Jack and Celsia walked along a path towards the campus plaza.
“What other classes you got today?”
“Imbuement,” She said, over her shoulder.
“Imbuement?”
She let out an exasperated sigh.
“It feels like I have to explain every little thing to you.”
He crossed his arms and frowned.
“It feels like it because you do. Sorry for being clueless.”
Celsia mumbled something to herself.
“Is there somethin’ you’d like to say to me?”
“Nothing,” she grumbled. “Imbuement is the process of giving an ordinary object an arcane attribute. It also refers to poshin making.”
“Poshin? Oh. Like something you drink that does funny things?”
“Y-Yes.”
Jack rubbed his chin. He figured that “Poshin” was probably their word for potion. After walking for a time, Celsia stopped in the plaza. People walked all around them, clearly everyone else's day was well underway. He snuck a glance at his clock, about an hour had passed.
“There is time before next class, I am going to breakfast.”
“I assume I can’t tag along?”
“Correct.”
“That’s fine, I wasn’t too hungry anyway. Just bring me back some bread or something.”
Jack gestured to the building behind him.
“I’ll be at the library in the meantime.”
“Can you even read?”
“No, but I can listen.”
She crossed her arms.
“Fine. Do not cause any trouble and do not leave. Understand?”
Jack gave her a half-hearted salute.
“Yes ma’am.”
Celsia narrowed her eyes, then walked off.
“You really are convinced I’ll do somethin’ stupid, huh?” he mumbled.
He shook his head as he made his way into the library. It was virtually empty, only a handful of other people were there. He walked towards the back to where he had talked to Kolbert earlier that morning. There he was sitting at his desk, quill in hand, writing something down.
“I’m back.”
He jolted in his seat.
“Oh! Jack. You are back already?”
“Yeah, I had some time. Is now a bad time? I can come back tomorrow.”
Kolbert shuffled things around on his desk.
“No, no. There has been little to do in recent times.”
Jack took a seat.
“Kolbert, I want to ask you some questions.”
“What might they be?”
“It's about history.”
He adjusted his glasses.
“Ask away.”
“How far does it go back?”
Kolbert leaned back in his chair and scratched his beard.
“That... is a good question. We do not know.”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t?”
“We have a vague idea how it started, but not when. It was not until recently in history that any papers detailing the past provided a date. We know that our ancestors kept time, but it seems very few of them were concerned with noting anything.”
He sighed.
“In fact, it was not until recently that any comprehensive papers were written detailing past events. All we have to work with are bits and pieces.”
Jack shifted in his seat.
“Is a cycle a unit of time?”
“Unit of… Yes. One cycle has passed after night has come two-hundred and forty-six times.”
“Why two-hundred forty-six?”
“That is how long it takes for the harvest season to come again, to put it simply”
“Interesting…” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, back to history. If you don’t know when it started, can you tell me how?”
“I can, but as I said, it is vague. I will tell you of what we know that is widely accepted.”
Kolbert took in a deep breath.
“Long ago our ancestors came to these lands and settled, we believed they were nomadic before. They founded the first nation that eventually went on to form Ester and all her neighbors present today. I should also mention that it was around this time that the arcane arts were discovered.”
Jack leaned on the armrest.
“The arcane arts are important to your people. I would imagine these founders are idolized in some way because they discovered it, right?”
“Indeed.”
He rubbed his chin. These people had a history, but there wasn’t a whole lot to it. Nothing that obviously supports or refutes his hypothesis on their origin.
“You very much love talking the ears off of anyone who will listen.”
It was Celsia. The two turned to face her.
“Ah, Miss Seliota. Are you here to take back Jack?”
“I am. Thank you for keeping him out of trouble Instructor Arnes.”
“He is a fine young man, curious as well.”
“Yes… he does not stop asking questions,” she said with a forced smile.
Jack got up from his seat. Celsia handed him a piece of bread.
“Thanks.”
He turned to Kolbert.
“We best be going. She’s got a class soon.”
He waved goodbye as they made their way out the door.
* * *
Soon they found themselves at the doors of another building next to the grand lecture hall. This one wasn’t as impressive as the other, it was much smaller. The inside wasn’t any different. Bland straight hallways with a number of doors along it. This building seemed to be the more practical of the two and much more like buildings back home. Celsia walked up to a door, and went in, Jack followed suit. This room was much more like your standard classroom, square with rows of tables. Each of the fifteen or so tables, in rows of five, had a variety of glassware on them. Other than this, the room was empty.
“Instructor Sarno?” Celsia said loudly.
They heard a bang come from what was probably the instructor’s desk.
“Oof!”
A woman stood up from behind the desk, rubbing her head. She was young compared to the other instructors.
“Oh! I did not expect anyone to be this early! Pleasant morning, Miss Seliota.”
She turned to face Jack and looked him up and down.
“W-Who might you be?”
“Her companion.”
She gave Celsia a concerned look.
“It is true instructor.”
She showed her his neck.
“Miss Seliota, just how did you manage to accomplish this?”
“We don’t know. It just sorta happened,” Jack blurted out.
“O-Oh…”
She looked a bit confused. It was probably his accent.
“Well, Instructor Sarno was it? My name, and I do have one…”
He looked at Celsia, who rolled her eyes.
“...is Jack.”
“P-Pleasant meeting you, Jack. I am Instructor Felcie of family Sarno, head of the imbuement branch.”
She ducked back behind her desk and came up with a few items.
“I was setting up for our class. Would you lend me a hand?”
Both of them agreed.
“Put one of each of these on each table,” she put a few more items on her desk.
There were three sets of dishes each containing their own item. Jack inspected each as he distributed them to the desks. In one was a white granular substance, he thought it might be sugar, but knew better than to taste it. The second contained small dried leaves of some sort and the last was a chalky brown powder. When they finished Celsia dropped her things at a table. Jack leaned against the wall and watched as others began to come in. He passed the time by scribbling down some things in his notebook. Soon all the tables were full.
“Welcome back. I hope that the rite went well for everyone,” said the bubbly instructor.
There were a few glances towards Jack. He braced for an awkward class-wide exchange, but it never came.
“Since life has been chaotic for you during the past days, I planned something simple today. It is something for your companion to deepen your bond.”
Jack looked towards Celsia, concerned. She ignored him.
“Let us begin.”
Instructor Sarno pulled out her catalyst and tapped the wall with it. Just like before, text blinked into existence. The class stared for a second, then got to work, presumably following whatever instructions had just materialized. Jack watched as Celsia went about her business. She pulled out her own catalyst and held it out, a small flame appeared just short of its tip. She held it up to a small candle at the base of the stand. He didn’t try to hide his amazement.
“You sure are easily impressed,” she whispered.
“It’s almost as if I come from somewhere where this isn’t possible.”
“What sort of backward somewhere exists up there?” she gestured to his head.
He pouted, and she laughed quietly to herself while taking a beaker of water and placing it on the stand above the flame. The instructor cleared her throat and held up the dish of brown powder.
“Do we know what to do with this?”
Celsia raised her hand.
“We must water out an extract.”
“Yes, very good Miss Seliota. All of you remember how that is done?”
“Yes Instructor,” said the class.
From the pile of items, Celsia pulled out a funnel made out of some ceramic material. Within it was a very fine mesh. She placed this funnel atop a bottle and dumped the powder into it. Using a ladle, she poured a bit of hot water into the top. Soon after, brownish water slowly dripped into the bottle below. Jacked whipped out his notebook and quickly drew a quick sketch of the assemblies:
[https://i.imgur.com/mFMhgvK.jpg]
Celsia was eyeing him when he looked back up having finished.
“I have seen you do that more than once now…”
Jack flipped it around to show her.
“What sort of text is that supposed to be?”
“My kind?”
He eyed the boiling stand to her right and casually pointed towards it.
“Quit paying attention to what I’m doin’. You’re about to boil over.”
The beaker of water above the candle was now aggressively boiling. She quickly moved the candle further away from the flame.
“Why did you not warn me?”
“I just did,” he said dryly
“Not soon enough.”
He shrugged. Celsia continued with the procedure. Next, she took the dish of leaves and poured the contents into a small cloth bag, tied it shut, and dropped it in the beaker. It wasn’t long before the water began to tint brownish-yellow.
“Do you really need a whole damn class to learn how to make coffee n’ tea?”
She gave him an irritated look.
“Make what?”
“Oh for fu-- Forget it.”
“No. Tell me.”
“No. Forget it.”
Jack continued to watch Celsia as she followed the apparent directions. The procedure ended with all of the liquid being mixed and the last dish of white stuff being poured in to finish it off. It dissolved after a quick stir. Celsia finished earlier compared to the others, besides the instructor, who had finished a short time ago. Clearly, she wasn’t inept at everything. Instructor Sarno, who had been pacing around the room, stopped at her table and inspected the finished product
“Very good Miss Seliota, as always.”
“Thank you instructor.”
She went back to walking laps, checking up on other students. Jack leaned in and inspected the contents of the bottle. It was a brown-tinted liquid. He gently flicked it and it rang with a gentle ping. The liquid rippled inside.
“So uhh… What’s this stuff exactly?”
“You will find out soon enough.”
He crossed his arms.
“Could you spare me the agony and just tell me now?”
As she was about to tell him off, the instructor spoke.
“It looks like all of you have finished.”
She held up her own bottle.
“I am certain you are wondering what this is exactly. I will not say much, but I can guarantee that your companion will like it. Give it to them when you can, but not here, they will make a mess.”
With that, she flicked her catalyst and the instructions behind her disappeared.
“I kept class short today, you have had a busy time these past days. Class dismissed.”
There was a happy murmur among the students as they all left the classroom. Jack looked at the bottle then back at Celsia as she was gathering her things.
“I sincerely hope you ain’t planning on makin’ me drink that.”
“I made it for you, I expect you to, pet,” she said, grabbing the bottle and shoving it into his hands.
“No way in hell! This pet knows better than to drink unidentified brown liquids.”
“It is just flavored water.”
“Oh is it now?”
“It is!”
Someone poked him in the back, he jumped and whipped around. It was Instructor Sarno. He had to look up at her, it only became obvious how tall she was when up close.
“You are quite jittery Jack. Anyhow, she is right. It is nothing more than flavored water.”
“Wait, I was right?” Celsia butted in.
Jack gave her an angry look.
“You manipulative little...” he trailed off, knowing better than to finish.
The instructor continued:
“Everyone seems to think it is some special poshin. Impressive is the sort of theorycrafting people will do when given vague ideas, or no ideas at all.”
She took a healthy swig from her own bottle.
“Refreshing!”
Jack popped the cork off the bottle and took a sip. He couldn’t quite put a finger on what it reminded him of, but it was pleasant, to say the least.
“Huh… it's pretty good.”
Instructor Sarno put her hands on her hips.
“Do not go chatting about this. I would rather not ruin the mystery surrounding it.”
“Do not worry instructor. I will keep him quiet.”
The two laughed. Jack grumbled to himself.
* * *
Classes had ended earlier than normal leaving much of day free. Celsia was taking advantage of this, dragging Jack all over campus running errands. He had no idea what she was up to, she made him wait outside of every building. Anything that might give him clues happened out of sight. At first, he was curious, but after she came out one time and handed him a set of clean, neatly folded clothing in a bin, he figured it was just your typical daily errands. He didn’t care much for those types of things. He spent most of the time on autopilot staring off into the distance, thinking. After what felt like an eternity, she finally started heading in the direction of the dorm.
“You have been awfully quiet for a while now, pet.”
Jack sighed, he thought she had forgotten about the pet thing.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“I’m curious about the world, not about your clean clothing.”
She didn't answer him.
“Speaking of clean… where can I take a bath? I've been feelin’ dirty.”
Celsia pointed to a large building partially in sight. It was roughly cylindrical and had a domed roof.
“That is the bathhouse.”
“Bath house? Like, as in it's one big public room?”
“Yes… How else would it be?”
“I don’t know… maybe private?”
She laughed.
“A private bath for all of our residents? How do you propose we do that?”
“Use you’re damn arcane or somethin’, I don’t know.”
She pulled out her catalyst and waved it at him.
“You think arcane is that easy? With a flick of our wrists, we can fix all our problems?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“It is not that simple.”
She sighed.
“I would know.”
Celsia went back to berating him.
“Why are you so concerned about privacy anyway? Afraid to lick yourself clean in public, pet?”
“I’d have to lose a few ribs completely clean myself,” he said dryly
“What?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”
He pointed to his groin.
“I can’t reach.”
She stared blankly for a second than her expression narrowed into a glare.
“You are foul.”
He chuckled.
“To be fair, you walked right into that one.”
She spun around and kept walking.
“So uhh... when can I go there?”
“Not now,” she said bluntly. “Too many people will be there now, you will make a scene.”
“I’ll go another time then, I would rather go when its empty anyway.”
After a short walk, they found themselves back at the dorms and went up to their room. The sun no longer shone through the window, now only weak ambient light lit the room. Celsia dropped her things at the foot of the bed and lit the candle on the table. Jack got on his hands and knees and laid down on his back.
“What are you doing?” said Celsia, standing over him.
“Don’t mind me, just training to become a carpet.”
“Really?”
“N-No. My back hurts, this helps.”
She nudged him with her foot.
“You are not that old...”
“Not everyone gets to experience the full pleasures of youth. Now stop minding me.”
Much to his surprise she stopped proding and went back to her business. She was preparing to head out the door again. Jack had rolled himself onto his pile of blankets where he flipped through his notebook.
“Dinner time?”
“Mm-hmm”
“You ‘ought to show me where you eat”
“No, you are not allowed there.”
She picked up his dishes from last night and just like that, the door closed behind her. Jack waited for a moment then sprang to his feet and ran to the door. He listened, then opened it and looked both ways. He caught a glimpse of Celsia turning the corner and heading down the stairs. He zipped up his jacket and flipped up the hood.
“Operation Where-The-Food is now a go,” he said to himself.
He closed the door and quickly made his way down the hall towards the stairs.
* * *
If she wasn’t interested in telling him then he’d figure it out himself. It seems like he’d be doing this a lot during his stay here. The errands earlier gave him time to concoct this plan. Not that it had much thought behind it. His goal was merely to find the kitchen. He figured he had forty or so minutes before she came back, that was only a guess though. Not that it mattered, this would only take a few minutes.
Jack spotted Celsia soon after he left the dorms. She was easy to spot from the back, her hair stood out among the mostly dark pallet of the campus. He trailed her from a distance. There weren’t as many people out now so he had to be cautious or she might spot him. Soon enough she entered a building along with a number of others. The same one she had went for breakfast that morning. Jack leaned against a nearby building contemplating his next move.
This is probably the place, but I need to be certain. No assumptions. I’d look suspicious if I peeked through the front windows. The last thing I want us to be stopped by someone. These damned savages would probably use me as target practice.
He noticed a light shining from around the back of the building. As casually as possible he strolled over and around the corner. There was a step that led up to a doorway. A wide assortment of noises came from inside. Jack peeked his head in. Pots, pans, and various cutlery hung from the ceiling and walls.
“Greetings, young man!” Boomed a voice.
Jack came embarrassingly close to soiling himself. He fell off the step onto his rear. He looked up to a man standing in the doorway. He was incredibly burly. Even through his baggy brown clothing, it was obvious. He extended a hand to Jack.
“Sorry son. I must have startled you. I am said to be good at that,” he chuckled.
“Don’t uhh… Don’t worry about it.”
He took his hand and was effortlessly drawn back to his feet.
“What might you be doing back here?”
“I was looking… around, and saw the light from the door.”
“A curious one, eh?”
He looked Jack up and down and adjusted his floppy hat.
“By chance, would you happen to be that ‘companion boy’ everyone is talking about?”
“I uhh… Shit.”
He sighed.
“Yep, that’s me. Name’s Jack.”
A big grin spread across the burly man’s face.
“I had a feeling it might be you. Something gave it away, I am not sure what though...”
“Probably my attire or accent.”
Jack thought it’d be obvious.
“Something within those realms,” He said, shrugging. “What brings you here Jack?”
“Celsia wouldn’t tell me where the kitchen is so I followed her here,” he looked past him into the room. “This is the kitchen, right?”
“It is, and I am the resident cook, Hahnt of family Welfole.”
He adjusted his hat once more then froze.
“Oh! Please tell me Celsia feeds you decently!”
“Well uhh--”
“Let me fetch you something!”
Jack was dragged into the kitchen. The heat hit him almost immediately. Judging by the even brighter glow coming from yet another doorway, there was a rather large oven was in there. This room had an overwhelming aroma of mixed spices. Hahnt grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the many boxes that filled the room. Jack sat down.
“I had wondered why Celsia had requested that soup. Now it makes sense.”
“You’re makin’ it seem like she fed me nothing.”
“She as may as well be! You cannot live off soup!”
He straightened himself and placed a fist on his chest.
“It is my job to make sure the campus is well fed! That includes you!” he boomed.
“HAHNT!”
His speech was cut short. He turned around, a younger man stood in the doorway to another room.
“What in creation are you doing about back here?”
“Merek! My wonderful assistant! I was feeding our guest, Jack!”
He presented Jack who sat awkwardly in his seat. Merek paid him little mind.
“Are you feeding him screams? You have been yelling a lot back here.”
“I was about to--”
“Hahnt, whatever it is, sheath it quickly. We many more guests than this one.”
He went back into the other room.
“He’s right, you probably have more important things to do. I don’t wanna hold you up for too long,” he quickly checked his clock. “I don’t have much time anyway.”
“The only edible thing already here is dried fish…”
“That’ll be fine.”
Hahnt pulled a cut of fish from a large box and gently brushed off a white sandy substance. He set it down on a wooden plate with a fork in front of Jack.
“Promise me you will come by when you have more time to have an actual meal?”
“Sure thing Hahnt.”
He quickly ate what was in front of him. It was incredibly salty, it didn’t surprise him though. How else were they supposed to keep it from spoiling? Still, he was curious.
“What’s that white powder in with the fish?”
“This?”
Hahnt took a handful and let it sift through his hands back into the box.
“Selt, it keeps the meat dry.”
Jack got up from his seat and went to the box. He took a pinch of this “selt” and dropped it on his tongue.
“Definitely salt…” He mumbled.
“Salt?” said Hahnt, dropping the lid back on the box.
“That's what we call this stuff where I’m from.”
Merek came back into the room.
“A single bowl of soup has been requested by Celsia again. Make it quick please, she claims to be in a hurry.”
He grabbed a few things then ducked back into the other room once again.
“That’s my cue. Thanks for the food Hahnt. Oh and by the way, if anyone asks, I wasn’t here.”
“Your secret is safe with me, Jack. I’ll keep Merek quite as well.”
Jack gave a nod then slipped out the door. Hahnt stood for a moment then went back to his business. He grabbed a few items from a box then went back into the other room.
“I wonder where he comes from?” he mumbled to himself, adjusting his hat.
* * *
Jack briskly made his way back to their room. The sun had begun to set at this point. A golden purple glow emanated from the horizon. He wondered if the sun moved east to west on this planet. Inadvertently, he reminded himself that he was, indeed, on another planet. A fact he still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around.
Upon turning the door handle to the room, Jack realized that he hadn’t locked it when he snuck out earlier. A brief panic came over him but after seeing that everything was still in its place it left as quickly as it came. He locked the door behind him, kicked off his shoes, and shoved his jacket in his bag. Jack laid down on his blankets and folded his hands behind his head.
“Nap time...”
He let out a long, intense yawn. That very moment Celsia opened the door.
Aww man...
She dropped his food on the table and let out a huff.
“Have you been lying there this whole time?”
“Yep, haven’t moved an inch.”
“Inch?”
Jack held up his hand and spread his index finger and thumb out.
“A distance, about this big.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Just eat.”
The food was the same as yesterday evening. He didn’t mind too much though, monotony was something he was used to. Anyway, it was only day two. As soon as he finished Celsia strolled over and sat on the other side of the table. She revealed a white brick from under her cloak and set it down.
“You know what this is?”
“A white brick?”
“It is soap.”
“W-What about it?”
Jack cautiously got up from the table and went over to his corner. He didn’t like the aura she was giving off.
“You have a dirty mouth. You know what we do to children with dirty mouths?”
“P-Put it in their mouths?”
She got up, soap in hand.
“Correct.”
He was simultaneously intrigued and terrified that they had adopted this tradition, if you could even call it that. Jack stood his ground.
"Take one step closer and I’ll put both my feet up your ass."
She ignored his threat, which was empty anyway. He couldn't shove his foot up someone's rear, let alone both feet, nor did he want too. With the speed of some sort of a frantic skula she lunged for him. He could have never moved out of the way in time. She managed to pin him to the ground.
“Can’t we just talk this out?!”
“No talk, only soap!” she growled.
The door to their room swung open.
“Celsia! I have come to return your--”
Both of them looked towards the door at the young man who had entered. He looked to Jack then back to Celsia who was sitting atop him.
“I-Is this a bad time? This seems like a bad time.”
“For the love of creation Otono! How many times have I told you to knock!”
“Once? Perhaps twice?”
“Many more than twice! Close the door!”
He shut the door behind him.
“I can come back another time…”
She stood up off of Jack and walked up to him.
“No it is fine. What is it?”
Jack took this moment of freedom to scamper across the floor and hid behind Otono.
“Dude, you gotta help me! Talk some sense into her!”
He looked down at him with a half confused look.
“Who said you could speak!” barked Celsia.
“My goddamn rights you maniac!”
Otono put himself between them.
“Celsia? What were you doing when I walked in?”
“Putting soap in his mouth, like you would with any bad mouthed child.”
“He is a child and your companion, You cannot treat him like that. He will run away!”
“He could not run! I can sense where he would have gone!”
Jack went pale.
I completely forgot. Did she know I left? No, she would have beat me like a child if she did. Wait a minute... child?
He butted into their conversation.
“Woah, woah, woah, wait. You actually think I’m a child?”
“You are the size of one,” she said bluntly.
“Just because I’m short doesn’t make me a child! I’m not even that short!”
“Then how old are you?”
“How old are you?” he said, aggressively pointing at her.
“Thirty, and so is he.”
She pointed to Otono. Jack looked to be somewhere between confusion and frustration.
“There’s no way your thir--” he cut himself off. “Wait…”
He began to count on his hands.
“What are you doing?”
“Gimme a second, I suck at math.”
After a moment he looked back up.
“Math looks like it checks out, we’re the same age. I think.”
“Why do you have to do math to know your own age?” asked Otono.
“Do you really want to have me explain it?”
“No.” said Celsia.
She rubbed her temples. Otono placed the book he had been holding on the table.
“I came to return this. I will take my leave, I can tell when you are about to boil over.”
Just before he closed the door he peeked his head in one last time.
“Let us continue this another time, shall we?”
Celsia mumbled something to herself.
“I presume that is a yes.”
He smiled and shut the door.
“I’m going to bed,” she blurted out, after a brief silence.
“O-Ok.”
It was dark out at this point. Soon, the two of them found themselves in their respective beds. Much like the previous night, Celsia read while lying in bed and Jack sat in his corner writing his daily entry.
Day 2, May 7th, 2019.
I’ve probably used enough social energy to cover the next few lifetimes today. Just thinking about it makes me feel… uneasy? That's not quite the word but I can’t quite describe the feeling. I’ve been talking with as many of the staff here at EAA as possible. They seem to be a lot more accepting than the students, including Celsia, who finds my otherworldly origin hysterical. Anyway, This is not to say the staff believes me, the only one I’ve bothered telling is Kolbert Arnes (again, I’m making up the spelling), a historian and scribe, who was skeptical at best. I don’t want to be put in a looney house so I’ll just avoid the topic for the time being. Yes, I have shown them some of the items I have on me, but considering how Celsia’s reaction was “Oh that’s magic stupid,” something tells me that they’ll just chalk everything I can produce up to magic. I can’t blame them though, any sufficiently advanced technology is no different to magic or however that quote by whoever goes. Something like that. I have met one guy who seems pretty reasonable though, his name is Otono, he seems to be on friendly terms with Celsia.
Anyway, I’ve managed to learn a lot more about this place today. Damn lucky of me to land in a prestigious school. This planet has years that are only 246 days which, according to my math, is roughly ⅔ of our Earth years. They call this 246 day period a “Cycle”. I’ve also learned that they do possess unique words in their dialect, though these words are far and few between. Two such words are “selt” or salt, and “poshin” or potion. Of course this could be their thick accent at play, making them sound like new words. If this is not the case, It is very, very odd that these unique words are so uncommon and that familiar words are so common in casual speech. They’ve been here for long enough to have formed a complex society with multiple national powers. Just how in the goddamn is their language so similar to ours? I’m no expert but that shouldn’t be anywhere near likely. Say they came here 600 plus years ago, they’re white, so they’d have to come from Europe, so they’d maybe speak old-school english. What are the chances that old english developed into modern english twice? Well, they’re not exactly the same, but they’re damn close. Long story short, this world is wack. I’ll keep you updated if I have a revelation.
Right, one more thing. They have chemistry, its weird and magical by the looks of it. I’ll have to see if I can get the instructor, Felcie Sarno, to tell me about it in detail. Hell, maybe I could teach her a thing or two as well, I went to school for this sort of thing after all. Speaking of Instructor Sarno, she’s hella tall. Everyone here is hella tall, at least compared to me. They even though I was a child! Look, I’m only 5’3” so I know I’m short, but goddamn they’re all 6 foot at the very least. A pretty interesting example of population genetics at work here. Ok, I’m done. I’m starting to rant. See you next entry.
Jack closed his notebook and stowed it away.
See you next entry…
He blew air out his nose.
“Heh.”
* * *
Jack laid there on his pile of blankets for a while. It wasn’t long before Celsia blew out the candle. So in the darkness, lost in thought, he listened to the dim world around him. The building moaned from time to time and sometimes he could hear Celsia shift in her bed. Other than that, it was silent. During these periods of silence he could hear a faint ringing if he slowed his breathing. He was never really sure if this was tinnitus or not. Most of the time his normal breathing was loud enough to keep it at bay, so it rarely bothered him. The only time he could hear it during his day was just after a shower while he sat on the lip of the bathtub wrapped in a towel, staring at the ground.
After his train of thought finally came to a station, Jack slowly sat up. He looked towards the bed, reached his arm high above himself and snapped his fingers. No response. He did it again. Still no response. She was fast asleep. As quietly as possible, he got out of bed and slipped on his shoes.
Bath time...
He grabbed a few things from his bag and quietly left the room. It was late enough that everyone had retreated to their rooms, light could only be seen coming from under a few doors. This made Jack’s trip that much easier. Outside, the moonlight lit up the campus and a gentle, cool breeze through. He zipped up his jacket and threw up the hood.
“I sure hope I can get in…” he said to himself.
After a short walk, he found himself in front of the supposed bathhouse. He was pleasantly surprised that he’d actually been able to find it again in the dark. A soft yellow light poured from it’s windows.
Perhaps its open?
He tried the door. It opened with a clunk as he twisted the handle. Jack stood in the doorway and looked into a relatively plain room lit by a large chandelier of candles. The air coming through the door into his face was warm and humid. The faint sound of running water could be heard coming from the left and the right, where two hallways exited the room. Each had a sign above the entrance.
“Oh god…” he groaned. “My greatest challenge yet, unspecified gender specific bathrooms.”
Jack ran his hands down his face.
Just pick one?
He made a face.
“God no Jack! That's a fifty percent chance for disaster!”
His shoulders slumped.
“I’ll just get Kolbert to tell me which is which.”
Jack turned around to find someone standing behind him. It was Otono.
“Jesus Christ!” he yelped.
“Apologies. Did I scare you?”
“Uhh… Yeah? Nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. Almost ended up in the thirty percent!”
“I-I do not know what most of that meant, but… what might you be doing here?”
“I was gonna get a bath, but...”
“But what?”
“I uhh… I don’t know which hallway is for men.”
“Well, luck is on your side today. I am here to take a bath as well. I will show you.”
Otono scratched his head.
“I want to talk anyhow.”
Dammit. I wanted privacy. Whatever, maybe I can learn something from this.
“Help in exchange for a conversation? Sounds good to me.”
He stood to the side and gestured to the door.
“Lead the way.”
Otono entered the building with Jack in tow. He entered the left hallway.
“I’ve never been to a public bath…” Jack said looking at the sign as it passed over him.
“Never? You must be from a wealthy family to have a private bath. What is--”
He stopped and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“I apologize. I don’t even know your name. I’m Otono of family De’Villa, in case you did not already know.”
“Don’t worry about it. My name’s Jack Gram. The ‘Gram’ part is my ‘family name’ or whatever you call it.”
“I cannot say I know any family that goes by ‘Gram’...”
They walked into a larger room. This one was much more lavish than the last. The floor and walls were made of what was probably marble. Every surface was polished to a mirror finish. On one wall was a row of stalls, and on the other, cubby shelves of what looked to be towels.
“On the left are the stalls, undress in there, but take a towel to cover yourself first. There are two towels in each box, take one”
He grabbed a towel and went into a stall. Jack followed suit. He closed the curtain of the stall behind him and whipped off his clothing. Out he came, wrapped in a towel. It was surprisingly soft. He held his clothing in one hand.
“Hey Otono? Where do I put my clothes?”
“Put them where you got the towel.”
He shoved his things in with the other towel and made his was towards the sound of water. The pitter-patter of his bare feet echoed as the room opened up to a massive bath.
“Good Lord. I think I found where the rest of the Alumni donations went…” he mumbled.
The outside of the building did not do the interior justice in the slightest. This room was also made up of marble. This included the dome, which among the intricate masonry, had a colorful mural whose central focus was a large skylight that took up a large portion of the dome’s circumference. Only half of the dome was visible from the room where he stood. The other was out of sight, obscured by a wall that separated the men and womens’ baths.
“Impressive, is it not?” said Otono, walking past him.
He stepped off the ledge into the water.
“Y-Yeah. Where does this academy get the… uhh… wealth, to build something like this?”
“Former students or their families will donate funds.”
Jack made his way into the knee deep water. It was pleasantly warm.
“Those must be some wealthy families then.”
“Yes, the majority of students here come from wealthy families. Most donate, but some donate more than others.”
“A school for nobility?”
“Yes.”
“Makes sense…” Jack said, rubbing his chin.
That explains the ‘High and mighty’ attitude some of these people exude.
He sat down a short distance away from Otono.
“Contrary to what Celsia has said, you are quite well spoken.”
“I can assure you, I’m not as stupid as she makes me out to be,” he sighed. “I’m twenty. I’d like to think I’ve learned something during my time alive.”
“Did you not say earlier that you were thirty?”
“I’m twenty in years, thirty in cycles.”
“Years?”
“It’s how my people measure time. Its three-hundred and sixty-five days. Thats ‘cause it takes that long for the harvest season to come again.”
Otono stared blankly for a moment, then snapped back to reality.
“Where could you possibly be from where a cycle is that long?”
Oh boy, here we go...
Jack began to pace around the bath’s edge. He rubbed his chin in though.
“I’m sure Celsia probably made note of how I claim to be from another world, right?
“She did…”
“Well, it's true.”
He turned to see Otono looking down at the water scratching his head.
“I can tell you don’t believe me, that's fine. Soon enough I’ll come up with some irrefutable evidence to prove it.”
He looked back up.
“What reason would you have to lie about something like this?”
“I have nothing to gain.”
“Maybe I’m too easily tricked, but I suppose I will take your word.”
Jack let out a huff then plopped back down.
“Your probably the first person with a truly open mind I’ve come across these past two days. Just keep it our secret, not everyone is so accepting.”
“Of course,” Otono said, smiling.
There was a brief silence, The moonlight shone through skylight above, casting long shadows of the grills embedded within the glass.
“Earlier when I walked in. What had you said to get Celsia so angry?”
“I uhh… She asked me if I licked myself clean. I said I couldn’t because I can’t reach between my legs.”
Otono whipped his head back and howled with laughter.
“That, my friend, will definitely blow her top!”
He continued trying to collect himself but would break out in laughter every time. Jack gave a slight smile. It seems he had made a friend.