Chapter 52

I watched the waves as they lapped against the shore. They always stopped just a few meters in front of me. This dungeon floor really was relaxing.

So peaceful.

I hopped up into the air and flicked my dagger casually straight down. It stuck into the face of the crab monster that tried to attack me from under the sand. I stomped my dagger with my foot, finishing it off. It dissolved as I settled back down.

So peaceful.

I flicked the monster’s stone over to where forty-one identical stones were. I glanced at the stones. I had been here a while hadn’t I? What time was it now anyway? I had entered the dungeon on a whim when my wandering had brought me nearby.

I took another, better look around me. Well, there was a lot more people here than there was when I stumbled in. Back then, there was only one guy that was swimming around in the water in full armor. Now it resembled how it did yesterday when I reached this floor. Had I been so out of it that I hadn’t noticed the passage of time and all these folks showing up? Damn, I’m such a moron. I had been absentmindedly showing off my strength! I really wanted to scream. I’m second-guessing my decisions and now I made another fuck up only hours later!

No, calm down me. The monsters here aren’t actually all that strong. The people that matter already know I wiped out a horde of bandits. This little display is a drop in the bucket compared to that. Right, right. No big deal at all. Let’s just get out of here already. I scooped up all the stones and dropped them in my bag. I’d sell most of these off to the guild later on along with the ones from yesterday. More pocket change can’t hurt.

I left through the dungeon and saw the sun was nearly at its zenith, so it must be close to noon. I had been in the dungeon for at least six hours then. Oh well, not like I had any plans today. Let’s just go back to the inn and get lunch.

“Mistress, where are you going?” Lynn asked as I was walking in that direction.

[To get food] I responded.

“What about your appointment to see the girl? It’s about that time.” Lynn stated.

Oh shit! Because of Lorelei It completely slipped my mind! I started running for the school, only momentarily pausing to pick up a snack to soothe Coa, who had woken up while I ran. Through some very creative maneuvering, I managed to make it to the school in a matter of minutes. The three guards showed a brief moment of surprise at my sudden appearance before schooling their expressions.

“Hello, I’m here for an appointment to see a student. Rie is her name. Here’s my adventurer card for identification.” I pulled it out and showed them.

“We were informed ahead of time. Evan will take you to the waiting room.” The guard that was speaking indicated the one to his right, who slightly bowed his head.

The gate was opened slightly to allow us passage and I followed the guard along the pathway to the nearest building. I took the time to scan around with my psi. Judging by the number of magic signals everywhere, the defenses should be pretty formidable. That is if all that is for defense. My understanding of magic is pretty low, so it’s not like I can identify based on what I’m detecting through my psi. For all I know, the stuff I’m detecting right now could be what keeps all the greenery healthy. The landscaping was pretty impressive with the small trees and color divided flower beds.

The school really was gigantic though. It reminded me a lot of the small college campus that I went to as Aaron. Even a small college is pretty large compared to lower education schools, and I had thought this place was primarily for teens or thereabout. The size alone wasn’t the only reason though. The one I went to had been founded in the early industrial age, and the building design of this place looked very similar. This curiosity was answered when I saw a statue of the Empire’s founder with another quote and the status of him being the first principal. Another detail that could support him being from the same world as me. Personally I think it’s already just about guaranteed though.

Since we were near the buildings, my psi was now beginning to roam freely and I was finding lots of young, not fully developed minds. Children really tended to stand out when searching with psi. Of course, psi wasn’t a precise tool. Just because you come across something that seems to be a young, mostly undeveloped mind, doesn’t actually mean it’s a child for example. Based on this being a school, I can assume they’re kids, but it’s not an absolute. Limiting yourself to only focusing on the minds around you was what got a lot of inexperienced psi users killed due to letting down their guards. It was necessary to add other criteria to your repertoire.

This was a topic that I would have to make sure to teach Rie, so she wouldn’t have to learn the hard way.

Ahh. Right.

Of course, that’s only in the event I end up taking her with me.

“Do you know how many students there are?” I directed a question at my escort.

“I do not know any precise count. I am merely a guard after all, but all the nobility and wealthy merchants have their children study here.” He replied. “You’d be better off asking one of the teachers.”

“Thank you anyway.” I said. That would be what? A few hundred? Possibly up to a thousand or so? I’m not sure exactly how big the empire is since there seems to be a remarkable lack in maps available. Still seems like a big place for such a small number if my estimate is close.

I was led through the open doors of the largest building. The interior design was pretty much as I would have expected based on the exterior. There was a small, comfortable lobby that was currently empty. My guide indicated an opening further down a hallway. The open area was a very luxurious meeting room with two couches and a long low table between them. “The student should be coming mome-”

What he was about to say ended up being needless. There was the sound of running feet which also brought along a cry of “Miss Seri!” Rie was barreling down the hallway on a collision course with me as she waved her hands, a bright smile on her face. A woman wearing what looked to be a well-tailored, but otherwise plain dress, was chasing after her. I took note of the fact that despite being young, the woman had pure white hair.

The guard went to intercept her, but I beat him to the punch by quickly stepping past him and meeting Rie halfway. Her smile got even wider and she leapt toward me with her arms outstretched.

I stopped her momentum with one hand while chopping her on the forehead with the other. She crouched down while holding her head. This gave time for the assumed to be teacher to catch up to her.

“Valerie! I keep telling you to act more ladylike! Running in the halls like that is not proper behavior for a lady.” She scolded.

Rie totally ignored her. She hopped up before shouting at me. “Miss Seri, why did you hit me!?” She glanced at Coa. “Hi Coa! Did you see what Miss Seri just did!” Coa chirped a hello. “See, Miss Seri, Coa agrees that you were mean!”

The woman turned Rie around by the shoulder to face her. “Valerie Winterfall. I am speaking to you. I can cancel this appointment and send you back to detention if you do not behave properly. Am I clear?” Rie nodded sulkily. The woman sighed. “Now fix yourself up to receive your benefactor. Your hair and dress are untidy.” She straightened Rie’s clothes and then tried to do the same with Rie’s short hair, but Rie jerked away from her hands.

I decided to take action to make sure Rie didn’t get taken away before I could chat with her. I reached my own hands up to Rie’s hair and ran my fingers through it, combing it. Rie flinched and was about to escape before she realized it was me that was doing it. It was pretty clear she had some complex with this, but I wasn’t going to question her about it. It might explain why it looked like it had been hacked short rather than cut though. <((This series is only officially posted to royalroad.com. If you are reading this series on any other website, then you are doing so without the permission of the author, Xacual. If you have paid money for this story, please file a report and request a refund as it has been stolen and is being sold illegally.))>

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The woman was now watching suspiciously as I combed Rie’s hair flat. She seemed like she was burning to ask me questions regarding our relationship. For now at least it looked like I had successfully distracted her from her annoyance with Rie’s behavior. “It’s fine for us to have our meeting now?” I asked her.

“Yes, it’s alright. Please use this room. I will be acting as a guardian, and will be present as well.” She stated.

It was an unwelcome, but not unexpected development so I simply nodded. If Rie was more experienced with psi we could get around it by establishing a telepathic connection and then having concurrent conversations both aloud and through that. There was no chance of Rie pulling that off on a first go though, especially not with me being unable to explain any of it.

I steered Rie into the room and she sat at the nearest couch before looking at me expectantly, so I sat down next to her. It would be a bit awkward to have a conversation like this, but oh well, if it made her happy. For good measure, I allowed her to hold Coa. The woman sat on the opposite couch and seemed like she intended to stay unobtrusive. I was somewhat surprised though that the guard had actually left.

“So Rie, are you doing well? Enjoying school life?” I inquired. I immediately wanted to smack myself for that terrible conversation starter.

“No! It’s so boring here!” Rie complained while the woman had a very slight twitch. “They are always like ‘do this’ and ‘do that!’ I can’t even avoid the lessons!”

“What are they teaching you right now that you want to avoid it so much?” I asked.

“Right now, they’re teaching me how to read and write.” She said.

“You haven’t learned that yet?” I was surprised. Or was it possibly normal for there to be a low literacy level?

She looked up at me guiltily. “I avoided classes at the orphanage…”

I really didn’t want to be an adult that harped on these kinds of topics, my mom as Aaron was definitely a pain in the ass when it came to education, but this wasn’t something I could really excuse. “Rie, I won’t ask you learn it right away, since that’s not possible, but if you do want to come with me, then knowing how to read and write will be important.”

Seeing the instant look of despair that bloomed on her face was like a shot in the heart. “I promise I’ll learn! I promise, I promise. Please still take me with you!” She begged with tears threatening to pour out of her eyes.

I placed my hand on her head and patted her gently. “Calm down. I’m not going back on what I previously told you, so cheer up, okay?” She nodded and sniffled. “Let’s talk about other things. Have you talked with any of the other kids? Maybe made a friend or two?”

“No, everyone else is even worse! Can you believe that all they want to do is study? They keep saying things like ‘I’ll become rich and laugh at all those people that teased me!’ or ‘I’m going to show them who’s useless’. It’s boring!” She whined.

“You don’t feel the same way?” I questioned.

Rie stared at me blankly like I was suddenly speaking another language. “Why should I? No one matters except for my brother and Miss Seri.”

Okay, Rie obviously has some major dependency issues. I can’t really bring myself to fault her on that topic. I’m probably just as bad, if not worse, where Lynn is concerned. “What about your brother? Is he doing well?”

Rie looked down. “He hasn’t spent any time with me.”

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“Brother doesn’t like Miss Seri. He said that he’ll be the one to protect me, not some weird woman.” I felt mildly offended at being called a ‘weird woman’. ”He’s been taking a bunch of extra lessons in swordsmanship and other weapons. Even some basic magic now. I tried to tell him that Miss Seri wasn’t bad, but he doesn’t believe me.” Rie explained.

Not much I can do about that issue, especially since I don’t think he’d meet with me even if I asked him to. Rie and him would have to work that out themselves. I just have to hope that he doesn’t do something stupid if Rie comes with me.

“Miss Seri, what have you been doing?” Rie took advantage of my silence to ask a question of her own.

“Pretty much just normal adventurer things. Raiding dungeons, hunting monsters, drinking odd beverages. The usual.” I replied.

“What kind of monster? Was it a dragon?” Rie excitedly asked.

“No, no. Why did you come up with a ridiculous idea like that? It was just some monsters near the city that were troubling farmers. I’m pretty sure if a dragon appeared there would be much more of a fuss.” I said.

“I’m sure Miss Seri could beat up a dragon! It would be no match for you!” Her eyes were sparkling.

I wonder what she’s basing that conviction on. I doubt she knows any better than I do about the strength of a dragon. Or does she just want to watch me fight a dragon? Well, to be fair if all dragons were like Coa, I don’t think I’d face any problems. That feathery fiend was currently ensconced on Rie’s lap purring away, oblivious to the rest of the world.

The woman clapped her hands. “This is long enough, Valerie. It’s time to return to your lessons.” She said.

“What!? But it’s not even been that long!” Rie instantly jumped to her feet and shouted at the woman.

“I might have been inclined to allow you more time, had you not been so disruptive this morning. You almost lost the privilege of even having this meeting, so you should be grateful you got this much.” The woman stated. The woman truly focused on me for the first time since she had appeared. “I hadn’t introduced myself yet, but my name is Bethany Lairden. I am Valerie’s primary tutor.”

“Ahh, my bad. I hadn’t named myself either.” I responded. “I’m -”

“An adventurer, Seri. Correct?” She was suddenly extremely hostile in her mind toward me. None of it showed on her face or in her voice though. “Valerie can do much better for herself than traipsing along after a vagabond like yourself. I do not agree with the idea of her leaving this academy to accompany you. It would be throwing away a bright future for herself.”

I’m not sure about how best to respond since she’s confronting me on this purely out of concern for Rie. She’s sincere about wanting what is best for Rie, or well what she thinks would be the best for her. I know that’s not exactly the same thing, but it’s not like I don’t think she has a point.

“I don’t entirely disagree. I think getting a proper education is good. Not just good, but essential. To be honest, I think it would be for the best if Rie stayed here and studied.” Rie was about to cause a scene, so I lightly flicked her with my psi to stay quiet. “At the same time though, if Rie wishes to come with me, then I’d like to accommodate that desire.”

She glared at me before returning her attention to Rie. “Valerie, are you positive you wish to accompany this… adventurer?” She emphasized the last word with a bit of distaste.

“Yes!” Rie enthusiastically responded without a moment’s hesitation.

“I understand. I will give you a moment to say your farewells and then it is back to the study hall.” She left the room and and walked partly down the hallway and did something because there was a very brief flash of magic use. Afterwards, she came back towards the room.

Rie reluctantly handed Coa back to me. “Miss Seri, can’t you sneak me out?” She whispered.

I smiled and then pulled her into a hug. “I don’t think that would be the best idea, Rie. For now, just behave yourself and I’ll come make another appointment to see you again in another week. Try not to get in too much more trouble, please.”

She nodded. “I’ll try, but I really, really don’t like them. That woman least of all. She’s super scary. Always with the ‘talent, talent, talent’. Making me do a bunch of different things.”

“Maybe she’s not really as bad as she appears?” I respond. I wanted to explain more, but I really couldn’t afford to. “Just do your best and stop making me feel like I picked up a troublesome little sister.” Given the age difference, I could have said daughter or granddaughter, but spare me that please.

I felt the conversation was basically over and didn’t want to drag this out anymore, so I flipped her around and picked her up. She was confused until I carried her out of the room and toward the teacher. “Here, I’m returning this to you.” I told the woman as I placed Rie back on her own feet.

She let slip a tiny smile. “I understand. Valerie, we’ll be attending the water magic lesson now. It will be beginning shortly, so let us hurry along.” Rie was making no move to respond so I pushed her forward. Rie looked over her shoulder at me with a look of resignation, but went over anyway. “I signaled the guard to return, so feel free to rest comfortable here until then.” The woman stated while turning to walk away.

They left down the hall. I followed their presence until they were out of range. Looked like they went outside this building. I stretched out on the couch as I let my psi roam freely without any conscious control. Likewise I was letting my brain roam freely too.

Why did I feel so attached to Rie? Was it because she was an unfortunate child that I had met in a somewhat emotional moment? Was it because she was the first user of psi I had encountered on this world? Was it just a mix of both or was there something else at play? I had had the suspicion before that it felt odd that a child with psi had just fallen into my lap but it’s not like I have anything to go by.

Fuck! I hate this feeling of being in the dark! Why can’t mystical forces be simpler to understand!?

I sighed and went back to my scanning. There really was nothing. Just small groups of people and nothing negative at all. No thoughts of pain or fear or anything. All the assumed children were earnestly working hard. Would this result allay Lynn and my suspicions though? It does well to put mine to rest, but I don’t think it will have any effect on Lynn. She can be stubborn about the conclusions she arrives at.

The guard returned and some minutes later I found myself back outside the academy premises. I still hadn’t eaten, but meeting Rie had cleared my own head. I had a couple errands to get done now. Let’s head to the Adventurer’s Guild first.