Chapter 2 : Time for Tea

In a clearing in the forest laid a small shelter of sorts, decorated with pots full of exotic flowers and a ceiling that took the form of golden vines intertwined with planks of imported Crilandese wood, it was truly a sanctuary. As she entered, the girl called to the maid inside who was awaiting orders, who, like them, was also a student in the Academy.

“Missus Heilweis, what would you like to have?”

Cozy, warm, and welcoming, the aura that the place held was that of being curled next to a roaring fireplace under a warm comfortable, non-itch inducing blanket. And if you had never experienced such a thing, then the takeaway is that, yes, it was quite pleasant.

“Just the usual please, Charlotte.”

“Of course, coming right up.”

With an elegant bow, the girl took her leave to prepare a selection of snacks, leaving a silence that the knight was determined to fill with conversation.

“Do you just pay students to be your maid or something?” Tommy inquired.

“Well, I have no choice, do I? It’s not like the exigencies of this place demand anything beyond that.”

“Yet it still demands a maid?”

She shrugged. “I provide payment and offer them opportunities to train with me. It’s a mutual relationship, I’m not a parasite.”

“I concur, I am paid quite well,” Charlotte giggled, having overheard the conversation.

Even if her attitude was at times befitting that of a princess, Tommy knew that it could not have been further from the truth. If one were to describe her personality, a portmanteau of the words princess and knight would work in tandem, maybe prinknight? Knightcess? Just princess knight?

No. While such a thing was certainly possible, to do so would be a disservice to her. It was precisely just what a person without knowledge of the complexity of her character would do. Tommy reckoned of course, that he knew her a bit better than that.

To him, she was Jaiga Heilweis, the girl who had saved his life. As for how that’s a story for another time.

The two of them had been friends for quite a while—and for the better half a year, they had been assigned as partners, journeying into the depths of tombs, forests and cities to combat enemies for the good of society.

In fact, he suspected the reason that she had called him here was a consequence of their previous excursion. Exactly three days prior, the frivolous duo had encountered a particularly powerful demon and was pressured into a position of infirmity. It was only through the combined effort and trust that the two held in each other that they had managed to vanquish the fiend.

Otherwise known as the power of friendship.

However, Tommy had at one point been struck by a quite nasty infection during the expedition, the likes of which, powerful as it was, threatened to permeate itself into his body and kill him.

Plastered across his left calf in the form of a mismatched piece of skin known as a scar, it was the consequence of an unexpected blitz, one that in a moment, had impaled itself through the whole of his lower leg.

Initially, Tommy had merely shrugged it off and carried on battling; it was only after when black veins bulged like inflated balloons all across his body, did he suffer.

It was a wound so unpleasant and vile that Tommy had thought he would die.

Thankfully, as he was sitting right there sipping a cup of tea, it was evident that he didn’t.

To his knowledge, his malady had been cured when something akin to radiant energy had been supplemented to him by the girl sitting in front of him, or at least he had certainly hoped so, considering that undertaking the process had resulted in various yells of agony and moistened sniffles, even if he would never admit to it.

Sensing the vague disquietude growing inside her friend, Jaiga made an effort to divert his mind from whatever it was.

“Is something of the matter? Your mind seems to be drifting into insensibility.”

“I am fine, there is no problem in the slightest.”

“Are you aware that being armipotent doesn’t render you invincible against the struggles of day to day life?”

“Are you aware that you are over-worrying?”

In retort to her rhetoric, he grinned.

“I lack the ability to be aware of something purely hypothetical,” she jabbed.

Unable to share the same ardour that her friend held, Jaiga’s eyes lingered on Tommy, which in a fashion more comparable to parental concern than that of a friend, pushed Tommy’s gaze away.

“L-look, you don’t need to worry about me, I’m just a little on the edge lately that’s all.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jaiga leaned in.

“You are sure?”

The space between his and hers face is no more than a hair’s breadth away, a scintilla of doubt over his own well being formed in his soul. One that in its feeble power, was quickly blown away by feelings of embarrassment and discomfort from having her this close to him.

Powerless before the might and dominance of her unwavering presence, he surrendered himself to whatever demands that she would ask of him, with the hope that at the bare minimum, that they were reasonable.

“I-I’m sure, certainly, hundred percent, without a margin of error, de-”

Committed to the act of verifying his emotional integrity, she made an additional query.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Pinky held out, it now became evident what perils Tommy would have to subject himself to should he wish to escape unscathed from this encounter. And so, without much ado, he interlocked his pinky with hers.

Finally satisfied, she retreated back into her seat.

“Are you aware that the new students will be arriving soon?”

“I was not.”

As he made no effort to hide his disinterest, Jaiga chose to elaborate regardless.

“They have Resolve, so the likelihood is that they’ll be joining the practical course, which means?” she asked, expecting an answer, a test of his skill in deductive and emotional reasoning.

“That I might have to work with them, and that I should get along and treat them nicely, right?”

“Ever so astute, are we?” Jaiga smiled in satisfaction.

He groaned.

“Anyone could have insinuated that you would have said something along those lines.”

“You think too lowly of yourself.”

The tea and crumpets now loaded onto a tray, Charlotte placed each treat into their designated compartment on the table. As per custom, she then made the effort to explain what ingredients were used, the time taken, and a brief history of each of the goods, all with a manner befitting that of a librarian.

The two friends thanked Charlotte, which in the usual routine, paved the way for her departure.

Once she left, the two carried on their usual tea-time procedures which, free from the gaze of Charlotte, let them enjoy the ambience at their leisure. Accompanied by quaint teenage antics, with Jaiga insisting on prodding the edge of Tommy’s lips with snacks, and Tommy in turn retaliating with more embarrassment, the two carried this on for seemingly forever, until their reserves of nourishment were all but depleted.

When the final ounce of vigor died down did the two finally resort to engaging in a quiet exchange. One that consisted of silence would be broken by a singular question.

The porcelain cup pressing against her lips, Jaiga took a long sip of the chrysanthemum tea.

“Do the names Harux Y’saanith and Lucius Mortius ring a bell?

Y’saanith… If he recalled correctly, that name corresponded to that of an infamous terrorist… But Mortius, where had he heard it before? It was at this moment that an epiphany manifested in the crevices of his mind, one that awakened long repressed memories.

“Tommy are you alright?”

His heart hurt, in fact, almost every fissure or nudge of his body was in some degree of pain. It was a burning sensation, one that grilled him alive like the simultaneous discharge of explosions in his body.

Flashes of pain and malignance overwhelmed his conscience...

The rest of the tea time passed as one would have expected: besides the initial outburst of pain, Tommy had made sure to maintain a facade of well-being and an inclination towards good. It was the least he could do after all, as what he would do next would have been the antipathy of such.

For his plan was to make Lucius Mortius suffer, and perhaps, if the stars aligned, kill him.