Marry X Princess

XIX: Suit and Tie

Days had passed since the weekend and the rather eventful training session at the warehouse. With the return of the school week, Mizuki, Eva, and I resumed practicing at the school field each day after classes ended. The focus remained on learning the basics of hand-to-hand combat, rather than any spells. However, like my mentor suggested, I had also made sure to practice the Morning Dew spell at home after every training session. Needless to say, not much progress was made on the magic side of things. Regardless, I continued to follow the instructions of "Sensei Dioli".

After another midday training session, I found myself walking home alongside Mizuki.

"You did great today," my best friend assured me. "You're definitely getting better."

"Thanks, but it doesn't feel like it. I'm still not sure how any of this is going to help me with the gauntlet."

"Have faith in yourself, Shinsuke."

"I—"

The sudden buzzing of my phone in my pocket interrupted my thought. Peeking at the device revealed an incoming call from Cynthia.

Uh oh.

"Hold on Mizuki, Cynthia is calling me."

Mizuki rolled her eyes and replied, "tch, why?"

"Let's find out..." I said, swiping the answer button on the screen. "What is it?"

"We need to talk," the princess responded curtly. "I'm already in Valport. See you in a minute."

"Wait, what? You meant in person? Why can't we just talk about whatever this is on the phone?"

"Because what we need to discuss can't be handled over the phone, obviously."

Before I could ask what that statement meant, she hung up on me. A familiar royal car pulled up beside me and Mizuki a second later and the back seat window rolled down, revealing the girl I had just been speaking with.

"Get in," Cynthia commanded. I opened the door and stepped aside to allow Mizuki to enter the vehicle first, but Cynthia quickly followed with, "not her. Just you."

Mizuki scoffed and glared daggers at the princess who looked unmoved.

"I'm sorry, Mizuki," I sighed. The two of us traded a knowing, irritated glance and I reluctantly got into the car.

"See you at home, Shinsuke," Mizuki said. As she started to walk, the window beside me rolled back up and the car began to move.

"So much for 'we're all a team'," I remarked.

Cynthia groaned. "Oh, relax. I didn't let the scrounge come along because I need your full attention today. I wasn't intentionally trying to exclude her."

"Stop calling her a scrounge. Anyway, what is this about?"

"The dates, times, and venues have all been chosen for the face off and first fight. Additionally, there will be a celebratory dinner held for all the candidates. That will come first, the face off will take place soon after."

I buried my face in my hands and mumbled, "perfect."

"I know. With all these events coming up, you're going to need the proper formal attire. I brought the suit you wore at the press conference with me today. You can have it, it was made for you, after all. Use it at the face off."

"Okay."

"But let's focus on the celebration for now," she continued. "That's the reason I needed you alone. Attendance will be mandatory for the banquet, and you're going to need a tuxedo. Given the number of events we'll likely attend moving forward, it doesn't make sense to rent one, so I'm going to buy one for you instead today."