novelraw Chapter 93: Xi Yate
Chapter 93: Xi Yate
The eighty-minute class ended swiftly. The moment Fischer uttered "That concludes today's session," the students below — who had been intensely focused just seconds earlier — instantly turned into zombies, slumping boneless across their desks. One of Fischer's lectures was worth two from any other professor; he had expanded well beyond what they were expected to know at this stage.
In hindsight, he may have crammed in a bit too much. The students' burden was heavy. He would refine the pacing next time. Still, these students seemed more resilient than those at the Royal Academy — very few had zoned out during the entire session. Even though they had initially resented Fischer's decision to lecture on the first day, a class was still a class, and the competition was still fierce.
After all, Saint-Nazareth University's degree certificates used a GPA grading system. The difference between an A and a D was no joke.
Fischer packed up his things and left the lecture hall, heading toward the Magic Academy's office building.
He only had two courses at Saint-Nazareth University — four sessions a week in total.
One was Introduction to Magical Fundamentals for first-years, and the other was Advanced Magic Practice for second-years. Today's classes were done; he only needed to come back tomorrow. But commuting back and forth was a hassle, and he had heard that Dean Kaine had arranged an office and quarters for him, so he decided to take a look.
Originally, he had wanted to offer an elective on demi-human species research, but across the entire university only a single student had enrolled. Even after Kaine had specially lowered the minimum enrollment to ten for Fischer's sake, the number still didn't meet the threshold. He had no choice but to abandon the idea.
Walking stick in hand, Fischer strolled across campus. He passed the office buildings for Science and Engineering, Literature, Social Sciences, and Economics, and only when he reached the very end — the edge of the school grounds — did he spot a squat, single-story building. Beyond it lay the area outside campus. Were it not for the sign reading "Magic Academy Office Building" hanging at the front, Fischer would have assumed it was the guardhouse.
"..."
It appeared that Saint-Nazareth University, having failed to recruit enough professors, had even slowed down construction of the Magic Academy's office building. That was hardly surprising — the faculty currently consisted of barely a handful of people, so there was no real need for a larger space.When Fischer walked in, a middle-aged man seated behind a desk with a sleep mask on heard the door open and hastily pulled the mask off. Seeing an unfamiliar gentleman, he smiled, stood up, and greeted Fischer.
"Ah, you must be the new magic professor... I also teach Introduction to Magical Fundamentals. Name's Roger."
"Hello. Fischer."
"Good heavens — when I saw the faculty roster, I knew it had to be the celebrated Fischer himself. It's truly an honor to meet such a promising young scholar in person. Your office is over there. Don't mind the state of things; the Magic Academy's situation is a bit... well, hard to sum up, but the treatment for us professors is quite decent."
Following Roger's lead, Fischer arrived at the door of a windowed office. The desk and furnishings inside were freshly placed. Looking through the window, he could see past the university grounds. There, at the foot of a green hill not far from campus, stood a modest building that appeared to be newly constructed.
Fischer eyed the structure and turned to Roger behind him.
"What's that building for? I thought Parliament only approved land in this direction for Saint-Nazareth University."
"Ah, that." Roger glanced in the direction, then replied, "That's the 'Southern Continent Demi-Human Protection Association' — Pioneer Party territory. They claim it's for academic exchange with our university, but they've been here over a year and I've never seen any actual exchange take place. Probably just for show. Oh, and I hear a Centaur from the Southern Continent lives there. I often see her walking around the yard."
"I see."
Fischer gazed at the distant building and offered nothing more.
Roger didn't linger. After helping Fischer tidy up briefly, he excused himself — he had a class at half past ten. Fischer had nothing pressing to do, so he sat in his office chair and mulled over the matter of the Immortal Witch. She was hiding inside the Pink Pavilion, and he needed someone familiar with the establishment to get him in.
Someone like that fellow Tlander, for instance.
Fingers drumming against the desk, Fischer tentatively settled on contacting Tlander to investigate the Pink Pavilion and locate the Immortal Witch. But the operation needed to be handled with care. It required a plan — he couldn't simply saunter in.
Based on the intelligence gleaned from the Witch Bart, the Immortal Witch was being "protected" inside the Pink Pavilion. Rumors about the Pavilion's backers varied wildly: some said it belonged to Naris's old aristocracy, others that it was owned by a private merchant, and still others claimed it was the Nazarene Development Company. There was no consensus.
But whoever they were, they had a reason for sheltering the Immortal Witch. There was no such thing as a free lunch. Anything from her "working" there to being required to perform additional tasks of value in return was possible — only under such conditions would the Pink Pavilion go through the trouble of antagonizing the Witch Research Society to harbor her.
So the search for the Immortal Witch had to avoid tipping anyone off. Worse, on that day she had seen Fischer's face, but Fischer had no idea what she looked like. Even if he went, he would almost certainly fail to find her.
As he weighed the specifics of his plan, Fischer turned to look out the window — and spotted a figure emerging from the nearby building. She wore a Western-style dress and carried a small basket in one hand. Her lower body was that of a horse, and atop her head a pair of long ears flicked occasionally.
It was the same female Centaur Fischer had seen near the Royal Academy during the Pioneer Party rally the other day.
Fischer's interest sparked at once. Last time, the crowd at the rally had been too large for him to study this rarely encountered demi-human species properly. Now there appeared to be no one else around. After a moment's hesitation, he climbed straight out of his office window, took up his walking stick, and strode toward the distant building.
The so-called Southern Continent Demi-Human Protection Association looked decidedly humble. A low wall surrounded the entrance, plastered with all manner of Pioneer Party campaign propaganda. Inside, the lone Centaur hummed softly, her four legs folded beneath her as she knelt on the ground, picking vegetables growing along the base of the wall and placing them into her basket.
"Hello."
"Whaa—!"
Fischer's sudden greeting startled the Centaur. She scrambled to her feet, her sleek tail swinging past the garment covering her equine body. Realizing it was a human gentleman and not a bandit or some fiend, she exhaled in relief and addressed him.
"Um, sir, if you're here for an interview, you'll have to wait until the association staff come back."
She spoke cautiously. Fischer, however, smiled and shook his head.
"Is that because the Pioneer Party is afraid you'll say the wrong thing? Relax — like every other Nari citizen, I couldn't care less about this so-called association. It's you I find interesting."
"You find... me... interesting?!"
The Centaur girl froze for a beat, then a flush crept across her cheeks. The tail behind her swished in unison with her flickering ears.
"Indeed. I'm a scholar who studies demi-human species. My name is Fischer. I spent quite some time on the Southern Continent but never once encountered a Centaur. I certainly didn't expect to see one here in Saint-Nazareth."
"Oh — I'm Xi Yate, a Centaur of the Wandering Whip tribe from the Southern Continent." Hearing Fischer's name, she instinctively performed a Nari-style greeting. Only after she finished did she catch herself with a sheepish smile. "I didn't think there were humans who actually study demi-human species. I assumed only merchants ever took an interest in us."
"There are a few. About the same odds as running into a Centaur in Saint-Nazareth, I'd say."
Xi Yate burst out laughing at Fischer's quip, covering her mouth as she moved closer to the wall, drawing nearer to him.
The building appeared to have only her as a resident. Fischer hadn't seen any staff at all. The entire "Southern Continent Demi-Human Protection Association," top to bottom, consisted of this one solitary Centaur.
"So, why can't anyone find Centaurs on the Southern Continent?"
"Oh, that — because our tribe is always migrating. We're a nomadic people with no permanent settlement. But I'm not going to tell you our migration patterns."
She blinked with a sly grin. Fischer didn't mind in the least. After a moment's thought, he nodded and moved on from the topic.
The Centaurs' migration patterns were certainly more complex than Xi Yate let on. Otherwise, even for a nomadic people, it would have been impossible for humans to go this long without encountering a single Centaur. It was perfectly normal for her to withhold that kind of secret from a human. Fischer had never intended to press the matter.
"If you've been migrating constantly, I'm guessing part of the reason is because of humans — otherwise we wouldn't have gone this long without meeting one. So why did you end up here?"
Xi Yate smiled and pressed a hand to her chest.
"I came to this continent of my own free will... Because even if we can hide for now, there will come a day when there's nowhere left to run. Once I realized that, I felt I had to do something. I carry the hopes of several tribes with me — and the hopes of other demi-humans in hiding, too. I want to bring peace between humans and demi-humans."
"The Pioneer Party promised to help. They said they would make more people on the Western Continent hear our voices. I even learned your human language for that purpose."
She smiled with pride at first, but then the brightness in her expression dimmed by a fraction. She glanced around the empty association — its walls papered with the Pioneer Party's slogans for other causes entirely — before continuing. "But now it seems that was nothing more than a pipe dream. I had assumed humans bore enormous hatred toward us demi-humans. Turns out that neither the Pioneer Party nor any other humans actually care about us at all."
Fischer offered no commentary. When she finished, he leaned against the wall and remarked, "Don't you think it's a bit dangerous to say all that to a human like me?"
Xi Yate laughed and smacked her own forehead.
"Well, it's been so long since I've met a human who's genuinely interested in demi-humans that I just couldn't help running my mouth a little. Sorry about that — wait..."
Something suddenly dawned on her, and her expression shifted to wariness as she looked at Fischer.
"You're not tricking me, are you? You're not really some demi-human scholar at all — you're a thief who came to steal things! Or a bandit!"
"Steal what? Aside from vegetables, what is there to steal here? You?"
Fischer couldn't help laughing at her words. Xi Yate's cheeks flushed, and she stamped a hoof before planting her hands on her hips.
"What's so funny? What's wrong with stealing me? Back in my tribe, I was the prettiest and the fastest Centaur of them all!"
Fischer chose not to question the credibility of that claim — after all, she was the only Centaur here, so there was no way to verify anything she said. But if possible, studying her would be ideal. He was genuinely curious about Centaurs; this was, after all, his first time meeting a living one.
"What I said before was the truth. I really am a scholar who studies demi-human species. I'm currently teaching at Saint-Nazareth University over there, so I expect I'll have plenty of chances to visit. I'm very interested in Centaurs. If you're willing, I'd like to learn more about you. Is there anything you'd want in return — as a condition for the research?"
Hearing that Fischer wanted to learn more about her, she blushed again, though she was now convinced that his interest in Centaurs as a species was genuine. After a brief hesitation, she agreed.
"All right. If I don't have anything else going on, you're welcome to come by anytime. Sometimes the Pioneer Party calls me away for... rallies and such. As for payment, forget it — just coming here to chat with me is enough. But I'll say this upfront: I won't talk much about tribal matters."
Fischer nodded and accepted her terms.
"Then it's a deal."