T here was no use wasting more time and fighting. Besides, she did seem genuinely excited to help. And unless she was faking her clumsiness earlier, she wasn’t a vagrant in disguise with the strength to overcome me beneath a shadowy copse of trees.
She took me past a roped-off courtyard and into the Administration building.
It was nearly empty, besides the few demi-humans sitting in the waiting room.
The woman at the front counter stood up and smiled when she saw Clove. “Hey! What do you think of my new office?”
She had brilliant red hair and scales covering her shoulders and neck, like armor.
Clove coughed. “Nessie, your cloak. You’re at work!”
The redhead gasped and turned around, bending over to retrieve a set of powder-blue robes that rested over her shoulder. The school’s crest was displayed proudly on the right breast.
Then, she skipped out from behind the counter and smashed Clove in a hug.
Clove kissed her on her temple and released her, smiling. “Nessie, this is …” Her mouth fell open as she gestured to me. “By the gods, I haven’t even asked your name!”
She immediately blushed.
I patted her on the head, to the surprise of us both, and said, “Do not worry. I am Luc Vale, a humble mage. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Nessie’s round eyes traveled up and down my form like she was assessing me. “The only thing humble about you, friend, are those clothes. Are you a farmer?”
“Sometimes.”
Clove gaped at me. “No, you’re not.”
“How would you know?”
She lifted my hand and opened my palm. “No callouses.”
She flipped the hand over and tapped my fingernails one by one. “No dirt.”
She bounced around behind me and tugged my collar down. “No tan! And the way you talk and carry yourself? You’re the son of some lord. Or a lord yourself. I don’t know, but there’s no way in the goodness of light that you, Luc Vale, have ever been a farmer.”
Am I really this terrible at blending in?
Without an ounce of regret, I said, “Callouses fade. Dirt can be washed off. Skin can lose its warmth. I never said I’ve only and always ever just been a farmer.”
Clove shrugged. “If you say so.”
Nessie waved a hand. “I’m bored with this conversation. Clovie! Did you come here to skip the line?”
My pink-haired companion bounced on her toes. “Yes! He needs to do the initial application, though. And then we can both do the power assessment together!”
Nessie opened her mouth and yelled, “Jeremiah!”
I restrained the impulse to cover my ears, but I was certain her shrill shout would echo in my ears for all of eternity.
A young man with sandy blond hair and a youthful expression, a look of absolute fear on his face, sprinted into the room. He skidded to a stop and bowed deeply. “Nesteria, ma’am! How can I serve you?”
She giggled. “I’ve trained him well, haven’t I? He accidentally entered the girls’ bathhouse last week, and I’ve been holding it over his head ever since.”
“I-I-I told you! It was an accident. Nesteria, ma’am.”
I frowned. Was he really shaking?
Nessie said to Clove, “He instantly passed out in embarrassment and shame. I had to carry him out bridal-style. Poor guy.”
Clove regarded her friend like she was about to manifest into a cursed wraith. With wide eyes, she said, “You scare me, Nessie.”
The redhead cackled. “I know, I know! Jeremiah? Watch the front and help people fill out their information. I’ve written a short guide for you. Refer to it if you get confused.”
“Of course. Th-thank you, Nesteria, ma’am.”
Harsh and overbearing, but seemingly cares about her underlings. Nessie is more than she seems.
I glanced down at Clove who’d already taken my arm again as we followed Nessie down the office corridor. She’d pulled up my sleeve past the wrist and was pressing her skin to mine.
This woman was also more than she seemed. And I needed to find out what she was hiding. Why she appeared so determined to stick by my side, despite our just meeting.
“You’re warm,” she said softly.
That’s when I noticed her fingers had a soft, pink halo glow around them. “You’re a demi-human healer, aren’t you?”
“Mmhmm.”
Why hadn’t I seen it before? The glow, the warmth. Most human healers could simply cast spells, but Clove hadn’t verbalized a spell when she’d mended my jarred skull in the street.
Whatever she was, it gave her a natural healing ability.
“Salamander,” she offered.
“What?”
Glancing up shyly, she clarified, “I’m a salamander demi-human. I store heat as energy and can create small flickers of fire, but usually I just keep the energy because it restores my mana and grants me healing abilities. You’re very warm, Luc. Warmer than anyone else.”
She hid her face behind her hair again, leaving me to wonder why, in the name of all burned things, was I unable to appear normal even for one day in Ria.
Even my body temperature.
I wondered how else I’d inadvertently stand out as the mortal incarnation of the immortal Demon Prince. Gods only knew.
Nessie saved me from replying, when she stopped by a huge, wooden door and opened it. “In you go, students!”
It was a small library and study. Nessie handed me a form to fill out with my name, and I handed her the copy the Mayor had given me for my identification. She seemed to be impressed that the Mayor himself stamped a copy with his official wax seal.
While I filled out the form, the two girls whispered to one another, though not loud enough for me to hear.
When I was finished, Nessie pulled out a silver chain with a large crystal pendant on the bottom. It was hollow and contained a kind of smoke that changed colors and constantly moved inside.
She put it around Clove’s neck.
Clove licked her lips. Her generous chest rose up and down rapidly, and her eyes gleamed with anticipation.
The necklace began to glow. The smoke swirled faster. Finally, the smoke inside turned a greenish yellow.
“Ooh!” Nessie exclaimed. “Stronger than you were expecting! Nice work.” She scribbled something down on a document.
I was next. She placed the amulet around my neck. I assumed it was to measure the power levels of each applicant. I wondered how much different I’d be, now that my dark mana access was gone. This body was mortal, after all.
The amulet glowed with the same greenish color. It looked as though I was the same as Clove.
Then the air in the room shifted. Even with the windows open, the light disappeared. Deep, void-purple smoke spilled from the amulet and filled the room in less than a second.
The two women watched open-mouthed. Speechless.
“Fuck,” I muttered.