NOVEL NEXT Chapter XXXVII (37)- Invitation
Chapter XXXVII (37)- Invitation
Roba stopped sending him down into the World Dungeon for blood disposals after his initial mistake. In fact, he found the key to the dungeons, along with the set of robes, now missing from their place next to his study spot under the stairs. She appeared to either believe him incapable of the task now, because of his mangled leg, or inept, due to his past mistake. And Kizu didn’t mind in the slightest. It gave him more time to himself on the weekends. He still had to fill out tests but the more he tested, the faster he got at them.
He bit into a fruit, the juice running down the sides of his mouth, while he reflected on what to do with all the free time he had for the rest of the day. Just as he decided he might head to the library, Emilia sat down across from him.
“This seat taken?” she asked.
“No, of course not. All yours.” He hurriedly attempted to wipe the fruit’s juice from his face with a sleeve.
She glanced at his food and scrunched up her face. “Blood fruit? That stuff is foul.”
“Yeah, but it’s supposed to help the body,” he replied, not arguing with her statement.
“For a price. The aftertaste sticks in your throat for weeks.”
Kizu thought that was a bit dramatic. Sure, he was pretty tired of the fruit after eating it almost every day for two weeks. But it didn’t taste that bad. He kept the thought to himself though, not wanting to disagree with her.
“Anyway,” Emilia continued. “Some friends of mine are coming to my villa tonight. Bit more low key than the last party. More of a private invitation kind of event. Want to join?”
Kizu couldn’t help but to perk up. “Yeah! That’s great! I’d love to. I’ll head down with Harvey after dinner.”
“Harvey?” Emilia gave him a blank look.
“Your cousin?”
It still took a moment before recognition sparked in her eyes. “Oh! Him. Yeah, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Some of my friends who will be there got a little mixed up in his fight and they still aren’t really over it yet. Probably best if he sits this one out until they’ve had a bit more time to cool off.”
That took a little bit of wind out of Kizu’s sails. He had hoped to use the party as a way to catch up with his friend. Harvey barely spoke to him recently. And was rarely spotted in public. The most Kizu managed to exchange were few words at History F and Astronomy E.
Not knowing what else to say, Kizu changed the subject over to classes and study prep. Emilia nodded along and answered his questions politely even though obviously bored by the topic. But try as he might, he just kept rambling on. It felt like someone had cursed his tongue. Eventually, he managed to excuse himself and get away.
Once around the corner, he rubbed his scarlet face with his palms. What a painfully awkward conversation. Nobody in their right mind would ever want to hear about statistical data he found in a library book about the average skill levels of mages studying at Wave Edge Academy by graduation year. Or the differences between sand from Tross versus from sand from Hon when brewing specific potions.
When his pulse finally slowed and his cheeks returned to their normal hue, he reassured himself that he could undo any damage from his awkward conversation. After all, he had all night.
But evening arrived quicker than normal. Despite his best efforts to read about divination towers and their spell amplification, his mind kept drifting away from the text. He kept reliving his conversation and trying to mentally prepare conversations for the party. Eventually, he gave up on his reading and went to his dorm to get changed.
For once, Basil was actually in their room. One of the heaps of clothing had been shoved to the side to reveal a full body mirror underneath. Basil appeared to be checking different outfits and rearranging his facial features and body size to better fit with each one.
“You going somewhere tonight?” Kizu asked.
Basil glanced at him over his shoulder. He wore a stiff outfit that almost looked like a military issued uniform. Even the Elites that rescued him from the crone had looked less formal. And Basil’s current face matched the outfit with a jawline that could cut diamonds.
“Obviously,” Basil responded, returning his attention to the mirror. He reshaped his nose, cocked his head at it in the mirror, before reshaping it back. “I pretty much go out every night. You know that.”
A thought dawned on Kizu. “Wait. You weren’t by any chance invited to an exclusive party being held in Emilia’s villa?”
Basil shrugged, his muscles knitting together more prominently as he did. “Of course. I get invited to every party. But how’d you know about this one? I was under the impression it was being kept a bit more under wraps than last time.”
“Emilia invited me.”
He turned back to Kizu, eyebrows raised. “Really? Well, that’s great news! Now I have someone to drink with! The others invited are honestly a bit prudish. That’s why I’m going with this whole get up.” He gestured down at his body. “Not exactly the ‘super fun party look.’”
“I’m not getting drunk in front of Emilia.” The mere thought horrified him.
Basil wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Ah! But let me tell you- girls like a man who’s unabashedly willing to have a good time. Trust me. She’ll think drunk you is hot you.”
“No way am I taking any dating advice from you,” Kizu shrugged his arm off. “I heard what happened when Harvey tried out your ‘advice.’”
“Hm? What happened? Did it work too well or something?”
Kizu ignored him and began looking for his spare academy uniform. The one that was clean.
“Wait, don’t tell me you’re wearing that?” Basil said.
Kizu looked down at the uniform in his hands. “Well, I’m definitely not going to wear my clothes from the Hon Basin. And the set my parents gave me while I was at home makes me look like a pompous ass. So, this is what’s left.”
“You only have three outfits!” Basil was looking over his shoulder at his clothes and rubbing his eyes as if in disbelief. “Okay, this is an emergency. I’m fixing this right now. I thought you just really liked the academy uniform. Some people are like that. I should have realized it was more dire.”
And, just like that, Basil leaped into action. He moved with a frenzied purpose, grabbing sheets of cloth and accessories from around the room.
Mort poked his head down from the rafters to watch with bemusement. Kizu just sighed and sat back on his bed. Every so often, Basil would pounce on him, string in hand, to take some measurement. But for the most part, Basil left him alone, engrossed in his task. He spoke while he worked, but not even Kizu’s earring could translate what he was saying into something Kizu could understand. The most Kizu could gather from the ramblings was that it was all about fabrics and tones.
Finally, Basil’s tirade slowed. As he turned away from his desk, Kizu noticed the boy had a second pair of forearms and hands sprouting from his elbows. The arms snapped together, leaving only two normal arms with hands holding a bundle of cloth.
“Here, try this on. Not my best work, but on short notice this is the best I can do.”
Despite his supposed ‘shoddy’ tailoring, Kizu noticed Basil beam with satisfaction once he wore the outfit. And it fit perfectly. Kizu couldn’t remember wearing anything tailored so perfectly for him. It felt snug but still breathable. He rolled his shoulder. The cloth stretched easily to allow him full mobility. And to top it off, its coloring was far more subdued than the over-the-top garish clothes Basil often wore. Instead, it was a palette of forest green and earthy browns.
“Thank you,” Kizu said, sincerely grateful. “Growing up, the crone used to give me clothes. I think she picked them off old corpses. They never fit like this.”
“The style of the set you have in your drawer is pretty archaic.” Basil nodded. Then he clapped a hand on Kizu’s shoulder.
“Wait, you’ve been rifling through my drawers?”
“Um.” Basil’s eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape. They fell on Mort. “How about now we make a matching set for your monkey? That’d be pretty damn cute.”