To The Banquet

"It's already time?" Erina asked, sitting on the couch wearing a cute dress, "I thought we would leave in 30 minutes?"

Striding into the room wearing a simple but elegant tuxedo, Garret replied, "We are going to the banquet before the magic measurement test a bit earlier so we can meet up with the Mitsuyas."

Poking her head out from behind a door while applying some light makeup, Miyuki continued, "We want you two to have some time with Shousuke and Yuiko before the banquet starts, especially since this will be your first Erina. Also, Yuiko has gone since she was 5, so this will be her third one, so ask her any questions you have okay?"

"Okay! But will any of the other people make fun of me since this is the first one I have gone to? I'm already 7 years old..." Lamented Erina, trailing off near the end.

Hugging her from behind, Suzuki reassured, "Don't worry about it okay? If anyone bullies you, just come to me and I'll stop them!"

Turning around in Suzuki's arms, Erina saw a beautiful girl and was stunned, "Wha-a... You look so different Suzuki! You look so pretty... you don't look so messy as usual..."

Gaping at the sight in front of her, Erina marveled at how different Suzuki looked. The girl in front of her usually had her hair relatively messy and wore some mismatching t-shirts and shorts, but now she had her hair neatly brushed and arranged, and was wearing a nice dress.

Tickling Erina in retaliation, Suzuki had a smile that wasn't really a smile and asked, "Hm? What did you say? I look messy usually? I only brushed my hair and braided a little near the front! Is there that much of a difference?"

Laughing from the side, Miyuki responded, "See? I told you that there was a difference, Suzuki! You normally look like a slob, but now you look amazing! You really have a resemblance to your father!"

Seeing that everyone was ready, the family went outside to their car and got ready to leave.

"Did you bring everything?" Asked Miyuki while glancing at the noticeable emptiness in the trunk of the car, "Garret I think you forgot something!"

"No, I didn't forget anything Miyuki!" Replied Garret from the driver's seat, "I just packed it much tighter than last time!"

"Cool! Amazing packing!" Miyuki praised while slipping into the front seat next to Garret.

Seeing that everyone was buckled in, Garret exclaimed with a wide smile on his face, "Let's go! To the party!"

Starting up the car, Garret drove off, towards the royal castle in the center of the city.

Once they were driving, Suzuki whispered to Erina who was also in the backseat, "Erina, while we are driving towards the Royal Castle, we will pass a road that overlooks an amazing view. You probably haven't seen it since you have never gone on that road before, so look forward to it! I'm sure you'll love it, based on how much you like the place overlooking the garden."

Hearing Suzuki's words, Erina's nervousness was blown away, replaced by anticipation for the view. Thankful for Suzuki's little tidbit of information, Erina replied, "Thanks! But yeah I love the amazing views outside! The modern look of the city, paired with the trees and nature that you can see outside the city! It's just a shame that I can't go see them personally... Last time I asked, Papa said, 'I would love to take you, but dangerous Magic Mutated Beasts are roaming those places. Because of those animals, I wouldn't want you to get hurt, so I can't take you okay?' What a butt!"

Chuckling hearing Erina call Garret a butt from the backseat, Miyuki added, "Well Erina, once you grow up, and get magic, then I'm sure you could go look at as many breath-taking views as you want okay? Just right now you have a weak body, AND no magic, making it so you are pretty much defenseless on all fronts."

Sitting in silence for a while, Suzuki leaned over to Erina's side, poked her, and commented, "Erina, you might want to sit up a bit, we are coming up on the view."

Starting to ascend the bridge, Garret added, "Look to the left Erina, out the window right next to you, and you'll see a view that never ceases to amaze me."

Looking out the window, Erina was speechless at the breath-taking view, "Oh... my... god... It's so pretty!"

Her eyes glued to the view, Erina was trying her best to take in as much as she could. She saw the sheer drop of the cliff on the side that she was on, the cascading waterfalls that were on the other side, and the forest of greenery that dotted the gentle slope near the waterfalls.

Ripping her eyes off the view, Erina asked, "Mama, do you have any pictures of this place?"

Laughing, Miyuki replied, "Of course we do! We have tons of photos! A few wedding photos of me and Papa were taken here!"

Having arrived at the royal castle, which was more like a big mansion, Erina got out of the car to marvel at the decorations that had been put up.

"It's amazing, right? The royal family outdoes itself every year..." Suzuki mused while holding out her hand for Erina, "Come on, let's go find Yuiko and Shousuke okay?"

Seeing the Mitsuyas disembarking a little ways away, Erina and Suzuki walked over while waving to Yuiko and Shousuke.

"Erinaaa! I missed you!" Yuiko exclaimed while hugging the slightly shorter girl, "Are you excited? This year Shousuke and Suzuki get tested!"

Leaning over to whisper in Erina's ear, Yuiko continued, "But I still can't get over the massive transformation that Suzuki and Shousuke go through when preparing to go to these sorts of events... it's like they are totally different people!"

Nodding in agreement Erina responded while whispering, "If only they could look that neat normally... and not like total slobs..."

Since the parents had already met up and entered, the four children made their way to the entrance.

"Haha, I'll totally beat you, Shousuke! Watch, I'll beat you in every area!" Suzuki stated, puffing her chest out.

Chuckling Shousuke replied, "I dunno about that Suzuki, are you sure that it won't be ME who beats you in every area?"

Ignoring their antics, Erina and Yuiko went ahead and entered the massive banquet hall.

"Woah... It's massive in here..." Erina muttered, stunned by the sheer size of the banquet hall.

Meeting up with the parents, Henrich broke up the bickering between Shousuke and Suzuki before Emily chimed in, "Come on, let's go greet the hosts, the Royal Family!"