Time had passed since the great sage Rod Farquois arrived. Their fearless antics were now well-known and sending ripples through the student body. What had, at first, been viewed as the prattling of a loon was gradually garnering genuine enthusiasm.
“And I’m saying the moment shit spread under the second layer, it was already a faculty job! A place the school doesn’t even know exists, tackled by students alone? That’s absurd! There’s no telling what the hell will crawl out of those depths!”
“That applies to anywhere mages fight! How can someone too chickenshit to plunge into the unknown even call themselves a Kimberly student?! A coward like that oughtta fuck right off to Featherston.”
Furious debates raged across the Fellowship. And not just in one location. Watching this from the side, in cute ladies’ attire—the student body president, Tim Linton.
“They’re all fired up,” he said with a snort. “Are those critical of the faculty part of this rumored Farquois faction?”
“Yes, their ranks are swelling quickly in the lower forms,” Miligan replied, shrugging. “Many of the underclassmen aren’t confident in their ability to defend themselves, so Mr. Lombardi’s mess hit them hard. Debating the merits of allowing students to explore uncharted territory, insisting the great sage was right to go to the rescue—and by extension, arguing the way Kimberly’s always done things is problematic. That’s the main thrust of their views.”
To the council members, this situation posed a conundrum.
“And those views align with our attempts to impose order on the labyrinth,” Miligan added. “I’m much more ambivalent about the fact that it’s bolstering Farquois. Their behavior is far too provocative for us to outwardly support. Right as we were improving lines of communication with the faculty through Instructors Ted and Dustin.”
“…Yeah, no matter how fired up they get, if Farquois’s head rolls, it ends there. Otherwise, they’re just a sub on a temp posting; when the year’s up, they’ll ditch Kimberly for good. You’d think that’d be enough to convince anyone it ain’t gonna do no good making noise—but the great sage’s charm means they ain’t exactly being rational.”
A pointed reminder of how thorny that mage was. Tearing his eyes off the lowerclassmen, Tim turned to go.
“I ain’t about to let this run us ragged. The Watch keeps our distance from Farquois. Their bullshit plays into our goals; we’ll take advantage of that—but if we gotta make contact, it goes through Instructors Ted and Dustin. The great sage is likely a handful for them, too.”
“Agreed. I have concerns about the Gnostic Hunter headquarters’ desire to unseat the headmistress, but that mess is outside the reach of us students. Leave that to the faculty, while we focus on campus and labyrinth security.”
Miligan and Tim walked away. Their direction set, but their concerns still real.
“Here’s hoping Farquois doesn’t rock the boat any harder,” Tim growled. “But something tells me they’re only just getting started.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Earlier that same morning, the Sword Roses were by a painting leading to the labyrinth for a very unusual reason.
“Let’s head in. Our destination is the Library Plaza at the far end of the third layer. I’m sure you all know the way, but caution is in order. The lesson upon our arrival is the real goal here.”
With that word of warning, Chela leaped into the painting. A moment of darkness, and she was scanning her surroundings before her feet even touched down. She sensed no immediate threats, so she turned to face the comrades following her.
“Oliver and I will lead the way. Pete, you and Katie stick to the middle. Nanao, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to guard the rear.”
“And guard it, I shall!” Nanao grinned.
Chela assumed that meant she’d taken the hint and shot her a grateful smile. They formed ranks accordingly and made swift progress through the familiar ground on the first layer. For a while, no one spoke. Eventually, Chela decided the moment was ripe and glanced at Oliver.
“In our fourth year, labyrinth lessons are a fact of life. Assembling at the scene is very Kimberly. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah, it is.”
A very curt answer, with no further discussion forthcoming. After last night’s events, she’d expected this, but she failed to still the ripples it caused within her. He’d never once been this cold toward her.
“Um, Oliver…I know it may be a bit late, but—do allow me to apologize for last night. Clearly, I did not spare enough consideration for your feelings on the matter. But if I may offer an excuse, I have my reasons—”
“Apologize for what? I agreed to it, and you don’t need to feel guilty. You owe me no apologies, and if my attitude afterward is bothering you, put it out of mind. I am mostly just lashing out.”
Oliver cut off her defense—a response even harsher than she’d feared. Chela gulped, then tried once more.
“‘Mostly,’ meaning not entirely? So therein lies a failure on my part. If we could talk—”
“We can’t and won’t. Drop it, Chela.”
“……!”
He ended the conversation without allowing her to fix a single thing. She knew better than to pursue it further.
Observing all this from behind, Pete sighed. “…Hurts to watch. She should have given him more time. It was only yesterday; obviously, he’s not ready yet.”
Running next to him, Katie bit her lip. Oliver’s treatment last night had helped her make a full recovery, but inside, she’d processed none of this—and what she’d just seen only gouged the wound. It was her fault there was friction between them.
“I’ve never seen Chela this upset…”
“Don’t you go joining her, Katie. We’re in the labyrinth now. And just to be clear, this is one-hundred-percent Chela’s fuckup. None of it is on you.”
Pete was quite firm on that. Katie very much appreciated his words, but she was still hurt. Since last night, she had not spent a moment outside her friends’ care. She knew she should be less of a burden, but every effort to escape this came back to haunt her. Katie was out of options—and though well aware she was at a standstill, suffering from it, Pete turned his attention elsewhere.
“Yo, Nanao.”
“Hrm?”
Behind him, Nanao raised a brow. Pete was not addressing her with his voice, but via a mana frequency only she could hear. He continued talking, not letting Katie know.
“Just asking out of curiosity—absolutely not trying to criticize—but I’m wondering why you didn’t stop things last night. I’m sure you could guess how Oliver would take it, and I doubt this was just prioritizing Katie’s recovery.”
This had been on his mind all night. Chela’s proposal had effectively ensnared Oliver, but Nanao had held a card that could easily have freed him. If she had simply argued in favor of Oliver’s emotional state, Chela could not have pressed the point. Yet, Nanao had taken no such action and allowed the scenario to unfold. That seemed rather out of character.
It took her a while to respond. Long silences were also not like her.
“…Groundwork must be laid. That thought has been on my mind for some time.”
“Groundwork…for what?”
“For the event of my demise. Should that happen, I wish to smoothly hand Oliver off to Katie.”
That answer nearly made Pete’s eyes pop out of his head. Yet, he got it. This was no impulsive thought, but a course she’d arrived at after lengthy consideration.
“I know not when or where this may happen. You know that yourself, Pete. Naturally, I am not inclined to throw my life away. I swore a vow to you all accordingly,” said Nanao. “But I am a warrior, and I know this to be true—when the time comes, my turn will not linger behind. I will die before a single one of you.”
“……”
Pete ran on in silence for some time. Would that he could argue, but this decision was so very her. While he was fumbling for words, Nanao continued:
“And by extension, with my death, I would leave Oliver bereaved. Should that happen, I would want him free to turn to Katie. Last night was a step in that direction. That is how I saw it, at the least.”
“…Okay, yeah, that adds up.”
Pete sighed. The source may be different, but the final conclusion was rather like Chela’s own. Nanao wanted Oliver and Katie closer to ease the pain of her death—and she was convinced that moment would arrive, be it sooner or later. For that reason, she’d accepted last night’s events. She knew it would cause frictions but was certain it would be to everyone’s benefit in time.
“…I said I wasn’t criticizing, but I take it back. I’ll give you a nice long lecture about this one later. And…”
“Mm?” Nanao crooked her head.
She had imagined he’d rebuke her for this revelation, but apparently, he had other thoughts in mind. Of course he did—about himself, not Nanao. She didn’t know yet that Pete arguably bore a larger burden of guilt than Chela.
“…give me a briefing on how seppuku works. I may turn out to need it.”
“You will?!”
That shocked her enough to use her real voice, not the mana frequency. Katie looked back, puzzled, and Pete spoke up to distract her.
“Guy’ll be waiting up ahead. Don’t you go acting all gloomy where he can see. You can come to me for whatever you need.”
This was aimed to hide that Pete and Nanao had been conversing in secret, but he meant every word of it. Tears formed in Katie’s eyes, and she quickly wiped them away.
She was well aware she was in no state to talk to Guy, but she at least wanted to be in better condition than she was now.