(to IzukuMeliodas: Thank you for your very kind words! You being here is already a huge support! Thanks for sticking around!)
(to pauljoser: I'm hoping I could advance the story with less interruptions from now on. We'll see what will come in the future.)
Selene walked back down to the kitchen. She was half stomping on each stair she set foot on. Damn that man, she thought. If it weren't for his incessant bitching and moaning, she'd already have graduated by now. If she were asked one thing she regretted the most, then that would be apprenticing herself to Raymond K. Toll. She and her "master" were currently working on a new type of barrier (as with other wizards of the Blue Tower) to replace the old one that protected the academy. Well, she did most of the work, while Raymond was just there to take all her credit. She clenched her fists. The half-demon took a deep breath and sighed. No, it didn't matter anymore. She was definitely going to graduate after completing this; she didn't want to have anything to do with that asshole anymore, he could claim it as his own for all she cared. If that man gave her even more excuses to stop her from graduating, then she was going to go straight to the archmage to complain. If even that failed, then she would regrettably drop out and give up on her dream of becoming a teacher in the academy she was currently a part of.
She dragged her feet to the kitchen's entrance, intending to finish her cooking no matter how demotivated she was… only to find out that someone was messing around with her stew.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" shouted the orange haired apprentice as she trotted briskly towards the stranger.
Her vexing advance was stopped short when the perpetrator turned around and gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, you're back! I thought I'd take over while you were busy. Why don't you try it and tell me how it tastes?" asked the blue haired woman as she scooped up some stew onto a bowl and pushed it towards her.
She took it hesitantly and sniffed at it. The delicious aroma made her stomach growl. After contemplating a little bit, the girl decided why not. Her father always said it's better to think when you're not hungry. She tilted the bowl and gulped it into her mouth.
Ecstasy.
With just a drop, all thoughts were swallowed by the rainbow of tastes that enveloped her tongue. As it went down her throat, it washed away all the bitterness she felt in her heart. The heat of the stew travelled all over her body, caressing it like a mother would to her child. It felt like a ball of nostalgia was shoved down her throat.
"Mmm!!" was all that came out of her mouth.
The cook chuckled and said, "I take it you like it?"
"Like it!? I love it!" replied the girl hurriedly.
She just had to know who the woman was and how she made her stew much tastier. A master cook like her should easily be recognized. Five minutes later found the two sitting on one of the tables in the kitchen. Despite her claim, Selene couldn't recognize the woman's, Ms. Rimuru's name among the legends of cooking. Though, she seemed to recall hearing that name before. Now that she looked at her more closely, she was beginning to recognize who she was.
"Wait. You're that lady who went against that noble, aren't you?" asked the girl in realization.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You recognize me?"
Selene nodded and said, "Of course! My dad owns the Bay Gull Eatery! I was the one who worked on your order during the fight!"
Ms. Rimuru smiled and said, "I have to give it to you. You make such delicious fish!"
The girl felt her cheeks getting hotter. She sputtered, "R-Really?"
"Of course." The woman nodded.
"Thank you for the compliment." Selene braced herself to ask her question, "Are you by any chance willing to teach your ways of cooking?"
"You'll be paid, of course!" She continued, "Oh! If you're looking for employment, our eatery will gladly have you!"
Before the woman could reply, they were interrupted by a voice coming from the door. "You better have finished that stew, Selene! It better be good if you're willing to delay MY barrier for it!"
Instantly, her positive vibe went down the drain. She tried her hardest not to frown before looking apologetically at the woman. "I'm sorry about this, but can I please share your stew? I'd rather not go against him right now."
The cook shook her head and said, "It's your stew. It's up to you. I just helped a little bit."
Her humility consoled Selene's heart a bit. She nodded before turning around to face Raymond and saying, "I'll go get you a bowl, master."
She poured the stew on an empty bowl and went straight to him. As usual, he didn't even pay attention to her. The man's gaze instantly pointed behind her.
"You." He suddenly said, "You're that new teacher, right? Rim Mule or something?"
Selene looked back in surprise. This woman was going to teach at the academy?
"It's Rimuru. But yes, something like that," answered the new teacher.
To that Selene saw Raymond sneer and say derisively, "Don't get so full of yourself. Even if you are the Blade's assistant, you're still not a real teacher. You're just a servant of one."
He waved his arms flamboyantly and continued, "Just try not to get in our way."
He took the bowl from her hand and went upstairs again. "You have ten minutes before you continue on the barrier. Don't be late again."
An utter asshole. Simple as that. Her shock at the woman who was apparently the Blade's assistant in teaching and at the fact that the Blade was going to teach again was dampened by the sheer arrogance her "master" had shown. Damn nobles.
She quickly went back to her and bowed. "I'm very sorry for that."
Selene heard the woman chuckle before she replied, "What are you apologizing for? It's not like it's your fault."
She straightened her back to look at the woman. Rimuru wasn't even fazed by the blatant disrespect. In fact, she even looked amused.
"I shouldn't be bothering you anymore. I hope you do well in your studies," said the woman as she started walking towards the door. "As for your offer, I'll think about it."
As Rimuru walked out of the Blue Tower, he sighed in relief. It was a good thing he didn't bring any subordinates with him. He was worried they might destroy the continent by accident.
{How shall I dispose of him, master?}
Ciel's voice suddenly resounded in his mind.
"You will do no such thing," countered the great demon lord.
Rimuru had faced much disrespect during his time as ruler. There were always idiots who were so full of themselves that they thought they could storm into his palace and do as they pleased. He punished all of them, of course. If he let them go, then that would not only ruin his image, but also Tempest's. But right now he wasn't Rimuru the Supreme Ruler, but Rimuru the wanderer. There was no need to act. An elephant wouldn't even care to notice the actions of an ant.
As he went to the towers' courtyard, he saw a familiar face.
After a couple minutes of running, Jack finally realized he had no idea where Felicia's father stayed. The reason why they met on the towers in the first place was for this very reason.
"Damn it!" cursed the boy in his mind. If mom found out about this, she was going to scold him for being so reckless again.
Jack needed a plan; he needed to find out where the noble lived. Was there someone who likely knew their place? The name of the archmage quickly came to mind. He quickly backtracked and ran towards the towers. When he finally got there, he made a beeline towards the receptionist.
"I need to see the archmage!" exclaimed the boy. "It's really important."
The receptionist looked at him doubtfully and said, "I'm sorry, the archmage is currently busy. Please fill in one of the forms to make an app--"
"Now's not the time!" retorted Jack.
The receptionist refused to listen to him. He quickly heard the footsteps of the security making their way for him, most likely to restrain him. Tsk.
"I wish to speak with the archmage." A familiar voice came from the entrance. He turned around to see his mom walk towards him.
The receptionist once again denied, "I'm sorry, but you will need to fill out a form to make an appointment with the archmage. Any form of misconduct will be met with--"
...only to stop when his mom pulled out a badge. The archmage had given it to her when she accepted her job, though he doubted the badge was given to just any teacher.
"I-I apologize for not my rudeness! Please, come with me."
The receptionist led them to the elevator. Once it went up, his mom quickly demanded, "Explain."
A quick explanation later his mother asked, "...and you went all the way here, alone?"
"Yeah," was his answer.
He could tell she was dissatisfied with his answer, but he didn't know why. The elevator then stopped on the top floor. She sighed and began walking to the archmage's office. "Come on. We need to hurry."
Inside, the archmage was not alone. He was accompanied by his friend, Thomas' teacher, the Blade. His mom didn't waste time and went straight to the point.
"Come, I'll lead you to him." The Blade stood up and said to the archmage, "We'll talk later."
The archmage nodded. "It was nice talking to you. Give my best regards to the young miss."
Walking out the Last Tower, they followed the Blade to Lord Viengrey's temporary stay.
(I don't feel like I'm able to keep the readers' interest with my longer chapters, so I'll stick with shorter ones for now. What do you guys think? Of course, I'll try to improve on it regardless.)