There was so much tension in the air that I could cut it with a knife. Adriana was smiling politely, Sophie looked like she ate shit, James was having the time of his life, Sarah seemed to inch closer to me for every second that passed and Anna was just enjoying the show.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix was looking kind of weird, almost a bit ashamed. I had never in my life believed that she would accept the invite to join us, but when she did, it kind of made sense.
Her brother had already sold her out, telling me about the fact that she was now a complete loner, without any friends. So it wasn't all too weird that she might have been desperate for some company and to have a normal night out.
Sadly, Adriana wouldn't even let her finish her first drink before she lunged out, "So, Bellatrix, James had just been telling us about how you managed to claim first place in the competition. But it would be nice to hear your view on it."
'Please just stop drinking! You are losing more and more finesse for every sip!'
There was no way I was the only one in this room who didn't realize what she was up to, that just couldn't be possible. Sadly, if only Sophie knew the reason why Adriana was so persistent, she might have come to my defense. Sadly, her own curiosity, strengthened by the alcohol, deterred her from saving me.
'Theia, take the wheel...'
I had no way of intervening now, she had already fired her shot, and just like in Sarajevo, the wheels wouldn't stop turning. Bellatrix looked a bit surprised at the sudden question, too surprised for me to feel comfortable.
To my surprise, the girl quickly found her footing and delivered one of the best answers she could have given. "Well, without revealing too much, it was pretty much just a combination of efforts. James did what he was good at, and I did what I was good at. So it all turned out okay. Please excuse me, but I do not wish to reveal anything else."
I didn't even care that Bella the Bitch had kept up her haughty personality even when she was behind enemy lines, that was a splendid answer! 'I guess she is also going into politics in the future.'
It was kind of impressive that even now when she was surrounded by people she either knew or suspected hated her, she kept up her domineering aura, clearly showing she wouldn't let anyone step on her.
With this as my chance, as there was no way Adriana could pressure her into giving away the truth of the matter, I stood up, "Well, this has been great guys, but I'm heading off to bed."
*You stay!*
Two hands from two different persons quickly landed on my shoulders and dragged my back to my seat. My little attempt at leaving politely had been instantly rejected by a jealous Sarah and the loner Bellatrix, who had only really talked with me.
"Okay... I guess I'll stay?"
So the night continued on, and somehow, it didn't take long until Bellatrix and Sophie were talking with each other, "So, you are all alone now? Weren't you and Mike a thing, or something?"
Waving her hand, she dismissed the dragon's assumption completely, "No way. I just wanted to try and get a good connection to the Denver house. However, that just ended up with him telling every senior that he knew to avoid me because I didn't perform well in the ranking event."
"Mike truly is an asshole, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he sure is. It was so funny when he got his ass handed to him by you before classes even started."
'What is happening?! Aren't they supposed to hate each other?'
Unable to hold back, I had to intervene, not wanting to see this disgrace of a display anymore, "Well, you two should probably try and be friends. I know for a fact that Bellatrix 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤 and Sophie 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝."
"Shut up, you stupid goblin!"
"Shut up, you dirty commoner!"
For some inexplicable reason, my little joke had only made their newly built bond even stronger. Even worse was that a hand suddenly patted my head, with Sarah also not letting the situation go.
"There, there... Pfft! Haha!"
Now everyone around me also started laughing, with even Adriana genuinely having fun at my expense. Clenching my fists, I knew I knew what I had to do. 'You forced my hand!'
*Poff!*
========
"It wassss ssso horrible!"
"Ruff! It's okay. There, there..."
Currently snuggled up completely in sub-me's soft fur, I coiled up and let the tears fall from my yellow eyes. Sadly, snakes can't cry.
****
[Sophie's Pov]
"So, you are serious about trying to get closer to James?"
"Un. I want to at least try and get to know him. I know it's probably impossible for anything to happen between us, but I don't want to hide from life anymore!"
After exiting the bar, not too long after James had ditched us, Sarah had followed me to my apartment for a late-night chat. Anna had decided not to come with us, as she was already half-asleep from drinking.
Now sitting on my bed, each with a glass of wine in our hands, we were just talking the night away. It still irked me a bit that our night out somehow ended before midnight, which was truly shameful for a group of youths. During my younger days on Earth, it wasn't rare for us to be out until the sun came out.
"Yeah, probably not. I mean, I'm not sure but I don't know how good it will look if a princess got together with a commoner."
In my head, it did seem pretty far-fetched to expect that her having a relationship with James wouldn't be met by huge storms of criticism from the nobles, risking harming the relations between the and the royal house.
Her face turned a bit sad, knowing that no matter what, this was the ugly truth. She couldn't expect to get to choose freely who she would spend her life with, because she was the royal heir. Still, that didn't stop her from putting on a strong front.
"I can at least hire him when I become a queen, ordering him to go around shirtless and tend to my needs! Hehehe!"
Although Sarah was thinking of James when she said this, there was another man that popped up in my mind when she told her joke. 'Ordering Arthur around, shirtless... Watching him tend to the garden while his sweaty body shines in the sun...'
"Aaah! I'm jealous! I also want to become queen!"
"No, you probably don't. I don't even think you would want to be a princess if you knew everything it entailed."
Taking a sip of my wine, her words had piqued my curiosity, "Hmm? What do you mean?"
Turning her head towards the ceiling, she started to talk about everything that was expected of her, just because of a silly title.
"You have to learn proper etiquette and go on boring banquets all the time. Horny noble boys will never leave you alone, because they know if they manage to get together with a princess, their family will receive a huge boon. Also, big guilds always want to present their most outstanding hunters, for the same purpose."
Then, her eyes turned incredibly sad, "But the worst part is that your father isn't really your father, and you aren't really his daughter. In most cases, he would be the king, and you would be the princess. No matter what happens, the kingdom always comes first. Always."
****
[James's Pov]
Several months had now passed after the excursion, and we had now entered the month of May. After the incident with the demon, we hadn't gotten to go on any dungeon dives or any excursions, as the teachers simply didn't have time for it. They were still spending a lot of time making plans for the future, knowing that it was inevitable for Ainu to get caught up in the demon invasion.
Me, I had spent my time mostly training, getting a better grip on all of my Skills and abilities, and even learning a few new tricks along the way. Training during the weeks and going on dives by myself during the weekend, I had made quite the leap in power already.
Though I had also spent quite some time with Sarah as well, most of the time going out for a coffee and just talking nonsense with each other. It was pretty great, with her being the first person I had been able to feel comfortable around in a long time, as if there was no pressure on me to follow any unwritten rules.
Now, I was about to enter a completely new dungeon for me, as I had completely given up on getting that damn chest piece I wanted from the Monastery. During all these months, I had been diligently clearing it out, almost every single weekend, but it still hadn't dropped.
So although I would miss the big guy that I had blown up more than 20 times now, it was time to move on.
With steady steps, I entered the portal that would lead me to what most people regarded as the gateway dungeon between [E]-ranks and [D]-ranks. The Orc Village.