"I need the prince of Himekaizen." What kind of request was that? Ryu shook his head in amusement. "You really don't know what makes girls tick, Urufu. Right now you're the king of Himekaizen, and the senior girls probably think you're more interesting than I am anyway."

He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. Urufu's personality and the way he handled the festival were certain to attract more than a few third years. They were preparing to leave high school behind, and to a degree they acted more adult than they would as first- or second-year university students. At least, if what his father had said was true. That only meant he had to become a more grown-up prince. It was a strange thought, and one he wouldn't have had just half a year earlier. He wondered if he was growing up as well. The way Urufu and Kuri had affected his life scared him, but he admitted they had.

Easy for them — they had their wingmen, after all. Then he accepted why that thought lacked dignity: they had earned their wingmen. Sometimes he wished he could be more like Yukio, or Kyoko for that matter.

Ryu turned left after the vending machines and walked almost to the end of the corridor. From here on, it was mostly a matter of knocking on doors. Urufu wanted a dozen third-year girls to do two shopping rounds each. Ryu would get them; otherwise he wasn't worthy of being called the prince of Himekaizen. "Princess of Scandinavia" had once been her second name, but in this world she was the princess of Himekaizen; maybe "empress" was a better description. She was neither petite nor cute in the preferred way of a Japanese high school princess. Yeah—empress it is, she thought, when reminded of the task ahead. What Ulf asked was far beyond what could decently be asked of a high school girl, but that wasn't what he had done, was it? For once he didn't look at her with love; she understood how he addressed the Billion Dollar Empress instead of his "little Ina." It hurt a little, and it made her immensely proud of him. As long as he understood he couldn't use the rest of them this way, she thought, but it was already too late. Sooner or later some of them would break, and they would resent him because they were unable to live up to his expectations. He didn't really care; his reputation would suffer because they'd think he was after personal glory. It had to be done, and it was all because of her. She shouldn't have started the Uniclo circus. She silently pleaded, "Ulf, please don't hate me for it." "Hangers six and seven further back and to the left," someone called. Christina watched two more metal frames move closer to the exit. "Try it on." Fifteen minutes of fame—more like fifteen seconds, but adding an ad-hoc fashion show on the football field should secure a lot of guests in one place when the school got crammed beyond capacity. Five hundred, maybe six hundred, she thought. Perhaps the best of the crazy ideas he'd come up with, and it still wouldn't be enough. She smiled to herself. She tried so hard even when she knew it wouldn't suffice. There were rumours about him. They called him the magician, and 'they' included teachers as well. "Okay, crew: team one, stay here and prepare the planned show. Team two, follow me!" If you want me to run two shows, I'll make them both better than the one we planned. Today would put her to the test. Without any professionals by her side, she would try to surpass Ulf's insane expectations. She owed him that much. She loved him that much.