Levi’s question was fair, albeit ridiculous. Aida spent the rest of the star cycle turning the question on its head, coming up with perfectly rational explanations for why it wasn’t valid, and coming up with equally convincing arguments why he might have a point.
“What if you’re the one who’s supposed to save the world?”
She knew his question had been rhetorical, a sarcastic counterargument for her insistence that he, Sue, Ezra, and Caleb were supposed to be the ones to risk their lives to save the world. But when he had posed that question, a cold block of ice had slid down her spine, sending a shiver through her body that made her believe he might be right.
But that’s crazy. I’m in the body of the side character.
But maybe that was her role; she was supposed to guide the main character on the correct path. So even if she wasn’t the one with a direct hand in slaying the evil demon, she still would be responsible for making sure the evil was slain.
Aida buried her face in her hands. I’m going to become the conspiracy theorist of this world.
“Aida, are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Aida sighed, dropping her hands from her face as she looked at the crumpled notes and books in front of her. “What are you up to, Dev?”
“I was looking up some more advanced water techniques. Can I sit?”
Aida nodded for him to pull out a chair. Dev looked just as exhausted as she felt, with slight dark circles under his eyes. “You look like you haven’t slept since we got back from the Peaks.”
He smiled half-heartedly at her. “So do you. I suppose the mountain air is better for our health than the posh rooms and meals at Maglica.”
“Things were a lot simpler up there,” Aida agreed softly. And it was true…even though she had gone to the Peaks with a pit in her stomach, weighed down by the breakup with Ezra, held back by the fear of what the mana dearth would do to her health and what they would find in the habitat of charred zards…at least she had a clear idea of what was happening, and what had to happen.
True, she had her own anxieties about making Aida’s life in this world worth it - because if she didn’t, then that was the equivalent of her throwing Annie’s life, with her loving parents, away. If she didn’t give her all to make sure Aida’s life was worth living, then her decision to not try to get back to her parents was going to be a regret that spanned both lives.
But those fears seemed so petty compared to the thought that she might truly have the weight of the world on her shoulders. It wasn’t just her happiness at stake, it was everyone else’s as well.
“The news certainly is dire,” Dev said quietly, resting his forehead in his hand. “The ironic thing is, despite the threat against civilization as a whole…I can still see my family focusing on stabilizing their standing instead of coming together with everyone to defend against the monsters.”
Aida accidentally poked her eye while rubbing it, startled by Dev’s statement. This was the first time he had directly acknowledged the political strife brewing in his family. All the other times, he had been so apathetic about the family turmoil to the point of cluelessness.
“Maybe they think the monster issue will be resolved soon?” Aida asked hopefully as she blinked the stinging sensation out of her eyes.
Dev shook his head somberly, his eyes dull. “I wish, but I don’t think it’s likely.” He pressed his lips together tightly, cutting himself off from elaborating. “Anyway…I guess the good thing about this development is that I finally found a purpose of my own,” he said grimly. “I just hope I’m not too late…”
“What do you mean?” Aida asked, collecting her notes and books. She had accepted she was no longer able to continue studying - not that it would help, since she had been bouncing between Wyndian history and mana theory, instead of focusing on one or the other. She had thought, or rather hoped, that since she knew so little about the world, that every little bit of knowledge she came across would help solidify her foundation from which she could craft theories on what was causing the monster attacks. Unfortunately, though she read the words individually and understood them, she couldn’t get the information to stick in a meaningful way. I wish reality could be like video games…where progress can be achieved just by grinding.
Dev exhaled. “Even though watching you shamed me enough to try a little harder, I still didn’t quite have a reason to try. I suppose you could say…you pressured me to try harder, but going to Loded Peaks, seeing how our mana abilities could meaningfully help others…” his voice trailed off, the tension in his face draining as he thought about their class trip. “…I finally have clarity on how I can use my mana to help people. Not just to fulfill my parents’ or my clan’s goals, but to help people who can’t help themselves, even if they wanted to.” His fist clenched on the desk, the knuckles whitening before he released his grip.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“While I was growing up, I never lacked for anything,” he said quietly. “My mother doted on me, my father praised me. They bought me tutors, they challenged me, they convinced me that everything I learned and did would help all of humanity…but it wasn’t until Lara and I were both admitted to Maglica Academy that they thoroughly impressed upon me that my skills they had nurtured in me were to be used for the family.” Dev’s pale blue eyes darkened. “Whenever I went back home, all questions about my schooling were about how I did relative to Lara…it was never about if I enjoyed learning from Maglica, or what I might want to do with my abilities. Never any deeper considerations about how I could help people in a truly meaningful way.
“They never outright told me I couldn’t do anything, but they always made sure to emphasize that whatever endeavor I attempted, it better not interfere with my performance against Lara.” Dev gave a strained laugh. “It wasn’t even about my ranking at school. It was just ‘as long as it’s better than Lara.’ Honestly, I think I would be less annoyed if they had focused on my overall ranking, instead of only comparing me to Lara.”
“I’m sorry,” Aida said awkwardly. In an attempt to mask her helpless confusion, she aimed for an inoffensive joke. “So, is your rebellion successful? Seeing as how you’re ranked lower than Lara now.”
Dev blinked at the question for a second before snickering. “Probably. My parents were relieved I barely beat Lara during last year’s final ranking exams, but they vowed to make sure it never came that close again. I’ll find out for sure when I go back after graduation.”
“You’re really going to aim for a lower rank, even though you found your purpose?” Aida asked curiously. Dev shrugged carelessly.
“I can still help people even if I’m not the best. And it might actually be more beneficial to me if I’m perceived as worse than Lara - my parents might give up on making me a part of their plans.” The grin on Dev’s face broadened. “Yeah, that might actually work. I don’t know what I was so worried about.”
“Yeah, what were you worried about?” Aida inquired. “You said something about hoping you’re not too late?”
“Ah.” The smile dropped from Dev’s face and he scrubbed at his eyes with his palms. “That’s not related to family business. I was just worried the last year I was actively not trying might have set my mana development back. I don’t care about ranking, but it wouldn’t do to be incapable as well, you know?”
“Well, it’s only one year, right?” Aida asked reasonably. “And besides, with your natural talent you could probably catch up in one moon cycle.”
“One would hope,” Dev sighed at Aida's bravado. “Anyway, what were you working on? You seem pretty stressed.”
Aida groaned, burying her face in her arms. “Nothing major. Just trying to figure out why there’s such an influx of monster attacks, that’s all. And also berating myself for wasting time on this when I should be following your example and improving my mana skills.”
“You know,” Dev said thoughtfully. “Since the adults haven’t had time to find an explanation yet…maybe it really does fall to us to figure out what’s going on?”
“How would we do it if the adults, with more resources than us, couldn’t do it?” Aida asked, frowning as she lifted her head. “Isn’t that the whole reason we’re in this predicament in the first place? The outfits with actual resources and experienced Adventurers say it’s too expensive to go on a hunt when they don’t even know what they’re looking for.”
“Listen, that’s exactly why they’ve made no progress. They may have more resources, but they also have more obligations tying them down - they don’t have the mobility to make and execute decisions that we would, for example. They have to make sure every decision they make is backed by their stakeholders, and the more resources they have, the more stakeholders they have. But look at us,” Dev’s eyes glinted dangerously, a spark that reminded Aida of Sue igniting in his flinty blue depths. “Who would we answer to after graduation? I don’t care what my parents say. If you decide to go to Burston City with Healer Bokar, you can help by supplying us with potions.”
Aida was amused, but decided to entertain the thought experiment anyway. “Assuming you managed to get together a full party - I’m assuming the other Class 2 boys - wouldn’t you just be limited to the area around Burston? Since I definitely can’t travel with you guys while learning more about brewing and poisons.”
“I don’t know, Class 1 seems like they stumbled upon something pretty significant. I’d start an exploration in that area, and Western Woods aren’t too far from Burston City to start with.”
Aida furrowed her brow at Dev’s reminder of the geography, and she reopened one of the books she had closed earlier, flipping through the pages until she found a hand-drawn map of Wyndia. Well butter my biscuit.
Just like Dev had said, Western Wood wasn’t too far from Burston City at all. Burston City was south of Buddington Town, across a river, but the path winding between Buddington and Burston passed through a thatch of woods that expanded steadily westward, which was aptly named the Western Woods.
“Okay, but supposedly the Adventurers had already set up a base of operations there,” Aida said, feeling excitement build. “Who’s to say they don’t find something - or clear that location - before we graduate?”
“Then that means either we know what’s going on and can figure out what to do, or we leave that location to go clear another location,” Dev said matter-of-factly, shrugging. “We’re not trying to compete with them. We’re just trying to solve a problem.”
Aida gaped at his straightforward analysis of the situation. He wasn’t wrong, but it also seemed overly simplistic. On the other hand, at least he had an executable solution…
She shook her head in exasperation. One step at a time. “Okay, fine. The major problem is still going to be how you’d get a party together to do this exploration.”
Dev leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Excellent. Wonderful. This gives me something to aim for during the last three moon cycles of school.” He gave her a satisfied smile. “Let me talk to my fellow classmates. We might be able to wrangle together an independent Adventuring group yet.”