Chapter 57: Chapter 55

“Now, could anybody identify what this greater demon is called?”

Conrad gestured towards the projection of a large picture at the front of the classroom, as he turned the page of the book in front of him.

“Yes… Gale.”
“That would be a harpy.”
“Correct.”

He held in a sigh as the golden-haired beauty puffed up her chest in pride before he continued his lesson. He was happy that his open question had received a quick answer - he just hoped that someone else might have a chance to chime in as Gale had responded to nearly every question he’d asked all day.

“Harpies are quite similar to Sirens in many ways, though the latter is more often associated with a mermaid form, and their half-human half-bird appearance is only referenced in some ancient texts.”

The picture displayed was a sketch of a vulture-like bird with large talons and wide wings, though the body of the creature was a human woman from the torso upwards. The feathers seemed to meld into the flesh with an uncanny string of sinews that was unsettling to look at, and the students were happy that the picture was only a drawing and not the real thing.

“It’s important to note that Sirens are often compared to Succubi in their charm ability, but for Harpies, this is not the case. Some texts claim they are beautiful maidens, others that they are disgusting creatures, but either way, they are generally associated with storms and are said to carry people away.”

Conrad drew a rough circle around the fearsome talons, and arrows towards the wings, as he faced the class.

“Many researchers and historians now note it’s likely their appearance was in conjunction with old sailor’s tales of storms: the ‘fair maiden’ winds would ferry you home, and the ‘vile creature’ winds would drag you out to sea to die.”

If demons were more commonplace back in those times, the creature’s physical appearance wouldn’t necessarily be linked to the danger it might have posed, but it wasn’t hard to see that stories about a beast that was the wind incarnate would have equal parts positive and negative representation. It was impossible to say after so many millennia exactly what the truth was, but folk tales and legends were passed down through generations for a reason.

“Focusing on the key point there, being ‘carried away’ is of course a literal concern when fighting the demons physically, but don’t underestimate the wind itself. Their connection to the wind is deep-rooted, but whether they can control it directly or simply sense the currents and take advantage of them is still unknown, so just make sure you aren’t leaving yourselves open to being blasted off a cliff by a rogue gust should you ever come face to face with this demon.”

*Ring!*

Just in time, Conrad finished his final point as the bell rang to signal the end of the day.

“That’s all for today. As mentioned, Yuuji, Gale, please come and see me - the rest of you can go.”

Yuuji waved goodbye to Hibiki and began making his way to the front of the room as requested, while the other students chatted between themselves happily as they began making plans for the evening. He was already well aware of what Mr Pierce was going to ask as it had been discussed privately earlier, and both Hibiki and Ji-Hye had plans for the day anyway, so he wasn’t in a rush.

With the murmurs of idle gossip dying down, Conrad faced the two remaining students with a smile.

“Thanks for staying. Yuuji, I know you haven’t been here for as long as some of the others, but I appreciate you stepping in to show Gale around the island. Helios can be a bit daunting to navigate around at times, and I was having trouble finding someone for the task.”
“No problem. To be honest, it took me a little while to get used to it myself, but I’ve more or less travelled all over the island now, for one reason or another.”

Yuuji smiled wryly as the faces of some of his companions flashed before his eyes. His friends and partners alike tended to have very specific tastes and hobbies, and as he got to know everyone better it wasn’t long before he found himself being dragged to every corner of the island.

“You have my sincere thanks for this. As ashamed as I am to admit it, directions are not my forte.”

Gale gave a neat curtsy to him as she lowered her head. She was tall, and when stood straight her height roughly equalled his own, but it still made the back of his neck itch when she acted so reserved despite them being classmates.

“It’s fine, everyone has their own strengths. Let’s head out, and I’ll show you around.”
“Very well.”

Yuuji nodded farewell to Conrad, as Gale bowed lightly in turn. Heading out the door, she struck up a conversation as they talked quietly while travelling.

“If I may ask; how should I address you? I feel we may have gotten off on the wrong foot previously.”
“I don’t blame you at all for the situation in Marlbourne. You had a duty to your country at the time, and that was that.”

He had been in a similar situation many times in the past. Sometimes the orders he had received did not strictly align with the objectives of the people he would be working with - even occasionally going so far that he would secretly be acting against them.

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Holding Gale responsible for something that was largely out of her control would just be pointless. Not only that, but she had resigned from a role that she likely spent her entire youth battling to achieve, so her own feelings about the actions of her country were clearly far stronger than his.

“...And just call me Yuuji. I don’t know what you heard about the Reaper, but he no longer exists. The world is better without him.”
“Very well. The Reaper may not have been a saint, but he saved countless lives, both in my country and across others. Even if he is no more… I hope to still count on your strength, Yuuji.”

Most of the other students of Phoenix had only truly begun fighting once they arrived, but the two of them were different. He could tell from the way she composed herself that she had been through many horrors, though she stuck with her comrades and country through it all, and it shaped her.

It seemed that only now was she truly striking out on her own, but she didn’t seem afraid as he had been - whatever code or morals she had resolved to live by, she had taken it with her to this place.

They continued in relative silence as they left the school grounds, and entered the mainland of the island.

******

“So the inhabited sections of the island truly don’t move as it travels? Fascinating…”

Gale looked out onto the vast Atlantic Ocean with awe. They had travelled across the main stretch of Heliopolis, covering the highlights of the central shopping district, as well as attractions for leisure such as the various parks and entertainment buildings. Any further south would be heading to the agricultural section that wasn’t frequently visited - outside of Hibiki asking to go and see some of the livestock kept there, of course.

“A large part of the engineering behind Helios was done by our very own Ji-Hye. She isn’t in class often, but today wasn’t actually her just slacking - she was doing some maintenance in preparation for us to set sail.”
“Is she the young technological prodigy I heard rumours about? Forgive me if this seems a little rude, but I didn’t expect that from meeting her previously.”

As Ji-Hye seemingly plugged into the internet as a form of life support, she was operating in a critically damaged state throughout their time at Marlbourne, so Yuuji wasn’t surprised to hear Gale’s thoughts at all.

“...No, she mostly just uses her talents for whatever absurd idea pops into her mind. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

As Yuuji sighed deeply to himself, Gale let out a pleasant chuckle.

“You two are close, aren’t you?”

He scratched the back of his ear meekly with a smile, as he too watched the calm ocean waves.

“We’re dating. It’s a recent thing.”
“Hoo~? Congratulations. I don’t intend to pry, but I had assumed you were seeking a relationship with the horned one.”
“...I’m dating her too.”
“...”

An awkward silence fell over them as the water crashed against the rocky ground below.

“Ahem. Is there anywhere else you wanted to visit? We’ve covered the main sections of the island.”
“O-Of course. I was wondering, where is the island stable located? If it is to the south, that seems quite inconvenient as it would be far from the dormitory.”
“Stable..?”

He had managed to forcefully change the subject, but he was surprised to hear her response. They looked at each other with confusion, clearly at an impasse in the conversation.

“Well, where else are the horses kept?”
“...”

He blinked twice.

“We don’t have horses here.”
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“Why would we!? Do you have a horse!?”
“Naturally. Her name is Llamrei - the most magnificent white mare you will ever see; as fast as the wind and twice as graceful.”

Her common sense was a little too far gone for him to recover… not that he was a particularly good judge, for that matter.

“...I’ll ask Mr Pierce.”

In the end, he decided to pass the problem off to someone else.

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