Chapter 10: Chapter 10: A Princess’s Outing With Friends!

In the evening, when the sunset over the ocean shone beautifully, and the water surface reflected the evening sun, a boy and an uncle were in an office. They were doing paperwork. Rigeld wasn’t looking too happy with the stack of papers he had received this evening, and Alum was sitting on the couch filing a damage report—his own, that is. “You know… while it is a training field, it’s not a testing site for destruction magic….” Alum could only nod his head slightly; he, too, realized that he had gone a bit too far. “... I’m sorry….” Hearing Alum’s apologetic voice, Rigeld couldn’t help but start laughing. “ Hahaha. My boy Al, you’re quite amazing, aren’t you, setting my bars for you even higher than they previously were!” Hearing this, Alum sighed. He thought that Rigeld was angry for once. But as it turns out, he was just brilliant at acting. Still, knowing that Rigeld wasn’t all mad, he relaxed a little, munching on the promised treats while continuing to file the report. Hadn’t it been for the [Illusionary Barrier] that surrounded the area, people in the city might have thought they were under attack. Although, he did cause a small outbreak in the base, and luckily no one was injured. 

 

After finishing his report, he returned to his room and threw himself on the bed. “Ahh… she did compliment me, but why did she look so sad simultaneously?” Alum doesn’t get it; he had thought he did a great job. But maybe that wasn’t the case? Agonizing over his failure to impress the girl he liked, he rolled around in bed. This behavior wasn’t like him; he knew but couldn’t help it. 

A while after agonizing over his failure Alum came back to his senses after hearing a knock on the door. It was probably Noel, he thought and went to open. There stood Noel with a tray of sweets and sandwiches. He smiled at Alum and went inside the room. “Maaan~, you surprised me with that spell of yours!” Hearing this, Alum couldn’t help but get reminded of his failure. “S-shut up….” Noel ignored his harsh words and laughed softly. “It was a compliment, you know~?” Alum, who wasn’t taking it so well, just sulked. “Here, it got us some sweets and sandwiches!” He said while handing Alum the tray. Alum gently took the tray and gave Noel a soft smile—to which Noel smiled more brightly. Alum said, “thanks,” and started with the sandwich. 

Noel and Alum were chatting about the day and how much they had learned. Chely, Luna, and Ame were teaching them, so it was no surprise there. It also lifted a lot of weight off Luna's shoulders since she had been teaching them alone for almost a week. Noel was also quite something himself. Although he wasn’t excelling in magic, his close combat and swordsmanship improved significantly. Noel had some experience in martial arts but never actually used it. And getting taught personally by Chely today really helped. “Hey, Al, we got a day off tomorrow, right? Wanna hit the town?” Alum noticing that his friend changed the way he called him, was a little surprised. Noel never used a nickname before; maybe it’s Luna’s influence? “Oh, yeah, sure. There are places I’ve yet to visit.” Alum wasn’t quite sure that walking with Noel was a good idea, after all. Assassins are still after his head. Alum thought he really needed to solve this problem soon if he wanted to go on dates with Ame without being disturbed. 

 

The following day Alum and Noel went to the cafeteria together. Noel had come to Alum’s room to wake him up. He’d known his friend would be asleep. But Noel thought it would be a waste of a day, especially if they were free to explore the capital together. He’d also promised Miu to join them. She was so popular many wouldn’t leave her alone, and being her childhood friend, he had always helped her out in these circumstances. She and Alum weren't exactly friends, but when they hung out, it never seemed to be any problems. Miu appreciated the quiet Alum since her environment is always filled with noise; she would get exhausted being exposed to that. So for her, it was pretty nice that Alum wasn’t the talkative type. When Noel told Alum that Miu would join them, he didn’t seem reluctant compared to when Noel tried to ask him to hang out with his other friends. (It seems he’s pretty used to Miu.) Noel thought. 

As they were walking down the hall, they spotted Luna, who would usually be in her room in the mornings. “Oh, good morning Luna.” Upon noticing Alum, Luna smiled gently and waved. “Good morning to you, Al! Oh, you too, Noel.” Noel was shocked that Luna could smile like that. Since she was usually expressionless, it was hard to see her as someone their age. But the difference in treatment did make him chuckle a little. “Good morning Princess Luna,” Noel said, trying to contain himself. But Luna just let it slip and talked to Alum instead. “Breakfast?” She asked, and Alum nodded. “I see….” As Luna said, looking a little down and about to go on her way, Alum asked. “Would you like to join? You know… you don't have to retrain yourself; we’re friends, right? Oh, Noel, you’re fine with that, right?” 

Luna’s eyes widened; it wasn’t because he asked. It was because she felt lonely and that, for some reason, when she saw or talked to him, it would all just blow away. She was used to being alone, but Alum dragged her out of that, and ever since. The time she spent alone just didn’t feel quite right. Seeing that they are very alike, she began to wonder. If she also could befriend other people. But where does she even start? She got to know Alum through her uncle; somehow, they just got along very well. Alum, who sees Luna deep in thought and surprised at the same time, had a guess what she was thinking. After all, they are very similar, with similar tastes, similar mindsets, and thought-process. Noel, who wasn't familiar with the Princess, couldn’t say anything other than, “I don’t mind; the more, the merrier!” But it seemed like it did not get across. 

Alum walked toward Luna slowly, smiled softly, and patted her head. Luna and Noel were surprised by this, Noel knew that Alum was gentle and kind, but he also thought it would be catastrophic if Saint Amethely saw this. As for Luna, it felt strangely comforting; no one had ever done this for her. and buried her face in his chest while hugging him. Noel felt like he was seeing something he wasn’t supposed to. Thus just stayed quiet. (They’re like a close couple….) He thought. But then he changed his mind relatively fast. As Alum hugged her, he patted her back as if comforting a sad child. Seeing how he treats her like a lost child made him relieved, but that couldn’t be said if others saw this. Luckily, no one was around except them. She then let go and smiled brightly, a smile even Noel felt captivated by it. It wasn’t the kind of smile that would make one fall in love, but rather a charming childlike smile. “Thank you, Al. I feel much better! And yes, I would like to join you too, thank you too… Noel.” Luna said as she faintly blushed.

The exchange earlier was Alum telling her that she could do it and that he would be there to support her. And her first step would be befriending Noel. Alum’s best friend, maybe she too, could get along with him. Noel, who noticed that she was different, said, “no worries!” As he smiled brightly. Alum seeing that the two had loosened up a bit around each other, asked Luna and Noel if it would be alright if Luna joined them in town. Noel happily agreed, and Luna shyly nodded. Alum then also mentioned that there would be another person joining them. That was, of course, Miu. Luna was a bit skeptical. But she agreed because, from her point of view, Miu was a lovely girl who was popular with the wanderers and recruits. 

After their walk toward the cafeteria, they spotted Chely, Ame, and another girl. She was Keilyn Lilanmel, one of the Oracles. Alum had met her once during a welcome ceremony, he and his classmates were also supposed to meet the Saint, but she couldn’t attend. Keilyn noticed that Alum was the one with a curse and had asked the Shamans to take a look at him to figure out what sort of curse it was. They discovered it wasn’t a dangerous curse—quite the opposite, at least for Alum. It was more like a blessing disguised. The curse drew mana from the surroundings into his body. Usually, this would cause mana poison since it’s not his mana circling inside his body. But his Unique Skill made the curse into a blessing in a sense. While they weren’t sure how exactly his skill worked, they had a hypothesis. It converted the mana into his own, and that’s why he isn’t suffering any side effects.  This leads to him recovering mana faster, more efficiently, and effectively, making him a mage with high potential. 

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Ame, who saw Alum with Noel, and Luna waved at them, although more shyly towards Alum. Ame and Chely had finished their breakfast, and the timing was quite fitting since Keilyn had visited Ame to invite her out. Alum gave a small wave and smiled at Ame. Keilyn, who sees this, whispers into Ame’s ears. Her eyes started to drift, and she turned all red, looking shyly towards Alum; as they went past each other, Alum and Ame looked back at each other shyly and waved once again. And after reaching the cafeteria, they met up with Miu, the one they were supposed to hang out with in town. Miu, who was with a large group, waved at them and went towards them. She apologized to the others, saying she had other plans with her childhood friend and Alum. Little did she know they would be joined by another person that was none other than the Princess herself. 

 

A while later, Alum, Noel, Luna, and Miu had finished their breakfast; it was time for the day's big event! Miu, who didn’t know the Princess well, refrained from acting all familiar. She acted that way too toward Alum because he wasn’t talkative in the first place. Noel, her childhood friend, was easy to talk to; they had known each other for ages, after all. As they went out of the base, they were greeted by the beautiful city streets. It was decorated with plants and sitting places. The streets were clean. They saw workers cleaning up, decorating, and trimming the vegetation. The only places that were somewhat dirty were the back alleys, and Alum meant that in another sense, of course. 

Thinking about all sorts of things, Alum realized that they subsequently reached the business district. Luna was standing close to Alum in disguise. she didn’t want to bother the three of them while they were out and didn’t want to attract attention. Usually, when she is out alone, she doesn’t disguise herself, which causes many people to gather around her. So this time, she put in the extra effort so that people wouldn’t recognize her. At first, when Noel heard her explanation, he chuckled. He later explained that they would understand if she just told them that she was out with friends. But she still insisted on doing it this way. Miu, who wasn’t familiar with Luna outside of class, found her teacher, who was a year younger, to be extremely adorable. And couldn’t help sticking up to her all the way. The three of them walked side by side, Alum and Luna in the middle, Noel beside Alum while Miu was beside Luna. 

Miu and Noel, who wasn’t as familiar with the city streets as Alum and Luna, looked around like tourists. Miu went along the line of, “oh! Woooow! That looks delicious!” Noel was also energetic and saw things he was interested in. Magic tools, weapons, and more. His friend was what you’d call a gamer. Alum knew a little about games because Noel always brought games with him when he came over to play. He wasn’t too into it, but since it was something his friend enjoyed, he was content with that. Thinking back on those memories made him unconsciously smile lightly.

Luna wasn’t sure why, but she smiled, seeing him smile. This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by Miu. And well, Noel was a little hopeless when something else occupied his attention. (They say they are friends, but to me, they seem closer….) Miu wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling seeing this. She felt oddly warm in her chest as she looked at the two. (Their friendship is just so innocent!) It was like two children who had yet to learn the distance between male and female. It reminded her of the friendship she once had with Noel, Although things changed over time as they grew older. And seeing Alum and Luna like that made her feel warm; she just wanted to give them a big hug! 

Luna was looking at a sweets stall; Miu had noticed this, but Luna had been staring at that stall for quite a while. Alum also saw this too. And asked, “do you want some of that?” To which Luna nodded. Miu puffed her cheeks. She looked over at Alum with eyes telling him she was the first to notice. Alum figured that Miu also wanted Luna’s attention; thus, he suggested that Luna go with Miu to the stall. Luna was a little reluctant at first, but then Miu grabbed her hand while brightly smiling at her. Luna was surprised and turned to Alum. His eyes gently told her that he would be watching and that everything would be fine. Luna then turned to Miu with a slightly shy smile on her face. Seeing this, Miu’s smiled even more brightly, and both walked to the stall hand in hand. 

AN: 

Thank you for reading! 

Hi, me again, so umm… this chapter was supposed to be finished yesterday… hahaha…. I guess I lost track of time doing something else. Oh, you may have noticed that the cover is just white…. Well, I was supposed to announce this later, but, Yeey, I’m getting this series a cover! I wanted a preview of how it would look, but apparently, adding a cover sends it in for approval; thus, I panicked a bit… and yeah, that’s the story behind the white cover. Well, see you next week! 

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