Chương 33: Chapter 32

Cal was surprised that the shop was open when he arrived there. He was tempted to go in. Instead, he slapped his forehead. He'd forgotten to get cash from Olivia. He'd need to start writing it on his palm at this rate. There wasn't any public seating, so he was left sulking in an alley. It had been a long day, and the only thing he wanted to do now was lay in the comfortable dorm bed. He heard footsteps and looked up to find Lily joining him in the alley. She pointed up and leaped in that direction.

He followed after her, traveling for some time before stopping on what looked to be a random rooftop. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. Seemingly satisfied, she closed the distance.

"Is your friend okay?" He nodded.

"Good, now what the hells did you do?" She said in a harsh whisper. Cal knew this line of questioning was inevitable. That didn't mean he'd decided what he was going to tell her. Seeing his lack of response, she pressed on.

"Where is Petro?"

"I don't know." The words came out on reflex, and she glowered at him.

"Do you want to try that again?" Cal chewed on the inside of his cheek, deciding to try being vague.

"He won't be a problem."

"You think I don't get that." She pulled on his collar, bringing him down to her level.

"I'm asking where the body is at?" This girl was taking the potential slaying of a classmate fairly well.

"He won't be a problem," Cal reiterated.

"Stop speaking in riddles. I need to know exactly what you did, or else this whole thing could collapse on our heads." She leaned closer in, sniffing him and recoiling back.

"What is that?" Lennard had been kind enough to give him an impromptu shower. It wasn't enough.

"There's no body. Burned it to ash." Realistically, Cal couldn't see the girl dropping the matter.

"He was keeping her in some underground level. Dealt with him there and damaged the wall. It's covered in a foot of raw sewage right now."

"Witnesses?" She asked, studying him intently.

"There were some guards; dealt with them as well." Or his compatriots did. Close enough. He technically ordered them anyway.

"All of them?" There was anxiety in her tone.

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah." He was confident about the captain and friends dealing with any loose ends.

"No one saw you? What about your friend? Where is she now?" She questioned without pause.

"I didn't leave any witnesses, and she's fine." Cal looked in a random direction, pretending that was where she was.

"Sent her back to her place to recover." His hastily put-on tie slipped through her fingers, and she grabbed his wrist instead.

"We need to go now," she said while tugging on him.

"There's going to be an investigation. I know some places in the city where other students hang out. We're going to go there and do a horrible job at being discreet. We're going to get wasted, and by tomorrow the entire school will know we spent the night partying. Got it?" An alibi? That wasn't a bad idea. Even so, he hesitated. If the past was any indication, this type of story would certainly be effective. He could also see it cause a host of other problems down the line.

Eh, it couldn't be any worse than being accused of murder. Cal woke up with a pounding headache. That was his first hint something had gone horribly wrong. Not the headache, the waking up. His magic surged through him, and he bolted up from where he had been lying. Only to lose his footing and fall from the sofa and onto the ground. He blinked away the blurriness and found himself staring at the familiar ceiling of his dorm. He laid on his back, taking some deep breaths. He was fine.

He was stupid for somehow letting his guard down, but he was fine. Sitting up, he found the coffee table occupied by the collapsed form of Lily. She was drooling on it. Foggy memories surfaced. He could use his augmentation to stave off the effects of poisons, which included alcohol. Lily had noticed he wasn't getting properly hammered and deduced what he was doing. Somehow her taunts had goaded him into proving he didn't need it to handle his liquor. Cal gave an audible groan. Of all the stupid things to do.

At least, from what he remembered, nothing incriminating was said. His sound stirred Lily, who turned and fell off the table and onto him. He unceremoniously threw her away. The landing further woke her up. She got to her hands and knees. The skin of her face took on an unhealthy shade.

"I would appreciate you not soiling our carpet." An icy voice cut through the room. Cal's head slowly moved to see Alice sitting at the desk, looking none too amused.

"Would either of you care to explain yourselves?" Cal looked to Lily, who dashed into Alice's room. Soon after, he could hear her retching in the bathroom. Alice raised an eyebrow towards him, expecting a response. He pointed at the door Lily had fled to.

"It's her fault." Let it be known that Cal was not above throwing others under the bus. She crossed her arms, unimpressed with him.

"I presume your carefree attitude means Emily is safe." He got up, stretching out. His limbs felt funny after sleeping in a strange position.

"Yeah, she's fine. Resting up at home." Her expression softened.

"I'm glad. She should never have been put in that position."

"However," her voice carried a sense of severity with it.

"I do need to ask how that came to be. We learned of her captivity during our sit-down, yet by the time we left, you were already missing. If it wasn't for your prowess, I would have feared your abduction as well." No worries there; he'd gone very willingly.

"One of her regulars noticed her missing and sent me a letter. I traveled straight to the city after reading it." He lied easily.

"Your worry was justified. I won't fault you there. That being said, what you did was reckless. I understand that in the past you may have acted on your own. That is no longer your situation; you should have consulted me. I would have provided my aid."

"Sorry," he scratched his head sheepishly. He couldn't explain that he had an entire team at his back.

"I wasn't in the most rational of moods."

"I won't begrudge you for it. Ancestors know I've had the same tendencies. I simply want to provide a reminder that you are not alone." Cal stood there awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Lily's entrance saved him from formulating a reply.

"Phew." She rejoined them.

"That feels a lot better." Her appearance remained in disarray, but she was otherwise in good spirits.

"What are we talking about?" Alice held his eye for a moment before addressing her.

"I was about to inquire on what transpired last night. Specifically in regards to Petro."

"We don't have to worry about him." Lily waved off her concerns.

"The dinner I just gave up is joining whatever's left of him." Cal thought that was an eloquent way of putting it.

"Elaborate," Alice asked, her tone conveying the seriousness of the request. Lily took a seat on the couch and recapped Cal's version of events.

"I see," Alice said after digesting the information.

"Given the circumstances, I can't say I disapprove." Wow, two for two there. He was on a roll. He'd pegged Lily to be a tad cavalier with life, but he'd not expected Alice to share that attitude. Though, come to think of it, at their first meeting, she did try to roast him.

"Don't be overly astonished." Something must have shown on his face.

"Father believes he has been successful in shielding me from the worst of our situation. He is wrong, even if I allow him to maintain his delusion," she said tersely before giving him a searching look.

"Curious, you do not appear to be as distraught as someone who has taken their first life." Cal's mind didn't have to work hard for a reason.

"You've seen what Emily is like. Not everyone knows how to take 'no' for an answer." Lily hummed in understanding while Alice grimaced. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Understood, there is no use belaboring over what has occurred. We need to discuss our next steps. We must prepare for the scrutiny that will befall us." She gave a sigh.

"I will write to Mother again. We'll relocate Emily to our estate. There we can shield her from the prying eyes of the Justiciars."

"Not happening." He shut down that line of thought.

"I realize you're fond of her presence. I ask you to set those feelings aside. When it comes to commoners without backings, the Justiciars can be forceful in the methods."

"She won't go for it." Cal shook his head.

"Emily is a stubborn girl. The second you try to explain it, she'll see it as running away and refuse." The rebuttal Alice had prepared looked to be stuck in her throat. Lily took the opportunity to interject.

"She's helped you clean things up before. Hasn't she?" That was her entire job.

"Emily can handle herself." He gave a non-committal answer. The girls shared a look and nodded to each other.

"So be it. I'll extend the offer as a matter of courtesy. The decision itself will be left in her hands. On the more fortunate side of things, the prudent action you two undertook for what I presume and hope was an alibi has proven effective." Cal didn't like the sound of that.

"How effective are we talking about?" He asked warily. The smile forming on her lips did little to alleviate him. — The sun was brighter than it ought to have been. It probably wasn't, but it sure felt that way.

"I believe we agreed upon an earlier meeting." Marcus was already on the training grounds. Trident sunk into the ground beside him; he had his arms crossed and regarded Cal with narrow eyes. Whoever's genius idea it was to schedule this now should take a long walk off a short bridge. Could Lily swim? He wasn't sure. Maybe he'd toss her into the ocean as hard as he could and find out. It wasn't solely drunk Lily's fault. Drunk Cal had agreed with her assessment.

No guilty person in their right mind would set up a training session the day after they disappeared someone. Especially when the training partner was well familiar with the missing person. Well, they certainly weren't in their right mind. Sober Cal saw the logic. That didn't stop him from wanting to throttle both of their past drunk selves. Neither of them had initially remembered the conversation, so he only found out after he plugged in his phone and saw a message asking if there had been a change in plans.

"Sorry, it was a late night," Cal supplied, hoping they could quickly move past it.

"I've heard." His expression remained unreadable. It didn't stop Cal from feeling the disapproval.

"It seems there is work to be done with teaching you how to comport yourself as a noble." Marcus' nose twitched as he neared. Cal had reason to believe he was the cause. He'd already been late, so he had to run over before having the chance to take a shower.

"Did you encounter anyone on your way here?"

"No, campus is pretty dead." Because rational people were sleeping at this time on a Saturday morning.

"Fortunate, remember to use the facilities here before leaving. You have a strong odor. It makes me believe more spirits were spilled on you than ingested." Again, drunk Lily. The sewers were unsanitary, so of course it made perfect sense to disinfect by dumping alcohol on him. Had they not been nobles, he was sure they would have been thrown out on their ass. He made a note to take some time and send an apology letter.

"Catch," Cal said while tossing a small pouch over. Marcus received it, earning a jingle from its contents. He opened it, holding out his palm and letting some of the bells roll onto it. They were crude things, created out of cutlery by Lily. She'd not asked what they had been for.

"Go ahead and tie them to your clothes," Cal pointed to sections of his body.

"About here, here, here-" The bag dropped to the floor, the bells scattering on the ground.

"I was under the assumption you were sincere in your offer," Marcus leveled a harsh gaze towards him.

"Yet you appear to be making a jester of me." Huh, guess it did look that way. In fairness, he had no idea if this was going to work.

"I'm being serious; look here." Cal stepped forward and crouched by them. He gathered some together. There was a pin on one side, letting him hook it onto his clothes. He secured several on his chest, sleeves, and collar. Tugging on a few, he made sure they wouldn't fall out on their own. Satisfied, he rose to his full height.

"Go ahead and try stabbing me." Marcus didn't waste a moment hesitating, the trident finding its way to his hands and piercing towards Cal. Cal didn't move a step, instead angling his body slightly for the trident to miss its mark. The weapon retracted, and Marcus' mood didn't seem to have changed. Cal let out a large exhale, unclipping one of the ones on his chest and holding it out for the man.

"Put this on, right where I put on mine." To his credit, Marcus didn't immediately rebuff him this time. Having realized there was a method to the madness.

"I'm going to attack you now," Cal informed once the bell was in place. His spear moved forward laggardly. The speed of it was a shadow of what Marcus had displayed. It was to neither of their amazement when it too missed its intended target. Marcus stared down at his chest. His eyes trailed up to Cal. Without asking, he launched another attack that Cal dodged in turn. A few more came. The only sound in the field was the swishing of the wind and the jingling of bells.

Silence descended as Marcus retracted his trident and rested it against the floor. A frown was on his face.

"Wind magic?" The tone of the question showed his doubtfulness. Cal shook his head in response.

"Sound? Metal?" He gave the same reply to both.

"Do you get it now?" Cal asked, hoping he'd not have to explain it. The more he talked, the greater chance his bullshit would be exposed.

"They're to track your movements," Marcus spoke after gathering his thoughts.

"The larger your actions, the louder they ring." Cal gave him a thumbs up, confirming his deduction.

"Yep, all that extra noise you generated compared to me? That means I'm using fewer moves to get the same effect."

"That is certainly a peculiar method of training." Marcus' voice was laced with intrigue.

"Where did you learn this?" A cartoon from a past life, was not the answer he was going to provide. Not that anyone would believe him.

"I tried a lot of things growing up. Not all of it stuck, but this one did." He'd never had a teacher, so his magic and combat skills were self-taught. He didn't know how to go about it when he was younger and, for lack of a better option, ended up copying whatever he remembered from old cartoons. The vast majority did not work, and several of them... suffice it to say it was a good thing he couldn't die. This was one of the few he saw benefit in.

Cal could never get the bells to be silent without cheating; however, the practice of trying to did wonders for improving his skill at dodging. Whether it would work for someone else... well, it was better than his backup plan of chucking the noble deep into the Waste.

"I see. It seems I judged you rashly." His eyes turned to Cal's spear. He flipped the trident, using the dull end to nudge Cal's grip lower.

"Placement is important for controlling your thrust. You've displayed adequate dexterity, so it should be a simple matter of familiarizing yourself with the forms." The butt of the trident shifted lower and drew a line in the ground.

"Your stance will be critical; you tend to favor a narrow one. It needs to be roughly this wide." He tapped the line. Cal shifted his feet to the desired width. He then gestured to the other bells that had remained discarded on the floor.

"Let's get those on, then you can show me the rest while wearing them. Kill two birds with one stone."

"I'm not sure what your aversion to avians is, but I agree it will be wise to practice both simultaneously. Perhaps it will lead to an improvement in my own spearmanship." Cal let out a snicker, much to Marcus' confusion.

"Thought you said a trident was completely different to a spear." Marcus looked to have swallowed a lemon.