Darksteel

Chapter 21; Please do not sneeze on the librarian.

After Monster Slaying, during which Smithy seemed very troubled and Ivo was nowhere to be seen, the Guild mates all made their way toward the library.

 "I'm not sure I should be here." Jin said hesitantly as they passed shelf after shelf of more books than any of them could count.

Asta gave him a look then. "Why not? The library is for everyone."

 Grinning, Jeremiah nudged Jin with his elbow and said, "Jin was asked not to come back to the library."

 "What for?"

 "He kept sneezing on the librarian."

 "It was not on purpose!" Jin replied defensively, "She wore so much perfume..."

 In spite of himself, Asta laughed, and soon the others were laughing as well— Jin the hardest of all.

It was pleasant, really, to have  bit of laughter after one has recently found out that one is a Monster Lord and such a thing could very well be life-endangering. And though the act of laughing with one's friends was nice enough on its own, now, it almost made the entire situation more bearable.

Almost.

Trailing behind the others, Asta followed his Guild mates as the five of them climbed up into a cozy tree, while Adar stayed on the ground eyeing a piano that sat in the corner of the library. 

Upon noting this, Asta asked if he could play something for them while Nico nodded eagerly in agreement.

Thus, they all watched with interest as Adar made his way over to the instrument, running his long, delicate fingers over the black and white keys. Sitting down, the prince made a show of loosening up his wrists and hands.

Finally, Jin shouted at him to, "Get on with it." And Adar began to play.

 The notes were soft, lilting, and brought to mind the picture of a moonlit forest full of magic and mystery. Adar's hands flew over the keys, and even from this distance, Asta saw that he was smiling passionately. 

Glancing at Nico, Asta noted that she too was enraptured in the music and was looking at Adar with an expression he had never seen on her before... one that made his insides prickle with jealousy. She watched the prince with tender eyes, her lips parted in a silent gasp, and for a brief moment, Asta wondered if she would ever look at HIM like that.

Shaking his head to clear it of these thoughts, he pulled out the book that Mr.Potter had given him, still letting the notes of the song wash over him. Already, his other Guild mates were pulling out books or study work from other classes; Jeremiah was writing in his notebook, Jin was lost in a chemistry book, Blue was sketching, and Nico... Nico was still watching Adar.

For a moment, Asta wondered WHY girls seemed to like Adar so much. Was it because he was confident? Handsome? A total pain to live with? 

Leaning over to Jin, he asked the boy this question, hoping he might have the answer seeing as he had lived with Adar longer.

Jin seemed to think for a moment, before answering with, "I think he only acts like a twit around us. I hear that all his dates to the Masked Ball always say that's he's an absolute gentleman to them." Jin shrugged, "I think they like him because he treats them well... not like how he treats us, mind you."

Asta frowned; he couldn't imagine Adar ever being polite or nice, but it made him wonder whether that politeness was an act... or the cocky sarcasm was. Looking down again at the prince who looked so innocent, so HAPPY playing the piano, he wondered if Adar's arrogance was genuine.

Perhaps he should ask.

He snorted; he doubted that would go over well with the prince. Asta would be lucky to get out of that conversation with little more than a scratch.