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Chapter 9: Unburden the soul

It was an ungodly hour, she was certain of that. Yet, Nova didn't dare flip over or move or get up or do anything. It wasn't that she wasn't tired. Not at all. It wasn't that she hadn't shared a bed before. Kenny, from the village, had had her sleep over at his house so many times that she couldn't even recall all of them. Much like her own place, they didn't have multiple bedrooms and she's shared with both him and his siblings so many times. But, there was something different this time.

Luck's bed was nice and fluffy, much more comfortable than her own. He had really soft pillows, too, just how she liked them. Nova had expected to be out for the count as soon as her tired body hit the mattress. So, why was she feeling like she was trapped between the wall and Luck's sleeping form? Finally, after minutes or hours, she honestly didn't know, she chanced turning around, facing him. Luck was turned the other way around, his back to her, not sleeping on his pillow but hugging it instead. Somehow, she found that adorable. The Cheery Berserker she'd heard so much about was a pillow-hugger.

Nova propped her head up and leaned over, taking a look at the boy's expression. He wasn't grinning in his sleep, but there was a soft rise to his lips. Along with his blonde hair and soft features he looked years younger. Nova plopped back down on the pillow yawned. What was wrong with her? She wouldn't be able to wake up the next day, for sure. She would be dead on her feet because she was anxious to sleep next to a friend.

But, she knew what she needed to do. Find the cause and eliminate it. It was the same as with any medical procedure. There was no healing without finding the cause. So, she reached inside and thought about what was bothering her the most. Not the bed, not the silence, not the dark, but the body next to her. So, why was she nervous?

Sure, Luck was cute. She'd thought that back when she'd first seen him, at the Knights' Exam. But, did she like him in a different way? She hadn't even considered that, so it was out of the way. Still, she thought back to that moment in the window seat, where she couldn't look away from him. Perhaps, she was beginning to consider him as a potential romantic interest. Still, he didn't have to think the same way, so there was no need to be nervous. And, regardless of her considerations, it wasn't like she could change the situation at the moment.

Nova nodded to herself and turned once more, this time facing the wall. Regardless of what would or could happen in the future, she couldn't do anything about it right now. So, her brain went back to Will's lessons and started recalling all the salves he'd been having her make. She listed the ingredients to herself and slowly felt sleep taking over her through yawns.

"Can't sleep?" Luck's voice cracked through the dark and broke the spell she'd finally managed to cast on herself and Nova's eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," she replied with a tired sigh, her voice breaking from the lack of use in the last few hours.

"I'm a light sleeper," he told her and shuffled to get more comfortable. "The first time you turned I was awake." Nova wanted to slam her head against the wall. "What's wrong?"

"I think it's just weird being in a different bed," she lied. She outright lied to him.

"It's not me?" at that, she froze. Did he know? Luck must've felt her body go stiff since he sighed. "If you want, you can switch to Magna's room. I know I make people uncomfortable."

"N-ah-what?" she was properly confused now. Nova turned around, seeing Luck on his back, staring at the ceiling. "What do you mean?" His eyes didn't move from a spot on the ceiling.

"I make people uncomfortable," he told her. "With the smiling and the fighting, they think I'm always out to get someone."

"Aren't you, though?" Nova giggled, hoping to lighten the mood. That was when Luck's eyes met hers briefly.

"No," he replied, and then turned away from her, swinging his legs from under the covers. "I'll go sleep in Magna's room, so you don't need to worry." Nova realized what had happened in a span of a second and her arms shot out, grabbing Luck's hand.

"No, no, you misunderstood, Luck," she said. "It's not that you make me uncomfortable in that sense. It's just, we're at a certain age and Will gave me a stupid 'be safe' talk and I'm overthinking everything. It's nothing you did. I don't think you're weird or creepy or out to get me or anything. I trust you, okay?" Luck turned, looking at her from above.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay," he smiled then and Nova felt the heaviness in her heart vanish instantly. "Say," Luck grinned even wider. "Since we're awake… You wanna prank Magna?" he giggled in such a childish way that Nova couldn't resist going along with his mischievous ways.

"Oooh, what did you have in mind?"

Needless to say, an hour later, they were both in bed, completely relaxed, after many outbursts of manic giggling at their devilishness. It turned out that the cure for everything was making Magna suffer.

Despite the late night, Nova woke up early and cautiously rose from the bed. She had to maneuver over a sleeping Luck, who seemed to be completely out cold. He had somehow switched from hugging his pillow to hugging her during the night, which made disentangling his limbs from around her and then awkwardly hopping over him in a straddle all the more troublesome. She picked up his pillow from the floor and placed it where she had been, the fiend almost immediately grabbing it in a tight hug. Smiling, Nova covered him with the blanket at headed for the bathroom with a yawn.

Magna's clothes had proven as very comfortable sleepwear and she considered swiping them. Her own old shirt was getting rather ragged and she needed some new clothes, especially for bed. When she was done with as much as her morning routine as she could do in a foreign bathroom, Nova headed back to Luck's room, making a straight line for the window seat.

For a moment, she looked out at the scenery. The forest was really exquisite in the morning hours, birds flying above treetops and the soft early rays of the sun caressing each leaf, making them almost sparkle. She undid the latch to the window and cracked it, sighing at the scent of grass and the crispness of the air. Getting a tad cold, Nova walked over to Luck's closet and found one of his capes, wrapping it around herself. She liked the soft blue color. It wasn't anything she'd normally buy for herself, as she would instantly get it dirty, but she enjoyed it all the same. And, the material! It had to be the best quality wool she'd felt under her fingertips. She was almost certain that Luck was loaded, one way or the other.

Nice and warm, Nova sat back in the spot at the window, picking up one of the many books next to it. She started thumbing through it, reading interesting parts and skipping the overly complex explanations of the stuff she couldn't get in a million years. Then, at a specific page, Nova's eyes widened and she began reading frantically. Finally, she stopped, leaving the book open on the window seat as she jumped up and bounded over to the bed.

"Luck!" she shook the boy awake, jumping onto the bed next to him. "Luck! Wake up!"

"Mhhrgh?" he turned, blinking a few times, before opening his eyes fully. "Wha-?"

"Is it true that you can make mana quartz from the quartz found at the Gold Tips?" Nova was on a high. If she could make mana quartz then all of her issues would be solved. Mana quartz was a rare material only available to the richest of the rich. It was used in manufacturing the best mana conducting objects. However, it wasn't favored because it eroded too quickly, which was exactly what she was looking for. A way to conduct mana and remove that object from the mixture almost instantly.

"Quartz?" Luck blinked up at her, yawning. "Why do you need quartz?"

"For healing stuff, but, the point, is, can you make it from the quartz at the Gold Tips or not?" Luck pushed against her, but Nova held onto him, demanding her answer. She didn't want to have to read a whole tome that she knew he had in order to find out a small piece of information.

"You woke me up because of quartz?" Luck flipped to the other side, pulling Nova with him, and he hugged her tightly when she struggled to get up and shake him again.

"Yes, I need to know-"

"And I need more sleep before-"

"Aaaaaaayiiiiiiiiiiiii!" the scream made them both freeze in their struggle-hug. Then, they exchanged a look, a grin making its way on both of their faces. Magna was, apparently, awake. "Luck! You bastard!" The second yell had Luck chuckling through his nose, doing his best to keep it quiet.

"Shh, shh," Nova told him, attempting to be quiet herself through the uncontrollable giggling.

"We're asleep," Luck told her, struggling to appear dead to the world. Nova closed her eyes as well, snuggling closer to him and doing her best to school her face neutral.

"Luck!" the door to the room burst open, Magna's voice reaching a thundering level. "You little- what the hell are you two doing?! Huh?!" Nova was unable to keep the grin off her face any longer and she burst into laughter, opening her eyes just in time to spot a livid Magna jump towards them. What ensued was chaos which couldn't be called a pillow fight at all, because Magna was covered in feathers and considered a pillow himself.

"Here, have some more eggs," Vanessa pushed the plate across the table, getting them closer to Nova. "Oh, and these sausages are great!" She also pointed to another platter which held piping hot meat. "Have as much as you'd like," the witch smiled at her.

"Thank you so much," Nova gave a small bow with her head only, mouth full of food. Breakfast at the Black Bull's base looked like a messy family meal. Despite only a few of them being at home, the table in the dining room was full of food, plates almost stacked on top of one another. This was due to the resident gourmet, Charmy, coming back from a mission that very morning. She was using her magic to cook in a manner Nova had never seen before. She didn't doubt that if the Mage hadn't chosen to become a Knight, she could've easily earned a fortune by opening a restaurant.

"How are you liking the Capital, miss Nova?" Finral was also back, this time fairly sober and chatty. "I could show you all the best spots, if you ever want to go sightsee-"

"Stop flirting with her, Finral-paisen," Magna interrupted, grumbling.

"Now, now, Magna, I was only being nic-"

"You were flirting," Luck interrupted this time, smirking. "Wanna have a fight to decide if you were or weren't?"

"Okay, I was," Finral quickly conceded with a nervous laugh. "Well, miss Nova is a lovely young lady, I'm sure she had many suitors."

"Oh, not at all, Mr. Finral," Nova felt her cheeks color as she waved her hands in front of herself. "I'm afraid my work keeps me too busy for any sort of love life."

"Ah, that's a pity!" Despite his tendency to ask her out every chance he got, Nova quite liked Finral. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and his Teleportation Magic, though not for her, was rather exquisite. When she'd learned from Magna that he was a noble, she had been thoroughly shocked. After all, Finral seemed too kind to be one. He'd offered to open a portal for her almost immediately when he'd realized that she'd been stranded the previous night and apologized profusely for it.

"What do you do, Nova?" Charmy asked from her seat next to Nova, taking a break in positively inhaling her food.

"I'm a healer at the Tower," the girl replied with a grin. "I work with Owen, Mary, Will and Elizabeth. Most days, we only have the regulars, but recently with all the missions at the border with the Diamond Kingdom we've been very busy."

"Oooh! Healing is quite the job!" Vanessa commented. "How do you like it here? Did you also come this year?" The witch was downright the most beautiful person Nova had ever met. And, even more than that, she was incredibly polite and nice. Nova had immediately had big sister vibes from her and she absolutely couldn't wait to talk more to the woman. After all, Vanessa had already given her a taste of the local gossip, which the girl was a sucker for.

"Ah, yeah, I tried passing the Knights' Exam, but failed," she laughed. "But, I ended up meeting the Wizard King accidentally and he invited me to the Tower and the rest is history." Nova didn't notice that her statement had caused a pause in all the eating, except Charmy's.

"Nova! You didn't tell me you knew the Wizard King!" Magna exclaimed, pointing an accusing fork at her.

"I-I didn't realize it was a big deal?" she backtracked, but the damage was already done. Suddenly, everyone was asking her questions about Julius. The merry breakfast was halted momentarily when the Captain joined them, the whole Squad fawning over him as he sat down. He didn't even speak to Nova, overlooking her completely until Vanessa pointed her out.

"Oh, you're not one of mine," he noted in a bored way, before turning to Finral. "The bathroom."

"Yessir!" And the Teleportation Mage opened a portal without a hitch, the tall man vanishing through it.

"Is this normal?" Nova bent over to ask Magna, who was sitting across from her and received a nod and a grin. Laughing at a joke Finral tossed out as their breakfast continued, her belly comfortably full of delicious food, Nova wondered why in the heck the Bulls had such poor reputation. If anyone asked her, she would tell them that this was the best Squad!

Nova got back to the Tower fairly late that morning, despite Finral opening a portal for her which delivered her to the very door. After breakfast Vanessa had insisted on having a 'girl chat' which Charmy had supplied with coffee and biscuits. Nova had learned that Finral was hopeless with women, despite his frequent dates, that Yami was actually very sweet, as the witch put it, that Magna had never had a girlfriend before and that Gauche, whom she hadn't met, loved his sister a bit too much. She'd also found out that there were quite a few nice clothing stores in town which she should visit and that there was a great café really close to the Tower, where she promised to meet Vanessa sometime for a drink. After that, though, Magna and Luck had kidnapped her, which she didn't mind too much, and attempted to cajole her into staying longer with a board game. That, she'd had to decline, no matter how much she wanted to play. So, with a promise to play Knights and Dungeons with them another time, Nova sought out Finral.

Only after arriving at the Tower did she realize that she'd completely forgotten to annoy Luck about the mana quartz from his book. She filed that into something to be done at a later time and entered through the tall doors.

Instantly, her day got more hectic. Apparently, another group of Knights had arrived during the night, giving Will a hard time as he had been alone at the Tower. She was put to work immediately, going from one person to the next, using her magic until she was exhausted. Then, it was time to brew the usual remedies and make rounds. And, finally, she got a bit of a break around lunchtime.

"How was the Black Bull's base?" Will asked, plopping down next to her in a tired heap. He reached over for the soup and foregoing his spoon, sipped it straight from the bowl.

"It was really nice," Nova told him. "Everyone was really good to me. I really don't understand why they have such poor reputation." She picked a nice piece of meat and cut it into small cubes before pushing the plate to the tired healer.

"Lifesaver," he commented, digging in. "They destroy stuff, simple."

"Like, on missions?"

"Yeah," Will nodded. "Last I heard was they nuked an old church during a mission. I think it was their Captain who did it." He bit into his piece of bread, swallowing before he continued. "Also, they fail a lot of missions. They did the dungeon that popped up a few months back and ended up losing the loot to the Diamond Kingdom. Sucky, if you ask me. Something about their Mage running away from battle."

"That… doesn't sound like them, to be honest," Nova mused, thinking about who would be likely to run off from a fight. "But, they have Magna and Luck now, so I think they will get better."

"If you say so," Will chuckled, but didn't comment on that further. "Oh, right, Marx contacted me this morning. Something about your request being approved and that you can come anytime?"

"Oooh! That helps a ton, thanks!" Nova perked up instantly, the tiredness gone from her body at the prospect of exploring the Royal Library. "I put in a request to enter the Royal Library last week," she told her mentor. "Master Julius said that he would be able to get me in in about a week and he came through."

"Anything particular you're researching?" Will asked, pushing away the empty plate and leaning back in his chair.

"Curses, mostly," Nova told him. "I'm curious about lifting them."

"Ah, true, we're lacking on that front," Will nodded. "Well, there's no rest. Let's make rounds." And he stood, putting his dishes into the sink and the two left to check on their patients.

Nova carefully packed a basket before heading out to the main castle. She placed every tonic she knew she wanted to bring with her, along with instructions, and placed a linen cloth above, tucking in the sides. Then, she headed out. Her first stop was the secluded art studio she'd found the last time she'd been on the property, after getting through the main gates. There, she placed the basket with a note pinned on top for the lady who had helped her last time. Luckily, the woman wasn't there, so she could simply leave the 'thank you' present in stealth.

As Nova headed through the gate at the back, following the instructions she still remembered, she recalled everything she'd seen potentially troubling with the lady and how she had prepared a tonic for the ailments. To boost her immune system, to give her strength, to ease her nausea, to help with her allergies, she had prepared them all herself, with a little bit of Will's help, from the simple clues on the lady's form.

Finally, after thirty minutes or so of walking, Nova reached the main area, where all the nobles lived. She was directed towards the Wizard King's residence, where she met his assistant, Marx, for the first time in person. He proved to be a rather pleasant young man, a little older than her, holding the letter which would approve her entrance to the Royal Library at almost any time.

"If you simply show that seal at the gates, they will let you come through," the man explained, leading Nova down a series of corridors, deeper and deeper into the connected castle. She did her best to remember her way. Left at the funny suit with a feather on top of its head. Left again at the picture with the naked lady with flying babies around her. The painting of a battle between the Demon and the first Wizard King was a right turn. The odd-looking vase with the red flowers was another left turn. "Here we are," Marx said, stopping in front of tall doors with the Clover Kingdom symbol on them, done in gold and green. "Open the doors," he told the two guards in a stern voice, showing them the letter Nova had received.

"Yes, sir!" the two bowed and then pulled the heavy door open, making Nova gasp.

The library was a mixture of brown, gold, yellow, white, red and green. It looked to her like some kind of a candy store she had been allowed in, given a limitless budget. For starters, the library was a cylindrical structure, extending both upwards and downwards from where they stood. Countless wooden bookshelves and rafters lined against the walls and made up tiny corridors along the sides of the room. There were at least ten floors, from what she could see from the entrance balcony. Rows and rows of ladders, stairs and railings done in dark oak, decorated with gold, streamed around, as if woven by magic. The spines of book glistened in different colors, mostly earthy tones, beckoning her towards them. The red and green carpets lined on the lower floors led a path through different worlds of information Nova couldn't even fathom, much less attempt to read through. Finally, she glanced up and saw the source of all the sunrays. There was a skylight on the ceiling, a humongous dome of webbed golden windows, along with different mirrors positioned on each floor to direct the light from one end of the library to the next. She could spot countless little figures of people moving left and right, reading, adjusting the mirrors, cleaning, tidying up and arranging the space.

"Miss Nova?" Marx spoke, bringing her back to reality. She looked towards him to see a small smile on his face at her sheer adoration. "It's a lot to take in, I know. However, I'll let you admire it later. For now, we're short on time so I'll just show you to the section you need."

"Thank you so much, sir," Nova gasped, carefully stepping on the green and red plush carpet, embroidered in gold, feeling like a fairytale princess of some sort. She felt that her work boots were unworthy of stepping on such material. The bulky brown lace-ups with a thick bottom stood out terribly against it. "Truly, sir, thank you."

"I'll make sure to tell him you were awestruck and thanking him multiple times," Marx laughed, leading Nova down the stairs on the side. "The section on curses is to the right and at the very bottom, so it's a bit of a way to get there."

Nova couldn't help but marvel at the titles she managed to glimpse as they passed floor after floor. She bowed politely to each and every person in the library, from the common readers like her to the staff dressed in white and green robes, embroidered in gold. Marx had to stop a few times, when she saw a name or a topic she particularly liked, and wait for her to catch up.

"If you wish to read any books other than your allowed section, be sure to check with the local caretakers," he instructed. "Typically, they won't mind as long as you are careful with the relics and treat them with respect. After all, you only get screened once to enter this place." Nova mutely nodded. "When you are done with the books, it's best to leave them on the table where you were reading. The librarians prefer checking their condition and then returning them to their proper spots. You're free to take as many notes as you'd like, but the books stay inside this space. The air and temperature have been adjusted through magic to stop them from deteriorating." Marx finally descended the last set of stairs, the two having gone back and forth on one side of the cylinder, going further and further down, to the very bottom. "Finally, keep in mind that there are some books which require gloves while reading them. They will usually be stored in glass cases and you will need to request permission and supervision to read them from the librarians. A day's notice should be fine for almost any tome. Any questions?" Finally, they stopped.

"A-ah-I-I-When can I start?" Nova managed to get through her stutter, looking around still. She wished that her head could go three-sixty degrees right then and there.

"You're free to come and go as you please, as I mentioned," Marx said. "Here is your letter of approval. There- "he pointed to the second rafter on the right, "-are the books on curses. Have fun reading and don't stay too late."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Nova gasped out, immediately getting shushed by a passing librarian, as she bowed a perfect ninety-degree angle, her ponytail slamming her in the face from the force of the bow. But, not even that nasty swish of hair would wipe the wide grin off her face. After all, she had quite possibly entered paradise.

That's all for now folks! I'm looking forward to your input :D

Reviews:

KenosDC1:
Hiiii! Thanks so much for the review and welcome, welcome!
I'm hoping to have individual chapters with each of the Black Bulls down the road, so, for now, I'm just having some brief introductions :)
Thanks for catching the error! I've corrected it :P I'm re-watching the anime and it's all getting a bit muddled up at this point hahahhaa
Will is waaaay ahead of the game xD
Hope you enjoyed the update!
Best :D

Girigurl:
Awwww I'm glad that you like herrrrr . I love all my OCs, even the weird creepy ones hahaha I'm always happy when someone has strong opinions about them because it means I've done my job right xD
I've been planning a sleepover chapter a while now, and I was super happy to have it come in this fashion xD I hope you enjoyed reading about the shenanigans!
Here's the funniest thing: Vanessa said girlfriend, while spoken it could've been a girl friend xD Me and my puns xD But, yeah Vanessa is ahead of the game, same as Will xD ot3 ot3 I did think about thaaaaaat xD But but but arghhhhh I don't know yet xD Magna is definitely the manly bro xD
Vanessa is so pretty! Like! Ridiculously! Like, Yami what you doin pretty xD
I polite-panic too :P I feel like she's one of those people, you know? The ones who freak out at the cash register if there's a line behind them and they can't get their money into their wallet quick enough? xD
Luck's genius is forever going to his first love – the battlefield xD
Cuddling? Of course. I always give cuddling xD Cuddling is for friends xD Riiiiiight? xD
P.S.: Vanessa totally thinks they do the dirty deed regularly in an ot3 xD
Lots of love!

AmericanNidiot:
Hey there!
Luckily, Nova managed to avoid Finral braless xD I feel like that would've brought too much trouble xD
Thanks for the review!