THE USELESS PRINCE-Chapter 53: Back to Normal Days

When the jazz music ended, all the couples who were dancing instantly stopped at the same time. And of course, Ash and Furina were no exception.

As if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time, Ash let go of her hand without hesitation and gasped for air, it was like he hadn’t been exposed to air for years.

’Holy fuck...’

Ash would like to take back everything he had said about dancing please. It turned out that it wasn’t as great as he thought.

This was more exhausting than Ash expected, especially for a newbie like him, someone with no skills at all.

’I swear I’ll never dance again...’ Ash wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Are you tired?" Furina asked.

"Of course. I’m not dancing anymore. I’m going home."

"Is that so..." Her voice sounded a little disappointed.

But so what? Ash’s entire body was completely immobile. Worse still, the suit he was wearing was also covered in sweat.

Making even the slightest movement uncomfortable.

But at that moment, a boy’s voice suddenly rang out:

"Hey Furina, you don’t have a dance partner anymore? If so, how about dancing with me?"

Ash slowly glanced at that person, a guy with blond hair and an arrogant face, looking exactly like a notorious playboy.

And his purpose was obvious. He wanted to approach Furina, get to know her, and if possible, date her.

Ash knew that she would definitely reject him, but he still couldn’t help but feel an indescribable sense of anxiety.

Clicking his tongue, Ash quickly approached her.

’Don’t misunderstand, I’m not doing this for myself, but for the owner of this body.’

Ignoring the gazes that were focused on them, Ash calmly stood in front of Furina, separating her from that playboy.

And then, he gently held her hand and gave her a romantic smile.

"I’ve changed my mind, shall we continue dancing?"

Just waiting for this moment to come, an elegant smile appeared on her cold face.

She didn’t say anything, but that smile said it all.

"I knew you would do that." That was the meaning of that smile.

***

After the party that day ended, all the students of Awakened Academy returned to their normal school life.

Like always, Ash enthusiastically participated in the combat training classes, and thanks to that, he also became a little stronger.

As for the theory classes... They were nothing more than a time for Ash to close his eyes and rest after devoting all his energy to swordsmanship training.

Just like that, 3 months had passed, and during this time, everything went on as it had always been, without much change.

But for Ash, there had been a rather big change for him, and even better, it was an extremely positive change.

After the bell for the end of math class suddenly rang, Ash woke up from his comfortable sleep.

Beside him, Furina was quickly putting away her books, not paying too much attention to Ash. It was only natural, after all, she was already used to this.

Yawning, Ash quickly put his books in his bag even though he hadn’t learned anything.

The other students slowly left the classroom, making it emptier as time went on. However, Ash still sat there, with no intention of moving.

He was waiting for a guest, no, to be more precise, a friend. Yes, a friend, not an enemy.

"Well, I’ll go have lunch with my friends, see you next period." Furina said goodbye and left the classroom.

"Yeah, bye." Ash replied to her with a smile.

The moment Furina disappeared behind the door, the friend Ash was talking about finally appeared.

"Ash, Lucian, let’s go have lunch! We have Tom Yum for lunch today! Be quick!" Canis said with a cheerful face, he had been waiting for this day for so long.

"Okay, okay."

Ash and Lucian stood up at the same time and walked towards the Academy cafeteria with Canis.

Yes, during this time, Ash had made two friends, and they were none other than the game’s protagonist - Lucian, and Dragon Slayer - Canis.

After the incident that day, Ash and Canis naturally became friends, but as for Lucian becoming their friend, that was a bit special.

Ash still remembered that day clearly, as if it had just happened yesterday.

***

After the party that evening ended, Lucian was walking down the hallway, slowly heading towards the rooftop of the Academy to have lunch alone, when he was suddenly stopped by Ash and Canis.

"What’s the matter?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"Let’s go have lunch together!" Ignoring Lucian’s tone, Canis still replied to him in a friendly one.

"Huh? Why?"

"Why? Aren’t we friends? We defeated that guy named Van together, right?"

"So what? That doesn’t mean we’re now friends."

"Then, can’t we...be friends?" Canis looked at him with an emotional gaze, as if he was about to cry.

And indeed, Lucian was moved a little. It seemed like he really couldn’t refuse someone with such a gaze.

But in the end, he was still Lucian - the main character of this game, and also a cold-hearted person, extremely difficult to sway.

"Sorry..."

"Sigh, listen Lucian, why can’t you be friends with us? You wouldn’t lose anything if you did that, right?"

This time, the one who spoke was Ash, of course he was the one who spoke. Only he could say such unpleasant words.

"Moreover, you’re just a lonely guy without friends, right? So, isn’t being friends with the two of us the most reasonable choice?" Ash sneered.

"Huh?" Lucian frowned, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Shush, be quiet, my boy." Ash instantly used a finger to block his mouth.

"..."

"If you’re worried about being a member of a destroyed Family, then you don’t need to worry about that."

"I’m The Useless Prince, who is always hated by everyone, and Canis is an orphan who grew up without parents or relatives. So, wouldn’t it be most reasonable for people like us to become friends?"

Lucian gaped, completely at a loss for words.

And Ash didn’t give him the chance to do so either, as he immediately put an arm around Lucian’s neck, pulling him up to the rooftop for lunch.

The fact that he didn’t resist meant that he had already accepted to be friends with them, right?