"Partner, tell me, have you ever had any friends?"
"That's a rather unexpected question from you. Why do you need an answer?"
"Other than to satisfy my curiosity? No reason."
Castor tore his gaze away from the computer screen, where he was watching videos on the history of ancient China, paused the playback, and looked out the window. The stars were shining especially brightly in this area, unobscured by the lights of the big city. That was another reason why he had chosen this particular area. The beautiful endless sky, covered with lights whose light had travelled millions of light years. The splendour of the cosmos in all its glory.
Getting up from the table, the guy walked over to the window next to the bed and leaned on the windowsill with both hands.
"Did I have friends? Yes...
Ddraiga was interested in this question for several reasons. Apart from simple curiosity, the dragon might have decided that, judging by Brinel's manner of speech and behaviour, he had never had any such people in his life. The lizard spirit was right, but only partially: the mage did not always behave that way and did not always fight for the future of his kind. Of course, during his life in the Guilds of Arcanum and the Inquisition, he could not have had any friends. Apart from his sister and an old friend, no one had any contact with the "anomaly" and "abomination." But if you count the various interrogations and experiments as "contacts," then he had many companions. And before the age of fourteen... there were six children whom he could call close friends.
"The Dark Dawn is not the best time to make friends, but that's when I found a couple of friends," Castor's smile lost all its warmth and dropped slightly, becoming sad. "There was Ulgrim. There was Creed. The first was a legendary demigod who had existed on Kairn for a very long time, and the second was practically the last inquisitor and a reasonable man who didn't look at me like I was a spawn of the abyss.
"A demigod and an inquisitor... For some reason, I'm not very surprised by such acquaintances."
"Ulgrim always tried to be cheerful and lively, despite his past lives and the apocalyptic atmosphere around him," Castor closed his eyes, his voice filled with sadness. "Everywhere and always, he managed to find positive moments and opportunities to lift spirits.
"Crid, though..." Brinel opened his eyes and looked at the crescent moon. "He had the ability to remain calm and think even in the most critical situations. And he had an unconventional way of thinking," the smile became much warmer. "He was one of the few minds that managed to survive the horrors of the Dark Dawn without serious consequences.
Brinel respected Creed for this very resilience, as well as for his flexible mind. It was this that helped them, as it seemed at the time, to break the back of the Ethereal invasion by striking at its heart. But there were only a few dozen hearts, and too few humans left to continue the fight. To put it bluntly, they were slaughtered.
And if you ask about Ulgrim... Castor considered him a true friend. Two men whose nature was constantly questioned by others. Two beings misunderstood by others who found support in each other. Truly, only such people could find a common language, especially when the world around you does not notice you and your destiny.
"They died, didn't they?"
"Krid — yes," Castor sighed sadly and closed his eyes. "He stayed behind to defend the gate, buying time for the evacuation of the civilians. When Ulgrim and I returned from our mission, we found the fortress in ruins, the Ethereals dead, and the Inquisitor's body torn apart.
"I don't know anything about Ulgrim. At some point..." Brinel exhaled and opened his eyes. His smile became tense. "He disappeared. Without a trace, and even search rituals didn't help find him. Is he dead forever or has he gone to rebirth...
"He couldn't... convert?" Ddraig asked cautiously, causing discontent, fear, and anxiety to rise within Castor.
"Well, he could have been captured by the Ethereals or twisted by Chaos, couldn't he?"
"No. For our common good," Brinel replied harshly, in a tone that did not invite further questions. The mage did not want to know what would happen if Ulgrim sided with the enemy... Brinel did not even plan to make theoretical calculations. He did not want to be overcome by paranoia and healthy fears.
***
"I never thought I'd spend the whole night watching videos about ancient Chinese culture," Ddraig muttered discontentedly. At that moment, Castor could easily imagine a dragon sulking and crossing his arms over his chest.
"My goal is to absorb and contemplate the culture of another parallel humanity in order to enrich my own knowledge and satisfy my hunger for information."
Brinel adjusted his academic jacket and straightened his shoulders. His eyes were hidden from the world behind dark glasses, and he quickly came up with a reason for wearing them. A congenital vision disorder associated with increased sensitivity to light. This easily concealed the fact that his eyes were not from the normal world. But why did he need this, and why the uniform? It was simple — an impossible combination of events, probabilities and planetary phases had once again worked in his favour. A miracle, to put it simply. He had been accepted into the Kuo Academy. It wasn't free, but the magician had money.
"Just look at that!" exclaimed Ddraig in his heart, having the opportunity to see through his eyes. In the dragon's tone, Castor could hear notes that were unpleasant to him.
"So many females! And so many different ones! Look at that dyed blonde, and that natural brunette! Look at those curves!"
"Explain to me, from what part of Mogdrogen did you bring up this topic?" Castor ignored the surprised looks directed at him. And not just surprised, but the kind of looks that would only appeal to red-faced perverted lizards who hadn't finished puberty even after thousands of years.
"And with a woman like that, you need a woman!" — Ddraig said in a tone as if he were stating the obvious. — "More muscular, so that, as one of my carriers said, they can hold a mug of beer in one hand and a woman's tit in the other!"
Castor stopped silently in the middle of the stone path and closed his eyes. Slowly drawing in a breath, he calmed his mind and instincts, which were demanding release. And not the kind that some prehistoric fossils thought it was. Yes, that was exactly what Ddraig was.
"That's a barbaric and inappropriate form of entertainment," Castor replied coldly and continued walking towards the academy building, again ignoring the numerous glances and the architecture of the main building. During his days spent on the Internet, Brinel had learned that such institutions were usually built according to a standard plan. However, the mage liked this small park area.
"Oh, since when did drinking and sex become taboo?" Ddraig asked in bewilderment. Castor just sighed quietly.
"When it became the nails in the coffin of my kind," Brinel said, sensing the dragon's confusion, covering his eyes, opening the door and entering the academy. "The Ethereals undermined the will and resistance of humans in order to take control of their bodies. But what could be better than sins? Gluttony, lust, pride... Everything was suitable, even our virtues."
"But I'm not suggesting you dive in head first! Just relax and let go!"
Castor shook his head as he climbed the stairs. Relax? He had forgotten the meaning of that word long ago. Here we go... Brinel stopped at one of the many windows in the corridor and looked down at the lawn below. How old was he? Appearance was never an indicator of true age. Ulgrim looked forty, but he was actually thousands of years old. The mage couldn't say anything about himself. But he was definitely over twenty. Chronologically. Biologically, his age was stuck in some strange interval between eighteen and thirty. When he shaved clean, he looked young, but as soon as he grew stubble or a beard, he immediately aged.
He didn't know how long it had been since he had truly relaxed. The Grim Dawn was not the best time for that, and before that he had classes and tests at the Guild of Arcanum, and then at the Inquisition. On top of that, his activities as a charmer took up the rest of his time... As a result, Castor's main entertainment consisted of books, rare conversations with an old friend and his sister, and sleep. Now, however, his mind hardly needed any rest unless he was engaged in something "heavy." Filling in the gaps in his knowledge of basic sciences with local terms was somewhat difficult, but after a week of leisurely work, he managed to reach the level of a local high school graduate.
"Yeah... Only for you will it be difficult to master a programme that takes several years..." the dragon grumbled again as Castor stood by the wall and waited for the bell to ring for class. Thanks to his fairly successful entrance exams, Castor was immediately transferred to the second year of study. Strangely, the mage did not argue. Education was important, but he had much more important things to do.
"And yes! You never said why you're against rest. Not hedonism, but rest."
"That's... — Brinel paused for a moment. — It's a difficult question," he said with a tired sigh. "But the most logical answer in this situation is the degradation of the areas of the brain and soul that are responsible for similar concepts.
"The brain and soul? Few people say that.
Castor raised his head. The fact that they had been able to approach him unnoticed was not surprising. At that moment, the mage did not rush his feelings, knowing that there was no danger in the city at the moment. He had personally checked the area for renegades. And yes, his instincts were silent too, and they worked much better than any spell.
But he shouldn't have. He really shouldn't have. Brinel's gaze locked onto the blue eyes of the girl who had approached him. Long scarlet hair, a school uniform (too provocative, in the mage's opinion), a huge bust, but more importantly — the feeling. A demon. And clearly a natural one at that.
"That's a Gremory. They always have such rich red hair, and then there's that aura... A seducer, I would say," the dragon interjected. Castor simply closed his eyes. He didn't need a representative of one of Solomon's pillars...
"Few understand that these concepts are simultaneously connected and simultaneously disconnected," Brinel said calmly and broke away from the wall to bow gracefully. The girl was pleasantly surprised, judging by the small smile on her face. His, however, remained frozen in neutral feelings: a demon, but not dangerous, it seemed. What unscientific nonsense, he thought. How many creatures of chaos had he seen, and every single one of them was aggressive. And here...
"Castor Brinel. Pleased to meet you, milady.
"Rias Gremory," the demon's smile grew brighter and wider. "And I am pleased to meet such a gentleman among... — she grimaced. — Them.
"Nih?" Castor already guessed that Gremory was referring to the Ddraig clan — lustful animals who dream only of satisfying their own sins. And yes, the dragon growled like an old man. All within the bounds of spirit behaviour."Perverts, to put it mildly.
"Ara-ara, has the president set her sights on a fresh newcomer?"
"Akeno!
The red-haired girl puffed up and began to glare at the girl who had approached her, but she only smiled. A smile that carried no meaning, just like Brinel's... No. It was the smile of a predator looking for prey.
"Not a bad predator!"
The mage looked at the brunette, who also had long hair. She wore the same uniform as Gremory, but her bust and build were different. More robust and suitable for her size. And this was the third demoness with large breasts. Was this some strange trend peculiar to this species? It was... not surprising. Increased sexual attractiveness in the eyes of the opposite sex, and the problem of the spine was solved by the increased strength of demons.
"I've landed in a demon breeding ground," Castor closed his eyes, seizing the moment while the demons sorted things out among themselves, and focused on his senses. They reported not very good news: there were far more spawn of chaos here than just two, and their energy was literally floating in the air. Brinel's smile only faded at this news. Instead of education and knowledge, he would get a nervous breakdown and a couple more nervous disorders to add to the ones he already had... But, as Ulgrim said, "Your ancestors endured, and so will you."
***
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