Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival

Episode 37

A pang of longing twisted in my gut as I watched the festivities unfold. My team, boisterous and carefree, reveled in their newfound freedom. Yet, my gaze kept flitting towards the group of young girls, searching for a familiar face that wasn't there. Where was Rimuru?

Every opportunity I found, I scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of her blue kimono. But disappointment gnawed at me with each passing moment. Finally, the revelry became too much. I excused myself, slipping unnoticed out of the Grand Hall.

The cool night air washed over me as I stepped onto the balcony, the vast expanse of the sky ablaze with a million glittering stars. Each one a silent reminder of the time that had passed - a year of relentless training, each day taking me further away from Rimuru.(you're 16 now)

A flicker of movement on the periphery of my vision drew my attention. A lone figure sat on the steps leading down the side of the Grand Hall, shrouded in the shadows. The distance and darkness obscured any details, but an undeniable pull drew me closer.

Utilizing the honed stealth skills from my training, I glided towards the figure, my movements swift and silent. Just as I prepared to speak, the figure rose, stepping into the moonlight.

"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅," they declared, their voice laced with a bittersweet joy.

As they turned, the moonlight bathed their face, and the breath caught in my throat. A surge of emotions washed over me - relief, joy, a touch of awe. There she stood, Rimuru, even more stunning than I remembered.
The elegant blue kimono clung to her form, highlighting her grace and newfound maturity.

For a moment, I stood frozen, lost in the joy of seeing her again. Then, a flicker of confusion crossed her features. "𝑶𝒉, 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅," she said, her voice polite yet unfamiliar.

"𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅?" I echoed, the word leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Right, the mask. The accursed mask I wore, obscuring my identity.

Rimuru didn't recognize me.

♤♤♤♤♤♤
Rimuru's voice broke the silence, tinged with concern. "𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏?" she asked, a scrap of embroidered cloth clutched in her hand.

Before I could respond, she spun around, her black hair cascading down her back as she gestured towards my uniform. "𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕?" she inquired, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒚?" I clarified, unsure what she meant.
A smile lit up her face. "𝒀𝒆𝒔! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒏𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔," she explained, her voice filled with pride. "𝑾𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆."

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and a warmth bloomed in my chest. They'd gone to such lengths, adding a personal touch to our uniforms. It was a reminder of the bond we shared, a bond that transcended training and rank.

She started walking, and I fell into step beside her, reveling in the simple act of being near her. "𝑶𝒉, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆," she commented, her brow furrowing slightly.
I held up the discarded white cloth she'd offered me earlier. "𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔," I explained, offering a neutral tone.

"𝑶𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕!" she exclaimed, taking the fabric with a touch of flustered delight. "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉."

As we walked, she launched into a lively tour, her voice bubbling with excitement. The training grounds, the gardens, the laundry room - she pointed out each landmark with a childlike wonder that was both endearing and contagious.

"𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖," she said self-consciously. "𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈."

My heart ached at her words. "𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓," I murmured, wishing I could reveal myself without breaking the fragile trust we'd built.

"𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓," she continued, her voice taking on a brighter tone, "𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔!"

A pang of jealousy stabbed at me. Guards? The thought of another hovering at her side was a bitter pill to swallow.

"𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍," she declared, stopping in front of the Grand Hall, "𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍-𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒚!"

With a wave and a final radiant smile, she disappeared into the hall.
The weight of my mask felt heavier than ever as I watched her go. But as I turned to leave, I noticed a flash of white on the ground - the embroidered cloth Rimuru had dropped in her haste. I picked it up, a surge of protectiveness washing over me. This small token, a symbol of her friendship, would have to suffice until the day I could finally reveal myself.

Slipping the cloth into my pocket, I left the moonlit gardens, carrying not just the memento but the warmth of our encounter. And the simmering embers of jealousy, a secret fire I knew I had to contend with.