"What do you want to talk about?" Kenji asked, his tone cautious.
"Why don't we sit over there?" George suggested, pointing to a flat rock nearby, partially shaded by a palm tree.
They sat down, the soft sound of waves rolling in the background. George reached into his elegant coat and pulled out a glossy brochure.
"This is a brochure for the Third Royal Academy," he said.
"Third Royal Academy?" Raisa asked curiously.
George smiled lightly. "Yes. I'm the third prince of the Stmalforce Kingdom, and I'm the one who established this school. It covers middle school, high school, and university levels."
Kenji narrowed his eyes. "So you came here just to advertise your school?"
George chuckled softly. "Not exactly."
He then took out two small crystal tokens engraved with royal markings.
"With these tokens, the two of you can attend the academy for free. You'll also receive 1,000 points each, which can be exchanged for resources—books, training, even Vassel-related items."
Raisa and Kenji glanced at each other before carefully taking the tokens and the brochure.
"That's all I came to say," George said, standing up. "I sincerely hope both of you will consider enrolling in the school I built."
He turned and walked away.
Left alone, Raisa studied the token in her hand.
"Well... if it's free, that would really help our parents," Kenji said thoughtfully.
"Even if it's pretty far..." Raisa added.
"Let's talk about it later. We're still in elementary school for three more years anyway," Kenji said with a smile.
Raisa nodded, slipping the token and brochure into her pouch, planning to tell her mom later that evening.
---
Prince George's Chambers
Prince George sat quietly in his room, deep in thought. Beside him stood an old man with a scarred face and sharp eyes—his trusted, battle-worn bodyguard.
"My Prince, did you see something in those two?" the man asked. "You didn't just offer free tuition, but 1,000 bonus points too?"
George nodded slowly. "Especially Raisa… there's something unusual about her. My Vassel couldn't read the power of either of her Vassels."
The bodyguard smirked. "Oh? Or maybe you're just interested in the Vassels themselves?" he teased. "If I were a bit younger, I might've tried to kidnap her myself."
George nearly spit out his bitter coffee. "You're insane. She's ten. That's a huge age gap!"
"Haha! Don't take it the wrong way, Prince. You're still single, and even the King asked me to help find you a bride while we searched for students for the academy."
George sighed. "Did you not see the boy next to her? Kenji. His Vassel is ranked gold. I'm not about to mess with that."
The old man crossed his arms. "With all due respect, even if your Vassels are flawed, you are still a prince. You have guards, power, and influence. One boy shouldn't intimidate you."
George shot him a sideways glance. "Are you seriously suggesting I compete for a ten-year-old girl?"
"Well, her Vassels are tempting—even for an old man like me. And you said she's special, right? Maybe what you really need... is her," the bodyguard said, giving him a knowing smirk.
****
Kenji and Raisa walked home after playing all day. Tomorrow was another day off, and while spending every day at the beach was starting to get boring, they knew they'd only be staying here for a few more weeks anyway.
As they returned, they found Sakura waiting and quickly told her all about meeting Prince George.
"That sounds nice," Sakura said with a soft smile. "But… do you know who George Waforce really is?"
Kenji and Raisa looked at each other and shook their heads.
"He's a prince known… as the Cursed Prince."
"What?" Raisa blinked. "But he looked fine to me."
"That's because it's not him—but his Vassels. Every Vassel he's ever had has been… defective. Some are blind, some missing a leg or arm, some are deaf. And some… had two disabilities, like missing both a hand and a foot."
Sakura's voice turned serious as she continued, "Even though he's reached Nine-Star Energy, all nine of his Vassels have had major physical flaws."
Raisa's eyes widened in disbelief. It sounded just like one of those stories—where the protagonist endures hardship, is underestimated by everyone, and then stuns the world once they awaken their true strength.
"Mom… do you think there's something strange about that prince?" Raisa asked.
"Strange? What do you mean?" Sakura tilted her head. "Well, he is handsome, but yes… the fact that all his Vassels are defective is definitely unusual."
"Why would you say it's strange?" Kenji asked Raisa curiously.
"I don't know… Maybe his Vassels are disabled for a reason. What if they have something special inside them?" she replied thoughtfully.
"We don't know for sure," Sakura said. "Maybe it's some royal secret."
"But we might find something if we search VWorldVassel," Kenji added, referring to the world's most popular Vassel information platform.
"Do you even know his account?" Raisa asked.
"Nope."
"Then how are we supposed to find anything?" she frowned.
"Let's just ask him directly next time. He's still recruiting students for his school anyway," Kenji said with a grin.
Strangely enough, despite looking everywhere, Kenji and Raisa couldn't find Prince George. The event staff simply told them that the prince had either returned home or gone off to another region to recruit more chosen students.
The recruitment event came to a close, and the much-anticipated Pair Performance Night was just around the corner. The participants were buzzing with excitement.
Fortunately, Raisa and Kenji were scheduled for Day 2, so they had time to rest and prepare. But time flew by, and soon enough—Day 2 arrived.
As their names were called, Raisa and Kenji stepped onto the stage hand in hand. The lights shone brightly, and in a flash, they transformed into Miranda and Hercoles—a muscular duo clad in gym outfits. Hercoles flexed confidently, while Miranda's black shorts with a cute bear print added a touch of charm to her strong figure.
They performed synchronized muscle poses, striking powerful stances to the beat of dramatic music. At the climax of their act, Hercoles unleashed his Lion Aura, attempting to embrace Miranda, while drones circled above to catch every moment.
But they weren't done yet.
Suddenly, they transformed again—this time into Thor and Ranita, appearing in dazzling white wedding attire. The crowd erupted with cheers and laughter. Someone even shouted, "We need a priest up here!"
Hand in hand, they walked down the aisle-like stage. Ranita summoned two female zombies—one skeletal, the other poisonous—as her undead bridesmaids.
At center stage, the two faced each other. And then, something completely unexpected happened.
Thor leaned closer and said,
"Since I won the bet, I'm claiming my reward… your first kiss. After all, isn't that what weddings are for?"
Before Ranita could react, Thor leaned in—and kissed her on the lips.
The crowd exploded in screams and applause. Cameras flashed like starlight.
Ranita froze. Her mind went blank.
Her mother, Sakura, was in the audience, fanning herself wildly with both hands. "My daughter's first kiss?!"
After their act, the two rushed backstage.
Ranita was still in a daze. They entered the dressing room, still in their wedding costumes—completely unaware that several hidden cameras had snapped their photos.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Ranita snapped out of it.
"WHAT was that just now?!" she shouted, smacking Thor lightly on the head with her bouquet. "What were you thinking?!"
Thor rubbed his head, grinning.
"Reflex? Do you believe that?"
"Reflex?! That wasn't in the rehearsal!"
"I'm sorry! You were just… so beautiful in that moment… I couldn't help myself."
"And what about the kiss?! That was in front of—of—everyone! Thousands of cameras! Reporters!"
Thor shrugged.
"So… if it were backstage without cameras, it'd be okay?"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! You're such a pervert!"
Just then, Sakura burst into the room, her expression a mix of fake fury and mischievous delight.
"Ara~ Kenji~ You sure were bold, kissing my daughter in public like that."
"I'm sorry…" Kenji bowed.
"Oh, is that all?"
"I'm ready to take responsibility!" he declared firmly.
Sakura clapped her hands.
"Good! Then from today on, you'll take full responsibility for Raisa."
"Yes, ma'am!" he said proudly.
"Mooom! What kind of conclusion is that?!" Raisa wailed, covering her bright red face
"As an apology… how about I grant you three wishes?" Kenji said suddenly, holding up three fingers with a sheepish grin.
"Three wishes?" Raisa blinked.
"Yeah. Anything you ask for. I swear," he said, raising his hand like he was taking an oath.
"Hehe, don't go back on your word!" Raisa giggled, already plotting something mischievous.
Just then, Ms. Yumi burst into the room, arms crossed and clearly unimpressed.
"You two are way too busy playing around! You didn't even pay attention to the rest of the contest!" she scolded.
"Ehh, it's more fun playing at the beach anyway," Kenji shrugged.
"We can always watch the Vassel performances online later," Raisa added with a smile.
Ms. Yumi sighed in defeat, rubbing her temple.
"I don't even know what to do with you two anymore…"
Then she straightened up and said seriously,
"At the very least, you should know that there are two pairs who'll be your biggest rivals. They've also awakened two vassels, just like you."
"Wait, really?" Kenji blinked in surprise.
"Yes. Because you each have two vassels, your performance is judged on a scale of 20, while others are only judged up to 10. And since the votes come from 1,000 random judges, your maximum score is 20,000."
"Whoa… That sounds like an advantage," Kenji muttered.
"But isn't that kinda unfair to those who only have one vassel?" Raisa asked curiously.
Ms. Yumi just shrugged.
"Well, everyone here is ten years old. If someone only awakened one vassel, that just means they lack talent. This event's purpose is to find the most gifted."
"So… who are these two rival pairs?" Kenji asked, now interested.
"Wanna see them?" Ms. Yumi smiled.
"Their names are Ramon and Julia, and Bastian and Barbara."