The principal of Geffen Magic Academy, Tinoryl Gauthier, sat at his desk inside of his office. Picking up a sheet of paper from his desk, he briefly skimmed over the contents before tossing them into a metal bin. He was about to pick up another one when a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Excuse us sir, but is this a good time?" spoke a soft, gentle voice.
"Pardon our intrusion, but we would like to ask you something about the formal dance event," added a voice that was pleasant to the ears.
"By all means, come in," he replied.
The door opened to reveal a young girl with wavy, cornflower blue hair and ultramarine blue eyes. Standing beside her was an older girl with her long violet blue hair plaited in a braid and lilac pink eyes. Both of the girls briefly curtsied in front of the principal.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Lavoisier and Miss Ancaster. What brings the two of you here to my office today?"
Lyra, the older of the two, began to speak.
"The two of us were just discussing the formal dance event that's coming up soon a few moments ago. We both noticed that you did not mention anything about transportation during the announcement."
"That is absolutely correct, my dear. You will have to arrange for your own transportation to Prontera Castle. I do regret that the academy does not have the budget to arrange students' transportation for them.
"In that case sir, I would like to seek out your advice. Both Mipsy and I do not have much zeny to begin with, and neither of us want to walk all the way to Prontera, though the roads are safe from dangerous monsters. A one-way trip on foot would take us about four hours, not to mention that no end time was given at all for the event. Assuming it will take around two hours or so, I don't personally fancy walking all the way back here by midnight."
Mipsy nodded quietly in agreement.
"Hmm, I see your point there," the principal smiled. "There happens to be two ways around this. There are a couple of travelling merchants, mastersmiths, biochemists, mechanics or genetics who sell and rent mounts used for travelling long distances. They are capable of travelling on all sorts of terrain. A couple of monster bounty hunts will net you about 3,500,000 to around 4,000,000 zeny, and three months is a reasonable amount of time to save up for such a big purchase, if you are thinking of owning one. If you choose to rent one for a day, it will cost you about 500,000 zeny instead."
"3,500,000 zeny?! 500,000 zeny?!" the two girls cried in disbelief.
"If that is absolutely not an option, you can try organizing or joining a travelling party who owns such a creature, or a steed such as a peco peco or a gryphon. Essentially, you will need to look for your own chaperone."
"Hmm, I see." Lyra mused. "I have a paladin friend who owns a gryphon as her steed. I will have to discuss this with her later."
"...I don't think my stepmother would approve of either option." Mipsy shook her head. "Perhaps if I ask my father..."
"I'm sure your family will come up with something, dear. In any case, will that be all for today?"
"Yes. That will be all, sir. Thank you for your time." Lyra said.
"We appreciate the help, sir." Mipsy added. "All the best with the planning."
The two girls quickly left the office and exited the academy. Mipsy turned to her friend, or rather her sister figure, and told her that she would be heading home for the day.
"As I told Mr. Gauthier, I do have a friend who owns a gryphon. If she agrees to come with me to the dance event, you could ask your parents if you could join us. It'll be safer for the three of us in the long run, anyhow. We could even shop together for our dresses if it ends up working out."
"I'll be happy to." Mipsy replied. "I'll be sure to let my parents know about your proposal. Please take care of yourself, Lyra."
"Same to you, Mipsy. Let me know what your parents decide when we meet up at the academy tomorrow, okay?"
"That's a promise, Lyra. See you tomorrow."
"See you and take care."
With that, the two girls went their separate ways.