Home - 5

The rest of class was pretty much nothing. A spar here, a test there. If only to make sure that the weekend had not dulled our minds.

But even then it was easy, as long as I was not forced to fight with mana then I would win, no doubt.

Well there was some doubt, and that was against the actual geniuses, those that had actual talent in the sword, spear, whatever they had decided to pick up.

But that was only against them, against those used to high impact combat, where skills and flames were sent every moment.

They would feel incomparably crippled without the option to say… close the range, bombard from a distance, or even just enhance their strength.

Crippled, that was what they were.

And so, as the individual spars tittered out, those that were done resting. I found myself sat silently next to the same girl that had whispered in my ear near the beginning of class.

She was silent, gulping down bottle after bottle of water, as if she had just come back from the gym or was severely dehydrated.

She turned her eye and pointed to a secluded corner. Near the abandoned buildings. Classrooms that had not been in use for years, then left.

I shrugged, waiting for the class to end, the bell to ring.

And when it did, instead of heading to where the girl had told me, I went towards the lockers. Where I changed and exited.

I left my sword on my waist, even as I felt a hand reach and grab me, pulling me through dark corridors, conspicuously absent of students. 

Back hair cascading behind her, veiling her even further in the dark as I was pulled into an empty room.

I felt a chill run over my body as I was sat in a chair, my hand held tightly to the grip of my sword. I looked around and gazed at the girl before me.

At the blush she held and her downcast gaze. 

"Here" She pushed a letter into my hand, "For your eyes only, don't let that… don't let Emilia see it… please." 

With that she left, storming through the halls and towards some unknown destination.

And I had to just wonder why she had dragged me so far into the abandoned areas of the school, all just to give me one letter.

Curiosity burned in my heart as I looked at the letter. It was decorated plainly, with a stamp on it to seal it. But that was all, there was nothing unusual about it, it was a letter nothing more.

I opened it.

"Well damn" 

…

…

…

I sat outside, the cool air blowing my hair into my face. I adjusted it, yet the moment I did, I was suddenly sitting apart from two people.

The same black-haired girl and another, a more aristocratic looking girl. The black-haired girl stood at the side, her gaze vacant as she looked for threats around.

All while the other stared at me intensely.

"Inari, recognize this?" She placed a stone down over the table. And true to her word I recognized it.

It was the stone that I had pawned off earlier the day before. If only for a little money. But to see it here, now, surrounded by these two.

"I see, that was more than enough for confirmation." She picked up the stone once more before crushing it between her fingers, letting the mana within be absorbed by her veins.

She gasped at the power before coming down.

"This is of excellent quality, and I know that you either found a deposit of it… or more likely…" She leaned in and whispered her next words in my ear.

"Made it yourself." 

I gulped and turned my head to the side, watching the cars pass by, feeling the ambient mana in the air. Anything to calm me down.

"I-"

"No need to say anything, we'll be in contact."

With that she was gone, a simple card in her place. 

I looked at it and it was simply a phone number with a name.

Lindell

It was not a name that I recognized. Nor was it some famous nobility, or someone of importance.

A completely unrecognizable name. 

I sighed, letting the cold air wash over my forehead, cooling down the heat I felt from their gaze. The power they held in their gestures.

"Was this an offer…" I muttered to the wind, not even those around me, waiting for their food. Some patient, others with kids, well, those were a bit disruptive.

But even then I smiled, letting my head fall against the backrest, looking up to the sky.

I sighed once more, taking one last look at the ball of light in the sky, the sun, then rose from my seat. 

What was left of me was only a note, a couple of dollars to cover the food that I had ordered and ate.

I wandered aimlessly, letting the crowds and traffic take me to wherever that was. Walking with a sort of aimless air.

Yet, as if by some sort of destiny, I found myself face to face with Emilia's manor. The lush bushes filled with opulent berries.

The metal cage that surrounded the estate, the countless servants aiding in its maintenance, and here I was. Sat in common clothes, waiting to be let in.

I chuckled, before soon after I was let in, by some servant that had been given the order. But even then, I had expected to see Emilia.

Either eating, or working. But I saw her nowhere. Just a servant, then another.

Until I reached my room. Letting the schoolbag I had carried the whole day plop down over the sofa. Tools and utensils for writing scattered about the desk.

And soon after my homework was done.

I yawned, looking to the window where the once bright sun had faded, leaving the moon to hang in its absence.

I felt a smile tug at my face, all while I walked through the halls, bereft of everything except my sword. Tied to my waist.

A little training this late would do me good, wouldn't it.

And so I made it there, where the previous night I had been defeated so brutally. Only to think fondly of it.

Of the challenge that it presented.

I ghosted my hand over my sword, unsheathing it and letting it weigh in my grip. 

My eyes closed as I let mana flow through my body, gathering it all into one clump. Enough to do what it was needed for, yet little enough to not cripple me.

I took one last breath and tore through the dummy.

Bisected.

I opened my eyes, my knees falling to the ground with exhaustion. I still couldn't use it so casually, but I was getting better, much better.