It takes her some time to put herself back together, so I keep us moving. It’s a struggle to keep my tail from smacking into her side as we go, but I somehow manage.
My grin, on the other hand, is impossible to restrain.
After asking a few passing faculty members, I find out that food stands aren’t really a thing in the Academy. The Shopping Districts have restaurants, but nothing... small. Nothing that would fit my goal of gorging ourselves on junk food.
So it’s off to the city we go.
Eventually, we arrive at the Academy gates leading into the capitol city proper, and while Bella does her best to seem inconspicuous, I make my way over to the guards at the gate.
Human FighterLevel ??
Dwarf MageLevel ??
“Hey,” I start, pulling my ID from storage and waving it at them, “Would you mind alerting my escorts that I’m heading into the city?”
I already know they’ll stop me the moment they check it anyway, so I figure it’s best to get this over with now.
One quick look, and the dwarf gives me a firm nod before turning to an enchanted panel near the gateway. After a few quick taps and a small pulse of mana I only barely catch, he’s done.
Several minutes later, Bella has rebuilt her composure. Sort of, anyways.
Every time I catch her looking at me with those brilliant scarlet eyes, she has to look away or risk losing all of her progress. It makes me feel incredibly accomplished, if I’m being honest.
Then three familiar figures approach us from the Academy.
Elf FighterLevel ??
Dwarf RogueLevel ??
Lionkin MageLevel ??
It’s the same escorts from my last outing, as expected. I wasn’t one-hundred percent certain it’d be the exact same people, but it seemed as though they were effectively set to be my dedicated escorts when Headmaster Kophis pushed them onto me.
So while we waited, I wracked my brain to remember their names.
Thank the System for Intelligence.
I give them a wave as they near.
“Hey Sarys, Orik, Ela. Sorry if I interrupted anything,” I say.
I’m not sorry at all. This is a date with Bella, after all. But... being polite to the people who have the final say in what I can do while outside of Academy grounds is probably for the best.
Ela's slit golden eyes flick between Bella and I once. Then again.
A slow, knowing smirk spreads across her face.
Before she even opens her mouth, Orik beats her to it.
“So,” the dwarf rumbles, crossing his arms. “Goin’ on a date, are we?”
Bella stiffens beside me, and I see the moment her Princess mask slides into place.
“It isn’t a date,” she lies smoothly.
Orik and Ela both look at me, brows quirked with obvious doubt.
I understand why, too. I’m not even trying to hide how pleased I am about everything.
Bella, on the other hand, looks every bit the blushing maiden. All pink cheeks, subtle glances, hidden little smiles, and everything in between.
She’s a Princess, so her composure is immaculate... but I highly doubt she was trained to be composed while crushing on someone. All while that same someone outrageously flirts with her.
It does dangerous things for my confidence.
So I chuckle, turning my attention to the two curious escorts.
“It’s a date,” I say. “Is it really that obvious?”
Bella turns toward me slowly, one eye twitching with irritation, but the gorgeous pink tainting her cheeks significantly weakens her threat.
“You are impossible,” she hisses.
I just loop one arm into hers and tuck myself into her side like a trophy, looking up at her with my smuggest grin on full display. She freezes, but manages to control all but the twitch of her lips. I, of course, catch it.
“I think you like it.”
Orik bursts into booming laughter while Ela outright grins.
Even Sarys looks vaguely amused.
Bella just closes her eyes for a moment, probably to reconsider her life choices.
“I see,” Sarys interjects calmly, head dipping into a smooth bow. “In that case, we shall attempt to remain as unintrusive as possible. Please, lead the way. We will follow close enough to intervene should it become necessary.”
I frown.
“You say that like you’re expecting trouble.”
He lifts his head, and his green eyes lock with mine in a flat stare.
“I’ve read your files, Miss Emilia.”
Bella hides her mouth behind her free hand, her frustrations momentarily forgotten in favor of making fun of me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask testily.
“What I meant to say is that the city can be unpredictable. It’s best we take all due precautions,” he says, his tone all diplomacy.
“Oh, I like you,” Bella says.
Instant betrayal? I see how it is.
I let my tail curl loosely around her ankle.
She squeaks, her whole body locking up with surprise before she realizes what’s happened. When she rounds on me, I’ve already activated All For One at maximum power and leaned into Charisma.
My face is a perfect mask of innocence.
And it is so, so worth it.
She looks absolutely scandalized, flustered, and even a little pleased.
That last bit I wasn’t expecting, but I tuck that away for later.
“If you guys are ready, then?” I ask.
They all nod, so we make our way into the city proper after that, arm in arm. For the first little while, I’m more dragging Bella than she is tagging along, but eventually she stops sending me death glares.
The crowds thicken steadily the farther we travel from the Academy gates, until we hit the main streets. Merchants call out from storefronts and open stalls alike, while enchanted signs flicker nearby in the afternoon light.
I keep us moving until we reach the market district on the other side of the city, and the smell of spices, cooked meats, pastries, and far too many people nearly overwhelms me.
Exactly where we need to be.
This area of town is closer to the poorer districts, so much of the markets here cater to... well, to people like me. Bella shifts in my arm, clearly feeling slightly out of place.
Then I see the stall she took me to the day after we arrived.
Behind the counter, the same man works his miracles. Meat skewers practically fly as he cooks, collects payments, talks to customers, and aggressively advertises to everyone nearby—all at the same time.
Similar to last time, he somehow spots us through the crowd and waves us over with an enthusiasm I couldn’t even see Cari matching.
“You look famished! Fix that problem right here! Come on, don’t be shy!”
I just watch on in awe.
Then my stomach growls loudly enough that several nearby people glance over.
Bella gasps, horrified.
“What?” I demand.
“You are unbelievable,” she says weakly, hiding her mouth.
Laughter slips out anyway.
“We haven’t eaten since breakfast! I’m starving!”
As if determined to back me up, my stomach growls again as the scent of those delicious slices of heaven waft by once again. Except this time, it’s even louder.
Bella loses her war, soft laughter spilling free as she turns away slightly.
“Oh, har har,” I grumble. “Come on. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”
I tug her along before she can recover, and the vendor brightens instantly as we join the line.
“Now there’s a customer with proper priorities!” he declares, pointing dramatically at me as he addresses the wandering crowd all around us.
Somehow, that works to get a few others in line behind us.
“See?” I ask, pointing back at him. “He gets me.”
Bella gives me a deeply skeptical look, but doesn’t argue.
When it’s finally our turn, she does something unforgivable. Abhorrent, even.
She orders a single skewer.
One. Alone.
I stare at her in open disbelief.
“Bella...”
“Yes?”
“How have you not starved to death?”
Her cheeks darken just a bit more.
“I eat perfectly reasonable amounts of food, I’ll have you know.”
I shake my head at her and immediately order enough skewers to feed a small delving party twice over.
Well over thirty skewers vanish into my bangle for later, though I keep several in hand for immediate snacking.
Bella looks genuinely scandalized, but I refuse to be judged for my brilliance. Especially when the food smells this good.
We eventually settle near the mouth of a quieter alley just of the main road. The sounds of the city still drift around us, but muted enough that the space feels strangely cozy despite the busy streets.
I catch little glimpses of our escorts in the crowd, but only just. Clearly, they’re keeping to their word and staying far enough away that they don’t interrupt our date.
I should find a way to thank them later...
As Bella takes a dainty bite of her single, blasphemous skewer, I scarf an entire one down.
Divine. That’s the only word I have for it.
And from the tiny noise of startled delight that escapes Bella before she can stop it, she clearly agrees.
So adorable.
“I knew you liked it more than you were letting on last time!” I accuse.
She straightens with as much dignity as she can muster.
“It’s... acceptable.”
I snort and bite into another skewer, this one coated in a thick sweet glaze of some kind.
In that single bite, I feel as though I’ve spiritually ascended.
“Oh, gods,” I mumble around the food. “Bella, try this. It’s so good.”
I hold it toward her, fighting the drool that’s trying to escape my mouth.
Her gaze locks onto the skewer I’m offering, wide and slightly panicked.
I wave it closer to her impatiently.
“Come on,” I insist. “It’s amazing.”
Her face turns violently red, and instead of taking the skewer to get a decent bite, she leans forward and bites into it while I hold it for her.
Right where I had just chomped into.
My brain promptly ceases functioning.
She does her best to keep from bursting into flames and I do my best not to explode as we continue wandering through the city together.
We stop at several more food stalls as we go, sampling bits and pieces of whatever catches my eye.
Fried pastries stuffed with sweet cream. Tiny grilled fish coated in spicy seasoning. Some sort of crunchy sugar-coated nut that I’m almost one-hundred percent certain would shatter the teeth of anyone with less than 100 Constitution.
My personal favorite, however, is the stand that horrifies Bella on sight.
The old birdkin man running it proudly presents me with a stick holding several roasted Tunnel lizards curled around it, their tiny little claws still clinging to the skewer even in death.
“They’re crunchy!” he declares proudly.
Bella looks moments away from fleeing the city entirely, so I buy three.
To her credit, she does eventually try one after several minutes of my relentless encouragement and begging.
And to my immense disappointment, she actually likes it.
“It tastes like smoked chicken,” she admits reluctantly after another bite. “But crispier.”
I grin triumphantly.
“See? And you thought I was lying!”
“My doubt was perfectly valid. You just bought roasted reptiles from a man with one tooth.”
“He had passion.”
“That’s one word for it,” she huffs.
I burst into laughter, and she joins me, her face cracking into a full, unbelievably gorgeous smile.
Gods, I’m having fun.
Nearly two full hours pass like that, the city slowly shifting around us as the afternoon crowds give way to the evening rush. The streets grow cooler as the sun beings casting shade instead of light, and somewhere along the way, Bella stops looking quite so tense.
Not entirely...
But enough that she begins pointing out stalls herself every now and then, quietly curious despite her best efforts to maintain her noble dignity.
Eventually, though, she waves off the next food stand before I can even begin dragging her toward it.
“I doubt I could eat any more than I already have,” she says, a gentle smile resting on her lips.
I stare at her in open horror.
“No way,” I say immediately. “Look! There’s a stand right there with little fried cake-ball-looking... things. How could you not want to try those?”
She giggles softly, and my poor heart tries to detonate in my chest at the sound.
I realize then that, estrus or no, I never stood a chance against this woman.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” she says, still smiling. “It’s that I don’t think I can. I’d rather not be sick on my first...”
She hesitates, eyes narrowing as I slowly look up at her with a grin.
“...Outing,” she finishes stubbornly.
“Date,” I correct instantly.
She gives me a withering glare.
But she also doesn’t argue.
Victory!
“Okay, fine,” I sigh dramatically. “Wanna do something else?”
Just as she opens her mouth to answer, Orik appears beside us so suddenly that I jump slightly.
Bella, meanwhile, doesn’t react at all.
How the... oh, right. Princess.
Sometimes I forget that she’s a literal Princess. She’s probably used to escorts popping up out of nowhere like this.
“It appears we are being followed,” Orik says quietly.
The warmth drains from the moment immediately, my ears twitching about this way and that, my earrings tinkling as if to comfort me.
“By whom?” Bella asks.
His expression hardens as he jerks his chin toward the far side of the street.
“Three groups of four so far. One peeled off after seeing you had an escort detail. Another is still lingering near the southern intersection.”
I frown.
There’s always something...
“The nearest isn’t bothering to hide,” he says, gesturing with his chin once more.
I follow the direction he indicated, peering through the slowly thinning evening crowds.
“Two humans. One orc,” he lists. “And one foxkin.”
That’s when I finally spot them.
Foxkin RogueLevel ??
Orc FighterLevel ??
Human MageLevel ??
Human RangerLevel ??
The moment I do, the world narrows.
Punish.
Around me, the sounds of the city dull beneath the sudden rush of rage and adrenaline racing through my veins, and it takes every shred of my willpower not to immediately charge them.
I hadn’t taken the time to memorize what they looked like, but I recognize him.
Brown hair and fur, a long scar carved into one of his ears, and a piercing gaze that stares unblinkingly into my own.
It’s the same bastard that chased us through the tunnels.
The same one who tried to kidnap Bella.
The one who would have tried to turn me into fucking breeding stock.
I feel Bella move closer to me, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly.
“I recognize them,” she says quietly.
“Yeah,” I growl. “So do I.”
Then he smiles.
Authors Note:
Chaos! Myahaha!