[15.2] Goldilocks and the Three Idiots

I stopped and turned to see Cyrus standing beside a bright and smiling Caldwell.

It was obvious he was training with his sword when we stumbled upon him. I grinned and hopped down off the ice chunk. The ice immediately melted, causing Zephyr to plummet to the Earth and land with a loud thud.

Zephyr rubbed his backside, "You bit-"

I shot him a glance, silencing him immediately.

He forcefully grinned, "-bitter lady."

"That's what I thought." I ran over to Cyrus and pulled on the collar of his shirt, "Oi. Goldilocks."

He frowned as he let me pull on him, "Goldilocks?"

"Do you know how to get into town?"

He looked at me cautiously, "Yes…."

My eyes lit up, "And do you know where I could buy some bug-catching equipment?"

"Why would you need that?"

"It has come to my attention that the Headmaster has a bit of a bug problem. So, I need to buy some fly swatters and nets."

"Why don't you just use magic? You seem to use it for everything else."

"I tried that! But it's a crafty bug. It could even dodge my attacks!"

Cyrus frowned deep in thought, "What kind of bug would be that skilled?"

"Well?" I nudged him, "Can you show me?"

Caldwell bent down and whispered into Cyrus's ear, "Young master… Young Reika is personally asking you to go to town with her. Don't you want to accompany her?"

They both looked at me as I used my finger to scratch my ear.

"Why would I want to do that?!" Cyrus pushed Caldwell away from his face and recomposed himself. He raised his head nobly, "I will go, but only because I don't trust you."

I frowned, "Why doesn't anyone trust me?"

Zephyr snickered, "Because you redefine the word destructive."

"Whatever." I grabbed Cyrus by the sleeve and pulled him close to me. I ignored his obvious blushing face and summoned the ice chunk, "Where to?"

"A-Ah! Uh, N-North."

I nodded and started to move the ice chunk in the right direction. Zephyr frantically scrambled to jump on so he wouldn't be left behind. Caldwell changed into an owl and hurried after us. As we flew, I didn't even realize I was still holding onto his shirt.

Cyrus cleared his throat awkwardly, "C-Could you let go?"

"Hm? Oh. Sorry." I let go and watched as he straightened his clothes obsessively. I chuckled, "Are you some kind of perfectionist?"

He clicked his tongue, "Is there something wrong with wanting to be perfect?"

"Yes. It's exhausting and impossible."

"Oh." He averted his eyes with a faint blush on his face, "I just don't want people to have a reason to criticize me."

I shrugged, "If you live like that, then you won't live long. Trust me, the sooner you stop listening to others; the better."

He muttered under his breath, "You act like you are much older than you are."

I rubbed my nose smugly, "Well I do have over 20 years of experience."

He rolled his eyes, signifying that he didn't believe a word I said. The rest of the way we traveled in silence. Once we got close to town, Cyrus spoke up. "Let's get off here. The Guards won't like it if we enter the city on a chunk of ice."

I nodded and stopped abruptly, causing all of us to be flung forward. Caldwell panicked and caught Cyrus in the air while I landed in a bush. Zephyr was even more unlucky, as he collided with a tree and left his faceprint in the wood.

I stood up out of the bush and casually picked off the leaves. "Stopping is hard."

Zephyr jumped up, crying as he held his face. "You trashy human!!! Look what you did to my face!!!"

I shrugged, "Eh. It's an improvement."

Caldwell casually placed Cyrus on the ground in his human form. He frowned, "Young miss! Please be more careful! You could have hurt someone!"

Cyrus fixed his clothes, "You aren't graceful in the slightest. Can't you learn to be less clumsy?"

I stuck out my tongue, "If you don't like it, then don't hitch a ride."

He frowned, "We could have walked. It's not that far."

Zephyr crossed his arms in irritation, "Who would want to walk that far!? Stupid human!"

Caldwell frowned at him, "Little foxes need to behave or else they will end up as coats."

Zephyr shrieked, "Who are you calling a little fox!?!"

Caldwell snickered and jabbed at his head which clearly showed their height difference, "Obviously I'm talking about you, shorty."

"I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR A**!!!"

As the two fought behind us, I noticed Cyrus's stiff expression and felt a devilish thought pop into my head. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to me. I smiled mischievously as his face burned bright red.

I whispered into his ear, "Little boy. I am very offended that you don't think I'm graceful. You'll see just how graceful I am. These hands of mine are very dextrous."

His eyes trembled as he was overwhelmed by embarrassment, "W-What are you talking about!?!"

I tapped his nose with my free hand, "I can paint many intricate designs. Only someone who is graceful can do a thing like that… Don't believe me? I can always show you~"

Suddenly he shoved me off, "Stop acting so shameless!!"

I watched his bright red face with satisfaction. I smirked, "Who is speaking shamelessly? I'm talking about painting. Tsk. Tsk. Such a perverted boy."

"URG! I'm not thinking like THAT!" He let out a huff and started walking quickly towards the town. I snickered as I watched him.

I've won!

However, my excitement was short lived as soon as I noticed a bright red line on the ground that was only visible to me. I screamed as I rushed to grab him, "Kid!!! Wait-"

I grabbed onto his sleeve, but it was already too late. His foot stepped into the red magic circle and immediately we were engulfed in darkness.

I felt as though my body was being stretched and pulled, but I refused to loosen my grip on his sleeve. When the nauseating feeling finally stopped, I opened my eyes to see we were in a room with concrete walls and no doors.

I looked around, "Where are we?"

Cyrus rubbed his head and looked around, "Looks like we are trapped in a labyrinth."

"A labyrinth?"

He nodded with a serious expression, "It's demonic magic. Whoever steps on their trap is sent to an illusionary realm."

"Oh. Since it's just an illusion then it's fine. It's not real."

He let out a sigh, "Actually, even though it's illusionary, it's still real. If you get hurt in this realm, you will get hurt in reality."

...I don't like the sound of that.

I pretended to be calm, "How do we leave? Just start smashing things?"

He frowned at me, "Why do you think violence will solve this?"

"Violence solves everything." I gasped, "Oh no… Is Zephyr rubbing off on me!?!"

Cyrus ignored me and closely inspected the walls, "To leave, we need to find something that doesn't belong. If we find that and break it, then the illusion will be broken."

I nodded and looked at the walls, "That doesn't seem too hard."

Cyrus sighed, "It gets harder the more skilled the caster is… And whoever cast this illusion is extremely skilled. I can't find anything."

I pulled out my wand with a grin, "I will just use magic to get us out."

I waved my wand with a confident grin, only to see nothing happen.

I frowned and started shaking it, "Oi! Magic! Come out! Mundare! Sanandum?... Why isn't working?"

Cyrus sighed, "The illusions interfere with our ability to use magic. We are at the mercy of the caster."

How wonderful.

"Oh wait! The Headmaster gave me a communication bracelet! He said to use it if I'm in trouble." I tapped it, "Um, hello? Headmaster?... Bracelet?"

Cyrus sighed, "That won't work either. The illusionary realm cancels out anything magical. Even objects."

"Then what is the point of this scrap metal!?"

As I shook my wrist in irritation, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I squinted at the walls and froze when I noticed red letters starting to appear. The letters oozed out of the cracks in the wall and traveled down the wall like blood.

Cyrus noticed my pale expression and looked over at the wall. He paused before quietly reading the letters out loud, "Let's play a game."

I felt the blood drain from my face, "...F*ck that."