My eyes slowly fluttered open, the crack of dawn shining light through the window and rousing me from an unexpectedly peaceful slumber. Warmth radiated from my small companion, creating an atmosphere which could be called perfect. It was peaceful, and pleasant.

My gaze wandered down to the content face of Silk, who lay in her usual spot within my arms, curled up in a fetal position, facing me. The recollections of the previous night were still fresh in my mind. I’d never expected this fellow to be so accommodating… I certainly feel much better than the previous day. Had I continued to suppress my desires, I can say with a great degree of certainty that my mind would have become further impaired. Right now, the hyperactivity of my mind had calmed.

I traced the burns along the arms of Silk, the wounds barely crusted over. Strangely, despite the pleasurable sight that those injuries provided, my eyes kept returning to her soft, pink lips. That sensation… I wouldn’t mind doing that again.

I moved forwards, bringing my lips to hers, savouring that soft sensation as they brushed against one another. I… I quite like this. Romance and women were never at the forefront of my mind, yet despite this I enjoyed this proximity. It’s different, but not necessarily inferior to that feeling when a heretic burns in the flames I lit.

Oh dear, it looks like I was too absorbed in my activities… Bleary, grey eyes looked into mine, slowly gaining clarity. I withdrew from the kiss, and got up, out of the bed and began to get dressed. In the corner of my eye I could see the now awake Silk, brushing her lips with her finger, a dazed look dominating her expression. Oh, she smiled… It’s quite nice isn’t it? Her smile.

Well, enough of that. I still have work to do and a rescue to plan. I put the situation with Silk to the side for the time being, and centred my attention on preparing for the day.

I never expected you to have a tender side.

I glanced over at the little owl that had squawked in my direction. Oh, Serenity? You were here all along? I must say I’m somewhat embarrassed for you to see such a display from yours truly. Serenity is an old spirit, and from our time together I’ve garnered that she enjoys all the stories of my escapades; the torture, the executions, the magnificent conflagrations. Her image of me must be crumbling what with that romantic display. Don’t worry Serenity, I’m the same old Cyne, which you know and love!

…I see. And here I was hoping you’d changed…

Oh, Serenity! A joker as always. I do enjoy these conversations of ours. We haven’t done this in a while! I bet you’re lonely being left to your own devices!

It was nice to see you treat that girl with such compassion, albeit after inflicting injuries upon her. It almost convinced me you were human…

Oh, she always cracks me up. That sarcastic humour of hers is something I can appreciate. But, she should be glad she ended up with me; others may end up taking her comments seriously.

At any rate, I was appropriately dressed and was ready to head to the college campus. If I recalled correctly, something was said about a faculty meeting this afternoon. I’m interested to see what kind of heretics are in charge of educating these children. I felt a familiar tug on my coat tail, and as I anticipated, it was a Silk, draped in a bedsheet and ready for the day.

She seems quite pitiful, grabbing onto my coat like this… I held out my hand. Silk looked at it for a moment, dazed. Only a few seconds later she grabbed it with both hands. Oh, that is a tight grip. What’s she doing now? Taking advantage of my surprise at her actions, she’d successfully gotten hold of my arm, and was hugging it tightly into her chest, pressing herself closely against me… Well, it isn’t overly bothersome, I suppose…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few days seemed to drag on forever. Every moments felt like an eternity, as I waited for a development with Grace and the heroes. My class had decreased by about half in the second lesson, and remained at a number of 15. They were all talented individuals… I wonder if they wouldn’t think about joining the Church of Sol, after all this country of heretics has no appreciation for their talents.

At any rate, the lessons consisted mostly of the discussion behind the theory of light magic along with stretching exercises to increase their flexibility for when the fencing lessons began. Unfortunately, I couldn’t simply tell them the whole truth of how light magic was a blessing given to mankind by our great lord, Sol, so I spouted out some nonsense that the academy library’s books held.

Back when I was still an inspector-in-training, one had to learn the passages of the Holy Scriptures off by heart. By devoting yourself to this task, the words recitation various stories, and the lessons learned from them, would bring you closer to Sol, and naturally your ability to use his blessing (light magic) would increase. The heretics however had a crude system going, where it was essentially trial and error. They would learn from experiences and the experiences of those before them, as opposed to the wisdom held in the Holy Scriptures. As such, their progress was limited despite their talents.

It’s for the best. We can’t have a bunch of heretics running around and using Sol’s blessing for unholy purposes. The princess had pestered me for further lessons, but in reality, there was little I could teach her without drilling the Holy Scriptures into her head. Her persistence eventually led to the agreement of today’s date being the beginning of our lessons.

At present I was sitting in my desk, waiting for the princess to arrive. My white-sheeted companion had perched herself on my thighs, leaning her head against my chest as I laid back in my seat. The warmth of her little body was quite comfortable. The class had gotten used to her now, although I did overhear the students taking guesses at what could be underneath the sheets.

Ever since the… interesting night we had, I feel far more comfortable in this place. The agitation of being surrounded by individuals whose ways of life are quite the contrary to Sol’s teachings, has slowly dissipated. The urgency I felt, to set them ablaze has subsided. I am only one man, and ultimately, they’ll face their punishments one way or another. Perhaps I should encourage a holy war on the kingdom of Lun, when I get back to the capital of Sol…

Silk’s attitude has gone mostly unchanged after that night. Her constant proximity to me has remained the same, and we still sleep in the same bed. Something feels off though… I used to be quite content with just holding what I considered a work of art in my arms as I laid my head to rest. But now… I think I may want to do a bit more than that. Silk’s attitude may not have changed, but I think I mine certainly has. No events of a similar nature have yet occurred since the first time, and I’m in no hurry to rush things.

Well enough about that, it looks as though the princess has finally deemed the time suitable to grace us with her presence.

Grace entered the room, a bounce in her step as an excited expression made its way onto her face. Bubbly, energetic and eager to learn. Silk on the other hand tensed up quite suddenly, gripping onto me significantly tighter. Yes, this has been something she’s had a habit of doing for a while now.

Grace pulled up a chair and sat directly in front of my desk, eagerly awaiting her private lesson. I suppose it’s time to let this heretic princess understand her erroneous ways and know the glory of Sol.

I grabbed a few sheets of partially crumpled paper out of my pocket and deposited them on the desk, Grace’s eyes following the paper like a bloodhound. I took time last night to write the first passage of the Holy Scriptures onto some sheets of paper. I looked at the princess once more, before making a final decision as to whether or not to risk this.

She looked pristine and perfect as always, but there was that glimmer of dark emotion in the corners of her eyes that really swayed me. It was obvious that she held resentment towards those who ostracised light magic users, and perhaps she even held ill-will to her own siblings who surpassed her despite her own efforts. Well, I suppose with that desperation I can smell in the air, it would be only appropriate to let her find salvation in Sol.

I let go of the papers, which were quickly snatched up by Grace, who looked over them intently. Eventually her gaze began to cloud with confusion as she returned her attention to me.

“What is this?” she asked, brows furrowing.

“This is a story. A story of many, which I will present to you in time.” I said, an amused grin forming beneath my mask. Oh, how satisfying would it be if I converted one of the heretic kingdom’s royal family? I then continued to say, “You will read this story and memorise, till you can recite it back to me. Not only will you read it, but you will think about the messages behind it.”

“This isn’t what we agreed on!” exclaimed the princess, her frustration building.

“Back in my homeland, these stories helped one understand light magic through indirect methods. You don’t always need to look at magic directly. Instead, you should try to understand the world around it, and what role it plays.” I explained, my voice calm and steady.

I received an unconvinced glance, before the child ran out of the room, her posture reflecting that of a sulking teenager.

I couldn’t help but feel satisfied as I watched her take those papers. The holy scriptures were always very tightly guarded by the church, and as such, no one outside of the church faculty know the words. I wouldn’t have taken this risk, if that story could be easily identified. The perfect part of the Holy Scriptures would be that they only once refer to Sol, nor the church. In each story, they place different roles under different names, at least until the very last story where their names are exposed.

I stifled a sigh, as I returned to my previous posture, and laid back against the chair. Silk snuggled into my chest once more, having lost her apprehension over the princess’s presence.

The heroes will arrive tomorrow. There’ll be a grand display of sorts, a tour around the campus with the heroes and their companions in tow. They’ll garner quite a crowd, without a doubt. At least, the student gossip lately appears to be primarily focused on them, so I can imagine they’ll be quite the popular display.

Perhaps I’ll take a look too… From what I’ve heard, they’ll be shown around by the headmaster. With that fellow being their guide, they’ll only be observed from a far to begin with. I’ll have a mask, and I’ll be part of a crowd, so they wouldn’t be able to spot me, right?

It really has been such a long time Rin, Hina, Yuki, Deane, Catherine and Melissa.