NOVEL WEB Chapter 14 – Goodbye My Brief Lover
After a quick shower, Lulu, Alice, and I all head back to the bank. I decided to go commando today. Despite how comfortable the panties in my outfit set are, they’re still constricting. I instead used them to tie my hair up into a ponytail. They’re frilly, but when tied in a bow tie they’re still pretty cute.
Alice went a little more in detail about why exactly she needs to go to Rauterdale. Apparently, she needed to finish up a deal for her dad before heading off to the academy in Dolfino Harbor. I got a little worried after that, and finally asked her how old she was. She’s nineteen, so we’re safe!
Now, we’re in the bank, sitting and waiting for someone to fetch the money for us. I look at Alice sitting in the chair next to me and ask,
“So, what does the academy teach?”
She looks at me and answers,
“Pretty much anything. Science, Botany, Theology, History, you name it, they teach it. I, myself, am going for two majors: Magic studies, and Taboo studies. I’m also going to be minoring in Infernal studies.”
I feel a bit confused at this,
“I thought people hated taboos and the infernal?”
She nods her head,
“They do. But the people of the academy believe that all prejudices should be put aside in the face of research. If there’s an area people can study, you can be sure they damn well will study it fully. As you can imagine, the Leandrite Cult hates them. Apparently, the Demon Lord of Envy is a teacher there.”
I get a little stunned by this and shake my head before responding with,
“Wait a second, wat? I thought people hated the Infernal? I get that the academy is a bit more lenient with stuff like that, but would they really let a demon become a teacher? Let alone a demon lord?”
She looks at me a little confused before realizing something,
“Ah! I mentioned this before, but the previous Demon Lord of Sloth was a dragon, right? Any species can become a demon lord. It’s more of a title than anything else. Nobody really understands it fully. The world named demons demons, and then subsequently decided that any species could become a demon lord. The only stipulations are that you apparently have to have a taboo and a deadly sin title. There’s apparently something else as well, but the Demon Lord of Envy, Daxis Vandren, doesn’t like to talk about that apparently.”
Oh god, it’s not something like “kill 20k humans” or something like that, right? I feel like a certain slime would happily do that in this world… Hopefully he’s not a bad slime, slurp!
I hear Lulu speak out for the first time in a hushed tone, barely loud enough for Alice and I to hear,
“I see… Well, that certainly makes no sense at all. Why call a thing a ‘Demon Lord’ if it’s not a demon?”
Alice shakes her head,
“More intelligent people than I have asked that question, as well. Demons are the opposites of angels, so maybe there’s some kind of opposite force of some kind? Holy Lords or something? That could be what the Leandrite cult’s leader is… That would explain how strong he is, at least.”
I nod my head to her. Good thing to keep in mind, the leader of the Leandrite church is strong. I doubt he’d let us have a calm life if he found out we were demons. Well, if he ever decides to try and fuck with us, or worse, hurts Lulu, he’s a dead man no matter what. I’ll become the Demon Lord of Wrath if that happens.
I decide to try and get the conversation back on the Academy,
“How hard is it to get into the academy?”
She thinks for a second before saying,
“It’s not, really. The academy lets in well over ten thousand students every year. It’s pretty easy. The entrance exams are just there to make sure they know what classes to put you in. For example, for my majors in Magic and Taboos, I’ll first have a theology class to learn the history of both of them, then I’ll take a Magic Theory class, a Taboo studies class, and finally a Practical Magics class. That’s the first semester.”
She takes a breath and adjusts in her seat before continuing on,
“My second semester is gonna be flipped basically. The theology class is gonna be changed to an Infernology class, then just flip the magic and taboo classes. The next year, if I do well in the previous one, the classes will be changed for the advanced version of those classes.”
While she talks a bit more about the academy, an employee finally comes back to us. She brings a cheap, leather bag filled with gold coins. This thing is easily the size of my head. She hoists the bag up and gently sets it on the counter in front of us with an obviously higher strength stat.
“Alright! Ten thousand gold coins! All counted and collected! If you wish to check the contents, please feel free to!”
Alice gets a serious, no nonsense look on her face suddenly and nods her head, opening the bag and putting a hand inside. The coins disappear and then reappear a split-second later, fast enough that I think I’m hallucinating.
She nods her head, giving a customer service smile to the clerk before saying,
“Thank you! It’s all there.”
She then takes the bag and hands it over to me, struggling ever so slightly to lift it. As it drops into my hands, I notice that my own hands don’t even budge as it lands in them. Suddenly, Lulu’s voice raises a slight amount in protest,
“There’s no way we could accept so much!”
Alice shakes her head before retorting,
“I find a mere ten thousand gold much easier to part with than my life. Truth be told, I’d wished to give you more, but this was the most I could take without my father’s expressed approval. When I get back to Gulfhaven, I’ll be sure to get approval for more.”
Lulu shakes her head and gets an anxious look on her face. Then, I get an idea,
“How about instead of that, you have us recommended to the academy? It sounds like that could be pretty useful in the long run. I think that’d be a good way to repay us. You know, give someone a fish, they’ll eat for a day. Teach them to fish, they’ll eat everyday!”
She thinks for a second while signing a few papers to fully transfer over the money. After handing the paper back to the clerk, she answers us,
“We could probably send in a letter and see if they’d accept you. You have to be at least twenty years old to sign up. I’m fine because I’ll be twenty when I start classes. Are you guys twenty?”
I nod my head,
“I’m twenty three.”
Alice nods her head and says,
“Alright, then the two of you would most likely be accepted.”
We get up and walk towards the entrance. Alice looks over at the two of us and asks,
“What would your studies be, do you think?”
I take a second to think of what I’d wanna learn. Then I immediately facepalm and say,
“Magic and Taboo, with a minor in Infernology probably!”
I chuckle slightly as I say that. Alice chuckles back as well before Lulu answers,
“Is there a class for studying spear fighting and stuff?”
She nods her head,
“Yes, most likely you’d major in Spearfighting and Aura Arts, and minor in Martial Arts. When you guys first get there, they’ll give you a week to look over the class list they have before you decide. You’d be surprised how many people change their minds at the last second and completely change their majors. My father changed his major from Dungeon Exploration to Business Management last second as well. My grandpa was apparently really pissed about that for a while! Haha!”
I chuckle with her, watching as a beautiful smile appears on her face. Suddenly, however, a saddened look replaces the smile. She looks over at us and speaks solemnly,
“I’m afraid this is where we part. I’ll be going to finish off this deal, and then I’ll be heading back to Gulfhaven. I’ll be sure to send a letter asking for your admission soon. Their mail is enchanted, so it should just appear in front of you one day. It was nice knowing you two.”
Lulu gets a dejected look on her face, her blade like ears drooping slightly with melancholy. She looks up at Alice with puppy eyes,
“Can we not go with you?”
Alice shakes her head,
“I’m afraid not. This deal is my father’s business, so I’m afraid I can’t just let anyone know the details. I had fun for the short time we were together.”
She pauses suddenly after saying that, and I see a bit of a blush paint the bridge of her nose. I smirk at her and walk up to her before giving her a kiss on the lips. She stumbles back, stunned. Suddenly, Lulu also walks up to her, planting a kiss from her. She stands there, stunned for a little bit. Lulu gets a mischievous smile on her face and says,
“We had lots of fun with you, too. Don’t you dare think that was the last time we were gonna have fun together! When we get to the academy, we’ll be sure to have lots of fun together!”
Lulu smiles at her, trying and failing to hide the sadness behind her eyes. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and hold her close to me. I smile at Alice and give her a wink before saying,
“Yep, I’ve still got some unfinished business with that ass of yours, y’know?
Alice blushes more, once again becoming a tomato given human form. She puts her hands over her eyes, before barely managing to squeak out,
“I-I look… Forward to it… A-Anyways, goodbye!”
I smirk at this display and say in a coquettish tone,
“Bye Aaaalice!~”
As she walks off, I can see Lulu’s bottom lip start to puff out as an air of sadness and disappointment surrounds her. I lean down to her and plant a kiss on her forehead before saying,
“Don’t worry, we’ll see her again someday. For now, I think I got an idea of what we can do with these coins!”
She looks up at me, still with a puffed up lip and a bit of curiosity. I smirk at her and hold a gold coin between my fingers while saying,
“Time to pig out on some fantasy food!”
