41. Unlucky with cats, lucky in life?

The best dice are the round ones; our fate will keep rolling without ever stopping.

* * *

When Ray’s alarm clock sounded at half-past seven, I was already at the entrance, checking my ID card and the exam notification I had received a few days ago. According to that document, the examination would take place at a gymnasium in the Nyomin College.

I heard footsteps and raised my eyes to Ray going down the stairs. Rainbows was following him like his shadow, and she gave me that look of hers that said ‘look, I spent the whole night with the master, but you didn’t, muahahameow’. I smirked at her, then smiled.

“Morning, Ray! I’ve left your breakfast ready, and your bento for the train.”

“Mornin’, Armen… You don’t have to cook for me all the time, you know, I was getting by just fine when I was living alone.”

“Just stop complaining and say ‘thanks’.”

“Thanks.” Ray rubbed his eyes, brightening up. “Where are you going?”

“Where, you ask? The examination starts at nine o’clock, and candidates have to arrive half an hour earlier.”

“Oh. Right.”

“… How about you go back to sleep and stop pretending you’re awake, Ray?”

“Eh? I am awake… Right! The examination! It’s today!”

“Took you long enough. Don’t forget you have to get on a water train at eleven o’clock. The other candidates chosen by the Nyomin will laugh at you if you miss it.”

“I might do that as well.”

“Don’t. You already packed everything you needed. Don’t forget to put Rainbows in your bag.”

“I’m still unsure of taking her to the training. But putting her to sleep can be dangerous too…”

That was something I had just recently known: apparently, a skilled necromancer would be able to put his familiars to sleep so their necro-bond wouldn’t die away too fast while he was away, but if the spell wasn’t correctly cast, they could still die.

Ray grimaced.

“We don’t even know where we’re going.”

“To Phoenix Island.”

“What?”

“We’re going to Phoenix Island. I read it on a confidential document a beautiful mermaid dropped when I was in Akiba. Ah, didn’t I tell you?”

“You didn’t!”

“Sorry, I forgot.”

“I knew it. Phoenix Island. My dad told me you must pass the examination because there was no other way to get you to the training with me. Now I get why he said that! But Armen, don’t you go telling anyone our destination.”

“Is it some kind of secret?”

“Well… I heard that the Nyomin was hiding information to protect the candidates from unwanted attacks, but to tell you the truth, I think they’re not protecting all the candidates but one in particular.”

“Oh? Some big-shot’s kid?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, you should go. We’ll meet at Phoenix Island in three days.”

“Ah… Yeah. Well then…” I patted Rainbows’s head, and the cat suddenly bit my hand.

“Rainbows, don’t bite!” Ray cried out, shocked.

Rainbows immediately stopped. She was pouting. Did she understand we wouldn’t see each other for a while? Was she telling me not to go? Or was I reading too much into it?

“Heh… It’s the first time I see her bite someone,” I noticed as I slipped my gloves on, one from Zeeta, one from Ray. “Could it be she remembers her past life?”

“Mm-mm.” Ray shook his head. “Since I couldn’t save her inner soul, I guess she just remembers some of her cat instincts. Well, there’s a saying I heard in Europe: lucky with cats, unlucky in life. So if we turn things around…”

He fell silent, maybe thinking that there was no way I could be lucky in life since I was dead… I laughed and teasingly nudged Ray’s head.

“Don’t let the Sunclaw twins taunt you.”

“I won’t,” Ray grumbled. I smiled as I recalled my phone conversation with Linah last night. He added: “I’m more worried about you, you know. Remember not to overeat.”

As far as I knew, overeating could turn me into a Fury, and if that happened, I wouldn’t be able to stop eating lifeforce until my core fried. I gave a nod.

“You know? I’d feel better if you made it a real order.”

“I won’t.”

Heh… Ray was as stubborn as usual. He would always avoid ordering me anything on purpose…

“But you just ordered Rainbows not to bite.”

“A cat is a cat. You’re a human. You’ve got brains to understand me, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

Ray rolled his eyes.

“If you can’t pass, don’t worry, I’ll be happy to resign and tell my mom I don’t like the training. So don’t push yourself too hard.”

“You just made it an order!” I protested under my breath.

“…! Oh, sorry,” he said as he erased the order. “Guess I thought about it too hard.”

Just how much did he want me to fail the examination? Geez…

“I’m off then. Take care!” I said as I opened the door.

I went to the subway station, got on a train crammed with people, then headed to Nyomin University.

It was a beautiful day, though quite cold according to the forecast —minus three degrees Celsius. Storms may be to come in the afternoon…

As I was reading the weather forecast on my phone, it buzzed.

‘Erma, 8:04: Morning, Armen! Break a leg!!!’

‘Armen, 8:04: Thx, I’ll do my best 😄 🎔’

I smiled, then switched my cellphone off as I walked through the outer gates of the University. Though it was my big sis’ workplace, I had never been there. It was huge. Green spaces with tall trees, large buildings, and bike parking stations all over the place… I glanced at my notification. I was supposed to go to the University’s gym called ‘Glenwood Gymnasium’, but I had no idea where it was. I was about to switch my cell on again to check the place when I heard voices behind me.

“It’s this way, I played a volleyball match last year at the gym. Don’t worry, we’ll make it in time.”

“O-Okay…”

The one answering was a girl with short and silver hair wearing a yellow schoolbag with a cute puppy pendant; the former was a hooded and masked guy who passed by my side without even glancing at me as he added in a loud voice:

“So, if you came for the examination for the EPHT, you must have some kind of power, right?”

I raised an eyebrow as a streak of wasted lifeforce reached me. The guy’s voice had given me suspicions, but now I was sure. Zeeta had told me he had work to do on this day… What was he doing here? Also, what was that about a volleyball match? He had never played volleyball in a team, much less competed in a gymnasium of the Nyomin District. Was he pretending to be someone else?

Anyway, he was clearly leading the way after seeing me wandering between buildings as a lost child. As expected from my stalker.

“Ah, yes,” the girl said, a bit shy. “I’ve been… very lucky since I was born.”

“Eeeh? What a cool power.” Zeeta was obviously not listening to her.

“Please wait!” I said suddenly. “You guys are going to the examination, right? I’m a candidate too. Can I join you?”

Zeeta snorted as he turned around.

“What? Did you get lost too? Excuse me, but I only help cute girls.”

Oh? So arrogant! Did he think I hadn’t recognized him? Well then… I played along.

“Ah, sorry for disturbing your flirting session, but can’t you see? I’m a cute girl too.” I fluttered my eyelashes at him, then turned smilingly to the ‘lucky’ silver-haired girl. “My name is Armenilda Moon.”

“Oh… I’m Nina Clover.”

“Nice to meet you, Nina. Hope we can get along.”

“N-Nice to meet you, Armenilda.” She said it so earnestly… Was she seriously thinking my name was Armenilda?

“I’m…” Zeeta hesitated, then cleared his throat. “I’m Leonardo Yamamoto.”

“…” Could I laugh at him? No, but he surely chose that name thinking it sounded cool. My smile broadened, but I managed to control myself. “Nice to meet you, Leon.”

“… Yeah.”

The three of us passed silently under an arc between two buildings, then walked down a long avenue.

“Th-the gym is that building over there,” Zeeta said. He was nervous.

“Oh, it’s huge. I overheard you played volleyball in there. Are you a pro?”

I couldn’t resist the temptation to put him in a pinch. As Nina and I were waiting for his answer, Zeeta shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Haha, that’s too embarrassing for me to say.”

“I understand,” I smiled. “What’s that hood and mask about, by the way?”

“That… It’s related to my power. You don’t need to know.”

“I understand! It looks cool on you.”

We were halfway to the gym when, suddenly, Nina stopped muttering:

“Oh. My shoelace’s come undone.”

As she squatted to make the knot, we waited for her and… soon realized she was taking a long time making the knot. I looked at her, puzzled.

“Nina? Do you perhaps not know how to tie a bow knot?”

The girl blinked, raised her eyes, then slightly shook her head.

“Oh, no, it’s not that.”

She finally tied the knot and stood up, her eyes fixed on a small hole on the avenue, two meters in front of us. She pointed at it.

“Something is wrong with that hole.”

Huh? I crouched alongside Zeeta to inspect it, but it was just a normal irregularity on the avenue, about three centimeters deep. It seemed that Nina Clover was a singular girl. I smiled at her.

“I know what you mean. Someone could trip on it, right. Let’s get around the crevasse.”

“Mm!” she nodded.

“I don’t know what’s going on but I’ll be passing over that ‘crevasse’,” Zeeta stated.

“No, don’t, Leonardo!” Nina said. I didn’t really know either what was going on but I echoed:

“Don’t, Leonardo!”

“Shut up, Armenilda, I’m a volleyball player, I can do that much-aaaaah!” he snorted as he stumbled on the hole. Surprised, I grabbed his left arm as Nina took his right arm.

“I told you,” she said. “There was a high probability you would trip. Fate is contagious.”

“Don’t give me that crap. What’s contagious?”

He grumbled as he freed himself and kept walking. I frowned. He had been unnecessarily rude to Nina. Not only that, he had drawn away from me as if we were strangers. Could it be that I was wrong and that he wasn’t Zeeta after all? His voice was muffled by the mask… Could it be that Leonardo Yamamoto’s lifeforce tasted coincidentally the same as Zeeta’s?

Aaah… Now I’m starting to doubt.

Come to think of it, his gait wasn’t the same as Zeeta’s. Had I just jumped to conclusions?

As we kept on, I realized Nina was a slow walker. Were we going to make it to the gym before half-past eight? Zeeta-Leon had left us behind.

“So… Nina, which high school are you studying at?”

“Falcon High.”

“Falcon High?”

“Ah… Yes. I’m not from Farskyer City. I’m from the countryside.”

“Oh, I see!”

“I traveled by train for ten hours. Luckily, nothing was wrong with that train, so I didn’t miss it.”

“That’s great.”

“Yes.”

Yet Nina’s logic was somewhat odd.

When we arrived at the gymnasium, I saw a lot of people gathered before the main entrance. Most of them were my age or older, but I saw younger candidates as well. They were all waiting for the doors to be opened. Thanks to Nina’s slow pacing, I didn’t have to wait too much: soon, a Nyomin employee let the candidates in, checking both our ID cards and our exam notifications.

I didn’t really know what to expect, but when I entered the gym and saw numerous rows of tables with an electronic device on each, I lost confidence. I knew the first exam would test our knowledge, but I had hoped they would do that in a funnier way…

The tables were assigned alphabetically by given name. I said:

“The ‘N’ rows are over there. Good luck, Nina.”

“Mm. Good luck to you. You need it more than I do.”

What was that supposed to mean? As I walked between two rows searching for ‘Armen Moon’, I was impressed by the number of candidates. They were hundreds of them in the gym, either chatting between them, sitting still, nervously fidgeting, or searching for their seats.

I finally found mine and sat down when the girl sitting behind me said:

“Well, well, now I understand why you were skipping school.”

I just glanced at her, thinking she was talking to someone else, but then I saw her long, black hair, her doll face, and her purple eyes, and I half stood up in astonishment.

“Arkifa?!”

As if it was too hard to believe, I took a look at the label on her table. ‘Arkifa Cythraul’. It was really her.

She laughed quietly.

“My presence here is not as surprising as yours, Armen. Taking an exam of your own initiative… it’s not like you.”

“Heh… I was thinking a test made for future Heroes would be fairer than school tests, but seeing how they set it all up, I may have got it all wrong,” I admitted, as I turned and sat astride on my chair, leaning my elbows on its back. “Didn’t think I would see you here, though. Since when do you want to work for the Nyomin?”

“Ah…” Her eyes darkened a bit. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to become an Explorer since long ago.”

“An explorer?”

Arkifa rolled her eyes.

“The Exploration Branch is one of the main branches of the World Hero Organization. The Explorers work on understanding the world flows of energy, they locate unstable areas susceptible to teleport, they draw maps, and give them to the Engineer Branch, who then are for example able to build the water trains on the water flows, maintain the communication infrastructures, and so on… Armen Moon, I’m quite surprised you want to become a Hero without knowing anything about the WHO.”

“Who’s who?”

She sighed.

“I mean the World Hero Organization.”

“Oh. Right. Well,” I grinned, “I don’t know exactly why I am here, but I’m gonna do my best.”

Arkifa’s lips curved.

“I know.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No, I’m not. I know you’re always doing your best. That’s something I like in people. I didn’t ask you out in middle school for no reason.”

I paused for a moment in front of her confession, then smiled.

“And I didn’t ask you out last year for no reason. But Ashooka is a better choice than I am, isn’t he?”

“Mm,” she said thoughtfully. “My boyfriend is about as funny as you, but he’s smarter than you, more level-headed, more mature, and sometimes he’s got a sense of humor that surpasses yours.”

“No way, a sense of humor that surpasses mine?”

“Like, telling jokes no one understands.”

“Oh, you mean that. But that happens to me as well.”

“Also, he can be awfully clumsy. That’s his cute side.”

“I can be clumsy too!”

“You think? But no one notice when you’re being clumsy because you make it seems as if you wanted the things to go that way, just like a cat would.”

“… So, it’s like in the old tale of the zodiac animals. In the end, the cat is cast away.”

“Don’t say it like that.”

I laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not jealous anymore. I’m fine with being your classmate.”

Arkifa straightened up a little.

“Classmate? I thought we were friends.”

She sounded a bit hurt. That moved me. I smiled from ear to ear.

“Yeah.”

At that moment, as a group of candidates was walking by our row, a crimson-haired guy in a green school uniform stepped aside to let them pass, saying politely:

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

He had stopped right by Arkifa’s seat, and with the excuse of letting the other candidates pass, he pressed his body against hers and whispered a shameless “excuse me” accompanied with a wink—What a cheek! I stood up, throwing a direct punch at his face… Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist and diverted the blow. It was Arkifa’s.

“Don’t.”

Her voice was grating with anger. Under the bastard’s shameless smile, Arkifa let go of my hand… then smacked the pervert. The slapping sound was covered by the ruckus, but I could hear it well from where I was. It left a red mark on his cheek.

“Get lost.”

Arkifa’s expression was scary, but the crimson guy didn’t seem to be much impressed.

“I like wildcats the most,” he said, smirking. I would have really punched him if he hadn’t turned away at that moment and sauntered back to his seat, two rows away.

“That bastard…”

“Don’t let it distract you,” Arkifa said brusquely, joining her hands on her table. “The people in charge of the examination are about to speak.”

She was right. A Nyomin employee wearing the Nyomin Crown on his uniform stepped on the platform at the end of the gym and tested his micro. The room fell silent.

“Listen, everyone! All of you have come today in hopes of attending the first special training the Nyomin Union has been working on during this past year in collaboration with the Phoenix Academy and the North-Wing’s ministry of education. At the Independent Hero Association’s request, the Nyomin has organized an extra examination for those who didn’t have the chance to be admitted through our normal admission system. That is why all of you gathered here today. The first test will be assessing your knowledge. The practical test, in the afternoon, will be supervised by both the Nyomin and the IHA. Here are the three judges from the IHA. Iker the Mantis,” a long-faced old man waved a hand from the platform, “Gilda the Bloody Cook,” an eye-glassed, short-haired woman gave a curt nod, “and Tim the Clockwiser.”

A guy wearing a stylish, multicolor suit raised an open hand towards us.

“The judge from the Nyomin is not here at the moment, but will arrive in the afternoon,” the spokesperson said. “Now then, let me explain the first test. Each table is equipped with a touch screen and an electronic pen. Questions will appear on the screen, and you’ll have to check the right answer using the pen. Sometimes there can be several answers…”

I took off my red knit cap in discouragement. A quiz. I was so screwed up…

“Each question has a countdown. Once time’s up, it will automatically pass to the next question. There are several thousand questions in total, so keep in mind you won’t be able to finish. You can pass to the next question without answering, so you won’t get negative points. The rules for the exam are simple: it is forbidden to copy answers, use your power, leave your seat, or speak. All the phones must be turned off. We’ll be able to know if someone is cheating using electronic devices, so don’t do anything stupid. The exam, as you know, lasts two hours. Normally, those who have chosen the Sarwish Common Language should see the questions appear in Sarwish. If there is any technical issue, please notify me as soon as possible by raising your hand. If there are other questions, please ask them before the exam. That’s all. The Nyomin and the Independent Hero Association wish you good luck with this examination.”

Few people raised a hand, among them a certain Andrea sitting just in front of me, a girl in a wetsuit wearing green dreadlocks, who asked how she was supposed not to use her power since it was a passive power.

“Of course, in that case, it’s not forbidden,” the spokesperson answered.

“Okay.”

I looked at her curiously as I wondered what kind of power hers was, then scanned the large gym. I spotted Zeeta-Leon sitting in a middle row. So, in the end, his name was really Leon and not Zeeta… unless Zeeta was participating under a false name, but then he would have needed a false ID card. Could it be that he was indeed working for the Beholder and not only stalking me? That, if it was actually him…

A few rows away from Zeeta, Nina Clover was chewing something like a chocolate bar. Even when eating, she was slow-paced. She seemed overly relaxed, unlike most of the candidates, who kept glancing between the Nyomin employees, the big clock on the wall, and the screen on their tables…

Then, finally, we all heard an electronic bell strike. It was time.

I took my pen and fixed the question that had just popped up on my screen.

«Do you think you can be a Hero? A) Yes; B) No; C) I don’t know; E) Such a question is not fit to be in a test.»

I widened my eyes as the room was filled with snorts of disbelief. The hell was with that first question?

Then, for the first time in years, I smiled during a test. I felt suddenly calm. If it was like that, I could do it. I checked C.

The next questions were all asking about my likes or dislikes or putting me in a situation where I had to make a decision such as, “should I run after the thief or call the police?”, and things like that. I was starting to think optimistically that the whole test was about knowing ourselves better, when the nature of the questions brusquely changed as I reached the question eighty-one: «Was the Nyomin founded by: A) the World Government; B) the Hunter Association; C) the Independent Ministry of Shanghai?» Wasn’t it the World Government? I had always thought so, but… maybe it was a trap?

I spent three minutes on the question, then the screen displayed the next one without letting me answer anything. «How many Great Crystals exist on Earth? (Above sea level) A) 82; B) 85; C) 92; D) 95.» I didn’t know that either…

After spending half an hour struggling with every question, I realized my mind had gone blank the same way it did when I was passing school exams. And it dawned on me: at this rate, there was no way I could pass the test.

Dammit. I hit the screen with the pen as I closed my eyes, trying to calm down.

I had the impression that I should have known some of the answers, that I had learned things like that in middle school, but my mind just couldn’t grab the information. Was it because I was bad at studying and had a bad memory? It couldn’t possibly be related to my core memory, right? Ray had saved my inner soul, so I had kept my identity and my memories, but… could it be that I had forgotten things from middle school I didn’t really care about? The possibility was disturbing.

Anyway, what should I do? If I couldn’t do it right, should I just keep checking A’s and hope I would do better for the practical test? But if I couldn’t make it, that would be bad. I didn’t want to be put ‘out of order’ by the Lord for two entire months, but I didn’t want Ray to give up on the training for me either. He had told me not to push myself too hard, but did he honestly wish not to go to that training? I could understand he didn’t want to become a Hero, but he did want to learn how to control his power, didn’t he? Besides, he wouldn’t like it if he had to break the promise he had made to his mom, and… though he didn’t say it, he probably wanted to see her, right?

After some time, I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. Ten o’clock. One hour had already passed. Ray should be on his way to the water station in the Financial District. And I was stuck here, doing nothing while the other candidates were swiftly answering the questions…

Damn it all. Since when did I have the right to give up so easily?

I looked down to my screen, determined to do my best, only to notice it had gone crazy: the questions were going by, too fast to even lay eyes on them. Oh no, my pen… I had kept stabbing the screen with it, inadvertently pressing the ‘pass’ button. I put it away, but the questions kept passing before my eyes.

Aw, aw, aw, what had I done? Using the pen on the screen was no use. I was going to raise a hand to notify the problem when a sudden loud beep filled the gym. My neighbors’ screens went red while mine was lit with a strong, green light. A smiley appeared with a message:

«Congratulations, you have finished the test!»

All eyes were riveted on me.