Peter and the Kuroneko (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

“This queue is just for students. Queues one to seven are for students. The other queues are for the military.” Rin says.

  “There seem to be a lot of soldiers. In a war between mages, how much difference can a soldier make?” I ask.

  “They can provide our mages with power and defeat enemy mages who have run out of power. They can also make a big difference against monsters. Probably their most important job though, is to maintain order so that our mages can focus on the enemy.” Rin explains.

  “So if it is only top students in these seven queues, why are there so many?” I ask.

  “Most of them will be returning home. Regalia is the capital so it is a popular destination for students from other worlds. Especially worlds that don’t directly connect to Portalis.” Rin explains.

  “I hope it isn’t a whole two hours.” I say but it is actually closer to three by the time we are almost at the front of the queue. At the front I can see that the scanners feel our entire body whilst chanting.

  “They’re checking for prohibited enchantments.” Rin whispers to me. It is now the girl in front of us. She looks very uncomfortable as the woman feels her body for enchantments. I recognise her but I don’t know her name. She is very thin, with a delicate look like a noble. She has the typical features of a Contractian with pale skin, blue eyes and short blonde hair. I think she is probably about thirteen or fourteen. I can’t help thinking she looks cute and I am a bit envious of her appearance.

  “Come with me.” The woman says, having apparently found an enchantment.

  “What’s wrong?” The girl asks sounding a bit arrogant, which also makes me think she may be a noble.

  “You have an enchantment, now no more questions. We are the only ones allowed to ask questions.” The woman says sounding rather annoyed.

  “I need the enchantment to survive.” The girl protests with her head held high.

  “Yes, yes... Now come with me.” The woman says paying no attention to the girl’s words. Then Professor Schwarz who was slightly behind us walks up to her.

  “That girl has authorisation for an enchantment.” Professor Schwarz says firmly.

  “Regardless, we will still need to examine her to ensure she only has what has been authorised.”

  “That has never been the policy in all the years I have been a teacher.” Professor Schwarz says with a frown.

  “In case you hadn’t noticed, there is a war on at the moment.” The woman says glaring at Professor Schwarz.

  “Then as her supervisor I will accompany you.” Professor Schwarz tells the woman in a tone that leaves no room for disagreement.

  “You will not be accompanying her, but you will be detained and examined. We can do so for six hours without need for suspicion. Both of you come with me.”

  “This is outrageous!” Professor Schwarz protests.

  “Whatever... Just come with us.” The woman says.

  “The academy will need to be informed so that a substitute supervisor can be sent here.” Professor Schwarz says through gritted teeth.

  “I am sure your students will be fine. I see no need to inform a minor academy. Besides they will notice when your students don’t return.”

  “This is the start, not the end of their trip. We are from this world.” Professor Schwarz says.

  “Fine, we’ll have them wait in the other building until your examination has been completed. Or would you rather we examined all of your students?”

  “They can wait in the other building.” Professor Schwarz says reluctantly. She is led away with the student who was first stopped. Then another scanner leads us all into the other building. They fetch those of us who have already been checked as well and soon the whole class is waiting here. What a great start to our school trip!?

  “Do you know who that girl was?” I ask Rin.

  “Her name is Sor. She was the winner of a competition last year, so she is considered one of the best students in the year. She fought alongside Emi last year but neither of them entered the tournament this year. A lot of people were surprised by that. Maybe they feel they’ve already proven themselves, but I would have thought they’d want the prize. It could be they just didn’t want to fight each other. They seem to be good friends. That’s Emi, over there.” Rin says and discreetly points at Emi.

  Emi is fidgeting and her face shows her worry without any attempt to hide it. Emi has typical Contractian features like Sor, but she isn’t as thin and doesn’t look delicate at all. Her arms and legs have a bit more muscle than most girls in our class. She doesn’t strike me as an athlete though, rather she just seems like a healthy girl. I would guess she is about thirteen or fourteen, and I would think Sor is about the same age or maybe slightly younger.

  “Do you know many of our classmates?” I ask Rin. Rin looks embarrassed and shakes her head.

  “I only know those two because I have a score to settle with them.”

  “What score?” I ask.

  “It’s a family matter. Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “Did they do something to your family?” I ask curiously.

  “No, they didn’t personally do anything. So you didn’t seem too comfortable about those scanners. Isn’t it strange to be bothered about another woman looking at you?” Rin asks. Her attempt to change the subject may be blatant but her choice of words is enough to distract me.

  “Isn’t it weirder not to be bothered?” I ask back at her.

  “Hermes, Asuna... are either of you bothered by the scanners?” Rin asks looking past me at them.

  “No.” Asuna, who sitting next to me is closest, says with a shrug as she turns to face Rin. She had been busy talking to Hermes about something.

  “Yes.” Hermes says and she sounds just as disturbed by the idea as I am. Perhaps even more so. “They remind me of my mother.”

  “Oh, sorry Hermes.” Rin says with a wince. I had forgotten that Hermes’ mother was interested in other women. A scanner would be a good job for someone like that so there probably are scanners like Hermes’ mother. Hopefully though none as sadistic as Hermes’ mother.

  “It’s because they have the same cruel attitude my mother had.” Hermes says and I realise I totally misjudged what reminded Hermes of her mother.

  “So, what were you both talking about?” Rin asks.

  “We were talking about what we could do on our day off.” Asuna says. “When we graduate we will travel between worlds as part of the military, but we may never get another chance to spend time in the old capital just having fun.”

  “That’s true.” Rin says. “So what ideas did you have?”

  “We had just realised how little we know about the old capital.” Asuna says.

  “If I’d had a little warning I could have done some research, but I probably don’t know any more than you do.” Rin says with a sigh.

  “Do you think Professor Schwarz is ok?” Hermes asks.

  “I hope so.” I say.

  “Really? I would have thought you would have been happy after she forced you to do that all-nighter.” Rin says.

  “Sure I would have preferred not to spend all night practising dimensional magic, but she spent her whole night helping me. I’m the one who will benefit from it.” I tell Rin.

  “I suppose she isn’t a bad person.” Rin says. “They’re not going to harm her though, unless she has done something bad.”

  “Or that they don’t like.” Emma says. I knew she was there sitting on the other side of Rin, but I had forgotten about her because she has been silent almost all day.

  “Isn’t that the same thing?” Rin asks.

  “No.” Emma says sounding quite emotional.

  “Ok.” Rin says backing down without protest. “So, is there anything you want to do on your day off?”

  “There’s a restaurant I’d like to visit.” Emma says.

  “You know a restaurant in the old capital?” Rin asks in surprise.

  “Yes, it’s nothing special, but my mother’s siste
r runs it.” Emma says.

  “Your mother’s sister lives in Portalis?” Rin asks a little surprised.

  “Yes, she used to be with the Old Guard.” Emma says and Rin’s mouth now falls open as wide as could be.

  “But that’s second only to the Royal Guard!” Rin protests.

  “She always used to say that the Royal Guard were lazy because they just relied on the Queen’s powers. The Old Guard had to deal with everything themselves.” Emma says and Rin laughs.

  “So why did she quit?” Asuna asks.

  “She wanted to settle down and have kids. It turned out she couldn’t have kids but she decided to settle down anyway.” Emma says.

  “How old is she?” Asuna asks.

  “It was her seven hundredth birthday a few years ago.” Emma says and I choke.

  “Seven hundred?!” I ask in shock.

  “She must be seven hundred and three, give or take a year.” Emma says. “She wasn’t rich though. She couldn’t even afford to come home to see us after she left the military. The whole company were granted immortality so she got lucky.”

  “So how old is your mother?” I ask.

  “She’ll be forty this year.” Emma says.

  “What about your grandmother?” I ask.

  “She was killed two years back. One more year and she’d have made a thousand.” Emma says sadly.

  “You never said your family were immortals.” Rin says sounding annoyed.

  “What if I had? Would it have made a difference to anything?” Emma asks.

  “Well I suppose not, but...” Rin says sounding irritated but confused.

  “Anyway, I’ve told you now.” Emma says with a shrug.

  We continue to chat to pass the time but even so the hours pass really slowly. Finally both Sor and Professor Schwarz enter the building and we continue to go through the checks. The students who had already passed through the final check have to do so again but nobody dares complain for fear of the consequences.

  I stiffen up as the scanner puts their hands all over me. When I am told to move on I feel dirty but relieved that the ordeal is over. Finally everyone has passed through the final check and we can continue onwards. We have to walk into a giant skull through a gap in its teeth. We then come out in a huge grassy park. There is no obvious way back so I assume the return portal must be somewhere else.

  “We will proceed straight to the inn. We had plans for today but those damn fools have ruined them. The good news is it is a hot springs inn, so you will have the chance to relax in the hot springs. Alternatively once you have checked in and dumped your luggage in your room you can find something else to do in the city. We will be up at dawn tomorrow though, so make sure you are ready for a busy day and an early start. Now everyone inside the circle.” Professor Schwarz says and forms another glowing blue circle on the ground. Just like before once we are all inside the circle it forms a blue wall and then a green roof above us.

  It takes only a few minutes to check us all in at the reception desk and we quickly find our room. The rooms are for five, which works out really well. Naturally Rin, Asuna, Hermes and Emma share a room with me. It is more than back at the academy but I know everyone and we get on fine.

  “Did you want to see your aunt today?” Rin asks Emma.

  “Let’s just relax in the hot spring. I’m not mentally prepared to see my aunt yet.” Emma says and she sounds really nervous.

  “Is she that bad?” Rin asks.

  “She’s great, but a little intimidating.” Emma answers with a nervous smile.

  “The more you put it off the more nervous you’ll be.” Asuna warns her.

  “Maybe, but if I go there without preparing, then I’ll just make a fool out of myself.” Emma says. “So let’s find the hot spring.”

  “I wonder what would have happened if Peter had been with us. This is a female only inn.” Hermes says with a frown.

  “They’d have had to find somewhere else for him to stay.” Rin says with a sad frown. “I wonder what he’s doing now.”

  “Probably killing monsters.” Hermes says with a sad smile of her own.

  “I hope he’s not doing anything too dangerous.” Rin says.

  “So what is a hot spring?” I ask quickly to distract them.

  “It’s like a giant natural warm bath. It is meant to be really good for both your body and your magic. Especially for earth and water mages. You bathe in it to absorb the nutrients and magic through your skin. It is very relaxing too.”

  “So what do you wear in it?” I ask nervously suspecting and fearing the answer.

  “Nothing of course. Clothes would get in the way of absorbing anything. Not to mention that they’d get soaked.” Rin says looking at me strangely.

  “So do we go in one at a time?” I ask but the answer is on Rin’s face even before she says anything.

  “Don’t be silly. We’re all girls.” Rin says.

  “I’m sorry but I think I’ll find something else to do.” I tell her.

  “It would be rude to decline our invitation.” Rin says but I know she is just trying to play on my habit of remaining polite at all times.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to be rude this time then.” I tell her firmly.

  “I think this is the first time I’ve seen Yu Kii so assertive.” Emma says with a laugh.

  “More like the first time she has been assertive at all.” Hermes laughs.

  “Are you making fun of me!?” I protest helplessly.

  “A little.” Hermes says apologetically but still laughing.

  “Anyway, enjoy yourselves and I’ll see you back here later.” I say and make a quick exit before they can tease me even more.

  “Enjoy yourself too, and don’t get lost!” Rin calls after me. Much as I don’t like porting I can at least manage to port back here even if I do get lost.

  Emi and Sor are talking at the bottom of the stairs down to the exit. I don’t want to disturb them so I wait for them to finish.

  “I can’t believe we have to share a room with three other people.” Sor says angrily.

  “We really don’t have a choice.” Emi says trying to calm her.

  “This is just the worst. I wish we were back at the academy instead of playing around here. We’re going to miss a week’s studies, not that they are worth much, but for what? What exactly do we get out of this?” Sor says bitterly.

  “We could at least make use of the Ancient Library. It isn’t as good as the Great Library but at least students are allowed to use it freely.”

  “I suppose that would be good, but what about the rest of this stupid week?” Sor says with a sigh.

  “Perhaps we might learn something in the Circle of Portals.” Emi says but Sor laughs at her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. There is no way there would be secrets so unguarded that we could obtain them just by going on the official tour.” Sor says. Then they both go quiet. “It’s rude to eavesdrop.” My heart races as I realise that they have noticed me.

  “I’m sorry!” But it isn’t me who apologises. “I was asked to show you to the room.”

  “So why wait so long? At least you apologised though, unlike that girl waiting up there.” Sor says and I realise I have missed my chance to apologise. In a panic I port outside and wish I had done so sooner. I hate porting though. I take a deep breath and then gasp as a hand grabs my shoulder.

  “I’m sorry!” I say but turning see it is a stranger. She is probably in her thirties but her eyes are bloodshot and desperate.

  “You’re a mage! You can help find my son, can’t you?!” She asks. Her soul is wavering so badly that I don’t want to reject her, but how am I supposed to help her? I don’t even know what her son looks like!

  “Hey you!” A woman calls out. She is probably in her early twenties, has typical Contractian features and is rather large. Outwards not upwards. “Leave our customers alone or I’ll summon the guards!”

  “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” I tell h
er. She scowls for a moment.

  “Don’t go getting yourself into trouble, or it’ll be the last thing you do. There are dangerous folk on the streets. Some people say they work for the Fallen Angels. People disappear and are never seen again.”

  “Don’t say never!” The older woman screams and throws herself at the younger woman. I gasp as the younger woman punches the older woman in the stomach who falling coughs up blood. I dash over to her and take my healing potion out. The young woman scowls at me as I pour it down the older woman’s throat.

  “What a bloody waste.” She says and walks back inside the inn. The older woman however looks up gratefully at me.

  “Thank you.” She says with tears running down her cheeks.

  “It’s no problem. I doubt I can help, but when did you last see your son?” I ask.

  “It was the night before last, when he went to bed. He’s only eight. The next morning he was gone.” She says and tears run down her cheek.

  “Were there any clues?” I ask.

  “He was just gone. Like taken by magic in the middle of the night. The house door and all the windows were still locked from the inside.” She says.

  “Wait here a moment.” I say and port back to our room. I am grateful that they haven’t yet left for the hot spring.

  “Changed your mind?” Rin asks but then notices I look serious. With a frown she says. “You don’t normally port when you can walk. What’s wrong?”

  “I need your help, or rather someone else does. Could you port outside the inn with me?” I ask and Rin nods before taking my hand.

  “We’ll come along too.” Asuna says. Hermes and Emma nod.

  “Thank you.” I say relieved. Once everyone is holding on Rin ports us directly outside the inn. The woman looks at us nervously but with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

  Chapter 4 (Multiple)

  (Asuna)

  I am not sure what Yu Kii thinks we can do to find a missing boy. There were traces of dimensional magic but none of us have the talent to trace a cold port. If I had been there when it happened I doubt I could have traced the port, but with a cold port I have no chance. Both Yu Kii and Emma are of course extremely bad at dimensional magic so there is no point asking them. Hermes and Rin are about the same as me or perhaps even a little worse.