Chapter 89: Hope

"That Lyra chick is way too weird," Mikoto murmured to no one but himself. Though the city of Emberreach was semi-repaired, no one was repopulating. That made sense, seeing as there was a chance for more demons and Vel'ryr troops to be walking around. But Mikoto really did not care for any of that; the boy was much too focused on the aged parchments in his hand. ("All of this could really help. You're a weird woman, Lyra, but thank you,") Mikoto smiled genuinely beneath his mask, and for the first time in a while, the embers of hope were ignited from within him. ("Mom, Hinata, Aunt Maya, and even that idiot Akira. I might just be able to see them again.") Hope was such a beautiful thing; it drove more motivation into him.

With these parchments Lyra gave to him, going back home might be possible. It was a detailed set of instructions with theories and hypotheses. Following them to the letter would yield results. Now, with these in his possession, it might be thought that there was no point in participating in the festival anymore, but that was not the case. After Lyra gave him the parchments and after he satiated her curiosity, he had obviously tried to implement world travel magic. He just ended up in space; this magic was far too delicate even with his superb skill in magic. Teleportation magic and Healing magic, those were some of the most difficult magics to learn, yet he mastered them in a heartbeat. Of course, it was thanks to him being a spawn of Octavia and his unique way of approaching magic by using science as a medium.

"If I want to use world travel magic, then my skill as I am now won't be enough." Even so, that did not diminish the hope he had. ("So I'll learn Arcane Ascendance. In the festival, all the Inheritors will be there. Before I kill Selwyn, I'll push them all to the brink so they use it. Then I'll analyze it and do it myself. I just hope it is that simple.") That seemed like the plan for now. With these parchments, there was no need to get into that forbidden section in that library. Mikoto folded the parchments and placed them inside his uniform. Pocketing his hands, he enjoyed the silence for a short while.

"As soon as I learn Arcane Ascendance, I'm outta here," he murmured. There was really no point in staying in this world any longer than he needed to. Though even so, he had made some friends here, but he would not feel sad at leaving them all. He had family which he valued more than anything else. That was right, but even if the core issue of how he would return home was resolved, there was still the problem of why he was dragged to this world. ("I've been holding off on it, but I need to get my hands on Asaun's ring. Rheya still wants it, no doubt, seeing as it's her object. She could inform me more of my situation and if Octavia was really responsible for dragging me here.") With his mind made up, he walked on, only to take note of two familiar heads of hair: blue and white, Mirabella and Lucinda.

There were also two unfamiliar faces, a woman with a resting bitch face and some drunk hobo-looking woman. And said drunk hobo-looking woman's gaze all but pierced his body, and her body blurred and disappeared. In an instant, the woman was in front of him, right leg poised high and ready to strike. Mikoto reacted swiftly, raising his right arm in defense as her leg collided with his arm.

Crack

Mikoto scowled in annoyance as he felt pain shoot through his right arm. That scowl grew more as the force of her kick seemed to generate a small wave of pressure that shattered some windows nearby. Mikoto swung his arm, and the woman was forced to retreat via flipping backward. She took a simple left leading stance. Mikoto, meanwhile, looked at his right arm with a hidden frown.

("Fractured from just a kick?") Of course, the fractured bone was immediately healed, but his annoyance was still very high. "Committing suicide this early in the morning?" Mikoto flexed his right arm as he extended his palm toward the blonde woman. "And you, damn bitch, I just got done fixing this place." Just as he prepared a spell, someone knocked the woman over her head.

"Gah!"

"Captain Ysabel, are you being an idiot on purpose right now?" The serious-looking black-haired woman stated with an annoyed glare.

"Oops, my bad," the blonde sheepishly blurted out, rubbing the back of her head. "Come on, can ya blame me, Ingrid? It's just my instincts."

"Your instincts told you to attack someone who was clearly a student?" Ingrid asked skeptically with a degrading gaze. "Sure, though my own personal theory is that you're just an idiot who does foolish things."

"Oomph!" An invisible arrow to the heart, the knight captain froze at the disrespect. "H-hey, I'm your captain, you know?" She was ignored.

"Apologies for this fool's actions," Ingrid said to a confused Mikoto with a bow. "She can't help but attack-like a dog- when she spots someone interesting."

Mikoto hid his gaze as he stared at Ysabel like she was some kind of idiot.

"Hey, I can totally tell you're staring at me like I'm some kinda crazy person!" Ysabel exclaimed, somehow taking note of his gaze.

"You are. What kind of psycho person just attacks a random guy?" Mikoto questioned. "You're pretty unhinged."

"Hey!" She cried out.

Ingrid cursed as she rubbed her temples. ("A grinning mask and a Luminare uniform, no doubt this is the one Reylthorn spoke of. This fool reacted too brashly; she could have revealed we knew of him. And furthermore, he stopped a kick from this idiot without reinforcing himself. Idiotic as she is, Ysabel is strong. The only reason Lady Stark would beat her is the gap in experience. But at her core, Ysabel is the strongest knight, not just in Verdantis but the world.") Ingrid cleared her throat as she raised her right hand in greeting.

"At any rate, sorry once more for this idiot. I believe introductions are in order. I am the second in command of the first platoon, Ingrid. A pleasure." Mikoto hummed as he shook her gauntleted hand, only to immediately let go of it as he dodged a punch from a dainty hand.

"Damn idiot! Where the hell were you!?" Mirabella questioned, seemingly angry with a hint of worry in her eyes. Lucinda stared at him too, relieved for whatever reason.

"Oh, Mirabella, how's it going?"

"That's all you gonna say after being gone so long!?" She questioned. Mikoto tilted his head.

"I was gone for a few hours, geez. Why are you so pissed?" Mikoto asked. She just seemed angrier than usual. The princess huffed as she folded her arms.

"After fighting that damn monster, you just up and disappeared. I told you not to fight him, and you still did." She glared to the side. "You're such a damn idiot..." She mumbled afterward.

"What Mirabella is trying to say is that she was worried," Lucinda supplied with a small smile. "As was I. You're a friend, Mikoto, so of course we would be." Lucinda's smile grew brightly. How odd, she seemed to already value him as a friend. The same seemed true with Mirabella, but she did not seem as inclined to openly express that.

"Tch, I wasn't worried," Mirabella huffed.

"There's no need for the worry," Mikoto jabbed a thumb at himself. "Did you happen to forget I'm pretty strong? Selwyn was pretty tough, but well, I'm me, and so the whole fight wasn't really life-threatening." Mikoto stated, completely ignoring the fact that a gaping hole was driven through his chest or how he had lost an arm. Yep, non-life-threatening.

"Fighting the crown prince and coming out alive, that is quite commendable," Ingrid praised, keeping her inner thoughts to herself. ("And frightening. From the way the spawn of Octavia and the princess talked, him battling Selwyn holds true. He truly fought that monster and lives?")

"You're pretty strong, huh!" Not one to keep her inner monologue well inner, Ysabel spoke up. "Well, I'm pretty strong myself, not to brag." She brought up her right arm; though it was smooth, her arm was also somewhat toned. She flexed her muscles with a smirk. "As you felt from that kick, no doubt, fufuf~"

"That kick was weak sauce."

"Gah!" An invisible arrow pierced the knight captain's pride; her second in command sighed in annoyance.

"Apologies for taking your time, but we must convene with the knight captain stationed here," Ingrid gave a bow as she grabbed a hold of Ysabel's collar and dragged her away.

"Hey, my kick was strong!" Even while being dragged off, Ysabel screamed on. The three of them watched on with deadpan expressions as she was dragged off screaming about how strong her kick was.

("What a weirdo,") they all thought.