It's been too Long.....Back to the main story!!!!

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Dinner was over with before we knew it. Although it would help, like Vil claimed, the others felt like something was missing....

"Ugh...dinner's done but I'm still hungry..." Ace moaned.

"I know that feeling..." Kalim pats his shoulders. "Pretty tasty but it's just not filling enough for me!"

"It revolved specifically around vegetables, chicken breast and fruit as the main course. It was good enough for me." Jamil shrugged nonchalantly.

"He said it was to reshape our bodylines, not to control how we diet, right?" Deuce recalls.

"If it's all veggies I don't wanna eat it..." Grim whined. "I know me and Charlie aren't in this thing, so why are WE dragged into it as well?!"

"It's only been the first week and we're being pushed to our limits..." Charlie sighed, the taste of the chicken leaving a bland and papery taste behind.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Eh? Who could that be at this time of night?" Grim asked. Charlie started moving as soon as she heard the ringing and opened the door to see several boxes stacked in piles and a deliveryghost with a clipboard in hand.

"Can I help you?" she asked curiously.

"Package delivery. For Epel Felmier of Pomefiore?" The ghost read off the clipboard.

Charlie moved the door open further as the first year mentioned steps up. "Uh, I'm the one you called for."

"Just sign here if you will." Epel takes the clipboard and pen and signs on the line. "Ten boxes in total. You want me to leave them outside?"

"T-Ten boxes?!" Epel handed back the clipboard.

"Yep! The sender's..." the ghost squints to read the small printing. "From Felmier as well. Someone of your hometown? Each one's heavy so be careful when you carry them."

"The whole hallway's filled with them..." Deuce sweats nervously....

"Ah reckon it's from mee-maw....!" Epel's dialect slipped and he corrected himself, "U-uh! I-I mean...it's likely from my grandmother...Ugh, I thought I told her not to send these to me!" He sighed.

"What's up? Your grandmother sent yards of silk cloth for you or something?" Kalim asks.

"N-No. Nothing as pricey as that..." Epel shook his head. "Rather, my hometown produces lots of apples. It's probably just apple juice..."

"All this is juice?!" Ace was incredulous. "Man, you could open a small stand with this amount!"

"Oh wait...there's a letter on one of the boxes..." Epel plucks off the taped letter and opens it to familiar writing on parchment paper. "It reads... 'Here's a few surplus of the unsold stock. It'll likely expire soon. Don't hesitate to share with your friends.'......Ngh....will you stop giving me the extras!" He scowled lightly, but it turned sad quickly. "But I can't believe none of this sold..."

"This is quite the stock you've got. You're quite the rich kid." Deuce teased, Epel taken aback his claim.

"Huh?!"

"It's obvious you're addicted to this, so they gave it to you to hoard for yourself!" Ace teased as well. But his smile didn't last long as both he and Deuce got elbowed pretty harshly in the ribs by Charlie.

"Guys, lay off him." She scolded her friends. "I'm sorry, they're just two halves of a whole braincell." she sent an apologetic glance at Epel.

"O-oh! It's no problem, Charlie-san!" He stutters. "And as thanks, you can try some of this if you wish! All of you, actually! It's all 100% juice, non artificial! And full of vitamins! So, Vil won't mind if we have a sip! ...I hope you guys like it!"

"Well, I was right about that: you're addicted to that stuff." Ace smirks. Epel laughs and looked away, embarrassed.

"Merci, Monsieur Princess Pomme!" Rook smiled. "Thank you for this gift! Tell everyone back in your hometown that we are extremely grateful!"

"Now, hold on! We got a lot of boxes crowding the entrance." Charlie stops them. "Move these to the lounge and I'll get the drinking glasses." she left without another word, letting the guys do the dirty work.

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The last box was placed down with the others.

"Thanks again for the help, guys!" Epel smiles. "Let's try it right away! Apples contain polyphenol and citric acid that'll ease your tiredness we endured. It's perfect for us to drink after today's work!"

Charlie set to work setting down the glasses and Epel pops open the cap from one of the bottles, pouring an even amount into the glasses.

"Wow...I already smell it from here!" Deuce took a whiff of the air. "It's so compelling."

"Truly marvelous. Let us drink!" Rook raises his glass for a small cheers and everyone else does so, and they drink.

"This....is c'est bon! Epel, it's wonderful!"

"Lemme try!" Kalim sips from his own glass to taste. "Whoa. he's right! I can taste apple already!"

"Well, he did say it's 100% apple. But...i'll admit, It's pretty good." Jamil nods.

Charlie calmly drinks from her glass with a contempt smile, "Grazie mille per il regalo, Epel."

The first year looked at her in confusion. "Huh? What did you say? I don't understand..."

"It means, 'thank you so much for the gift' in my parent's tongue." she giggled.

"Oh...i-it sounds beautiful!" He blurted out shyly.

"Why, thank you." she smiles. "If it's alright with you, may I take some of the stock you grandmother sent?"

Epel felt his cheeks burn lightly at her kindness. "Uh...s-sure! I'll write to her in my letter that you said thanks! I'm sure she'll appreciate it!" he whispers to himself, "and I think she'd be excited to learn a bit more about you..."

"Now I'm feeling refreshed! I wanna keep drinking this!" Grim sighed after another sip, then going for the bottle.

"Grim, no. don't put that in your mouth!" Deuce laughs, taking away the bottle from the raccoon.

"Well, I'd relate to him. I'd keep drinking this if I were him!" Ace chuckled.

"It's neither sour or sweet, and the taste itself reminds me of the cooling breeze of the orchards in the countryside! There was definitely much love put into this."

"Thanks! It's all made through any kind of apples we harvest! It's the best product of my hometown. It's also good with honey for sore throats. We can use this after singing practice. But by itself, they're great as is!" Epel gushes and Rook laughs in response to his enthusiasm.

"Hahaha! You speak so highly! And that itself is good. I can see you love your hometown so much."

"Well...the popularity of my hometown is extremely low...and I'm not sure if it's the cause of it being in the countryside."

"Oh? Well that's a shame because this is really nice!" Kalim says.

Epel nods. "That...and there's not been many consumers purchasing this as of late...the tourism is ranking low, and if we don't get it up at this rate..." he said wistfully, but stopped himself, not bearing the thought. Charlie couldn't help but worry over him. And she had an inkling it has to do with-

"Are all of you just going to sit around here all night?"

Speak of the devil.

"And what's with all these boxes?" Vil wove his way around, trying not to knock anything over.

"Epel received a package delivery from his hometown containing apple juice, and were tasting it as of now." Rook answered.

"B-But it has no sugars in it! Non-artificial, too!" Epel frantically puts in. "A-and it has very little shelf life once opened. You can try it as well!"

"I see. Maybe later." Vil brushed off. "Besides that, it's 10pm now. Get to bed now."

"Bed at 10?! We're not kids, FYI." Ace scoffed.

"Your mindset when you say that sleeping early is childish makes you more of a child." Vil snapped back. "It's to keep your skin and hair looking beautiful. Sleep for seven to eight hours is recommended. And i just remembered: I must ask all of you: What brand of skincare and haircare do you use?"

" 'Skincare? What's that?" Deuce asked.

"Whenever my hair gets tangled after drying, I usually apply hair oils. Nothing for my skin, though." Jamil confessed.

"I used so many care products back in my hometown, I didn't do all that when I started living in the dorms." Kalim admits.

"You're telling me you don't wash up and go to sleep like that?! Are you insane?!" Vil looked like he wanted to puke. "I knew it'd be like this...Very well. I'll hand out skincare products I've crafted myself. Wash using these every morning and night."

"Whoa! You made these yourself? Sweet!"

I looked at the bottles with interest. Not bad! Reminds me of the skin products I usually use back home.

"As expected from the Pomefiore leader." Jamil nodded. "You've got lots of knowledge when it comes to herbology."

"Both Epel and I have used these, and we've always had that sheen glow!" Rook swooned.

"Well, there's the sunblock, loose powder, lip balms and hand lotions. He kept pushing these- I mean, we've gotten a lot of these from him personally." Epel adds.

"There's so many bottles...how exactly does this work?" Kalim asks.

"You seriously don't...Ugh, can't be helped...I'll teach all of you the basics." Vil relents. "I'll use Kalim as an example. The rest of you shall watch and learn and note it down for later."

"H-Hai." ADeuce relents. I decided to take this as my window of time to put the glasses away and refrigerate the juice for another time. I gathered the glasses as Vil droned on.

"So, Kalim, what do you use to wash your face regularly?"

"Just water!"

"Not the right answer! You must buy cleansers that foam very well, wash til suds appear then wash off. And don't just rub your face aggressively!" Vil set to work.

"Haha! That tickles!" Kalim giggled.

"Once don't, use the toner and dab on gently with a cotton ball." Vil instructed.

"Even if I just cleaned it, does it need to be washed off again?" Kalim asked.

"But this is different. This'll clean out the dirt from your pores. Now onto Moisturizer. To let this soak into your skin, press it to your face properly."

"OOH! Smells florally! Feels nice, too!"

"Next, the setting lotion. We high school men tend to sweat more so this produces a lot of oil. And if using too much, this will have the opposite effect.

"Calling you a high school boy seems so funny~"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You seem a lot more matured than the other third years combined!" Kalim obliviously blurts out.

"I will not hesitate to slap you if you call me old." Vil seethes. "But moving on, just follow my instructions, and do the same thing each morning and night. And this lotion-" a small compacted circular container was held up. "Is specially used for once every three days. Apply before sleeping. And the hair oil to the ends before you dry your hair. Then, lotion your elbows and knees and heel after showering."

"N-now I don't know what's harder to memorize...this or the steps in alchemy class!" Deuce shook.

"Wow...my skin feels a lot more softer than before!" Kalim patted his face with a smile. "Charlie! Feel my skin!" Kalim took my hand in his and placed it onto my face.

"You're right...pretty smooth." I smiled lightly.

"Hey! Don't touch your faces with your hands! You don't know what kind of bacteria is lurking on there!" Vil pushed Kalim away from me. I just gave him an unimpressed glare.

"He's so annoying on a level way different than our Prefect..." I heard Ace mutter beside me.

"SHHH! He can hear you!!" Deuce shushed him.

Ace fixed himself and spoke aloud, "So, Vil! You must've became dorm leader due to your magic skills right? You sure there's no shortcuts to taking care of our skin and hair?"

"I am pretty sure you should know this considering you're magicians yourselves, but magic and alchemy really have no influential bearing at all. Beauty that can be obtained with magic is a dream, sure, but...I am not interested in something that will vanish when midnight strikes. I want natural, genuine beauty that I perfect myself. Just like what the Magic Mirror praised the Beautiful Queen for." Vil sighed.

"If the real Magic Mirror from the story existed, I am sure that it would have praised your beauty as well, Vil." Rook supports.

Vil shared a glance with him.".....You're right." He smoothed out his robes. "That's enough talk for tonight. You may retire to your rooms. And follow my directions before going to sleep!"

"H-Hai...." the guys relent.

Yea, I'm glad I'm not under fire with him....for now.

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I finished braiding my hair and putting in my sleeping headband as my clothes shifted into my sleepwear. Letting Grim flop onto the bed, all out of energy.

"Fgnna...it's only the first day and I'm already winded out..." he complained.

"The others have it worse than we do..." I sighed in response, feeling pity for them.

"But if this is for my tuna, they better get their heads in the game!" Grim stared up at the ceiling with determination.

I nodded mutely and nearly shut off the lamp when I heard something like singing...

"Huh? Someone's singing outside..."

"And I've a feeling I know who it may be..." I nodded and grabbed my jacket, slipping it on with my sneakers, and walked to the door, slipping outside quietly.

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Outside, the winter air nips at my skin like the Northern Spirit's breath. Cuddling Grim close to me, I looked out to see Kalim walking and singing to himself. After flattering off-key, he sighed to himself.

"Ugh, I keep messing up on that part..."

"Kalim! You're gonna get an earful by the demon coach if he catches you!" Grim hops out of my arms and runs to the second year.

He whirled around as if he saw a ghost.

"AH! Charlie! Grim!" he freaked out a bit. "Did you guys hear me from inside the dorm?! I'm really sorry!"

"It's fine!" I sighed and reassured him. "But I can't believe you're still at it with practicing after today....you shouldn't overwork yourself like that..."

"Ahaha...you're always worrying over us, Charlie. I'll be okay!" he smiled softly. "Besides, this is my first time doing something like this. I...I just felt a bit jealous not being picked for main vocals..."

"Well...you didn't seem like it before... Grim points out.

"I didn't feel much when it was first announced, but then it started when I laid down in bed a while ago...I couldn't sit still, so I went out here to practice." he sighed sadly. "This is the first time I've felt this frustrated..."

"Maybe...it's cause you're such a noble, you're used to getting everything fed to you on a silver spoon..." I replied with an open heart.

"Yea, you're a rich kid, and I'm super jealous of you!" Grim teased.

"Ah~ Yeah... That's right, but at the same time, it's not..." Kalim said crestfallen. "It's a little different, I think...I've never once thought that I should naturally be chosen for anything. Still, I never was given many chances to actually realize that. It's probably why Jamil wanted to take my position...I'm so frustrated. More than you can imagine..."

"Well if you say something like that, you're just making me pissed remembering we weren't chosen!"

"Ah! Sorry about that! I-I didn't mean to offend you two!" he bowed. "I-It's just a bad habit of mine!"

"Geez...apologizing like that, you're making me feel guilty...Ace and Deuce just fight back."

Without thinking, I hugged him. I felt him freeze up in my arms. "Ch-Charlie..?"

"You're made of more than you realize..." I whispered.

"Huh? I didn't hear you..." he said. I pulled away from him and placed my hands on his shoulders, making him face me, looking him in the eye.

"You're made of more than you realize." I repeated.

"I-I don't really..."

"Kalim, listen." I told him. "From the moment I woke up in this world, I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. I thought this was just another topsy turvy world where I'd be stuck in until God or whatever deity lives up there would answer my prayers and get me back home. And when i saw you and the dorm leaders during the ceremony, I thought all of you were normal beings like me! But everything is not what it seems, I guess." I laughed dryly to myself. "All of you exceeded my expectations. All of you are unique in a way mere words can't describe. Even you! Riddle became lenient on rule provoking, Azul starts becoming a second line of help, and Leona....I-I don't know what he changed with, but what I say is true! Even Jamil repented for his past mistakes and moved on with the future! I didn't know what you and him were to me.

"But after the holiday, I realized you and him hold more than I thought! You're of noble blood, and he's your servant. You've been together since you and him were born! And now it's changed through actions. And it was action alone that made me see you in a different light! I didn't know you were rich or had lots of family in your circle, but did it change my perspective of you? A little bit yes, but you're still the same Kalim I knew since I jumped into this world! You're witty, you're open-hearted, and you lend a shoulder to cry on when people feel down. You helped me with my powers before, and you're still helping me now. Along with Riddle, Ace, Deuce, Leona, Azul, Jamil and the others, you're helping me not only grow stronger, but all of you show me that you guys are different. And...being different... isn't so bad."