Lunaria woke up the next day feeling great.
While the group consumed more alcohol than expected, Lunaria had the ability to detoxify herself with magic so it really didn't affect her performance. On the other hand, while Kaze was new to alcohol, he could be seen with no problem drinking just as much as the other experienced drinker. This just meant that Kaze had a high tolerance level, which was rare for a newbie like him. In the end, the one to fall asleep first was Sera, who personally was weak to rice wine. Their night ended there, with everyone returning to their respective rooms.
As today was a weekend, Lunaria had her own plans for the day even if it was break day. After getting a morning shower and breakfast with Shiro, she confirmed with her friends on their condition whether they were feeling the aftereffects of the alcohol. She couldn't do this with Kaze since he lived a distance away from the dorm and it would be weird for her to walk all the way there just to ask him about his condition. Similar to the girls' dorms, the boys' dorms also had a protective barrier around it to prevent guys from bringing in female companions for… various reasons.
If Lunaria wanted, she could easily bypass the security with her advanced magic control but there was no point in doing so.
"I will be out for a shopping trip," Lunaria told Shiro before she left the room. "See you later, okay? Behave yourself when Akaru returns."
Lunaria headed over to the market area of Tristania. It was a slight walk away from school, but it wasn't inconvenient in any sense. Lunaria liked the quantity of food choices that was available at the marketplace and most things were brought in fresh, meaning that even the quality was guaranteed. In a place like Tristania, it was natural to assume that the standard of living was high and thus the economy was a reflection of that. The prices of food were slightly higher in certain stalls, but this was also due to factors like the limit in quantity and the popular demand for certain items.
"How much is this?"
"Ohh, for a cute student like you, I can sell it to you at a price of 2 for 3 each, how about it?"
"Fufu, I will take you up on your offer then."
Lunaria easily haggled the price of some vegetables with her own charm, something that she was hesitant to use but useful at times like these. Besides, it wasn't like the sellers were making a loss in profit, otherwise they wouldn't give the same treatment to others from time to time.
Currently, Lunaria had hidden her dragonic features with illusion magic. It was the weak type that was easily dispelled if she received an attack but easy to maintain. Plus, it helped that she looked more like an elf now than a dragon with her ears being similar to that of elves. The only thing she had to look out for was her tail. Dragonkins could easily fold their wings in their clothes for a short period of time before it got uncomfortable, but Lunaria didn't need long before she bought everything she came for.
Even as a princess, she was aware of how much budget she had, not to say that hers was anywhere near most of the nobles in school anyway. She certainly was much closer to Yuuji in terms of money readily available to them, thus it was necessary to be frugal in the first place to ensure that she didn't lose sight of how much money she could spend. Still, that didn't stop her from acquiring rare or high-quality items that she loved to eat.
Shortly after, Lunaria returned back to the dorm to find that Shiro was cuddling with Akaru, her black cat.
Lunaria paid them no mind and moved on to prepare lunch. It was a little early considering what time she left for the market and returned, but Lunaria had other plans in mind. That was because she was planning to make lunch for Kaze as well.
It had been nearly 3 months since they last met each other and the school semester was almost over. The second semester starts on the 5th month as there were 3 semesters per study year, which was common across the nation of Czech. On the students' third year, they would move on to different fields outside of the classrooms where things like working part-time or joining as adventurers at a guild became optional to students.
Lunaria had planned to register as a provisional hunter and take on miscellaneous tasks from time to time. While she was a student, her age was far beyond the requirements needed to register as a normal hunter in the first place. Plus, she also had qualifications of her graduation back in Aravel already so she needn't rel on Czech to provide her with the chance to participate. The real trouble would start when people found out about her and wanted to party up with her.
She was aware of the troubles that was brought forth because of her standings as a princess. This was one part that Lunaria hated very much. In addition to her beauty, which was already something that attracted gazes of envy and lust, people yearned for power the most. This was why Lunaria was grateful that she had friends like Yuuji and Kaze, who respected her irrelevant of who she was in the past.
"Hmm~ Shiro, what do you think Kaze would feel like eating today?" Lunaria asked her bunny daughter.
In response to her question, both Shiro and Akaru lifted their head to critically examine Lunaria's question. After a moment of silence, the two came over to Lunaria's side. She lifted the two onto the table for them to examine the food choices she had laid out. Needless to say, they understood her question well and made their respective choice, with Shiro choosing the vegetable option and Akaru choosing the fish.
"I see, then I will make baked fish meat accompanied by vegetables," Lunaria nodded at this and got to work. "Thank you, you two. You know its fine to show yourselves in your true form when no one is around right?"
At her words, Shiro hesitantly transformed back to her real form: a girl that was no younger than 10 years old in appearance. She had a plain white dress on with red iris that reflected her bunny appearance. With long streaks of grey hair and cute rabbit ears on her head, she hugged Lunaria lovingly.
"Mama~" Shiro let out a light giggle. "Akaru and I decided it be best to just remain as our animal form throughout. But unless mother requests it, then…"
"Alright, I won't stop you girls from doing what you want to," Lunaria smiled lovingly at Shiro and glanced at Akaru, who was lazing around in bed.
"Mama, why are you making lunch for Kaze?" Shiro asked, tilting her head. "Is he special like Rena or Sera or Shoko?"
"Um… something like that," Lunaria stood back up and went to work. "Let's just say that I view him differently compared to the rest of my classmates."
"Hmm~ Mama is kind after all."
An hour passed and Lunaria was done with the preparation as well as cooking. She seemed satisfied with the results of her work and packed up. Changing into her uniform attire as she was going to enter the school grounds, she left the two with some food to eat before leaving the dorms yet again. Lunaria also didn't bother putting on her illusion disguise anymore.
Meanwhile, Kaze was in the midst of his sword fighting club. As the weekly session came to an end, there would be one on one sparring that occurred on a weekly basis to test how much one had improved from their training. Kaze had already finished his round with another noble and was waiting at the side. While he could have left already, he took this chance to observe from the other members of the club sparring to learn something. Everyone had their own established sword style, so it was helpful to be able to pick up a thing or two that would be beneficial, especially with Kaze who learnt a sword style that had no name. Rather, his grandfather was the one who taught him to fight without directly revealing the style to him.
"Third style: Raging Torrent!"
"Kuha!!"
The fight before Kaze came to an end. Both opponents bowed at each other before leaving the ring.
Kaze took note of the student who exerted the technique's name and blew his opponent away. He was Albert Soma Dristolte, a son from the noble Dristolte family. Kaze wasn't sure about the social status he had but judging from the reaction he often got from the surroundings Albert's family must be quite outstanding. His sword style was an incorporation of water magic which primarily made up his attack. The previous style that he used, Raging Torrent, involved thrusting his sword forward as a medium to propel his water magic towards his opponent. It was likely because it had better accuracy and force at the same time, being able to direct the magic towards the opponent with the tip of his sword. Kaze could tell that it had a lot of force from the way the opponent was blasted back.
"Kaze."
Lunaria appeared from behind and sat down next to him.
"Lunaria, what are you doing here?" Kaze asked, feeling a little confused.
"I'm here to share lunch with you," Lunaria gestured to the small lunch basket she was carrying. "I went to the market to buy something to make, so I wanted your help to test and see if it tastes good."
"Oh, so you're experimenting with new recipes huh?" Kaze smiled at her initiative but felt bad all of a sudden. "B-But… aren't you treating me too kindly?"
"I can't ask Shoko and the others because I know they will be slightly bias towards me, hence why I got your help," Lunaria explained. "Besides, the other classmates I know would also be bias towards me because I'm a princess."
While Kaze chatted with Lunaria, he received several envious gazes from the club members below. For him to be able to be approached by Lunaria herself was something great in itself, but she was even sharing her lunch with him. They didn't need to hear their conversation to know that from the basket that Lunaria carried and her friendly attitude with him. Both Kaze and Lunaria were able to identify the stares easily, even though it was obvious that this was the result from Lunaria choosing to do this so openly with Kaze.
"L-Lunaria, are you sure we shouldn't move?" Kaze asked nervously.
"It's fine, let them think what they want," Lunaria rolled her eyes and passed him his portion of lunch. "If I leave the lunch basket between us, they can't say anything right? It just proves that we are not close, but I am treating you lunch."
"I'm pretty sure sharing lunch with you in the first place means we are close…" Kaze sweatdropped. "Well, it's too late to complain now. Thank you for the meal Lunaria."
Kaze took a small bite out of the baked fish along with Lunaria. After chewing for a little, he turned to Lunaria who was waiting for his comment.
"I taste lemon that you sprinkled on the fish, some unknown herbs, and the vegetable sauce. Maybe you could have gone a little lighter on the herbs, its overpowering the fish in my opinion," Kaze muttered softly.
"Hmm, I like the herbs taste though, so maybe that means we have different opinions on how I approach the dish," Lunaria nodded. "However, I will take note of your opinion for future references. Maybe I should clean the fish a little more thoroughly so there is no more fishy smell."
"Ah, the herbs were used to counteract them?" Kaze nodded at her comment. "I think it was a smart move."
"Yes, since its fresh fish after all, it would be a waste to not eat it," Lunaria smiled. "It's helpful there's a town near the sea a few hours away from Tritania."
As the two continued their lunch, Kaze could feel a few people approaching them and looked up from his food to inspect their visitors. It turned out, as expected, to be a few of the sword fighting club members. Kaze recognised most of them, though the one person that stood out from the rest was the person standing in front of him right now.
"Can I help you Bryle?" Kaze asked.
Bryle Laique Istenburgh, another son from yet another established noble family in Tritania. Kaze didn't even bother to remember his entire name because it had always been hard on him to remember names, not to mention ones that are as long as Bryle's. In fact, Kaze appreciated the fact he only had one word to his name as he needn't waste time on writing the full thing on forms and such. However, it was that difference in syllabus that created a line between nobles and commoners. It was worse for Kaze when even commoners had family names.
"Lunaria-sama," Bryle ignored Kaze's words and went on to politely address the princess by Kaze's side. "Good day to you."
"Good day to you too," Lunaria stood up and returned the greeting with a small frown on her face. "Do I know you?"
"No, I believe this is the first time we made acquaintance," Bryle smiled wryly.
Extending his hand to take hers, he got on one knee and kissed the tip of her middle finger gently. This was a formal greeting made between nobles, when a guy greets a female whom he respects or had higher status than him. It was also used to show that the said person was being treated very carefully by the one who kissed her hand. Lunaria quickly grasped his formal act and returned the favour by placing a hand across her chest and bowing.
"Oh, I have never seen this form of return before," Bryle widened his eyes and applauded lightly.
"Yes, it is the Aravel method of greeting," Lunaria stated as she stood back up. "I am unfamiliar with the noble greetings of the humans, so this is my best return I can provide you."
"Regardless, it was beautiful. My humble name is Bryle Laique Istenburgh, son of the Istenburgh family. We specialize in foreign trade and own one of the biggest, if not the biggest, companies in Tritania."
"Thank you for your praise Bryle. I'm Lunaria Sven Rentaria, first princess of the Rentaria royal family from Aravel. May I know why you have interrupted lunch with my acquaintance and I?"
"Yes, please excuse me for that," Bryle cleared his throat and continued to speak. "I believe, my friends and I believe, that we would like to invite you to join us for lunch."
"Did I not state already that I am in the process of having lunch?" Lunaria raised an eyebrow at his words.
"Indeed, you did. However, I would like to invite Lunaria-sama to lunch with my friends," Bryle made an apologetic smile. "Your acquaintance may come along."
"… Thank you for the offer, but I'm going to have to reject it," Lunaria politely rejected his offer. "I have promised to eat together with my friend. Plus, some of them will be arriving shortly."
"I see, that is a shame," Bryle sighed. "Until next time, Lunaria-sama."
With the group of them retreating, Lunaria waited until they were a distant away from them before she sat back down.
"Haa, now my mood is ruined," Lunaria gritted her teeth as she took a bite from her fish.
"You alright? I think you splendidly warded them away," Kaze smiled sympathetically at her. "I like how you made up that we had other people coming over."
"That's the only way to deal with them. I don't want our conversation to drag out for long as my food will go cold," Lunaria eyed Kaze carefully. "Besides, him not addressing you from the start was already a red flag for me. No matter how rude, greeting others is always a courtesy."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm used to it. Bryle is… quite good with the sword too."
"Is he? He looked quite skinny."
"Yes, but he is nimble. If you had seen him with his spear, you will know what I mean."
"I thought you said he wielded the sword? He had a sheath with him earlier too."
"His weapon of choice is the spear, but the sword is like his secondary weapon. It probably is due to his sword style, but his method of fighting is quite different."
"Hmph, strength doesn't define a person."
Lunaria began to rethink the way she had to interact with Kaze throughout lunch and their small conversations. If eating with Kaze was enough to cause something like this to happen, then she couldn't imagine what might potentially happen to him if he was left alone. While she knew this was not her business nor her right to care for how Kaze felt unless he opened up, she couldn't help but still felt worried.
"Lunaria?"
"Mm, it's nothing. I thought the fish tasted weird for a second."
For the time being, Lunaria decided to keep a close eye on Kaze's wellbeing. She wasn't going to allow someone else to get hurt because of her, not again.
- - - - - - -
"Students, it's time for the upcoming examination."
The teacher's voice rang out to everyone in class. At his words, the students all began whispering among themselves regarding the sudden announcement.
While the announcement was not expected, the contents of the exam were. They had already been briefed from the start and everyone only looked forward to one part of the exam: the individual examination.
Other than there being a paper written part and some practical tests, the individual examination was not only a way to help boost their grades but also the social status. Many nobles took great pride in the individual examination and thus competition was high.
The individual examination was a way to judge how much one had improved from when they first came into the academy that would only be held once a year. At the end of the first semester which was the examination, the individual examination would take place for every student in school. While it was originally made with the concept of it to be held at the end of the year, it had been shifted forward due to it being the winter and many unpredictable things from happening.
By way of examination, it would be based on a point collection system that was held in a forest nearby.
There were many forest patches surrounding Tristania, but only a few were actually accessible to the public unless they had met the qualifications required. During the examination, the patch of forest chosen would be the one that was closest and safest based on the school requirements. For starters, it was an area that was being cared for and constantly surveyed by explorers and adventurers whenever they departed on quests and such. As a result, the area had already been mapped entirely along with any monster nests being cleared. All that remained right now were the occasional weaker monsters.
In the individual examination, students had with 3 hours to complete the exam. They needed to score a minimum of 100 points to pass while the maximum of 500 points. The way to earn the points were either based on collecting certain materials required, completing certain challenges as well as slaying of some monsters.
"So, the obvious route for this would be to have someone who is good at searching," Lunaria analysed during their study session.
"Well, it also requires one to be able to have good thinking too," Yuuji mused. "They even gave us each a copy of the layout of the forest beforehand… that only means that the area is so large that with the entire first grade released, we would still get lost."
"Plus, no teaming," Rena sighed. "While I don't mind the fact that we can't be together, but I am still a little concerned on whether it is possible for all of us to pass."
"It makes sense to not team, otherwise the stronger team would instantly win," Kaze comforted Rena. "We will have to rely on our own strength this round."
"Looking at the list here, it doesn't seem like we will be encountering any strong monsters in the first place," Yuuji said so while observing the forest and the list. "Most of them are dolls released by the school, but occasional encounter of slimes or goblins would be counted as monsters too. I don't see any category for neutral monsters like wild hare or the Poison-winged butterfly."
"But more importantly, the jewels that will be scattered should be the main goal," Lunaria stated. "Four colours, with black being the one rewarding 50 points. Those are massive finds, but the reason it has high scores are definitely because they blend well with the environment and can easily be confused with rocks."
"Hmm, people would probably all be aiming for what they can see first, so either the red or blue jewels," Shoko pointed out, wondering what the better option was. "But the challenges are interesting too."
"We still don't have information on that, so it can be safe to assume they are challenges that we would encounter within the forest itself," Sera suggested to them. "For this examination, Rena and I have the upper hand as elves."
"Don't forget about me," Lunaria smiled at this too. "While flying is banned for other species like dragonkins, I have sharp senses too."
"So… the real challenge would be us," Kaze and Yuuji looked at each other. "Isn't this a little too unfair?"
"It can't be helped, but I would say that even though we can adapt well, it doesn't mean we would get lucky on the day itself," Rena shrugged.
"Luck only comes when you actually put in the effort, so be sure to stay focus at all times."
Everyone nodded at what Kaze had stated, for they understood that Kaze went through a lot to become the way he was today. They might only have known him for a few months, but it was enough to determine that he was someone who wouldn't give up easily without trying first.
- - - - - -
In Aravel, a certain female dragonkin walked down the huge corridors of the palace.
With her flaming red crimson twintails flowing behind her, the dragonkin felt a little nervous about the request that she made earlier. Right now, she was about to confirm the results for herself.
"Father, are you there?" She called out to a huge set of doors in front of her.
"Mm, come on in Lunatea," a soft but firm voice came from behind it, granting her the permission to enter.
Pushing open the door with ease as though the weight did not matter, Lunatea stepped into the room of her parents' workplace.
"Father, about my request…" Lunatea hesitantly approached him. "Am I allowed a bit of time off?"
"Hmm, your mother seems fine with it so I'm good too," Lunatea's father, the Emperor of Aravel, smiled at her. "Go on, see how your sister is doing in Czech. Just remember to return by the next day at latest, alright? You don't want us to send one of the guards over there just to find you."
At his words, Lunatea let out a happy cry and raced out of the room.
"Thank you, father!"
The Emperor watched as his second daughter slammed the door on the way out and chuckled at her attitude. He knew that his daughters were all very fond of their elder sister, so it was natural to be worried even though a short amount of time had only passed since she left.
"Reginsleif, dear, was that Lunatea?" Another voice came from behind him. "She was in such a hurry."
"Yes, she must be on her way to Czech already."
"Ah, that makes sense. Her sisters have been dying to check up on Lunaria after all."
"Mm, I was fine with her flying off on her own as long as she told us beforehand, but I suppose they feel better making it a formal notice."
"Well, you can't suddenly have two princesses of Aravel leaving the country on short notice after all."
The person who spoke, the Empress, placed her hand on Reginsleif's shoulder. In a swift move, he pulled her down onto his lap and planted a kiss naturally on her lips.
"Laevia, my love, I am worried for them too," Reginsleif sighed as he addressed his beloved wife. "I truly don't know if this was the right choice."
"… Allowing Lunaria to leave with her friends is something she decided on her own, you know that," Laevia's blue eyes stared back into his. "But at the same time, I also feel like it is something that was needed to be done. She has been in pain for too long."
"Hmm, it's not like I didn't notice it, but if the outside world of humans warped her thinking once more, I don't know how she can come to terms with her past problems," Reginsleif worded his worries to Laevia.
"I'm just as disappointed in myself as you are that we can't help Lunaria after so many years, so she has to do it herself," Laevia nodded to her husband. "Lunaria's aware of the problem she faced, which is why she made this decision."
"I hope you're right Laevia, I really do."
With both parents staring out the window from their workspace, the sign of a red dragon soaring through the skies of Aravel could be seen, heading straight for Czech to meet her dear sister.