Chapter 9: Tropical Siege Part 1

A week has passed since that mock war with the Rising whatever it's name is and things...

Well...

Things didn't really turn back to normal.

News spread through out the school that I punch the principal of the enemy school and now I'm being called a "hero".

And a "geezer killer"...

I wish I wouldn't have done what I did so that I won't be called weird names.

As they say, there's always regret at the end.

Anyway, that's not the only reason why things haven't returned to normal yet.

The other reason is that the finals exams are coming up and guess when is it.

It's tomorrow.

And what am I doing right now?

The answer is...

"Say Ahh♪"

"..."

"Ahh♪"

"..."

"Open your mouth so I can feed you."

"As if I can do something em-"

Before I was able to finish my protest, Pres the uninvited guest shoves a fork of cake into my mouth which took me by surprise.

And now I'm all flustered.

Damn it!

Pres looks at me with a gentle motherly smile and say...

"There you go!"

After that, she gets another piece of cake from her plate and tries to feed me again.

"Ahh♪"

This is some kind of harassment, isn't it?

Or a new method of bullying?

Either way, it seems to be working on me effectively.

What did I do to deserve this?

"Ahh♪"

For some reason, my mouth opens on it's own and Pres shoves another piece of cake with her fork inside it.

Wren who's sitting across me and Pres stood up furiously.

"YOU DARE DO THAT ON FRONT OF ME!"

Wren said angrily while her whole body is on fire.

Eri, who's sitting beside Wren, stood up and tries to calm her down.

"Now now your highness. Please calm down."

The answer is we're having a picnic.

Who knows what or why we're having a picnic before the finals exams.

Even I don't know myself.

I was just suddenly invited by Wren.

No! More like she forcefully drag me out of my room and brought me here while I was studying.

Actually, I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to study for since all the teachers said that the finals exam will be a surprise so I was studying random topics.

I even tried asking uncle Huck what the finals exam is all about and all he said was it was something that will blow my mind.

I tried asking gramps about it and all he did was laugh it off and offer me some tea.

Not only that, we also end up talking about my family for hours.

Since the teachers didn't give me the dirt, I tried asking the upperclassmen but no matter how much I pester them to give me some info, they keep on dodging the question.

Even Clarissa won't give me an answer and just talk about casual things like how's my day or what will I be doing during the sembreak.

In the end, I wasn't able to get any info on our finals exams.

Anyway, back to reality.

Pres smiles mischievously and speaks playfully.

"Hmm? Are you jealous?"

"Jealous of what?" is what I want to ask but some how, I can't speak out loud.

It's like some kind of invisible force is shutting my mouth.

"Huh? Me? Jealous? As if!"

Wren answered her exaggeratedly.

Jealous of what exactly?

Then again, I couldn't speak out loud.

Soon after, the flames covering her entire body died down.

Looks like Pres successfully calmed her down.

"If you're not Jealous, you don't mind me doing this do you?"

Suddenly, Pres grabs me by the collar, pulls me towards her and gives me a kiss on my left cheek.

That happened so fast that I was caught off guard and became flustered more than ever.

I bet my face looks like a freshly hand picked tomato right now.

Pres releases me and set her gaze at Wren with a playful look on her face which I found kinda attractive.

Now is not the time to think about that right now.

I recollect my thoughts and regain my composure as fast as I can.

After that, I set my gaze at Wren as well.

Wren is...

Well...

How do I describe her?

She looks like the Aeon Ifrit from "Final Fantasy 7, 563" who's about to use it's special skill.

In other words, Wren is really angry which made her burst into flames.

"Y-Y-YOU!!"

Why is she angry?

If you ask me, I'm the one should be angry since I'm the one being treated like a toy here!

"Oh! Looks like it's almost time for my meeting. Farewell everyone."

Pres said cheerfully like nothing happened and made her escape leaving me here with the enrage Wren.

Damn! Now what?

I know!

I try following Pres' example.

"I gotta go study for the finals now..."

After I made up that lame excuse, I slowly stood up and said.

"So thanks for the treat!"

And make a break for it after saying my thanks.

"WEEEEIIIIRDOOOO!"

I have no time to look back at the screaming Wren and just focus on running towards the exit.

...

That's strange...

How come I don't hear any footsteps behind me?

I took a glimpse behind me to see if Wren is running after me.

As I did, all I saw is the apple tree on top a small hill getting smaller bit by bit.

Did she give up on chasing me?

Nah!

Knowing Wren, she wouldn't give up easily especially when she's angry.

So I set my sights back on front and saw a burning Wren a little bit further from me.

I have a lot of questions to ask about this like "How the hell did she get there?" or "Does Wren have the ability to teleport?" but now is not the time for that.

Time to make my move.

I quickly hit the breaks, execute a right turn and run towards that direction before crashing into Wren.

Few seconds later, I felt a sharp pain at my back and before I know it, I was sent flying forward.

Bam*

I think I'm experiencing deja vu right now.

After few seconds of flight, I landed on the golden colored grass and scrape forward until I crash into a bush.

Shhshshsh* RUSTLE*

Though that hurt like hell, it wasn't enough to render me unconscious.

I'm a tough guy after all.

Suddenly, a strange aroma enters my nose.

It kinda smells like those expensive perfumes that my mother uses.

The pain on my body suddenly goes away.

All of a sudden, I feel sleepy and relax.

Soon after, my vision darkens.

I loose consciousness...

(Wren and Eri)

Wren who was furious earlier, rush towards Linel with a worried expression.

"W-weirdo!"

Wren pulls out the unconscious Linel, turns him over and tries to wake him up by shaking him.

"Come on weirdo! Wake up! Wake up!"

Eri, who seems to be relaxed, slowly walk towards Wren and lectures her.

"Your highness, I know you're upset but kicking Linel towards the Slumber Roses is going overboard."

"I-I didn't mean- I-It was an accident!"

Wren said with a hint of guilt.

Eri explain the situation in a worrisome manner.

"If we don't do something soon, he will stay unconscious for five days."

Wren throws a fit.

"I said it was an accident! Stop making me feel guilty!"

"Look at the bright side your highness, now you can lock him up in our room and keep him all to yourself for five days."

Eri said in a calm and pessimistic manner.

Wren mumbles to herself.

"L-lock him up in our room... A-all to myself..."

Sooner later, her face turns flush red.

"Your highness, your true colors are showing."

Eri points out.

"M-my true colors?"

Wren asked while her face became redder than before.

Eri teases her.

"Oh your highness! You're so cute when you're blushing.

"Eri!"

Wren shouted.

"Anyways, that's enough jokes for now. Let us do something with this dire situation we are in. We can't let Linel be absent during the finals exams now can we?"

Eri brush off the matter, takes out her cell phone and makes a call.

Wren who was all worked up earlier change to her usual grumpy self and said...

"Hmph!"

While crossing her arms and looking away.

Few minutes later, Louise the maidbot came over, pick up Linel and brought him to the infirmary.