Chapter 3

Well.

That was awkward.

I hadn't thought at all that my actions might look strange from the outside. I had already accepted that this place had tsumi, ryoku, and other things I had never heard of before. Now I had to figure out how to get out of this.

"Misaki..." I moved toward her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't come any closer," she said tensely, holding her palms out in front of her.

I stopped.

This was taking a bad turn. This wasn't Satu and her friends. These weren't the nameless girls from the back rows who sat in the same room as us during class. This was my roommate and a person who was trying her best to support me. I had to do something, and fast.

"Okay. Well, think about it. Who could I be, if not a girl from the Shenghai clan? A little out of my mind, a little bit of a bully, a little slow on the uptake."

Misaki frowned slightly.

"You're not slow on the uptake, Aska."

I waved her off.

"It doesn't matter. Go ask Teacher Yachiharo, and he'll tell you even worse things."

The corners of her lips twitched into a smile. It was hard to argue with that. The mentalism teacher didn't favor me in any way.

"Where that scaly idiot came from… I have no idea myself," I answered honestly, lowering my voice slightly. "Besides, you're the one who started writing the kanji."

Misaki flinched. It seemed she hadn't thought about that at all. I wasn't trying to accuse her, but I definitely wanted to shift her attention. At the very least, the terror in her eyes began to fade. That was good; that was a small victory.

"But you weren't afraid of the snake," Misaki said, frowning again.

I thought for a second. If I was afraid, it wasn't by much. In fact, I had this strange feeling that I wasn't afraid of snakes at all. I thought they were beautiful, dangerous, incredible, but... I wasn't afraid. I just knew not to mess with a creature that could kill you. As for fear... there were far more disgusting creatures out there.

"You know, Koji scares me more than a snake," I finally said.

Misaki blinked, not believing what she had heard, and then burst out laughing.

The tension broke. I could finally breathe. I was no longer considered an enemy.

"You're something else! Scares you. If he scared you, you wouldn't get into all these schemes. Just admit you have a crush on the teacher. Don't say he 'scares' you!"

"Uh... " I said with great thought, trying to process what I had just heard.

This was taking an interesting turn. But it was nonsense. What was the connection?

Misaki finally stepped away from the wall and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Haruka and I won't say a word to anyone, you know that."

So Haruka thought that too?

"Why would you think that?"

"You told us at the beginning of the year."

A complete failure.

I hadn't expected that. Aska was in love with Koji? Weaver and everyone around her, save and protect me. I hoped he wasn't aware of it. Otherwise, I would have new problems on top of the old ones. Romantic relationships were as useful to me as an umbrella to a fish.

"Someone should cut my tongue out," I muttered. "Next time, hit me with a fan if I ever get the urge to be so candid."

Misaki's eyes widened, but before she could ask anything, I blurted out:

"What did you see in the courtyard?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, Haruka poked her head into the room.

"Hey, sleepyheads, did you hear? There was an explosion in Teacher Eishu's workshop."

"Is everyone okay?" I asked automatically.

Haruka nodded.

"Yeah, the students did something wrong with the kiln; it exploded from the inside, but Eishu had just stepped out, so only the molten products were damaged."

Misaki shook her head. She loved working with metal, infusing it with ryoku, and creating interesting little things. So far, the girls had only worked with trinkets, but her knife blades came out excellent, which Misaki was incredibly proud of. She once confessed that she dreamed of becoming a Blade Master—creating weapons that would be enhanced by her ryoku and even carry out a few commands.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It was hard to believe, but I had already learned that the Taiyoganori Empire was full of surprises.

"What a shame," I finally said, realizing the silence had gone on too long.

Haruka didn't answer and thoughtfully looked around the room as if she had sensed something. However, there was nothing to indicate the snake's presence, so there was no need to worry.

"Aska, I'm just asking you..."

I looked at Haruka.

"What?" I asked, puzzled.

It didn't seem like anything should have given me away, and Misaki was also quiet. Ah...

"The workshop needs to be repaired," Haruka said emphatically. "I'm begging you: don't get into trouble so you don't get sent to clean that up, too."

"How rude," I muttered, genuinely offended, and plopped onto my bed.

I grabbed the first book I could find. History. To hell with it, I'll keep reading, since they're already suspecting me of every sin. I, for one, have had enough of the storehouse.

Misaki sat down next to me.

"Don't be mad. Haruka didn't mean anything by it."

"Yes, I did!" she protested.

I looked at her with interest from behind my book. Oh, really...

Haruka was practically spitting fire.

"Aska, you get into trouble everywhere. Everywhere! So far, you've gotten away with everything, but what's going to happen when the watchers show up? They certainly won't be as gentle! Did you even think about what would happen if they took you?"

"What?" I asked.

And then I ducked, because she threw her calligraphy brushes at me.

"Idiot!"

I managed to cover my head; the brushes hit my arms.

"Haruka!" Misaki protested.

"Well, you explain it to her yourself," she snapped and ran out of the room.

We sat in silence for a while. Then I coughed and carefully asked:

"So, who are the watchers?"

***

Watchers. They are a bad thing.

That's what I gathered from Misaki's story. They were people empowered by the Emperor. To do what, a tsumi would have to know. Their task was to deliver whoever and whatever could serve the Taiyoganori Empire to the great Ksa-Karan. While it was easy to deal with objects, discoveries, and animals without caring about their opinion, it was harder with people. But that was the people's problem. No one was going to ask if you wanted to serve the emperor or not. You just started serving. Those who refused were never found again.

Listening to Misaki, I frowned. The servants probably just got rid of those who could be a threat to the authorities. It was unlikely they were taken by the hand and led to the top of a mountain to meditate and live a hermit's life.

Watchers periodically visited the schools to look at the students. If someone's talent was powerful, no matter in what field, they were taken away. The teachers hated these visits because they couldn't do anything about them. They didn't want to give up their students, but by disobeying, they risked incurring the emperor's wrath.

I pondered this, sitting on the roof of the building where the girls and I lived. I couldn't sleep, so I quickly got dressed, grabbed some paper, a brush, an inkwell, and slipped out to a secret spot where I could be alone. If you weren't bothering anyone, no one would scold you. If you fell asleep and hit your forehead on the desk during class later, that was your problem.

However, I knew that since I couldn't sleep, I should do something else. For example, practice calligraphy, and at the same time, infuse the kanji with my ryoku. I could say whatever I wanted to Misaki, but it was absolutely necessary to figure out how the snake had appeared. Besides, I knew perfectly well that it had come at my call.

There wasn't much light from the moon and stars, but I was grateful for that. This was not about beauty, but about the mechanics of the movements. Teacher Tehiko said that Kanji Masters didn't even have to look at what they were writing. They knew every line by heart, so they weren't distracted when they drew the hieroglyphs. But few Masters remained; in the past, the Shenghai and Ikeda clans were full of them, but now everything had changed. Only the most basic knowledge remained, such as how to fill the text in a letter with ryoku so it wouldn't erase or disappear over time. You could also make a hieroglyph give off light to read the writing. They were taught such small things at the Gozen School. Some were better at it, some were worse. Calligraphy wasn't a problem for me.

I sat in the lotus position and took a deep breath of the fresh night air. I picked up the brush and twirled it in my fingers. Tehiko also said that they used water for training. Yes, just simple water, in which they dipped the brush. They would draw kanji with it, and by the time they finished the last stroke, everything would disappear. And then they would draw again. And so on until the hieroglyph began to glow with pure ryoku. Those were the kanji that were stronger than others.

So... I dipped the brush in the ink and drew a line. Crooked! Tsu-tsu-tsumi take your tail! And then I involuntarily smiled. Look at that, the local swear word had stuck. But how accurately it expressed my emotional state!

I had to start all over again. I could barely see the lines, but the ryoku poured into them much more easily than into other objects. If that creature from the storehouse wanted to compete with me in calligraphy, it would have been interesting. The kanji flared with a violet light. I was momentarily captivated. I closed my eyes and tried to feel it. It felt like my skin was being touched by a steady heat, like fire. But at the same time... that was it.

I frowned.

Think, Aska, use your brain. What was it about the room back then that made that slithering thing appear?

I remembered the feeling perfectly, but how could I summon it? It had literally overwhelmed me back then, but here I was, sitting like an idiot, wasting sheet after sheet. Of course, I could have decided it was about the lighting. But I knew perfectly well that even if I closed my eyes, it wasn't the same!

My frustration began to build.

I stood up, put my hands behind my back, and began pacing the available section of the roof where I could move around safely without risking falling and breaking my neck.

I was getting results. And I was getting results that made others look at me strangely or stay away. But at the same time, this "something" was disgustingly irregular. I needed to figure out what was stimulating this gift, or whatever it was. Ryoku? All right, I was already training with Ayu; I just hoped she wouldn't beat all the sense out of me before I learned something.

At that moment, lights flared up over the Tokugawa school. I flinched in surprise, flapped my arms, but kept my balance. The lights flashed again, as if someone had taken a handful of gems and thrown them onto the pagodas of the neighboring school. The flames looked ruby-red and burned so brightly that it was impossible to look away.

"What is that?" I whispered barely audibly, staring wide-eyed.

There were no people, and no creatures like tsumi either. But the lights flashed again and again. I heard a rustling behind me. I spun around. A moment, two, three... nobody.

I looked back at the Tokugawa school. The lights were gone.

Well, this place was getting more and more interesting.

I quietly went down to our room. I needed to sleep. I'd deal with everything else in the morning.

I lay down, pulled the blanket up, and closed my eyes. And then, from the viscous darkness, bony hands suddenly shot out and pulled me into an abyss, a scream getting stuck in my lungs.