Strenuous Morning

They ate the rest of their breakfast while basking in the morning sun. It was quiet and peaceful.

They all felt like leaving the cafeteria was the right thing to do, even if talking behind their backs would only increase.

“Do we know when those special lessons start?” Lord Kaiser asked the friends, after throwing away the trash.

“We were told they would notify us,” Crod answered, “but it wouldn’t hurt asking again.”

The friends agreed.

“Should we ask Lodre then?” Lord Kaiser suggested.

“Sure” Rivia said, standing up, “but we have no idea as to where he is on the weekends…”

It was Saturday, and for the next two days there were no planned classes or events. It was time students had entirely to themselves, and which teachers used to leave Drezore.

The only problem being Lodre’s whereabouts.

“Any ideas?” Lord Kaiser asked, looking at the friends.

Silence fell upon them as everyone pondered on the possible courses of action.

“…I can try sensing him, but it’s not for certain…” Crod said, to which Lord Kaiser lit up.

“I completely forgot!” Lord Kaiser said, “Alright, this is going to be easier than I thought…”

“No, like I said, it’s not for cert–”

“You can do it” Lord Kaiser said, slapping him on the back.

Crod sighed and sat on the bench with his elbows on his knees, and his forehead supported by his interlocked fingers.

A couple of seconds passed when he sighed again and got up from the bench.

“He’s behind the academy…” Crod said, motioning to the left.

“Alright!” Lord Kaiser said, “Good work.”

The group of friends headed to the back.

When they got there, they saw Lodre, completely alone, cleaning up all one hundred tables from Sana’s tea party event.

He wore an irritable expression on his face as he exhaustedly gathered all the plates, cups, and cutlery, singlehandedly.

The friends speculated that this was a horrible time to ask, and considered the best way to approach the situation.

“Let’s help him…” Atsuo muttered, to which the friends did not protest.

They went up to Lodre, who tried to fake a smile at the sight of them, but did a poor job due to his exhausted and annoyed state.

“What can I do for you, kids…?” he groaned, looking at them.

“We want to help…” Lord Kaiser said.

“No… I can’t possibly bother–”

“We insist” Lord Kaiser persisted, as the friends nodded along.

Lodre sighed and agreed.

“The girls, please take care of the tableware. The boys, help me move the chairs and the empty tables.”

With that, they followed Lodre’s lead and began moving everything to the underground arena from the second event.

Inside, there was another very spacious room not far from the main entrance that acted as storage for equipment and other furniture.

“Do you have to do all of this yourself, each time?” Lord Kaiser asked Lodre.

“No…” Lodre groaned, as they put one of the tables down near the corner of the room, “We have another professor who specializes in these things, and cleans everything up in a matter of minutes.”

“As you might have deduced… I wouldn’t be here were she at the academy at this precise moment…” he said, panting while resting on one of the tables.

“Did something happen?” Crod wondered.

“No… just running some errands for her lady Arete” Lodre replied.

“Were you planning on doing all of this yourself?” Atsuo asked, exhausted.

“I’d manage somehow…” Lodre said, with a grim look on his face.

“Okay, enough rest…” he said, getting up, “eighty-two tables to go…”

They stretched a little and went back for the next table.

Meanwhile, Eskasa and Rivia were carefully gathering all the tableware and putting them inside the respective carts, parked beside them.

It was a long, arduous process that took them nearly three hours.

The group of friends were so tired, they forgot what they were there to do in the first place.

“Thank you for indulging in this miserable experience with me…” Lodre rasped, wiping the sweat off his face, “if not for you, I’d be going at it until midnight…”

“Yeah, of co–” Lord Kaiser began, suddenly remembering their plan.

“…of course,” he finished the sentence, “…by the way Lodre, do you know when our further studies here start?”

The exhausted friends all quickly looked up at Lodre, also remembering.

“Oh …” Lodre uttered, looking at them, “…I was supposed to tell you earlier, but I was a little ‘preoccupied’. They start tomorrow, and Lady Arete will personally teach you.”

“I apologize…” he added, to which the friends assured him not to worry about it.

“Do you know where it will take place?” Atsuo asked importantly.

“Oh… you guys are to gather at the entrance, like with the competition. I think…” he said unsurely, “what I do know is that there will be around twenty of you…”

“I see,” Atsuo said, “thank you.”

“Of course,” Lodre said, getting up.

“I owe you guys, so if you ever need anything… you can find me at the faculty office…” he added drearily, “I almost never leave that place…”

“Well then… take care…” he said, nodded and went back around to the academy entrance, presumably to the place he said he’s always at.

The friends sighed as they rested from such a laborious morning, before going back to the academy themselves.

By the time they arrived back at the Minae dorm, it was already almost time to have lunch.

They were more thirsty than hungry and agreed to go in about an hour. Until then, they had all the time to themselves, which they chose to spend in their own way.

For Atsuo, it was yet another nap after the physically demanding job he had just performed.

For Crod, it was more meditation, this time trying to perceive more things with his senses.

For Eskasa, it was a walk around the academy.

For Lord Kaiser, it was a letter notifying Yuna of his and Atsuo’s prolonged absence.

And Rivia, following Lord Kaiser’s example, decided to send a letter back to her academy and hometown back in Queros.

After she finished writing the letter, Lord Kaiser showed her the way to the Drezore’s post office, which he was now a regular at.

They sent them without any difficulties and went back to their rooms, stumbling upon Eskasa on the way.

She was having a heated discussion with some people.

“And how is that our problem?” she said sternly to a group of students.

“He is ruining the experience for everyone else” a girl said.

Eskasa glared at her with her piercing gaze. The rest of the group felt uneasy just being there.

“Eating at the same time… is your choice…” she responded coldly.

“Unless you want to do something about it…” she glanced at the other students, who looked away.

Rivia flinched when she was not even the one being addressed.

The students walked away, embarrassed and completely ashamed.

“That was very effective…” Lord Kaiser said impressed.

Eskasa turned around, surprised.

“Well, it’s getting annoying…” she said looking at the students’ backs, “they keep whining while the solution is right under their noses…”

“You’re right…” he said uneasily.

Lord Kaiser felt like he was watching another Sana in the making.

“So, what brings you guys here?” she asked, smiling.

“We were just sending our letters…” Rivia answered, as Lord Kaiser nodded along.

“I see,” Eskasa said looking at her watch, “It’s almost time, should we get everyone and go eat?”

They nodded and followed Eskasa to get Crod and Atsuo for lunch.