Surprisingly, Mistress Ricon declines the boy’s offer for more cake. The boy is puzzled by this, he knows the female teacher had been enjoying eating the cake he made up until a few moments ago.

Was it something I said? the boy wonders briefly. No matter, it’s probably nothing. The boy decides to push aside the mystery of Mistress Ricon’s lack of appetite for now. He has bigger issues that will require his immediate attention for the moment.

The boy sets aside a quarter of the cake that he had baked, he only needs a small portion for what he is planning later on, and gives the rest to Mistress Ricon. He fashions a container out of wax paper to wrap the remainder of the cake and passes it to the female teacher, who receives it with a small “thank you”.

“If you like, feel free to share the cake with the students that I had sent to the infirmary. Just don’t tell them who made the cake… maybe later after they had done eating it.” jokes the boy. He had expected Mistress Ricon to crack a smile, maybe fire off small retort, but the female teacher silently nods.

“You can go on without me, no need to wait. It will take me a while to clean up here.” the boy tells Mistress Ricon.

The female teacher silently debates on whether it is a wise decision to leave a student (especially someone like the boy) unattended in a sensitive premise such as this. Which is why the boy decides to give Mistress Ricon another push to hurry up her decisions making.

“Or perhaps you wish for me to escort you back to your room? If that’s the case then I’ll-“

“No thank you. I can find my way back just fine.” the female teacher cuts him off.

Mistress Ricon stands up and bids the boy a good night before leaving through the door that they had unlocked earlier. The boy waits until he is sure the female teacher has truly left the area before launching into a flurry of cleaning activities, washing the dishes and cleaning the crockery and cooking utensils he had used. It doesn’t take the boy long before the small area he had borrowed to do his cooking is completely spotless and nothing is out of place.

After finishing the various tasks of cleaning, the boy allows himself to smile at what he had accomplished. The smile doesn’t last for long as the boy’s thoughts centre on his devoted maid, Synnove. The boy sighs, he still hasn’t work out the best way to deal with the pigtails girl. He could always try to sleep with her like what Rolfe had suggested, but the boy isn’t entirely open to the idea since it’s going to bring a whole gaggle of problems.

Firstly, there’s the issue of him being already married. Yes, the boy had already cheated on his wife with Rolfe (okay, technically it’s a grey area because of the time jump issue and he isn’t married to her yet in this lifetime) but he really does feel extremely bad about that.

When the boy took his wife’s hand in marriage, he made a sacred vow to love her and only her, and the boy takes his vows very seriously. Rolfe is an exception… mainly because he felt an exceptional connection with her, but what’s his excuse for sleeping with Synnove? Sympathy? Love? Just sleeping with a girl because he could?

Secondly, even with his increased endurance, Rolfe is already way too much for the boy to handle and he really doesn’t want to add another one to that list. Between trying to save a world that seems to hinder his attempts at every corner and turn... being in a relationship with an ageless entity with an insatiable appetite... averting his imminent death that he's sure is approaching him based on his prophetic dreams... and avoiding any possible unwarranted attention from a goddess... the boy has enough on his plate as it is.

Finally, and perhaps the most important issue of all, there’s something about Synnove that doesn’t sit well with the boy. No, he’s not talking about her perversion or who her parents are or her messed up past. Hell, it’s not even about how her eyes can glaze over, occasionally permeated by a glint of psychosis that would pierced through every now and then, especially during the time she broke his right arm with a makeshift bat this morning.

There’s something going on with Synnove, and the boy just couldn’t figure what that is exactly. Rolfe was the first one to bring that up during the first meeting between the entity and the pigtails girl. Which would explain some of the boy’s reluctance of getting acquainted with Synnove when she first came into his service as a maid, refusing to find out her name until Synnove introduces herself in Headmaster Joss’ office.

The boy had tried looking into her fate during the Razors invasion. Nothing interesting there. She died, just like everyone else. The only noteworthy thing that the boy noticed is Synnove put up quite a fight before finally meeting her end, but the boy chalks that up due to the training she had received since she was a child.

If it’s not her future, then maybe the answer lies in her past(s)? The boy’s experience with Rolfe has taught him to expect the unexpected. A few quick searches turn up several false leads and dead ends. Synnove doesn’t sends out any particular markers of being a reincarnated person unlike Rolfe.

Either the thing that made the boy feels a sense of foreboding around Synnove is extremely well-hidden. Or the reason why it’s so hard for the boy to find it is because it was never there in the first place.

Maybe I’m dragging my feet because I’m hesitating on answering her feelings… even if she doesn’t know them herself, the boy contemplates. He sighs again. Best to just get it over with, like ripping off a band aid.

The boy goes about the kitchen, further collecting things he needs for his meeting with Synnove. Which is why he lied to Mistress Ricon that cleaning will take a while and that she should leave first. The boy didn’t want the female teacher to ask too many questions on why he needed an empty basket or the linen of cloth or the wine bottle taken from the pantry.

The items and food stuff he borrowed without permission won’t be missed, but he still has a genuineintent to return the non-perishable stuff in the morning.

The boy gathers the sandwiches, the small portion of cake, the linen of cloth and the wine bottle and places them all in the basket. He carries the now heavy basket and leaves the kitchen through the door, putting the basket on the ground outside before going back into the kitchen. The boy locks the door from inside, then exits the building through the high window (made easier by climbing a tall cupboard nearby).

Landing on the ground outside the kitchen with the grace of a cat, the boy picks up the heavy basket with his left hand (he’s right arm is still broken and recovering in a sling) and heads towards the guardhouse. After a few minutes of walking, the boy arrives at his destination. In a moonless night such as this, the bright building that houses the guards patrolling the vast Whiteford Academy looks like a lighthouse in an ocean of darkness.

As he walks up to the guardhouse, the boy can hear laughter and talking emanating from out of the open windows. The guards had opened them to let the cool wind of the night in. The boy silently approaches, sets the heavy basket down and takes out the wine bottle from the basket he’s carrying. He nonchalantly puts the bottle through the open window and onto a nearby table inside the guardhouse and turns to leave as swiftly as he had arrived.

The boy doesn’t have to worry about the guards looking up, they’re too busy with their card games to see him. And when they finally notice the wine bottle, the guards would drink it without hesitation. Which means their ability to patrol effectively later on would be greatly reduced.

This in turn will give the boy and Synnove an opportunity to do what they set off to do without any interruptions… whatever the hell that is. The boy is still vague about this, even as his bare feet brings him to the abandoned building where he promised to meet up with Synnove, the same buildng where Marven and Athorius were held hostages just this morning.

The boy is still undecided as he arrived outside the deserted classroom (except for its sole occupant that has been waiting quietly and patiently for the boy to arrive of course), the same classroom where Marven and Athorius nearly got their throats slit.

Nearly four hours in the dark, waiting for little ol’ me, the boy contemplates. He doesn’t know whether to be impressed or deeply alarmed by this. The boy put his hand on the handle and pauses for a brief moment.

Oddly, he is suddenly reminded of the time when he is about to step into the portal, during the very last hours of mankind. The boy had to replaced Athorius who couldn’t make it, and standing outside this classroom tonight, the boy was assaulted by the same feelings back then when he was starring down the portal.

Once more unto the breach, the boy silently whispers to himself as he opens the sliding door and comes face to face with the pitch blackness lurking inside the room.

“I’ve arrived.” the boy solemnly declares as he steps into the dark classroom and closes the door behind him.

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Here's another something for you guys to make up for the lack of updates

http://postimg.org/image/r77i51lkz/