Chương 93: Chapter 114: Immersion

In homeroom, I saw the messenger from the registrar's office show up with a message for Skeici Gianwen, and it was kind of hard not to walk over and confirm that it's a schedule change. After all, I don't want to be associated with this move. But I also want to make sure that the plan is working without a hitch, right?

I want to check to make sure the note she has gotten doesn't just say 'hey someone forged documents to try to get you transferred to a different class so if anyone is acting suspicious you should stab them', or whatever. Part of making plans is learning to trust that the plans will work without you micromanaging them. And with that, learning not to stare at people while you're thinking about their role in your plans. So I held my peace, chatted with Quarl, and pretended nothing was up.

He noticed but he did not call me out on it. When it was time for math, I made an effort to chat Kurumi up some more. The fundraiser was next weekend, and we were going to be launching the teaser session during lunch break. She was getting more and more excited, which for her meant that she was getting more and more anxious. For Kurumi, the better things are the worse they could potentially get, so getting excited and exhilarated just looked a lot like she was building up to a panic attack.

Honestly she could be one of the only people around here more high-strung than I am. Maybe that's supposed to make us a good match, as a love interest. She was busily making lists of all the things that could potentially go wrong. It seemed to keep her calm. I decided it would not be beneficial for me to help her make her list. She already had "ceiling collapse" on her list, she does not need my help spinning worst-case scenarios. All I'll do is help wind her up.

So, instead I tried to get her distracted in a productive way, and I got her worried about the math test coming up on Fiveday. Fretting about her grades is more familiar territory than fretting about a untried fundraiser, so this was a more comfortable discomfort for her, and I saw her relaxing after a while. She has a very rewarding questline in the main game, and she's fun to chat with but she does have a difficult personality and some of her conversation-pathing catches people by surprise.

I always liked that about her, especially compared to conversations with Lyric Vainting whose favorite color is blue and whose favorite animal is puppies.

"Hey, Kurumi, we'll get back to integrals in a second. What's your favorite color?"

"Don't laugh."

"I won't."

"It's blue. It's called 'stygian blue', and it's the color of deep water. Human divers never see it, because if you see this color of water it's already too late for you and you'll never make it back to the surface. I saw it once in a crystal ball, through a spy's sigil that was attached to a ship's anchor. I saw that blue for just a flash of an instant and fell in love. Now, about these integrals?" See what I mean? Her mind is fascinating.

She doesn't make me all short of breath like Thumper, and I think I've got a more sincere emotional connection to Yheta and Trazom. But she's got a fascinating mind. I dropped by my Natural Philosophy Ⅲ class a little early to get a few words with Professor Ryichsur and let him know about my weekend. His advice had been to integrate the things that are good for my mental health into my process for my goals.

In his case that had meant exposing himself to more and more normal conversational groups with peers as he was doing his research work. For me, it means finding releases of pressure and agitation as part of my world-salvation plans. Basically, I have to make it fun for myself. Well, the things I enjoy doing are attending parties, saving lives, chatting with people casually, flying just for the hell of it, and blowing things up. So as much as possible I need those to be my methods of effecting change in the world.

I explained all of this to him as much as I could without spilling beans about the need to save the world from The End. He seemed to approve, and reminded me to check in with myself and make sure that my methods aren't becoming counterproductive. I had to admit he gives good advice. When he's not being a total douchebag to new students and passing it off as "starstruck". As I've mentioned, I hold grudges. Even with my own [Love Interest]. In my geography class, I stopped by Belisa's desk.

These days I don't bring her candy. I just stop near her desk and she reaches for my hand, grips it for a minute, and then relaxes. Sometimes her hold is gentler, and she only needs a dozen heartbeats. Sometimes her hold is hungry, and presses deep into my palms until I can feel her pulse in the pad of her thumb, and she feels my heartbeat in turn. I stand there until she relaxes, I don't want her to feel me pull away. Much like with Nux Gysmo, she's not responding like any sort of mental illness I know of.

If there is one that works like this I don't know of it- not that I'm anyone's expert on this stuff. But I don't feel like her issue is just a stress disorder or a psychotic episode or an organic schizophrenia.. the way she responds or doesn't is not really all that consistent. Much like with Nux, it's more of a "TV disorder", as if her issue is designed for drama not for realism. Surprise surprise, I'm in a video game, but... but sometimes I'm clearly not in a video game. At all.

Whatever is involved in [The Broken] is not what I would recognize as a real-world mental disorder. It's a mystery I continue to explore. But every so often, when she holds my hands the tightest, I'll get a notification. [Quest Checkpoint Complete: Hearts and Promises. 1 XP. Advancement: The Broken] But after that class, after I've paused to give her another minute of hand-holding, I have to move quickly to the quad, because Kurumi is already setting up.

Banners, signs, and pennant-lines are strung about in front of the student center, announcing the first step of the Student Council's fundraiser. It's all very colorful and gaudy, just per my instructions. She had been uncertain, but I insisted, and it was obviously the right thing because people were staring as they approached. The crowds converged, because this was where the dining hall was, and very few of us students had a pass that would let us take lunch off-campus.

Kurumi was there, panicking and practicing her patter. She had lines and she was reciting them to herself. Pretty standard stuff, ladies and gentlemen step right up, you know. Steel. Glass. Water. Cotton. Tanks were constructed in seconds, filled with water, and the targets were padded and propped in place. Two small buckets with padded weighted balls were placed on the ground. I took a deep breath. Then I crafted a small, gaudy tent. Ten feet high, peaked roof, four tall striped sides.

A changing booth like I'd seen in some old photographs, a funny memory to come back right now. I took off my fine gown and set it into the pocket dimension, and pulled out a thick woolen garb that was the closest I had to "floor-scrubbing clothes". Nobody seems to want to give me tough hard-wearing simple clothes. Anyway I got changed, and then discorporated the tent. There were people gathered around, staring. I struck a pose, and Kurumi started on her banter.

Nathan came walking up from the opposite side, dressed in something simple and modest, with a broad smile for the crowd. People cheered him, they... did not quite boo me. Stony silence. Kurumi called out the rules for the process, which were also printed on sandwich-board signs nearby. People seemed to understand the process quickly enough, and lines began to form. My line was a lot longer than his. I tried not to look in his direction or acknowledge him, yesterday's run-in had been stiff and difficult.

And now we were working together for the Student Council and for Kurumi Lautan. We were both striving hard for her affections, but mine had more desperation to it because I was close to losing her entirely after leaving things chill for several weeks. And now if I'm going to not lose my best source of investment income, I need to keep her from being completely won over by my brother. Who was standing twenty feet to my right. On her signal, we climbed our ladders and took our seats.

Kurumi looked up at Nathan in his stool.

"Nathan, thanks for doing this. It's in a good cause!" Then she looked over at me. With a smile, she said "Flying is cheating. If the ball hits you have to fall like everyone else." I laughed it off, but even though she seemed facetious with me she was genuinely appreciative towards him. He probably still had a higher rating with her than I did. I'm not sure if I'd be able to catch up any time soon.

The first contestant at Nathan's station paused to flirt with him for a minute, laughing and basking in his attention before she half-heartedly lobbed her throws at his padded target. The first guy in line in front of me wound up and threw three hard overhand throws, one after another. One hit the tank, the other two whiffed. He thrust a copper chit towards Lautan.

"Three more balls," he demanded.

"Back of the line," she insisted.

"Other people need a chance." The rules were clearly posted for occasions like this. One of the other Student Council functionaries led him to the back of the line, which was growing all the time. I called to the next one.

"You've got a minute and three tries, use them both. Don't rush yourself!" He burned the first ball away, and hit the net behind my tank. After that he listened better, and took his time to aim. On his third throw he hit the target, and with a "glub!" I was dropped into water that was a lot warmer than it looked. I climbed back up, soaked and sputtering, but laughing anyway, while my stool reset for me to sit down again. Meanwhile, Nathan's line was seeing filibusters.

One girl after another just wanted to talk to him, and spent her sixty seconds chatting before handing the ammunition to the next girl in line. None of them really wanted him to get humiliated- even if they might want to see him soaking-wet and pushing hair back off his face, none of them wanted to be the one to do it herself. Ten minutes in, my line was ticking over quickly. The factotums had hit a rhythm with my assailants and the ammunition, and the contestants had found the right balance of patience and action.

Not all of them got a hit, but my line was moving every twenty to forty seconds, depending on whether I had to climb back out of the water. I used a little flight to assist my climbing so it would be faster and less tiring. Also, I had been subtly warming my water on this cold day. I have been quietly chilling Nathan's tank. He only got dunked a few times but they sucked, and he was chattering teeth and shivering goosebumps in his stool.

I think he suspected that I was adding to his distress, but maybe he did not fuss about it because he saw that I was getting dropped every second or third minute. My line was doing numbers, right, especially when it stretched long enough to boost prices. The longer the line was, the more expensive to join it. Some would sit back and wait for it to get short enough to get cheap again, but if someone is willing to pay to get in ahead, it makes it harder for anyone trying to get the discounted turn.

His line was longer than mine because people wanted their turn and they were all taking their full minute. Mine was making more money because even if it didn't stretch as far back, it was taking in new people or cycling them from front to back again. Kurumi was ecstatic as she watched the coins drop into the jar for her council's funding. I concentrated on swimming, climbing, and keeping a pleasant smile going. For Kurumi's sake if nothing else, I should be bright and welcoming.

I also sometimes taunted the contestants just to keep interest up, but I didn't go overboard with it. No real call for it, people were already happy for a chance to put me in the water. Maybe because of the Byeview Boys and the scene I had made, or the rumors about their demise. Maybe it was because of the rumors now about how I cheated off of Nathan's accomplishments and faked my whole reputation. Maybe they were tired of my high-handed mannerisms.

Maybe they thought I was cute and liked the way I look when I'm climbing out of the water. I didn't interview them, I just smiled and waved and tried to make a show of it when I dropped. When we were just a few minutes from the ninth bell, Kurumi's people started wrapping it up. Taking down pennants, putting up the signs, and putting away the tip jar and turning away new contestants. Anyone that could not get their turn before the end of the hour was out of luck. The bells tolled. Ding. Dong. Dong.

For fun, I vanished the glass first, so the water dumped out across the lawn all in a rush, sending people scurrying back. They jumped and hopped away to keep their shoes dry, but immediately after the first splash and wash, it was swept into a rolling wave of mist that undulated out and then faded away to nothing. By the time people had recovered from that bit of showmanship, Nathan and I were down from our perches and I was vanishing the frameworks.

Kurumi was gone, sprinting with the big jar of proceeds straight towards the student center. I suppose that's a good place for the Student Council to be headquartered. I probably should have known that already if I really gave a shit, but to be honest I was pretty fuzzy on all the details that did not serve my purposes. I've got a ton of shit going on, as it is. But with her gone, there was nobody to give the big wrap-up!

She had left her lines behind in her eagerness to get the lockbox dropped off before her next class. I stepped up, still in wool, but utterly dry now that all the water was vanished away. I clapped my hands together once and called out to everyone assembled.

"All right, today was the teaser and the temptation, all those in line right now will be credited on Sixthday when we do the real deal, the big show, the fun-fair fundraiser! My brother and I come back in a few days to raise money for the student council, so have your tokens handy! This is all for a great cause, the Student Council does great work for all of us and we can't leave them hanging! The more you give the more yout get! So! Sixthday! Right here!

And we'll be using real water so I can't just cheat us dry in time for next classes!" Now that was supposed to be a laugh-line, but people did not laugh, they grumbled, and fast-trotted towards their next classes because all of us were late. I left Nathan in a small knot of admirers, but I stepped straight into a portal.

I did not bother changing out of that clothing and stepped myself directly to the dining hall, and I grabbed something to go, which turned out to be a lovely duck stew with mushrooms, potatoes, kidney beans and a really rich broth. I salted it well and dropped it into the pocket dimension and then zoomed over to the next class, which I had to attend! For the first time in weeks! Because we finally had a new instructor!

Obviously if I was in charge of the timing of all this, I would not have made my first meeting with a new professor on a day when I was running late, underdressed, annoyed, and missing my lunch. I like making good impressions, and more importantly I like making impressive first impressions. I was feeling underwhelming right now, with my hair down loose again and a simple woolen bodice, chemise and overskirts. I heard someone take an indrawn gasp as I stepped through the door, but at least nobody was laughing at me.

There was someone new here, someone I did not recognize. It had been two weeks since this class last convened, because it had been two weeks since I killed our last instructor in self-defense. Massive-overkill self-defense is still self-defense. But even after two weeks, I recognized our fellow pupils, so it was easy to pick out the new guy. He's the one with the long white beard.

"Hello!" he said as he pushed the door shut behind me.

"All present? All accounted for? Oh, I sure do hope you're all ready to do some sorcery today! I'm Mister Coppor Cseyz, you get three tries to get that pronounced correctly before I deduct points! Haha! I've been hired because the Academy finally decided that it was best to have sorcerers teaching sorcery, because apparently the Magister College's famous prejudice against sorcerers has gotten substantially worse lately!

Not that I expect them to give a damn in general, but if all else fails, an insurance liability issue will usually get a bureaucracy moving. So, your last instructor was having you all work on gestural work to get a smooth sure cast, and that's fine for her because she's a magister and that's the most dynamic I've ever heard of one of them being as a teacher.

But like every magister she was obsessed with doing a few things so well that you never need to do anything else, and she found out the hard way that the key to sorcery is having more tricks than anyone knows how to deal with! Where's the kid that blew up the last teacher, anyway?" All eyes pivoted to me. Very few of them looked accusing or angry, mostly just curious what this weird little man was going to do next.

"I didn't blow her up, I used fire," I said.

"Really? I was told your signature weapon was explosions," he said, and grabbed a book off his desk to flip pages.

"She was prepared for explosions, sir," I said. He raised the massive book into the air and slammed it down on the desk with a massive BANG that made everyone jump.

"Exactly!" he shouted, his voice breaking. Two shields, a bear, plenty of fog and a spear made of boiling tar were all drawn to defend ourselves, and the startled students self-consciously dispelled their defenses. He was still ranting.

"You used the thing she did not expect! You there! Yellow shirt! You made a bear! What's the smallest bear you can conjure?!"

"Um, I'm not sure sir! I mostly try to make them bigger."

"Everyone expects bigger. You've got homework! Tiny bears! In the back, with the creepy mustache! Was that tar?"

"Yes sir?"

"What kind? Can you make wood tar, corn tar, coal tar?"

"Just coal tar, sir."

"Homework! Try really hard to master other forms of tar! They should be the same essence, but with different properties! Practice room over there, go work on it!"

"But.. you said this was homework?...." He looked at the student, whose mustache was not creepy just a little sinister. The expression indicated that his evaluation of the student's intelligence had been lowered by several degrees.

"You're in a boarding school, youngster. This is home. Get to work!" Students began bundling over to the hardened practice space to tinker with their affinities, but Mister Cseyz reached out to bar my path.

"You there! Explosion girl!" he said, his long long beard waggling.

"My predecessor unfortunately did not leave me much. For some reason it seems like she decided to take all of her notes regarding you and put them into some big boxes and hide them somewhere, then hired some forensic investigators to go to used-book shops, purchase several hundred clearance volumes and bring them back to her offices and home to burn them in the fireplace just like someone was trying to cover up evidence.

The ashes in the grate are not actually her notes, but if I wasn't so damn clever I might have accidentally thought it was her notes. Now since obviously there's not a cover-up to keep your information secret, I'm going to have to start from scratch with you. So, what can you tell me without needing to kill me?" And so we started from scratch. I left out everything about the untethered essence. He did not ask me any broad questions. He would ask "how much salt?" or "what type of acid?" or things like that.

He did not ask questions that were not extremely specific, and he seemed to be deliberately avoiding any questions that might indirectly indicate what the underlying issue was. It was very much the opposite approach that Magister Braux had used.

"All right," he said.

"Tomorrow, I want a list of questions I should never ask you. it does not need to be inclusive, we can add to it as we need to. Just get us started! Hah! Now get in there and show me the biggest goldfish you've got!" My life really is just so gods damned weird.