[60] Shiina Under the Moonlight (3)
"Aha! You're an educator. Pleased to meet you. I am Cosain Silver, a noble of the fourth rank. My father serves as an official in Creas. Forgive my forwardness, but I fell in love at first sight. If you would grant me the honor of escorting you home, it would be an infinite privilege."
Siina slowly sat up. She didn't look at Silver; she pressed both hands to her forehead and exhaled.
'Ugh, what a nuisance. I wanted to get even more drunk tonight.'
Nothing had gone right today. She'd shown weakness in front of her students, been snubbed by Keira, and now some strange man was pestering her.
A wry smile tugged at Siina's lips. In her current state, she might well look like a woman with a broken heart.
"Heh. Still, someone says they like me. A woman like me—bad-tempered and lacking any softness."
She'd never once felt romantic love. Even when Armin appeared with Keira three years ago, she hadn't felt betrayed. Maybe there had been a sliver of hope, though—the thought of what it might be like if they met again. Could that be called love?
"I probably made my introduction too grand. Sorry. I just wanted to look good in front of a woman I don't want to lose. Please forgive my rudeness."
"That's fine. We're tired, so please leave."
Siina was truly exhausted. As an official Grade 6 mage, sobering up wouldn't be hard, but she still wanted the unreal, hazy feeling that alcohol brought.
"A gentleman doesn't leave a lady on her own. I'll escort you by carriage. Lean on me."
As Silver reached to support Siina's shoulder, Shirone's group bristled immediately.
"What do you think you're doing? Don't lay a hand on our teacher."
"I think there's a misunderstanding—I only meant to see her home. This isn't your concern. She'll be leaving by carriage."
Silver tried to force Siina to his side. Shirone grabbed his wrist. The pleasant face Silver had shown Siina twisted in an instant. He could put up with being ignored by women if it served him, but being treated like this by kids wounded his pride.
"Hey, insolent brat. Where'd you learn manners like that? Let go of my hand while I'm being polite."
"She said she doesn't want you to. Please stop. We'll take her home."
"You little snotty brats, getting fresh. I saw you give her a drink earlier—what are you up to? What school are you from? Want to get expelled?"
Shirone's expression went cold. He'd mentioned school deliberately—if a teacher caused a scene, rumors would follow.
Iruki spoke.
"So you've been watching us this whole time. All the more reason for you to butt out. And another thing: the woman standing here isn't someone you can mess with."
"You? You just called me 'you'?" Silver snapped.
"What else should I call you? Should I call you a pervert?"
"You rude little—!"
Half-drunk, Silver turned his anger on Iruki and grabbed his collar. A sharp shock stabbed his side and his grip slackened. Silver grimaced, clutched his stomach, and took a step back.
"Ugh! What the—?"
Nade was letting electricity build in the palm of his hand.
"Get lost. Next time I'll fry your crotch."
A burly man with a southern look who'd been ready to back Silver approached with a serious face.
"Hey, those kids—are students from the Magic Academy."
"The Magic Academy? Alpheas School of Magic?"
Silver's expression turned sour. The Magic Academy wasn't the same as the schools ordinary nobles attended. Alpheas was one of the kingdom's five great academies, where only top nobles gathered.
As Silver's eyes darted to assess the situation, Iruki sneered and stepped closer.
"I heard you were planning to get us expelled?"
"N-no, that's—"
"I'm Iruki Merkodain. Try expelling us if you can."
"Mer—Merkodain?"
The alcohol left Silver all at once. No matter how provincial Creas might be, among Tormia's nobles there wasn't one who didn't know the Merkodain name.
They were a top family—first-rank nobility, and for centuries the unchallenged heads of the king's advisory body, the Yongroe.
Silver's pupils trembled. Iruki wore a look of annoyed expectation. There were always nobles who flaunted their names, but they'd bullied Silver in that particular way to protect Siina. He'd suspected the man was too spineless to make a real move, yet the possibility of someone exploiting Siina's status as a teacher was enough to nip things in the bud. Besides, Siina belonged to the Olipher faction—she wasn't the sort to be rattled by something so trivial.
"Come on, Silver. Hey, Silver!"
The burly man grabbed Silver's arm. Grateful to be spared humiliation, Silver fled as fast as his dignity allowed. After they left, Shirone's group still couldn't hide their anger. He'd made a public pass at their teacher—clearly he hadn't thought of them as anything.
"This place is filthy. You can't judge by the name. Let's never come here again."
"Yeah. Come on, let's go. It's getting dark."
"Teacher, are you okay?"
"Mm. I'm fine. Let's go."
Supported by Nade, Siina rose with difficulty. The swarm of sleazy men had annoyed her, but hadn't ruined her mood. With her students standing guard, what was there to fear? Even as an official Grade 6 mage, in public she was still just a woman used to being escorted according to noble etiquette.
Her students suddenly seemed endearing. Siina, who had cheerfully paid for dinner, stumbled out.
The moon hung in the sky.
With no clouds, moonlight poured down. Siina sighed, a sound full of pure delight.
For some reason she felt good. Maybe it was the alcohol, but maybe it meant a new leap forward. She felt she might finally live her own life, free from Armin's shadow. Probably just the drink, though…
"Ah, I feel great. I feel so good tonight."
Siina looked up at the moon and spun like a girl. Shirone's group gaped.
Had the alcohol thawed the ice around her heart, even if only for a while?
With her purple hair let down, she was beautiful in the moonlight. Her trench coat fanned out like an umbrella as she twirled. People wandering the night glanced her way, but nobody hissed or frowned.
She looked that charming.
Shirone's group didn't want to stop her. In fact, they watched this drunken side they'd never seen before with fascinated interest.
"So the teacher's got that side, huh? This is interesting."
"Maybe… we've got a scoop?"
Iruki's eyes flashed as he thought.
"Hmm. This could be used as leverage, you mean? Something to stop the research club from being disbanded."
"If we tie it all together right, it could work. Siina won't lie under oath—if she remembers, she'd be too embarrassed to deny it."
While Nade and Iruki hatched schemes, Shirone suddenly shouted, pointing at Siina.
"Hey! Over there!"
Siina's steps were getting tangled. Like a spinning top losing its balance, she looked about to topple.
"Catch her!"
If she fell in front of everyone, it would be a disaster. Shirone braced her back while Nade and Iruki seized her arms.
"Teacher, pull yourself together. If you're not steady, we won't get into the academy."
"Ugh. I'm dizzy."
Siina swayed. She'd emptied a bottle of cognac in an hour and spun around dozens of times—no wonder she felt out of it. It was like being punished with a drink.
"Hey, this won't do. Shirone, carry her on your back."
"What? Why me?"
"You're the strongest among us."
Shirone sighed. The three boys were eighteen, but they'd devoted themselves to magic training and often went without proper sleep or food, so they weren't as strong as their peers.
Still, Shirone had climbed mountains and trees since he was little; he had more strength than the others.
"Can't help it. Fine—get on my back, teacher."
"Don't make such a show of hating it. How often will you get to carry the teacher? I'm actually jealous."
Nade's expression showed not envy but relief; he grinned annoyingly.
"Tch. If you won't speak, then…"
Shirone hoisted Siina onto his back and went on. Outside the noble district, people thinned noticeably. For day laborers, leisure was a luxury.
"By the way, Siina's smaller than I thought. She's really compact to carry. I thought she was about my height normally."
"Must be psychological. Teachers always seem taller."
"Maybe. But she's heavier than I expected. My arms are getting sore."
Iruki nodded and laughed.
"Haha. Of course people have weight. Women are made of bones, muscles, and flesh too. Don't tell me you thought she'd be feather-light."
He hadn't exactly thought that—but he'd vaguely expected her to be lighter. He couldn't let on that he'd never even held a girl's hand before.
"No! I know that. But this is really hard. I don't think I can get to the school like this."
"If you can't, none of us can. Just grit your teeth and walk."
"Can't we use magic? Float her with an air spell or something."
"That'd look weird… she is our teacher, after all."
Imagining it, it would look odd. In the end Shirone—doomed to be the human palanquin—grumbled about the unfairness.
"Three guys and one girl, and we can't carry her? I'm embarrassed. I'd be jealous of Rian. If Rian were here, he could carry me carrying Siina. I should've learned skima instead."
Nade and Iruki fell silent. Admitting they couldn't carry a single woman left them with a hollow feeling.
But really, women were heavier than they'd expected; bookish boys like them had almost no strength.
"What can you do? We've exercised our heads, not our bodies. We're good with thinking, not lifting."
Iruki snapped his fingers.
"Then use your heads. Learn skima right now. Shirone, you up for it?"
"Are you kidding? How can I learn skima all of a sudden?"
"You can at least try. I pulled off Spirit Zone in one go. Don't tell me you couldn't."
Nade said, "I succeeded on the first try too. Once you get a feel for it, it works. Shirone, what about you?"
Shirone, groaning under Siina's weight, looked up.
"Huh? Oh—yeah, I did it at once too. To be honest, I didn't even know it was called Spirit Zone back then."
Iruki chuckled—typical Shirone, able to enter Spirit Zone without knowing what it was.
"Odd, but still—so try it now. The basic principle's the same, isn't it?"
Hearing that, Iruki's idea sounded plausible. There was aptitude to consider, but trying wouldn't hurt.
"Should we? Really give it a shot? My arms are killing me."