"Young master?"
"Oh, I got the right one this time."
In the middle of the thicket resembling a small forest in the Silvanus Academy's grounds, I met with the correct Lily thankfully. If there were two lily's like there were two Luka's then I would have been too confused to keep track of things.
"Whatcha doing?" I asked.
"Woah, weird talk young master, weird talk."
"This is all the jazz today! Slayyy…."
"Really? Should I do it too?"
"You'll make friends if you do."
Lily puffed her cheeks.
"I already have friends."
I ended up laughing at that. Acting like a child as she might, Lily was most definitely an old man in her heart and her soul.
It was then.
A small figure appeared in the skies using the same barrier manipulation spells that I used to create Don Chiik.
"Woaaah!"
"It's Don Miik!"
"The academy's latest mascot!! I love you!"
Though there were only trees around, the voices of the other students weren't lost.
I for one…
Was angry as all hell.
How dare that steal Don Chiik the don of the world below the realms? And rename him even, and turn him into a beaver as well, how?
It's almost as if it's something else! Damn it!
Whatever.
The Don Miik began coughing and speaking.
"Welcome to the Silvanus Academy's special event. Through the course of the next three hours, you all will have to locate the blooming silver lily flower that grows only once a year! Of course, using any type of mana, ki, or sorcery is absolutely not allowed!"
What! I didn't even sign up for this?
"Everyone in the barrier! The prize that awaits you is glory!!"
What! At least offer a proper prize!
"And the enemies that await you are also many!"
What! Why is there an enemy now?
"Alright go! Shoo shoo!"
What! The fuck!
Lily simply grabbed my hand before I could say anything and pulled me along.
"This is the perfect chance, young master! Let us go find that thing and get a lot of glory together."
"Sure enough."
I didn't mind.
I couldn't use my magic to look for the thing, but there were others here to guide me around.
The small little spirits hopped and jumped as they beckoned me over. With Lily in hand, I made my way through the forest with them as guides.
There was little to think about, I just took step after step and followed the spirits out of the forest. Halfway through…
"COROR!"
A giant crocodile came our way.
Lily was frowning while holding my hand tight, it seemed she was scared.
Magic wasn't allowed in any form, so I bit the crocodile's jaws.
"CROOOO!" It screamed and ran away without a moment's hesitation.
"Did you just…?"
"I would do the same with mosquitoes and snakes."
There was no doubt about that one. If they could be then they deserved to be bitten.
Why would they bite others in the first place?
The spirit guides continued showing us the path ahead and the two of us continued walking ahead. Through the caves that had been built up to the trees with vines so abundant it became impossible to tell the path.
Throughout it all, Lily still had her mouth in a frown and her hand clenched tight.
"Say, are you trying to make me faint?"
Lily flinched.
"N-no… I am just trying to heal you since you seem out of it."
Was that so?
"Also…" Lily lowered her head. "I have to do at least this much since you asked me to never leave your side. You keep running away, so my only choice is to keep you tied down."
"ONLY TWENTY MINUTES REMAIN!"
Miik's voice came back.
Lily was still holding my hand.
I lightly tapped her forehead and dashed away.
"Y-young master! Young master!!"
I ignored her voice and continued running. The spirits all around laughed and helped me around as they led me to the most optimal path around.
The countdown continued, the people around were starting to give up while some others had grabbed different kinds of rare flowers, which to my surprise, was still worth some points.
"Only a minute remains."
After a long search, at the bottommost root of a very small tree that grew between dense thicket, I found a lily with petals gilded silver, like a shining small star on the ground, the blooming silver lily was slightly shriveled up.
"The time is up! No one has found the blooming silver lily—"
I ignored the voice. I wasn't planning to hand it to them anyway.
"Spirits, let's go!"
The world around me changed.
I was in a room, where a single brunette girl was coiled up in a bed and crying.
"WOAH Why are you crying!?"
"Young master…?" Lily looked up. Then screamed and pulled up the sheets on her bed. I didn't care about how she was dressed honestly.
Staggering on my steps, I walked ahead.
"Hic… what are you here for…?"
"I told you I'll be back?"
"You didn't?"
"You didn't Eugy…"
Fuck did I say it in my mind?
Well anyway.
I walked closer to Lily and held the lily in front of her.
"What…"
"Found it."
"Young master you."
Slowly, I stroked her hair and placed the lily on her ears. The crunched-up flower started blooming as a silver shine spread out of it.
She lightly touched her ears.
"You don't have to hold me down, I'll always come back."
"But you… you don't even care about me, or anyone…"
Tears started dripping from here.
"I am sorry!" I screamed. "I am sorry I am sorry, not my intention alright?"
"You only love that one lady and still you flirt with everyone."
Do I?
"You do, Eugy. You suck. Trash."
Oh fuck.
Was that so…
But then, did I not love anyone else?
I crossed my arms and thought.
Was that the case?
"You just play around!"
HAH!
That was truly the case…
What made this something that needed love in the first place? Were you to love someone just because you had sex with them? In a way, the answer seemed to be a mixture of yes and no, a gray line.
But I had gotten used to a lot of grays in recent days.
I slowly pushed back Lily's hair again.
It seemed I had a problem on my hands. At times like these…
Though I had grown a lot…
What was the answer to something like this? I wanted to take responsibility but at the same time, I had failed to see any of them as people I loved. But that didn't mean I hadn't come to love them, there were more ways to love someone than just having romantic feelings toward them, Titania herself had told me this.
In that sense. I loved them but I didn't at the same time.
The love I held for Lethe was one I couldn't feel for anyone else.
But at the same time, the things I felt for Noa were also something I couldn't imagine holding for Lethe.
Something beyond just that, a bond that only two can hold.
I grabbed Lily's cheeks and made her look into my eyes.
"Lily."
"Young master… I want you to look at me too, just like I look at you. But I don't want you looking at anyone else. I don't care about what has gone by—"
I leaned ahead and tapped my head on hers.
"I will try my best to do so…"
To look at only her.
I couldn't make promises. I was deeply in love with someone else. But bonds that only we could share.
I was greedy for them.
Just like strength. I wanted this too. All of it.
No matter how much I grew, how much I changed, my greed never left.
'If I was stronger' didn't matter, it had become 'I will be stronger.' I wanted strength, I wanted happiness, and I also wanted others. Lily, Noa, Dawn, Maria, Irina…
I had grown greedy for them too.
Even if all this started due to someone else's influence, all of it was mine and I wasn't willing to give it away.
But to just say that without giving them in return what wanted was not correct.
"If you wish for me to only look at you, then I will attempt to do so. In return…"
She reached her hands up and stroked my cheeks.
"Make me."
She wrapped her hands around my back and kissed me.
The spirits all around continued laughing and slowly started moving away.
"This guy just keeps getting even worse. Now you're even tricking them out of your greed."
That mattered little did it not?
I lowered her down, and she pulled me along.
The blooming silver lily shined brightly through the night.
***
I wasn't tired the next morning, though Lily had fallen asleep.
I knew that responsibility was mine to take. So, I decided to go and talk with the rest too.
Dawn was shocked at my admittance and vehemently told me she was done being played with. I apologized deeply to her and told her the same thing.
Then, Noa simply told me that it didn't matter what I thought.
She said I would have no choice but to be hers eventually.
Irina had the most curious reaction.
"Hah, kids. It was just sex and once. Don't think too much about it. What would you do with a woman ten years older than you?"
"Sure? I won't think much about the sex but I'll still be thinking about you. Age doesn't matter."
I was still woozy and the spirits were still helping me. Though every stop I had made Titania parrot at me to take a rest, I hadn't.
"Haah, you're just trying to honey-trap me." She pulled me closer and pushed me down. "Let's make it two. Then you can worry a bit about it."
"Sure."
The week almost came to an end without me sleeping.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by fr(e)ew𝒆bnov(e)l.com