Chapter 88.

PART 1.

After his banishment was overturned, Hatori slept an easy sleep for the first time in months. There’s nothing like a soft bed and a hot meal to relax a boy after months of struggling in a forest. Though the spirits disappeared in the middle of this month and did not attack him day and night as they did before, a forest is never a comfortable place.

However, Hatori has not forgotten what this forest has given him. Currently, he is sitting with the snake, the elephant, and the hidden wasp and bee queens nearby, conversing with them telepathically. ‘I can’t thank you guys enough, you helped me a lot. I’m sorry to have used you like that, though.’

‘You shouldn’t be.’ Said the elephant. ‘Now, the students were afraid of those damnable spirits, so they never ventured here. But now, they have an entirely new fucking reason to be terrified of this place.’ He shrieked, and other elephants nearby responded in kind.

‘Besides,’ said the snake. ‘It is not like we didn’t use you. Remember, if you didn’t have deals with us, you would have a hard time here. So in the end, everything worked out well. So, stop fretting.’

“Sure.” He couldn’t help but say it out loud. ‘But I won’t forget what you’ve done for me.’

‘Will you leave your yantras with us?’ asked the bee queen.

‘Sure. Tell me if you have any problems with them. I’ll repair them for you. contact the crows if you can’t reach me yourself.’ He gets up. ‘Now, I have to leave.’

‘Of course, don’t forget to visit us.’ said the snake, slapping Hatori with his tail as a goodbye.

The queens are in a conversation of their own. ‘That boy is going to have a troubled life.’ Said the bee queen.

‘Yes, judging from the events we’ve gleaned from his head.’ Agreed with the wasp queen. ‘Though it was annoying how quickly he picked up, on how to guard his thoughts. It became harder to predict him.’

The bee queen buzzed deep within her hive. ‘I wouldn’t consider it too bad, that boy did right by us. Business or not, he looked out for our safety. Not one creature died in this operation.’

PART 2.

While Hatori is dealing with the creatures he brought to invade the Academy, his class is discussing what he has just done.

“I saw him commanding those beasts.” Described Maya, one of the female twins. “He looked like an animal himself, though remarkably under control.”

“I also saw him meeting with those four boys.” Said Praduman, “I thought he would display some softness, and drop his guard. But he did none of those things.”

On the side, Avinash is listening to these reactions. “What else do you expect?” asked Avinash. “He was driven at a corner by Krishna Menon. It is a miracle that he didn’t decide on a wholesale slaughter; we all would have been dead otherwise.”

“I think he won’t do it.” Said Suraj, the only second-year present there. “I don’t think he is completely lost in his anger.”

PART 3.

James and Shin are currently spilling the beans on the fight between Raven and Josh, while the two stand in a corner, feeling foolish. “Glad to know that I’m not the only idiot here.” Said Hatori after the whole incident was relayed to him.

“But Josh, tell me. Do you honestly think I should give in to those families, after how things have gone down?” asked Hatori. “Just so you know, when Joshis kidnapped me for the second time, no less, they pretty much told me to be a puppet. Is that what you want for me?”

“No.” Said Josh. “I was wrong to say those things.”

“True.” Said Hatori. “But you know, if you ever feel that I’m putting you in danger, any of you, you should run away, abandon me. Life around me will never be easy or comfortable, and you will end up as a target.”

“Will you do the same thing for us?” asked Raven.

“No,” said Hatori.

“Then we won’t abandon you either.” Said Josh. “My family can disown me for all I care about. But I’m not leaving your side.” Josh hesitated at the disowned part, but Hatori understands. It is not easy to abandon your family.

James, on the other hand, is sure that he won’t even think about it. His family is not much of a family for a long time, wealth, power, influence, or the love between family members, everything is missing. He has not experienced any of that since he was born, so unlike Josh, he doesn’t have any difficulty imagining a life without the Flora family. At least, Shakuntala won’t influence him that way.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Now, I’m more interested in James here.” Said Hatori, clapping him on the shoulder. “Beating these two out of nowhere looks like you’ve gotten strong.”

“Not only that, he conjured water, right in this very room.” Said Shin. “I had to clean up after the fight, though, you guys are lucky that beds and pillows didn’t get wet.”

“Already conjuring water, eh?” Said Hatori. “I still have trouble with it,” said Hatori.

“I don’t conjure it. I just change the ratio of gasses, and I get tons of water easily that way.” Said James. “You already know the ratio, I assume?”

“Oxygen and hydrogen.” Said Hatori. “Yes, I know about it. Maybe I should give it a try.”

PART 4.

In his office, Corvus tests the function to sign his name automatically on documents that he approves of. A Yantra looking like the skeleton version of himself rests on a desk loaded with paperwork, ready to sort the documents. This yantra knows everything about his personality, so it can approve of the things which he would, and reject the things which he would. If there is not enough clarity, Yantra will send the paperwork to him.

‘Now, to test the function.’ The function is simple. It tests its signature and verifies that it is him. If the signature matches, it returns true. Otherwise, false.

Signature(“Corvus”);

True.

‘Everything is running smoothly, then.’ He thinks, and leaves the yantra to do its work.

While walking to his room, he considers the coming events in the future. Now that Krishna has been publicly Shamed, he will try something to regain that influence that he thought he had, but never held in reality. Once he goes too far, he can dispose of him.

His deputy headmistress has to be taken out soon. Initially, the position used to be for someone who was the direct successor of a headmaster. But now, it is the position of a puppet, who is trying to undermine the position of the headmaster or headmistress. The Academy has had no proper deputy headmaster or headmistress for over a thousand years.

Of course, Hatori plays a role in this. He hates using children for these games, but the world doesn’t give a damn about what you like or dislike. ‘I hope that boy will survive at the end.’

Because if he survives, he will be stronger and wiser, because of these experiences.

He finds a letter in his room from Porus. He laughed in amusement after reading that letter. The king is complaining like a child that he doesn’t hang out with him enough.

“Well, we do have time now.” He said to no one and leaves to spend some time with his old apprentice.

PART 5.

Krishna Menon is also planning in his office. That damnable brute of a headmaster dared to call him useless in public in front of everyone, and even that lout Dhiraj questioned his position here.

As if he of superior blood needs to justify himself to the rabbles.

Hatori is beyond the families, of that, he is sure. ‘Looks like there is nothing else but to kill the boy.’ he thought.

But the grinding season has just started. The students won’t help him during this time, too busy with their exams. But next year is always an option. He is sure that the king and the headmaster are somehow helping Hatori; he wouldn’t be able to bring a beast army right into the school otherwise, and he certainly has no skills to modify them.

But when he tries to kill him next year, they won’t be able to save him.

PART 6.

Hatori meets the head dwarf Khansama. “So, now that you are in, do you still want to proceed with the plans of tormenting that pay-cutting bastard?” he asked.

“Of course.” Said Hatori, not batting a non-existing eye at the use of bad language. He has been desensitized to it by living around the cursing elephant. “Nothing has changed; proceed as normal. And if anyone else tries to interfere with your pay, tell me.”

“What will you do to them?” asked the dwarf.

“Simple. Take their life. They can’t cut your pay if they are dead, can they?” asked Hatori with a grin, sure that his logic was unbeatable.

(End.)