Chapter 93: Festival (I)
A few months went by, and I have not spotted Elcro anywhere at the Academy. Throughout the months, I studied and continued to increase my magic knowledge. Every week, I even went to teach my magic on coding. The rooms were always full, and the faculty members would always come by to learn. Not a single person dropped out.
Where was Elecro when you actually needed him? I couldn't help but feel that he was actually avoiding me. I heard rumors of him throughout the city, but the information was always a day old. This game of tag was getting old fast, and I was getting frustrated.
I posted signs, dropped words for his supposed friends, and even scored the whole Academy in the hopes of trying to find him, but so far, not a single clue. Things were just getting out of hand, and I felt a bit overly obsessive to find this one guy. I'm no stalker, I just needed to talk to him to get more answers, but it seems life was not playing out in my favor.
"Berry!" Crow flagged me down with excitement. He ran up next to me with a broad smile plastered on his face.
"Crow?" I turned around to see him panting, trying to catch his breath. For someone so athletic, I couldn't help but wonder if he sprinted over.
"I'm so glad I found you. I seriously thought I wouldn't be able too. You walk way too fast."
"I do?"
"Yea, you didn't notice? You're literally like flying across the hallway? Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?"
I was silent. I wasn't sure what I should tell Crow.
"Something has been bothering you? I can tell you know."
Crow was quite intuitive. The reason why I was running was because I thought I saw Elcro walking down the hallway. The question was, how did Elcro even get access to the Academy. People couldn't just waltz in here without a pass. Even the twins couldn't find his name, making this whole cat and mouse annoying.
"Nothing."
"Are you sure?" Crow was rubbing his hand worriedly, staring at me.
"Yes. Thank you for worrying about me." I gave him a small bow.
"No. No. I didn't do much." Crow was blushing red from embarrassment.
I couldn't help but think that his action was kind of cute. Still, I felt disappointed that I couldn't find Elcro anywhere.
"Well then, I'll take my lea-"
"Wait!"
I stopped confused at his sudden outburst. He grabbed my shoulder.
"I was wondering…if you could hang out with us for a while." Crow bashfully said.
"Us?" I asked. He looked so cute, I couldn't say no.
"Yea." Crow twiddled his fingers in front of him. "Raven and I."
I thought it over. Getting to know the twins wasn't a bad thing at all, plus I had nothing else to do for a while. The class was over, and today was my free day. "Sure," I replied.
"Great!" Crow excitedly stated, he jumped up in delight.
Is it me, or is he a little too excited? I couldn't help but tilt my head at the sudden jolly outburst. He suddenly grabbed my hands and pulled me through the hall. We ran out of the school building door and eventually made our way towards the front of the school campus.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" I called out. My wrist was slightly stinging from the rough pull. "You're pulling too hard on my wrist!"
"Ah-" Crow suddenly stopped and dropped my hand. "I'm so sorry. I was just too excited that I forgot that I was too rough."
I rubbed my hands and gave him a gentle smile. "It's alright, but what's the sudden rush?"
Crow's eyes brightened up on cue. If he had a dog ears and tails, I swear he would look like an excited puppy. "We have some tickets to the Autumn Festival."
"Autumn Festival?" I was confused. Maybe I was stuck in the castle for too long that I completely forgot about the festival that was in progress for the next three days. It was a festival similar to harvest festival or Thanksgiving back on Earth, such a thought didn't hit me until now, making me realize that today was that day.
"Did you forget?"
I was silent, unsure if I should tell him.
"Really?" His eyes became wide.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot." I looked away.
"It seems so. Well, it doesn't matter now, come on. Let's go, Raven is waiting."
I followed behind him, wondering what my first ever Autumn festival would be like. The moment we came to the town square, everywhere was vibrant with life. The red and orange lantern lights were hanging up on lines. Already it was becoming dark, and the lanterns gave off a beautiful soft glow. Music played through the crowded town square with vibrance. I couldn't help but slightly bounce in rhythm to the musical notes that were playing all around us.
Delicious smell of lamb, chicken, and roasted beef lingered through the air, making my throat salivate with hunger. Tents of different colors were pitched up on all sides as far as my eyes could see. Everywhere I looked, there was always Something new to look at. Gaming stands, people selling delicious hot food, kids running around with small flags, and colorful fish kites sold not too far away from my right.
If I could have an extra pair of eyes, this would be the best time for it, I just couldn't stop looking around me with awe. From right to left, I could see people from different races wearing similar costumes that the people of this world wore.
It reminded me of ancient medieval clothes mixed with traditional Japanese clothes. The strange combination made me tilt my head, wondering where such a strange fashion sense came from.
Up ahead, Raven was in a beautiful dress that seemed to hug her voluptuous body. I swear the amount of curves on her made every male turn their heads towards her. They were sneaking in glances that made me shake my head.
"Raven!" Crow waved Raven down. She turned around with a smile that even I rarely see plastered on her face, but when she saw me stepping out from behind Crow, it dropped into a scowl. I wondered why she disliked me, so far I haven't come to a single conclusion as of yet. All I could do was silently wait for Crow to speak out first.
"Raven, Berry came to join us today." He happily crowed in excitement.
"I see." Raven gave him a dry reply.
"What should we do first? Should we go try the test of courage or maybe eat Something?"
"Whatever you want."
"Then, the test of courage it shall be!" Crow pointed towards the direction of where we needed to go. He strutted forward in excitement as we made our way towards a large tent.
It was a giant brown and red tent that towered around the height of a two-story building. The moment we got close, I could hear the people screaming inside from fear, making even me slightly nervous. One thing that came to mind was the haunted houses that people go to during
Halloween. I've never been into one, but it made me curious why such a thing was even put up during the Autumn Festival. Still, I was scared of pants when it came to ghosts, and for someone like me, that was quite embarrassing. Either way, Crow wanted to go in, so we came forward towards the tent door.
A young adorable humanoid male beastkin with cat ears stood up with his hands crossed in front of him. He pouted when the customers passed him and rubbed his head.
"Hey! Don't rub my head! I'm not a kid!" He threw up his fist in anger. The customer smiled and went in without taking much to the young beastkin's shout.
"Salim!" Crow waved and came over with excitement.
Salim turned around and saw Crow, he gave him a smirk. "Why if it isn't the trouble maker Crow. Are you here to test your courage, or are you here to show off to the two beauties behind you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm here for the test."
Salim chuckled. "I highly doubt that." He raised his cute paw up to his mouth, covering his chuckle.
"At least I'm not being seen as a shorty here, you know."
"Shorty? Hmph! That's where you are wrong. I am a grown man, and eventually, I'll grow taller than you. So, when I do get taller," He smoothly transitioned over towards Raven and grabbed her hand. With a gentle kiss on the back of her wrist, he smiled. "I would like to date Miss Raven."
Raven didn't flinch and gave him a curt smile. "If you do, maybe I will."
"See that!" Salim snapped his finger at Crow. "I still got the charm."
"Hardly, she sees you as a pet."
"Watch your tongue brat!"
Crow ruffled his hair. "If you say so." He whistled and grabbed my hand, pulling me in through the tent. Once again, he couldn't help but frown at the rough treatment.
"Hey, my words are true!" Salim cried out from behind.
"Yea. Yea." Crow waved his free hand above his head.
"Don't forget! If you succeed in passing through the Test of Courage, you'll win five gold coins! So far, no one had come out the other end and instead ran away before finishing it!"
"I gotcha~."
When I heard gold coins, my ears perked up. The thought of winning such delicious candy was calling my name. I had to win this and get those gold coins that I wanted to eat, so I let Crow lead me in through the tent in excitement, completely forgetting that I was actually scared.
We both continued to walk through the darkness. I pulled my hands away from Crow's tight grip. The numbing feeling was starting to finally go away.
"Watch your step~" Crow grabbed me by my shirt, pulling me back before I could stumble into an open hole.
I couldn't help but be startled at the unexpected hole. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"It's a bit difficult to see in this darkne-"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone