The World of this Fantasy Novel is in Crisis

Satin didn’t leave Cain alone.

“Don’t stress over something that’s already done.”

No response. At any other time, Satin wouldn’t have bothered to speak further, but right now he didn’t have that luxury. There was still more to do, and with no telling what the teacher might pull, keeping things civil was necessary.

“We need to think about what comes next.”

“Next?”

Cain turned slowly, repeating the word. It seemed he was at least a little more willing to talk now.

Satin spoke quickly.

“I mean how we’re going to get rid of what you wrote. If we call Rufus out again like last time, it’ll look suspicious, right?”

Cain let out another sigh and stood up.

“No need to go in and toss it ourselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“We just have the fuzzball toss it in himself.”

Come to think of it, that made sense. It was a trash bag, after all. If they gave it to Rufus with the garbage, he’d put it in there without question.

As Satin nodded, Cain continued.

“We hide it inside trash that no one would think to dig through.”

“Like something that stinks?”

“No, not something that smells. They won’t keep it inside if it stinks. They’ll probably just burn it with the food scraps.”

“Hmmm.”

Trash that doesn’t smell or rot, but still wouldn’t be touched. What kind of trash fit that description?

While pondering, Satin absentmindedly glanced at the window.

“Should we break a window? We can hide the letter under some broken glass.”

“Don’t be stupid. You could still see what’s inside without even touching it.”

“Oh, right. Then how about a plate?”

Cain didn’t shoot the idea down. It seemed even he thought it wasn’t half bad. Encouraged, Satin continued.

“If we break it in the cafeteria, Rufus will come out and clean it himself. So we just need to figure out how to sneak a plate out.”

“The fuzzball doesn’t make food outside of mealtime. He’s not gonna hand over a plate.”

“Then we’ll make him hand one over.”

After stealing the teacher’s research, getting a single plate felt like nothing.

As Satin thought it over, he remembered when Cain had brought him a sandwich.

“He made me a sandwich once, remember?”

“A sandwich? Oh, that time.”

Cain seemed to recall it too, his eyes widening slightly.

“Why’d he do that anyway?”

“Because you were in the confession room and missed breakfast. Rufus never makes snacks, but he’s strict about serving three meals a day.”

“Then we just skip a meal.”

“You think he’ll feed someone who skipped on purpose?”

“We just say we couldn’t make it to the cafeteria. And we happen to have the perfect excuse.”

“What excuse…?”

Cain cut himself off mid-sentence. Seemed he figured out what Satin was about to suggest even without hearing it. Satin gave him a sly grin.

***

Dinner time arrived.

The kids who had arrived early were already eating in the cafeteria. Cain came down at his usual time and entered the hall. Rufus, dishing out food onto plates, looked up and asked:

“Where’s Satin?”

“What about him?”

Cain replied flatly, feigning disinterest. Spilling too much before being asked could make things look odd.

“Is he doing okay? With the injury.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“So cold. Can’t you two get along by now?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Cain took his tray and sat at a random table. Absentmindedly chewing his food, he listened in on the conversations the other kids were having. Perhaps influenced by what they’d heard from Rufus, they were talking about Satin.

“Maybe he fell while dozing off.”

“Could be. But why would he be sleeping on the stairs? He’s got a bed.”

“Wasn’t Cain in the room? I heard they had a fight.”

Glances slid Cain’s way. He noticed, but didn’t react—just kept eating.

Assuming he hadn’t heard, the kids continued chatting.

“Why do they get along so badly?”

“It’s not that they don’t get along. Cain just hates Satin.”

“But Satin wants to be close to him.”

“Why, though?”

“Wouldn’t it be awkward sharing a room with someone you’re not close to?”

“They weren’t like this before.”

“Well, now he’s lost his memories…”

Cain finished his meal quickly and stood up. The kids fell silent, surprised, but it would only be for a moment. Once he left the cafeteria, they’d go right back to gossiping.

When he returned to the room, just as planned, Satin was feigning injury. Or rather, he was simply lying on the bed with his leg stretched out, doing the bare minimum.

“Was the food good?”

Instead of answering the pointless question, Cain said something else.

“Why me?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“There was no reason you had to come to me about the old man being suspicious.”

Satin blinked at the out-of-the-blue question, but it didn’t take long for him to realize what Cain was referring to. It was about the very first time they agreed to work together.

“Because you hate the teacher more than anyone.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion? You don’t know anything about me.”

“I heard it from Heather. That you couldn’t stand him.”

“So you picked me just because of that? Even knowing full well I couldn’t stand you?”

The reason Satin was now trying to befriend Cain in front of the other kids was because the old man had instructed him to. But that hadn’t been the case at the start. Satin must have had plenty of other options.

Sure, maybe Cain seemed like the better choice compared to the kids who blindly adored the old man. He looked more rational.

Even so, it didn’t add up. How could someone so easily choose a partner without knowing why Cain disliked the old man? What if Cain turned around and used Satin’s secret as a bargaining chip?

Satin looked like he didn’t quite get why Cain was bringing this up now. And honestly, Cain didn’t understand it either. They were already in this together—there was no point in questioning motives at this stage.

Satin shifted his eyes around, then mumbled a vague reply.

“I don’t know… You were just there.”

“That’s it?”

“It’s hard to explain…”

Satin trailed off, rubbing a bruise on his arm as he continued.

“I just felt like you’d be okay.”

“I don’t get it.”

Cain meant it as an expression of disbelief, but Satin nodded as if he agreed.

“Yeah, I know. Sounds weird, right? But I really was sure. I just knew you wouldn’t take the same path as the teacher.”

Despite not being able to give a proper reason, Satin’s tone was resolute. He had no doubts about his decision.

“It’s not that I believed you wouldn’t betray me or anything. It’s not like we’re close. I just believed our goals would align.”

When Cain didn’t respond, Satin let out a sheepish laugh and asked,

“Is this about me getting hurt while helping you?”

Cain flinched without meaning to.

He wanted there to be a reason Satin had gone so far, even risking injury. If there wasn’t, then it meant Satin’s sacrifice was pure kindness—and that was harder to accept.

There’s no way that’s all it was.

Satin sat up. Cain looked away, suddenly uncomfortable under the faintly amused gaze directed at him.

Strangely, his senses felt heightened. He wondered if he looked awkward, standing stiffly near the door like that.

Satin turned his body toward Cain, sitting properly, and said gently,

“Really, I’m fine. So don’t worry about it.”

How the hell am I supposed to not worry after hearing that?

Before coming to this school, Cain had lived a hard life.

Kids in the same boat would band together, but the moment things got tough, they’d abandon each other without hesitation.

Even the time he got caught pickpocketing, not a single person nearby ran after him.

He wasn’t hurt by it. That kind of distance was just normal.

That was why, when Cain suspected something had gone wrong in the old man’s lab, his first thought was how to survive on his own.

Even Satin’s words—that he’d abandon the plan to save Cain first—didn’t come to mind in that moment.

“It worked out in the end, didn’t it? You don’t need to feel so guilty. It’s not like I did it for you or anything. It was for our goal.”

“I’m not feeling guilty. I just—”

Tok tok.

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock.

Cain, who’d still been standing, opened the door. Rogers peeked his head inside.

“Um, I was thinking of heading down to the cafeteria soon…”

He trailed off mid-sentence, likely sensing the heavy atmosphere. Cain frowned slightly, flustered, but Satin responded in his place.

“Yeah, could you? Thanks.”

Rogers nodded and gently closed the door again. Satin, clearly trying to shift the mood, spoke in a lighter tone.

“Well then, should we write the letter?”

***

A few days later, the supply cart came and went. The garbage had been taken with it.

There was no longer any way to confirm if the plan was proceeding correctly. All they could do now was trust and wait.

Of course, there was always a chance the letter wouldn’t make it to the temple.

That’s why Cain carried a backup—a transcribed copy of what they’d sent. It was too risky to keep in the room, so he always kept it on him.

Like a corporate worker carrying a resignation letter, Satin joked internally, grinning to himself.

Heather, who was sitting beside him, tilted her head in confusion. That definitely hadn’t been a funny part of the teacher’s explanation just now.

Satin silently mouthed that his mind had wandered.

Unbothered by the glazed eyes of the students, the teacher continued the lesson.

“After the famine, many who lost their homes gathered in Cloverland. The people were from different villages, so naturally, things were tense at first. That’s when a priest was dispatched, and soon, a temple was built.”

Today’s subject was history. Though “history” might’ve sounded grand, it was really just about the development of a nearby city.

“To promote unity, the temple began hosting an annual festival. That’s what you all know today as the ‘Peaceful Night Festival.’ And the structure people now call the ‘Tunnel of Love’ originally was…”

Class ended without incident.

Satin stood up right away, but couldn’t immediately follow the stampede of kids rushing out.

“Cain, come with me a moment.”

It wasn’t him the teacher had called, yet Satin froze instinctively. He glanced at Cain without thinking, but Cain didn’t return the look. He simply followed the teacher out.

As Rogers passed by, he tapped the back of Satin’s hand lightly.

They hadn’t agreed on a signal beforehand, but the meaning wasn’t hard to guess. He wanted to talk.

Satin waited a few seconds, then stepped out of the classroom.