I spent the afternoon talking to Gerar through the window. It acted more as a general portal to his room than a window as this point. He gave me some pointers like the dorms had a midnight curfew, which professors were assholes, which students to stay away from and the like.
Gerar was clearly afraid of my sister and when I asked about it, he just avoided the topic. He didn’t seem afraid of me though and indulged all my questions without a fuss. He was a good guy, or at least he appeared to be.
“But Lady Nisa huh,” he wondered out loud at one point. “Didn’t think you’d actually go after her.”
“Well, there’s two ways to stay away from dangerous people. One is to stay away from them at all costs.”
“And two is to befriend them, right?” Gerar snorted.
“Exactly. If you can’t beat them, join them.”
“While I don’t doubt it’d work, I do find your sister’s involvement worrisome.”
“Why?” I tried acting ignorant.
“I mean, you know… you’ve been living with her for a while, right?”
“No, actually. We’d been separated due to family circumstances. Our family has been on the run for a while. And for my safety…” I tapered off, feigning sadness. “I couldn’t even see my mom…” I said. Somewhere down the line, my fake sadness turned to real and I noticed tears streaming. Fuck… I quickly wiped everything off and just smiled. “Sorry about that. I just haven’t had the time to get to know them.”
“I see,” Gerar said, smiling. “Well, your sister’s a nice lady, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. People get quite jealous of beautiful ladies.”
Was he trying to cheer me up or shield me from my sister’s reputation? Probably both. He was intermediate in four subjects. Which subjects, he didn’t tell me. But he was on the path to becoming advance in one of them by the time he graduated and apparently that was pretty good. Most people didn’t advance in any subject and only went intermediate in maybe two or three at best. Of course, there were geniuses everywhere. My sister was one of those, being intermediate in three and advance in one subject despite being a fifth year. Which subjects, again, I didn’t know. No one seemed to go through that. Anyway, Gerar was intelligent and he was trying to be really considerate. Which was good but I had a feeling he’d eventually hide things from me and that would lead to complications down the line.
“It’s fine,” I said. “No matter how she is, she’s still my family and that’s all that matters.”
“Right!”
We’d been talking for hours. And it was getting late. I didn’t have a clock, and I didn’t have a way to know what time of the day it was either since I didn’t have a window leading outside. But Gerar did and I could tell from his window, it was close to being evening.
“Think I’ll go out for a walk. Thanks for the chat.”
“Anytime,” he closed his portion of the window. And yes, portion. Apparently, though I only had one window, Gerar had two. His second one was literally attached to mine. We could only see each other, if both of us kept our windows open; I guess this was a large room in the past but they put a wall to make two individual rooms. Technically that solved the privacy issues. But if he ever brought back a girl, I’d probably be able to hear every little detail. Not that I was hoping to. He he he.
The scenery outside was quite different. This academy didn’t have much of a campus but according to Gerar the whole city was sort of a campus, hence they didn’t have any walls and stuff near the academic buildings. They had some trees on the other side the though.
“Oh and,” Gerar came out at the same time. “Sometimes you see a black cat. Be respectful and you should be fine.”
“Okay.”
Black cat, huh? Did this world have that stupid superstition too?
Anyway, enough staring. I raced down the stairs.
I was expecting to see some fields. Namely for sports. The vast majority of students here were either kids or teenagers. They had to have some sort of entertainment, right? Yet, I didn’t see kids running or having fun. I saw some kids practicing or rather just swinging swords around without really doing any sparring; some others, reading books in a cluster.
I liked swords, but I didn’t like idea of using one. Knives were far more practical for me. But yes, whenever I saw a cool sword, I just… I just loved the damn idea of seeing it in use. To say I had a fascination for strong swordsmen was an understatement.
As I wondered around the half a kilometer long area of our so-called short campus, I eventually spotted a group of kids who didn’t look like they were reading or practicing. Rather…
I approached them and when one of them noticed me, he and the rest just glared. “What do you want?”
Rather hostile today, aren’t we?
“Nothing really, just got curious as to what you’re doing.”
They had sticks and they were dragging a round flat thing across the grass; didn’t travel much. Almost like ice hockey; there was no ice though. Just crude sticks and they didn’t even have goals and stuff. Finally, some kids stuff.
“None ’f yar business!”
“It is actually, I wanted to play too,” I said.
One of them snorted, the rest just scowled. They did not want outsiders among them, no. Well, I am a noble sort of, so maybe it wasn’t a good idea anyway.
“Yeah, like you can keep up,” they laughed.
“Is that a challenge?” I retorted. Hey, I didn’t have great stamina, but I wasn’t a sucker you know!
“It is!”
Welp, I didn’t really need friends. But I did need some cannon fodder. And what better way to get some? At least that was the official excuse. In reality, I was just fucking lonely.
I picked up a dry branch, and well, ran around with them, laughing, playing, just… having some fun; I missed this kind of shit from the good old days. Back when I didn’t have to worry about studies, or Mom or being first or whatever.
That said, I did get some scowls from passersby every now and then, especially some adults. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Yet, we didn’t stop, and just… had fun.
With the sun basically down, we sat down and caught our breath; like me, quite a few of them were also panting but they weren’t as hammered as me. They were talking about fun things and I had no idea what was fun. But staying quiet was making me anxious so- “One time I farted really loud and fart juices came rushing~!”
They paused and I felt my heart had stopped for a second there. “AH HA H A HAAA!” They laughed I felt like a weight just got lifted from my chest.
The fuck am I doing? Yet… I felt alive. And guilty at the same time… I wasn’t a kid. I was just pretending to be one.
“Name’s Mike,” the leader of the bunch introduced himself. Bout nine, red hair. Kinda similar to mom’s, just not as silky or crimson.
The others introduced but I didn’t really bother remembering their names. If we hung out again, I’d probably make an effort.
“Sol.”
“Well, ya can play anytime.” We shook on it.
That said, I stood up and met someone I wish I hadn’t. The blonde… Nisa. She was with her usual entourage and they all jeered at us saying stuff in the lines of- “Look at these country bumpkins, all dirty.”
Obviously, I didn’t bother. But Mike did. “Hey, watch what yer saying Mongrels.”
Wow, guy had guts.
For some reason the kids more or less paled and just quickly dispersed. Weird. Oh wait, they were noble kids, so they were clearly afraid of getting dirty themselves. I see, made sense. One kid didn’t scowl though, Nisa herself. She just eyed everyone curiously and then left.
Oh well. First impressions of me would be for fart juices huh. I slapped my head. Yeah, I fucked up. Shit. Anyway- “Thanks guys. Later,” I bid them farewell.
But it wasn’t just Nisa who saw the whole thing. There was another. Shia. She’d been standing by one of the trees, just watching with a peculiar grin. “I shouldn’t have done that?” I asked cautiously.
“Why not?”
“I mean… technically I might dragging the family-” I also dragged my clothes. Then again, I was just wearing casual gear and hadn’t even touched my uniform though.
Do they have laundry here?
“Oh fuck the family. It’s already fucked enough,” oh wow, her cursing tendencies were worse than mine. “You had fun though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” She grabbed my hand. “Come, let’s go see which subjects you’ll be taking. You’re already one month behind, so we better make sure you’re up to speed while we still can.”
So that’s why the weeklong break.
I spent the afternoon talking to Gerar through the window. It acted more as a general portal to his room than a window as this point. He gave me some pointers like the dorms had a midnight curfew, which professors were assholes, which students to stay away from and the like.
Gerar was clearly afraid of my sister and when I asked about it, he just avoided the topic. He didn’t seem afraid of me though and indulged all my questions without a fuss. He was a good guy, or at least he appeared to be.
“But Lady Nisa huh,” he wondered out loud at one point. “Didn’t think you’d actually go after her.”
“Well, there’s two ways to stay away from dangerous people. One is to stay away from them at all costs.”
“And two is to befriend them, right?” Gerar snorted.
“Exactly. If you can’t beat them, join them.”
“While I don’t doubt it’d work, I do find your sister’s involvement worrisome.”
“Why?” I tried acting ignorant.
“I mean, you know… you’ve been living with her for a while, right?”
“No, actually. We’d been separated due to family circumstances. Our family has been on the run for a while. And for my safety…” I tapered off, feigning sadness. “I couldn’t even see my mom…” I said. Somewhere down the line, my fake sadness turned to real and I noticed tears streaming. Fuck… I quickly wiped everything off and just smiled. “Sorry about that. I just haven’t had the time to get to know them.”
“I see,” Gerar said, smiling. “Well, your sister’s a nice lady, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. People get quite jealous of beautiful ladies.”
Was he trying to cheer me up or shield me from my sister’s reputation? Probably both. He was intermediate in four subjects. Which subjects, he didn’t tell me. But he was on the path to becoming advance in one of them by the time he graduated and apparently that was pretty good. Most people didn’t advance in any subject and only went intermediate in maybe two or three at best. Of course, there were geniuses everywhere. My sister was one of those, being intermediate in three and advance in one subject despite being a fifth year. Which subjects, again, I didn’t know. No one seemed to go through that. Anyway, Gerar was intelligent and he was trying to be really considerate. Which was good but I had a feeling he’d eventually hide things from me and that would lead to complications down the line.
“It’s fine,” I said. “No matter how she is, she’s still my family and that’s all that matters.”
“Right!”
We’d been talking for hours. And it was getting late. I didn’t have a clock, and I didn’t have a way to know what time of the day it was either since I didn’t have a window leading outside. But Gerar did and I could tell from his window, it was close to being evening.
“Think I’ll go out for a walk. Thanks for the chat.”
“Anytime,” he closed his portion of the window. And yes, portion. Apparently, though I only had one window, Gerar had two. His second one was literally attached to mine. We could only see each other, if both of us kept our windows open; I guess this was a large room in the past but they put a wall to make two individual rooms. Technically that solved the privacy issues. But if he ever brought back a girl, I’d probably be able to hear every little detail. Not that I was hoping to. He he he.
The scenery outside was quite different. This academy didn’t have much of a campus but according to Gerar the whole city was sort of a campus, hence they didn’t have any walls and stuff near the academic buildings. They had some trees on the other side the though.
“Oh and,” Gerar came out at the same time. “Sometimes you see a black cat. Be respectful and you should be fine.”
“Okay.”
Black cat, huh? Did this world have that stupid superstition too?
Anyway, enough staring. I raced down the stairs.
I was expecting to see some fields. Namely for sports. The vast majority of students here were either kids or teenagers. They had to have some sort of entertainment, right? Yet, I didn’t see kids running or having fun. I saw some kids practicing or rather just swinging swords around without really doing any sparring; some others, reading books in a cluster.
I liked swords, but I didn’t like idea of using one. Knives were far more practical for me. But yes, whenever I saw a cool sword, I just… I just loved the damn idea of seeing it in use. To say I had a fascination for strong swordsmen was an understatement.
As I wondered around the half a kilometer long area of our so-called short campus, I eventually spotted a group of kids who didn’t look like they were reading or practicing. Rather…
I approached them and when one of them noticed me, he and the rest just glared. “What do you want?”
Rather hostile today, aren’t we?
“Nothing really, just got curious as to what you’re doing.”
They had sticks and they were dragging a round flat thing across the grass; didn’t travel much. Almost like ice hockey; there was no ice though. Just crude sticks and they didn’t even have goals and stuff. Finally, some kids stuff.
“None ’f yar business!”
“It is actually, I wanted to play too,” I said.
One of them snorted, the rest just scowled. They did not want outsiders among them, no. Well, I am a noble sort of, so maybe it wasn’t a good idea anyway.
“Yeah, like you can keep up,” they laughed.
“Is that a challenge?” I retorted. Hey, I didn’t have great stamina, but I wasn’t a sucker you know!
“It is!”
Welp, I didn’t really need friends. But I did need some cannon fodder. And what better way to get some? At least that was the official excuse. In reality, I was just fucking lonely.
I picked up a dry branch, and well, ran around with them, laughing, playing, just… having some fun; I missed this kind of shit from the good old days. Back when I didn’t have to worry about studies, or Mom or being first or whatever.
That said, I did get some scowls from passersby every now and then, especially some adults. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Yet, we didn’t stop, and just… had fun.
With the sun basically down, we sat down and caught our breath; like me, quite a few of them were also panting but they weren’t as hammered as me. They were talking about fun things and I had no idea what was fun. But staying quiet was making me anxious so- “One time I farted really loud and fart juices came rushing~!”
They paused and I felt my heart had stopped for a second there. “AH HA H A HAAA!” They laughed I felt like a weight just got lifted from my chest.
The fuck am I doing? Yet… I felt alive. And guilty at the same time… I wasn’t a kid. I was just pretending to be one.
“Name’s Mike,” the leader of the bunch introduced himself. Bout nine, red hair. Kinda similar to mom’s, just not as silky or crimson.
The others introduced but I didn’t really bother remembering their names. If we hung out again, I’d probably make an effort.
“Sol.”
“Well, ya can play anytime.” We shook on it.
That said, I stood up and met someone I wish I hadn’t. The blonde… Nisa. She was with her usual entourage and they all jeered at us saying stuff in the lines of- “Look at these country bumpkins, all dirty.”
Obviously, I didn’t bother. But Mike did. “Hey, watch what yer saying Mongrels.”
Wow, guy had guts.
For some reason the kids more or less paled and just quickly dispersed. Weird. Oh wait, they were noble kids, so they were clearly afraid of getting dirty themselves. I see, made sense. One kid didn’t scowl though, Nisa herself. She just eyed everyone curiously and then left.
Oh well. First impressions of me would be for fart juices huh. I slapped my head. Yeah, I fucked up. Shit. Anyway- “Thanks guys. Later,” I bid them farewell.
But it wasn’t just Nisa who saw the whole thing. There was another. Shia. She’d been standing by one of the trees, just watching with a peculiar grin. “I shouldn’t have done that?” I asked cautiously.
“Why not?”
“I mean… technically I might dragging the family-” I also dragged my clothes. Then again, I was just wearing casual gear and hadn’t even touched my uniform though.
Do they have laundry here?
“Oh fuck the family. It’s already fucked enough,” oh wow, her cursing tendencies were worse than mine. “You had fun though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” She grabbed my hand. “Come, let’s go see which subjects you’ll be taking. You’re already one month behind, so we better make sure you’re up to speed while we still can.”
So that’s why the weeklong break.
