NOVEL FROG Chapter 90: A Date?
Chapter 90: A Date?
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC
We relax a lot on the next day and finish furnishing our dorm. Alina’s stuff arrives as well, and she finally can finish up her room as well. Turns out she’s a big fan of the Valterions and has posters of my parents and my brother Adrian hanging on her wall. There are a few others with the trademark Valterion hair which I guess are other relatives of mine.
“Sooo do you want to tell me why your walls are plastered with Valterion faces?” I ask while struggling to keep a straight face.
She blushes. “They are my idols… I’m fascinated by starships, and they just build the best ones!”
I manage to keep my composure and wink at her. “That’s cool. You’re going to like my ship then. I only recognize the Duke and Duchess though… Who are the others?”
Alina jumps up. “You’ve got a VHI ship?! Holy shit! Wow… I’m glad I asked you to join my exploration team,” she starts chuckling. “As for the others… they are not that famous, most of them are executives of the actual Valterion company and this is Adrian Valterion. He’s in the military and already an Admiral. He’s famous for not using any power enhancements to get stronger for whatever reason. I’m trying to do the same, that’s why I didn’t follow the rule. I’m just missing the Space core for now. Doing so must be effective as from what I’ve read, he is considerably stronger than his peers.”
Well, dear Alina, part of the reason why Adrian chose that path stands right before you… I can’t tell her that, of course. I wonder if she has a crush on him though. Not that she has any chances as Kira has him wrapped around her fingers. I’m still interested, though.
“That’s the only reason why you have such a big picture of him?” I ask with a raised eyebrow, and Alina blushes even more.
“Errr, sure?” She blows out a breath. “No, you’re right. I mean look at him, he does look extremely good, right?”
I cough awkwardly. I can’t say my brother looks hot, can I? “Well, he’s not really my type, but you’re right. I guess he has a girlfriend though…”
“Probably, he’s too old for me anyway… It’s a shame that the Duke and Duchess don’t have a third child at our age. Imagine going to college with them. But they would probably be at RMA anyway…” She shrugs.
I choke at my spit when she says that and cover it up with another awkward cough. That was a close one. Holy smokes and it’s only my second day! Is this a joke from my parents to get me a complete Valterion fangirl as a roommate? Considering their sense of humor, it’s certainly a possibility.
I finish up my talk with Alina, and later on, we all go out to explore the campus a bit more. One thing I notice is that there is no exact separation between FBC and RMA or other colleges. Everything is pretty much next to each other, so there is a good possibility, that I’m going to meet the one or other Noble scion. But that’s a later problem as I notice something that makes my eyes shine: A professional Gravity Ball field! I so have to check out if there is something like a college team. That would be amazing.
When we return to the dorm it’s almost time for my dinner with Tim, so I quickly take a shower and start getting ready. Unfortunately, my pink hair tips don’t match my favorite purple dress, and I have to ditch it. Instead, I grab a black one with matching heels and style my hair to one side so that Clara’s AI chip is visible and functions as an eye-catcher.
Lydia gives me a low whistle and winks when I exit my room, and the others wish me luck as well. Then I exit the room and make my way down to the lobby where Tim said he’d wait for me.
Uhh, he has dressed up! Waiting for me in the lobby is one fine-looking Tim Skadi, wearing a dark suit with white sneakers and a big grin on his face. “Woah,” I say, “one could mean you’re out for a date, Tim.”
He winks. “Aren’t we? You do look the part as well, Sara.”
“Why, thank you. Shall we? Let’s see how this goes, I guess.”
His smile slips a little, I must have said something wrong… Ugh, I’m so bad at this. He offers me his arm and I hang on, and then we walk out of the building. We talk about some random things until we arrive at our destination. I look at him with a raised eyebrow. “You sure your coupon includes this restaurant? It looks fancy.”
“Apparently, it does. I guess, we try, right?”
We step inside, and a waitress greets us. Tim shows her his coupon, and from how things look, this fancy place is included. Lucky me, I guess. She leads us to a table with a candle burning in the middle and explains how to access the menus, then she leaves us again to get our drinks.
We both quickly order something to eat, and the waitress tells us it will arrive shortly. Then we start talking. First a bit more about ourselves, then about the courses we’ve chosen. In the meantime, our food arrives as well, and we start to eat. It’s delicious! I’m having a slab of steak, that is grilled to perfection. Still a little bit bloody, but not too rare, just how I like it. Tim goes with a vegetarian alternative and has a big salad with falafels and some pitta bread.
Apparently, he is from the Axtendus Duchy, and his family leads a larger consultation company. He’s the magical prodigy of the family, and so he managed to secure a spot as FBC instead of going to a normal college in his home system. I still notice some minor slips in his story, just like yesterday. Nothing major, but still. I make a mental note to have Clara investigate him a bit more later tonight.
As I expected, Tim is in the Space magic introduction course as well. Other than that, he goes full-on Utility magic courses and has a lot of administration courses as well. Surprisingly, he also chose the Exploration course.
“Oh, nice, then we’ll see each other there too!” I call out when he mentions this. “Do you already have a team?”
He looks quite surprised as well when he learns that I also have that course. “Huh, isn’t it already full? I don’t see your name on the list, or did you give me a fake one? And no, I don’t have a team yet… I was thinking of just checking out the others and deciding then.”
At his last question, I just have to laugh. “No, not at all. But I have a starship and my roommate Alina said we could join in as additions with our own ship.”
“Oh, that’s true. I didn’t expect that.” He chuckles. “May I ask what kind of ship you have?”
I flash him a broad smile. “You may, but you have to join my team to find out.” I decided to ask him on a whim just now. The others are probably fine with it… Maybe we can convince Nick as well, then our team is already full.
He starts laughing. “Oh, then count me in!” He grabs his wine glass and drinks a sip.
At the same time, I send him some information about the Stargazer. I notice the exact moment when he reads it, as he almost chokes on his wine. He starts coughing. “What the fuck?!”
“Language,” I wink at him. “Looks like you made a good choice.”
“Sorry, but that’s just insane. That’s a VHI ship! How’d you get that? They are expensive as hell.”
“It was a gift from my parents when I reached Master rank in Space magic. I had about the same reaction as you just now… But don’t worry. Apparently, it’s an older model so it was much cheaper. They’ve had it renovated though, so it looks newer than it is.”
“If you say so… Still crazy.”
“Yeah… Shall we head out and get some drinks? My treat.” We’ve both finished eating, and the evening is kinda fun, so I come up with that idea on a whim.
Tim agrees gladly, and we end up in a bar and get some drinks. When it’s getting late, Tim accompanies me to building 14 and we say goodbye. I turn back once I’m about to enter my building and notice a bit of disappointment on Tim’s face. Did I do something wrong? Did he expect a kiss or something? Why am I so bad at this?
Inside the elevator, I let out a long breath. The evening was fun, and it probably counts as a date, but I don’t know if I’m ready for more just now… I guess I’ll see in the future. Now onto more important things. “Clara, I’ve got the feeling in the back of my head that something stinks about his story… Can you check him out?”
“I can, I’ll tell you tomorrow. You should sleep though. You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”
Right, tomorrow is the first day of introduction! With that, I quickly return to my room and get ready for bed, then I lay down to sleep and am out in minutes.
The next morning comes way too quickly, and I wake up with a groan. That was one drink too much! Oh, I wish I’d already know a spell to wash that fatigue away. My roommates greet me cheerfully when I enter our living room, and they seem to enjoy my misery. Then we all eat some toast, as we forgot to stock the kitchen with proper things, and head out toward the lecture hall for the introduction course.
During the elevator ride, Clara tells me about her findings. “I looked into Tim last night, but there isn’t that much to find on the net… I did find his parents’ company though, and it looks legit to me. I can’t tell you more, I’m sorry. I’d say there is nothing to worry about but it’s probably best if you trust your feelings… So keep an eye out.”
“Thanks, Clara,” I whisper back. I guess Tim is a mystery to solve later on…
On our way to building 03, Lydia speaks up after she looked at the map on her interface. “Is it underground?”
“So it seems,” Lucy answers.
We enter building 03 where the course takes place and follow the streams of people down a set of stairs. Sure, there are elevators too, but there are already long lines before them. Just how many people are in this course?
The answer is pretty much all of them. When we finish our descent and walk through a set of doors, the room opens up and looks like a giant stadium. U-shaped, with rows and rows of seats, steadily leading down toward a stage at the back. Thousands of people are already sitting there and waiting. We quickly find a few empty seats and sit down to wait.
More and more people arrive over the next thirty minutes until almost every seat is occupied. I estimate the number of people at around fifty-thousand, and I can barely make out a word of what the others are saying. The background noise of so many people talking at once is just too much.
Then I feel a flash of Space magic down at the stage and my head snaps there. I notice a few other heads turning as well, but most of the people continue talking. Down there stands a bald man in his sixties. He’s probably much older than that, and when I concentrate a bit, I manage to catch a glimpse of his tightly contained power. He feels powerful, almost like Mom and Dad. Probably another Archmage, and if I have to guess, I’d say he’s the headmaster.
I nudge Lydia next to me and she shoots me a questioning gaze. I just point at the stage, and she immediately understands and pokes Lucy, while I do the same with Alina to my left. Just at the right moment. The man down below suddenly clears his throat. The sound carries through the whole stadium despite the lack of any obvious speakers. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s another spell.
The noise slowly dies down, and everyone turns to look at the man on the stage. “Good to finally have your attention,” the man chuckles. His voice is deep and sounds even a bit rough. “Now let me introduce myself. My name is Reginald Benson.” He’s quiet as this declaration causes another uproar in the stadium.
Grandpa John told me before that the headmaster at FBC is his cousin two times over or something but hearing it in person from the headmaster is another thing altogether. For most of the others, this fact seems to be news though, as I can hear whispers all around me.
“Benson! Crazy…”
“One of the Magicon family?!”
“I’ve got to tell my parents… Unbelievable.”
I chuckle quietly and look at my two friends. I didn’t tell them, as I wanted to see their reactions. Lucy takes it in without much issue. For her, it’s just another person, but Lydia sits there wide-eyed. She turns to me and upon seeing me grinning broadly, she starts frowning. There is accusation in her voice when she whispers. “You knew!” It’s more of a statement than a question and I nod.
“Yeah, sorry, but your face was worth it.” I can’t wait to take her up to Grandpa John… That’s going to be even more fun!
The headmaster claps once, and the sound carries through the whole stadium. Everyone quiets down again. “Yes, I’m of The Benson family. But no, I’m not a prince or something…” He chuckles again. “I’m more than a distant cousin. But this doesn’t matter today. What matters is you!” He waves his hand over all of us. “You are the future. Young Mages like you are the cornerstones on which The Empire will thrive into a bright future. So take a look around. What you see are the faces of the future leaders of countless companies, future politicians, and many more!”
He waves his hand and a giant projection with the FBC logo appears behind him. “Now, without further ado, let’s jump into what you’re here for. The introduction to Ferdinand Benson College!”