27 – Laundry Duty

He didn’t have time to explore it any further, because seeing Jonny standing and breathing properly again, Tommy decided it was time to continue the game. Jonny barely managed to lean to the side to avoid a snowball, and in an instant, his mind was right back in the fight.

He pushed forward toward the other boy. Repeating the same tactics as before. Tommy never brought out the more powerful wind spell again. His attacks actually seemed to be getting weaker. At first, Jonny thought that Tommy was worried about hurting him again, but after a few more spells, each weaker than the last, he realized it was something else. Tommy was running out of mana.

Once he realized that, the game rapidly swung in his favor. He got bolder with his movements, and Tommy got more panicked, and a few seconds later, Jonny managed to grab Tommy’s wrist. He pulled downward, breaking Tommy’s stance, then rotated around, picking Tommy up from behind and laying him gently in the snow.

“So, Hero, it seems that even now, you cannot defeat me,” he said, standing triumphantly over Tommy.

Tommy responded by starting to cry.

“Wh– what? What’s wrong? Did you land on a rock or something?”

Tommy continued to cry, and a moment later, a shadow fell upon them. Jonny looked up to see Igrette standing over them with a very disapproving expression.

“I didn’t–!” started Jonny.

“I know,” she said. “But what you were doing was very foolish. Go to the Abbess’ office. Now.”

“But–!”

“Now.”

Jonny glared then turned and trudged toward the orphanage building. That was definitely not fair. Tommy was fine. If anyone should have been crying, it should have been Jonny. He was the one who was actually hurt.

His mood soured further as he thought back to the game. Despite the official end result, Jonny knew what had happened. He lost. He had lost multiple times, and if it had been a real fight with real spells, he would have died many times over. If Tommy had taken advantage of Jonny’s injury, there would have been nothing he could do to react.

I’m actually weaker than Tommy.

Even the tiny trickle of mana entering his body through his lungs wasn’t enough to lift his spirits. Sure, he could absorb a little mana now, but as far as he could tell, that would only mean he didn’t need Tommy to donate mana. It didn’t seem to have any effect on his ability to use magic. As he walked, he tried whatever he could to mess with the mana in his lungs, but no matter what he did, it was only when the mana got properly absorbed that he could actually do anything. And whatever let his lungs absorb mana only went one way. He couldn’t push the mana back out once it was in.

He stopped at the door to the orphanage, took a deep breath, and slapped his own cheeks.

Shut up, Jonny. Talk like that and it might actually come true.

He pulled the door open and tried focusing on more positive things. So what if his ability to breathe in mana was wimpy? He didn’t need to rely on others now. He could absorb mana all day, building up his own reserves. Maybe if he got enough, he’d be able to do something about forming a core layer. Or whatever alternative he’d have to go with.

Now that he thought about it, he was coming up on three months since Tommy had formed his layer. If he didn’t figure it out in the next few days, Tommy would be faster than him. As he reached Helen’s office, he clenched his fist and nodded. He had a goal now. Goals always helped when he was in a funk.

“Come in,” said Helen’s voice from the other side of the door.

I haven’t even knocked yet, thought Jonny as he pushed the door open.

Helen was waiting for him behind her desk, smiling so sweetly it sent a shiver down his spine.

“Have a seat,” she said, gesturing toward one of the chairs.

Jonny kept his eyes on her as he clambered into his seat, sitting perfectly upright with his hands on his knees. He had known he would get in trouble for letting the game go so far, but now that he was actually facing the consequences, he was having regrets. Logically, he knew he would make the exact same decision all over again if he could, but right now, at this moment, something about the way Helen was looking at him made him wish he had never even considered it.

“Cookie?” she asked, gesturing toward a plate.

“I’m not hungry…” Jonny mumbled.

“They’re very good.”

Jonny hesitated, then reached out. They were still warm, clearly freshly made, and they melted in his mouth. It was indeed very good, but he was having trouble enjoying it with Helen’s gaze on him.

He finished his cookie, and with Helen’s encouragement, grabbed another and started nibbling. While he did, she did not say a word. She just kept smiling. Sometimes she looked at him, other times, she glanced behind her at the wall, or behind Jonny at the door. Jonny began to grow anxious wondering if perhaps this right here was the punishment. The mounting stress of not knowing what was going to happen was starting to get to him. Then, a noise behind him made him flinch.

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He turned to see Igrette walking in with Tommy in front of her, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. She escorted Tommy to the chair next to Jonny, then went to stand behind Helen. Helen looked up at her with the same, sweet smile, saying nothing for long enough that even Igrette started to get uncomfortable.

“Helen?” she asked.

“Why are you standing here, Sister Igrette?” asked Helen.

“…Should I not be?”

“No. You should not. Please stand behind the boys.”

Jonny saw a flash of apprehension cross Igrette’s face before she turned to walk back around the desk, taking up a position behind him, between the two chairs.

“So,” said Helen, leaning forward and folding her hands. “It sounds like you were playing a very fun game earlier.”

The way she said “game” made Jonny’s muscles tense. He didn’t even know why. Helen was about as harmless as an old lady could get, but right now, he felt more fear than he had ever felt when facing even his toughest opponents.

“Tommy,” said Helen, making Tommy flinch. “Do you remember what I told you about using Gust on the other children?”

Tommy nodded.

“A ‘Yes, Abbess’ would suffice.”

“Y– yes, Abbess.”

“And what was that?”

“D– don’t use Gust on the o– other children?”

“Correct. And what about Whirl? Do you remember what I said about that one?”

“Don’t use Wh– Whirl on the other children?”