped his forehead.

“Don’t fret, Egret.”

“Yes, it would be troubling if I started getting wrinkles at this age.”

“That’s not what I mean. Fretting doesn’t suit you,” she complained with a pout. “And that body is only twelve years old.”

Egret had judged the body’s age to be around seven, but it was actually twelve. His eyes grew wide with surprise, and he took another look in the mirror.

The child was small. Way too small. He was too little and scrawny, and Egret couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“How could they starve a child like this? He’s supposed to be a royal, is he not? Is he being persecuted?”

“In a way, he is persecuted. By his peers.”

“You mean he is being bullied?”

“Yes, probably?”

He flinched at that.

Egret hadn’t thought their two lives had any similarities, but now he found something in common. He clucked his tongue at how it was a parallel, but it wasn’t a happy one. Bullying was a constant struggle he’d had to endure in his previous life. Ostracism and betrayal from one’s own people were all too familiar to him.

The great sage felt a pang of pity in his heart as he realized that this little boy had been going through the same hardship that he had. He slowly lifted his hand up and placed it on top of his own head.

“Egret?”

“You must have had a rough time.” He gently stroked his hair.

Yuni quietly watched him do so, blinking at him. It looked odd, but in her eyes, she saw young Egret through the little boy. It made her reminisce about when they’d first met.

“You guys must have been lonely as well.”

“It’s a relief though, that we’ve met like this.”

“Do you guys want to stay with me from now on?”

Kind Egret, she thought. The elemental spirit smiled and put aside memories of the past, pleased at how he remained the same. Although his outward appearance had changed, Egret was still Egret inside.

“Egret...”

“Hmm?”

“I, we, will always be by your side.”

Egret moved his hand from his head and beamed at Yuni.

“Thank you.”

“So don’t worry about things now.”

She flew up, landed on top of his head, and knocked on his forehead.

“Live as you wish.”

“But what about this child...”

“We don’t know why this is happening, nor do we know how to reverse it. Perhaps a day will come when you need to return this body to its owner. But until then, Egret, you must live as him.”

Egret blinked at her decisive summation of the situation. She did speak the truth. He didn’t know what was going on, but as things stood now, he had no idea how to return the body to its rightful owner. If the great sage and the king of the wind spirits couldn’t come up with a solution, then he had to just live as he was for now.

Egret was troubled. “But I feel too sorry for the boy to live as this old man wishes.”

“What is there for you to be sorry about? The one who is alive and breathing here is not the boy, it’s you.”

He wore a bitter smile. Alive and breathing, huh.

At the aged expression on the child’s face, Yuni grabbed a strand of his shining silver hair and twirled it around.

“Oh, Egret. You’ve always had a bad habit of thinking of others before yourself. It would be nice to live for your own sake for a change. Hmm?”

“Yuni...”

“You know that I am always on your side. No matter what.”

With a spirit on his head glowing green all over, Egret let out a laugh that was akin to a sigh.

“I know.”

***

Three days had passed since Egret had woken up in the body of Judas. He did not attend the prince’s classes at all during that time. He stayed in his room and focused on gathering information with Yuni’s help. Her wind spirits were thrilled to have something to do, so they scraped together what they could find and passed it along.

Having gained a rough understanding of what life as the first prince was like, Egret finally got up from his bed on the fourth day.

“So it’s school. Haha, that’s a fun place.”

Egret wasn’t called the great sage for nothing. He was eager to learn anything and everything, and he had a tremendous talent for learning that surpassed his motivation.

The elementalist had an uncommon intelligence. He took in information, processed it, and organized it onto an unending shelf that existed only in his mind. He was a gifted genius. On top of that, his thirst for knowledge had been imprinted on his soul and continued to this day.

Egret took out the Ruvar-H school uniform from the closet. It was a navy-blue color—symbolizing wisdom—and it engulfed his small figure. Once he put on the old-fashioned vest and fastened the gold buttons, he looked like he was playing dress-up in an older boy’s clothes.

The length of the uniform looked like it had been tailored for him, but it was otherwise too roomy for his skinny and petite body. As he secured the jacket so it wouldn’t fall off, he smiled softly and looked into the mirror.

“Well now, don’t you need to grow up a little.”

“Yes, he’s quite small compared to his peers. But I think this little guy is as adorable as you are.”

“Hmm? It’s you who is adorable, Yuni.”

She puffed out her cheeks round at him, and he smiled at her as if she were a child.

“I like it when you adore me, but I’ve lived way longer than you, you know!”

“Yes, that was the case.”

“And you are still smiling. I give up.”

The elemental spirit flopped down on top of his head. She was glowing in bright green and in her spirit form, invisible to the human eye.

Nobody could see her unless they were an elementalist—and elementalists were rare.

Well, it’s not like it matters even if anyone sees me.

The contract between the king of the wind spirits and a human had happened a long, long time ago, unrecorded even in history books. The spirit kings of the four elements were all like that. The existence of the spirit kings was a mystery, like a legend told by a grandfather before the children went to sleep.

An average human was not able to recognize them, even if they tried. That was what made Egret so special. An elementalist who could claim the love of four kings of the elemental spirits at once!

Yuni stroked his hair with a loving touch and thought, Perhaps I shall keep this a secret from the others for a while.

There was no way for the spirits to find Egret unless he wanted them to. Given his gentle nature, the rest of the spirits would be summoned soon enough. But for now, Yuni decided to reap the benefits of being the first to be called by him. This was the only possessive instinct she had as the spirit king.

Unaware that she was thinking such thoughts, Egret simply walked out of his quarters with a calm face. He was walking very slowly, given his weak body, but also because he had a laid-back nature.

It was morning and classes were in progress, so the only people around were a few maids. He strolled around the academy slowly, taking in the sights. Decades had passed since he had made a secluded home up in the mountains.

The maids bowed as the prince walked by. He smiled and nodded at them in response. Even such a simple act felt new and refreshing.

Outside the residence hall were opulent academic buildings and various facilities.

As an academy that trained students of noble status, Ruvar-H was unrivaled in scale. It was like a city of its own. Each building was dedicated to a different discipline, and there were seven different types of sports grounds.

Each venue served a different purpose, such as the gymnasium for general athletics and swordsmanship training, as well as event halls for special occasions, and equestrian arenas.

As Egret walked along, taking in each one, he caught sight of another boy wearing the school uniform.

The boy, poring over a pamphlet in his hand, was more than a full head taller than the prince’s height. He looked like he was in the midst of a growth spurt. One could assume that he had a strict fitness regimen, judging by his physique.

Egret also noticed that the boy seemed to have an interest in martial arts, since he had a sword strapped to his waist. His neat black hair and equally dark eyes reminded Egret of a well-groomed black Labrador. His hair and eyes shined like obsidian, making him look very noble with the navy blue uniform he wore.

Looking up from the pamphlet, the dark-eyed boy suddenly noticed a smaller boy standing in front of him, and he put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

He blinked in surprise. He’d almost drawn his sword, startled by not detecting the approach, but the silver-haired boy before him seemed so small and frail. Not only that, but it was a Ruvar-H student wearing the same uniform as him.