An Unwanted Encounter (4)
Kallen returned to the Dusk Moon Inn to find an unexpected figure waiting for him.
Fabian, captain of the Caliburn Guard, raised a hand in cheerful greeting the moment he spotted him.
"Ah, there you are."
"What brings you by?"
"Figured it's been a while since we had a drink together. What do you say?"
It seemed out of the blue, but there was no real reason to refuse.
"Hmm, why not?"
Every so often, a man had to return a favor in drink, after all.
They settled naturally into their seats, and before long, empty mugs were stacking up in front of them at a steady clip.
Kallen drained yet another tankard without pause, then broached the subject at hand.
"How are things with the Caliburn Guard these days?"
"Don't get me started. I could use two bodies and it still wouldn't be enough."
Fabian shook his head with an air of sheer exasperation.
The aftermath of the Alheim Practical Exam had reached even the Caliburn Guard, who patrolled the surrounding area. And with their failure to stop the demonic sword's infiltration, Fabian, as head of security, must have been going through hell.
"How are the guards holding up?"
"Some of them won't be coming back anytime soon. They were hurt far too badly..."
A bitter shadow crossed Fabian's face.
That day, fierce skirmishes with the infiltrated Demonic Humans had erupted throughout the Alheim Forest. They had been driven back in the end, thankfully, but several of the assistant instructors and guards who'd taken part in the fighting were still recovering from grave wounds.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Eh, at least nobody died. And the students came through safe, thank the gods."
Fabian chuckled and shook his head.
"If it weren't for the Headmistress, we'd all have been corpses long ago. A few scrapes are just another day's work for us Faithful."
That was the name the Church of Aten had given to those born with a constitution completely severed from mana, the substance of the Illusion Realm. Ordinary mages and witches couldn't even dream of casting a spell in their presence — but by the same token, the Faithful were fated to receive no benefit whatsoever from mana-laced potions or healing magic.
Worse still, because of that fearsome trait, the Faithful had spent centuries fleeing the pursuit and extermination campaigns of dark forces, clinging to a precarious existence. And it was Talisa — the current Headmistress of Elysion — who had gathered them together at the brink of extinction and forged them into the formidable fighting force known as the Caliburn Guard.
"That was back when she was still Grand General. Without Talisa, we'd still be living day to day like mayflies."
"Hmph."
Kallen jutted his lips out in a petulant pout.
"Even that old relic manages to get things right now and then."
"Still can't mind that tongue of yours, I see..."
"Anyway, out with it. Why'd you really call me over? You've clearly got something to say — I can see it on your face."
"..."
At Kallen's words, Fabian silently lowered the mug in his hand. Then, with a rare look of seriousness, he studied Kallen and spoke.
"Don't you think it's about time you found yourself a proper place to live? Somewhere other than our inn, I mean."
"Huh?"
"Haven't you been staying a bit too long? You've got perfectly good faculty housing sitting right there — why torment yourself out here? Or find yourself a house, at least."
First he'd practically shoved him out, and now he was telling him to find a house. It made no sense at all, and Kallen wasn't the least bit tempted by the suggestion.
He was rather fond of the Dusk Moon Inn. No one nagged him there, and the proprietress's cooking was genuinely excellent. As things stood, he figured he'd be perfectly content to stay put for his entire tenure at Elysion.
"Well... not really..."
"Kallen! You're here!"
Just as Kallen was absently shaking his head, a soft weight suddenly landed on his lap.
Sara, Fabian's young daughter, hopped up onto him as naturally as could be.
"Oh, hey there."
"Heehee, you're here early today! Did you miss me?"
Despite his perfunctory pats on her head, Sara only beamed up at him with a sunny grin. Before long she was tugging familiarly at his collar, urging him along.
"Kallen! Today you have to play wedding with me! I'm the bride and you're the groom! Come on, hurry!"
"Yeesh, quit being a handful and go play, okay?"
"Nooo, play with meee!"
And so Kallen was just about to lower the whining girl back to the floor, shaking his head in weary resignation, when a rough hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned around again.
"..."
On Fabian's silently smiling face, vicious veins had begun to bulge.
"Damn it, what am I supposed to do if kids like me?"
Kallen grumbled, sticking out his lower lip. He knew Fabian was a hopeless fool for his daughter, but this was pushing it. At last, he understood why the man had been shooing him out.
"Well... I have been staying a while, I suppose..."
After a long stretch of griping, Kallen let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Of course, that hadn't been the only reason. Off the clock, Kallen was a hopeless layabout, plain and simple. Downing liquor like water before passing out, then scrambling out of the inn in a flurry of haste come late morning — that was the entirety of his daily routine. Knowing Fabian's temperament, the wordless advice was probably something along the lines of: pull yourself together and start living like a proper man.
"...Tsk."
Kallen looked around his new lodgings and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
What greeted him was the sight of a cramped, run-down wooden shack. Cobwebs festooned every corner, and the floor was strewn with all manner of junk left behind, it seemed, by its previous occupant. It resembled a storage shed far more than a home, and his brow furrowed all the deeper for it.
"Did I really go that cheap..."
This was the house Kallen had hastily snagged in a corner of Caliburn after being unceremoniously evicted from the inn. Elysion did offer faculty housing, but he had zero intention of setting foot in that place. His daytime duties were already crushing enough — if he had to take his rest in that insufferable building too, he'd surely lose his mind within the week.
"..."
It was unquestionably a shabby little hovel, and yet, gazing at it, Kallen felt a strange, unnameable emptiness settling over his chest instead. He shook his head quickly, as if to shake off the pointless melancholy.
"Haah, well. As long as I've got somewhere to sleep, that's all that matters."
He then let out a sigh of pure resignation at the mountains of trash and cobwebs.
"...Might as well head to work."
After all, if he was late again today, he would achieve the momentous record of ten consecutive days of tardiness. The mere thought of Professor Simon, red-eyed and sputtering between his bald head's furious throes, was enough to give Kallen a headache.
—Hellooo! Anybody home?
"Hm?"
Someone outside was pounding on his door with a resounding thump-thump. He hadn't imagined a single visitor within a day of moving in. Kallen walked over in puzzlement and flung the door open.
"Hello there!"
And the person offering a bright, good-natured greeting was — for some reason — a very familiar woman with green hair.
"I heard someone new moved into the neighborhood, so I came to say hel— oh my?"
Lucia, who had been breezing along in a lively voice with practiced nonchalance, suddenly went wide-eyed. Then she made an enormous show of astonishment, as though she'd stumbled upon someone utterly beyond expectation.
"It's my benefactor!"
"..."
"G-goodness...! What are the odds...! W-wait a moment!"
When Kallen wordlessly shut the door in her face with a stony expression, Lucia hastily jammed her foot into the gap and cried out.
"Why would you do that all of a sudden?!"
"Because I'm sick of you."
"C-can't we at least exchange greetings...?!"
"We just did. There, done. So get lost."
"I-I only just settled in Caliburn recently! The security's good, and...! The air's so clean, and...!"
Lucia thrust her small head through the narrowing gap in the door, desperate to keep it from closing, and pressed on.
"B-but it's still life in a strange city, you know...? It's been a little lonely. And then running into a familiar face like this — I'm just so glad to see you..."
"..."
His complete lack of response only made Lucia spill her words faster and faster.
"Y-you only just moved in yourself, right? Is there anything I could help you with, maybe?"
"...Help me?"
Kallen paused mid-motion, actually turning her words over in his mind for the first time. Lucia brightened at once, nodding her head like an eager puppy.
"I never even finished repaying you for what you did for me back then... If it's something I can do, I'll help with anything at all! Just say the word!"
"Hmm..."
Before long, a distinctly mischievous smile crept across Kallen's face as he mulled it over. Lucia, entirely oblivious to it, simply stood there tensely awaiting his answer.
"Is that so?"
Then Kallen broke into a wide grin and swung the door back open.
He gestured for Lucia to come inside.
"As it happens, there is something you could help me with."
"R-really?! Anything, just name it... huh?"
Lucia scrambled in after him before he could change his mind — and in the next instant, her face twisted in horror. The interior looked less like a home and more like a pigsty.
And watching her recoil in disgust, Kallen wore an unreadable little smile as he finally got to the point.
"I'd like you to clean my house."
"Excuse... me? C-cleaning...?"
Even as Lucia blinked back at him, clearly having no idea what he meant, Kallen just tapped his shoulders with a shrug and played it cool.
"I've been terribly busy lately, you see. The professor life is no joke... yeesh..."
"B-but..."
"What? Don't tell me you can't even do this much for your benefactor? Hm? You just said you'd do anything."
"I-it's not that...! But surely not this...!"
"Have it spotless by the time I'm off work. Take out the trash yourself, give the floors a good scrub. Well, I'm off!"
"H-hey! Wait a minute!!!"
Despite Lucia lunging desperately to grab him, Kallen swiftly shut the door and stepped out into the street. Faintly, from the receding house behind him, someone's shouts could be heard.
Kallen, strolling to work with a cheerful tune on his lips, glanced back over his shoulder and let out a snort of laughter.
"...What the hell was that all about?"
Waiting for Kallen at the academy was yet another thoroughly unexpected figure.
When he found Professor Jiya leaning against his office desk with her arms crossed, he made no effort whatsoever to hide his disgust.
"What do you want?"
"...It's not as though I came here by choice, either."
Professor Jiya shot him a venomous glare, her voice sharp as a blade. Since returning from medical leave, she'd taken to scowling at him like a beast ready to devour him every time their paths crossed.
...Is she still sore about making her apologize back in the infirmary?
Kallen could only find the whole thing baffling. Then again, considering she'd disliked him from their very first meeting, it wasn't exactly an unusual reaction.
"A case of assault on campus?"
Kallen frowned as he read the title on the file she handed over. What followed was a report from the Elysion internal investigation committee, along with one from Professor Selma of the infirmary.
"A first-year male student of the Swordsmanship Department was attacked by a first-year female student of the Magic Department and hospitalized with serious injuries... His condition is critical, though fortunately his life is not in danger..."
Kallen read on, then glanced back at Jiya with a careless twist of his lips.
"Does the Magic Department teach nothing but how to torment people?"
"...Read it to the end. You won't be saying that once you see what comes after."
"Hm?"
Brushing off her flare of temper, Kallen returned to the stack of papers.
"Cause of the dispute... The conflict broke out unintentionally after a student of the Swordsmanship Department forcibly took an item belonging to a student of the Magic Department..."
Kallen found himself scratching his cheek, embarrassed.
Duels and squabbles were par for the course among hot-blooded students, but theft was a different matter entirely. For a student of the Swordsmanship Department — which prided itself on producing honorable knights — it was an especially disgraceful kind of behavior.
"..."
"I suppose the Swordsmanship Department is training pickpockets now?"
Jiya, watching his silence, seized on it immediately and struck.
"Ugh... seriously, thieving, of all things..."
Awkwardly avoiding her gaze, Kallen muttered to himself, then changed the subject.
"...So? Can't we just call it mutual fault and be done with it? Seems like both sides share some of the blame."
"Ha, if only it were that simple..."
Jiya shot him a look of pure exasperation, then sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead as though the mere thought gave her a headache.
"...The situation is more complicated than you'd think."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Check the back page."
Kallen frowned, uncomprehending, but flipped the paper over and kept reading.
"The victim was discovered horrifically mutilated, as though torn apart by beasts across his entire body... The victim claims the assailant used a forbidden technique, or black magic... Has adopted an uncompromising stance, threatening to report the matter to the temple if necessary..."
No wonder the woman's head was spinning. Having grasped the gist of it, Kallen glanced sidelong at her.
"...Don't tell me the Magic Department teaches black magic on the side, too?"
"Bullshit."
She cut him off with a single sharp retort.
"Sylvie is a student I know well. She can't see, her body's impaired, and yet her grades are excellent and she always conducts herself as a model student. Black magic? From her? Absolutely not."
"...She can't see?"
Something faint stirred at the edge of Kallen's memory — there, and then gone again.