Someone mesmerizing

Chapter 20

“These two are my most trusted people in the Army,” the King proudly declares. “I’m sure you’ve all met General Horius from earlier, and this is our military advisor and the best mage in our country, Hisora Syl Revndal.”

The two faunites step forward and shake hands with everyone, exchanging introductions and small talk.

Everyone smiles, but Naoya, Greta and Astrea are instead focused on Lance, who has a different, less innocent smile as he fixes his clothes. All three of them discreetly point a finger at him, and he freezes in place like a mannequin, eyes wide open.

Hisora stops before him with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t worry. Scared of ladies. Especially pretty ones. Like you,” Astrea tells her.

“Oh, a-alright then,” she says with a smirk as she converses with the rest of Cipher Unit and, finally, Naoya.

He tries his best to stay calm despite the panic at the back of his mind.

“Hello, Miss Hisora. I’m Shiranui Naoya, first-year trainee Knight of the Aetheryn Order,” he says, raising a shaky hand.

“Hello, Naoya,” her voice was quite soft but still mature, like thick honey, echoing in his head. “Umm… just call me Hisora. We look about the same age anyway,” she says as she takes his hand, which sends his mind into a frenzy, feeling how soft she was.

“Ah, yeah, of course. I finished the Valebryn Academy Special Course in one year, so I became a trainee younger than most,” he replies, internally fighting himself for sneaking in a boast like that. He was worried that it made him sound arrogant.

“Oh, wow. I heard about that Special Course. How was it?”

“Very difficult. We had to study ten levels’ worth of lessons. I didn’t actually expect to pass in just one year,” he says, trying to sound more humble this time. “R-right, how about you? You must be amazing if you’re the head strategist at our age.”

“Ah, n-not really. I just got lucky with my exams, that’s all,” she answers, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

Their eyes meet and neither of them wanted to look away. Naoya’s vision seemed to blur everything that wasn’t her, finding her deep brown eyes mesmerizing. He could see the moon reflecting in it as it bathed her lustrous grey hair with its light. Her ethereal presence took his breath away, and he would’ve stayed hypnotized if he hadn’t noticed everyone else watching them.

They finally remember to let go of each other’s hands as their faces turn bright red. Hisora sheepishly walks back to the King, who had small, playful smile, his eyes darting back and forth between her and Naoya.

“Right, then. It looks like you’ve all made some… really good acquaintances with each other. If you don’t mind, we will borrow our daughter for a while to have some family time, yes?”

“Of course, Your Highness. Thank you for your time,” Captain Bellan and the group bow to the royal family as they leave.

And Lance finally unfreezes. “Dude, who did that? Why would you guys do that?! I couldn’t even properly introduce myself,” he says in disbelief.

“It’s for the good of Valebryn and the Order’s reputation. We have an image to keep, and we don’t want to tarnish it right in front of the Royal Family,” Greta coldly replies.

“What about my image then? I looked like a joke in front of those people. Why do you act like I’m some serial playboy?” he lashes out, but he is only met with skeptical looks from everyone.

“Okay, maybe I can’t help being such a ladies’ man all the time—”

“What?” Tessa retorts.

“—but I wasn’t going to try anything with her. I know my manners, okay. Why didn’t you freeze Naoya, then? He was the one being chummy with Miss Hisora!”

“Huh? Me?” Naoya says in confusion, as if he just joined the conversation when he heard his name.

“I know why! Because it was love at first sight! Nothing was forced, and the moment their eyes met, they just couldn’t help their feelings! Ahh, it’s so romantic,” Clara squeals in excitement.

“Wha-? No, it wasn’t. Well, yeah, she was pretty, very pretty, but like I was just a bit shy. Because her hand was so soft and her voice was so warm and… I mean, it’s just a normal reaction! Damn it,” he gives up and sits down, covering his face like Ana earlier.

“Fox faunites, huh? You got a great taste in women, Naoya,” Captain Bellan says with a playful wink.

The night slowly went on, and their group spent more time meeting other Jaruna citizens, as well as introducing Naoya to other Aetheryn Knights and trainees.

Naoya, however, was quite distracted, searching for a pair of silver grey fox ears among the crowd. And sometimes, by pure chance, their eyes would meet, causing them to turn away quickly as they both blushed.

Clara, seeing his gaze constantly sweeping through the hall, calls Ana, and together they hatch a plan.

“Hey guys, I’m back,” Ana suddenly appears in the group, now looking more like her usual, carefree self. Clara gives her a hug, and everyone asks how things have been going with her family.

“Yeah, it’s all fine. Turns out they knew all along where I was, and they were just letting me do my thing. I was telling them stories about you guys, and they wanted to interview Naoya, actually. They’re really curious about your stories.”

“Wait, really? I’m gonna talking with the Royal Family? Is that okay? What if I accidentally say something bad?” he panics.

“Dude, you’ve already been talking to their youngest princess. You’ll be fine,” she says as she grabs Naoya by his collar and lifts him up effortlessly like a cat.

“But they’re not you! It’s completely different!” he protests as he gets carried to the royal family.

…

He found himself awkward sitting across the table from Hisora, none of them knowing where to look.

“So yes, it turns out my family and I have urgent matters to attend to, so for now, I’m assigning Hisora here to listen to your stories and report back to me later. And also to give you both some chance to… become friends,” King Kaelen tells them.

“I see… thank you, Your Highness,” was all Naoya could respond, he and the fox lady already realizing that they had been set up.

“Alright, then. Have fun! Let’s go, Ana dear. I have seven more platters of mushroom pie for you to enjoy.” The two royals walk away, with the Princess happily clinging on to her father’s arm like a kid. She looks back at the two of them and flashes a playful smirk.

And now they were alone together. The rest of the banquet went on as it was, with a few activities being hosted on stage, but on their own little table, everything else seemed to be background noise. The silence felt uncomfortable between them, and Naoya gathered his courage to break the ice.

“So, ummm… hello again, Miss Hisora.”

“Yes. Hello again, and Hisora’s just fine,” she smiles.

“Of course, and uhhh… I don’t know about you, but I think we’ve just been set up for an arranged… friendship.”

Perhaps because of the nerves they felt, she ends up laughing harder than he expected. Naoya lets out a sigh of relief, glad that his joke eases the awkwardness between them.

“That is indeed what His Highness told us to do,” she says as she wipes a tear. “I guess we’ve been noticed earlier.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for that one. I was never good with ladies, especially pretty ones… like… you,” he replies, regretting every word of his attempt at being romantic.

But, surprisingly, it made her blush. “Honestly, I’ve never had much experience with men either, so I guess we're both terrible at this.”

“Well, if you’re okay with a clumsy partner… I’d be happy to learn with you.”

She gives him an impressed look, surprised by his courage.

“Alright, let’s see if we can work out this arranged friendship.”

They start out with some small talk, and gradually reach more personal topics about each other, such as their academic achievements and their similarly gifted aptitude with magic.

She was the child of simple fox faunite parents, living a modest life as farmers in Jaruna. Since she was born, she had already been quite curious about magic, and her parents often found her studying materials a bit too advanced for her age. Because of this, at only 4 years old, she started attending Jaruna’s Viridican Arcanum, the kingdom’s magic academy. She had graduated at only 12 years old, was immediately scouted out by the Royal Army, and over the course of just six years, had already climbed its ranks as Jaruna’s Archmage and military strategist.

“That is… wow. Now I’m starting to think I’m not actually that gifted after all.”

“Don’t say that. It’s your turn. Tell me about yourself.”

“Well, it’s quite a long story, since I’m not actually born in Valebryn… or this world, for that matter.”

“Go on, I’m listening,” she says as her fox ears twitch, giving him a curious look.

Naoya recounts his journey so far. His previous life in Japan, his death, his rebirth in this world, and his start at Valebryn.

As he narrated his story, Hisora listened to him with complete focus, absorbed in his words, as if he was the only thing in the room. They looked into each other's eyes, lost in their own thoughts as he finished his story.

“Wow. That was… more interesting than I imagined. A completely different world than ours…” she says, deep in thought.

“Yeah. Now that I’ve experienced this world, I look back at mine sometimes and realize that it actually was cooler than I thought.”

They continue chatting deeper into the night, until the banquet comes to an end, and both Cipher and Halo Unit pick him up to return to their accommodations. They exchange goodbyes, and Naoya spends the rest of the night being teased by his friends. Except for Lance, who was initially bummed out at first, but was eventually convinced to be happy for Naoya instead.

As he went to bed, he felt excited. For the start of the joint training tomorrow, and of course, for his newfound friendship with Hisora.

He eventually fell asleep, and on that night, after the longest time, he experienced a familiar dream once again. The same one that he had experienced countless times before.

Of wide open fields where fantastical creatures roamed about freely.

Of a blue-haired girl holding out her hand to him, talking in a language he now understood.

Of a castle that floated in the sky, looking down on a vast kingdom lying in ruins. Pillars of smoke rose from countless broken structures.

And of a young woman with fox-like ears and a silvery tail, her hair and fur gleaming with a lustrous grey hue. She looked at him with dreamy eyes as they witnessed the destruction below them.