NOVEL NEXT Chapter 457: Save it.
"A fresh-baked baguette sandwich with ham and cheese-so much cheese, in fact, it's spilling out the sides." Jamil noted in surprise at the amount of cheese slices.
"I'll have one." Malleus appeared out of nowhere and took a piece of the sandwich, "Mm, this is rather nice. I enjoy the richness of the cheese."
"They said it was goat cheese." Sebek smiled warmly in delight upon hearing a praise of the food from Malleus, "There were too many kinds to choose from, so I picked the most popular items on the menu."
"Again with the goats, hm. They really do love them around here." Jamil noted in surprise.
"I can imagine." Lotus sighed with disdain as she took a croissant from the table, "An aquaintance native to here once told me that the terrain of this place made raising cattle more expensive. However, their main consumption for dairy changed once gypsy folks began traveling through these parts more often and brought along goats with them. From disliking goats, they quickly found the convenience. Then, the tale of the judge occurred giving goats a chance to take the limelight and they became cherished. Moreover, these goats aren't from foreign places the gypsies traveled to but just in the far outskirts of the city. So, they are quite easier to care for."
"The cheese is softening from the heat of the baguette. I find that gives it a distinctive lingering aftertaste." Malleus interrupted as he tried to divert the conversation.
Oblivious to their little game, Riddle nodded in agreement after having a bite himself, "Yes, it has a nice depth of flavor and pairs well with the saltiness of the ham."
"You know, one would never be able to truly appreciate this without sampling it firsthand, even if they had all the knowledge in the world." Malleus pointed out, "Hands-on experiences are most intriguing. I wonder if Lilia had this same sandwich when he visited Fleur City. I should thank him for encouraging me to come on this trip."
"This sandwich has cheese made from cow's milk, as well as grape compote. By all means, try it!" Sebek brought out another dish excitedly.
"Certainly, just as soon as I have a drink." Malleus took a sip from the cup and raised a brow, "...What's this? The coffee you gave me is rather sweet. It has milk in it as well.
Did you perhaps...?"
"Ech! Bitter!" Sebek sputtered with a look of bewilderment.
Surprised, Malleus concluded, "Yes, I must have had your coffee. I assume you accidentally switched them."
"My apologies, sir..." Sebek apologized in embarrassment.
"Oh, you take your coffee with milk and sugar, Sebek?" Riddle smirked.
"I..." Sebek blushed as he denied so expressively in horror, "I merely happened to be in the mood for it, is all. It's not like I can't stand black coffee or anything!"
"Why are you so defensive? It's nothing to be embarrassed about. People have different tastes, you know." Riddle couldn't help but keep the smile on his face as he teased.
"But..." Sebek hesitated.
"You get hung up on the strangest things. Not everything has to be a point of pride." Jamil snickered.
Riddle smiled wider as he nodded, "Jamil's right. In fact, there was an incident just recently where you dug your heels in over a matter of personal pride during a club meeting and—"
"I would prefer if you refrained from discussing my blunders in Malleus's presence!" Sebek exploded with a bright red face.
"Actually, I'd like to hear this, Rosehearts. I'm most curious to know what Sebek is like normally." Malleus smiled in amusement.
"You..." Sebek pleaded to Malleus, "You have it all wrong, my liege! I always comport myself in a way that befits my status as your guard!"
"Heh. I'll content myself with knowing that you're bonding with people from outside Briar Valley. It's reassuring." Malleus said with an innocent smile.
"Oh... Malleus... Such kind words...!" Sebek cried tears of joy as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"Are you crying?" Riddle muttered in confusion.
"This cheese is unusually salty!" Sebek muttered through his tears.
"Those are your tears." Jamil grumbled in disgust.
"Let's finish up and move on, shall we? We still have much more of the city to enjoy." Malleus suggested and turned to Lotus, "Lotus, you-"
He paused as he saw Lotus take a sip of a Frappuccino. She looked up at him and raised a brow with a rather unamused face as she questioned bluntly, "What is it? It looks like cat caught your tongue."
"It's nothing." Jamil sighed seeing Malleus's hesitation. So, even the great prince of Briar Valley fears the factor of unpredictability. Speaking of unpredictability... He sighed, "Apologies, Lotus. However, I hope you have it well prepared."
"Ah, that." Lotus raised a brow in amusement, "I thought you'd wait for a later time to mention it, but nevermind."
She placed a couple of bottles onto the table and turned on a silence magic tool as she sighed, "Riddle certainly won't be pleased to hear about this."
"Hear about what now?" Riddle hesitated as soon as he heard his name mentioned in an known subject.
"Ah, this must be." Malleus hesitated, "I've heard of this matter directly from Lilia. Despite the warnings from the vice-housewardens of Heartslabyul, Scarabia and Pomefiore, they attempted to snatch the notes and special pills concocted by Lotus and tricked their roommates to consuming it. The results became quite disastrous."
"As it should." Lotus glared at Jamil, "Had it not been for the intervention of the vice-housewardens, I'd have sought compensation from their families directly. The project had to be approved by a number of people who had to leave their own research to attend my session as well as a large sum to sponsor the creation of those pills. Breaking into the headmage's office and stealing keys to access the completed pills, I see some families have been so unfortunate as to bore sons who seem to dislike their mother's appearance."
Jamil hesitated, "We-"
"Save it." Lotus scoffed, "We're not even blaming the dorms. So, we're not seeking an apology from you who have already gave them a warning. Rather, Professor Crewel and the headmage is waiting for the students to recover and get a directly apology from them. Once they recover, we can talk about consequences then. Not to mention, there are other students whom we're waiting for as well. Besides, why did you think this incident didn't raise any comments from Savanaclaw nor Octavinelle?"
This time, Riddle jumped up in alarm, "So, that's why a student called in sick yesterday?!"
"Even now, the students are staying in the stadium until they receive their medication." Jamil concluded sighed, "Many of the vice-housewarden agreed to keep this matter quiet and report it at a later time. I suggested to mention it now because Heartslabyul vice-housewarden was worried with your recovery and asked to mention it when you have relaxed enough to take the news. He did look very concerned when he said this. Something about you not being happy about being disturbed."
"Just what exactly did they take?" Malleus questioned in confusion.
"Transformation pills." Lotus feigned a sigh, "It's effects are the same as a shape-shifting potion but the reason it had not been complete was due to the fact that it can cause the consumer intense pain during transformation. By the time, I completed the correct pills, I had already done probably fifteen other versions of the same pill. Unfortunately, those guys took the incomplete one. I can't tell if they were lucky or unlucky that the one they took was the most recent failed version that caused the least amount of pain compared to the other failed results."
"And, you just finished the cure?" Riddle hesitated nervously.
Lotus nodded, "I did and handed them to Professor Crewel. That said, they will be needing to take the cure and pain killers for a few more days until there are no more symptoms of the effects. Right now, they are being cared for by doctors, professional veterinarians and licensed magicians as we speak."
"Professional veterinarians?" Riddle muttered in bewilderment as he gave Hoshi a quick glance with a hint of dread in his chest, "What was the degree of their transformation?"
"It was complete transformation." Jamil shook his head as he grimaced, "I arrived at the stadium as soon as I heard the situation with the vice-dorm leader of Octavinelle. I was shocked to find that the students had all turned into tigers, elephants, frog and even a monkey. They even acted ferociously towards us."
"That's natural instinct at play." Lotus scowled, "Housewarden Leona always likes to talk about natural instinct and prey and predator. Yet, no one ever considered humans as either prey or predator. Humans are currently one of the few sentient races capable of being self conscious and thinking with philosophy and reasoning. Faes are closely tied with the mana of this world and beastmen descended from other beasts that later attained the same level of reasoning and etc. Merfolk as well. The pill however, will temporarily disable part of the philosophical ideas and working with a society. Thus rendering them capable of attacking others whom they deem as enemies or in this case predator or prey. They probably realized they'd get into big trouble when they got caught and instinctively fought back to protect themselves. This cure will help them recover and reasoning will be the first thing on the list to recovery. As for their diet, carnivores will eat raw meat until they regain a human stomach again. Herbivores have been eating lettuce and such for a while. As the frog… He can slowly reflect on his decisions while munching away. After all, bugs can be rather edible."
"We're talking about students, Lotus." Jamil sighed, "Functioning teenagers, not animals. Couldn't you have been discreet about the matter when it first happened?"
"Why? I wasn't the one who decided to break into a government protected and funded experiment." Lotus frowned with a raised brow.
"Lotus…" Riddle's face fumed bright red before taking deep breath and grumbled, "I don't even know where to start."
"Deep breaths, Housewarden Riddle." Jamil shook his head in defeat.
"When… When will he return?" Riddle shook his head in dismay.
"Give him a week." Lotus shook her head, "In the meanwhile, he will have to discuss matters with his guardian."
"Yes." Jamil frowned, "He and our students devised the entire scheme. He took advantage of his father's role in the part and stole the keys to the safe."