259 Gossip

Cerlius awoke drenched in sweat. He lept from his bed and scanned the room. The gunpowder was still on the desk with quills sticking out of it. He was still trapped. He calmed himself and prepared for the day ahead. The grey robe which he changed into was soft. The thin pants and shirt underneath were adequate.

He pulled out papers from his desk and wrote down the details of the dream, even if it was just words. He placed the drying paper in his personal folder, between his incomplete map of the academy and his notes about the outside world. Then he waited, staring blankly at the dark sea of clouds inches below his window. 'I feel like I'm missing something. Larque, do you have any clues?'

'"Missing something" is a broad statement.' Larque responded. 'But I think I know what you mean. Get into a stance.'

Cerlius walked to the center of the room and took a crane stance on the rug. 'Like this?'

'…I guess you really have forgotten everything. I'd lend you a spear but then the instructors would detect me.'

Cerlius put both feet down and raised an eyebrow. 'You can just give me a spear? What kind of elemental magic is that?'

'It's not elemental magic.' Larque replied with a chuckle. 'I never thought there would be a day where I tell a Lich about magic, or at least that the information wouldn't be tortured out of me as you did to countless others.'

Cerlius shrugged. 'I may not remember much but those I tortured were probably just in my way, like Travis.'

The demon shifted. 'Not even a change of heartrate.'

'What?'

'Nothing. Forget I said it.'

Cerlius made an effort not to narrow his eyes. 'I can feel you moving around in the back of my mind but I can't see you. Can you do anything about that?'

Larque chuckled. 'I'm flattered that you want to see my handsome mug but unfortunately that's not possible. Back to your question, elemental magic is merely one type of magic. Demon magic is another. There are over a hundred types of magic. Maybe you can try to remember them in your time here. Maybe that will be a way to restore your memories.'

Cerlius's hand flicked to his side and grasped the open air as the door clicked open. On the other side was one of the Demis, who bowed before moving to the next room. Dozens of metal keys jingled at his side.

Cerlius took one big bite and frowned. Unlike yesterday, there was no one sitting at his table. The blood and cracked tiles had disappeared but there were still some small splats of dried oil in dirty corners. Students kept their distance as they walked by and avoided eye contact. The Demi didn't even bow. He hurried away with wide eyes. Cerlius didn't care as long as they didn't reach for his food or threaten to slap him with it.

The person who had done both of those things sat in a corner, scowling to himself. Due to the healer, he might have recovered physically but no amount of healing magic could fix the scar left on his ego. He kept his head down and ate his fish slowly. His old underlings sat far away. They occasionally pointed at him and chuckled under their breath.

'Look at him,' Larque remarked. 'Funny how greed can lead to one's downfall. A suiting ending for such an idiotic human. He looks so small and pathetic now, like a child who was just scolded. Go make fun of him.' Cerlius rolled his eyes and finished his meal. 'Come on. Take joy in his misery. You might even be able to take his fish.'

'Are you just hungry?' Cerlius thought back to yesterday's incident, where his anger had been eaten away just like the fish on his plate. He waited but there was no response. 'I don't care what happens to him as long as he stays broken.'

After breakfast he attended another lesson on the fundamentals of magic. Lunch came after that with the same cold treatment as breakfast. The repeating meal was getting old fast but food was food. He had eaten worse…probably. He knew the first half of the day's routine well, even if he had only experienced it twice. The second half of the day, while Lance had explained portions of it, was all new to him. All he knew is that Lance had been...enthusiastic about it. Naturally, that made him tense.

Lunch had finished. The Demis gathered the plates and hurried off, returning soon after. The instructors made their way to the left side of the mess hall, followed by the students, followed by - to Cerlius's surprise - the Demis. Their stained suits still smelled of breakfast, lunch, and dinner but they wore bright smiles and even talked to each other. The contrasting demeanors struck Cerlius as odd, and he quickly found himself engrossed by the scene. There was still that obvious gap in social standing, represented by how distant the three groups were from one another.

The loudest of the Demis was a crowd of female demi humans around a nervous-looking Olpi. She smiled and nodded but kept her head low. Although Cerlius couldn't tell what they were saying, he picked up on enough to tell that they were gossiping.