Immediately the Chairman frowned.
“That bastard must have finally gone insane. Get him on the slate!”
“My Lord, I am not certain if San Malo possesses an Astrograph. Would it not be more practical to use a voiseau instead?”
“I suppose it is.”
He bent down and pulled a drawer with great effort, but before he could even complete the motion, his hand was stayed by his fervent servant.
“My Lord please! Such menial tasks are unsuited for a person of your station.”
“You coddle me too much Undine.” He gently moved her pale hand away and continued his search.
The moment one of the drawers opened, Undine swooped in, retrieving the object. It was a short rod like object with a circular receiver at one end that pointed towards him. On the other end was a red mana crystal and on the rod’s side hung a small, cone shaped object that was connected by a flexible metal wire.
“Thank you.” The Chairman said, to which Undine softly bowed.
Immediately he started the process of using it. He closed his eyes and pictured the name and image of Sir Gideon: his bald, egg-shaped head, the uncountable number of wrinkles on his face and the uncanny wisdom in his brown eyes.
Moments later, a voice came crackling through the cone-shaped object.
“Hello? Hellooo?”
“Gideon, I can hear you. Is my voice clear?”
“Ah! Calvin it’s you! Did you receive my message dear friend?”
“That is why I am calling. Have you finally gone senile you old codger? The o—”
“Hello? Helloooo? Calvin I cannot hear you!”
“Hello?”
Undine watched this exchange with a gracefully repressed smile.
Pulling it away from his ear, the Chairman looked into the receiver, grumbling, “This is why I rarely use the audiograph. Calvin! Call me on the slate!”
“I shall do that.”
And with that, the call was cut. The Chairman leaned back in his chair, going over the call in his head.
“He could hear me couldn’t he?”
Undine giggled, “He definitely could My Lord.”
Seeing the usually stoic statue giggling brought a warm smile to the Chairman’s face. He neatly bundled the audiograph and placed it inside his drawer, actively blocking Undine’s attempts to help.
Pulling out another drawer, he found what he was looking for. Placing the slate on the table, he looked down only to find the astrograph gone. It had been placed on his table by Undine,
“My joy is in service to you My Lord.”
Touched, he began to setup the device. The astrograph consisted of two parts: the bulky, wooden transmitter and a stone slate-like receiver. The transmitter, named the astrograph, was the main component. It consisted of a box-shaped rectangle at one end, connected to a slimmer, smaller rectangle at the other end. Connecting the two rectangles was a prism-shaped funnel.
Repeating the process with the audiograph, a moving picture of an egg-headed wrinkly faced old man appeared on the slate, along with the crackling sound of a voice,
“Hello? Hellooo?”
“Gideon, cease the jesting. What is this about?”
“I don’t understand what you mean. I am not jesting!” Although his tone was playful, his expression and eyes were anything but. There was an unsettling contradiction between his tone and facial expression.
Calmly, the egg-headed man showed a piece of paper, covering the screen with its words,
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘They are listening.’
A chill ran down the Chairman’s spine.
“Calvin, have you called me at such an odd hour to discuss my various romantic exploits?” He jovially asked.
Although his tone was jovial, his face was obscured as he bent down, scribbling furiously at something beyond view. The Chairman was speechless, but the words he had seen flashed through his mind. Despite his unsettled mind, he answered with an effortless calm,
“Yes, have there been any new developments since last time?”
A new piece of paper was held up.
‘Do not ever mention ‘Otherworlder’. They check letters, even moving pictures are going to be unsafe.’
A subtle expression flashed on the Chairman’s face. Gideon’s joyous voice faded into the background, and those words on the screen became the Chairman’s entire world.
Again, the paper disappeared. And again, Gideon’s quill frantically wiggled as he scribbled at the paper beyond view.
‘They are learning to monitor moving picture calls. Extended correspondence through this method is unadvisable. I am sorry. I should have mentioned this to Undine.’
Another piece of paper appeared on the Chairman’s slate, courtesy of Gideon,
‘Use your statue to communicate. The wait is long, but safe.’
The Chairman had had enough of the suspense. He took his own quill and a piece of paper and started writing. He pressed the paper to the slate, and finally posed the question,
‘Who is ‘they’?’
The reply came quick. And it struck like lightning.
‘The Church.’
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The people in the carriage eyed each other, and occasionally they stole a glance at the sleeping boy next to the door. He slept with his arms folded, mouth wide open, and head leaning on the wall. Occasionally a choking snore would escape his mouth, and his chest would rise with it.
Whenever this happened, the people in the carriage eyed each other. And for whatever reason, Sholin felt the burden of responsibility.
Suddenly a loud, almost chainsaw-like snore erupted from his mouth. It was so loud that Yaaro himself shot up and immediately looked around with eagle eyes. His gaze flicked to the outside, and then the inside.
“What was that?” He asked, his voice heavy.
There was a round of suppressed giggles and chuckles, and Sholin felt even more embarrassed.
Yaaro warily looked at the reaction he received, and then thought about the sound. He mumbled something and went back to sleep, adjusting his position every few seconds to find the least uncomfortable position.
And then the snoring started again.
One of the girls, the one with long raven-black silky hair, giggled uncontrollably. Sholin had always seen her cold, aloof side. But somehow, Yaaro had managed to bring out such a contrasting side to her— like snow in summer.
Like that, the procession traveled peacefully all the way to the city of Kuln.
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“Sholin. Translate.”
Begrudgingly, Sholin translated the words of the head instructor.
“He says that we are to report to the dungeon in 3 hours…Blah blah blah, directions… We are free to explore the city for those 3 hours… Our belongings are in this inn” Sholin pointed at the ordinary looking building to his side, “… Check with your team instructor for details… That’s all.”
While the large group of students dispersed into the inn, Yaaro tapped on Sholin, asking him to follow. Sholin, while reluctant, followed Yaaro.The ocean blue skies above starkly contrasted the dimly lit alley they entered.
It hit them the moment they entered: a strong, slightly sweet and pungent smell.
Yaaro retched, “God. Let’s find somewhere else.” He said, and pointed up to the roofs, cautiously looking around.
“Yaaro how are we supposed to—” Immediately the two flew up and deftly landed on a nearby roof.
Cursing his stars for being friends with a madman, Sholin slowly sat down on the roof, being careful not to sit on a loose shingle and fall. As the two sat on the edge of the roof, the cityscape of Kuln: the city walls, the golden fields of wheat beyond them, and the maze-like roofs, all sprawled before them.
Yaaro stared at the sight, his black hair fluttering in the wind. The sunlight on his brown eyes made them look like two discs of gold.
“What did you want to talk about?” Sholin asked.
“I am leaving today, Sholin.”
Sholin chuckled, “I already know.”
“Right.” Yaaro’s gaze turned to the vibrant cityscape before them.
“I never did tell you where I’m going right?”
“You did. You’re going to the Alvina mountains.”
“Home.”
Sholin doubted his ears, “I’m sorry?”
“I’m going home.” Like a soft curtain, the sunlight fell on his face and for a moment he looked serene. Like someone who had gained enlightenment, or a glimpse into the ultimate mysteries of the Universe and Life itself, and had become satisfied with a mere glimpse.
The solemn atmosphere stirred something in Sholin’s heart: a sad feeling. The last time he had felt such a thing was when his family had sold their last possession, just before being stripped of their noble titles.
“Will you be coming back?”
“No.”
“I see.”
The wind fluttered the hair of the two men, as they stared at the bustling city. Maybe the mention of the word ‘home’ had brought back some memories as well, as he settled into the silence between them, as well as the noise of the city around.
“How is home?” Sholin asked.
A soft smile grew on Yaaro’s face as he answered, “Home is… Well. All I can say is that I’ve been truly blessed. Amazing family… Amazing friends…” And then he chuckled, “Did you know that back home, I used to fantasize about learning magic? And now…”
“Now I fantasize about going back.”