Chapter 32: Social life: Start!

“My life took a very strange turn since we last met…
My trip was a success, you know?
I’ve got my wings now, and I can use new spells.
Also, I met with lots of children!
They were all orphans of some sort, so I offered them my help.
When… when we came back, I started to build an orphanage for them.
It seems they like it for now.

But not everything turned out as I expected…
One of the children turned herself into a slave so I had to buy her back.
That stupid lil’…!”(Aby)

Stopping myself mid-sentence, I cast a look at the scenery surrounding me.

“Hmph.
Well, Suzy and I resumed our training.
But it seems that I’ve got anger management issues now.
So all the training I do with Lisa-sensei is focussed on that…

Also, you may already know, but your son escaped from the butchery.
I don’t know if he’s still alive or not, but I hope we’ll be able to retrieve him.
Well, if he’s dead, we’ll bring his body here, so don’t worry.”(Aby)

I put down the flowers I brought with me on the grave and gave a silent prayer for Gramps and the other villagers.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come and talk to you…
I’ll try to come back from time to time.
Enjoy your rest, Gramps…”(Aby)

With a last look at the scenery, I started to go back toward the city.
The cemetery was within the city’s wall, but another layer of smaller walls surrounded it too, making it a separate place from the city.
A very calm place.
While walking, I could see people who also came here to cherish their loved ones.
Some were crying, some where deposing flowers.
An old woman was drinking a glass of white alcohol, another glass put on the grave of who I suppose may belong to her husband.

As I came to understand while talking with otō-san and kā-san, cemeteries were busy places.
It was as much because of the death rate of the population, as it was because of the tradition to come here often, to take care of the dead.

As I was passing through the gate leading from the cemetery toward the city, I saw Suzy waiting for me.
She had already come here prior to me, and chose to let me go alone.

Well, I can’t keep thinking about sad things.
Let’s go training!

[…]

Months passed.
I was able to overcome my anger problem, but not without many hardship.
Deschamps-sensei, even though she was part Alraune, had a fiery temperament when it came to teaching me to control my emotions.
Her, who seemed to be such an Ice Queen!
She put me through unimaginably unfair situations.
She made me feel despair, pain, anger, sorrow, pain, injustice, and pain.
But thanks to that, I achieved the goal she gave me.
Of course, I can still be extremely angry.
But it won’t make me fight like a moron now.

Our magic studies are going well too.
Aka Sensei kept her fox form the whole time.
I know Kitsune can use a human form, but she stuck to the fox one.
When Suzy asked about it, she said she was just more relaxed like that.

Well, as I said, we made some progress.
By spinning our waterballs faster and faster we could use them like drills.
It was ineffective against even the cheapest protections, but water magic wasn’t specialised in offence in the first place, so that was okay.
Also, we learned a new Barrier spell.
It’s called [Confinement], and it’s a 3D barrier cage made to experiment with dangerous spells inside of it.
As long as you’d spend more mana to cast it than for the spell you’d cast inside it, and as long as it wasn’t an Earth Spell, it’s basically unbreakable.
Which is a very nice thing when you want to experiment with Fire Spells, for example.

So, once we learned that spell well enough, we started to learn some offensive spells, like Fireball and Wind Cutter, which I don’t think needs explaining.
But, we also learned utility ones!
Whisper, a Wind Spell that can carry your voice to someone in your vicinity in a way only them will be able to hear it, and Sonnar, a Water Spell useful to scan body of water for any presence inside of it.
Also, since Fire in itself is not made of atoms but is a form of energy, and since I don’t really know how fire works at that level, I am not able to use [Chantless Casting] with it.

But we did other things apart from lessons of course.
We went a lot to the orphanage, to see how the children were faring.
It seems like they enjoy school a lot.
Well, it’s normal. It’s something no child would even dream of if they weren’t born rich.

Also, I had an important visit from an official from the city.
Seems like they are interested by my initiative, and they proposed to help me fund the orphanage starting next year if my program showed good results.
Even though I can finance it on my own, I won’t say no to that help.
Plus, it’s not only a financial help.
It will allow me to make some contacts with the city authorities, and it could also benefit the children.
Also, it may help to convince more orphans to come here.
So, starting next year, I’ll expand the orphanage.

But resistance has started to show too, as some nobles seem opposed to me allowing poor children to get educated.
I’d like to say “f*** off” to them personally, but I don’t know their identity…

Well, now about Neleanna and Laarii…
Of course, Laarii was overjoyed to learn that her big sister was staying here.
Neleanna, on the other part, was torn between happiness and depression, because even though she could stay with her sister, she couldn’t look at me in the eyes.
She was ashamed of what she did, but even though she wouldn’t agree that she should have asked me for a favour.

I don’t know what sort of man was her father, but I sure don’t agree with the principles he taught her.
When help is here for you, you just accept it. “Honour” won’t help you eat if you’re homeless and or dead.

But hey, I’m too strict on that one.
She grew up in quite a rich family.
You could say she was in the low-Nobility among the Dark-Elves, a bit like me now in fact.
To put things in perspectives, when you’re against other Nobles, you shouldn’t accept free help.
Because that would mean you owe them a favour.
And that is not something you want in those circles of the “High – Society”.
Unscrupulous nobles would profit from that as much as they could.

But those sort of things don’t apply to me.
Plus, I’m her friend.
When friends give you help, you accept it.
I’ll probably enforce it anyway…

Well, I know, friendship among Nobles isn’t as simple as that.
Kā-san always told me to be aware around other nobles, because some may use my feelings, like friendship, just for their own interests.

But, hey, I’m no Nobility.
My mind is still in part one of a “country bumpkin”, who still miss her cereal bowl every morning.

And, it may be a bit mean to say it like that, but she too isn’t Nobility anymore.

All her family assets were seized when her parents died by other nobles with some shady reasons…
In fact, from what I understood, it seems like her family did not have that many friends.

Well, let’s skip the sad topic.

She was quickly adopted by Catherine, Julie and Sylvia as their new co-worker, and was put to work ASAP.
She still had everything to learn yet, and I was secretly watching her, laughing as she was battling with how to use a broom and some other basic things like that.

What she quickly mastered however was how to use Water Magic in everyday tasks, like washing the floor or the dishes, watering the plants, scrubbing the walls from mosses and things like that.
It seems like only Sylvia could use Water magic, but since I never saw her use it, I wasn’t aware of it.

In fact, I don’t see any of them use magic that often, now that I think about it…

But now, I’m quite worried about something…
It’s Catherine.
Her health keeps getting worse and worse.
It’s maddening.
Ka-san is looking into it, but she hasn’t found the cause yet.
I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try anything I can to help her.

“Abigaelle! Come here quickly, you are going to get late!”(ka-san)

Oh, yeah.
I forgot about that…

“Coooming!”(Aby)

[…]

I was currently in a long corridor.
Julie was behind me, following my steps.
Next to me, a maid was showing us the path to our destination.

Why does Nobles’ mansions always have to be such gigantic mazes?
Do they take joy in their guests getting lost?

As I was thinking that, the maid came to a stop before a door, and, after knocking three times on it, she let us in.

“The Honourable Abigaelle Lovecraft, from the Redtear Clan of the Vampiri Regate, heir of Baron Lucius Lovecraft and the High-Alchemist, Lucrezia Lovecraft.”

The room, who was a bit noisy just moment ago, became a bit more calm as I and Julie were entering the place, although the chatter quickly resumed.
I was timidly looking to approach a group, but one took the initiative and came to greet me in person.

A human girl, around fourteen years old, started the introduction.

“Good afternoon. My name is Leanora Rosenweld, daughter of Earl Karl Rosenveld, my father.
Here is Charlène d’Arfeuille, second daughter of the Human Councillor Arthur d’Arfeuille…”(Leanora)
“How do you do?”(Charlène)
“And here is Laura d’Argenteuil, third daughter of Herbert d’Argenteuil, a rich merchant from the town of Tolosiana.”(Leanora)
“Pleased to meet you.”(Laura)
“The pleasure is mine.
Thank you for welcoming me, it’s my first time at such a meeting, I was afraid it would be hard to fit in.”(Aby)

Julie, in the meantime, silently retreated to a more secluded space, where other maids were passing times, as the girls who came to greet me brought me to a table and offered me tea and biscuits.

Yeah.
That’s a Noble “Tea Party”.
A social event made for Nobles’ daughters, so they can weave strong connections with others.
Those connections were to be used later on in life, to help their family and to strengthen Nobles’ factions in their power play.

Even though Taovania was ruled by a Council, the country was divided in thirty “Fiefs”. Those Fiefs are territories divided by their population, the geography, and the industrial value of the land.
Each Fiefs was then subdivided themselves in countless “Domaines”, which are ruled by Nobles.

“Oh, it’s nothing.
Also, you don’t have to keep up with strict Etiquette here if you want to.
For some of us here, it’s one of the only place where we can relax, so do as you wish”(Leanora)

Jackpot!

“Really? Nice!
I don’t really like Etiquette, so I’ll gladly take you up on that offer.”(Aby)
“Ah, seems like you found a new friend, Charlie.”(Laura)
“Eeeeh, can’ really deny it, can’ I?”(Charlène)

The girl, Charlène, had such a refined appearance that her strong accent made me stare blankly for a second…
I’m quite sure that accent did NOT exist when she talked just a few seconds ago…

“Surprising isn’t it?”(Leaonora)
“Oh, come on! I don’ have tha’ strong an accen’!”(Charlène)

Yes you have!

“Oh but her eyes are screaming that you do, Charlie…”(Laura)
“Hmpf…”(Charlène)
“Ah, hem, sorry…”(Aby)
“Don’t be, we always tease her with that after all…”(Leanora)
“So, I guess you already know each other from before right?”(Aby)
“Yup, it’ been some time since we met now.”(Charlène)
“About four years, I guess?”(Laura)
“That’s it, I think”(Leanora)
“Oh, so you’re childhood friends…”(Aby)

They all, looked at me, and Laura bit her cheeks, so as not to laught

“He, you’re a funny one aren’t you…”(Leanora)
“Ya’ lucky we were the one approaching you firs’, ya know?”(Charlène)
“Eeeh?”(Aby)

Laura, who contained her laugh successfully, looked at me.

“What she wants to say is that, here, not a looot of people are here to make friends.
Even us, at the start, we were just planning on using each other like everyone else plans to do here…”(Laura)
“That’s…”(Aby)
“Ah, but don’ worry, we’re no’ like tha’ anymore! Tha’s why I said tha’, you could have met less scrupulous people…”(Charlène)
“Aaah. I get it. I think.”(Aby)

I mean, now I’m suspecting you, you know? I wasn’t really on my guard against you, you know?

“That’s why, we have to tell you…”(Laura)
“We did not greet you by chance.”(Leanora)
“Really?”(Aby)
“Yup. Ya names keeps poppin’ in our paren’s mouth, so we though’ i’d be nice ta meet the person for re’l.”(Charlène)
“So, we were kinda happy when we heard that you’d be the one coming here on your own”(Leanora)
“Yup, no scheming needed.”(Laura)
“Just a letter would have been enough though…”(Aby)

Are those girls for real?!

“So, why did you change exactly? What made you not want to use each other?”(Aby)
“Well, that’s simple.”(Laura)
“You remember what I said when I presented us to you?”(Leanora)
“Ah, yes, but…”(Aby)
“Well, what I want to say is that we are not heir to our family…”(Leanora)
“Oh.”(Aby)

I understand now.

“You understand now?”(Laura)
“When we grow up, we’ll just be -marriage tokens- for our families”(Leanora)
“Yeah, an’ we don’ wan’ tha’, do we?”(Charlène)
“I get it, but that still doesn’t explain why…”(Aby)

That still doesn’t explain why they became friend…

“Well, it’s simple.”(Laura)
“Since we don’t want to be marriage tokens, we’ll have to leave our families at some point.”(Leanora)
“And by “leave”, she means escaping with some “pocket money”.(Laura)
“Eeeeh?”(Aby)

Surely, they cannot be that stupid now, can they?

“Of course, we’re not stupid, we already have fake ID’s forged, some companies created to support us, and a place to live away from our families…”(Leanora)
“We also alrea’y planne’ our escape ahead. When, how, where, all tha’ has been prepare’.”

Surely, they cannot be that clever now, can they?

“But then, why telling me? You’re not afraid I’d spill the beans or something?”(Aby)
“Well, not really. Nobody would believe you if you were to say such a strange and excentric story to anybody.”(Leanora)
“And, you see, we’re telling you this because we still need something…”(Laura)
“Ya’, we need ya’ help!”(Charlène)
“Huh? What do you mean?”(Aby)
“Well, you see, even though we said we have everything prepared, we have a favour to ask.(Leanora)
“Yeah, when the time is righ’, we’d like to enter your orphanage!”(Charlène)
“Oh.”(Aby)

…
Whaaaa?

< < Previous Chapter | Next Chapter > >