A girl sat on a dark pink shore, holding a fishing rod. With her line cast into the murky lake, all she had to do was wait for the hook to grab something.
"You know, a net would work better than that old rod," a boy's voice from behind informed her gently.
The girl's head whirled, nine blonde ponytails held together by a sturdy ribbon following her movements. "Oh, it's you, Platin," she said in relief. "But if you're here...then who's—"
"Don't worry," Platin told her as he sat down next to her. "I made sure to lock some doors. We don't intend to start before nine o'clock."
The blonde girl with nine ponytails smiled sadly. "Do you think some locks and a wake-up call are really going to stop anyone from sneaking out?"
"It didn't stop you, did it?"
"..." The nine-tailed girl returned her attention to the lake while she reeled the line in.
"Fishing lines break easily," the blond schoolboy said.
"Nets break eventually," she returned, still waiting for the hook to pick up something.
"But the will to hold on doesn't."
The nine-tailed girl looked at her shoes, dark green eyes refusing to meet Platin's eyes of the same shade. "...It does," she whispered.
"Think positive," Platin encouraged.
"What's the point?" she asked. "If this doesn't let up...I won't be here anymore."
Something blue fell over her eyes while hands lifted the corners of her mouth. The girl lifted the object on her head to see Platin with his hands on her cheeks and with his cap off. "Not if I can help it," he said.
Behind them, using a corridor wall to hide, a brown-haired boy smirked. "Not if you can't stop it," he sneered in a low voice.
X790, April 11, 8:00 AM
In the town where Lamia Scale was located, many of its locals stared at the sight of a blue-capped blond boy sleeping on a magic carpet that seemed to know its destination.
"Isn't that the Sleeper?"
"I thought he'd be older."
"He must be talented if he was able to enter Lamia Scale at that age."
"It's too quiet," Ooba muttered as she spun her arms around. "And where's that tea I ordered?" she added.
"Y-yes, Granny!" Immediately, a slightly plump man hurried over with a tray that held a teacup and teapot. "Here's your tea, Granny!"
A knock at the doors caught the guild's attention. "Someone get that!" Ooba yelled, prompting Yuka to open them wide. The Wave saw the Sleeper floating outside on his carpet, waiting for someone to let him inside the guild.
"Hey, Platin," Yuka greeted as he stepped aside so that Platin and his magic carpet could come in.
"...mh..." was all Platin mumbled while his new magic carpet floated him over to the request board.
"Is that the boy you were telling me about?" Sherry asked when Yuka returned to his seat. "The sleepy one?"
"More like the living dead!" Toby shot back.
"Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Yuka asked tiredly.
"Platin." Ooba spun her finger around, redirecting the carpet's path towards her. "Sonny, you need to wake up first. Here, have some oolong tea," she offered, holding out a cup of tea for her youngest subordinate to drink.
"Ehh?" By now, most of Lamia Scale's ranks were baffled by their master's behavior. Ooba was known for berating her subordinates if she found a fault in them, as well as ordering them to work extra hard, especially since the Grand Magic Games were coming up in a little less than three months. She did show compassion for them once in a while, but most of the time, she could usually be found yelling at someone. So to see her act so motherly—er, grandmotherly was very rare.
"...mh-hm..." Though anyone could tell he was still sleeping, Platin accepted the tea from Ooba and drank it slowly. It was a wonder how he could still keep his poise even in his sleep.
The Sleeper placed the cup on the counter, still showing no signs of waking...yet. Ooba watched Platin's eyelids blink rapidly before they opened slowly. The blond boy stretched his arms out, signalling his awakening. "*Yawn*...ah?" Platin blinked, trying to adjust to the lighting of the guild. "Um...how did I get here?" he asked as he used his left pinkie finger to point to himself.
"Your magic carpet brought you," Ooba said, gesturing to the textile underneath the boy.
"Is that right?" Platin rubbed his eyes in an attempt to remove any tears of exhaustion. "That much I can tell...but I can't remember how I woke up this morning...or how I got dressed. But I know I went to sleep last night...I should have..."
Ooba patted Platin's shoulder. "Don't strain your mind too much over it, Platin. I'm sure another cup of tea will jog your memory."
"Thank you...Obaba." Platin poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it carefully, frowning at its taste. "It's...a bit strong," he mumbled in a small voice.
"Something to keep you alert for the day," Ooba added, returning to the usual routine of spinning her arms around.
"Oon~see, she babies him," Toby said.
"It's a sign of love!" Sherry sighed.
"He's young, that's why. But..." One of Yuka's enormous eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "That kid's a disaster waiting to happen," he muttered.
"Let's see...what should I do today?" Platin scanned the request board, his dark green eyes more alert than they were minutes ago. Despite this, his dark circles weren't planning to go anywhere.
"Isn't he too young to go off on his own?" Sherry wondered out loud.
"He is," Yuka agreed. "Which is why Obaba is going to make someone go with him once he picks his mission. Which should be—"
"Obaba!" Platin rushed over to Ooba with a flyer in his hand.
"Now," Yuka finished.
Ooba read over the flyer while her stamp hovered over it, waiting for her approval. "A simple job of organizing a library archive," she noted, "and the client's town is a ten minute walk from here. But Platin...are you sure you can stay awake through this job? Organizing files can be tedious."
"...I'm sure I can stay awake this time," Platin assured, though the yawn that followed after didn't convince Ooba entirely.
This time? was the thought that ran through the minds of many of his guild mates.
"Hm..." After a scrutinizing stare that left Platin uneasy, Master Ooba finally stamped the flyer. "I'll let you go off on your own this time, Platin. But just for luck—" Ooba shoved the cup back into his hands, nearly spilling the aromatic liquid all over the boy's front. "Have some more tea. It's guaranteed to keep you awake."
Don't you think you should have told la vielle that the tea was useless? An accented voice ran in Platin's mind as he journeyed alone on the road to the next town.
"She wouldn't take no for an answer," Platin murmured, the memory of Ooba trying to force Platin to drink every drop of tea still fresh in his mind.
Now, now, a calmer and mature voice entered the mental conversation. Both of you know that Master Ooba was trying to look out for us.
The tea was too strong! Platin winced at the harsh whip-like tone of the accented voice. The imbecile that prepared it steeped it for too long!
Most likely on Master Ooba's orders, the calm voice returned, its gentle tone soothing to Platin's mind. We all know that Master Ooba was—
Master Ooba this! Master Ooba that! For once, tais-toi!
"Both of you—especially toi—shut up," Platin mumbled, tugging the cap down.
Yes, please do shut up.
Moi? Jamais! Why don't you go back to sleep, petite amie? The accented voice added, switching to a lulling tone.
No, no, don't listen to—
Too late. Platin's eyes drooped while his breathing slowed. The blond schoolboy dropped to his knees before he finally collapsed at the crossroads. The last thing he heard were feet breaking into a run from the right fork.
"'Ansen, you should join this guild! Ansen, why did you join that guild? Ansen, you have to prove you're stronger than that woman's son!' Mama, will you stuff a sock in it?" Realizing how ridiculous he sounded by mimicking his mother's rant, Ansen sighed as he walked the road by himself. "Someday, I'll prove them wrong."
"You hear that, cousin?" Ansen yelled at the sky, waving a fist at the endless frontier. "One of these days, I'll beat you in front of the whole world!"
"...I can already hear him telling me to get real," he mumbled, looking down at the ground.
"Argh!" He took his frustrations out on a small rock near his foot, kicking it with all he had. He lifted his head to watch the rock's flight, only to see a collapsed body at the intersection of the three roads. "AH!" he cried, running towards the body. Please tell me that wasn't because of the rock I kicked, he pleaded in his head. The brown-haired boy with the tasseled cap knelt beside the body. "Wake up! I didn't mean to kick that rock, so please forgive me!"
"...So loud..." Ansen's ears twitched: he heard that voice before. And he swore he knew that blue cap along with the hair underneath it that shifted from brown to blond.
As if to confirm his suspicions, Platin lifted himself on his knees while his hands pushed against the ground to help him get back on his feet. "What happened?"
"You okay, Sleeper?"
"Um...did I fall asleep on the road?" Platin asked, pointing his left pinkie to himself.
Ansen nearly fell, dumbfounded. What is this kid? he thought, leaving Platin to dust himself off drowsily. How many hours of sleep does he get, anyway? "You weren't hit by anything, were you?" Ansen asked slowly, hoping that it really wasn't the rock he kicked.
The blond schoolboy rubbed his eyes. "Other than a nap, no. Why?"
Ansen sighed in relief. "No reason," he said quickly, adjusting his hat. "But why were you sleeping on the road in the first place?"
"I didn't mean to," Platin countered as he adjusted his bag strap over his shoulders. "I just fall asleep whether I like it or not."
"Mh-hm."
"The client probably thinks I'm late."
"Wait." Ansen pointed to the left fork. "Are you heading in that direction?"
A young man with dark green hair glanced at the grandfather clock in the library's foyer. "That's odd," he murmured as he drummed his fingers on the counter. "The old lady said that the kid would be here by now."
The doors to the library opened, bringing his attention to the entrance as two boys came in. "There you are!" he cried as he rushed towards them. "And here I was thinking that no one would turn up."
"I'm late, aren't I?" Platin asked tentatively.
The librarian waved a hand dismissively. "I'm just glad someone actually came to help me. But...your master said that only one person would come, didn't she?" he added.
"About that!" Ansen rested an elbow on Platin's head, much to his annoyance; after all, the brown-haired boy was taller than the blond schoolboy by a few inches. "My friend's not feeling too well—in fact, he collapsed on the way here."
"You don't have to tell him that," Platin mumbled as he pulled his hat over his eyes. The green-haired librarian raised an eyebrow at Ansen's words.
"So I came with him to help him get the job done," Ansen finished, adjusting his own hat with his free hand. "I hope you don't mind?"
"Of course not." The librarian gestured to several boxes stacked on top of each other near a locked door. "I could use all the help available. Archiving the city's records by myself isn't easy."
"The city's records?" Platin blurted. "I thought the job was to organize the library's archive."
"Yes...in a way." The librarian led them over to the boxes by the door. Both boys could see that the door was heavily padlocked, and the schoolboy was prepared to bet that some enchantments were put into effect, too. "The mayor asked me to file away every file on every citizen and public records of this city in the library...for the time being. Normally he would store them in the basement of town hall, but the entire building is under renovation due to a fire caused by some bandits yesterday."
"Wait...bandits?" The blond put a hand to his forehead, eyes clouded with uncertainty. "There were bandits yesterday?"
"Yes," the green-haired man said as if bandits attacking the town were a daily occurrence. "Weren't you in town yesterday?"
"I was...but I don't remember any bandits attacking...I would have remembered if there were," Platin replied in a small voice.
"Maybe you were taking one of your naps when it happened," Ansen cut in, rapping his knuckles on Platin's cap.
"Naps?" The green-haired librarian bent down to eye level with Platin and inspected his dark circles. "Whoa, someone needs to get to bed early!"
"But not too early," the darker of the two boys added with a broad smile.
"So don't fall asleep on me," the librarian finished with a grin as wide as Ansen's. "Now if you boys will follow me." The dark green-haired man unlocked each padlock with a ring of keys that hung from his belt loop. When all the padlocks were unlocked, the man pushed open the door, revealing a set of stairs that led down.
Platin peered down the dark stairway fearfully. "We have to carry these boxes down—" The blond boy gulped. "—there?" he squeaked.
"And you have to unpack every box and store every file in the filing cabinets alphabetically," the librarian added, nodding his head in agreement.
"It's not like you're afraid of the dark, are you, Sleeper?" Ansen joked, elbowing his rival. Platin's head bowed as his body slouched. Ansen's joking smile fell. "Wait, you are?"
"...Tch." Platin returned to a proper posture as his head whirled to face Ansen. The scared visage from earlier was gone, replaced by a more confident expression. "In your dreams, wannabe ninja," Platin scoffed, heading down the stairs to prove his point. "Snap to it, unless you're afraid that I really will beat you in a fight?" he added, brown eyes glittering with malice.
Ansen's ears twitched at Platin's nickname for him. "Do not call me a wannabe ninja."
"Or what?" Platin challenged.
Gritting his teeth, Ansen tried to roll up the sleeves of his suikan in an attempt to look tougher, but he failed miserably as his sleeves just came back down. "When this is over, don't blame me if you run home crying, Sleeper," he warned as he followed after Platin with two large boxes in his hands. "And you're one to talk—you're not even hauling a thing!"
"Oh?" Platin snapped his fingers loudly: Ansen had to move out of the way as multiple boxes floated past him. The Sleeper pointed his right index finger down the dark corridor and the boxes followed his command by floating in the direction he indicated. "You were saying?" he drawled as the sound of boxes being set down were made clear to the trio.
The green-haired librarian chuckled lightly while Ansen followed after Platin; the former of the two fumed at being shown up in front of a client. He looked behind himself to see that all the boxes were gone. "What do you know? I just might get done before lunch," he mused as he followed after the boys.
"Where's a knife when you need one?" Platin grumbled as he looked for an object sharp enough to cut through the annoying tape.
"Ahem." The Sleeper wheeled around to look at Ansen, who rested an elbow on an open box while holding what looked to be a kunai. "Need one of these?" he asked teasingly.
"Heh." The kunai knife escaped Ansen's hand and flew into Platin's. "I stand corrected: you are a ninja," Platin said as his bangs fell over his left eye, which gave him a darker look, especially when his hair now looked light brown in the poor lighting. Platin smirked as steam came out of Ansen's ears. The dark-haired boy tried think of how not to wring his rival's neck before noon while contemplating how to do the opposite without getting in trouble for it.
Platin cut the tape that bound the first box he decided to work on. As he finally opened it, he scanned the contents: like the librarian promised, there were files on the citizens of this town. And from the looks of it, he stumbled upon the files of citizens with a surname that started with 'L'. "This is surprisingly small," he noted.
"Well, this isn't a large town," the librarian said, having heard what the smaller of the two boys said. "The population is tiny compared to Crocus."
"Makes sense." Platin made his way over to a filing cabinet labelled with an 'L' on the side. "It looks like this is all the L's," he added, noting how the surnames in the box only went from Landon to Lynwood.
A certain name in the middle of the box caught Platin's attention. Brown eyes lit up in surprise as he tugged the file out from between 'Loran' and 'Lorenz'.
"Hello~What are you still doing here?" he wondered darkly.