Chapter 55 – Tresuria and Chujitsuna

Nozomu explained while Tresuria hid behind him with her pet plant at her feet. “It seems everyone was curious about Tresuria, but they all failed to notice that she was feeling trapped with so many people around her.”

The man slithered around Nozomu and looked closely at the nervous Gailie, who was hiding her face on Nozomu’s back. “Look at me, child. That’s it. I am not going to bite you.”

Tresuria peeked from behind Nozomu and said, “Hi… This one is Tresuria. It is nice to meet you.”

“Hello, Tresuria. I am Ruh de Mills, the History Teacher. You need to get used to unknown people if you intend to become an Adventurer, you know? I never heard anything about a Gailie Adventurer, meaning that you are probably the first.”



“Yes… This one always loved to hear her father talk about his adventures when he was one, and it was always her dream to work as an Adventurer. This one… never thought it could be so scary to be here… surrounded… trapped…”

Tresuria squeezed Nozomu’s shirt, and Ruh de Mills spoke with a smile. “Well, I was always looked upon with suspicion when I first applied to the Academy, and despite my nervousness, because I was also the first Snake-kind that wanted to be an Adventurer, I managed it somehow, so I am sure you will do it as well. Besides, your boyfriend came with you, so you don’t need to be so nervous!”

“No… That is… Nozomu is not this one boyfriend… This one is not even sure if he is her friend… This one met him a few days ago...”

Nozomu turned around to face the nervous girl and spoke. “What are you saying? Of course, I am your friend, Tresuria. Take a deep breath and calm down. I think I understand what happened. Being the first Gailie who wants to be an Adventurer, wanting to make a good impression, making your father proud, can be overwhelming. Suddenly, a lot of people were approaching, asking questions and making you even more nervous. What do you say? Ready to go inside and see what awaits us?”

Tresuria nodded with a slight smile and, after taking a slow, deep breath like Nozomu told her to do, she looked at the two girls that were next to him and greeted them. “Hello, nice to meet you. This one is Tresuria, and that one is Draiky, her pet plant. This one feels sorry for causing all this mess, and this one deeply apologises.”

As she was making a slight smile, her eyes met Chujitsuna Hito, who, like her, was frozen in her spot, with her mouth half-open.
Taisetsuna’s greeting her came as a whisper brought by the wind, and Tresuria couldn’t focus on it or pay any attention. Her entire being was concentrated on the beautiful Snake-kind in front of her, unable to think of anything else besides her deep brown eyes.

As for Chujitsuna Hito, she was also staring at Tresuria in silence, and her voice came out in a low tone as she spoke. “Hi… I am Chuji… Tresuria… that is an amazing name… and you are so beautiful… I… hope we can be friends… yeah…”

“This one… thanks you, Chuji, and… This one also thinks you are beautiful… friends… Yes, friends, this one will be very happy!”

Nozomu frowned a bit upon seeing the way both girls were looking at each other, as if they were mesmerized.

The Teacher interrupted them by clearing his throat while pointing to the main building. “Aham… Well, it’s better if you all go inside for the briefing. The Principal will make his usual speech and explain the try-outs. Good luck, you will need it.”

With those enigmatic words, he slithered away, grabbing his throwing dagger that was stuck on the ground on his way to the main entrance of the enormous building. Taisetsuna looked down when she heard a clacking sound, and the pet plant poked her leg with one of his vines as if he was analysing her.

She asked while still looking down. “Tresuria, your pet here is acting weird. He is checking if my meat is tender or what?”

Tresuria spoke without even stop looking at Chujitsuna Hito. “Oh… No… sorry… This one apologizes. Draiky sometimes acts strangely when he is near someone with too much Magic. If he is so interested in you, it probably means you have more Magic in you than most people. Maybe… we should go to the building. We don’t want to be late… Yes, that’s it, let’s go, Nozomu!”

Suddenly, she grabbed Nozomu’s arm and almost dragged him while she ran to the entrance, with her pet plant running after them.

Chujitsuna Hito rubbed her face and then looked at Taisetsuna with her eyes wide open. “Did you see that girl? She… is… amazingly pretty! Do you think she has a girlfriend? Because I wouldn’t mind being hers! By God Raluth, I wouldn’t even mind if she slapped me with those amazing vines of hers! And did you see her pink lips? I so want to kiss her! And her breasts! Gosh, I would squeeze them so much and make her moan like crazy all night!”

Taisetsuna jolted and stuttered. “You… like girls? How… I mean…”

Chujitsuna put her right arm over Taisetsuna’s shoulders and spoke as they went to the building, following Nozomu and the now calm and smiling Gailie. “Of course I do! Why do you think I kissed you? I just made a wrong calculation and thought you also liked girls, but I am pretty sure that beautiful Gailie shares my good taste in partners. Well, she can also like boys, but I hope she likes me more. You are going to help me conquer her, won’t you? Being such a good friend as you are, you won’t want to see me sad, will you?”

“What are you talking about? I hardly know you! You are completely nuts, Chuji!”

That answer granted Taisetsuna a strong squeeze on her neck that almost made her eyes pop out, as Chujitsuna Hito answered with a big smile, “You are so funny, Taisetsuna! I know you like me already, so you don’t need to pretend to hate me! Besides, you wouldn’t be dumb enough to do that unless you wanted to die! Do you know what they say about Snake-kind? We are all treacherous, mean, vindictive, and we like to eat our enemies’ heads! You have such a pretty head, it would be sad if you lost it!”

“You… are you threatening me? That is not a good idea, Chuji… Nozomu won’t always be around to stop me, and you might be in for more than you can chew!”

Chujitsuna Hito kept on smiling, and slowly, her smile disappeared as she nodded. “Yeah… I am sorry, I… I guess I am kind of nervous, and I joke even more when I am nervous. It’s that Things didn’t work out with my last girlfriend, and now I am a bit afraid of trying again… If you wouldn’t mind giving me a hand… I would really appreciate it...”

Taisetsuna jolted and answered, “You… are serious, aren’t you? When we met, I thought you had sand as a brain, but you…”

Chujitsuna blinked a few times and spoke with a big smile, “Yeah! What was I even thinking? I was never a serious girl! Things will work out eventually, so don’t worry about me! Come, I want to know what we have to do in the try-outs! I hope its something fun!”

As she slithered at high speed through the main entrance, Taisetsuna mumbled, “That girl is nuts… Or she is not used to being serious... Crazy girl, that one…”

As Chujitsuna and Taisetsuna were talking, Nozomu asked right before entering the building, “Are you feeling better now, Tresuria?”

“Yes, this one is okay, thanks. This one made a fool of herself, didn’t she?”

“It was understandable. I read Gailies are peaceful and shy. No wonder you went into a panic for suddenly receiving so much attention. I noticed you gathered a lot from a certain Snake-kind girl, and you also seemed very interested in her.”

“This… this one doesn’t know what you are talking about, Nozomu. Now shush, this one doesn’t want to attract more attention than she already has! Everyone will look at us if we keep on talking about strange subjects.”

“I don’t see what is strange about you being so surprised about Chuji as she was with you. You are both adults; you can do whatever you want and be with whoever you want, and no one has a say in that.”

Tresuria bit her lower lip and said as they were walking along the corridor that led to the main meeting room at the other end. “You… won’t think that this one is weird? It’s that… this one never had a boyfriend, because this one never had much interest in boys. Girls are way prettier and more interesting, but this one… never had a girlfriend either… This one doesn’t even know what girls do together… This one read some stuff, but… Oh, this one wants a hole to hide! Don’t… don’t look at me…”

Nozomu gently took her hands from her face and spoke with a gentle smile, “You worry too much, Tresuria. I would never think that you are weird. If you like girls, then you like girls. I don’t see a problem with that. As long as you are happy, that’s everything that matters. Unless you are afraid of what your parents might think, but I am sure they will support you if you talk to them and explain. Parents are normally very understanding, and they all want their kids to be happy.”

“You… never met this one’s mother... She can be scary... But... Yeah, you are right, she might not mind. This one aunt is dating a Dog-kind woman and they are very happy together. This one mother often mocks her sister for her poor taste in partners, but… Mother has already told this one that she enjoys messing with her sister, but she adores her and only wants her to be happy, whether with a man or a woman. Maybe... she accepts it like you said… As for father… Yeah, he won’t mind. Father is cool. He loves this one very much, and he always supports this one in everything.”

“See? There’s no need to be concerned. You just need to be you and get to know her better. You won’t know if things will work out or not unless you give it a shot, because it is always better to regret things you did, instead of regretting things you never dared to even try.”

Tresuria made a slight smile and followed Nozomu to an empty table at the right of the aisle where they were.
When Taisetsuna entered the building, she found herself in a large, circular hall with armour and paintings on every wall. Three doors were there, but only the one in front of her was open, leading to a corridor with another open door at the end. A lot of light was coming from the open door at the end of the corridor, illuminating it so much, as if the sun was on the other side.
When Taisetsuna crossed the last open door, she blinked and looked up. The ceiling was light blue, with so many chandeliers that it was as if there were a bunch of suns in the sky. Nozomu’s voice called for her, and she rushed to the right of the aisle of the enormous room she was now in.
Long and large tables were there, in long lines, with chairs around them. Nozomu was near Tresuria, who had her eyes wide open, looking around at the several people that were also looking at her, smiling and whispering.
Chujitsuna Hito pointed at one empty chair, inviting Taisetsuna to join Nozomu while she was right next to Tresuria.
When Taisetsuna sat down, she looked to the farthest wall in front of them, and a long table was there, with some older people of different species, looking at the new applicants.

Then, a familiar voice made Taisetsuna shiver. “Here you are! I have been looking for you everywhere!”