Title: Happy Birthday
Characters: Trey, Sebek
Tooth man meets son of tooth man!!! What a time to be alive!!!
EDIT (14/11/2023)
- Playful Land revealed the name of 麓の町 as an actual name so modified.
Part 1
Diasomnia Dorm - Birthday Party Venue
Sebek
To think that the day I partake in the customary interview in the same school as Lord Malleus would come… It genuinely moves my heart.
There's 10 minutes left before the interview is due to begin. Is the presenter still not here?
???
The intention was actually for me to arrive now with plenty of time to spare…
*Knocking*
Trey
But it seems like I kept you waiting instead, so that's my bad. Happy birthday, Sebek. Let's get along today, shall we?
Sebek
Oh, what? So you're my presenter?
You may begin the interview at once!
Trey
Okay, okay, I got it. Now then, here's the first question.
"If you could use your flight skills to go anywhere you want to, where would you like to go?"
Apparently there's no need to take your mana reserves into account when answering.
Sebek
…Where I'd like to go, huh? That's a tough question.
Trey
Feel free to take all the time you need to respond. It's not like you can instantly settle on an answer to where you'd want to go to after being asked out of nowhere anyway.
Sebek
No, it's not that I can't think of an answer. I was actually thinking of what to respond with in the case where I'm already at the destination I aimed for.
Trey
Already at the destination you aimed for…?
Sebek
It means exactly what it sounds like. Sage's Island was my goal for the longest time. More precisely, I wanted to go to Night Raven College.
It has been my dream ever since Lord Malleus's enrolment was decided.
However, even if I wanted to, my mana and skills were insufficient back then for me to fly to Sage's Island on my own.
And if I wanted to take public transport, my hometown…Briar Valley has next to no means of transportation available if you don't use magic.
Trey
So it's an issue of being stopped before you even start, and not how troublesome the mixed-mode commute is, huh? It must be teeth grinding1 to have no way of getting to the place you longed to go to.
Sebek
Yeah. Which is why, day in and day out, I'd pass the time yearning for Sage's Island which I had yet to see with my own two eyes.
…I'd read the book that I requested my father to obtain for me from cover to cover so often that I practically memorised its contents.
Kuh! Bowing my head to that man remains my lifelong blunder. All because Briar Valley has no internet connectivity…
Trey
The way you put that… Do you and your father not get along?
Sebek
I mean, we aren't actually on bad terms. It's just that seeing him so jovial all the time gets me riled up so… Nevermind that, forget what I said about my father.
Sebek
Where I'd like to go using my flight abilities, was it? Having achieved my goal of enrolling into Night Raven College, my next one would be…
No, nothing has changed from before. From here onward, I aim still to go where Lord Malleus goes.
Part 2
Diasomnia Dorm - Birthday Party Venue
Trey
Moving on to the next question now.
"Tell us about something you're grateful you could use magic for."
Sebek
THE FACT THAT IT ALLOWED ME TO ENROLL INTO NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE!!!
Thanks to it, I can view Lord Malleus in his glory on a day-to-day basis, you know.
There can be no other answer to this!!
Trey
Haha… I certainly never imagined, even in my wildest of dreams, that I'd ever go to the same school as the Malleus Draconia himself, either.
Sebek
Hmph, an understandable sentiment. Lord Malleus does rank among the top mages in the world, after all.
I, along with all of you, have been blessed with more than a lifetime's worth of fortune. We should be expressing our gratitude towards this set of circumstances and devote ourselves tirelessly to our studies, and yet…
Trey
Ahh… Following this should be…
Sebek
WHY IS IT THAT THERE ARE SO MANY WIMPS IN THIS SCHOOL?!
Whispering to each other during classes, playing pranks in the classrooms or hallways, submitting their homework late, failing their tests…
The list of misconducts goes on for miles! Don't you agree that these mannerisms are unbefitting of those whom Lord Malleus calls his schoolmates?
Trey
Don't say that, it's not like everyone's able to persistently do their best like you, you know?
Sebek
Hmph. I already know that even without you telling me. It's futile to place any expectations on the hopeless humans in the first place, after all.
Trey
Haha, I see. But if that fact is something you can reconcile with, then there isn't actually any need for you to get mad over it, is there?
Sebek
What I can't stand is getting bothered by those humans!
Trey
That's quite the impressive glare you've got… Did something actually happen by any chance?
Sebek
"Something", you say?! Mind you, my experience of getting caught up in these shenanigans does not end with just a singular incident or two!
Just the other day, I was studying in the library after school when Ace and Deuce came by…
And they started to rearrange the books I'd been using for my homework according to the dates they were borrowed. To top that off, they even began arguing over something that's completely unrelated to the situation at hand!
Trey
Ahh… Ace and Deuce are still bickering even when they're not in the dorm? It's all too easy to imagine…
Sebek
Whispering is forbidden in the library and making a racket is obviously out of the question. So I warned them personally because there wasn't a choice…
Trey
Wait, there's a continuation to this?
Sebek
What are you talking about? This is where it really begins. Because of all the things those two could've done, they had the gall to make threats against me.
Trey
You're saying the two of them threatened you?!
Sebek
…Just recalling it makes my blood boil.
"If you want us to play nice so badly, then give us a hand with our homework."… I can't believe I'd yielded to such a demand.
Trey
Ohhhh, so it was actually about you helping them with their homework all along? Thanks, Sebek, my dormmates owe you one.
Sebek
"My dormmates owe you one" is not it! Aren't you the vice dorm head of Heartslabyul, Trey?!
Why is it that I'm required to look after them? You have to step up and guide them more seriously!
Trey
Okay, okay, I'll pay a little more attention from now on.
Don't want to end up getting roped into yet another situation I had nothing to do with like this after all.
Part 3
Diasomnia Dorm - Birthday Party Venue
Trey
This will be the last question.
"Tell us how you spend your days off."
Sebek
I go through my daily training routine as well as my lesson prep and reviews without fail. Apart from those, I often spend my time reading.
On days with no Equestrian club activities, I visit the school store or head to Foothill Town to look out for new book releases.
Trey
Oh, you really enjoy reading don't you, Sebek? Still though… Doesn't it feel suffocating to only be training and studying all the time?
Sebek
An ideal guard to the Young Master must remain diligent at all times. Plus, I do take breaks as and when necessary, so your concern is unneeded.
Trey
That's good, then. So, what do you do specifically to relax?
Sebek
I would have snacks when I start feeling hungry. What I often eat are simple baked goods like cookies and muffins.
In an effort to broaden my horizons, I have also taken to trying out the school store's bestsellers as of late. However…
Trey
Something seems to be on your mind.
Sebek
There was this candy I ate recently during my study break which turned the insides of my mouth into a pure blue.
It looks and tastes just like regular old candy, and yet… Perhaps it happened because I'd chewed it by accident?
Trey
Ahaha! That's actually a cheap candy that changes the colour of your tongue as a fun gimmick! I also ate it occasionally back when I was a kid.
Sebek
So that's why. There wasn't anything wrong with the way I ate, then.
I was also startled by this snack that deals damage to one's flesh.
Trey
Deals damage to the flesh… Nothing's coming to mind, to be honest.
Sebek
You don't know about it either, Trey? Appearance-wise, it looks just like normal cotton candy…
BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A BIZARRE SNACK THAT POPS INCESSANTLY THE INSTANT YOU PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH!!!
On top of the cacophonous noises it makes, I also felt tiny stings from it attacking the insides of my mouth.
Trey
Ahh, if that's what you're talking about, then I've eaten it before. It's a kind of snack that contains a sweet filled with carbon dioxide gas.
It probably comes as a shock to those who eat it for the first time, I believe. Based on your reaction, does it mean that Briar Valley didn't have these?
Sebek
We probably had similar products, but…my grandfather would appear displeased whenever I ate cheap candy of that sort.
Trey
So that's how it is. Anyway, enjoying new snacks is fine and all…but don't forget to brush your teeth whenever you're done eating.
Sebek
I only consume these to replenish my carbohydrates before and after exercises or while I'm studying. It absolutely does not mean that I'm enjoying them!
Trey
Oh, really now?
Sebek
YES REALLY!!
But still, "don't forget to brush your teeth whenever you're done eating"… Talking to Trey reminds me of my father whether I like it or not.
Trey
With this, the interview has come to an end. Now then, Sebek. Take this broom.
The pale green colour sure gives it a pleasant and refreshing look. It suits you really well.
Sebek
The design is certainly not bad. I have to fly in a way that is worthy of this broom…
Trey
It'll be fine since it's you anyway. Just relax, give it your best shot like always and make your way back.
Sebek
……Yeah, I'll see you later.
Sebek
That's right, it'll be okay for sure since it's me. Trey even said so himself.
Alright, it's time for take off. Etch the spectacle of me, Sebek Zigvolt, in the back of your very minds!
Notes
Please please please watch the story in game if you ever have the chance! I really enjoyed it with all the comical zooms and the last few lines especially were so well delivered ugh becky my child
- Trey’s exact wording is
歯痒いso of course I’m gonna shoe horn in some teethies in here lmao (Return to text)