Katachi recalled the ridiculous power Deku used at the coliseum – He collected the sand and created a giant golem with it, and the golem seemed capable of repairing itself. That was a tricky magic to deal with – Simplistic, without any intricacies or interactions and completely plain. That would mean the magic was one that couldn't be abused or exploited easily.
Had Katachi simply used the Words of Power, a Reincarnate Art like that was nothing compared to what he could do; but that would present the risk of blowing everything he did to keep it concealed. In an attempt to prevent that in the future matches Katachi resorted to one final safeguard, Principal Bertund's office. Katachi raised his hand to knock on-
"Come in!"
Even before Katachi could knock on the door, a familiar feminine voice instructed him to enter.
K: (Who is that behind the door? Is that a woman? It's almost as if she can see me through the wall or something.)
Katachi closed the door behind him and sat on the creaking wooden chair. Before him sat a woman with blonde hair tied up into a bun at the top. A ponytail extended from the bundle of hair mooning down to her left shoulder. Her clothes indicated that she was most likely a teacher in the academy, and given how she was boldly sitting at Bertund's seat she must be of high authority.
That, or her ego was incredibly inflated. But she had an air about her which suggested otherwise. After all, she wore attire highly similar to Bertund's – A green-themed attire with a crisp jacket and a white shirt. Her legs were dark... Or were those stockings? Her pencil skirt was also green and it covered up to just before her knees.
She wore a green-colored minuscule top hat much like the green slime top hat Bertund had. What made her attire differ from Bertund's was that it had a gold lace hanging out from the chest- or rather, breast pocket of the green jacket, and she wore a diamond-shaped ruby locket on her neck.
K: "What... Where's Principal Bertund? Who are you?"
S: "I am Bertund's wife, Shelly. I'm not of Raufid's blood, but you can say that I'm the acting principal while Bertund's entertaining Minister Lein."
K: "I see- Wait a minute, you're the announcer!"
The voice that came from her lips clicked in sync with the voice he heard not too long ago.
S: "Yes, yes I am, but surely you didn't walk all the way here just to tell me that, did you? Let's get down to business. So, what brings you here, Mister Kotsuba? Here to look for another course to add to your curriculum? Invite me for tea? ...
... Or have you finally realized that you can't solely rely on your Word of Power alone for the entirety of the tournament?"
Shelly's words were spot-on. Katachi couldn't deny it – Thus far, he relied upon the Word of Power he had far too much. Leaping towards the tokens, disabling Cillian's blade and stopping Nea's movements without being detected was impressive, but it could very well end in disaster if he weren't as lucky. There was the possibility that his clothes might become damaged or ripped, revealing the Word of Power unintentionally.
Of course, since Katachi didn't possess any actual knowledge on the Child of Sun it was not possible to feign the Word of Power as body paint or something along those lines. Besides, their distinctive glow was a dead give-away since glowing paint tattooed onto skin was as credible as a herbivorous Sludgewenge.
There was also the threat of Rekter catching on to his strategy. Even if he succeeded in fooling everyone, Rekter wasn't a person who could be deceived by a trick like this, not especially since he was consciously aware of his 定 itself – A proof strong enough to override all of his lies.
He could expose Katachi's act and blow all his hard work away with a simple huff of his breath. And, because their precedence levels tied, they would surely be put into a fervent duel between who raised their precedence level faster. The one with more knowledge won decisively but there was no certainty as to who would break the deadlock.
In the event that he was to be exposed, Katachi would have to use his Word of Power to escape. But, at the same time, he needed something else – An alternate source of power. One he could freely use without being discovered and one that was risk-free. One he could apply to the tournament that people could see and recognize so as to divert their attention.
K: "Yes. I have come to learn two things."
S: "What will they be?"
K: "First, I want to increase the precedence level of my Word of Power."
S: "You don't have a need for that, do you? There's pretty much nothing in this school that can rival a stupidly powerful magic like that."
K: "There is. Mister Rekter's precedence level ties with mine."
The revelation caused her brow to raise.
S: "A tie, in precedence levels? That's really rare."
K: "Yes it is. I've... I've pulled a trick to stop his precedence levels from rising too quickly, so I must take advantage of this window to... To… To increase my own as much as possible."
Shelly nodded her head briefly and responded.
S: "Consider it done. I'll give you lectures on the Words of Power that's sure to raise your levels. What of the second topic at hand?"
K: "Oh, er, yes... The sec- The second thing is, well, my affinity with water."
S: "What about it?"
K: "I would like to learn spells and stories related to water."
S: "Don't look for me regarding that. I've always hated water magic – Their tales are too sappy for my liking. You'd have to ask Bertund to prepare a course application for you for that when he comes back."
K: "... I was hoping for direct tutelage from Bertund, but... Okay."
With the problems addressed, Shelly's shoulders raised a little bit as she leaned forward onto the desk, eyeing Katachi down carefully.
S: (I could arrange that.) "And here I thought you were going to discuss with him about something more important, like how you're going to start collecting all of the Words of Power."
K: (This woman... Her eyes pierced right through my mind... !)
His jaw dropped so wide it was almost comical.
K: "!! YOU-..."
Katachi accidentally leaked a scream and he glanced around nervously to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. As though he forgot that he was inside the principal's office, Katachi gasped deeply to remain calm and spoke in a soft voice.
K: "... you already know?"
Shelly leaned back onto the comfortable looking leather seat.
S: "Why wouldn't I? Look at you, acting all shifty and timid. You probably want the school-sponsored prizes to provide you with the traveling equipment needed, didn't you?"
K: "! Yes... But, but... But, how did you know?"
S: "Simple – You're poor. Nobody would expect a mere child that comes from a Segus church in some dusty corner of Mielfeud to be wealthy without even working for coin. Those with great power would strive to use that power to improve themselves in some way, wouldn't they?"
Shelly pinned down and summarized all of Katachi's plans with mere words. Katachi was once again forced to recognize his weak and hapless self who must get his act together to survive the cruel and beautiful world.
K: (Of course that much was obvious to her, wasn't it? But this is a valuable lesson for me. If Shelly can derive my current circumstances so easily, others would have just as easy a time if they willed themselves to. I should mentally prepare for people who might know and exploit my shortcomings.)
The weak do not stand a chance against the strong in a direct confrontation. He must work to remedy the gaping flaw in his mask.
S: "So, Mister Kotsuba, have you any plans on how you should start looking for the other 290 Words of Power?"
K: "... Not really."
Shelly's shoulders dropped slightly and she leaned her head against her fingers with her right elbow on the table.
S: "Wow, seriously? I expected you to be more far-sighted than that, Mister Kotsuba, especially since you're the one with the crazy dream."
K: "... Sorry if I don't meet your expectations."
S: "Well, whatever. Let's begin with the lecture. Tell me everything you know about your Word of Power and we'll work from there."
Katachi paused when he realized the potential disruption of her work with his selfishness.
K: "Uhm, okay- No, wait! Don't you have to announce for the tournament rounds and the like?"
S: "Don't worry about it! It's all pre-recorded. That announcement hasn't changed since I started working here."
The two stayed in Bertund's office for Katachi's first actual lecture on the Words of Power.
*** ***
S: "That should be quite enough to raise your precedence levels. Okay, one final recap. Repeat to me everything you've learned thus far."
K: "Okay... Uh, the Words of Power can be used in tandem, or rather chained with one another, thereby raising their precedence levels even higher. However, that restricts the meaning it can assume so... So it only works under some circumstances. Secondly, two Words of Power can- can... can affect the same object, but they cannot affect the same property."
S: "Good. Go on?"
K: "Uhm, uh... Third... Thirdly, Divine Beasts are also empowered by image power, so they have some... some level of resistance towards the Words of Power. And lastly, three new terms for 定 I've learned are 定居, 定睛, and 定婚. 定居 means to s-settle down, like having someone that has moved to another village settle down. 定睛 would- would be forcing someone to stare at a certain area, location, or object, and finally, 定婚 would mean for others to be... To be... To be betrothed."
His pronunciation of the Anikan words could use some polishing, but for now, the knowledge of it sufficed.
K: "However, 定婚 cannot be used carelessly at just-... Just anyone, because the gods' blessings are powerful enough to cancel out the effects of making two strangers, uhm... betrothed."
Shelly collapsed the fan in her hands, unfolded her crossed legs and stood up from the desk.
S: "Very good! That should put you in quite the lead. Unless of course, Rekter has been busy researching the Words of Power and raising his own levels as well. It's about time to end it off for today."
K: "For... For today? There's more?"
S: "Of course there's more! Why do you sound so tired? If you really want to beat Rekter and collect every Word of Power out there you're going to need every little bit you can get, right? Surely you don't expect your enemies to stop learning just because they have an edge over everyone else! So why should you take it easy?"
K: "Oh, uh, no, it's not that, but uh... I... I was just wondering... Wondering, you know, why would you, the principal's w-wuh-... wuh- wife, want me to beat Rekter so badly?"
Shelly's head depressed slightly and her spirited expression turned sour as she gazed outside the window.
K: (... ? There's the itch again.)
(Contestant Katachi, your match begins in 30 minutes. Please assemble at the entrance to Cosmatral Tlod.)
Shelly's voice resounded through his head, overlapping her explanation.
S: "I hate that man's guts. He thinks he's all mighty and powerful with him being the only Scholar in the school. He knows exactly how absurd and broken that sigil is, and yet he flaunts it at every opportunity he gets. But now, he's not the only Scholar in this academy."
Shelly spun around to face Katachi with a serious expression.
S: "You're just the person we need. You can punish him for being arrogant. Go show that bastard Rekter what it takes to anger me and bully Bertund."
That was a shocker to hear.
K: "Bertund? Bullied?"
S: "Yes. Rekter would often set up pranks to make Bertund look silly, but he doesn't mind – He's too soft. Far too soft and kind to actually retaliate..."
Shelly's face twisted into one of sorrow. Her eyes softened and she looked away to her left into the distance.
K: (Bertund, soft?) "... Er... My, my next match is uh, going to begin soon. So I guess... I guess I'll be going."
S: "Oh, right, you're fighting Deku. Good luck out there, Mister Kotsuba."
Katachi left the wooden chair and headed for the door-
S: "Oh, one last advice, Mister Kotsuba! Just... Don't mind Deku too much. He's mostly joking around, so don't treat his taunts and follies as something serious. After all, he wouldn't want to deal with students that are too serious when he comes to work here."
Was she rooting for his victory, or was she trying to teach her future employee a lesson?
K: "His- His taunts don't look joking, though."
S: "Yeah, well, that's always been a problem with him. But he still insists on acting like this because he wants to enjoy what little youth he has left – He's working here after his graduation, don't you know. So don't worry – Think of it as him experimenting with a wild, crazy style of interacting with the students."
K: "... Uh, okay. I... I'll be sure to ignore his uh, provocations."
S: "They're not provocations, actually. But you are right – It might come off as a little aggressive, and the younger students may have doubts approaching him with how he handled Vikarr. If you can, try to talk to him nicely and tell him what's wrong with his methods. That would help him the most."
K: "I- I don't think I would, but... I'll do my best."
S: "Good luck! And be sure to kick all of their asses for me!"
Katachi left the office of the wacky principal and his wacky wife. But it felt as though every step away from the atrium and closer to the field made his limbs grow colder.