It is morning.
The entire day was closed for the candidate's accessibility to roam around the city or stay inside the academy for other various activities. Most candidates preferred to go outside to shop while the rest are staying inside the academy to prepare for the upcoming event that will be held in the next few days.
The wind continued to dash forward on the hill as the sun rises on the horizon. The birds chirped and clapped together, flying away from the sky.
Aran was still sleeping. Part of it was him just trying to vibe and relax for he wasn't able to sleep for a few days because of some strange noises. As he snores, Huck decided to get up to stretch his limbs and pump his body up. He jumped in jacks for a little bit while Aran is sleeping; not worrying about the sudden pounding of the ground.
Seeing that he doesn't care at all, Huck approached him.
"Aran... Hey..." He tried to wake him up by wriggling his body. Still, Aran didn't wake up. He kept on snoring as he move over to the side.
"Man, if you don't wake up right now, those girls will kill both of us... Well, I mean, I don't technically have anything to do with it but I am your roommate so if they were to know that you are still asleep, they might kill me as well."
Aran squirmed his eyes for a second but instead of getting up, he ignores Huck's presence as he twisted his body on the side to sleep even further. Huck sighed and started shaking his body once again.
"Hey... Wake up you big doofus, you're going to get us in trouble. You promised that you will be hanging out with them at the front gate this morning. It has been an hour, you know that? Come on... Aran!" He continued to wake Aran still while snugging down his shoulders to prevent him from sleeping any further.
"Hey! Aran! Wake the hell up!" Still, nothing as he tried to push and shake him with little intensity.
"Mmm—"
A sudden force break their door, it destructed the silence in their room causing them to get startled on a very high level. The door flew off and landed on the ground. Both Huck and Aran stood up by the sudden shock engraved on their spine, running a chill on their system and causing them to panic. Aran was on the verge of dropping off at this point as he gazed at the front door of their room only to see Lisa's mad face.
"ARAN! GET THE HELL UP!" She approached him with an intense glare off her aura and dragged Aran's body on the floor.
"Wha! Hey! Lisa aaa–" She pulled him until they reached the front of their room.
"What the hell are you doing? We have been waiting for you for like an hour now and you still haven't come?" Eunice scolded him.
"I was even worried that you wouldn't come after all, honestly..." Mahrisse placed her palm on her forehead, looking slightly disappointed.
"Umm!" The three of them glared at him while also taking their sweet time of examining what Aran looks like when he is half asleep and half awake in the morning. His hair was messy and his clothing is full of wrinkles.
On the other hand, the three girls are looking spectacular with their own fashionable outfits. Since it is not that common to have a day off from the academy, they are all looking forward to this shopping trip, which explains why they reasonable excuse to wear fancy clothes. This is the first time that they changed into something amazing because of the fact that Aran is going in with them on their first shopping streak.
Well, 80% of the reason is that they wanted to leave a good impression on Aran. They just wanted him to see them on their dress.
The first one was Eunice. Her dress is something that they haven't seen and it is really attractive. Its color was pure red with laces that extends on her thighs. It is pretty fitted and her perfect figure body covers it very well in style. She is rather more of a normal outgoing girl than a fighter with brute strength. Her hairstyle is also different in nature. Her bangs are slicked on the side while the side of her hair is tailed on the backside of her bun. It was pleasing for the eye as it shows her full beauty and angelic face without covering that much of it. She also wears leather boots and some additional necklaces for the outer part of her outfit.
The next one is Mahrisse. Though her dress is already fancy, this one has a few changes around that are pretty noticeable compared to her other outfits as a noble. Instead of wearing thick-coated dresses, hers are pretty much plain without that much abstract design and color. It is pretty thin as well in terms of cotton and the convenience of the whole style. She seems confident as Aran gazed at her with full attention to her newly tailored dress that doesn't resemble a formal noble fashion. She is endearing and more attractive than usual. Her silver hair is still the same but the thin dress is making it look like she is free and wholesome.
"G-Good morning..." she said in a low voice though it was very clear that she greeted Aran with a little embarrassment on her side.
"Good morning, Mahrisse..." Aran returned the greet. He then began to shift his gaze to Lisa who wears a different figure as well.
Her old clothing has dissipated its course of neatness. That's why she is wearing more formal and fancy clothing. Instead of a dress, she wears a white long-sleeved lace shirt that extends on her elbow and black pants that converts her outfit into a formal style. It is was a very matching fit with her golden hair that seems to have changed as well as she commonly braids it though, at this point, it was hanged and properly covered as well. It is nice that they have changed their style for this occasion.
"Stand up and get dressed already, you've wasted our time," Lisa ordered him with a slight annoyance. Aran quickly stood up and followed her.
"Ah! I am really sorry! I will go fix myself first, so umm... Can you please wait at the front gate?" He asked them to leave.
"Why? Are you going to sleep again?" Eunice asked.
"No umm, you broke our door, I would have to clean this place first and get dressed" All of them realized that they have destroyed their room and thus it will be hard for Aran to dress without worrying.
Seeing the reason and understanding it, the three of them blushed and evoked a smokey feeling of flustered reaction.
"Oh! Umm, sorry!" Lisa apologized and left quickly.
"Well then, we will be going now. Let us meet up at the gate, Aran," Eunice said as she followed Lisa. Mahrisse stayed blank for a while and Aran noticed it.
"Hmm? Mahrisse?"
"Huh? Oh umm! Have a good day!" She bowed and then quickly fled. Confused by what just happened, he looked directly at Huck to set any information.
"Don't ask me, you are the man here. You're lucky that you didn't get smacked." Huck replied as he sat on his own bed.
"This is real trouble..."
"Here is a little tip for you, young man. When a girl instinctively or purposely becomes nice to you and flashes their expressive figure, you need to take a breath and compliment them. They put their efforts it getting those looks and even had the trouble of getting good just for you. You need to be more wiser and intimate with them or you could lose trust and get into trouble." Huck put some advice on the table as he watched Aran get dressed in his casual clothes.
"Are they really doing that? It sounds like it will be trouble, though I am not really sure because I cannot read social cues or any of that cringy stuff that you mentioned ." Aran replied.
"What do you mean cringe? Everything that I have told you is commonly normal in today's time. Aran, your shortcoming about social activities and playing with the right pad of people needs to improve. You are not alone anymore, you have companions. You are not planning on staying a commoner like that, am I right?"
"No, not ever. Though I am still confused. I think I will ask you for more stuff, you seemed to be more experienced with interaction than I am." Aran smiled as put his coat on.
"Yeah, of course. I will be here if you need some pointers. Being the prince of the iron fist and holding to that title really improved my bearing in social interactions. And you being the hero of this academy should also produce the same kind of output as well because you are special. Those girls are lucky to have you." Huck replied with a smile.
"Yeah yeah... Oh! by the way, what are you going to do for today?" Aran asked.
"I will train, I kinda want to prepare for that Triathlon event you mentioned last time. It seems fun and exciting to me so I am going to be preparing my body for that." Huck answered.
"Oh yeah? Good luck with that. I will be rooting for you." Aran said as he finishes his crossing. He took his weapon and other things with him.
"Well then, Huck, I will be going now. Take care."
"Yeah! You guys have some fun! Take care!" He greeted him out. Aran ran into the hall. Huck picked up the destroyed door and sighed really hard.
"This is going to be a pain in the ass..."
Reaching the 2nd floor of the building, Aran quickly headed downstairs and went outside on the field near the front gate.
"Where are they? It is been a long time since I see the city, I think I should have fun with them..." He mumbled as he walked outside the road.
"Aran!" A woman's voice called to him. He gazed in that direction and saw Lisa waving at him. He smiled and crossed the street to approach them.
"Hey there! I am really sorry for taking your time!" He bowed in front of them.
"Don't worry about that, we should hurry and go to the capital now. We wasted that much time already." Eunice said as she gets on the lead of the group.
Everyone followed her as they walked on the side of the street. They passed through a lot of new buildings that were built since the masked magician incident.
Aran took a glance on every corner of the place, making himself at ease and in awe for seeing the outside after a long session of magic training.
"This place really changed, it looked so much better." He commended the area.
"Yeah, the commander really put all of their budgets into buildings and new roads after that large-scale damage. It seems like he is really looking forward to the new modernized construction of the city." Lisa replied.
"Woah..."
Noticing that Mahrisse is walking a bit more slowly than the rest, Aran slowed down his track and synchronized his speed with her.
"Hey... Are you okay? You seemed to be gloomy." Aran asked her. He got a bit closer to her side as they walked upward.
"Oh, I am okay... Just feeling a little bit sick, I guess?" She replied.
(This shouldn't have happened, I was looking forward to just the two of us, but they are right here in front. It would be hard to flash to Aran if they are here as well. Aaaaa! I wish they could just go!) She twitched her face.
"Hey umm..." Aran broke the awkward silence. Mahrisse gazed at him.
"I just want to tell you that I am really grateful for the invitation, and for hanging with me as well. This is my first time bonding with my close friends and umm... It feels really different than usual. It is probably because I didn't get to experience that much of contemporary social hangouts. It feels like I lived my life with a second chance on those things. So umm, it is very nice that I have you on my side. You even invited me." After being grateful to her, Aran widely smiled in joy as she looked straight to Mahrisse.
It caused her heart to beat really fast. Her cheeks and ears turned red in an instant knowing that she made something that improved Aran's case. His wholesome aura extended her intimacy and closeness with her.
"Oh umm... Yes! You are welcome. It is my duty to serve you with my gratefulness as well. After all, you are the one who saved my life from those dangers." She replied with a wide smile on her face as well. Getting energetic, she quickly danced through the other girls and went in to synchronize with their steps. Seeing that she is happy again, Aran smiled.
(Huck, your advice worked.)
After a little while, they finally reached the central shopping district and what came into the view is the city of Knightstar. It has become highly modernized just by looking at the houses and buildings with new outer designs. The roads have changed as well and the progress of its civilization went upwards, ascending from scratch to reality.
"We're here! The central capital's new full modernized city! Knightstar!" Eunice went near the fence to see the overlooking view of the whole place. It has become quite big compared to the last time that they walked down the hill.
"I see a lot of new buildings as well, they really exerted that much effort huh..." Aran gazed around.
"Look over there, that is the new shopping district. I think all of the stuff that we need is right over there so we should go now." Mahrisse pointed out the location of where they are going to go.
"Alright then!"