Hajime stood in an empty hallway, waiting for Octavia to return, staring at the white ceiling. He was a little nervous about the upcoming court session; he hadn't studied the laws. No one in his family actually studied the law either, so his mind drifted off to thoughts of public servants back on earth. He couldn't remember anything about them.
"I didn't know you had a thing for ceilings."
Octavia interrupted his thoughts, her signature smirk plastered on her face.
Hajime frowned, "I'm bored. I'm hungover. I'm a suspected criminal."
"Suspected criminal?" Octavia giggled, "You won't get punished. The nobles are probably going to blame the assistants or Aveline. But even Aveline is unlikely. For obvious reasons."
"So you're telling me that Empress Tella, Zovian, or Ursula won't try to screw me over?"
"Oh, they'll definitely screw you over. I doubt they'll bribe the judges though."
Hajime facepalmed and Octavia snickered.
"You're not making me feel any better."
Octavia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Relax, relax. You have the System, right? Can't you just use points to fix the problem?"
"I used up all my points on Aveline and killing Blake."
"So just sleep with someone else?"
He groaned, "I'm not in the mood to sleep with another person. I'd rather fix things with Aveline first."
Octavia narrowed her eyes, "How are you planning on doing that?"
"By telling the truth."
"So you want to tell Lichtenia's daughter that you have this incredibly overpowered thing in your head? And that you're a Lith. If you want to be a lab rat that badly just stick with Tella. Lichtenia has even less compassion than Tella."
Hajime sighed, "Does everyone hate her or something?"
"Power changes people. Lichtenia's smart. If Aurora wasn't alive, Lichtenia would be the leading researcher."
Octavia exhaled, "I'd just leave her be Hajime. Focus on the Court instead. And get a lawyer, preferably a Floralith."
"Why?"
Octavia smacked her forehead.
"Petalhaven favors Floraliths over humans. I thought you knew that."
"My headache is killing me okay?"
Octavia patted Hajime's back, "Alright, alright. Well, Floraliths have an unfair advantage over humans in courts. Basically, the Floraliths are more likely to win a court case no matter what."
"I heard the Church of Abstinence offers lawyer for free."
Octavia raised an eyebrow.
"You want to use one of Willow's priests?"
Hajime nodded.
"Don't tell me the Church is hiding some kind of huge secret like they're trying to take over the world or create coups in all of the empires."
Octavia smirked, "Nah Willow is a decent person. The previous pope though, she was a real piece of shit. Willow actually assassinated the pope herself."
"So I can just borrow one of her lawyers then."
"The moment you step into the Church, Willow will know you're not human."
"She's omniscient or something?"
Octavia chuckled, "Nothing of that sort. She's a special kind of flower. Her eyes can see the blood flow and organs of someone even their skeleton. I'm sure she can do more than that, she is the fifth Aicte after all."
"That's freaky."
Octavia shrugged, "Eh. She doesn't abuse it though. She mostly stays inside of her Church."
Octavia stretched her arms, "Anyways I know the perfect lawyer. She's an old friend. A little crazy."
"Crazy how?"
"You'll see. She lives on the outskirts of Petalhaven so we're going to take a little trip. Tomorrow though. There's something I need to do."
She was gone before Hajime could say anything.
He was left alone with his thoughts and Octavia's advice. He didn't agree with her advice on relationships; her friend group did enslave a man. So he decided to get some better advice.
Hajime left the Flora-binding building and went to the Main Academy Building, looking for his favorite teacher, Sophia."
Stopping in front of a familiar board, searching for her name, he found her classroom. There were students all over the hallway. Some were chatting, and others were practicing magic. Hajime overheard conversations about his incident, and a couple of students noticed him and whispered. Ignoring their stares and gossip, he entered the classroom, where Sophia was teaching.
"Excuse me," Hajime interrupted her, "Professor Starfall, could I have a quick chat with you?"
"H-Hajime." Sophia stammered. She ping-ponged her gaze between Hajime and her students before she sighed. She closed the book in her hand.
"Class dismissed."
The students packed their bags, casting Hajime curious looks, and leaving the two alone.
Sophia dashed toward Hajime and hugged him.
"What happened? Why are people saying you killed someone? Why did the Empress come down here? What is Octavia doing here?" Sophia barraged Hajime with questions.
Hajime cleared his throat, "Mom, I killed someone."
Sophia blinked several times, letting the sentence sink into her. Hajime expected her to judge him, hit him, or kick him out of her classroom, not hug him tighter.
"Mom?"
Sophia squeezed Hajime, "How are you feeling?"
Hajime was taken back.
"I'm fine, shocked, a little sad, guilty."
"The first time is always the hardest."
Hajime scratched his cheek, "It's actually the second time."
Sophia pushed him away.
"Did you have a reason?"
"Yes. But they were selfish reasons."
Sophia nodded, "Good as long as you have a reason, I can live with it. Now tell me everything."
Hajime recounted what occurred in the floral-binding room. Sophia was speechless, frowning.
"Octavia did what?"
"She kissed me."
Sophia clicked her tongue.
"That's what you're upset about? Not that I can touch floraliths?"
Sophia crossed her arms, "Did you seriously think that I wouldn't know what you and Sakura were up to?"
Hajime scratched his cheeks and Sophia sighed.
"Do you know how many times I've seen Sakura's hands on your face, neck, or crotch?"
Hajime coughed.
"Dozens," Sophia continued, "You should really lock the door."
"But you didn't ask me or Sakura about it."
Sophia exhaled a long breath, "I didn't because I was waiting for you to come to me. I already put you through so much when you were younger, so I wanted you to tell me whenever you were comfortable."
Hajime hugged her, almost squishing her in his arms. Sophia made his heart melt and he loved her even more.
"Thanks, Mom," Hajime loosened his grip and Sophia returned his hug, "I think it's about time I confess."
Sophia hummed.
Hajime revealed everything to her just like he did with Octavia: his system, the points, the floral binding, and his origins. Sophia sat down. Her face turned paler the longer Hajime went on.
"Mom, say something."
Sophia's hands trembled, her eyes shifting around the classroom, repeatedly running her hands through her blond hair.
Hajime's throat ached. His chest felt heavy as if someone was sitting on him. His heartbeat slowed down. She would still be his mother, right? She'd still accept him, right?