[James's Pov]
Returning to my apartment, my mood was incredibly low after clearing out the Monastery again.
I had gotten another dud after killing the skeleton bishop again, this time a completely useless item that I truly had no use for.
[Pauldrons of Heavy Weight]
Description: Shoulder plates that weigh too much to be practical.
They were just a complete pile of garbage with no special effect and no active abilities. Even worse was that I couldn't even lift them because they were too heavy.
So the only way to retrieve them was to put them in the spatial inventory in my watch, but I had no idea what to do with them now.
A part of me wanted to inspect them more but I was afraid that the floor might be damaged if I brought them out in my apartment.
"Haa... Bobby, come here..."
Summoning sub-me in the form of a wolf, I walked into my practice room and laid down on the floor, while making Bobby curl up next to me.
If anyone knew that I was lying here, petting and cuddling with myself, they would probably call me insane. However, my thick coat was so soft and pleasant to touch that I didn't think about it.
"Haaa... Things are truly moving too fast..."
Tomorrow, six weeks would have already passed since the semester began. Somehow, although I knew that I had made massive improvements, I just couldn't help but feel stressed out.
It shouldn't be too far in the future until things started to heat up, with Kurat being the place where the demons would set foot first.
"Status."
===Status===
Name: James Jackson
Rank: D-
Strength: F+
Agility: E+
Stamina: E+
Intelligence: D
Mana Capacity: C- *?*
--> Main Manual:
[Trickster - Ungraded] - Major Understanding.
-Core Skill: [Double Trouble]
-1st Skill: [Swap]
-2nd Skill: [Materialize]
-3rd Skill: [Detonation]
--> Side Manual:
[Conjurer - Ungraded] - Minor Understanding
-Core Skill: [Conjure]
--> Elemental Affinity: Mist
->Elemental Skills (Affected by [Conjurer] Manual): [Dome of Mist]
==========
I had already broken through to [D-] rank, likely making me the first freshman to do so, as a result of having increased both my Intelligence and Stamina.
My development speed was incredibly fast, which was reasonable because of how much time I spent training and how [Double Trouble] worked, but yet, I wasn't satisfied. There were too many things I hadn't mastered yet, and as I had now gained an understanding of another animal, I had to expand my current zoopedia as well.
It was like playing an RPG where you had to progress through several different power systems at once, and it felt like shit if you fell behind in even one of them.
*Ping!*
Opening the message I had gotten on the device on my arm, a smile appeared on my face. Things weren't all bad, after all.
[Greetings, Mr. Jackson. I'm writing this digital letter in order to make a proposal. I would like to officially invite you to join me for some recreational activities at the academy café. I would be greatly pleased if you could give me some of your valuable time and humor me in my whims. Dear regards, Sarah Lindt.]
It was such a stupid text, obviously written by a nervous Sarah who had accidentally entered royalty mode.
'She didn't even state when she wanted to go.'
This new life of mine was tough and painful, but it wasn't necessarily bad. There were plenty of things that I enjoyed.
I enjoyed the feeling of developing myself, I enjoyed learning more about the world, and, most of all, I enjoyed getting along with people for the first time in a very long time.
As I couldn't stop myself, and Theia knows I tried, I put my life at risk by teasing the royal heir.
****
[Sarah's Pov]
'Oh my god! What have I done?!'
I couldn't stop rolling around on my bed, my mind frantically trying to turn back time to stop myself from sending that insane text.
Having already tried for two hours to send a normal text and ask if James wanted to grab a coffee with me, my mind had blanked out.
When my brain regained its clarity, the deed was already done.
'Well, knowing James, he probably won't make a big deal out of it...'
The dark-haired, cute guy I knew had always been polite, although he could act a bit haughty at times.
*Ping!*
Right, when I had calmed myself down, I got my reply, and it wasn't what I had expected.
[Greetings, my lady, your highness! This lowly commoner would be happy to be a part of your recreational activities. Though I cannot say with truth that I am worthy of thy attention, I will fulfill my duty as a child of Mensch. However, with sadness filling my heart, I have to make an inquiry myself. Could you tell me what position our glorious sun will have when this peasant should venture out to the esteemed facility?]
"Pfft! Ha...haha...hahaha haha!"
His response was so incredibly stupid that I couldn't stop myself from laughing, while, at the same time, a weight was lifted from my heart. I knew that he would banter a bit with Sophie now and then, even though they were pretty skilled at doing so subtly, but he never did so with me.
So him making fun of me somehow led me to feel as if he finally accepted me, as if it was his way of saying that he did, indeed, regard me as a friend.
His response was so ridiculous that I didn't even feel embarrassed anymore, instead I just quickly sent him a message explaining that I meant tonight, after dinnertime. Once again, it didn't take long until I got an answer.
[Sure, I would like that. See you there.]
'He actually said yes... What do I do?!'
This was completely outside of my expectations, with my expectations being that he would politely refuse because he was busy with training or something.
Although I did ask him because I wanted to be alone with him for once, I would be happy just to start texting with him for the first time.
In the end, I had to make a call.
"Sophieeee! Please help me!"
****
[James's Pov]
'Why am I here...'
Currently sitting in a corner of the academy café, I had to question what had made me accept wasting time like this.
Every little fraction of my being knew that I shouldn't spend my time like this, throwing it away for temporary joy.
Granted, sub-me was currently hard at work trying to get used to flying with our new wings, but, with my main body, not training, that meant I was losing 50% of my usual efficiency.
However, strangely enough, it still felt right to come here. Even with my heart beat slightly raised because of the few students spread around the venue, I didn't regret coming to the café.
A part of me felt truly elated at the prospect of Sarah wanting to hang out, not even thinking about the possibility of her being romantically interested in me.
Just the fact that the sweet, although a bit weird, royal princess wanted to get to know me felt really good. Just as I was thinking about her, the lovely princess walked into the café, wearing a pink and flowery summer dress while holding a small white purse.
Seeing me, she let on a beautiful, yet shy, smile, almost making her face glow. Her golden hair gently bobbed as she made her way over to the table, with her marvelous curves following suit.
'Gorgeous...'
Even though I was well aware that she was more than a looker, seeing her right now made me feel as if I was watching someone who couldn't possibly belong to Tella. As if she had to be an angel or a goddess, as she couldn't be a mortal like the rest of us.
It couldn't be helped, this was the first time I truly let my eyes gaze at her, now when there were no distractions to disturb me.
"James! You're already here? I'm so sorry I'm late, I got caught up in some stuff..."
Waving my hand, I quickly dismissed the woman who worried for no reason, "It's fine, I just got here myself. So, what do you want to drink?" As the woman sat down in front of me, she had to think for a moment, her forehead creasing a bit as she made the tough decision.
Looking closer, her breath was a little bit ragged, as if she had truly hurriedly made her way over to the café, "I'll just take a white chocolate cinnamon chai latte, please." My body flinched while hearing the words that came out of her mouth, trying my best to figure out if she had accidentally switched languages or if she was having a stroke.
In the end, it appeared to be neither of these, as she had a gentle smile on her face while waiting for my response. "Um... Sure. I'll be right back then..."
And so I had to challenge the memory-based puzzle head-on, not wanting to look like a fool in front of the royal heir.