Dance With the Nightingale - Chapter 7

[Subsidiary State of Flenia]

[The Flenial Magic Apprentice Academy]

[Student’s Library]

Hushes and whispers.

-Hush

-Whisper

-Hush

Like a perennial music, or an ever-present tune.

That was what she always heard, whenever she was with people.

Well, ‘with’, wasn’t a good word, cause people don’t tend to stay with her, ‘around’ would be much more appropriate.

But strangely, she didn’t find those hushes unbearable, rather, she just let them be, like a sound in background.

It wasn’t difficult for her.

If it was any other 13-year-old girl, it would have been, but not her.

Considering her father’s first and last words to her were ‘devil’s spawn’, anything else, just couldn’t hurt her.

-Flip.

Flipping the page of the book she was reading, the girl, Eva Shello, gave a cursory glance around.

A majestic library, as big as a football field, filled with students, reading, discussing, or simply minding their own business.

A library bustling with people, but still being quiet enough to study.

It would have been a perfect library, if only, her table wasn’t there.

While, it was difficult to find seats in the library,

Her table…

Was empty, just as she expected.

It had been a year since she came here, and it wasn’t always like this.

It was a bit better when she just came here, even though she was a commoner and was treated badly at first, it didn’t matter to her.

These 12-year-old noble kids who hadn’t even seen the dark side, couldn’t do anything to her that she hadn’t seen, hadn’t went through, or hadn’t suffered, rather she was happy.

Why?

Cause, she wasn’t the only one.

At least she was with a few others, knowingly or unknowingly those so-called ‘bad guys’ had actually placed her in a ‘community’, a group, something she hadn’t been part of before, and that she had been grateful for, but those days were good and gone.

Well, it wasn’t their fault, she didn’t blame them, for she knew, she was just different.

Different from them, and different from everyone.

And people instinctively rejected different.

Yet, she didn’t dislike this feeling, this ever-present tune, after all even if they were not ‘with’ and just ‘around’ her, it was already better.

Better than those days, where all she had was silence…, and she hated that.

Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to patch things up, she had.

But when she saw the face of her friends, the face of doubt they had, the silent question in their eyes of ‘why she didn’t help them’ or simply the fear they had felt towards her.

When she saw that, she knew, all hope had been lost.

They couldn’t be ‘friends’ anymore.

That also helped her to understand something.

The things that she felt funny, the things she didn’t mind, the things she felt, a bit irritating at best.

Those things apparently, they were too much for her friends, they were hurting them.

And she didn’t do anything to save them, rather she enjoyed their time together, their suffering together, and instead of saving them she wanted that suffering to last, so that she could spend more time with them.

With them and their suffering.

It was then, the thing she had forgotten back then, came back to her, ‘she was different, so, she couldn’t understand them’.

And if she couldn’t understand them, how could she hope to be friends with them?

So, she did something stupid, something, that even a normal 5-year-old kid would be able to tell, that it was a bad decision.

But she couldn’t, she didn’t have much common sense back then.

So, she searched.

For someone, who could understand her, for someone, who could match her.

By fighting with them, her classmates.

For fighting was all she, the Eva Shello who had just stepped into the society for a month, knew back then.

Yes, she had stolen food, yes she had begged, yes she had fought, but entering a society, talking to someone, being friends with someone, or depending on someone, those things were very foreign to her.

‘Her old friends were weak, so they couldn’t rely on themselves, they couldn’t understand her, so, if she found someone with similar strength, won’t understand they understand her?’

That was the simple conclusion she came to.

So, she fought them, her classmates, and defeated them all.

They just weren’t on the same level.

Honestly, she was a bit disappointed.

But, she let it hold her back, if her classmen weren’t enough she had upperclassmen, if her upperclassmen weren’t enough, then there were teachers, surely there would be someone who could match her, right?

She hoped, as she fought.

But, like always, her hopes were crushed.

Just as the fights were getting interesting, just as she was enjoying herself, just as she couldn’t hold on her own.

She used ‘that’ power.

And things went back to how they were, even the upperclassmen….

…couldn’t defeat her.

Next, she wanted to challenge the teachers, but was stopped, not by someone else, but by the same person who brought her here, by the only person whom she owed something.

So, she stopped, she gave up, she just accepted it.

She was different, she was unique, she was alone, and perhaps she was destined to be.

And with that her position as an outcast was established.

-Flip.

She flipped another page, and used her fingers to move her silver locks behind her ear, while her golden eyes which had a hint of purple in them, scanned the contents of the book with a squint.

Her expression stayed the same, but if someone looked carefully at the beautiful girl’s face, then they would notice, the girl’s big, wide eyes, which made her look really innocent, were narrowed.

She blinked a few times, and re-read the contents she didn’t understand, only to blink once again, and repeat the process, knowingly or unknowingly emphasizing her long, silvery eyelashes, which curved naturally.

Finally, her face couldn’t maintain its expression, be it her slightly angular face, her thin eyebrows, or her cute little nose, all of them were scrunched up, as she continued re-reading the same content.

Actually, if someone asked Eva which part she felt was the most difficult in the academy, without a second’s delay she would answer you, the magical theory test.

Be it the gruesome physical test or the obscure magic application test, they were nothing but a breeze to her, but whenever she heard of the magical theory, her head would just start throbbing.

But, she couldn’t just act on instincts, she had to learn, she had to know, and she had to create, and she knew that, especially after that ‘old man’ showed it to her, so thoroughly.

Minimum effort maximum effect he said.

But still, she couldn’t understand how could he do so much with so little, how could each of his little actions have so many meanings, just how could a small dent on ground created during a small clash, be the reason of her demise.

He couldn’t have predicted all of that, right?

Thinking about that ‘old man’ her thoughts couldn’t help wander, to all the things he did for her, from his ‘common sense’ lessons to his painful beatings, all of that.

-Snap.

In the end, she closed her book, ‘[Magical Theory Advanced – II] by Chris Gus Bellat’, just reading the title irritated her, even more so when she couldn’t understand what was written.

Hah, she needed someone to teach her.

Desperately.

It wasn’t like she didn’t take the lectures, she did.

But the problem was, those lectures didn’t cover this book which the ‘Old Man’ gave her, nor she could pass those tests which he prepared for her, if she didn’t study from it, and she spoke that from experience.

The experience, that still made her shudder.

-Huuuuu.

Yet, another thing she had to ask him.

Well, not like it was difficult for him to answer.

He was the one who wrote the book in the first place, [Chris Gus Bellat], [Monarch] rank magician, gold graded [Magic Spearman], and the [Headmaster of The Flenial Magic Apprentice Academy].

The man who brought her here, and the man who saved her, and the man treated her normally, despite knowing that she was different.

‘Let’s just ask him anyways’ she thought as she tapped the table three times.

With that a holographic display popped up, it had most of its options greyed out, as the library didn’t allow the students to change them, but it had what she wanted, the clock.

[2:46 pm]

‘…..!’

She almost gasped, as she thought, ‘He must be waiting for me now!’.

She was so engrossed in the book, that she missed the agreed time by 16 minutes.

Not wanting to cross that 20-minute mark, as only a brutal beating in the name of spar awaited her if she did, she quickly packed her things, storing them in her bracelet, and practically scurried to the library’s entrance.

As soon as she reached the hallway she stopped holding back, and ran in the earnest, not caring about the commotion she caused.

Well, she caused a commotion wherever she went, it didn’t matter she did something or not, at some point she had just gotten numb.

So, without caring about the penalty she would get by breaking the rule ‘No use of Mana allowed in the hallways’, she ran, her destination ‘Training Ground 9’, their usual place.

***

[Training Ground 9]

-Huff pant

-Huff pant

Amidst huff’s and pants she finally got there.

‘Training ground 9’, a simple but sturdy training ground, the size of a football field though bereft of grass.

It was covered in all sides with a simple magical shield, other than that it had nothing except for the few seats beside the entrance.

And seated on them, was a scholarly looking man, quietly flipping through a book, reading it at a speed which was humanly impossible, made possible only by the silver glasses he was wearing.

With a head full of grey hair and shining blue eyes, along with his luxurious looking silver suit and the black shirt he wore within, anyone who saw him would unconsciously have the word ‘scholar’ pop up in their mind.

But not Eva, at one point of time, when she didn’t even know what a scholar was, when she met him for the first time, she had that feeling.

But now, after getting countless beatings from that man, the equation, ‘Old man = Scholar’, just felt wrong in her head.

For her, ‘Old man = A beast who likes to beat little girls’ felt much more appropriate.

As she steadied her breathing, she quickly shook thought of her head, for she always suspected the ‘old man’ to have some kind of method to read her mind-

Alas, she was one step too late, as she heard, “First you make an ‘old man’ wait and now you are even thinking indecent things about him, Eva don’t you think, I’m spoiling you too much.”

Hearing that, Eva was a bit ashamed and at a loss of words.

She wanted to get back at him, by saying something, anything, but be it her inexperience in society or her insufficient vocabulary, she didn’t know what to say, and that frustrated her to no end.

With a small smile on his face, the old man, Chris Gus Bellat, finally lifted his gaze to meet hers, his narrow eyes curved up a bit just like his lips, forming a few wrinkles which were one of the only few things that could prove his age.

His smile, getting only wider when he saw her frustrated expression, and much to her irritation, he continued, “Then, as your punishment for making me wait, your daily questions are cancelled.

Also, you are going all out today, Eva, so wait and recover, while I finish this.”, he said, as he lifted his hands slightly to emphasize the book, before returning his gaze to it.

While her thoughts were going, ‘You just want to beat me harder ‘old man’!’

Her expression remained steady, with only her eyes showing a bit of discontent, but once again she didn’t know what to say, what to do, how to express herself, especially now that she had become overly conscious of her actions.

Her every act, every move, every word had to go through a, ‘Is it right, to do this?’, screening in her mind.

It prevented her from unknowingly making fun of herself, but it also slowed down her responses, which left her feeling awkward at times.

In fact, it was only when she was fighting, that she didn’t have to double think her actions, she could freely express herself as much as she wanted, with her sword.

And that, felt liberating to her, turning her into something like a Battle Maniac.

So, she didn’t argue.

Partly, cause she didn’t want to go through that awfully long process of choosing her words.

And partly, cause she still hoped that somehow, someway, she will definitely wipe that calm look off from that ‘old man’s’ face.

Doing what she was told to, steadied her breath and recovered, though there wasn’t much to recover.

She did that, and sharpened her mind, remembered her strategies and finally she heard a-

-Snap

Followed by, “Let’s start, and remember go all out, or I won’t go easy on you.”

‘You never do!’ her mind screamed but she only answered with a simple, “Yes.”

And made her way to the center of the training ground.

As she walked her uniform flashed, glowing magical runes started revolving around it.

And in a matter of seconds, it changed shapes.

Turning it from a peach-colored blazer, white shirt and a dark pink almost red skirt, to a full suit of skin tight armor covering her full, from her neck to her toes.

A full purple armor, with glowing bright purple lines that looked like veins, while also having some parts that were hardened to the core, just like scales covering her vitals, and that, gave the armor a very life like look.

With her armor on she turned around and tied her hair in a bun, as looked at Chris, who was walking behind her, his appearance the same except for his suit, which was now rested on the bench, and folded sleeves of his black shirt.

With a spear in his hand and, he looked at her armor and smiled wryly, and said, “I didn’t think you would wear that armor in the guise of school uniform, I guess you liked my gift quite heavily, didn’t you?”

Not sparing a thought to answer his question Eva simply said a “Yes”, trying not to get distracted even for a bit.

Nodding his head, he continued, “Now, come.”, as his smile disappeared and sense of serenity took over him, not just his face, but his whole body.

Suddenly, he felt like mountain, like nothing could shake him, an impregnable mountain.

And against such a mountain, the girl, Eva Shello, summoned her weapon, an ordinary enchanted sword, and calmed herself. (A/N: For all who think that she needs to a weapon, don’t worry she will have one, when she meets the MC, also remember this is a training match.)

And focused with she closed eyes, as she remembered that feeling, that feeling of domination she always felt.

And activated ‘that’ power.

[Awakening]