Ini shot a wicked look at Oswald, “Ha! You can only dream of a body this youthful when you get to be my age!” before resuming his storytelling in the same vein as before. “How far along was I? Oh, right, once Yuna became goddess the surface world stabilized for several hundred years. But then…” He cast down his gaze and his tone dropped several decibels. His always glittering expression clouded over for the first time. “A certain incident happened in the celestial realm a while back causing Yuna’s soul to separate from her body.”
“What…?”
“Allow me to take a slight deviation from the story to touch upon the three elements that compose a person. Do you know what the third element is that connects the soul to the body?”
Ini’s sudden change in topic clicked right away with Nichika who looked toward the young man slouching in his chair. “Isn’t that what you taught about in class today, Lambert?”
“Hey! Don’t rat me out, Nichika!” He slid from the chair under the headmaster’s hawkish gaze.
“I hope for your sake that you didn’t teach Professor Logical’s class for him again—”
“Ah! Uh! I’m not what we’re talking ’bout, ma’am! Anyways, the answer is the heart vessel, God Ini!”
“That it is.”
Grindieda looked like she wanted to interrogate him some more, but, fortunately for Lambert, the mic passed back to Ini. With a nod, a hologram-like image displayed between his open palms. An enchantingly beautiful golden chalice flickered there, drawing a dreamy sigh from Nichika.
“Beautiful…”
The palm-sized chalice was embedded with shining red, blue, green, and yellow stones in each of the cardinal directions. It appeared to be an invaluable relic that was too marvelous to ever name a price for.
But then the bewitching chalice shattered in a million fragments without warning. Glittering light spilled out from the scattered shards.
Confirming the look of shock on Nichika’s face, Ini sorrowfully nodded. “As you can see, Yuna’s soul departed her body after her heart vessel was destroyed. “
“Did she disappear for good then?” she asked, careful not to offend him.
He slowly shook his head. “No. It’s hard to imagine a soul as powerful as hers would so easily revert to the cycle of life. I believe she is wandering somewhere, unable to find the body she should return to.”
Ini raised his right hand, displaying a different image of a simple vessel that was similar in size and shape to the golden chalice, but pure white and without any decoration. Spinning it round and round in his palms, he confided his plans in her.
“I have already prepared a new heart vessel. The problem I face is how to draw Yuna’s soul inside it…”
“And that’s where I come in?” Nichika asked, almost positive that was the case.
Smiling, Ini pointed to the magic orb dangling from her belt. “Exactly. Yuna’s soul was always with the Four Great Spirits. I just know if she can sense them together—”
“That her soul will surely come to be with them,” Nichika finished. Squeezing the orb in her right hand, she felt reinvigorated about her role. “Okay, I’ll do what I can! We have to return Lady Yuna back to her body as soon as possible. Right, Oswald?”
She looked to her left, but her master’s face was a nebulous void. Anxiety surging within her, her hand curled around the orb and her lips trembled.
Why did her bad premonitions always have one-hundred percent accuracy? She sucked in a breath to speak before he could say what she didn’t want to hear, but he quietly spoke first.
“Nichika. I’m not going. This is where we part ways.”
He avoided looking at her saucer-wide eyes. Instead, Headmaster Grindieda took a step forward, blocking Nichika’s view of her master.
“I was actually discussing that matter with this child before you came. Miss Nichika, you are about to embark on a journey to save the world’s goddess. Do you honestly believe such a wicked man is worthy of standing beside the world’s savior?”
“I…he…”
No one could blame Nichika for stumbling over her answer. Thinking back on their time together, they were hunted down by the Witch’s Council at the first village they visited because of him, he had tried his hardest to brainwash an innocent Whale, and she had nearly died in Cherry Blossom Kingdom from a magic bullet of his making.
Headmaster Grindieda didn’t wait for her response before delivering her own conclusion. “I do not believe so. Oswald’s notoriety is growing in the underworld. What will the world say if such a heinous man is traveling with the Spirit Priestess?”
The desire to refute her sparked to life within Nichika. Sure, Oswald was a genius at starting arguments and creating enemies wherever he went. But she knew he was more than that. But before she could decide on her defense of him, the headmaster made the decision for her.
“I don’t know how he wheedled his way into your good graces, but I can say with confidence that he did so to use your reputation and power.”
“He did not! I coerced him into taking me on as his apprentice long before either of us knew I was the Spirit Priestess!” Nichika protested.
“Then don’t you believe that is all the more reason to end your relationship here?” the headmaster’s heartless voice drowned hers out. “Your personal feelings matter not. This is all for Goddess Yuna and her reputation. You should understand as much. Unless you are a small child who wishes to throw a tantrum?”
“……”
Nichika sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. Frustration pulsed through her veins. Her mind was thrown into turmoil by his sudden farewell and couldn’t process anything anymore. Hanging her head, she dug her nails into the sides of her skirt.
A very harrowing realization dawned upon her as she scoured her mind for a reason for them to stay together: the only thing keeping them together was their vague master-apprentice relationship. And even that was something she had one-sidedly pushed on him that was little more than a verbal agreement.
Last night suddenly entered her thoughts. Would something have changed if she had accepted the touch he offered then? Would their relationship have turned into one she could proudly announce to the people in this room?
The gentle weight of a hand rested on her aching head. Surprised, she looked up at the unusually gentle eyes of the man she called master. His brows were drawn together in a troubled expression that was marked by a small smile. Ironically, it was his kindest expression to date.
“Nichika, you’re confused. You’re merely placing your baseless faith in the first person you met after being dropped into this world. You’re no different from a duckling that grows attached to the first thing it sees.”
The remonstrating edge to his voice stunned her. What in the world is he saying? Her brain refused to parse the information passing through her ears. The words she couldn’t swallow relentlessly tore at her heart.
“You can make it just fine without me,” he mercilessly pointed out in the gentlest of voices to his apprentice who could only shake her head and gnaw at her lip. “No doubt you had the talent to make lots of people like you from the very start. You never needed me.”
Why did this man only ever choose these moments to show kindness? Why couldn’t he just downright reject her? Didn’t he know his kindness was even crueler than cruelty?
Nichika couldn’t take it. Large droplets spilled over and trailed a path down her cheek onto the floor. Oswald’s face contorted painfully at the sight of her tears and he removed his hand and took a step back.
“Our relationship as master and apprentice ends here.”
His quiet delivery of that announcement caused her shoulders to jump. Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear the rest. Her secret wishes were dashed as he declared the end of their relationship.
“You are no longer my apprentice.”