Sumr. The heat was so intense that even the golems in the fields started moving slower, as if conserving their charge. I was lazily fanning myself with a burdock leaf when Erol and Yara rolled up to .
— Zenhald! Zen! Zen! — they rattled off in unison, not even letting
yawn.
— What do you want, runts?
— We heard there's a great Academy in the United Nations Country! Tell us, what's it like? Is it cool? Do they teach you how to turn water into wine, or at least into lemonade?
I cracked one eye open.
— What makes you think I'm up to speed on local educational standards?
— Lucia said it's better to ask you. That you're... an "insider" there.
Traitor, I thought. Found soone else to dump the problem on.
— Well... — I scratched the back of my head. — They teach sothing there. Probably. The place is cool and terrible at the sa ti. Pure chaos, running around, and rules that change faster than the weather. What, you don't like your school? It was fun in town.
The kids grimaced in sync.
— It's boring there, — Erol blurted out. — The sa thing every day. We want to see the world! We want to go to another country!
That evening at the table, a real siege began. Erol and Yara dumped their idea on Alastor and Aya. I sat there sipping my compote, waiting for the demons to bark: "You're staying ho!". But instead...
— Yes... in principle, it's a good idea, — Aya replied calmly, exchanging a glance with Alastor. — It will be a useful experience.
I choked on my compote.
— What?! Just like that? You're just letting them go?
— On one condition, — Alastor raised a finger. — Zenhald will transport you there. Once every six months we will visit them, and they will visit us.
— WHAT?! — My yell probably scared the cows in the barn. — What am I to you, an intercity shuttle bus? Do you have any idea what kind of strain this puts on my poor, unfortunate heart?!
— Yes, yes, yes! — the kids scread, jumping with delight. — Zen is the best transport in the world!
At night, when the house finally quieted down, Lucia sat next to
on the porch. She looked at the moon and smiled slyly.
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— Why did you freak out so much when the Academy ca up, Zen?
— Because it's a ss there! — I grumbled. — Floors flying around, mirrors glitching, no schedule...
— Strange, — Lucia turned to , her eyes flashing. — You helped build it yourself, you know.
I froze.
— What? ? I don't rember that. Why would I waste my ti on...
Before I could finish, she cut
off with a snide laugh:
— Oh yes. Only a sadist like you could co up with that chaotic system. You intentionally made it so students couldn't just "study normally." You wanted them to learn how to survive under conditions of absolute uncertainty. You personally designed those "jumping floors" and "matryoshka doors".
I looked at my hands. My mory was blank. Not a single blueprint, not a single thought about architecture. But deep down, sothing giggled maliciously.
— Strange... — I muttered. — Why don't I have these mories? If I really built that madhouse... then my past self was a massive troll.
Lucia patted my head, and I started to "shut down" again, but a final thought managed to slip through: So, when I was suffering there trying to find my classroom... I was suffering from my own past stupidity?
End of sumr. The heat finally began to break, giving way to anxious anticipation. It was ti to send Erol and Yara off for knowledge.
POP. BAM.
One powerful spatial jerk—and we were already at the gates of the Academy. As expected, the young vampires didn't appreciate the charms of instantaneous travel. As soon as the soles of their shoes touched solid ground, they bent over in sync, returning everything they ate for breakfast to nature.
— Weaklings, — I muttered, watching their tornt.
The kids were wildly nervous. They passed the entrance exam in such a way that even the magical sensors seed to hesitate on whether to give them a passing grade. The result was the bare minimum score. Right on the edge. But, as they say, a pass is a pass. They got lucky.
I didn't go inside the Academy myself. I stayed far back in the forest, among the swaying trees, watching the spires through a cloaking spell.
Was I afraid of running into old acquaintances? Alexia, Lianel, Alphus, that girl Alastia?
Probably... yes. Or maybe not. I just reminded myself once again: I'm just a supporting character in their lives. An extra who accidentally wandered into the fra. They have their own story, grand and heroic, and I have... a farm. Why ask how they're doing? Just to feel like a nobody again?
POP.
We returned ho. The emptiness in the kids' rooms hit imdiately.
So they wouldn't feel abandoned, I gave them a pair of "communication spheres." My own invention from a past cycle: you pour mana in, and the ssage flies to the recipient.
There was one technical catch, though. My ssages reached them instantly. But their replies... The kids didn't have much mana for such distances, so their ssages took two or three hours to reach .
Pure magical ping. You ask: "How are you?
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