Chapter 530: Cry For Help

After three days of freedom, the school year began. And with it, Arc settled quickly into the new routine her terribly full schedule demanded.

In the mornings, she collected Owyn for classes. After class every other day, she put her things away and walked the "shit patrol," which were the magical post-class hours when people were still gathered on campus and people liked to "start shit," as Kyan liked to put it. Fortunately, it was the start of the semester, so for the first week nothing happened aside from some cutting words and a single outburst of mana from a maven whose whole deal was wielding words to transmit either replenishing or damaging mana.

The patrols actually became a little pleasant for Arc, since most students showed deference to anyone in a grey uniform - which included the janitors, with their utility jumpsuits. Apparently, one of the Academy mysteries was that the janitors might be Mage Hunters or Student Disciplinary Committee members in disguise, and while the latter was seen more as an annoyance, crossing the former was the fear of anyone with any sense.

Writing patrol reports was boring, but the hardest part of Arc’s days was not the classes or the patrols... It was keeping tabs on Owyn.

Somehow, the outsider had a knack for attracting attention. Whether it was something about his appearance or his tendency to ask sincere but basic questions of the teachers, Owyn managed to make Arc cringe at least once a class. The worst part of it all were the girls. The ones who approached him, offering to study with him in their not-so-subtle attempts to lure him into dates.

Seriously?! What was with all the girls?! At least he was smart enough, or perhaps dumb enough, not to accept their advances. One even asked him to go with her into the city, the gall!

It was hard enough trying to keep him from outing himself as an outsider, no the Outsider, by accident with the slow release of news from the outside occupying practically every illucaster. Every day she watched two of her moms, Lapins and Sin, sit behind a newsdesk and read out the day’s events for an hour during dinner, hoping no one would figure out that she was in the same family that practically built the city. Or, rather, rebuilt it after the apocalypse... and almost destroyed it.

All this came to a head the Fireday of their first weekend, when Owyn raised his hand in their History of the Heavenswars class.

"Hi, uh, Professor..."

"You don’t have to greet me every time, Owyn," Professor Char, no last name, just Char, said, causing a ripple of laughter to spread through the room. "What is your question?"

"Last time you said Norneau was founded, uh, four hundred years ago, but people lived here before that. How long would that be on the Outside?" Owyn asked his question then glanced at Arc, as if sensing her internal screaming. He was just small enough for a giant to sit in a normal-sized, albeit reinforced, chair behind the crescent-moon desks that stepped their way down the amphitheater-like room.

Another wave of laughter spread through the room. Most people had been able to put it together from watching the nightly news, but Owyn seemed to avoid what common places with illucasters he could like the plague - thank the stars.

"Quiet down," Char ordered, and the students quickly ceased. Her tone more than established that she was not a demon to be messed with. "It’s an appropriate question. The "city" may have officially chartered itself four hundred years ago, after the Heavenswar of Ifrit Gorr Hahnv, a claimant to the title of Demon Lord, and Armitage Victoriam, but before that the area around where the city stands served as a hunting ground for adventurers and glory seekers visiting the dungeon - before it was transformed into a tower, mind you. The earliest we can guess is another five or so hundred years before the founding."

"But outside..." Owyn half-raised a hand as he spoke.

"Perhaps three thousand years of near continuous habitation, given what we know now," Professor Char answered sharply. "And the Heavenswars shaped the region even before..."

After the lecture, the claws came down, as Professor Char intercepted Owyn before Arc could get past him to leave.

"Owyn," she greeted, "I must say I’m surprised at some of the questions you’ve been asking. It indicates to me that you may be a bit lacking in your studies, which will be a problem for your first exam."

"I, uh-" Owyn flinched a little as Arc kicked him in the leg. "Just didn’t hear about the Heavenswar much... growing up and all."

"Hmm. And where exactly did you grow up?" she asked.

"Southeast of-" Arc kicked him in the leg again. "Uh, the Eighth Ward!"

"Hm. I could have sworn I’ve met every adult giant living near Little Hell, but I’ve never seen anyone with your particular coloration or accent. Who are your parents?"

Owyn’s face fell a bit, "Sorry. They died when I was young. I was raised by a... foster family, of sorts. Practically a whole clan." He scratched at the back of his head, looking down at Char with real sadness.

"Aww," Raven exclaimed from the door, where she’d clearly stopped to eavesdrop on the conversation. "That’s so sad."

"This is a private conversation, Miss Black," Professor Char hissed. Raven remained where she was, leaning and crossing her arms, as the professor turned back to Owyn... and Arc. "I see. Please keep up your studies. You have curiosity and potential, I’d hate to see you fail to live up to that." She looked right at Arc as she said these final words...

She knows... Arc thought. She’d had the slight impression that Professor Char didn’t like her, but the look on the arch demoness’ face all but confirmed Arc’s worst suspicion... That the professor hated her.

Her barb delivered, Char walked past them, a flutter of books and papers following her out on a wave of magic as they organized themselves into a stack.

Once the three of them were alone, Arc rounded on Owyn. "What was that?! Are you trying to get caught?"

"Get caught at what?" Raven asked.

"None of your business!" Arc barked. "Why are you even here? I told you I’m not your rival or whatever."

"For one, we’re in, like, three of the same classes, including this one. You might have noticed if not for your boyfriend," she snapped her fingers, and a line of blood that had gone unnoticed on the floor seemed to constrict until a very surprised ball of scales came to rest at Raven’s feet with a wimper. "For another, Snow has been trying to talk to you all week, but you keep brushing her off."

"What the-"

"Snow, please come out and tell Arc what you told me," Raven poked the pangolkin girl somewhere her scales didn’t protect, and Snow squeaked before, with great trepidation, coming to a stand.

"I-I... Does he have to be here?" She seemed to be looking at Owyn’s uniform more than his face, but then again Owyn was very tall compared to her.

"This seems private. I’ll just step outside..." Owyn said, obviously relieved at the chance to escape.

The moment he left, Raven shut the door with the same tendril of blood that had pulled Snow to her, before balling up and floating itself into a nearby trash bin. Even after this, Snow just stood there with her clawed hands held in front of her, almost penitently.

"Come on, you can do it," Raven encouraged.

"Do what? What’s your stake in all this?" Arc asked Raven.

"Snow is my roommate. Who is yours?"

"Don’t have one," Arc replied.

"What? How’s that fair?!"

"I cheated off you on the test, and I need your help!" Snow interrupted loudly, ending the nascent argument before she started hyperventilating.

"What?" Arc face twisted in surprise. "What test? It’s barely been the first week."

"The-" gasp "entry exam-" gasp, "water..."

"I’ll go get you some," Raven said. She produced a ball of blood from her hand before wordlessly drawing water from it with a pulling motion. The subsequent red goo she absorbed into herself, before holding the clear ball up for Snow, who was now hiccupping.

After a grateful drink, which made Arc cringe a little from knowing the source, Snow mastered herself enough to wipe her tears and speak. "I’m sorry. I copied you and-and then my mom found out I got in as a special student and now there’s also all these expectations a-and the mage hunters and I don’t know what to do except..." she looked at Raven for support, before looking up at Arc with sad, pleading eyes, "...ask you for help."

It took Arc a moment to process everything she’d just heard. On the one hand, she felt a little betrayed, but recognized that she’d spent the week avoiding most of the other special students, including Snow, lest they discover how powerless she really was. One had even asked her on patrol if she was hiding her powers for some reason. She considered Snow a friend, but she’d let her insecurities keep her from trying to get closer despite the classes they shared.

But learning Snow had cheated off of her and might face consequences for it felt like something that shouldn’t be her problem. She’d liked their interactions before the test, and the thought of something happening to her, potentially being imprisoned or worse, over something like that felt more wrong than just leaving her on her own.

Then she remembered something her Father once said, something she agreed with at the time because it was so shortly after the disaster that hit the city... True knowledge isn’t the problem. It’s the abuse of it that costs us so dearly...

Taking a deep breath, Arc emptied her emotions and decided to start with a question.