It took a while, but the selection process was finally over.
After Kaze had put on quite the show for the others, most of them were either agitated or looking to show off their best. In fact, some people opted to duel with the dummy instead. It seemed like they wanted to test for themselves the capabilities of fighting against the dummy to either further convince themselves of Kaze's prowess or they figured they simply preferred fighting the dummy.
With the students moving along one by one, Frey took her time to talk with Kaze. She must have gotten interested in his abilities due to his performance against the dummy.
"I can see why Lunaria-hime recommended you now," Frey commented with a gleeful smile. "I can't wait for the day of the festival itself to see who I get paired up with. I hope to fight you~"
"… As much as this conversation is making me uncomfortable… I won't deny that I also am interested in fighting against you…" Kaze sweatdropped, wondering if the other top 10s were also like that. "I wonder how many people will be chosen the first time round or we would have to choose again."
"Probably not much, but I can tell he shows promise," Frey shrugged and gestured to the person fighting against her dummy right now.
"Ah, Albert is a good person," Lunaria agreed. "Frey-san, isn't it hard for you to maintain all the barriers by yourself while controlling the dummy? The Student Council members or I can be of help."
"Ooh~ alright then, I will take your word for it," Frey giggled. "I was thinking that I should do all the physical work since I felt bad for letting you do the rest on your own, but since you insisted~"
Disabling some of the barriers from her control, Frey passed the job over to Lunaria. With a confident smile, Lunaria waved her fingers and the barriers that disappeared reappeared on an even more advanced scale. As expected from Lunaria, who demonstrated her expert level of controlling once more, made it such that her appearance did not reflect her mental age. After all, she was a genius who managed to reach mastery level of magic when she was only 30. In human age terms, that would be 3 years old.
Of course, one can't make a direct conversion since that wasn't how aging worked. Lunaria had lived well over what an average human would and as a result had more time to learn her magic and sword skills. It was just a different mentality and perspective that long-life races lived by, seeing that Lunaria was already abnormal from what she had told Kaze.
Still, Lunaria was someone who was even more of an expert than most dragonkins. If she was the top of the top among a race that was known for their superb strength, then Lunaria surely must have done something for her to solidify her place as such within the dragonkin community. While the humans might not be aware of this, they still regarded her as one of the strongest based on her ranking. Lunaria did not mind showing off her strength especially after experiencing the drawbacks of constantly hiding it.
Some of the students gasped at the change in difficulty of the barrier, considering it became even more refined and denser than the previous ones made by Frey. Making a low whistle of admiration, Frey smirked at the dragonkin princess because this was made as though it was a display of talent. No one in their right minds would want to take on Lunaria unless they were at least one of the top 10s of the school. Lunaria would have made it to the top 10 if they were ranked by their strengths alone instead of the rank points.
As for Kaze, who was already aware of Lunaria's strengths, he simply smiled when he saw her displaying her terrifying control over magic. He was genuinely happy for her after comparing her current state with her past, something that she was working hard to overcome. It mattered not how strong she was, because Kaze already knew that she trusted him and was also why she picked him herself.
"Haa!!"
"Good, good. You did well, you~ Next!"
Albert made a loud cry when he demolished the dummy in front of him with his water sword skill. He chose the dummy to test out his own capabilities, and he was rewarded with Frey nodding her head in approval. The dummy, which had been separated from its upper body, reconstructed itself with the help of magic and got ready for the next opponent once Albert stepped out of the barrier.
"Nicely done, Albert," Kaze congratulated his friend as Albert walked over to the side to spectate the others.
"You did it better," Albert shook his head humbly. "You took way less time to bring down the dummy at an even higher difficulty, I respect that."
"I… just got lucky," Kaze scratched the back of his head. "I really didn't do anything special."
"You didn't, but it proved you worked hard," Albert placed a hand on Kaze's shoulder with a smile. "You deserve to be one of the representatives."
"You do, indeed," Yuuji, who had finished his test, walked up to the two as well. "Kaze, something tells me that you have been training without our knowledge."
"Well… I don't think I have to let you know if I had fought against someone," Kaze made a nervous smile, knowing that Yuuji started to suspect him. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason, other than the fact that you made all of us worried," Yuuji sighed. "Really, you… why don't you rank up? I still don't get it. If you went through all the trouble of duelling someone, then why not gain some extra benefits from it?"
"How is your win-loss ratio, Yuuji-sama?" Albert addressed Yuuji politely.
"It hasn't been too good a streak for me lately. I only have 43 wins and 17 losses," Yuuji admitted with a slightly embarrassed look. "Father is fine with it, but I feel like I could have fought better in some of the fights."
"No, no. Having almost 2.5 times the amount of your losses as victories is impressive enough, Yuuji-sama. I only have 36 wins and 14 losses," Albert chuckled. "Normally people will have about half as many victories as compared to their losses, especially those who have proactively challenged Lunaria-hime."
"You don't have to be so formal with us, Albert," Yuuji smiled at this. "Call me Yuuji, much like how Lunaria is okay with you calling her by her name only when talking with us."
"Yes, Yuuji-sama. I mean, Yuuji," Albert laughed. "I suppose only Kaze here has exceptions to address her by her name in general, right?"
"W-What do you mean?" Kaze's face turned a little red at their words. "Are you trying to say I have some sort of special privileges?"
"Are you denying our words?" Yuuji asked, raising his eyebrow in mischief. "You do know that you are constantly being watched by Lunaria right?"
"What? No, Lunaria wouldn't do that. You make her sound like a stalker," Kaze frowned in suspicion at his friend's words.
"Okay, well, that was a wrong way to phrase it. What I mean is, Lunaria looks out for you a lot, more than you realize," Yuuji corrected himself promptly. "If you don't believe me, ask Sera and the others yourself."
"I'm not saying I don't know that, but I feel like you are over-exaggerating things, Yuuji," Kaze sighed. "Lunaria… is a very kind person."
"No, I stand by Yuuji with this, Kaze," Albert shook his head. "Even as someone who does not stay with the rest of you, I can tell that Lunaria herself is somewhat acting different around you. Like… like…"
"Like more comfortable?" Yuuji finished Albert's sentence of him when he struggled.
"Yes! And also, somewhat passionate?" Albert mused at this, his defined jawline raising upwards as he smiled at this. "It's like she is taking care of her new pet."
"I feel like you two are degrading me morally…" Kaze muttered, feeling like his status as friend with Lunaria was starting to feel even wider than before.
"Enough, you two," Shoko, who had passed her test too, came over to chat with them. "Kaze, as rude as the two might be, they make a solid point. Lunaria certainly does react differently when she is around you."
From her words, Kaze knew that she purposely added in a double meaning to it. For Yuuji and Albert, who didn't get the context, simply assumed this meant Shoko agreed with them. However, it was far from that, because Shoko was aware that Kaze knew of Lunaria's past too. What she was trying to say was that after getting bullied by humans and even possibly sexually harassed in the past, Lunaria was being way too comfortable with a human male like Kaze.
It wasn't a bad thing, but the development was too quick. Even Shoko herself didn't expect Lunaria to enter 'stage 3' of her friendship with Kaze so quickly, meaning that she was a lot more open and friendlier to Kaze compared to how she treated the rest of her classmates at 'stage 1'. This wasn't a way to clarify the stages of friendship in general, but a simple concept that Shoko came up for herself to classify Lunaria's progression while in Czech.
Little did she know Lunaria had already entered stage 4 with Kaze, meaning that she had shown skin to him before. She and the two elves were in stage 4, meaning Kaze quickly rose to such extent that a few months of being friends with Lunaria made him the same level that it took others years to reach. Anything beyond stage 4 was simply… romantic relationship.
Of course, her thoughts hadn't been conveyed to Kaze from a simple response in her words, but the possibility was there for Shoko. Considering Lunaria's dark past, it was likely that Lunaria really and truly accepted Kaze instead of forcing herself to overcome her fears. What that worried Shoko, as a friend and a long-time companion of Lunaria along with Sera and Rena, was if Lunaria started to developed feelings for Kaze as an opposite gender.
She didn't dare bring this up to Lunaria, worried that it might cause some misunderstandings with Lunaria and Kaze. It was fine to discuss this with Sera and Rena, but how far were they going to wait for Kaze and Lunaria to progress to the next level? Were they truly accepting of Kaze enough that if one day, Kaze suddenly dated Lunaria and proposed to her, that they would be fine with leaving her in his hands?
It was far-fetched, admittedly, but not impossible. Being friends with Lunaria for so long made them concerned about this, far more than they had before. They trusted Lunaria for them to not meddle in her relationships, especially with her last relationship, but they weren't sure if they were ready to see Lunaria love again.
More importantly, they didn't want to see Kaze being conflicted because of this. They knew he had enough troubles of his own, so there was no point in adding to it.
As such, Shoko had already decided with the two elves. They were only going to quietly observe. No matter the outcome, they will support their dear dragonkin friend.
"You see, Kaze? Shoko agrees with us," Yuuji stated, already on the verge of bursting into a bundle of laughter. "Just admit it, you like Lunaria too~"
"How immature are you going to get?" Kaze plopped himself to the floor to take a breather from the two guys laughing away at him. "I respect Lunaria as a friend. Nothing more."
At his words, only Shoko had a different reaction to the other two. Even if it might sound like Kaze was being stubborn, one part of Shoko was happy that Lunaria wasn't near them to be able to hear their conversation. No doubt it was going to be very awkward if something else happened, but she had her reasons to doubt Kaze too.
What was it that the two did that allowed them to become so close so quickly?
- - - - -
Not long after, the remainder of the students had finished their selection process and everyone else was allowed to leave. The results would only be announced a day later after further consideration from Lunaria and Frey.
"Good work," Kaze told Lunaria, who had disabled the barriers. "Must have been tough doing all that."
"I won't deny it was tedious, but I'm still fine," Luanria smiled at him being concerned for her. "Who do you think will pass?"
"No idea. Only Yuuji, Shoko, Albert and Mitsui came to mind," Kaze shrugged. "Sera and Rena didn't join us."
"Yeah. They are going to be involved in another event so they can't make it," Lunaria nodded with a light sigh. "It's a shame, but we will have to see what next."
"Kaze, wanna duel?" Frey proposed to him. "I want to test out your strength for myself~"
"No please, I respectfully decline," Kaze quickly rejected the idea. "I don't want to be crushed by you, Frey-san."
"Ehehe, so worried," Frey grinned and patted his hand lightly. "Well then, I will see you on the day itself, Kaze~"
Tiptoeing so she could reach to his height, she gave him a petty kiss on his cheek.
The kiss itself meant nothing since Frey was someone who was very playful by nature. Naturally, it meant nothing since it was just to tease Kaze.
Kaze jumped back in reaction and yelped, giving Frey the satisfaction of seeing him freak out. This caused her to burst into giggles before she skipped away.
While the exchange between them meant nothing more than teasing, this action alone was enough to stun Lunaria who stood in front of the two of them this whole time. Just a moment ago she was having a casual talk with Kaze but now she witnessed Kaze being kissed by Frey on the cheek.
She didn't know why but her entire body went cold all of a sudden. It was as though her mind was unable to comprehend on what happened in front of her. With her senses shutting down, her motor functions also started to become disabled as a result.
'W-What's going on?' Lunaria wheezed softly, feeling her chest tensing up so much she was having trouble breathing. 'Why am I reacting this way?'
While thinking so to herself, she realized that she was gripping her palms so tightly that her knuckles started to go white. Even more than that, her head started to spin upon realization that she lacked the necessary oxygen to breathe after tensing unnaturally. Her arm trembled the more she tried to loosen herself to break free from her sudden shift in body language.
"… Geez, let's go, Lunaria," Kaze pouted at Frey after arguing with her. "Lunaria?"
At his calls, Lunaria snapped back to reality and looked around nervously. It was like she had fallen asleep while standing upright and just woke up from him calling her.
"Ah, yes, let's go…?" Lunaria forced herself to smile and took a step forward.
Before she could complete her sentence, she found herself crumpling to her floors. Her legs suddenly failed to response as though they had gotten jelly. It must have been due to her being so tensed that she momentarily released all that tension through her body, causing her legs to not respond to her reaction.
Kaze quickly caught her before she collapsed to the ground and glanced over to Frey for help.
"Frey, what's going on?"
"Hmm… maybe she lacks mana after all that," Frey mused, feeling a little confused. "But she seemed fine earlier. Is it a delayed response?"
"Is she going to be alright?" Kaze asked, touching Lunaria's hands. "Lunaria? Your hands are chilly. Did you run out of mana accidentally?"
"N-No. I mean, I don't know…" Lunaria stammered, trying to force herself to stand. "I can't move my legs…."
"… For the time being, she just needs some rest," Frey concluded. "She doesn't show signs of mana fatigue, but this is probably a side effect. You have to carry her."
"Alright, erm… Lunaria, can you move your hands?" Kaze asked. "I can give you a piggyback ride."
"No, you can't. Her skirt is going to flutter due to her tail. Do you want other people to see her panties?" Frey raised an eyebrow at his questionable response. "Give her a normal carry."
"Ehh? But that position is… um…" Kaze acted flustered at her words. "Hmm… mm… alright… we don't have a choice do we…"
"Hey, don't look at me like that. You think that I made Lunaria collapse?" Frey raised her arms with a gleeful smile. "I'm not strong enough to be able to disarm Lunaria like this without her realizing. Plus, I can guarantee you that I won't make fun of you… but I can't say the same for the other people who we will pass by."
"Urgh, can you… cast illusion magic on us?" Kaze begged Frey. "Please? I owe you one. Rather than my shame, please spare Lunaria's."
"Hmm, awfully persistent request," Frey tapped the side of her cheek to pretend like she was contemplating his request when she already made up her mind. "Fine, I'm doing it for Lunaria. I will make it look like you are carrying a crate or something, but only until outside of school."
"That's better than nothing," Kaze immediately agreed.
"Remember, you owe me this time. Pick her up," Frey giggled, gesturing to Lunaria.
Slipping his arms behind her back and under her knees, Kaze rose to his feet with him cradling Lunaria to his chest. The way his arm behind her back was holding onto her raised several heated questions in Kaze's head, because his fingers were inches away from touching Lunaria's chest. What's more, he could feel her wings from him carrying her as Lunaria had it tucked neatly behind her.
The way he carried her was the one and only… princess carry, quite literally.
"K-Kaze?" Lunaria stammered, looking up shyly at him.
"… Let's go," Kaze muttered while looking away from her, unable to face her due to such a precarious situation.
Frey casted the illusion magic on Lunaria and nodded.
"That should do. Follow me, if not I can't maintain the magic if I'm too far away from you," Frey beckoned Kaze.
Walking down the hall of the school behind Frey, all the students they passed by simply assumed that Kaze became Frey's helper or something based on the illusion they could see. Even though Kaze was leaking magic from the illusion magic Frey casted, no one roused suspicion simply because they assumed the box he carried had some sort of magic item.
Kaze tried his best to maintain a straight face throughout all this. If anyone saw through the illusion magic, Lunaria's life was doomed. He didn't even care about his own image at this point since this was already considered utter humiliation in the eyes of Frey.
While Kaze carried her in his arms, Lunaria found herself gradually becoming warm. It wasn't from the heat transmitted to her from his body, but rather heat generated from how fast blood was pumping throughout her entire body. Unlike before, she could feel her heart rising tremendously while her eyes couldn't tear away from staring at Kaze. Her previous nervousness was now replaced with a different sort of nervousness, something that she hadn't felt in a long time.
It was very strange, yet somewhat familiar. It reminded Lunaria of the first time she discovered magic, or the time she learnt that she was going to have a sister, or her graduation…
"… So small…" Kaze thought to himself.
He was referring to Lunaria's body size. Even though she seemed intimidating and slender from her posture, he only realized how she actually was from carrying her. Not only was she light despite her tail and wings, she also felt really soft. His fingers which were around her legs were able to cope an unintentional feel of her thighs, something that caused him to tingle.
Now that she was sticking directly to him again, the familiar scent that she emitted from her body entered his nostrils once more. The last time he recognised this was when she suddenly embraced him tightly, but now he was able to determine it wasn't like soap or anything. It was her actual body odour, something he never thought he would be able to smell up until now.
"A goddess…." Tears of happiness leaked from Kaze's eyes, feeling grateful for being able to carry someone like Lunaria. "Goddess Tiel, thank you."
Of course, this went by unheard from Lunaria or Frey. It was merely his thoughts being exaggerated by his own imagination of Lunaria. Instead of something pervy and lustful, it was of a pure image of Lunaria herself to contrast with a goddess.
The same can't be said for Lunaria, however.
With how close she had gotten to him, she too realized the contrast in his body size. Even though he looked similar with her, she realized how developed his body was from the close contact with him. She could feel parts of his arm muscles bulging under his long sleeves along with the toughness of his stomach abs, something she never thought would cause her heart to thump wildly whenever she thought of it. Her father and the guardsmen back at Aravel all had them, but when faced with Kaze's she reacted so wildly.
Lunaria had blushed so hard to the point that she felt like she was starting to need to breathe more for her blood supply to get oxygenated again. However, she had no control of her breathing anymore ever since Kaze had completely taken her breath away.
Neither of them knew what to make of this as they made their way back to the dorms. Despite what Frey said, she was kind enough to guide Kaze until the house.
As a result, their friends questioned their silent awkwardness during dinnertime. Needless to say, no words came from Kaze and Lunaria out of pure embarrassment at the memory.