At the entrance of the University, the whole front was decorated with lanterns and ribbons on the trees. In the center of the courtyard we were in, there was a large statue of King Lucian. Tera said that it was supposed to be inside, but king Lucian called for it to be outside for more space inside.
The university was about to hold about a thousand people inside. Not saying that it did have that many people in the school, Tera has said that there were just roughly five hundred students here due to the lack of Enrollment.
"Not as many people as the last Festival…" Kale murmured. He stood in front of us, observing. "Hm. Besides the Ithryllians being here, not many adventurers are here."
"Because why would any adventurers want to dance?" Tera questioned.
"Hmm, alright. Got me there. There were just more people from before." Kale squinted his eyes, hovering his hand above them before pointing something out. "Isn't that…uh…" he pointed at a green haired boy and pink haired girl. "T-that's uh…Oh! Griffin and Sarah!" Sarah looked at him, confused.
"Sura." Tera corrected him. Tera turned to look at me and Lilith. "I suppose they are here for you two? Funny, I somewhat expected those two to be angrily bickering at each other. Now, all I see is them actually talking."
"Griffin asked us to go on a double date." I said. Kinda blunt, but it's what the man implied. Tera looked surprised for a moment, but nodded to herself as she turned to Sarah.
"How is the outfit? Hopefully it isn't too loose or anything."
Sarah only waved her hand. A weak smile on her face. "No, no. It fits quite well. Thank you for getting this for me."
"It was something I found in my storage box. Can't believe it actually fits you." Tera then eyed the dress for a moment. "Well…besides some areas, but still."
Sarah ignored that comment, observing the front of the University. "So this is where you work, Tera?"
"As a teacher for Kota and for some others, yes."
"Hmm, I haven't been here in some time. Please, would you kindly give me a quick tour?" Drag then looked at Lilith. "You should have some fun with your friends. And Kota." But she looked confused as she saw what Lilith was doing.
Lilith was adjusting her corset next to me when she was being told. she didn't seem used to it as she tried to make it more loose. Her hands wiggled as she tried to reach her back.
"Er…Kota? Can you help?" Lilith said, turning her back to me. "Kinda tight." Upon looking at her back, I noticed that she didn't have anything underneath. Her top slightly higher, making a small gap of skin show in between. Besides her top, I didn't see any bra of sorts.
Just out of curiosity, I poked around her back. Rubbing around to see if I felt anything underneath. And sure enough, there was nothing.
"…why aren't you wearing anything underneath?"
"Eh? Am I supposed to?" Lilith looked at me with confusion. "Tera told me that a bra underneath would get in the way."
Eh…I'm pretty sure this corset doesn't cover the chest area. A bra wouldn't really get in the way, I think.
I looked up at tera, suspicious of her. This sort of seemed like something Tera would dubiously do. After all, she has been teaching Lilith of womanly manners. The only response I got from Tera was a quick glance and a small smile.
"Lilith, I think Tera just lied to you." I got to work loosening the corset. Actually, to be more accurate, I was fiddling around with the laces.
Lilith turned red, staring back at me. "W-what?"
"Yeah, um…Yeah. Here, let me loosen this up for you now once I figure it out." I pressed on. I'm pretty sure there was like a bow or something that I could loosen.
Aha! Found it. I quickly untied it and watched as it loosened. I heard a sigh of relief from Lilith as the corset expanded.
"Better?" I asked.
"Yeah! Can you tie it up again? This time, not too tight?" Lilith looked ahead and waved at something I couldn't see. Though I'd assume it was someone. I kept working on tying this corset.
Though it wasn't really hot, I noticed Lilith's back was sweating. Droplets of sweat going down her back. Somehow…This was interesting to look at for me. Maybe it was because it was Lilith? Maybe I'm just into sweats? Wait, do I have a Fetish for this? Oh god, please don't let it be one.
"Alright, all done." I quickly said, tying the corset. "How does it feel?"
Lilith looked down at herself, examining the corset which didn't look as tight as it did before. Still tight enough to cling, but not enough to suffocate. She seemed pleased with it as she gave me a quick hug.
"It's all good! And look, There's Griffin and Sura!" Lilith pointed to the three people walking to us.
Wait. I rubbed my eyes to look again. I thought it was just Griffin and sura? The three figures were Griffin and Sura. But beside Sura was a smaller Girl, blue haired and blue eyed as she stared intensely at me.
"Tis I, Amelia Mallory!" She said triumphantly. "Lilith!" She waved graciously at. But when she looked at me again, her eyes went cold and she looked off. "Kota."
"What's with the cold stare?" I asked.
"I don't trust you near Lilith! You and those perverted eyes!" She said, frowning. "Yeah, I still remember you looking at my panties!"
"Ooh, Kota taking glances at another?" Tera coyly said. "Didn't expect that…"
"It was an accident!" I buried my face in my hands for a moment before looking back up at Amelia. "Why are you here?"
"Whaat? Why am I here at a dance? Didn't you notice I was dressed?" Amelia did a twirl, showcasing her blue dress that sparkled.
"No, I didn't notice. Not sure why I would." I paused for a moment, Looking at her dress. "That doesn't seem like it fits you."
"Grr, it was the only one I had that I brought from Home!" Amelia angrily yelled. "Besides, look who's talking! Tight around the neck buffoon!"
I looked at my collar and didn't notice a thing wrong with it. Was she just trying to make a comeback at me?
"Hey, knock it off! Both of you are being quite rude right now!" Tera snapped at us. "Now stop fighting and be friends!"
"Eh, try this one: Stop fighting and be tolerant of each other?" Kale proposed. "That way, they don't have to fake a whole friendship thing."
"They're not supposed to!"
"Ah…well I don't see that happening at the moment." Kale shrugged. "Anyways, we should head inside of the university. I'm pretty sure everyone inside is all in the central room." He then looked at me and Lilith. "Ok, you two! Take the other kids with you! Go dance! Go do Kid things! I don't know!"
Kale kept on looking at us and the other, pointing at the door of the university. When none of us moved, kale frowned and more aggressively pointed at the door.
"Why aren't you guys going?!"
"Why do you want us to go with you guys?" Sura asked. "Spill the truth, lover boy."
"Augh, lover boy?" Kale pulled his pointing hand to his chest, looking offended. "How dare you! But that's true, so good for pointing that out."
"Kale seems rather interested in taking this time to spend it with me personally." Tera explained. "Not that he has any other days to do that."
"So he wants some nice smooch from you alone." Sara made a conclusion. "I guess we can all take that as an excuse."
"Woah woah. Both of you are making bold statements right now." Kale stopped them. "I just want to give Sarah a chance to look inside of the university with us…who will then drop her off with you guys once she is satisfied so I can have my alone time with my lovely woman."
"Is that so?" Tera turned to him. "You just made that up because Sarah brought it up, didn't you? You didn't expect her to say that and now you have to roll with it."
Kale made a guilty face as he held his hands up. "Well-I uh…I mean, yes…"
"Our private time can wait! Sarah is only here for some time before she needs to leave! Let's give her a chance to look around before you start going wild with me." Tera snapped at him.
Sarah only bowed, seemingly not fazed by Tera yelling. "Thank you, Tera. I promise that I won't make it long."
Alright. It's settled then. Off you go, children. Go to the center room and make some memories. Not everyday is like this." Tera shooed us.
And with that, me and the rest of the kids made our way to the university doors. Griffin and sura ahead of me while Lilith cling to my side. Amelia Walking behind us.
Once we entered the university, I saw that the central room's doors were open, showing how the inside of the room was filled with people dancing. I also noticed Gorwin was still at his desk. Though in a more formal outfit than usual. He was attending to some guests before he noticed us.
"Well well, all of you are dressed up for the occasion." He smiled as he looked at us. "Didn't expect all of you to come. Especially that girl." He pointed out Sura. "Don't ever see her go out of the library."
"I'm a persuasive person." Griffin proudly said. "The only man loyal to he-agh!" Sura grabbed him by the cheek and pulled hard.
"Shut it, I'm here because I want to dance. Nothing more." Though her tone was cold, her face said otherwise as it was reddish. Gorwin studied her for a moment before letting out a chuckle.
"Hoho…I see. Well Griffin, do take care of her. Show her a good dance." He gave a wink to him.
Griffin smiled even more, pumping his fist at the motivation. I couldn't help but smile at the dude's enthusiasm.
"King Lucian!" Someone shouted from the second floor. Looking up, I saw the Man looking down at us all. Brushing his moustache as he looked on.
The person that did call him was from behind us. Turning around, I saw an older man. Donning a teal colored suit that went well with his purple hair. His green eyes looked upwards at Lucian. Beside him was Admiral Furor and Lady Sierra. Both still wearing their Armors.
"Ah. If it isn't my old friend, Issac!" King Lucian held his hand out. A smile brightening as he saw his long time friend. "Come!" From the right side of Lucian, Richard popped up. He still wore his usual mage robes, looking more alert than usual.
Issac only shook his head, pointing down to the floor where he was. His voice was smooth and mature. Erm…in a woman's sense, I would consider him the equal to a MILF.
"No, why don't you come down here and level yourself with the rest of us. I'd rather not be above everyone else. Today is a different day."
"Hagaah~" I heard Amelia moan. "Did you hear him?! He wants to be seen as equals with us all! Oh my, he is hot!l Amelia looked like she was steaming as she stared at the Ithryllian King.
"Eh…Not my taste." Sura didn't seem to like him. "Too sophisticated for me."
"Hah, like you'll ever get with someone like that." Griffin laughed, but that only gave sura a reason to elbow him in the chest.
Oddly, Lilith seemed to have a completely different reaction from everyone else. And she didn't say anything. Rather, her left eye glowed red. Her eye strained as she looked at the man. Her fist balled into a fist until her knuckles were white. She gritted her teeth hard as she it looked like she was ready to give a punch to someone.
This…is new to me. I've never seen her react to someone like that before. Was…was this reminding her of her father?
"Lilith?" I asked gently as I put a palm on her shoulder. "You alright?" She didn't budge for a moment. But she then quickly snapped out of her trance with a Frantic look at me.
"Eh?" Was all she muttered. Her left eye slowly easing into its amber color once more. She then roughly grabbed my hand that was on her shoulder, staring at me now intensely with a somewhat blank look.
The grip of her hand was tightening, causing pain that shot through me. Even with her eye returning to normal, her strength was still there. Gripping her hand with my free one, I tried to make her realize what she was doing.
"Lilith, your hand." I said painfully. Lilith looked at her hand and jolted back, looking at her hand in dismay.
"I-I'm sorry!" She immediately went back in, mending to my hand. "I-I don't know what came over me!" She frantically stumbled over her words. There was gentleness to her touch now than what it was before. Her eyes were more alive as well.
Luckily, no one else seemed to notice it as they were too infatuated with the ithryllian king. The man was waiting as King Lucian came down the stairs. All eyes were on them.
"Lilith, it's fine…Just tell me what happened." I asked gently. Something was obviously on her mind
"I-When I looked at The king, something clicked in me. I think." Lilith tried to explain, she had one of her hands on her head. "You know those voices I told you about? They came back again. But stronger."
You mean like after we fought that bird demon? I recall her speaking about it, but it's quite vague to me now. Not wanting to let anyone listen in, I leaned closer to Lilith and whispered to her.
"Did…they say anything?"
"Just…I heard someone yell father. A woman. And there was like crashing and stuff. I-it's all over the place for me."
"Hey-hey. I'm here." I grabbed her by the shoulders. "How about this, we talk about this after our dance?"
"Our dance?" She mumbled out cutely.
"Yeah, let's uh…head to the center room without everyone else." As quickly as I could, I took Lilith by the hand and quickly took off with her. Though not without Gorwin smiling at me and waving. That man is rooting for me.
Lilith didn't make much of an objection to all of this. When I looked back at her, all I saw was a surprised look as her cheeks were flushed. I guess my sudden actions made her put her thoughts to the side to focus on what I was doing.
Once we were near the central room, I noticed that the entrance was open for everyone. No one was blocking the way in or out. Looking inside, I recognized the room that I once duel Amelia in was fully transformed. Decorations of white and blue littered the ceiling, along with a ball of golden lights hanging in the middle of the ceiling.
"A-are we going to dance?" Lilith asked. She clutched onto the sleeve on my wrist.
"I thought you were anticipating this? Weren't you excited during our training for this?"
"Yeah…well I didn't expect this many people! What if we mess up?"
"It'll be fine! Look, why not try going at my pace? Follow my lead and we'll take it slow." I reassured her. Lilith let out a sigh and silently nodded.
Perhaps Arael's task could wait. Looking back at the front of the university, I could still see Issac and Lucian talking. The two would probably head over to the central room any moment, just need to keep an eye on them.
Though…at the moment, That task isn't as much of a priority as what is in my hands right now. Right now, I should focus on staying with Lilith.
It was time to dance.
A/N: What's with the Latin words as The chapter name? I don't know. I thought they were cool. But the next chapter is the start of what I would say is…A chaotic situation. Things will ramp up significantly, and Surely bring some action. The next chapter will be out Friday! Hope you enjoy this one!