Doggone Academy

Vivi, like seaweed spread out, brushed her hair aside with one hand to reveal her bare back. There, alongside her porcelain skin, an incongruous black stain was visible.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a stain. A strange pattern, a tattoo, was etched into her skin, slowly moving on its own. A moving picture was engraved on a person’s back.

“…What is this?”

“The mark of a failure. Evidence that the gods have abandoned and cursed me. Known since ancient times as Kunderanos, which translates to ‘the magic circle that summons destruction.’ In the past, children born with this magic circle were killed on the day of their birth, and their birthplace was burned to the ground along with them.”

“Is there a reason you were born with it?”

“If there was a reason, it would be less unfair. I carry the blood of a goddess, but my body cannot contain it properly. For those who cannot cope, the blood of a goddess is like a curse or a plague.”

The blood of a goddess, what does that mean? Is she implying she’s an incomplete saint?

“What happens if you can’t accept the blood?”

“By the time I reach thirty, I’ll be dead. I’ll die in agony, vomiting black blood from every hole in my body. That’s the fate I’ll face in ten years. Perhaps, like a legend, I might spread the wrath of the gods across the world.”

Considering the half-mad knights’ mutterings about ‘the blood of a goddess’, there must be a clear relation to why the beast wants Vivi as a sacrifice. Though the power of this blood is unknown to me.

“Why did you show me this?”

“…The gods have forsaken me. You too might get entangled in this curse, blessed as your life has been—perhaps it has already happened. Still, do you wish to stay by my side?”

Referring to my life as blessed holds significance. Touting her misery is rather unseemly, so I left her to her assumptions.

I’m sorry to Vivi, but the curse itself doesn’t impress me much. Not all curses require strange markings on the back. Life itself is a sequence of suffering. If that’s not a curse, what is? It’s just that everyone suffers in their own way.

“It doesn’t matter to me whether the gods curse you or throw you into hell.”

“…”

“I’ll do what I can. I might not help with other matters, but I can protect you from the threats of this land.”

Vivi, perhaps undergoing some emotional shift, shivered with her back turned to me. Then, wrapping her shoulders again with her clothes, she spoke in a determined tone.

“I will remember that vow until the day I die……. And since you’ve risked your life for me, I, too, will entrust all of me to you.”

***

All we had were our bodies. No drinking water, food, or spare clothes. Only some of my combat gear and a few potions remained.

We couldn’t even pinpoint our location, having drifted aimlessly. Though the rain had subsided, the sky was covered with dark grey clouds, making it impossible to orient ourselves by sun or stars.

“Where are we heading?”

“Whichever direction we move in will ultimately lead to the same place.”

“…?”

Literally so. If this is indeed the Circulatory System, there’s no need to expend much effort in pinpointing our position. Wherever we go, it will lead into the maw of the beast.

The only way to reach the heart of Barvisia is to comply with this land.

We continued to move to relatively higher ground before any more rain could fall.

The surroundings were filled with nothing but dark trees, swamps, and fog.

Vivi, following me like a soaked rat, suddenly questioned,

“Why are you… fine?”

I pondered whether to explain everything about the Circulatory System but decided against it.

“When I visited a village of slash-and-burn farmers, I acquired some medicine. Probably the same thing you ingested.”

“Ah, I see… So, we’re left like this thanks to some unknown herb.”

“How do you find walking on your own two feet?”

“…Still manageable.”

No sooner had she spoken than one of Vivi’s legs sank into the swamp up to her thigh.

“Kyaa!”

She struggled fiercely but couldn’t extract herself, likely due to a lifetime lacking physical exertion.

“This damned thing!”

She punched the swamp floor in frustration, her face angry at not being able to condemn the swamp further.

Sighing, I grabbed her by the armpits and lifted her out. Her gaze wavered slightly as she emerged from the swamp.

“It seems you find it easy to lay hands on a woman’s body.”

“…?”

“Just saying.”

“You being high-maintenance, I’ll get used to it quickly.”

“I’ll entrust my body to you, but I refuse to be treated like a child.”

Vivi had much to adapt to. Damp sleeping conditions, dirty clothes, blisters from marching, and even eating meat from animals that weren’t livestock.

We found a spot beneath a large rock for our camp.

Vivi, seemingly determined not to be waited upon, rolled up her sleeves to help.

“I’ll… go gather some firewood.”

“It’s dangerous. You should stay with me.”

I couldn’t let Vivi wander alone.

After removing wet bark from trees to find dry firewood, we caught two snakes and a fish, returning to our campsite.

“Can you use fire magic?”

As she squatted, awaiting warmth, she shook her head no.

The air was too damp for my small spirit to handle easily, but we had no other choice.

I summoned the spirit in my palm. The little creature flew up immediately upon being called, but instead of heading towards the firewood, it went above Vivi’s head.

Flapping its wings angrily, the spirit began pecking at the top of Vivi’s head.

“Cute spirit…eek!”

Vivi hunched over, waving her hands frantically above her head.

“Squeak!”

“…?”

It was the first time I saw my spirit so enraged, attacking someone.

“Why is it… Get this thing off me!”

I quickly wrapped my hand around the spirit, isolating it. It was still fuming inside my palm.

“It’s naturally aggressive… I’m sorry.”

“Did you make it do this? If you dislike me, just say it directly. I’m ready to face it.”

“This creature doesn’t listen to me well.”

Seeing it continue to fuss in my hand, Vivi seemed to reluctantly accept it.

“Its temperament matches its owner’s.”

The hint of tears in her eyes suggested she felt slighted by the spirit’s rejection.

Her trials were far from over.

“Can I… actually eat this?”

When mealtime came, Vivi hesitantly held a skewer of snake meat, expressing her disgust.

“Without other options, you’re left with larvae or ants.”

Closing her eyes tightly, she bit into the snake meat. Transitioning from beef, fine cheese, and wine to such game must bring regret, evident by her grimacing face.

Her tearful eyes remained wet.

“How… How are you accustomed to such things?”

“There was a time when I had to eat whatever was available to survive.”

Vivi looked at me with a complex expression.

“Silveryn, that woman took you in, didn’t she? She raised her disciple harshly.”

“It’s because Master Silveryn took me in that I don’t have to eat like this anymore.”

“…Then, what did she want in return for taking you in?”

“She asked for nothing.”

Vivi shook her head in disbelief, then prodded as if trying to see through me.

“Mages are a covetous lot. They never make a losing deal. There must be a reason she chose you among other orphans, thinking you’d be worth a lot when you grow up.”

“I hope that day comes soon. As of now, I owe too much to pay back.”

I saw no need to embellish my relationship with Silveryn. The truth was enough.

“…Quite a strong bond, then.”

What was she thinking? A fleeting melancholy crossed Vivi’s face.

“If I had someone like that…”

She stopped mid-sentence and finished eating the snake meat. After finishing, she didn’t speak again. Vivi’s mood suddenly dropped, ending our conversation there.

That night, she found a deep nook in the rocks and turned her back to me to sleep.

Standing guard, I occasionally heard her sobbing quietly. Our conversation must have touched a sore spot in her heart.

That was beyond my capacity to help.

***

“Kyaaaah!”

The next morning, I woke to Vivi’s scream. This one was deeper and more intense than any before.

Was it a beast appearing? Fully alert, I grabbed my wooden sword, ready for combat.

But there were no signs of a beast.

Vivi, covering her mouth with one hand and panting heavily, pointed at something.

There, on a stump where I’d been splitting firewood, lay a human head.

Upon closer inspection, it was the head of the old woman who had cursed Vivi, her neck cleanly severed.

It seemed to watch over our campsite with a mad, mocking laugh.

An illusion, perhaps? But since Vivi and I were seeing the same thing, it wasn’t a mere vision.

I jabbed the head lightly with my wooden sword. Along with a foul stench, bloated flesh peeled away slightly. Definitely a dead person’s head.

Black feathers lay scattered around, likely the work of crows.

Interesting. The lord of this land is keeping an eye on our movements. I decorated the head with snake bones left from yesterday’s meal and calmed Vivi down.

She looked as if she might foam at the mouth any moment.

“More severe events are yet to come; you can’t faint now.”

Vivi, visibly repulsed, said,

“Can’t you speak more nicely?”

No sooner had she spoken, a presence was felt from behind.

Turning around, I checked.

A blue stag, or rather something resembling a stag with a blue glow, was looking at us from the water’s surface.

“Why? What do you see?”

“Don’t you see it?”

“…Are you mocking me now? If you’re holding a grudge because of yesterday’s spirit or the guard incident, speak up. I, I’ll take it head-on.”

Clearly, Vivi couldn’t see the strange apparition.

If I’m seeing hallucinations while she isn’t, perhaps eating animals from this land has made me more attuned to the Circulatory System.

Yet, this hallucination seemed different from what Vivi’s guards had seen.

The brilliant hue of the stag matched the Blue Soul Herb’s glow.