Astrology (1)
Chris handed the map back to Ethan.
"So, did that clear up whatever you were wondering about?"
"It did."
Ethan started to leave the forge, then turned back.
"By the way, Senior — were you the one who spread the word that I got the club building? And the location of the annex?"
"…"
"Answer me."
"I-I'm sorry…"
Chris hadn't just leaked that Ethan had become the club building's owner. The annex turning into a public hangout was largely his fault, too.
"Do it again and you're not a senior anymore."
Ethan pulled a glowing mushroom from his spatial pouch. With a clatter of tools and furniture, Chris scrambled backward.
"Want another mushroom? Go ahead and start another rumor."
"Th-that's why I cut into my forging time today to help you…"
"Which is the only reason I'm letting it slide."
Bang.
Ethan shut the door behind him. Chris exhaled.
"What kind of freshman shows up packing that much murder in his eyes after barely a week…"
Chris resolved then and there to pull up every last Glowing Crazy Mushroom near Thief School and wipe them out.
Ethan needed to see Senior Muria, so he headed back to the Ruby Dorm Main Building.
Crash. Bang. Thud.
Cadets sprinted along the corridor walls, scattering smoke bombs across the floor. Spike traps lined the ground, and the moment someone stepped on a pressure block, fire erupted from the ceiling.
Whoooosh.
Ethan stared blankly at the pillar of flame until Muria thumped him hard on the back.
"…"
"Ahaha! Lively, right? It's free period right now!"
This goes a bit beyond "lively"…
Muria ducked, and a log came rolling straight through the spot where she'd just been standing.
Crunch!
"Hey! Doler! I told you no logs!"
She weaved through the chaos — dodging, batting things aside — and led Ethan out to the backyard. It was relatively quiet back here.
Boom…
Thud-thud-thud…
Though distant screams and the sound of things shattering still drifted over, of course.
"You're curious about Land Navigation?"
"Yes."
Ethan handed her the map.
"Hmm…"
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, Muria furrowed her brow. Her fox ears twitched, poking through her face mask.
"To use Land Navigation properly, you need to know Astrology too."
"I see… Do you really have to hang upside down while you explain this?"
"I've got a movement skills evaluation next week. Practicing whenever I can."
Talking while staring at the ceiling was starting to hurt his neck.
Hmm… She's eccentric, but more of a model student than I expected?
Senior Muria clearly had some expertise in Astrology.
"Astrology is about handling qi, and Land Navigation is how you realize it as a technique!"
"So it all comes down to qi and technique again?"
"Exactly! You're a quick study."
Looking at his schedule, Land Navigation and Reconnaissance came the day before Hand Techniques. With how packed his timetable was, if he wanted to learn Astrology before Land Navigation, today was basically his only window.
"So what do you actually do in Astrology class…"
"You offer prayers to Goddess Vespera, of course?"
Both Ethan and Muria flinched and turned.
A priestess stood there in a white robe patterned with dark green.
"Muria, I do so love how devout you always are."
"H-hello, Professor…!"
"And so polite, too. Heehee."
Muria dropped from the ceiling at once and dropped to one knee. The professor smiled and patted her head.
"A pleasure to meet you, Professor. I'm Ethan Cass."
Mibir's shoulders twitched. She turned toward him.
"Moving without a single sound… Your footwork is remarkable."
"Still lacking, Professor."
"More than sufficient, I'd say. I've heard a great deal about our top cadet. You left quite an impression at the entrance exam."
"Thank you."
The moment Professor Mibir appeared, the entire dorm fell silent. Not so much as a cricket chirped.
"I've had quite a few questions of my own about you, Cadet."
"Is that so."
The priestess standing in front of him.
Impressive.
Her mere presence had silenced this entire sprawling dormitory in an instant. She must have projected her qi to cow every cadet at once.
"Ruby cadets are always so full of energy. I do love that about them."
She surveyed the surroundings once, then added,
"But cadets still have duties to fulfill, don't they?"
Clap. Clap.
At the sound of her hands, masked figures burst out and dragged cadets away.
Clang! Bang!
In moments, every birdcage crowning the dormitory spires was full.
"Professor Mibir, I'm sorry! I won't run in the halls again!"
"Please just give me demerits — the cages are torture!"
"This is unfair! The Trap Studies professor made me set those up!"
The priestess smiled sweetly, eyes narrowing. The life drained from her gaze.
"Even professors keep their promises. Students who break the rules will not be forgiven."
Her words settled over them like ice.
She's got brigade-commander energy…
Her entrance, at least, had been memorable.
"Um… if I pray, can She actually hear me directly?"
Ethan's turn for questions had arrived.
Professor Mibir's kindly smile returned.
"Of course. The Goddess watches over the world at all times."
She can hear me directly, huh.
Ethan thought back to Dagger Techniques class, when he'd nearly died.
You hand out a blessing and then don't explain how to use it to wreck Kaion? What kind of goddess are you?
He also remembered the gnome office, where he'd flailed for two solid hours because he had no idea how his ability worked.
Ugh… I get the power of a goddess and I still can't figure out the ability… When am I ever going to finish cleaning that warehouse…
And the memories kept coming.
What's the principle behind those circles filling in on the back of my hand?
I stacked the mist, but how am I supposed to use it… Ah, damn it, my nose is bleeding.
I keep circulating qi and I'm getting dizzy — am I about to die?
Vespera, noona, what is this neglect-play garbage.
Every single one was a memory of slamming headfirst into the ground because he didn't know how to use the powers he'd received through the Contract of Existence.
…
Now that I think about it, I'm pissed.
A civil servant who oversees the entire world, half-assing her job and making a precious citizen suffer for it.
"I'll go."
Mibir smiled benevolently.
"I've heard so much about you, Cadet Ethan. They say your devotion to the stars runs as deep as your loyalty to the Empire."
"I've always taken a keen interest in the Echo of the Stars."
"Wonderful."
While everyone else was out enjoying the weekend, Ethan set off to learn Astrology — so he could file a formal complaint with the Goddess.
Astrology was taught by the sole priestess-turned-professor at Thief School. Even though it was the weekend and no regular classes were scheduled, a large number of devout cadets had turned out for the supplementary lecture.
"I-I can't worship other gods — my mother's side is from the Celestial Realm, Ethan…?"
"Ethan. Orcs do not believe in gods."
"Oh, so places like this exist? Hmm… there was something similar in the back alleys of the Western Count's territory."
"Hmph! Why drag us out on a weekend? Go play hard with that fox already."
Of course, studying alone would have been boring, so he'd rounded up the whole crew.
"Once you're deployed on a mission, you'll infiltrate enemy territory with nothing but a map. Learning Astrology ahead of time will only help you."
"Okay, but why does that have to be on our day off…"
"The road to becoming a Thief Master is long and hard."
"We're not trying to become Thief Masters…"
Naturally, his dorm-mates from Hall One had been dragged along as well.
Following Mibir's lead, they pushed aside a tent flap barely large enough for one person and stepped inside.
"Come in slowly, everyone."
The freshmen gasped.
"Whoaaa…"
"Wow…"
Magic had clearly been used — the interior was far larger than it looked from outside. Sparkling dreamcatchers hung from the pillars, and the dim ceiling was dotted with glow-in-the-dark stars. At the center, a mysterious crystal sphere that seemed to hold an entire galaxy rested on a cushion.
The whole place had the vibe of an online-game shop that sold magic scrolls.
"May the blessing of Goddess Vespera be upon you."
Professor Mibir stood before the crystal sphere.
"May the blessing of Goddess Vespera be upon us."
"May the blessing of Goddess Vespera be upon us."
"May the blessing of Goddess Vespera be upon us."
Three assistants in priestly robes appeared from the back and bowed their heads slightly.
"In our order, there is only one object of worship."
Professor Mibir stroked the crystal sphere, and a triangular hologram rose into the air. Its glittering vertices called to mind the constellations of the night sky.
"Luck, Destiny, and Vespera."
Ethan blinked.
So… that's three things?
Watching even the professor botch basic addition made him slightly worried that learning Astrology might wreck your math skills.
"These three are one."
"A trinity, then?"
"Correct."
Only then did Ethan understand.
"Luck is Night Mother Goddess Vespera herself, and the exalted Goddess is Destiny incarnate."
She just gave off that glamorous housewife vibe to me. Seriously stacked.
"Goddess Vespera of Luck is a noble being who governs all fortune and the causality of human affairs."
Ethan listened quietly, then stepped closer to the crystal sphere.
"So She must take a great interest in sentient beings at all times?"
"I would imagine so."
"Then why doesn't She take calls during the day?"
Professor Mibir raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that…?"
It sounded like a joke to the professor. Ethan was dead serious.
"Is She offline during the day, so we only pray at night?"
"…I don't know what 'offline' means, but would you like to go ask Her yourself?"
"How do I go directly?"
"Once your lifespan ends, you will be able to see Her in person."
"…"
Ethan felt ridiculous for having agonized over whether to write his complaint on parchment or tree bark.
How am I supposed to find Her thralls when She won't even communicate with her business partner?
He resolved to give her a thorough hard time the next time they met.
Hearing Ethan's words, Professor Mibir's brow creased slightly.
Cadet Ethan… was his faith not actually that deep?
When she'd first met him, a sacred aura had been faintly radiating from his body. That only manifested in the presence of true faith — pure conviction and a will to submit to the divine.
Unless he worships some dark god…
There was no other way he could have been giving off that kind of aura. Professor Mibir decided she must have been mistaken.
So all those times I called and got no answer, She was just sleeping through the middle of the day?
Ethan was thoroughly annoyed with the Goddess.
Night only, huh. From now on, the second the sun goes down, I'm dropping a prayer-complaint bomb.
If Vespera could hear him, she'd probably be going, "I-I'm sorry, stop praying! My head hurts!"
Professor Mibir looked at the newly wicked glint in Ethan's eyes and thought,
Is he irreverent or devout…
She couldn't get a read on this cadet at all.
Fortunately, Professor Mibir — unlike Vespera — had no ability to read Ethan's blasphemous thoughts, so the Astrology lesson proceeded smoothly.