Chapter 17: Starstriken elf

It has been a month since the school year started. Lucy called Lucas to her office to give him a direct order.

Lucy said "Since you are her homeroom teacher, I order you to go and see Milla Starlight's situation. She has not appeared even once since the school year started and it is starting to cause problems. Go to her room and try to get her to attend some classes. Here is the key. The room number is 2041."

Lucas took the key and asked "Are you sure it is alright for me to go to a women's dorm?" Lucy says "You are technically hermaphrodite so it doesn't really matter. In the first place, since you have my permission, you can go to any of the rooms if you wanted to. I know that you won't use it for any deviant behavior, so just go."

Lucas starts to leave, but before he could, Lucy says to him "If she has locked herself in the room with magic, then feel free to enter it by any means necessary." Lucas waved his hand and then left for the women's dormitory.

It was the first time for him to be there, so he had to search a little while for the actual room he was looking for. Once he found the room, he sensed that it was protected by magic and Lucas just stared at the key for a moment and then muttered to himself "Forceful entrance it is then. If we get to any legal trouble, it is all on Lucy."

Lucas then casted a spell that opened the door successfully, which took him a surprising amount of effort, all things considered. Once the door was open, he went inside to the room that was completely dark.

Lucas had to mimic a skill that allowed him to see in the dark in order to actually move inside the room. He didn't see a powerswitch anywhere to turn on the lights, so he had to continue with the nightvision.

Lucas noticed a girl sleeping in her bed soundly as comfortable as she could be. Lucas then started shaking her, but she would not budge. He also noticed that she was wearing magically enhanced earplugs, so making sound would be useless.

Lucas thought for a moment for his next action, which made him think several ways to proceed. One way was to drop a little water on her, but that would ruin the bedsheet, which would undoubtedly make her even more mad than she would be when she wakes up. Should he just shake her as violently as possible? To some people that wouldn't help and Lucas thought that Milla was a heavy sleeper.

In the end, he decided to take one of her earplugs off of her and then said to her in a loud enough voice "Wake up Ms. Starlight." Milla then rolled to the over and muttered "Not now. I'm sleeping." Lucas just said "If you do not respond, I'll be forced to take you out to the principal's office like that."

Milla opened her eyes with an annoyed look and rolled over to look who was talking to her. She had a skill "Nightvision" with her, so she could see what was in front of her in the near perfect darkness.

She then says "I'm still naked, so if you did that, the school would be hearing a lawsuit of some kind. You wouldn't dare to do that." Lucas just says "You don't know me. I absolutely don't care if the school will receive a lawsuit or something. I was ordered to make sure you will attend your classes by any means necessary, so I think that bringing you to the principal's office is the best idea."

Milla says "You would take the stigma of a sexual deviant?" Lucas says "Do I look like I give a shit? I'm happily married and that marriage would not be toppled by something as meager as the stigma of a sexual deviant. So will you come with me or not?"

Milla thinks for a minute and then says "Fine, but leave the room for now. I need to wear some clothes first." Lucas says "You won't try to escape do you?" Milla says "Do I look like someone who could jump from the third floor without injuries?" Lucas says "I think with magic you can." Milla then says "Just leave for a second." Lucas does so and closes the door.

It takes ten minutes for Lucas to ask Milla when she will get ready. Milla just responds "Five more minutes."

Lucas waited those five minutes and then asked again if she was starting to get ready. Milla, again, said "Five more minutes."

Lucas then decided to get back in and he saw that she just had put panties and socks on her and nothing else. Lucas asked "How long do you usually take to dress up?" Milla says "Around an hour and a half." Lucas then sighs and starts to help her to get dressed. Milla didn't seem to mind that someone who looked like a man was helping her put on clothes.

After thirty excruciating minutes of putting clothes to this helpless lady, Lucas finally could take her to the principal's office. The reason why it took so long was that she wanted to look absolutely perfect.

Milla bathed in the admiration of others, who thought she was looking beautiful. Her expression was still as uninterested as when her picture was taken. Lucas came to realize that this was the face she wore almost everywhere, which reminded Lucas about Sylvi.

They finally reached the principal's office and the look on Lucy's face was that of surprise.

Lucy says to Lucas "I didn't actually think you would bring her to me, let alone succeed."

Then Milla said "What reason do you have to make me stay awake during the day?" Lucy says "Your absences have started to pile up and we think that we have to do something about it. I know you are on a special program with our school, but a certain number of attendance is required."

Milla says "You know that I'm almost completely nocturnal as is most of my race." Milla was an elf subspecies called "star elf". They are said to be elves that were created from the stardust that fell to the ground when the stars were formed.

Lucy says "I know that, but you still have to attend actual classes." Milla says "Then do classes during the night." Lucy says "I can't just make people work during resting hours. We have already discussed this young lady."

Milla then says "It's not like you can actually make classes more interesting than stargazing." Then Lucy had an idea. She says "Lucas… You don't actually require sleep, don't you?" Lucas answers "Mimics need very little sleep, yes. We still do need to actually sleep though."

Lucy then smiles and says "I have a proposal to you two." Lucas says "No." Lucy continues "How about Lucas here will be your personal teacher in this school during the night Milla."

Milla says "No. I don't like this man."

Lucy says "If you don't accept, then I'm afraid I have to expel you from the academy." Milla says "Go on ahead." Then Lucy continues "That would also mean that you would have to leave the dorms." Milla starts to sweat a little. Then Lucy continues "Then there is the fact that we will take back the equipment that we lended you for studying purposes. Leaving only your personal belongings. Didn't we lend you that telescope?"

Milla then gives a nervous smile and says "Then it can't be helped. I suppose I will accept this man as my personal teacher. As long as you don't take away my telescope of course." Lucy smiles and says "Wonderful. Though it is technically a telescope belonging to the academy, feel free to use it."

Then Milla says "Then I will await this man to come find me at the usual spot. So if you excuse me, I will go back to my room so I can sleep." Milla then leaves.

Lucas then asked "Do I have any say in this matter?" Lucy says "If you want to work here, then you do." Lucas asked "Do I still have to teach my usual classes?" Lucy says "You do. You will get some extra pay for your trouble with Ms. Starlight." Lucas sighs and says "At least it is a little extra and Sylvi said to try my best, so why not."

So began the private classes between Lucas and Milla. It was hard for Lucas to keep Milla focused on each day's agenda, but he managed to make do with what he got.

During these nights, Milla taught Lucas little about stars and what they can tell. Lucas gave an answer "I never have really bothered to get to know what stars mean. It is a curious thing how stars can tell the future."

Milla, while she was a bit conflicted about this, began to enjoy the company. She had always looked at the stars on her own without anyone else. When she was still with her parents, they would also look at the starry sky with her, but now that she was in the city, she had no one else to talk to. She realized how lonely she had felt now that she had company again, though she would never admit it to anyone.

Lucas didn't always help Milla with her clothes, but there were occasions when he had no choice. Rumors began to spread amongst the students that Milla had something going on with Lucas. When Milla managed to hear one of these comments about her and Lucas' relationship, she began to want to put her clothes herself more and more.

So much in fact that she actually one day refused to let Lucas in before she was fully clothed. She even threatened Lucas by saying she will put sexual harassment charges if he dared to enter without her permission again, to which Lucas said "That's fair." Then he would mutter to himself "At least she can put the clothes on by herself a little bit faster on her own."

Milla began to grow a bit self conscious around Lucas night after night. She did not fully know what she was feeling, but she knew that it was making it harder to concentrate.

Lucas knew about the rumors and saw the signs that Milla was beginning to show, but he had no intention on making things go further. In his mind he tells himself "She reminds me a little bit of Sylvi, but Sylvi is the only one I will ever love that way. Regardless, Sylvi told me to not mess around with other people, so I should act accordingly. And who knows, she might have foreseen this happening and wrote about it in that letter specifically so I won't make a mistake. Not that I need any reminders anyways."

Milla decided to look at what the stars told her, and when she saw the stars tell her that she would suffer heartbreak, she didn't know what to do. In her mind "Why would I be heartbroken in the first place? Those are the things people who fall in love with feel anyways and I'm nothing like them. I'm not."

Then one night Milla and Lucas were talking about stuff, when suddenly Lucas blurted out "I miss my wife." Milla was stunned for a moment, but when she regained her composure, she asked "You have a wife?" Lucas says "Yes. She is a somnum and you kind of remind me of her. Though I must say that she is much more fond of sleeping than you. If she was a student, no, even if she was a teacher here, she would be the one who holded the title "Sleeping princes" instead of you. Honestly, why do they even give you that in the first place? Sure, you are beautiful as hell, but you are awake as much as them but instead of night."

Milla then asked without thinking much "How is she better than me?" Lucas then said "Do you really want to know? I mean, I can brag about my wife all night if I felt like it, but you don't look like you want to hear any of that." Milla stayed silent for a while. Then Lucas says "What you feel is admiration, not love. You give me a similar vibe as when the principal had a crush on me, so I speak from experience."

Milla then stopped thinking and said "Then what if this is pure love?" Lucas pauses for a moment and looks back at the stars. Then he says "Then I'm afraid your love is one sided. My heart only belongs to one person and it is not you."

Milla then uncharacteristically ran off as fast as she could, trying to cover her tears. She was confused and heartbroken. She ran as fast as she could to her room where she might feel safe again.

Meanwhile a familiar voice talked to Lucas "So it finally ended up this way." It was Lucy. Lucas said "You expected this?" Lucy says "I wished that it wouldn't come to this, but I knew that eventually one of the students would get a crush on you. And low and behold, it was the reserved one that did that."

Lucas then asked "What are we going to do about the nightly classes now?" Lucy says "I think we should let her collect her feelings for a week or so and then try to return to business as usual." Then Lucy started to leave as she muttered "I just hope that week is long enough for a girl that young." Lucas then gathered the things that Milla left outside and brought them somewhere where Milla could get them when she needed them again.

Meanwhile in Milla's room, she was crying and saying "I don't understand. Why do I have to feel this way? Why did I have to fall for a man like that?"

Then Milla heard a womanly voice in her head. It said "So how does it feel?" Milla was surprised by this as she said "Who's there?"

The voice responded with "We will get to that soon. Now how does it feel?" Milla answers with "How does what feel?"

The voice then said "The fact that the one you love turned you away." Milla says "None of your business. Leave me be."

The voice said "That is no way to speak to your future teacher. Now how about you tell me again how you feel now." Milla reluctantly says "Awful."

The voice then asked "Then how will you proceed from here? Will you just let that man be?" Milla answered "I… I don't know. I don't know what I'll do."

The voice then asked "If I will give you the opportunity to have a chance of becoming Lucas Knave's lover, then would you be willing to join me in my plan and become my disciple?" Milla asks "Can you really do that?" The voice says "I am the most likely the best person to be able to influence Lucas' opinion of others. Well, aside from himself of course."

Milla asks "Who are you anyways?" The voice says "I am the woman that ruined your chance to be an item with Lucas Knave. My name is Sylviana Inertia and I am the person who Lucas Knave holds most dear. His wife." Milla then thought for a moment and then said "Why would you even suggest that? What if I actually make him fall for me?"

Sylviana then says "If you are that confident, then do go on ahead. But what I offer you is to be his lover. If he grows to love you more than me then it is my loss. But if you think it will be that easy, then you are severely underestimating the hopeless man we both love."

Milla is annoyed to hear that and says "Bring it on you old hag." Sylviana then says "I take it that you will take up on my offer. I will inform Luciana about this development. But before I end this conversation, I need you to not tell Lucas about you possibly becoming his lover. You can say it when I give a permission to, but not before that. Do we have an understanding?"

Milla says "We have a deal, old hag." Sylviana then says "I don't mind what you call me, but be sure to not call me that in front of Lucas. Especially if I'm not there. He might act calm most of the time, but if you manage to do the one thing that will anger him, he might claim your life in a blink of an eye. And mind you, this is not a threat on my end, it just is like that. In any case, I'll be in contact with you. Until then, rest well. If there is one thing I won't derive from others, it's their sleeping time. Bye."

Then the voice stops speaking to Milla and she is left to wonder "What have I gotten myself into?"