Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 21

She found cafeterias located on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the Academy. Unsure of which floor to go to, she chose the closest one, which was the sixth floor. She saw other students walking in and out of the cafeteria. From the outside, the cafeteria looked welcoming, snug, and well maintained. It was also possible to see through it as it had a transparent sliding door.

Hoping that Nexi’s fairy friend, Laurelai, was in this cafeteria, she entered the thin, transparent door. Her eyes widened at the interior design of the cafeteria. It was lovely inside. She was welcomed by different food aromas like roasted meat, sweets, and fresh fruit juice. The cafeterias staff were deep in conversation with other students who were ordering their lunch.

Squared, golden beams supported the upper floor and the pretty decorated lights attached to them. The lights gave a calm ambiance to the room. The walls were decorated with art memorabilia depicting different events in the history of this world.

The cafeteria itself was packed. Several long tables were occupied by large groups of students. The other smaller tables were occupied by a small number of students. Other students were playing games. Others, judging from their laughter, were either telling jokes or perhaps embarrassing stories. Some students’ tables were occupied with notebooks and textbooks and the sounds of pens being scribbled on paper.

‘Wow, this Academy is truly amazing. Now, where is the cute red-headed fairy?’

She scanned the room for a sign of red hair and spotted the fairy at the far corner of the cafeteria. The fairy waved at her and mouthed, ‘Hurry up’. Smiling in relief, she began to walk towards her. She observed her surroundings and noticed some students whispering with each other, staring at her, and then whispering again. She wondered what that was all about but chose to ignore it. Currently, the only thing on her mind was food. The girl was as hungry as a lion.

“Took you long enough. I almost starved to death because of you,” the fairy exaggerated.

She sat down and laughed at the remark.

“Then why didn’t you go buy something instead of waiting for me to arrive?”

The fairy shrugged and stood up.

“Doesn’t matter. What do you want to eat, Nexi?”

“What are the options? I’m kinda down for anything as look as there’s meat involved.”

“Haha. Alright, then let’s get the burger special which had two medium-sized burgers with two sides of fries and thick milkshakes.”

She liked the sound of that and rummaged through her bag for her purse. She found some banknotes.

“How much do I need to give you?”

The fairy smiled at her.

“One Kremfa is enough,” she said.

‘What? How much was a ‘Kremfa’? Ah, I should have gone through this before coming to school.’

Laurelai stared at Astoria, arms crossed and looking impatient. She took Astoria’s purse from her and took out a banknote.

“Geez, Nexi. It’s a great special, just K50. It’s not like it’s K150. I’m taking this note.”

The fairy held the note in her hand, took out another K50 from her own purse, and smiled at her.

“K100, just what we need. I’ll be right back with our food. It should take about ten minutes or so to prepare. Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.”

She laughed at the fairy who winked at her. The red-headed fairy walked away to one of the food stalls and stood in a line with the other students who also wanted to order their lunch from the stall.

‘So this kingdom uses ‘Kremfa’ as its currency. One Kremfa is equivalent to a 50. Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, I’m glad Laurelai thought I was hesitating because I thought the price of the food was too much.’

While she was waiting, she took out her textbook and began doing a little studying. Her Foreign Political Science teacher said that the class was going to have a ten-minute test on the politics of the Stussrin Kingdom tomorrow morning.

“Let’s see,” she said, opening her textbook.

“It says here that the territorial law dictates all those found guilty of providing false information to an Officer of Peace (OP) will face the punishment of short-term public service. The community law dictates that all those found guilty of a hit and run will face the punishment of long-term servitude. In the case of eavesdropping on government conversations, the creature will face the punishment of medium-term solitary confinement.”

She paused and looked up to find the fairy being handed their order by the cafeteria staff. Smiling, she continued studying.

“Anyone found guilty of killing another will face twenty years of solitary confinement. If a human is murdered, the punishment is twenty-five years. If the murder resulted from self-defense, the person would do a month’s worth of community service. The local law dictates that all those found guilty of attempting to partake in commercial bribery will face the punishment of execution.”

The fairy placed their food on the table.

“I’m back,” she chimed, sitting down.

“Oh, were you studying?”

Astoria stared at the food, mouth salivating, and nodded.

“Okay. Anyway, here’s your food, bestie,” the fairy said, handing Astoria her share of the food.

“Thank you.”

She put her textbook in her bag and removed her blazer. Neatly placing it over her chair, she took a sip of the milkshake.

‘Wow, so delicious.’

They began to eat, enjoying the different flavours that burst in their mouths with every bite and crunch of the burger.

“So,” the fairy began after sipping her milkshake, “I heard a rumour when I was waiting in line to place our order. I wanted to find out from you if it’s true or not.”

“From me? What rumour?”

The fairy leaned forward and whispered, “Apparently, you and Laojin had a little scuffle during Foreign Political Science.”

“Oh,” Astoria replied, “that. That was just a misunderstanding.”

The fairy leaned back, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think so. Apparently, Misty is furious.”

“Is that why the students were busy whispering and staring at me when I walked past them? Anyway, it’s just a little misunderstanding. Don’t mind it,” she said, smiling at the fairy.

“I, Laurelai Summermint, cannot just ignore this.”

Astoria was amused. Nexi’s friend was a fascinating creature. She leaned forward, a smile on her face.

“And why can’t you just ignore it?”

The fairy also leaned forward, placing her hand on the table.

“Because I don’t want Alexa and her gang bullying you even more. You don’t deserve that kind of treatment.”

Astoria was touched by the fairy’s words and grinned sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about me, Laurelai. They won’t bully me anymore. I’ll make sure of it.”

The fairy looked bewildered at her statement.

“How?”

“Hmm?” Astoria asked, sipping her milkshake.

“How will you make sure of it? Everyone is scared of them, especially you. You’re like their number one target for some reason,” the fairy said, throwing her hands in the air.

“I’m not scared, at least not anymore. I’ll make sure they never bully Nexi again,” she said with a determined expression.

She was determined to change Nexi’s life for the better in any way she possibly could before leaving this world. She had to deal with Nexi’s bullies and siblings.

‘This sweet princess shouldn’t be suffering like this so I will help her and make sure I end her suffering.’