The Blue Diamond
"So, how does it feel to have survived your first day?"
"Well... let's just say it was eventful?"
"A lot did happen, didn't it?"
Any ordinary student would have made enough noise moving into this place on their own, and now the subject of every rumor under the sun had arrived. It was only the first day, and things had already gone this far — no doubt a steady stream of incidents would keep coming for a while yet. Inwardly, Eli worried whether the frail boy could hold up under all of it.
"Honestly, that sounds kind of fun?"
"I doubt it. Would you still say that if you were the one going through it?"
"What was it like? Now I'm curious."
"I'll tell you later. Right now we need to get to the dormitory. I'll explain everything, so listen up."
Eli returned to his role as guide and pointed at the three flags flying side by side from the top of the castle.
"Look at those flags. Each one has a different design, see?"
The rectangular banners each bore a different color and a different emblem — so distinct that no further explanation was really necessary.
"The one in the middle is Stone Lion, right?"
"That's right. The roaring lion makes quite an impression, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it's cool."
A gray lion roaring with its mane held high against a field of dark yellow. It was just a flag, and yet Bayul could feel a fierce, blazing courage radiating from it.
"The left one is Black Falcon — the symbol of speed and sharpness."
A black hawk in a dive against a field of green.
I wonder if Logan's doing all right.
Perhaps it was the memory of that boy's jet-black hair, but an old friend surfaced in Bayul's mind without warning.
Logan had been the only friend with whom Bayul and Bayil had spent their childhood nearly as brothers. The day Bayil died in the accident, the three of them had been together.
But Bayul hadn't seen him even once since. His father had adored the boy, too — so sturdy and spirited, and gifted with a sword besides.
Until just last year, Bayul had sent him letters from time to time. He'd never received a single reply.
Being a twin could be so bitter in moments like these. His mere existence was enough to stir painful memories in others.
It's not like I chose to be born looking like this...
The day his other half died, Bayul lost not only his father but the friend who had been like a brother to them both. Because everything was his own fault, he had no right to blame anyone or resent anyone — and yet sometimes the frustration welled up so fiercely he wanted to scream.
I didn't do it because I wanted to.
No one suffers more than I do.
So please, just look at me for once.
The words he could never bring himself to say would climb up his throat until they threatened to crush him.
"And last but not least, Aidan's dormitory — Turtle King. An amber turtle floating on the blue sea. That crown on its head is pretty dashing, isn't it?"
"...Yeah, it is."
Bayul, who had been briefly lost in old memories, hurried back to the present. Now was no time for such thoughts. Eli had gone out of his way to take time for this explanation, and the least Bayul owed him was his full attention.
"Does the crown mean anything special?"
"Nope."
Eli shook his head and went on.
"It's just kind of plain, you know? One house has a lion, another has a hawk — and then we get a turtle? A turtle. My guess is the original Turtle King students had a lot of complaints. So they stuck a crown on it to smooth things over."
"Ah, I see."
"Turtles are slow, right? Maybe that's why that dormitory always had such a laid-back atmosphere. I actually liked that part. The downside is that it's underground."
"Underground?"
"Yeah, you have to go way down to get to Turtle King. Well, since it's built against the cliff face, it's not like the sun never reaches it. You get a spectacular view of the sunrise, actually. It connects to the waterway at the base of the cliff, so it's also the perfect setup for sneaking out of the dorm."
"The waterway — as in, you leave by boat?"
"That's what I said, isn't it? Black Falcon's the opposite — it's at the very top of the castle, so slipping out unnoticed is a real challenge. Some students do climb down the walls or the roof every so often, but I hear most of them end up falling and hurting themselves. Oh, and apparently their hobby is throwing drink parties out on the railings. Living at the top of a tower must have burned all the fear out of them."
"What about us? How's Stone Lion?"
"Us? Hmm, how should I put it. Sneaking out is definitely the easiest for us. It's what comes after that's the problem."
"Why, what comes after?"
"Step out the back door of the dormitory and you're staring straight at the Forest of Corruption."
The Forest of Corruption?
Something in Eli's expression seemed distinctly off, and a chill crawled up Bayul's spine.
"The name alone is terrifying, right?"
Eli nodded solemnly.
"The Forest of Corruption is technically academy grounds, but hardly anyone goes there. It's dark and gloomy even at high noon — practically made for ghosts to come out. And there are rumors it's crawling with dangerous beasts and monsters, too."
"...Really?"
At the fear in Bayul's voice, Eli smiled as if to reassure him.
"Don't worry about the monsters. There's a magical barrier around the academy grounds — nothing can breach it from the forest side. We can walk into the forest any time we want, though. Sometimes classes are even held out there."
"You have class in a place like that?"
"There are herbs that only grow there. Herbology is studied in depth by the Magic Department, but it's part of the general curriculum too. You'll have to go at least once."
"Have you ever been, Eli?"
"No, not yet. Why, are you interested?"
As if. For Bayul, whose only talents were reading books and speaking the Gaian tongue (as of today), the Forest of Corruption was far too dangerous a place. He would never set foot in it unless a class required it.
"Anyway, that's why if Stone Lion students want to sneak out at night, getting help from Turtle King is the smartest option. So we generally try to stay on good terms with them."
"So that's why you and Aidan—"
"Hey, no. I'll have you know I'm a model student, Bayul. Does it look like I have any reason to be sneaking out of the dormitory in the middle of the night?"
"...I suppose not."
"Come on, hurry. There won't be enough time to unpack before dinner if you dawdle. Move it."
Having finished the general rundown of the dormitories, Eli took Bayul by the hand and led him along. They crossed a long corridor, climbed the stairs to the third floor, and there stood a row of identical doors.
"See that room at the very end? That's yours. I'm one floor up."
"Oh... so we're not on the same floor."
"I know, shame. But hey, I can always come down to visit."
If only I could have shared a room with Eli.
Bayul couldn't help feeling wistful.
"Well, I've gotten you this far. I'll be off, then?"
"Thank you, Eli. You worked hard all day because of me."
"Hardly. Go on in, unpack, and wash up. I'll see you at dinner."
Truthfully, what Bayul wanted more than anything was to simply rest — but he promised he would and waved goodbye.
The dormitory had doors spaced evenly along both sides of the central corridor. Some rooms stood with their doors open, while others had signs pasted outside reading ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRY.
As Bayul walked nervously between them, he suddenly realized something important.
Wait — who's my roommate?
All he knew was that he himself was supposed to be a student living alone. He'd meant to ask Eli about it, but the other explanations had driven it completely out of his head.
"Whew."
Not knowing who was waiting on the other side somehow made it worse. Bayul took a deep breath in front of the door, then worked up the courage to turn the handle.
Smile, say hello warmly. Just tell him you hope you get along. That's all.
Bayul arranged his face into the kindest expression he could manage.
"Hi! I'm— hm?"
For all his bold entrance, there was no roommate to be seen. Just as the thought is he not here yet? crossed his mind, the sound of running water drifted from deep inside the room. His roommate was apparently washing up in the bathroom.
What if he comes out and gets startled seeing me standing here? I need to make a good first impression.
"Huh? Wait a second — this smell...!"
Only now, with his nerves on edge, did he finally place the fragrance hanging in the air of the room.
No way.
Just then, the bathroom door swung open and the boy walked out.
A boy with long blue hair and finned ears. It was Quinn.
Why hadn't he guessed? Everyone avoided Quinn because of his fishy odor. He should have realized the moment he'd heard Quinn was the only student in the whole year with a room to himself. How could he be so dense?
"H-hi there?"
His heart was shriveling in his chest, but mercifully his mouth still worked. Bayul fought down his trembling and managed to force out a greeting.
Whoosh!
But just as in the lecture hall, Quinn swept right past him. He brushed by at point-blank range as though Bayul were simply not there. Turned invisible in an instant — and yet Bayul had seen it. Quinn's gaze had landed once more, squarely, on the pendant.
He's definitely fixated on this thing.
What was this pendant, anyway?
They say curiosity can sometimes make you forget your fear. Before he knew it, Bayul found himself stepping toward Quinn.
"Um, I don't know if you've heard, but my name's Bayul. I transferred into the first year of the Administration Department today. Your name's Quinn, right?"
"..."
"Eli told me. You're from the Mermaid Kingdom, aren't you?"
It was impossible not to feel like an idiot. Where else would a merfolk come from, if not the Mermaid Kingdom? Crushed by the pressure to say something, anything, Bayul didn't even notice the nonsense coming out of his own mouth.
"I'm from Hamilton. It's a long way north of here — does that ring a bell?"
Apparently resolved to ignore him to the end, Quinn sat down at the desk and drew out a book.
The Ten Years' War of the Continent.
It was one of Bayul's favorite books.
"I've read that one, actually."
And so?
Thump. Quinn flipped the book open with a pointed little noise, as if to say exactly that. Showing not the slightest interest in Bayul, he sat up straight and began to read.
By this point even Bayul had to give up on making conversation. The embarrassment was bad enough, but Bayul had never been much of a talker to begin with. Trying to keep a one-sided conversation going with someone who wouldn't so much as respond was an agony for a person of his temperament.
I wanted to make a third friend...
And he'd assumed that friend would naturally be his roommate. Someone he'd wake up beside every morning and fall asleep next to every night. If things stayed like this, that would make for a truly wretched start and end to every single day.
He would keep trying, just as he had with Eli — but somehow, Bayul already felt himself losing heart.
Hm?
It was just as he was turning away with a bitter taste in his mouth that Bayul's eye caught a ring he had never noticed before. On the second finger of Quinn's right hand sat a band that, to Bayul, was achingly familiar.
"That's a blue diamond, isn't it?"
A gem of blue that shone as transparent and beautiful as Quinn's own eyes. So rare that the saying "you have to be there when it's named to believe it" grew up around it — a treasure so precious that even dealers in rare metals might glimpse one only once in a lifetime. And astonishingly, Bayul was now beholding one for the second time.
"I've seen one exactly like it before. The shape's so unusual it stuck with me. The pattern carved into the band, and the polygonal facets are really someth—!"
Bayul broke off mid-sentence and stumbled back a step, startled out of his wits. At some point — he couldn't say when — Quinn had fixed him with a look of pure menace.
"Q-Quinn?"
Quinn lowered the book from his hand and slowly rose to his feet.
Was he always this tall?
The pressure rolling off him now was nothing like before, and Bayul retreated yet another step.
"I-I, um..."
"Where."
"...What?"
"That ring! Where did you see that ring!"