19 Blind Date

James headed for his dorm. "Woah!" James gasped in surprise. His dorm was no longer an empty plot. A giant white castle took up most of the land within the mana barrier. An empty moat surrounded it.

Adam walked out from the castle. "James! What do you think? I used marble blocks to construct the entire building! Is it not the most elegant castle you've ever seen? Follow me inside and I'll give you the grand tour."

The castle was two stories tall. The first floor was used for cooking, dining, training, receiving guests, bathing, and forging. The 2nd floor was divided into three large rooms. One for each roommate. The rooms were ridiculously large. Adam continued to point excitedly at the subtle architecture techniques he used to build it.

Adam smiled, "So, what do you think?"

"It's nice…" James nodded, "But why is it completely empty? Every room is barren. We don't even have doors."

"Unfortunately, we are required to build everything ourselves. Otherwise, I'd have already filled every room with furniture." Adam shook his head, "It's a pity really. My first spell was used to create marble blocks. It isn't very useful for constructing wooden furniture. I could make marble furniture, but that would be tacky. I plan on learning a water spell next. I'll use it for high-pressure wood cutting. Then I'll be able to fill our moat and construct marvelous furniture."

'Wow. Adam really likes building and interior design… Well, whatever. That's his business.' James spoke, "Do we have any food around here? I'm starving. My master dumped all my food on the ground before my training. He gave it back… but it's covered in dirt."

Adam nodded, "Mm. We have some food in the pantry. The school supplies it."

"Hey guys! Hold that thought!" A deep voice rang from outside.

James and Adam turned around to see Virgil walking in. He walked over and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders. "Listen up boys. I've got us dates tonight. You made it back at the perfect time James. I was worried about finding a replacement for you."

"Eh? A date?" James questioned. "Who are we meeting? If I can eat, then I'm in. I need food! Good food! Preferably food that isn't covered in maggots!"

"Maggots? What the hell did Skeleton do to you? Ah, never mind that. I got us three hotties! Haha!" Virgil laughed. "The other 1st years will definitely be jealous. They're all older students." He grinned and rose an eyebrow, "They just couldn't resist my good looks. You two are lucky to tag along. No need for thanks. We're brothers after all!"

Adam frowned, "I'm not going. Get someone else."

"Eh?! Why not?" Virgil questioned. He unwrapped his arms from their shoulders and took a step back. He rose one fist to his chest and confidently lifted his head. "You can trust me Adam! These girls are total hotties! I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

"I'm. Not. Going!" Adam yelled and turned around. He headed upstairs and went to his room. Virgil turned to James confused, "What the hell is his problem."

James smiled, "You haven't realized it despite living with him for a month now? I've been gone an entire month and I realized it right away. I'm like 90% sure he's gay. He also seems like the serious type that wouldn't like blind dates."

Virgil's eyes widened in shock, "He's gay?! Why didn't he just tell me!? I'm the world's greatest wingman! I'll hook him up with the 2nd hottest guy in school!"

"Why only the 2nd hottest?" James questioned.

"Well obviously I'm not going to date him myself!" Virgil laughed. He stepped forward and put two hands on James shoulders, "Now James. I already said it out loud, so I must at least attempt it. Would you like to go out with Adam? I need to find somebody good for him!"

"Screw off!" James kicked Virgil in the stomach. "What? You're saying I'm the 2nd hottest guy in the school? Go find the 3rd or 4th one then."

Virgil laughed, "I was joking! No need to be so serious. Anyways, you smell awful. Go clean yourself up. We've got a few barrels of water outside we've been using for baths. We leave for the date in an hour." Virgil headed upstairs and yelled, "Oy! Adam! Why didn't you just tell me you swung that way. What's your type? I'll hook you up bro!"

James slapped his head in disbelief. 'Are people just this open in this world? Or is Virgil the strange one? Maybe it's both…'

James bathed outside. Then, he and Virgil headed for their date. They walked for nearly two hours down the mountain until they reached an ordinary looking restaurant. "This is the place!" Virgil yelled excitedly. "Don't let the exterior fool you. This place is amazing! Let's head inside."

Upon entering, they saw many bright lights. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Each one shone the same color. They slowly changed colors every few minutes. The colors corresponded to the seven elements. A band stood on stage playing classical violin and piano. The tables we're covered in white cloth.

The two sat at a table and ordered some wine and appetizers. Ten minutes later, two women approached them. James eyes widened in surprise. 'Lumi?! Why do I always run into her? Why would Virgil invite her here anyways? Ah, whatever! She shouldn't be able to recognize me.'

Virgil quickly stood up and pulled out two chairs for the women. "Lumi! Cherry! I'm so glad you came! Where's the third?"

"Sorry. She bailed on us." Cherry apologized. She was a tall woman. Almost as tall as Virgil. She had bright red hair and a few freckles in the middle of her face. She appeared to be around 20 years old. Unlike James, Virgil, and Lumi, Cherry chose not to wear the academy uniform. Instead she wore a bright red dress that matched her hair. She stared at Virgil and sighed, "I guess I'm stuck with you by default. Unless you plan on dating your cousin that is?"

Virgil waited for them to take their seats. Then he returned to the other side of the table and put his hands on James shoulders. He spoke, "I won't be dating my cousin. Not really my type. Lumi, I invited you here for Yale. He's absolutely obsessed with you! He's always asking me questions about you! As the cupid of Sea Salt Academy, I naturally had to bring the two of you together!"

"Haha! The cupid of Sea Salt Academy! That is soooo corny!" Cherry laughed while banging her fist against the table. "Hey Lumi, are you going to hook up with Yale?"

Lumi frowned and scrutinized Yale. "I'm not into guys younger than me. Sorry, but I was expecting older guys to be here tonight." She glared at Virgil, "I thought you said there would be important magi at this mixer? That's why I came."

"I didn't lie!" Virgil put his hands up to express innocence. I'm the prince of the Drake Kingdom! Both of my roommates are personal disciples of 9th grade magi! How can we not be important? Few students rank higher than us!"

Lumi was surprised. She looked towards Yale "You're a disciple of a 9th grade magus? Which one?"

"He's the disciple of old man Skeleton! Isn't he amazing?!" Virgil interrupted.

Lumi laughed, "The disciple of Skeleton! Haha! Do you know how many he takes? How could that be considered important?" She turned to look at James with pity, "I've heard about his training program. Good luck."

The four continued to chat, drink, and eat. Several hours slowly passed. Virgil and Cherry both stood up. "Hic! I'm going to take Cherry home." Virgil swayed unsteady on his feet. "Lumi! Don't go mistreating Yale now! He's my good brother!" The two stumbled out of the restaurant while leaving James and Lumi alone.

Lumi drank heavily from her jug of wine, "You're too young for me! I won't date a 14-year-old boy! I'm a grown woman!" She began to sob, "Why won't anyone date me? Just because I'm the city lords daughter!"

"Okay, okay. No need to date me! Drink, drink!" James encouraged her to keep drinking. He had been trapped in a hole for a month and this felt like paradise in comparison. 'I'm actually older than you by a year though… Ah, I can't tell her that though. Oh well. I'll keep drinking!'

Lumi continued to complain, "Damn men! All of you bastards just want to continue your damn family lines! I'm the only heir to the city lord and a descendant of the Elder Dragon! A man must marry into my family! I can't marry out of it!" She lifted her wine jug and chugged it down. Then she slammed the jug against the table. "Some of you run away just because of how hard it is for Elder Dragon descendants to conceive! Women are good for more than just children!"

"Right! Men suck! To hell with them!" James raised his wine jug and continued encouraging her. "Who needs men! I would be more than happy just being surrounded by women!"

"Right! Who needs men! Haha!" Lumi laughed.

'Ah, I was always good at listening to women's problems. There were just too many to deal with in drama club. Agree with what they say and don't offer solutions!' James chuckled to himself, 'Haha! Am I not a genius!? Still, I wonder why I could never get a girlfriend?'

The night passed while the duo continued drinking.

...

The sun slowly rose in the morning sky. Birds sung their morning songs. Dew covered the grass. It was a beautiful morning. "Kyaaaa!!!" A loud, high-pitched scream rang out.

*Thud!* James felt his body slam into the ground. He woke up and looked around in confusion. A white bed was in front of him. Lumi was sitting on the bed while covering herself with the sheets. Her silver hair was a frizzy mess. Her silver eyes glared daggers towards James.

"Uhm. Morning?" James spoke, "Uhm. What's going on?"

"You! You! You pervert!" Lumi screamed while pointing at him. "You have to take responsibility! Daddy, I slept with a boy four years younger than me!" She cried, "What did I do?!"

"Responsibility?" James looked down in confusion. "Gah! I'm naked!" He hurriedly looked around the room and saw his magus robes on the ground by the bed. He hurriedly put them on. 'What the hell did I do last night?!' He turned to see Lumi sobbing. "Lumi… We might not have done anything. Do you remember what happened? It's all blank to me."

"You bastard!" Lumi yelled. "You don't even remember it! You're a monster!"

"Eh? Wait, so you do remember? We actually did it?" James questioned.

Lumi calmed down and blushed, "I… I don't remember anything either."

'Hypocrite! You're a hypocrite!' James screamed internally, 'I won't say it though! She's strong enough to kill me without thinking. So, I definitely won't say it!'

*Thud, thud* A knocking sounded on the door. It swung open and Cherry walked in. "Kyaa! You guys were really going at it last night! I never knew you were such a moaner Lumi! I was so embarrassed I couldn't even sleep!"

Lumi's face turned completely red. "We… We really did it? Are you sure? I still have all my clothes on though? Only Yale was naked."

Cherry rose an eyebrow in surprise, "Eh? Yale was naked when you woke up?" She turned to James and smiled, "Such a naughty boy. Well I won't judge. You two are free to do what you like. I've got breakfast cooking downstairs if you want any." She turned around and left the room.

Lumi turned to look at James. "Yale! You must take responsibility. I'm going to talk to my father about you marrying into our family! Don't even try to weasel your way out of it!"

James trembled in fear. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands to think. 'Did I really do it? I don't even remember it! Shit! So unfair! Grandfather, I'm slowly following your path. My reputation is going down the drain. I don't want to get married! What do I do? I'll buy a new uniform! Move to a new country. Enter a new school. Work my way up the ranks. Then I'll get a harem of 100 maids just like master! No. Even I'm not so low as to run away from this… but I am low enough to make a momentary retreat!' James stood up and smiled awkwardly, "Uhm… I'm supposed to meet my master today. I'm already late! We'll talk about this later when I get back from training! Bye!"

James ran out the room as fast as he could. "Yale!!! You bastard! Just wait until I get my hands on you!" Lumi screamed. James felt cold sweat drip down his back as he ran all the way to masters place.

Cherry's room. Virgil and Cherry were drinking some tea. Virgil smiled, "Another successful plan. I really do amaze myself sometimes. I don't call myself Sea Salt Academy's cupid for nothing! My bros are really blessed to have a wingman like me."

Cherry took a sip of her tea. She spoke hesitantly, "Is this really okay though? To let them think they actually slept together? It's pretty dirty how you got them to drink until they passed out. Did you really need to carry them back and put them in the same bed?"

"Haha! That was the whole point!" Virgil laughed. "Yale was always asking about her. As his bro, I had to help him! This is a good thing for Lumi too. Guys avoid her since they don't want to marry into her family. This kills two birds with one stone! Besides, if they really disliked each other then they wouldn't get together even if they accidently slept together. I'm just giving them a push in the right direction. I'll tell them the truth after they date a while."

Cherry nodded, "I only agreed to this because I thought it would make Lumi happier in the long run. I'm warning you now. If Yale hurts her then I'll kill him myself!"

Virgil laughed "Haha, don't worry! I haven't known Yale long, but I know he's a good guy. Trust me! I'm an excellent judge of character!"

"Oh, I just remembered. Lumi said that Yale was naked when he woke up. Were you behind that to?" Cherry questioned.

"Naked?" Virgil shook his head. "I wouldn't do that. Maybe he just usually sleeps nude or something."

...

Three hours later. "Huff! Huff" James reached his masters castle. The maids greeted him, and he ran into the throne room. "Sorry I'm late master!"

Skeleton sat on the throne. He glared at James with fury in his eyes. "Yale! You unfilial bastard! Where is the egg?!"