oOo

Chapter 4 - Accommodation (Black Bulls)

A large, spatial door opened and Langris walked out.

He was greeted by an unsightly view of the Black Bull's base.

Before he could make an indecent comment, Cob popped his head out of the portal. "Enjoy your stay!" He cheerfully voiced. "I'll return for you and your brother after three days." He waved his goodbye and the spatial door closed and faded away.

Langris sighed.

He wasn't even a minute in and he wanted to turn around. He was never confident about the squad trade in the first place, but he wasn't about to disappoint Captain Vangeance by ruining this. However, he wasn't really optimistic about his stay; not when the base looked like it was going to collapse from a gentle breeze.

"It's atrocious." He thought. "Who even designed this?"

The base was a large, multistory monstrosity full of inconsistent structures. One would think a child designed it and simply stuck pieces of different houses together.

None of them were even leveled.

Langris rolled his eyes.

He had been here before when Finral first started out as a Magic Knight. He never really went beyond the doors. He wasn't happy about going in and living in this dump for three days. Everything was shabby and old. He could barely believe Finral was fine with this living condition, and this was just the outside.

"Seriously," He thought. "This should be against building regulations."

He sighed, having no choice but to continue forward. He moved to the entrance and raised his hand to knock on the door. He didn't get a chance because the door opened and Langris was faced with his new captain.

Yami's eyes lingered over him and settled on the robe.

Did he recognize it was his brother's?

"So it's you." Yami sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "Should've known Vangeance would pull a stunt like this. Oh well. I should probably be grateful."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Only if you want it to." He shrugged. "Get inside."

Langris was cautious when Yami moved aside to give him room. Langris tried his hardest not to cringe when he entered the living room. Of course there would be a bar. Why the hell would Langris expect any less from a squad full of ruffians? Langris opened his mouth to ask a few questions when Yami walked past him and settled on the nearby chair to read his newspaper.

"Welcome to the Black Bulls." Yami deadpanned. "Feel free to do whatever you want."

What the hell was wrong with this squad?!

Langris grimaced. He had so many questions. First of all, how was it possible that the Black Bulls were able to function for so long as a Magic Knight squad?! Where was everyone? There should be at least a few inside the complex. Were they even informed about his arrival? Langris concluded that with a captain like Yami, it was most likely not the case. He tightened his hold on his shoulder bag, not daring to move. Was Yami seriously going to leave him hanging?

Before Langris could argue about propriety, someone walked into the living room.

He couldn't help but stare at her.

What was she wearing?!

The lady was tall and beautiful, and she was showered with different shades of pink. However, her clothes were too revealing as it cut from the middle of her chest and ended just above her navel. Raised in a proper house with manners, Langris politely moved his gaze when she approached him.

"Hello!" She greeted. "You must be the volunteer!"

Langris kept his gaze locked with hers.

He wasn't expecting her to approach him seductively and change the tone of her voice into something sultrier. "My name's Vanessa." She bent down, exposing a little more of her bosom. A finger slid underneath Langris' chin and lifted it higher so they were leveled. "To think a cutie like you would end up here. What's your name, little boy?"

Politely, he pushed her hand away.

"Langris Vaude," He said as his cheeks reddened. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Vaude?" Vanessa blinked.

She turned to Yami in shock. Yami dropped his newspaper and stared at Vanessa. "You're looking at Finral's younger brother." He explained and turned to Langris. "Say hello to Vanessa. She's one of the oldest members in this squad. You'll find everyone else around somewhere."

Langris nodded to that.

"So, Langris, right?" Vanessa asked as she straightened herself. "Looks like fate brought you here for a reason. I'm sure you'll have fun. Does Finral know you're here to volunteer?"

"We saw each other this morning." He answered.

"Great." She said in delight and nudged him out the door. "Come on. Since you're Finral's little brother, allow me to tour you. If he were here, he'll try and make sure your stay is as comfortable as possible. Since he's not, I'll do that for him." She turned to Yami. "Captain! You won't mind if I steal him from you?"

"Go ahead." Yami mumbled.

"Thank you!"

Langris grimaced when he realized that this woman had no boundaries. She was talkative and a little loud. Not to mention that strange first impression. Where was she expecting to go with that introduction anyway? Langris tried to ignore the implications as Vanessa guided him down the dark hallway. He couldn't let go of what she had done. He reminded himself that this was one of Finral's squad members, but he couldn't shake off the thought that Finral was a little girl crazy.

Surely this woman caught his eye.

He wondered, "Are you and my brother close?"

"Are you asking if we're together?" She teased and noticed the immediate redness on Langris' face. "Don't worry. We're not. Finral and I are good friends."

"I see." He mumbled.

Langris wasn't sure if he should be happy or weirded out. He knew how much Finral's demeanor changed for different types of women. Having what Langris would call a distraction for his brother's bad habits wasn't something he'd enjoy knowing. But so long as Vanessa said they were friends and his brother was doing his job, Langris shouldn't really care.

"Do you want to hear about Finral's first time living inside the base?"

Langris allowed Vanessa to lighten the mood by telling him a story about his brother.

However, he wasn't really interested in Finral's life. But now that he was finally within his brother's territory, he might as well be a little more concerned. None of the things he had seen so far were… practical. For example, he noticed how dark the hallway was. Unlike the Golden Dawn, there were barely any lamps to light the way.

"Would it kill them to install a few light fixtures?"

Someone could trip.

"— it took time for Finral to get used to the place." Vanessa finished her story. "Anyways, this is the dining area." She gestured. "Sometimes we eat here or in the living room."

Langris' eyes widened.

He expected a small room, but this was larger than he had imagined.

There were so many long tables and chairs, good enough to seat at least thirty members. But what surprised him more was the difference compared to the Golden Dawn's pristine dining area. Where the Golden Dawn had chandeliers and large, arched windows with thin, white curtains the Black Bulls' dining area looked more like a rundown bar somewhere in the lower towns.

"Like it?" Vanessa chuckled. "You can come down any time and find Charmy if you're hungry."

"Charmy?" Langris asked.

"She's another squad member. She cooks for us."

Before Langris could ask, something soft bumped into him.

Immediately, his manners overtook him and he apologized. He turned, looked down, and found himself faced with a flock of sheep standing by the door. Every single one of them was holding different dishes on a silver tray. The sheep in front of him bleated softly. Langris moved aside and the flock moved to the table and neatly arranged the dishes together.

"Surprised?" Vanessa grinned. "Those are Charmy's Sheep Cooks."

One of the sheep moved and offered Vanessa a small piece of colorful pastry. She took one and the sheep moved to Langris and offered him another piece. Not wanting to be rude, Langris reluctantly took a bite.

He wouldn't admit it, but it tasted good.

Before he could convince Vanessa to show him to his room, he felt someone tug his sleeves. Langris looked down and this time, it was a little child. What would a child be doing in a Magic Knight's base?! Langris stared at her and noticed the Black Bull's robe. Surely they weren't recruiting so young. That was against the law.

"Try this one!" The child said, offering Langris a plate. "It's delicious!"

"No, thank you." Langris refused. "I'm full."

"Charmy," Vanessa greeted. "You're just in time!" Wait? What?! This was her?! "Charmy, this is Langris." She introduced. "He's Finral's little brother." Shock aside, Langris disliked the way they introduced him only as Finral's little brother. "Langris, this is Charmy. She makes all the meals for the Black Bulls."

"What's your favorite food?" Charmy randomly asked.

Langris made a face as he struggled to keep his composure. "I'm not a picky eater." He said. He wasn't about to admit to these people that he loved Cherry Tarts. That was exposing personal information and Langris wasn't about to divulge something like that.

"I remember Finral said you loved Cherry Tarts." Vanessa revealed. "Why don't you make some for our guest, Charmy?"

Langris turned beet red.

Why would his brother mentioned that to them?!

"That's great!" Charmy cheered as she ordered her sheep cooks to head to the kitchen. "Cherry Tarts are delicious! I'll cook it extra special for you since you're new here! I'll be right back!"

"Thank you, Charmy!" Vanessa giggled. "Langris and I will leave you to it. We still need to tour the entire base and meet the others."

"Okay!" She replied. "Come back for your meal!"

"Thank you." Langris mumbled.

Vanessa guided him out of the dining area and toured him around the rest of the base.

They stopped just before the intersection to the stairs.

"Be careful and try not to wander through that hallway." She pointed at a much darker, more ominous hallway. "That's where the captain keeps the magical beasts. They only really follow the captain." She chuckled. "Sometimes Finral tries to feed them if no one else is available. We can't go down there because they're sleeping— wouldn't want to disturb their rest." She gestured to the other hall. "Come on, there's more upstairs."

"You must be joking."

"About?"

"You don't really have magical beasts in your base."

"We do." She smiled, seemingly enjoying the advantage of being more knowledgeable of their base. "You should see them in the morning before they've eaten. Maybe the captain would even let you feed them."

Langris remained silent.

He wasn't sure he liked that idea if what she was saying were true. Who kept magical beasts as pets anyway? Then again, this was Yami Sukehiro, captain of the Black Bulls and labeled Lord of Destruction. As a foreigner, perhaps Yami thought that was natural. Not that Langris was curious, but if he had the time, he would check it out to see if Vanessa was bluffing or not.

Such a thing shouldn't be left unsupervised.

They went upstairs and Vanessa showed him the library.

"It's very dusty." Langris commented.

"No one really uses it." She shrugged. "Finral usually port to the Royal Library or the library at the Investigations Department. Most of the books here are outdated and are mostly for display."

"Of course."

"Let's move on, shall we?"

As they went through the rest of the available rooms, Langris disliked the idea of this exchange more and more. Vanessa showed him the men's toilet and bathing room. He was surprised to find out that they were shared by all the squad members.

How did his brother not find this alarming?!

When they passed another hall, Langris was surprised when he felt someone following them. He turned around and a tall man was right behind them. He would've attacked if it wasn't for the robe on the man's shoulders.

"Gordon," Vanessa scolded. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people."

He muttered something back, but none of them could hear it.

"Langris, this is Gordon." Vanessa gestured. "He's another older member. He doesn't talk much, but he's nice. Gordon, this is Langris. He's Finral's younger brother. Surprising, isn't it? Who knew he would be the volunteer?"

Gordon waved at him.

Langris blankly stared at the creepy smile Gordon was giving him. Thankfully, it wasn't a long encounter. He and Vanessa quickly bid their farewell and continued with the tour. So far, Langris had only met a couple of them. Shouldn't there be a few more?

"Will we meet the rest of your squad on the way to my room?"

"Maybe," Vanessa shrugged as she lifted her fingers to count. "The only ones you haven't met are Gauche, Grey, and Henry. Grey is somewhere in the base. I'll introduce you when we find them. As for Henry, we'll see him in a bit. You won't be able to meet Gauche though. He's on a mission."

"Gauche… Adlai?" Langris wondered.

"Yes. That's his name."

"The ex-convict?"

"Don't let him hear you say that." She softly warned. "He's cleaning himself up. The captain wouldn't have taken him in if he didn't see anything interesting."

"I noticed." Langris replied.

He tried to be polite, but so far, he couldn't find anything appealing about any of Finral's squad members. Sure, they were unique individuals, but how was it possible for them to function as an active Magic Knight's squad? No wonder they were always at the bottom. Not a single one of them looked like they were capable of fighting.

"Please let this be over," He thought.

He thought he had seen everything— from weird squad members, to shared bathrooms, to a possibility of living under the same roof with magical beasts, and the most minor thing in this whole mess were the ugly designs… but no… Langris was surprised when Vanessa led them to another room and knocked on the door. Someone answered for them to come in. Vanessa opened the door and Langris stared at the man on the bed. He looked very sick and his hair was way too long and bushy to be called normal.

"Henry," Vanessa smiled. "Meet our guest."

"Hello," Henry waved. "I'm… Henry."

"Langris Vaude." He politely replied. "Pleasure to meet you."

Vanessa introduced, "He's Finral's little brother."

Once more, Langris grimaced at the continued repetition. Apparently, the only thing relevant to them was his familial status with Finral and Langris wasn't sure why that was so important to know. It wasn't like it meant anything. Before Langris could try and control the situation for himself, he paused when he felt his mana draining ever so slowly.

"Henry has a condition," Vanessa whispered. "Try not to get too close."

"I'm… sorry…" Henry apologized.

"It's fine." Langris answered. "It's not as if you're taking a lot."

"That's why you shouldn't get close." Vanessa winked and turned to Henry. "Do you have any extra rooms for Langris?"

"Right… above." He answered. "Near… the stairs."

"Alright, thank you, Henry!" She delightfully said. "We'll be going now. Charmy's almost done preparing. I'll let her know to bring you up some food."

"Thank… you."

Vanessa nudged Langris out the door, but Langris couldn't help but stare at Henry, who was waving back. Just before the door closed, Langris noticed a Black Bull's robe draped over the side table. They were joking, weren't they? Unless that man had recently taken a mission… it was impossible for him to be a Magic Knight, let alone be an active one.

"Come on," Vanessa cheered. "The sooner you get to your room, the faster you can unpack and tell us stories about you and Finral."

Langris wasn't looking forward to that at all.

He remained silent and contemplating as Vanessa led him the rest of the way. He was very confused. Who were these people and how the hell did Yami even find them— let alone recruit them?! None of them seemed credible.

So many questions ran through his head.

Were any of them capable of fighting?! Okay, scratch that question… Finral wasn't a fighter and Yami recruited him, so it must've been the same case for the others. First there was Vanessa, was she going to use her appeal and seduce strangers? Then there was that tiny girl with the sheep. What was she going to do, feed people to death? The tall, quiet, and creepy one might be able to do something to his enemies. But the one that stumped Langris the most was Henry.

It was just impossible.

Langris tried to stop himself from judging too quickly, but it wasn't as if they were making an effort not to look or sound weird. So that was their fault. So to stop himself from thinking badly of these people without attempting to actually get to know them, Langris decided to judge the base instead. The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. And not once had Langris seen any maintenance mage to keep the place intact. He knew just from looking that not a single member in this squad had lifted a finger in attempting cleanliness.

Should they ever use Langris as an excuse to have the base cleaned, he had a fair argument to make.

He was no one's manservant.

At this point, Langris had low expectations of his room.

When they reached it, he wasn't surprised to find it dusty and way smaller than his own sleeping quarters in the Golden Dawn. There wasn't even a private bathroom.

"Here you go." Vanessa gestured. "You remember how to go downstairs?"

"Yes." Langris nodded. "Thank you for the tour."

"Look at you, being so polite." She teased. "You sound like Finral." Once more, he couldn't stop himself from blushing at the unwanted comparison. "When you're feeling a bit more comfortable, you can call me Big Sister, okay?" She laughed at Langris' confused expression and moved out of the way. "I'll leave you to unpack. Maybe later, we can introduce you to Grey. See you later!"

When the door closed, Langris just about died.

He was exhausted.

Langris placed his bag on the bed and walked over to the window for some fresh air. Even the window sill was dusty and some of the wood was worn out. Langris grimaced as he tried to calm himself down. He shouldn't lose his temper now. He was trying to make a good impression for Captain Vangeance's sake, but it was increasingly difficult when he was surrounded by mistakes.

"Three days," He told himself. "Just endure it."

His mind went to Finral and he couldn't help but scowl.

"You're probably having the time of your life, aren't you, Brother?"

oOo

"You can also check this story out on AO3"

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