Clockwork Maiden, Literally.

Academy Tour (Part 1)

“Allow me to repeat once more… Go to Sharktooth District. There, you’ll find all the answers you need,” so said Madame Rozenflame before stepping away slowly.

She will eventually disappear into thin air once she reaches her seventh step. If there’s anyone who knows about Nirva, that would be her! “Wait, Madame!” I slightly shouted.

“Uh?” she turned around just before her sixth step.

“Why won’t you just tell me here, Madame?” I asked.

“As I said earlier… you’ll understand better when you find the answer yourselves, hehehe…” she stated slowly, as if she wanted to reassure me not to ask her again. I must find a way to get information from her. I have to.

“Even so, at least you could tell me what you know, right?” I asked politely.

“…heh. You won’t understand,” she stated firmly and ended with a creepy smile.

“Hah? Why would you make a quick conclusion that I won’t understand, Madame?”

“It’s the same as if you tried to dig clues and hints for an exam from the quiz-maker,” she stated. She had a point, I give her that. But it’s still obvious she’s hiding something about Nirva.

“If you understand, then wait till the academy tour begins—

“She’s your student, right?” I stroke her with words. I can’t stand it. She’s intentionally concealing something behind the curtains.

“Obviously, everyone knows that, hehe,” she grinned fiercely.

“Then why did you let her being abused by everyone else?” I asked. The tone of my voice reduces its politeness gradually.

“I let her being abused by everyone else, you say?” she lowered her smile, uh-oh, she’s getting serious. She approaches me slowly. Her appearance emits like a marching mobile tower that can scare anyone standing near to her.

“Eva, Eva, Eva… hehe… you’re so naïve,” she disclosed as she looked down on me from her height.

“Hah? What do you—*STAP!

*GUBRAK! *BRAK! *BRAK!

“…h…ha….h… aaah…” I was extremely shocked. She suddenly slammed her palm onto my face and it felt like being hit by a sledgehammer. Her force power sent me flying and broke through three layers of wall. I can’t avoid her at all, she’s fast and instantaneous.

“Guh…” I forced myself to get up from the wall debris. Arrgh, I’m all messed up. My neck hurts so bad, not only that, my back was pained as well.

I then saw her peeking through the holes that I broke through.

*BRAAAK! *BRAAAK!

Holy molly, she’s breaking through the walls as if they’re nothing! She didn’t use her hand or anything. She simply walks through the wall!

*BRAAAK!

The last wall that dissects me and her has fallen. She’s standing firmly in front of me like a looming tower. What am I supposed to do now…? S-Should I run?

“Huaah!” My body felt insanely heavy and thus dropped myself on the debris. I… I can’t move. I can only move my eyes, so I did and see her fierce stare at me.

“Grgh… aguh…”

“Don’t force yourself, Eva, hehe… you’ve received my magecraft head on, so it’s best you stay on the ground,” she stated grinning.

Huh? Her magecraft was used on me? I didn’t see that coming, dammit! What am I supposed to do now…?

“I appreciate the way you’re being care and honest towards Nirva. But you failed to think thoroughly about what truly happened,” she angled her head a bit to the right. The sound of her neck cracking can be heard.

“Then… grgh… that’s the point you’d tell me why,” I stated firmly despite the back pain that pierced me.

“Fine, then. I expect you’d be begging for mercy, but turns out you’re still a rock-headed brat as per se,”

“Hee, hee… well, this is fairly n-nothing than what I had experienced before,” I meekly replied.

…

…

The short terrifying moment ended awkwardly in my opinion. She restored me back to normal using magic. I then came across to a thinking of what Madame Rozenflame’s magecraft was… but I forgot the name. It was an extremely overwhelming power that channeled through one point in the user’s body.

“Hehe, I was expecting you to be begging for mercy like how most nobles did,” said Madame as she picked me back standing.

“Huh? What do you—guaaaggh… auh… the pain in my back didn’t completely go away?” I rubbed my back as the pain suddenly strikes in again. Madame stated it was an aftermath pain. There was nothing to worry about, she said.

“You know, Eva… the reason behind Nirva’s discrimination… is her origins,” she disclosed firmly.

“Her origins?” I asked curiously,

“Yeah, that’s the reason behind those overly bollock-headed students kept on badgering her,” she explained.

“Then why won’t you stop them?” I asked again,

Madame then turned around, “I tried, but Nirva convinced me to not to. It’s her will that wanted it to be that way,”

That’s… odd. So my mind said. Obviously, Nirva was probably not from Gardia. But it’s rare to find racists in this nation, to be honest. Especially going as far as calling someone accursed, that’s completely messed up. I think Madame Rozenflame knows something more…

“Why… why did Nirva decline your offer, Madame?”

“That is…” she halted her words. “…who knows? Nirva boldly stated that she wanted no protection from me. She’s fully aware of the consequences of what she wanted. Even so… she’s still a mere child, a little girl that is still too fragile to be treated like non-human being. In the end… my motherly instincts cannot let the girl go completely unwatched,” Madame explained.

“In the end… she accepted to be looked after, but in exchange she wanted to be my servant. A strange request for a child to ask, indeed, she’s extremely powerful for the size of her age… but still, a child is still a child,” Madame closed the conversation and then walked away.

But midway to the edge, she stopped and turned around at me again, “Oh, I nearly forgotten… tell your dad about these broken walls. Tell him that the building is breaking apart lately, hehehehe…”

I can’t resist her words now. Either being respectful or being scared of what she will do next, I certainly don’t want her to turn me into scrap meat. “Y-Yes, Madame…”

“Much obliged, Eva,” she waved her hand at me. “Well, then… see you at the tour,”

“Y-Yes… see you…” I replied awkwardly.

…

I finally got some information from her. After these months… I should’ve done it earlier, though. But if I did that, I might surely be nothing more than a dead girl. Reason of death: Complete Heart Attack. Still, her explanation might become a decisive key for me to reach Nirva out, despite me getting steamrolled by her.

I then realized… why didn’t I use my magecraft to counter her back? Well, to think about that, that’d be impossible, because I wasn’t wearing my gloves and I require a motion to at least stop the flow of time.

And so… a month passes by. We had spent learning time mostly on physical training. Who else would be the lecturer if not the meister himself? I doubt there’d be another lecturer aside from the meister and Madame Rozenflame. The reason for the physical training was for important increase in stamina and physical health since we’ll be going on a tour that will last for two weeks long.

Now… is the first day of the tour.

We rode a train to reach our destination: Karamba City. It roughly took four hours to reach there by train, heh… imagine driving a car, might took a day or two. The train’s speed was quite fast, though.

…

--Train Station, Karamba City, 1510 hours--

We stepped on the platform. This place reeks of the desert. Well, technically, Karamba City is located in the middle of a desert. Upon drop-off, Madame and the meister lined us up on the gateway going out of the train station.

“All right ladies and gentlemen, before we continue on, I’d like to introduce you to a state enforcer that will keep you safe most of the time, hehe…”

“Meet Sir Gilbert Thomas,”

Huh… wait a second… have I seen him somewhere? I got wondrous now… he looks familiar somehow. But I couldn’t recall where and when…

“Good afternoon, everyone,” said the enforcer gently. “I will be taking part as your guide and defense during your tour,” he added firmly.

“Sir!” one of us called.

“Yes?” he replied. “You are truly a state enforcer?”

“Yup, indeed,” he proceeded showing his ID. Waaaaiiiit…… wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… that ID card looks… VEEERYYY familiar. I can see the ID card’s motif and shape since I stood on the second to the front line just behind Nirva.

That ID card… ohhhh! I remember it, now!

“Sir?” I then asked.

“Yes?”

“Sir, I might be wrong, but… are you from Helmington City?” I asked. His ID card intrigued me, most ID card represents different motifs every city. And his ID card appeared to be from Helmington!