Chapter 197: Security
Evernight Academy, main entrance.
A beastkin security captain was lecturing a young recruit with great fervor.
"Kid, look closely." The captain's hand slapped heavily onto the recruit's
shoulder. "In this line of work, we live and breathe responsibility!"
The young beastkin stiffened his neck and nodded forcefully, his eyes glowing
with determination. "You're right, Captain!"
"Anyone without a pass, no matter who they are—even if the King of Heaven
himself shows up—is not allowed in! Do you hear me?!" The young beastkin stomped
his foot, puffed out his chest, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Understood, Captain!"
The captain was satisfied with this reaction. "Right, that's the spirit! You
have to understand, what kind of place are we guarding?"
"Evernight Academy! The Empire's seeds are all inside! These little ones are the
pillars of the Empire's future!"
"We aren't just standing guard; we are guarding the future of the Empire!"
The young beastkin felt a surge of heat at these words, gripping his wooden club
tighter. "Don't worry, Captain! I won't even let a fly get inside!"
"Good!" The captain slapped the recruit's shoulder again. "With you saying that,
I can rest easy! I'm going to make rounds elsewhere; the gate is yours!"
"Yes! Mission guaranteed!" The young beastkin stood perfectly straight, his
posture a taut line. The captain hummed a little tune as he walked away.
The young beastkin stood at the gate, his eyes scanning every corner of the
street. Not long after, a figure appeared around the street corner and walked
toward the gate. The figure was draped in a black cloak that covered its entire
body.
The young beastkin straightened up instantly. This guy is trouble! Broad
daylight, wrapped up like that—either a thief or a human trafficker. No, a
skeleton trafficker!
Kaito walked up to the gate, intending to head straight in.
"Halt!" The young beastkin stepped out, holding his wooden club horizontally in
front of Kaito.
Kaito stopped, tilting his skull to the side. "Something wrong?"
"Unauthorized personnel are forbidden!" The young beastkin kept his face stern,
reciting everything the captain had taught him. "This is Evernight Academy! The
future of the Empire! Without a pass, no one gets in!"
Kaito's soulfire flickered within his eye sockets. This new recruit is quite
diligent. However, didn't Lloyd love to blow his own trumpet with his own
portrait everywhere, claiming the Academy's founding was all thanks to his wise
guidance? Why didn't the gate security recognize him?
Kaito's jawbone clicked open and shut slightly. "Do you know who I am?"
The young beastkin scanned Kaito from head to toe. A skeleton. A tattered cloak.
No identification on his frame whatsoever. Poor. Looks like a freelance
skeleton.
"I don't care who you are!" The young beastkin puffed his chest out even higher,
his voice filled with righteousness. "My duty is to defend this place! Behind me
is the hope of the entire Empire!"
Kaito felt his soulfire pulsing a bit too fast. This level of earnestness made
Kaito want to laugh. He extended a bony finger and pointed at himself. "I am the
hope of the Empire."
The young beastkin paused, scanning Kaito again. A tattered cloak. Bare bones.
Two balls of soulfire in the eye sockets burning brighter than usual, and it
could talk—it didn't look like a newly spawned skeleton.
"Can't tell." The young beastkin shook his head. "You, skeleton, you look pretty
old; why call yourself a child?" The recruit sighed. "I appreciate the spirit,
but... rules are rules. No entry."
Kaito felt a twinge of soreness in his jaw. What is going on?
Seeing Kaito silent, the young beastkin assumed he had won the argument and felt
a bit guilty. He was an undead, after all—he had to be given some face. "Here's
the deal." The recruit's voice softened. "What are you here for? Speak clearly,
and I'll see if I can help you report it inside."
Kaito steadied his soulfire. "I'm looking for a student."
"Which one?"
"Bochi."
"Bochi?" The young beastkin pulled a small notebook from the pouch at his waist,
licked his finger, and started flipping through the pages. Kaito stood there
waiting, until the sound of a bell ringing for the end of class drifted from not
far away.
"Bochi... Bochi... ah, found it!" The young beastkin looked up, his expression
changing. "Why are you looking for it?"
"I've come to see it."
"To see it?" The young beastkin narrowed his eyes. "Back in my tribe, there were
plenty of cases of missing kids. You aren't here to kidnap it, are you?"
"Why would I kidnap it?!" Kaito finally lost his patience; he ripped off his
cloak and threw it on the ground.
The recruit stepped back, gripping his club tighter. "You... want to fight?"
"I..." Kaito's soulfire pulsed violently. Forget it. Don't argue with a fool.
The beastkin was just doing his duty, fair enough.
"I am its... friend." Kaito forced his voice to sound less rigid. "Just came to
check on how it's doing in school."
The recruit looked at Kaito suspiciously. "Who knows." He shoved the notebook
back into his pouch. "There are so many tricks these days—anyone can claim to be
a friend, a relative, or a mentor. I can't just let you in. It's a matter of
principle."
Kaito stared at the sky. Kaito, start reflecting. What did you do wrong to
deserve this suffering?
Just then, a voice rang out from within the academy. "Guchi!"
Kaito's skull snapped toward the source. That sound—it was Bochi! A blue,
gelatinous mass was bouncing its way out of the academy gate.
"Guchi! Guchi!" Bochi saw Kaito, its body expanding by a size. It sprang from
the ground, leaping onto Kaito's shoulder and wrapping two tiny tentacles around
his skull.
"Guchi Guchi Guchi!" Bochi rubbed its body against Kaito's skull, emitting
satisfied sounds.
Kaito reached out and petted the soft, squishy body. "Alright, enough." He spoke
the words, but the soulfire in his eye sockets brightened considerably.
The young beastkin watched this scene, his mouth agape wide enough to fit a
fist. "Th... this..." The recruit pointed at Bochi, stammering. "You... you
really know each other?"
Kaito turned his head, his soulfire facing the young beastkin. "Now, can I go
in?"
The young beastkin's face turned bright red. Finished. I just... kept a
student's parent waiting outside for this long... and suspected them of being a
human trafficker...
"I... I'm sorry!" The recruit bent his body ninety degrees. "I... I didn't know
you were here to visit a student! I... I'll open the gate for you immediately!"
The beastkin scrambled toward the gate, preparing to pull the massive doors
open.
Kaito watched the flustered recruit, his jaw working again. "No need to
apologize." Kaito walked up to the young beastkin and placed a bony hand on his
shoulder.
"Eh?" The recruit looked up, dazed.
"Fulfilling your duty, not letting any suspicious person through." Kaito's voice
carried a note of approval. "This is what a qualified guard does. Keep it up."
The young beastkin's eyes reddened upon hearing those words. "Th... thank you!"
Kaito waved a bony hand, settled Bochi on his shoulder, and walked into the
academy. The young recruit watched Kaito's back, a wave of warmth rushing
through him. I don't know who this skeleton is, but he must be a big shot! A
good skeleton!
Kaito walked into the academy, Bochi shifting restlessly on his shoulder, its
black-bean eyes flickering.
"Guchi?" Bochi tilted its body, as if asking: How did you find the time to come
here?
"Just passing by," Kaito dismissed it. "What have you learned in school?"
"Guchi!" Mentioning this, Bochi instantly grew excited, its entire body jumping
on Kaito's shoulder. It expanded its body, and a black fireball slowly
manifested above its head. The fireball was only the size of a fist, but the
energy it radiated was completely different from a standard Fireball spell.
Kaito looked at the fireball, his soulfire freezing in place. "Magic?"
Kaito extended a finger and touched the black fireball. It immediately
dissipated, turning into countless specks of light that vanished.
"Guchi!" Bochi nodded vigorously, confirming it.
☆☆☆
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