Chapter 124 - Spirit of the Guardian Tree (3)

A dormitory maid rushed to my room.

She exchanged an awkward glance with me before speaking.

"The green slime will evaporate without a trace if you ventilate. But if you're uncomfortable... I'll finish cleaning."

"Thank you."

"Are any items missing? Have you checked the drawers?"

Ah. With countless people treating my room like a public space, my belongings probably aren't intact.

I opened the drawers to check what was missing.

"All my underwear is gone."

"The seniors probably left their underwear while taking yours in exchange. That's the fate of popular people, so don't resent it too much."

Right. Think positively. Perhaps the saddest person isn't the one whose room was trashed, but the one nothing happened to.

Though the attention was appreciated, I couldn’t say it was enjoyable. It meant they'd focus more on my flaws and weaknesses too. One wrong move and I'd face much harsher criticism than others.

The maid began gathering underwear into a basket. I also collected underwear from under the wardrobe, bedding, and corners. We filled about three baskets.

The maid took the soiled bedding while I carried the baskets outside the entrance downstairs. Three Planteras were waiting there.

"The Planteras will wash and return them well."

Looks like I’m once again indebted to Erzsebet. Planteras are the best.

"Can't we just burn them?"

The maid shook her head in alarm, saying that would make me unpopular.

I was at a loss how to store things I couldn't even wear. What would Liria think if I kept them at Silveryn's mansion? Maybe I should secretly burn them.

I wonder if that Hubert guy and Sion were in similar situations. 

Sion's a girl though—surely they wouldn't mess with her underwear the same way?

"I'm curious—are the girls okay?"

"Generally they don't touch female students... but sometimes they use the welcome ceremony as an excuse for malicious venting."

"...Do they get disciplined in such cases?"

"...Yes."

After leaving the laundry with the Planteras and entering the dormitory, I saw Sion sitting straight-backed before the fireplace.

Is she really okay?

After hearing about the venting earlier, I was strangely more concerned. Though her expression hadn't changed, she somehow looked lonely. Maybe it was just my imagination.

She wore plain training clothes and took bites of rock-hard bread alone. 

Doesn't she find it hard to eat without water?

Come to think of it, she never had friends to eat with.

Sometimes she looked like a nun practicing silence.

Climbing the stairs, I stopped at the second floor. A wide-open door caught my eye, just like my room.

I remembered that location. It was Sion's room.

With a worried heart, I couldn't look away. Finally unable to resist the temptation, I moved to that doorway.

Standing before the room and seeing inside, I was momentarily speechless.

It was filled with malicious and unpleasant messages. So different from the guestbook written in my room that I couldn't help but frown. This was nothing short of outright bullying.

Perhaps it was because she'd challenged seniors to duels and thoroughly crushed them when she first enrolled. They clearly held deep grudges.

[Think seniors are that easy?]

The room was full of messages mocking and ridiculing her character.

[Let's see how long you can stay first-ranked]

Behind the aggressive messages, one could glimpse their inferiority complex. I realized how much jealousy the position of overall first-ranked attracted while being envied.

Thinking these might have been curses directed at me made me feel complicated.

A normal teenage girl might lock her door and cry for days over this—will she be okay?

I remembered Sion chomping down bread alone.

Did her master know she would face such humiliation? Given Sion's personality, she might just bear it alone without confiding in anyone.

When I meet her master at tomorrow's dinner, I should carefully mention this situation if appropriate.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

I turned around startled. Cecil stood behind me with crossed arms.

Right, she was also in Witdruff Hall.

She looked up at me indifferently and said, "You're Trisha's friend, right? Some female seniors terrorized Sion's room maliciously and it's under investigation. If you leave evidence by going in carelessly, you'll get involved too."

"What did they do?"

"You can see for yourself. It would be rude to Sion to tell a male student everything, but they crossed lines beyond what you can see."

"Is there more than burning underwear?"

I'd heard from Silveryn that was also a kind of welcome ritual.

"That's old Eternia. These days they just exchange one of their own or display them on garden trees in the plaza."

Cecil continued as if finding something strange, "Wait, aren't you Professor Silveryn's disciple? How do you not know this?"

"What do you mean?"

What does this have to do with Teacher?

"It changed after Professor Silveryn half-destroyed Southern Village where upperclassmen lived during her student days. How can you not know that history?"

"..."

Suddenly I remembered Silveryn visiting my dormitory.

She said she'd done something terrible and ended up on the dormitory blacklist. 

So that’s what happened. As expected of Teacher.

Cecil narrowed her eyes as if looking at a con artist.

"You're unexpectedly naive. Anyway, you've been acting suspicious lately. Especially with our Trisha—"

An uninvited guest interrupted Cecil mid-sentence.

"Cecil, you little...!"

Martha stood in the direction of the voice. She strode over saying.

"We're supposed to get our fortunes told in Rigbed together, what are you doing here? Everyone's waiting!"

Cecil twirled her hair awkwardly.

"Ah, just... had something to check quickly."

"Think we're the only ones going to see Galiar, the great 'Stone Prophet' fortune teller? This chance won't come again for ten years. No time to waste, get ready now! Right now! People are flooding into Rigbed!"

Then Martha noticed my face and was startled.

"Ah, y-yikes."

She moved fearfully behind Cecil, keeping her distance from me.

"L-let's go."

"What's wrong? You sick?"

"S-shut up. Let's go, we're late."

Martha pushed Cecil's back as they moved away.

Cecil shouted back at me while being pushed, "You, we'll talk later!"

***

The next day, I headed to Rigbed by carriage to accept the Sword Master's invitation.

As luck would have it, Rigbed's streets were completely jammed with carriages without room to squeeze through.

The central plaza was packed with carriages, crowded with people who had brought them.

"Move aside!"

"Haa, what's so great about that fortune teller? Ptooey!"

"I've come from the Empire. Please come out. My wife's life depends on it!"

Hundreds of people were chaotically gathered before a luxurious lodging. All looked desperate. It must be because of that fortune teller Cecil mentioned. I put on my mask and got off the carriage in the confusion.

Telling the driver to take the back gate, I followed the address written on the invitation. Despite Rigbed's chaotic atmosphere, my heart felt light.

The fortune teller means nothing to me. Let them do as they please. I'm meeting someone far more impressive—a Sword Master.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t excited. How often did such an opportunity come in life? I even brought my wooden sword in case I could test my swordsmanship.

Nothing would be better than having a duel. I'd gladly accept defeat. I could learn far more from defeat than defeating hundreds of Planteras.

I pushed through the flowing crowds with difficulty.

Finally, I reached the address from the letter. As expected, it was located in central Rigbed. It was a residence with long windows and an elegant imperial-style exterior.

I caught my breath and straightened my clothes. Then rang the doorbell.

Ding dong!

I waited maybe thirty seconds. No response.

Just as I was about to ring again, the door suddenly flung open.

"Who is...?"

"I received an invitation..."

The person who opened the door was Sion. She wore the neatest, most orderly clothes I'd ever seen her in. She, too, seemed unable to speak, not expecting to meet again like this.

Isn't Sion supposed to stay at the dormitory? Don't tell me she's here for fortune telling too.

After silently facing each other for a while, she asked with aggressive eyes, "How did you know my house?"

"I came because of your master's letter."

"...So you did steal it."

"Ah, right, spoils from saving your life."

"Save me? Don't be ridiculous, I would have survived anyway."

"The beasts in the circulatory system thought differently."

"So you came to settle things with me? Wait while I get my sword. I'll face you anytime."

Bringing the wooden sword was a big mistake. I hurriedly denied her words.

"No, I came because your master invited me."

"Don't tell such ridiculous lies."

I held out Geshin Grig's invitation before her eyes.

"Look."

"..."

Sion checked the contents and bit her lip slightly.

"Take me to your master."

"...Not here."

"When will they return?"

"Master is in the Holy City now and has no plans to return for a while."

"...What do you mean?"

"How should I know when you took the invitation as you pleased and found our house?"

"Why are you here then?"

This was giving me an increasingly bad feeling. Things were flowing in a completely unexpected direction.

Sion also seemed to notice something odd, her eyes wavering as she hesitated before speaking, "Master told me to stay at the mansion today."

"..."

Seems like I've been thoroughly played by the Sword Master.

Now I'm starting to understand why such a large sum was enclosed with the invitation.