Return of the Runebound Professor

Garina stared at Lee in shock, but Lee was far more preoccupied with the new meal she’d claimed for herself. She studied the spiny fish for a few seconds, then raised the whole thing to her mouth and took a bite – from the spines.

Loud cracking noises came from her mouth as she chewed. A moment later, she swallowed. “Mm. Crunchy. That’s good.”

She didn’t give Garina any time to ask for her meal back. Within just a few seconds, Lee had mowed through the majority of the spikey fish, leaving Garina with nothing but the food Lee had given her.

After one last glance at Lee, Garina snagged one of the much easier to eat fishes from Lee’s plate and popped the whole thing into her mouth. And, even in spite of her cold features, a look of delight spread across her features.

“This is actually pretty good,” Garina allowed.

Disaster seemingly averted, everyone dug into their meals in full. Lee, as usual, was the first to finish, but the others didn’t take much longer. The food was fantastic, and before long, all of their plates had been polished clean.

Lee let out a curse and rubbed at her mouth.

“I bit my tongue,” Lee said, scrunching her nose in annoyance. “I don’t get how you haven’t bit yourself while we were talking. These teeth are too long.”

“Did you… copy my teeth?” Garina asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. I told you they looked cool, didn’t I?” Lee asked, giving Garina an open-mouthed smile. “They’re not very functional, though. Why’d you make them so big? Was it just because they looked cool?”

Garina looked down to her own, empty plate, then cleared her throat. “I’d never make a decision for such a petty reason. My only concern is accomplishing my goals, not how I look while doing it.”

Lee shrugged. “Okay. Thanks for the fish. It tasted good.”

Garina’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand you at all.”

“Thanks.”

“That wasn’t a compliment,” Garina said. “Your order was clearly better than mine. Why did you swap our plates, then thank me for giving you the worse one?”

“Because it looked like you didn’t like the spikey thing and I knew I’d like it just as much as the stuff I ordered, so more people would be happy if we swapped.”

“We have nothing between us. Beyond that – we’re clearly directly opposed. Your view of life is stupid and infantile. What’s the point of doing something like that?” Garina demanded. “We have no reason to help each other.”

“I don’t need a reason. It’s fun to make people happy, and it’s not like I got any sadder because of it.” Lee shrugged. “And you liked my fish more than yours, right? So I was right. Thus, you were wrong, not me.”

“Are you saying that my acceptance of your fish is equivalent to losing our argument?”

“Yep.”

“That has absolutely nothing to do with it, though!”

“You’re the one who took the fish,” Lee said with a snicker. “I didn’t give it to you because I’m scared of you. How do you justify that?”

Garina opened her mouth, then closed it as her brow furrowed in abject confusion. Noah didn’t blame her. Half the time, he didn’t understand Lee either.

The waiter returned to their table and everyone paid for their meals. The prices were high, but Lee didn’t even blink at having to pay for his food. Everyone’s food had run around fifty gold, which was obscenely expensive for a single meal – but Noah couldn’t help but feel that it had been worth it.

“Okay. Nice meeting you,” Lee said. “I want to sleep now. Can we go back?”

“Sure,” Noah said with a relieved laugh. It looked like they were somehow going to make it out of this without a fight. “It’s been a pleasure. I hope the two of you find the thing you’re looking for.”

“Thanks,” Ferd said, raising a hand in farewell as Noah’s group left.

He and Garina remained at the table in silence until the waiter came to kick them out and make room for the next customers.

***

“Why did you shorten my name?” Ferdinand asked.

Garina shrugged. “I don’t want people spreading word about you. Could end up bringing more of the rats from your church over here to bother me. Much easier to handle things if nobody knows what happened to you.”

It was a threat, but for Garina, it felt oddly hollow. A small frown creased Ferdinand’s face.

“You seem… off,” Ferdinand said hesitantly, half wondering why he was even bothering to speak. Garina hadn’t once spoken about herself, nor had he broached personal topics on his own end. Their ability to travel together was built entirely on not understanding each other.

The moment Garina knows for a fact that I came here with intention to break one of the rules, I’m dead. I’ve already stumbled too many times, so the wisest thing to do would just be to remain silent.

So why am I talking?

“What’s that meant to mean?” Garina asked, coming to a stop at a stone bench beside a park they were walking by. They’d left the restaurant a few minutes ago and had just been continuing in silence ever since. Garina stared into the twisting foliage, partially turned away from him.

It’s not like I can just say nothing now. That would only annoy her even more.

“You’re less… you,” Ferdinand said.

“What, do you want me to kill someone?” Garina asked with a snort. “Or maybe threaten you?”

“I’m not saying it would make me feel more comfortable, but I suppose it would seem more normal. Please refrain from killing someone that doesn’t need it, though.”

“I’m the damn Gatekeeper,” Garina said, turning to fully face Ferdinand. She looked more frustrated than he’d ever seen her. “Do you really think that I’d go around killing random people that I protect? Is that actually what you believe I stand for?”

“I don’t know,” Ferdinand replied honestly. “I don’t know you that well, Garina. I know the woman that you’re meant to be, and the rumors do not entirely line up with who you seem to be, but that does not mean I know you completely. Just because I don’t think you’d do something does not mean you are incapable of it – and, on the contrary, I suspect that stating you are unable to do something would likely cause you to do that very thing.”

Garina let out a bark of laughter. “Honest to a T. I suppose I should have expected that.”

As if anything we’ve shared is truly honest.

“What did you think of the little demon girl?” Garina asked, abruptly changing the subject. “For a Rank 3, she was awful cocky. Had quite the mouth on her. It must have been quite the experience for you – the Church of Repose despises demons, does it not?”

“It was… odd,” Ferdinand said, inclining his head in agreement. “She is like no demon that I have ever met. She was genuine, but the Church would likely be at odds with her should she reach Rank 7 and leave this empire. I did not expect to find someone with such fervent views out here.”

“Neither did I.” Garina sat down and crossed one of her legs over the other. Ferdinand stood awkwardly beside her for a few moments, then slowly sat down on the bench beside her. A few moments passed before Garina spoke again. “You didn’t say if you believed what she said, though.”

“I think she is naïve. I do not agree with your view on power, as it stands in direct opposition to the Church. Repose says that–”

“Oh, damn your god,” Garina snapped. “Give me your answer.”

“I think she is admirable,” Ferdinand said, a small grin flitting across his lips. “I never had such strong views on anything. I joined the Church because one of their mages came to my village when I was young, saving it from a powerful monster.”

“That seems like a pretty clear view to me,” Garina said. “You joined looking for power.”

Ferdinand laughed. “No. I joined because it was safe. I knew that my home had survived the first attack, but the Church would not always be present – and so, I went with them. I studied, not because I cared for magic, but because I wanted to live.”

“So you don’t believe in their teachings at all?” Garina crossed her arms. “You’ve sure done a lot of preaching for someone that doesn’t care.”

“Another thing I took on. I do not disagree with the Church of Repose,” Ferdinand replied, still not sure why he was giving Garina as much information as he was. “I think they do good in the world. They gave me powerful Runes and have ensured that I do not want for much, so I have done my work dutifully, for the most part. On the other hand, Lee actually believed what she said. I find that respectable.”

“So do you agree with her or not?” Garina demanded. “Stop skirting the damn question.”

“She said a lot of things,” Ferdinand said carefully. “I did not agree with all of them, but I did with some. I think that power is a means to an end rather than an ultimate goal, and the pursuit of it is not fulfilling. I do not feel as strongly as she did about love, though. Perhaps I would if I had established any meaningful connections within the Church, but alas, that never happened.”

Garina leaned back, looking up into the night sky. “You disagree that power is the only thing we need, then.”

“I do. I do not think power makes people respect you. It makes them fear you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being feared. It’s no different than being awed, which is what the avatar of your Church does.”

“It is,” Ferdinand allowed. “And I’d imagine both paths are equally as lonesome.”

“You’re suddenly real philosophical. Did you decide that you weren’t scared of me anymore?”

“I think anyone that isn’t scared of you is a fool,” Ferdinand said with a dry laugh. “But I have spent enough time in your presence to believe that you would not kill me for no reason. Perhaps you will prove me wrong.”

Garina grunted. Ferdinand snuck a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, and he was surprised to find that she was studying the ground, a small frown on her lips and her expression downcast.

“I’m not sure if it means much, but I find your company rather enjoyable when you aren’t trying to kill me,” Ferdinand said. “It would have been boring traveling alone.”

Garina looked up at him, a flash of surprise crossing her face before she snuffed it out. “Very funny. Softening me up isn’t going to work, though. I prefer it when my men are scared.”

“Then I suspect you rarely have issue in that department.”

“Flatterer,” Garina said, rolling her eyes. Her stomach rumbled, and she cleared her throat as Ferdinand gave her an aghast look.

“You’re still hungry?”

“Got a problem with that?”

“No. It was just a question.” Ferdinand reached into his bag and pulled out a wrapped package, revealing a sandwich within it. The sandwich had gotten rather squished, but it still looked mostly as it should. He held it out. “Here.”

Garina eyed the sandwich, then took it from his hands. “You said you were out.”

“I lied.”

“Do you have any more?” Garina’s tone made it clear that lying again was going to be disadvantageous for Ferdinand’s continued health.

“I’m afraid not. That’s it. I’ll make more tomorrow.”

Garina grunted. She took a bite out of the sandwich, and the two sat in silence for a few more seconds. Ferdinand busied himself studying the garden. It wasn’t the most beautiful garden he’d ever seen – the Church had a grand one that would have put anything in the Arbalest Empire to shame.

No, the garden in front of him was fairly plain. In some ways, it was almost ugly. The vines were sharp and thorny, and there were far too few flowers. Even the scents were weak – and yet, it was still enjoyable.

Garina touched Ferdinand on the shoulder, and he nearly leapt out of his skin in surprise. He looked down to find that she was holding out one half of his sandwich. Blinking in disbelief, he took it.

“Don’t get used to it.” Garina’s eyes were firmly fixed on the garden before them. “And make more next time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

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