"Kaze… what did you do to Lucentia?"
"Uhh, nothing?"
Right now, Kaze was at lunch with Lunaria and Lucentia. Instead of having it at the palace as usual, they were out at Yerva's place where they came here on the second day to try wolfkin cuisine. Lunaria joined up with them shortly after Kaze left Lucentia, her proposing to eat out. It seemed like the dragonkin princesses preferred Yerva's food, hence why his place would come to mind.
To address the situation of Lunaria asking Kaze what he did to Lucentia, it all started when they left the palace. Lucentia kept staring at Kaze while they walked and stuck closely to his side, which was rare for how she would usually act. Once they were at Yerva's place, they got themselves a quiet area to sit and Lucentia immediately took the seat next to Kaze, leaving Lunaria to sit at the opposite end. To make matters worse, the tip Lucentia's tail began stroking Kaze's lap, just like how Lunaria would when they cuddled to show her affection.
With such a drastic change in her sister's actions from just being away from Kaze for a few hours, it caused Lunaria to sweatdrop. What in the world did Kaze do that made Lucentia so easily change the way she treated him? Didn't they simply attend Lucentia's idol work?
Kaze himself felt a little miffed by how Lucentia changed too. All he did was kiss her on the lips unannounced and she became so much more passionate around him, almost to the level that Lunaria had. He certainly hadn't expected an effect of this level, even if it was just a declaration that he was going to consider dating her seriously.
"Um… Onii-san?" Linea, the young adopted wolfkin acting as the waitress, lightly tapped Kaze's shoulder with a curious look on her face. "I would like to ask for your order…"
"A-Ah, sorry," Kaze chuckled nervously and quickly skimmed the menu. "Just give me some rice and grilled meat with a salad."
"Alright," Linea nodded, now tilting her head at Lucentia. "Why is Lucentia-sama's tail on your lap?"
"She feels tired, so I offered to give it a massage," Kaze quickly came up with an excuse. "I have permission, so don't worry."
"Ahh, I see," Linea innocently smiled and nodded happily. "I will be back with your orders soon~"
A huge sigh of relief escaped Kaze's mouth. He felt bad about lying to Linea, but there was no way he could tell her that Lucentia was in love with him. After all, it was still meant to be a secret. The only reason the three hadn't been called out by any other customer was due to the spot they chose as well as the time of the day. It so happened that today was a day where there were fewer customers than usual, hence why they could more freely pick a spot they wanted in the restaurant.
While their subtle act might be able to cheat any other children or dragonkin nearby, there was definitely no beating Yerva.
"Oho, welcome back Hime-sama," the old wolfkin showed up at their table shortly after Linea left and took a polite bow. "And here we have the young'un from the other day. Kaze, right?"
"Yes. It's good to see you again Yerva," Kaze bowed back as well. "How is business these days?"
"Same ol' thing. Once you get to my age, you will understand that having an honest business is what keeps the customers returnin'," Yerva grinned. "That's what I'm doing, me and Linea. 'Avin' 'er as a poster girl helps keep the constant flow of customers, know what I'm sayin'?"
"Yerva, why don't you try applying to the school board to get Linea to study?" Lunaria proposed, a gentle smile floating across her face. "She seems to be eligible for primary school already."
"Ya see, that's the thing. I tried asking 'er before, but she seems reluctant," Yerva scratched the back of his head with a shrug. " 'er excuse's regarding her age. She has too many dragonkin friends who are older than 'er. But that's nature; she insists to start school once she is around their age in term of wolfkin years. Not that I'm against it, but she does seem to be studying diligently every night with some help from another parent."
"Ah… then that's probably alright," Lunaria nodded after hearing Yerva's explanation. "I don't have any complaints against that."
"Well then, please wait for your food to arrive. We don't have many customers today, so it won't be long before it is ready," Yerva puffed his chest once again and spoke. "Thank you for showing concern for Linea, I really am."
"It's only natural we do. After all, as princesses, we should be concerned with every subject of our nation," Lunaria shook her head. "If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Yerva then left their table, returning to cook the rest of the food. Now that they were left to their own accords, Lunaria and Kaze began talking about his experience being with Lucentia while Lucentia herself remained silent, mainly because she was too busy ogling Kaze to bother.
"Ah, the recording device and the photo device?" Lunaria giggled upon listening to Kaze marvelling over the magic devices. "Lunaea and Luniel definitely are super talented in coming up with those. In a way, they're geniuses too."
"I think it's more hard work than genius, but yes, they are super creative people," Kaze easily agreed with Lunaria. "You are the genius here, Lunaria."
"I often get that a lot, but I really just consider myself hardworking too," Lunaria sighed. "I know that you don't feel that way, but if you ever feel despair because of our status difference…"
"I mean, it's not that big of an issue anymore," Kaze smiled wryly at her statement, understanding she was looking out for his weak spots. "I have you and the rest of the group as my friends after all. If you all were friends because of who I am, I know I don't have to worry about all those unnecessary details."
"… Mm, as long as you know that," Lunaria nodded once again, her reaching across the table and clenching his hands. "Even if they do betray you, god forbid, please know that mother, father, every one of us in Aravel, will never do that."
"Lunaria-nee… I know that's not your intention, but you're making it sound like Yuuji and the others are bad people who could betray Kaze at any time," Lucentia muttered, her eyes glancing to Lunaria for a quick second. "If that were the case, you wouldn't even be friends with them in the first place right?"
"I know. I just didn't know a better way to phrase it," Lunaria glumly replied. "Sorry."
"You're always apologising. If you keep doing that, Kaze will start to consider you being pathetic and eventually leave you for me~" Lucentia teased her sister and snuggled Kaze's arm.
This caused Lunaria to widen her eyes, the fear of the fact being true creeping up to her stomach. She unintentionally clenched her fists nervously, feeling worried about how Kaze would react. Lunaria trusted Kaze, she truly did, but it was the unsettling part of her mind that roused her anxiety, knowing how it felt to be all alone without anyone around her again.
"… I don't think I will do that, Lucentia," Kaze gently smiled at the third princess and patted her head. "I trust Lunaria enough that I understand her politeness. Also, you shouldn't tease your sister based on her insecurity. Lunaria, as she is right now, is quite mentally weak. I'm worried she would relapse to her anxiety or something."
"Muu… you're not fun," Lucentia pouted, her tail poking the side of his body to express her discomfort. "I just wanted to tease Lunaria-nee."
On the other hand, Lunaria looked like she was close to tears from being relieved and glad of how her lover was defending her. He didn't go hard on Lucentia and try to show his loyalty to Lunaria in an overexaggerated way, instead choosing the gentle route that was much more like how Kaze's personality was. This was also why Lunaria fell for Kaze, the reason being that he was gentle and understanding no matter what.
Before anymore drama could happen, their food began arriving one after another. Lunaria and Lucentia both ordered dragonkin-size food, meaning there was a lot of meat for both of them while Kaze's in comparison was tiny. Linea gave a cute smile as she placed his plate in front of him, as if glad that he only ordered the minimal amount since she didn't need to worry about bringing about huge portion sizes all the time.
Lunch came and left, and the trio headed back to the palace right after. Once again, Kaze was left to his own accords since Lunaria and Lucentia both had their own individual matters to attend to, namely princess business. Other than playing with Shiro and Akaru for a bit, he decided to spend his time productively by training. It might sound boring to some that he was constantly training, but it had became so engrained in his way of life that he had to train every day.
He picked up Felta and headed over to the courtyard. As expected, Lunatea was already there training. Since the other time he met Lunatea there, he could estimate the time where Lunatea would be training there too. It just so happened that he had some time now that he coincidentally met with Lunatea during her training session.
Lunatea, with her dragonkin magic sense, detected Kaze approaching from a few meters away. Just as Kaze turned round the corner to the courtyard, Lunatea finished one of her moves and turned around to face him, wondering why he was here. Upon noticing Felta in his hand and his outfit, she returned to training without a word. Kaze smiled at this, knowing that Lunatea must either be too shy to talk to him properly or she was just focused on her training.
"You're early today," Lunatea spoke to Kaze as he placed his duffel bag at the side of the courtyard, not dividing her attention from training.
"Yeah, I had nothing to do after Lunaria and Lucentia left," Kaze replied.
"L-Lucentia?"
"Mm. We had lunch together."
"… I see."
"Are… you concerned?"
"N-Not at all. Why would I be worried that you had lunch-"
"She had the chance to cuddle me."
"?!"
Kaze's revelation caused Lunatea to stumble just as she made a forward jab with her sword. She got back on her feet and dashed right at him, as if ready to stab him instead. This caused Kaze to swerve his body to avoid the attack, but all it did was cause her to grab him by the collar.
"W-What did you two do after that?!" Lunatea agitatedly asked him, her face flushed and both her hands now grabbing his shirt to ensure he couldn't escape.
"Calm down. All we did was simply eat lunch at Yerva's and returned," Kaze sweatdropped, raising both hands in front of his chest to stop her from lunging at him. "It's not like we kissed or anything… but I did kiss her once before we left the palace."
Lunatea stared intensely at him for a few seconds after he finished speaking, as if trying to confirm if he was lying or not. Eventually, she just sighed and let go of him.
"…. Take your sword," she commanded, walking back to the middle of the courtyard.
"Eh?"
Before Kaze had time to react, Lunatea spun 180 degrees behind and dashed at him. The stance she assumed was something Kaze had seen once when she fought against Sakuya at the military base. This meant that she was going to use her newly invented martial arts on him, especially without her sword.
Kaze knew that Lunatea's new sword style utilized a mix of martial arts and eastern-inspired moves, especially one focused on speed. Since Lunatea didn't have a sword in hand, it was almost as though she wanted to put Kaze in his place using her fists alone. He accepted the challenge as a sign of taking her on, not because he feared for his life, but because he too had been wanting to try out against Lunatea's new sword style seriously too.
Instantly, the sound of three punches came one after another. The three punches were thrown by Lunatea, each striking the core of Kaze's sword. Those consecutive punches built up enough force to throw Kaze off his feet, evident by Kaze's body blasting backwards. That wasn't enough for Lunatea, who followed up without break by throwing a roundhouse kick using the momentum previously.
Kaze wasn't an amateur either. While he lacked experience, he definitely trained a lot by himself through shadow fighting. It was a technique that Sera had seen before, with him closing his eyes and imagining him fighting himself in his mind. It definitely sounded bizarre, but it was a technique that his grandfather had taught him before. The reason he didn't want to mirror an opponent he knew to face off with was because that would make him underestimate them in real life if he ever were to beat them in his mind. As such, he fought only with himself, since he understood his strengths and flaws, using it to think up ways that could be used to either strengthen his techniques or counter his weaknesses.
"Hmph!" Kaze shrugged off Lunatea's attacks with both hands, swinging Felta to the side.
His swing caused a small rift in the air as a result of transmitting Lunatea's force away, rippling the leaves on the ground into a messy scatter. His right arm twisted upwards and brought it down, cutting through the leaves and stopping the roundhouse kick from Lunatea. He wasn't worried that the sword was capable of harming her since he could tell she had already casted defensive magic to enable her to receive the sharp ends without a problem.
It was definitely risky that they were using a real sword during their fighting bout as there was a chance that they could cause severe injuries. However, Kaze and Lunatea were both prepared to suffer a few light wounds if it meant getting a serious fight out of each other. Using real weapons brought out the thrill as well as their instincts, forcing them to be sharper and smarter during their fight in order to not get hurt.
The duo exchanged a few strikes one by one. With each one being fast and heavy, Kaze could feel the pressure mounting on him. Lunatea had trained for decades by this point and was a master herself when he was just someone who barely had any experience. The gap between their prowess was easily widened since facing off with any dragonkin was equal to suicide.
However, it wasn't like there was nothing to gain out of it. After training with Lunatea the past few days before this, Kaze knew this was the chance he could use to learn something. Any training bout was useful since it was a chance to have a self-reflection along with the opportunity to learn about another one's fighting style. For someone as unique as Lunatea, who was still in the midst of inventing her own style, it was surely bound to be useful.
Lunatea jumped backwards gracefully, almost as though she was floating across the floor. As she did so, her sword got pulled by an invisible force into her waiting hand. With both of them now armed, they continued their fighting bout.
Their swords clashing filled the courtyard with occasional sparks and the sharp sound of metal edges colliding, creating a fiery atmosphere around the area. Lunatea attacked Kaze with the intention of beating him utterly, while Kaze fended for his life. The showcase of sword fighting had proven how big the gap Kaze had with Lunatea, especially when he was on the defensive most of the times.
Back in Tristania when Kaze sparred with Lunaria, it was clear that Lunaria held back and fought on the level that Kaze was at so he could gradually improve with the rise in his skill level. It was also why Kaze managed to beat Lunaria several times, since she was 'feeding' him the victories as a way of encouragement before he went on another losing streak for days on end. The Lunatea right now wasn't so kind as to mimic what her sister did, not especially when she wanted to whack the heck out of Kaze due to her jealousy.
Kaze was also clear on what Lunatea's intentions were with sparring this way. He wasn't that dumb nor dense to not notice her feelings. If anything, he purposely incited the rage and envy in Lunatea as a way of trying to get through to her. One could say that this was Kaze's way of 'pursuing' his heart with the different dragonkin sisters. With Lunaria, he was understanding, gentle, and allowed her to have her way most of the times; with Lucentia, he chose to be more dominating and confident at times; with Lunatea, he figured there was no real solution other than breaking through her jealousy with sheer force.
Even so, it was easier said than done. Kaze was clearly being pushed harder than he had expected by Lunatea. Her sword style was so fluid and flashy that he barely had any time to react to it. Each of her attacks were followed up by either a martial art move or repositioning before launching at a different angle.
How she was so unpredictable was due to the nature of her eastern-oriented fighting style, allowing her to choose how she wanted to attack without a set sequence that was predictable due to the execution method. When comparing what he and the others were typically using in Tristania, most of them were based on a set combo or had certain exaggerated attacks to it, whereas people like Yu Quan and Lunatea required a lot of adapting when learning their sword skills. Frey and was another oddball, who didn't have a preset learning method with her own unique way of fighting due to the type of weapon she used.
As such, sword skills were so wide and diverse that it was practically impossible to learn or recognise every one of them. All a swordsman or magician could do was learn through experience, which Kaze lacked due to his own naiveness. The first thing that every student had to overcome was the fear of wielding a real weapon that was capable of injuring and killing. People like Lunaria and Lunatea definitely had that part covered to the point that they were capable of sparring confidently without worrying about a loss.
"Keuh!!" Kaze grunted when Lunatea jabbed her sword forward, forcing him to evade with a paper-thin gap.
Lunatea took this chance to reposition, reverting back to her initial stance of holding her sword forward with one hand in a slanted position. The sword was pointed at Kaze with her free arm behind her back while she observed how Kaze would move next. Once again, Kaze struggled to make an offensive move. Before he was able to assume a steady stance, Lunatea's feet carried her body right at him at the speed of light.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Kaze was sluggish compared to Lunatea. As Kaze's sword style relied more on a steady ground before making a move, Lunatea countered that perfectly since her new style didn't require as steady a footing as Kaze's did. Her sword flickered through the air weightlessly, jabbing and striking at Kaze every moment she could. At the same time, she mixed in a few punches and kicks, ensuring that he would get confused and misled.
Finally, Lunatea stopped her constant barrage of attacks, allowing Kaze to crumple to the floor and rest. Kaze was on one knee as he panted and gasped for air, his muscles burning from how long he had to keep up the momentum. Not even his stamina training was able to make up for defending against an aggressively offensive attack manner. Yet, Lunatea just stood there elegantly in an end-of-attack pose, catching her breath rather easily.
"W-Wow…" Kaze gasped, taking in as much air as he could while his muscles rested. "Y-You truly are a sword master…"
"Hmph," Lunatea merely huffed at his words. "I was planning to crush you over and over again, but I suppose you did well enough holding against me for this long."
"Not even a word of praise?" Kaze forced a smirk out of his exhausted state. "Lunaria would have hugged me happily by now."
The fact he was comparing Lunatea to her sisters yet again infuriated her. While it was all part of Kaze's plan, it certainly wasn't up Lunatea's alley. It made her feel worried and nervous that Kaze was comparing her, almost as though he was trying to tell her she wasn't good enough and needed to perform better.
"M-Mou! If you are so insistent about it…"
Lunatea stomped over to him and squeezed him into a quick hug. The unfortunate part about Kaze's plan was that it worked like a charm; Lunatea being compared only helped to improve the way she treated him. If he treated Lunaria the way he did with Lunatea, there was no doubt that Lunaria would break down right away as she self-lament about how she treated him.
With a satisfied smile, Kaze picked up his sword and got ready to face Lunatea again. Lunatea, realizing his stance, assumed posture with her sword. The two were going to go at it again and again for the rest of their training session.
Before they knew it, hours had flown by in between breaks and casual talking that it was already late in the evening. As the final seconds of their fight ticked away, the sun set beneath the horizon, marking the end of Kaze and his friends' first week in Aravel.
With an astonishing uppercut, Lunatea sent Kaze flying backwards using her fist. Kaze's drained body simply collapsed against the hard dry floor, too exhausted from the sparring matches to properly move after their bout.
"Seven… to zero," Lunatea coldly sheathed her sword while muttering the score of their match, Kaze ending in a resounding defeat. "Hmph, this is for treating me so harshly…"
Kaze was too tired to find the words to fight back. Laying there silently, he closed his eyes while taking a quick break before pushing his body back up. That last uppercut Lunaria gave him caused a nosebleed along with a bruised chin, but there was nothing that couldn't be fixed with magic. After all, this pain was nothing compared to the time he deflected the centipede's attack and caused a repercussion on his body.
Further, the pain of training made such a sting barely bearable. The accumulated pain throughout his body was worse than what he felt right now, with most of it becoming numb. If not for proper magic reinforcement and attire, he would have lost a few teeth and returned with shallow cuts all over his body.
As Kaze hobbled over to where his duffel bag was, Lunatea's lingering gaze on him softened. Like it or not, her tsundere self took pity on seeing Kaze at such an abysmal state. She was aware that she went too hard on him, yet it was her irrational mind that took over how harsh she treated him.
"… Mou…" Lunatea stopped Kaze from walking. "Take this as an apology…"
She casted a high-tier healing magic on him, his wounds recovering within seconds. Kaze widened his eyes in surprise and stared at Lunatea with such an expression, causing her to cower in embarrassment from being stared at like this.
"I-I'm sorry, okay?! I treated you badly…" Lunatea sputtered, clinging to the side of her left arm with her right hand while she had her sight lowered. "I took your jokes too seriously…"
Kaze's shocked expression gradually melted into an understanding smile. He knew that Lunatea must have been reflecting on the way she acted properly from how she apologised. That was certainly the justification he needed to prove that Lunatea was changing for the better, little by little.
The two returned to the palace in a staggered position, with Lunatea trailing behind Kaze timidly. It almost felt like a scared puppy was following Kaze out of fear for what he would do once they returned. Kaze couldn't help but chuckle, his mind leading to the imaginary scene of him telling on Lunatea to Lunaria. Of course, he wouldn't be so cruel as to refer to such methods, but it was just a thought that crossed his head.
Feeling much better now, Kaze headed to the bathroom in Lunaria's room to take a shower before dinner. Unexpectedly, only Shiro and Akaru were waiting for him in the room, meaning that Lunaria hadn't returned yet. She must be incredibly busy or occupied to miss her daily shower, especially at this time of the day.
Kaze chose to soak in the bath himself first, not feeling worried that Lunaria was cuddling next to him as usual. There was no point in consciously relying on Lunaria since showering with Lunaria was a luxury, not an obligation. It simply felt like an obligation due to how Lunaria treated her time together with Kaze, especially when it came to cuddling and sexual activities. The number of times they indulged in those acts, including sensual touching, had already exceeded the limit of counting them with his fingers. While it was definitely something he should feel happy about as a budding teenage male who had recently awakened to the pleasures of a female touch, it also stressed Kaze at the same time since he never knew when Lunaria's 'impulses' would come.
Trying not to think too much about the lack of Lunaria's company by his side, Kaze heaved a sigh of exhaustion. Lunatea's training took a healthy toll on his body. It had been so long since he felt the burn his muscles suffered today, mainly because the past few days had been occupied to the brim with schedule after schedule. If he wanted an alone time to relax by himself, this was it.
The door to the bathroom was heard opening a few seconds after he closed his eyes and drifted off to nirvana. Coupled with the sound of clothing being removed, Kaze knew exactly who it was from the excited light tapping of their feet striding across the bathroom floor behind him. Also, there was no questioning who exactly had access to Lunaria's bedroom, being Lunaria herself.
"Kaze~"
A soft purr curled its way into Kaze's ear after a few seconds of silence that followed, sending a shiver down his spine despite the warm bathwater surrounding his body. His shoulder then sensed the light tapping of his lover's fingers, gently walking down his collarbone before sliding her palms down to his chest.
Lunaria took her time to get a feel of Kaze's muscles without stepping into the bath herself. In return, this caused the back of Kaze's head to rest against two very soft and bouncy moulds, something he was all too familiar with. It wasn't like he had the liberty of staring at them every day, which he in fact could do and did, that caused him to instantly relate to what they were. By simple logic alone one could gauge what the origin of the soft feeling was.
"Yes Lunaria, I'm here," this time, Kaze let out a sigh that signalled 'it can't be helped' in response to Lunaria's purr and touch. "You were busy, so I got in the bath first."
"Mm hm, I know. I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time to see you and Lunatea training."
"You knew?"
"That's a rather dumb question to ask, don't you think? More importantly, don't you have something super important to ask me~?"
"… Lunaria, I would love it if you could get in the bath with me."
"Ahh~ if you ask so passionately, I don't think I can resist~"
Needless to say, Kaze showed up to the dining hall with a rather flushed face. It only got worse when Lunaria secretly sent him suggestive gestures throughout dinner, prompting a few questions from his friends that would have ended badly if not for his self-control.