I shouted my greetings at the top of my lungs, which was probably not the best thing to do at night.
"Solace?!" [Vincent]
"Master! I beseech thee! Please help-" [Solace]
"Quiet!" [Vincent]
With the quick movement of his hand, I was struck by a stick of chalk before I even knew it.
"Ow!" [Solace]
Rubbing my forehead, I found residual white chalk on my hand.
"Well? What are you doing here so late at night?" [Vincent]
"...I was actually going to ask you that too. What kind of teacher stays so late at school?" [Solace]
"I currently live here." [Vincent]
"Like... in a dorm?" [Solace]
My master shook his head, waving a hand across the room.
"What you see is what I have." [Vincent]
"Eh..." [Solace]
I scanned the room, only to see an empty dojo with the doors leading to the storage.
"Do you sleep in the storage unit?" [Solace]
"Silly disciple..." [Vincent]
Sighing while shaking his head, my master approached the wall across me and knocked on it.
"|Unveil|." [Vincent]
The wall seemed to fade, revealing another room within.
"...Magic?" [Solace]
"Correct. I tend to hide the things I lounge in with illusion magic." [Vincent]
"...Okay, but if it was magic; why did you knock on it? Can't you just use the spell?" [Solace]
"...We're getting off topic. Didn't you need my help for something?" [Vincent]
"Oh. Yeah." [Solace]
Not going to lie, it completely slipped my mind.
"I need your help with my master." [Solace]
"Me?" [Vincent]
"No, my summoner. You know, because I'm a spirit?" [Solace]
"Don't talk to me with that kind of attitude." [Vincent]
Raising a stick of chalk, he threatened to throw it.
"Well, let me make this short..." [Solace]
I summarized the past events as much as I could, hoping that my master would find a solution.
"Hm... This is a simple fix." [Vincent]
"Really?" [Solace]
"The problem is that her family is controlling her, yes?" [Vincent]
"Uh... I guess...?" [Solace]
The situation seemed more complicated than that, but it was basically the main problem.
"Your... summoner, Fina, needs to become stronger. That's how you solve it." [Vincent]
"...Bruh." [Solace]
I couldn't believe my ears. The answer given was so basic and stupid that I thought of leaving that instant.
"Is what I would say, but it appears that you've been avoiding contact with your summoner. Without you truly telling her about yourself, then you cannot help her." [Vincent]
"There has to be another way." [Solace]
"Another way you could go about it is to strengthen yourself. Become strong enough that your summoner won't be pushed around." [Vincent]
"Strengthen myself...?" [Solace]
It was something easier said than done. I could still recall the fight between Relton, his father, and the knight Vanport.
"I don't have enough time for that. Fina's going to be married off in a month. I have to stop it before then." [Solace]
"That is where you are wrong. You do have time." [Vincent]
Master approached me quietly, somehow making me feel a bit anxious.
"Do you remember the 100 gentleman rules?" [Vincent]
"Uh... Some?" [Solace]
"Up to how much?" [Vincent]
As he slowly made his way to me, a chill ran down my spine.
"Th-thirty?" [Solace]
"I see. Cite gentlemanly rule number 24." [Vincent]
Edging backwards a bit, I tried to recite the rule.
"Gentlemanly rule number 24. A gentleman must have a strong mind to maintain his demeanor at any point, time, or place." [Solace]
"Good." [Vincent]
At this point, my master was already standing before me. Looming over me with a strange look on his face, he raised a hand towards me.
"M-master? What are you doing?" [Solace]
"I'm giving you "time". The rest is up to you." [Vincent]
Tapping my forehead with a finger, the world started to spin.
"What the..." [Solace]
"Illusion magic, |Convolution|." [Vincent]
Within that instant, everything went dark.