A Degenerate's Tale

The rest of the classes were not as intense as Sheryl\'s Combat Instruction class.

There were only 2 mandatory classes each day and since no one signed up for an elective class yet, the day came to an uneventful end.

That was only for some individuals, of course.

Earl used his free time to go to the library to study up on more material.

Ragnarok\'s Library was constantly being filled up with new material. As such, it was the perfect place for Earl with his unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

He carefully picked a book from the shelves after long consideration then he found a quiet corner for himself.

Time passed by like a breeze when he was immersed in his books. When he looked back up, hours had already passed and a familiar face sat across from him.

"Hello!" The Moon Princess- or rather, the Student Council President greeted.

Earl studied her face for a good few seconds before asking. "Do I owe you money?"

"No, but I always take tips."

"That\'s bribery."

Sharon smiled and placed an index finger on her lips as she gestured. "Shhh."

"Have you had dinner?" Earl suddenly came up with an idea.

The princess made a thoughtful expression before answering. "Not yet."

"Shall we go?"

"How bold! Do you talk to every girl like this?"

"Fortune favors the bold, President."

"Mhmm, wise words indeed."

Earl took Sharon to a quiet restaurant he found the other day. Every restaurant on Ragnarok had to have a certain level of fame to be qualified to open a branch on Ragnarok. As such, every place on the island was good.

The ambiance of the restaurant was dim. The white table cloth seemed to glow under the flickering candle atop their table.

Soon, food was served. Both parties were high status people so the luxurious ingredients before them did not make them bat an eye.

"Shall we toast?" Earl held up his glass of wine.

"Toast to our reunion." Sharon smiled. She looked especially dazzling under the dim lighting casted by the candle.

Their glasses clicked.

The two childhood friends enjoyed the meal together while throwing out light hearted jokes here and there.

"Your table etiquettes has changed." The Moon Princess suddenly made an observation at the end of their meal.

"Has it?"

"The way you hold your glass. Your fork and knife, it\'s very Elven."

"Ah. I suppose it\'s become that way. The Elven Kingdom is my home now."

A light blush was painted on Sharon\'s face from the alcohol. Earl\'s words irritated her and somehow, she found the courage to ask.

"I heard you were engaged to the Elven Princess."

"Yes, I am engaged to Alea." Earl casually answered.

"She doesn\'t seem like she\'ll make a good wife. A cold and indifferent lady like her."

"I don\'t think so. Alea is a good girl."

"Is that so?" Sharon stood up. "I\'ll make you change your mind." She whispered a line she would never have the courage to say without the influence of alcohol. "I enjoyed our meal today. Good night, Earl. I\'ll take my leave now."

Earl slightly smiled at Sharon\'s aggressive departure. "Sharon."

He finally called her out by her name.

"What is it?"

"It will be hard."

Sharon slammed the door to her room shut. Then, she jumped into her bed and curled herself into a ball.

"Sharon! You idiot! How could you say something like that straight to his face!?"

She rolled around in embarassment.

"Is he going to think I\'m easy? No! More importantly! Who takes a girl to dinner like that without any motives!?"

"It\'s all his fault! It\'s all your fault... Earl..." Her words softened as she hugged her pillow.

The princess thought about her day today and she felt a faint flutter in her stomach.

"I must be crazy."

"He\'s already taken, you idiot."

"But... people want what they can\'t have, right?"

When Earl returned home to his dorm, he could faintly hear the sound of water running. He entered the kitchen and he found Alea casually doing the dishes.

Alea was a great cook so it was no surprise that she cooked her own dinner.

"I heard you had dinner with the Ablax Princess." She started a conversation, something rare of her to do these days.

"Are you jealous?" Earl teased as he hugged her from behind. Seeing her jealous made him happy. "Don\'t worry, it\'s just a dinner between friends."

He continued to enjoy her soft body as she washed the dishes without saying a word to him.

Their relationship had become strained but it was still an irrefutable fact that they were an item.

"Dinner over a glass of wine doesn\'t seem like something friends do." Alea faintly caught the smell of wine from Earl\'s breath.

"We are good friends. We were playmates when we were children."

"I see."

Earl internally let out a sigh of relief seeing that Alea was satisfied with his answers.

Sharon may look nice right now, but it was the wiser choice to keep his wife happy!

If he wanted a taste of Sharon, he had to remain relatively passive throughout the whole situation so he could throw all the blame on her.

This way, he could maintain a friendly relationship with both parties. It was fool proof!

"How about you accompany me to bed tonight?" Earl tossed out an invitation to the cold princess.

"Huh?" Unfortunately, he was interrupted at the most crucial moment.

He found Iori standing in shock by the kitchen entrance.

"I didn\'t see anything, please continue what you were doing!"

"..." He speechlessly watched her bolt off.

"I\'m going back to my room." Alea stated as she turned the sink water off.

"..." Earl was left standing alone in the kitchen to contemplate the meaning of life.