Descending Into A Novel-Chapter 124:Deep Conversations

Raymond almost cried in happiness. After hours of shopping with Ellen, his legs were sore to the point be could barely feel them.

Why were there so little chairs in this damn mall!

Taking a seat, he cursed whoever was the internal designer. Letting out a sigh of relief as his legs were saved. Ellen meanwhile, was already gone in a different shop.

"Raymond?"

His head swiveled to the side, a familiar blonde figure meeting his gaze.

"Arthur?"

"It is you!"

Hold on, today was a weekday. Shouldn’t he have been in class?

No more importantly!

"I heard from the others you snitched on me! How could you do this to me?!"

"What? Was it Thomas?"

"That’s not the point!"

He raised his hand in surrender, causing a few stares around them from the few people around.

"Wait! Let’s talk this out!"

"Haah. Fine. I had something I needed your help for anyways."

"Huh? You need my help?"

He nodded, "It’s very important."

"I would be honored to help."

Raymond cleared his throat, his intense look made Arthur’s head spin. What could possibly be so important that Even Raymond needed his help?

"Is it weird if two people sleep in the same bed?"

The question that he asked seemed a bit weird however?

"Huh?"

"Is it weird if-

" No I heard you. Uhm. It’s—normal I guess?"

Raymond let out a sigh of relief, ever since Erin’s interrogation yesterday. The question had been eating him up from the inside but now he finally had the answer. Arthur was the one in the group who had the most experience with the opposite gender after all.

Except Arthur was assuming he meant for the same gender. Not a guy and a girl like Raymond was talking about.

He patted him on the back, already forgiving him for snitching his hate of fighting maniacs. "Thanks man. I knew I could count on you."

"You’re welcome?"

"But what are you even doing here? Isn’t today a weekday?"

He took the opportunity to satiate his curiosity, Ellen had to pay points in order to skip today’s classes after all. Arthur was in class A, and he also had a lot of points due to his side hustles. But he wasn’t the type to waste it just to skip class for a day.

"I was supposed to be on a date with Elise...I don’t think she’s showing up."

Raymond wracked his brain, searching his memory to find zero mentions of the name.

"Who’s that?"

"How do you not know Elise? Dude, she’s literally in the list of top ten beauties in our year!"

"...there’s a list like that?"

"Yeah, curious on who’s on the list?"

"I can’t say I’m not curious."

Just then, a third presence joined them on the bench. Another completely unexpected person who should have been in class right now.

Casually asking them, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Hey Lucy. Where’s Cador?"

At the start of the year, Lucy had seemed more like the young noble ladies that most people seemed to assume women from Families were like—and it was true. At some point however she had slowly started shifting into someone more like Thomas. Her easygoing laid-back presence made her someone easy to talk to.

"He’s at the dorms, what were you guys talking about so intensely just now?"

"There’s a list of the top ten most attractive in our year apparently. Did you know about it?"

Arthur sighed, feeling Lucy’s curious gaze hit him as well.

"For your info, you’re fourth place Lucy."

"Higher then I thought. I’m flattered. But who’s above me?"

"It’s Lin Qingyi, then Ellen, then Noelle is first."

He raised an eyebrow, "Ellen is second?"

"Surprised?"

Raymond suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity to sell his shadow disguise. If Ellen were here, she would click her tongue disapprovingly.

This guy only ever acted as her shadow at the most random times!

"No. Shouldn’t she be first?"

"Woah, dude. Let’s not get too hasty now. This list is created from the opinions of over a hundred people."

Lucy questioned him, "Audrina isn’t on the list?"

"She’s seventh, she’s too scary."

Audrina? Scary? Well for people their age, it might have looked a bit scary. But her constant ’glare’ was really just caused from her lack of sleep. Seriously, she always had eyebags whenever Raymond saw her.

"How is Noelle over Ellen?"

"Well. No offence dude but I personally think Noelle looks better, Ellen also kinda has that scary vibe y’know? Like that ’I’m different from you peasants’."

Ellen? Scary? She was just anti-social. She was a bit scary in private, but she was just a loner.

Although Raymond wasn’t just acting as well. He did genuinely believe that Ellen deserved number one over Noelle. When he first entered this dimension to write his novel, it was Ellen’s appearance which had caught him and made him stay. Her future appearance of course, not her child self.

"Raymond I get that you’re her shadow but this is an objective fact. The majority voted for Noelle over Ellen. Lucy support me on this."

Taken aback by the sudden call out, she hastily replied. "He’s right."

"Then do it again! How come I didn’t get to vote?"

"Well we didn’t think you were interested."

Classic below average student behavior, instead of spending time trying to move up the ranks. They were instead voting on the most attractive in their year. Raymond didn’t even get to be included.

Raymond suddenly realized something, the list was only females.

"Wait. Is there a male version of the list as well?"

"Yeah. You sure you wanna hear it though?"

"Is it Thomas?"

"It’s Thomas."

Dammit, just wait till the day he could remove this ring and show off his true appearance. Then he would be number one!

"I’m second?"

"Yep."

"Second is still good."

"It’s not first."

The current trio was admittedly quite odd. Arthur and Lucy never interacted much, so Raymond was rather surprised at how easy it was to talk to them.

"Why are you here as well anyways?"

"I’m planning on forming my first circle soon."

Circle. Despite the fact Lucy never used any magic, primarily using Arts instead. Since circles increased the total mana quantity more then tempering, for someone like Lucy. Forming circles was much more beneficial then undergoing tempering.

But it still felt wrong! There wasn’t any rule saying only mages could form circles but it was just wrong!

"So the academy granted me a few weeks off while I prepare to form it. I’m just here for pet food."

"How’s Sparky and Vesper?"

"Sparky has been gaining weight lately so I’ve put him on a diet, and Vesper has been struggling to adapt to the room I gave him. I’ll probably have to pay a hefty sum to renovate his room."

Sparky was the name for her purebred thunderclap viper, while Vesper was the name she gave for the purple night blazing horse.

Before he could continue asking about her other pets, he saw Ellen approaching them in the corner of his eye.

"Seems like Ellen is finished, I’m gonna head back now. See you all later."

"I’ll visit your dorm soon!"

Ignoring Arthur’s last words, Raymond met up with Ellen. Helping her store her purchases in his dimensional storage.

"What’s Lucy doing here?"

"She’s forming her first circle soon."

Ellen was also undergoing her first tempering soon. But hearing that Lucy was already preparing for it surprised her.

She had years of experience over Lucy and the others. It was normal for her to be faster then them. But to think that Lucy was nearly matching her pace.

"Do you think sh-

The two of them paused, their eyes seeing the same thing.

"...That’s a fourth year isn’t it?"

Raymond turned his head away, he could feel a heat creeping up his face already.

’Why do such a thing in public!’

In broad daylight, a couple pressed their faces against each other over and over again. Their lips interlocked in such a fierce battle that Raymond felt even the sun collapsing couldn’t interrupt or stop them.

The two were so very clearly lost in their entirety own world. No outside awareness, and absolutely zero hesitation.

"Let’s start walking faster."

Ellen looked at him, her face morphing into a teasing look as she noticed how red he was.

Like that of a cat catching its prey, she fully sunk her teeth into him.

"You jealous?"

"Why would I be?"

"So you’re jealous."

"No I’m not."

"It’s fine to be jealous Raymond."

He grit his teeth, barely forcing out the words. "I’m not."

"No it definitely seems like you are? Someone at your age with completely zero experience...it’s pitiful."

"Remind me exactly how old you are as well?"

"It’s rude to ask that question don’t you know? Ah, but I guess someone with zero experience wouldn’t know."

"That’s rich coming from someone like you."

It was quite amazing how the pot was currently calling the kettle black, Ellen was making fun of his ’zero experience’ when she herself had none either!

The two of them argued like that for a while. With Ellen on the attack, and Raymond on the defense. Like a parrot, they kept repeating the same words over and over again.

"Hehe, you’re jealous of a bunch of kids. Because they have more experience then you."

"I’m not, and I did have a girlfriend."

He muttered that last part more out of annoyance, barely audible even for himself.

"You—! What?!"

But of course she heard it anyways.