CHAPTER 20: DATE NIGHT P1
~20.1~
*****
How did this happen?
A certain blonde was sitting at a desk in the arena of the Alcanus Royal Academy, the most prestigious school in the thousand-plus planet Atlantis Empire.
Absolutely ridiculous.
All seven of the classes Kye taught were gathered. There was no regular classroom big enough for seven classes, but they could use the arena on the rare occasion they had such a big class.
“Greetings class! I am a guest instructor visiting from a private institution at the behest of your dear principal.”
By private you mean the Church of Elysium, but it’s private because most of the population does not know of realms six through ten.
“I am Luma Caliburn, and I have been granted the title of Sword Saint. It’s my pleasure.” She curtsied but didn’t linger on her introduction. “I will only be here for the week, but I hope to leave behind some of my knowledge...”
Jiiiiiiiiii.
Luma tried to smile, even if dryly, but succumbed under the pressure of Kye’s gaze. “Instructor Kye?”
Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
Alethea jumped up and ran to the front, clasping her hands over Kye’s eyes. “You’re being rude!”
In the crowd, Michelle started laughing, and soon the entire seven classes were laughing.
“Let go,” Kye said, tapping her foot. “I want to keep glaring at Luma.”
“But that’s rude!” Alethea pleaded. “This is your first day back after the... situation.”
“Alethea, really, it’s okay,” Luma said. “You don’t have to-”
“Return my eyesight or I shall do something embarrassing for you, Saya-chan.”
The class quieted down and watched closely, wondering what Kye had in mind. Alethea refused, and Kye smirked. She dropped down, swept her partner’s legs out from under her, caught her, and landed a kiss on her right there in front of everyone. Almost everyone in the crowd gasped. Luma looked on with a smirk, Michelle buried her face in her hands, and Adele felt a tinge of jealousy.
With folded arms, she said, “She never does that with me in front of anyone, but she’ll embarrass her no problem.”
Michelle tried to elbow her, but Elizabeth beat her to it. “That’s because you’re a brute with no shame!” Danielle and Michelle nodded while Michael just sighed and casted a basic spell to block the crowd’s view.
“<
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A few seconds later, Kye finally let go of Alethea. Her face was red and her eyes wide. “K-K-K-K-Kye, I c-c-can’t b-believe you d-did that!”
Smirking, Kye guided the pink-haired girl back to her seat. Some of the class swore they saw steam coming off Alethea’s thoroughly cooked head that day.
“So, Luma,” Kye said with an angry smile after walking back up front. “Why are you hijacking my classes? I just got back! My substitute covered well for the few weeks I was out, but I need to get back on track. We simply don’t have time to have a guest instructor!”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea!”
Kye raised an eyebrow and glared.
“It wasn’t! The principal wanted me to help you for a week before I go back.”
Kye completely ignored Luma’s pleading and began emitting her silvery white aether. “Are you sure?”
Luma fidgeted as she backed up a step. “Uh... well...”
“Uh huh.” Kye sighed. “Go home, Luma. I’m fine. You can check up on me in private. I have students to teach, so shoo!” She half-heartedly flung some aether at Luma, and the Sword Saint dodged. Kye sighed and turned back to the class and was met with a barrage of questions.
“Who is Miss Luma?” “Why is she here?” “Where is Miss Luma from?” “What happened last week?” “Who made that hole in the mountain?” “Who made the hole in the sea?”
Annoyed, Kye just blurted out short answers to each question. “My friend. To help me. None of your business. Big fight. Allison. Allison.”
Some commoners that were not accustomed to holding their tongues kept spouting out questions. Kye looked around and saw so many eyes waiting for answers, even from her fellow royals that didn’t know the details.
“Kari, I need you.”
Astraia teleported in next to her. “Hello, everyone!”
“Holy shit, it’s Lady Astraia!”
Might as well ask Gaia, too.
Kye quickly sent a message to Astarte via NeuraPhone, and soon Astraia’s green-haired sister joined them.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” Kye said. “I’m gonna reveal a bunch of crap to these people, and I need you to give me permission.”
Astraia met Astarte’s eyes and shook her head. Kye smiled at the two, giving them a cold sweat. Averting her eyes, Astraia said, “Fine.”
“So be it,” Astarte reluctantly added.
Kye clapped her hands. “Perfect!” And flung more aether to make a portal. “I’ll be right back!” She disappeared into the portal for a moment, and came back through with a young blonde girl riding on her shoulders. “So, a few of you should remember this rambunctious thing from several weeks ago. Say hello, sweetie.”
The blonde girl stared blankly out at the crowd, saying nothing.
“Okay, well, she’s a quiet child.” Kye heaved the girl off her shoulders and let her down in front of her. “So, everyone here should know of the whole shtick for nobles and royals. Our children are raised in private and don’t began to socialize until day one of their eighteenth year, aka legally eighteen-years-old. Commoners are different, but the ruling class has been taught to be very strict with raising children. Let’s see...” Kye eyed the spot where her class was standing. “There you are. Lara! How do you feel about growing up the way you did?”
“My palace felt like a prison!” Everyone could hear the anger in Alaira’s voice clearly.
Kye nodded and called out another name. “Rika?”
“Hated it. I couldn’t meet my older family until after I started the academy.”
Kye nodded again. “And pretty much every royal and noble will have similar stories. ‘Cabin fever’ is the phrase that comes to mind. So...” Kye kneeled and patted Joey’s head. “Anyone wanna take a guess who this little girl is? Anyone at all?”
Louise and Isabel remained quiet, having already learned the truth.
“I could take a guess about your relationship with her, but I couldn’t even try to guess her name,” Lara said. She grinned as she looked at Joey. “She’s such a little cutie!”
“Go ahead and guess.”
“Is she your little sister? I can’t believe your mother is just letting this happen.”
“Nope!” Kye said with a clap. “Anyone else? She didn’t wait for another volunteer. Nobody? Her name is-”
Joey curtsied. “I am Kana Akari of Nippon Sekai, daughter of Lady Kye Akari.”
*****
Revision: 2024-7-26