The Beginning After The End (Beckoning Fates Book 3) (15 page)

At this, my parents become a bit more surprised, but my mother looks at me
with a coy smile that says she’s onto something and kneels in front of Tessia.

“I see.
 
Well aren’t you the
prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
 
Please take good care of my son.
 
As you may know, he’s the type to get into trouble a lot, so it’ll
really help me if I know he has someone like you next to him, now and in the
future.”
 
My mother shoots her a
wink as she strokes Tessia’s hair.

I’m not really sure how what Tess really heard but she was definitely
overthinking everything. Eyes widening as her face that was already red turned
a shade brighter, she responds in a voice that was an octave higher than
usual.
 
“Y-YESS!!!” She beamed while
nodding vigorously.

My father was still clueless as to what was going on but I could only
internally groan.
 
Leave it to my mother
to instill misleading thoughts like this to a 13-year-old girl.
 

After getting back up, both my mother and Tessia’s mother broke out into a
fit of giggles while my sister began pouting because our mother said Tessia was
the prettiest girl she’s seen.

“How are you feeling, brat?”
 
Virion takes a seat on the edge of the bed I was laying as he gave a pat
to Sylvie who went back to sleep.
 
Tessia, regaining her senses, walks up to me too with a worried
expression.
 

“Heh…I can beat you in a fight right now, Gramps.”
 
I try to hold in the coughs that were
about to come out but I couldn’t.

“I’m so sorry, Art.
 
If it
wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been…” I stop her mid sentence and poke her
gently between her eyebrows with my finger.

“Don’t furrow your brows, Tess.
 
Your face will turn ugly.”
 
As the strength in my arm gives out, I slump back down and take a deep
breath.

“Gramps, did you take a look at Tess’ mana core?
 
How’s everything looking?”
 
I couldn’t help but be worried since I
knew exactly what she was going through.

He gives me a soft smile.
 
“Luckily, her body seems to be a lot more compatible with the beast core
than your body was when you first integrated.
 
By the way… How the hell did you manage
to pick up an Elderwood Guardian’s beast core?”
 
He leaned in forward and spoke in a
hushed voice.
 
Gramps knew there
some things that I didn’t want my family to know about so he made it so that
only we could hear, just in case.
 

“By killing one, of course.”
 
I
give him weak smirk.
 

“You’re joking…no…you’re joking, right?
 
You’re telling me that you killed an S
class mana beast?”
 
Grampa’s usually
stern face was round in astonishment as he gets even closer, our face almost
touching.

“You’re too close gramps.
 
I can
smell what you had for you last meal…wait.
 
How long have I been out for?”
 
I couldn’t get a grasp on how much time has passed.

“From what Cynthia told me, it’s been a bit more than a day since you
passed out.
 
You missed your second
day of class.”
 
He lets out a sigh.

“Oh no… I guess I can forget about shooting for perfect attendance…” I give
him a weak elbow to his arm, making him chuckle.

“Hehe” Tessia giggles as well as she takes a seat on the bed too.

“I’m telling you!
 
I’m Arthur
Leywin’s best friend!
 
We’re like
brothers!
 
If I can’t visit him,
then who could?
 
I’m telling you
it’s true!!”
 
I hear a familiar
voice echo in the distance and I couldn’t help but chortle at my friend.

Director Goodsky, hearing this as well, signals to the security to let him
through.

“ARTHUR!
 
You okay man?”
 
He rushes towards me totally oblivious
to the other people in the room.
 

“You’re late.
 
And you didn’t
even bring any food with you?”
 
Letting out an exaggerated sigh, I just slightly shake my head.

“Haaa… I guess you’re fine if you can talk like that.” Elijah lets out a
sigh as relief washes over his face.
 

I start smiling as his head comes back up and recognizes whom the other
people in the room were.
 
My friends
face contorted from relief to terror as he realizes that, besides my family,
the Director of the Academy and the whole Royal Family of the Kingdom of
Elenoir were also in the room.

“Uhh…oh my…” His slack jaw fails to form words.

“Pfft, Hahaha…oww…haha” My stomach felt like it was being wrangled as I
couldn’t stop laughing.

“Gramps, Mr. and Mrs. Eralith, I’d like you to meet my closest friend,
Elijah.”

“P-pleased to meet you!
 
Sorry
for being so rude just now!”
 
Elijah
immediately bows, almost dropping his glasses.

After everyone got acquainted with each other, my parents continued to get
acquainted with Tessia’s parents in the other side of the room.
 
Gramps finally left me alone and started
catching up with Director Goodsky after wringing me of all the details and
telling me to make time for him once I’m better to further discuss everything
else.
 

“Brother.
 
Who’s prettier, me or
her?”
 
Ellie points at Tess and
gives me a serious look.

“You guys are both pretty ugly to me.”
 
I just shrug helplessly but I regretted it as soon as the words left my
mouth.

“OWW! That seriously hurts right now!”
 
I groan as the both of them pinch and twist the skin on my arm.

“Tess, like I said, Elijah is a close friend of mine.
 
You guys should get along.”
 
I say through gritted teeth, my arm
still throbbing, more so from the state of my body than the power of my sister
and Tess’ pinches.

“Sorry I never formally introduced myself to you, I’m Tessia Eralith,
Arthur’s CLOSEST friend.”
 
She
sticks out her hand and as Elijah accepts her handshake, he responds, “I’m
Elijah, Arthur’s BEST friend.
 
Nice
to meet you.”
 
Sparks flew between
them as they glared at each other in competition.

I just rolled my eyes as my sister giggled.
 
I was getting tired from being awake for
even this long, my eyelids beginning to weigh down heavily.
 

Director Goodsky, noticing this, announces to everyone.
 
“Now! I think we should give Arthur some
more time to rest.
 
His life isn’t
in danger but he should be very tired right now.”
 

“Son, come visit home after you’re all healed up, okay?”
 
My father grasps my hand and gives it a
gentle squeeze before herding my family out.

“Get plenty of rest.
 
Okay,
dear?”
 
My mother says as she’s
heading out.
 
Tessia’s parents say
their brief goodbyes while patting me softly on my arm before following out
after my parents.

“We’ll catch up soon brat.”
 
Virion ruffles my hair, making me wince and tows Tessia and Elijah out
with him.
 

“Haa…” I look at Sylvie who’s still fast asleep.

As I was about to close my eye, the door squeaks opens once more.

“Did you leave something, Tess?”
 
Spotting from the corner of my eyes, I don’t bother turning my head.

“Hey Arthur…” She arrives next to me glances back at the door.

“Hmm?”

“You said you couldn’t really move your body, right?”
 
I can see with my peripheral view that
she’s fidgeting a little.

“I can probably only turn my head and lift my arm for a little bit,
why?”
 
As I turn my head towards
her, my eyes widen in surprise as I realize that Tess’ face was just
centimeters away from mine.
 
Her
eyes gaze at me with an expression I’ve never seen in her ever and before long,
I feel her lips as her eyes close.

The soft, warm sensation of her lips on top of mine catches me by surprise
but my body doesn’t let me react.
 
Instead, I spot a small mole in the outer corner of her left eye that
I’ve never noticed before.

A small, glistening strand of saliva connects my lips to hers as she pulls
away, her eyes never avoiding mine.
 
She quickly turns her head and runs out of the room leaving me more
dazed than when I first woke up.

TESSIA ERALITH’S POV:

I kissed him… I k-kissed him!
 

As I ran out of the room, I could
feel the temperature in my face rising rapidly.
 
That was my first k-kiss!
 
I wonder if he liked it?
 
Did I do it right?
 
My face didn’t look weird as I kissed
him r-right?

I stop in the hall and look at my
reflection in the window.
 
I stand
right in front of it and pretend to kiss Art again to see how I looked.

“EEK!
 
NOOO!!”
 
Banging my head on the window in
embarrassment, I could only groan at the thought of how weird I must’ve looked
to him.
 
As I look outside through
the window with my forehead still glued against it, I touch my lips with my
fingers.
 

His lips sure were soft.
 
They were a bit chapped since he was so
hurt but it felt nice.

“Hehe…”
 

I notice that my face in the
reflection showed a perverted grin on it.
 

Oh God, I’m turning into a pervert.
I wonder if I came on too strong?
 
What if he didn’t like it?
 
What if he thinks I’m some sort of pervert now?
 

“UGHHH” I slump down to my knees as
my forehead slides down the window.

Wait.
 
How am I supposed to face him now?
 
Things were just getting better
too!
 
Did I just ruin everything?
 
What if he ignores me now, when he sees
me?

A throbbing ache thumped in my
chest as tears start welling up in the corner of my eyes.
 
I wouldn’t be able to bear it if Art
ignored me like that.

Should I go back to his room and
pretend it was all a joke?
 
I
imagine myself bursting in the room laughing and pointing at him.
 
“Got you!
 
Hahaha!
 
You really fell for it!”

Am I stupid?
 
I groan again at the stupidity of it
all.
 

No!
 
You did the right thing, Tess!
 
Things would never progress if I left it
up to Art’s pace!
 
He still thinks
of me as a child every time we’re together.
 
It was for the best!

“Yeah!”
 
I fist pump the air to encourage myself
but I still let out a big sigh at the thought of him not liking me.
 

“Tch!”
 
Who cares!
 
If that stupid Art chooses to ignore me,
I can just find someone better than him!
 
He wasn’t that great anyway!
 
He’s just a teeny bit better looking than average.
 
He’s only slightly better than mediocre
in magic, right?

Sigh.
  
Who am I kidding?
 
I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone
else but Arthur.
 
Sure, over the
years, there were nobles that tried to impress me and tried to get close but
they weren’t like Arthur.

That stupid Art!
 
He’s such a player!
 
“Don’t furrow your brows, Tess.
 
Your face will turn ugly.”
 
I say in a mocking tone while imitating
him.
 

Tch!
 
Making my heart skip a beat for no
reason!
 
That stupid player!

“GAH!
 
Who cares if he doesn’t like you,
Tess!
 
It’s his loss!
 
What don’t you have?
 
I’m a talented mage!
 
I’m also pretty smart and I’m popular
too, right?
 
I don’t want to sound
conceited but I have a bit of confidence in my looks, right?
 
Arthur is the one that’s missing out if
he doesn’t snatch you up!”
 
I point
at my reflection as if she’s a different person.

I wonder what kind of excuses I
should make to talk to Arthur.
 
There were plenty of excuses!
 
His Mother personally asked me to watch over him, yeah!
 
A-and also the beast core
assimilation!
 
I could just ask him
to help me with it since he’s the one that gave me the beast core!
 
It’s only right that he takes the
responsibility right?

Sigh…

I take one last look back at where
Arthur’s room was before I slump back to my dorm.

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

I k-kissed Tess…

I kissed Tessia Eralith, a
thirteen-year-old girl.
 
Isn’t this
a crime?
 
Am I a criminal?
 
No, calm down.
 
I’m in the body of a twelve-year-old
boy.
 
Why do I feel so guilty
then?
 
I shouldn’t, right?

She’s the one that kissed me after
all!
 
I’m the victim here!
 
Making a move on me while I’m in this
vulnerable state.
 
She sure was
smart, that Tess.
 
As I stared
blankly at the door that she left through, my shaking hand finally reached my
lips and I just lay there, dumbfounded, touching my mouth as my mind can’t help
but recall the soft, moist touch of her lips.
 

This is wrong.
 
Yes, I’m technically only twelve years
old, but with the mental age from my previous life and this life combined, I
was almost 50!
 
Even assuming that I
had kids late, Tess would still be around the age of a daughter if I had
one.
 

Goddammit!
 
All of this is because of this accursed
body!
 
These raging hormones in my
body right now!
 
The reason I’m
feeling so guilty is because I actually enjoyed it.
 
It felt nice when Tess kissed me.
 
It shouldn’t feel nice and I shouldn’t
enjoy a kiss from a little girl, but I did.
 

I groan, half from pain and the
other half from thinking what was going to happen between Tess and I.
 
Knowing her, she was probably
overthinking a lot of things right now and she’s going to be really
uncomfortable around me.
 

I almost laugh at the thought of
what people might think of Tess when she’s with me.
 
If someone didn’t know any better, they
might even assume that she hated me since she’s the type to act cold when she
doesn’t know what to do.

Something tells me that if I don’t
clear things up with her, there will only be more misunderstandings.

How should I clear things up
though?
 
It’s not like she confessed
or anything.
 
Should we date?
 
No, no, no. Did kids our age even know
what dating was?

I look back and think of the time
when I was twelve in my past life.
 
When I was twelve, my life was filled with only training.
 
Being raised in an orphanage and getting
sent to an institute solely dedicated to raising duelists, I can’t say that I
really have any experience in dating.

We were too young anyhow,
right?
 
I’m technically only twelve
in this body!
 
Is this body even
capable of reproducing yet?
 
Oh God,
now you’re overthinking this, Arthur.

Haa… it’s not like I hate
Tess.
 
I’m actually quite fond of
her.
 
She is still immature in some
senses, but I shouldn’t let that be an excuse right?
 

“What do you think, Sylv?”
 
I poke my sleeping bond as her body
slowly heaves up and down with her breaths.
 
I’m surprised she didn’t wake up when
Tess kissed me.
 

As I play with my bond’s ears and
paws, my breaths begin to synchronize with hers and I soon fall asleep.

_________________________________________

Over the past couple of days, quite
a few people came to visit me while my body was recovering.
 
Curtis came by and asked if I was
okay.
 
I only shot him a grin and
said that his move was pretty damn strong, making him laugh.
 
Claire Bladeheart came by to make sure I
was okay.
 
She also kept me up to
date on the Disciplinary Committee meetings so I wouldn’t be totally lost when
I went back.

I was surprised Kathyln came by
herself instead of with her brother.
 
She asked if I was okay and I swear, she had a worried expression on her
face.
 
I was more surprised by that
than anything else.
 
I could tell
everyone had a lot of questions.
 
Curtis looked like he wanted to ask me something a few times but he held
back because of my condition.
 
When
Professor Glory came by to visit, she brought me some fruits.
 

“I’ll tell you now, Lucas has been
pretty heated up in class.
 
I can’t
blame him, though.
 
To him, it
must’ve felt like he was beating you in every sense, but you suddenly
disappeared from his spells and appeared a few hundred meters away
instantly.”
 
She paused before
continuing.

“H-how did you do it anyways?
 
I’ve never seen anything like that.
 
You should know that even Director
Goodsky isn’t capable of what you just did.
 
Instant teleportation was always thought
of to be a myth.
 
Yet, here you are,
a twelve-year-old.”

By this time, I was able to sit up
without it hurting that much so I lifted myself up just enough to be eye-level
to the seated Professor Glory.
 

“Growth isn’t stopped by a lack of
talent or a series of unfortunate luck.
 
Growth is stopped once the person limits his own ability to grow.
 
With that said, I believe everyone has a
secret or two they wish to keep to themselves.”
 
I sink back down in my bed, leaving
Professor Glory confused and without a means to respond.

Director Goodsky visited once.
 
I asked what was happening to the class
I was supposed to be teaching and they said that, for now, Professor Glory
volunteered to take on the extra class as a substitute until I’m better.
 
She didn’t stay for long and came mainly
to update me on how Tess was doing.

“As her assimilation continues,
she’s becoming more and more stable.
 
These past couple of days, she has only had one more fit.”
 
She states.

“Thanks for taking care of her,
Director.”
 
I give her a smile.
 

“Don’t thank me, Arthur.
 
She is my precious disciple after
all.
 
Ahh, that reminds me.
 
I will be out of the academy for a couple
days for some business.
 
Since Virion
has gone back, I need you to help Tessia with her assimilation until I am
back.
 
Can you do that for me?”
 
She says before leaving through the
door.

“Uh, yeah.
 
S-sure, I can do that.”
 
I shake my head helplessly at this.
 
I’m not sure if Director Goodsky really
has errands to run but she was definitely giving me an excuse to meet Tess.

My body’s recovering rate was a lot
faster thanks to the assimilation of Sylvia’s Dragon Will into my muscles and
bones.
 
I also spent this time while
recovering to also meditate and develop my mana core.
 
I was at the threshold of breaking out
of the dark yellow stage but it would take a bit more time until I could reach
solid yellow.
  
I would still
feel a bit weak, but I planned on leaving the infirmary room and resuming
normal school life starting tomorrow.
 
My body felt stiff from being in bed for so long.
 

*Knocks*

“Come in.”
 
I turn my head as Sylvie hops off the
bed and goes towards the door.

“I came to visit you!”
 
My father has a wide grin on his face as
soon as he notices how much better I look than before.