Aurora stepped out of room 79.
Still in her pristine pinafore uniform, she clearly hadn't gone home to change. She locked her door, turned—
"…"
I was behind Jayden, but I was still the first person she noticed.
Jayden, for his part, completely froze at the sight of the golden-haired princess.
I elbowed him in the back.
"Ah! Your Highness!" he blurted, bowing awkwardly.
My brow furrowed.
It was an ugly bow. My noble side couldn't let that slide, even silently or maybe it was just because it was pathetic sight.
Aurora, however, continued to stare at me.
I turned away and began admiring the wall.
Pure white stone. Expensive molding. Very palace-esque. I ran my hand along it like a man deeply in love with architecture.
Still felt her gaze.
I moved on to molest a painting with the same fake intensity.
…Why isn't she answering Jayden?
Did you forget you're a princess?
Say something to your people!
I almost gave off 'do not look at me' energy, but it did nothing.
After almost a full minute, she finally shifted her gaze to Jayden, who was still bent in that messy bow.
Oh, Jayden.
At least you get character development later.
"You must be Jayden Rayena from the Basilisk Class," she said.
"?" Jayden jerked his head up, eyes wide.
The innocent protagonist reaction: How do you know my name?
"I memorized all the names of my promotion," Aurora said, smiling softly at his stunned face.
"Ah… I see," he said, scratching his neck in embarrassment.
His usual tic when flustered.
His whole face was red.
I couldn't exactly blame him.
Aurora really was stunning.
"Um, why is Your Highness not on the privileged floors?" He asked carefully.
Good question. I already knew the answer.
Aurora's expression relaxed.
"As I said this morning during the ceremony, I wish to live as a normal student within the academy," she explained. "That is why, Jayden, I would like you not to use such formalities with me."
"It would be my honor!" He stammered out.
Aurora kept her smile and walked off.
She didn't glance at me.
Well, she had stared at me for a solid minute already, so I supposed that counted for something. But the fact she didn't greet me said enough about where we stood right now.
"You see that girl?" I said quietly to Jayden. "If you play your cards right, you can make her your girlfriend."
"What?!" He yelped.
Girls.
The one topic that always got a loud reaction.
"Listen," I said, looping an arm over his shoulders.
"Aurora is a 'hard to get' girl because she's too perfect."
She had to be.
First: she was a princess. She needed to be adored by her people, and she did an amazing job. The entire kingdom idolized her, more than Alfred, even.
Second: Her role model was Louisa Trueheart. Louisa was even more flawless than Aurora when it came to fulfilling duty. Aurora admired her a lot. The main difference was that Aurora kept a warmer, softer front, while Louisa was all steel.
Not that Louisa's life was as clean-cut as it looked. Thinking about her route and everything that followed… I could only pity future Jayden.
I just hoped he wouldn't die.
"Her room is right next to yours," I added. "Use that. Get closer to her."
I let him go and stepped into the elevator.
Jayden stared after me, clearly overwhelmed, but I knew he wouldn't just ignore that opportunity.
I smiled to myself as I hit the S-2 button.
…
The elevator opened onto the S-1/S-2 lobby. I headed down the corridor, carpet a rich blue and gold, walls sparsely decorated with tasteful paintings.
I liked this color scheme.
My room: S-7.
I checked the neighboring doors.
S-5 to my right. S-6 behind me. S-8 to my left.
Please don't let any of the pretenders or crazy girls be in those.
[
'You're the one jinxing me.'
I unlocked my door and stepped inside.
Spacious living room. Modern kitchen. Large bathroom. Dressing room. Training room. Master bedroom with a massive bed.
Definitely VIP.
From what I'd seen of Jayden's room in the game, his was maybe half this size, max.
Some of my belongings were already here, clothes and such. Useless now that I'd slimmed down. I really needed to buy new ones.
Right now I basically had:
The RealStore clothes.
My academy uniform.
Thankfully, the uniform was auto-sizing and auto-repair. It had to be, at that price.
"Hm?"
A small box sat on a side table.
I took a knife from the kitchen, slit the tape, and opened it.
Inside was a rectangular device, sleek, glass-fronted. Very much like a phone from Earth, but with more built-in mana functions.
I already had one at the mansion, but, well I abandoned all that.
This one was a new model.
A note was tucked inside the lid.
[A little gift for your awakening, my sweet Nephew.
Belle.]
I smiled.
I powered it on, went through setup, linked my Eden card. Convenient. I wanted to be able to buy whatever I needed without calling attention to my Enigma Dungeon trip.
Once I finished sweeping the living room for any suspicious devices, I checked the bedroom and training room too.
"Nothing," I muttered, relieved.
I sat on the floor, cross-legged.
Time to work on Vysindra's rings.
But first…
"Mary, come out."
A mirror shimmered into existence. Mary stepped through in her usual black dress.
"There's a TV in the living room," I told her. "You can watch it."
There were two reasons to call her out.
To refine my anima core so I could handle her mirror ability better. Her power consumed a ton of mana and put strain on my body.
And to let her live a little. I'd seen her memories, felt her emotions, spent a nightmare week with her in Sekrin. She wasn't a pawn. I wanted her to enjoy things she'd never had.
"…"
Mary's lips trembled slightly. She definitely felt what I was thinking through our bond.
I scratched my cheek, suddenly awkward.
I gently turned her by the shoulders and guided her out to the couch in the living room, then turned on the TV.
"You use this to change channels," I said, pointing at the remote. "This one for volume. Not too loud, I'll be working in my room."
I went through each button, slowly.
She'd never had a TV at home. All this had to feel completely foreign.
She shook a little at first, overwhelmed, but after a minute she nodded, carefully watching my demonstration.
"That's it," I said, handing her the remote. "Call me if it's important. Oh, and—"
I checked the cupboards.
Snacks. Juice.
I opened a bag of chips, poured orange juice into a glass, and set both on the low table.
"There. Eat as much as you want. If you want more, help yourself from the kitchen."
Before she could answer, I retreated to my room and locked the door.
[
"Yeah," I said. "Because I can feel her emotions. She actually cares about me, which is more than I can say for you, Jarvis, or anyone else besides Belle."
[I am here to assist you.]
[
Please, not a tsundere goddess.
"Anyway. I'm going to train the Anathemas Fire. Wake me if something happens."
I sat back down on the floor and summoned the ring.
A purplish band of flame coiled around my right wrist like a bracelet.
I exhaled slowly and reached out with my will, trying to shape the fire.
Mary's mirrors would keep me alive.
But I needed my own way to strike back.