CH 1

Chapter 1 Calm Before The Storm

Astraea, the land of creation where the goddess descended from, now exists as a small island nation.

It was protected by complex ocean currents, and even if it were invaded, it would not be involved in war because it had only resources that can be caught elsewhere.

It was considered sacred as the place where the goddess descended from, and with her blessing, no country would try to bring war to the island in the future.

I, Edward Astraea, am the third prince of Astraea, such a peaceful country.

I am currently enjoying my second life after having been reincarnated from the dead.

The first prince, who was the crown prince, and the second prince, who was a spare, were doing royalty-like things, but I, the third prince, who had no particular role to play, am free to do as I please.

Because of that I am rarely summoned by the queen.

“You want me to come now?”

“Yes, and please be there at once.”

“With me looking like this?”

“Of course not…”

Yuno sighed loudly. It was unfortunate for  him, who was a handsome boy* of noble birth with a promising future, was forced to be a chamberlain to a good for nothing Prince, which was me. (Bishōnen​ - handsome youth (male); pretty boy)

I also thought it was wrong for me to appear in front of the queen, even though she was my mother, in work clothes with dirt on them; but Yuno was in a hurry, so I asked him about it.

“Kuga-sama*, are you returning?”(クーガさま)

“Eeh~ Already? It’s still early!”

Children gathered around me.

By the way, “Kuga” was my alias.

Even though I am left to my own devices, I’m still a prince so I hid my true identity to avoid trouble and go by the name of “Kuga,” a third son of a wealthy aristocrat.

This was an orphanage inside the castle town.

Supporting this orphanage was one of the things I am allowed to do as I please.

I am involved with the orphanage as a financial supporter and occasionally as a teacher.

Today I was teaching a class in the field with the children, but on the rare occasion that I am called upon, I have no choice but to go.

“I’m sorry. I've got some urgent business to attend to, but before that… All right, everyone pay attention!”

I called out, and all twenty children looked at me at once.

“plant these seeds that I'm about to give you one by one. Until the next time I come, each of you will be responsible for growing them! This is a plant that grows by giving it magic power. What kind of plant it will be depends on how you grow it. Now, let's see who can grow the most magnificent plant, okay?”

The children, as if competing with each other, raised their hands while saying, “Me!” “It’s me!”

They are really cute.

Their pure innocent eyes were sparkling.

Please don't look at me like that, I planned to find a child with a lot of magic with this plant and ask them to help me in various ways.

“Oh? Ah~ it’s going to rain…”

While I was plowing the field, the sky was darkening, and I knew it was going to rain, but it came earlier than I expected.

“Kuga-sensei!”(I don’t have to explain what sensei means right?)

A girl came in front of me with her ponytail swinging around.

“I'll take care of the seeds! I'll distribute them to everyone and plant them tomorrow when the sun shines!”

“Oh, Please do, Thank you.”

I gratefully accepted the offer from Yulia, the oldest of the children, who was 13 years old, and entrusted the seeds to her.

When I patted her head, she rubbed against it like a cat.

For some reason, Yulia was very friendly to me, and I am always comforted by the thought that if I had a younger sister, she would be like this.

“Oh.”

The sky rumbled as I was relaxing.

That was a sign of a storm coming.

“We need to hurry.”

“Yeah.”

With Yuno in tow, I hurried back to the royal castle by carriage.

On the way, the rain was getting heavier.