Chapter 7 - Lost Future (1)
Proofreader: Future Me
Immediately after combat class, I raced to where I had to be.
Unfortunately, I was faced with an immense predicament, which somehow got worse. As soon as I entered the class, the event between Luna and Ash would soon begin. The teacher was infamous for being a lazy, yet intelligent person, allowing this scripted event to make sense.
The only light in this darkness was that the event would only happen if they sat together.
‘But, it seems it’s too late to hope for that…’
“I, Princess of the Alexander kingdom, am interested in why an honourable elf such as yourself enrolled in this academy.”
“There’s no real-“
I asked myself over and over since I arrived here, was I ready to push myself into these love stories? And my answer was clear.
Crash!
I forced my body to move at the cost of sheer embarrassment and Luna’s future scorn.
‘That hurt like hell!’
“What…?” The princess muttered.
“Hmm?” The elf stared, partly in shock.
Once again I attracted the class’s attention. I felt the glares of everyone including Erin’s and Fen’s.
“Woah! Sorry,” I apologised frantically, “I apologise for disturbing the both of you, I lost control of my legs for a moment.”
I pulled up Ash who was on the ground along with the desk. His arm was fair, almost feminine, but I knew the power of his sleeper build.
“No, it's okay.”
Ash indeed was the second kindest person after Uriel. He may be fine with it, but Luna would not.
“You-“
I interrupted Luna and focused on Ash who was in front of me.
“Are you fine Ash? I can help you to the infirmary if you need it!”
“It’s fine…”
“Nonono it’s not fair that I do this and aid you alone! Let me act as your helper from today onward!” I projected an image of a loyal servant at this point.
“Well- If that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you.”
He nodded his head, and I stole a seat on the other side of Ash. This secured my spot as his friend and would ruin the initial interest between the two of them.
“That peasant!” I felt the stare of an angry princess who lost her future lover.
Unfortunately, she would not be able to do anything as a famous professor would finally make her appearance.
“Ah~ Helloooooo students~ It’s me Maryyyy~” The professor’s voice finally resounded.
“Today we will focus on the applications of magiiiiiccc and their originnnnnsss~”
The voice of Mary had been a running gag in the game, where she would drag her words out. Meaning, that Luna would have no chance to talk to Ash, being too busy to stay awake listening to the lecture.
Although, it meant I had to endure as well.
On the bright side, the first event had been ruined. But now I needed to prevent Erin and Fen’s romance venture.
‘Endure…’
“You seeee~ the start of a magic circle formation begins from the calculatioooonnns made~”
“Ouch-“ I looked at the red mark on my hand.
I did my best to not nod off in the middle of class waiting for the end.
-x-
“Luke. Luke.” I felt a prodding on my back.
“Uah? Oh, Ash, is class over?” I was slowly regaining my awareness.
“No,” He curtly replied, “Professor Mary has a question.”
“Exactly~ Would you like to tell us how magic application transformed from the revolution one thousand years agoooo?~”
Oh, that was simple.
“The Magic Revolution from the now lost country of Preece, major scholars had discovered a new method of mana circulation which allowed for external mana to enter our body. Thus, we are now able to substitute parts of our mana with nature’s alleviating burdens from mana overload, as well as an increase in our overall mana capacity.
Furthermore-“
“Oh~ Ah~ I think that’s enough…” She sounded somewhat dejected, as if she lost the chance to scold someone, “Just don’t sleep again okay?~”
“You are quite a knowledgeable individual, I’m impressed,” Ash nodded despite his stoic nature.
“Urrrghh-“ I saw the princess bite her thumbnail.
Actually, I saw nothing.
It seemed that my planned humiliation was the last section of the class, and Mary announced it was a break for us.
“”Luke””
“Huh? Why are the two of you together?”
Erin and Fen were supposed to meet later, this situation was indeed unprecedented.
“No seriously, what was that earlier?”
“I knew you were planning something- but that was strange.”
My brain was struggling to come up with an excuse for an action I did on the spot.
“Uhhh- I was interested in Ash, an elf, and I didn’t really know how to get around the princess. I guess I just brute forced my way into getting to know him?”
“You don’t seem like the type of person for that thing?” Fen put his hand to his chin.
“What’s your real reason?” Erin pushed her face closer to mine.
“Does that matter? What’s more important is how the both of you met,” I backed off, almost blushing.
“Alright man, chill a little.”
“Fen said he was roommates with you, so I asked if we could talk together.”
“Yeah! She was surprisingly strong, her grip was just as powerful as mine!”
Instinctively I felt my hand reach my head. In some routes I saw posted online, these two could become sworn enemies or the closest couple. It was… eerie.
“We’re planning on eating at the cafeteria before the other classes.”
“Sure, but why isn’t Fen with Charl- the Prince?”
“If I remember… I think he told me to make some connections- or something like that!”
“Right, Luke, how about you tell us about yourself on the way there?”
She was too quick in resorting to just asking, I knew she was curious but I could not risk my position in this class right now.
“It’s a common courtesy to talk about yourself before asking.”
We bantered our way to the cafeteria, attracting the attention of the other regular classes. We were a peculiar group of people, but even so, this amount of staring was a little much.
I could almost hear their words, ‘Why is Fen Castelle with commoners?’ Or similar.
“Ignore them, Luke, such behaviour is the blessing of ignorance.”
“That actually sounded smart, I’m surprised.”
“Wha? I’m not only a fighter but a scholar!”
Erin smiled at the matter, turning to face the cafeteria staff.
“Luuukkkkeee!”
Again a random disruption-
“Oh- it was Julia.”
“What’s with that attitude? Wait- and who are these two people?” For some reason, she was especially eager.
“So this stupid but handsome guy is Fen Castelle, and the girl ordering is Erin Villaine. We’re all classmates,” I decided to answer nonchalantly.
“We’re friends, man. Not cool.”
“Hmph,” She glanced back at me for a second before nodding off.
“So, are you two an item?” Fen whispered into my ear.
“No, where’d you get that idea from? We only met yesterday,” I replied.
“Well if you say so, I’ll go get food now yeah? We can spar at a different time!”
“Hmph, it’s just the two of us now. Explain yourself.”
“I don’t remember being a Julia-exclusive,” With just those two words she would begin malfunctioning.
“Wha- I- I. Ugh! You always- urgh!” She was trying to find words while in terrifyingly cute embarrassment.
Almost as if it was a reflex I put my hand atop her head. I couldn’t help but think of Yumiko back at home. “It’s not like I would stop being friends with you. In fact, just sit with us, they won’t care.”
“Fine…” A clear blush was on her face.
“I’ll order now okay? I’ll wait for you.”
I went ahead with a smile on my face, knowing there were a few benefits to living in a game world.
That being.
Food.
I could taste it, my own world’s cooking.