"Huh? Ariha has a guest?" The boy peeked around the kitchen corner, his eyes widening at the sight of someone dressed in medieval attire.
The young man—who looked like a male copy of Ariha—stared at the figure in archaic clothing, who in turn studied him with equal curiosity. Ariha glanced at Senko, a mischievous idea forming in her mind.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?" she asked, subtly winking at the prince with the eye hidden from her brother.
Catching her playful cue, Senko rose from his seat, turned toward the newcomer, and announced with perfect composure:
"I am Crown Prince Senko von Minaguch Hyōnko of the Kingdom of Archivagia. Might I inquire as to your name?"
Ariha's brother blinked, scanning the room as if waiting for someone to yell "Gotcha!" But when his gaze landed on his mother and sister—both dead serious—his jaw slackened.
"Wait… you're serious?" he croaked.
"Dead serious. Now introduce yourself properly," Ariha said, slurping a noodle.
"I'm Jiho Minori, Ariha's older brother," he managed, still eyeing Senko like a glitch in reality.
"Congratulations, you're now an accomplice. Sit down—I'll get you some ramen," their mother said, rising to fetch another bowl.
Jiho mechanically took a seat, his brain visibly buffering. Senko sat back down as well.
"So you see him too… Good. At least Mom and I aren't the only crazy ones," Ariha said between bites. "Picture this: I'm walking home past the fountain, right? I stop to check my shopping, and there's this guy just sitting there in a helmet. Everyone else acted like he was invisible! And when I talked to him, people looked at me like I'd lost it—like I was chatting with air!"
"Ah, so that's how you met?" Their mother set a steaming bowl in front of Jiho. "Meanwhile, this one came home lying about 'falling into the fountain because of a cyclist.'"
"Mom! I didn't know you'd see him! What was I supposed to say?" Ariha groaned. "If I'd told the truth, you'd have thought I'd snapped!"
Jiho finally rebooted, chopsticks frozen mid-air.
"Hold on—why is no one freaking out that he's invisible to everyone else? Or that he's here 300 years after vanishing without a trace?! This isn't just weird—it's supernatural!"
"That's the million-dollar question," Ariha shrugged. "But right now? Even mystery princes need to eat. Judging by the earthquake noises earlier, he'd have starved to death by tomorrow."
Senko's chopsticks clacked against his bowl, his ears burning. "This conversation is… uncomfortable. May we please change the subject?" he gritted out, dignity in tatters.