Chapter 62: The Mayor's Speech

We woke up the next morning to have breakfast together for one last time before starting up the search for the ore again. And then, there was also that speech that we remembered the mayor mentioning. Quite a few of us still felt pain as we sat there in the dining hall. "I wonder how the people will view us when we appear as guests in the mayor's speech." Ex said. "I'm sure they'll applaud us heavily, that's how I experienced past events of this nature." Hohow Bird told him. "It sounds great, being praised for everything that we have done to save the citizens..." I smiled. "Yeah, I can agree with that." Lemres smiled too. "This speech will most certainly be televised, it is a special public event after all." Hohow Bird made us aware of this. "T-televised...? I mean, this IS special… but what if he has all of us say our own things to a crowd of people? God, that's going to give me anxiety... I don't even know what I should say." I became worried. "Pff, don't worry, Dave. The mayor will most likely call me to the podium first to speak. You guys can just pick up whatever I leave off with, it won't be so bad." The bird assured me. "Okay." I nodded, along with Ex, Lemres, and Satan. "It settles it then… Dave, the rest of us will be watching you five from the crowd." Accord said.

Not everyone was fine with going to that speech though, as to be expected... "What?! I don't want to be there and list-" Schezo complained before getting smacked by Rulue. "We're going as a group, Schezo... and that's final. ... Hey, my extra strength is gone..." She glared at him, then noticed. "That's probably because Vyle is no longer alive, of which… I can confirm that he is indeed dead. His soul has been confined to suffer in the Puyo Underworld for all eternity. There's no chance of him ever being revived again." Satan said. "That's probably for the best…" I spoke. "Yeah, I would rather get stronger on my own and with no artificial help." Rulue nodded. "You should count yourself lucky, Schezo… that would've hurt you a lot more if Rulue still had the boost." Arle told him. "Bah, shut up, Arle… … I need to go outside for a b-" Schezo got up and tried to leave. "Hold it. ... Dark Mage, are you lying to us?" Accord stopped him. "A-about what? I'm not lying!" He insisted. "... You are not a very good liar, I can tell. To put it simply: You cannot fool me with your deception. You were planning on going back to your little cave, were you? We still want you to be with us in looking for the ore." She stared straight at him. "..." He didn't say anything. "Schezo…" I sighed. "Argh! … Fine, I was planning on going back to my cave, but you caught on to that…" Schezo gave up. "Dude, don't ya want your new sword?" Lemres looked at him.

You'd think getting a new sword would be exciting, but it's apparently not the case for Schezo... "... Comet Warlock… I still have mixed feelings on this new sword I'm going to get. … But, I realize that it's important for me to have it as a weapon against the Yogs. … I'll come look for the ore with you all..." The dark mage sighed. "... I'll be back in Primp Town for the mayor to go and tell me when in the evening his speech starts. If anyone wants to join me for the sake of contacting you guys by phone, then please consider." Hohow Bird said. "I'll come with you then, I'm probably not well fit to be getting this ore…" Draco volunteered. "Ah, yes! I remember you having a phone yourself... After all, I took it from you. Sorry that I did that, by the way." He apologized. "It's fine, you're one of us now. We're all friends that stick together, right?" She smiled. "Mm-hm…" The bird nodded. "O-oh yeah! I wanted to say thank you for freeing me yesterday, but you kept jumping back into the fight with Vyle, so I didn't get the chance to..." Draco told him. "Oh, uh… it's my pleasure. Anyway, I can escort you to the town and have us wait for the mayor to give out the time of the speech to me." Hohow Bird appreciated it, then said. "Sure." She accepted his offer. The two left us. "We should get going too… there's an ore that we have to find." Klug walked outside. The rest of us finished whatever else we needed to do and did so as well. All of us made our way to the tunnel, then went inside.

For a while, we still couldn't find any of that elusive ore. No matter how we looked, or how many of us searched in total… we just could not find any for the life of us. However, as we started to give up, Schezo sensed something. "Hm? What's this…?" He slowly walked around for a bit. "Uh… what's what, Schezo?" I asked, confused. "I feel something different here… maybe… … Hey, can someone blast a hole here? Don't be too destructive with it, just make a decently-sized hole. I have a feeling we might have found something…" Schezo said. "I don't think we need to blow a hole up, Schezo. I got this… … Hyah!" Rulue punched at the rocky wall, creating the desired entrance. "I knew it… it's an open space that had been enclosed." Schezo went through the hole. Satan and I followed through after him. "... *gasp* There it is! The ore!" Satan noticed and went over to. "This is it?!" My eyes widened. "Huh… Well, that's convenient… just when we were going to stop, we found the ore." Schezo observed it. "All we have to do now is mine some of this and bring it to a special blacksmith…" Satan said. "... Hey, we found the ore, guys!" I alerted the others. "Really?!" I heard them exclaim from the other side. "We'll be coming out from there with it, so wait for us." Schezo told them.

We managed to chip away enough of the ore to get an adequate amount. We showed the others the ore that we collected, then all of us left the tunnel for good. After a few minutes of us resting outside, my phone went off. "... It's from Draco. … Draco?" "Dave, that mayor is gonna have his speech in an hour. The bird just told me that a minute ago." "Is that so? … A little earlier than I would imagine… At 4:30 P.M.?" "I guess?" "Alright then, I'll tell everyone else. See you, Draco." "See ya." Draco hung up and I pocketed my phone. "Guys, the speech is happening in an hour. We should go and find Hohow Bird in Primp." I made everyone aware. "Well, we better get over there then." Ex started to walk away. We all did so as well, walking about until we arrived in town. After a bit of searching we found a town hall. Hohow Bird's gotta be here, right?" I stopped. "This is town hall… it must be." Accord stopped as well. Soon we saw the bird himself, and he saw us. "Ah, there you are. We have a little less than twenty minutes before it starts. All of you, make yourself one with the crowd. Dave and you other guys, come with me." He said. "Okay." Me, Lemres, Ex, and Satan nodded.

Well, here goes nothing... "I'll be in the crowd too Dave, can't say that I've ever been to something like this before…" Draco left with the others to be in the crowd. "Well, you are all here, this is great." The mayor came to us and smiled. "O-of course, we wouldn't miss something like this." I spoke. "My, you must be nervous, boy." He knew. "Y-yes, sir… I am. Nevertheless, I will calm myself in time." I promised. "... And what about you three?" He turned to face them. "Sir, I may not be the most formal guy around… but I'll try to be like an adult here." Lemres said. "I should be fine here." Ex nodded. "As will I." Satan followed up with. "Hm… well, I suppose it would only be natural for you two to be less experienced than us adults..." The mayor faced me and Lemres, then walked away. "Where's he going?" I wondered. "He's probably going somewhere to prepare for his speech." Hohow Bird assumed. "That would make sense…" Ex agreed. Time passed and then the speech began.

We saw the huge crowd of people facing the mayor as he walked to the podium. At this moment, we were just outside of the crowd's view. Thus, they couldn't really see us. "Citizens of Primp Town, this is your wonderful mayor and I have a speech to deliver today. As many of you probably know already: A certain fighting tournament ended, but not in the way any of us could have expected. At first, everything was going as it should... The victor was to be given a prize, consisting of one million gold. This victor would also be granted a wish for them to make. However, soon after the maker of the tournament showed his face, he revealed that the event was only used as a stepping stone in plans of his. … Ladies and gentlemen, I have brought the heroes who have protected us from that evil man. May I present them to you now." The mayor spoke into the podium's microphone, then urged us to walk over to where he was.

We stepped over there and showed ourselves to the people. "As you can see, people… Hohow Bird is one of these heroes right here. He has been keeping this place safe whenever he's around. I turned to him for some more insight on the situation that unfolded." He faced the bird. "A-ahem. Yes, thank you. See, that evil man wanted revenge on Dave here and his friends for something. Coincidentally, this same boy won the tournament, showing his power off. We fought hard to stop the evil man from having his way. At one point: It almost seemed hopeless… but that's when a miracle happened. I now want all of you to turn your attention to Dave." Hohow Bird stepped down and had me go up to the podium. "*gulp* … People, that evil man was actually a vampire lord named Vyle... The reason as to why he was so tough to bring down was because he was almost immortal. And yes, we HAD to kill him. Otherwise, all of us would have died by his hand… … Regardless, he deserved nothing short of death. He was no human… Vyle had set up the tournament for one reason; that being one of my friends. She was being threatened by him and had to compete in the tournament to win, according to his terms. Although, I had a feeling that he would have killed her, even if she won… all because he hated her too. In any case, he's dead for the better. We all fought bravely to stop Vyle, but we couldn't have stopped him without these two: Hohow Bird, for delaying Vyle long enough to have me and such recover. And Lemres: He turned the vampire lord into a hard candy statue and allowed us to destroy that evil once and for all. I will turn to him, so that he may speak." I stepped down.

Lemres got ready to speak his words to the crowd. "... Ahem… … Yes, uh… this power grew inside of me all of a sudden and it was what allowed me to uh… do so. I guess I love Primp Town that much and... didn't want to see it be in ruins. For those who don't know me: I'm a comet warlock, and… I'm one of that guy's best friends. Dave to me is an awesome fellow, which I'm sure you all have seen from his performance in that tournament. He's one that you would call: The Demonic Dragon Warrior. Don't worry though, he's far from being evil. Just because you're even partially a demon… that doesn't necessarily mean you're evil." He spoke. "Uh, can I say something as well?" Ex requested from the comet warlock. "Uh, sure… I was pretty much done anyway." He stepped down. "Thank you. … I'm another dragon warrior, people… and I fight alongside Dave. I am the Dimensional Dragon Warrior. As you can see… with this armor…! … I am indeed that. Dave's armor is the same size, but his is colored red and black. … My name is Ex and I'm also the captain of a starship. I take my job seriously and I enjoy doing it. I'll now step down for our last hero to make himself known. Don't judge him on appearance... he's good, I assure you." Ex spoke, then stepped down

Satan was the last one to step up to the podium.. "... Yes. I am that last hero you see before you. I am the Ruler of Puyo Underworld, Satan. I used to be not-so-good myself, but Dave changed everything for me and I like it. I kept Vyle at bay as the most powerful one out of all of us. Although, he did eventually overpower me as time passed… We might have won at the end of the day, Lemres turning Vyle to hard candy... but we were all left injured from the scuffle. However, that was worth the price and very much preferred over dying. We did not want to risk Vyle destroying the entirety of Primp Town, for there was a decent chance that he would have wanted to. I hope that you all understand that… Other than that, I wish for you all to enjoy life to the fullest. I will step down now and finally allow the mayor to say whatever else needs to be said." Satan capped things off for us. "... People, you have seen these five for what they stand for. They all wished to save us from a catastrophe and successfully did so. I want all of us to recognize the heroics that they performed yesterday. If there is anybody that wants to further explain how much of a hero any of these five are, raise your hand." The mayor told the crowd.

A few seconds of silence came through and things were quiet within that brief moment. Then, a hand was raised within the crowd and the mayor noticed it. "Yes, you over there?" He spoke. "Mm-hm." I heard Feli's voice, but couldn't see her body. Geez, her short stature really isn't doing her any favors here… "How about you come up here, so that everyone can see you?" The mayor suggested. I noticed the crowd shift in shape and then saw Feli come up where we were. "I-I'm somebody who Dave cares for… Feli. Another reason why he fights… is so that he can protect me and a couple of other girls from harm. He always tries his best to do so, even if he gets hurt a lot. I admire his sheer will to protect others… and I genuinenly find him to be cool. Dave, can you come up here with me?" Feli spoke, then turned to me. "Feli…" I stared for a bit and walked over to her. "So, do you mind if I tell this crowd that we love each other?" She quietly asked me. "Um… … No. Tell them that we are best friends at Primp Magic School. Trust me, Feli." I whispered. "Okay." She nodded. "..." The crowd waited for her to say more. "Me and Dave… we're certainly best friends from Primp Magic School. We always have each other's backs; I warn him of certain issues arising, and he deals with them. I cheer him on as moral support and he fights for me and others as well. Of course, our friendship goes deeper than that... but I don't want to have this be so personal. I'll stop here and say that Dave is an irreplaceable friend to me. And... I wouldn't have it any other way." Feli said to the people.

Feli… you really wanted to show these people how close we are… … Is she going to have herself fight by my side too against the Yogs? Th-thank you, Feli…" I blushed a little. "I'm done. C'mon, let's go be with them, Dave." Feli grabbed my hand. I followed her over to where the guys were at. "Citizens of Primp Town... if that was it, then we can end this event. So, I just want to say one last thing: If you people ever feel like you are in major trouble, you can count on them for help. But… since the town is very much safe for the time being, I don't think we need to worry for a while. With that being said... I am proud to be the mayor of this wonderful town. May we applaud the effort these five have put into saving everyone here. Hohow Bird. Dave. Ex. Lemres. Satan. They all deserve our thanks here, what do you say?" The mayor went in to say. Before we knew it... everyone in the crowd, except for Schezo, made a round of applause. Our friends especially came through for us with that. And Feli hugged me as we stood there. "Now, this event has concluded. You all may leave to your own devices. As for me, I have my usual work to do." The mayor said, then left. "I guess that means we're done..." I shrugged. The crowd in the area began to dissipate. After a full minute, it was just us left.

We walked over to the rest of our group. "That was well said, Dave." Accord smiled. "O-oh, really? I think what I said should've been no surprise…" I blushed and scratched the back of my head. Ex's armor disappeared while he spoke. "What about us?" He came up to her. "Oh… you all were great too. The reason why I specifically said that Dave has spoken well... is because I could tell he was nervous, at least at the start. He appeared to be more calm as he went through his words." She told him and the other guys. "I'll admit... it was weird hearing Lemres speak the way that he was, right at the podium." Klug pointed out. "Yes… it was unusual coming from him." Schezo agreed. "Gimme a break, guys... I wasn't exactly in the best position to talk how I usually do." Lemres sighed. "Fair point, it was out of your comfort zone." I defended Lemres' position. "Thanks, dude." He smiled at me. "Can we all go home now? It's a little late." Ringo asked. "Yes. Before that though, I have some new information from the staff of Primp Magic School. They are considering the idea, after hearing that I mentioned all of you kiddies wanting to see this come through. The staff wants to see you all the day after tomorrow actually… at 9:00 A.M. to be precise." Accord mentioned. "Huh...? They wanna see US? Where at?" Feli wondered. "In the faculty office, obviously." Accord answered her question. "Really? God... it's going to feel so awkward for us being the only students there for that day…" I knew that it would be.

Accord continued a few seconds after my comment. "Well, if it makes you feel any better... all of you who were originally half-students, you don't have to wear that uniform anymore. Primp Magic School doesn't have a specific dress code, so you can wear almost anything you want. I am emphasizing the "almost" part for a reason; as long as your clothes are not too revealing… you are perfectly fine." She told us. "Great, I'll finally be able to don my usual outfit whenever I go to school! I can actually look like a comet warlock..." Lemres grinned. "What about you, Dave? What will you wear, now that you don't really have to abide by a dress code? I'll still go with what I've been wearing, cuz I like it." Ringo asked me. "I dunno… I don't really have a signature outfit, unlike the rest of you. I just kind of wear whatever I have… when it's not that school uniform. And now that I won't really wear it anymore… I have to find something that I can call my own, in terms of style." I answered. "Wanna stop by Oshare's shop before we head back to Suzuran?" She suggested. "Sure… you have gold and stuff?" I looked at Ringo. "Yeah. It's a gift from Arle that I got from a while back. I wasn't really sure what to spend it on, so this gives me an excuse." She explained. "Uh-huh… ... Very well, Ringo. Let's go." I nodded. "I suppose I will see you kiddies the day after tomorrow… I will head back to the estate, for those who want to retrieve their things." Accord left.

At this point, everyone was starting to go their separate ways for the time being. "Let's go, Yui. The sooner we're back in the Tetra, the better. I'm sure that Tee and Ess both miss you." Ex suggested to her. "Yeah. I'll see you all when the meeting happens." Yui waved at us. "Alright, bye!" Amitie waved back. "We should be going too, Schezo. After all, we have a sword to forge." Satan told him. "Yeah, yeah…" Schezo went along with him. Rulue and Arle followed behind them, supposedly to watch over the sight. "I'm goin' back home to prepare for the meetin'. See ya there, kids." Witch said before flying away on her broom. "I guess that means we all go our separate ways for now…" Feli spoke. "Hm? Feli, is there something on your mind?" I asked her. "... Um... can I say something to you, alone?" She gestured for me to follow her. "Uh… sure…" I took up her offer.

I came up to Feli as she began the conversation. "So… I was wondering if you could maybe, you know… come to my mansion tomorrow. I wanna know what you make of it…" She twiddled her fingers around. "Come to your mansion…? Well, sure… but is there any other reason why you just want me to come over there?" I questioned her. "Wh-what? N-no, of course not. There's no ulterior motives…" She blushed. "... Feli, there's something up... is there? You're blushing." I continued to look at her. "*sigh* I guess nothing gets past you when you do notice things... … I wanna spend some alone time with you. Ringo already made you go on a date with her. I found it to be unfair... and suddenly Draco has a phone. That bit tells me that you went on a date with her too." She told me. "Oh, I see… You felt left out in all this… ... Feli, I promise you this: The next time that you are involved in a date of mine after our time together; you'll be with me, Ringo, and Draco. It won't be anything else." I made my promise. "Really...?!" Her eyes sparkled.

That promise of mine must have made Feli super happy, she looked how she sounded. "Yes, of course! I love all three of you… Consider that time to be special. If Ringo or Draco ask me out on a date alone, then I will decline said date." I told her. "Thank you, Dave! You're the best! Well, I have to get my clothes from Ms. Accord's estate. I'll come get you tomorrow, with Lemres' help!" Feli ran off. "... Dave, what were you and Feli talking about?" Ringo looked at me. "Feli wants me to spend time with her, alone. She said that she'll come to pick me up and bring me to her mansion, with the help of Lemres. And before you say anything: This is to make things even between you, her, and Draco. We already had that date, I went on a date with Draco on the day she was kidnapped, and now I'll have a date with Feli. The next time that either you or Draco are involved in a date with me… it'll be when all four of us are together. Wouldn't that just be peachy?" I told her. "Uh, peachy...? Well, I don't mind that… I guess." Ringo shrugged. "Thanks. Let's buy a set of clothing that will define me. Then, we'll retrieve the rest of our clothes from the estate. I can see the others are heading there as well…" I planned. "Yeah." Ringo nodded.

At Oshare's shop, he looked at me for a second and pondered what I should wear. "Hm… something that could be your defining outfit…" He moved about. Oshare must be having a difficult time seeing what clothes would define who I am… I can't blame him, I look plain compared to most people here. "Um…" He continued to ponder, then came to a jacket with a peculiar look to it. A few seconds later, we both knew that this was what we were looking for. "That's it!" Me and Oshare got excited. The jacket was pulled out from the rack and we took a closer look at it. "Try it on, Dave." Oshare handed it to me. I did so, and not only did its size fit perfectly… but it also just looked prime. Me and that jacket were just meant to be together. It was mostly grey, with black trimmings surrounding the main portion. This kind of jacket didn't have a button or zipper, it was just something that one could slip on and off. I guess you can say that it was a "loose jacket". My shirt was definitely able to be seen underneath.

This jacket was also quite light, so it's more on the thin side. "I'll take it, Oshare." I did not hesitate in the transaction. Ringo gave me the money to pay for the jacket, and I was satisfied. Obviously, I still had my warmer clothes, so I just asked for a bag. Oshare didn't complain and gave me one. "Thanks." I said. "No problem! This is the least I can do for you, saving the town and all." Oshare smiled. "Well, bye." I waved to him. He waved back as I left the shop with Ringo by my side. "Brrgh! Jesus, it's cold! The temperature really went down quickly…" I noticed. "Th-then let's get a move on towards Ms. Accord's estate to get our stuff...!" Ringo shook from the cold. "Hrr-rah! Ringo, hold on tight… we're flying." I made my armor appear. "O-okay!" She climbed aboard. Long story short: We got our clothes, and Ms. Accord helped us back over to Ringo's place with a portal. "Wow, it's snowing here… has it been like this since we left a few days ago?" Ringo looked around after we arrived. "I… guess? Either way, your mother must be really wanting us to come back to her. Good thing we arrived just outside here… Let's go inside and warm up, Ringo." I walked over to the door and opened it.

A few seconds later I heard Serilly's voice. "Welcome back!" She greeted us from the couch. "Oh-! You two are back..." Ms. Ando came up to us. "Mom!" Ringo hugged her mother. "My, that was some three day event…" Ms. Ando said. "Huh? You saw that fighting tournament?" I was surprised. "Dave, there's a TV here. I was told that you two would be gone for a few days, so I got curious. And sure enough, you appeared in the bunch of competitors in that." She explained. That's right… there were cameras all around. The entire three-day event MUST have been televised… "Me and Serilly both watched you fight your way to the top. I won't lie, we were worried whenever you coughed out blood… The fights must've been painful, Dave… Then, there was that unexpected turn..." She continued, then embraced me. "I-I've been through worse for the most part, but yeah… Vyle appeared. The one single person that I actively hated the most. If it weren't for my friends… I would've been dead for sure." I frowned. "You were hurt, yes… but thank you for trying your best to protect all your friends… as well as my little girl." Ms. Ando embraced me more. "M-Ms. Ando…" I stood in shock, then embraced her as well. "Now, how about some food? You must all be hungry." Ms. Ando looked at me, Ringo and Serilly. "Yeah." We all nodded.

We ate, then I got to talk to Serilly for a bit. "Dave, the fight you had with that bird felt different than any other." "Well, Serilly… that's because he was my rival in a sense. You were paying attention to the drama before that match, right?" "When he passed that paper over to you?" "Yeah, he didn't think I could be a hero, unlike him. I asked him what he did as a hero, and then when I, as well as many others, found out the full truth in the form of a backstory. After I won the match, he was convinced that I had a good heart. The bird even changed himself, not letting his ego get the better of him. As much as I hated him when we first met… we came to understand each other. Now, I consider him to be as much of a friend as any other. I would love to fight against him again at some point; in a more friendly light. And, it was great that we were working together to save ourselves and Primp Town from Vyle. I'm not sure if you saw that though… the camera people fled from the scene." "... Anyway, I noticed that Arle was by your side for the tournament." "Yeah, I knew that she would be wonderful as my healer after I won each of my matches. It was indeed a good decision on my part…" As we both sat down on the couch, we smiled at each other. "So, what about that thing the bear was making for me?" Serilly reminded me. "...! Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that... ... Look, I won't be able to take you to Risukuma's place tomorrow. I have something else to attend to for another person. Don't worry, Ringo will take you there if you ask her in the morning." I told her. "Okay." She nodded.

A while later, in the shower; me and Ringo had a tiny bit of fun. It wasn't much, but she embraced me whenever she washed my back. It technically wasn't a date, so I didn't mind. After getting out, we went into our own rooms for the evening. After about an hour, I fell asleep in my bed. I had a dream, one that already came to me before. It was that good dream I had back when I was in Accord's estate, except... some more stuff was shown. I still saw the "You're the Absolute Best" banner, but more people showed up at this… celebration. Hohow Bird was one of those people and he made that arm wrestle starting position kind of handshake with me. There was one sentence that I remember him saying there. "We should totally take another villain down together sometime in the future, Dave... you're the best kind of hero." He smiled. Just like the last time I had this dream, it felt so happy and wholesome. When I woke up the next morning... I thought this might have been a vision of the future, rather than just another dream. After all, it came to me twice. "*yawn* ... Well, I should probably get ready to go before Feli meets up with me." I said to myself before doing so. I dressed up, evening putting on my newly bought jacket. After that, I walked down towards the kitchen, truly starting this brand new day.

Author's Notes: Dave and his friends were finally able to find the ore needed for Schezo's new sword. After that, they came to where the mayor planned on having his speech at. He spoke for a bit before letting Primp's heroes speak to the crowd. All five had their own things to say, and had the crowd applauding by the end of it all. The mayor then ended his speech and the crowd gradually disappeared. Accord made it known to her students that Primp Magic School's staff considered reintroducing academics to the school. Feli spoke to Dave about wanting him to come to her mansion on the next day. He accepted and the two went their separate ways for the rest of the day. Ringo allowed Dave to go to Feli's mansion and got him to Oshare's shop. There, he and the skeleton shopkeeper himself noticed a jacket that was perfect. Dave bought the jacket with money that Ringo had, thanks to Arle, and the two left the shop. After settling back into Ringo's place, Dave slept to have the same happy dream he dreamt days ago. He woke up the next morning to get ready and now makes his way over to the kitchen. What will happen when Feli brings Dave to her mansion? Will Ringo take Serilly to Risukuma's house? Next chapter, Chapter 63: A Mansion Marvel.