Chapter 6: 6. Knightly Woes

Tumbling through the air, the knight shifts their body’s weight, pointing their feet to the ground. Like a hero out of legend, they land—with one knee on the pavement and one foot on the other. Heavy plate scrapes against gravel, leaving only a wordless knight, calm even to this very moment.

That’s a dramatic entrance for you.

Accompanied by my hopefully fitting narration.

All in all, quite the entrance. Even up until now, there’s not so much as a hint of reaction from them. No gasp. No wail. No exhausted grunt. While there’s no guarantee of it, my logical assumption leads me to believe that the knight has a little something called ‘Resolve’. Spirit energy, if you will.

Besides magic, Resolve is also one of the greatest distinguishers in ability.

As long as you have that, surviving a fall or even a bullet is no biggie.

Resolve is a flexible thing, really.

It’s what enables people to develop Idiosyncrasies. Manifest strange abilities. And it’s also the fuel for mana, and hence magic as a consequence.

Given the supposed eccentricity of the school, it, therefore, comes as no great surprise that I’ve managed to spot a ‘Resolved’ in the wild. After all, I can imagine many a noble or blue blood wanting to come here. And the most common way you develop Resolve is through lineage.

Simple as is!

Relishing in my fortune, I wait and stand in anticipation of what is to come.

Without so much as a sound (besides the slight shuffle of metal plate), they turn, facing in our general direction.

“Mr. Althaiez, I see you and your friend have caught me at a most ill-timed moment.”

Emanating out of that armour is the soft contralto of a girl. An elevated and calm one, befitting that of a great hero, or in the context of a school environment, a disciplinary committee member, one might say.

“Ah yes, ill-timed, right, ahem.” Mumbles Rainee, scratching the back of his head. “One could uh say that.”

“Opportune and golden, more like.” Deciding to approach, I give a slight bow and offer my hand. “Azama Meyos, soon to be teacher at this Azamazing institution.”

Her face pulls backwards by just 1 cm, indicating some degree of surprise. A moment after, her jaw fully relaxes as if simultaneously surprised and amused at my exclamation.

“Jaiga Al Heilweis, supposed paladin of justice and order.” The girl shakes my hand in turn, offering with it a self-deprecating joke and a firm yet amicable gesture.

We continue for a few seconds before she pauses. Stopping just for a moment, she then utters with casual disappointment. “How rude of me.” And lifts her helmet's visor.

Underneath it reveals a strapping young visage, with neck-length dark brown hair and a fitting pair of fierce amber eyes to match! Simply Azamazing, I say. There’s really no shortage to my curiosity.

You can spot the marks of battle, even!

On her cauliflower ears and slightly damaged nose, a testament to her unyielding prowess before challenge. With our boundless access to modern medicine and magic these days, you really do have to wonder why she has them.

Superb, I could not have hoped for a better introduction!

“Apologies, it seems that in the company of barbarians, I have forgotten my manners.”

“I hope said barbarians aren’t me and Rainee.” I joke.

“No, no, far from it.” She replies, smiling in turn. “The barbarians I refer to have taken refuge within the school.”

Oh, how fun! A gang of sprawling beasts in active opposition to a knight of honour and goodwill. Fun, but questionable in its merit, that is. Interestingly, the “barbarian”, apparently named Ceylica, seems far more popular than the knight in shining armour. When push came to shove, the students in the classroom were cheering for ‘Ceylica’ and not miss ‘Jaiga’.

Peculiar.

Is our knightly Jaiga just unpopular around these parts?

Or is there a deeper power dynamic at play?

“So, Ceylica’s the name of the girl who threw you, eh?” I say, giving an inquisitive glare. “Is she, as the kids, like to say ‘cool and hip’?

She scratches her chin and looks to me as if unsure of how to reply.

“I’m not terribly familiar with those terms, but I would suppose that within public perception, she is indeed ‘cool and hip’,” Jaiga elaborates on her point, a line between a mumble and speech. Almost hurriedly, she then mutters, “She is a Crown, after all.”

That term, in particular, catches my attention. Crown. I like it. The emphasis Jaiga placed on that word lends me to believe it's a title, fun connotations included.

Wasting no time, I decide to ask directly.

“By the way, Jaiga, if you don’t mind telling me, what does the title of ‘Crown’ infer?”

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I make reference to her previous statement, recalling that she said that word. Jaiga shuts her eyes in response and lets out a faint chuckle.

“It infers to whoever holds enough power to command a part of the school.”

Implications, implications, implications!

“So, if a Crown holds only a part of the school, would it be right to infer that besides Ceylica that there are several others?”

“You would be correct.”

A sound rings out from my right. Coughing into his hand, Rainee then looks at us in embarrassment.

“Jeez uh, I hope you aren’t hurt or anything.” asks the mage, unsure of whether to make awkward eye contact, or drift elsewhere.

Heh.

Trying to shift the conversation elsewhere, aren't you?

Well, if that isn’t just terribly suspicious and convenient to do so when the topic of ‘Crowns’ are mentioned! Not that it concerns me, of course. Either way, Jaiga takes it in stride and doesn’t question his intentions.

“Worry not; a trifle such as this has ill-effect on a knight like me.”

“Right, right, yeah, just asking.” Mutters the mage with such a quickened rhythm that his words seem to blur into each other.

Soon enough, Rainee begins to scratch the back of his head, and Jaiga, in turn, stares solemnly at him. I get the sense that a certain sense of unease has begun to settle, and accordingly, break it apart with the power of my raw words.

“So, is defenestration a common pastime around here?”

"Defenestration, dishonour, and all manner of poorly inclined behaviour."

Without missing a beat, the unprepared Rainee sighs and offers me a consoling look.

"They're good students at heart, I promise."

Interjecting, Jaiga says with confident formality, "My experience seems to suggest otherwise. Are you aware that one out of five students has been subject to physical violence?"

To that, Rainee has no response. Giving only a downward gaze and increased intensity in head scratching.

"Yeah, but like, mild violence, shoving elves into lockers and whatnot, like just school stuff, right?"

Replying only with a raised eyebrow, Jaiga defies Rainee with raw presence alone.

“Arg.”

Before long, the poor mage capitulates. Saying no more of the topic, the once somewhat adamant Rainee relents, now fixated on some nearby scenery.

Tragic as it is, the show must continue.

Right now, I’m considering the implications of our discussion. If I understand correctly, the school is ruled over by so-called Crowns, violence is seemingly everywhere, and we have a paladin in fully decked out plate armour?

I want to offer Rainee my opinion on the matter. But when I inspect him, I can’t help but realise he’s putting on his signature moody-eyed look. Right, he's probably still sad because he's being reminded of how unstable the school he created is.

Hmm.

Actually, now that I notice the tree reflected in his eyes, I have an idea. Maybe Rainee doesn’t want to speak about it, you know, awkwardness and all that. That’s okay in my book!

But I certainly do want to see it for myself.

“Very well then, onwards to meet the barbarians we go!”

I begin to head towards the tree, whistling all the while.

It’s a lovely breed, Aoelian Rarb, to be precise. Native to western Aoel, the tree is not only renowned for its magnificent orange leaves but also their application in magic as a conductor. However, perhaps most importantly of all, the tree is around 2.6 times my height and just the perfect size for what I’m about to do!

Tensing my legs, I run. Dashing up the surface of the tree, I reach a height that is just parallel to a classroom window. Then, with a push of my feet, I backflip straight into the room, landing with my feet on the ground.

In front of the window, I stand, my back turned to everyone.

Oopsie. Maybe it would’ve been better if I faced them front-on, but having a dramatic buildup to my reveal is fine too!

“Good afternoon, everyone!” I shout, doing a half-spin and bowing. “My name is Azama Meyos, but you can call me your superior, Mr. Azamazing, or just teach’!”

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