Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The four of us sat around the same table in the cafeteria after collecting our lunches.
It was white rice and griffin meat.
Of all the types of rice it could have been, why’d it have to be white rice?
After Zary somehow finished a whole bowl in 40 seconds flat, she glanced at me.
“Why’re you glaring at your rice like it killed your parents?”
“Just never been a fan of the taste”
“Of rice?”
“Of white rice.”
“If you’re not gonna eat it, can I have it?”
I picked out all the meat and shoved the bowl with just the rice remaining towards Zary.
Another 40 seconds later and that bowl was now also clean.
The saintess stopped eating and glared in my direction.
“The food store is right next door. If you don’t like the lunch, go buy your own. With all the gold you got from that dungeon, that ought to be no problem for you.”
I stood up from my seat.
“Not a bad idea.”
And with that, I left for the store.
When I arrived most of the other customers where upperclassmen, there were hardly any first years inside and of the few first years I did see, only one of them was from my class.
It was a blonde girl who’s name I didn’t know and clinging to her was a girl with pink hair and blue eyes who wasn’t from my class, but who’s name I did know.
Jessika Phoenix. - Second Imperial Princess.
She and the blonde girl left without noticing me. Thankfully.
I do have memories of interacting with her a few times, so I’d rather never run into her if at all possible.
While looking around at the food they had for sale I saw something I never thought I’d seen in this world.
Fries covered in ketchup.
Well, I guess it’s not too improbable.
They were selling them in lunch boxes, so I bought 8 of them for 4 gold each.
I put four of them in my storage ring and carried the other four in my hands back to the cafeteria.
When I got back Mira was just about to leave, but after I handed her one of the boxes she sat back down.
“I won’t say thank you.”
I gave one to Zary and even the saintess next.
The saintess didn’t say anything, she just took the fries and started eating.
In the end, Zary was the only one who said thanks.
While we were eating, I decided to ask something I’ve been wondering about since I went to the store.
“How does the Empress have daughters?”
Mira looked at me as if I were stupid.
..This could get addicting.
“There are dozens of different kinds of magic out there that make it possible for 2 women to have children.
Considering the fact that she only has daughters she probably used one of the ones that only allow you to give birth to females.”
“Oddly knowledgeable.”
“About common sense? Yes, I am.”
Then Zary who finished the fries even quicker than the rice spoke up.
“I hear one of those dozens of magic lets you grow an extra organ.”
“Is it possible to learn this magic?”
“Not from a sword school.”
===
Inside the imperial castle was a woman with black hair and blue eyes sitting Infront of a table concentrating on the documents before her.
It was the first queen consort, Meiko Aozora.
She was looking through reports from the knights and mages she sent to investigate the sudden disappearance of the Dungeon of Dragons.
SLAM
“Useless!”
After her small outburst a woman with pink eyes and blonde hair with pink tips barged into the room.
It was the empress of the Phenix Empire, Frederika Phoenix.
She walked up to Meiko and plopped down on her lap.
“Heard you yelling, what’s up?”
“These damn reports spending pages just to say they found nothing.”
She wrapped her arms around Meiko’s neck.
“Why not just send a letter to Ashley asking her what happened?
That Dungeon was close to Sword Fein Academy after all.
Hell, they’re probably the reason it disappeared.”
“You’re right; I’ll send one now, so get off.”
“Huh? Wait no wait can’t you do that later?”
Her face leaned in closer to Meko’s after asking that.
“You’ve already been working all day. Don’t you think it’s time for a brake?”
And once again, she leaned in even closer until their lips were almost touching.
Sigh
Meiko wrapped her arms around Frederika’s back and pulled her in closer until their lips met.
“It’s like looking into the past.”
After hearing that voice that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Frederika reflexively leaped up in surprise and looked in the direction the voice was coming from.
“Ashley? Can’t you even knock when entering my castle? I am the empress of this country you know?”
“And I’m you’re principal yet you’re addressing me by name.”
“What are you on about? I graduated over two decades ago, so you aren’t any principal of mine.”
“Rude.”
“…”
Meiko stood up from her seat.
Why’re you here Ashley?
“Just to let you know that our newest student was the one responsible for erasing that dragon dungeon.”
“How old are they?”
“It’s a 19-year-old girl from the Akakiri family?”
“A 19-year-old erased a dungeon?”
“Is it that girl who they said died in a dungeon last month?”
“Yes, and yes; I’m surprised you even heard of her, considering the fact that for an Empress you hardly pay attention to most nobles.”
“Why should I pay attention when Mei does it for me?
She’s the one who told me about that girl.”
Meiko rolled her eyes then turned back to Ashley.
“Explain how a teenager who was presumed dead erased a whole dungeon.”
“It’s a Divine Art.”
Both Meiko and Frederika looked at her in surprise, then Meiko looked at her seriously.
“Are you sure?”
“I haven’t seen her use it myself, but she seems to have been found out by one of her classmates, which so happens to be the hero.”
“So, you basically have no proof.”
“Well, she did agree to fight the hero after classes and there’s going to be a class competition after lunch in the next thirty or so minutes so maybe she’ll use it during one of those.”
“And if she doesn’t use it?”
“I dunno.”
“…”
Frederika stretched out her hand
“Hand over one of those hologram stones so we can watch the competition and fight from here.”
“Not even a please?”
Frederika pointed at herself.
“Empress.”
“Does being the empress mean you can’t say please?”
“If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have become one.”
“…”
Ashley shook her head and tossed a stone at her.
By the time Frederika caught the stone Ashley had already vanished from the castle.
After seeing that she left, Frederika went up to Meiko and wrapped her arm around her waist.
“Now where were we?”
“We don’t have time for this, that class competition is starting in less than 30 minutes.”
“…Please?”
“Pffft, what happened to the empress never saying please?”
“I’m not the same person I was when I said that.”
“It was literally less than a minute ag-”
“I’m a changed woman now!”
“…”
“Besides, saying please is far less embarrassing than the stuff you normally make me say when I’m on the receiving e-”
Before she could finish speaking, Meiko sealed her lips with hers.
===
After lunch ended there was a school wide announcement by a teacher who enhanced their voice with magic loud enough for everyone across the Academy to hear, telling all first years to gather in a dungeon on the second floor for a class competition.
After we all gathered in the dungeon, I started to look around.
Looks different from the dungeon I woke up in.
It’s not as oppressive as that one was at the start, but it’s just as wide and spacious, or maybe even more spacious considering this one doesn’t have dragons in the way.
There’s red trees and grass all around, and the sky is purple.
Zary poked my shoulder and whispered.
“Do you think you’d be able to erase this dungeon too?”
“Easily.”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Let’s hurry up and get through this competition so we can have our fight.”
While everyone was chattering, a giant wrench fell from the sky crashing into the ground and a woman in a lab coat landed on it.
Everyone was silent.
“Let me explain the rules of the competition.
There’s a finish line at the end of this dungeon; first one to cross it wins.
If you make it across the finish line first without taking any damage from the monsters or the traps you get 3 gold coins while everyone in your class gets one, so you’ll end up with 4 if you win.
Second place gets the same in silver and third in bronze.”
She snapped her fingers and light green barriers appeared around everyone.
I saw something resembling health bars above everyone’s heads, so I looked up and saw one above my head too.
“Those’ll keep track of how much damage you take.
Each time your health bar goes down at least 5%, the number of coins you get if you cross the finish line gets reduced by 1/100th so if third place loses just 5% health, they get nothing.”
So, they are health bars.
