Be : "Come in, come in!"
Katachi walked into the principal's office, without even bothering to knock on the door. On his hasty entry, he sees Bertund close a flap to his left - The flap which drops down whenever people step on the carpet outside.
K : "Good... Good afternoon."
Bertund was busy doing paperwork, his quill scribbling and scribbling on paper upon paper upon paper while dabbing on an ink fountain occasionally. Seeing that much paper, Katachi wondered how much it all costed - As well as the importance of the documents to actually use paper.
Be : "Ahh, Mister Kotsuba. Are you prepared to leave this school?"
Katachi thought about it a moment...
K : "... Is it fine if I walk around the school, one last time? I'd like to see some things and people before I leave."
Be : "Go ahead. But are you sure you want to carry that huge bag with you all the time?"
K : "... Not really."
Be : "Leave it there in the corner then - I'll keep watch over it until you're back."
Katachi left the bag in the corner of the room, while Bertund used his left hand which was holding down the papers to scoop the slime from his head and toss it at his backpack.
The scene was quite confusing to Katachi, but nevertheless, Bertund's safekeeping can be trusted.
Katachi left the room, while Bertund continued with his work.
*** ***
S : "Ahh, Mister Kotsuba!"
Just leaving the Principal's office for a few steps, Katachi encountered someone else familiar.
K : "Good afternoon, Shelly."
S : "You're pretty early... You really are punctual."
K : (Early? Punctual?... Oh, yeah. The clock in the room is 10 minutes faster than the actual time. That's why I couldn't find her.) "Yeah, I guess the clock in my old room is responsible."
S : "Calling it old already? You sure adapt fast, Mister Kotsuba. That's a splendid trait. Right then, let's begin your second, and probably your only other lecture."
K : "... Right. Please do- Ah, can I move Rekter out of here? I don't want him to hear it."
S : "Okay then."
Katachi walked down the grandeur stairs of the atrium, and looked at the immobile teacher, Rekter. Even though he looks like he's frozen and dead, his position is actually in a 'Constant' state, so he can't move.
K : (设定! Set object weight - A thousandth!)
A second 定 appeared on Rekter's body. He was then lifted up easily by Katachi, and carried to a janitor's closet before being closed upon.
S : "Right. Follow me into the guest room, Mister Kotsuba. There are chairs in there, so it'll ease my legs more."
The teacher and student walked into the guest room, and closed the door gently.
*** ***
S : "Summarize the lecture, Mister Kotsuba."
K : "O... Okay. When using the Words of Power, I have to be specific about what I want to happen, or it will become very vague and give the Word a chance to produce an undesired effect. Al... Also, I have to be careful using 了解 because of its potential to grant and reveal any knowledge - If I ask questions with a complex or vague answer, like 'What is the meaning of life', I might faint and even die from having too much in my head at a time."
S : "Good. That about sums it up."
Shelly switches her folded legs around out of discomfort.
S : "Mister Kotsuba, have you no plans as to how you would begin the search for the 292 Words of Power?"
Katachi nodded briefly.
S : "Well, Mister Kotsuba, the Words of Power are tricky, you see. You may have it easier now that you have Rekter's Word of Power, but using that to find other Words of Power is a bit wonky. You need to use specific commands or the answer will always be yourself - You have two now, after all, so do keep that in mind."
K : "I thought about it that far, Shelly."
S : "Well, it's good that you do. I can offer guidance, but you would have to find the methods yourself. All the best, Mister Kotsuba."
Shelly walked out of the guest room, and Bael entered it a few seconds later.
K : "... Bael."
Ba : "Katachi."
Bael quietly sits down on one of the comfortable, velvet seats different from Shelly's warm seat. The two remain silent in the room, wanting to break the ice.
It's an awkward atmosphere.
K : (What would be a good topic to talk about? She's stayed in school for 6 years, while I'm leaving. She might not know much about the outside world besides some general information about the landscape and some things I might find on my journey. It would be useless to talk about school stuff, though...)
Ba : (I want him to have the best, but I also don't want to limit or hold him back... I want to plead him not to go, but he's been expelled, so it's compulsory. I want to go with him if he really does go, but magic is pretty important too, so I'm conflicted between love and passion... I can't decide at all...)
K : (... ! Ah!) "Bael, you mentioned to be careful in Cosmatral Silo about me not getting impaled. What did that mean?"
Bael looked at Katachi in a slight confusion, before understanding what he meant.
Ba : "Huh? Oh, that? You got a different platform. Yours was covered with greenish gas, right?"
K : "Yeah?"
Ba : "That one was affected by some Kafki user casting a metal decaying spell. I remember that on my own platform, I used a Rhodan's trap while the enemy used some sort of spell to make half the arena filled with spiky metal."
K : "Spiky... Metal?"
Ba : "Yeah. The metal bits on the floor all slowly drew out like tiny needles. I didn't step on any of them, nor did I destroy them, so they might still be there even now. If you had that hazard, it would have been very dangerous, especially since you often run through the battlefield to hurt the enemy."
Katachi shuddered at that idea.
K : (Scary...) "So that was just wishing me good luck, if I ever got that platform?"
Ba : "Yeah."
K : "I see. Thanks."
Ba : (Aww, he thanked me... ? It's been so long, but I wonder if he sees me as a big sister?) "Hey, Katachi?"
K : "Hmm?"
Ba : "Do you think I'm good at being your big sister?"
K : (Big sister?... I've never had a big sister, so I don't know for sure. She has been pretty helpful, like a friendly aide, though.) "Well, not really. I can't tell for sure, because I never had a big sister. You're helpful and really friendly though. More so than I'd imagine a big sister would do."
Ba : (More so than a big sister would do- !?! Is that... Is that implying that we're already at that stage?!) "I... I... Ahhh..."
Bael fainted blissfully on the velvet chair, with a big grin on her reddened face.
K : (There she goes again, in dreamland. Well, at least this makes the farewells less painful.)
Katachi stood up, and walked out of the guest room.
*** ***
Katachi walked up the stairs to Bertund's office, while Zirco walked down towards the exit.
They glanced at each other briefly, and continued to walk on.
They are both getting expelled for violation of the school rules - Zirco for using a spell on Katachi when the tournament is over, and Katachi for using a non-healing spell on a teacher.
Katachi had thought that Zirco would at least thank him for healing his hands and carrying him out, but he seem too prideful to apologize and admit it.
He simply walked out of the school, probably back to Mielfeud.
Without minding him, Katachi walked towards the principal's office.
*** ***
Be : "Come in!"
Katachi walked into the room, and sees Bertund reading a book.
Be : "I presume that your presence here means that you are finished?"
K : "... Yeah."
Be : "Good."
Bertund's palm glowed yellow, and he approached Katachi slowly. With a gentle tap, the magic circle on Katachi's shoulder was gone.
Be : "Mister Kotsuba, you are hereby expelled for using non-healing magic on a teacher."
Katachi had already prepared for this to happen, so it wasn't a very emotional event in particular.
Be : "Okay then, now that this is settled, I suggest you begin setting up camp immediately. It is getting dark, and the night can be quite unforgiving, even in spring."
K : "Okay. Thank you, Bertund. For everything."
Be : "Don't mention it. Here's your bag."
The slime had already crawled towards Katachi, and held up the bag in an expanded state, ready to hand him the object. Katachi slipped his arm around the strap, and the bag was situated to the bottom of his backbone for stability.
K : "I'll be off."
Be : "May the Gods be with you. I have faith that you will become a wonderful Scholar."
With a brave step, Katachi stepped forth, toward a new light.
The second piece, Kotsuba Katachi, has begun moving.
*** ***
*Cozy's Notes : Katachi is a traveler now! Just like Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Roberia! Hoorah.*
*T.W's Notes : Why the fuck did you give her a troublesome name like that?*
*Cozy's Notes : Cuz... ?*
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