Chapter 33

I headed to my room and changed into my trench coat and then went to meet with Shane and the others. The only ones there when I arrived were Anna and Adam. I greeted them and waited for the rest of the club to appear.

Shane made his appearance along with Mina, Silven, and Selv. Neither of them wore their uniform, instead, they were wearing casual clothes.

"So, where to Shane?" asked Mina.

"You'll see when we get there," said Shane.

We started walking towards The Capital once all of us were present. The sun started setting as we were going through the road so we should be arriving after it gets dark, though Shane's the one that knows how to get to the restaurant.

On our way, Anna and Adam kept talking about how they could see the stars so clearly. Mina asked them about it and Anna said, "From where we came from, we don't see the stars that often or clearly. In my case, I could barely see the stars at night since I lived in a big city."

"Really?" said Mina. "Why's that?"

"It was due to the pollution and light contamination," said Adam.

"Adam, Anna, could you tell me more about this 'pollution' and 'light contamination' later?" asked Mina.

"Yeah, no problem," said Adam.

What are those though? The information I have doesn't mention the 'pollution' and the 'light contamination' anywhere.

Anyway, we arrived at The Capital and followed Shane through its streets and towards our destination.

"We've arrived!" said Shane. "Someone I know recommended me this place so I thought it would do for tonight's dinner."

The place he brought us was, to my and Anna's surprise, the Moonlight Table, the same restaurant we went to while we were staying here though we looked different. In any case, we entered and went to a table that could accommodate us, sat, and ordered what we were going to eat. Like last time, they brought us a glass of water while we waited. I ended with Anna and Silven sitting at my sides while Mina, Adam, and Shane were seated in front of me.

"So, Shane, what's the occasion?" I asked.

"To welcome the new members and celebrate their first successful exploration, though a little late for the welcoming stuff," he said.

"Well, thanks Shane," I said.

"Don't mention it,"

"Hey, I heard you're going to the Elven Forest," said Mina.

"Rumors sure travel fast," commented Adam.

"In any case, what are you going to do there?" asked Mina.

"The teacher said we'll be attending a ritual the Elves do and maybe to sightsee, though I'm not sure about that last part," said Shane.

"And the whole class is going?" asked Selv.

"I guess. They took us to that Dungeon with the Heroes so I assume they would take us with them again," answered Shane.

Not long after Shane said that our dinner was brought and we started eating. At first, we ate in silence, until Selv asked, "Hey, do you know the others that are also attending classes with the Heroes?"

"Aside from Shane and me?" I asked.

"Yes. The two Elves, the other Beast-folk, and five others, excluding you Cael."

"What about them?" asked Anna.

"Have you talked with them?" asked Selv.

Shane, Adam, Anna, and I shook our heads.

"Why do you ask?" intervened Adam.

"I thought, you know, you were acquaintance with each other."

"Well, no. I know Anna and Adam, and the guy who fought against me before we went to the Dungeon, from the Heroes but besides those, I don't know anyone else," I said. "What about you Selv, do you know any of them?"

"I heard one of the Elves' name is Denor Haral, though I don't know about the others," said Selv.

"Wait, you mean the Denor that has gray hair and gray eyes, right?" intervened Mina.

"Yeah, how do you know that?"

"Sometimes I heard the girls from one of my classes talk about him; most of what they talk is how handsome he is and how badly they would like to marry him or something like that."

"And what do you think?" Silven asked.

"I haven't seen him in person so I can't say anything," she said. "What do you think, Anna, is he handsome?"

"He is, he looks like a male model from my world, though they don't have pointy ears," Anna said.

The word 'model' picked Mina's interest once she heard it and asked Anna about it, and while she explained what a model was to Mina, we continued eating. After we finished, we paid and went out. Shane suggested to stay a little longer at The Capital and he took us to a place that sold ice creams.

"This exists here?" asked Adam.

"One of the old Heroes invented it and it became popular quickly first among the nobles and then the rest of the people," commented Mina.

Once we finished with the ice cream, Anna separated from us to buy the things she mentioned and Mina accompanied her while she told us to wait for them and that they wouldn't take long.

"Hey Cael, did you really win against Jillian?" Selv asked suddenly.

"Why do you ask?" I asked back.

"Well, you didn't fight with him when the captain of the Royal Knights was handing the Guild Cards to the Heroes and I've heard that you fought him when you entered on the last day of inscription."

"Yeah, that's true. It was hard but I passed and entered the academy," I said.

"Really? No wonder you could beat us on our first sparring match even though it was three against one," said Shane.

"Then what about the Black Dragon from that Dungeon? The rumor goes that you killed it before it resurrected. Adam, Shane, didn't you see it? You were there after all."

"I saw the corpse while we were moving through the bridge but I can't say for sure," said Adam. "After all, I was busy fighting against zombies and skeletons."

"Same goes for me. Man, that was a tough moment," added Shane. "If Cael actually killed it isn't sure but let's assume he did."

"Why would you assume that?" I asked.

"Because the other person that could've done it was also fighting against those monsters," answered Shane. "And, let's be honest, none of the Heroes, or us, the non-Heroes, could've done it; no offense Adam."

"Don't worry," he said. "Anyway, if that's true, you're quite something Cael. Killing a Dragon isn't something to scoff at more so when a single person does it."

"Thanks... I guess."

Not long after, Mina and Anna came back with some bags on their hands. Adam offered to carry them but they didn't let him; in the end, we went back to the academy and arrived minutes later. We said our goodbyes and went to sleep.