Chapter Text
Naberius didn’t know why he expected Iruma to be able to get through the simplest of class exercises. All the boy had to do was use a machine and pull a lever. It wasn’t even a full spell. To top it all off, the whole event was supervised. Naberius should have gotten a report full of necessary data. Just like every class in the history of Babyls. Instead, he had a paper that was surprisingly intact for how burnt it was, sandwiched between the perfectly normal results for the rest of the Misfit Class. And the classes that came before and after. One single, maddening outlier that he had to get to the bottom of.
Iruma even had the gall to look confused when Naberius pulled him aside after class. Though he did convince his two shadows to stay behind and didn’t pester him until they reached the tool.
“Is this about my test results?”
“Yes. We’ve had several people look over the tool. Your results were likely a glitch of some sort.”
Iruma slowed down and started to fiddle with his ring. “What if the glitch happens again?” Iruma’s eyes drifted to the side, no longer looking at him, and Naberius could feel the headache coming on. Of course his student knew something and was hiding it from him.
“Then we’ll have to launch a thorough investigation into the matter. This data is very important,” Naberius stressed. “If something were to be interfering with the machine, I would need to know immediately.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the machine! I just don’t want to waste your time by making more unreadable reports.”
“Then get on with it and make something I can read.” Naberius pinched his temple and waved Iruma forward. There was a non-negligible chance that it would literally blow up in his face. If anyone could make it happen, it would be Iruma by accident. He tracked his every movement as Iruma picked up the orb. Naberius had already checked them all over several times before bringing Iruma in. He poured his mana into the orb and gently tossed it into the tool’s mouth and pulled the handle. Naberius could feel himself almost beginning to think about relaxing, but the most important part still hadn’t happened.
The machine whirled and spun the normal symbols around, only to land on three that Naberius had never seen before. They were warped and utter nonsense. It spat out a clearly burned sheet of paper. Iruma turned back around and offered it with a sheepish look. Naberius only needed a glance to confirm that it had turned out the same as the first attempt.
Naberius poured mana into his own orb and threw it into the tool with precise, sharp movements. He found himself glaring at it like it was a misbehaving student. It spat out a perfectly normal sheet with the data Naberius expected to see.
“I guess it just doesn’t like me.” Iruma didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.
“The machine only glitched when processing your mana. Out of all the first years that have used this machine, it decided to spontaneously dislike you. Twice.” Naberius crossed his arms and gave Iruma a look that he knew promised something dark unless he confessed. “Do you really believe that it’s a coincidence?”
“Maybe my mana’s just weird and the machine had a hard time processing it?”
“Do you have reason to believe that your mana functions differently from the mana your classmates are able to use?”
Iruma pulled his “I’m not sure if I should be saying this face”. It wasn’t one that Naberius was too familiar with, since his student didn’t seem to have any knowledge of what was or was not appropriate to drop in the middle of a conversation. Iruma hesitating instead of blurting something out was deeply concerning. Naberius braced himself and started preemptively rehearsing his lecture on why he shouldn’t keep details important to his education a secret from his teachers. Iruma was probably going to open his mouth and spout something about how he was cursed as a baby or he was secretly from another dimension.
“Nope! I guess it really is just a glitch. My mana is perfectly normal.” Iruma skirted around Naberius and made a beeline for the door. “I’m going to go eat lunch. No point in trying again, right? I wouldn’t want to stress the machine out.”
Alarm bells blared in his head. He had been as confident that his student was hiding something from him as he was in his tendency to spill his life story at the slightest provocation. Iruma had casually dropped details that Naberius would have been hesitant to share with his closest friends. Yet he was keeping secrets now. About his mana of all things. Naberius had never heard of a demon’s mana being altered until it was unrecognizable. It was a complete unknown waltzing around the school. Using it could be dangerous. Whatever caused it could still be a risk to Iruma.
Naberius spun around to grab the back of Iruma’s uniform, but he had already fled the room. Perhaps that was best. He didn’t want to press Iruma for details and potentially push him away. The headmaster, on the other hand, could vanish into thin air for all he cared and was the perfect target for interrogation. At the very least he could find out how sensitive of a topic this was for Iruma.
His student had long since made himself scarce and the rest of the students had the sense to get out of his way, so he got to Lord Sullivan’s office without any surprises. The bane of his existence leaning against the wall next to the doors was less of a surprise and more of a trial. They perked up at his arrival and Naberius saw the tell-tale signs of them preparing to pounce.
“It’s about Iruma, and it’s urgent.” Opera shifted, snapping into a defensive stance. Their posture went from playful and threatening to plain threatening. They were on Naberius in an instant and grabbing his wrist.
“Is there danger?” Opera ordered as they dragged Naberius towards the door.
“No immediate danger that I know of. I just have a pressing theory that I need to consult with the Headmaster on.” That placated them enough for him to wrench his arm out. They still threw the doors open and charged in like they were possessed. Not that Naberius could say that he wasn’t acting in a similar manner.
The Headmaster was already on his feet when the two of them made it into the office proper. His hands were clenched on the edge of his desk. He had probably heard enough of their conversation to pick up on the words “Iruma” and “danger”.
“Lord Sullivan. I have reason to believe that there is something strange about Iruma’s magic and it could be a cause for concern.”
“His magic?” Lord Sullivan asked, confused. His hands slowly relaxed and he sat back down.
“I attempted to get some readable data on Iruma’s abilities and got scorched nonsense both times. No one else had even the slightest hiccup. The obvious conclusion is that the problem is on Iruma’s side, which leads me to believe that there is something strange about his mana.”
The Headmaster tapped the tips of his fingers together. “Yes, that is a reasonable conclusion to come to. However, I can assure you that there’s nothing to worry about.” He smiled again, and he could see Opera hiding a laugh in their fist.
Naberius could feel the wave of dread rising inside him. He could picture it now. The Headmaster would reveal that something was indeed off with Iruma by bragging about it for a half hour straight before he was able to use his responsibility as a teacher to make an escape. The worst part was that the bragging was potentially essential to his duties as a teacher, so he actually had to listen and retain the information. Naberius widened his stance slightly, bracing himself to stand in the room until his ears bed. Setting down would imply interest.
“Iruma is perfectly normal. Now, I insist that you keep your little theory to yourself. We wouldn’t want Iruma to get self-conscious about his magic. The machine glitching is of no concern.” The Headmaster accepted a cup of tea from Opera and gave Naberius a pointed look over the rim.
“I understand.” Naberius had so many questions, but he also had an easy out. He didn’t even give Opera enough time to realize that the official business was over before he was firmly slamming the door shut behind him. He let his thoughts wander as he took the least direct route back to Royal One as possible, just in case the beast decided to pursue him.
He had just gone through an entire interaction without a trace of bragging. During a conversation about Iruma, no less. He trusted the Headmaster’s judgment enough to believe that Iruma wasn’t in danger while on school grounds. That didn’t mean that his job was done. The Headmaster had not only refrained from bragging about Iruma, he asked that Naberius keep his concerns to himself. It seems that he was right when he assumed that this was a delicate subject matter for Iruma. Even if it grated on him, he resigned himself to the fact that he likely wouldn’t ever know the specifics of what happened.
The important thing is how it could potentially impact Iruma at this very moment. Perhaps it explained why Iruma seemed to be so baffling behind in some areas? It had always confused him as to how a student could be average at subjects like math but be abysmal at anything regarding magic. You would think that the Headmaster of all people would have been able to teach him something, or at least hire tutors. Opera had never been an academic slouch either. Sometimes it felt like the boy had no exposure to magic at all until he stepped foot in the school.
His mana being unique in some way would help explain that. Perhaps it was assumed that he’d never be able to use magic? His shelteredness lent itself to that conclusion. But that didn’t explain why the Headmaster wanted to keep it under wraps. He would have bragged to the high heavens if Iruma found a way to overcome something like that. Tragedy must have been involved in some way. Something personal that resulted in Iruma never studying magic. Naberius didn’t know what could cause mana to warp like Iruma’s has, much less if it would be traumatic in some way. Iruma had shown some small signs of having an aversion to magic, like avoiding flight at all means necessary, and the way he was always hesitant and then shocked when asked to use his mana in a new way.
He would have to watch Iruma carefully during his classes. The Headmaster no doubt had a hold on the issue, but it would be good to know what situations could potentially upset Iruma and strengthen any issues he has with his mana.
—
Iruma was aware that Naberius was keeping an eye on him and they both knew it. It was like Iruma could sense when an adult was watching, and it was throwing off his research. He was looking for subtle signs; a flinch, scooting away during a demonstration, or an unwillingness to participate in certain subjects. All signs that went away when Iruma pretended to be a diligent student. Naberius barely had to call his name at the end of class before Iruma appeared in front of him.
“Iruma. You know as your teacher that I have sworn to always act with your best interest at heart.”
“Did I do something?” Iruma’s face had gone blank. Naberius imagined he was running through all the chaos he had caused in the last few hours and debating which ones Naberius would know about.
“No. Why don’t you have a seat.” Naberius kept his voice steady. It was a good sign that Iruma seemed more confused than anxious. “This may be a delicate subject matter for you.” That earned him another blank look as Iruma dragged one of the spare chairs over.
“What’s going on?”
“Your mana. I’m not going to pry into what exactly is going on there, but I still feel the need to offer your assurances.”
“I thought we already figured out the mana thing? It was a glitch.”
“That isn’t the important thing. What I want you to know is that you have the ability to confide in me and trust that I will keep it to myself. With that out of the way, is there anything you feel the need to tell me?”
Iruma blinked rapidly for a few seconds and tensed before suddenly relaxing. “Oh. I guess I do trust you with stuff like that. This is kind of weird.”
“I’m glad to have that trust. But if you could answer my question…”
“I mean, this is really new for me. But I do really trust you. You actually act like you care, you know?” Iruma beamed and rose from his seat.
“Again, my question.”
“I didn’t expect this to feel good! It’s like a weight off my shoulders, you know? I’m glad we had this talk.” Iruma practically floated out of the classroom, leaving Naberius firmly at square one.