Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival

Episode 3

Saturday morning arrives, a welcome break from the rigid routine of the academy. A nervous excitement thrums through me as I approach Rimuru's quarters. The invitation to study together feels like a turning point, a chance to forget a connection beyond the classroom walls.
Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door. What awaits me on the other side?

A beat of surprise takes me aback. I wasn't expecting to see someone else answer the door. "𝑼𝒉, 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈," I stammer, unsure if I should address the girl or wait for rimuru to appear.
"𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑹𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 " the maiden said
Curiosity spikes within me.  "𝑨 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑹𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒖?" I murmur, following the maiden down the hallway.  The unexpected presence of another girl throws my carefully practiced composure into disarray.
  Was Rimuru perhaps a noblewoman?  It would explain the elegant quarters and the waiting maiden.  But it also complicates things.  Would someone of her status even want to associate with a scholarship student like me?

My jaw drops as I witness the display of magic. A spell of yellow light energy erupts from rimuru's fingertips, bathing the courtyard in a warm glow.  "𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒂," I breathe, mesmerized.

She turned with a look of surprise and with a warm smile called "𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 " and leap towards me.
  " 𝑹𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒖" I exclaim, "𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕," I add, genuinely impressed.  "𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕?"

A chuckle escape her as she explained "𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚, 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝑵𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 "

"𝑵𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒊, 𝒉𝒖𝒉?" I repeat, the name rolling off my tongue with a strange familiarity.  "𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍.  𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆."
The weight of rimuru's noble status settles on me a little more heavily now, but the genuine warmth in her eyes offers a sense of reassurance.  Perhaps our connection can transcend social barriers.  "𝑺𝒐," I begin, deciding to focus on the present, "𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔?"
"𝒀𝒆𝒑, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖? " she teased

I began my lessons, casting the spells and soon I felt improvement in my skills. A hint of surprise crossed rimuru's face "𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 "

A flush creeps up my neck as she complimented my spellcasting.  "𝑹-𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚?" I stammer, momentarily flustered.  "𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚."  The truth is, a part of me wonders if there's more to my abilities than I realize.  The whispers of my forgotten past flit through the edges of my mind, but they remain frustratingly hazy.

"𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚" she concluded "𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚?"
A sheepish grin spreads across my face. "𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕," I promise, the warmth of her concern washing over me. "𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅."
A beat of silence hangs in the air, charged with unspoken emotions.  Does a similar feeling flicker behind her beautiful eyes?  Perhaps tomorrow, when we delve back into our studies, I'll find the courage to voice this newfound curiosity.

As she head back to her quarters, I'm left with a swirling mix of emotions. The memory of rimuru's praise for my spellcasting lingers, fueling a spark of pride. But more importantly, there's the unfamiliar flutter in my chest whenever our eyes meet. It's a feeling I can't quite place, but it leaves me eager for our next study session.
Reaching my own room, I sink down on my cot, the borrowed spellbook feeling heavy in my hands.  Maybe tonight, I'll delve a little deeper into the restricted section of the library.  A sliver of hope whispers within me – perhaps within those forbidden pages lie some forgotten clues about my past, and the reason behind my seemingly effortless magic.