(2 days later)After we returned to the Academy, everything just went back to normal. Other than a few guards, n.o.body knew that Lilith and I had gone missing. I was a little relieved at first until I realized that it could"ve happened to other students. That they"ve gone missing and it was just swept under the rug.
It"s been slow, which is nice. We were able to come up with another good enough plan after the first one fell through. I, along with Rayna, have our sights set on the rogue students. After the guard took everything me and Lilith know, they believe that they"ve been recruiting. Their numbers went from an easy 4 to an estimated 11.
It"s as if my life couldn"t get any harder!
The others get their focus on the more technical stuff. Put Lilith and Young Mi together and they become the smartest pair around. They"ve already theorized that one of the problems, where students are suddenly having their magic power zapped away, could be from our students using Blood magic.
The other problems involving the Fae sound like they need a more hands-on approach, but the ominous mist coming from the forest? I"ve seen enough horror movies to stay away.
And although I don"t want them to get near that forest, Madelyn says it"s our duty because we took the job up.
Other than that, I"m currently sitting in the Headmistress" office. It was business at first, trying to figure out how and where I was kidnapped and taken to. It evolved into a more casual conversation as we continued.
Steven: "Headmistress, may I ask a question?"
Headmistress: "Yes, what"s on your mind?"
Steven: "How do you know about—my organization?"
She puts down a file she was reading and looks at me through her reading gla.s.ses.
Headmistress: "Any Headmaster or Headmistress is affiliated with your people."
Steven: "All of them?"
Headmistress: "Yes, all of them. Twilight owns every academy."
It sounded ridiculous until I remembered how my Headmaster would end up knowing just about anything. I a.s.sumed he was well-connected; just not like this!
The Everhand Academy!
I just walked right in there and signed up because Kanna asked, making it easier for them to keep tabs on me!
Holy s.h.i.t, it"s all coming together! Who else is apart of this super-secret club to spy on me?
Is Livia affiliated with Twilight too?
She knew I was from Feles Isle; Twilight also knew. The Headmaster knew about Lilith; so did Twilight!
I told Livia a lot because I believed I could trust her. She was the second closest friend I had next to Kanna…
What else have I been giving away about myself that I don"t know about?!
Headmistress: "Are you alright?"
Steven: "No… I think a friend was being fake…"
Headmistress: "Pardon? What do you mean by fake?"
Steven: "Fake… or… I mean they pretended to be my friend."
Headmistress: "Oh, that"s terrible! I"m sorry to hear that."
I need someone that knows about this…
Rayna"s a Loremaster, so she has to have some kind of knowledge or access to said knowledge.
Steven: "So, were the Academies built by Twilight?"
Headmistress: "No not at first. We bought them one by one. We had n.o.ble, altruistic goals at first then it evolved to using them as a hub and haven for our mages. They"ll tell you that Twilight and the Academies have an agreement, but you didn"t hear that from me."
She"s telling me confidential information? She has to be either dumb or knows far more that would make it trivial in comparison. In which case, I understand because I"ve seen enough crazy stuff to believe others will doubt me if I tell them any event. It makes me wonder what the Headmistress knows that I don"t.
Steven: "Not a word."
I just want to do what I came here for.
Steven: "Headmistress, about the students. Are you going to be executing them?"
Headmistress: "I don"t believe in violence. There are fates worse than death."
Woah…
What"s that supposed to mean?
If the Headmistress has been trying to capture them alive, then I can do it myself. I"ve done bounty hunting and brought in people alive. Well, I"ve had a powerhouse of a Demon with me. I"m sure another Elf could make a good enough subst.i.tute.
Steven: "Well, how about I capture them? Lilith and Rayna are excellent mages and might know a magic spell that can constrain the body.
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Headmistress: "3 people against 11? That"s not very smart."
Steven: "I"ve done dumber things and pulled them off."
Headmistress: "No, if you want to do it, you"ll have to come up with a better plan. I won"t recklessly put your life in danger."
If either Rayna or Lilith said they could do it by themselves, I"d believe them. 11 people isn"t a lot after what happened in Meinu.
Steven: "Well, then I"ll be off to my dorm and brainstorm. It"s been nice talking with you, Headmistress."
Headmistress: "Thank you, Mister Omeo, come again later if you want."
I get up to leave the office and head back to the dorms. The outside was colder than anything I"ve ever experienced! It was cold enough that I could see my breath as I exhaled. I could easily turn into a popsicle if I"m not taking care of myself.
The clouds especially didn"t look any better. They were blocking the sun, making it seem like it"s already getting dark despite being around 4 or 5.
I went into my dorm building and find a couple of students inside. There was a bare-bones lounge at the entrance, and they were using it to unwind and read.
Relaxed Student: "Those clouds are getting worse each day! How long do you think it"ll rain this year?"
Book-reading Student: "Hopefully, a week straight like last year. It"s relaxing to me."
They acknowledged me with a nod.
I went to my dorm which was just down the hallway. The door was unlocked, and I find Madelyn sitting on her bed, pen in mouth, looking at maps.
When she waved at me, I could only return a half-hearted smile before sitting on my bed.
Madelyn: "What"s wrong?"
She takes the pen out of her mouth and looks genuinely worried about me. I can"t be that easy to read, can I?
Maybe she knows what to do or at least has an idea…
Steven: "Madelyn…"
I went ahead and told her everything I just learned. Nothing was holding me back. I"ve known her long enough to know she can be trustworthy. She"s like a sister to me.
Or, at least, I hope she is…
Steven: "What do you think?"
Madelyn: "s.h.i.t, well… I actually don"t know. First off, you might be reading into it too much because you"re barely finding out about this? Second, if this is true, she might"ve never considered you to be a friend."
Not helping…
Madelyn: "I—Whatever the case, you should ask her the next time you see her."
Can someone even be capable of faking it? Maybe Madelyn is right and I should ask her the next time I see her. Whenever that is…
It couldn"t have been fake, she"s too timid! I know her better than anyone.
Then again…
She"s probably good with acting…
And I was best friends with a liar…
Madelyn: "Come on, I"ll help you get your mind off her."
Steven: "…mm…"
Madelyn: "Help me with something."
She grabs my wrist and tries to drag me off the bed. I went along with her just to keep her satisfied. I could at least distract myself and try to forget about it.
Steven: "Young Mi and Rayna didn"t stick around, did they?"
Madelyn: "No, they went to their dorm."
Steven: "What are you doing then?"
Madelyn: "Come look."
For the first time, I got to see a part of the world on a map. Not just a town or city map, but the entire country of Esnia! It looks really big, with its borders going quite away from the mainland in the east to a peninsula and archipelago in the west.
Madelyn: "The Fae are close to the Academy, like 2 to 3 miles."
Steven: "Did you need a large map?"
Madelyn: "Yes, I needed to map all the separate fairy communities that are affected."
Steven: "What—communities?"
Madelyn: "Yeah, there are communities of fairies. But nevermind that! We mapped all the affected communities and Young Mi realized it makes a circle!"
Steven: "Circle?"
Madelyn: "We grabbed a more detailed map of the area around the Academy and we realized that there"s a building there, in the middle. Likely a homestead."
Madelyn pointed at a little white dot right in the middle of the circle. There was something there but it didn"t say anything definitive about it being a homestead or not.
Steven: "Madelyn… that"s amazing. You should be a detective. But how do you know it"s a homestead?
She smiles slightly and blushes.
Madelyn: "Oh, it"s nothing… It was Young Mi that said so."
Young Mi probably understands the area better than I do. The door flies open and Lilith comes in with a couple of trays of food. They had to be from the cafeteria and looked and smelled good. It was breaded chicken with steamed rice and broccoli.
Lilith: "I brought us food."
Madelyn: "I can already smell it! What did you bring?"
Lilith: "It"s the most Elven meal I"ve seen in a long time."
She realizes that I was also in the room and only brought trays for her and Madelyn.
Lilith: "Sorry… Steven… I didn"t know you were coming so I…"
Steven: "It"s fine, Lilith. I can live without food."
I"m currently having a small craving for something sweet, like lemonade.
I moved over and laid down on my bed, giving the girls room to eat together.
Steven: "You think Dai-tai and Niroja would be able to help? We"d probably be back on Sefre by now."
Madelyn: "Yeah, I wonder what they"re up to."
I sigh.
Of all the people I miss, it has to be Dai-tai and Niroja.
Lilith: "Are you fine, Steven?"
Steven: "Just about."
I was laying down with my eyes closed when Madelyn jumps right next to me. Bouncing a bit on the bed and laying on her side towards me, using her arms to support her head.
Madelyn: "Come on, is Livia that important to you?"
Lilith: "Livia?"
I was doing fine!
Steven: "She"s the closest to a best friend I have."
Madelyn: "…oh… you 2 must have been close…"
I sit up on the side of the bed. This is going to be on my mind for a while and not in a good way. Madelyn, from behind, leans against me and wraps her arms around me, embracing me.
Madelyn: "Come on, bro. Your big sister is asking you to cheer up."
Steven: "You remember?"
Madelyn: "Heh, yeah. I actually thought you were the one that forgot."
Steven: "What? I thought you forgot."
She rests her chin on top of my head and laughs. I never knew that being embraced like this could make me feel better. It"s like she"s zapping away all my negative emotions and making me feel warm inside.
Madelyn: "Are you feeling better?"
Steven: "Yes, now will you stop leaning against me so much? You"re like a monkey."
She leans further, knocking us both off-balance and almost falling off the bed together.
Steven: "No, stop! We"re going to fall off the bed!"
Lilith: "Ahaha~"
We both fall back on the bed and laugh.
Have we been this close? She"s a lot more open and playful than before. Now that she calmed down, Madelyn moves back over to the side of her bed and finishes her meal.
I stood up to straighten out my clothes and pick up their trays. I was planning on checking up on the others and I may as well take the trays. While Madelyn was looking at maps with Lilith, I moved close to her and pulled her into a hug of my own.
Madelyn: "Ah! This was unexpected!"
Steven: "Not used to it or what?"
She shakes her head and I reached out to Lilith.
Steven: "You too, come here."
She smiled and joined us in a group hug. These people are my friends; I wouldn"t want it any other way.
Steven: "Thanks, both of you. I"ll be checking up on Young Mi and Rayna. Do either of you want anything while I"m out?"
Lilith: "I"m fine."
Madelyn: "Same."
I grabbed the trays and left the dorms. The cafeteria happened to be in the direction I needed to go and wasn"t far from the dorms. After dropping off the trays, a light shower started and I picked up the pace.
Outside one of many buildings where the staff resided, a teacher saw me by the entrance and promptly stopped me from going further. He seemed like a good man. His hair was short and parted to the left. Wearing steel spectacles and having a small stubble. It was more or less of what someone would have after not shaving for a week.
Teacher: "Sorry, but do you have business here?"
Steven: "My sister lives here. Would it be fine if I visited her?"
He scratches his stubble and looked down the hallway, slightly confused. He might be new and probably doesn"t know his way around too well. Unless he"s paranoid; he doesn"t want to take his eyes off me.
Faculty Member: "What"s your sister"s name?"
Steven: "Young Mi."
Faculty Member: "Young Mi? Ah, let"s see… I"ll walk you to her."
The dorms had an organized system that took some getting used to but once you do, it can be efficient. All someone had to do was remember what room they were looking for. There was the main hallway and 6 smaller hallways that branched out. Young Mi and Rayna had Hallway C, Room 20, right in the middle of the building.
The teacher knocked on the door and it was Young Mi that opened up shortly after.
Young Mi: "Yes, may I help you?"
Faculty Member: "Young Mi? I believe your brother is here to meet you."
Young Mi: "Brother?"
She sees me instantly goes along with it.
Young Mi: "Oh, Steven! Yes, he"s my little brother. I was expecting him 10 minutes ago."
An excellent bluff by Young Mi!
The faculty member sighs in relief.
Faculty Member: "I see, well, I"ll leave him with you."
Young Mi pulls me into her room and shuts the door. She put her ear to the door to make sure the teacher had properly left before glancing over to me with an icy glare. For a self-described pacifist, she can sure be intimidating.
Young Mi: "Would you mind explaining yourself?"
Steven: "I didn"t want to get in trouble."
Young Mi: "Well, no harm is done. Was there something you needed?"
Steven: "I haven"t seen either you or Rayna all day, so I wanted to check up."
She moves to a lounge chair and sits. Picking up an open book before leaning back and getting comfortable.
Young Mi: "I"ve been reading and Rayna could be here any minute. You can stay, I certainly don"t mind."
I sat on a bed across from her and took in the environment. It"s certainly high cla.s.s, not on par with a n.o.ble"s bedroom but way better I"ve seen on Esnia so far. There were 2 beds separated by a table with a lamp and personal items on it. Their bags were under it with some of Rayna"s clothes sloppily coming out of her"s.
Young Mi"s lounge chair seems to be made of a mix of dark leather and fine fabric. The floors were mahogany wood, a trend I"ve seen with the academy. Her bed was comfortable and covered with a heavy wool-lined blanket appropriate for the winter season. The same with the other bed, except the pillows, which were made of jute.
I wonder why they"d put in so much effort for an Academy isolated on this part of the globe. Then again, why are there so many people this far out just to attend the academy?
Rayna enters the room with several rolled pieces of parchment.
Rayna: "Oh, hey, Steven! What brings you here?"
Steven: "Checking up on everyone. I haven"t seen you 2 all day!"
Young Mi: "Did you get what I asked for, Rayna?"
She hands the rolled pieces of parchment to her, who then gets up and places them on the table between the beds.
Young Mi: "Great, we can get started tomorrow."
Steven: "What"s going on?"
Young Mi: "Finishing up some work. Did Madelyn tell you about the Fae?"
Steven: "Oh, yeah she did."
Since Rayna was here, I figured it was a good a time as any to ask questions and find out if Livia really is my friend.
Steven: "Rayna, what does Twilight know about me?"
Rayna: "How would I know?"
Steven: "You"re a Loremaster."
She sighs and sits on her bed.
Rayna: "I"ll tell you but you"ll owe me."
Steven: "Alright."
Rayna: "What exactly do you think they know about you?"
Steven: "Everything?"
Rayna: "Well, they know you originated from Feles Isle; migrated to Everhand and were kidnapped."
Steven: "Anything before Feles Isle?"
Rayna: "Nope… they came up empty-handed."
That doesn"t help anything at all. I"m pretty sure the Headmaster already knew about my home before Livia came into the picture.
Steven: "And nothing about me being a servant?"
Rayna: "Not until you told them."
Yes!
They didn"t know the one secret only a few people know. Maybe Livia is still my friend otherwise she would"ve told the Headmaster. I sighed in relief and laughed weakly while falling onto the bed.
Rayna: "Relieved? Something must"ve been bothering you. Do you want to stay the night with us and talk?"
I shook my head.
Steven: "I have to go back to Madelyn and Lilith."
Young Mi: "I"ll tell them that you"re staying with us. I had to drop something off anyways, so it"s not bothersome for me."
Steven: "Young Mi—"
Young Mi: "No, it"s fine; stay with us. You"re more than welcome to stay."
Steven: "Fine… just tell them that I"m better."
Young Mi leaves the room and it becomes me and Rayna. She looked up at me, worriedly.
Rayna: "Can you tell me what"s bothering you?"
Steven: "Well, I thought someone was pretending to be my friend."
Rayna: "Was it someone in our group?"
Steven: "My best friend—from Everhand."
Rayna: "O-oh…"
Since there wasn"t much to do, I made myself at home in Rayna"s bed. She didn"t mind me and sat across from me in her spot.
Steven: "Ahh~"
Rayna: "Comfortable, right?"
Steven: "They put a lot of money into this academy."
Rayna: "Wine?"
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a bottle of red wine. It had no label making it difficult to identify what type it was. She poured me a gla.s.s and I spun around before taking a sip. It wasn"t like any other wines I tasted before! My mouth exploded with candied fruitiness followed by spice and often a tobacco-like smoky finish.
Steven: "Mm, what is this?"
Rayna: "Laoquan wine."
Steven: "It"s very sweet!"
Rayna: "It"s why I like it."
It"s too sweet for my liking but it"s the closest I"ll get to being drunk.
Rayna: "It"s been quiet the past 2 days, hasn"t it?"
Steven: "Thankfully… we still have to deal with these students while Madelyn does her thing."
Rayna: "As soon as the Headmistress gives us the order, we"ll bring down these students."
Steven: "You ever figure out their motive?"
Rayna: "It"s not easy… my best guess is that it"s a cultural thing of Wood Elves."
Steven: "Eh, Wood Elves start trouble?"
Rayna: "No, I mean they"re very independent and with Ostroven trying to annex Esnia, they see it as an act of violence."
I"m only here to do a mission. Whatever these students want, they"re not doing it for the right reasons. Attacking innocent people only alienates them from those that would support them. They"re doing it for their own selfish, demented reasons.
Steven: "Whatever the case: let"s do our job and return to Sefre."
Rayna: "To us?"
She raises her gla.s.s half full of wine.
Steven: "To us."