The carriage came to a halt, sending the young man sleeping within right to the floor with a loud 'thud' and a groan of protest. It didn't help his already sour mood improve any more, and instead intensified the headache that was drilling right behind his eyes like it wanted to rip them out.
Hachiman sat up, still on the floor, and cursed under his breath as the aches of the travel and the sudden hit on the head piled up on his stress levels like a balloon escaping a child's grasp. He wanted to kick the damned cage with wheels until it was nothing but scraps to at least blow some steam.
Common sense prevailed, though. So once he calmed down he opened the door of the box with wheels and jumped outside to stretch a bit and see if that would help his tense shoulders and neck.
"Ascart-sama! Please go back inside-!" The driver panicked upon seeing Hachiman out, of course. However, the reincarnated noble only listened to him part way since his full attention came to the thing blocking some of the sunlight in the sky.
There was a huge tower partially blocking the sun from view.
"What the hell?" Hachiman uttered, making the driver flinch from the sudden curse "Where is this?"
"We… We are back at the academy, sir." The man replied while fondling his sweating hands.
Hachiman's first answer was to blink at him, staring as if he was looking at a madman.
"That… Can't be true." Hachiman chose to do the easiest thing and denied the man's words altogether "How could that thing just pop up in just a few days?"
"...That is true, Nicol-sama. Yet this is definitively where the academy should be."
Hachiman narrowed his eyes, eyeing the strange tower as if it was… A tower that had appeared overnight.
He rubbed his eyes a bit, remembering he just woke up, and took in his surroundings properly. There was an earth wall that stopped the horse from going on, and the treeline had been disrupted by it, making it seem like it had been unnaturally built.
His tired mind started working, and realization dawned on him as he took a wild guess that the tower was also built out of earth.
What… What the hell? He couldn't have left for more than two weeks! And that was being generous to boot! What happened?! Did monsters attack? An enemy country? Did Claes junior sneeze in the wrong direction?! How…? How does things get screwed up so badly that a place like the academy was just replaced by an earth fort?!
"No, no way." Hachiman spun on his heel and got his hands on the frame of the carriage's door "I'm not dealing with this, we're heading back to town."
His headache started pounding even harder as he put a foot on the small step to get in the carriage. Hachiman just wanted to go, to get in an inn and sleep for an extra week free of the nightmarish movement of the cage with wheels. In these days of travels, Hachiman remembered why he still looked back at the memories of his previous life with something akin to fondness. These shaking, bumping boxes could not even approach the commodity of modern world transportation. Never mind subways or planes, but even cars or bikes were more comfortable to ride than this world's alternative. And when he finally could get out of his prison he was greeted with this? No. No way. Screw that noise. He was dealing with it later. At the moment he just wanted his death free trial in a comfortable pillow. Preferably after a long, hot bath.
However, his mind dutifully informed him he couldn't do that. The clear picture of Sophia seeing him off with a smile eclipsed even the pain of his tired muscles and migraine for a moment, reminding him that yes, he had to deal with whatever happened in that moment. That yes, it was urgent and imperative he did so in spite of not being up to it.
If he tensed his jaw even more, his teeth would probably crack.
"Goddammit…" Hachiman sighed, trying to psych himself up to little avail. He was tired, annoyed, hurt, hungry and probably sick from the constant swinging of the carriage. Yet he pushed forward and stared at the wall in front of him "Go back to town, ask around if there's news of what happened here."
"They… They don't know much. They only warned me about the tower." The man meekly replied "What should we do, Ascart-sama?"
"You are going back to check again." Hachiman grumbled as he tried to stretch "I will get in there to see what's up."
"In there?! But how does Ascart-sama…?!"
Hachiman took a couple of steps back without letting the driver finish. Ignoring him was the best he could do instead of flipping on the poor man due to the stress he had built from the trip. He wasn't at fault for the people that didn't want to cooperate with Hachiman, nor for the uncomfortable trip or people trying to trip Hachiman so he would fail to do anything in the meeting. The man wasn't at fault for anything, so Hachiman sprang as fast as he could and jumped before the meek voice could make him snap.
His element answered his call as easily as he called out someone's name. It pushed him above and beyond the limitations of his human body and allowed him to leap above the two or three stories tall wall in an instant.
He descended to a labyrinth. He slowed himself down with more magic, but just barely since he was so distracted by the scenery. It didn't look like anything he had seen in this or the last world. The passages were ragged, randomly built and haphazardly connected. There were a lot of sharp turns and leaps that would have been impossible to accomplish without reinforcement, and some passages weren't even properly separated from others that were similar.
He pushed up again, his body screaming at him that it didn't appreciate the extra punishment it was taking. He couldn't help it, though. His heart was racing as the labyrinth unfolded beyond what the academy grounds covered with no rhyme or reason to its existence. He wouldn't be capable of traveling if he landed inside its walls, so he willed himself to go above it in spite of his magic keeping him airborne in what was basically continuously hitting himself with enough strength to stay above the ground.
More or less. Magic was funny like that and Hachiman had enough presence of mind to lessen the burden he was imposing on his body. But as he landed, his feet wobbled and tiredness almost made him collapse right there. He looked up at the tower, an idea of what (or who) was up there forming in his mind but he pushed it aside.
He wouldn't make it. He just wanted to see if Sophia was safe to either pass out on her arms or take her on his to get her out of that place… And then pass out on her arms.
"Ah, Nicol-sama. Good timing, I suspected you'd be arriving around this time." Oh, great. The prince was there. Sitting on a chair on top of what should be the roof of one of the buildings while drinking tea as if he was in his palace reading his favorite book.
"...!" Hachiman opened his mouth. Standing straight by sheer force of will, stubbornness and no little amount of bitterness. He was about ready to let everything out on this convenient target yet his voice wouldn't go out besides a dull 'guh'.
"Sophia-san is safe and sound. A path was cleared in the dormitories so she is staying with Katarina for the moment, who is also safe by the way. We haven't explored a lot, but we have supplies coming from one of the ancient not-so-secret-anymore passages." Prince Gerald didn't hesitate to let out everything Hachiman was thinking about without letting him ask. He gave Hachiman a small smile which oozed with smugness as the reincarnation was left mouth agape without actually having anything to say.
Hachiman closed his mouth.
"Good? Yes. But barely." Gerald continued his one-way conversation after seeing Hachiman just give up "Follow along, you must want to see Sophia-san."
He ignored Hachiman's glare and started moving away from him. For a moment, just ignoring him sounded like the best idea ever. And Hachiman was just about to get that chair for himself and wait for the blond to disappear in the maze of earth walls… But Hachiman didn't trust his word. He needed to know for certain Sophia was alright.
Claes was sturdy, so she probably was alright.
He dragged his feet and followed after the blond, who traveled through the corridors as if he had lived there all his life.
It would have been annoying if Hachiman wasn't counting on the prince's expertise to get him to his destination as soon as possible. He let the smugness slide in exchange for getting to safety sooner.
"How come…?"
"You didn't hear about what happened back in town?" The prince finished the sentence without turning to face Hachiman "I've been running damage control, as well as seeing how to solve this particular problem."
"Okay." Hachiman didn't bother asking for clarification. He knew the prince would say whatever he wanted regardless of Hachiman actually asking or not. He seemed to like his own voice that much.
"However, I still have no idea how to reach that tower." The prince sighed "It's been some time already, and father is pressing for answers. I was hoping maybe this whole thing would just sort itself in time."
"That's stupid." Hachiman barked not two seconds after the prince confessed that idea "Why would problems solve themselves? What happened to begin with?"
"It's complicated." The prince ignored Hachiman's criticism.
No shit! Hachiman could see it was complicated! Ugh… This was why he didn't want to leave to begin with!
"Fine. I'll climb the wall." Hachiman gritted his teeth while massaging his nose.
"And do pray tell how you mean to do that?" The prince actually turned around to ask this time around.
"Magic, duh." Hachiman rolled his eyes.
The prince blinked at him.
"It's going to rain." The blond looked at the sky before turning around to keep leading the way "I'd say in about 42 minutes. It'll rain for a while, given how it's the start of the season and the rain clouds were just pushed recently. Even if Nicol-sama can do it, I'd advise against going today."
Hachiman didn't need to be told that, of course. He had eyes to see the sky… Oh, well. The corridors grew a ceiling lit by torches held by sticking them to the walls. Never mind.
"Just… Just get me to Sophia." Hachiman sighed heavily. He could almost see the prince smirking.
"Of course."
The wing that hosted all the rooms for the girls was farther away than Hachiman remembered. Or maybe they took more turns than was necessary. Whatever the case, by the time the two nobles arrived at Sophia's room Hachiman had almost ran out of spite to power himself. He knocked on the door but not even Sophia's maid answered his call.
Hachiman turned and glared at the prince.
"I did say she was staying with Katarina." The blond stated simply.
Hachiman took a deep breath.
"Listen." He closed his hand, forming a fist that had the knuckles going white in an instant "It's been a long ride. The guys leading around the weather meeting or whatever were all old assholes that couldn't put two and two together and think they are hot shit."
"What a crass language, Nicol-sama." Prince Gerald opened his eyes wide in fake surprise.
"I'm this close to just breaking something." Hachiman showed his palm, where a sphere of air was getting compressed more and more, sucking in the air surrounding the two nobles "Get me to Sophia, now."
"If Nicol-sama's magic can break through the walls it'd be a great help."
Say no more.
Hachiman allowed the condensed wind sphere to run wild, crashing against the nearest earth wall and shaving a circular bite out of the highest point.
Small for the amount of power he put behind it, but no less satisfactory.
The sonic boom shattered the glass from all the nearby rooms,though. Prompting the ladies within to scream their lungs out from the sudden assault.
The two guys stared at each other in silence.
"...Let's go." The prince stated after a couple of seconds of staring.
"Yeah, good call." Hachiman replied in a completely flat tone and hurried to follow the blond.
Fortunately for Alan, Sophia was alright.
Claes greeted him, almost jumping on him while becoming bright upon seeing him. But Hachiman didn't have time to care. He took two steps inside the room before Anne-san caught him and his vision started swimming.
He could ask questions later. At the moment he just sighed in relief and closed his eyes.
Archmages? Magic researchers? Go explode in hell.
-With love, Nicol.