Chapter 146: Homeless (1/2)
By the time Mike had finished loading Lily's equipment into his sack and gotten the pair of them moving, the rest of the building had been evacuated. Sera and the others had apparently gone ahead and swept the lower floors as they were descending, leaving Mike's group to be the last ones out.
The residents were huddled in a fearful group a safe distance from the dorm building. Mike could see Sera, Tal, and Brenden standing off to one side, in the middle of a heated discussion. As soon as she noticed him, Sera's serious expression turned to one of relief, and she started hurrying over to him. She stopped, however, when she notice who was accompanying him.
Mike could almost see her jumping to conclusions as she observed Lily sticking close to him (she was worried about the equipment he was still carrying), her worried and dependent expression (again, about her equipment), and the state of her dress (William had struggled to get her to wear anything, and had settled with a loose shift.)
With sour look on her face, Sera turned a glare in his direction, before stomping off angrily.
Brenden walked up while trying, and failing, to suppress a snicker. ”You good?”
”Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on out here?”
”The dorm manager's got them waiting here until they hear back from Administration. It might be a while, since it seems like the entire city was effected by the earthquake.”
Mike grimaced before shooting a look out towards the capital, wondering if he should head in that direction to help out.
As if reading his friend's thoughts, Brenden broke in. ”I wouldn't worry too much about it. That quake was pretty minor compared to some of the ones we've had in the past. Besides, most of the city's been built to resist this kind of thing, ever since the Day of Ashes and the resulting aftershocks. The only reason our dorm suffered any damage at all, was because it was old and in mild disrepair.”
Sighing, Mike nodded his agreement and followed the beastman back to rejoin an indifferent Tal and upset Sera. Hoping to remove the source of displeasure, he turned to Lily. ”We probably won't be able to go back to the dorm for a while. I know you are worried about your things, but it would be troublesome to unload them now, and have to carry them elsewhere. Why don't I hold on to them for the moment, and bring them to you once you've figured out where you are going?”
Lily looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. ”That will be acceptable.”
”Good.” Mike replied, relieved. He found a good spot to sit, and settled down to wait for news. This relief was ruined, however, when Lily sat down next to him, and started staring at him curiously. Glancing over at her, he asked, ”Um, do you need something?”
Frowning in puzzlement, she moved her face uncomfortably close to his. ”You have pretty eyes.” She stated plainly.
”Alright, that's enough!” Sera yelled while forcing herself between the two of them. ”I don't care if you're some kind of royalty where you come from, you can't behave this way.” She tried to push Lily away, only to find it impossible. It felt like she was trying to move a boulder.
Lily stood, head tilted in confusion as she looked down at the much smaller (in many ways) Oracle. ”Who are you? His lover?”
Releasing a small puff of steam while blushing furiously, Sera stammered a reply. ”W-What I am is none of your business! Just leave him alone!”
William finally chose this moment to intervene, pulling his mistress back through a phenomenal amount of effort. ”Milady, please! You are being rude to our savior. While I am happy to see you finally taking an interest in the opposite sex, I hardly think it is the time to be thinking of such things.”
[Maybe I can escape now, while everyone's distracted.] Mike thought while reconsidering his original plan to live in the woods.
Thankfully, the dorm manager, Anna, interrupted with an announcement. ”Can I have everyone's attention?” There was a long pause as the breezy woman stared at her attentive audience before resuming. ”Alright, the Lighthouse Dorm is too dangerous to live in right now, so we will be moving to Calius Dorm until repairs are complete. Also, according to the headmaster, no student is allowed to seek accommodations outside of the University.”
This caused some mutterings of protest. Brenden called from the back of the group. ”What about the household members? Can they live somewhere else?”
Anna paused, a look of deep concentration on her face, before she hit her right fist into the palm of her hand as if she remembered the fact that had been escaping her. ”Household members can, but students are not able to.
Silence descended on the group, before Hannah, the enterprising finance student, raised her hand and asked. ”Why do the students have to stay here?”
The dorm manager frowned again, before replying. ”Something about an uncertain 'minty cereal,' I think?”
Another maid took a moment to step forward and answer, a hint of exasperation coloring her voice. ”Due to the uncertain military situation following the attack yesterday, the headmaster wants all University students to remain on campus to better provide security and protection.”
This caused another round of silence before Hannah spoke up again, ”That's all well and good, but where is this Calius Dorm?”
”Where was it again?” Anna asked herself with a finger on her chin. This inspired a round of exasperated groans from the group.
Wallace, the bespectacled Science Department student stood and announced, ”I know the place. It's close to a where a friend of mine lives.”
Hannah broke in. ”I didn't know you had other friends! I'm learning all kinds of things tonight.”
A vein start pulsing angrily on his forehead as he replied. ”I don't want to hear that from you! And we are not friends.”
”Come on, Wally. I know our relationship is deep and complex, but it's a little embarrassing when you say we're more than friends in front of all these people.” Hannah replied with a sympathetic smile.