Chương 36: One more word and I’ll confiscate your ferrum golem model

What made you interested in Earth Thaumaturgy? It was such a straightforward question, but it hit like a stone dropped into still water. The answer he'd prepared, something about 'resonance potential' or 'technical alignment with his aetheric attributes,' dissolved on his tongue. Those were things Greg would say. Real reasons. Scholarly reasons. But his weren't.

"I..." He glanced down at his satchel.

"I think it started when I smashed my face into a stack of pebbles." Anabeth covered her snicker with the back of her hand. Hajin raised one eyebrow. Konan asked, "Elaborate, please." He scratched his cheek and began, "I was small and not particularly good at sitting still. My mother would bring me to the shrine every third day. It wasn't far from where we lived. She'd go there to offer rites, talk with the others, help tend the devotional circles. You know, grown-up stuff."

He then rubbed his knuckles along the edge of his satchel strap.

"Sometimes, my sister would be there with me, but often there weren't any other kids. So I'd just... run around. I tried to find something to do. At first I chased the temple cats, but they didn't like being chased. Then I tried sneaking after birds, but they always flew off. One time I ran after a rodent and tripped, and, um, s mashed my face straight into a pile of pebbles. I thought I broke my nose. But when I looked up—right in front of me, there was this bit of quartz. It had caught the sun just right.

It glowed like it had its own light." He glanced up.

"I think that was the first time I realized rocks could be... beautiful. Not just heavy or boring or in the way. So I started collecting them. I didn't know it had anything to do with magic back then. I just knew it felt important to pick them up." There was a pause.

"Now I know," he added, "some of them remember being picked up." There was an even longer pause. Finally, Anabeth added, "That is a considerably finer answer than mine!" Konan stared at him for another moment, enough for anxiety to ripple within him again. Finally, she gave a small nod.

"You seem to have a talent for poetic mnemonics, at least. But you should remember there isn't much for you to do here. We are involved heavily with theoretical categorization and mapping the muddy frameworks of the strata, and unfortunately it is not something the current leadership is willing to spend resources on."

"I understand." That again. Rocks have their innate attributes—stable, durable, immune to flux. People use them for everything from crafted wards to environmental stabilization, even culinary alchemy. Yet because they didn't leap around dramatically when exposed to aether, the Synod treated them like an afterthought. He looked past Konan, to the rows of stacked spell-maps and theory scrolls gathering dust in the alcove.

Half of these structures held the key to resonance stabilization, or at least stopping the Synod buildings from collapsing from time to time. But sure. Flashy gusts and flame glyphs.

"You can come to Professor Cakil if you need resources!" Anabeth added.

"He left the Wing specifically to secure a larger grant. Assuming, of course, that you possess the necessary tolerance for soil analysis and botanical surveys—" Hajin and Konan coughed at the same time. Anabeth pressed her lips together and made an X sign in front of her mouth. Konan said, "We give our students a hand-made hat. I'll get you one." And with that, she turned and began descending the stairwell again. Within a moment, she was gone.

"A hat?" Fabrisse asked. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Hajin offered the faintest shrug.

"She makes them with claybound linen and rune-stamps them herself. Excellent durability, those hats."

"But where's yours?"

"Good question." He proceeded to not answer the question.

"He's lost it again." Anabeth pointed accusingly.

"This is the third one."

"Second."

"Third."

"Second."

"Third." Fabrisse looked between them. Anabeth folded her arms.

"For the record, I still possess every Archive hat I have ever received. I've got seven because Exemplar Kann just trusts me with her hats that much."

"She'll be your senior partner for fieldwork," Hajin changed the subject. Anabeth beamed.

"I will?"

"You're the only other junior researcher in the Wing."

"That sounds less impressive when you say it like that." Then Hajin turned back to Fabrisse, "And no, Kestovar, you may not request a change." The Geology Wing seemed woefully understaffed. This was the first department he'd seen that appeared to be doing useful work, and apparently it was being operated by one researcher who lost hats and another who collected them. Before Fabrisse could respond, Anabeth sidled up beside him, craning her head back to meet his eyes. Hajin was already sighing. She thrust out a hand.

"Hello! Proper introduction this time. In case you've forgotten, my name is Anabeth von Silberthal—Junior Researcher, acting curator of the mineral cabinets whenever Researcher Min forgets they exist, assistant cataloguer, field assistant, and now your senior partner." Fabrisse stared at the offered hand before cautiously shaking it.

"Fabrisse Kestovar."

"Lovely to meet you! If you need anything at all, you can come to me. Professor Kann usually puts me in charge of helping new students find things because Min has a habit of pointing vaguely at shelves and calling it instruction. There aren't many students in the Wing, so this will be the first time I actually do the onboarding, but I assure you I've prepared for it extensively. I even drafted a checklist and color-coded it. You seem to be the type to prefer your entries color-coded. Do you, Kestovar?

Lugano says you do."

"Wait—""You're Liene Lugano's friend, aren't you? She mentioned a boy named Fabrisse once or twice. Well, perhaps more than twice. Anyway, when Min said your name I thought, surely that can't be the same Fabrisse, but then I remembered there probably aren't many Fabrisses around. It's an unusually distinctive name, I must say. I mean, I've met four Elrics, three Thomases, two Mirelles, two Mirelleses, but only one Fabrisse.

Statistically speaking, having two Fabrisses enrolled in the same academy would be extraordinarily unlikely unless there were some strange naming trend I'd somehow missed, which I don't think I have because I rather enjoy keeping track of names—" Fabrisse found himself nodding politely despite having lost the thread several sentences ago. Hajin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Miss von Silberthal."

"Yes? Oh! I neglected to mention that Hajin is also a rather distinctive name." She turned back to Fabrisse before Hajin could object.

"Would you believe that, in his culture, it's actually considered a feminine name? He also once explained the etymology to me, though I confess I only remembered about eighty percent of it, and—""Miss von Silberthal." Hajin's voice became unnaturally calm.

"One more word and I'll confiscate your ferrum golem model." Anabeth snapped her mouth shut, whispering from the corner of her mouth.

"... Understood." Hajin continued, "Show Kestovar the classification annex. He can begin with the introductory quartz catalogues. It will help him acclimatize. Please try not to corrupt the apprentice before lunchtime."

"Can I talk now?" Anabeth asked meekly.

"Only if it concerns thaumaturgy." Anabeth nodded so vigorously her braid bounced against her shoulder. Hajin turned to Fabrisse and said, "Welcome to the Wing of Substratal Studies. You'll want to keep your boots clean." Then he turned and began walking away with his hands folded behind his back. The movement possessed an almost unreasonable level of confidence. That was such a cool line, Fabrisse thought.

"Mmm, Researcher Min?" Anabeth called after him. He stopped. Slowly, he turned his head.

"Yes?" Anabeth raised her hand.

"Could you demonstrate the first assignment for us?"

"... For us?"

"Yes."

"You completed this exercise four years ago."

"I forgot how to teach it to other people." Fabrisse watched something inside Hajin's soul age visibly. Then the Magus Assistant sighed.

"Very well." Hajin's cool moment lasted approximately four seconds.