Dancer in Twisted Wonderland [ M!Nilou x TWST] ((DISCONTINUED?))

Chapter 14 《Lunch, New Knowledge, Not Yet》

It was already back to school. "I have so many questions. But who do I ask...?" I wondered. Classes passed as if they were nothing. Now, it was lunch. I still don't really know the foods from here that well. "The pudding is still good." I remembered. When I entered the cafeteria, I saw a long line of people. "Why are they lining up?" I wondered. I completely forgot I was next to my friends. "Ugh. Professor Trein must have cast a sleepin' spell on me. I fought to stay awake, but he was sooo boring." Grim yawned. "Yeah, fought, sure. I heard you snoring five minutes in." Deuce crossed his arms. "Grub time! What's it gonna be today!" Ace cheered. Geez, both Ace and Grim's favorite subject is lunch. "Huh, wait? What's going on? Why is it so crowded in here?" Ace asked. "That famous bakery from out of town is serving up their goods. It only happens once a month. Their stock sells out fast, so you better hurry!" The cafeteria ghost replied. As amazing as it sounds, I still need to warm up to this new world. "Meet you guys at that table." I pointed. "You're not ordering food?" Yuu asked. "Yeah, I'll eat my own food. Bye." I left to sit down.

I pulled the pudding out from my inventory. "It's still good." I noticed. I ate my food and waited for the others. When the four of them came back, I noticed Grim was very, very upset. "Why is Grim that upset?" I asked. "He traded his lunch." Yuu replied. "Huh?! Really? That's rare." I was shocked. Grim, the one that hordes food trades food?! "I still don't get why you traded at all." Deuce sighed. "I didn't! It's like, when he put out his hand, my paws just shot out- like it was copying his!" Grim cried. I feel like I should keep that in mind. "It all happened so fast.." Grim sighed. "Like a deer caught in the sandwich-stealing headlights." Ace laughed. What is that comparison? "Nah, it wasn't like that at all. But I... I don't know how to explain it!" Grim sighed. Oh, well. "What happened to my vision? How did a book from Sumeru get here? How did I break Riddle's unique magic? What was it that happened to Riddle? No, who was that voice I heard after the unbirthday party?" I zoned out. I seem to receive more questions when I try to find answers. I don't know who to ask. When I snapped out of it, I heard- "Oh, by the way, guys- the headmage said he had something he wanted to tell us after class. No clue what it could be, though." Ace informed. "It probably has something to do with what happened to Housewarden Rosehearts a few days ago." Deuce guessed. Well, the only thing we can do is guess.

Now, we are all headed to meet Crowley to see what he needs. "Headmage, may we come in?" Deuce asked. "How's it going, sir?" Ace questioned. "Ah. Thank you for coming. I'll get straight to the point." Crowley said. Phew. At least he won't take too much time from my day. "Now that the Heartslabyul incident is behind us... I wanted to give you a proper debriefing on the matter." He continued, "if you're to become mages, you need to fully understand the malady that befell Mr. Rosehearts." Yes, one question will be answered, at least. "You called it overblot, right?" Deuce asked. "Yes, that is correct." Crowley replied. "My brother told me a little about that. He said that it could happen to anyone who builds up too much blot. Sounds like Cater was pretty much on the nose with berserker mode." Ace said. "Yeah, but what is blot, anyway?" Grim asked. "Ah, indeed. For your sake and Yuu's, it would behoove us to start with the basics." Crowley said, "I shall teach you all you need to know. Charity, thy name is Crowley!" He cheered. He's going to take forever. He explained what blot was. And the more he said, the more I realized this was oddly similar to a withering. Both were dangerous for sure.

"Hm. Perhaps a demonstration would prove more efficient than a mere explanation." Crowley said. What is he going to do now? "Ghosts, assemble! I have a job for you!" Crowley called. "Huzzah! You summoned us, Headmage?" A ghost flew in. "We're not going to fight them.. right?" I thought. "Not these guys again." Ace freaked out. I was right. We're fighting them.. "Now, students, ready your magical pen. Prepare to receive a special lesson from your headmage!" Crowley cheered. "Well, I don't necessarily need mine." I thought. I decided not to use the pen. When we fought, I shot water at the ghosts, which did work. It might not have been as strong since I'm not a catalyst user. The others were fighting quite seriously. Yuu was just watching this happen. "Hey, headmage, what's the deal? What does fightin' ghosts got to do with blot?" Grim asked. "Direct your attention to the magestone on your collar, Mr. Grim." Crowley replied. I looked at mine it was still the same. "Myah?! My magestone looks all grungy now. MYAH?! It won't rub off!" Grim cried. "Precisely. That inky black stain is the byproduct of spellcasting known as blot." Crowley said. The others also had blot on their pens. Since mine wasn't used, there was no blot. "Ewww! This is capital G-Gross!" Grim yelled. Imitating Cater now?

"Will it come off eventually?" Yuu asked. Crowley further explained how to get rid of it. At least I'll know what to do if it happens to me. "Anyway, I think I get it." Grim said, "use magic, get blot. Blot bad. Sleep and food good." Grim sounded pretty adorable, saying it like that, to be honest. "But is that really all it took to make Riddle activate berserker mode?" Grim asked. "Yeah, it feels like there is something more to it." I commented. "The accumulation of blot is significantly affected by the sorcerer's mental state." Crowley answered, "Anger, fear, panic, sorrow... Harboring those sorts of negative energies hastens the accumulation of blot by a significant degree." That is very useful knowledge. "This, in turn, leads to the dreadful state known as overblot." Crowley said. "This overblot thing is dangerous and all, but why aren't you supporting the students?" I wondered. "AAAH! IT IS A PROSPECT TOO TERRIFYING TO CONSIDER!" Crowley yelled. His loud yelling snapped me out of my zoning out. "Why do I keep on zoning out? I never did this back in Sumeru." I wondered. Oh, well. "Forgive me. I lost my composure." Crowley excused himself.

Crowley finished explaining blot to us (finally). "So have you found a way to send me home?" Yuu asked. "Ahhh, yes... A means to send Yuu home. Right, right." Crowley sighed. "Uhm. Sir I never mentioned this before, but I also come from another world, like Yuu." I said. "Huh?" Crowley chirped. "I also require to go home, but considering how Yuu hasn't gone home, I also may not be able to leave." I added. "Ahem! Well [NAME], do tell, what is the name of your homeland?" Crowley asked. "I come from Sumeru, a nation in Teyvat." I answered. "Hmm... I've never heard of that place either..." Crowley muttered. "I have a question for you, Crowley." I continued. "Have you ever heard of a book that goes by: The Shepherd and the Magic Bottle?" I asked. "Unfortunately, I do not." He answered. Hmm... maybe I should mention the book later.. "I will have to research that. As I am quite busy with the Spelldrive tournament." Crowley said. "What's a Spelldrive tournament?" Grim asked.
-------------------------------------------------‐-----‐----------
A/N- Hello author here, I unfortunately may not be able to post on Sunday. I am still working on my spring break homework, which is a lot. If I do manage to finish, then I will post. Again, sorry.