David stood among students in the middle of a long corridor, his feet a little sore from all the walking.

  Once archmage Loren had finished her brief welcome, Mr. Rafiel and Lady Greine took over and explained the basics of the academy to them.

  The older teacher seemed pleasant enough, like a knowledgeable grandpa. More of a scholar than an instructor, but at least he seemed like he wanted to be there. Lady Greine, on the other hand…

  David glanced sideways. The enchanting instructor leaned on the wall, arms crossed, face impassive. She hadn’t said more than twenty words all day, and most of them were grunted affirmations. An odd choice, if students’ first impressions were the metric to go by.

  "That would be all for today. Any questions?" Mr. Rafiel’s warm voice echoed through the corridor, as he gently adjusted his glasses.

  David glanced around, hoping someone else would speak first. Slowly, he raised his hand.

  “Yes, child? As long as you’re not interrupting anyone, you can just speak up. No need to be shy.” Mr Rafiel smiled.

  David took his hand down and returned the smile. The man’s countenance did wonders to offset the pressure of curious looks from other students. “Do we have to stay in the dormitory? Or are we allowed to commute?”

  A taller student with a lot of jewelry snickered at the question. “What, afraid you’ll miss your mommy?”

  David instinctively shrugged, without even looking at the boy, his eyes still on the teacher. He heard the boy inhaling to continue on his antics, but Mr. Rafiel cut him short.

  “Polbran, tight familial ties are to be praised. I would assume you are very close with your parents too, are you not? Going back to the question–It’s not mandatory…” Rafiel tapped his chin. “Though highly recommended if you don’t live in the noble quarter or nearby. Walking will eat into your learning time quite a lot! Any other questions?”

  There weren’t any, nor were there more wannabe class clowns to make further snide remarks either.

  To be fair to him, Polbran took the teacher's comment in stride. It probably wasn’t that serious in the first place.

  The information was straightforward enough—Relevant classrooms as it pertained to them, were fully contained on the first floor. They’d spend mornings in the classrooms being taught theory, followed by unstructured time for self-study. Once evening approached, the day would be concluded with an evaluation session to report on their progress and receive further guidance.

  Simple on paper and quite different from the studies he had grown used to back in his old life.

  “Well, this is it then. Lady Greine will see you all tomorrow morning for your first lessons.”

  A few audible gulps echoed through the corridor, as everyone looked to the black-clad woman standing behind Mr. Rafiel and the students began to trickle out toward the exit. David waited for everyone to pass, then moved after them, afraid to break some yet-unknown social hierarchy.

  Outside, the sun was already low in the sky, coloring the marble towers of Ki-Elico academy in gold. He took a familiar path, winding through the broader merchant streets that connected the noble district to the city proper, and eventually branched off toward the refugee quarter.

  A cool breeze ran between the buildings, rustling his robes. They were finally dry. He had seriously underestimated how long that would take.

  He walked forward rather carelessly, until shadow covered him and a ground shook under him. He flinched aside as a worker golem stopped right before him.

  The moving construct was the size of two adult men and the weight of at least twenty.

  It had stopped right in front of him, motionless. A jolt of adrenaline hit him, as he realized he’d stepped into its path.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, rushing to back out of the way.

  The golem gave no acknowledgement, resuming its slow march toward the noble district, dragging a cart chock full of logs and stone blocks.

  David exhaled slowly. If that thing hadn’t stopped in time, he’d be little more than a wet spot on the ground… He looked at the golem’s retreating back, praising the competence of its maker.

  Ahead, more golems clanked and shifted through the avenues. All carting building materials toward the noble quarter.

  It had started two weeks prior, right after the ruins raid.

  David’s brows furrowed. Hiveo’s memories had shown him the plan—the rebels as a distraction, and a direct strike on Romuald’s estate. No matter how little affection David still held for Viera and her team, it still sat wrong with him.

  Lead dozens, nay hundreds to death to spite a single man? Absolutely insane.

  He shook the thought off and turned toward the less affluent parts of the city. With rebels gone and the new influx of refugees, he had expected the place to fall into disrepair, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Many old buildings were being torn down in favor of adding more multi-floor living spaces. There weren’t any golems here, but probably because they weren’t needed. Even now, hundreds of people streamed through the streets, carrying supplies. Workers hammered in planks in a haze.

  Dawn to dusk, the work never seemed to stop. There were many reasons for the drastic improvements to the refugee quarter, and as he neared his home, David had spotted one such agent of change.

  Sophie stood at the edge of a small group, speaking animatedly with a tall armored man. Her face was lit up as she talked, hands gesturing quickly. Sophie and guards were usually a recipe for disaster, so David sped up his walk, hoping to interrupt the situation.

  It was only when the other person shifted that he saw his profile and recognized him—Hito. The man who had saved them after the rebel raid. Well, moreso, the man who didn’t snitch on them.

  A moment later, Sophie noticed David and waved to him. She stepped back from the guard with a quick curtsy, though it felt more like a playful gesture than a formal one. Hito nodded in return, smiling.

  She jogged up to David, falling into step beside him.

  He was steadily growing, but she was still quite a bit taller than him.

  “Good timing,” she said. “My shift just ended. Let’s walk.”

  They started down the street together.

  “There was a woman trying to prevent us from building a new house today. I tried to argue with her for like an hour and she just wouldn’t budge. Ugh. I had to leave then, because supposedly a worker pushed another one off the scaffolding. I barely had time to eat! And that was just the beginning, later…”

  Sophie launched into her usual pace of rapid-fire sentences following a rather scatterbrained stream of thought.

  Wait. This wasn’t the ‘usual’ Sophie for a long time now. It feels like years.

  David’s chest filled with warmth as he only half-followed her words. This was Sophie from before Calland. Before the predator. Before it all went wrong.

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  David smiled. “I’m happy for you,” he said, finding space between one story and the next.

  She blinked. “Huh? Where did that come from?”

  “You’ve really moved up in the world,” he added.

  Sophie grinned, pushing his shoulder playfully. “Yeah, well, you’re not doing too bad yourself, academy boy. How was your first day?”

  “Uneventful, compared to yours. Though, there was this guy covered in so much gold even the nobles were giving him weird looks.” David snorted, then hesitated. “Hey… about that guard… Hito? Why were you talking with him?”

  Her cheeks pinked, just a little, as she rattled off a rapidfire explanation. “All representatives are assigned guards. It’s really helpful to have an armored man by your side when your job is all about arguing with people and convincing them to work better or change their ideas…” She paused, to catch a breath, “And since we already knew each other—Well we’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t have the best memories of you interacting with guards.” David scratched his head awkwardly. “But if it’s Hito, I guess that’s alright. I like him, I think.” He quickly added.

  “Thanks for looking out for me. You did promise you’d protect me, and what do you know? I’m still alive.” Sophie chuckled and she rustled his hair. “But you don’t have to worry. I think he’s one of the good ones.”

  David nodded with a knowing smile.

  Ah, to be young and in love. He joked internally. It would be quite weird if he said something like that out loud. For multiple reasons. Even in his old life, many people didn’t appreciate his humor, and back then, there were no mind boggling circumstances to go along with it.

  Sophie knit her brows, trying to divine his thoughts from his face. She punched him lightly then continued talking at him. David wasn’t sure what she thought he was thinking about, but it probably didn’t matter much.

  Truth would always be crazier.

  The sun had gone down before David and Sophie reached home.

  Sophie pushed the door open with her shoulder, putting entirely too much force behind the move and stumbling as they flew open. “We’re back,” she called, after righting herself, her voice energetic.

  Aura’s head shot up from the table on which she was resting it. She must have dozed off reading her notes. “Oh, you–” she started talking before her own yawn interrupted her. “You’re back! Welcome home, we’ve been waiting for you!”

  Bert sat across from her, sprawled out in the chair and drinking a beer from a large tankard. He immediately put it aside as he noticed them enter and sat straighter. He welcomed them, then immediately asked David how the first day at the academy went.

  “We were crazy with worry,” Aura added. “We have… Mixed feelings about the matter.”

  “It was great! I don’t see any problems there, you have nothing to worry about!” David tried his best to assuage their fears.

  “I couldn’t sleep properly ever since you two went into politics,” Bert grumbled.

  “Bert…” Aura chided him.

  “I’m helping improve the life conditions of refugees as someone who understands them well.” Sophie placed her fists against her hips with brows knit together in a mock-threatening expression. “And Marco is a student! What’s either of that got to do with politics?”

  Bert took a sip of his beer and cradled his temple. “Ehh. How do I explain it…” He shot Aura a look, but she didn’t react. “If we make it simple, you are a beginner city official and Marco is a new apprentice, right?”

  “I guess?” Sophie responded, confused. “What about it?”

  David already knew what Bert was moving toward. It was simple math, really.

  “How much were you paid for today, Sophie?” Bert continued.

  Sophie dug around in her pockets then tossed a small cloth pouch onto the table. It landed with a satisfying clink. “About this much, but it’s for the last three days.”

  Bert reached for the pouch and opened it, letting the coins pour out onto the table. “Two large ones and five…ten…” He squinted his eyes, then shot Aura another look.

  “That’s fifty silvers, dear.”

  “Thanks. So, Fifty silvers—for three days of work as a brand-new city official.”

  “I don’t understand. I’m doing a lot of work, if that’s what you mean.” Sophie’s confusion was growing deeper.

  “The problem is, you’re not being paid for your work. That’s worth maybe a third of the amount and there’s many others who could do it faster or more efficiently.” Sophie took a deep breath, obviously offended, and was about to argue, but Bert raised his hand to silence her. “You have a lot of goodwill with the refugees, anyone can see that. I can’t for the life of me understand how you got there, but you do. Those refugees like you and are willing to support you.”

  “That’s… What?” Sophie looked around helplessly. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

  David almost spoke up, but thought better of it. Sophie was sure to get it in a moment or two. Bert was taking the right approach in explaining it, anyway.

  “If you told the refugees that the current ruler of the city is a good person who wants the best for them, what do you think would happen?”

  “They would be a little skeptical, but would probably trust me, why?” She thought for a second. “In fact, that’s exactly what happened a week ago, when I had to solve a dispute.”

  “And that’s what you’re being paid for. Your influence.”

  Sophie’s eyes widened slightly and she fell into deep thought. Bert gave her time as he sipped his beer, and David moved to sit next to Aura. They would be seeing one another precious little starting tomorrow.

  Eventually, Sophie spoke again. “But that’s not a bad thing! I am working with Lord Romuald and managed to secure a lot of privileges for the refugee district. Soon it might even stop being called that!”

  Bert’s face darkened, and David felt he was about to say something deeply hurtful, even if unknowingly. Aura must have understood the same, since she glared Bert into silence and took over. “It’s not a bad thing sweety, not by itself. But what if there’s someone equally powerful as Lord Romuald, whose goals run in the opposite direction?”

  “I–” Sophie took a deep breath. “I’d be in danger… What about Marco then? Not to be a prick, but he has no influence.”

  “Don’t I know it,” David shrugged and raised his hands. “Then, am I being paid for remaining loyal? You know, once I grow into the greatest archmage this country has ever seen?”

  David’s joke caught Bert in the middle of drinking, causing him to spit all over the table. He then laughed heartily as everyone else chuckled. “That’s the spirit and the right answer, son.”

  “You’re both very smart. Smarter than me. Don’t make any promises and come to us before dealing with anyone who looks dangerous.” Bert stood up, walked up to Sophie, then pulled her into a hug. She was a little surprised, but reciprocated. “Some mistakes can be truly unforgiving, I hope you’ll never have to experience that.” Bert ended on a somber note.

  Yeah, that’s one way to say it.

  David gulped and involuntarily tugged at Aura’s sleeve.

  “It’s been a while since you’ve done that, Marco.” She smiled at him as she rustled his hair. “I used to worry about how slow you’ve been growing, but now that you're getting taller, I find myself wishing for a way to delay that even further.”

  David pulled away his hand, a little uncomfortable. The instincts of his young body still took him by surprise much too often for his liking.

  Aura wiped the beer off the table and pushed her notebook to the middle of it. “In other news,” she said, “At this pace, we’ll be able to buy full citizenship and a proper place to live in like, three or four weeks.”

  David blinked. “Wait, really?”

  “Really,” she said, and then softer, “Both of you contributed much more than I ever imagined. I’m so proud of you.”

  The rest of the conversation boiled down to throwing ideas about dream houses they’d like to live in and getting around to prepare dinner.

  It was a nice surprise to see both Aura and Bert more energetic these days. Once the additional money started regularly rolling in, they were able to reduce their working hours to manageable amounts.

  A little later, after they’d eaten, David and Sophie went downstairs with buckets, to refill the water barrel.

  Outside, the air was cooler, and the sky was navy blue above the rooftops.

  Sophie stayed quiet until they reached well. She seemed content but deep in thought.

  David reached for the lever, but she stopped him with a light touch to the wrist.

  “Hey… quick thing,” she said.

  He looked at her.

  Her easy smile had faded. Her voice was quieter. “I didn’t want to ask earlier, but… Back then in the forest, in those… ruins, there was a rebel with a magical weapon that looked just like Aura’s sword.”

  David’s stomach dropped.

  “It’s a coincidence, right?” Sophie watched him carefully. “You said you were just borrowing it.”

  “It was that same sword.” David looked down at the ground. “I lost it.”

  Silence.

  “I didn’t mean to. They were supposed to give it back after the raid at the ruins, but one thing led to another, and they never made it back into the city. I don’t know where it is. I don’t think I can get it back.” He glanced up. “Please don’t tell her. Not yet. I’ll find a way to make it up to her. I promise.”

  Sophie crossed her arms. “You’re asking for trouble, and you know it.”

  “I do.”

  She let out a long breath, then looked away. “Fine. But I’m sure that sword meant a lot to her.”

  “I know that too,” he said, his voice quiet. “I’ll fix it somehow.”

  She didn’t answer immediately, but after a few seconds, she started drafting the water from the well.

  “Let’s just get the buckets full. You’ll do what you think is right.” Sophie conceded. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Not today, at least.”

  Bert’s words about unforgiving consequences echoed in David’s mind, but he did his best to drown them out with plans to make up for his mistakes.

  For now, the least he could do was study vigorously starting tomorrow. To at least make it all worth it… but in the long term? How do you replace something one-of-a-kind?

  They filled up the buckets and returned home as darkness deepened around them.