Barian of the Void: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"You sure you want to help? I mean we certainly could use the extra hands considering we have both the nobles and their new familiars to take care of today, but-"

"I already said I would several times already! Now are you gonna keep wasting time or give me a damn tray already?!"

"S-Shark-san, you really should watch what you say. He is my boss after all."

Ryoga merely let out a tick of annoyance. He was really starting to reconsider his offer of helping out. First Siesta and now her boss? Seriously, couldn't people just accept the fact he was lending a hand and move on with it already? He was pretty damn sure he had already wasted five minutes just trying to convince this guy to let him help.

This was why he always let Yuma take the lead when it came to helping others. The boy was an idiot, but he was too damn bright and persuasive to say no too.

Siesta meanwhile stood to the side as she nervously looked between her boss and the boy she had met not more than twenty-four hours ago. Marteau was a kind man, and while he was a bit rugged he had helped to ease her into this job and make her feel welcome, so she respected him a lot. She was worried though that Shark-san's temper might leave a bad impression on her boss and cause a conflict between the two of them.

And surprisingly, she wasn't sure who she would side with.

As for the man in question, Marteau continued to stare at the boy before him with a curious gaze. When Siesta had said she had brought someone who wanted to help with the distribution of desserts he had been a bit shocked and skeptical. After all everybody who worked the kitchen and serving staff were already occupied with handling the events of the day, especially with the second years and their new familiars. So who would possibly have the spare time to offer aid to a bunch of commoners in a place full of nobles?

Well he certainly didn't expect it to be the human familiar everyone kept talking about.

The boy, Shark as Siesta kept calling him, had offered to lend a hand as a way of making him for his accident with Siesta's tray. Of course it wasn't uncommon for a tray of food to be lost now and then when working at an academy of nobles, especially with all those strange familiars wandering about the school, so Marteau didn't hold it against Siesta. He was more surprised that somebody, a noble's familiar at that, had offered aid to a bunch of commoners like them without asking anything in return.

Now Marteau wasn't a picky man per say. He certainly liked the idea of an extra hand around to help out, especially a non-paid one at that. But there was something about the boy in front of him that he just couldn't figure out. It wasn't that he was a familiar nor was it the boy's appearance, though he admit the boy was certainly odd looking even for a commoner.

No, what stood out to him was the boy's stance. It was a stance he knew well, as he had seen it several times by nobles he had served in the past. It wasn't the same stances that most nobles emitted, filled with pride or stubbornness, or simply used as a means to show off to others. No, the stance he saw on the boy was the stance of a person who had seen much of the world, and had been changed by it. It was the stance of someone whose views on life were vastly different from others, and didn't seem to care how others thought of it or them.

Very few nobles ever had this stance to them, but when they did, they were usually one of the few nobles Marteau could tolerate a lot more than others. Like that Colbert guy for instance.

So why then did a boy who looked no older than fifteen have such a stance on him?

"Well?" Ryoga asked again with a bit of annoyance.

Marteau blinked as his line of thought was broken and he realized what he was doing. He quickly shook his head clear of the silly ideas he had about the boy. He had been working at the oven too damn much again. Focusing back on the event at hand, the chef placed his hand on his chin and closed his eyes as he reconsidered the boy's offer.

After a few moments of silence, in which Siesta silently prayed and Ryoga kept a firm gaze, Marteau opened his eyes and gave off a smile, "Well if you're this sure about it, then why not? I certainly won't say no to a free hand. And if Siesta vouches for you, then you certainly did something right to impress her. Let's just hope you have the strength to back up those words boy. Oy Marco, get these two a tray of desserts each, asap!!"

Siesta let out a quiet cheer and smiled happily as Ryoga sighed in relief.

"About damn time."

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"Where in Brimir's name is he?"

Louise plopped her head down on the wooden table as she sighed heavily. She had been searching for several hours now and had not seen hide or hair of her familiar anywhere. It was damn good at hiding that was for sure, but she was getting tired and frustrated, so she had decided to take a short break before resuming her search.

Louise let out another sigh. What a horrid day it was turning out to be. First the nightmare, then the remembrance of yesterday's little event, then Zerbst, and now all the running around and searching for a familiar she really didn't want but had to have. It was just too much too much for her.

A grumble escaped the pinkette's lips as she glared at the sight of the other nobles and their familiars.

"Look at them all. Acting so happy and carefree like that. Showing off their familiars without a second thought. Why am I the only one who here suffering? Why must I waste my day searching for some disobedient familiar while everyone else is having fun?" Louise questioned with envy in her voice.

She couldn't help it. Weeks, months even she had been planning for the day she got her own familiar. A way to show that she was just like everyone else in the academy, and prove that she could use magic just like them. She had dreamed of all kinds of creatures she could get. A dragon, a griffon, a salamander, a bugbear, heck she would have taken a dog or a toad. Anything to shut up the laughter and insults thrown at her.

Instead, what she got was a commoner. A Brimir-forbidden commoner. Not only that, but it was a rude foul-mouthed commoner to boot. Of course even though it was a commoner, she had no choice but to accept the fact it was her familiar and make the contract with it. But even then, not only had she not managed to complete the contract yet, but she couldn't find her familiar anywhere.

Louise felt her anger fade and replace itself with confusion and doubt. She didn't show it, but she was starting to lose faith in herself. She had always ignored the gripes and insults thrown by everyone because she always believed that somewhere inside she had the potential to be better than any of them. She was a Valliere after all, and as such she was part of a legacy of strong and powerful nobles, so clearly she was the same right?

But every time she tried, she failed. Over and over again she failed, and now it was worse because this time she had failed with her own familiar. If word got out about the contract not being completed and her familiar rejecting her, she'd be a laughing stock. Her name and pride would be all but destroyed, and she'd be worse than any 'zero'.

Of course she had no intention of letting anyone find out, but the idea of what would happen terrified her, though she would deny feeling such fear.

Another sigh escaped Louise's lips as she closed her eyes to try and ease the growing migraine. She was thinking too much again. Right now all she wanted was to do was rest a little so that she could get back to hunting her familiar as soon as possible.

She just hoped that her familiar wasn't doing anything stupid to get her in trouble.

=========================================================

"Here you go sir," Siesta said as she handed over another dessert happily.

Bowing to the noble as he nodded and waved her off, Siesta turned and let out a quiet sigh. She was starting to feel exhausted. It was hard enough to serve nobles on a regular basis, but when they had their familiars to feed, each with their own size and specific needs, it just added to the pressure. She knew it would be a few days before things settled down and the nobles began to take care of their own familiars, but the way she was feeling now made her wish time would move faster.

Still it wasn't all bad. The nobles were acting a lot nicer now that they had their new familiars, and outside of the little crash with Shark-san earlier no other incidents had occurred. Overall the day was actually pretty decent.

"I wonder how Shark-san is doing?" Siesta questioned as she looked around the courtyard, "I hope he's alright and handling things well."

The two had split up a while ago in order to cover more ground. She was still surprised at the fact he had offered to help with the delivery of sweets, but at the same time she was glad. It gave her and the rest of the staff an extra hand that they desperately needed, and she got to spend more time with the strange boy from last night.

Still, she couldn't help but feel concerned. Shark-san had said he had never done anything like this before, and while she had explained the basics to him she couldn't help but worry that something else might happen to him. After all he acted like no commoner she had ever met before, and his attitude towards the nobles unnerved her slightly.

Still, he seemed very mature and kind, and he certainly wasn't lacking in any form of confidence. And he had promised to not cause any sort of trouble.

"I'm probably just worrying over nothing," Siesta spoke with a smile, "I bet Shark-san has already managed to impress and serve many of the nobles by now. He's probably not even bothered by any of this one bit."

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"I swear if one more noble calls me a damn commoner or orders me around I'm shoving this cake down their throat."

Ryoga felt his eyebrow twitch as he walked around with a single piece of vanilla cake in his hands. He had spent the better part of the last hour or so helping to deliver the pastries he had been given, and frankly, his patience was reaching its' limit. Not by the task itself, as that was rather easy. All he had to do was answer the call of any noble who wanted something from him and just give it to them without question.

No the problem he had was how every single damn noble kept calling him a commoner.

Over, and over, and OVER again.

Ryoga was many things, but patient was never really one of them. This whole commoner-noble trend he was experiencing was really aggravating and starting to piss him off. He himself didn't care how people saw him or what they chose to call him, as he had never concerned himself over such things before.

But the more he kept hearing that word and seeing the nobles act around him, the more he was a witness to just how bad the non-magic class of this world were being treated.

Whenever he had approached a noble, they had barley seemed to acknowledge the fact that he was there. They just ordered him around or asked for food and that was it, hell some didn't even give off a form of thanks. It was as if he was just a bug to them, something to notice but not care about.

Of course that was only the best reactions he got. There were a select few individuals who were complete assholes, purposefully dropping their food or something on their person and ordering him to retrieve it for them. He was half tempted to kick their faces in whenever that happened. And then there were some who were so high on their horse that they just flat out ignored him and pretended he didn't exist.

All the while being called a servant or commoner by every single one of them.

"Is this what Siesta has to put up with all the time?" Ryoga wondered. The maid seemed like a nice enough girl, and she didn't appear to have any negative views on the things happening around her. But if this was how she was being treated the whole time she worked here, then it was a wonder she stayed the way she had.

But it wasn't just about her either, it was about every single person here who was magicless. It infuriated him to see such treatment of people just because of one tiny difference in power. Just because some were born with it and others weren't. And this was an academy, a place of learning and respect.

He didn't even want to consider what a town or city in this world was like for the common-folk.

He would never have stood for such a thing back when he was king, and he sure as hell couldn't stand it now. If not for his promise to Siesta about not causing trouble to the nobles, he probably would have snapped at them long ago. At the very least, made some kind of snark remark to put them in their place.

Still, whether he wanted to do something or not, it didn't matter. He was an outsider in this world, so it's not like anyone would take him seriously unless he proved himself. And besides, last thing he needed right now was to draw any unwanted attention towards him.

Maybe after he spent more time in this world he could think of something to help Siesta and the others here. For now though Ryoga pushed the thoughts aside and focused back at the task at hand.

He still had this last piece of cake to deliver and nobody seemed open to take it from him. Heck he had spent ten minutes carrying the single piece of dessert already. It was causing him to get awkward looks he would rather not have.

"Would someone PLEASE just take the damn thing so I can leave already?!"

"Oy you there! Bring me that cake you have would you?"

Well, least the guy hadn't called him a commoner. Yet.

Turning towards the voice Ryoga quickly found the source. It was another male student with blond curly hair and blue eyes, one of the recurring patterns he seemed to notice with people in this place. What was different was the fact the man had his white t-shirt open slightly and held what looked like a rose in one hand.

Also he appeared to have a giant groundhog or mole sitting on his lap.

"Must be his familiar," Ryoga thought as he walked over. As he approached he also noticed another student with the boy, this one a female. She also had the blond hair and blue eyes thing going on, though her hair appeared tied into what looked like several sets of ringlets, and she had a red hair bow on the back of her head. She also appeared to be holding a tiny frog in her hands, probably her familiar as well.

"I talked with Verdandi the whole of last night," The boy spoke as he pet the large mole.

"Really, the whole night?" The girl asked with a bit of doubt.

"Indeed. These intelligent eyes, this magnificent fur, it really is a familiar spirit reserved just for me," the boy praised as the girl sighed.

"Least make sure to keep it underground when you're with me would you?"

Ryoga rolled his eyes as he finally approached the table and placed the cake down, "Here you go."

"Ah splendid," the boy spoke with a smile, "Bring me seconds on the tea as well."

"Get it yourself!!" Ryoga shouted mentally. Remember the promise, remember the promise!

The boy however didn't seem to notice as he looked back at his companion, "Your familiar spirit also fits you. It really resembles you in how cute it is."

The girl let out a small laugh, "You flatter me as always."

"Of course. I would never lie to your eyes."

"Gag me," Ryoga thought as he turned to walk away.

"Still Guiche, I recently heard a rumor about you dating a first year student," The girl suddenly stated with a glare as her fellow blond flinched.

"N-Nonsense. There's never a hidden side in my affection for you! I-"

Ryoga didn't bother to hear the rest as he closed his eyes and walked off, lest he start to feel sick. This was another reason he had never bothered with romance.

Too much damn drama.

Still his task was done, thank Kami, meaning all he had to do now was find Siesta and see what was next on the list. He may not have enjoyed spending so much 'quality' time with the nobles, but he would endure if it meant making up for this morning's accident. Plus it wasn't exactly like he had anything better to do with his time.

Well there was always find out more about this new world he was in, but he was still trying to wrap his head around that fact first.

With that thought though, Ryoga opened his eyes a-

SLAM!!!

"Gah!"

"Ahh!!"

In retrospect he probably should have kept his eyes open in such a crowded place. But seriously, this was getting annoying now. He had never been this prone to accidents before, that was always Yuma's shtick, not his. And yet once again, Ryoga questioned whether whatever deity in this world was trying to mess with him or not as he crashed into yet ANOTHER person.

Luckily the boy had managed to catch himself this time and remain on his feet, as he looked down to see who he had the unfortunate pleasure of running into this time.

Surprisingly it wasn't Siesta. But it was still a girl.

She had silky brown hair that stretched past her shoulders and a pair violet-colored eyes. She also seemed to be wearing the same school uniform everyone else had, though Ryoga noticed that hers was oddly brown in color and not black. Either way though it meant that he had run into a noble this time and not a worker.

Not good.

"Ah sorry, didn't see you there. You alright?" Ryoga asked as he extended a hand to the fallen girl. Last thing he needed was to cause a scene and break the promise he made.

The girl looked up at the boy a bit surprised. Shaking it off she took his hand and pulled herself up, "I-I'm fine. Thank you though, I was distracted myself and didn't pay attention to my surroundings. Sorry for that."

Ryoga blinked. That was the first time he had heard a noble actually thank him or apologize for something. It was....weird.

"Ah! My souffle!" The girl suddenly spoke as she reached over to a white basket on the ground next to her. Looking inside the girl sighs in relief and smiles, "Thank Brimir, it's still safe."

"Shit, that was too close," Ryoga thought as he watched the girl stand up and dust herself off. Whatever was in the basket was clearly important. He was just lucky that it didn't seem damaged and that the girl appeared decent enough, "Sorry again."

"No no it's fine," the girl spoke with a smile, "It'll just teach me to be more careful."

Ryoga nods, "If you're sure. Then I'll take my leave now. Take care miss," he says as he turns to walk off.

"Katie," the girl announces, thinking he was asking her name, "My name is Katie."

Ryoga blinked at the sudden introduction but shrugged it off and nodded, "Ryoga."

As he took his first step though Katie spoke up, "Ah wait a moment."

"What now?" Ryoga questioned in his head. Seriously, he was trying to avoid causing a problem here. The girl seemed nice and all but she was still a noble, and that could cause trouble if he wasn't careful. Regardless he couldn't just ignore her so he turned once more to the brunette, "Yes?"

"I-If it's not too much trouble, could you help me?" Katie asked as Ryoga raised an eyebrow, "You see I'm looking for someone, a noble actually. Last night he and I spoke and he mentioned how he would love to have a taste of the souffle I made. I thought I might find him out here today since he has no classes and give him the one I made last night, but there are so many people around here and I seem to be a little lost. Please if you know where he is, or have any idea where he might be, could you tell me?"

Ryoga had to restrain his eyebrow from twitching. Why him?

This girl was asking the impossible of him. How the heck was he supposed to help find a single person in a sea of people when so far every noble he had encountered today had essentially looked and acted the same to him? Plus this sounded like another damn romance drama event waiting to happen. Hadn't he just gotten away from that shit already?

Still she was a noble. She certainly seemed nice, nicer than the rest anyways, but if he said no it could just end up causing trouble for him. But he couldn't lie to her either since he honestly didn't know a single damn face or name around here.

Trapped between a rock and a hard place, Ryoga let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes, "Look, I'm just a commoner alright? I don't even really work here, so I'm not even sure how much help I'd really be to you."

"O-Oh. I see..."

Ryoga blinked. That was surprisingly easy. Ryoga cautiously opened his eyes to take in the girl's reaction just in case.

Only to instantly regret doing so.

The girl's head was down, her eyes sparkling in a liquid sort of way, her lips curled slightly, and her face filled with a tiny bit of sorrow. It was a look he knew all to well. A look Rio had always given him when they were little. And whether the girl realized she was doing it or not, it didn't stop Ryoga from recognizing it as his one true weakness against any female.

A puppy-dog pout.

"Kami-dammed son of a-" Ryoga shouted mentally as he felt his eyes twitch. After a few seconds he ceased his rant and painfully sighed, "But I suppose I could spare a few minutes and try to help."

"Really?!" Kaite spoke as she looked up at the boy and smiled happily, "Oh thank you! Thank you so much Mister Ryoga!!"

"I'm a fucking idiot," the boy berated himself as he tried to calm his emotions, "So who exactly are you looking for anyways?"

Katie broke out of her excitement and focused on the question, "Ah yes, the person I'm looking for is Sir Guiche de Gramont. He's a second-year student who just received his familiar yesterday, an Earth mole I believe. He has amazingly silky blond hair, sparkling majestic blue eyes, a voice with words of grace and wisdom, a chest th-"

"I don't think I need a full detail thank you!!" Ryoga interrupted causing the girl to pause confused. He really didn't need to hear that much praise about somebody, especially coming from a girl. It would only serve to give him nightmares.

Still, that name, Guiche. Wasn't that the name he heard from the girl earlier? The one with the blond fellow she was with? He wasn't sure but it sounded like it. Plus the description this girl, Katie was it, gave him did match what he could recall about the boy's appearance, however brief it was.

Still, what was this girl's connection to the boy if he was with someone else?

Keeping that thought in the back of his head, Ryoga turned back to Katie, "Anyways, I think I may know who you're talking about, though I can't be certain. But if you want I can show you where I last saw him and you can judge for yourself."

"Really?!," Kaite asked happily as Ryoga nodded, "Then please, lead the way Mister Ryoga!"

Ryoga nodded as he turned and walked towards the direction he had come from, with Katie following right beside him.

And at that moment, for reasons he couldn't explain, Ryoga suddenly felt a sense of dread around him.

"I have a bad feeling about this."