A Twisted Halloween: Terror is Trending

Chapter 9: Mr. High-Horse

Meanwhile, Vil and Rook are at the party as well, and look to see everyone is enjoying themselves.

Rook says, "This Halloween has been every bit as splendid as you are, my dear Vil"

"Mm. I must say, I'm quite relieved," Vil says. Then look at the statues, "When the statues of the Great Seven were toppled over... I feared that any chance we had of a pleasant Halloween was thoroughly shot. As the chair of the management committee, I was frantically racking my brain for any way we could come back from this. But that wasn't lost on you, was it, Rook?"

"Oh la la! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined YOU being at a loss," Rook replies, rather surprised.

But then calmly smiles, "Yet I must say, the sight of you standing tall and unyielding in the face of adversity was a dazzling one indeed."

Just then, a man walks up and asks, "Hey, um, excuse me..."

"Yes?" Rook asks the man.

As it turns out, the man brings a few people with him.

The man says, "I'm sorry if we're interrupting, Mr. Schoenheit, but we've been huge fans of yours ever since your child actor days. I couldn't work up the nerve to ask during the stamp toys, but, uh..."

Then the woman asks, "C-could we please take a picture with you?!"

"Heh. Certainly," Vil says.

"Omigosh!" The man shouts in excitement.

"Oh, the spectacle of those nervous fans summoning their courage to finally speak to you... Such beauty makes my heart quiver!" Rook says.

"My TRUE fans are all well-mannered. Not to mention, I owe our guests the finest experience possible on a once-a-year-occasion like today," Vil says.

Then Vil notices a familiar face, "Ah. I see Malleus at the table over there."

"And there's Leona, seated opposite him," Rook says.

At the table, Malleus and Leona are sitting on opposite sides of the table. Malleus and Leona notice Vil walk towards them.

"Hm? Did you need something?" Malleus questions.

"Ugh, spotted by the worst possible guys..." Leona mutters, annoyed.

Vil says to them "We're taking a commemorative photo with some guests. Join us, both of you."

Seeing them, the man grows excited, "Whoa... Is that Malleus Draconia, one of the five most powerful mages in the world?!"

Then the woman says, "And I've seen the beastman student in a Spelldrive tournament on TV before! They're both huge deals. Th-tis seems like a lot for just the two of us!"

"Very well, I shall permit you to be photographed alongside me," Malleus says.

"Hmph, look at Mr. High-Horse over here. Were you that flattered to be asked?" Leona questions in remark.

"Mm. Be warned that with me in the photo, Kingscholar may wind up totally overshadowed," Malleus says.

"If you're really worried about that, get to the side and stoop down some," Leona says with a frown.

Then calmly smiles with his arms crossed, "Your dumb horns are gonna ruin the whole composition of the shot."

Vil turns to Rook, "Rook, would you do the honors? I don't think they're going to stop bickering anytime soon."

"Oui, consider it done," Rook says.

Then turns to the guest, "May I borrow your phone, sir?"

"Sure, here you go!" The man says, and passes Rook his camera.

Rook takes the camera as the guests gather with Leona, Malleus, and Vil.

Rook holds the phone and says, "Ready? Say 'omelette de fromage'!"

Then Rook takes the picture.

Rook happily says, "Ahh, beaute! A scene so lively and animated, the subjects could very well leap out of the screen!"

The man and woman say, "Oh, wow, thank you so much!"

And Rook gives the man back his phone.

"I suppose Magicam isn't so bad after all, if it can make people that happy," Malleus says.

"Yeah, whatever," Leona replies.

Then says, "Speaking of 'omelette du fromage,' I hear you were pretty cheesed off at it this week. What was it again? The Dracionia Challenge?"

Then laughs with a smirk on his face, "Ha ha ha. I would've liked to see that myself."

Suddenly, a phone begins ringing.

Vil notices, "Leona, your phone's been ringing for a while now."

"Tch... It's from back home. I know exactly who it is. He's been calling me all day," Leona says, deeply annoyed.

"It's your family? It could be an emergency, if they're trying this hard to get a hold of you. Why don't you go ahead and answer it?" Vil replies.

"UUUGH..." Leona groans annoyed, and decides to answer the phone.

And on the phone, Cheka, Leona's nephew, shouts from the phone, "UNCA LEONAAA!"

Leona gets a bit startled by the sudden shout.

Then says, "Keep it down, squirt. And stop calling me all day in and day out."

"Father says it's okay to call you 'cause it's Halloween!" Cheka happily says.

"How does that make any sense...?" Leona questions. "Look, Cheka, I'm busy. What do you want?"

Cheka screams in excitement, "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"

"That's it? That's all this about?" Leona asks with a slight frown.

"It's super important! Today's the day I got to say it to you," Cheka happily says.

Suddenly, Leona says, "... Sorry, what's that? You're breakin' up. I think the ghosts are messing with the signal. That's Halloween for you, I guess." and shows a calm smirk on his face.

"Huh? Wha? Unca -" Cheka asks, confused.

Then Leona says, "Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go. Later, Cheka. Happy Halloween."

He hangs up the phone, and has an annoyed frown on his face.

Rook asks, "Whatever is the matter, Roi des Lions? You look like you've swallowed a bug."

"Can it. I'm outta here. You guys do what you want," Leona says, and walks away.

"My, my. He is a capricious one indeed," Rook replies.

Then Vil says, "Don't let him bother you. You'll find the rest of the student body aside from him quite gracious and well-mannered."

Then the man says, "Oh, no, it's fine! I'm just honored I got to take a picture with him at all."

"We'll cherish this photo. Thank you so much!" The woman says.