Chapter 103: Larping

After their secret investigation had ended, Noa returned to Gergrain’s castle and opened the doors to their room. Inside, sprawled across a couch, was Vionette, reading a comic book. Hearing the doors open, she slid her eyes towards him, then back to the book without a care.

Tucking his jacket away in [Reserve]’s pocket dimension, he walked towards her. Kneeling behind the armrest her head rested on, he wrapped his arms around her.

“Whatchu reading?” he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Vionette slid her eyes towards him again, then to the opposite side. Folding her arms, she pouted angrily and turned her face away from his head.

Noa made a confused face. “Mmm? What’s with the silent treatment?”

Without answering, she turned her face away even more. He placed his hand on her far cheek and gently but firmly, turned her face back towards him.

“C’mon, Vio, what’s the problem?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes towards him one last time, then looked away again, muttering, “You went on a detective mission with that dumb lizard…”

He studied her face for a few seconds. What could possibly be wrong with him doing something with Elina? But then, it clicked inside him.

He pressed his cheek against hers. “Are you jealous that it wasn’t you?”

“Hmph! Why would I be jealous of that?” Then she muttered, barely audible, “You even got cool detective outfits…”

“So you are jealous.”

“I said I’m not—!”

Her cheeks flushed red as a kiss landed on one of them, cutting off her words in its warmth. Lifting her up, he lay back on the couch and settled her on top of him.

She’s so cute when she’s jealous. A smile crossed his face as he stared at her puffed cheeks.

“You went to meet Sinia, and I was lonely. So I just found something to do.” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he whispered into her ear, “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Fuck your ‘sorry’!” She thrashed on top of him like a cat, driving her elbows backwards at his face, her feet kicking at his. “You even had new outfits made!”

“H-hey, calm down!”

Some of the blows landed on his face, since he was hugging her tightly, but her strength felt no more than a leaf brushing against wood. He only watched her elbows grow redder and redder.

Out of energy, she finally went still, breathing heavily.

“Does it hurt?” Noa asked, peering at her over her shoulder.

She touched one of her elbows and answered, tears welling in her eyes, “Yes…”

“That’s why I told you to calm down.”

She pouted again, looking away. “I was angry. I still am.”

His grip around her waist tightened, and he gave her cheek another kiss. “That’s called being jea—”

“I was not jealous!”

Noa sighed, defeated. “Okay, okay, you were just angry. So, what do you want for an apology?”

She didn’t answer for a few moments and just kept pouting.

As Noa stared at her in confusion, she finally muttered, “Two cuddles, three French kisses, a teleportation to Eryndor, two more kisses on the cheek after that, and another cuddle.”

Noa grimaced uncertainly. “Isn’t that a bit… too demanding?”

“No!” She puffed her cheeks again.

“Then why a teleportation to Eryndor?”

“I’m gonna create my own detective outfit.”

Noa’s eyes widened the instant the words left her mouth. A new outfit?! Hell yeah!

“I can teleport you every day if you wanna make new outfits! Let’s go now!”

[Blink] + [Vacant Eye]

And so, vanishing from the room, they appeared on the streets of Eryndor, directly in front of Nymira’s shop. The citizens were left stunned at their rulers’ sudden appearance, but before long, they all bowed, greeted them, and went on their way without bothering them.

“Come back to pick me up in half an hour.” Leaving Noa at the door, she walked inside.

“Princess Vionette…?” Nymira’s voice drifted from inside. “What are you doing here so suddenly?”

“Just give me a goddamn pencil and a sketchbook.”

***

After reuniting with Adrian in the classroom, Lucion gathered his books and went to the fourth floor of the academy’s fourth building, where Professor Mazul held the Alchemy class.

Once all the students had gathered, Mazul swept his gaze over the classroom, a skeptical look on his face.

As I expected, the most noticeable ones won’t choose Alchemy— His eyes narrowed as he spotted a figure among the others. Well, this is certainly unexpected.

He turned towards her and asked uncertainly, “Neiscris… did you choose Alchemy?”

N-Neiscris?!

Lucion’s head snapped towards where Mazul was looking, and he found the girl standing there with a bag of herbs. A cold shiver ran through him as yet another anomaly unfolded.

What on earth is going on?! I’m positive she picks two combat-leaning subjects and Economics. What is she doing in Alchemy?

As he stared at her, she turned her face towards him and waved with a smile.

(she's a demon, not a dragon btw)

What is wrong with her?!

‘Lucion! Over here!’ Lucion heard a desperate whisper behind him.

He turned around to find Emmy there, trying to catch his attention without drawing the professor’s notice.

So she chose Alchemy too? Well, I expected as much from her supporting style.

“For our first day of this class, we will only be brewing a simple low-level healing potion.” Mazul extended his hand towards the cabinets filled with herbs. “This is only to gauge your knowledge and skills beforehand, so there won’t be any rankings. Choose the necessary items from those and present me with a low-level healing potion.”

‘A potion on the very first day? I know how, but I’ve never actually tried…’ a student whispered.

‘Damn, this is going to be hard. I don’t even know the right materials.’

‘It’s just to see where we stand, so just use anything you see fit.’

Lucion glanced around at the nervous students whispering. This is the first mission you get when you choose Alchemy as one of the three periods. It’s the same for the other periods as well.

The players are first asked to make a low-level healing potion without even being told what Alchemy is. There are over 600 combinations, and you have to find the right one in the right order purely by guessing. If you fail, you have to start from the first chapter again. Dedicated players repeated the process over and over, slowly, until they finally found the right combinations.

Lucion, along with the other students, walked towards the cabinets and picked out the necessary herbs one by one.

Still, no human could remember all the combinations, so we made a wiki with everything. If I didn’t have [Perfect Recall], I’m afraid I would fail miserably.

The professor drifted from one side of the class to the other, pausing in front of each student’s desk. He stopped near Neiscris’s desk, watched her try to brew something with no knowledge whatsoever, and moved on. Then he halted in front of Lucion and looked at the cauldron, which held half of his ingredients.

Lucion looked up at him, and he simply smiled and continued on his way.

It’s the same kid who showed good survival skills in the opening ceremony… seems he knows a thing or two.

Time slipped by, and at last, the time given for brewing ran out. One by one, the students brought their potions before Mazul.

One student held up a pink potion, his face full of uncertainty.

“That isn’t even a healing potion,” Mazul said.

The student left with a defeated look, eyes fixed on the floor. Another stepped up after him and presented her potion.

“Good,” he said flatly, and she returned to her seat as well.

‘I wasn’t expecting much anyway,’ she muttered as she left.

It was Neiscris’s turn now. Her potion was a dark purple, glowing brilliantly. A proud smile sat on her face, bathed in its glow, as she presented it… but,

“Terrible. Were you trying to make poison instead of a healing potion?”

Her eye twitched, and she clung to her smile, though it was now forced. Instead of stepping aside, she lingered near the table, waiting for something.

Lucion stepped before Mazul and presented his own potion, a deep forest green. Unlike before, Mazul didn’t say a word immediately. While the students watched in confusion, he took the bottle in hand and inspected it closely.

The ingredients and the timing are flawless. It only lacks the experience that comes with repeated brewing…

“Lucion, was it? Great job.” He handed the potion back to him. “You can sit down now. Next.”

Whispers erupted among the students at the first excellent work, and at it being the work of a recommended student. As he made his way back to his seat, he saw Neiscris standing beside his path. She was smiling at him, almost satisfied.

He looked straight ahead, ignoring her, and walked past. As he did, she whispered, “Good job.”

…This feels so off. Lucion thought, no longer even surprised by her.

***

This feels too off!

After finishing his other two classes, Lucion hurried back to his assigned class for the next period. A few steps behind, keeping pace with him, was Neiscris, a warm smile on her face.

I thought the Alchemy incident was just a small thing out of place, but now I have to rethink that. For some reason, she chose Magic Engineering and Astral Refining too.

He stopped at the doorframe leading to their class and turned to face her.

“Tell me, why are you in all of my elective subjects? Is that why you asked me about them earlier?”

Neiscris laughed softly. “What are you talking about? I just like those subjects so much.”

She’s a villain in the story, and though she’s playful at times, she isn’t this talkative with other characters. What happened to her?

“I know you’re lying.” Lucion narrowed his eyes. “What do you want with me of all people? I’m not even that strong.”

She closed her eyes and shrugged, playing completely dumb. “I really don’t know what you’re on about.”

***

[Blink] + [Vacant Eye]

After half an hour, Noa appeared in their room in Gergrain with Vionette in his arms. Without putting her down, he walked over to an open window and sat on its frame, settling Vionette on his thighs.

“So when can I see it?” Noa asked, hugging her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “When some things click into place. I gave the Headmaster a good hint as well.”

“A good hint?” Noa raised a brow.

“Well…”

***

Earlier that day—

Vionette and Sinia spent a good while chatting inside her office, whether it be about magic, the academy, or the connections between the academy and Crimvane.

“I think I should be leaving now.” Vionette rose from her seat.

“You’re leaving?” Sinia leaned back in her chair. “Well, I had a good time thanks to you.” All the life drained from her face as she stared at the papers. “Now I have to get back to these…”

“I can feel the pain.” Vionette nodded as she turned around—and paused. “Ah, I came here for another reason as well.”

Sinia looked back at her in confusion.

“I came here to apologize for disturbing your speech yesterday.”

“Oh, thank god you remem—”

“As a token of apology, I’ll give you a little secret I learned just yesterday.” Placing a hand on the desk, Vionette leaned down and smiled. “Two of the people closest to you… are traitors.”

***

“And what is that supposed to hint at…?” Noa raised his brows at her.

Vionette lazily spread her hands and laughed. “I don’t fucking know, I just made it up. After some things happen, we just gotta connect the pieces the proper way and everything will be A-OK~”

Noa pinched her cheek. “You cute snake…”

“...Stop that.”

***

After the first day of the academy was over, Lucion left his classroom and headed for the exit of the academy building where their class was held.

“No, you’re the problem here!” a familiar voice barked, echoing through the hall.

Lucion stopped in his tracks and looked around. Strangely, no one was in his path today. So he decided to follow the voice. Leaning against the corner of the wall, he peeked around at the scene.

Is that… Cedric and Emmy? Lucion’s eyes widened.

They stood in a dim corner of the academy, glaring at each other intensely.

“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve succeeded!” Emmy shouted once again.

“Shut up, you damn commoner!” Cedric snatched a dagger from his pocket. “Trying to frame me? As if! Die!”

He lunged forward, aiming his dagger at Emmy. Lucion was about to reach for his weapon and intervene just as Emmy unleashed a wind spell that sent Cedric flying into the wall.

Lucion immediately ducked out of sight again. W-what was that?! I didn’t know Emmy could cast spells that fast!

Cedric coughed up blood in pain, growling as he tried to lift himself up. Then Emmy walked towards him with a knife and kicked his face with a smile.

“I’ll just say it’s you! You and you alone!”

She kicked him again and again, laughing wildly, and Lucion stared at the scene in horror. As Cedric drew his last breaths, Emmy knelt down and seized him by the hair, forcing him to look at her.

“You arrogant moron. You were being played.”

She drove her knife into his throat.

“E—!” Lucion stretched out his hands to stop her, but it was only his words that were dying in his throat.

Regretting his choice, he immediately fled the scene.

Emmy got up and walked out of the corner. She looked around, and no one was to be seen.

She smiled.

***

Sitting atop Noa’s lap, gazing at the tall pillars of the academy rising far in the distance, Vionette played with small puppets Noa had made for her out of Null Essence.

She smiled and muttered, “When everything falls into place, everyone will realize just how much of a joke this is.”