Chapter III: Inglis, Age 15—The Chiral Knights’ Academy (3)
Rattle, rattle, rattle...
The dry scraping of iron-shod wheels on stone echoed into their ears from outside as the carriage rolled along. Inglis was gazing out the window at the setting sun when Rafinha, sitting across from her, spoke up. “It’s too bad Leone didn’t come along.”
Leone had declined their grateful offer with a simple “I’ll pass, but you two have fun.” And thus, today, Inglis and Rafinha set out alone after their lessons had concluded.
“I don’t blame her,” Inglis said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the Rambach Company holds a grudge against her.”
Rahl’s father had been the head of the Rambach Company. Inglis wasn’t sure if that was still the case, but Leone’s brother, Leon, had been the one to poison Rahl with Prism Powder, changing Rahl into a magicite beast. If Rahl’s father knew about that, he would likely be upset to see Leone too.
“He might not be too happy to see us either—but I’m more worried about Leone. She seems really depressed lately.”
“Yeah. I hate seeing her sad like this.”
“But it’s not like hanging around being gloomy will make her happy. If only we had some way to cheer her up...”
“I think she feels the same way but is pretty exhausted from everything that’s going on. We should wait until she’s ready.”
Rafinha paused. “You’re right. We can’t drag her to her feet and expect her to be fine right away. I have an idea, though! Let’s bring her back something tasty!”
“That’s an excellent plan. Let’s pick out something she’ll love.”
“Yeah!” Then Rafinha got quieter. “Hey, Chris, I’ve had something on my mind lately. Everyone’s nice to me just because I’m Rafael’s sister, right? But it’s the opposite for Leone. Everyone hates her because she’s Leon’s sister. So that’s why we need to be there for her. She’s a good girl. You’ll stand by her too, right?”
“Of course. That’s admirable of you to think that way, Rani.” Inglis softly brushed Rafinha’s silky dark hair. Yes, I’m proud of how Rafinha maturely recognizes how others perceive her. She’s acting on that rather than purely on her own desires.
Rafinha giggled. “That’s one worry off my mind, then.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. One thing I’ve definitely learned is that if you’re happy with my decision, I don’t have to worry.”
As they conversed, the carriage came to a halt.
“Are we there?” Rafinha asked.
“It doesn’t look like it. We’re just stopped in the middle of the road.” When the carriage had arrived at the academy to pick them up, the coachman had said he would bring them directly to a mansion owned by the company.
“Pardon us, but we’ll be inspecting this carriage!” A knight, his armor embossed with the royal emblem, opened the door to the carriage. “Hmm... Are you cadets from the knights’ academy?”
Inglis politely tried to brush him off. “Yes, we are.”
Rafinha, meanwhile, was curious. “Is something wrong?”
“Over the past few days, there have been several unexplained murders in the streets at night, so the city is under strict guard.”
“What?!” Inglis blurted out.
Rafinha was similarly surprised. “Why, that’s terrible.”
Inglis and Rafinha had only just recently arrived in the capital, and the academy expected its students to live and mostly stay on campus, so they hadn’t had much time to explore and find out what was going on in the city.
“Most of the victims have been knights with Runes. It’s like we’ve got a Rune-Eater in our midst.”
Inglis cupped her chin. “Any clues as to the culprit?”
The knight shook his head. “Not yet. The Steelbloods have been getting more powerful recently, and some think it’s them—there will be another offering to the Highlanders soon. Maybe they’re trying to interfere with that? Anyway, you two should be careful.”
Inglis nodded. “Understood. Thank you.”
“We will. Thanks for the warning.”
The knight closed the carriage door and left. Once the carriage was rolling along again, Inglis said, “A Rune-Eater, huh? Sounds fun. I bet it’s pretty tough.”
“More like things are going to get pretty messy.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because anything that makes you smile like that turns into a mess. That’s something else I’ve learned.”
“Well, excuse me.”
“Rafael would quickly do something, but he’s not here...”
“Is he still busy airlifting the Prismer?”
“Yeah. He said he’d get in touch when he got back, and I haven’t heard anything yet other than that Prince Wayne left to join him, plus Eris as a bodyguard.”
“So we’re spread pretty thin here. But how do you know that?”
“Well, a lot of people like to talk with me, and some of them are family of royal knights.”
“I see.”
The carriage stopped again, and this time, the coachman announced their arrival. They had arrived at the mansion’s courtyard, exceptionally large even for this upper-class district. “Please feel free to make your entrance.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Inglis and Rafinha set off on foot across the carefully maintained courtyard. The light of sunset had faded to the gloom of dusk.
“Rani, hold on a second.”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Just stay right there.” Inglis stepped forward alone.
Whoosh!
A volley of arrows cut through the air toward her.
“Chris?!”
“Mm. Don’t worry.” Inglis responded without hesitation. Too quickly to see, she caught each of the flying arrows between her fingers.
“Did— Did you get them all?”
“Yeah. I could tell something was up. So I guess they aren’t pleased to see us.”
“They’re ambushing us?!”
“Looks like it. But—”
Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!
Inglis suddenly flung the arrows between her fingers back.
“Whoa!”
“Oww!”
“What the—”
“She’s shooting back?!”
Inglis grinned, satisfied by the men’s shouts of pain and dismay echoing from the shadows around the trees. “Exactly the warm welcome I’d hoped for.”
Rafinha sighed. “Yeah, that’s the smile I was afraid of...”
“Pull it together, lads! It’s not tough if you read her movements. And as for you, missy...” A man with a scar on his cheek stepped forward, blocking Inglis’s path. From his hand, a middle-class Rune glowed. “I’ll take you on! Bring it!”
“I’d love to.”
“Great! Show me what you’ve—gahhh?!” A quick elbow jab sent him staggering back into the outer wall of the mansion, where he collapsed, unconscious.
“All right, who’s next?” Inglis flashed her toothiest grin. The remaining men, their morale broken, screamed in terror.
A young man stepped forth from the mansion’s entrance and bowed to Inglis. “Please! Enough! You really are all you’re cracked up to be! We’re sorry! Go easy on us!”
“That’s up to you, now, isn’t it?” Inglis turned her focus, and her devilish delight, to him. “Though I think it would be more fun if you gave it a try too.” Her appearance may have been all grace and beauty, but what lurked behind her words was obvious.
Panicking, the young man shook his head. “No thanks, I’m fine! I’m no better than him, so I think I’d fare just as poorly. We’re no match for you.”
“Ahhh, such humility.”
“Humility? Hon, that’s honesty. Sorry to disappoint.”
“Oh, really? That’s too bad.”
“Sheesh, turns out your looks aren’t the most startling thing about you... A-Anyway, sorry for testing you like that. I’m Fars Fargo, President of the Rambach Company.”
“Oh, are you? I’m Inglis Eucus. Pleased to meet you.”
“Honestly, this isn’t the first time we’ve met. Same goes for the young lady Rafinha Bilford over there.”
“Oh, you know us?” Inglis asked.
“Yeah. It has to have been, what, around a decade now? Remember when our company came to Ymir to train with the knights? I was there. You’ve grown up into quite the pair of beautiful young ladies. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.”
“Oh, right, now that I think about it...”
“Anyway, come inside. I’ve got a heck of a banquet ready. After all, I did invite you here to thank you.”
“Oooh! ♪” Rafinha suddenly exclaimed. “I can’t wait! I’m gonna eat all I can!”
“Rani, it’s not ladylike to get so excited,” Inglis cautioned.
“Ha ha ha. It’s fine. C’mon in and stuff yourself,” Fars said. He was smiling at first, but after an hour with them...
“Are you really eating that much?!” He mournfully stared at the towering stack of empty plates on the table.
“Mmmm! ♪ The food at the cafeteria’s nice, but this is way fancier. It’s so tasty. ♪”
“It’s definitely more, and better, than we could afford on our allowances, so let’s eat up while we can!”
“Yeah. We should probably wrap up some to take home for Leone.”
“You’re right.”
“Excuse me!” Rafinha called. “Could I get this wrapped up?”
“O-Of course. Hey, someone wrap it for her!” Fars commanded.
“Thanks!” Inglis and Rafinha thanked Fars with their cutest smiles—and then dug right back in.
“Wait, you’re still eating?” He shook his head. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to stop, but do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Wuh ibbih? (What is it?)”
“Huuh, gwuhheb. (Sure, go ahead.)”
Inglis and Rafinha made no attempt at table manners, their mouths full of steak.
Once everyone was ready, Fars caught them up to speed. “Like I explained, our company is in a tight spot right now. When the old boss, Rambach, and his son Rahl got Highland citizenship, they pretty much straight-up forgot about the company, and it’s been just us holding things together since then. We heard about what happened to Rahl in Ymir, but that doesn’t mean there’s any bad blood between you and us. After all, they abandoned us too. And I guess they let their old beefs eat ’em up inside once they got to Highland. They weren’t exactly great human beings to begin with, though—especially Rahl. Anyway, it really was only thanks to circumstance that you saved our ship not long ago. And if you were able to do that... Well, we could really use a hand with something else.”
“Veh? Wiwah? (Yeah? With what?)” Inglis asked. At this point, her cheeks were stuffed with fried chicken as if she were a chipmunk.
“C’mon, don’t talk with your mouth full, I’m trying to be serious here... Well, if you really want to, go ahead.” Fars cleared his throat before continuing. “There’s a lot of trade between the kingdom and Highland, and we’ve gotten in on it. But things have gotten messy lately, y’know? Plenty of rumors about how the Steelbloods are gonna come up with a way to sabotage it. The royals are putting on a big show of being on guard, but that’s probably just to keep their own heads attached while they hang us out to dry. And that’s why we need our own talented guards. Hell of a shame for ‘armed merchants’ to hire guards, but I ain’t got much choice left. How about it? Interested in earning a bit more than the usual pay to protect us?”
Inglis and Rafinha continued munching as they glanced at each other.
“Fowih aythih haviz, wyetdahai laheelvuh? (So if anything happens, we get to fight the Steelbloods)?”
“Vh, Chf, yurameut vah ughn? (Ugh, Chris, you’re on about that again?)”
“Yufiif foo lenvahuh? (You think it’s too dangerous?)”
“Ahvi. Ahvanih moah vehfi muhee, enh if mvhi feeah lyole oof. (I’m in. I wanted more spending money, and it might cheer Leone up.)”
“Yufahvih vai. Eynveh, wev wohn vwi faw fu vuh finfufbul avow if? (You’re probably right. Anyway, why don’t we talk to the principal about it?)”
Fars sighed deeply. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t mind me over here.”
Having gone over the situation with Rafinha, Inglis swallowed her food and then spoke clearly. “We’ll ask the principal for permission once we get back to the academy. If she approves, we’ll take you up on that.”
“Really? Thanks so much! That’ll be a great help!” Fars said.
“The pleasure’s all mine.” Inglis smiled in return. If anything did happen, it was quite likely she’d be up against a powerful foe, and that kind of opportunity didn’t come every day. Lessons at the academy were fine enough for what they were, but they didn’t beat actual battle experience. Inglis was honestly grateful for the opportunity to line her own pockets while being on the front lines.
◆◇◆
After the dinner meeting, Inglis and Rafinha boarded the carriage to return to the academy. Inside, the girls passed the time through conversation.
“They said there was a killer on the loose, right? I wonder if we’ll run into him,” Inglis pondered aloud.
“Sheesh! That’s nothing to get excited about!” Rafinha yelled, incredulous. “I’m not gonna say a thing—you know trouble shows up when you call its name!”
“Eeek!”
“Ahhhhhh!”
Just as Rafinha finished, shrieks came from somewhere off in the darkness.
“Ooh! It’s always nice to get some exercise after a good meal!” Swiftly, Inglis jumped out of the carriage.
“Ugh...!”
Rrrumble!
Just as Rafinha followed, the clock tower they were under began to break apart!
“Rani! Look out!” Inglis leaped up, shielding her from the falling bricks and debris. When she landed, she was carrying the entire top of the tower, bigger than herself, on her back. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Chris.”
Rafinha may have been used to this sort of performance, but the coachman was astonished. “Amazing! And you don’t even have a Rune!”
“Wait here for a minute. I’m going to go check it out.” Inglis ran toward the screams—the same direction from which the tower had been knocked down.
Wait, that looked like some kind of beast formed from lightning! As Inglis turned a second, then a third corner...
There he was—a man wearing gauntlets with indigo spikes. He was facing a strange indistinct form, the glow from its many Runes piercing through its own shadows.
“Leon?!” His name left Inglis’s lips in surprise before she could stop herself.
Leon spun around with an astonished look on his face as he recognized her voice. It really was Leon. There was no mistaking him or his lightning beasts around him.
“Inglis, is that you?! Wow, you’ve gotten even prettier!”
“What are you doing here?!”
Leon had defected to the Steelbloods a few years earlier. Was this one of their plots? Fars believed they were possibly trying to hinder trade with Highland. Was a murder spree part of that?
But then there was the uncanny figure behind him—a monstrous form with Runes all over its body, wearing a silver mask to hide its face.
The knights patrolling the city had said that the killer hunted people with Runes. They had called it a Rune-Eater. If Inglis had to choose which of them was the killer, she would guess it’d be the figure. Judging from their positions, Inglis was confident that Leon had been fighting him.
“Explode!” Leon yelled, and the lightning beasts detonated with a thunderous roar and a blinding flash of light.
“Ugh...” Even Inglis was forced to close her eyes.
“See you around! This one’s all yours!” She heard his voice, but when she opened her eyes, Leon was gone.
He was as nimble as ever, but she couldn’t chase him. There was still the Rune-spangled monster to contend with.
“Who are you? Are you the killer who’s been hunting people with Runes?” she asked, getting a good look at the figure in front of her.
Usually, a person only had one Rune. Their mana flowed in a particular way, and the Rune that fit it best was inscribed on them. It was a system set up for modern people who couldn’t sense or control mana themselves. Yet the man before her had so many, and she could feel the disparate ripples of mana emanating from him. It was like he had the Runes—and the mana—of many people at once.
As she counted the Runes, Inglis’s lips twisted into a smirk without her even noticing. It seemed like she’d found her first satisfying fight in a while. “If you wouldn’t mind, maybe you could attack me?”
“Don’t...want. Lady doesn’t...look...tasty...” It was a limp, faltering response, but a response all the same.
“That might be your opinion, but tons of people think I’m quite the catch.”
“Not...interested. Want...mana...”
“Then how about this?” Inglis converted the aether swirling around her to mana.
“Ohhhhhh?” His tone suddenly changed to nearly rabid enthusiasm. “Giiiiiiive!” He stretched out his arms and leaped toward her.
“Come and take it...” Inglis beckoned to the monstrous man. “If you can, that is.”
“Grrrrraaaaagh!” The monstrous man, slumped forward, let out a bestial cry as he rushed toward her.
He’s fast! Maybe even as fast as a hieral menace! But not too fast for me! Inglis slipped by every sudden punch, every kick, and every charge.
“Ohhhh!” As if becoming impatient with his misses, the Rune-covered figure’s blows became more and more desperate.
“What’s wrong? Show me what all those Runes can do!” Twirling around his uppercut, she smashed a palm into his side, sending him careening back through the fence of a nearby abandoned house and into a wall.
“Agh! Hee hee hee...”
That should have been a staggering blow, but the figure rose as if nothing had happened. A tough one, then. Interesting.
The Runes on the man’s body began to shine brighter. A pair of ice blades extended from his hands. Inglis could almost hear the air sparkle around the ice.
He had finally used one of the Runes he’d picked up. Kicking off the ground again, the man flew toward her.
He’s even faster now!
“So that’s how it is!” Inglis gracefully danced through the twin-bladed hail of attacks aimed at her, but as she did, another Rune on his body glowed, and he faded from sight, taking Inglis by surprise.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Now invisible, he continued his assault. She could still sense him, still feel the breeze on her skin and hear him move, but it was getting harder to avoid his strikes. A lock of her hair glimmered like silver thread as, caught by his blade, it scattered to the wind.
“Not bad!”
If she kept dodging, she knew he would get a lucky shot in eventually. Inglis predicted where the next blow would fall and grabbed the invisible man’s wrists as he cut at her.
“What...the...”
She felt him sway. “You’ve still got more! Show me all the Runes you haven’t lit up! When am I ever going to have a chance like this again? Please?”
“Nghhhhh!” he grunted.
Inglis considered her wish an earnest, friendly one, but instead it terrified the killer nonetheless.
“Khhhhh!” he grunted again.
She felt him shudder as balls of fire, a hailstorm of ice, and stone spears appeared around her.
Dodge! Inglis let go of the man’s hands and prepared herself, but she suddenly felt something heavy on her shoulders. Something wrapping around her. “Hm...?”
It was her foe, who had dropped his invisibility as unnecessary. She had grabbed his wrists earlier to hold him in place, but he in turn had used their close proximity to pin her down.
Elemental projectiles surrounded her as if a whole array of wizards were focused on her. If he attacked her with them, he’d be hurt as well.
But he’s going through with it anyway?!
“You’re still...just a girl... Take this!” The flames, the ice, the stones all shot forth as he clung to Inglis to shield himself from his own attack. She was pinned down, unable to wriggle free.
At least, not like this.
“It’s rather rude to embrace a woman without asking.”
Inglis broke the increased gravity that she’d secretly put herself under earlier, and her body suddenly felt as light as air. Enhanced gravity was a very convenient way to get more out of her training; she’d learned to keep it applied to herself unless she had a specific reason not to. That skill had made coming to the academy already worth it.
“Haaah!” Forcefully throwing the man off of her, Inglis leaped high, where there were no projectiles to threaten her. Kicking off the roof of the abandoned house, she looked down to get her bearings. The monstrous man she’d cast off was in the middle of his own barrage. Balls of fire, cold hail, and stone spears all rained upon him, but just before they connected, they disappeared, swallowed up by something. He didn’t seem to be hurt at all.
Inglis voiced her observation aloud. “So you can absorb your own attacks?”
That was why he was unconcerned about being caught in the middle of it. Inglis supposed it was a good way to fight, so long as he could pull it off. It was almost like her and Rafinha’s “Decoy Kaboom” plan, where she rushed into a crowd of foes only for Rafinha to bathe the battlefield in arrows of light.
“Hee hee hee...” The man followed Inglis to the rooftops, twin blades of ice growing from his hands again.
Is he going to disappear and close in again? With all the projectiles he can muster this time? I’ll have my hands full just dodging. But I can do that too!
Inglis replicated the flow of mana she saw in front of her. She couldn’t do so before, but now she had her hands free, so to speak. At the moment, she could maintain only one mana effect up at a time, but she was adept enough to do it while also keeping up one aether effect.
Clink!
Coming into being with a noise just like when the man had summoned his swords, a blade of ice appeared in Inglis’s hand. “Yep. That did it.” Now she could do more than dodge—she could parry. And it was fun to use a sword every once in a while. It wouldn’t do to forget all her practice in favor of fighting with her fists all the time.
“This time for real. Show me everything you’ve got,” she said.
The man faded into the shadows again, the mana flow around him becoming so complex that Inglis wasn’t sure she’d be able to replicate them yet, but she could still hear footsteps. An invisible blade carved toward her. Inglis envisioned its path and raised her own blade in response.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
A melodic sound, the clash of ice on ice was an entirely different noise than steel on steel.
“Now...” the Rune-Eater growled. “Take this!” Once again, the hail of projectiles appeared, this time extending far above her head. She wouldn’t be able to leap out of this one.
“Predictable.” Inglis continued her assault through the storm raging around her. Sometimes she dodged; sometimes she took shelter under her blade. Her dance was elegant, beautiful—not even her foe could peel his eyes away.
“O-Oh...?”
“You’ve stopped.” Now to counterattack! Inglis sped up her attacks, and an almost musical duet of ice blade on ice blade increased in intensity. Slowly, her foe began to shrink under the assault.
Chop!
Inglis’s sword struck home, severing the man’s right arm.
“Aaaaaaahhhh!” As his wail of pain echoed, his arm thudded to the ground, plainly visible now. Slowly, he came into view once more, writhing in pain.
Is it because he can’t focus, or is it because that Rune was on his arm that I chopped off? Inglis didn’t have much time to think before the man tumbled from the roof.
“Chris! Chris?! Are you over here?”
That was Rafinha’s voice. She must have made it to the alley below.
“Rani!” Inglis yelled back. “It’s dangerous! Get away from there!” By sheer bad luck, Rafinha was standing near where the man had fallen.
“Gaaaaah!” he grunted.
“Eeek! What’s going on?! Is this the murderer?!” Rafinha cried.
“More! More mana! Give me moooooore!” Leaping to his feet, the man charged at Rafinha like a wounded beast.
“Back off!” Rafinha tried to raise her bow, but she was too slow.
At this rate—
“Think again! Haaaah!” There was nothing Inglis wouldn’t do to protect Rafinha. She formed her Aether Shell around herself at full power. Kicking off from the roof, she thrust herself between Rafinha and the man more quickly than either could see.
And her blade of ice exploded into a flash of blue light.
“Remember this: I don’t care what you try on me, but if you go after Rani, you’re dead.” Inglis’s clenched jaw relaxed only when she finished speaking. “Not that he’s around anymore to hear it.”
Behind her, Rafinha swayed, as relief washed away her fear. “Good point...”
At their feet fell the man’s corpse, cleaved cleanly in two from head to toe.
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