Ciel’s Origin: Wanderlust – Teaser

Ciel’s Origin: Wanderlust – Teaser

A bell rings outside our door and I wake up. "IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!" Matron Daiana yells as she walks.

I slowly open my eyes and sit up on the bed. Without even thinking, my body moves on its own just like every morning.

I turn to the side and put my feet on the cold wooden floor. I extend one hand and open the bedside drawer to take out my clothes. Before anyone can see me, I pull off my sleeping gown and put on my pants and shirt.

The other girls start to wake up while I tighten my sash so my chest looks flat. Then I take out my prized possession: socks made from high-quality Plom fur. With them on, the hard boots feel as soft as cake fresh out of the oven, fluffy but also a little hot.

I cast [Clean] on my face and mouth and feel refreshed. Then I get up on the edge of my bed and peek over the top bunk.

I poke the orange-haired girl. "Fleur?" I call her and poke her again. She groans in response and continues sleeping. "Fleur!"

"Ciel!" She groans in annoyance.

"The Matron is going to throw cold water on you again."

"Let the hag try..." She mutters.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com

"It's going to wet my bed too, I won't let that happen again."

"Fiine...!"

Fleur climbs out of the bed while and her body sways since she's barely awake. When she starts to put on her shirt, she loses her balance and kisses the floor. The other girls laugh at her, but it will have little effect on that thick head of hers.

"You need to get to sleep earlier," I say.

"No, the Matron is the one that needs a man so she softens the dragon scales that she calls a face!" Fleur complains, her voice muffled by the floor.

I sigh and leave her there.

At least she won't go back to sleep now... or will she? Nah, she'll likely sleep on the floor.

I join the forming procession of priestesses and girls, and walk towards the restaurant. I let my hands trail along the grooves in the wall carved by the priests. The wavy patterns give the hall a calming atmosphere, even when the murmur of the morning becomes loud and noisy.

I stop playing with the carvings and pull out a small brush out of my [Item Box], then I brush my hair as I walk.

The corridor ends and we all pour into the mess hall. On the other side of the hall, the men come in and greet the women quite energetically. A tall blond boy notices me and waves, and then he comes towards me.

"Morning, Ciel," Calum says with a wide smile full of white teeth.

"Morning... Fleur is still in the dormitory."

His smile disappears and he narrows his eyes at me, "Ah, come on. Didn't you say you were going to help her wake up?"

"I did say and I did do that," -I shrug- "Fleur woke up alright, then fell on her face and stayed down. I bet she's sleeping again." I smile wryly.

Calum facepalms and groans.

"You shouldn't keep her up so late, she's not an early riser," I say flatly.

He smiles suggestively and blushes lightly. "Let's just eat. She'll come out, eventually."

I nod and store my hairbrush.

I feel a little bad for keeping the two lovers separate, just a little.

Honeyed and soft tea, salty crackers, Reedberry jelly, and a piece of Gorgon pie. Breakfast is comfortable as always.

The other girls give passing greetings and Calum lights up from the attention.

I sigh and say, "I'll tell Fleur."

"T-tell what?" His posture instantly stiffens.

"Actually, there are many things that I could tell..."

"Cie~el..." He turns to me and his face distorts in pain.

I smile faintly. "I'm joking. Just don't flirt around, Fleur doesn't like that."

He nods emphatically and relaxes his posture.

When we're almost done eating, Fleur appears in the hall. She looks quite grumpy.

"The Matron found her," we say in unison and chuckle.

Fleur notices us and waves, then she picks up her breakfast before coming to sit with us.

"The Matron found me!" Fleur complains and we chuckle again. "It's not funny!"

"What did she do to you this time?" Calum asks.

Fleur pouts angrily and her pink skin becomes red. "I have to wash the dishes tonight!"

Calum groans like a goblin and the people nearby look at us. Fleur doesn't care, but I look down and try to make myself disappear.

"The Siren is only playing tonight, we can't miss it!" Calum pleads and grabs Fleur's hands.

"I know... but I would rather miss the Siren than face the Matron again after ditching my punishment." Fleur fights back Calum's charm with her own cute pouty face.

"Why don't you two work together? If you two wash the dishes then maybe you can make it in time," I say.

"Oh! Great idea!" Fleur exclaims.

"Y-yes! Great idea!" Calum says, through gritted teeth. "Ah, can you help us?" He adds while staring at me intently.

"No," I say flatly.

"Plee~ase!" Fleur turns her charm towards me and smiles adorably.

I sigh and grab her soft hand. The older girl is certainly a beauty, her orange eyes are entrancing and her hair is so voluminous and healthy. But that's not enough.

"No," I repeat.

Both of them sigh and stop insisting.

We separate after breakfast and both of them look pretty uninspired to study. At least they'll still be together during their class.

My class is with Priest Landon, we are going to study the teaching of the Gods, again. I slap my cheeks because a yawn comes just from thinking about it.

"Hey, Ciel," Bitar waves to me and I sit in the chair beside his.

"Hey, Bitar," I greet back without much emotion.

"Did you drink enough tea?" He rests his head on his hand and his blue eyes look at me warmly.

"Just a cup."

He smiles and his eyebrows take flight towards the top of his head. "You should have drunk at least three."

I stay quiet and frown.

He's right, this class is going to be hard.

Priest Landon slowly walks into the class and the kids stop talking. The graying Krampus man looks almost like a sheep with the amount of white curly hair that he has.

"Not this time," the Matron interrupts. "Ciel, you go to the male priests quarters, the empty rooms from 120 to 130; a new batch of priests are coming and we need to clean the empty rooms. Bitar, you go to Wild Rabbit brothel and clean five of their rooms."

"What?!" Bitar exclaims, wide-eyed.

"Sorry..." I mutter and contain my laugh as much as I can. It would be very mean to laugh at him right now.

Bitar bites his tongue and glares at the Matron. She glares back without flinching. Her gaze is so strong and mean that Bitar withers and relents. He shrinks and walks away while grumbling.

The Matron turns to me, her expression is still as stiff as stone. "You deserve better than cleaning that mess. Make sure you work hard so you impress someone special," she says lowly so only I can hear.

I stare at her with my mouth hanging open for a few seconds and she just casually returns to reading the next job offers.

Wow... she... actually likes me?

I turn around and walk towards the priests' quarters.

Thank you, Matron. I feel bad for Bitar, but still, thank you.

After a short walk, I get to the priests quarters and find the empty rooms. Cobwebs in every corner; a layer of dust covering every surface; tainted windows and floorboards; furniture that hasn't seen the sun in quite a while.

I sigh and go to the janitor's closet, then I grab a broom and a few chemicals.

I have two points in [Cleaning] and that will be enough, it has to be enough. I will not be a [Clean]er all my life, I swear to myself that I won't be.

I put on some leather gloves and start cleaning.

I turn around to leave the room and freeze. Leaning on the doorway, a young priest watches me with kind eyes and a small smile. I see a large bag by his feet.

"Is this going to be your room?" I ask, reflexively.

"Oh, so you're a human..." He smirks. I don't really understand this joke. "Well, I hope so. Seeing how well you are cleaning it, I would prefer to choose this one in case you get tired and slack on others."

"O-of course not! I will clean them all equally."

"I hope so. Anyway, are you done with this room?"

"Yes, you can move in. Wait, what did you mean by 'so you're human'?" I give him an odd look.

He chuckles once and says, "Well, you were working so diligently, but also so soullessly, that I thought someone summoned a human-looking elemental or something." He shrugs.

"Cleaning is hardly the most exciting job around," I say and start to gather my equipment.

"Is that so? And what would you prefer to be doing?"

I shrug in answer.

I truly don't know.

"You've got a nice amount of mana, have you ever thought about becoming a real mage?"

I look at him and his stupid kind smile is still plastered on his face. "To fight monsters and die by a monster?"

His smile fades and turns into a concerned look. "What a grim view that you have..."

I turn back and continue my work. "Not grim if it's the truth."

"There's more to being a mage than just killing monsters. Have you ever thought about healing people?"

I immediately put down the bucket that I had just started to carry. "And who would spend their time teaching such valuable and complex magic to me?"

His stupid smile comes back. "I would."

I stare at his beady black eyes from behind his half-circle glasses and harden my face. "You better not be joking, I don't like to be played with."

Don't raise my hopes just to squash them, please!

He clenches his fist over his chest. "I swear on my admiration of the Goddess of Love that I am not lying or playing with you."

Goddess of Love...? Matron, I feel like the God of Luck is playing with us.

"T-then, please, do teach me!" I plead and bow at a right angle.

"First, we have to prepare you mentally," the young priest says in a serious tone.

I immediately straighten and stare him in the eye. "What is it?"

His smile fades. "Have you ever seen someone die?"

"No."

"Then you will, better sooner than later."

"W-what are we going to do?" I ask, apprehensively.

"First we are going to the clinic, then we are going outside and joining a Purge."

I gasp. "WHAT?!"

His kind smiles come back and disarm my tension. His voice turns soft and tickles my ears, "If you stay by my side, it will be fine. This is something we have to do. I won't waste my time with you if you don't have the fortitude to stay on your toes after seeing blood being spilled." Then his voice becomes serious again, "Understood?!"

"Yes, sir!" I exclaim before I can stop myself, and start to blush in embarrassment.

His face softens again and his stupid kind smile becomes wider. "We'll go tomorrow morning. You have to finish this job first, don't you?"

Ah, well...

"What's your name, girl?"

"Ciel."

"I'm Arantos, pleasure to meet you."

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