"Ow."
A wooden blade bonked my head, breaking me out of my momentary daze. I couldn't help but shoot a glare at Maki; the girl had a rare smirk on her face.
"That makes twenty rounds."
"No need to rub it in."
I dropped my newly equipped rapier before brushing through my hair to spothe the new bruise.
'At least this shaggy hair is good for something.
Maki lowered her blade as well, then lowered herself to rest on the mat.
"Did you really think it was a smart idea to use a rapier against me?"
"Would the results have been different otherwise?"
The girl shrugged in response.
"Probably not..."
She looked rather smug.
'This girl...'
She'd been getting pretty cheeky lately.
"You can't say for sure. By the way, how's your knee feeling?"
That very quickly put a damper on her mood. Not by much though; one look at my current state was all it took for her to brighten up again.
I sighed, stretching my worn arm before carefully lowering myself onto the mat as well. I was already getting dizzy; the multiple bruises she'd given me as retribution weren't making things any easier.
She retorted the moment I sat down.
"You only got one in because I wasn't paying attention."
"A hit's a hit."
"Right..."
I didn't bother replying to her final retort, instead turning my attention towards other sparring pairs. By now, most cadets were already done with their spars.
The murmuring had begun once again.
"Still."
Maki's voice drew my attention again.
"I can't say I wasn't expecting more from you. Especially after that simulation."
"I already told you, I only got so far because of Song."
"Right, right... the seer."
She still didn't fully believe me. In the end, it wasn't like I needed her
to; having her confused and suspicious was probably the best
outcome in all this.
My gaze landed on the wooden rapier on the floor.
'It's a bit heavy!
Much lighter than the spear no doubt, but I'd underestimated its weight. I couldn't really be blamed for that, given how easily Maki swung it around.
'I'm stuck with it for now!
It wasn't a decision I'd just made on a whim. Using spears, especially non-artifact spears, was unsustainable.
I had no idea what Kaito heard from Alice to suddenly gain an interest in me. But the man was at least right about that.
10:22 -
If I couldn't use a spear, then I needed something lighter that could at least still give me some reach. Daggers were certainly an option; they'd proven effective back in the simulation, but they lacked any sense of range.
The next best option was swords. A thin, long blade that could help me concentrate my power into thrusts. Coincidentally, the rapier happened to just fit most of my needs.
I was sure there were probably better weapons out there, but Maki was a rapier user. Using [Error Sense] and sparring against her would likely only help me learn it faster.
Crazy!"
"... How... happ..."
The murmurs only grew louder with time. I was sure they were
talking about the missing student. I glanced at Maki.
"Have you heard of the rumors?"
"Missing student?"
"Yeah."
"Not much, but I've heard she's from Class C."
"Class C?"
"Right. Apparently, no one has seen her leave her room in days. Her
room won't open either."
'So she isn't exactly missing!
That was good; at least it reduced the chances of a Skinwalker running amok on the premises. Still, I wasn't in the clear yet.
"Heard anything else?"
The girl looked at me suspiciously.
"Why are you so interested in this?"
I could only shrug in reply.
"I'm a curious guy, okay?"
In the end, it was my fault for making her this way.
Seemingly satisfied with my excuse, she continued.
"I haven't really heard anything else; looks like the Instructors aren't
too keen on explaining either."
"Have you heard her name at least?"
This was the only thing that really mattered: the identity of the
student. Maki scratched her chin for a moment, as though pondering.
"If I remember correctly, her name is Ra... Ramo..."
My heart sank a little.
"Ramona Simons?"
"Yes, that's the one. How'd you know?"
2/6
'Fuck!
It was a Skinwalker. The very one I'd seen in my class.
'Why are things changing now?'
It certainly hadn't been in my novel.
Maki seemed to have noticed something wrong, as she looked at me
with a bit of concern.
"Are you alright?"
"Uh... yeah... yeah. Definitely, don't worry about it."
"Wha..."
I pushed myself up and left her like that. Class was basically done
anyways; I could only hope that this whole fiasco was due to Alice making her move.
It was as I moved towards the door that I noticed a notification blinking at the corner of my view. Two, to be exact.
One from Song, and another from an unknown number.
I opened Song's first.
[How the hell is a Skinwalker missing?]
'That's what I want to know too!'
I couldn't blame her for being direct. Given my access to Lady Alice,
I'd been pretty confident in handling this whole situation without Song. She hadn't really offered it either, given her whole engagement
issue-that, and the fact she was busy being my rat.
I replied simply.
[I'll explain later, just be careful till then.]
By the time I checked the message from the unknown number, I'd
already reached the door.
[Come to my office. Now.]
"That has to be Alice, right?'
The message didn't make me feel any better.
As I entered the hall, I ran into a familiar face. "Finally. How long did you plan to keep me waiting for you?"
It was Ayo. At first, I gave her a confused look before it finally dawned
on me.
"Right, the deal."
"Mhmm..."
I considered just dismissing her, since I was in a hurry. But looking at
the cadets lurking in the hallway and the dirty looks they were giving
me, I thought better of it.
"Come on, let's go."
I grabbed her wrist, hurrying along towards Alice's office. Perhaps
surprised by the action, the girl followed along.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"I'll tell you on the way."
I didn't imagine I'd be meeting the witch again so soon.