Callach took a good look at Hector, who still looked in the direction of Milo's departure with deep concern.

“Don’t worry, his back has recovered well,” Callach said. “It’s as they say, it's not so much the body that was hurt, as was the pride.”

“Tell me about it, right?” Mallory grinned as he pointed at Hector with his thumb. Hector groaned.

“What do we need to do?” Hector asked through his moaning.

“Right this way!” Callach turned to the other patrons.

“You’re free to return to your business,” Callach announced. “Thank you!”

With some nods, the people broke up from the line and went in different directions within the plaza.

Two of them came towards the wagon, where Jon still sat.

They looked up at him. Jon wasn’t sure what he should do.

“Is that the keeper of the horses?” Callach asked.

“No, that’s Jon.” Mallory waved. “Come on down, Jon!”

Jon hastily dropped down the side of the wagon, then went forward.

He held out his hand, and Callach shook it with a firm grasp.

“Nice to meet you, Jon,” Callach said.

Jon felt a little overwhelmed. He didn’t think he had anything that could match what Callach said, so he shook in silence. There was something about Callach’s greeting that told him that Callach had done this a lot and with people more important than Jon.

Jon felt this because Callach made him feel important, despite his weak disposition.

“Jon’s a farmer, and he’s a mercenary with the King’s Guard,” Hector explained. “He’ll be accompanying us the entire time.”

“Ah, a farmer!” Callach nodded. “That would explain the rough hands and the gun.”

Jon’s mouth tightened. He wondered if Callach was trying to make him feel good, which was certainly unearned.

“Jon doesn’t do that much farming,’ Hector explained. ‘It’s probably because he’s holding on to his gun the entire time.”

Jon agreed with this, and so he relaxed.

Callach finally let go of Jon’s hand and gestured outwardly. “Shall we? I’m sure you must be tired from your journey.”

“No, not really,” Hector began. “We-”

Callach and Mallory had already started walking ahead, speaking to each other.

Hector sighed and looked at Jon.

Jon nodded, and the two of them followed after.

They stepped into the large plaza, which Jon was finally able to get a good look at. In the center was a sprawling large, rectangular grass field that was greener than what Jon could have sworn that he had seen at home. Surrounding that was paved ground, and surrounding that was a large building that was one and a half stories high, and surrounded three sides of the large plaza. Columns lined the front of the building, and behind those columns were the rest of the buildings and doors that Jon could somewhat make out.

“I hope things haven’t been too much of an inconvenience,” Callach told Mallory, though Jon and Hector could hear clearly. “I needed to snatch you up before the School of Mana trapped you in their ever-growing paws of responsibilities and tributes.”

“All so that I can tend to whatever responsibilities you give me here,” Mallory said while nudging Callach.

“Exactly!” Callach exclaimed.

The two of them chuckled.

Jon heard a groan from Hector’s side. Jon did find it curious that while Hector seemed to dislike whatever responsibility people gave him, Mallory somehow found a way to embrace his. Jon wasn’t sure what this meant for himself yet.

“I’m sure I’ve paid Lana more than enough to make up for the trouble of keeping you here for as long as I need.” Callach continued. "By the way, I wonder how she's doing? Running the King's Guard must be a terrifying proposition but I'm sure she can handle it. I hope that she can come back and finish up her studies. Such a wonderful student..."

“Ehh…” Mallory clearly had some reservations, but he didn't voice any of them, instead allowing Callach to continue mumbling to himself. Jon took note that Lana had studied at the Library as well.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Besides,” Callach's voice raised suddenly to speaking volume again, “I was one of your biggest recommendations in trying to get you into the school, despite any hesitation-”

“Hold on, hold on.” Hector didn’t yell, but that made it all the more concerning to Mallory and Callach, who stopped walking and turned around.

Jon, who was enjoying crunching the grass underneath his feet, was happy to have more of an excuse to stay on the grass. However, he was also concerned about what Hector had to say.

“Who would have an issue with Mallory taking a position at the School of Mana?” Hector asked.

Callach and Mallory looked at each other, one waiting for the other to break the news to Hector first.

Callach took the first leap.

“Uhh… it’s nothing serious. People have an issue with Mallory’s… uhh… upbringing.”

“Upbringing?” It took a moment for the words to register with Hector. “Upbringing? He’s spent half his life with us!”

“Uh, yeah,” Callach began. “Or should I rather say, social standing. Not so much just where he was adopted from, but that he-"

“Are we not good enough for them?” Hector had begun waving in the air. “What the hell do they want from-”

“Hector, not now,” Mallory said calmly.

“But-”

“Hector.”

“But-”

“Hector.”

The look on Mallory’s face had darkened. Jon wasn’t sure if Hector saw it.

Hector must have noticed something in it because he sighed in defeat.

“I… I hope I didn’t mean to offend,” Callach continued. “I have no issues with Mallory’s disposition at all. In fact, I hoped to keep him in the wild for as long as I could so that he could bring me back some much need information. Shame we couldn’t keep you.”

He stroked his chin. “Or perhaps you are growing much older than I thought. How much time has passed since then?”

Callach walked forward, lost in his own thoughts.

Mallory looked at Hector and shrugged, before continuing after.

Jon saw that Hector clearly wasn’t resolved with what happened, but in either case, it seemed like both Hector and Mallory were keeping whatever it was close to their chest. Jon decided it would be best not to get involved, especially since he didn’t know anything. Instead, Jon thought about the bigger implications of the situation.

Upbringing? Jon had grown up with his family, just like all of the other farmers had been. His upbringing couldn’t have been that different compared to the other farmers. Sure, his life at home might have been different than his siblings, but that’s because they all got involved in something that they delved into. Other than that, they weren’t that different than anyone else on the farm. At least Jon thought so.

Here, on the other side of the mountains, there were so many different types of cultures and different “classes” of people that they all must have grown up in different situations. Someone like Hector must have grown up differently than someone like Avery back at the castle. Then, there was the Duckett family. How had they grown up? Tallow didn’t even seem to have a family except for Sabez, but she hadn’t known him her entire life, right?

Jon started rolling through all of the people he had known, realizing that he might not have known anything about them. He gulped.

Whatever it was, despite Hector’s reservations, Mallory seemed ready enough to deal with it, and so Jon trusted him on that.

“So, the family just let you spend all of that money to let Mallory come here?” Hector asked Callach. Hector had calmed down, but Jon could still hear a little agitation behind his voice.

“Why, yes of course!” Callach answered. “Once the young master knew that-”

“Then why can’t Mallory just stay and study here?” Hector said. “You’d like him here, wouldn’t you?”

Now, it was Callach’s turn to stop moving. He fully turned back to Hector.

“Mallory does have a certain reciprocity and candor when dealing with the magical arts, and that would definitely be celebrated here, but…”

Callach took a good look at the building surrounding them. “The Library of Mana isn’t a foundation of new experimentation and revelation of mana. It’s a record of everything that has come to pass. We patrons here are much more caretakers of knowledge than purveyors of the unexplored.”

Callach and Mallory traded glances as Callach finished his explanation. “Mallory’s ingenuity and contributions should go to Academia, where it will have a wider overall benefit to higher learning and society.”

“Eh, Society’s overrated,” Mallory joked, although it fell hollow among the four men.

For Society? Jon didn’t do much to contribute to the greater whole, let alone society. He felt a little guilty that Mallory was so easily able to fit into that role. But, he also knew that being with Hector and the King's Guard meant that Jon could do his part for the greater whole, in the small places that he could. He was glad to have him and Mallory around to learn from.

“Society’s the foundation for progress!” Callach exclaimed. “Society and people!”

He grabbed both Mallory’s and Hector’s arms and pulled them close together. “And you two are part of those building blocks. So, let’s get you to work!”

He pulled them along into the library.

“Jon, you can go explore the town while we go around!” Hector called as he was dragged away. “Get the lay of the land! It’s really important that you learn-”

Caltech opened up the large wooden doors and gestured inside, the creaking distracting Hector.

Hector and Mallory gave a final look to Jon.

“Feel free to ask for directions to the Library if you get lost!” Hector said. “It’s a big landmark, so people should-”

Mallory grabbed Hector’s arm.

“He’s fine,” Mallory said.

“And don’t look too much like a tourist!” Hector was ushered in by Callach and Mallory before the doors were shut.

Jon was left outside by himself. At least he had time to take a breath for himself.