[S1] Chapter 7: Offer

MIKO

"What about new missions?"

"Since when you are a workaholic?"

"I am not. Just asking since we must see how Kayla is doing first. "

"You said she's doing well."

"She looks like it, but I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Her mana system could be damaged."

"How can you tell?"

"She would have to try to use magic."

"You mean she hasn't done that yet?"

"I told her not to."

"And she's sticking to it?"

"I think so."

"Huh? Why are such conversations being held without me? What have I done to you?"

"Oh, Lilith."

"Ah, Miko. Thank you again for just putting the bill on the table."

"You act like it was my fault."

"Hmph."

"What was I supposed to do? Forbid her to save his life?"

"Of course not."

"Was it that expensive?"

"Yeah, but Sami paid for it."

"What? Why?"

"He insisted to do so."

"How can he afford the hospital bill for two mages?"

"Thanks to hard work and a spontaneous drop in staff costs, I guess."

"Right."

Neither the lives nor the deaths of other people concern me that much, but I can feel Lilith's empathy and somehow take it to heart. She doesn't necessarily have any more sympathy than I do, but she knows only too well what it's like to lose a large part of your guild.

"So, how is Kayla doing?"

"I plan to visit her later. I'll know more after that."

"Tell her to come here. I want to talk to both of you about something."

"All right," I leave the living room and sit down at the reception desk.

Before I call Kayla, I write her a message to give her a heads-up. After all these weeks, she's finally managed to get over herself, telling me she's not the biggest fan of phone calls. I still can't bring myself to explain everything by text, but we've found this middle ground for now.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Good, I think, and you?"

"Great, um, Lilith would like to discuss something with us. Can you come over?"

"Sure."

"Great."

"Thanks for the warning, by the way."

"No big deal."

And she hangs up.

"What kind of smile is that?"

"Huh?"

Lilith is so good at annoying me. Sometimes, I ask myself why I still work and live with her.

"Like what? You look happy for a change. Glad to see Kayla, aren't you?"

I can't help but sigh. I'm sensible enough to recognize that she's right.

"Can't I?"

"Oh, you like her, don't you?"

"Probably more than I like you."

"That's a lie, and you know it! Come here and give me a hug!"

Lilith gives me a pouty look. It's really no fun teasing her. I close the distance and put my arms around her.

"Miko?"

"Yes?"

"Love you."

"Love you too," I say a little reluctantly.

◆

"Sit down."

You simply freeze to death in this basement. It's like summer outside, and I regret not wearing a jacket down here.

"Thank you for coming by that quickly, Kayla."

"No problem," she smiles proudly as if she were about to receive a medal.

"I have two or three things I want to talk to you about today. Let's start with a reflection on your first mission together. How was it?"

Our eyes wander to Kayla at the same time. I hadn't really asked her how the experience was for her either. I have a habit of immediately ticking off completed missions and not giving them a single second thought.

"Okay, so if I start at the beginning, I thought it was terrible that everything was so spontaneous. My brain switched off on the spot. I went after Miko and just tried to heal the injured. That's all I can remember. All in all, I'd say it was pretty good."

Lilith doesn't even try to hide her laughter.

"Pretty good, yeah? You simply have no comparison. But what you did there was better than good. I tried to convince Sami not to spread the word. I don't need hundreds of attempts from other guilds wanting to hire you."

Hah, Kayla's head turns red. Well, that was something she could be proud of. I've experienced healers, but patching up someone who seemed to be more dead than alive within twenty seconds has almost nothing to do with magic anymore... we're talking about miracle stuff here.

"I wouldn't leave you." She says, and I do believe her. I don't imagine we'll be working together for the rest of our lives, but Kayla doesn't seem like the kind of person who would change jobs at the first opportunity.

"Thank you. We are pleased to have you."

We are? It's nice that Lilith speaks for both of us, but she's right. At the moment, I'm pretty happy with our new member. Even if I am anything but satisfied with my role as a mentor so far.

"What's wrong, Miko?" It's not Lilith but Kayla who sees from my face how annoyed I am right now.

"I haven't apologized to you yet. I'm sorry I didn't prepare you properly."

My stomach was churning. I had always found it difficult to admit my mistakes, but I had enough time to think in the hospital at Kayla's side. So, I have no doubt that I played a big part in how this mission went.

Maybe Krystoff would have died under my leadership, but Kayla wouldn't have had to go through this suffering. But in the end, I am sure this time was worse for me than for her. After all, she is the kind of person who does everything for others and little for herself.

"Apology accepted," I guess she knew she had to accept. Because I would never have been satisfied with another answer. Scary to realize that I am easier to read than I thought.

Lilith watches us like a proud mother before retaking the word.

"Have you tried to use magic since you were discharged?"

Kayla nods and sighs heavily.

"Burns like hell. Letting my mana flow is like setting myself on fire from the inside. But this morning was already better than yesterday."

"That sounds good. Your mana system was completely overstrained. You ignored your body's warning signals and damaged it in the process. But you were lucky. Some magic users lost their ability to use mana at all after something like that."

The whole experience was a first for me, too. Usually, your circulation breaks down, and you lose consciousness long before you can overload your mana system to that extent.

"I've been talking to a few acquaintances and thinking about what to do with you. It would be regrettable if you broke down before you could really get going. So, I spoke to the principal of a nearby magic school."

She slides us a brochure.

"You'll both be allowed to spend a month there as guest students. You will be provided with places where you can train together. After all, it's Miko's job to prepare you for the future. But I'm sure that it will help both of you to gain a different perspective."

Breathe, Miko. This is not the time to make a fuss. It's about Kayla. We're doing this for her. But a whole month away from here? A month without Lilith and Eliza? Sounds like ass, if you ask me.

"What do you think?"

"I don't really know," Kayla's eyes are fixed on me. What does she want? That's her decision to make, not mine. Hello? Why is it so quiet? Could someone say something?

"I guess we should do it. I can hardly think of anything better, apart from real missions, to prepare you for the next one." I mumble, slightly annoyed.

"All right. When do we go?" So, she wanted me to decide, and I made it easy for her. She will pay for that. Someday.

"At the beginning of May, the new students at the school are still in their orientation phase, so we don't want to throw you both in at that point and stir things up. And don't worry, you don't have to take any tests, no homework or anything else. You're just there and work independently."

Something about her statement gives me a bad feeling, as if I know she has another thought in her head when she wants to take away our worries. I do trust Lilith. However, above all, I know how good she is to put me into unpleasant situations whenever possible.

While Kayla looks like she's starting to look forward to it, I can't shake off that bad feeling.

"Let's move on."

Lilith grins at me. I just knew it.

"It just so happens that there's a fighting tournament at the beginning of every school year. And I signed you both up for it. Kayla will be a healer who takes care of the injured participants, and Miko will be the final challenge at the end of the whole thing."

It makes sense that she only tells us about it after we've agreed to everything. Backing out now doesn't suit either Kayla or me. But that doesn't make it any better. Just like Kayla's giggling doesn't help at all.

"I can finally see you in action."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll show you what action is from day one. Don't think your training will be easy."

With my desperate expression, my threat doesn't come across as it should, and Kayla can't hold back a hearty laugh. I can hardly wait to see her on the floor, wheezing and flailing.

KAYLA

Wow, that is a creepy chuckle. Miko is indulging in her sadistic fantasies while I look through the flyer for this school. Loewenstadt Academy of Magic… this is not the first time I've heard that name. When my parents considered whether to send me to one of these schools, this was the first one that immediately fell out of the selection because of the horrendous tuition fees.

Their school grounds look incredible. The main building and dormitories are practically next to each other, surrounded by a massive forest with several running and climbing tracks. They have an indoor swimming pool, several gyms, and fields for all kinds of sports. And all this despite being a place for mages.

Despite the tough training ahead, I can't help but look forward to it. I'm a little worried about how we will be accepted by the students, as we are invading their space for our own benefit, so to speak, and all thanks to our guild leader's connections and contacts.

Maybe, no, most likely, I worry too much. We're not nearly as important as I think we are to these people. Everything should be fine if we try not to disturb anyone. Chances are, no one will even notice we're there. After all, they have over one thousand students.

"Who wants a coffee?" Lilith seems to indicate that she's done. Miko also seems preoccupied with herself, and I'm rather satisfied as well.

I'm sure I could think of a thousand more questions during the day, but we still have over a week until the beginning of May.

"Coffee sounds good. Shall I make some?" I offer, but Lilith immediately waves me off.

"No, no, you stay here and think about a training plan with Miko," she jumps up and strolls up the stairs.

"A training plan, huh?"

"It's actually obvious what needs to be done. A month is barely enough time to lay the foundations. Your mana pool and control will grow over time as you use magic, but what I realized from talking to the doctor at the hospital is your terrible physical condition. You're not sick, but you're also far from healthy."

She may be on to something. Every doctor has advised me to pay more attention to my diet and to do some physical exercise. What Miko is probably getting at is that a fitter body could have withstand the kind of strain that Krystoff's healing treatment put on me.

"Not the reaction I was expecting."

"What did you want to see? Me crying and begging you to reconsider the plan?"

"Nah, we'll save that for later. But I was expecting a bit of resistance."

"Sorry, nothing to complain about."

"Hmph."

"Do you like sport?"

"Not really. Since you can strengthen your body with magic, you can find a lot of mages who are anything but fit. But between missions, I often couldn't think of anything else to do except prepare for the next one, so it's become a habit for me to work out."

"Do you have a six-pack?"

"Sure, do you want to see it?"

I gasp. "I'd love to."

"Dream on. Like I'm showing you anything."

"You can see mine."

"I already did in the hospital."

That nasty giggle... As much as it upsets me, it's kind of cute too. Oddly enough, I prefer it when she's somewhat mean to me, compared to the overly lovely behavior from before.

"Well, my children, I'm back," after a record-breaking time of just under two minutes, Lilith returns to the table with a tray carrying three cups.

She puts it down in front of us, hands me a coffee, takes one for herself, and pushes a cup over to Miko with a smug face.

"I've made you some strawberry milk, cold and sweet, just the way you like it."

Aw, man, I didn't know that was available. I would have taken one, too. With a jealous expression, I glance at Miko, who is shining red like a tomato on the verge of tears. I didn't think the whole situation was that humiliating.

"Don't look!" Sipping her milk, she turns away a little. I blow some air into my coffee, hoping not to burn myself with the first sip.

"I won't be accepting any more missions for now. You should concentrate on the coming weeks. But thanks to your performance, Kayla, I know how much I can sell us for."

I'm sure she'll leave out the part about me ending up in a hospital. Otherwise, I'm glad to be of such help.

Miko continues to drink silently. There was no praise for her just now, as I understand she's the kind of witch who's good at killing monsters, and the only thing left for her to do right now is guide me around. I do feel sorry for her, but I'm sure she'll be back clearing dungeons one day.

"What are you looking at?" I have no idea how she always notices that.

"Has much changed? Now that I'm here?"

The last few weeks have been all about me and very little about her. Sure, she's a lot more experienced than me regarding the job. However, ultimately, she's just eighteen years old, and even if she tries to appear mature, you can still tell she's a young woman.

"It's all right. At least I have something to do again."

Oh, I'm keeping her busy and relieving her boredom. She could be a bit more grateful for it if that's the case.

"If anything is bothering you or I can help you with anything, please just let me know."

In the corner of my eye, I see Lilith grinning in satisfaction.

"I will."

"Good."

"Good," and she starts sipping her milk again.

"Oh, Kayla."

"Yes?"

"Is it okay if you drive? I need Eliza to attend a few guild leader conferences. You could borrow her car again."

"Sure, it's not that long a drive."

"About two hours."

"We should manage that."

"As long as we don't have to look for a parking space."

"Hey!"

Miko usually only opens her mouth to tease me. I'm not complaining about it, but it's a bit striking. At least we've sorted out the trip. Now, we just have to wait until the day we leave.

Hmm, a strange silence has spread. We're all sipping our drinks, and no one is trying to open up a new topic for conversation. Unlike me, however, they don't seem to mind.

Above all, how do we end this meeting if no one says anything? Lilith has covered her agenda. I don't have any questions right now, and Miko radiates a lack of interest.

Someone will say something at some point... I hope.