Chapter XXI: The Principal's Schemes I

Onin

Sengoku Empire

The Great Plateau

Month of the Pangolin 8, 172 ,328 DE

Vorn and I wait in the front yard, and Hoshi enters the inn's office to take care of the arrangements for out rooms. While we wait, a few groups of people, who I do not recognize, leave the inn. From their apparent age, they should be current students or students that graduated in the past few years. After looking over Vorn in his chainmail and me in my leather clothing, one group turn up their up noses so far that it is amazing they can see where they are going, and the other groups talk somewhat quietly among themselves about gaijin animals that do not know their place.

Vorn raises an eyebrow. "They certainly look down on you."

"You're included that gaijin bullshit. But don't worry, if you kick them in the balls or the cunt hard enough they shut real fast." I do not keep my voice. Some people might say I deliberately raised it.

After glancing at me and seeing my stare, the groups hurry their pace. I do not need to check their scents or probe their Souls with Empathy to pick up their uneasiness bordering on outright fear. A few of them throw one last fearful glance in my direction before disappearing behind the wall of the inn's front courtyard.

Vorn chuckles. "People you've kicked in the painful parts before?"

I snort. "Nope. Never seen them before that I can remember. Most humans look alike. The ones I've kicked in the balls or cunt wouldn't dare to mouth off like that in my hearing range."

Walking out of the inn's office, Hoshi looks around for a second then points toward the south-east. "The Academy students are this way, that red and black building."

Each of the freestanding buildings on the inn's grounds has been painted with a different color scheme. The one that Hoshi pointed out has a bright red base color, with the trim all painted in midnight black. Bringing the boilers on our steamer bikes back to operating pressures, we get on and ride along the winding path that leads to the building.

As we approach, we see the figures of humans congregated in small groups outside the building's entrance. While they are nominally adults or on the verge of becoming adults, they have the demeanors of boys and girls, children. Tension seems to fill the air around the groups. Humans are social animals, but they always gather in small cliques that sometimes form larger cliques. As they fight for dominance with their cliques, the cliques fight for dominance with cliques outside their clique. These humans are from the same nation, and in all probability from the same city, Shizukana Gake, but they are far from being allies. Cities and nations are not one pack fighting for survival.

Hearing our approaching steamer bikes, a number of the humans turn to look in our direction, and many of them frown coldly or hostilely. Among them, with her height of one hundred and seventy-five centimeters, Matsuda Sakura towers over the girls and many of the boys. Surprisingly, her Cultivation appears to be nearing the middle of Qi Condensation, a huge improvement over what it was only two months ago. She looks at me with a fear-filed expression and takes a few steps back. She does not understand that as long as she does not cross me, she is not worth even the small amount of time it would take to kill her.

With a huge grin, Hoshi get off his steamer bike. Standing with his arms akimbo, he looks around. "Hey, everyone! Do you like my new steamer bike? It's a real military model form the Kingdom of Amber!"

I glance at Vorn. "Maybe, you shouldn't have given that bike to him."

Vorn frowns at me. "You're the one, who asked me to do it."

"I just asked you because I didn't want to be bothered by him. You didn't have listen to me. Idiot cat."

"Ass-sniffing dog."

As Hoshi looks at us with a sly expression, Vorn glares and points at him. "Before you open your mouth, remember where we are. What happens in Onin stays in Onin. There are brothels catering to okama in this city. At least, one of them will be in need of a fat whore to serve the more twisted customers. If I sell you to one, no one will ever know about it."

"Beast!" With his expression changing to borderline panic, Hoshi casts a pleading look in my direction.

I shrug. "I don't think he's wrong."

"It's hard to tell if you three are friends or enemies." The harsh emotionless voice comes from inside the building. Kuroki, whose given name I have never heard, one of the combat trainers employed by the Academy of Magic Technology, had been watching from the shadows inside since we arrived. The man has an almost natural affinity for shadows and moves in near silence at all times. Both are probably a result of his Cultivation. He does not seen to practice a common Cultivation method and had an almost impressive breadth of knowledge related to combat, with or without weapons.

As Kuroki exits the building, the students and former students, who had been left feeling uneasy by the presence of Vorn and myself, seem to find new spines. Matsuda Sakura drifts nearer to him, while trying to appear nonchalant.

"Okada. Raymon. Matsuda. Principal Hanazawa said to bring you two up to his rooms." As always, Kuroki speaks in what can at best be called rough language. Ningen no Gengo has a range of ways to phrase things, and the lack of honorifics combing with the way he phrases things would be considered, at best, suitable for the lower classes of society. Most times, I deliberately use rough speech, but it is a conscious choice to give a specific impression. With Kuroki, I have always had the feeling that his use of rough speech is just his natural way of speaking. I do not think is someone that grew up in polite company.

Shrugging my shoulders, I walk over to Kuroki, and as though it is completely natural, Hoshi follows right behind me. As we get close, Matsuda Sakura manages to bring her shivering under control, but she moves to keep Koroki between us.

Noticing Matsuda Sakura's \actions, Kuroki gives her a disdainful glance but does not say anything. With his expression returning to its usual coldness, he simply returns the focus of his gaze to Vorn and speaks in a marginally less rough manner. "Prince Vorn. If you have the time, he would like you to come, too."

Vorn glances at me, but I only shrug. I have no idea why the Principal would want to see him along with us. If were just Hoshi, Matsuda Sakura, and me, it would probably be related to the exam and the attack by the Tokugawa clan. However, in that case, there is no real reason for him to involve Vorn.

Vorn nods to Kuroki. "Lead the way."

Following Kuroki into the building, we see that the mostly dark room is a large lounge or sitting room that covers about a quarter of the building's floor space. The thickly padded leather chairs and couches, set up in small groups around low tables, look more suited to the Dunkle Sonne Empire than the kingdoms east of the Kami Kaze Mountains. A bar spans a third or the back wall, and hundreds of bottle of alcohol line the shelves behind it.

Ascending the stairs at the back of the room, Kuroki leads us to the top floor of the building. A five by sex meter open room surrounds the landing. A set of double doors sits in the middle of each wall. Four suites take up the entirety of the floor, and Kuroki heads straight for the one in the west wall. The decor or the suite beyond the door has a mix of Sengoku and Dunkle Sonne styles

"Ah, students. Join me, please. There is plenty of food." Sitting at a Dunkle Sonne style table, Principal Hanazawa looks up from a meal of soup, rice, and fish to invite us. While his age is uncertain, the man looks old, very old, for a human. His thinning white hair hangs to the collar of his formal kimono, and his long goatee and mustache look like snow against his already pale skin.

Without hesitation, Vorn and I sit down. Hoshi and Matsuda Sakura hesitate a bit before following suit. As Principal Hanazawa says nothing more, silence reigns at the breakfast table. Vorn and I eat heartily, but Matsuda Sakura and even Hoshi only pick at their food.

Principal Hanazawa smiles a Hoshi. "Okada-kun, I am amazed to see you here. Fujiwara-sensei said that your leg might never heal, but you seem to be completely recovered."

Hoshi grins. "It's all thanks to Beast. He took me to someone who could do it."

Principal Hanazawa's eyes open slightly wider, and he looks at me. "There is a healer with such skill in Shizukana Gake? Why have I never heard of them?"

I shrug. "An acquaintance of Old Man Jones. They aren't in the Heian Kingdom."

"Ah. An acquaintance of the Grandmaster. I should have known." Letting out a soft sigh, the Principal turns his attention back to his food.

Being in close proximity to the Principal for the first time since becoming a Triune, I use my awareness to carefully examine the old man. Before I was only able to estimate his Cultivation level, but now, as a Triune, I am able to get a clear measure of his strength. He is at the peak of the Martial Warrior realm, and his Soul feels strange. He has probably suffered severe damage to it at some point, but while the damage has healed, the scars remain. The Souls of Cultivators do not appear to ever properly develop, but if a Cultivators Souls is damaged, their future Cultivation becomes limited. I doubt Principal Hanazawa could ever break through to the Martial Lord realm. He is at the end of his Cultivation and almost at the end of his life.

As Principal Hanazawa looks at me, his eyes slightly narrow. "Your Sea of Consciousness has grown powerful, and while you are not a Cultivator, you have practice something to strengthen yourself."

I meet the Principal's steady stare but do not reply, and after a few moments, he, once more, returns his attention to his food. At his level of Cultivation, Cultivators have no longer have any need to eat or sleep, but like the Principal, many of them still continue to do so. At least, they do so when they are not engaged in secluded Cultivation. We eat in silence for the next few minutes, then the Principal looks at Matsuda Sakura.

"Matsuda-kun, are you set on becoming an Alchemist?"

Matsuda Sakura bows her head to the Principal. "I am."

The Principal sighs. "As I told you, you really have no talent for Alchemy, but you have real potential as an Engineer or Inscriber. You have an almost intuitive understanding of sigils and Dao laws. You clearly love working with sigils. That is only of limited use for an Alchemist, and you have no sense for herbs or concocting. If you applied yourself as an Engineer or Inscriber, you could reach the Master or Grandmaster level."

For some reason, Matsuda Sakura looks at me out of the corner of her eye. As a bitter frown twists her the corners of her lips downward, a mix of emotions, mostly regret and anger, floods her scent and her aura. "I might become an acceptable Inscriber, but as an Engineer, I would be mediocre, at best. I have seen what a real future Grandmaster looks like, and I am not one."

Matsuda Sakura's snaps around, and she glares at Hoshi. "I don't understand you. Your potential as an Engineer is barely better than mine. Your around that monster every day. Don't you understand? Do you still think you can become a Grandmaster?"

With a confused expression, Hoshi stares at Matsuda Sakura. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Matsuda Sakura points at me, and the volume of her voice rises. "Him! That monster is what a future Grandmaster Engineer looks like! I don't even understand why he had to come to the Academy! He makes fools out of everyone! You're around him all the time! How can you think you have any hope of becoming a real Grandmaster Engineer!?"

With en even more confused expression, Hoshi looks at me. "Beast is Beast. I'm me. We can both be Grandmaster Engineers. Even if he's better than me, does it matter? No matter how good you are at something, there is always someone better."

Matsuda Sakura shakes her head. "You don't understand!"

Vorn snorts derisively. "Beast is a once in an eon monster. He'll overturn the entire Great Plateau before he's done. Meeting him has been the biggest shock of my life. If you want to compare yourself to Beast, you might as well compare yourself to the sun itself. It's pointless. If you love something, pursue it. Don't ever give up."

Glaring at Matsuda Sakura, Vorn pauses for a moment. "Did you attack Aoi because she is in love with Beast and you feel inferior to him?"

Matsuda Sakura simply stares at Vorn.

After many long moments, Principal Hanazawa breaks the silence. "Matsuda-kun, you along with Okada-kun have more potential than any student other student to ever come out my Academy. I know a bit about your situation with your clan. You should believe in yourself and your potential. Take this chance to open up a new future for yourself."

Matsuda Sakura looks down, but she appears to be considering the Principal's words. I do not know what the Principal is alluding to, nor do I care. He is up to something, and it appears Hoshi, Matsuda Sakura, and I are the tools he wants to use to carry out his plans.

After a few moments, Principal Hanazawa lets out another soft sigh. "Matsuda-kun, Okada-kun, Raymon, I would like to ask something of you in this upcoming entrance exam."
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