Counseling

No, no, no, no, no!

I do not want to open my eyes. I do not want to move. But I need to and want to at the same time. A groan escapes my lips despite it being less painful than last time.

“You okay?”, Birta’s voice forces me to stay awake. “I know you’re an old timer but you gotta get up.”, The teen’s voice adds with too much sass. I do not want to deal with that right now.

“Please don’t call me that ever again.”, I say as anger enters my voice.

I open my eyes to Birta standing over me pulling the covers off of me.

“Well you are old.”, The ogre responds with a chuckle. She is really aggravating me right now.

“I am not in the mood for your sass.”, I almost yell at her.

“Ohhhhhhh!”, Birta replies with understanding while looking at what was beneath the covers. “It’s that time for you, huh?”, She says before walking over to her bed. “If you’re reborn how come this feels so bad for you?”, The teen asks while she grabs something from her luggage below her bed. “You would’ve dealt with this before right?”, She continues standing back up.

I cannot tell her I was a man before being reincarnated as Lydia. That will ruin so many things. I need to lie. I need to lie. I need to lie.

“It wasn’t so bad back then.”, I fib finally find the words.

“Riiiight.”, The ogre replies before handing me a tiny vial. “Drink it. It’ll make you feel a little better, probably.”, She explains.

Without even asking what it is, I drink the contents like a shot. It tastes oddly sweet, like a mix of oranges and nectarines.

“It’ll take a few moments for it to take effect but you’ll feel better.”, She reassures me while she rests a strong hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go get some breakfast, okay?”, She inquires with a smile.

-- -- --

“Bet you’re feeling better now.”, Birta says with a smile while we walk out of the cafeteria. She is correct. I do feel better, for the most part.

“Kind of.”, I mutter putting a hand on my gut. I feel bloated still, if not more so because of the food. Maybe I should have eaten less.

A light breeze blows by the two of us, ruffling our clothes slightly before a tiny piece of wood appears in front of both of us. We both grab a piece of wood and look them over.

“I think this is a summons.”, I mutter.

“Why not just have an assembly or something about all this?”, The teen inquires turning the piece of wood in her hand to examine the back side.

“Maybe they want to keep it private.”, I reply uncertain myself. I am to talk with Master Til Nadia later today. Why her again? Hopefully she will be rested and not so agitating. I really do not need any of that today.

“Huh, I wonder who sent this.”, She mutters as she rests her chin in her free hand.

“Does it matter?”, I ask with a hint of annoyance.

“Maybe not to a granny like you, but I am curious.”, She playfully replies. I simply give her a glaring side eye while we walk back to the dorm.

-- -- --

I stand in front of the door to the room where I am supposed to meet with Nadia. I take a deep breath in and then out before I knock on the door.

“Yeah?”, Nadia’s voice asks from behind the door. It sounds distant though. The room cannot be that big, right?

“It’s Yamakuma Lydia.”, I answer. “I’m here because of the summons.”, I add.

“Door’s unlocked.”, Nadia’s voice responds.

I open the door to an unexpected sight. The room is filled with various plants. Small bonsai are neatly lined up along the wall to my left. A small palm tree and small pine tree are both somehow in the room against the back wall framing the large window almost like two separate tacky theme restaurants in the States meshed together.

“How do you feel?”, Nadia asks me. Interesting, her desk is rooted into the ground.

“Not well.”, I answer while slowly walking to the rooted desk.

“I’d imagine.”, Nadia replies, “After what Ming did to you it’s not surprising. That’d mess up anyone really.”

“Yeahhhhh…”, I respond stopping in front of the desk. My eyes fall onto the top of her desk.

“Something else wrong?”, The master asks me with a raised brow. I am fairly certain she is simply asking me to make certain but most likely already knows.

“That time of the month.”, I mutter barely audible to even myself.

“I see.”, Nadia says. Like I figured, she heard me and confirmed her suspicions. “Regardless,”, The master states, “It’s time to talk about why you were summoned here.”

“Is this about what courses I will take?”, I ask.

“That would be correct.”, Nadia answers before looking at a small plank of wood. “First we’ll go over your test results.”, She explains setting the plank in front of me. I grab the plank and sit down slowly. Yup, still hurts a little to shift. “I know you’re not in the mood right now, but we can’t reschedule.”, She says. “Sorry about that.”, The master adds.

I look down at the results of my tests. Combat capabilities appear to be average or bad, except toughness.

“As you can see-”, Nadia begins pointing at the plank. “Physical results were mostly mediocre overall. With your weapon skills itself being poor but your toughness being well above the average.”, She explains.

“So is that not an option for me?”, I ask.

“Well it is, but it’s not recommended.”, The woman answers before she points at the magical results. “On the other hand, your magic scores are so far beyond the average that my recommendation is that you take the mage curriculum.”

“How exactly does magic training work here?”, I inquire looking at the lanky woman.

“A mix of practical training and theoretical.”, The master replies matter-of-factly meeting my gaze. She is talking to me more like an adult than a ten year old. There is no way she has any idea I am an adult though. “Just makes sense that the first year would be used to teach the basics.”, She continues with a chuckle. Damn, I like her laugh. It is light but hardy at the same time. “In your second year is when you decide what to specialize in further.”, She explains. “If you make it that far.”, She adds.

“How many make it to apprenticeship?”, I inquire.

“Not many.”, Nadia answers. “Most applicants quit during the first year. But the numbers do dwindle each year after as well.”, She explains.

“I’ll take the magic course then.”, I say turning the conversation back to my courses.

“Alright then, you’re all set.”, The master responds with a smile. I am unsure why but my vision starts to blur a little.

“Uhhhhhh-”, Nadia replies looking towards a wall. “You’re crying.” Damn it! I hate this so much. I am unsure if I will ever get used to this happening all the time.

“Sorry.”, I respond meekly wiping away my tears.