CHAPTER LXII (62) - A DINNER INVITATION
When he picked up the reward from the constable’s office, he had expected a massive sack of gold. Instead, he was handed a small pouch with twenty coins. The coins weren't even made from a particularly valuable metal, instead forged from iron with a hole in the center. Each was labeled ‘1,000 Yennies, Imperical Bank of Hon’ in a circle along its edge.
Still, he wasn’t about to complain. He desperately needed the money. Finally able to do some shopping, Kizu immediately found the nearest shipwright down at Shinzou’s docks. There, he was able to purchase materials like hammers, nails, buckets, and even a hand pump. Then he went and bought some fishing supplies as well.
He had dragged Aoi along with him as evidence of the quest’s completion, plus having an extra set of hands to carry things back was incredibly useful. She grumbled about the manual labor, but honestly less than what he had expected from a princess.
“Kizu!” someone called out as they walked out of town. As he and Aoi turned to see Emilia approaching them, her smile broke and froze to her face. “Oh. Aoi. I didn’t recognize you. That’s a…unique new look.”
“Hello, Emilia,” Aoi said dryly. “Nice to see you too.”
“You know each other?” Kizu asked.
“Of course we do,” Aoi said. “Everyone at the academy knows her, and she makes sure to know everyone she considers important.”
“We were lab partners in Brewing last year,” Emilia clarified. “Unfortunately, our last project went a bit…awry.”
“What did you brew?” Kizu asked. He regretted the question as soon as it came out of his mouth. The tension in the air grew palpably thick.
“An animal speaking potion,” Emilia said at the same time that Aoi said, “A speak to the dead potion.”
They glared at one another but Kizu ignored them for a moment as he wracked his brain for recipes of the two potions. Despite never brewing either potion, it only took a second for him to realize what must have happened.
“You used both emerald kelp and hag’s bane, didn’t you? The ingredient lists for the two potions only really differ with those. But if you used both….”
“We ended up with a potion that lets the drinker talk to undead animals,” Emilia finished. “About as useful to drink as sea water.”
“It’s just niche,” Aoi said defensively.
“That’s not what Knoff decided.”
“We got him on the wrong day is all,” Aoi mumbled.
“Anyway, I hope for your sake you’re on a date and not working on a midterm with her.”
“Not a date,” Kizu said quickly. “I accepted a job from the quest board, is all. And Aoi knew something about it and was pointing me in the right direction.”
“A fishing quest?” Emilia said, looking at the fishing rod he held.
“It’s a long story.” Kizu paused. “How about I tell you about it at dinner sometime?”
Emilia blinked. Then a genuine smile finally appeared. “Yes. That sounds excellent. Message me the details via your scrying orb.”
She waved him goodbye, pointedly not looking at Aoi again as she departed.
“That was the least smooth thing I’ve ever seen,” Aoi said as they started walking again. “I can’t believe she accepted that. Do you always ask girls out when they’re in the worst possible mood in front of someone they heavily dislike?”
Kizu blushed and stammered.
“Relax. It worked, so she either must like you quite a bit or want something from you. Though, my money is on the latter.”
“You don’t have any money,” Kizu grumbled, not knowing how to respond to anything else.
Aoi laughed.
“But seriously. Don’t actually tell her about the quest.”
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Kizu split ways with Aoi, her heading directly to the ship with most of the purchased materials while he took a detour up to the academy to change into his spare uniform. He grabbed a few other things and stuffed them in a pack, thinking it might be prudent to start moving his possessions now. His leg dully ached from the constant walking, but his leg brace put in work, supporting his weight.
Arriving back on the ship, Kizu stashed his remaining new funds on the shelf above his hammock before pulling out his scrying orb to research his new roommate.
“Orb,” he said, activating it. “What can you tell me about a current fourth year student named Aoi?”
“Kotei Aoi, fourth year. Combat-523, Astronomy-254, Divination-294, History-59, Politics-3, Rejuvenation and Restoration- 106, Conjuring-97, Brewing- 370, Numerology- 202, Music- 99 (Flute), Enchanting- 200, Illusion- 265, Elemental-408.”
Overall, besides her combat and elemental scores, she was definitely a high achiever. Assuming her scores didn’t drop, they already qualified her for graduation next year. Most of her strengths weren’t all that surprising, as she was raised to be a back-up leader of her nation. So, history and politics were probably drilled into her as a child. And music wasn’t very surprising either since most nobility learned an instrument. It looked like she shared the A class with Harvey, both playing flutes. Her conjuring and rejuvenation and restoration both made sense as a necromancer as well.
Far more important than her high scores though, was her elemental one. If she, in the bottom half of the academy’s elemental students, could cast that underwater air spell, it probably would be achievable for him if he put in a bit of effort.
He found her on deck with a notepad, examining each of her undeads’ bones. She tapped each bone with a little hammer, as if she was a stone carver testing out the malleability of a slab of marble.
“Can you teach me the air bubble spell you used?” he asked.
She looked up from a femur, looking more perplexed than annoyed. “I’m using my blood for my own experiments right now. I can’t waste it on demonstrations.”
“You want to do the repairs on the ship yourself?”
That snapped her out of it. She still groused, but stood up and started instructing him. She wasn’t the best teacher, often getting distracted and not paying attention to his attempts, but after a couple hours he figured out the basics of it. He could create a tiny stationary pocket of air to breathe out of. Getting it to move was a massive challenge though. Even Aoi still struggled with moving her air pocket while underwater. But, for now, it was enough for him to start the internal repairs.
After a few more hours of trying to patch up the giant hole in the hull with a hammer, some nails, and a few boards, Kizu decided to retire and sleep. He had the end of midterms coming up, after all.
As he emerged from the water, he was startled to hear laughter. A child’s laughter. He poked his head into the crew quarters and saw Anata and Mort chasing each other around the room. Mort leapt and swung off the hammocks while Anata tried to keep up with him. Aoi sat in the corner with her scrying orb shedding light as she squinted and muttered at her new necromancy tome, completely oblivious to the other two running around.
Staying on deck, Kizu decided to take out his own scrying orb and send a message to Emilia. He recited and discarded two dozen different messages before finally sending one that seemed perfect.
Hey Emilia. It was great seeing you today. How about we meet at the academy gate in five days at six in the evening?
“You’re terrible at this,” Aoi said, poking her head out of the trapdoor.
Kizu bristled. “What are you talking about?”
“Your attempts to ask out Emilia. They suck.”
“What would you know?”
“Well, I’ve been asked out by someone pretty much every day since I arrived.”
Kizu looked at her, startled. Sure, she was probably pretty on a normal day, but she currently looked like she’d crawled out of a swamp. Par for the course for most necromancers, sure. But most necromancers don’t get asked out on dates. Not by the living, at least.
“I’m nobility,” she reminded him dryly. “No need to look so shocked. Half the people at the academy are only attending to increase their political standing and to build connections. I might be almost two dozen positions removed from the Emperor’s heir, but having any position in the line of succession is enviable. If nothing else, being my friend has the potential to bring powerful favors in the future.”
She crossed the deck, approaching one of her skeletons. After some ominous ritual chanting, she changed its eye color from red to green. She grinned at her success.
“So, do you have advice?” Kizu asked. “Or did you just want to brag?”
She shrugged. “You need to relax. You’re so stiff whenever you try making a step forward. It’s unnatural and comes off as inexperienced and desperate.”
Easier to say than to do. But Kizu internalized the advice.
“Where should I take her for dinner?” he asked. “You must have been taken out to all the restaurants in town.”
“No way.” When she finished laughing, she turned a bit more serious. “I’ve declined almost every single date I’ve been asked on. There was only one guy I really started to seriously date and that…didn’t end well.”
Aoi fidgeted with one of her silver rings.
Recalling what he’d read in her journal, Kizu decided to end the conversation.
“Thanks for the advice. By the way, I’m probably going to be sleeping here most days from here on out.”
She waved him away. “Just don’t bring Emilia back here. Find an inn in town or go to her place.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Kizu dropped down through the trapdoor and fell into his new hammock. Despite the noise from Mort and Anata running around the room, and the chanting from Aoi on the deck above, he fell asleep faster than ever.