Chapter 7: Offer

MIKO 

"What about new missions?"

"Since when you are a workaholic?"

"I am not. Just asking since we must see how Kayla is doing first. "

"You said she's doing well."

"She looks like it, but I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Her mana system could be damaged."

"How can you tell?"

"She would have to try to use magic."

"You mean she hasn't done that yet?"

"I told her not to."

"And she's sticking to it?"

"I think so."

"Huh? Why are such conversations being held without me? What have I done to you?"

"Oh, Lilith."

"Ah, Miko. Thank you again for just putting the bill on the table."

"You act like it was my fault."

"Hmph."

"What was I supposed to do? Forbid her to save his life?"

"Of course not."

"Was it that expensive?"

"Yeah, but Sami paid for it."

"What? Why?"

"He insisted to do so."

"How can he afford the hospital bill for two mages?"

"Thanks to hard work and a spontaneous drop in staff costs, I guess."

"Right."

Neither the lives nor the deaths of other people concern me that much, but I can feel Lilith's empathy and somehow take it to heart. She doesn't necessarily have any more sympathy than I do, but she knows only too well what it's like to lose a large part of your guild.

"So, how is Kayla doing?"

"I plan to visit her later. I'll know more after that."

"Tell her to come here. I want to talk to both of you about something."

"All right," I leave the living room and sit down at the reception desk.

Before I call Kayla, I write her a message to give her a heads-up. After all these weeks, she's finally managed to get over herself, telling me she's not the biggest fan of phone calls. I still can't bring myself to explain everything by text, but we've found this middle ground for now.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Good, I think, and you?"

"Great, um, Lilith would like to discuss something with us. Can you come over?"

"Sure."

"Great."

"Thanks for the warning, by the way."

"No big deal."

And she hangs up.

"What kind of smile is that?"

"Huh?"

Lilith is so good at annoying me. Sometimes, I ask myself why I still work and live with her.

"Like what? You look happy for a change. Glad to see Kayla, aren't you?"

I can't help but sigh. I'm sensible enough to recognize that she's right.

"Can't I?"

"Oh, you like her, don't you?"

"Probably more than I like you."

"That's a lie, and you know it! Come here and give me a hug!"

Lilith gives me a pouty look. It's really no fun teasing her. I close the distance and put my arms around her.

"Miko?"

"Yes?"

"Love you."

"Love you too," I say a little reluctantly.

◆

"Sit down."

You simply freeze to death in this basement. It's like summer outside, and I regret not wearing a jacket down here.

"Thank you for coming by that quickly, Kayla."

"No problem," she smiles proudly as if she were about to receive a medal.

"I have two or three things I want to talk to you about today. Let's start with a reflection on your first mission together. How was it?"

Our eyes wander to Kayla at the same time. I hadn't really asked her how the experience was for her either. I have a habit of immediately ticking off completed missions and not giving them a single second thought.

"Okay, so if I start at the beginning, I thought it was terrible that everything was so spontaneous. My brain switched off on the spot. I went after Miko and just tried to heal the injured. That's all I can remember. All in all, I'd say it was pretty good."

Lilith doesn't even try to hide her laughter.

"Pretty good, yeah? You simply have no comparison. But what you did there was better than good. I tried to convince Sami not to spread the word. I don't need hundreds of attempts from other guilds wanting to hire you."

Hah, Kayla's head turns red. Well, that was something she could be proud of. I've experienced healers, but patching up someone who seemed to be more dead than alive within twenty seconds has almost nothing to do with magic anymore... we're talking about miracle stuff here.

"I wouldn't leave you." She says, and I do believe her. I don't imagine we'll be working together for the rest of our lives, but Kayla doesn't seem like the kind of person who would change jobs at the first opportunity.

"Thank you. We are pleased to have you."

We are? It's nice that Lilith speaks for both of us, but she's right. At the moment, I'm pretty happy with our new member. Even if I am anything but satisfied with my role as a mentor so far.

"What's wrong, Miko?" It's not Lilith but Kayla who sees from my face how annoyed I am right now.

"I haven't apologized to you yet. I'm sorry I didn't prepare you properly."

My stomach was churning. I had always found it difficult to admit my mistakes, but I had enough time to think in the hospital at Kayla's side. So, I have no doubt that I played a big part in how this mission went.

Maybe Krystoff would have died under my leadership, but Kayla wouldn't have had to go through this suffering. But in the end, I am sure this time was worse for me than for her. After all, she is the kind of person who does everything for others and little for herself.

"Apology accepted," I guess she knew she had to accept. Because I would never have been satisfied with another answer. Scary to realize that I am easier to read than I thought.

Lilith watches us like a proud mother before retaking the word.

"Have you tried to use magic since you were discharged?"

Kayla nods and sighs heavily.

"Burns like hell. Letting my mana flow is like setting myself on fire from the inside. But this morning was already better than yesterday."

"That sounds good. Your mana system was completely overstrained. You ignored your body's warning signals and damaged it in the process. But you were lucky. Some magic users lost their ability to use mana at all after something like that."

The whole experience was a first for me, too. Usually, your circulation breaks down, and you lose consciousness long before you can overload your mana system to that extent.

"I've been talking to a few acquaintances and thinking about what to do with you. It would be regrettable if you broke down before you could really get going. So, I spoke to the principal of a nearby magic school."

She slides us a brochure.

"You'll both be allowed to spend a month there as guest students. You will be provided with places where you can train together. After all, it's Miko's job to prepare you for the future. But I'm sure that it will help both of you to gain a different perspective."

Breathe, Miko. This is not the time to make a fuss. It's about Kayla. We're doing this for her. But a whole month away from here? A month without Lilith and Eliza? Sounds like ass, if you ask me.

"What do you think?"

"I don't really know," Kayla's eyes are fixed on me. What does she want? That's her decision to make, not mine. Hello? Why is it so quiet? Could someone say something?

"I guess we should do it. I can hardly think of anything better, apart from real missions, to prepare you for the next one." I mumble, slightly annoyed.

"All right. When do we go?" So, she wanted me to decide, and I made it easy for her. She will pay for that. Someday.

"At the beginning of May, the new students at the school are still in their orientation phase, so we don't want to throw you both in at that point and stir things up. And don't worry, you don't have to take any tests, no homework or anything else. You're just there and work independently."

Something about her statement gives me a bad feeling, as if I know she has another thought in her head when she wants to take away our worries. I do trust Lilith. However, above all, I know how good she is to put me into unpleasant situations whenever possible.

While Kayla looks like she's starting to look forward to it, I can't shake off that bad feeling.

"Let's move on."

Lilith grins at me. I just knew it.

"It just so happens that there's a fighting tournament at the beginning of every school year. And I signed you both up for it. Kayla will be a healer who takes care of the injured participants, and Miko will be the final challenge at the end of the whole thing."

It makes sense that she only tells us about it after we've agreed to everything. Backing out now doesn't suit either Kayla or me. But that doesn't make it any better. Just like Kayla's giggling doesn't help at all.

"I can finally see you in action."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll show you what action is from day one. Don't think your training will be easy."

With my desperate expression, my threat doesn't come across as it should, and Kayla can't hold back a hearty laugh. I can hardly wait to see her on the floor, wheezing and flailing.