22 Youth

James returned to the dorm. It now took him much less time to travel the mountain. He entered the dorm and saw Virgil sitting at a crude table made from a fallen tree.

"Yo! Yale!" Virgil waved and gestured for James to sit down. James sat down across from him and grabbed some snacks off the table to eat.

"So…" Virgil spoke, "I heard you're getting married?"

"Mm." James nodded. "My master is too. We basically screwed each other over." He drank some wine while throwing grapes in his mouth.

"Screwed over?" Virgil questioned. "I thought you had a thing for Lumi? You talk about her all the time."

"A thing? Haha!" James laughed. Then, he looked at Virgil with an extremely serious face. "I'm terrified of her. I've spent the last year running and hiding from her." His body shivered. "When I found out I was getting married I even thought of fleeing to the Earth Kingdom."

"You don't like her?!" Virgil yelled in shock. "Then why didn't you turn down the marriage? It's in less than a month from what I heard."

"I tried." James sighed. "My master and the city lord left me with no say in the matter. I even begged my master to save me in front of the city lord." James looked at the ceiling with tears in his eyes. "I wanted to have a threesome at least once before I ever got married."

"Oh…" Virgil looked down. 'I screwed up! I was sure Yale wanted her! Shit! What do I do?'

James noticed Virgil's silence. "No need to look so down. It's not like it's your fault." James poured him a cup of wine. "Come! Let's drink the night away. My life of hellish training begins again tomorrow."

"Mm." Virgil took the wine and gulped it down. He was feeling tremendous guilt. "So, is your master's training as bad as the rumors?"

"No." James shook his head. "It's far worse. He's giving me special training that he hasn't used for hundreds of years. I can't explain the details, but it's my fault he's getting married. He seems to be taking revenge on me through my training."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." Virgil finished his wine and stood up. "You may not see me for a few days. I've got to make a trip to the capital. Some important business just came up."

"The capital?" James questioned. "I thought we couldn't leave the academy before reaching the 2nd grade as both a magus and a knight?"

"That rule is for ordinary students." Virgil shook his head. "I can naturally leave whenever I want as a prince of the kingdom. This matter is urgent, and I must leave right away. I'll be in contact soon." Virgil stood and left the castle.

'That was weird.' James thought. 'Well, whatever.' He continued to happily drink his wine. This brief respite was the string that held his fragile sanity in place.

A few hours passed. It was late at night. The two moons in the sky shone beautiful red and blueish-green light. The innumerable stars glittered brightly.

*Crunch, crunch, crunch* A series of footsteps sounded outside the castle. A beautiful young woman walked across the drawbridge and entered James dorm. Her silver eyes and hair shone like a beacon in the night.

"Yale!" She yelled.

"Lumi?!" James questioned. "What are you doing here? How'd you get in my dorm?"

"Your master gave me a key." She smiled. "Come with me for a moment." Lumi grabbed James by the arm and dragged him into the mountain woods.

"Where are we going?" James stumbled as she dragged him.

"You'll know soon." She replied.

Lumi dragged James for several hours. They followed winding mountain paths until they reached a large forest. Then, they forged their own path through the forest. When she finally stopped dragging him they were at a large cliff.

'Is she going to kill me?' James panicked. 'There are no witnesses! My body won't be found. What do I do?!'

"Isn't it beautiful?" Lumi spoke. She turned towards James and smiled. Her smile was a simple one, yet that somehow made it even more dazzling.

James stopped panicking and looked around him. The sea was right below the cliff, Waves crashed against the shore. The sun slowly rose in the sky and shone a beautiful light over the sea, causing it to shimmer brilliantly. The light shone upon Lumi. It made her hair shine brighter and her smile appear even more beautiful. James felt breathless for a moment as he watched.

Lumi turned around and stared at the sea. "This is my favorite place in the academy. I grew up in Sea Salt city. I spent much of my childhood on boats and I fell in love with it. It's rare to see a natural unaltered landscape like this. The harbor in the city is depressing in comparison."

"I know you don't want to marry me." Lumi turned towards James. "However, my father has already decided. You can't go against him." She looked him straight in the eyes. "If you really don't want to marry me, then I'll talk him out of it. What do you want, Yale?"

James looked at Lumi with confusion. 'She's giving me a way out?' James had felt a surge of new emotions when Lumi brought him here. She was the first person he met in this world who had treated him kindly. She was like a bright light that shone within the dark prison. Then, she became the devil that drove him into hiding. Now, she was giving him a choice he never thought he could have.

"What about the fact that we slept together?" James questioned. "You're willing to let me go after that?"

"That isn't quite what you think." Lumi shook her head. "After I calmed down I examined my body closely. As a knight, I'm naturally aware of what has happened to it." She smiled, but a hint of sadness appeared to be hidden within her eyes. "I'm still a virgin. You didn't do anything Yale. I have no reason to force you into marriage."

*Swish, swish, swish* The sound of the calm waves landing against the shore could be heard. James stared at Lumi with complicated emotions. 'Will I ever find somebody like this again? It's obvious how desperate she is to get married... It seems it really is hard to find a good candidate to marry into the city lord household.'

James stood still and closed his eyes. He stayed lost in his thoughts for several minutes and opened them. He turned to look at the vast sea and spoke, "I can marry you, but there is something you need to know first."

Lumi stared at him in confusion. "What do I need to know?" She questioned.

James rubbed his eyes and the system display appeared. He chose to return to his original appearance. He turned to face Lumi and sighed, "This is what you need to know."

Lumi's eyes widened in shock. The man she had been searching for was in front of her. She had chased him for close to a year without success! What were the chances of him being Yale?

"James?" Her voice trembled. "How?! How can this have happened?"

"I always planned on joining the academy. At the time I began planning, I didn't know you were the city lord's daughter. I thought you were from the capital and would return there." James had an awkward smile on his face. "This is who I really am. Everything else is just a disguise."

Lumi stared at James with a twisted face. She felt a mix of hate, excitement, and worry. She hated what James had done. She felt excited at the chance to catch him. She felt worried about whether she should catch him or not. She closed her eyes to think for a moment before speaking, "Why did you run away from us."

James sat down on the cliff edge and stared at the sea. "I'm not related to the Elder Dragon in any way. I was in a strange new world with two strangers that could decide my fate. I was scared."

"You're not a disciple of the Elder Dragon?" Lumi yelled in shock. "Then how did you speak the language of the Elder Dragon?! It's impossible!"

"It's not impossible." James shook his head. "I have a system. Have you ever read about them in the school library?"

Lumi thought for a moment and nodded. "I have. The possibility just never occurred to me… Then why did you steal my clothes and peep on me?"

"I stole your clothes for the system. I need high-quality clothes to make new disguises. I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's just the way the system works." James glanced at Lumi. "As for peeping… I never looked at you while you were bathing. I hauled ass out of there as soon as I accomplished what I needed."

"This…" Lumi responded. Her face was full of confusion. She slowly calmed down and turned around. "I'm sorry. I need some time to think." She returned the way she came, leaving James behind at the cliff by the sea.

'Was I dumped?' James stared out at the beautiful waves. The sun was much higher in the sky now. He opened his storage pouch and took out a wineskin. He chugged down the wine as it dripped down his chin. "Let's skip training today." He spoke aloud, "Master can wait another day."

James sat on the cliff for an entire day. He felt both lonely and at peace. As if a big burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The sun slowly fell, and the moon rose into the sky.

[Are you okay?] The system questioned.

"Mm." James nodded. "Tell me, system. Am I really just a toy for some monster out there? Is that all there is to my life?"

[…]

"Can't answer, can you?" James took a big swig of wine. By now he had gone through dozens of wineskins. He stood up and brushed himself off. He returned to the appearance of Yale Dusk and returned to his dorm to sleep for the night.

…

The next day. Skeleton's castle.

"YOU DARE SKIP OUT ON YOUR TRAINING?!?!" Skeleton screamed in complete rage.

"I'm sorry, master." James shook his head. "I needed some time to think." His face was completely tranquil, as if worldly affairs could have no effect on him.

'Hmm?' Skeleton thought to himself. 'What happened to this brat? He's acting like a completely different person. Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed?'

"Fine." Skeleton waved his hand. "I'll excuse you this one time. If it happens again, then I'll call in a favor to get you brainwashed."

"Okay." James nodded. He looked at his master with serious eyes. "Let's begin."

"Good." Skeleton smiled. "Follow me."

…

James and Skeleton were sitting at a large dining room table. Several maids were continuously exiting the castle kitchen and entering the dining room. Each one carried a tray over their head. Each tray was bigger than their bodies. Large chunks of meat and vegetables sat atop the trays.

"Mm." Skeleton licked his fingers. "It's been a while since I've had such a hearty meal." Skeleton was eating a roasted dragon tail. It was barbequed and covered in sauce. The smell wafted across the table towards James.

James stared enviously at his master's plate. Then, he looked down towards his own. A bloody dragon tail also sat atop his plate. However, it contained no sauce and was completely raw. It looked like it had just been cut straight off a dragon. The surrounding plates all had large amounts of raw meat and vegetables sitting atop them. The better ones looked like bird, dragon, and cattle meat. The worse ones looked like centipedes, spiders, and roaches. Each plate was garnished with large amounts of raw vegetables.

"Master…" James spoke hesitantly. "What is this?"

"This is the 1st phase of your next set of training." Skeleton smiled. "For two hours you will eat every single dish on this table. I'll hear no excuses!"

James looked at the plates in front of him with disgust. "Master, how can this possibly be training? Why don't we just go back to training the same way as last time?"

"That won't work." Skeleton shook his head. "To reach the 2nd grade you must start absorbing mana into your internal organs. This is a cumbersome process as you force the mana from your flesh deeper into your body. Fortunately, I have a better way. You'll naturally come to understand it in time. Now, get eating. This is a feast for kings! These dishes are worth thousands of gold coins! The vegetables are specially grown spirit plants that contain large amounts of mana. The meat comes from dire-beasts between the 2nd and 5th grades. I've really spent a fortune on you!"

James stared at the trays and sighed. 'I thought masters next step of training would be a nightmare, but this? I suffered worse in that dark hole from before.' James picked up a dragon tail and gulped down his saliva. 'Time to eat!'