Free Web NovelChapter 93: Day 1
Everyone was busy with their own preparations for the upcoming tournament.
The teachers and other staff members had their hands full with the organization of the whole event.
The knights, students who volunteered and the disciplinary committee members were tasked with Loogam’s security, whether it was the city itself or the academy. Especially during the weekend before the tournament, prominent people from other nations enter Loogam, however, there was also the possibility that dangerous individuals may appear as well.
Therefore, those who were tasked with security were on high alert.
Meanwhile, the other students, mainly the first-year students, either relax or train further in order to prepare themselves.
And before they knew it, the new and last week of the month started.
It was the day of the opening ball.
"Will you be fine? Three members of the Grand Order will attend this event."
"..."
The sun was just dawning.
Still, as the tournament week was a big event for Loogam, the locals open up plenty of stalls on the streets yearly.
Most of the stalls and shops were already set up, but there were still a few, who were adding the finishing touches to their stall.
Xander, the captain of the disciplinary committee, was patrolling the main street.
However, he seemed to have stopped in his tracks when he arrived in front of an unfinished food stall.
The stall sold fruits, thus the display was full of them.
A middle-aged man was setting up the stall alone as he transported sacks filled with various fruits from the nearby carriage to his place.
Xander grabbed an apple from the stall and took a bite.
"What are the numbers? Do you have some detailed information?" he asked indifferently as took another bite.
"I wasn’t told anything..." the man replied nervously while keeping his eyes on his surroundings.
"I see."
He was about to take his leave.
"Just so you know. Olivia Rostanta will be here, too." Xander stated.
The man’s eyes narrowed, but he kept his mouth shut while carrying on his job.
"..."
It was only until it was night again when things seemed to calm down.
The students were busy helping out with the decoration for the opening ball or helping the security people with their tasks as the first day was the day when most people would come into the nation.
Among those students were also people like Belian, Lily, Sylvia and Harik.
"Guys, can we leave this to you? Sylvia and I plan to head back to get changed." Lily asked Belian and Harik, who were carrying over some tables in the main hall of the academy, with a smile on her face.
"You want to change? I thought you were going to ball dressed like this." Harik pointed out the fact that the two were wearing their normal school uniform. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Harik..." Belian muttered awkwardly.
The two boys were also wearing their school uniforms.
The students were told that there was a dress code for the ball.
They either had to wear their school uniform or they could go ahead and choose to wear clothes appropriate for elegant festivities, like a dress or a suit.
During the preparation for the ball, some boys also already wore their suits for later.
"I pretend like I heard nothing. Now let’s go, Sylvia!" Lily exclaimed with joy.
"Y-yeah...!" Sylvia replied weakly, trying to hide her unwillingness to change into a dress.
Thus, Lily dragged Sylvia behind her as they rushed to their dorm.
"..."
Harik watched their backs with a smile. However, it was a smile that contained sadness and pity.
"It’s really too bad that Mika can’t join us later." he stated.
"..."
Belian huffed quietly.
"Is something, Belian?"
"No, it’s nothing." Belian responded, turning his back to him.
A few hours later.
"Rachel?"
Lily knocked on Rachel’s door.
"Are you sure about not coming with us?"
"..."
Rachel was lying in her bed, facing the ceiling without an emotion.
"I guess, you’re sleeping, huh...?" Lily said, sounding saddened.
Without rustling, Rachel turned her drowsy head to the door, pursing her lips a little.
"I’m sure you won’t hear this, but we would be overjoyed if you joined us later."
"Lily, let’s go." Sylvia said in a comforting tone.
"..."
A few minutes later, Rachel heard the door of the main entrance getting shut.
She lifted up her upper body.
With squinted eyes, she stared at the moon through the windows.
"!"
However, she widened her eyes suddenly.
She heard rustling coming from the bushes outside.
"Who’s that?" she muttered pensively.
Rachel stood up from her bed and went to the windows.
After opening them, she looked intensively at the bushes.
"Woah!"
She fell on her butt in shock, when silhouettes emerged from the bushes.
"Y-you’re..."
It was as if she saw a ghost.
Back to the main hall.
The hall was filled with lots of people.
Not only most of the students but also all the teachers and other staff members were dressed appropriately for this occasion.
A large percentage of the boys wore a simple suit. The color black was the most spread color if it was concerning their suits. Of course, there were also those who went for a color that made them stand out from the crowd.
Besides them, there were also a few, who decided to wear their uniform, like Harik and Belian.
But in the end, for most boys and men their highlight was the women’s dresses.
Most of the girls in the first-year wore modest and simple dresses, not revealing much skin aside from the arms.
There, too, were some variations. Some opted for a shorter skirt, some for longer. Some opted for a brighter color, some for darker ones.
However, compared to the men’s side, the color variation here was a lot wider.
Furthermore, there were differences in styles, too.
While there were some, who were conscious about the amount of skin they would show in a dress and therefore chose a modest dress, some confidently wore dresses that were rather more exotic and skin-revealing.
The front runner of said style was none other than the first-year teacher Cindy Werensten.
She wore a dress, matching the color of her pale blue eyes. Her dress’ skirt was almost reaching to her feet and had a slit, showing off the side of her left thigh.
Like every other dress, hers was sleeveless, too. However, her bodice had a low neckline, revealing her cleavage.
Thus, not only the boys’ but also the men’s eyes were glued to her charming body.
But it only took them to look up at her face to get frightened off as she was already drunk.
Her face was red and she looked like she was about to puke.
"Jeez... This is no fun without Ophelia~" she stated, swaying on the spot as she took another sip from a bottle.
Harik sighed and shook his head. freēwebnovel.com
"How can she be so drunk even though the headmaster didn’t give his speech yet...?" he remarked, sounding somewhat impressed by her carefree attitude.
Belian was standing behind Harik, where the tables with the food were.
He put some food on his plate, ignoring those around him until he heard loud exclamations from the boys.
Therefore, he turned around to see what happened.
"Oh."
Even the girls were astonished.
"So they’re finally here." Harik said with a grin.
It looked like everyone made a path for them as they walked up to Belian and Harik.
"Took you longer than we thought." Belian commented, also smiling slightly.
"..."
"S-sorry, hehe..."
Standing in front of the two boys, were Sylvia, who sharpened her gaze at Belian after his comment, and Lily.
"You look great in your dresses." Belian complimented them genuinely, while Harik gave a thumbs-up.
"..."
Sylvia still seemed a little uncomfortable as she averted her gaze embarrassed.
"Thanks!" Lily replied happily.
Lily wore a modest and long red dress, covering her feet. Her cleavage, too, was covered up as her dress’ top went up to her neck.
On her bouffant skirt were flowers in the same color as the skirt decorated.
The sleeves for her arms were made out of a dark and yet transparent fabric, which also had black flower patterns on it.
Meanwhile, Sylvia wore a grey dress, matching her hair.
The dress was also long but did not have a bouffant skirt like Lily’s. Her dress was sleeveless and her back was exposed. The neckline was low, too, and furthermore, she wore grey gloves, covering her forearms.
And aside from their dresses, the girls switched their hairstyles for the night, meaning that Sylvia tied her hair up into a short ponytail while Lily let her hair down, which was a little longer than shoulder-length.
"I suppose, everyone is here-"
However, he cut himself off, when he noticed the presence of someone else.
"The official dance may have not started yet, but may I still ask for a dance, Lily Hayth?"
Bowing politely beside Lily was Cail, who wore an elegant and shiny golden suit.
"Cail..."
Lily’s and everyone else’s faces got grimmer.
"Well, if you don’t want to, may I ask you for a dance?"
His slimy grin and gaze shifted to Sylvia, whose eyes got only sharper.
Sylvia was raising her hand until she heard a loud commotion at the entrance.
It was louder than when she and Lily arrived.
Lily was the first one to react.
Her eyes were big. Her mouth open. Her body lost all tension.
She was shocked and yet happy.
"M..."
Her mouth shivered as she tried to speak.
"Mika..."
