Chapter 146: Homeless
By the time Mike had finished loading Lily's equipment into his sack and gotten the pair of them moving, the rest of the building had been evacuated. Sera and the others had apparently gone ahead and swept the lower floors as they were descending, leaving Mike's group to be the last ones out.
The residents were huddled in a fearful group a safe distance from the dorm building. Mike could see Sera, Tal, and Brenden standing off to one side, in the middle of a heated discussion. As soon as she noticed him, Sera's serious expression turned to one of relief, and she started hurrying over to him. She stopped, however, when she notice who was accompanying him.
Mike could almost see her jumping to conclusions as she observed Lily sticking close to him (she was worried about the equipment he was still carrying), her worried and dependent expression (again, about her equipment), and the state of her dress (William had struggled to get her to wear anything, and had settled with a loose shift.)
With sour look on her face, Sera turned a glare in his direction, before stomping off angrily.
Brenden walked up while trying, and failing, to suppress a snicker. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on out here?"
"The dorm manager's got them waiting here until they hear back from Administration. It might be a while, since it seems like the entire city was effected by the earthquake."
Mike grimaced before shooting a look out towards the capital, wondering if he should head in that direction to help out.
As if reading his friend's thoughts, Brenden broke in. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. That quake was pretty minor compared to some of the ones we've had in the past. Besides, most of the city's been built to resist this kind of thing, ever since the Day of Ashes and the resulting aftershocks. The only reason our dorm suffered any damage at all, was because it was old and in mild disrepair."
Sighing, Mike nodded his agreement and followed the beastman back to rejoin an indifferent Tal and upset Sera. Hoping to remove the source of displeasure, he turned to Lily. "We probably won't be able to go back to the dorm for a while. I know you are worried about your things, but it would be troublesome to unload them now, and have to carry them elsewhere. Why don't I hold on to them for the moment, and bring them to you once you've figured out where you are going?"
Lily looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "That will be acceptable."
"Good." Mike replied, relieved. He found a good spot to sit, and settled down to wait for news. This relief was ruined, however, when Lily sat down next to him, and started staring at him curiously. Glancing over at her, he asked, "Um, do you need something?"
Frowning in puzzlement, she moved her face uncomfortably close to his. "You have pretty eyes." She stated plainly.
"Alright, that's enough!" Sera yelled while forcing herself between the two of them. "I don't care if you're some kind of royalty where you come from, you can't behave this way." She tried to push Lily away, only to find it impossible. It felt like she was trying to move a boulder.
Lily stood, head tilted in confusion as she looked down at the much smaller (in many ways) Oracle. "Who are you? His lover?"
Releasing a small puff of steam while blushing furiously, Sera stammered a reply. "W-What I am is none of your business! Just leave him alone!"
William finally chose this moment to intervene, pulling his mistress back through a phenomenal amount of effort. "Milady, please! You are being rude to our savior. While I am happy to see you finally taking an interest in the opposite sex, I hardly think it is the time to be thinking of such things."
[Maybe I can escape now, while everyone's distracted.] Mike thought while reconsidering his original plan to live in the woods.
Thankfully, the dorm manager, Anna, interrupted with an announcement. "Can I have everyone's attention?" There was a long pause as the breezy woman stared at her attentive audience before resuming. "Alright, the Lighthouse Dorm is too dangerous to live in right now, so we will be moving to Calius Dorm until repairs are complete. Also, according to the headmaster, no student is allowed to seek accommodations outside of the University."
This caused some mutterings of protest. Brenden called from the back of the group. "What about the household members? Can they live somewhere else?"
Anna paused, a look of deep concentration on her face, before she hit her right fist into the palm of her hand as if she remembered the fact that had been escaping her. "Household members can, but students are not able to.
Silence descended on the group, before Hannah, the enterprising finance student, raised her hand and asked. "Why do the students have to stay here?"
The dorm manager frowned again, before replying. "Something about an uncertain 'minty cereal,' I think?"
Another maid took a moment to step forward and answer, a hint of exasperation coloring her voice. "Due to the uncertain military situation following the attack yesterday, the headmaster wants all University students to remain on campus to better provide security and protection."
This caused another round of silence before Hannah spoke up again, "That's all well and good, but where is this Calius Dorm?"
"Where was it again?" Anna asked herself with a finger on her chin. This inspired a round of exasperated groans from the group.
Wallace, the bespectacled Science Department student stood and announced, "I know the place. It's close to a where a friend of mine lives."
Hannah broke in. "I didn't know you had other friends! I'm learning all kinds of things tonight."
A vein start pulsing angrily on his forehead as he replied. "I don't want to hear that from you! And we are not friends."
"Come on, Wally. I know our relationship is deep and complex, but it's a little embarrassing when you say we're more than friends in front of all these people." Hannah replied with a sympathetic smile.
With a fantastic effort of willpower, Wallace suppressed his rage with a sigh. "Whatever, everyone just follow me. I'll take you there."
It was a short hike, and in a few minutes, the assembled group of former Lighthouse Dormitory residents were standing in front of their new home. They stared at the building with a mix of facial expressions, all of which were cramped.
"What in the hells is this?" Hannah asked, pointing at the small, single story building. It was less than half the size of their previous domicile.
"Ah, I remember. Due to the damage done to other University buildings, this was the only one available at the moment. So, we'll have to share rooms for the time being." Anna announced, looking slightly proud of herself for recalling the important detail.
"How many rooms are there?" Mike asked, while resisting the urge to sigh.
Anna paused to consider this before replying. "Well…It's usually used for high ranking nobility when they bring a large household. If I recall, there is one master suite and two servant rooms."
"Three rooms? That makes this difficult." Wallace broke in, while deep in thought. "By virtue of rank, Lily should get the master suite, along with her butler. As for the other two. I would suggest dividing the rest of us by gender."
Lionel, the titled Slacker, who had been silent up to this point, spoke. "That works. Point me to the male room, I have sleep to catch up on."
[Not exactly ideal, but I suppose it's better than sleeping outside.] Mike was thinking when he felt his left arm and shoulder embraced by a warm, soft sensation. He kept his eyes closed, suspecting the cause, but not quite wanting to face it. Unfortunately, Sera's voice forced him out of his denial.
"What in the hells are you doing?! Get off of him!" She was yelling.
Lily had grabbed onto him in a distinctly intimate manner, unintentionally making full use of her assets to the shock of the crowd observing. She spoke simply, directing her words to the group at large. "I'm taking him. He can stay in my room."
There was a few moments of shocked silence before William started sputtering, "M-Milady! This is hardly proper!"
The scandalized maids started whispering to each other while Hannah started laughing excitedly. Mike's own group had mixed reactions. Tal continued to affect indifference, but he could sense a hint of irritation creep into her posture. Brenden was grinning at his misfortune while trying to restrain Sera, who was thoroughly pissed
Lily tilted her head in confusion before replying, "He has what I need. I can't let him get away."
This caused another round of excited commotion from the maids.
[Is she intentionally trying to cause misunderstandings? Did the genre change to romantic comedy all of a sudden? Whatever. I can try to explain, but I don't really want to show off my extradimensional item, if I can avoid it. Might be best to try and roll with it, I suppose.]
Wallace cleared his throat loudly, getting the attention of the group. "If Lily wants it that way, I see no reason to refuse, especially since Mike has the largest household. The servant quarters were going to be rather tight, so this works out nicely."
"Hey! I didn't agree to this!" Sera yelled.
Calmly adjusting his glasses, Wallace replied in a measured tone. "It is not your decision. As the head of your household, Mike is the ultimate authority."
[...shit....]
"As such, it will be his choice to make." He finished.
Mike felt all eyes turn towards him. He knew he needed to say something, but was still distracted by the pressure on his left side. Despite his best efforts, he'd so far been unable to free himself using gentle means. Judging from the strength of her grip, he would be hard pressed to do so even if he tried seriously.
[I guess her giant blood is the cause of this. Seems pretty useful. Honestly though, what is it with me and strong women today?]
Knowing that there wasn't much he could do to avoid the coming difficulties, he resigned himself to playing along. Besides, it was hard for him to turn down the attractive woman's invitation to share a room. Despite his relatively monastic lifestyle of the last few weeks, he was still a healthy young man.
"As someone who is in the middle of an important business transaction with Lady Lilianna, it would be somewhat inappropriate to share living arraignments-" He started, intending to reluctantly agree.
"No, you're staying with me." Lily broke in firmly. A sudden tension rose out of the maid group, who seemed to be waiting for his response.
Sighing, he nodded. "Alright then. If she insists, I will accept Lady Lilianna's gracious invitation."
A round of cheers sounded from the maids, and Mike heard one of them mutter, "Oh goodie! A love triangle! Or is it a square? Anyway, this is going to be fun."
[At least some of us are entertained. Ah…..So this is what it feels like to be a rom-com protagonist. It kind of sucks.] He thought, while feeling the burning gaze of at least two of his companions drilling into his back.
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