As I drove both of us back to school on my hovercraft, I recalled certain details from my conversation with Kalits.
Kalits herself said that she was a member of the Givilrin Knights, and those others I've met are likely part of that group. If Kiori said that Gavin Inaktra, who we just met, is the Captain of the Givilrin Knights, then considering the knights' direct involvement in trying to stop Korons from wreaking further havoc, could that really be just your typical visit to the grave of someone you've looked up to?
"Nolval, did you mean to speak all of that out loud?"
"Just testing an ability I'm unsure of. I'm trying to recognize when I'm consciously aware of thought projection so that I can control when my verbal thoughts are private and when they're announced for everyone to hear."
"If you're thinking he's using my mother's grave as an excuse to see you, you're mistaken. My mother was simply a popular warrior when she was alive. He might just be one of the few people who still visit her grave today."
"Few? Who else do you know visits her?"
"There's my father, Mrs. Galumts, and someone who's working as an apprentice of the Grand Mage Tower. Although I don't know their name, I've heard my mom once saved their life. That inspired them to work toward becoming a capable mage. Point is, there's a sizeable list of names that'd visit her. So don't think Gavin's here just to keep tabs on you."
Kiori sounded a bit angry, but perhaps he's right. Maybe it's just a coincidence that I met him today.
Still, I can't completely dismiss the possibility of me being a person of interest in his eyes.
I looked at the crate in my hovercraft's basket.
"Changing topic, why did you buy this statue? I could understand the Tower Mages being famous, but is there any reason you chose this specific one?"
I kept my eyes focused on what's ahead of me, like any good driver, while I waited for a response. My guess was that it had something to do with advancing the power of his attunement, or a part of the Grand Mage's life resonated with him. I shouldn't be making any assumptions as someone who has existed in this world for less than a month, so I wagered with myself what he'd say next.
"Before he became a Grand Mage, I've heard he was one of my father's patients."
His father's a doctor? Right, he did say something like that.
"They both got into an argument that ended with him hitting my father."
Oh.
Still, that doesn't really explain why you'd purchase a statue of someone who hit your father.
"Honestly, I wish I were there to see it."
And the house takes the pot.
From the way he said it, he sounded a bit glad his father got it.
"Your father didn't end up with irreversible damage, right?"
"No, just swelling and bruising around his face."
"Just so we're clear, Kiori. What exactly is your relationship with your father? I'm getting 'he-wants-you-to-be-this-but-you-want-to-be-that vibes.' Sounds like you both have different opinions of what you want in life."
"Ever since I was given the string attunement, my father wanted me to develop the attunement, not to be a capable mage that can fight, but a mage whose string attunement is effective enough to help with first aid. Closing wounds with thread, if that paints enough of a picture."
Pretty sure there's a term for that kind of string in the medical field.
"He keeps pushing me to be more like him… but I just don't! I don't tell him this, because if I do, he'll revoke my enrollment and I'll be forced to train under him without a chance to advance my attunement past novice level."
"Sounds like you're in a bit of a pickle."
"Pickle?"
"Cucumbers you soak in vinegar to give a sour and tangy taste."
"I meant what you mean by 'bit of a pickle.'"
"Dilemma, or a difficult situation with no obvious solution."
"I guess you could say that."
He stayed silent for a moment as I stayed focused on what was ahead.
"Hey, Nolval."
"Yeah?"
"What were your parents like?"
"Well… they raised me into the man I am today. I'm thankful for a lot of things they've done for me, but not everything."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well… when you live with them long enough, you learn certain traits about them you never want to copy."
It took well into my adult life to learn that my mother is a religious zealot. Try as she might to get me to become more religious, but with her involved, every instance of her getting me to devote myself to Christianity always felt intrusive, almost as if she wanted to project her ideals onto me.
If I ever had kids, though the chance of that is zero, I'd do my best to ensure they navigate life into establishing their own beliefs, rather than telling them what they should believe. Of course, I'd do my best to ensure that those beliefs are acceptable, and hope they're naturally opposed to concepts such as racism, sexism, ableism, and pretty much any form of discrimination, as well as extremely self-centered beliefs.
"Huh… who do you have in mind when you say that?"
"My mother. She means well, but can be close-minded sometimes."
"Hmm…"
"Is… something wrong?"
"Might just be me, but not wanting to be like your parents at any capacity is unthinkable."
"Do you want to be like your father?"
"No, but I still respect him. You? It sounds like you believe your mother is beneath you."
"Whoa, slow down there! That's not what I said. I've simply learned that her beliefs and mine simply don't align. Consider it as acknowledging the emotional distance between her and me."
Although he was silent for a moment, I could tell he had something to say about that.
I saw the academy come into view as I continued driving the hovercraft.
"Let's put it this way, Kiori. Both of us have lived in 2 completely different worlds. Although we can never agree on everything, I'd like to understand you as a person, just as you've learned a bit more about me."
"Go through the forest. We can take a detour across the ruins you've come from."
"Alright."
I steer the hovercraft toward the trees. Although I would've preferred to drive over the more traveled roads, it might be better to hide the vehicle I'm driving from public view, even though I was seen driving Alicia to Galumt's bar. The trees weren't too much of a nuisance, as they were spaced well enough apart to weave through them with ease. It didn't even take a minute until I saw the stairway entrance I emerged from on the night of my reincarnation.
I continued driving the hovercraft, slowing down in front of the dorm building, parking when the hovercraft was a few feet away. After Kiori got off, I deactivated the vehicle before making it vanish from existence.
…
I sat on Kiori's bed as he unboxed the statue from its crate. It was a little humorous watching him struggle to open the thing as I handed him various tools to help with a task. A flathead screwdriver, a metalhead hammer, a chisel, and a different hammer to go with the chisel. With delicate precision, he was able to open the crate and successfully unbox the statue.
Turns out, the crate was designed so that you could just place it wherever and disassemble it. That way, you'd minimize the risk of damaging the statue while choosing where you want it displayed. And the crate pieces reattached quite easily, so that you could reassemble the crate with its packaging in case you decide to move it somewhere else. Pretty thoughtful.
"May I?" I pointed my outstretched hand toward the statue, indicating I'd be using my powers.
"Go for it."
Using the leftover square piece of the crate under the statue as a base, I visualized a display case around the statue. It was a curved square shape with a dome-like top, with a 4-pronged valve handle on top of that. As for the material, I preferred a see-through plastic over glass. Glass shatters easily into sharp pieces that can easily cut someone. Plastic doesn't have such downsides, so the cover could be thrown around and take a decent amount of damage. Not that I'd plan to do that, but that was the scenario I had in mind when imagining the display cover around the statue.
After a few seconds, the statue was protected.
"What is his name again?"
"Koysipli Hyokin."
"Now you can ask Koysipli to wish you goodnight."
Kiori gave me a weird look.
I spent the rest of the day in Kemzo Square experimenting with my abilities once again, this time thinking up defense armaments to manifest on the fly. Riot shields, energy shields, even a redbrick wall. Then I simply started playing around with my power before yawning and heading back to the dorm to sleep.