Honorine's Run To Save The World - Chapter Four (Patreon)

"So, I have a month and a half to get Alessia to the coast, is that correct?" I'm sure I heard Claudette right, but I need to hear it again; it feels like a joke.

"Yes, though you might have a few hours more. Or less. The book doesn't specify the exact margin, so I recommend that you act like you have forty eight and a half days."

"I… see. The train will get us from here to Eleurini in about a week or so, so that's not a problem either way. Do you mind if Alessia spends the night here?"

Alessia starts at the mention of her name, blinking at me. "...Are you going to leave me alone here?"

"What?" It takes me a split second to realize that she doesn't have the necessary context to understand what I meant with my question to Claudette, who proceeds to explain to her before I can do so myself.

"Oh, no, what Honorine means is that I've given her permission to come and go as she pleases—there's even a room set aside for her here—without having to ask me first, so she doesn't need to ask if she can stay the night. She just wants to know if I would mind you staying here too. Which, for the record, I do not. Take a left at the end of the hallway leading out of this room and you'll find the guest room."

"Ah, I understand. I am grateful to you. Honorine, it would be optimal if we were to rest for the night now, so as to be able to make the most effective use of our time tomorrow; I imagine we will have to procure supplies for the train journey, and that will take a considerable amount of time."

Well, when she puts it that way… "Alessia has a point. We'll be seeing you in the morning, Claudette."

"Oh, I'm giving a seminar tomorrow morning at Dufour University and the shopping district's on the way there, so I will be able to drop you two off there if you get up early!" Claudette grins, her voice starting to sound visibly tired. She starts to speak again, but a massive yawn comes out of her instead of words, so it takes her two tries to follow up. "Alright, sleep well, you two. It's been nice talking to you as well, Honorine."

I want to tell her it really hasn't been all that long since the last time I was here, but I'm too tired to so I just let it slide and retire to my room with a simple 'goodnight'.

—

Once I'm in bed, the situation finally hits me properly, and I'm alarmed by just how little I'd questioned of the events of the past two days. I'd gone up the mountain expecting to find some ancient technology, or a store of long-forgotten knowledge, and instead I'm saddled with this girl insisting that the world is going to end, and Claudette's confirmed that she's right, and I never stopped to consider just how bizarre any of this is.

Which brings me to the next point: Is Alessia right? The Streicians were highly advanced, yes, but that doesn't mean they can't be wrong. How would the world end, anyway? The environment looks stable, and the last time I heard about any potential rift-causing magical instabilities was during my freshman year. All the signs point to the world not ending.

The big problem with this, though, is that the only way to confirm this is to wait and see what happens. I can't afford to do that—I'm confident enough that I'm right, but it would literally be the end of the world if I was wrong, so my only real option is to assume the Streicians are right...

Damn.

This is definitely a difficult situation.

Well, difficult though it may be, I'm not going to accomplish anything by staring at my ceiling and admiring how difficult the situation is. I roll over and shut my eyes, but it doesn't help; I'm still thinking about the end of the world, even as I drift off to sleep.

—

Though not the most lavishly decorated part of the town, Champirac's shopping district is still a sight to be seen. Everything here is designed to look like it's made of some sort of jewel or precious stone, with a facade of white paint that makes the little areas where the original color peeks through all the more noticeable, and the whole thing is built on water with canals in place of roads. So, understandably, Alessia has spent the three hours we've been here so far gawking. I'm kind of glad she's here; I've seen this place enough times that it's nothing special, so having a set of new eyes looking on it brings a much-needed perspective.

Unfortunately for her, we're just about done with the shopping list. It's a short one, since we're going on a train journey, and consists mostly of clothing. There's some food and supplies for on-foot travel too, additions made at Claudette's insistence that we be ready for anything. Still, maybe I can make up some additions to the list to give us an excuse to stay here longer.

Someone pushes me from behind, and I nearly topple into the canal. As soon as I regain my footing, I turn around and immediately spot the offender, namely because he's running and he's got a purse that I'm fairly certain isn't his.

“Oi, stop!” I take off in pursuit of the purse-snatcher; no one seems to be stepping up to do anything about him, so I'll have to take care of this myself. He rounds a corner, probably trying to lose me in the city's backalleys. Smart, but it's not going to work. Not while I'm this close—

The thief trips over thin air and falls over, dropping the purse as he does. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell just happened when a woman emerges from the shadows, right where the thief tripped. She looks down at him, walking over to the fallen purse.

"That was… really bold. Purse-snatching in broad daylight, in one of the busiest parts of town..." The stranger sighs, picking up the purse and looking at it. "You really need the money you'd get from pawning the things in here, don't you?"

"U-Uh…" The purse-snatcher seems to be caught off-guard by this; was he expecting worse? Then the woman does something that catches me off-guard as well: she kneels down, offering him her hand.

"Come on, get up; down on the ground's no place for you to be." She helps the thief up, and continues once he's nodded his answer to her question. "I'm sorry for tripping you like that, but I had to stop you somehow. Are you hurt?" The thief shakes his head, and now I'm utterly confused.

"I’ve got a question." I raise my hand, not altogether sure why I'm doing this, exactly. The woman turns her gaze to me, then returns her attention to the thief. Next, she produces a large pouch from her pocket, with a piece of paper tied to it, and places it in the thief's hand.

"I still have to talk to the lady over there, so I'll be brief; go to the address on that paper and tell them Sabrina sent you. They'll get you back on your feet, but it could take a while—that gold's to keep you afloat until then."

"Th-thank you!" The thief sounds like he's about to cry. He holds the gold Sabrina's given him close to his chest and runs off. Once he's gone, she sets the purse aside and turns to fully face me. I open my mouth to ask what exactly she wants to talk to me about, but she starts before I can get a word in.

"You're probably wondering why I did that," she starts. She's not exactly wrong, but that is definitely not the most pressing question I have now. "The answer is simple: Guilty though he may be, punishing him for it will do nothing to fix the problem, because he'll still be in need of money and without a way to earn it."

What? She’s answered the question I’d initially wanted to ask, but now several more have taken its place. “That’s a noble cause, but I have absolutely no idea what exactly it has to do with me, nor why you have to tell me this in a dark alleyway away from the crowds. In fact, all things considered, this looks more like a murder setup than anything.”

"Murder? No." Sabrina's response is terse, and she sounds like a completely different person. "That is not a line I intend to cross any time soon. I am simply going to take..." Now she draws the sword at her side—I never even noticed she had that—and points it at a spot next to me. I turn my head to look at whatever it is she's pointing at, and find Alessia there. Alessia blinks once, twice, and then dashes behind me. “...Her off your hands.”

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about Sabrina is firing me up. I am not going to sit idly by and pass up the chance to fight an opponent that looks this fun. I draw my sword, pointing it right back at her. "Oh, absolutely not. Alessia needs to get somewhere, and I’m not handing her over to anyone until she gets there. No exceptions."

"Alright, fine." Sabrina sighs, and I feel my sword quiver in my hand as she prepares a spell. "I was hoping it would not come to this, but a fight it is, I suppose. Prepare yourself!"

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