Chương 31: Sleep tight...

"Did they come and talk with you guys or anything?"

"Nope. I don't think we will see them before dinner tonight." When we came back to the train, Artelick went back to his room. I think Nea is brainwashing people, considering how upset Jane was to part with her. Nea was now again plopped on the bed like a slug.

"Oh, I bought you a book." I threw her the book from the table and went over to the closet. Nea looked slightly excited when she received the book. Her face immediately turned into a frown when she read the title.

"Really? Pointy houses of Kaxeus? What is wrong with you? No, what is wrong with the person who made this thing?"

"It sounded intriguing. You can't imagine how shocked Artelick looked when I told him this one's your favorite."

Nea slowly flipped through the pages while I took off my coat and pulled out a comfy cotton T-shirt. New neighbors, who could very well be assassins? Hah, I'd much rather sleep. "This really is just a catalog of pointy houses from Kaxeus..."

"No shit? There's nothing else?" I asked.

"Nope, just pointy houses... Hey, what's that on your back?" She stopped me when I was about to put on my T-shirt. Nea got up from the bed and started inspecting my back with an intense gaze. "What is this? A tattoo? I've never seen a language like this..."

I turned to her and looked straight in her eye. She seemed to have noticed the change in mood and fixed her posture.

"It's an engraving, a magical one," I said.

As if someone had just told her that dinosaurs used to have long pompadours and spoke in rhymes. Nea's mouth opened wide and her eyes even wider. "On a... body?"

"Yup, etched into every single cell on my back," I said. Magic can be used in two ways. One, by invoking a spell and supplying it with magical energy, a temporary or instantaneous method. Or two, by making an engraving and sustaining the effects of the spell, like in the cave below Scalmourne and the bombs in Kifestein.

The reason Nea was surprised was that one has to 'write' the spell at a nearly atomic level to engrave something. It's easy to pull off with magic, but to be written on at an atomic level, one can only imagine what happens to the engraved.

Experiments on engraving on humans have been carried out many times before, but each of them failed because of the subjects dying from pain.

The engravings on my back serve as a warning. Whenever any spell that could harm me is activated, the engraving will come into effect and inform me of the spell's constitution.

Nea did not ask me any follow-up questions. Once she collected herself, she just tapped my cheek and gave me a very sympathetic smile. "Why don't you go sleep, It's my turn to keep watch, right?"

"Hmm, don't bother, I don't think we'll face any problems soon." I said as I jumped onto the bed. Ahh, I've been using it for days now, but I don't think I'll get used to this fluffiness.

Nea thought for a while and then climbed on the bed herself. The closed curtains let in just a tiny amount of sunlight, and the cool temperature of the room made it very cozy, just perfect to sleep in.

"Say, Ivan, do you dislike not having magic anymore?"

"Dislike it? No, not really... I don't think I care about it."

"Hmm... Isn't it scary? Don't you ever feel out of place?"

"... Whoever feels in place? You make your own place...right?"

"Don't ask me, I wouldn't know."

There was a lull in the air for a short while. I turned over on the bed, only to come face to face with Nea.

"Why... do you want to keep magic in this world?" I asked.

"Why do you? Why go after them when you have finally escaped?"

"... I don't know, maybe to have something like a sense of purpose?"

"I see... When you told me that someone could get rid of magic, I thought maybe it was for the best. Maybe the world will be better without magic?" she replied.

"Then why are you tagging along with me?"

Nea left out a soft chuckle. I could almost feel her breath on my face.

"You look like you've seen a ghost... I tagged along because something in me just told me to..."