Book 4 - Schemer of the Scalding Sands: Chapter 7; Warm Hospitality

The screen turns on as the chapter title plays "Chapter - 7; Warm Hospitality".

Kalim seemed angry or possibly annoyed as he asked Jamil "What's going on, Jamil? Nobody told me to expect company!" Jamil told him "Kalim, there's a good reason for this, I assure you."

Grim then whispered to Yuu "Uh, this guy seems like bad news…" Meanwhile Yuu looks more conflicted about how Kalim is acting.

Kalim then essentially shouted at Jamil "How many times must I tell you to always inform me ahead of time when inviting guests?! If you had…"

Kalim then looks almost defeated as he finishes with "...I would have arranged for an even finer banquet and a whole band!"

This sudden shift in attitude confuses Grim as he makes a "Huh?" noise.

Kalim then almost seemed to jump over as he loudly told them "Hiya! Welcome to our dorm! Sorry for not throwing you a welcome parade! I'm Kalim Al-Asim, housewarden of Scarabia. This is the first time we've met, right?"

Jamil then informed Kalim "It's not, actually. Grim burned your posterior at orientation, and you spoke with them before the Spelldrive tournament as well." Kalim makes a surprised face as he says "Oh, really?"

Jamil gives a singular nod in response so Kalim laughs lightly before apologizing to the duo "Sorry! I've always been terrible with faces. I hope you won't take any offense." Kalim then swings his arm across his body as he snaps his fingers and tells them "Regardless, it's nice to meet you all over again!"

Yuu thinks rather hopefully, 'This guy's a far cry from the other housewardens we've met.' but extends her hand as she politely smiles and tells him "Yes, it's nice to meet you too." Kalim shakes her hand a bit.

Before then moving on right after as he says "All the food looks incredible, as always." He then asked Jamil "How did everything turn out, Jamil?"

Jamil gives a rather satisfied nod as he tells Kalim "Splendidly as ever. There are no dangerous substances in any of these dishes, so eat whatever you like. They've also been poison-tested already."

This makes Grim shout out in surprise "Wh-why is THAT relevant?!"

Jamil explains "Kalim is the heir to a very wealthy family. The unfortunate dangers related to that means that everything he eats must be vetted."

Kalim shakes his head as he says "You just love blowing these things out of proportion, Jamil. Really, who would do that? Nobody's tried poisoning me since that time four years ago when I went comatose for two weeks. It's a thing of the past now."

Jamil's face falls as tells Kalim "Yes, because you've had someone to specifically prevent that from happening for the past four years. I ensure that anything hazardous is identified and disposed of before it crosses your plate."

Grim then seems to realize something as he shouts out "Wait a minute! When you were feedin' me all those different dishes, was that to test 'em for poison?!"

Kalim laughs before telling Grim "There's no real danger for you, don't worry. All the food Jamil makes is safe. Jamil would never poison my food." Jamil makes a singular satisfied chuckle before rhetorically asking "Must you state the obvious?"

Grim seems to be almost sweating as he says "Y'know, I'm startin' to think these guys were only pretendin' to be nice."

Kalim then drags Grim back over to the food area as he asks Grim "Ooh, Grim! Have you tried the goat's milk blue cheese yet? Nothing beats a smear of it on a cracker!" Grim asks "Huh? Why would I eat somethin' with mold all over—"

But is cut short as Kalim stuffs a cracker with the goat's milk blue cheese on it into Grim's mouth. Grim actually spits it out as he exclaims "Don't go shovin' food in my–" but is cut off as Kalim does it again. Grim forcefully swallows it as Kalim seems to cheer "Oh, good, you like it! By all means, have some more!" before laughing lightheartedly. Grim's mouth is shoved full of the cheese covered crackers to the point he can't talk.

Kalim then shouts out to the other students "Bring out more food and drinks! And kick the music up a notch or three! Today, we party!"

A small time-skip later after they ate most of their meals.

Grim flops onto Yuu's lap as he complains "I can't eat another bite… Urgh… My tummy's gonna burst. Where does that Kalim guy get off, crammin' crackers with moldy cheese in my mouth? I make it a personal policy to eat any food I get, but that was just too much!"

Just then Kalim runs up to the two and asks them "Hey, you two! Care for dessert? We've got ice cream. Or would you prefer a selection of fruits? We've also got backed sweets with pistachios and almonds. I could have Jamil bring you some."

Grim exclaims "Mrah! N-nope, I'm square! Can't eat another bite!" in some kinda panic it seems.

Kalim then seems to almost pout as he says "Aww. They're all so good, I would've loved to share some with you."

But he moves on rather quickly as he then tells the duo "Oh well. We'll be here over the whole winter break. You're welcome to drop by for a meal whenever you like."

Kalim then looks to the side as he asks "Right, Jamil?" Jamil nods as he confirms "Absolutely. Anytime."

Yuu then asks "Oh, right – I never asked why you were staying on campus."

Kalim thinks for a second before he answers "Hm? Oh… Well, you know how we recently had that Spelldrive tournament, followed by our exams? Well, our dorm placed at the bottom in both."

Both Kalim and Jamil appear saddened by this turn of events and have a moment of shared silence.

Kalim then finishes up his explanation "So I decided to do something about it. Our whole dorm is doing voluntary special training."

Grim then complains "I woulda taken last place over what Ramshackle Dorm got in the Spelldrive tournament brackets: a fat lotta nothin'." Kalim then looks sad for them as he says "Oh, right. Yes, that's a real shame."

Jamil then explains more about the training camp "On our winter break, we'll be spending six hours a day on studies and practical magic training."

Grim is shocked as he exclaims "Six hours a day?! That ain't any different from regular school hours!"

Grim then tries to mimic Leona's voice as he says "Holidays are for resting. Homework can wait until after break." Before breaking out of the mimic and finishing in his normal voice "That's what Leona says."

Jamil rolls his eyes as he says "Yes, I'm sure he does." Kalim then says "Hmmm. When you put it that way, you do have a point. My dad DID always drill the whole "work hard, play hard, and know when to do which" thing into my head. Maybe Leona's right, and we should focus more on striking the right balance between the two."

He then shouts "All right! I've decided, Jamil! We should take our breaks when we can get them. I'll let our students go home tomorrow." Jamil shouts "What?!" in an unusual amount of shock and despair.

Kalim nods as he states "I'll tell them over dinner tonight. Do me a favor and make sure everybody shows up, okay?"

Jamil is caught rather off guard as he stutters out "R-right. Of course."

Kalim then turns back to the Ramshackle duo as he tells them "Say, Yuu, I should give you two the grand Scarabia tour. I'd love to show you a few things!"

Jamil then seemed to scold Kalim as he said "Kalim, please! You'll be setting a bad example if you task the students with studying and then goof off yourself."

Kalim counters "But it's not everyday we get guests. Surely one day of slacking can't hurt."

Jamil's face openly shows his annoyance as he only states in a serious tone "...Kalim."

Kalim is startled as he tells Jamil "Erk!... Okay, fine. Don't get mad! I'll do some defense magic training, then. A mock battle would make for a nice after-meal workout."

He then calls out to the students "Hey, could someone fight me?!" A couple of students ran up shouting "Yes, Housewarden!"

Kalim then enters a training battle with about three other students. The screen fades to black as "To be continued" plays before it fully turns off.