Five hours later, Suzune let out a sigh of relief as she just finished the mathematics exam. It went well, as everything she had reviewed was in the question. She's almost certain that she'll get the perfect marks.
"Suzune~san! How did your test go!" A short girl with straight, chestnut-colored, medium-length hair called her name cheerily from the front row. Her name is Ichinose Akari, her childhood friend. Just like her, she's a beauty who is popular among men and women. The only difference is that she's social and gets along with others well while she is more reserved towards others, hence making it hard for her to befriend someone. Also, she doesn't know if it's important but Akari's breast is larger than hers.
"The exam was hard but I managed," Suzune said as she closed her eyes and placed her hand on the desk.
"You said the same thing last year in the final exam and got perfect marks! I won't believe you anymore hmph!" Akari crossed her arms and her gaze away from Suzune.
Suzune placed her hand on her lips and giggled adoringly. "Then why ask the obvious?"
"Ah, I knew it!" Akari exclaimed, turning back to Suzune with a wide smile plastered onto her face. But the smile was temporary as it sank immediately. "Good for you, you are getting top marks while even I can't. I don't know how it is happening! We often study after class in the library and understand the topic we were studying. But when exam day came, I blanked out and I couldn't think properly at all!" she fumbled her first up and down irritatingly.
Suzune stood up and patted Akari on the shoulder gently. "Akari~chan, you are getting ahead of yourself. You should wait for the results of the exam before acting upon them."
"I know that Suzune~san but I can't help but feel sad over the prospect of the results," her mood brightened up as she thought of an idea. "Aha! Why don't we go shopping later, it will definitely remove my stress!"
"Sorry Akari~chan, but I have to get home early today..." she trailed off as she remembered something. "Oh right, I have to meet him!"
"Eh? Meet him? Who?! Suzune~san, don't tell me! You have a boyfriend!" she exclaimed with a voice enough for the entire class to hear.
"Akari!" Suzune's brows flared and covered her mouth with her hand in an instant.
Of course, such news would be so shocking to others. A beautiful girl who didn't associate with boys in the class and in the school has a boyfriend?
The boys in the class had their shoulders slumped upon hearing it, knowing that their chance with Suzune had vanished.
"The man I'm meeting is not my boyfriend or my friend. He's just a stranger who..."
"Then that makes it all the more dangerous!" Akari placed her hands on her shoulders and shook her, her eyes teary. "Suzune~san, don't go. It could be dangerous."
"At least let me finish, Akari~chan," Suzune removed her hands from her shoulder and placed her hands on top of hers, enveloping it. "You must be wondering why I arrived late earlier right? It was because of heavy traffic, which prompted me to run towards the university. And when I was crossing the pedestrian lane, a truck that had lost control came. I froze for a moment, thinking that I was going to die. Then seconds later a man saved me..." Suzune paused as she noticed Akari sniffling and holding her tears tightly.
"No way! Were you hurt?" Akari checked her body here and there, but she found nothing. "Oh thank god you are fine!" She hugged Suzune tightly.
Suzune smiled softly and hugged back.
"Uhm, Suzune~san, there is something you need to see," one of her classmates said as she showed her the phone in front of her.
"Eh?" Suzune blinked and looked closely at the screen. It was a video of a man saving a girl from a speeding truck. The scene looked familiar, as she was the girl in the video.
Akari also looked at their classmate's smartphone and saw Suzune on top of a man. Suzune's story is indeed true.
"The video went viral and already has one hundred thousand views on Socialbook and Itube. Also, the man who saved you is also getting popular due to his…*ehem…looks," her classmate cooed.
"Let me see!" Akari snatched the smartphone and looked at it. Her eyes sparkled, "Oh, Suzune~san, you're lucky! This man is a hottie and what's more, a foreigner! But what's with his outfit? You know what, who cares! He looks handsome in that outfit."
"It's why the man who saved Suzune is dubbed as the Prince of Tokyo and everyone is looking for him."
Something sparked inside Suzune's mind. "Did they find him?"
Since she has no contact information, let alone the name of the man who saved her, she doesn't have any form of contact with him. Though she handed him her card, five hours had already passed and he hadn't contacted her yet.
"It looks as though he's in the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library. Here, these are the images of him reading a book in the library," her classmates swiped the screen of her smartphone, showing her another image.
"Thank you!" Suzune thanked her classmate. "I hope he's still there."
"I'm coming with you, Suzune~san!" Akari grabbed her bag from the seat and ran by her side as they left their classroom together.
***
In the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library, Elliot was on a desk, reading a book he had borrowed from the librarian. As much as he wanted to enjoy himself reading a book that contains information about this world, he was getting distracted by the gazes and stares from the people present in the library as well as the people who kept approaching him and handing him confectionery and drinks he wouldn't even dare to eat.
Is it because of his face? His outfit? Indeed, it looked strange to them. He noticed their outfit was not similar to the ensemble the people are wearing in his world.
Speaking of the world, this world seems to be more advanced than his world. He had observed it while he was walking in the streets. Their clothes, their technology, transportation, roads, architecture, everything! The streets are clean and free of litter and horse dung. Just where in the heck is he?
Good thing, this library has a world map, and based on the appearance of continents and the oceans alone, he concluded that it was different from his world. So this is not the same world as his, and thus he concluded that he was transported to a different and modern world.
And one thing he is having a hard time believing is the number of books they have in this library! 2.06 million volumes to be exact! Larger than the royal library by over twenty times! Oh and speaking of the library, the inside was well-lit and spacious, he can't smell the scent of the gas lamps. Could it be that the light they are using used a different type of source? If that is so, what is it? In addition, the temperature inside the library is chilly compared to outside, is the temperature is controlled. How is that possible?
This thought alone is making Elliot's heart race, eager to understand the concept and principles behind every technology in this world. But he can't do that when people are watching him with their translation devices trained on him.
It can't be helped then, it's not like he can ask them to ignore him. So despite the attention he is having, he continues reading the book with the goal of learning every crucial piece of information that can help him.
Twenty minutes later, he found out that there is a country that exists in Europe with a name similar to his surname. Principality of Liechtenstein. He thought it'd be the counterpart of the Kingdom of Swabia but based on the geography alone and the size of their country, it was impossible.
Oh yeah, he just learned earlier that his world and this world had stark differences.
He continued reading until he heard footsteps approaching his table. "Ladies, if I may be candid, I don't accept food from strangers," as his eyes drifted upwards to tell the woman…well it was all girls who gave him treats so he assumed—and he was right. Two ladies stood in front of his table filled with confectionaries and drinks. But wait, the one looks similar, it was the girl he saved from getting run over by a carriage called a truck.
He rose to his feet. "You…"
The ladies in the library sighed in disappointment.
"Oh, he already has a girlfriend."
"Who? The short one or the tall one?"
"Sad, I was just about to approach him."
"So this is the man who saved you?" Akari nudged Suzune's shoulder as she looked up at him. He's too tall, her height didn't even get past his shoulders. Well, she's only 148 centimeters and the man must be over six feet so that explains it. Not to mention, he is a foreigner, the question is where? America? Europe?
Suzune grabbed her phone from her bag and opened the translator app. She spoke to it. "Good evening, my name is Takenaka Suzune. I'm the one you saved earlier from the road, what's your name?"
Then she held it up in front of him. The phone spoke in English.
Elliot nodded understandingly. "So your name is Suzune? Very well, allow me to introduce myself."
Elliot placed his right hand on his chest and the other on his lower back and bowed. "Lady Suzune, I'm the third prince of the Kingdom of Swabia, Elliot von Liechtenstein. It is a pleasure to meet such a delightful young lady such as yourself."
He glanced upward before standing straight again and noticed Suzune's face blushing and her cheeks turning pink. He frowned in confusion.
Was he embarrassing her?
Suzune may not understand the words coming out of his mouth but his melodious voice was enough to make her blush.
The phone translated his words back into Japanese. Fully understanding what he just said made Suzune and Akari blush once more.
But what? Kingdom of Swabia? Where is that? Is that even a country?"
"Uhm...my name...is Ichinose Akari! It's nice to meet you...!" Akari stammered in English as she extended her hand, offering a handshake.
Elliot returned a dazzling smile of his own before taking her hand. But instead of shaking it up and down, he did the unexpected. He kissed the top of her hand like a prince!
Everyone in the library gasped, even Suzune was taken aback. Akari on the other hand feels she's going to pass out.