[Kota]
"Hey, can we hit up a spot so we can eat?" I overheard Lilith as we walked. She leaned next to me as if waiting for me to agree with her. "That cheese wheel wasn't enough."
"No, we can eat once we head to the castle. It's not that far." I begrudgingly said. "And how the hell do you eat a whole wheel?!"
We left the Mallory household not long ago. But before we even left the house, The butler there named Roul managed to stop us in time to give us directions to it alongside the secondary home they had. He seemed to be in some sort of discomfort by the way he looked at us. It Might've been the whole debacle that happened in Amelia and Claire's father's room…
I still wish that Amelia had opened the door so that we could check if she was ok. But after that whole scene that was caused…yeah I can see why she didn't really want to talk.
We made our way back to the adventurers district. This path he told us to take would lead us right to the front entrance of the castle. From what Roul told me, the castle had two different entrances, one from the south side where the school district was( which also had the great Library), and the north side entrance where the adventurers district was. We must've come to the north gate when we first arrived…Unless my directions were off, but I'm pretty sure we did.
We ended up walking by some shops that sold weapons and made them, a blacksmith forge you could say it was. It had a forge right at the front of it where one of the owners was making swords, an Eldesche male was sitting awkwardly waiting for the sword he drew from the forge to cool. The reptilian man looked at us before giving us a friendly wave. A lot of people in this kingdom seemed to be much more polite and kind compared to Prusha.
"Hello, Reptile man!" I heard Lilith greet the eldesche male, to which the reptilian nodded and continued to work on the sword. "Kota, why didn't you greet him back?"
"Because I'm trying to find our way to the castle, we are on a mission right now." I turned back to her. "I don't think kale would like it if we messed around in this place."
"Ah…" Lilith found herself remembering. "I guess you're right. Still, I'm hungry."
"You ate a whole cheese wheel! With wax!" I looked at her with confusion. "Who does that?!"
Lilith gave me a look of surprise, she thought for a moment. Why did she need to think about this? I don't know, but she stood there for a moment. Then, she simply shrugged.
"A hungry person. Plus, I don't even feel the wax in my tummy. It's like it melted instantly in me!" She then rubbed her belly.
Wait, since she's half dragon…Does that mean she burns food more? Maybe the constant eating in Prusha was able to keep up with her appetite…but here on the road, I don't think that was possible. Actually, I should probably look into this when I head to the library…if I even have the chance.
Also, she ate the damn wax with it. I don't think that'll bode well later on.
"Don't eat inedible things" I plainly said, pointing a finger at her. "Come on, let's head to the castle."
"Alright." Lilith finally agreed with me. "But if the castle doesn't offer food, I will go rampant."
Rampant? Of all places to go rampant, the most important place in this kingdom should not be the place to do that. Also, does she mean using her dragon eye? Hm…I'm pretty sure she means all of that as a joke. I hope so.
"Then let's stop wasting time, let's head there."
"Lead the way, Kota!" Lilith then got close to me and stared at me, waiting for me to go on. I shrugged at that response and began to walk.
It wasn't long before Lilith began to talk once more. Something was egging her mind at the moment, and it wasn't good this time.
"Hey, will we go back and see Amelia and Claire during this trip?"
"Once we finish our job here, we can swing by and see how things are going." I answered her, "with how things were left in the house…I'm hopeful that the two will manage to figure things out."
"And if they don't?"
"…" I didn't really want to think of that situation. If having us bring Amelia back home made things worse, I'd just feel guilty over it. I mean, Claire put a lot of trust in me and Lilith being there for her. If we had made it worse for them, what good are we doing? "Well they better holler at us, otherwise the main focus right now is getting our job done…"
"If you say so." Lilith said. "I just have an itchy feeling about all of it. Like something was wrong with us bringing her home."
"Hm…That makes two of us then. But like I said, we can't really do much until one of them comes to get us or once we finish up with our official business here."
"…Got it."
As the castle got more into our view, I noticed a couple of passersby looking at us. I overheard some of the passersby talking about us. Usually I tend to block out this sort of thing, but the things they were saying caught me off guard for a moment.
"Aren't they cute?"
"Look, those two young adventurers are on a little date!"
"That silver haired girl messed up on her lipstick? What's with the wax looking stuff around her mouth?"
"Look at the equipment they have!"
I found myself wondering about some of those comments. One, Did I not notice the wax that was plastered on Lilith's face? Did it look that bad? Two, maybe Lilith being this close to me was projecting a false impression with us. I mean, we aren't on a date right now.
…Wait, have me and Lilith even been on a date yet? We've danced together before, but we haven't actually gone out together to eat or do something alone. Given our circumstances, Lilith is usually busy with training with Kale and I'm stuck studying at the university and teaching Chris…It would be nice to go on one though…
"Hey, Lilith." I turned my head towards her. "Do you recall…the both of us going out on a date?"
"Date?" She responded with a sudden halt to her steps. I found myself turning back to face her as she pondered that question. "Like…What kale and Tera do? Go out, shop and then kissy kissy till they stay in their room for the night." She then held her hands together, imitating two people hugging.
…I think she's been keeping too much of an eye on those two.
"Uh…I think that is an entirely different situation. I mean like just the two of us doing what we want together. You know, connecting with each other."
"Well…We both spend time together at home, I guess that's how we spend time. Hmm…I don't think we ever went on a date." Lilith paused for a moment before she gave me a look of uncertainty. "Is that bad? Tera says couples should go on dates."
"I don't think it's bad. I mean, we're doing fine without going on one." Wait, Aren't I getting off track again? We gotta head to the castle. "Ok, let's actually stop wasting time and get the castle…Lilith?" As I said that, I saw Lilith eyeing me with squinting eyes.
"Is that so?
Eh? Wait, did I say something wrong? What? I only said that we did fine without one, why is she giving me that look?
Lilith stormed towards me, strutting as she got right into my face. When did she learn to strut like this? Kinda reminded me of Tera…Actually, she probably did learn it from her. "So you think we don't need to go on one? No spoiling the girlfriend sort of thing? No extra effort in trying to bond?"
Wha-what the fuck? Is that the first time she's actually called herself my girlfriend? And why in this case? Also, not spoiling? You mean to tell me cleaning up after you and pampering you wasn't enough? I should be spoiled in this scenario!
However, at this moment…I am quite frankly terrified by her behavior and the fierce look she has on her face. "Uh…well…if you put it like that…"
"When are you going to take me on a date?!" Maybe it was my eyes, or my brain just fucking with me, But I swear I thought I saw Liliths left eye flicker red as she said that.
Oh she's being serious right now.
"Wha-Hold on a minute! You can't put that kind of pressure on me!" I began to notice some people looking at us, curious about the conversation we were having. "Lilith, we have people looking at us."
"Answer the question then." She leaned close to my face, her amber eyes staring right into my soul. "After we finish our job? Tomorrow? Later tonight? Don't keep me wa-"
"Alright-Alright!" I pulled my hands up and squished Lilith's face. "Shit, relax with the scary look. How about this: After we settle down at Amelia's second house, we can go out?"
Lilith squinted her eyes even more, her squished face looking quite cute. "Promise?"
"You make it seem like I'm swearing a life or death oath."
"Could possibly be if you don't make the promise." She continued to eye me, A small smile crept on her face.
"…Promise." At this point, I really didn't know what was getting into her. But a scary Lilith is a scary person, so we must oblige to what she asks.
Lilith's eyes lit up as she took a step back, celebrating to herself in the middle of the street. The serious demeanor she had simply vanished as it was replaced with a more joyful one. "Yes! I got it!"
I was left staring at her with confusion. What did she mean by that? Did she want to go on one in the first place? "Uh…What's up with the celebration?"
Lilith then stopped, looking at me with a surprised look. She must've forgotten I was here for a moment as she quickly straightened herself out and explained herself. "In Tera's words: 'If a man brings up the topic of dating, it means he's showing interest in you. So pressure him!' And I did just that!" She then clasped her hands together, giving off a cutesy smile. "Thank Tera for teaching me!"
I found myself to be Flabbergasted. What the hell was Tera teaching her? I almost thought I would have died from Lilith's looks, and who does that to make someone confess?!
"Please don't do that again." I simply said.
"No promises!" Lilith snickered. However, she stopped snickering when she noticed something behind me. "Hey, look! It's Elena!"
I snapped out of my surprise and quickly turned around. Emerging from a store was Elena, still wearing her uniform and diligently walking towards us with a bag on her shoulder. As she got closer to us, I noticed the bag had some greens and meat in it…was she shopping to make a meal later on?
Elena stopped in front of me, looking at the both of us with a smile. I tried to look up at her, but unfortunately…her massive mounds were blocking my view. It seemed like she decided to let them be free. Still, she spoke to us without much bother.
"Ah…I suppose you two were the ones making that small ruckus." Elena said. She tugged at the
Bag and looked at us quizzically. "Are you two heading to the castle?"
Before I could answer, Lilith asked something off topic. "Hey, have you been on a date?"
"Beg pardon?" Elena seemed taken aback by that question. "Is that what the two of you were talking about?"
"Yeah. Because me and him haven't had one yet. But he promised me that he would later."
Elena chuckled, Amused by that. "Fufu…did he now? Lucky you." She turned to me. "Now, the two of you are heading this way to the castle, right?"
I looked up, trying to look past the mountain that was in my way. "Uh…yeah. We just finished taking Amelia and Claire back home, so we'll be attending the meeting."
"The meeting is already underway. So we should head there now…" Elena then leaned forward, looking down at me. "Keep your eyes glued to where they belong." Her eyes flickered to where Lilith stood.
Ah, I believe she noticed my staring.
"Hmph. There's no need for that panicked look. It's fun teasing." Elena shrugged it off with a smile and laugh. "Now, allow me to guide you to the castle."
****
The Ozoth castle. About the same size as Prusha's in terms of its area, The castle courtyard was filled with flowers and hedges. The path to the castle's doors was decorated in polished stones, the castle walls looked pristine alongside the green flags that represented this kingdom hanging along them. Off to the right side of the path, there was a training ground for the soldiers. A building that seemed to belong to the training grounds stood beside the castle, I could see the soldiers moving in and out of it as clashes of swords and shields erupted from there.
As Elena lead us closer to the center of the courtyard, I noticed that a lot of the people here were quite divisive. From an eldesche to those Feline looking people, there were a lot of different looking people aside from the elves. The elves themselves looked quite like the ones in those rpgs, the long pointy ears were on point.
Alongside the left side, there was a pretty fat tree that stood up all by itself. Nothing too special about it from what I could see, but I could be wrong. It had flowered surrounding it and it looked like there was a servant tending to the tree and flowers.
"Ah. There he is." Elena spoke, gazing towards the training ground. "Before we head in to have you two meet Kale and Chris, we'll need to take a detour."
"Is someone over there?" Lilith asked.
"…Unfortunately, yes." Elena simply frowned as she said that. She then guided us towards the training grounds, the guards immediately noticed her and quickly saluted her.
"Miss Elena! Welcome back!"
"Miss Elena, Our training is boding well…Sort of!"
"Miss Elena, it's good to have you back! Korbyn is back at it again with his trai-."
Elena simply raised her hand and everyone stopped talking. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once more to face the guards. "I am here. I had to pick up some supplies for home…Where is Korbyn?"
"He's in the pin with the others. We've just finished training with him." One of the guards said. Even through his helmet, I could see the dismay in his eyes. "Please, if you can…Swap with him?"
"Can't take up a slightly tougher coach?" Elena said sternly. "Lighten up, soldiers! How else are you going to get better if you keep training softly?!"
"Ah-Yes, sorry!" The guard bowed. "But…It's not that."
"…Is he having you guys do his Idiotic training sessions?" Elena raised a brow.
"…Yes."
Elena then let out a sigh and scratched her head in an annoyed fashion. "Having these guards be taught by a Wind king style student is like having a child play with some toys! Alright, I'll see what this child is up to."
"Thank you, Miss Elena!" The guards then turned away from us and hustled on.
We then followed Elena to a pretty large pen that had its gate closed. It was somewhat short in its heights, I was capable of seeing over it. And inside of the pen, Was Korbyn and a group of Soldiers. The dark skinned elf man stood at the back end of the pen, his shirt gone as he was…holding a bundle of mud in one hand and his sword in his other.
"Alright! Next thing we do is rub the mud on the sword! See, Simple!" I watched as he slapped the mud onto his sword, lathering it with mud. "Aah? Isn't this cool, you guys? Mud sword!"
The guards looked around, confused by his teaching.
"Now, I know what you guys are thinking: Why?" Korbyn then readied his muddied sword, also like he was ready to draw it. "Keep your opponents on the edge and uncertain of what you can do. For example!"
Korbyn then quickly flicked his sword, Mud spraying from the blade and hitting some of the guards in the face, blocking their sight.
"Blocking their sights and leaving them vulnerable!" Korbyn said with a smile. He then stood straighter, looking at the group. "Ok, with that out of the way, who wants to spar with me? Who wants some mud in their face?"
Elena then yelled at him, causing the dark skinned elf to jump at her voice. "Korbyn! What are you doing teaching them wind king style moves?! These guards are supposed to learn about Earth king style! Not your absurd usage of the sword!"
"Hey! This is my chance to teach some people some of my cool moves!" Korbyn waved his sword at her. "Look, watch me spin my blade with one finger!"
"You are an idiot." Elena annoyingly said.
Korbyn then noticed me and Lilith. "Oho! If it isn't the two of you! Back from helping a friend! Hey, want to watch me spin this sword with one finger?"
"Uh, no thanks…" I declined him. "We're here to see Kale and Chris in the castle."
"Ooh…Are they allowed to Enter the meeting room?" Korbyn looked back at Elena.
"The meeting hasn't been going on for too long, King Vergis isn't that stingy to those late to meetings…But he is with you."
The dark skinned elf raised his hands, a worried look grew on his face. "Woah…You can't just say that in front of all my students. I'll have you know that I've missed like Three meetings and that's it." The crowd of guards looked at each other with confusion, it was obvious that they really didn't want to be considered his students. "And maybe like a couple more that I almost missed, but I still showed up!"
"Hmph, you don't show up to our morning training meetings. Nor the patrol meetings."
"Uh…I'm there…Just in the back of it."
"Don't bullshit me." Elena sternly said. She then pulled the bag she had off her shoulder and held it up. "Anyways, I need to take the kids to the meeting. Do me a favor and take this to our dorm?" She then tossed the bag towards Korbyn. It was a pretty good toss from her as it was flying through the air.
"Wha-Hey! Hold on! I'm in the pe-Agh" Korbyn began to complain, but it was stopped by the sudden impact of the bag hitting his chest. He quickly dropped his sword and grabbed the bag. "What even is this?"
"Groceries. And some other amenities." Elena simply said. She then quickly turned away, looking at me and Lilith. "Let's not waste time, He'll keep talking if we stay here. Let's head inside." With much haste, she walked her way towards the Castle door. Me and Lilith followed behind her.