As it turned out, Lily’s guidance was more helpful than expected.
“A soul can’t be duplicated or separated in the literal sense, that’s a recipe for disaster and will end in failure, you already know the results… with your weird little gremlin clones.”
Lily explained as she drew a diagram on a cave wall, using a precise beam of magic from her finger to engrave her teachings into the bone wall.
“Instead, think of it this way: You’ve got your ‘prime soul,’ that's the anchor that holds everything together. Then, when you split into ‘branch souls’, you need to keep them connected to the prime soul. What you've been doing is separating them completely, which causes all the pieces of your soul to try and forcibly snap back together, which causes death, because you suck at it.”
I listened to her lecture and gave it a go, ignoring her final remark.
The results weren't great. Creating the 'strands' that connect all the soul pieces together felt like I was squeezing my body through a tiny hole and turning myself into a noodle.
A single lapse in concentration, and the strand snapped, the second body I had begun to materialise collapsed, and my mind went blank as death consumed me.
I would make my way back to Lily, and we would repeat the process.
“This is difficult… can’t you give me a demonstration?”
I asked Lily, who was materialising various different outfits while she waited for me.
Apparently, since our bodies were only representations created by our souls, we could alter them like this. I had not considered the possibility myself, but now we weren't stuck in the nude. Personally, I just settled for a pair of pants.
“Nope. Devils don't really use this style of soul sculpting, we usually just mess with souls that become our property. If you swear your soul to me, I could probably help you mould it in all sorts of ways.”
She did a little spin to show off the red dress she had made for herself.
“Doesn't suit your skin tone. Is there no other way for you to help guide me?”
She pouted at my criticism of her attire and changed back into a suit and tie, donning a pair of glasses and tying her hair into a ponytail.
“There is, but I would need to get promoted before I could access the records containing those methods. What do you think? It's my teaching uniform.”
“Very respectable. Don’t devils have mentors or something? Can’t you just learn it without all the bureaucratic nonsense?”
“Bureaucratic nonsense is kind of our thing. That, and legal double-speak, hidden clauses, being smarter than everyone else… You get it. Anyway, give it another go, try making the strand thicker this time.”
We continued like that for hours, only stopping to run like the wind anytime something tried to kill us.
And by the seventh hour, we had success.
“...The hell is that?”
Lily picked up the miniature version of myself I had successfully created.
“Lil’ Rex.”
Lil’ Rex pulled Lily’s cheeks until she let go, then ran back to my side.
“It’s something, right?”
“I’m something, right?”
Lil’ Rex repeated in a high-pitched voice. He pulled a tiny copy of my axe out and began swinging it around and leaping through the air.
“Alright, I admit it’s impressive work for a human. Still, this little idiot won’t help against the others.”
“We all have to start from somewhere. Can I count on you to keep helping out?”
I only entertained her fancy on a whim, but I had to admit that I enjoyed Lily’s company, especially in a place that typically only carried feelings of isolation and fear. For whatever reason, The Watcher didn’t seem to care about her either. In the past, if I tried playing nice with anyone, both of us would be targeted specifically by the others and torn to shreds. I came to understand that The Watcher wanted all under his domain to grow through their own efforts.
So why the change?
“Wendy want evolution! Others only held you back from growing!”
Lil’ Rex hopped up and down, trying to get his axe back after Lily stole it from him. Despite the comical show, his words just now had serious implications.
Could he hear my thoughts?
“Yeah! Hear Rex’s brain! We are one, you are me!”
He kicked Lily’s ankle and snatched the axe away, then ran over to me.
“How do you know what The Watch—The First Wendigo—wants?”
“Stag! He in you, she in me!”
Why couldn’t my tiny boy have a little more intelligence? This was infuriating.
“Hiyah!”
Lil’ Rex took offence and punched my shin.
“Stag! Stag! You no hear her. He speak but you no listen!”
“What is he going on about?”
Lily joined me in sceptically looking down at my hyperactive counterpart.
“He claims to hear the words of a primordial. I don’t know why he keeps confusing the gender, though.”
“No confuse! You no listen! Stag is all! Stag is… bleh…”
Lil’ Rex got tired and sat on his bottom, his head hanging low as he began to snore. I kicked his foot, but he wouldn’t stir.
“Cool. His stupidity must make it easier for him to be influenced. You should be happy, Rex. With this, you have a way to chat with your secret passenger.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Looks like I owe you— oh, goddamnit, run!”
As I was about to thank Lily, I caught sight of five lumbering crab-like creatures coming right at us. The final hour of the Crucible was spent running for our lives yet again. Lily scooped up Lil' Rex and cradled him like a baby.
It was a bizarre experience.
***
The following morning, we were met with more judgmental gazes from Leon and Sir Falk, but perhaps due to the situation, they didn’t say anything about Lily sleeping in my tent again.
With no more stops or goblin surprises, the rest of the ride was uneventful, and we made it to Borderton without issue.
Our first order of business was to get Meztili and Frederick some treatment, so Leon and I took them to the IMA chapel, where Isolde was conveniently already present.
“Oh my! Please, bring them this way.”
She didn’t waste time with greetings and led us straight to the extended part of the building, lined with soft beds and complete with medical tools. Not that someone of Isolde’s calibre should need them.
“Frederick suffered a crossbow bolt to the spine. Tilly should be fine, but—”
“Mana overload, right? How did you stop it?”
Isolde interrupted my explanation and immediately diagnosed the condition. I guess she wasn’t diamond class for nothing.
“We had help from a knight. He used a Mana Scourge scroll.”
“That’s very smart! How many days ago was it used?”
“Two.”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“She will be safe for another five days at least then. I’ll keep an eye on her just in case.”
She offered me a reassuring smile.
“Thanks, Isolde.”
“May Faelora guide your way.”
Leon and I left them in her capable hands and found Lily and Sir Falk waiting by the entrance of the academy's main building. Sir Falk spoke first.
“We need to check in with Professor Kuhn, then the mission can be officially finalised and you’ll go back to being normal students.”
He offered a weak smile, and we followed him through the building. Things felt the same as always there. Students were chatting between classes, quickly snapping to attention upon noticing a knight in their midst. A couple making out under the staircase as we climbed up, Mrs. Abigail was tactfully pretending not to see them, only for Klaus Eisenruf to physically hoist the boy up by his collar and roar into the girl’s face.
Lloyd passed by with five different girls bickering over him while he meekly laughed, unaware of their obvious affections.
A group of second years cowered as Felicia walked past them with a look of superiority.
It was clear that life went on as normal for everybody here.
I could see the annoyance in Leon’s expression. His was the normal emotional response. Illogical, nasty, misguided, and natural.
But not constructive. Lily and I understood that, and simply enjoyed the lax atmosphere without regret.
We came to Professor Kuhn’s office. But Sir Falk only stood there silently.
Seeing that he was hesitating, I stepped up and announced our presence with a firm knock.
“Professor. It’s Rex. We’ve come to report our mission.”
“Enter.”
His steady voice beckoned us in.
“Gustav, you’re in charge. Set an example.”
I whispered as I stood back and allowed him to enter first.
He gave a small nod, breathed in deeply, and opened the door.
To my surprise, a familiar face was already in a meeting with the Professor. I half expected her to begin her usual shenanigans or jump onto me as she usually would, but based on her attire, she looked to be in business mode.
“Sir Falk, this is Magi 1st class Ada Jaeger.”
My foster mother kept her seat as Sir Falk saluted her. I had to remind myself that officially speaking, she was the highest-ranking person in this room.
We followed suit and saluted her as well, an action which tore at my very being. She was going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.
Yet she did not falter in the slightest, her poise and grace remained perfectly impeccable.
“Charmed. Please, be at ease.”
Ada’s words were as sweet and disarming as her appearance, yet Sir Falk failed to relax his posture, clearly overwhelmed by this unexpected visitor.
I, on the other hand, sat down with a tired sigh next to Ada.
She raised a brow at my behaviour.
“You said we could be at ease, ”
She took a sip from her cup of tea, but I could still see her eyes curve upward in glee.
“So I did, I trust you had a good time?”
I didn’t respond and instead allowed Sir Falk to take the lead, as was appropriate for his position.
Ada didn’t engage in the following proceedings either, we just quietly shared tea and cookies while trading the occasional meaningful glance. Sir Falk’s report of recent events was exactly as expected, but the silent conversation Ada and I were having went along these lines:
“Things went bad, huh?”
“About so-so, I’d say. Got a lot to talk to you about.”
“Should we ditch these guys?”
“Nah, that’ll look weird.”
“I outrank them all. Who cares?”
“What about Kuhn? Aren’t you here to talk to him?”
“I’ll see him later. Come on, let’s goooo.”
“You’re annoying, shut up.”
“Missed you.”
“Missed you, too.”
We had honed the art of silent communication through subtle facial gestures over the course of years together. Also because Poggy would hit us if we talked aloud during one of his rants.
Finally, Professor Kuhn’s voice signalled our freedom.
“I see. Submit your written reports by the end of the day. Good work, all of you. I know you may not feel pride in your accomplishments, but you have successfully rid this world of a dangerous criminal and her accomplices. That’s not to mention the political conflict you have pre-emptively prevented.”
The others bowed and filtered out of the room upon dismissal. Lily hung back a moment, but after seeing I had no intention of getting out of my chair, she too left.
“Rex? Is there something else?”
Professor Kuhn looked at me curiously, ignoring Ada’s sudden dramatic change in demeanour. She had slumped down in her chair and let her hair down. The previous grace she carried vanished like the smokescreen it was.
I looked at her, a silent question and answer traded between us. With her nod, I answered the question honestly.
“The mission was a success, but I have some issues I would like to raise.”
“...Why have you waited until now? It does not reflect well on you to go behind your superior’s back like this. Sir Falk should have been the first to hear this.”
A fair question. It did sound like I was circumventing the chain of command when put that way.
“Because he is inexperienced and already torn up about losing three men under his command. I’m not looking to have anyone punished or yelled at, I’m raising these concerns for internal review within the Black Crown Army.”
Professor Kuhn glanced at Ada, who only smirked and motioned for me to continue.
“First. There were obvious incongruencies in the correspondence from Farrowgate from the past month compared to everything before that. My contact, Sir Connor, can vouch that the same was true from their end with Borderton’s messages. Even without suspecting foul play, this could have been nipped in the bud had a single messenger been dispatched to communicate in person.”
“True. That was an oversight on our end. What else?”
Professor Kuhn leaned back, showing his willingness to listen further.
“The bandits—or Esmee Waters and her unknown helpers, as we now know them to be—fended off trained soldiers and appeared around the same time as the poisoned water problem. It was clear from the beginning that they required a stronger response, yet it fell to a single knight and eight students to deal with. Whoever ran the threat assessment for this mission and assigned the response team is either incompetent or didn’t care if the mission succeeded or not.”
“...Careful with your words, Rex. That kind of talk could be misunderstood.”
“There is nothing to misunderstand. My words conveyed the intent I wanted. Besides, Ada is blocking anyone from listening in.”
She looked at me with exaggerated joy.
“You could tell?”
She began bouncing in her chair.
“No, you’re just predictable.”
She slumped back in her chair and put her cup down, showing the spell circle she had created on the inside, probably made the moment the others left the room.
“You understand my reputation, do you not? Do you think would be ok with hearing such criticisms against the Empire I love?”
“Ada behaves normally around you, and I have assessed that you value practical realism over blind patriotic obedience. I trust you to hear this.”
“Hmm… My students shouldn’t be the ones analysing me…”
He let a slight smirk come across his face for the briefest of moments.
“Go on.”
“Finally, there were the actions and behaviour of Gustav Falk himself. He would make a good teacher. Approachable, helpful, likable, and competent. However, a leadership role requires experience, firm objectivity, and adaptability. These are qualities he frankly lacks. Considering he is a silver rank knight, this speaks to a problem that potentially affects countless other people in positions of power.”
“...We all make mistakes. You’re judging the knights as a whole based on one bad decision?”
“You might be right. But let me ask you, is there any part of a knight’s training that forces them to handle unexpected obstacles?”
“No. The primary qualities measured are combat prowess and achievement records. Sir Falk has combat abilities suitable for his station and worked as a mercenary, where he completed many subjugation missions.”
“And were those missions completed in a leadership role?”
“Most were solo assignments. Some were done in a team, but I do not believe Sir Falk led them.”
“So to recap, we had a mission where our targets were not properly scouted, the situation was left to fester for no reason, and the response force was led by an amateur. Am I correct?”
Professor Kuhn did not respond. He slowly looked at Ada's spell circle, confirming it was still active, then broke into a genuine smile.
“Impressive. Really, to think you would come to the same conclusion as me in such a short time. You’re right, the current Empire is a shadow of its former self. Did you know we have had more knights appointed in the past 10 years than in the 100 years before that?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Is the Empire trying to artificially boost the number of knights by lowering the standards?”
“Ha! I told you he was the best, didn’t I, Benny?”
Ada laughed and ruffled my hair.
“You’re exactly right, Rexxy! Nobles from all over have been promoting people left and right, discarding the old standards we used to work with. Little Gus was the same, he got picked up by a noble and given a knighthood despite—as you put it—having no experience leading others.”
“But why? It can’t be economically sensible, you’re creating a bunch of high-paying jobs for people who don’t belong there.”
I ignored Ada’s overly physical contact and addressed Professor Kuhn.
“Well, despite the failing of the Empire in recent years, we are still by far the wealthiest nation in the world. Economics isn’t a factor in this matter. It really comes down to control and military might. Knighthood comes with a variety of benefits: the right to rule over land, the authority to command anyone of a lower rank, and access to powerful artifacts. One just has to look into is creating these ‘new generation knights’ to see how they benefit.”
Professor Kuhn leaned forward and steepled his fingers.
“Nobles. Specifically, ones with a great amount of independence from the royal family. Knights can be appointed by anyone at the level of a Duke or any member of royalty. Whoever appoints said knight earns their exclusive loyalty. In recent years, this type of rigid structure has been heavily promoted by certain noble families. Can you guess why?”
“Because people who grow to admire and abide by those beliefs become as good as brainwashed. Whatever their lords command will be followed without question, so long as they have been trained well enough.”
It sounded eerily familiar, and a shared look with Ada confirmed she felt the same.
“So, why do you think so many members of nobility, but not royalty, would be eager to push out as many knights as possible, caring only for combat power?”
“...”
It was my turn to double-check Ada’s spell at that point.
“...A personal army. In case of a civil war, they would protect their lords even if it meant defying the royal faction. And even if it never comes to that, all the lands that are handed to these knights are—by extension—owned by those who command them… The more the Empire expands, the stronger their faction would become, and the harder it would become for the Emperor himself to maintain control.”
It was just like how the gods operated—subtly conditioning people to behave in a way that benefits them.
“It gets better.”
Ada grinned at me, then Professor Kuhn went on.
“This mission was organised by Duke Vogel, a man we strongly suspect to be a part of the noble faction. That also means our reports will be making their way back to him.”
“...It’s a good thing I came prepared then.”
I handed over both reports I had written back in Farrowgate and explained which was which.
Professor Kuhn took the sanitised report and left it to one side, the uncensored version went into a drawer.
“I think we should leave things here for now. If you’re loyal to the crown, I may make some… discreet requests of you in the future. If you’re not…”
He let the sentence hang, but a clear threat was hidden within it. Not that it mattered, I wanted the empire to succeed, as did Ada. Whatever side she chose would be the one I would support.
“You’re dismissed.”
Professor Kuhn and I both stood and saluted one another. From that exact moment, we were no longer subordinate and superior, we were teacher and student.
“Mr. Jaeger.”
“Yes, Professor?”
“Tomorrow marks the beginning of a one-week break. I suggest you use the time to relax... Oh, and leave that... by the door, I'll close the bounty and get you your money by the time class is back in session.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Esmee's cane, which I had been keeping hidden in my cloak to prevent weird looks, was left leaning against the wall.
Ada followed me out, and as we closed the door, she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“Now that we let you in on that little conspiracy, it’s time we discussed things that matter.”
Ada Jaeger
As always, images are AI-generated.