Aradia almost vomited.
This was her first time ever since coming to this world being teleported and she hates it already
Similarly enough, Ming Baishi was leaning onto the wall like his life depended on it
Lir looked at them sheepishly
"I may have forgotten to warn you two about the side effects-"
'No shit, Sherlock'
'who-'
"Ahm-"
Aradia cleared her throat and looked at the two of them. Her dorm was already white as a ghost and now with these two added, it looked like heaven or something
Aradia let out a long suffering sigh. This would be hell, she knew it
While, yes, teleportation was a way to get this.. what was this even ? A mission?
'a side quest it is then'
Proud of her naming skills, she continued to think of the bigger problem at hand
Teleportation works, but it is not ideal by any means and seeing as the side effects are so bad, yeah, she does not, in the slightest, want to experience that ever again
That means she had to go with plan-B, which is a very risky one
She knows for a fact that, thanks to her being a student, it will be hard to do anything outside of the academy
But if it is a fellow student she is with, things may be easier
Or in simpler words, Ming Baishi is going to pretend to be a student at Rain Academy
Does not sound too impossible.. right?
Well.., Aradia did a once over of Ming Baishi from head to toe
He definitely has the young scholar aura, but the tricky part is definitely going to be to make him look like he belongs here
This is the Western Region, most people are on the slightly tanner side, especially people of the academy, who spend so much time training every day
And then this guy is as pale as a ghost, wonderful
But that is not even the biggest problem, the biggest thing is that Aradia has no way to get him a male school uniform
She could technically ask Isaac, but.. yeah, these two have vastly different builds, never mind then
So that plus the fact she needs someone else to help her out, to make it believable to everyone else he is an actual student here- realistically, it will not too hard because there are thousands of students here, it is not hard to find new faces every day. But still, she needs help and needs someone who also knows his way around the Western Region because Aradia is as lost as one can be every day
And so, there is no better person for the task then the protagonist of this novel-
'is it really a novel since I now live and breath with them?'
Astolfo. The sage haired, half mage, half swordmaster
"Astolfo"
"Hey"
"Come in"
"How are you feeling now? Last I saw you, you looked like- who is that..?"
"Ah, that- we will get to that, sit down first"
It was awkward. Very awkward. Ming Baishi sitting opposite of Astolfo and Aradia standing on the side, and of course, Lir is floating around in the air like he isn't shocking the poor guy more than he already is shocked
"So- just ask"
Aradia gave up explaining
".. Is that an actual spirit?"
"Yes, his name is Lir. Water spirit and my.. mentor"
Astolfo's month was hung wide, his pupils blown, it was obvious he was surprised to the core, who would not be though?
"And this gentleman is..?"
"Ming Baishi, from the Eastern Region"
Aradia gave another sigh
"Alright, so basically, I met him on the edge of the Magic forest, he will help us find the Shattered sword and well- I met Lir before I arrived at the academy"
Lir raised a brow at the lie but didn't say anything
"Huh?"
After what felt like an eternity, she finally explained everything. Of course, many details were left out, such as the fact Lir went with them to the Illusion mansion or the fact he is actually mentoring Clara as well and many, many more details
"So what you are saying is, this man, Ming Baishi, is going to help us, two students plus a spirit, find the Shattered sword in return for us to help him and you want me to help him pretend to be a student here?"
"That sums it up pretty much"
Aradia's voice was a little rough from talking for so long already
"This is crazy"
"Trust me. I know. Take your time, I'll get you some water"
"Thank you.."
Astolfo looked over at Ming Baishi who has just been silently listening to everything up until now, he did not utter a single word
And then he looked over at Lir, he had decided floating was annoying and was now sitting on the couch as well in his normal size
Astolfo felt like this was a fever dream, he would wake up eventually, right? Right...?
Seems not, if the cold water going down his throat is anything to go off of
"So, what is the plan?"
He finally asked. He still did not understand why him, why did Aradia choose to tell him of all people about something so important
She could have told her sister, brother, anyone but she chose him, she probably has a reason for it
And he was right, Aradia did a reason for choosing him. She would have preferred to choose Clara but here is the thing: Astolfo is the protagonist, that is an important point to not forget
If she does this, they will become companies, meaning in the up coming events of the novel, she won't have to fight tooth and nail to survive
And the bigger part? He would have discovered the Shattered sword later anyway, by doing this, she is avoiding causing major changes in the storyline
Because there are already enough changes as is, she does not need more to be added
"For the time being, we first need to make him-"
Aradia pointed at Ming Baishi. He is definitely older then her and yet she was being this disrespectful.. it was certainly a funny sight
"-look like he is an actual student here. Which means, for a little bit he needs to go around the academy and also attend your classes, otherwise the rest of the plan will go up in flames"
Astolfo thought about it for some time, from what Aradia had said, since each year's student needs to turn in a project or study at the end of the year, you can work in pairs or groups as well-, she wants the three of them to pair up, or if that cannot happen, at least Astolfo and Ming Baishi can pair up
If the latter happens, she said they would get Isaac involved as well and work as a big group out side of the academy
Aradia had no clue about this system in the beginning. It seems like a pretty fun one, however, even though students are allowed to travel outside for their projects, they are still required to take lessons via magic infused video communication gadgets
This era, despite being a mediaeval setting, is truly far advanced then one would imagine
"And what do I have to do?"
"Excellent question, let him borrow a few of your informs, take him to class, do not, let him out of your sight"
Aradia made big emphasis on the last part, she had no intentions of this lunatic running wild or even worse running away. She was doing a lot of work because of this side quest, alright?!
And yes, Aradia has started to refer to Ming Baishi as a "lunatic" because his actions make no sense but here she is, making a plan
"That seems easy enough"
Aradia was surprised by Astolfo's response, she had expected him to grimace or something along those emotions
"Really?"
"Yes, like you know, the academy has a lot of students, it is not uncommon to come across new faces and names, even teachers do not question it, and thanks to that, it will be fairly easy"
Aradia sighed softly, that is great then
"I have some questions"
A smooth, yet cold voice sounded in the room. Ming Baishi had finally spoken
"What is it?"
'This disrespectful punk-'
Ming Baishi thought to himself before taking a deep breath. Calm down, calm down, calm down-
"When did I agree to this arrangement?"
Astolfo looked at Aradia, while Aradia looked at Ming Baishi in confusion
"You said you would help us find the sword, no?"
"Yes, but not like this!"
This was truely frustrating. Ming Baishi, a prim and proper young scholar, was raising his voice- it may as well be a blue moon
"Well, you should have thought of that before making a deal with a student!"
Aradia also raised her voice
"Calm down"
A lazy yet youthful voice sounded, it was Lir
Astolfo, who had not even spoken, shut him mouth harder
An actual spirit spoke in front of him! It was the first time he felt this excited
"If you will not agree to these arrangements, then I am afraid we cannot help you"
Aradia said with a "matter-of-fact" like voice
Ming Baishi sat frozen for a few seconds before signing
"Very well then.."
"Great! Let us start the mission: project sword"
"Please never name anything again"
Aradia looked at Lir annoyed
"Shut up. It is not like you will be able to do me one better"
"Oh I so can-"
"Enough"
Ming Baishi's voice shut them up
'this is so stupid-'
Ming Baishi could not help but sigh again, he has a feeling it is only the beginning
.
.
.
.
"What do you mean you felt an "unknown" energy at the sight?!"
"I'm being honest Mei"
Ellen signed for the third time in a row
They were still going over the Illusion mansion disaster
Ellen had felt it the moment he arrived at the site but he could not speak about it until now
He stared daggers into the report in front of him, that was the report he is supposed to turn in to the higher ups
Writing about this "anomaly" will cause chaos all over again. The Violet witch.. even though her Illusion mansion is basically a death trap, thanks to her, they never had to worry about the Magic forest being a threat
The sudden order to get ride of her was like a strike of lightning. Ellen had tried many times for the higher ups to think it over, but, in the end it was to avail
It was a risky thing to do, especially with students but everything turned out well, right? Oh how he hopes it would have
The very moment Ellen reached the demolished Illusion mansion, he left uneasy, it was like an uncanny force was there but he just could not see it
Afterwards, he did not have the time or energy to check it out
Thus, here he is with Mei, who also needs to turn in her report, talking about it
"For the time being, let us not report this"
It was not a suggestion, it was a statement
Mei felt conflicted. She was someone who followed rules like lifelines, unlike a certain white haired teacher ahm- but she also knows that it will probably be the best thing to do, at least for now
Until everything eventually calms down, it is better not add more fuel to the fire
"Alright.. I'll trust you with this one"
Ellen nodded and then added:
"Thank you"
Mei was surprised. It was very uncharacteristic of THE Ellen to thank someone
"Are you okay..?"
Ellen looked at her with a death stare
"Are you serious right now?"
"I'm just asking-"
"Forgot it"
They sat there quietly for a few seconds
"I will get going, I still have things to do, unlike you"
Mei teased him with a wide grin
"Yah!"
Ellen threw a pillow from the couch as she ran out
"Tch... idiot"
Ellen smiled softly
Bonus:
Ellen: being an atheist has gotten boring so I have decided that I will now be God
Mei: for fucks sake- IT'S 3 IN THE MORNING ELLEN
to be continued...
Hey~ it's me Yan, and would you look at that? I'm actually on time for once!
It was very hard to get this chapter done, I mean- literally wrote 1k words two days before I need to post and did the rest yesterday
Today was the final read through and I'm finally done
Was the cramming ideal with two weeks worth of time? Absolutely not but life is a bitch and I'm losing it ✨
I got a bunch of new cycle/hormone medication because both have been all over the place and my god- I feel like I'm going to fall asleep standing with how strong the medication is bruh
Also: my parents are hell bent on putting me in coaching and tomorrow a new hell will start for me.. wonderful
Why do I exist? Just to suffer
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it
Once again please forgive this lowly author for any grammatical errors
Have a good day, afternoon, evening or night
And i will see you all after two weeks, on a Sunday
Peace
Words: 2,233