“I’m sure all of you can feel the Spiritual Pressure I am exuding,” Instructor Duendas said. “Currently, what you feel is merely a side effect of me releasing my Spiritual Aura. However, if I were to focus it on a specific individual, that person would be subjected to an even greater pressure than what you are experiencing right now.”
All of the students nodded at his words. Some of them scribbled down notes on a sheet of parchment, and a few of the noble children even had leather-bound books to write in. Kari was not taking notes. She had already reached the stage where she could release her Spiritual Aura. Instructor Brynhild was currently teaching her how to use it.
“That is all for today’s lesson,” Instructor Duendas said as he released his Spiritual Aura. The disappearance of his Spiritual Pressure caused the many students to sigh in relief. “All of you should do your best to increase your Spiritual Power so you can one day attain a Spiritual Aura, especially if your goal is to join the Nevarian Spiritualists or become a member of the Imperial Royal Guard. You are dismissed.”
Everyone stood up and rolled up their scrolls or closed their books. Ink bottles were capped, quills were cleaned, and the students walked down the stairs and hurried out of the room. Kari looked around and found Fay already heading down the stairs and toward the door, causing her to quickly rush down the stairs after her.
“Fay!”
At the sound of her voice, Fay stopped walking and turned to her. A flash appeared within her eyes. The look on her face caused Kari to stop for a moment, but she soon put a smile on her face and closed the distance.
“Do you mind if I talk to you?” Kari asked softly. “It’s about Eryk.”
Fay’s eyes partially widened before narrowing again. She considered Kari for a moment, and then nodded in a slow, almost wary manner.
“I suppose we can talk.”
“Thank you.”
Kari smiled and led Fay toward the door. Just before she exited, she noticed that Grant Leucht was looking at the two of them with hunger in his eyes. She shuddered before disappearing into the hallway with her once upon a time friend.
They did not speak at first, instead continuing to walk in awkward silence. Kari took several deep breaths. She needed to say something. This situation with Eryk was something that she wanted to resolve now.
“So, um, about Eryk…”
“I’ve heard from Eryk that you are the woman he loves,” Fay interrupted.
Kari felt her face become hot. Even the area around her chest felt warm at Fay’s blunt words; she tried to suppress both her embarrassment and the joy she felt. This was an important matter.
“Yes… I… well, he confessed to me a little while ago…” she said, trying to muddle her way through this conversation.
“And what about you?” Fay suddenly turned to look at her, freezing Kari in place with her startling green eyes. “Do you also have feelings for Eryk? Are you also in love with him?”
Kari thought about what she should say, to think of how she should answer, but a suitable answer didn’t come. Of course, she wouldn’t lie. However, she wanted to think of a way to word this answer so she could lead it into the original reason she had gone up to Fay.
“I am,” she finally said.
Fay did not appear startled at her answer. She nodded as if she had been expecting it.
“I am a little surprised, but given how Eryk acted the few times you were brought up in our conversations, I can easily tell that you and he share a mutual attraction toward each other.” Fay’s eyes flashed once again. She clenched her hands into fists, causing both her arms to shake. “However, that doesn’t mean I have given up. You might be in the lead right now, but even if you have feelings for him, it does not mean something will happen between you two. He is a commoner and you are the Princess of Nevaria. A relationship between the two of you is incredibly unlikely. I might be a member of a noble family, but we are minor nobility. It would not be too much of a problem to have a man who is as talented and strong as Eryk marry into my family.”
Kari almost despaired. This conversation was slipping even further away from what she wanted! Her original intent had not been to instigate hostilities between her and Fay. She needed to quickly bring this conversation back on track!
However, before she could do anything, Fay turned around.
“I will not lose to you,” Fay gave her this last parting shot before walking off.
Kari reached out as though to grab the other girl, but her hands only touched empty air. She opened her mouth. However, no words came out. She couldn’t think of a single thing she could say right now that would make Fay turn around and talk with her again. In the end, all she could do was watch as the person she wanted to be friends with more than anything disappeared.
“Why must we compete?” Kari whispered to herself as her eyes stung with something wet. “Can we not both be happy?”
Silence was her only answer.
* * *
I arrived at the library after practicing the Flash Step Version 2: Illusion Step for several hours to find Ms. Nadine sitting behind the table. She looked up from the book she was reading as I walked over to her.
“I hear you’re going to have an Honor Duel with Albert Himmel,” were the first words that left her mouth.
“So you’ve already heard about that, huh?” I reached up and tugged at the bangs framing my face. “News sure travels fast.”
“Your confrontation with Albert Himmel was very public,” she said as if that explained everything. “All of the common folk who witnessed the confrontation have likely spread it across the entirety of Nevaria by this point. My husband was among those who saw you the other day.”
“Which would explain why you know about it already,” I muttered.
Ms. Nadine nodded as she placed a small goatskin bookmark in her book and closed it. She set it on the desk and stood up, but instead of leaving like she normally would, she eyed me.
“Are you sure it is okay for you to be here?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” I stared at her, befuddled.
“I mean, shouldn’t you be spending as much time as you can training?” asked Ms. Nadine. “I do not know much about nobles, but even I am aware that Albert Himmel is considered a powerful Spiritualist among the younger generation.”
I paused for a moment, and then a grin slowly spread across my face. “Are you concerned about me?”
Ms. Nadine’s face went blank. “You are imagining things.”
“No. No. I am fairly certain I heard concern in your voice.”
“Like I said, you are imagining things. Whatever you thought you heard was merely a figment of your imagination. It seems you are becoming more delusional with each passing day. I’d recommend seeing a doctor, but they can’t cure people of their delusions.”
“That’s rather mean of you to say.”
“Whatever. I’m leaving now. Try not to mess up my library.” Ms. Nadine grabbed the book she’d been reading, walked out from behind the table, and turned toward the door. She paused for a moment, and then looked at me. “Good luck in your Honor Duel. I hope you win… for that girl’s sake if not your own.”
I watched the woman leave. Her last comment was obviously about Kari. Speaking of, I wondered if she had arrived yet.
She hadn’t. I checked the second floor and saw that Kari was not sitting at any of the tables. Since that was the case, I began cleaning up while I waited for her to arrive. It took longer than I expected. Not only had I cleaned everything twice, but I had also rearranged several bookshelves that had books that were put in the wrong places.
When Kari arrived with a desolate expression, I could tell something was wrong. Her eyes were a bit red. It didn’t look like she’d been crying as there were no tear tracks on her face, but it seemed like she might start at the slightest provocation.
“Eryk…” she said in a voice so downtrodden it shook my heart.
“Not here. Let’s talk upstairs.”
I took her by the hand and led her up the stairs. After sitting her down at a table near the far corner where no one could overhear us without being spotted by me, I sat down beside her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It’s nothing.” Kari shook her head. “I am just… dealing with a problem right now.”
“Kari…”
“Eryk. Please.”
Her pleading tone made me pause. The previous Kari had spoken to me with this tone a few times before. She only did so when there was a problem that she believed I couldn’t help with, and sadly, she was usually correct.
“This problem,” I began, “Is it something I can’t help you solve?”
“Not… right now,” she said with some hesitance. “I will eventually need your help, but right now, I think if you were to get involved, it would create more problems than it would solve.”
“I understand.” I sighed. “I’ll back off then.” Feeling my lips twitch into a frown, I stared into Kari’s eyes. “But promise me that you will tell me once you need my help.”
A soft smile lit up Kari’s face like the gentle glow of fireflies dancing in the night. “I will.”
Knowing when to push and when to back off, I nodded and switched topics. There were other matters we needed to focus on.
“Can you tell me more about Albert and the Himmel Family?” I asked.
“The Himmel Family is the youngest of the minor noble families,” Kari explained. “They were only granted noble status within the last fifty years, which means they currently aren’t very powerful. However, their heir, Albert Himmel, is considered one of the most powerful Spiritualists of our generation. Despite being just twenty-five years old, he has already led two groups of Spiritualists into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. During one of those excursions, his group fought against a B-Rank Demon Beast. I’m told that he landed the killing blow.”
“That is fairly impressive,” I admitted, though I honestly didn’t think it was that big of a deal. In my previous life, when Kari and I had been in our early twenties, we had killed several B-Rank Demon Beasts by ourselves and even struck down a large number of Sekbeist Warlords. The two of us had even killed an A-Rank Demon Beast by ourselves when we were that age. Of course, that was saying nothing of the S-Rank Demon Beasts that I had fought and killed by myself when I was older.
“You will have to be very careful when fighting him,” Kari said, staring at me with concern clear on her face. “I have all the confidence that you can win. I wouldn’t have suggested an Honor Duel if I didn’t think you could, but still…”
“Do not worry.” I placed my left hand over her right one. Her hand was smooth and soft. “I promise you that I won’t lose.”
Kari’s shoulders relaxed a little when I said this, and though she still looked worried, she graced me with a smile.
“I know. I have confidence in you.”
Her words made me smile as well. Even though she had not seen me fight before, she still expressed confidence in my abilities. That made me happy.
“Where is the battle taking place?” I asked. “Has the arena been selected?”
“The battle will take place in the Colosseum,” Kari told me. “The same place where the Spiritualist Grand Tournament will be held.”
The Colosseum, huh? I almost smiled when I heard that. It looked like I would be making my debut a little earlier than expected. That was fine with me. It wasn’t like showing a little of what I was capable of would change the ultimate outcome of the tournament.
Since I didn’t want to remain on such a heavy topic during the only time I had with Kari, I quickly changed gears, and the two of us spoke well into the night.
Chapter 8
Moving at Midnight
It was later than usual when I began walking home. Kari had a lot of information to share in regards to the noble families and the many connections they formed. I was honestly kind of surprised by just how little I knew about the noble families in Nevaria, but I also understood that there was no way I could have known this.
A lowly librarian had no need for such knowledge.
After Nevaria’s destruction, Kari and I rarely spoke of our original home. The few times that we did speak, it had been a small comment here or there about Empress Hilda or one of Kari’s brothers or fathers. We’d never spoken about the noble families. There had been no need to since all of them were dead.
As I walked along the familiar but dark streets, I paused when a chill ran down my spine, traveling from the base of my neck all the way to my tailbone. I looked around. There was nothing near me that stood out. I frowned as I used Spiritual Perception, but I couldn’t find anything around me that would cause such a feeling.
It wasn’t until I searched myself that I discovered the problem. The tattoo on my ring finger was throbbing. As I focused my attention on it, I could sense a good deal of irritation and even some pain. It felt like something had stung my torso. However, it wasn’t me that was feeling this. I wasn’t sure how this worked, but I could tell that the feelings coming to me through the tattoo belonged to Lin.
Activating the Flash Step, I quickly blitzed home within a few seconds, raced through the front door, and ran up the stairs. The moment I reached the second floor, I could hear the banging and crashing sounds coming from my room. Several of the old ladies who lived in this building also stepped outside of their rooms upon hearing the noises.
“What is going on?”
“Eryk? Why is there so much noise coming from your room?!”
“That’s what I’m going to find out!”
I gave them a terse reply as I ran to my door. More noises echoed from the other side. There was a loud crash like something was being slammed into another object, several pained grunts, gurgling noises, and a loud bang that made me think of the sound wood makes when it splinters from a high-impact collision.
Rushing through the door, I took stock of the situation. The first thing I noticed was the bodies lying on the floor. There were two figures dressed in black clothing that covered every inch of their bodies except their faces, which were covered by white masks. A third figure was currently dangling limply as it was gripped around the neck by a tail. Even without being able to see this person because of their clothing, I could tell they were dead.
“Lin,” I shouted, “what’s happening?!”
Lin was standing by the bed, her body held up by her snake tail. She was gripping her side and had a pained expression on her face. However, she didn’t answer me and instead said, “Never mind that! One of those people escaped. This princess demands you take care of them for her!”
I glanced at the broken shutter. That last noise must have been the sound of someone blasting through it.
Without sparing Lin another glance, I Flash Stepped toward the window and leapt out. I landed on the ground. Then I Flash Stepped onto the roof. Once there, I quickly activated Spiritual Perception to locate any fluctuating Spiritual Power. So long as someone was using a Spiritual Technique, I would be able to—there!
I locked onto a Spiritual Presence several meters to my left and quickly moving away via some kind of Spiritual Technique. I frowned when the Spiritual Presence vanished, but then it appeared again. Turning in that direction, I used the Flash Step to speed across the roofs and reach the fleeing figure in record time.
However, even after I reached this person, it took me a while to find them. They were hiding within the shadows—no, they were moving between the shadows! Like the others, this person was covered in black clothing. They were using a Spiritual Technique called Shadow Walking, which allowed them to move between shadows. It was a technique of the darkness element, which was supposed to be quite rare.
Too bad for them I was well acquainted with this element and its weaknesses.
I waited until the figure was forced out of the shadow so it could leap to the next one, and then I used the Flash Step to appear directly above this person. I channeled the lightnin
g element into my left hand. Crackling energy burst from my hand, but it was contained as I straightened my fingers to form the shape of a knife. There was no hesitation in my movement as I plunged my hand into this figure’s back.
The figure stopped moving the moment my hand pierced their back. I frowned a little as I realized I couldn’t feel the warm blood that should have been engulfing my hand, but I ignored that for the moment. Pulling my hand out, I watched the person fall flat on the ground. A loud sizzling echoed around me from the lightning covering my hand. Could the blood have been evaporated by my lightning?
Wearing the slightest frown as the lightning surrounding my hand disappeared, I pushed this person onto their back with my foot. Once again, there was no blood even though there should have been a lot of it pooling underneath them. My attack hadn’t cauterized this person’s wound. I stared at the plain white mask covering this person’s face. Leaning down, I removed the mask to see who it was, but I was forced to leap back in shock when smoke poured off the body.
“Poison? No... Darkness!”
While the miasma wafting off the body looked like poison at first glance, I sensed there were no earth element within this smoke. Poison was created from a combination of the earth and darkness elements. Whatever this was, it wasn’t poison. That said, the body of my opponent was done for, covered in smoke that continued to waft into the air as it disintegrated until there was nothing left of the man I had fought. Even the clothing and mask in my hands turned into naught but dust.
I stood there in indecision for a minute, but remembering where I had just come from, I once more activated the Flash Step and appeared within my room in less than sixty seconds.
When I arrived, it was to discover that the bodies of all the people who had been killed by Lin had also disintegrated. All that remained of where they had been were three black stains on the floor that resembled ashes. My Lamia roommate was sitting on the bed, holding her side and breathing heavily through her nose.
Wiedergeburt 3 Page 13
