Twisted Wonderland Book 3: The Merchant from the Depths

Chapter 24: Rendezvous at Midnight

Later in the night, Briar has been walking for a while. As she tries to think of a new plan on how to beat Azul. It's proven that Azul and the twins are not making this easy for them. If they try to get the photo the twins will try to stop them. If they try to go after the contract, they get zapped and attacked by all three of them. So far, none of the plans are working.

Briar thinks to herself, "There has to be some way to stop this. We can't get the photo without getting attacked by the twins, and we can't go after the contracts without getting zapped and attacked by all three. What else is left. There are other possibilities, but there isn't any way for us to get close without getting attacked."

Briar sighs and says, "What are we going to do? We only have tomorrow to figure this out."

Briar then looks up and notices that she is in front of the Ramshackle Dorm.

"Guess I walked back to Ramshackle Dorm out of pure habit," Briar says to herself.

Suddenly, multiple small balls og yellow-green lights appear.

"Oh my," Briar says, surprised.

She reaches out and one of the lights lands on her hand.

"What is this light?" Briar wonders as the light continues to float away.

The yellow-green lights almost look like fireflies in the night.

Briar smiles and says, "What a pretty sight."

Suddenly, Briar hears a voice, "Hm? You're..."

Briar turns around and sees the young man with the black horns from before.

"Oh. You're Tsunotarou!" Briar says, surprised.

Realizing what she has said, Briar covers her mouth as her cheeks flush.

Confused, the young man with hons asks, "Tsunotarou? Who is that? Are you...referring to me?"

Briar feels so embarrassed about it.

"Well um, you did say I could call you a name of my choosing. And I thought the name Tsunotarou seems like a good idea, because of the horns on your head," Briar sheepishly says.

She sweat bullets and says in thought, "That explanation sounds really stupid right now."

Character Malleus

Suddenly the boy chuckles a little, ""Heh... Hmhm," and then laugh a little, "Ha ha ha!"

Briar is a little confused.

Then the boy says, "Me, being called "Tsunotarou"! You really are fearless, it seems. No matter. It was I who told you to use a name of your choosing. I'll indulge this liberty and permit you to refer to me by your...curious nickname."

"Um yeah. I suppose it is," Briar says, blushing a bit.

Then the boy, being called Tsunotarou says, "By the by, I've noticed that this dorm has seemed rowdier as of late. Are you taking in more students?"

Briar sighs and says, "Actually. You see, the dorm was taken as collateral, and..."

Briar explains what has happened for the past few days. She explains how her friends have made a contract with Azul, the deal she has made with him: including the collateral confiscation of the Ramshackle Dorm and her medallion, and the terms of the contract. And it has Briar a little stressed.

This has Tsunotarou surprised, "What? You made a deal with Ashengrotto? Well... I suppose that does explain it. Then once the sun sets tomorrow, I suppose this place will belong to him and become a hotspot for noisy students. Heh."

Briar doesn't like that comment.

And Tsunotarou notices, "You look like you take issue with my statement. You don't like me speaking as though your loss is a given?"

He thinks for a minute and says, "Incidentally, the walls of this dorm have some rather impressive gargoyle sculptures."

"Gargoyles?" Briar says, confused.

Tsunotarou explains, "At first glance, these gargoyles appear to be imposing, dangerous monsters... But in reality, they are a kind of drainage spout built to keep rainwater from sullying the walls. They look frightful, and yet they are beings devoted to the preservation of their home."

"So what you're saying is that, there's a stark contrast between what they do and how they look? And they're surprisingly nice guys as well?" Briar asks.

Sometimes, what you see with your eyes is the complete opposite of the truth. And...I, too, would prefer to avoid this place becoming rowdy every night. Continue fighting to protect your dorm," Tsunotarou says.

And soon, he disappears in a flash of light. Briar begins to process what Tsunotarou has told her, and how she tells her to fight to protect the dorm.

Then Briar says to herself, "So what I see...isn't always the truth?"

Briar continues to think.

"That boy, Tsunotarou, doesn't seem like any students. He's very mysterious, and he has these glowing green eyes, black horns, pointed ears. And despite his mysterious appearance, and has a bit of a cold tone, he seems rather... calm and respectable, and kind sweet..." Briar says to herself.

Briar soon blushes that her cheeks are turning red and her heart feels like it's pounding.

She shakes it off and says, "Wh-why am I talking like this? And why is my face burning?"

She takes a deep breath and says, "I better get back to the dorm. The others are probably wondering where I am.

And with that, Briar begins to return to the Savanaclaw Dorm to meet with the others. As she walks back to the door, her cheeks lighten as she turns pink as she holds a smile on her face. And for some reason, she does hope she can see Tsunotarou again soon.