Chapter 20

“A banshee?”

“Yes. As soon as she started crying you slipped into a trance and almost walked off the stage. Good thing Magnara and I managed to reel you back in.” said Hicera.

You were sitting in a chair with a glass of herbs mixed with water. Your head was throbbing and your ears were still ringing from listening to the wails of the undead woman.

“I’m sorry about all that, we really should have prepared for something like that.” said the demonic college president Oroba. “But a banshee’s cry is different than the magic we warded against; it’s something very particular to that species. In a sense, she wasn’t casting anything, just projecting her grief.”

“It’s all right, president. I’m just glad that I wasn’t torn to pieces in the crowd.” you said between sips. Whatever was in the cup tasted awful, and looked just as bad. The opaque liquid looked like something someone had rinsed their hands in after sculpting with clay. It was sour going down, but left a bitter and salty aftertaste. Even monsters can’t make medicine pleasant it would seem.
“Yes… Well, we will be certain to take that into account the next time you give a lecture. In addition, you need to be more careful with your word choice. Ever since you told the crowd about your condition, you have received no less than two dozen offers for a ‘personal body guard.’” said Oroba.

Finishing your drink, you grimace and set the cup down on the table. Hicera helps you to your feet with her dainty hands. How did she keep her skin so soft?

“Don’t worry President, the guards are quite capable. Besides, I think that if I really needed to, I could deal with a monster or two.” you said, channeling a bit of magic into your hands to make your palms spark.

Oroba and Hicera flinched as your hands crackled and the flames shot a bit higher than you intended. Oroba swept the pyrotechnics aside with a wave of her own magic.

“Don’t do that. Using magic for any reason not approved by the school is strictly forbidden. You may be a guest, but you will respect our rules during your stay here, understood?” said Oroba.

You nod and lower your gaze. She could be intimidating when she needed to be; that’s probably why she ran the college.
“But that does remind me: I’ve tasked some of our artificers and mages to search for anything that could help you control your magic. Last I heard they had found some promising leads, but anything we find will have to be thoroughly inspected to ensure that it won’t cause more problems than it solves.” said Oroba.

“Do I really need something like that? I think I can get the hang of it with a little practice.” you said.

“Normally I would be inclined to agree with you, but you must understand that you are an anomaly. Using magic, one can project their will onto the world using the energy within themselves.” Oroba raised a pitcher of water into the air and gently poured a bit into one of the glasses on the table. “Most mamono and humans are limited in how much magic they can use at once. But you are more like this.” She tilted the pitcher ninety degrees. The rest of the water splashed out, knocking over the cup and running off the table. “From the reports, most of the magic you use is completely wasted. All those fires and explosions are bits of energy that could be conserved. Instead, you turn them into pyrotechnics.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. Just gimmie the training wheels already.” you said.

The door opened and a succubus asked for the President’s signature on something.

“Forgive me, but I really must be going. I’ll have the artificers deliver whatever they find to you. Farewell Anon, and keep up the good work. I hear from your instructors that you are making significant effort to learn and interact with your peers.” Following the succubus, she walked away swinging her hips. Why did they all have to do that?

“Alright Anon, you should get some food and actual sleep. And please, for the love of Eros, try to stay healthy.” said Hicera.
Poor unicorn. It felt like half of your time in this world was spent comatose under her care. You didn’t mean to give her so much work, but this place was much more hazardous than you had imagined.

“I’ll do my best, Hicera. I really do appreciate all the care you’ve given me.” you collect your things and head out the door.
Hicera gave a little wave and watched you go.

She sighed. “See you again soon Anon…”

~~~~~~

Another day, another action-packed instruction on magic.

Not really.

The College of Admaz was turning out to be less like Harry Potter and more like… a regular school.

	You went to class, listened to lecture, ate lunch, did your homework, had language practice with Morala, and went to sleep. Doing fun things with your friends was off the table, as most of them wanted to abduct you. There were always the men of the college, but they were either too studious to do anything fun or screwing their girlfriends. The most excitement you ever got was the practical exams they put you through. You always failed, but it was the only time when you were technically allowed to use magic beyond telekenisis. Which for you meant a large hole being burnt into something.

	And today was one of those days. After hitching a ride on your reluctant transport the wyvern, you stood on the practice field with the other students. They had stopped laughing at you, but you were guessing that it had more to do with your penchant for disintegration rather than respect. Whatever. Blowing things up was the most fun you were allowed to have, and dammit you were going to have a LOT of fun. Rolling up your slightly seared sleeves, you listen to Fornue begin her instructions.

“Alright class, listen up. We’re going to be working on warding. As you’ve been learning in Defensive Magic wards are an imperative part of any mage’s arsenal. Hopefully you never have to use them, but that just isn’t realistic if you plan on interacting with humans.” said Fornue.

You could feel the eyes of the mamono around you shift onto you.

“Warding against magic and warding against physical attacks are two very different spells. Today you will be demonstrating your understanding of the physical ward. This isn’t an oath of pleasure, just a simple barrier. Line up and start preparing.”

	This was going to be difficult. It was a forgone conclusion that things were about to be blown up, but you didn’t like the idea of something exploding in your face. Or anyone else’s for that matter. Concentrating, you try and let only the slightest amount of energy leave your body.

“Anon.”

You exhale and lower your hands. Professor Fornue strode over to you with a small package.

“Oroba instructed me to give these to you.” she said handing you the box. “She said that these should be what you need to limit how much magic you’re using.”

	Undoing the latch on the box, you opened the lid and revealed two rings. Both were carved gold bands with a gemstone you couldn’t identify. Oddly enough, the gems seemed to be cut very roughly compared to the intricate rune work on the metal. You tentatively slide one onto the ring finger of your left hand. It didn’t feel any different than a normal ring.

“Uhh… what exactly do these do?” you ask inspecting the jewelry on your hand.

“They just prevent you from blowing your whole load at once. So to speak.” said Fornue with a wink.

Right. Well, your arm wasn’t falling off and the ring was still removable so the artificers found something without a curse at least.

“Do I just cast a spell like I normally would?” you ask.

“That’s what I was told. Give it a try.” She said.

Raising your hands again, you attempt to visualize a shield in front of you. The warm flow of energy into your hands was stifled; the rings began to feel cool against your skin. With much care, you push the power out of your hands.

A convex dome appears in front of you. The sudden appearance of the glowing wall surprises you so much that you nearly lose control of the spell. It was the first time that you had actually gotten a spell to behave the way you had intended.

“Ooh! Very good Anon! You may just end up passing this class. Keep practicing. We’ll see how you do in the practical.” said Fornue. She left to inspect some other students, leaving you to your new-found power.

	After retracting and remaking the shield a few times, you discovered that you could change the shape of the barrier. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but it did prove that you were just as capable as the other mamono and human men at the college. Take that, bitches! Time to crush the practical.

~~~~~~

“Anon, it doesn’t matter if you failed the practical, what matters is that you learned how to control your magic! This is a huge step forwards for us.” said Morala.

	So maybe ‘crush’ wasn’t the right word. It turns out that adjusting a ward in time to block a stick someone was swinging at you was harder than it looked. The first few swings were easy, but once she got past the barrier once it was impossible to regain your focus long enough to put the ward back up. Eventually you did manage to kind of bounce her backwards, but it was too late.

Morala finished up with her frost spell and released your bruised wrist.

“I guess… This just isn’t what I imagined learning magic would be like.” you said.

“What did you think it would be like?” asked Morala.

Drowning in pussy, dropping nukes on your enemies, attending fancy mage conferences, and turning mud into gold.

“Uhh… a little more hands on…” you said.

“There will be time for that once you get into the advanced courses.” Said Morala. “For now the most important things are your health and the people you meet.”

“Yeah. I guess I do need to make some more friends.” you said shuffling to the window of your dorm room.

“Not just friends Anon. Family.”

You turn to look at Morala. The comment and her tone were much more somber than her usual quips. She was looking at you with concern and pity on her face.

“Anon, you left behind your family in the other world. Friends are a start, but you need to find someone who can be there for you no matter what happens. I’m worried about you. This place…” she waved at your messy room. “…just doesn’t feel like home.” She said.

Fuck. You had been doing your best to avoid it since you had arrived, but losing your family was still a sore spot. Not only losing them, but knowing that they would never receive closure about your fate. For all they knew, you ran off into the woods to die.

“Yeah, I miss them. But I’m alright, really. There’s plenty for me to do here, and everyone is so supportive. I’ll be alright.”

Morala stood up and took hold of your hands. “You can’t tell me that when you’re trying so hard not to cry.”

Dammit.

You squeezed her hands tightly as a tear rolled down your face. “I miss them. But I’m too scared to think about them. I know that if I do I won’t be able to stop. I made my peace when I was in that forest; there’s no reason for me to keep torturing myself with their memory.”

Morala held your cheek in her soft hands. “It’s alright, Anon. You’ll have a family soon. I think every monster in the school would be happy to have you as their husband. And you’ll always have me.”

	You let out a raspy sigh and lean into Morala’s delicate palm. She pulled you closer and gave you a hug. Under normal circumstances you would be worried about corruption or nefarious magics, but right now a hug was what you needed more than anything. Her head fit comfortably under your chin. Resting your head on hers, you inhaled the flowery scent of her hair. Behind her, two fairy wings beat excitedly and she snuggled into you a bit more. She let out a contented hum and rested more of her weight onto your arms.
The two of you embraced like that for a few minutes; her stroking your back and you nuzzling her head. But you knew you had to pull away. Gently pushing your fairy companion away, you wipe your eyes.

“Thanks, Morala. I’ll be okay though, I promise.” you said.

She gazed back up at you with sparkling eyes. “I know you will Anon. You should get some sleep. You look exhausted.” With a little flutter she hopped to the door frame. “Goodnight Anon.”

“Yeah, you too.”

She gently closed the door and left you alone in your room.

~~~~~~

You were feeling much better the next day. It was difficult losing your family like that, but Morala was right. There was plenty of love in this world for you. Probably more than the other world actually.

Donning your amulet and rings you set out for class. Hopefully you wouldn’t need all these accouterments much longer. All the items served their purpose, but you would prefer not to be covered in jewelry just to go about your day.

Meandering your way through the labyrinthine sets of stairs and hallways, you greet the mamono you know on your way to the dining hall.

	The fairies have a spot saved for you, just like they always do. That much hadn’t changed. What had were the tables around the tiny women’s sanctuary. Ever since you had become a regular at the fairy table, the other mamono had begun a subtle turf-war to claim the tables closer too you. Posses of monsters all rushed to establish a table for their friends/allies. The competition was fierce; there were only two or three tables near you. Everyone else sat at the long refectory tables in the center of the room. From what you could tell this was mostly married mamono and their partners, or monsters that had no interest in you. Some of the weaker monsters always managed to secure the end of the table closest to you.

No matter where they sat, they desperately vied for your attention by flashing you or attempting to eat their meal seductively. These advances always went ignored. The real danger was when they tried to use bait.

	As your body became more and more accustomed to mamono mana, more and more cuisines became edible. And it was damn good. Some of the dishes you just couldn’t get enough of, even if Hicera told you not to eat any. Through some autistically close inspection of your eating habits, some mamono had learned your preferences and would try to offer you your favorite foods. The guards stepped in when they tried to lure you in directly, but even now your peripherals were filled with muffins and breads. The temptation was awful.

“Mr. Anon!” said a fairy landing on the table in front of you.

“Yeah?”

“Was Lady Mora with you last night?” she asked. The tiny woman looked nervous.

“She was, but we didn’t do anything.” you replied.

“Where were you? Was she in your room?”

“Yes… why do you ask?”

“She never came back last night!” said the fairy anxiously.

“She’s missing?” you ask quickly.

“No, she isn’t, but… she’s been leaving us more often. She used to spend all her time playing with us and helping the younger fairies learn, but now she’s never around. Sometimes she doesn’t come back at night and none of us know where she goes. We really miss her…” said the fairy. She began to cry and you offered her the tip of your napkin. She took it and wiped her face clean.

“You don’t have anything to worry about. Morala still loves you all, I promise. She wouldn’t just abandon you. I’m sure she’s just busy; I’m probably responsible for that…” you said.

“No! It’s not only her absence! She’s changed! Some of the other fairies are noticing it too. Mora is less patient than she used to be. And she doesn’t talk to us like she used to. She sends us on all sorts of errands to get things, and never tells us what they’re for.” said the fairy. Her tiny voice rose with conviction.

“Alright. How about I talk to her? I’m sure that she’s just stressed. I’ll get her to tell you about the errands you run, and make sure that the rest of you aren’t neglected.” you said reassuringly. The fairy seems skeptical, but nodded in agreement.

Wiping the crumbs off your mouth, you set out for the lecture hall as mamono waved their pastries at you.

~~~~~~

	Taking your seat in Intro to Magical Theory, you take the brief period before class started to socialize with some of the other students. Initially you feared that your relationship would be strained by rampant sexual tension, bur you were able to hold normal conversations with taken mamono and their husbands. And there were endless topics to discuss; questions about this world and answers about yours.

Currently you were talking to a holstaur and her husband. The man was sitting in her lap, reclining into her chest. You were telling them about some of the fruits that grew where you lived.

“To your seats everyone.” said professor Aegoli in her monotone voice. “Before we begin with the lecture, are there any questions about Ramkirk’s conquest o-“

The door burst open. The guards in the room leapt to their feet and shoved you behind them. The students knew the drill and shuffled away from you slowly. A girl about a head shorter than you were stood in the doorway.

	One of her hands was outstretched towards you, and the other was resting on her hip. Her clothes were indicative of high birth. A lacy, black corset hugged her slender frame and a long cape hung from her shoulders. She wore skin tight pants that squeezed her lean thighs and tiny butt. Her chest couldn’t be more than a B cup. The look of confidence on her face was undermined by the fact that she appeared to be out of breath. For a few seconds she stood there, doing her best to hide her deep breaths by inhaling through her nose.

“Excuse me but just what are you doing?” said Aegoli flatly. Oh man she was pissed.

“Anon of Earth!” she announced. She wasn’t quite yelling but it was close enough for you to be startled by her outburst. “I have come for you with a most generous offer. Submit yourself to me and you shall know pleasure unending and power overwhelming. Rejoice!” she threw her arms out to the side to fluff her cape. “No more will you be forced to toil amidst the lesser races. You shall serve only me, and in service you will find rapture. Feel free to weep with glee, for you know not how privileged you are to have the chance to kneel at my feet.”

She finished her speech and held out a hand for you to take with a sneer on her face.

There was a long silence.

“Who the hell are you?” you asked. It was a bit more hostile than you intended, but something about her just pissed you off.

“Ah! Wh-! Who am I?! Are you really so ignorant that you fail to recognize greatness when it stands before you?!” she said.

“Listen lady, I’m not exactly accustomed to this place yet so don’t call me ignorant if I haven’t had a chance to learn yet.” you said.

	Seeing you angry, she took a deep breath and flourished her cape again. “Then I shall educate you! I am Emballandae von Chiropta! Daughter of Petropa, president of the student council of Tomb Haven academy, beauty of the moon, and heir to the night!”
There was another long pause as you looked around to gauge the reactions of the other mamono. Most looked tense, and some looked downright scared. A few glared at her with gritted teeth and clenched fists. Some of the men looked like they were swooning. Eeugh.

“…Okay…” you said. You still had no idea who this person was. Apparently powerful enough for the guards to not throw her out.

“That’s it?!” squawked Emballandae.

“I don’t know any of those names!” you shouted back in exasperation.

“They’re very famous and convey wealth and power!” she explained stamping her tiny foot.

“I surmised as much. The answer is still no. Please leave.” you said.

Emballandae collected herself and straightened her hair. She made the smuggest face she could muster, betrayed by her furrowed brow.
“Ufufu… I can see you are a shrewd man Anon. So be it! Bring forth the dowery!” she shouted.

A zombie shuffled in behind her carrying a small chest. The poor thing looked about ready to collapse. That may be a zombie thing, you don’t know. She unceremoniously dropped the chest onto the nearest desk.

“The lid you idiot! Open the lid!” hissed Emballandae.

The poor corpse fumbled with the latch and opened the chest.

The contents were stacks of what looked like gold bars, neatly arranged so that they took up all the space in the chest. No wonder the zombie was moving so slowly.

“This is just a taste of what is to come! As you can see, I tell you no lies. Now submit! Lest you evoke my ire.” she said spreading her legs and covering her face with her hand.

“Is that a lot of money?” you asked the holstaurus quietly.

“A lot o- What did you just ask?!” shouted Emballandae.

“I asked if it was a lot of money!” you shouted back.

“Of course it’s a lot you dolt! Look at how much fucking gold this is!” she said shaking the lid of the box.

“Don’t call me stupid, I don’t know what the currency of this place is like! People could pave streets with gold for all I know!”

“IT’S FUCKING GOLD, ANON!” screamed Emballandae.

She was panting heavily at this point and her pale face was flushed with anger and embarrassment.

“Well I don’t care how much it is! I’m not some prostitute. Pack that up and get the fuck out of here.” you demand.

She drew her cape closed around her and turned towards the exit. “Hmph! I think I SHALL. It’s your loss Anon the human. You could have had a wonderful life as my servant, but alas, you threw it away.” she took a few steps towards the door. “…I suppose I would be willing to forgive you if you begged me. Though I will still have to punish you~” she said looking over her shoulder.

“Get the fuck out of here you psycho!” you said.

She frowned. “Do you really mean that?” she asked softly.

You grit your teeth. What was wrong with this lady? “Yes I really mean that!”

Emballandae turned to face you. She looked pissed, but you could tell she was close to crying too. “Why?! I offered you everything didn't I?!” she demanded.

“You interrupted this class, belittled everyone else, called me stupid, and generally acted like a massive cunt. Now please leave, you crazy elf!” you said.

That did it.

Emballandae’s lip began to quiver as tears began to stream down her face. “…Elf…?” she whimpered. She began to sob and ran out of the room.

The class stood in stunned silence as her cries faded down the hall. The zombie closed the lid and slowly shuffled after her mistress.

“Anon.”

You turned towards professor Aegoli who had her face buried in one of her wings.

“That was incredibly stupid.”

~~~~~~

“Well how the hell was I supposed to know who she was?!”

“You mean besides the fact that she FUCKING SAID who she was and brought enough gold to buy every house in the terraced district? Gee Anon, I guess there was really no way to know that she was the daughter of an incredibly powerful vampire.” said Oroba.

You sighed and reclined into the plush office chair. Aegoli and Magnara were also present. Aegoli watched the discussion wordlessly while Magnara buried her face in her hands.

“I don’t care who she is. She can’t just talk to me like that.” you said flatly crossing your arms.

“Anon you called her an elf!” said Magnara. “Vampires are extremely prideful, you know that! You told me yourself you knew that! Why would you antagonize her like that?”

“I didn’t know for certain what she was!” you protested.

“She explicitly told you that she was the ‘heir to the night.’ This was more than sufficient to make an inference about her species.” said Aegoli.

You glared at the owl harpy. “It doesn’t matter! I told her no, and she wouldn’t accept it. The guards should have thrown her out the second she blew the door open.”

“If they did the undead cities would cut or tax all trade on our imports and exports, and the college would be locked embroiled in a legal battle. Do you know how hard it is to win against a team of monsters that can drag a case out for centuries? It’s impossible. I’ve seen dragons surrender because they were on the verge of bankruptcy.” said Oroba.

“One vampire has that much power?” you asked.

“The nobles of the undead cities may be rivals, but they are quite cooperative when something threatens their power. I daresay that your rejection was the first time that Emballandae didn’t get what she wanted.” said Oroba.

“I don’t know if ‘want’ is the right word. I knew vampires had a reputation for being cunts to their husbands, but I didn’t think it would be that bad.” you said.

“She wanted you alright.” said Oroba pouring herself a glass of liquor from the decanter on her desk. “Having you enter a bloodline would be an invaluable asset to any family. I’d bet every noble from here to Zipangu is thinking of a way that they can win you over.”
“Is it really that important? I know that I’m the only one of my kind and all, but can’t they just get men from their normal supply village or cradle or slave market?” you ask.

“It is that important I’m afraid.” said Magnara clasping her hands together. “It’s bad enough that you’re exotic, but you’ve also shown that you posses a great deal of mana. The nobility is always trying to find the next best thing. In fact, some of the largest purchases the upper class makes are rare human men. A talented slaver can retire after a few good catches. Finding a virgin albino would net a slaver enough money on the market to live comfortably for the rest of their life.” she explained.

“So, what’s going to happen? Did I just start a war?” you said. Apparently the whole bloodline thing was more important than you had expected. Fucking rich people and their weird tastes. You would feel awful if there was any sort of consequence for the mamono of Admaz because you couldn’t get rid of that vamp fast enough.

“Thankfully no.” said Oroba. “We can just write this off as part of your culture. Though you WILL be writing an apology. Throw in some {englesh} words too. That will be sure to wow them. Just make sure you don’t sign it for obvious reasons.”

Not really sure what a vampire could do with your signature; that seemed like a demon thing.

“Alright. Fine. I’ll get Morala to help me whip something up.” you said raising yourself from your chair.

“Good. Make sure to flatter them.” said Oroba.

“Will she come back? I’d rather not have to go through that again.” you said.

“No, I think not. But there may be others. We’ll have to make it more clear that exceptions are not to be made for any royalty or nobility. If they insist I suppose that we can allow them to see you under supervision for a very brief time. I hope you can agree to that; I can only do so much as a college president after all.” said Oroba.

“Of course. Don’t think I take all this for granted. You’ve all worked hard to keep me alive. If you ever need me to do anything, I’ll be happy to help you in any way I can. As long as it doesn’t kill me.” you said.

Oroba smiled.

“You’d better get going Anon. The sooner we can post that letter, the more clemency we will receive from Countess von Chiroptas.” said Magnara.

Nodding, you pick up your bag and head off to the library.

~~~~~~

“Anon! There you are! I heard what happened…” said Morala seating herself next to you in the library.

“Yeah, you and everyone else…” you grumbled setting your pen down. The pens were close to their Earthen counter parts, but used magic to pressure the ink.

“And they said that you need to write an apology?” she said.

“Yep. Here’s what I got so far. What do you think?” you ask handing her the sheet of parchment.

“I think you shouldn’t have to apologize at all. That entitled brat doesn’t deserve anything from someone as kind and intelligent as you.” she said. Her wings wiggled in annoyance.

“Well, I don’t think an apology is too much to ask. I didn’t exactly reject her gracefully…” you said.

Morala looked up from your sloppy symbols. “You weren’t… interested in her, were you?”

“No, of course not. I want to marry someone who respects me.”

“I respect you!” shouted a voice from behind some bookshelves. There was a hiss of silk and a yelp as the culprit was forcefully removed by the librarian.

“That’s a relief! I was thinking the same thing. You don’t deserve someone who would treat you like property.” said Morala.

“Well, no sense in making enemies. Let’s just write this and be done with it. As much as I don’t like her attitude, I do feel bad about making her cry.” you said.

Morala smiled. “You’re so considerate. Here, let’s start by fixing this greeting…”

~~~~

	After an hour, you had succeeded in crafting the most sycophantic correspondence you had ever seen. The arachne librarian Ixade had graciously assisted the two of you in finding some information about Emballandae’s family and lineage. It was certainly long, and apparently well respected by how Morala reacted while reading it. She seemed quite concerned as she thumbed through the aged tome. The way she nibbled on her thumb was so cute though.

“Alright, I think that’s enough ass-kissing. What do you think, Ixade?” you asked handing the parchment to the spider woman.

Her brow furrowed as she scrutinized your letter. “Well, it’s not perfect, but it has charm. I think it will do just fine.”

You sigh in relief. “Great. I’m going to go post this. Do you want to come Morala?” you ask the titania.

“Sorry Anon, I have some things I need to take care of…” she said.

You remember what the fairy had told you this morning at breakfast. “Well, alright. Just don’t let your work take over your life, okay? The fairies miss you. It makes everyone worried when you disappear all the time.”

Morala perked up. “Oh! I… I guess I have been away often as of late. You are correct Anon, I should take care of those I love too. I’ll make sure to be more transparent about where I’m going.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. See you at dinner!” you said leaving for the school post office.

~~~~~

“It’s good to see that he’s becoming so self-sufficient.” said Ixade.

“Mmm…” grunted Morala absentmindedly.

“You’re not going to go with him?” asked the arachne.

“No… I need to do some research. Do you have anything else on the undead nobility?” asked Morala.

“Certainly. Is there anything in particular you need?” asked Ixade.

“All of it.” said Morala watching Anon slip through the library doors.