Ed’s brain halted for a moment. “My aunt is dead?” Or at the very least incapacitated, he had found it odd she hadn’t texted him earlier but he had figured it was because of work or something. “I mean, wouldn’t you be sad if…” He was about to say parent but then he’d remembered she was a homunculus and probably didn’t actually have those. “...someone you’d lived with for many years was just, gone?”

“Eighty three becoming a casualty number, while anomalous, is not an unexpected scenario.” Serah opened a drawer, removed a couple saran wrapped sandwiches and handed them over. “Humans aren’t people you know.”

“What.” Ed’s brain halted again.

“Do you drink coffee?” Serah was now next to a coffepot, it was on a shelf next to a microwave.

“Um, no?”

“I do not either.” She tossed a couple tea packs into the pot and set it to boil.

Ed ran a hand through his hair and sat down on a nearby chair. “That’s kind of the definition though?”

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“At least that is what Tamtilus says. He told me you had an interest in law, people are defined by their ability to do magic. Isn’t that why you were playing with that fly? Most mages opt for a primitive thrall or aura crush. I believe I recall Liah doing a rather advanced soul splinter. I apologize, as a homunculus I was unable to detect the exact specifics of what you did.”

“Uh, you know what? Thanks for the sandwiches.” Ed picked them up with a short nod. It was probably best if he just left now. There were too many possibilities here and Ed dreaded to mess anything up. “But, I’ma just um, head out for a bit.”

“It is recommended you stay within school grounds for a few days. It has been keyed to ignore your existence, so feel free to use the facilities at your leisure.”

Ed picked up his books and gave her another nod as he got to the door.

She glanced up at him from her desk. She’d gone back behind it and was flipping through some papers again as she sipped some of her tea. “Though, please don’t eat all the pizzas. Cham took over a hundred when he first arrived, it causes havoc with the thralls. Anything under fifty should be fine.”

Right, don’t eat a truckload of pizzas, he could do that. Easy peasy. The door clacked shut behind him and Ed let his back fall against it as he slid to the floor.

After maybe a few minutes like that he got up and opened it again. “Hey,” Serah looked up. “Actually, do you have any more of these magic books?”