“Now…” The boy clasps his hands together once and very loudly as he turns to address the Disciplinary Committee seated in front of him. His action and commanding voice makes the seven men who are straining their necks to see what was thrown onto Master Haithur’s table earlier snap back to attention.
“Let’s get this unpleasant business over quickly. I know most of you left the capital before the crack of dawn in order to make it to today’s hearing. Some of you are anxious to leave early so you can beat the crowd and get the best seats at your favorite restaurant. A few of you have already decided what you’re going to have for lunch. I recommend against ordering the grilled paddle fish by the way. They aren’t freshly caught and won’t go well with the red wine you’re planning on drinking.”
“...”
“One of you, I won’t say who, but one of you is planning to aggressively hit on that beautiful waitress you have your eyes on for the past few weeks, and pressure her with an indecent proposal. Even though you swore to your wife you will never flirt with another female again after she caught you with an unexplainable lipstick on your collar.”
One of the seven people in front of the boy shifts uncomfortably in his seat, the man’s action doesn’t go unnoticed by the people sitting on either side of him. They stared at the beginning-to-sweat-heavily noble for a brief second before returning their attention back to the boy.
“Seriously, she’s like half your age. You’re gonna break your cute daughters’ hearts if you continue on this path.”
Bam! The noble (the same guy who had voted for Headmaster Joss’ expulsion with glee and the one Master Haithur was planning to send a fruit basket afterwards) slams his right hand on the table. His action no doubt was to silence and intimidate the boy but all it did was brought more unwanted attention to himself.
The noble noticed that every pair of eyes in the town hall is now trained on him. The man has no choice but to swallow his saliva and put his shaking right hand back under the table, all the while starring daggers at the boy standing in front of him.
“Hey hey, don’t blame me. I specifically told you earlier that I wasn’t gonna name names. You’re the one who had to go and foolishly pulled the spotlight on yourself.”
Nearly all the rest of men sitting behind the long table stares in disbelief at the boy who dared to call out a noble for being foolish. They all have been quietly observing the barefooted boy with the long hair and his right arm in sling for a while now, trying to decide who or what he is. Based on his clothing (black and created in Rolfe’s workshop by the way), the men could tell that it is custom-made. Not too expensive like what a son of a noble could be seen in, but not something plain that a commoner would wear every day either.
The boy’s notable clothing and bizarre lack of footwear proceed to make the adult men sitting behind the long table in front of him confused and unsure on what is the next best course of action to make. Well… all but one anyway. There is only a single person who was just slightly perturbed by the boy’s strange appearance and antics, and he is sitting in the middle of the group of men and holds the position as the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.
“Who are you?” asks Ser Firenzo Rayze calmly with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
The boy smiles at the elderly red headed man, almost beaming in fact. Even though each and every adult person present today appears composed and collective on the outside, inside is a different story. Most of the men in the town hall are quietly fighting their rising urge of dread and panic, something for the life of them they couldn’t explain why they’re secretly experiencing. One particular teacher is currently in the process of losing his mind while his body is frozen and locked with fear, just a few more prodding would set him off and push him over the edge.
But you. You’re different, aren’t you? the boy contemplates. As expected of someone who is an Elder as well as a retired general and former commander in the Kingdom of Nurani grand army. Any normal person of authority, once they regained their lost composure, would have demanded the boy vacate the premise immediately. However, Ser Firenzo Rayze’s years of experience has taught him not to casually dismissive something until he has thoroughly evaluated it’s threat level.
“Hello and good morning Ser Rayze. You look particularly handsome today. Now I know where Mistress Kana gets her ravishing good looks and red hair from. And please allow me to say, I’m a big fan of you. And when I say ‘you’, I’m not referring to your glorious achievements on the battlefields or the various philanthropic contributions you made to society as a whole. I mean you, specifically.”
“…”
“The rest of the guys here are like ducks in a pond. On the surface everything looks calm, but beneath the water those little feet are churning a mile a minute. But you… you’re the unique one. You’re a shark, swimming stealthily on the outside and steadily closing in.”
“Thank you for your kind praises…” replies Ser Rayze as he clears his throat and adjusts his seating position. “…but you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Interesting…” murmurs the boy as he changes his smile into a grin. “That was quicker than the others.”
“…”
“Who I am is not important. What I am, that is the question that should interest you more.”
“…”
“See, this is supposed to be the part where you ask me what I actually am.”
“…”
Just as Ser Rayze is about to say something, he hears a soft rumbling approaching from outside. The people currently occupying the town hall hold their silence and focus their attention on the commotion that is getting louder and louder before finally a loud crash can be heard.
Looks like they’ve finally caught up, smiles the boy. During the fifth and last wave of attack, the boy had to run off ahead in order to arrive in time to stop the vote. He has faith that Headmaster Joss and Synnove could handle themselves against Master Haithur’s hired thugs while he went on ahead to the town hall on foot.
“Don’t be alarmed.” says the boy as he puts on his best smile, trying reassure the agitated group of people sitting in front of him.
“That’s just a panic Kulyk parking the carriage containing Headmaster Joss and my maid in the fountain outside the town hall. Speaking of which, here they come now.”
“I object!” shouts a certain headmaster from a certain school as he bursts through the large opened doors of the town hall, followed closely by a maid with golden pigtails.
“I object!” shouts the headmaster again as he runs down the middle of the town hall, heading towards the place where the Disciplinary Committee is holding their meeting.
“I object *pants to this boy’s wild accusations *pants about me!” declares an out-of-breath Headmaster Joss when he finally arrives in front of the long table where the seven men are seated.
“…”
“I’m actually on your side, Headmaster Joss…” sighs the boy as he uses his left hand to massage his temple and hide his embarrassed face.
“Wha-“ the headmaster’s eyes darts wildly about, a look of confusion is spreading across his sweaty face.
“You know what? Why don’t you take a seat over there so we can start.”
“I’m sorry… *pants -it’s just that I’m not used to the adrenaline… *pants -and the fighting… *pants -I haven’t been in one for quite some time…” the disoriented headmaster tries to offer a feeble explanation.
“Clearly.”
For a brief second, Headmaster Joss looks like he wanted to say something else but chooses not to. The headmaster turns around and heads towards the aisle where there are many empty chairs available. He picks one chair and proceeds to pull it towards the nearest table, the chair’s wooden legs make a scrapping sound as it gets pulled across the town hall’s floor. Headmaster Joss parks the chair behind the table before finally sitting on it.
This whole process is watched by a majority of the individuals currently present in the large room.
“Headmaster Joss…” the boy lets out a small voice as he continues using his left hand as mask to hide his red face, occasionally rubbing his temple to soothe the raging headache he is experiencing.
“Yes?”
“You’re supposed to sit on the other side. That table belongs to Master Haithur.”
“…“ Headmaster Joss looks to his left and finally realizes the male teacher is sitting beside him.
“Why, hello Master Haithur. Fancy meeting you here. What a crazy morning, right?” smiles the headmaster clumsily to the male teacher.
Master Haithur meanwhile is still in a catatonic state, unwilling to move or to say something. He doesn’t even make eye contact with the people around him, preferring instead to stare blankly at the wall far at the back of the town hall. The male teacher has been in that weird condition, ever since the boy had thrown those bits and pieces of bloodied broken teeth at him.
Oh no, this isn’t awkward at all, murmurs the boy as he watches Headmaster Joss stands up and pulls the wooden chair he had been using towards the right side where a similar table is located, even though behind that said table there is clearly an empty chair for him to use.
“Your alcohol withdrawal syndrome picked a hell of a time to kick in.” is what the boy wanted to say to the headmaster but he choose to keep it in.
“And for the gods’ sake, go get some exercise you out-of-shaped, self-proclaimed mountain lion! You’re the headmaster of a school for knights, godsdammit!” is also something the boy wanted to say as he watches Headmaster Joss takes his seat but the boy decides to keep quiet on that matter as well.
The boy looks at Synnove who prefers to remain standing behind the headmaster instead of taking the available seat next to him. Thankfully, the wise pigtails maid had thought it would be better for her to leave the bloodied metal bat back in the carriage outside. The metal bat, dented in various places from when Synnove had used it to let off some steam defend herself would have raised more questions than the boy had cared to answer, and he really didn’t want the Disciplinary Committee to be further distracted than it already is.
“Now where were we?” the boy turns around and gives out his best smile to the seven men sitting in front of him.
“You are about to tell us what you actually are.”
“Thank you, Ser Rayze. You’ve managed to pay attention for quite a long time now. I’m deeply impressed. Anyway, I’m a liar and I'm here-“
“Lawyer.”
“Yes, nice of you to point that out, Ser Rayze. I’m a lawyer, and I’m here to represent my client Headmaster Joss against the false allegations made maliciously by the accuser Master Haithur.”
“You’re a bit young to be practicing law.”
“The alpha male can mate with females half his age but the wolf cub cannot challenge him for his leadership of the pack?”
“Wisely said, carry on then.”
“Much appreciated. And Ser Theog, you can stop looking at me like that. The bit about the alpha wolf mating with younger females wasn’t meant as a reference to your planned infidelity.”
“…”
“Thank you. Now, you are all here today because a certain naughty child had been spreading malicious lies about Headmaster Joss’ leadership in order to undermine him. These malicious lies came to a tipping point last year when this very naughty child accused Headmaster Joss of gross failure for being unable to find the cause behind the suicide of a third year student named Joviel Gladwin.”
“…”
“I see a look of puzzlement spreading across your face, Ser Rayze. And Headmaster Joss’ old friend, Ser Penworth, I also know you are unfamiliar with the name as well. Both of you weren’t there for last year school meeting. As for the rest of you on the Disciplinary Committee, I’m sure the five of you can recall the event in which Master Haithur had the audacity to use Joviel’s death and the failure of the investigation as further proof of Headmaster Joss’ inability to lead. The five of you who were present in that meeting should also remember that Master Haithur flat out denied ever knowing Joviel when asked by Headmaster Joss.”
“…”
“Now, most of you are wondering where this is going. Synnove, if you may.”
At the boy’s request, the pigtails maid takes out from her pocket the essay borrowed from Master Cahris this morning and hands it over to the member of the Disciplinary Committee sitting on the farthest left. The boy also takes out the brown notebook, a journal written by him Joviel and passes it to the noble.
“Now, gentlemen, I present to you Joviel Gladwin’s personal journal, a detailed account of the late student’s daily activities, right up to the unfortunate night when Joviel met his demise under unusual and mysterious circumstances. I have earmarked the pages where Master Haithur is mentioned, it seems the dearly departed Joviel has a habit of writing any important information and valuable lesson he could glean from their conversations, such a studious student. You might have noticed that these meetings seem to occur far more than what Master Haithur was willing to let us believe. You may also notice on the last page, the last entry that Joviel will ever make, he has jotted down that he will be meeting Master Haithur later on that night because his beloved and respected teacher wishes to discuss something of great importance with him.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“…”
“I have also provided you with a sample of Joviel’s handwriting, a brilliant essay written by him so you can do a comparison between the two. Ser Rayze, once you’re done reading the essay entitled ‘How to Bring Peace to the Grandiel Continent’, you may vaguely realized the gist of it came a conversation you had with Master Haithur years ago at your house during dinner. Which Master Haithur shared with Joviel last year, he managed to turn it into a 3,000 words essay. And which Master Haithur would share the same discussion again with me a few years from now.”
“…”
“The key to winning a game, a war, hell, even someone’s hand in marriage, is to figure out your opponent’s fears and desires.”
“Fear binds them. Desires blind them.”
“That’s correct Ser Rayze, you do remember the conversation. You find out what paralyzes them, find out what gives them comfort, and you’ve got them by the balls. They might as well hand you the keys to the kingdom while they’re at it. Don’t you agree, Master Haithur?"
“…”
"I said Don’t you agree, Master Haithur?"
“…”
“Excuse me gentlemen, it seems Master Haithur is still incapacitated by his past trauma. I’ll just go ahead and wake him up.”
“…”
The boy goes to the male teacher’s side and proceeds to prod his cheeks using the index finger from the boy’s left hand.
“Wakey wakey, hands off snakey.”
“…”
*sighs “Your mother’s been dead for over twenty years now. Her ghost can’t hurt you anymore.”
“…”
*slaps “Snap out of it, godsdammit!”
The boy unleashes an almighty slap that echoes across the large room. Some of the members in the Disciplinary Committee gasp at the sight of an adult being mistreated by someone who is much more younger than him.
“I’m sorry, but it had to be done.” says the boy as he moves and flexes the fingers on his left hand.
“…”
But the boy’s slap seems to have done the trick because Master Haithur can be seen rubbing his sore cheek with his right hand. Master Haithur’s eyes, which can only be described as hateful and heavy with venom, are now focused on the boy standing to the side of him.
“Good gods, Master Haithur. I remembered when you used to have balls.”
“…” still the male teacher refuses to stay anything, only his angry stares are trained on the boy.
“Wait a minute.” a new voice can be heard coming from beside Ser Rayze. It is Ser Gilbert Faerwald who is sitting to the left of the Disciplinary Committee chairman. “Earlier, did you used my son-in-law’s fear against him?”
“Yes.” the boy admits it openly without a shred of shame.
“Jev is afraid of broken teeth?”
“Of course. Why else would I bother picking up the broken teeth of the men I had to fight in order to make my way here? What am I, some sort of psychotic tooth fairy?”
“…Jev is afraid of broken teeth?”
“Seems you have trouble wrapping your head around that notion. It’s actually a combination of various things really. A tyrannical mother who’s obsessed with making her son go on monthly trips to the dentists because she has this insane belief that the only weapon a gentleman needs to face society is a winning smile.”
“What?”
“I know, right? Monthly trips to the dentists? You’ll have trouble convincing me to see those torturers even if its once a year. They are still recommending leaches as a good way to combat gum diseases, can you imagine that?”
“…”
“Anyway, bloodied broken teeth aside, there is another factor which contributed to Master Haithur being literally paralyzed by fear just now.”
“What’s the other factor?”
“Me.”
“…”
”I’m the reason why he had to call in several favors in order to conduct this hastily-made hearing today. The reason why he made arrangements through a middleman to hire some thugs and lowlifes in order to impede us from arriving here earlier. Hell, I’m the reason why he refuses the management’s offer to open all the windows in this place, even if it meant more light and cool air could come in.”
“He’s afraid you would come crashing into this hearing here today?”
“No, Ser Rayze. He’s afraid I would end up meeting you guys. More specifically, he’s afraid I would have a face-to-face meeting with you and his father-in-law, Ser Faerwald.”
“Why would he be afraid of something like that?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
“Master Haithur…” says Ser Rayze as he turns towards the male teacher. “Care to elaborate?”
“…” Master Haithur still refuses to say anything but his eyes have change, They are no longer trained with a hateful gaze on the boy. Instead, the male teacher seems to plead to Ser Rayze, begging for him to drop the subject.
“Ahaha, it seems that Master Haithur is under the mistaken impression that a fish that doesn’t open its mouth will never get caught.”
“…”
“You see Master Haithur, there are only three viable actions a naughty child should take once he’s caught pants down with his hand inside the cookie jar.”
“…”
“Option A: he should run out of the house as fast as he can before daddy has a chance to take his belt off.”
“…”
“Option B: he should apologize sincerely and admit to his wrongdoings and hope that daddy doesn’t start unbuckling his belt.”
“…”
“Option C: he can continue to keep quiet and feign innocence. In which case daddy’s belt is definitely coming off.”
“…”
“So what will it be, Master Haithur? Is the belt staying on or is it coming off?”
“I was wrong…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I was wrong!”
“About what?”
“About everything!”
“More specifically please?”
“I’m the one behind the attacks on Headmaster Joss’ reputation.”
“And…?”
“I’m responsible for Joviel Gladwin’s death!”
“Ah, you’re purposely using vague words. Please be more specific.”
“…”
“Did you push Joviel to commit suicide? Or did you kill him yourself?”
“…”
“Time’s running out, Master Haithur.”
“…”
“And along with it my patience as well…”
*whispers “I killed him....”
“Hmmm?”
“I killed Joviel!”
A shocked reaction can be seen on the faces of the seven men that made up the Disciplinary Committee.
“How did you do it?”
“I hanged him from a tree in the school’s courtyard and pinned a fake suicide note to his chest.”
“I won’t ask you why you did it. I suspect you rather die before you reveal the reason first.”
“…”
“Now, besides sending a number of your devoted followers my way so they could take my life… Relax, I’m not holding a grudge against you for that, mainly because those attempts were pretty laughable and amusing. “
“…”
“Anyway, besides sending a number of your devoted followers my way so they could take my life, are there any more sins you wish to confess to?”
“…”
“Master Haithur?”
“Please…”
“Hmmm?”
“That has nothing to do with why we’re here today.”
“…”
“I’m begging you… that’s my personal life…”
“Ahahaha, its okay, Teach. I’m just messing with you.”
“…”
“But I want you to remember this moment… this feeling of helplessness. It’s the same experience you made me go through years and years from now. And even though there’s some really bad blood between us, I’m willing to overlook it for today…”
“…”
“…because we were close once.”
A heavy stillness falls inside the town hall. No one knows what is the proper thing to say or do. The boy is massaging the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. After a few moments, the boy opens them and stares at Ser Rayze. There’s an odd look that could only be described as relief spreading across his face, as if some huge burden has been lifted from his shoulders.
“Ser Rayze. Have you heard everything that you needed to hear?”
“I’ve heard enough.”
“So what’s the verdict?”
“Master Haithur, I think I speak for everyone on the Disciplinary Committee when I say you are relieved of your teaching duties at the Whiteford Academy starting now. You are also barred from stepping inside the school’s ground until further specified. Any attempts to make contact with active students from the academy regardless of whether they are on the school’s property or outside of it are strictly forbidden. If you breach any of these terms, criminal prosecution will be put forth against you. Furthermore, regarding the death of the third year student known as Joviel Gladwin, a more thorough investigation is needed to be carried out. The end result of the investigation will be handed to the relevant authority so that proper action can be taken.”
“…”
“Master Haithur, do you understand this decree as it is being read to you.”
“Yes…”
“Do you wish to appeal against it or say anything in your defense?”
“No…”
“Then this hearing is adjourned for now. Everyone, let’s go for a quick lunch before we reconvene again in two hours and try to figure a way out of this shitstorm of a clusterfuck. Sounds good to you all?”
A murmur of agreement can be heard from the rest of the Disciplinary committee sitting on either side of Ser Rayze.
“…”
Even though the hearing is now officially over, no one seems willing to move from their place and leave the town hall. It is as if they are waiting for the other shoe to drop. The stifling silence continues for some time before it is broken by a certain headmaster.
“I need a drink…”
“You can buy me one as well while you’re at it.”
“Penworth, my old friend. I haven’t seen you in ages, How you’ve been?”
“I got struck down by the Kalt fever last winter. Had to spend a couple of weeks in bed. How about you?”
“Not much. Spent the better part of last year trying to stop this snake fucker from running me out of office and taking over my job. Luckily for me, this boy appeared out of nowhere and told me he would put an end to that.”
“Is this true?” Ser Harbel Penworth, old friend of Headmaster Joss, turns to look at the boy standing in front of him.
The boy who has been alarmingly quiet for a while now alternates his gaze between Ser Penworth and Master Haithur.
“It’s true…” the boy finally speaks as he nods his head solemnly. “This man fucks snakes in his spare time.”
*pops “…”
It’s the first time for everyone present in the town hall… hearing the sound of a forehead vein bursting in real life.
********************************************************************************************
Before I start with the usual credits, there's a small announcement I would like to make.
WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50!
E'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! W
'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE
RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'
E #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'R
#50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE
50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #
0! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #5
! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50
WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50! WE'RE #50!
Wohooo! We're number #50. We have reached the Promised Land and it is filled with blueberry muffins! And it is glorious! Plus my ear infection has finally cleared up after two weeks. Yay. Today is definitely a win.
Sorry for the late release. I wanted to write this chapter last week but I had to work through the weekends :(
This chapter is dedicated to readers papersmith, darkanomanderrake, reinyday and Shadow Reaver as well as the countless others who are kind enough to leave a review. I thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart for carrying this fiction to the Gates of Valhalla, all shiny and chromed,
So is this really the end of Master Haithur? Or is there more to the story than the author is willing to let on? Find out next week on Demon Hero Reaper Saviour So I Fell into a Time Abyss and Am Now Wrecking Shit Up In The Past... unless I have to work again on the weekend of course...
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