Chapter Text
(POV - Rae Taylor)
“Excuse me, have you seen a girl with white hair?”
“Wha-” I opened my eyes.
“Believe me, this is confusing for me as well.”
As my vision cleared, I saw the girl who was speaking to me. She had short blonde hair with two black ribbons, was wearing a flowy pink skirt and a white top with a white cropped jacket over it, and had blue eyes. Never seen her before in my life, but I had to admit she was cute.
“I have seen a lot of white haired girls. My best friend is one.”
“I mean, specifically here.” She had a look of annoyance.
“No, sorry. Where am I even? I just woke up like, 5 seconds ago.”
“Figures.” She sat down and rubbed her temples.
“Where am I?”
“Believe me, I wish I knew. It just looks like a school.”
Again? Wait, nononononono-
“Hey!”
The girl jumped a bit.
“Speaking of, have you seen a girl with blonde hair in curls and-”
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!”
That booming voice came from outside. We both jumped in our seats.
“IF I DON’T GET SOME ANSWERS, I WILL TORCH THE WHOLE PLACE TO THE GROUND!”
The girl started breathing heavily, a glowing red sigil on her back peeking through her outfit. “A dragon? Here?”
A… a what? “I’m sorry, did you say dragon?”
She got up and lifted her skirt to reveal… a sword hilt. No blade, just a hilt.
“Whoa, do we need to get involved with a dragon? Maybe if we could find Miss Claire and possibly some other allies-”
She suddenly calmed down, and the sigil faded. “Maybe she got her answers?”
Well, problem averted, but back to the issue at hand. “As I was asking-”
“Oh, her? I saw her as I poked around. She asked for a girl with short brown hair, guessing that’s you, but as I went to speak, she dashed off.”
Oh thank the Spirit God, Claire is here too. Well, wherever “here” is. Another world, or just another dream?
“I should introduce myself. I’m Anisphia Wynn Palettia. Call me Anis.”
Another noble, I’m guessing. I guess it will be a while before I meet another commoner in another world. Well, outside of Maria. “I’m Rae Taylor, nice to meet you.”
“Well, want to come with me? The school seems to be largely empty, but we may come across my Euphie and your Claire in due time.”
This girl seemed giddy. Maybe she had more energy to spare than I do. “How could I say no? A possible dragon and knowing Miss Claire is out there? Let’s move it.” I stood up. Thankfully, I didn’t feel drained like I did the previous night. Maybe this is indeed a dream?
“So, this Euphie of yours… she your girlfriend?”
“What a wild assumption, but you’re not exactly incorrect.”
“Wife?”
“It’s complicated. Much of my life is complicated, so don’t go prying into it.”
“Okay, no need to get hostile. Afraid she might be in danger?”
“Not at all, she is a spirit contractor after all. Plus she is beyond my capabilities.”
“In combat or in bed?”
Anis blushed hard and looked away. I wanna say both from that reaction.
“Are you always this cheeky?”
“Hey, I have a feeling you would be as carefree as I usually am if you weren’t so concerned about the current situation.”
Anis took a deep breath. “You’re right, I apologize. Let’s go hunting for our partners.”
I never said Claire was my partner but I guess she decided to do the exact same thing I did. Not sure how I feel about someone reading me like a book like that.
(POV - Claire François)
Traveling to another world right after Rae promised to not separate from me just a few moments ago did not have me start out this journey very… Well, I sure am not appreciating whoever is doing this to us.
She better be here or I will tear apart this school brick by brick. I know I’m not acting rationally, but how could I? I know that I’ll apologize later to that girl, but my priority right now is not making friends.
That loud voice earlier also did not soothe my temper. At least I’m not alone in this frustratingly massive school. Too many damn questions and it’s only been around 10 minutes since I got here.
“Hey!”
Not another interruption right now. I turned around and saw another blonde haired girl, but she had longer hair and an angry expression in her eyes as well. I turned away, but she grabbed my shoulder.
“You’re also being frustratingly annoyed right now?”
“Yes, by you more right now.”
“Well, drop the scary face. You’re not gonna find answers stomping the halls here.”
“You’re making the same face as I am.”
“I’m well aware of that, but I can’t help it. I’m trying to find a girl and I just want to know if you’ve seen her?”
I sighed and started my calming ritual. Rae taught me right after the revolution since there were many things frustrating me as I was learning to handle my new life.
“If it was that short-haired blonde girl-”
“No, she has short red hair and a sort of petite stature.”
“Then no. Have you seen a girl with short brown hair?”
“With an obscene personality?”
That’s Rae, but that should not be the first impression she should give to someone. Well, unless you’re me. “Sounds like her, where did you see her?”
“On the other side of the school. We were trying to gather information and then that booming voice had her run out.”
Did she think that was me? That’s something I would say but I certainly don’t think I’m that loud when I’m angry.
“Shall I come with you, maybe she ran across my Elsa along the way.”
“Beats traversing these halls in silent anger. Oh, I’m Claire François by the way.”
“Yvonne Smollett, at your service.”
(POV - Katarina Claes)
“Not again, not again, NOT AGAIN!”
Seriously, I traveled worlds in my sleep again?! I hadn’t even been in Revolution for a full day at that. I had too many problems and traveling to a third world only complicates things more. And of course I was hungry.
Thankfully, I seemed to be in some sort of cafeteria. There was no one else around and there was a whole table of food and some sort of note nearby.
Free Food, No Problems. Take What You Will.
Don’t mind if I do! I began to chow down.
A few minutes later, the cafeteria doors opened.
“Lady Katarina! I knew I would find you here!”
I turned to see Maria. Thank goodness, that’ll be one less headache.
“Maria! I’m so glad you found me!”
“Lady Katarina, are you sure those are safe to eat?”
I looked over at the note. “It did say it was free. I sincerely doubt it’s a trap.”
“Well, shouldn’t you be more cautious about these things?”
“My stomach declared itself!”
Maria smiled and giggled. Ah, the true face of my waifu.
Waifu? How often did I think of her like that? Here she was, standing here, as cute as a button, worried about me eating possibly booby trapped food. Maybe…
“Hey! Katarina and Maria!”
We turned to the door and saw Rae waving at us, alongside another blonde haired girl beside her.
“You’re here too, Rae? Don’t tell me this is another world you’ve been to besides our own.” Maria asked.
“Nope, brand new to me. May I introduce my companion?”
The girl curtsied. “Anisphia Wynn Palletia. Call me Anis.”
“Nice to meet you, Lady Anis. I’m Maria Campbell”
“Greetings, I am Katarina Claes.”
Anis turned to Rae. “I’m guessing you traverse worlds often?”
“Well, this is legitimately the second time this has happened. Well, of this particular situation.”
Anis scratched her chin, clearly inside her own head. Rae turned back to us.
“Have either of you seen Miss Claire?”
“Oh, is Miss Claire here too?” Maria perked up.
“Yeah, Anis ran into her earlier. We retraced her steps but couldn’t find her yet.”
“That’s a shame. I would help you find her, but I want to stay here with Lady Katarina for a bit. In case anything happens regarding all this food.”
Maria sounded like she was making up an excuse with that one, but it’s no problem if I get to keep talking with her and eating.
“Once I’m full, we will help look for her. World travel takes quite a bit out of me.”
“Maybe we can all meet up back here once we’ve all found each other?” Maria suggested.
“Good idea, shall we go, Rae?” Anis responded.
“One second. Maria, can you come over here real quick?”
Maria headed over and Rae whispered something to her. She proceeded to whisper back. I had no idea what was going on, but while I was curious, I was still famished.
Wait a second, is that-
“Okonomiyaki!” I scrambled over to my precious Japanese street snack. “It has been so long!”
“Did you say okonomiyaki?”
Suddenly, Rae was next to me, eyeing the pancake dish.
“Uh, yeah. It’s been a long time since I last had this.”
Rae eyed me, like she put something together in her head just now. “Save me some. It’s been a bit since I’ve had that myself.”
Does the world of Revolution have okonomiyaki? There were a few Japanese snacks in that sweet shop we went to but I obviously couldn’t afford any of it, and Claire picked us up a selection that didn’t include any.
“Will do, just hurry back with Claire. I feel more… I guess calm, knowing you’re all here with me.”
“Sure thing.” Rae went back to Anis and they both left the cafeteria.
I chowed down on the snack. “This is heaven!”
“Lady Katarina, may I ask you something?”
(POV - Claire François)
This school is so INFURIATING . I'm starting to understand what Rae meant whenever she was low on Clairium because once I find her, I'll start feeling Raevitalized.
…
I'm truly starting to lose my mind. Where are you, my dear Rae?
"Really, how is it active here too?"
I looked over at Yvonne who was just staring into empty space. Is she okay?
"How am I supposed to do that in the first place if Elsa isn't nearby? Wait, is that an 's'?"
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Is everything alright?"
That seemed to break her out of her daze. "Apologies, it's nothing."
"I guess we both are losing our minds. Try to focus as much as you can."
She took a deep breath. "It's honestly probably nothing but thanks for your concern."
I tried to look at what she was staring at but I still saw nothing. Wait, was that a shimmer?
“Yvonne, what is it? You can tell me.”
“No, I can’t.”
Her eyes were terrified, so I dropped it. Something from her world followed her and I hoped it wouldn’t affect anyone else.
“If you see me act like a bitch towards someone, please ignore it. She is a glutton for punishment for my benefit.”
That sounds familiar…
“I see our partners are similar in certain ways.”
“What was the worst thing you had to do to your partner?”
The worst thing? Let’s see, there was everything I did to her at school that only spurred her on… oh no. Why did that creep into my mind?
I stopped and tears started forming in my eyes. That one thought is my one regret in regards to Rae.
“Are you okay, Claire? I’m sorry if I brought back horrible memories.”
I took in a deep breath, and took out a handkerchief to wipe my eyes.
“You don’t need to answer if it was that horrible.”
“Thank you.”
We both sat down on a nearby bench and took a break for me to get calmed down. Yvonne was still keeping an eye out to see if she could spot Rae or Elsa. How many people got brought here? We’re not dolls for some greater power’s entertainment. We don’t have time for any of this!
“I think I’m okay now, thank you for staying with me Yvonne.”
“No problem, let’s get-” She stopped and I saw her eyes follow something.
“Did you spot someone?”
“I spotted a girl with red hair walking with another girl with long white hair. I don’t know if that’s Elsa but it wouldn't hurt to check.”
Long white hair? Is that Lilly?
“Well then? Let’s move!”
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
As we approached the two girls, it became clear to me that these two aren’t who we were looking for. Yvonne made an audible groan when she realized that the red-haired girl wasn’t Elsa. Well, I guess her hair is more orange than red.
“Greetings, are you two looking for your companions as well?” the orange-haired girl asked. She was wearing a red dress and had some kind of black horns on her head.
“Indeed, I’m guessing a lot of people have paired up at this point.” I replied, “Also apologies, we thought you two were people we knew.”
“Same here, I almost thought you were my dear Lady Azusa, but you’re not wearing a giant witch hat,” she said in return.
“Guess we all got unlucky because I thought you were my Anis,” the white-haired girl said, directing her reply towards Yvonne.
“I guess introductions are in order. I’m Yvonne Smollett and this is-”
“Claire François, nice to meet you both.”
The white-haired girl bowed. “I’m Euphilia Magenta.”
“And I’m Laika, the red dragon.”
That made both Yvonne and I take a step back. “Is that a title or-”
“Oh, I’m very much an actual dragon. This is just my human form.”
Guessing the world where she’s from, that kind of thing is commonplace.
“Were you the one yelling earlier?” Yvonne asked.
“No, but I have a strong feeling I’m not the only dragon here.” Laika replied.
“Anis isn’t a fully fledged dragon but she doesn’t get that loud either.” Euphyllia added.
So there are possibly three dragons here, and one of them could be very dangerous… especially if Rae is trying to find her right now.
“Have any of you seen another girl with red hair?” Yvonne asked.
“Or a girl with short brown hair?” I added.
“Unfortunately no, Laika was the first one I ran into.”
“Same here with me and Lady Euphyllia. Did either of you run into another blonde with long blonde hair?”
“Or one with short blonde hair like you, Miss Yvonne?”
We both shaked our heads. Both Euphyllia and Laika looked as disappointed as we were. “Just how many people were dragged into this mess?”
“If our partners are indeed here with us, and everyone is here in pairs, that’s at least ten people.” Laika responded to me.
I wonder if Katarina and Maria got brought here with us…
(POV - Maria Campbell)
“What is it, Maria?” Katarina said, finishing up her… what was that called? Okonomiyaki?
Her smile made my heart flutter, even if there were still crumbs around it. I want her to notice me. I wish I had the willpower to snatch her away from everyone else. I do not want to lose.
“Do you think we’re gonna keep world hopping like this? This is the second time this has happened.”
Katarina took a few seconds to think. “Maybe this might be a one-night thing, like how Rae said she was in our world for essentially the duration of her sleep.”
“Well, if it was to keep happening, I hope I get to be with you the entire time.” I smiled. She smiled in return.
“Same here, Maria. I did promise to never leave your side. I wish I had kept that promise earlier though.”
“Don’t worry about that, Lady Katarina. That wasn’t something you could’ve prepared for, and I was pretty safe in that village for the several weeks I was there.”
“But what if something did happen to you? I would legitimately hate myself.”
I gave her a hug, and despite her initial shock, she hugged me in return. “I’m not letting myself be a burden anymore.”
We heard the doors open. We immediately separated and turned around, hoping to see Rae, Claire, and Anis there, but it was only a black haired girl.
“Drat, she’s not here either.”
Another girl who is looking for her partner, it seems.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to break up a tender moment between the two of you.”
“No worries, we kind of expect a lot of people to come in. It is a cafeteria after all.” Katarina said, brushing it off.
“Cafeteria… this would be a good place to wait for her but with how large this school is, it will take a while.”
“Do you… need help looking for your partner?” I asked.
“Nah, never needed help before. Not to mention that this is clearly another world and she would probably lose her mind seeing otherworlders.”
“Oh, well, good luck with your search, Miss…”
She just walked out. Rude but I can understand if everyone else in this school is a bit pent up.
“I wish I got her name but-” I saw Katarina staring at… nothing? “Lady Katarina, are you alright?”
“You… don’t see it?”
“See what?” I walked around and she had a scared expression, her eyes moving as if she was reading something.
“No, I won’t do any of this stuff!”
“Lady Katarina?”
“Just forget it, it’s nothing.”
Something is very clearly bothering her and it was scaring me. “Lady Katarina, you know you can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you.”
“Well, it’s just that-” she suddenly started clutching her stomach in pain.
“Lady Katarina!”
“My… my stomach just started hurting so much.”
I immediately took her to a table and helped her lay down on top of it, sitting down next to her, holding her hand.
“Is this what it means by- ouch- punishment?”
Punishment? Is there something I couldn’t see that put her in pain because she refused to listen to it?
“Maria, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
She was absolutely terrified saying those words. What is going on?
(POV - Katarina Claes)
So… much… pain…
What is this? A “Villainess System”? I went through my whole life avoiding doing anything like this and now something is trying to force me to hurt Maria? No, I will not let myself fall to that level.
Maria clutched hard onto my hand, she’s on the verge of tears.
She’s going to cry because of me. I can’t have that weight on my conscience, but I must endure this pain.
“Maria, don’t cry, I just ate too much. Nothing for you to- ouch- worry about.”
“How can I not worry?! Don’t rub this off as stomach pains from food, there’s clearly something else going on!”
“I legitimately don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“If you’re going to get punished, I can handle whatever you need to do. It’ll hurt me more seeing you in pain than anything else!”
Her tears started flowing, and that dreaded red and black window popped back up in my face. It said “Requirement Clear” and then vanished. My stomach pains subsided.
I sat up and hugged Maria. One of the options I was given by that so-called “Villainess System” was to make Maria cry.
“I’m doing better now, Maria. You can relax.”
She clutched onto me hard, she was so worried about me.
“I’m sorry Maria.”
“Don’t make me worry like that again!”
“I’m so sorry.”
She never yelled at me before, but it somehow calmed my heart. We continued to hug for a while.
Please don’t come back, awful Villainess System.
(POV - Rae Taylor)
Knowing that Katarina and Maria made it here made me both happy and frustrated. That knowledge alone gave me hope Claire was here and simultaneously bummed me out that she’s not here by my side.
Anis was likely in the same boat. Something told me she was unnaturally upset, as if the pure concept of not being in her own world anymore, much less being away from her Euphie, angered the hell out of her.
“Were those two from your world?”
“No, it’s a bit of a long story but something happened that had them and multiple others get dragged into our world and we were investigating it until we ended up here.” I wonder if Mary is here too…
“Is this school part of your world?”
“Believe me, if it was, we wouldn’t be a pair of needles in a giant haystack. The first thing I would have done is go out to the gazebo because that’s Miss Claire’s favorite location.”
“I see.” Anis looked severely disappointed, like she had a way to blame me but lost the reason to. I wonder if Euphie would help her get back to normal because even though I barely knew this girl, I could tell this isn’t her natural state.
“What is your world like anyways?”
“Well, I’m a princess of the Kingdom of Palettia. The kingdom is currently under a kind of reformation and Euphie and I are currently leading the charge.” A small smile finally crept onto Anis’s face.
“What kind of reformation?”
“I’m kind of an inventor, I lead a study called Magicology. Basically, I make magic tools for the betterment of life in the kingdom, both commoner and nobility alike… Well, the nobility is a bit hesitant.”
“I can understand the need of magic tools, sometimes just having a magic infused object is way less draining than using your own mana pool, not to mention it’s rare for commoners to be gifted in magic usually.”
“Much more rare for nobility to not have any actual magic of their own.” That sounded like a self-jab. Not gonna pry any further on that.
As we turned a corner- we ran right into someone. Well, more like she literally ran into us, knocking me down.
As I was rubbing my head, my vision adjusted to see the girl doing the same. She had maroon hair and was wearing what appeared to be a hooded vest on top of a short dress.
“And this is why we teachers inform students to not run in halls, ouch.” I said to the girl.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been running around this school for ages trying to find that voice,” The girl helped me up and bowed.
“Maybe you should have run into me, I’ve taken a lot of unfortunate spills.” Anis added. Okay, now I want to find Euphie as much as she does because both her anger and self-deprecation need to get under control.
“Do you know that voice?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s my beloved Queen Vel. I can tell she needs me!”
“Your queen is a dragon?” Anis asked, her curiosity peaked.
“Not just a dragon, but the one and only demon queen (and my future wife) Velverosa!”
Demon queen, huh? The concept of that alone being brought up in the past 24 hours surely is odd. That better just be a coincidence.
“And who is this girl who would court an all-powerful demon queen?” Anis snerked.
“I am Malori Crowett, just a simple top-of-her-class mage.”
Not going to lie, she and I are very similar to an… unsettling degree.
“Well, I should be going. Queen Vel isn’t going to like being by herself much longer.”
“Before you go,” Anis asked, “did you happen to cross by a long white-haired girl by chance?”
“Or a blonde haired girl? Well, besides Anis here.” I added.
Malori gave it a bit of thought. “No white haired girl today, but I did see a blondie. Actually two of them.”
Two? What are the odds that either of them are Claire?
“At least we might be on the right track. Let’s keep going, Anis.”
“Sure thing. One more thing, Malori.” Anis turned to the girl who was about to sprint away again. How much energy does this little gremlin have? “If you find your Velverosa or not, we’re all going to head to the cafeteria later. Possibly discuss a battle strategy.”
“I gotcha, see you both there!” Malori bolted out. By all accounts, it’s likely her Vel was close enough to us at one point because she did affect Anis so her going the direction we came was a smart choice.
Our search party didn’t grow bigger, but we have a potential lead. That’s good enough for me! “Miss Claire! I’ll be in your arms again soon!”
Anis smiled at my exclamation. Is she finally chilling out?
With renewed energy, I was almost as giddy as Malori and felt the need to sprint ahead. Probably not going to do that though because I wanna conserve that energy for when I see Claire again.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
A short while later, Anis and I were chatting about general things relating to our worlds and our partners. She was definitely lowering her guard with every step with me.
“So, what caused your current relationship with Claire to begin?” Anis asked me, her head tilted and a smirk grew on her face.
“I figured it was the revolution but honestly, it was probably when Manaria tried to steal me away from her, as Miss Claire so eloquently put it.”
“Oh my, is that the honorable Rae Taylor gracing my ears?.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Nooooo, please tell me I was just hearing things.
“Rae, what a pleasure to see you again. The mere mention of my name seems to have summoned me to you.”
I turned my head to the hall just on my left and saw… her.
“Oh, and walking with another woman? Has my chance finally arrived?”
The platinum haired woman walked over to us. “Manaria, how are you here?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself, but it doesn’t matter since we’re together again.”
Anis backed away like she sensed a threat, but I held onto her wrist. Despite my previous experience with Manaria, I knew that she’s only just teasing me. Not that I appreciated it any more than whenever Lilly or Rod tried to come onto me. Spirit God above, do I really have a harem?
“Fantastic… I didn’t expect to have to deal with this headache woman here.” I cleared my throat. “But having someone I know help me look for Miss Claire will brighten my mood.”
“Oh, I’m not alone. I found this girl muttering about a Katarina just a few halls back.” Manaria turned around and I saw a familiar brunette.
“Mary!”
“Oh, greetings Rae. It’s nice to see you again.”
Anis squeezed my wrist. “One of Katarina’s friends?”
“Yeah, she was with Katarina when she arrived in our world.”
“Oh, so you know this girl too? Do you happen to know this Katarina she is obsessed over as well?” Manaria butted in.
“That’s a long story, but yes.” I turned to Mary, “I hate to break up a lovey-dovey couple like those two but Katarina and Maria are currently in the cafeteria.”
Mary perked up. “Oh! I’ll head that way now!” She bolted the way we came. Honestly, surprised that she didn’t head to the cafeteria immediately, considering it’s Katarina we’re talking about.
“Hurry, Mary! Don’t let your girl get stolen!” Manaria cheered her on.
“So, what is your relationship with Mary, Manaria?” I turned and glared.
“Oh, she’s fun to be around. Once you get past her noble exterior, I could tell she’s deeply in love with that Katarina girl. Not to mention that she may be a bit of a mess.”
What, like you?
Either way, Mary’s presence must mean that there might only be a minimum of two people from each world here. Manaria showing up beforehand actually put doubt into my heart that Claire wasn’t actually here, but that cleared up quickly.
“So, are you going to introduce me to your friend here?”
I looked up to the ceiling. I’m going to have to spend more time with this woman while my Clairium reserves are depleting, greaaaaaaat.
“Queen Manaria, Princess Anisphia. Princess Anisphia, Queen Manaria.”
Manaria extended her hand to Anis, which Anis returned in kind. “A princess from another world, huh? Good catch, Rae.”
“A queen from another world, huh? You must have a lot of consorts with that attitude.” Anis chimed in.
“More than you could imagine, however, having only one just as beautiful as Rae Taylor would truly make every day brighter.”
I saw them smile at each other in silent mutual agreement. “You remind me of my best friend back home. Know any curses?”
“If you count direct denial of magic a curse, sure.”
“Hey you two, if you’re done flirting, can we get moving?” I was getting mildly frustrated, obviously. Seriously, why is Manaria here?
“Good idea, once we find Euphie and Claire, we all can tease Rae together!”
Why did it take Manaria to get Anis to fully come out of her shell? Why couldn’t it have been Lilly? I can handle her better.
Miss Claire, I hope you’re doing better than I am right now.
(POV - Claire François)
You would think the odds of any of us in a 4 member group would find our partner would increase, but with a school this frustratingly large, our luck still seemed stagnant. However, having these two pure hearts added to our party brightens things up.
From our chats, I learned that Laika is training under this Azusa girl because she’s “level 99” (whatever that means) and living with her has only made her life better. I say “girl” but she’s apparently also an immortal witch that has lived over 300 years. I couldn’t fathom living that long. Well, maybe if Rae was by my side the whole time. No, definitely. It’s no question that I could live several hundreds of lifetimes as long as I had Rae.
Miss Euphyllia on the other hand is more of a mystery. She’s very skilled in magic, being able to control several elements. I guess other worlds aren’t as restrictive as mine or she’s literally a prodigy. That rapier of hers was created by her partner, Anisphia, and it acts as a wand alongside being a weapon in its own right. It was literally made for her and it shows. Maybe when Rae and I make it back, I could commission one similar to it.
Yvonne opened up a bit to us and I was able to learn more about her. Apparently, she’s from a disgraced noble family that she blames herself for. She wouldn’t say why or how… or maybe it was that she couldn’t? She seems to be selectively hiding information for her own sake but none of us pressured her despite our curiosity. Maybe it had something to do with that thing she wouldn’t tell me about. Her partner, Elsa, was a prodigy in magic herself, but as a commoner she was constantly bullied by her classmates. Yvonne was worried she was the cause of the bullying and moved away (around the time her family lost their nobility) but somehow Elsa found her and “stuck to her like glue” as she put it (whatever that means).
Overall, these three are a good entourage. They all felt like they reflected certain parts of myself in ways I could barely understand.
“So, Lady Claire, what’s your partner like?” Laika asked.
“You don’t need to call me ‘Lady’, I care not for titles anymore,” I brought up quickly so there’s no misunderstandings, “And Rae is… Rae. She’s an energetic gremlin who lives to embarrass me, but she never goes over the line. She’s my forever partner, my wife, the love of my life.”
Those words struck a chord with the party, in differing ways. Laika blushed, Euphyllia smiled like she was thinking of someone (guess I’m not the only married woman of the party?), and Yvonne covered her mouth.
“So, are you all romantically attached to your partners as well?”
“N-not in any official way. I never got the chance to even say anything to Lady Asuza!” 300 years old and even a dragon is still flustered when it comes to love, cute.
“Well, there was an issue with a succubus potion and we have kissed before…” That’s a telling response, Yvonne.
“Considering that I drain her every night we sleep together, I think that goes without saying.”
We all stared at Euphie aghast. To think this noble girl would blatantly out her night time activities like that was… astonishing to say the least.
“Hey, you asked. I have said and done more stunning things in a room of people before. Nothing fazes me anymore.”
Oh Anisphia, you got yourself a winner here.
“Oh, what is it now?!”
I turned over to Yvonne, and saw her looking at the hazy object again. Great, nice timing… whatever that thing is.
I heard her mutter about a short time limit, but then she looked around. I followed her gaze and caught a glimpse of a girl with reddish-pink hair.
“Elsa!”
Yvonne booked it over and we all followed.
“Evie! You’re such a sight for sore eyes!” Elsa said, running into Yvonne’s arms. They hugged a bit and after a short time, they suddenly separated.
“Elsa, can you come with me real quick?”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Please, just follow me.”
“Oh, okay. I understand.”
As the two entered the classroom together, us three just stood there for a bit.
“Well, glad to know that they had found each other.” Laika spoke up.
“Yeah, there’s hope for us yet!” Euphie chimed in.
However, Yvonne’s words echoed in my head. “If you see me act like a bitch towards someone, please ignore it. She is a glutton for punishment for my benefit.”
What were they doing in there?
(POV - Yvonne Smollett)
I finally found Elsa, but the time limit was dangerously short. I had to make sure to do this before I get punished by the Villainess System.
I locked the door to the classroom and sat down. No one was going to interfere. Elsa, please forgive me for what I’m about to do.
I inhaled deeply. “Give me your shoes.”
Elsa complied immediately. “Back to the light bullying thing? I thought our relationship had progressed past this point.”
I looked around and saw a jar of marbles. This will have to do. I opened the jar and put a few of the small glass spheres into her shoes. “I promise, you won’t have to endure this for too long.”
Elsa nodded and slipped her shoes back on, showing signs of visible pain as she stood back up.
This was hurting my heart so much, being forced back into this. Why did the bane of my existence follow me into this world?
Elsa tried walking and stumbled right onto me. I caught her and hugged her. “Thank you, Evie.”
“I don’t want to hear that right now. The girl I love is in pain and it’s my fault.” I felt tears starting to form in my eyes.
Elsa gave me a few pats on the back and on my head, despite her visible agony. If it wasn’t for the short amount of time I had left, I would have looked for something much smaller. Hell, I probably would have tried to break one of the hallway windows and pick up a few small pebbles from the outside.
After 10 minutes passed, I got the confirmation screen from the Villainess System and started taking Elsa’s shoes off of her.
“I’m so sorry Elsa.”
“No worries, Evie. I will endure any pain as long as you don’t suffer.”
I swear, sometimes the tasks the Villainess System gives me are worse than the punishments it would hand out.
Once I was sure the System was cleared out, I hugged Elsa and kissed her. Once the kiss broke, I cuddled her a bit. “Think you can walk?”
“I don’t think it’ll be that bad. If you’re that worried, you can support me as we walk.”
“That’s fine by me.”
With that, I unlocked the door and we headed back out to our little group.