"Come on, Zeke," Viola begged, "you promised!"
"I promised to buy you one, not 100!" Zeke exclaimed, exasperated.
"Ok, this is the last one, I swear," Viola said with a sly smile.
"That's what you said a minute ago!" Zeke yelled.
While the two of them were bickering, Sophia quietly sipped her drink. She sat across from the two and watched the back and forth with a twinkle of amusement in her eye.
"Pleeeeeaaaaase," Viola begged once more.
"Why do you even need me to pay?" Zeke asked. "Is your Windtänzer family so broke?"
"It's not about the money!"
"Then what is it about?" Zeke asked.
Viola turned her head and mumbled something incomprehensible. Zeke leaned in to hear her better. Finally, he could make out what she was saying.
"…stupid Zeke. Why can't you just be nice and do some small things for me every now and then? You don't even care if…"
"Fine, fine! You win! I'm getting another round," Zeke exclaimed while getting up. Through his [Perfect Spatial Awareness] he saw the sly grin return to Viola's face as she and Sophia secretly high-fived under the table.
Zeke was not really against getting the girls another drink. He was mainly acting reluctant because he knew Viola enjoyed the feeling of convincing him. Moments later, Zeke returned to their table with three new tankards of fruit wine. He looked around the bar and saw many familiar faces. The establishment they had decided to go to at the end of the festival was apparently a popular hang-out spot for the rich and wealthy.
Zeke had never been here before. He had also never before heard of the fruit wine they had been drinking all evening. It was something new from the South, or so he had been told. The drink was called Ambrosia, and Zeke had taken an instant liking to its taste. His [Perfect Body Control] meant that he would be able to instantly purge the alcohol from his blood if he needed to, but he had started to enjoy the slight buzz he was feeling.
It was not easy for a Blood Mage to actually get drunk. His blood was saturated with mana. That meant that it was continually purifying itself. Zeke saw that both Viola and Sophia were far more intoxicated than him. The two girls were having a hush conversation and were constantly snickering about something.
Zeke returned to the table and handed out a mug to each of the girls. Viola immediately snatched the drink and started chugging it down. A moment later, she let out a content sigh. Sophia, on the other hand, didn't even glance at the mug. Instead, she savored the last sip from her previous drink with a blissful look on her face. Only after that did she exchange the empty mug. She gave Zeke a grateful nod as she started on the new drink.
"What are your plans over the winter?" Zeke finally asked.
"You first!" Viola demanded. Zeke rolled his eyes at her childishness but still obliged.
"Maximilian is taking Leo and me around the country. We are visiting all the different Magic academies. I hope to be able to go to all their libraries and gain as much knowledge as possible," Zeke explained.
"What's so good about books, anyway?" Viola asked.
"You wouldn't understand," Sophia teased with a smirk. "I, for one, think that's a great idea. It is never wrong to have a broad understanding of different kinds of Magic."
"Mind Mages," Viola scoffed while rolling her eyes. "What good will it do me to know about the magic that I won't be able to cast anyway?"
"It might not be important for you," Zeke replied. "But I want to become a researcher and develop my own spells someday."
"Like your mentor," Sophia stated.
Zeke merely nodded. He wouldn't tell the girls that he had already started to work on his own spells. Everybody just assumed that Maximilian was teaching him all he knew and he was happy to let the misunderstanding stand. It would be a huge problem if it became known that Zeke had already developed several spells at his age.
"Are you kidding me?" Viola exclaimed. "You just won the tournament! Why would you waste your talent on being a researcher?"
"I enjoy research," Zeke explained patiently to the petulant girl. "Also, I'm under no illusion that I'm actually the strongest in my year. Don't get me wrong, I'm in the top 10 for sure, but the main reason I had such an easy time at the tournament was that people didn't know what I could do. Now that my cards have all been revealed, I would be hard-pressed to win again."
Viola nodded. It was true that Zeke had a huge advantage over the other students. They all had a lot of experience fighting against other elemental Mages, but most had never faced a Blood mage before, much less a Tri-Affinity mage like Zeke. He, on the other hand, had been training against Elemental Mages exclusively.
"I was also lucky with my year," Zeke admitted. "There was no Windtänzer in my year. Wind Mages have always been the hardest for me. I was lucky that Samuel was all I had to face."
Viola nodded much more fervently now.
"Right you are!" she exclaimed. "If there had been a single Windtänzer in the tournament, they would surely have taken first place."
"Hold your horses," Zeke said with an exasperated tone while rolling his eyes. "There is no way that a Wind Mage could have won against Edmund or Leo."
Viola's cheeks were puffing up in indignance and Zeke knew that she was preparing another tirade about the invincibility of Wind Mages. Before she could get started, Zeke quickly distracted her with something else.
"Ok! I have told you about my plans - time for you guys to spill!" he demanded. His diversion seemed to work as Viola visibly lost her train of thought. Instead, she exchanged a glance with Sophia. It was the Mind Mage that answered Zeke's question.
"Well, we are both gonna be third years after the break," she explained. "That means that we are spending most of our time away from school. Third years are required to carry out assignments outside the academy. I'm going to help my uncle with his duties. I'm probably not going to be around much next year."
Zeke was impressed and disappointed in equal measure upon hearing about her plans. Sophia was going to be with Otto Geistreich. Did that mean that she would take on his role someday? Her future would indeed be limitless if that was the case. But it was sad to hear that she would not be around for at least a year. Even so, he managed a smile and congratulated the girl.
"That is impressive," Zeke said, "your uncle appeared to be an impressive man."
Sophia merely smiled and nodded. She looked over at Viola, waiting for the girl to answer as well.
"My grandpa is sending me away somewhere," Viola said, visibly annoyed. "He didn't even tell me where I'm going or what I'm gonna do. For some reason, he is absolutely insistent that I'll leave the capital in the next week. I'm not even gonna be around for the entrance ceremony."
"When are you gonna be back?" Zeke asked.
"No idea!" Viola exclaimed. "I know literally nothing. It's as if I'm going on some kind of secret mission, but if that were the case, Gramps would have told me that it was a secret mission. This sucks!"
The three were drinking in silence for a while after Viola's exclamation, each consumed by their own thoughts. It dawned on Zeke that he would probably not see the girls anymore for at least a year. It was a good thing that he had Leo now, otherwise, he would be all alone in school again. Even so, he would miss the girls. The two of them had become an important part of his life.
"I guess this is goodbye then," Zeke finally said. "I'm gonna leave tomorrow and only return toward the end of winter break. You guys will probably be long gone by then."
Both girls nodded. Viola was visibly saddened by their imminent departure and even Sophia looked somewhat glum. Zeke felt like he had to say something to bring the mood back up.
"It's not forever, though," Zeke said with a forced smile. "I bet when we meet next time, I'm gonna be stronger than both of you."
"Ha! No chance, slowpoke!" Viola immediately exclaimed, "You will never be able to beat me!"
Zeke smiled at Viola. She was so easy to rile up. Her fiery character was one of the things he liked most about the girl. Sophia was not that easy to provoke though. She seemed to only have gotten sadder at Zeke's words.
She whispered something under her breath. Her voice was so soft that it was obviously not meant to be heard, but Zeke was able to pick up her words with his [Perfect Spatial Awareness].
"I truly hope so…" was what she whispered. Zeke was puzzled by her words. They were only going to be separated for a year, was there any reason that they would not be able to see each other after that? Sophia seemed to notice his concerned gaze and immediately perked up.
"Right!" she exclaimed in a jovial tone. "It's only going to be a year. I bet it's going to pass in the blink of an eye."
Zeke was not fooled by her act, but he would not press her for answers either. If Sophia wanted him to know something, then he would. He had no way to force any answers out of her anyway.
The rest of the evening, the three spent in a companionable mood. They all made plans for what they would do when they finally met back up. At the end of the night. Zeke gave both of the girls a deep hug. The intoxicated girls lingered a tad longer in his embrace than they might have done normally. Not that Zeke was complaining.
"You better not forget about me," Viola said with tears in the corner of her eyes before letting go. Zeke merely smiled in response. There was no way that he would forget about her.
"Take care of yourself," Sophia whispered during their hug.
"You, too," Zeke responded. He had the feeling that there was a deeper meaning hidden behind her words though.
After the three had said their goodbyes, Zeke made his way back to Maximilian's mansion. Gretchen and Margret both appeared out of nowhere the moment he left the establishment. He had seen the two sporadically through the evening. From what he had seen, the two Grand Mages had also enjoyed their time at the tavern.
"Finally said goodbye to your two girlfriends, lover boy?" Gretchen teased.
"Yep," Zeke replied with a smirk. "How about you, Gretchen? Finally found someone blind enough to go out with you?"
"Stinking brat," Gretchen exclaimed, "what do you even know? There are tons of men who want to date me! If you lined them all up they would reach from here to the western front, I tell you!"
Zeke couldn't stifle a grin. She always tried to tease him. Even though it never worked out for her, she never gave up.
"Are the both of you going to join us tomorrow?" Zeke asked. He did not know who exactly would accompany them on their journey through the empire.
"No, I won't," Gretchen said in a conspiratorial tone. "The old man has a special mission for me. Apparently, I'm going to Tradespire. Do you know what this is about?"
Zeke was surprised to hear that. If Maximilian was sending Gretchen to Tradespire then that meant that he was finally getting in contact with the leader of the Mage's association. Zeke nodded at his guard in response to her question.
"I can't tell you anything specific," Zeke said in a somber tone, "but your mission is of utmost importance."
Gretchen didn't take the warning seriously and instead seemed to only be more excited about the upcoming mission.
"If the mission really is that important, then it's no wonder the old man wants to send me," Gretchen bragged. "I'm much more reliable than someone else."
She said that last part while slyly glancing over at Margret. Margret, Zeke's other guard, was completely unaffected by the teasing.
"Good luck," she responded dryly. Zeke thought that this would be the end of It, but after a moment, she spoke up again. "I'll be missing you while touring the empire on board the Alexandria," she said.
Zeke and Gretchen halted in their tracks.
"Zeke, did I hear what I think I heard?" Gretchen asked with wide eyes.
"I don't know Gretchen. I can barely believe it myself," Zeke responded, "but if my ears are still working fine, then I think that Margret just tried to make a joke!"
"Impossible!" Gretchen exclaimed loudly. "Didn't we determine that she was physically incapable of such behavior!?"
"I guess we were wrong. It's time to go back to the drawing board," Zeke said with a sigh while acting frustrated. Margret had also stopped and was looking down. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zeke saw that her ears had turned incredibly red.
"Are you guys done?" Margret growled to hide her embarrassment. Zeke and Gretchen exchanged an amused smile as the three started walking again. It wasn't long after that they arrived at the mansion. Zeke bid his guards farewell as he entered alone.
He found Maximilian and Leo in the dining room. What he didn't expect was for his family to be there as well. Maya's eyes immediately lit up when she saw Zeke enter the room. She seemed to be in an especially good mood, for some reason. He waved back at her before turning a confused gaze to his parents.
"I thought that you guys were going to head back home today?" Zeke asked.
"I thought so as well," his mother said, "but it appears your mentor had other plans."
Before Zeke could even ask, Maximilian started to explain, "I have been thinking, my boy. I believe it would be better if we brought your family along."
"How did you arrive at that conclusion," Zeke asked.
"You don't know this, but I have been stationing people close to your family for a while now. I wanted to make sure that they were well protected. I would be able to arrive in minutes with the help of a Space Mage if necessary, but that would no longer be the case with us far away."
"Do you think my family is in danger?" Zeke asked, the alarm clear in his voice.
"Not really," Maximilian said in a soothing tone, "but you didn't exactly make a lot of friends during the tournament. Also, let's be honest, there is not much for farmers to do in Feldstadt during the winter. I think it would be a good idea to bring them along either way."
Zeke looked at his parents with a raised eyebrow. He would be more than happy to take them along, but it was ultimately their decision.
"Well, your mentor is not exactly wrong," his father said ponderingly while stroking his chin. "We were not planning on doing much, I'm just not sure if it will be safe for Maya…"
"PLEEEAAASSEEE!" Maya cried immediately. She was wildly looking around in search of allies, her gaze finally landing on Maximilian. It was only moments later that the old man crumbled under the power of her pleading blue eyes.
"Erm, well, I'm not one to brag normally," the old man began, "but I am one of the strongest Mages on the entire continent. I think the girl is going to be fine."
His father considered the old man's words for no more than a second before agreeing. "That's fine then. Honestly, I always wanted to travel around in an airship but never got the chance when I was young. What do you say, darling?"
"I was in favor from the beginning," Zeke's mother said while rolling her eyes. "This is the only chance we will get to spend some time with our boy."
Maximilian nodded contently at how the situation had turned out.
"Excellent!" he proclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "I guess there is only one thing left to do. Zeke, Leo - it's time to pack your bags!"