"Girls, are you ready? Then everyone to the table; we've done a fantastic job," Teacher Levris peeked out from the kitchen.
The girls really worked hard. They prepared several salads, cooked soup, even managed to dress the wild boar brought by Victoria (I'm sure it was Vivien's doing) and turn it into cutlets, steaks, and many other dishes. The twins even attempted to recreate some of Asura's dessert recipes. It all looked fantastic; just one glance at Ragni, who greedily licked her lips, spoke volumes.
"Oh, you've prepared so much; there might be too much leftover," the hostess worried.
But Ragni reassured her with a light wave of her hand. "Don't worry, there won't be anything left." After that, the dragoness quickly squeezed into a spot in the middle of the table, ensuring she could reach any dish with one paw.
"Your dragoness is quite spirited. Please, everyone, come to the table and enjoy," the hostess invited.
We took our places, and it was a good and cheerful evening. We told Victoria about our adventures, the many things we've experienced in the last couple of months. About battling the Hydra, cave monsters, and the black dragon, and also about our festival. We discussed which other dungeons we should explore on our way back. Seleria enthusiastically invited Victoria to join her personal guard once she finishes the Academy.
Throughout the evening, Victoria watched with understanding and joy as her dear friend enjoyed time with her friends. However, in her eyes, there were occasional glimpses of sadness. As Ragni promised, nothing was left of dinner; dragons always keep their word. After dinner, we dispersed to our rooms.
The night was calm, and the full moon occasionally peeked out from behind low-hanging clouds. Its soft light filled the room and gently lulled me to sleep. But my roommate turned out to be Grain, and I didn't envy his future wife; it would be challenging to fall asleep with such snoring.
I couldn't fall asleep and decided to get some fresh air. I opened the window in the corridor and began to quietly breathe in the air filled with the sensation of approaching winter. Suddenly, I thought I saw a white figure flash in the windows of the third floor. A thief, perhaps!? There were girls' bedrooms up there. I hurried back to my room for my swords and rushed to the third floor.
I systematically searched the corridors for intruders, but there was no one in sight. However, an open window caught my attention. Looking outside, I saw a tall figure wrapped in a long white dress, holding a large pillow, and with tousled golden hair cascading down...
What has our beloved princess concocted now? At first, I wanted to call out to her, but her eyes were closed. Could she be sleepwalking, and on top of that, she was standing barefoot on the edge of the house's steep wall? In reality, she had threaded a zipper through her heels, allowing her to cling to the wall, but not everyone would be capable of such a feat unconsciously.
The girl slowly, but steadily, climbed onto the roof. Without much thought, I hid my blades behind my back and climbed after her using the wall's reliefs.
A few minutes later, we both stood on the roof. I needed to wake her up. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "Katrina, are you sleeping?"
"Huh?" The girl turned to me with sleepy eyes. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"
Katrina pushed me away and jumped to the side. Surprisingly, she misjudged the distance and landed on the edge of the roof. The princess clearly didn't expect to end up in such a place and, stumbling, started slipping off the edge.
"Katrina!" I managed to grab her hand just in time and pulled her towards me. "It's about time you realized that jumping is not your thing."
Katrina stood in my embrace for a while, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, Krito, you really know how to surprise," Katrina struggled to calm down. "It reminded me of our first meeting."
"Oh, yes, you can never forget that," I smiled at the princess, and only now did she realize how close she was to me.
Blushing like a tomato, Katrina took a step back from me.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I brought you here? You came here unconsciously, and I simply woke you up. I never expected you to leap off the roof in fear."
"Sorry. Old habits, I guess."
Katrina started shyly poking her high-heeled shoe into the tiled roof.
"Maybe you're waiting for me to ask about those habits?"
Katrina's eyes sparkled, then she lowered her gaze again.
"N-nothing like that, but if you're curious, I'll tell you."
"Perhaps we should sit down first. It's dangerous to stand here like this."
"Ah, yes."
Katrina put her pillow on the roof, and we both sat down on it.
"Well, it happened when I still lived in the castle."
"Quite logical; you didn't live in that many places."
"Don't interrupt, I'm telling the story," Katrina cleared her throat and continued. "So, as I mentioned before, I was locked in my room for the last few years. Perhaps meeting Vi triggered these memories. Well, I never left my room, not at all... Well, almost."
The princess bashfully lowered her head.
"I loved looking at the stars, but the windows in my room faced the garden, and only one window from the outside of the wall overlooked a view of the cliff. The view was beautiful, but the window was very small. That's when I developed this technique of walking on walls, using lightning to magnetize my hands and feet to the surface. This way, I sometimes managed to climb onto the roof; there was a fortress tower above my room with a flat roof. No stairs led there, so no one could find me. However, being there, I couldn't harm anyone, so it became my little taste of freedom. The tower walls were quite uneven, so I dared to climb them only on the brightest nights, close to the full moon. I would lie there on the roof with a pillow, gazing at the stars. I dreamt of flying to the heavens and reaching out to touch the moon. Silly childish dreams."
Katrina looked at the cloudy sky above us.
"And now, I can barely see the moon, and why did I do that?"
I felt a bit sorry for the somewhat unhappy princess.
"Close your eyes for a moment; I'll try to perform a miracle."
"Alright, but don't you dare do anything forbidden."
Katrina obediently closed her eyes. It had to work this time; I hadn't succeeded so much before, but now it had to work. I drew a large sword from behind my back and gathered as much mana from the air as I could. It was essential to have enough for a single swing to cut everything. I poured all the mana into the sword and released it into the sky with a sharp swing. The wind blade tore off the blade, breaking through the boundaries of my protective field. It grew in size and pierced through the dense clouds.
The wind gust caused by the spell rose from the ground and started fluttering Katrina's dress.
"Whoa, Krito, what are you doing?" The princess couldn't resist and opened her eyes.
"Just watch," I pointed to the sky.
The wind blade sliced through the clouds, dispersing them to the sides. The clouds hung low, making them easy to reach. Gradually, they parted, revealing the sky behind them. My calculations were correct; the strike hit precisely where the Milky Way passed through the sky. Behind the clouds, the first stars started to appear, dozens, hundreds of stars merging into a streak of white light across the sky. Like magic, the clouds cleared above Varengrad, and the sky was illuminated with a starry radiance.
"Now, do you think you can reach the sky!?" I asked.
"YES!!! I can do anything!!!" Katrina rejoiced like a child. She stood under the starry night sky with the man who had given her a whole new world.
"Mmm, there they are," I said.
"Not bad, not bad. Impressive progress for just one evening. You could learn from her," someone said.
Some strange mumbling cut through my sleep. Ah, never mind that. I opened my eyes and saw familiar faces. The entire guild, including the friendly guild and Victoria, loomed over me.
"What do you want from me?"
"He dares to ask," another voice sneered.
"Sir Krito, so bold!!"
"The princess is finally growing up, how touching."
What nonsense were they talking about? I tried to get up, but something held my hand tight. I looked around; it wasn't my bed, but rather, I lay on some large pillow. It was quite chilly here, yet my hand felt pleasant and warm. Turning my head, I found a golden-haired beauty, peacefully asleep, clutching my right hand.
...
The sly smiles of the guild members created a tense atmosphere.
...
"Katrina, wake up, please."
The lazy princess merely mumbled in response.
"Princess, it's time to get up, or you won't grow."
"Uaaah," Katrina yawned deeply and sat up on the roof.
Katrina didn't understand where she was and continued to rub her eyes, looking around.
"What do you want, Krito? And so early in the morning."
"But it's not that early," Ragni couldn't resist teasing. "You probably exhausted yourself yesterday."
Katrina suddenly realized what was happening. She woke up almost in the same bed as a man, in front of all her friends.
"That's not how it is," Katrina, in embarrassment, pushed the first thing she could find near her.
The first thing she found was my face, and with a loud crash, it rolled down the edge of the roof. Luckily, there were trees and bushes below, which softened my fall, though I still managed to get scratched.
"Ah, Krito, forgive me," the emotional princess peered over the edge of the roof. "Are you alright down there?"
And she asks!
"Ah. I did say to secure them first," Vina's head appeared next to Katrina.
"But we didn't think she'd throw him off the roof like that," Ragni followed.
"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Victoria saw us off on our journey.
"Princess, are you sure you don't want to meet him? He'll be attending the 'Treasure Hunt' closing ceremony anyway. I don't want to waste his precious time," Katrina didn't lift her head. Mentioning her father only caused her pain.
"I understand," Victoria smiled warmly. "I'm glad you found so many friends. I'll try to attend the ceremony if your father accepts me for protection."
The captain reached out to the princess, as if she wanted to hug her, but stopped just in time. Like no one else, she knew about her weakness.
"Mmm... That's enough!" I placed both hands on Katrina's shoulders and nudged her towards Victoria. The two girls embraced for the first time in so many years, and Katrina's power had no effect on Vi.
"I don't understand?" Vi looked at me with surprise.
"Well, I thought you wanted this," I said.
"But what about..."
"Don't worry, I can absorb some of Katrina's power. But don't linger, the field is hitting me instead of you."
"Ah, sorry," Victoria hugged her little princess one last time and stepped aside. "Good luck to you. I hope your dream comes true."