[9.1] The "Immortal" Tree

I picked up my wand from the ground with complicated feelings.

Why did Bea have my wand? Well, it's not like I can ask her now. I guess I should consider myself lucky for getting it back. I thought for sure it would be lost forever.

Zephyr and I made our way back to the Headmaster who was still waiting for me back at the carriage. He nodded at me, "You said your goodbyes?"

I gave him a nonchalant nod, "Yup and I got to meet a dead Bea. She even returned my wand to me."

I climbed inside as his expression darkened, "Wait… What?"

Zephyr looked at him with a dignified expression, "She's your problem now. Have fun with that."

He climbed inside and jumped on my lap. He kneaded my clothes just as a cat would before he laid down on my lap. I stroked his soft fur and heard him purr in response.

The Headmaster climbed inside while giving me a frosty look. As soon as the door was closed, the carriage started moving. As we traveled, I could only stare straight ahead at the Headmaster who stared right back at me.

It was incredibly uncomfortable.

He broke the silence, "What kind of magic do you use?"

...What kind of question is that?

I frowned, "All magic."

"..."

"..."

"What kind of magic do you like?"

"Um… All magic?"

"Ah."

"Mhm."

Silence permeated the carriage once more.

Zephyr snickered while still pretending to sleep, "Heh… You both are terrible at making conversation."

The Headmaster and I both simultaneously frowned and glared at Zephyr. He rolled over, still pretending to sleep. As I pet his stomach, I felt my anger disappear.

Petting cats really is therapeutic.

After a while, the Headmaster motioned out the window, "We made it to the Academy."

I looked at it without feeling impressed, "Ah. I've seen it before."

"...Most people would be excited at the opportunity to study here."

I noticed his disappointed tone and grinned. I spoke sarcastically, "Oh! Wow! So cool! I am SO excited!"

"Hmph. Don't bother forcing yourself."

I let out a sigh of relief, "Oh good. I was worried there for a second. I'm not bad at acting, but it really tires me out."

His frown deepened at my honesty.

The carriage rolled to a stop and the door opened automatically. I jumped out quickly, flinging Zephyr who had been in my lap as a result. He rolled on the ground and screamed, "You-You mothaf*cking trash a** hat!"

I ignored him as I stared at the white castle before me. My mouth dropped, "That's a lot bigger than I thought it was…"

Could they be overcompensating for something?

The Headmaster stepped off the carriage, "Impressed now?"

I closed my mouth and feigned indifference, "It's okay. I've definitely seen better."

Zephyr tilted his head, "I haven't."

I rolled my eyes. The Headmaster pointed to a tower attached to the castle, "That's where we will be living."

I frowned, "In a tower?! If I live in a tower, what are you going to call me? Rapunzel?"

He looked confused, "Didn't you say your name was Reika? Why would I call you Rapunzel?"

Why do people keep taking me so seriously?

I held my forehead in exasperation, "Is everyone here stupid?"

"No." Zephyr snickered, "Just you."

I glared at him as the Headmaster walked past us, "Come inside. I will show you around."

I followed after him quickly with Zephyr on my heels. As I followed him, my head jerked side to side in order to take it all in. "Why do you live in a tower?"

"Every previous Headmaster has lived in this tower."

"Ew. So not only is it old, but it's also used?"

"...."

His mouth opened and closed many times before he finally managed to speak, "Why are you so fussy?"

I shrugged under his look of disbelief. We entered inside the tower and I realized it was a lot larger inside than it was the outside. The Headmaster noticed my look of confusion and explained, "There is an enchantment on the building to make it larger on the inside."

I looked around and noticed that there did seem to be something written on the walls, "Ah. I see it now."

The Headmaster found this strange and raised an eyebrow, "You see it?"

I'm guessing he can't see the blue markings on the walls.

I answered unconvincingly, "....No?"

"....Okay."

He motioned to the large room, "This is the main room. If we follow that hallway, it leads to the kitchen and the dining hall. Now if we follow these stairs up…"

I yawned as we climbed up the spiral stairs to the second floor.

He motioned, "This is where we receive visitors."

I looked at the dusty table and wiped my finger along it. I frowned in disgust at the streak left behind. I turned to the Headmaster, "Are there ever any visitors to receive?"

His face twitched, "Not… Usually."

Oof.

He cleared his throat, "Let's continue. The next floor is the library."

My eyes sparkled at the rows of bookshelves, "Amazing!"

He nodded, "The Academy has even more books. You can find just about anything there. This collection is lacking compared to it."

I wiped the nonexistent tear from my eye, "Truly amazing."

"Okay… The next floor is just for decoration."

I glanced at the fourth floor and frowned when I saw a scorched plant still in its pot. I motioned to it, "...Is that the plant you burned?"

He didn't even look at the sorry excuse for a plant, "Hm? Oh. I didn't burn it. It just caught on fire."

"Right… And why do you still have it?"

"I think it can still come back. It just needs water."

My face twitched, "...I don't think water will solve that."

"Let's keep going."

I followed him up another flight of stairs. Zephyr made sure our backs were turned before swatting at the scorched tree which still had a leaf on it.

The tree suddenly collapsed into a pile of ashes.

His mouth dropped as he looked around with a guilty expression. Seeing that he wasn't caught, he ran to catch up with us.

We arrived at the next floor, "This is my workroom."

I looked around to see papers strewn about everywhere. I felt my mouth twitch, "Where is the floor?"

"At your feet."

I glanced down and muttered to myself, "I don't think it is."

He ignored me and spoke, "You can also use this as you'd like. There's plenty of room."

"Where? Under all the boxes and papers?"

"Wherever. Now if we continue up…"

He continued to show me more floors. I started to breathe heavily as I forced myself to keep climbing. I gasped for air, "How… Many… More?!"

"Just a few more."

I groaned, "Is there an elevator?"

He raised an eyebrow, "An elevator? What's that?"

There's no elevator in this world?!

I felt like puking, "I'm going to die…"

Zephyr snickered, "It's just a few flights of stairs. Why do you look like you are going to fall over and die?"

I struggled to catch my breath, "I am not… Physically fit…"

Zephyr giggled at my pain, "That's an understatement."

I waved my fist at him but had no energy to hit him with it.

The Headmaster waited for me at the top of the stairs, "This floor has my room and the next floor has yours. It was previously used as the guest room, so it's a bit empty."

I finally caught up to him and noticed the top floor had a single large bed with only minimal pieces of furniture. I looked around, "My room is in the attic?"

He nodded, "It has the best view… If you don't like it I can probably clear out another room."

I waved my hand, "No. The attic is fine. It's better than living in the basement."

He answered in a dour tone, "The basement is used for storage. It isn't suitable for living creatures."

Why is this man so serious?

I walked around the room and frowned at the dust settled on all the furniture, "Don't you have any maids or anything?"

He spoke apathetically, "I don't like strangers touching my things."

And yet, you let a suspicious child live with you?

I shook my head, "So you just let it get dirty? Don't you ever clean?"

"I'm far too busy to clean."

"Too busy killing plants?"

"...Stop bringing up the plant."

I sighed, "Whatever. It's fine. Cleaning isn't too much effort."

He nodded at me, "Then I will leave you to get comfortable."