An Invitation to a Date and an Invitation to a Raid

Let's get this over with. I guess it makes sense that I'm in charge of inviting this group, but still…

Alex sighs and knocks on the door of one of the neighboring houses. A woman opens the door, and to Alex's displeasure, it's not Stefanie.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asks, her voice slightly curious.

Damn …

"Hello there, I have something to discuss with Stefanie. Is she home? If yes, could you please get her?" Alex responds politely.

The woman suddenly grins at him and begins to laugh. "Uuuh, are you inviting our boss to a date?! Did you really fall for her like she said? She predicted you couldn't control your desire and would invite her one of these days. Hehe, good for you, finally mustering up the courage! I'll get her for you!"

…She twisted the truth! She demanded the damn date! Also, it's not about the damn date—I'm just combining the date with our invitation to conduct a raid.

"Thank you," Alex says, biting his teeth, deciding to just ignore whatever she's assuming.

A few moments later, Stefanie walks out the door with a knowing smile. "Good, you didn't forget it! I assume you've prepared the perfect date for us."

Hell no!

"Sure… how about a little sweets-shopping at Honeydukes? Maybe after that, we can check out Tomes and Scrolls, Zonko's, Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and maybe some clothes shopping at Gladrags? After that, we can grab something to eat—Madam Puddifoot's is popular with the students," Alex suggests, unsure if Stefanie is okay with his shopping date idea.

"Not the most innovative date, but it's good enough, considering you don't know too much about me. Fine, I accept! You pass… for now," she says with a smug smile and stretches out her hand.

Really?! …Well, why not?

Alex gently grabs her hand, and Stefanie walks with him toward Hogsmeade, her face bright and happy, however Alex detects a hint of something else in it.

The two stroll through the village, heading to Honeydukes, where Alex buys a load of different sweets for himself and his smug-looking date. Munching on the treats, Stefanie grabs Alex's arm as they continue their shopping spree, entering the various shops the village has to offer.

— [Scene Break] —

"Alex, what do you think suits me best? This one or the other outfits from before?" She asks.

They all look stupid. Wizard outfits are just that silly.

"I honestly prefer this one because it looks the least silly. Also, the light green color suits you—bright and clear, with just a tiny hint of poison," Alex comments honestly.

"…That's a point deduction! What a rude thing to say!" she says with an overexaggerated scowl, but turns her head away, clearly flustered.

"How about that ribbon? It's kinda huge, and the decorations are a bit exaggerated, but I think it would suit you," Alex says, grabbing a large white-green ribbon with a white unicorn motif on it. He then ties it onto Stefanie's hair, feeling its smoothness as he does so.

Stefanie stiffens and blushes as Alex finishes tying the ribbon.

Might as well buy it for her.

Alex pays for the ribbon, and they quickly leave the store, walking toward Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. They order some cake and tea and swiftly sit down.

"Stefanie… may I be honest? It was kinda fun hanging out with you, but why did you invite me on this 'date'? I feel like you didn't have a really good time. You seemed to like it, but I could feel you were… stressed. I myself know that feeling too well," Alex asks, a bit worried about Stefanie's mental state.

"I had fun… I really liked it… Thank you for indulging me… however, yes, something was missing," she says with a forced smile.

"The truth is, I wanted to experience this, fearing I might not get another chance… I'm scared. The next parts of our missions will surely be dangerous. I just wanted to experience this once before risking it all," she explains, her face slightly apologetic.

"Despite you doing your best, I simply wasn't able to relax with the upcoming danger nearing," she continues.

This is bad timing… I can understand, but this may ruin our plans.

Alex looks into her face, seeing her anxiety and tension, before slowly speaking.

"I know what you're going through. I know that feeling in your chest. It's like having an important exam, a very important meeting, or some other trial coming up. You just can't calm down until it's over. However, I think in this case, you should do your best to forget it. It's still a long time until the last trial begins. You can't stress yourself out. Sometimes it's a good idea to not think about the inevitable, but do your best to prepare. However, I must admit, I was also not only thinking about the date myself. I feel slightly bad for asking you this. We were planning an upcoming raid… on the Wall of Corruption. I wanted to invite you and your group after our date. However, if you're not in the right mindset for such an undertaking, I guess we can try it on our own or maybe with a few other groups."

"We accept!" Stefanie says without even thinking. "I can't relax, but doing something productive will ease my tension. This might be a good start… and I know it's the right thing to do. Our group was intending to ask you and the others for months, but we held back. It's the right thing to do… the right thing…" she mumbles before finally announcing in a clear voice: "We need to team up to make it through this. Let's do it!"

She's brave, I'll give her that. She knows what the correct decision is… she just needed a little push.

"Well, this sounds good. I also have a little gift for you," Alex says, handing her a small cloth bag that's surprisingly heavy for its size.

She takes it and examines it, unsure what it is. "Thank you… but what is it? Coins inside?" She opens it and her eyes widen. "Ah! Bullets! I forgot about them! Thank you, though you should've reminded me when we were trading earlier!"

"They cost money, you know. Why would I give them away for free… well, I just did, but you need to pay more attention to these things," Alex responds.

Stefanie blushes and whispers, "Thank you…"

Finally, the two finish their tea and slowly get up, walking back to their houses.

"I had fun. I'm serious. I'll see you around… we'll stay in contact for when it's time for the raid, okay?" Alex says, waving at her and turning to walk toward his house when Stefanie interrupts him.

"WAIT!!!" she screams but then goes silent, her face turning red.

"I… d-date end… kiss," Stefanie stutters, obviously nervous and embarrassed.

This is kinda cute, though I'm really not in the mood for this… but I can relate to her nervousness. If I hadn't received shock and exposure therapy from Menchi and Tereza, I'd probably be just as nervous and inexperienced as she is. I feel slightly bad for her.

Stefanie begins to cry, a single tear rolling down her cheek, and tries to walk away when Alex stops her. He slowly hugs her, stroking her hair gently, and then says, "Goodbye. I'll see you soon."

Silly girl.

With a blushed face but looking much better, she enters her house and screams, "Don't get the wrong idea! I was just using you for experience!" before slamming the door.

…Riiight.

— [Scene Break] —

April 7th, 1994, 10:00 AM

Edge of the Forbidden Forest

Alex, with Jewel perched on his head, Tereza, and Rishi stand in front of the Forbidden Forest. Next to them are the other groups: Ben and his soldier comrades, Stefanie and the young players, and Alicia with her all-female group.

"This gathering looks so damn weird," Alex can't help but comment.

"Hehe, I agree! This is a bunch of seemingly random people. You guys look like slackers compared to our disciplined squad," Ben says with a laugh.

Alicia and her group chuckle as well, while Stefanie and the other youths look determined but slightly nervous.

"So, we're going over the plan one more time. We've all worked hard the last few weeks to clear out any lone Acromantulas and every other corrupted beast. The only thing left is the Wall of Corruption and the nest. Our goal is to get rid of the wall and every single corrupted beast we stumble across," Alex announces.

"Any last-minute questions? Once we enter the forest, we won't have time for small talk. We'll swiftly approach the Wall of Corruption to reduce the chances of being detected prematurely," Alex says, looking at the group with a questioning expression.

"We've talked, we've trained, we've discussed. We're all ready," Alicia says confidently.

"Let's do our best," one of the youths says, seemingly more interested in convincing himself and his own group than the rest.

"Let's finish this, nerds. I've got a nice date with that older witch selling herbs lined up," one of the soldiers says with a lewd grin.

"Yeah, Ben, totally disciplined," Alex comments dryly.

The soldiers laugh at that, punching their lewd comrade in jest.

Meh, that witch isn't even that hot in the first place. Nothing to brag about!

Dearest Soulmate is correct. Princess Jewel is, of course, the only one qualified for her soulmate. ❤️

Alex sighs before mustering up his courage.

"Let's do this!! This is a mission based on trust. There are no contracts, no guarantees. But I still believe in you. Let's clear this mission together!" Alex suddenly yells, trying to rouse the other groups.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

"We can do it!"

Some people respond to Alex's motivation, and even Rishi nods at him in approval.

The group of 18 humans and 1 spider enters the Forbidden Forest.

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