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FICTION
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Chapter 14: Shadows, Naivety
Offering tea was a good way to not get killed off by the Lady of the Land of Shadows.
I had all reasons to be worried about the situation, even more so when Scathach's first priority before starting to stab the problem was aggressive negotiations. As the steamy cup of tea was delivered to the quite dangerous woman and I had the chance to sit down by one of the solo couches, I got the chance to study the overall situation.
First, the 'how the hell did she get back in the real world?' thing since Scathach wasn't supposed to break through into the real world due to her body being unable to normally sustain that sort of stuff. A question she happily answered with a very tedious approach which left me in a mixture of awe and dread.
"I used some of the blood spilled by my... foolish student. You know, the one you sought to throw into my realm without permission," The woman remarked with a very dry tone, so much it made me flinch as she was done answering.
The rest of the situation was easier to grasp. As the Witch used the blood (and also some of the flesh) she obtained from that encounter with Berserk Cu to power her runes and to grant her body an adaptable grasp over the real world, she managed to then track down all available prana sources in Fuyuki and look into the one that felt the closest to her former apprentice. It was a very brief walk and... one that culminated in the crappy situation lil' Cu was currently stuck with.
He went to answer the door, he tried to run away the moment his eyes laid on the familiar scowl on his teacher's face and then he got his jacket and shirt speared into the wall. Eli went to check on the commotion, found Scathach and... the two engaged in the conversation which resulted in quite the de-escalation to this very circumstance.
"So, the reason why you are still here is to... talk with me?" I summarized part of her explanation for her visit.
She nodded, her right leg crossing over her left one. "I hope you understand I can't just ignore that you managed to open a limited passage to Dun Scaith, a feat that should be nigh-impossible to achieve."
A fair point, but one that was dismantled by a small detail I doubted she was aware about.
"By a normal Magus' standard, yes. It should be impossible for Magecraft to achieve such a feat, however what allowed this circumstance was the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope."
The former Scottish Queen raised an intrigued brow at this and yet she didn't reply just yet.
"Second Magic? Apologies but... I'm not actually familiar with that."
For real?
"It's understandable. The Second Magic was fully practiced in secret until my creator, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, became famous for using it against Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, an extraterrestrial lifeform."
An interested look flashed from Scathach's face. "Truly? I was not aware of that matter, but I suppose a few interesting things have happened since my departure from the mortal world."
She concluded that remark by looking at her apprentice, freezing him mid-effort to free himself.
"Such as the notion that my student has been reborn first as a mindless brute, not much of a change from his original self, and now as a child."
"I-It's tied to a situation we're trying to fix, Lady Scathach," Elizabeth answered in a semi-worshiping tone, clearly starstruck before the notion of such a vicious woman to look up to. "Someone is summoning Heroic Spirits and corrupting them by overcharging them. Once beaten, Spirits like us are released together with a Card containing a fraction of the corruption we had."
Scathach nodded at the explanation and then proceeded to give me a strange look. Not the 'And you are the Protagonist' kind of look- more like the 'what about you?'"
"And I guess this is why you too are an anomaly?"
Her words shocked me into hesitation. I never heard that before, and I could tell it was the first time that someone actually called me out on the notion I wasn't native of this dimension.
"An anomaly? You mean-"
"Foreign to this world, you weren't born from this place," The witch explained flatly, yet her curiosity wasn't dented in the slightest because of my partial cluelessness. "So, what's the story behind that?"
"John has been selected by Zelretch to take care of this situation due to some peculiarities which makes him worthy of using Kaleidoscope."
"Which reminds me, how did this selection even happen?"
"Well, several factors were taken into account, but you fit through two important elements: you have a moderate-to-high grasp of the Kaleidoscope within your biology, and you share DNA with a Heroic Spirit in this world."
The first one I could understand, the second one caught me off-guard in part.
"Really?" I pressed on and the Kaleidostick nodded. No explanation was given or who this Spirit was. After all, Quartz didn't know it himself as he was keen to point out.
"Tracing down that sort of connection would require said Spirit or something close to them. Right now, we have neither to rely on."
"Nonetheless, it means that you have the potential to become a hero and... this is quite interesting," Scathach hummed with growing curiosity. "Still, I believe this solves a few of my questions for now, and I will ask more once I have the more important ones prepared for a second conversation."
Was she leaving? Can she actually just leave whenever she wishes and then come back out of the blue?
"By the way," She muttered, interrupting my thoughts as she walked up with me by the door. "I think it would be best for me to tell you that we are neighbors now."
...
"W-What?!" I was just stunned by this revelation, and she nodded while retrieving a key and literally opening the door that led to the flat right in front of mine.
"Due to these peculiar circumstances, I found it reasonable to spend some time alternating between the mortal world and the Land of Shadows," Scathach explained without hesitation. "Plus, I think the world has advanced long enough to provide me with new ideas to explore and new knowledge to pursue. Will this be a problem?"
"How did you even convince the owner of the building to give you a flat?"
"Hypnosis," The woman answered shamelessly, and I was forced to hold back a facepalm at that bluntness. "Alas, I will not rely too heavily on it and I intend to explore the unique world that is 'finding a job'."
"Good luck with that?"
She didn't say anything more about it, preferring to leave me to resume her... business? I wasn't even sure how she was going to get back to Dun Scaith without attracting any attention, but I decided to ask her the next time she was willing to talk. Going back to the flat I noticed that Cu was no longer stuck- The Gae Bolgs keeping him stuck to the wall vanished from sight as soon as Scathach had left and... now he was bickering with Elizabeth on this new development.
"She is crazy! I bet she will try to stab me again without me doing anything to warrant that."
"Your mere existence warrants punishment, jerk!" Eli rebuked angrily and the boy huffed.
"Ohi! Master, I don't want to sound too disrespectful, but my teacher is crazy and... this one also likes how she works."
"She is so efficient," The pinkette argued. "Plus, Mastah doesn't have to get yanked in this crappy conversation. I won, case closed."
"That's not how it works!"
I could only sigh as I prepared myself in defusing that sort of situation. All in all, an intense day for me to handle, but not exactly the worst. The next one was 'slower' since it was the start of the weekend and... there was just so much to think about and so little free space to deal with this. But I also had enough free time to take a solo walk around Fuyuki in an effort to clear my mind. I eventually stopped by the nearby grocery stop and I stumbled upon an interesting scene.
"Mou, Niichan! I just want to get some cookies," A squeaky voice exclaimed as little Illya was glaring daggers at the equally annoyed redhead.
"Illya, mom and dad said no extra cookies for a while. We have enough at home."
"But I want some now!" She whined angrily and I looked at the sight with a mixture of amusement and... nostalgia.
One blink, and instead of Shirou and Illya there was me and... my sister. I could still remember how 'annoying' she was at the time- how bratty. I was no better but... I was 'older, so I had to be right'. I believed that so much back then, but were there even any older siblings that wouldn't behave like that at that age? I offered a sad smile before looking away and thinking about this very thought- Can I potentially make it back home, even for just a moment, and check on things? I wasn't exactly sure Zelretch was going to allow me to do that but... I could still try. Hopefully. I just had to get back home, ask Quartz and-
My trail of thoughts was disrupted when I felt someone tugging at my shirt right near my wrist. I almost jumped at that, but turned just in time to see who it was.
"Oh, Leysritt-san."
The 'chill' maid greeted me back with a nod. "John-san. Can you help me?"
Her question was coupled with her aiming her finger at a stack of toilet paper set in a fairly high shelf. I walked up to it, tilted a bit on my toes and retrieved the big stack without tripping or causing any issues. The young woman picked it off my offering palms and nodded.
"Thank you. Also, why were you staring at Shirou and Illya like that?"
I was a bit stunned by this question, but I guess she was concerned by the overall attention I paid to these two.
"I was just... thinking of myself and my sister. These two tend to bicker a bit," I remarked, gaining a quick nod from Leysritt.
"It's quite unusual at times. They hardly have reasons to be this aggressive with each other. It's... odd."
"Well, debate is within human nature," I replied calmly. "Plus, it's their roles and ages clashing. Shirou is the older brother and is just now approaching puberty. I bet he will get a bit moodier in these next few years and will need to be approached with more care due to that. In his eyes, he is the one that knows better because he has been in that situation. However he lacks the maturity to reply to his sister just like his parents had back at that time."
"And Illya?"
But I want some candy, John? Pretty please~!
I blinked, looking away from Illya as I saw Mary just replace her for a moment.
"She is... irritated. She has received a lot of affection since she is still young and needs some of that to build self-worth. But... that doesn't mean she should be granted everything. Shirou is just a tiny flawed obstacle compared to the potential 'no' she will get from her parents the older she gets. It helps define a limit, and right now she doesn't see much but a general and distant line to it. I would say that at times that sort of opposition is more of a concern than anything else."
My words were mostly met with nods by Leysritt, but the woman frowned at that last bit.
"Sella always lectures me. She says I'm too lazy or too passive on things," The maid argued. "How can that be seen as worrying if all she does is reprimand me?"
"Have you thought that she is saying that more on her worrying about these causing you trouble in times of need?" I argued back, and the maid provided me with quite the rare confused look. "I mean, if she really wanted to do that to hurt or annoy you, wouldn't she gain some pleasure out of this action? What is the reason driving her to actively push you out of sleepiness and seek to be productive?"
Her head bowed slightly at that as uncertainty spread on her expression some more.
"I can't exactly tell much since I don't know much about Sella-san, however I can tell you that she sounds more interested in you being better for your own sake rather than others. I can tell from just the way you are reacting to this that you are aware you can do more."
"It's just so... irrelevant. Why would I want to do better?"
Ah yes, the question many couch potatoes were known to ask when confronted with this kind of stuff.
"Because that's what life is about. Moving- doing things rather than just passively let things happen around you. Living beings may enjoy resting at times, but as it is bad to be too immersed in work, it can be bad when you are too inactive. Moderation is the only way to get through with that sort of hassle. Not too sleepy, never too excessive in finding activities to do."
...
"Is that... so?"
I nodded. "Give it a try, start with small steps and then try to find a hobby which you like that drives you to do something rather than be inactive. Even a seemingly insignificant hobby could turn into a fun way to spend time."
She gave me a truthfully intrigued look and then nodded. "I will give it a go. Thank you for answering my question, John-san."
That was the end of that interaction as Liz had to get things paid and leave before getting 'called lazy and late', but now making an effort to try and 'fix that'. I didn't even get the chance to greet Illya and Shirou, but I guess I was going to meet the former back in school by Monday. Also, I didn't get much of a chance to ponder on my own issues such as what to do with Scathach, Caren and... Taiga. Then again, Taiga was less of a problem and more of a 'work in progress' sort of thing. It could pleasantly develop into something... if Caren didn't try anything funny about it.
Shaking my head, I went through the rest of the list and got back home to find out that the place was oddly cleaner than how I had left it. That's where I found Cu and Elizabeth sitting happily by the living room and giving me a very weird look. A look that I could recognize as one I had used many times in the past while addressing my parents when I wanted something. To be more precise, something very expensive.
"Mastah~, did I ever tell you how great you are?"
"Yeah! You are amazing and cool- even though you left me hanging when teacher was around."
My frown deepened. "What do you want?"
They both sported crazy grins and their proposal was equally insane.
"We want to go to school!"
...What?
AN
What? These two can't exactly be lazy 24/7. Plus, they both have reasons to go for it, each with their unique motivation. Next time I will explore that and... create some messes of the silly kind.
Also, about Liz, I would like to explain why she is getting 'so little' compared to the rest: I decided to provide the three main girls different approaches on romance and I'm sure you picked up that Taiga is more the airhead but realist kind of girl, Caren is the pushy and somewhat desperate one, while Liz is particular since I have her slowly realize not only what romance is, but also what is social interaction in general. Hence why it feels slower than a normal 'slow-burn'. It will pick up in due time.
Lastly, the next chapter will introduce a character that has appeared in a side-chapter of Prillya's manga and she has been (for unknown reasons) ignored in the manga. Worry not, she is a cinnamon roll.
REVIEW Q&A!
Terrmilion: Nope.
Best Human Evil: You underestimate the power of blood, flesh ripped from a strong body and runes.
iSee21: What is generally left untold but is actually canon is that Scathach is still alive, just normally unable to leave the Land of Shadows. She reached the point where her humanity was so abysmal and she was too strong that she couldn't be killed as a 'proper human' and thus she eventually got stuck in Dun Scaith when it detached too much from the real world. MC opening the Gate of Skye may have reverted that distancing by a fair bit.