8 — A Calm, Inevitable Storm Was Not Yet Coming

"Oh, Professor Mel?"

A gentle voice cut through my thoughts.

"And a few other students too, I suppose?"

"Lily, Clara, and Mireille."

We all immediately looked at him.

Melia responded to the voice immediately.

"Oh, Professor Ren!"

Lang may yer lum reek.

For some reason, the words surfaced in my mind before I could stop them. An old saying, from somewhere deep in whatever bloodline I had inherited—a language I didn't speak, a homeland I had never seen. I didn't know why it came to me then. I only knew that it did, and that it felt like a warning.

Not only had we just talked about him, but I also had my suspicion. Considering how ominous everything sounded, Professor Renville might be a key witness to all of this. Or else the culprit. Either way, someone would have to take responsibility.

For Myra's memory loss, I mean.

So yes, who knows at this point.

Anyway, they called her "Mireille" here because that was what was written on her student ID. The professors all knew her status as a spirit, but they kept it a secret—among themselves, among the faculty, and obviously with Lily. They kept it secret because if anyone outside that circle found out, they wouldn't come after Myra. They would come after me. They would use my familiar to exploit me, to control me, to squeeze whatever use they could out of a girl who had already lost everything else. The secret was not for Myra's protection. It was for mine.

"Anything happened before I got here, Professor?"

He asked, with his right hand tucked inside his pocket.

"No, nothing, Professor. We just talked about the possibility of the Gatekeeper's error."

Hearing that, he instinctively raised his chopstick in his right hand.

What a freak.

I couldn't care less if he looked handsome, given his straight black hair and the youthful, innocent face that would make all of the female students here forget he was in his thirties.

And the fact that he was engaged to the princess made my stomach churn. Princess Aurelia. Everyone in the Kingdom knew her name. Everyone knew the assassination attempt two months ago, too—the one that had nearly killed her during a public procession through the capital. The one that had shaken the Council so badly they had doubled the Gatekeeper's surveillance budget overnight.

"That doesn't sound possible at all. The Gatekeeper works perfectly and has never detected anything strange in the students' activities so far. And the last anomaly was recorded two months ago, when a student got expelled for causing havoc among the council."

That explanation was sound enough, yet I couldn't help but raise suspicion.

And yes, I knew exactly what happened two months ago.

An assassination attempt on the princess. Earlier, I had seen Ren grip that chopstick a bit too firmly. Perhaps remembering that still hurt.

But that wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me was the Gatekeeper itself.

If the Gatekeeper was perfect—if it had never failed, never been fooled, never missed a single anomaly in all its years of operation—then how had someone reached into Myra's spirit and pulled out her memories without leaving a trace? Either the spell was beyond anything the academy could detect, or someone had altered the Gatekeeper's records from the inside.

Either way, the Gatekeeper was not the proof of safety Renville thought it was.

"Professor Ren," I said, intruding into the conversation.

"Have you ever tried checking all of the students by yourself?"

He brought the chopstick to his mouth, while the others turned their attention to me.

Melia couldn't catch a break.

"Clara, are you doubting the Gatekeeper's ability to keep students away from those mounting threats? How dare—"

"Mel." He interrupted her accusation.

"Let her speak. I believe Miss Inania might have a point."

Heh, he actually agreed with me?

I never once expected that. However, a shudder ran through me.

I looked at Lily, who gestured that we should "skip" this conversation and head straight to the ceremony. What she actually did was mimic running and point toward the destination. That was just my interpretation of her signs.

I sighed, forcing myself to actually speak about this.

Aye, aye... Miss.

"Uh, we'd like to apologize, but it's already late for the ceremony."

Both Melia and Renville nodded at my excuse to run away from this conversation.

"Oh, fine. Sure! No issues at all there, my dear. We shall get going too."

"Right, Professor Ren?"

I saw her shoe delicately stomp on Ren's foot. And of course, he held back the pain.

"Indeed. No problem at all. Let's find somewhere private to talk about this."

"Melia."

Hearing that, she giggled with a smirk.

"My, my. Of course we should. It's the Gatekeeper's matter after all~"

Excuse me, but do you two have some basic sense of shame?

Both of you are teachers!

Anyway, they waved at us.

I didn't. Lily and Myra did.

After that, they went away.

After a while, we reached the ceremony grounds.

We walked from the city toward the borderline between the old kingdoms—Æthelwynn and Wessexgard—now united under a single crown. The place was called Central Crossing, and it was the only way commoners and citizens could gather beyond the line that still separated them in everything but name. The Kingdom had been two countries once. Everyone knew the history. Everyone also knew that history didn't disappear just because a treaty was signed.

The Crossing was forbidden to students without official permission. I had sneaked in many times anyway. Since the place wasn't far from the academy—or from my house—I would spend my savings there. Buying accessories, if not some childhood toys, sometimes balloons, or obviously, sweets.

Again, I really do love sweets, after all.

"Ah, look who is there. The Potential Witch herself."

A lizard's voice slid into my ears. That snarky tone was too audacious to ignore.

"What are ya doin' here, playing with your little student council playhouse?"

I noticed Lily's fist tighten. She could have punched this guy for sure.

"Hey, cut him some slack, Ronald! She's looking very nervous, don't ya see?"

Arthur immediately intervened, his right hand holding Ronald back. It ended with a "Tch!" from Ronald, who clicked his tongue and walked away.

Technically speaking, both were also from the Academy—except male students weren't allowed in the same classrooms as females. Sophia Academy and Goethia Academy shared the same campus, the same grounds, the same Gatekeeper. They were two halves of one institution, separated by a rule older than any of us.

"Sorry about that, Clara. He was just being a prick as always."

He said this while adjusting his glasses.

"Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes and turned away before nodding.

"I see. I gotta go to the festival. You three take care!"

He left us immediately with a wave and a smile on his face.

"Bye bye, Arthur!" Myra waved her hand gleefully.

Lily nudged my ribs with her elbow.

"Nudged" would be an understatement. She jabbed me hard enough that I felt it in my spine, almost ripping my stomach apart.

No, stop entertaining those silly ideas. It's not what you really think.

Arthur Gillian McArthur. I'm not sure how one person's name could be so repetitive, but there you have it. He's the student council president of Goethia Academy. Okay, let's move on.

"Lily, Clara." Myra's voice went soft.

"Yes?" We both responded at the same time.

"May I go to… er, you know…"

How silly.

I smiled and patted her head gently. She wiggled.

"Sure, you may. Just be careful and enjoy the food and drinks."

I understood the feeling.

Finally released from the academy's lessons and instructions, even during the holiday. The silent dormitory still existed somewhere behind us, but here, every race was part of the crowd.

Elves, spirits, faes, and obviously humans. They became a sea of people.

Lights everywhere, on every street corner. City and town united at last, after years of hatred and distrust.

Once a year. Could be more if the Kingdom was wise.

But well, what could go wrong?

Because obviously… no matter how prepared we were for the storm, it was inevitable.

Somewhere in the crowd, a woman with white-and-silver hair was walking away.

I didn't see her. Not yet. But I would.

And when I did, I would finally have the answer to the question I had been carrying since the moment I saw that memory fragment.

Who had hurt Myra?

And why?

...