Honourable Stupid - Chapter 5
Authors Note
Warning, Spoilers for Familia of Zero ahead.
Dear readers, I would like to inform you I have decided to put a moratorium on the weekly schedule of Honourable Stupid. I have come to realise that if I wish to prioritise the quality of my writing, posting once a week will pose a problem.
While I will still attempt to keep to regular updates from now on, and will always post on Wednesdays, there will be a few breaks from here on out. I hope that the quality of my story will improve due to this.
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At the moment Yared's consciousness escaped the touches of oblivion...
He felt only pain.
His muscles were sore.
His bones ached.
His skull throbbed.
His eyes suddenly flicked open, seeing only the archaic stone walls and beds of the infirmary.
…and yet, his mind was sharp.
'What happened?', at first he dove into a steep panic.
'Did Fouquet escape?'
He scanned the room, yet to his surprise, he was alone. This was the second time he'd passed out in as many days now.
He looked back on what he could remember.
First he was explaining the details of the situation to Louise, Colbert and Osmond. Then he remembered Fouquet might be listening in, and warned them. Then... Hell broke loose, and they very nearly made a big mistake.
If Fouquet had escaped...
He shivered in thought. Wardes and Reconquista had known about 'Matilda Saxe-Gotha' from the very beginning, and just because she wasn't in Tristain's Capital prison doesn't mean they wouldn't find her. As he was, against Wardes he would be lucky to die quickly.
Shortly after, Miss Agatha noticed he was awake and informed him Colbert wished to speak with him.
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Colbert seemed weary. His clothes were untidy, if clean and there were bags beneath his eyes.
"Yared, it's good to see your finally awake." He spoke with breathe of relief.
"Thank you Professor, how long was I out?" Yared didn't feel hungry or dehydrated, so he guessed he wasn't out too long.
"Three days, it's now the Day of Mannaz Yared. You've been sleeping like the dead." Colbert chuckled.
"Three days! Argh, I've wasted so much time! But why did I pass out?" Yared was sure he should have been fine, he hadn't taken any injuries, yet...
"You don't know?" Colbert appeared befuddled by his confusion.
"No Professor, I don't." He rubbed his throbbing scalp, the headache distracting him.
"Interesting... I assumed you would know. Perhaps you overstrained yourself? You outrun me down those stairs even with a Haste spell, and took down Miss Longueville with overpowering force." Colbert ruminated over the possible causes.
Suddenly, Yared remembered something.
"Ah, right. I remember now! In the 'story', Saito passed out for three days after first using his runes. Maybe it's something to do with that?" It was a stretch, but it seemed to fit.
"Perhaps that would be it. So, what caused it?" Colbert questioned.
"I don't actually know. In the story, Saito was beaten up by a student's summoned golem, Guiche de Gramont specifically, to the point his arm was broken. Louise used an expensive potion to help him heal in the story. However, perhaps it's possible the strain from adjusting to Gandalfr was what caused that. Though... I'm pretty sure something else is off."
"He was beaten by a student? What for?" Colbert seemed a little concerned.
"It was a duel of sorts, apparently while duels between nobles are against the rules, a duel between a noble and commoner is not." Yared shrugged.
Colbert sighed at that.
"Wait a minute, if he was beaten up so badly, and he utilised the runes... Then how did Mr Gramont win? He's only a Dot class mage, and you subdued a Triangle class mage with impressive efficiency."
Yared's eyes narrowed as he scratched his beard with a thumb and forefinger.
"Well, in the duel Saito had no weapon. However, Guiche in what I can only guess was an act of pity, gave him a bronze sword and told him to use it or surrender the duel. Once he picked it up, despite his wounds, he beat Guiche in seconds. However, I feel like something is off. I remember that when I started running down the corridor, my runes started to glow much brighter, and I started moving significantly faster. So why..."
Yared seemed lost in thought.
"They say the Void has a will of it's own." Colbert ominously replied.
Yared's eyes widened.
"Are you saying -"
"Yes, it may have been the Voids will that you stopped Fouquet from escaping. If it truly is destiny that means the 4 of 4 will meet, then it only makes sense an obstacle that would prevent that would have to be stopped. If your runes were pushed beyond their limits like some mages can push their spells, just like them, you would suffer from 'willpower' exhaustion."
Yared had no response to that.
Colbert cleared his throat.
"Enough of that young man. We have more important things to deal with. What you mentioned about Fouquet at the end back then, was it all true?" The Professors countenance grew deadly serious.
Yared nodded grimly.
"I don't know if she really is a necessary person for us to 'save the world' as it were. However, there is an event threatening all of Halkeginia, and she was part of the group that prevented it in the story. Even beyond that, she's someone Tiffania knows very well, and that poor girl has had to deal with enough. We can't risk Wardes breaking her out of prison, so our best bet is working with her."
Colbert looked to his sides, his gaze pausing on Agatha mixing herbs at the end of the room.
"Miss Longueville's misbehaviour has been kept discreet at the moment, so that should be no issue."
Yared guessed his meaning quickly.
"I'll explain the rest later, for now lets take this one step at a time. We aren't in a rush at least." Yared grimaced slightly.
"Don't worry, the Headmaster has the situation well in hand, and I've made a lot of progress studying those artifacts of yours. Especially that tool you used, the torch. I've cross referenced some of my findings with some ancient books from the library." Colbert's face lit up at the prospect of learning how Yared's gear worked.
"As much as I'd love to hear about that, I'm afraid my head feels like a golem attempted to tunnel through it, so I'll have to pass. That said, come to think of it... Where's Louise?"
Colbert's face contorted in what was unmistakably unease.
"Ah, about that, well you see..."
Suddenly, the room shook as the deafening sound of a massive explosive echoed along the halls. There was a panicked shriek as Agatha dropped a bowl that shattered on the stone floor, and both Yared and Colbert winced. Even through the bed his body shook from the intense vibrations.
Colbert gave him an apologetic grimace.
"Lets just say she didn't take things that well, I'm afraid."
The sound of the floor shaking out rang out once more, slightly more muted than before.
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