Saturday morning.
A light drizzle fell from the overcast sky, and the first-year students stood blankly in line in the front yard of the Spring dormitory, like flowerpots left out in the rain.
But of course, they weren’t plants, and with each raindrop that broke against their faces, they grumbled.
“Volunteer work in this weather? Who scheduled it like this?”
“My socks are already soaked. What if I get athlete’s foot?”
“I just want to go back to bed…”
Responding to the students’ complaints was Casey, an Academy staff member.
Though she understood their grumbling, she had no choice but to speak with authority.
“Alright, are all the first-years who signed up for today’s volunteer activity here? Make sure your roommates are all accounted for, and if anyone’s missing, speak up now. If someone’s absent when we do the headcount later, their volunteer hours will be voided and they’ll get penalty points, so don’t be lazy…check properly.”
“I’ve already done the roll call. No one’s missing.”
“Really? Thank you, Miss Trisha.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. But how much longer will the students have to stand out here? I’m worried they’ll catch a cold from the chill.”
“We’ll be heading out soon. Just waiting on the supervising professor.”
“Who’s supervising?”
“Professor Winslet.”
“Ah…”
Trisha and the staff member glanced toward the dormitory entrance path.
But aside from the landscaping trees swaying in the wind and rain, there wasn’t even a shadow of a person in sight.
Trisha asked,
“The volunteer site is Bluefields, correct?”
“Yes. An old port downstream on the Henn River.”
“If it’s downstream, that must be quite far from the Academy… Are we really walking there in this rain?”
“What choice do we have? There are over 300 first-years. It would cost a fortune to load that many people onto carriages or boats. The Academy’s philosophy is to save money wherever possible. At least local patrons are providing room and board, so that’s one less thing to worry about.”
“Come to think of it, was this volunteer activity an overnight trip?”
“That’s right. If the submitted schedule is followed, we should be back by tomorrow afternoon.”
Just then, a strong gust of wind interrupted their conversation.
Students flinched as raindrops slapped against their faces and started whining again.
Then—whoooshhh.
Through the swaying leaves of the landscaping trees, which bent as though struck by a crashing wave, what Casey had been waiting for finally appeared.
A carriage. Presumably carrying Professor Winslet.
“They’re finally here. But… huh?”
Casey rubbed her eyes and said,
“It’s not just one? Two, four, six, eight…”
A procession of over thirty carriages which was practically a full convoy was pulling into the dormitory entrance.
All of them were four-wheeled and roofed to shield from wind and rain.
“What in the world…?”
Someone soon appeared to answer her question.
Professor Winslet, stepping down from the leading carriage.
He held no umbrella, yet not a single raindrop touched his hair or shoulders.
An invisible barrier above his head deflected every raindrop.
“Professor Winslet? These carriages…?”
“I arranged them to transport the students to the volunteer site. Took a bit of time to procure.”
“But the students could’ve just walked…”
“Even if they’re wearing raincoats, do you really think they won’t end up covered in mud and filth walking across the entire city? Surely you’re not suggesting I parade such disgraceful sights around and embarrass myself?”
“N-No, not at all! It’s just, the cost of renting these carriages must have been…”
“I paid for them. Is that a problem?”
“N-Not at all! I’m sure the students will be thrilled.”
Casey swallowed dryly at the professor’s extravagant gesture.
How much did he blow… just to preserve his pride?
Professor Winslet said,
“Then let’s depart.”
When Casey nodded and shared the good news, the students, realizing the purpose of the carriages, erupted with cheers.
“Woooaaahhh!”
Amid the excitement, Trisha looked over at Professor Winslet.
He was already looking at her and for a brief moment, the two exchanged a knowing glance.
***
Inside the slowly yet steadily moving carriages, the students, basking in their unexpected luxury, were singing praises of Professor Winslet’s extravagant spending.
Among them of course were Jacqueline, Shannon, and Rita.
“I really didn’t want to walk in the rain, so this is such a relief.”
Shannon spoke as she twisted strands of her frizzy, humidity-ruined hair between her fingers.
Rita, meanwhile, was admiring the interior of the carriage.
“This seems like a pretty luxurious ride. Professor Winslet must’ve spent quite a bit to rent thirty of these.”
Jacqueline, on the other hand, was more curious about the professor’s bank account than the carriage itself.
“I wonder how much someone like Professor Winslet makes in a month.”
“Hmm, I heard new professors make somewhere around 900 to 1,200 blanc a month. But someone like him definitely earns more than that, no question.”
“What? 1,200 blanc? Do you know how many loaves of bread that could buy?”
Jacqueline began counting on her fingers, then gave up and muttered under her breath as she chewed her nail.
“To make real money in Laurencia, maybe I should become a professor too…”
“What are you even saying?”
Rita, now used to Jacqueline’s nonsense, chuckled and responded with a smirk.
Jacqueline asked,
“So, what are we actually going to do today? I mean, I heard it’s some sort of volunteer work, but they didn’t give us any clear info, and it’s making me a little anxious.”
Among the three of them, Rita was the most knowledgeable about the Academy. Naturally, Jacqueline looked to her.
Pushing up her glasses, Rita replied,
“They probably didn’t give specifics because the tasks change depending on the situation.”
“Change how?”
“Yeah. For example, if there’s a heavy snowstorm in winter, our job might be to melt the snow blocking the city’s main roads using fire magic. In summer, if a river floods, we might have to build embankments with earth magic. Or, if there’s a wildfire or a big fire, we’d put it out with water magic.”
“Hmm, I’ve only got an elemental affinity for fire, so I guess melting snow is all I’d be good for.”
“Well, it’s not like disasters happen all the time. We’ll probably be assigned easier, more routine tasks.”
“Routine tasks? Like… cooking or doing laundry?”
Rita let out a small laugh.
“More like tasks that are a bit more fitting for mages. I heard the thing magic department students do most during volunteer work is patrolling the streets at night and checking the city’s streetlamps.”
“I could do that. Charging magic tools was one of the first things we learned after entering the Academy. I’m finally getting to use what we’ve learned.”
Nodding in agreement, Jacqueline raised another question.
“But if we’re out checking streetlamps, what kind of volunteer work do theology or knight school students do?”
“I heard theology students open free clinics and treat people.”
“What about the knight school students?”
“Well, since they’re good with physical labor, I guess they get sent to do tough jobs. I heard they’ve been put to work on road construction or clearing forested areas.”
“That’s… kind of sad.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Looking at Rita nodding, Jacqueline voiced a worrisome thought.
“You don’t think we’ll end up doing that kind of stuff too… right?”
***
When we arrived at the Bluefields harbor, the one who greeted us was a man who introduced himself as the harbor supervisor.
“Welcome, Professor. I’m Stanley Langmuir.”
He was a man in his late fifties, with a ruddy face marked by deep liver spots.
From the way he spoke and dressed, it was clear he wasn’t a noble.
He was probably someone who had risen to a royal administrative position through years of hands-on experience and recognized influence.
“Please, make yourself at home.”
“My home isn’t nearly this filthy, though.”
The harbor before my eyes was old and grimy, and worst of all, it reeked of rotting oil.
It was almost enough to trigger the debuff of Winter Winslet’s obsessive hygiene standards.
But the harbor supervisor simply smiled with a shameless grin and said,
“Don’t worry, it’ll be cleaned up soon enough. Hahaha.”
“……?”
“Still, I was quite surprised to see a whole procession of carriages show up. And to find out they were full of students…this is a first.”
“Have accommodations for the students been prepared?”
“Oh, of course. Several local trade guilds have offered up their guild halls. The students should be well taken care of.”
Stanley explained that the regional river transport guild, the warehouse guild, and the fishermen’s guild had each provided a building.
The 300 or so students were split into three groups and guided to each location, while I was invited to the harbor supervisor’s office, separate from them.
There, three guild leaders who had offered up their facilities were waiting for me.
“You must be Professor Winslet from the Royal Academy of Laurencia? What an honor to have such a distinguished guest. I’m Marcus, head of the Bluefields River Transport Guild.”
“I’m Hayden, of the Fishermen’s Guild.”
“Name’s Dawson, from the Warehouse Guild.”
I acknowledged each one with a nod as they introduced themselves in turn.
They were, in essence, local power figures and it was clear they were here to build a connection with me.
The harbor supervisor, Stanley, broke the silence.
“I heard this is your first time participating in community service, Professor Winslet.”
“Community service?”
“Oh, I mean the Academy students’ public service work. That’s what we used to call it. From the sound of it, this really is your first time.”
When I nodded, the three guild leaders grinned knowingly.
“In that case, how about leaving this round of volunteer work to us and just taking it easy, Professor?”
“No worries at all. We’ve got plenty of experience handling these things.”
“In fact, we’ve prepared a comfortable space just for you, Professor Winslet, so leave all the hassle to us and enjoy your stay! Hahaha.”
Something about their offer gave off a bad smell.
And it wasn’t just a hunch…because floating above one of their heads was this:
[Notification]
[A death flag has been raised by this character.]
Leave a Reply