Chapter XXII: The Principal's Schemes II
Onin
Sengoku Empire
The Great Plateau
Month of the Pangolin 8, 172 ,328 DE
Everyone's attentions shifts to Principal Hanazawa. He smiles, but the brittle expression contains no humor or goodwill. "I has been a long time, so you may have never heard about it, but I am not a native of the Heian Kingdom. After almost three hundred years, outside of clan elders, most of the people of Shizukana Gake are unaware of my origins. I am an immigrant from the Sengoku Empire, and I fled after the destruction of my clan.
"We were an Engineering clan, and one of my uncles invented a new generator. This was around the time when electricity was just starting to be used beyond military applications. Our generator was capable of generating huge amounts of electricity through the use of water-driven turbines. It was a modification of the standard steam turbines used in military airships at that time. The Tokugawa clan wanted the generator design for themselves."
Principal Hanazawa meets my stare. "Yes, Raymon. They are the same Tokugawa clan that attacked you and Okada-kun. Their attack on Okada-kun is typical of how they have operated for the past thousand years. Perhaps longer. All the great clans of the Empire act that way."
After I do not say anything for several moments, Principal Hanazawa continues. "The Tokugawa clan wanted our generator design. Rather than buy the design or for a partnership, they attacked my clan. I was injured and buried by the rubble form a fallen warehouse. If the rubble had not inadvertently concealed me, I would have died.
"I was young and only in the early Foundation Establishment realm at the time. Like the few other survivors, I fled the Empire. I started the Academy in hopes of turning out strong enough Engineers that the Heian Kingdom could eventually displace the Sengoku Empire. That dream has not gone as well as I had hoped, but with Okada-kun and Matsuda-kun, I have two students that have more potential than anyone the Tokugawa clan has turned out in over five hundred years.
"This is a backwater and the Twelve Great Cultivation Colleges will only take a very limited number of students from the applicants. Black Turtle College and Northern College are the only two that have real Engineering departments. Unless the break centuries of precedent, they will only take one Engineering student each. I would like the two of you along with Raymon to make sure that the Tokugawa clans Apprentice Engineers do not place high enough for the two colleges to consider them. Will you do this for an old man?"
When I do not show any expression at all, Hoshi and Matsuda Sakura look at each other. As Hoshi shrugs, Matsuda Sakura frowns. "I do not want to study Engineering. I want to study Alchemy. My hope is to get into the Sisters of the Moon College."
At Matsuda Sakura's words, the Principal frowns. "Even if your potential for Alchemy were greater, your Cultivation is too weak. An Alchemist needs much stronger Cultivation than an Engineer. Other than inscribing sigils, there is very little need for a high Cultivation as an Engineer. Look at Raymon. Even without being able to Cultivate normally, he can still produce amazing pieces of work."
After a moments silence, Principal Hanazawa gives Matsuda Sakura a faint smile. "Black Turtle College has an Alchemy department. It may not be as exemplary as the Sisters of the Moon College's Alchemy department, but it is still orders of magnitude better than anything east of the Kami Kaze Mountains. If you get into Black Turtle College as an Engineer, you could possibly train in both departments. We can ask the college's representatives about it."
"Do you believe is my only chance?"
Principal Hanazawa nods. "Unfortunately."
As I watch the Principal, something about his scent and aura bother me. He is not outright lying about everything, but neither is he telling the entire truth. The question is what is he lying about.
"I'm going to take the spot for Northern College."
The Principal looks at me. "That is you only option. Northern College is the worst of the Twelve Great Cultivation Colleges, but they are strange, especially the Engineering department. Since you can inscribe working sigils, Northern College might not care about you being unable to Cultivate. However, Black Turtle College would never accept you."
"Raymon, whether you can Cultivate or not, you will still have to participate in the sparring portion of the exam. It will be an elimination tournament that includes all applicants to determine the strongest of the applicants. The Tokugawa scions, who attacked you and Hoshi, will be participating. What do you plan to do if you encounter them?" The wrongness in the Principals aura grows with each word. Whatever he is lying about seems to be related to the sparring.
I shrug. "Kill any of them that were in Shizukana Gake."
The principal reveals a frown that is at odds with the elation in his aura and scent. "I cannot fault you for that, but you should try to make it look like an accident. I could not give up my clan's name, but luckily, Hanazawa is a rather common surname. The Tokugawa clan should have no idea of my real identity. Since the Tokugawa clan leadership should be unaware my origin, they would never expect my students to target their clan."
Vorn frowns. "Old man, don't be a fool. I would be amazed if the Tokugawa clan did not know who you are. This may be the weakest empire on the Great Plateau, but that does not mean that one of its major clans would be incompetent at gathering intelligence. If they were, they would have fallen long ago."
Standing near the door, Kuroki glares and Vorn and tenses his muscles. As I turn toward him and feed Trinity into my awareness. the Pneuma around Kuroki takes on an oppressive air. His glare fades, and a look of uncertainty and uneasiness replaces it.
"Raymon, please. Kuroki meant no harm. He is overly loyal to me, and Prince Vorn's attitude did not sit well with him." Surprise bordering on shock fills Principal Hanazawa's scent and aura.
Both the Mind and Soul contribute to a being's aura, but unlike emotions, thoughts to not do not leak past the borders of the Mind. At least, nothing I have encountered has it thought seep past its Mind's boundaries. However, as I touch Principal's Hanazawa's Mind with a Telepathy thread, his surface thoughts become clear.
How does this brat have such a strong soul? He is not even a proper Cultivator, but he is projecting an aura. If he has any proper soul attacks, I might not be a match for him. At least he is a dumb as a real Beast. I can easily manipulate him into serving as my weapon. With his bad reputation and that gaijin Jones backing him up, no one will eve think I fired him of like bullet.
As I focus my awareness into the Telepathy thread, my consciousness becomes less attached to my Body, and time seems to slow down to a crawl. My thread slips beneath the surface of the Principal's Mind, but his Mind shows no signs of be aware of its presence. A Mind operating primarily within the Eidos has obvious advantages over one limited by its attachments to the Body, and his memories begin to open up before me. Even with the speed at which my Mind is functioning, it still takes several long seconds to find what I seek.
* * * * *
In his office, Principal Hanazawa sat behind his desk, and Kuroki sat in one of the two armchairs in front of it. A privacy ward blocked scrying and completely prevented any sounds from escaping the office.
"How did that brat from the Okada clan run into those Tokugawa bastards?" Anger and frustration filled the Principal, making his question have the tone of an angry accusation.
Kuroki bows his head before the Principal. "Apologies, Hanazawa-sama. The City Lord had done nothing to rein in the activities of the Tokugawas, and the fat slob had gone to gawk at the battleship."
Principal Hanazawa gnashed his teeth. "That useless coward. If Otoko no Kage wasn't a half, the City Lord would never be the one to sit on the throne of his clan. What is the condition of the Okada brat?"
Kuroki kept his head bowed. "Fujiwara-sensei said that he will probably never walk without a cane. The damage is to the leg is beyond his abilities to fully repair. The Okada clan would need to find a Natural Treasure with very strong healing properties to restore the leg, but even if they do, they will never do so before the entrance exams."
Principal Hanazawa wondered if it had been a mistake to leak information about the Okada brat and the gaijin Engineer's animalistic brat to the Tokugawa clan, but what was done was done. He could only continue with the plan he had set in motion. He needed to point the wild animal in the direction of the Tokugawa clan's younger generation and let kill as many as possible.
* * * * *
The Principal appears to be a completely different type of person from what I had believed, but most humans are snakes and scorpions at heart. There is no reason to be surprised that he dangles his students as bait. I have no problems with killing a few of the Tokugawa clan. I have already decided on killing the okama, but the Principal needs to pay for his part in Hoshi being attacked. He used to be an annoying means to end, but now, he is prey. Once the entrance exams are over, I will deal with him. The question is do I kill him myself or feed him to the Tokugawa clan?
No, Old Man Jones is still experimenting on Cultivators to better understand how Cultivation works and what Yuan Qi does to a human Body. I should get him to use the Principal as a test subject for a lethal experiment.
I do not let my thoughts show on my face. "Don't worry Principal. If the Tokugawa scions run into me, they Tokugawa clan will be loosing an heir or two."
