I know he said he’ll handle it, but I hope he’s not taking any big risks. I’m worried.
Nichika rested her chin on her hands in class and mulled over her last conversation with Oswald. Sitting beside her, Melissa moved her lamb skin paper and writing materials to the side and leaned over.
“You have bags under your eyes. Couldn’t sleep?”
“Ack. Really?” Nichika rubbed under her eyes, but she couldn’t tell without a mirror. She swept her gaze over the classroom in hopes of finding one when Melissa’s voice brimming with curiosity hit her smack in the side of the face.
“Don’t tell me you spent such a passionate night with your butler that he wouldn’t let you sleep until morning?!”
Nichika slipped from her chair and hit her forehead against the desk in a loud thwack. Rubbing her temples, she glanced incredulously to where her friend stared at her with stars shining in her eyes.
“Melissa…you do know what a butler does, right?” she had to confirm first.
“They care for their master’s ever-y need, right? Kya!” Melissa covered her face with her hands in a bashful display.
She was undoubtedly letting her imagination run wild. Her expression told Nichika that things would escalate very quickly if she chose even one wrong word in her explanation. As she was trying to pick her words, Melissa scooted even closer. “I know all about it because of what I’ve read in novels and magazines. Is he skilled? Make you feel good?” she squeed.
Memories of last night came flooding back. His blue, passionate gaze shining in the pale moonlight, the lingering feel of his lips on her sensitive skin, the smell of him on her—
“Oh my familiar! I knew it! I knew it!” her school friend whooped when she saw Nichika’s flushing cheeks.
“W-We didn’t do anything!”
Good grief! Not even schoolgirls in the height of puberty are this forward! Nichika chased away the lingering sensations from last night and drew on her memory of what Oswald forced her to study about Butler Will.
“He’s the son of my father’s subordinate and was only recently hired once I was accepted to Elminage. It hasn’t even been a week since we met.”
“Aww, really? Too bad.” Melissa’s shoulders sagged with her disappointment. “He’s so cool though.” She clenched her round fists and animatedly exclaimed, “I’m looking forward to seeing where the relationship takes you, Angelica!”
“……”
Where do you want it to take me? Nichika was saved from a response by Melissa placing a finger to her chin and staring up at the open ceiling in recollection.
“On another note, I just know I’ve seen his face somewhere before. Somewhere on campus.”
“C’mon, stop thinking about boys and start focusing on class!”
Oswald used to attend Elminage. Chances were there were traces of his attendance left here and there, but it’d only spell trouble if she pieced it together while they were investigating the school. Nichika swiftly changed the topic by pointing to the lectern in the center of the hall. She was positive an honor student like Melissa would fall for it, but her friend shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter. This is the second time I’ve heard this lecture.”
“The same lecture?” Nichika followed her gaze to the person standing at the lectern.
“So, because of that, magic itself has no power, spells can only be activated with the help of spirits—”
Teaching the lecture in a dreadfully flat voice was a professor with a receding hairline and a beer belly.
Sighing, Melissa rested her chin in her hands and explained, “That there is a member of the Five Eldra Steorra. I don’t know if he’s gone senile lately or what, but he’s been repeating the same lecture every time. Oh, right.” She apologetically pressed her hands together and dipped her head. “Sorry, I forgot this would be your first time hearing him. Shouldn’t have interrupted you if you wanted to listen.”
“Yeah, it’s my first time. Thanks.”
Melissa scooted back to her own seat and behaved herself after that. Nichika didn’t mind chatting with her, but she was relieved to be free of her interrogation.
Letting her mind wander would inevitably lead her to think about last night, so she took up her quill and concentrated on the lesson at hand. The professor seemed to be using either a spell or a magic item to project his voice to the far ends of the large, cylinder hall.
“In other words, a person is composed of three parts: the soul, the body, and the heart vessel that connects them.”
Soul and body. And the heart vessel that connects the two.
The girl from another world learned the principles of this world while taking notes. The professor’s monotone voice increased in intonation.
“The heart vessel contains the soul. The shape varies from person to person. Say a soul tries to enter another person’s vessel, it will either overflow or, conversely, the soul will deform to conform to the shape of the vessel. They say this is why replacing or taking over the mind rarely succeeds.”
Did that mean someone went around experimenting by tearing out souls and jamming them in other people? Nichika became immersed in the lecture while thinking that was something Oswald would likely try.
“The vessel is also believed to be where we access magic. Put another way, the heart vessel is where the magic within interacts with the mana in the universe around us.”
Essentially, the heart vessel acted like a converter that transformed mana into magic. Not being a person of this world, Nichika had to wonder if she had that organ too. Then again, she probably couldn’t use magic if she didn’t, so she had to. Right?
“The heart vessel normally can’t be physically materialized, but it is said that the Goddess Yuna you are all familiar with took her vessel out while collecting spirits and used it to gather their power. Well, it was probably just some sort of magic orb that she used.”
The sudden mention of that item startled Nichika into running her fingers over the belt around her waist. She had left the magic orb in her room to avoid drawing attention to it, so it wasn’t there.
Goddess Yuna: the woman who journeyed to free the spirits from evildoers. Would it be farfetched to think Nichika was reenacting her same journey? After reading the picture book in Cherry Blossom Kingdom, she had asked Oswald about it since the story mentioned spirits, but he told her that the tales about Yuna were so old they were more like unproven myths.
Should they really be leaving something as important as saving the world to someone like me? I mean, they left it in my hands, so I’ll do what I can, but still. The loud man with large golden wings came to mind. Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard from Ini since then. What’s his deal? Forcing his request on me then throwing me to the wolves.
Then again, I’d rather not be on the receiving end of his sexual harassment. Better that he’s not around. I’m sure he’ll show up when he needs to.
The bell rang as she reached that conclusion. The professor shut the book floating in front of him and ended class.
“Oh dearie. Let’s stop here for now. Be sure to review what I taught today.”
“You said the same thing last time,” Melissa griped with a wry smile. She pushed out of her seat and cheerfully invited, “Want to go to lunch with me? I heard the cafeteria’s B Lunch Set is the tastiest option today.”
“Sure.”
Flashing letters appeared in front of Nichika’s face as she was about to leave the hall. Again? Irked, she lifted her hand to bat it away, but froze when she glimpsed the contents.
Melissa looked back when she didn’t follow her. “Angelica? Something wrong?”
“…Sorry, can you go on ahead? I just remembered I have something to ask the professor.”
Not the least bit suspicious, Melissa accepted her excuse as truth. “You’re so motivated with your studies. I’m impressed. All right, I’ll save you a seat, so come as soon as you can.”
The door heavily swung shut after the last student left the hall. Nervous energy filling her belly, Nichika turned around and rested her eyes on the professor still standing in the middle of the basin.
Clasped in her hand was the magic Chirp saying, “Stay after class, Miss Nichika.”
“Who is Nichika? My name is Angelica,” she stoutly announced to the room, barely managing to keep her voice from quivering.
“Now, now, don’t be so guarded. Let’s have a lil’ chat, why don’t we?” the professor chuckled in a lively voice that belied his earlier monotonous droning. He cracked his neck while complaining like a young man. “Ugh, this form really cramps my style. My shoulders are killin’ me.”
Raising his right hand, he snapped his fingers. His beer belly swelled within inches of exploding before instantly deflating. Nichika’s eyes flew wide open at the unbelievable spectacle unfolding before her.
“What the?!”
“Ah, man that was suffocatin’. Wonder if I can’t get the Prof to go on a diet. Wish he’d think ’bout how I feel havin’ to transform into him all the time. Sheesh a meesh.”
From the deflated fat appeared a tall and slender young man. His long, dark-green bangs covered his right eye, and a number of rugged metal piercings glinted on his ears. Yellow eyes that had more in common with reptiles than humans snaked over to her. A grin broke out on his roguish face.
“Hi! Good to meet ya in the flesh, Nichikaa.”
He spoke with an odd accent and had a frivolous way about him. Nichika broke out in a cold sweat at the sound of that familiar voice. Dashing every hope she had that her instincts were wrong, the man openly introduced himself.
“Thanks for the good times back in Lolo Village. It’s me. Your good pal, Lambert.”
The first person on the list of people who shouldn’t find her here took one step closer to Nichika.