Chapter III.XIV (3.14) - A Quiet Vacation Full of Studying

  The palace’s underground hot spring did not disappoint. Water bubbled up from beneath the earth, resulting in a putrid stink, contained within the room by several enchantment wards. The ground was colored a sickly orange and white chunks of minerals clung to the edges of the water. But the bath was wonderful. Warmth swelled through Kizu as he sat cross-legged on the side, feeling a bit like a chunk of vegetable in a stew.

  They also had separate rooms designed as saunas and smaller, private baths. None of the bathes were quite as nice as the one in the abandoned village’s inn, likely because it lacked the outdoor section and felt a bit too stuffy to really relax. But they were still so incredibly relaxing. Kizu desperately wanted to transport one of these over to Owl’s Respite. He had no idea if it was feasible, but he promised himself he would try.

  “They used to have a rooftop bath, but a great uncle of mine got assassinated by an illusionist and wind elementalist duo. They’ve since converted the space into a garden.”

  Aoi chatted with them as they all lay sprawled out in a carpeted room outside the baths. A warding scheme along the room’s trim kept it at a cool temperature. There were several mats for people to use for post-bath stretching routines, but their party ignored those, instead relaxing and sipping bottles of chilled milk.

  “Really? What kind of plants?”

  “Flowers. My mother designed the current layout. The Emperor’s betrothed often comes by and helps her. She’s a talented earth elementalist, which is pretty useful.”

  “When’s the wedding?” Basil asked.

  “Mid-summer. It’s customary to have the Emperor’s wedding at the peak of summer, on the brightest day of the year.”

  “How old is the Emperor?” Kizu asked.

  “Late thirties. He had a wife before this but she died in childbirth years ago. Took the child with her. He refused to remarry for nearly five years. Big romantic.”

  “I know you were raised under a mossy jungle rock,” Basil said. “But you really should try to keep up better with local politics. Emperor Honzo has been the Hon Empire’s most eligible bachelor for years now.”

  “I thought that was you,” Kizu said dryly.

  “I’m more than an eligible bachelor.” Basil smirked. He doubled over, then recovered with a new beautiful face and a bust that threatened to tear his previously loose shirt.

  “Are you?” Aoi raised an eyebrow.

  Basil blinked. Then threw an arm around Aoi and pulled her in close, grinning. “Was. Past tense. I’m spoken for now and no longer eligible, much to every citizen in Hon’s great distress. But no gnashing and begging will tear me away. I’m devoted entirely.”

  Basil reverted his body back before they returned upstairs. Kizu decided to head to the palace’s library. Shiroi had suggested a book title about the politics of different western countries.

  Anata joined him. She loved the library even more than he did. Now that he knew she liked books so much, he planned to bring her to the academy library when they returned next semester. She could study while he was in his classes.

  Sophia sat in the center of the library, reading a thick tome with a solid black leather cover. She glanced up at him and Anata as they entered, but, upon seeing them, returned to her book without a word of greeting.

  Kizu wondered why she hadn’t joined them at the baths. Not coming to the necromancer inn made sense. Aoi wouldn’t be likely to drag her friend out into the middle of a dangerous abandoned village. She reserved that treatment for him. But the palace’s bath seemed completely safe and fine for her. After a moment of deliberation, he decided not to ask.

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  He located the recommended book and Anata picked out one for herself then they made themselves comfortable on one of the couches in the back of the room.

  It didn’t take long for Kizu to realize how outdated this book was. It mentioned Hon Emperors long dead and half of the towns it made reference to in Hon for comparison had disappeared from modern maps. But that didn’t stop it from being an interesting read.

  The people living closest to the civilized world were nomads in the deserts west of Edgeland. They acted as traders who connected Edgeland with the western world. Unfortunately, they were few in number. And while Hon, Tross, Ilson-don, and Edgeland all sent merchants across the desert to negotiate for themselves directly, none had been met with any success. Most never returned, and the few that did told tales about a land deep in the desert with savage cannibals. A land with unbalanced magic.

  But the headmaster had been from the west. And he was completely civilized. The story he had told Kizu from his homeland seemed pretty standard. Kizu got the impression that this book might not just be a bit outdated, but a bit strangely biased. The way the author referenced Edgeland and Tross made them sound like lesser nations, even referring to their citizens as ‘dirty’ at one point.

  Still, it held quite a bit of information about the trading patterns and snippets quoting the nomads about some of the nations. They often mentioned ‘Death’ and referred to it like a godly entity, more than a natural phenomenon. And he also found one strange passage mentioning a magical creature known as a Jinn that supposedly single handedly destroyed an envoy of over four hundred people.

  Kizu made a mental note to ask the headmaster more questions about the west the next time they met. If he presented the subject right, he might be able to make it sound like natural curiosity rather than information gathering about his sister’s location.

  “What are you reading?”

  Kizu looked up to see Kiiroi standing in front of him. The princess stood, hands on hips with her little brother behind her, sniffling. But it wasn’t him she was addressing. Instead, she looked at Anata. She stood on her tip toes and was peering over at the book in his niece’s hands. Anata looked at him, silently pleading for his help.

  “She’s reading a story about an enchanter who discovered a way to turn everything into gold.”

  “Wouldn’t that crash the economy? Gold regulation is necessary to maintain a balance. It’s one of my father’s duties. An ambassador from Tross gifted him a gold watch to symbolize his great work.”

  “I suppose so. I haven’t read the book. Maybe that’s what happens. Good stories usually need conflict.”

  Kiiroi settled into the couch, pressed up next to Anata and read the book over her shoulder. While Anata put in effort to continue reading, she was clearly uncomfortable with the princess’s proximity.

  Her brother continued to sniff, breaking the silence, but he wandered off towards some picture books. Kiiroi remained. She liked to make snarky comments about different parts of Anata’s book. After the third ‘that’s not how gold works. It’s supposed to be an alloy.’ Kizu stood and closed his book.

  “I’m feeling a bit hungry. Anata, how about we go and get a snack?”

  Anata stood immediately and nodded her head.

  “The chef makes me cream puffs whenever I ask. They’re a dessert from Edgeland that almost nobody else in Hon knows how to make. I’ll show you. They’re my favorite.”

  Kizu sighed. As they walked out, he noticed Sophia still sat in the same chair, not acknowledging them. The stuffed nosed prince had walked up to her and she was reading with him from his chosen picture book, helping him with difficult characters of the Universal Script.

  “I got my father to get me this chef after the last one sneezed in my food. He was so gross and had a fat boil growing on his elbow. I think he should have been completely fired, but my father moved him to a different position instead so I still have to see him and his boil sometimes. But the new chef is very nice. She’s so much better at cooking. And she’s pretty too. Much better.”

  Kizu listened to the girl’s ramblings, very grateful that she wasn’t his niece. Though, if she had been, he likely would have given her over to his mother to send off to the far reaches of Hon with that tongueless caretaker. Actually, he probably wouldn’t have even gotten that far. He might have gone mad and strangled her while trapped in the dilation chamber.

  Thankfully, the kitchens weren’t far. And he had to grudgingly admit, the cream puffs were tasty.

  While he ate, he checked in on Mort through their bond. The monkey had woken up while they’d been down in the bath and headed out the window. He was currently leaping about in the bamboo forest, hunting bugs.

  As he closed his eyes and watched through Mort’s eyes, something caught his attention.

  A red fox was watching him. And it wore a white scarf tied around its neck.

  Kizu instructed Mort to focus on the animal and the monkey grudgingly obeyed. As Mort turned to look down at the fox, it smiled at him. Behind it, lurked a surly white fox with a red scarf.

  Kizu sighed and looked at Kiiroi and Anata.

  He suspected his quiet vacation full of studying and training had just taken a harsh turn for the worse.

  Ten chapters (5 weeks) ahead of Royal Road.