Zero Langham
The marketplace, which only moments earlier had been consumed by shouting, collapsing stalls, and clashing steel, fell into an uneasy silence. Merchants and civilians finally emerged from the buildings they hid in. Of those who had run away from the street, only a few came back.
Meanwhile, my team and I were fixated on the figure descending from the road. Gia didn't notice until she approached the circle of kids behind Julius, Toho, and me. She handed out fruit she scraped together before looking up.
Terra descended the sloping road one careful step at a time. Sweat clung to the strands of silver hair framing her face, and the sleeves of her Academy uniform were stained with dust from the rooftops. Draped across both of her shoulders was a thick golden rope woven from several Binding Charms.
The person the binding charms tied up was Scarface. His usual smug smile and naturally condescending face were at rest.
His wrists had been bound behind his back, another loop secured around his ankles, with several more wrapped tightly across his torso. The glowing characters written across each charm pulsed rhythmically, suppressing every attempt he made to struggle. Judging from the blood running down the side of his temple and the sluggish way his feet dragged across the stone, he had already exhausted whatever strength remained.
Trailing several paces behind Terra were two children.
Both looked no older than eight. Their clothes hung loosely from their thin frames, patched together so many times that the original fabric had become impossible to recognize. They kept their heads lowered as they walked, occasionally glancing toward Scarface before immediately looking away again.
Toho's mouth slowly fell open.
"...She caught him."
Julius stared for several long seconds before letting out a quiet whistle beneath his breath.
"I'll admit it," he said. "I didn't expect that."
Even Gia looked genuinely surprised. Her eyes drifted from Scarface to Terra and back again, as though trying to convince herself she wasn't imagining the sight before her.
I found myself walking toward Terra before I consciously decided to move.
The closer I came, the more obvious the battle became. A shallow cut stretched across the side of her forearm where her sleeve had torn away. Dust covered one knee, and a faint bruise had already begun forming near her collarbone. None of the injuries appeared serious, but they were enough to tell me she hadn't escaped the fight untouched.
She finally stopped a few feet away from us. Without a word, she let go of the thin, golden rope attached to the ties around Scarface.
One of the charms peeled itself free from the rope before drifting onto his back, sealing itself against his coat with a soft flash of golden light. The moment it attached itself, the remaining ropes tightened on their own.
He wasn't going anywhere. For several seconds, nobody knew what to say.
I looked down at Scarface, then back toward Terra.
"...How?"
The question left my mouth before I had time to think about it.
She blinked once, cracking her knuckles one by one and stretching her jaw out and to the side.
"What do you mean?"
"How did you catch him?"
Terra looked down at Scarface as though the answer were obvious. She answered with a proud smile,
"He stopped paying attention to me."
I frowned, taken aback by her simple approach and answer,
"...That's it?"
The two kids behind Terra stepped out from her side, running to the group of kids we had rounded up.
Terra watched carefully as the kids ran, making sure they reached the group and didn't stray off. Afterward, she continued,
"When we started fighting him together, he understood I wasn't trying to beat him head-on." She paused briefly, choosing her words with the same careful precision she always seemed to use. "Every time he focused on you, I'd attack. Every time he tried chasing me, I'd disappear again."
She glanced toward the rooftops overlooking the marketplace.
"I stayed above him after everyone separated."
The pieces began fitting together in my mind.
"So, you followed him."
"I never stopped."
Her voice remained calm, almost detached, as though she were simply explaining the answer to an examination problem.
"He knew you would choose the civilians."
I looked away, not shamefully, but embarrassed. Terra accomplished what I couldn't: saving children and chasing after Scarface.
"I did... but you chose both."
Silence settled between us again. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Julius and Toho approaching us, standing beside me. They were interested in how she managed to do it. Seeing us paying attention, she began speaking:
"It feels cowardly to say, but I just used simple hit-and-run tactics. His main strength was his speed; however, he couldn't tell which direction I came from because of my silent steps. I launched many Binding Charms at him, and when he focused on breaking through, I landed shots on his major organs. After I tired him down, I threw all the Binding Charms I had, then knocked him unconscious. I wish I could say it was a proud victory..."
Julius and Toho let out hearty chuckles, almost making Terra think that they were making fun of her. Julius spoke,
"It was a proud victory, Terra. I can't commend you enough."
"It doesn't matter how you won; what matters is that you did, and in the process saved two children. You were up against a guy leagues ahead of us and came through," Toho congratulated with a smile.
Despite my current state of shock, I too was taken aback by how she managed to fool herself into thinking she didn't deserve the win.
How self-deprecating you are, Terra... It truly was an amazing strategy. I've been trying to overpower people this entire fight; meanwhile, you wore down the leader till he collapsed.
At Toho's and Julius's compliments, Terra smiled wide. It wasn't a confident smile or a triumphant one. It was a genuine smile.
I couldn't help staring at the Binding Charms wrapped around him.
Back during one of Toho's and my late-night excursions, those same charms had barely managed to restrain a drunken civilian long enough for us to escape. I recall it being one of the first weeks of school we snuck out.
Terra had used them to capture the strongest opponent on the battlefield.
I looked back at her, still trying to reconcile the quiet girl standing in front of me with the battle that had just ended.
"The children... how did you gather those two?"
Terra's smile was interrupted as she turned his head barely to look at me. I felt bad for ruining the moment, but my curiosity didn't allow me to hold back.
"I rescued those two after I tied up the leader. On the way back, I caught two men running away together, each of them holding a child. It was reasonably easy to handle those two by myself..."
Before either of us could say another word, the distant ringing of carriage bells echoed from the far end of the street. Several merchants immediately turned toward the sound, and moments later the blue-and-silver uniforms of Report Services began appearing beyond the marketplace entrance.
Someone had finally answered our call.
***
We arrived at Gotarum in the morning and began conducting our investigation. Our investigation continued into the afternoon, then the battle began. Although the battle was short, the wait for Report Services was long. The Sun had already begun shifting to the west, signaling the near end of the evening.
The Combat Division of Report Services set up a perimeter around the area. Afterward, they began taking the criminals into custody. I watched with my own eyes, ensuring that they took Scarface. A breath of relief forced itself out.
The Aftermath Division of Report Services went around, writing down each civilian's account of the conflict. They also made sure to collect each person's information to compensate them. Immediately as they arrived, five officers approached us, wanting our account of the story firsthand.
After we gave our side of the story and the events leading up to it, which garnered a lot of questions from the officers, we spotted Sensei Johan.
Sensei Johan pulled us to the side for our debriefing. It was a bit surprising he came to instead of waiting till we arrived at the Academy,
"You all performed beyond my expectations. It was excellent. I couldn't be more proud to call you my students," Sensei Johan gave a warm smile towards us. With his eyes, he acknowledged Gia and Julius as well, not excluding them.
Wow, Sensei. I didn't think you were capable of showing this much positive emotion...
After praising us, he pulled out a report of our accounts, continuing in a more professional tone, "So far, each civilian's account of the battle commends you all. As I'm reading your accounts, I can say that I have definitely underestimated each of you. For your performance, a reward is due, which will be given this week after you all have had time to rest up.
Ms. Kincaid, your performance and strategy were top-tier; however, don't let it get to your head. That goes for all of you." He eyes each one of us before sighing, "You made mistakes, yes, but that is to be expected. I don't want to ruin this moment of victory, so... go, get going."
He gently slapped the top of our heads with the report, dismissing us. We'd probably go over our mission and mistakes more thoroughly another time this week. It seems that Sensei Johan was genuinely proud of us, so much so that he let his softer side show.
After Report Services gave us the go-ahead to leave the scene, we sprinted out, finally done with this place. They emphasized that they would easily find us if they ever needed anything else. As Julius snapped his fingers up in the air, signaling for a carriage, Terra's voice echoed through,
"Let's walk... I think we should take this chance to enjoy the calm." Her words came through softly. Each one of us turned around to look at her, thinking about the idea. I chirped in,
"That sounds like a plan. The sun is setting too; let's watch and walk to the Academy."
Julius brought his arm back down, then began walking forward, leading the group. Gia was just behind him, separating Julius and Toho from causing any more trouble for each other.
Terra increased her pace to catch up to me, walking side by side. She tilted her head forward, turning it to the side to look at me with a smile. After a sigh, she softly spoke,
"Can I tell you something?"
I reciprocated what she did, turning my head to look at her. I politely nodded, interested in what she had to say.
At my nod, she responded even more softly to make sure the other members didn't listen in: "I don't think I made the right decision today."