Kulyk Batrok is busy brushing the furs of a black mare (the fifth one he has to clean this morning, still another eighteen horses to go) when he hears the sound of singing drifting into his ears. The bored man looks up from the tedious work he is currently engaged in to locate the source of the sound.

The 35 year-old staff member of the Whiteford Academy sees a figure entering in between the large sliding doors of the stable. Looking from a distance, Kulyk haphazardly guess that this visitor must be a student of the school, judging from his height (or the lack of it).

But since the boy who is currently strolling towards him (all the while still singing a gods awful tune) isn’t in the proper attire befitting of a Whiteford Academy’s student, Kulyk can’t be sure if he belongs to the school or not.

“♩ You can eat them while riding or on foot. You can eat them under a shade or in the rain... ♬”

“…”

“♪ You can eat them for your birthday party or for your funeral party… ♫ Wait, the term ‘funeral party’ doesn’t sound right…”

“…”

“Fuck. I can’t remember it… It’s… Synnove, what’s the word I'm looking for?”

“…”

“Oh, right. She’s not here.”

“…”

“Kind sir, what do you call the social gathering associated with death, usually held before a funeral?”

*neighs “…”

“A wake? Are you sure? You’re not making the word up, right? Coz ‘death party’ seems more appropriate, and way much cooler.”

*continues neighing “…”

“Okay okay. Sorry for doubting you. To apologize, and as a token of my gratitude, here’s a reward.”

*whinnies happily “…”

“Oh crap. I don’t have an apple or sugar cubes with me at the moment. My bad.”

*grunts angrily “…”

“Look, it was an honest mistake, okay? I really thought I had them on me. Tell you what, I’ll give you some when I get back from Sunnyvale.”

*blows “…”

“That’s a pretty rude thing to say to someone you’ve just met.

*snorts “…”

“It’s a promise.”

All the while during the absurd exchange between the boy and the horse, Kulyk is watching dumfounded with his mouth agape, making the straw he’s been chewing for the past five minutes fall onto the stable’s dirty floor.

The older man is shocked not because of the supposed conversation between the boy and the animal, but because the boy is currently patting Teeth’s head without so much of being bitten in return.

Teeth, eighteen years old of age, captured from the plains of Jazwin five years ago. Been through seven separate owners before finally ending up the property of the Whiteford Academy as a riding horse.

Well, a riding horse is a bit of an overstatement, since Teeth rarely allows anyone to ride him. The number of people who can approach Teeth without having their hands being bitten is few (hence, the reason for the horse changing ownership/hands so many times), and the number of people that can ride him without being thrown off is fewer still.

Despite Teeth’s notorious disposition, he is quite the popular horse with the elite and commoner male students alike. Hot blooded teenagers viewed being able to ride the unrideable horse as a worthy challenge, a conquest even. Anyone who manages to stay on Teeth long enough to complete one lap around the riding track would command great respect, even if it’s a commoner student.

There was even an incident where a son of noble got thrown off Teeth and several of his ribs broken from the fall. The injured (plus shamed because his comical fall was witnessed by so many people) student and his furious parents demanded that the aforementioned horse be put to death for daring to cause harm to someone from a prestigious family.

Alas, Teeth continues to live in the Whiteford Academy’s stable relatively unmolested and in peace, destined to torment and be tormented by the relentless/endless lines of student waiting to challenge him. The reason why Teeth is still in the academy is because Headmaster Joss took him under his protection. His response to their angry request? “Don’t be a pussy and blame the horsey.”

Okay, Headmaster Joss didn’t actually say those words to those snobbish nobles, but he was thinking it, smiles the boy as he fondly recalls the event using his powers. Teeth is in the process of licking his palm. The boy studies the animal being held in a small pen in front of him. In his previous life, the boy had only challenged the horse once. Three weeks in the infirmary plus a stern reprimand from Master Wes deterred the boy from ever attempting the foolish act again.

Athorius, infuriatingly, managed to successfully ride Teeth in their fourth year. The boy grimaced at the bitter sweet memory. He had been happy for Athorius achievement’s back then, and a little bit jealous as well.

“You missed running in the plains, don’t you? And your mother as well…” mutters the boy as Teeth continues to nuzzle his nose against the boy’s left palm.

The horse neighs softly in agreement.

“As for your father… not so much.”

Teeth suddenly gives out a loud snort to signal his disgruntlement.

“Ahahaha…” the boy laughs bemusedly. “We’re more alike than I had previously thought. Funny how the world works once you’ve given it a second look.”

*annoyed neighs “…”

“Yes yes, I know you don’t like to talk about your father. Same goes for me.”

*neighs softly “…”

“But your father… he really is something, isn’t he… going from one corner of the continent to the other end… siring foals here and there… sometimes even swimming across the Straits of Ferrowing in order to enter the Shajahad Kingdom. I hear they have some lovely mares there.”

*whinnies “…”

“Your father and Synnove’s father are really very similar. I wonder if they’re related…”

*snorts “…”

The boy finally notices someone watching him. He turns his head towards Kulyk who is standing in the middle of the large stable with a black mare besides him. It looks like the man is in the process of cleaning the female horse’s fur.

“Good morning.” says the boy as he gives Kulyk the smallest of nods

“…Morning.” nods the older man in return as he studies the boy with long hair that covers nearly half his face and a right arm in a sling.

“Lovely day for a ride, isn’t it?”

“Guess so…”

“Headmaster Joss and I are thinking of heading into Sunnyvale in a bit. Could you prepare his personal carriage for us?”

“Can’t. It has a broken axel.”

*smiles wryly “Really? Then how about the other carriages?”

“Under maintenances.”

“All five of them, at the same time? What a coincidence.”

“…”

“I guess there’s no helping it then. We’ll just have to saddle up a few of these horses and ride them to town in style.”

“Can’t.”

“Let me guess… the horses are also under maintenance as well?”

“They’re fully booked for today’s riding lessons.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup.”

“You can’t even spare three horses?”

“Nope.”

“Not even for your own boss?”

“If Headmaster Joss is in real dire need of a horse, I’ll try to check around. But it will take some time.”

“…”

“Hey, I just work here.”

“Well, if the man in charge says that’s how it is, then that’s how it is.”

“Them’s the breaks.”

“That’s how the cookie crumbles indeed.”

“I don’t make the rules.”

“Rightly so. Say… Kulyk. Wanna hear a joke?”

“Have we met? How did you know my n-“

“A guy walks into a bar. The bartender says ‘Why the long face?’ The guy- Wait, I messed up that joke. Let me start over.”

“…”

“A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says ‘Why the long face?’ The horse says Go get Headmaster Joss’ personal carriage ready for travel and I won’t tell him about the three pieces of gold you have in your right trouser pocket.”

“…”

“If you’re waiting for the punch line, then here it is. Master Haithur won’t be returning to this academy by the end of the day to give you the rest of the gold coins he promised you.”

“…”

“Either you laugh and clap and ask me for another joke. Or you can go ahead and prepare what I wanted done five minutes ago.”

“…Okay.”

“Good man.”

The boy approaches Kulyk and takes the brush from his hand. He then proceeds to brush the black mare's side as it stands silently beside the man, ignoring Kulyk in the process. The 35 year-old staff member of the Whiteford Academy wanted to say something else but thought it better not to. He turns and heads towards Headmaster Joss’ carriage, leaving the boy deep in his thought.

********************

The boy continues to gently remove the dirt from the black mare’s body using the hard brush, all the while his head is heavy with thought. His encounter with Delyth earlier had put him in a bit of a foul mood. Not because she had tried to read his thoughts, but because the boy realized too late that there exists a mind reader in this school.

The boy is thankful that he managed to put up an adequate defense to shield his mind (something he learned about using his power of limited omniscient and a few books about mind readers that he has read before) before any vital information could be discovered, information that could be used against him.

Even before the boy received his gift of limited omniscient from the little girl, even before his fall through the Time Abyss, the boy is vaguely aware of that mind readers do exist in the Grandiel Continent. It’s just that, he has never personally met one before. During his previous life, the boy has heard stories about how mind readers are highly sought after by the intelligence community. Each kingdom in the continent has its own intelligence branch, a secretive organization that governs the country’s network of spies and information.

Wars are not always fought on the front. It is sometimes fought in the shadows, through misinformation and rumors dissemination and propaganda. Although there are certain steps a person can take to shield his or her thoughts from being read, in a battle of cloak and dagger, having a mind reader on your side greatly increases your chances of winning. Which is why every kingdom tries to get their hands on one, while trying to prevent other kingdoms from acquiring theirs.

This would explain why there are not many known or famous mind reader walking about freely in the Grandiel Continent. Or why some people refused to reveal their mind reading powers and offer their service to their country. Proclaiming yourself to be one is the same as painting a big red bull’s-eye on your ba-HOLY CRAP!

The boy suddenly comes to a horrible realization and curses inwardly. The black mare he is currently brushing her fur neighs in protest. The boy had dug a little too forcefully into her sides using the hard brush in his hand.

“Sorry, girl. I’m sorry.” the boy apologizes and tries his best to pacify the distressed mare, all the while wishing for someone to come along and soothe him in return as well. The boy’s inside is in turmoil after understanding the reason for the sense of foreboding and the anxiousness he felt since meeting Delyth.

Not only do I have to look out for mind readers. Now I have to watch my back for people who want to kidnap me so they can use me or kill me if they can’t. All because they’re under the mistaken impression that I’m a genuine mind reader.

The boy shakes his head and sighs dejectedly. It’s just one headache after another. Rolfe was right, mulls the boy silently as he recalls what the entity had told him during their first meeting.

“You’re making too much noise, too much wave. Like the cries of a newborn baby deer, which is bound to draw the wolves in.”

Good advice, Rolfe, mulls the boy silently. Too bad it came too late, right after I made my grand entrance in the dining hall.

“Do you think telling them I’m not a mind reader, but just a guy who can see past, present and future events as well as calculate odds and probabilities to a terrifying degree would make them lose interest in me?” asks the boy to the mare standing in front of him.

The black mare lets out a loud guttural noise and ends it with a rude snort.

“Serves me right. Ask a silly question…” the boys sighs again as he continues to brush the black mare’s fur.

“I don’t suppose pointing them in the right directions towards a few hidden mind readers would get them off my back?”

The mare turns her head towards the boy and gives him a disproving stare.

“Alright alright. It was just an innocent suggestion. No need to disparage me. I would never do something as low as that.”

“…”

“Aw fuck it,” says the boy as he puts the hard brush down into an equipment box nearby and picks up a soft brush. “I'll cross that burning bridge when I come to it.” murmurs the boy as he gently cleans the dirt from the mare’s face.

Since his meeting/duel with the entity known as Rolfe Primero two days ago, the boy has tried using his limited omniscient to search for other similar existence or powerful beings, both human and non-human, anything that could help him or hinder him against the upcoming war with the Razors.

The search in the human category yielded some promising results. The boy decides to ignore those with mind reading abilities. Having one around is troublesome enough, the boy doesn’t want to surround himself with more. That just means he has to guards his thoughts around the clock, possibly even during his sleep.

Plus, what can a mind reader do if he or she goes up against a Razor? Probe it’s mind to death? Do Razors even have minds? ponders the boy.

The boy decides to ignore the mysteries of the Razors for now (he is still unable to find out where they come from or who made them) and chooses instead to focus his attention on more than a hundred witches gifted people with some very interesting magical powers spread across the Grandiel Continent.

Besides them, there are a few nomadic hill tribes who have animal shape shifting capabilities, plus half a dozen unique individuals scattered here and there whose abilities are far beyond the boy’s comprehension, even when using his limited omniscient in order to investigate how they actually work. The boy decides to put some time later to investigate them thoroughly and to determine whether they could be of some use to him.

One particular search result that stands out is the Decaying Princess from the Kingdom of Khultan, but like the mind readers, it’s because the boy is already familiar with her exploits back during the war with Razors, way before his fall through the Time Abyss.

The boy puts down the soft brush in his hand and clasps the mare’s cheek. “Right now, she’s alone and forsaken, locked away in a tower and hidden from the eyes of the world by her own father, more for the kingdom’s sake instead of hers.”

The mare neighs gently as the boy closes his eyes and puts his forehead against hers. “But that girl, even after all that, she still chooses to fight for her country in the war against the Razors. With zero training. Managed to take out nearly a hundred Razors all by herself before they finally succeeded in killing her.”

The boy lifts up his head, open his eyes and stares into the mare’s own as a mischievous smile begins spreading across his face. “Imagine what she can accomplish after I’m done teaching her.”

The mare whinnies nervously upon hearing this.

********************

The boy has finish cleaning the black mare and is in the process of returning the horse into her own pen when he hears a voice from behind him.

“I’m here.”

The boy turns around and comes face to face with Headmaster Joss. “Your 10 minutes ended up being nearly half an hour.”

“Can’t help it. I needed to give out a lot of orders to each and every one of my teachers and staff members and make sure the school runs properly before I can go.”

“If you had waited another half an hour before finally deciding to leave, there won’t be a school for you to return to.”

“Well, I guess I can thank the gods because I have you by my side to guarantee that doesn’t happen.”

“Thank the gods indeed.”

“We’re about done here?”

“Just about. Kulyk is just finishing hitching up the last of the horses to your carriage.”

“Who’s Kulyk?”

“The guy in charge of looking after the horses in the academy’s stable.”

“Oh, him.”

“You really don’t remember his name?”

“A few details are bound to slip through the cracks.”

“But you can remember the names of all the major alcohol makers as well as their specialities.”

“Some details are more important than others. Where is Synnove by the way?”

“She went to your room because I told her to take something from there. Don’t worry. She’s on her way back and will be here in another minute.”

“That’s really not the part that I’m worried about. How did she get into my room and what did you told her to take?”

“Then you shouldn’t have left the spare key under the potted plant outside your quarters. And I told her to take your sword from your room.”

“And what is the reason that compels you to order Synnove to take the sword from my room?”

“Why, it’s because you will be needing it to fight off the various armed men Master Haithur has paid to impede your journey should you wish to travel to Sunnyvale today.”

“You know, a year ago hearing something like that would have elicited a shocked response from me. But after spending some time with you, I don’t think I can ever be surprised again.”

“Don’t worry Headmaster Joss. You ain’t seen nothing yet from me.”

“Forgive me if I don’t want to. Why didn’t you tell me earlier about Master Haithur’s other plan?”

“So you can spend another half an hour arranging an escort that would only slow us down? Relax Headmaster Joss. You, Synnove and I are more than enough to handle Master Haithur’s hired thugs.”

“You’re relying on Synnove to watch your back? A princess from the Jazwin Kingdom?”

“If you’re implying that a princess can’t fight, then you’re gravely mistaken. Synnove can hold her own.”

“I do know that some princess can fight. And that’s not what I meant. I’m referring to the shit storm that will happen if you get her injured during one of the fights you will drag her into.”

“I’ll die before I let anything happens to her. And besides, I’m more concerned with Synnove’s opponents today than I am with her. She currently has a lot of stress built up in her and I may have to step in before she kills any of those poor bastards.”

“Something happened between you two?”

“Not between me and her per say, but unfortunately I’m caught in the middle.”

“Forget it. You can add that to the growing lists things that I don’t want to know.”

“Speaking of Synnove. Here she comes now.”

“Sorry I’m late, Master. Had to make a little detour to the sports room.”

“What’s up with the metal bat, Synnove? I don’t remember asking you for it.”

“Oh no, this one is for me.”

“…”

“When Master told me we are going to bust some balls today, I have a feeling I might be needing this bat.”

“Not the exact words I used when I told you to get Headmaster Joss’ sword from his room.”

“The meaning was implied.”

“…”

“And besides…” smiles the pigtails maid as she hands Headmaster Joss his sword. “I really don’t like the sensation of touching another man’s skin with my bare hands.”

“You guys are really suited for each other.” says Headmaster Joss as he pulls his sword from the scabbard to check for its sharpness before sliding it back in.

“Like two peas in a pod.” the headmaster continues to say as he climbs into his awaiting carriage, followed closely by widely grinning Synnove. The boy has told his maid to enter it first because he still has business with the man putting in the last few touches to the carriage.

“She’s all set and ready to go, Sir.” says a tired and weary Kulyk, his brow heavy with sweat from having to make sure the carriage is prepared as fast as possible.

Kulyk didn’t even know why he added the ‘Sir’ at the end of his sentence to address someone greatly younger than him, but he’s too exhausted to even care.

“Good. You can go ahead and take the driver seat. You’ll be driving us to Sunnyvale today.”

“What!” exclaimed a shocked Kulyk. All the blood is drained from the 35 year-old staff member’s face.

“Why…” says the boy with a grin that made the older man’s tiredness be replaced with something else… fear.

“…you didn’t think you were gonna earn those three gold coins in your pocket that easily now, did you?”

********************************************************************************************

Sorry for the late update. I’m tired, I’m swamped with work, and right now I’m battling an ear infection.

As usual, please leave a review or a comment if you want to cheer me up.