Chapter 47: Your Lucky Day

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Your Lucky Day

"What’s this? What is going on?"

When Clara woke with a stinging pain all over her body, she didn’t understand what was happening. Why was she in her bed? She looked around and realized she couldn’t see clearly—she was missing her glasses. She conjured them on her finger tips, put them on, and looked around.

She saw Felicia and a boy sitting on the sofa next to her bed. Felicia’s clothes were messy, her face flushed, forehead slightly sweating. The boy sat comfortably on the sofa, holding a cushion in his hands.

"Felicia, what happened to me, and who is this boy?" Clara asked. Felicia was a friend in the same year, but she didn’t recognize the boy sitting next to her.

Felicia got up and approached the bed. "You don’t remember? You were being strangled by the vines down in the basement. If I hadn’t come in time you’d have been stuck there for God knows how long. That boy is Xavier. He helped me free you from the vines. Nyan"

"Xavier... I’ve heard that name. Aren’t you the boy who visited the library the other day? Freshman, rank 2, I guess," Clara said.

"Yes, you’re right. But more importantly, would you mind telling us what exactly you were doing in the basement when you knew the vines were dangerous?" Xavier asked from the sofa, still holding the cushion over his crotch while he waited for his hard erection to go down.

"Oh, it’s nothing important," she replied.

"Yeah, right. Tell us anyway. We need to make sure you won’t get into that situation again, Nyan" Felicia said.

Clara yielded. "Well, as I said, it was nothing important. I was reading a book on botany and got curious about a flower that only blooms in winter—but it’s spring right now. I wanted to see that flower, and I remembered the vines in the basement have numerous flowers that bloom out of season. I figured that flower might be among them, and I was right. The moment I touched it to pluck it, the vines came all over me. I don’t remember much after that."

"That’s interesting. Do you know anything else about the vines?" Xavier asked.

"Not much. Just that flowers bloom out of season, and it’s got very thick, long vines covering the whole wall with thorns all around them. They strangle anyone who touches them." That was all Clara said as she tried to sit up. The sheets covering her body slid down and rested on her thick thighs, her huge, heavy breasts—covered in shallow cuts—jiggling freely, soft pink nipples still slightly stiff from earlier tension.

"You should skip your librarian duty today and just rest, Nyan" Felicia said, gently pushing Clara’s plump body back into the bed and pulling the sheets up over her full curves.

"All right, all right, I’ll rest," Clara said, leaning back. Her soft body sank into the mattress, breasts shifting under the fabric.

"Well then, if you’re all right now, we’ll leave you alone. Nyan" Felicia glanced at Xavier, signaling that they should go. Xavier was lost in thought about the vines and the flowers. He didn’t notice her gestures, but his cock had finally calmed down, so he set the cushion aside and looked up.

Felicia’s flushed face was right in front of his, still marked by the earlier heat.

"Are you listening to what I’m saying? We should leave her alone to rest. Let’s go. Nyan"

Xavier stood and left with her. Felicia started toward her own room, but Xavier turned toward the stairs instead.

"Hey, where are you going? Nyan" she asked, arms folding under her heavy breasts, pushing them up slightly.

"Something important came up. We’ll continue what we were doing next time," he said, and left.

Felicia folded her arms tight under her full tits and pouted, cheeks still flushed. "Such a bully. Nyan"

Xavier returned to his room in Emberfell dorms.

He took the diary from his study desk and recalled everything he knew about the vines in the Thornveil basement, connecting it with the pendant’s missing pieces. He channeled his mana into the diary, opened it, and the first page showed him exactly what he needed.

Take one from every blossom in the order as they flow.

The spikes will yield their grasp and unveil what they know

Just as he had expected, the wall covered in vines was his next clue. If his idea was correct, he needed to pluck a flower from each season in order, to uncover what was hidden behind them.

There was just one problem: he was not a botany enthusiast. He didn’t know which flowers bloomed in which seasons, and he was still thinking about how to deal with that when—

Knock knock

He opened the door and found someone he recognized—an acquaintance, or perhaps a friend. He wasn’t sure yet.

"Allen, what’s going on? Are we challenged for another match of orbies or something?" Xavier asked.

"No, we aren’t. We’ve been sitting quietly after our previous win, but I’m not here for that," Allen said. "Do you have any interest in ghosts?"

"I don’t believe they exist, but I can change my mind if you actually show me one," Xavier replied.

"Well then, it’s your lucky day. Let’s go catch a ghost."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I bet you haven’t heard about the ghost that appears in the southwestern forests of the academy," Allen said.

"What’s this about?"

"A few students have claimed that late at night, while wandering through the southwestern forest, they saw a faintly glowing figure of a woman with blood-red hair coming out of the lake. And for the next few days they were cursed with misfortune."

"And why are you interested in getting cursed with misfortune?" Xavier asked.

"Come on, aren’t you even a little interested? You said you’d change your mind if I can show you an actual ghost. This is your chance."

Xavier had never believed in ghosts—they were impossible to prove scientifically—but in this world anything was possible. Allen’s words weren’t enough to fully convince him, but they were enough to spark a little curiosity.

"Well then, let’s go see what this ghost is about."