Professor Gemstone the bookworm? part 3 (17)

They were looking at him.

"What's with him?"

Exchanging weirded out glances.

"What's he writing for?"

Murmuring.

"He's possessed?"

"Helene! Don't be weird!"

"This is already weird."

Ezera was to busy to notice.

"Have you seen the bags under his eyes..."

"You literally can't not notice it."

He switched the page. Read on. Switched back the page to take notes.

"Hum. Professor?"

"Mn.." Ezera didn't look up.

"Do you need a chair?"

"Mn... What, no."

He glanced up briefly to meet Dereck's worried gaze.

"Is something the matter?"

You're the matter, could almost be heard.

But Dereck was a bit awkward about it.

"You look... Distracted?"

Ezera blinked a few times, confused.

"I- distracted? That's, it's not- well, um I'm- oh, I guess I am?" He said, very eloquently. "I'm just busy."

"With..."

"With that, yes. I'm trying to understand it, it's very ancient. And I'm cataloguing the patterns I can find. Hopefully I can reconstruct the knowledge by deducing the pieces of writing that were erased."

The book read "Study of Arrays and Monsters". And it was very big and heavy. Dereck eyed it with stranged out features, disbelieving.

"Of course. Should I wait until you finished it to give you my old books?"

"No, no! That's too long. Thank you for your help, when can I see them?"

After you slept.

But Dereck didn't say that. As he witnessed the pure look of excitement on the other man's face, he wilted.

"H-how about at lunch..."

"That's perfect. Thank you again."

There would be no reasoning him. So that's what a scholar looks like in the throws of research.

The source of knowledge that Ezera had stumbled into by chance the other night proved to be the most helpful at understanding magic yet. He hadn't found it last time when he went through that section, but it could be because someone had misplaced it before, or he had not seen it.

In any case, it contained representation of arrayal diagrams with the context of their uses as well as notes regarding the specific elements they invoked. It was absolutely not as specific as he would like it to be, but it was a start. For exemple, the first diagram was an array that created an electric trap. So it obviously contained elements of lightning and detection. The exercise of recomposing a table made him think of the original creation of the table of elements back on Earth in physics and chemical History.

It was fascinating. But also very taxing. He wasn't even halfway through the book even though he had stayed up all night to advance on his reading.

"It does not look like a book from our library," Dereck noticed as he examined it.

"Really? Why do you think so?"

"Ours all have this particular mark on the corner of their cover. This one does not. Someone must have left it there."

"That's very curious," Ezera commented, closing the book and his notes for now. "So. How are they doing?" He asked, now focused on his students.

"Right. You have very skilled pupils, Professor. Especially the boy samurai over there. You'd think he practiced all his life."

Ezera cheered proudly. The samurai, alias Kai, had actually been doing that all his life, in a sense. Ezera had attended a few of his kendo competitions in the past. He had progressed a lot in just two years, more than just in skill.

"Isn't he?"

"Yes. He's already stronger than his highness the prince. Soon, he might even have enough raw strength to overcome the crown prince in a play fight."

Ezera looked over to where Onyx was training, and winced. The boy wasn't doing well. He one-handed sword swatted heavily in the air, with great effort, and he wasn't breathing regularly. He was gritting his teeth, frustrated.

"What is happening to him?" Ezera whispered to the First Knight.

Dereck answered on the same tone.

"Oh. His highness has come across a wall in his training, ever since... Well. Ever since it came to his head that he was inferior to his brother, and that he should be his equal and not better."

"Isn't it a good thing to have a goal?"

"Not when the goal is unreachable. I do not mean to underestimate his highness and his abilities, however His Highness the crown prince has always been a genius. It is foolish to try and be better, his brother is not his enemy."

The boy was complexed. Mn. That was a hard issue to solve.

"As a result, he isolates himself and doesn't want to accept help. He is very proud. But he is not following the natural course of his progress and his abilities anymore."

"What are his abilities? What is the name of his Grace?"

Dereck sighed, long-sufferingly.

"Healer."

Ezera blinked. Ah. That explained a few things.

"Of course, his Grace's inclination doesn't stop him from having natural talent in other domains. But it doesn't please him. Especially seeing as the crown prince's Grace is named 'King'."

"That is problematic to his developpment," Ezera agreed, crossing his arms.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kai sneak a glance at Onyx.

Mh?

"At any rate," Dereck clapped loudly. "Practice's over for today! Go clean up and change, everyone ! Feel free to practice on your own in your free time!"

"Yes, Sir!" They chorused, and Ezera felt compelled to add:

"But don't overwork yourself! Your bodies still need rest! Also, be on time for class!"

His comment suscited tired moans and groans as they left.

Ezera felt before he saw the smaller body coming to him, and lowered his eyes to meet irises of blue ice.

"Oh. Ming! You should go wash up with the other."

The boy shook his head.

"I didn't really exercise a lot," he muttered.

"I see. Then, do you want to eat with us?" He looked at Dereck to check, but the man nodded. "We're eating early, are you hungry?"

Ming hesitated, but ultimately nodded, probably more as a mean to accompagny them than for being hungry.

"Actually," Dereck said, "How about having lunch at my home? I have the afternoon off anyway."

"Yours? Where is it?"

"It's just down the town. I'll give you a tour if you want."

"That sounds like an idea! I'm all for it. Let's go, Ming!"

Just like that, they were off.