Chapter 131: The Return of the Masters (King)

- Unknown Location, Unknown Time - ???'s POV -

W-Who am I? Where am I? How long have I been wandering? I remember... a fight of some kind? It was with someone I know, maybe a friend? I remember warning them about something. They did something they shouldn't, and I wanted to save them, I think. I have a vague memory of a battle after that and then shock and pain. I think I saw something that I shouldn't have. That person showed it to me? I don't know! I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't...

[I found her.] - ???

- Abelis Academy City, Abelis Academy Library, 2 Hours Later - Rose's POV -

The rest of our study session went quite well. Surprising I know but the loud ones in our groups were also the ones that needed the most help and after punishin- I mean explaining the situation to them, they quieted down. More or less. Which is why we were able to spend an entire 2 hours on catching up our most unfortunate classmates as well as refreshing those of us in the tutoring position.

Another thing that had surprised me was my own mindset around studying. In my past life I'd been a habitual procrastinator. Ironic I know but that had apparently changed as far as schoolwork was concerned. I'd been vaguely aware of this new mindset for a while now, but it was completely on display in the last few hours as, other than maths, I ate up all of the content we went over. Seriously what's cooler than literally studying how a fantasy world works?!? Nothing that's what. Although I'd imagine I might change my tune when learning some of the higher-level classes later on since as of currently we were mostly dealing with low-level material. I even actually balked when I saw the extra material that Karen and Malaise were working on, Karen's mostly dealing with what would have been nearly college level scientific concepts and Malaise with deeper magical theory. Both were beyond me at the moment, and I wasn't sure I'd ever catch up in those specific subjects.

Despite that however, it was fun, I'd never enjoyed school before so actually feeling a joy for learning was an experience that was both new and deeply satisfying to me.

It wasn't until a familiar face broke me out of my thoughts however that I realized what I'd been considering. Oh gods, was I becoming a teacher's pet?!?

[There you are! That damned Principal wouldn't let me escape to come check on you when you arrived yesterday. Some nonsense about- Gah! W-Why?] - Gilgamesh

[You know why! Heh, I've always wanted to say that. Anyways now that I've gotten my revenge what's up? You need me for something?] - Rose

[H-Hitting someone in the ba- In such a sensitive area shouldn't be considered a valid target for revenge. Oof...] - Gilgamesh

[I hate to agree with the guy that kidnapped you but I mean...] - Karen

[It's no big deal, he can't die afterall.] - Rose

[W-Wait you told them?!?] - Gilgamesh

[Well of course she did, otherwise we would have already gone to whoop your wrinkly ass a long time ago. Honestly, I still don't fully trust you!] - Veronica

[It's rare but I actually agree with you Ver, I didn't trust this big-breast obsessed pervert when we first met, and I trust him even less now!] - Malaise

[B-Big b-b-b-breast?!? Awu...] - Urz

[See what you did to our innocent muffin?!?] - Malaise

[Yeah Yeah!] - Argent

Immense satisfaction filled me as I finally had the chance to get back at the person that had been tormenting me for the past few months. When we'd first started back to civilization I hadn't had the freedom to indulge in something like that. With Wrath vying for control of my body any attempt to indulge in a bit of violence like that would have put my very soul at risk. As a consequence I'd swallowed my pride and followed Elsa's example. Now though? I wasn't held back by any would-be body snatcher, and as a result I could finally let loose with my furious blow. Plus, he couldn't die anyway so what's a little pain between friends? He's lucky I decided that only a single hit was enough payback considering. Although he probably wasn't happy about the location I noted as I noticed several passersby instinctively clutch their own family jewels in sympathy. Hooray for no longer having such an easy target!

[That was you! Ahem, anyway now that I've found you I- Can you take your blade away from my throat please child of that damned Principal? I don't particularly wish to go through my decapitation death again, it's not pleasant.] - Gilgamesh

[...Rose? Okay...?] - Shade

[Yeah, it's fine. I've already gotten my revenge. Plus, if we decide he needs more punishment we can always beat him to death a few times to blow off steam.] - Rose

[Please don't. Phew, anyway where was I...?] - Gilgamesh

[Now that you've found her...] - Karen

[Ah yes! I've already heard that you've regained control over your mana but I was curious as to the method. The few books I could find on the subject, before you left, without warning by the way, spoke at length about the need to subjugate the aspect through either force or coercion.] - Gilgamesh

[Ah! Y-Yeah sorry about that. In the rush after the battle I completely forgot about you. Sorry.] - Rose

[Ouch. I felt that one right here, so the method?] - Gilgamesh

Making a show of the emotional pain that my statement had supposedly caused I at least had the social awareness to ignore the grin that followed the flash of sadness in my one time, and perhaps future, teacher. No doubt our teasing had reminded him once again of his daughter, the one that he said I reminded him so much of. These types of interactions had been common while we'd been training over the last few months, and I knew better than to call attention to the fact that I'd noticed it. As much as I wanted revenge I "did" actually care for the old man, he sort of felt like another grandparent. A perverted one to be sure but not really a danger.

And so, I explained exactly what he'd missed while he was "stuck in the damned library" as he told me.

- Abelis Academy City, Abelis Sherwall's Muse, 1 Day Later - Rose's POV -

I didn't want to come here, I really didn't. I know with the way you are looking at me you don't believe me, but I have absolutely no interest in dressing up in cute, frilly clothing. Nor do I think that I look fantastic in Goth Lolita dresses, or that the colors accent my silver-white hair perfectly. And I definitely don't like the growing pile of dresses that seem to be threatening to tip over. It's not like I did this because I crave Karen calling me cute like she has been for the last hour, and I'm certainly not crimson from the happiness that comes from my once and future lover literally squeeing over each subsequent dress. I'm only doing this because I promised to let Karen and the rest of my friends fill out my outfits. I only have a few that fit me outside of the combat dress that Auntie Laura bought me during the tournament and those are all borrowed since I grew much larger during my time in the forest. I also definitely didn't need to be sized for undergarments cause of some recent growth in a very appealing area. And I definitely wasn't happy that I was looking more and more like my Momma as I got older. Such thinking was absolutely ridiculous.

Ahem! With that out of the way I could at least rest easy that the owner of the establishment we were in, Sherwall, wasn't present, as she'd been forced to travel back to Anguis for business and wouldn't be back at her second location for several weeks at minimum.

The night before had been uneventful, after getting my revenge, for now, on Master Gil we'd made our way back to the dorms only for Karen and Co to realize that my wardrobe was severely lacking. My time in the forest had depleted the outfits that could possibly fit me as I outgrew everything that was back at the Academy. Sure, Momma and Auntie had anticipated that and selected a few premade outfits to help with that situation, but the quality wasn't quite up to my new standards. Tailored clothing felt so nice after all.

So, they'd decided, by unanimous decision, that we needed a girl's night out. Translation: Rose Dress-up Session. Which is where we found ourselves now. Luckily, I wasn't the only one dressing up for the occasion. The sight of Urz trying to find clothing both small enough for her stature but large enough to contain her weapons of mass destruction will be forever burned into my skull, it isn't perving if you're the same age right? After convincing myself with what was 100% a lie I was blown away by the person that exited the dressing room connected with the VIP area we'd been guided to. There were two dressing rooms, each the size of a 2B1B apartment, and in one of them was the love of my life. We'd found an outfit that even her slimy body was able to wear without it either melting or simply becoming drenched and sinking. And she was beautiful. Seemingly originally designed as tasteful swimwear for well-to-do ladies her outfit was a mixture between a bikini, a sash and a dress. Black with purple trim that accented her purple slime body it made the thoughts in my head completely blow away. And the way Karen squirmed uncomfortably as I stared at her was simply the cutest thing I'd ever seen!

[Beautiful... Ah.] - Rose

[B-B-Beautiful?!? O-Of course you idiot! Now stop looking!] - Karen

[Aww... So cute.] - Veronica

[Right?] - Malaise

[...Agreed.] - Shade

[I wish I could have a relationship like that... My Lady is so lucky!] - Argent

[She looks so beautiful... I could never pull that off.] - Urz

[That's not true Urz! You definitely have your own assets to show off!!! Huh? No book?] - Veronica

[Hah... I'll give you a pass with that one since you were just trying to cheer Urz up but only this time.] - Malaise

[Woohoo! Boobies are life! Boobies are love!] - Veronica

[Q-Quiet! It's Karen's turn in the spotlight! Ignore them! You're definitely adorable!] - Malaise

[Hmph. It's definitely cute, not as much as the Young Miss but I'll give her some credit at least. Now try this one next Lady Rose!!!] - Annabelle

[St-] - Karen

[St-?] - Everyone

[Stop looking at me!!!] - Karen

Apparently, our comments had been feeding Karen's embarrassment as I noticed her purple "skin" becoming darker and darker as we kept layering on more and more compliments. Confident as she was, she'd always been weak to crowds focused on her and that even applied to something as small as this. While she'd have normally been able to deal with it, I guess all the comments about how cute she was ended up overwhelming her defenses as she fled back into the changing area. The knowing smirk on my friends' faces only said one thing. Cute!