Bookbound Bunny

Lily wasn't sure how she felt after Alice finished her first lecture, as while it was certainly informative, the subject was relatively dry and not at all what she, and clearly many others, expected.

Alice repeatedly shouted throughout the lecture to regrab the attention of students who had started to doze off, even threatening that if they didn't listen properly, she would bar them from entering the dungeon.

That certainly had an effect on them, and many began taking notes suddenly. Lily, of course, was utilizing Arakil's book for her note-taking, as it was the safest place imaginable, and with an endless supply of pages, it would be a waste not to.

Lily couldn't help but giggle at Lotte's reaction to her using her Familiar as an actual book to write in. Lotte glanced between Arakil's book and the slumbering Jade with a hint of envy.

"And that about wraps up the first lecture. I hope I've stressed the importance of having the supplies and tools you need to get the job done," Alice said proudly. "Now, any last questions before I let you go?"

"How exactly are we supposed to bring this much stuff with us?" Thomas asked, shuffling between the pages of his apparently extensive notes.

Alice grinned and patted a pouch at her waist. "Magical storage, of course! I hope this will give you all the motivation to place well in our competition and win one of the donated prizes. Of course, should you not get one this time, remember that there will be other opportunities, and getting one should be your first real goal for the dungeon. Until you have one, you can't reliably do anything more than brief excursions unless you have a creative way to get around needing one."

Once again, Alice had brought out mixed reactions from the students. The ones with a competitive streak had a fire lit under them, while the others seemed oddly dismayed and were already resigning themselves to a poor fate.

I wonder how difficult it would be to obtain a spell from Arakil so I don't need a bag. Or maybe I can create my own?

"What about using our Familiar as a packmule?" another boy asked.

"Yup, that can work. Of course, that's assuming your Familiar is big enough. I've also seen some students even bring a wheelbarrow in. Remember it's not just about your supplies, but also about bringing any treasures out as well."

"When do we get to go in?" Arthur asked.

"End of the week, although don't get your hopes up for anything too exciting. Then either next week or the following week, we will hold the mini competition, depending on how I judge you're all doing."

"Awesome, that bag is as good as mine!" Arthur declared confidently.

"Ha, not if I get it first," a girl near Arthur confidently declared. "Watch me leave the competition in the dust and burn the sight of my victory into your eyes."

"Glad to see you're all fired up. It looks like it'll be a fun year for sure," Alice chuckled.

There were a few more questions about small details, such as suggested foods to bring, before Alice eventually brought the lesson to a close. The students began milling out, although she singled out Lily to stay.

"Want me to stick around?" Lotte asked.

Lily shook her head. "You can wait outside if you really want, but I think I should be fine."

"Sure, I'll wait a bit and see if I can teach Jade a few tricks," Lotte said, poking the slumbering lizard in the belly. "You must be antsy to find out about your mom and dad?"

Lily frowned ever so slightly. "Not really?" she admitted.

"But this is your parents we're talking about."

"This might sound harsh, but my family is back in Ceedale, and Rose is here. I'll admit I'm a bit curious, mostly about my mom, but I couldn't care less about the so-called dad who left me."

"I dunno, maybe he thought he couldn't provide for you, and the adventuring orphanage would give you better opportunities? Not saying I agree with him, but there could be a valid reason."

"But he was some big shot adventurer? Five-stars!"

Lotte raised her hands in defense. "Hey, I said I didn't agree with his decision."

"Sorry…" Lily mumbled. "It's so stupid. I really hope she doesn't try to make me reconnect with him."

"Well, shout if you need me to come bursting in," Lotte said and began walking to the exit.

When the last student left the room, Alice asked them to shut the door behind them. Which left Lily alone with Alice.

"I'm not going to ask you to reconnect with Andreas," she stated flat out. "Or I guess it would need to be a connection in the first place to count as a reconnection…"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Oh. I guess you heard that," Lily mumbled.

"Hard not to," Alice replied, pointing to the prominent bunny ears. "But you should know that."

Lily twiddled with her fingers. "So…"

Alice sighed and slumped down into the desk next to Lily. "Sorry… It's just… Nina was my hero growing up. I wanted to be just like her, and she's the reason I even became an adventurer. When I heard what happened, I ended up quitting soon after. I'd be unemployed if Regarth didn't decide to hire me to teach dungeoneering."

Lily wasn't sure how to behave or react. It felt incredibly awkward for her, and she wasn't entirely sure what type of connection Alice was trying to form here. Was she in the wrong for having barely any affection for her birth parents?

Even when they took my book away… I was more upset about losing my plaything than it being something from my "mom," she admitted to herself.

"I see…" Lily eventually replied. "Well, I'm probably nothing like her. I could barely even jog two years ago without going out of breath. I might as well not even be a Lagia…"

Alice frowned. "Hey, don't say that. Who cares if you can't jump or run like the rest of us? You've got magic! That's hundreds of times better!"

Only because I met Arakil, though…

"Ugh!" Alice growled and slammed her fist against the desk. "I'm no good with the sappy emotional stuff. Look… Maybe you want some advice, or someone to talk to, or some help, or I don't know, anything really? I just… I guess I just want to offer to be there for you, if you need it, okay?"

"Alright," Lily agreed, still slightly reluctant. "As long as you don't go and tell Andreas about me, then I guess that's okay."

"Oh, that's an easy promise to make. I already sort of blamed him for what happened, and finding out that he abandoned you has elevated him to a whole new tier of my personal shitlist."

Lily nodded.

"But…" Alice spoke again and sighed. "I'll warn you it might be inevitable depending on how public you're planning on making yourself here."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, frowning.

"If you take part in any of the inter-school competitions, then it's going to get out that there's a Lagia mage, no question about it. Then there's the fact that you look like a smaller version of Nina. Like, no offense, but that pink floofy hair was basically her signature look, and she looked like a beautiful badass while rocking it."

Lily reached and twirled a long strand of her hair around her finger. She honestly had no idea that her hair was out of the ordinary.

"So what I'm saying is, if I can put two and two together, then other people might as well. Obviously, it's a long shot, but that could somehow get back to Andreas that there's a Lagia mage who just happens to look like a small version of Nina, and then he might investigate."

"I see…" Lily mumbled. "I don't want to not take part in school stuff just because of that."

"Good, because that would be a darn shame; winning those isn't just about fame, but also prizes and privileges. Not to mention that, personally speaking, I'd love to see a Lagia kicking butt out there and representing us. Not to mention that even if he finds out about you, he might just ignore you. Heck, I wouldn't want to show my face to the kid I abandoned, but who knows."

"Here's hoping," Lily replied.

"If he shows up, I'll even throw a punch at him, if you want," Alice offered. "Heck, I might do it anyway."

Lily giggled. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome. So… Do you mind showing me a little bit of bunny magic? Like, what can you do? Please tell me it's strong and powerful so you can kick the ass of all the other demis."

"Sure, I can show you a bit. Although I'm not sure about its power. I don't think I can measure up to someone like Rose."

"Rose the Dragia? I mean… that's a bit of an unfair comparison, don't you think? Why would you even go there?"

"Well, she's my big sister; we both came from Ceedale."

"No kidding? Damn, what did the mayor of that city do to attract so many big shots?"

Lily shrugged in response.

"Well, I obviously don't know exactly what you can do, but I will say that Rose has a big weakness in proficiency and dexterity. She's all explosive force upfront and overwhelming firepower, literally and figuratively, so she leaves herself quite defenseless and open to subtle exploits."

"Did she really attack you?" Lily asked.

"Oh yeah. It was quite a spectacle. I hadn't had that much fun with a student in years. She's a good kid, though, and will probably go far if she learns to not let her temper bait her so much."

Lily sighed. "Believe it or not, she actually used to have a much worse temper… I'd hoped she would have gotten it completely under control by now."

"I don't think her instincts will ever let her get rid of it entirely. She just needs to learn how to channel it positively and vent it out; that should let her rein it in properly when she needs to."

"Huh… that's some pretty good advice," Lily admitted.

"I mean, I am a teacher here, " Alice snorted. "Plus I've got some personal experience in the anger department, so it hits close to home."

"Maybe I will take you up on your offer then…"

"Gladly," Alice said with a cheesy smile plastered on her face. "Now, can I see some bunny magic?"

"Oh, right… Sure, I'll show you a bit, but I don't know how impressive it will be if you've seen Rose in action."

Lily gave a brief demonstration, starting with Starlight and Moonlight.

"Having adequate lighting is always good in the dungeon, especially if it's hands-free, so these two are a definite boon for you."

Lily nodded and then sort of explained her attack spell, since obviously she couldn't give a demonstration. Alice tried to tell her to cast it anyway, but Lily refused as she didn't want to get into any trouble.

"I'll save it for the dungeon," she declared firmly.

"Spoilt sport," Alice grumbled.

"Besides, I've saved the best for last," Lily announced and, with a slight flourish, formed her Nebula Veil.

"Oh!?" Alice exclaimed, looking over the cloak and touching it with zero hesitation. "I hope this is at least half as functional as it is pretty looking."

Lily nodded and began giving a demonstration and explanation. The more she talked, the more Alice seemed to be amazed.

"Okay, I'm not just saying this as fellow bunnies, or to cheer you up or anything, but I genuinely think this might be your biggest advantage down in the dungeon," Alice said, her tone and expression both serious. "You've got defense, movement, and utility all in one. You could probably even defeat some of the smaller swarm monsters with that cloak of yours by smothering them."

Lily was beaming with pride. This was what she wanted to make her signature spell after all.

Alice let out a chuckle as she stretched and crossed her arms behind her head. "I think you might possibly make an even bigger splash than I originally anticipated… Not only are you the first Lagia mage, but also the first… star thingy magic. You will be turning heads, and I think when you start winning, everyone will have their eyes on you!"

Lily's smile slowly faded as she gulped.

Oh…