Chapter 83 - Unwanted Fame

Ned took a peek down from the dirt platform.

"...Maybe we can make a slide?"

Alyx sighed.

"That's going to be one dangerous slide."

Erin tilted her head to the side.

"Um... sorry!"

A chuckle escaped me.

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't intentional. Maybe we can push the dirt off and slowly lower ourselves that way?"

Ned shrugged his shoulders.

"Seems like that is our only option."

The five of us started to shove the dirt down, slowly lowering the platform. Reyna was still in a bit of shock but helped out soon enough.

"Ah gross! Why is there dirt falling down?"

People had formed a crowd around the dirt platform, meaning when we pushed off the dirt, it landed on those that stood too close.

The crowd gradually backed off once they realized dirt rain wasn't stopping anytime soon.

Beads of sweat formed on Ned's forehead.

"This is taking a lot longer than I imagined."

As for me, my hands were caked with dirt. It reminded me of my time in the forest, where I hadn't showered for days.

"Haha, it seems my suggestion wasn't exactly the most intuitive."

Alyx sighed.

"Well, there is not much else we can do, no?"

Erin giggled nervously.

"So this is why we have to be careful when we cast spells!"

Reyna smiled bitterly.

"...The only reason our teacher let us cast foundational spells is that they are generally harmless."

She shook her head.

"The only person that has to worry about the dangers of foundational spells is probably you."

Erin blinked a few times.

"Ah, ok!"

We were now seven meters from the ground. Although it was not a short drop, a small slope had formed because of all the dirt we tossed aside.

Ned's eyes lit up.

"Hey, I think we can slide down now!"

A chuckle escaped me.

"Yeah, looks like it. Although it is quite long, the chances of getting hurt are low."

Alyx's eyelid twitched.

"...Our clothes will get really dirty."

Erin giggled.

"They are already really dirty!"

As Erin said, dry dirt had caked all of their clothes. Reyna only noticed this once it was pointed out.

"Oh dear, my mother isn't going to be happy with this..."

Ned shrugged his shoulders.

"Welp, they are already dirty, so why not have a little fun?"

Without waiting for our response, Ned slid down the dirt platform.

"Haha, this is kinda cool!"

I joined Ned a second later, and Erin came with me.

Some of the dirt ended up hitting my face as my body slid down.

"Gah! Some dirt got into my mouth."

Erin smiled blissfully. She had her hands high in the air.

"Weeee!"

Alyx joined a few moments later, albeit reluctantly.

"I already regret joining you guys!"

Reyna's face twitched, but she slid down a few seconds after Alyx.

"This is far from proper!"

Ned was the first to hit the ground with a loud thump. He rolled onto his side and groaned in pain.

My eyelid twitched.

"Ah, right. We don't have a landing platform, so of course it's going to be painful when-"

My body hit the ground hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. Soon after Erin smacked painfully in the ground as well.

Then came Alyx and Reyna.

In the end, the five of us groaned in pain while rolling around in the grass.

Ned laughed.

"Maybe I should've thought that through a little more. My bad."

My eyes rolled.

"Ah, all of us joined you without questioning it either. It's kind of our fault as well."

Erin giggled.

"It was still fun!"

My head lifted up, taking in the surroundings. A large crowd of people gathered.

"May we know which one of you casted that spell?"

"Please tell us, it must be known!"

"To whoever casted the spell, we must become acquainted with each other!"

My mind was still a little muddled. My head slowly raised with my hand holding onto it.

"What?"

A boy held onto my shoulders and shook me, aggravating my headache.

"Did you cast that spell?"

My head shook.

"What? No, I don't even have talent!"

The boy immediately lost interest in me, opting to see if someone else had something different to say.

The crowd gathered around Ned.

"Hey, did you cast that spell?"

Ned shook his head, still recovering from the fall.

"What? No."

Then, they gathered around Erin. Alyx was still in a daze, but when she saw the crowd get near Erin, she sprung forth.

Alyx stood in front of Erin, preventing the crowd from getting any closer.

"Hey, why are you blocking us?"

"Are you the one that cast the spell? Or is it the girl behind you?"

"Ah, it must be the girl! Why else would she try to stop us from getting to her? She wants to keep the girl to herself!"

Alyx grit her teeth.

"If you want to ask a question, you can do so at a respectable distance!"

The crowd didn't seem to appreciate Alyx's words.

"Respectable distance? We are already at a respectable distance."

"You just want an excuse to keep us away! Don't think that we are fools!"

Erin cowered behind Alyx, intimidated by the large crowd.

Reyna hurriedly stepped up.

"Don't swarm the poor girl. If you want to talk, you can do it one at a time!"

The crowd was not happy, to say the least. Things were getting a little chaotic and even perhaps dangerous.

I stumbled up to my feet.

The people in the crowd were getting physical, trying to shove Reyna and Alyx aside. I began walking over, and Ned joined me.

"Cease your actions right now!"

However, before we had the chance to do anything, Harlow had shouted at all the students. The crowd immediately quieted down, and backed off. Though they did so reluctantly.

Harlow came out of the crowd, and sighed.

"I never thought the students of the most prestigious school could be so unrestrained."

He looked towards Reyna and Alyx with a courteous smile on his face.

"Sorry about that, they are just very curious about who was able to cast such a huge spell."

Alyx nodded. She held onto Erin's hand tightly.

"Ah, that's fine. Can we go now? I don't feel comfortable staying here any longer."

Harlow panicked.

"Ah, don't be in such a hurry! We just wish to have a clear answer on who casted the spell. I'm sure everyone will calm down if you just tell us."

Alyx's face twitched. Something told me that this wasn't the first time she experienced a situation like this.

"We have no obligation to tell you anything. This is our business, not yours."

The crowd was offended, which showed from their expression.

Even Harlow was displeased.

"Miss, surely you are being too uptight! It isn't a monumental thing to simply clarify the situation."

Alyx grit her teeth.

"I don't plan-"

"It was me, Erin"

Alyx was interrupted by Erin.

Somehow or another, Erin worked up the courage to stand in front of Alyx. She met eyes with the crowd.

"You have your answer now. Please go away."

Erin bowed. Alyx furrowed her brows when she saw that, but didn't say anything.

Instead of leaving, Harlow took a step forward.

"Haha, greeting, greetings! I remember your name was Erin, no? How about we-"

"Did you hear her? She said to go away."

This time, Ned spoke up. He was a little pissed off.

Harlow furrowed his brows, ready to berate the person who told him off. However, once he saw it was Ned, Harlow simply shut his mouth.

"My apologies, I will let you tend to your own business."

A sigh escaped me.

"...We should leave."

The crowd got antsy after they heard me say that.

"Wait, don't leave so soon! At least give me a chance to speak to Erin!"

Ned turned towards Reyna.

"Sorry, but we gotta leave before things get more hectic."

Reyna nodded with understanding and waved.

We waved back before running away.

Although most of the crowd did not choose to follow us, a few 'determined' ones continued. It appeared like they had impeccable persistence and were unbelievably shameless.

It made me a little disgusted. Could they not read the situation?

They called out to us.

"Hold on for just a moment!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"

We paid no heed to their cries, and continued to run.

Unfortunately, my body was not like how it was before. Even though we hadn't even made it halfway back to the palace, I was already out of breath.

Ned noticed this, and shot a concerned look towards me.

A bitter smile emerged on my face.

"Don't worry about me, just keep going."

Ned hesitated, but left in the end. Erin and Alyx didn't seem to notice our interaction, they were more focused on running away.

My eyes laid on their backs. They disappeared off into the distance.

"Hey, why are you running away! We just wanted a chance to talk with Erin!"