This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 816: Unwelcome Guest

Chapter 816: Chapter 816: Unwelcome Guest

Gabriel leaned against the cool stone pillar of the academy’s towering gates, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the cobblestone path.

The gates, framed in polished steel filigree that gleamed like molten silver, stood as a monument to the academy’s prestige, their intricate runes pulsing faintly with spiritual energy that shimmered like a protective veil, ready to form a barrier against any sudden beast tide or attack

Beyond them, manicured hedges lined the winding paths, their leaves shimmering with a soft, otherworldly glow.

Beds of spiritual flowers—petals in vibrant violet and gold—released a calming scent that mingled with the crisp autumn air, but it did little to soothe Gabriel’s frayed nerves.

Cherry nudged him with her elbow, her red curls bouncing as she grinned mischievously. “You look like you’re about to escape from the jaws of hell, Gabe. Chill, it’s just school.” Her tone was teasing, but her cheeks flushed a faint pink, her eyes lingering on him before she flicked them away, scuffing her shoe against the path.

The school grounds were still bustling, but the crowd was thinning as people were picked up by their parents or, more often, chauffeurs.

Students in crisp navy-blue uniforms hurried to waiting transports, some flanked by attendants, others laughing with friends.

Gabriel and Cherry were alone at their pre-arranged meeting spot near the gates, a stone bench under a sprawling tree that was growing what resembled to be glowing yellow acorns.

The rest of the Newman kids were late…as usual.

“Bet Milo’s asking about some obscure spiritual theorem…booorrrring. Why bother studying if so much of your future success will just come down to being lucky enough to awaken a beast-tamer affinity?” Cherry said, hopping onto the bench and swinging her legs. She tossed another pebble at Gabriel, aiming for his knee, her grin sharp and playful as she watched him dodge with a quick sidestep.

Cherry’s guess about Milo’s actions wasn’t too inaccurate. Milo, seventeen and one year away from graduating, was actively grilling his teachers with questions. He’d worked overtime since transferring to this more prestigious school to not lose the number one ranking he’d had back at the public school in Brightstar City. And, through continuous efforts to bridge the gap in their education, by the end of last year, Milo had surpassed his peers and finally managed to take first place in an exam. Naturally, he hoped to keep the good flow going this year as well.

Jasper and Jasmine, the fourteen-year-old twins newly arrived in the senior (also known as high school) wing, were likely catching up with friends, swapping stories about their summer. Or perhaps, like Milo, now that they were in high school, and sensing college life close at hand, they were taking their studies more seriously and staying behind to talk to various teachers.

Key, eleven and a year below Gabriel and Cherry, might be lingering with classmates, basking in the first-day excitement…or just may have gotten lost.

Parker, Sunny, and Charlie, all ten years old and all starting their final year of elementary school, were tasked with picking up Melody, the eight-year-old baby of the family whose classes were in the junior wing along with theirs.

Their absence left Gabriel and Cherry in a rare moment of quiet, waiting for Jax and Garret, two members of Darrius’ crew, to arrive and drive them home as dual bodyguards and drivers.

“Anyways, how did you find your first day over all? You’ve been jumpy all day.” Her voice was light, but there was a flicker of concern in her eyes, her fingers fidgeting with her tiger-shaped pendant—a match to Gabriel’s tortoise, and the various other animal pendants possessed by the Newman siblings, forged by Exalted Grandmaster Halreth.

Gabriel shrugged, his hand brushing the necklace. “Just… a lot,” he mumbled, his Brightstar accent, which he’d been consciously tamping down throughout the day, slipping out again.

Cherry snorted, leaning back on her hands. “Yeah, well, those snobs can choke on their useless family titles. Most noble houses have no real power now anyways and Kain’s got more money than half their families combined.” She paused, her voice softening.

Cherry slid closer on the bench, her shoulder brushing his as she nudged him again, harder this time. “Don’t let them get to you. You handled yourself fine today.” Her grin was lopsided, her cheeks reddening slightly as she quickly looked away, pretending to study the oak’s glowing acorns.

The crowd dwindled further, leaving only a few stragglers near the gates. Transports hummed away, their engines infused with spiritual energy that left faint trails of light. Gabriel’s eyes scanned the path, expecting Milo’s lanky figure or the twins’ bickering forms to finally appear, but the grounds were growing eerily quiet.

Cherry was mid-sentence, teasing him about his “mopey face,” when she faltered, her words catching in her throat. “Uh, Gabe? Someone’s coming toward us,” Her voice dropped, her usual bravado wavering as she straightened, her hand instinctively gripping his arm.

Gabriel was surprised that the normally boisterous Cherry would be acting somewhat timid just because a stranger was approaching them. That was unlike her.

Gabriel followed her gaze. A woman approached, her steps purposeful against the cobblestones. She was too old to be a student at the school—she looked to be around Kain’s age, maybe twenty or twenty-one—but she carried an air of someone older, more seasoned than her appearance, so he wouldn’t have been surprised if she were actually in her mid to late twenties instead.

Her deep purple hair cascaded over her shoulders, catching the fading sunlight to give it plum-like hue, and her eyes, a striking violet, held a calm intensity. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Probably the first woman he’d ever seen that could rival Serena. The kind of beauty that turned heads.

Cherry’s grip on his arm tightened, her face flushing a deeper red than when she’d teased him earlier. “Whoa,” she whispered, then caught herself, clearing her throat with an exaggerated cough. “I mean, uh, she’s probably just a teacher, right?” Her voice was too loud, her grin wobbling as she tried to play it cool, her eyes flicking between the woman and Gabriel, searching for his reaction.

Gabriel’s stomach churned, not with awe but with a cold, gnawing aversion. Something about her face—those sharp cheekbones, the curve of her jaw—felt hauntingly familiar, like a shadow from his days trapped in the Black Dawn’s lab, wired to machines that could’ve killed him, and definitely tortured him. He couldn’t place her, but the unease clawed at him, urging him to run.

Unlike Cherry thought, he wasn’t swayed by the woman’s beauty—Serena’s daily presence in Kain’s lab, when he’d lived there, had dulled him to such things— but that nagging sense of familiarity made his gut twist tighter, a warning he couldn’t shake. Her smile was too perfect, her approach too deliberate. She stopped a few feet away, her gaze flickering over them. “Excuse me, is one of you Cherry?” she asked, her voice smooth as silk.

Cherry nodded, her usual confidence replaced by a rare bashfulness. “Y-yeah, that’s me.” She let go of Gabriel’s arm, crossing her arms defensively, but her cheeks stayed pink, her eyes flicking to the woman’s face before dropping to the ground.

Gabriel stayed silent but shifted his body to be slightly in front of Cherry, his gut screaming caution. He didn’t offer his name, his hand tightening around the necklace. The woman’s smile widened, disarming but not reaching her eyes. “I have something for the Director of your orphanage,” she said, producing a plain envelope from her sleeve. Gabriel quickly intercepted it, earning a surprised glance from both of them, but his expression didn’t change under their scrutiny.

He lifted the envelope. It was unremarkable and without any identifying characteristics save for the name Airalai written in neat cursive on the front. “Please ensure he receives it.”

Cherry blinked, then nodded, taking the envelope, after Gabriel finished examining it, with a hesitant nod. “Uh, sure thing,” she said, her voice a mix of bravado and fluster. She tucked the envelope into her bag, then punched Gabriel’s shoulder lightly, as if to shake off her embarrassment. “What, you gonna stare all day? Say something!” Her grin was forced, her eyes darting to Gabriel, but he was too focused on the woman to notice her gradually darkening eyes, or her strained grin gradually falling.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, studying Airalai as she turned to leave, her purple hair swaying. “Who are you?” he asked, his voice low.

She paused, glancing back with a faint smile. “A dead person,” she said, then walked away, her figure vanishing down the path. The air felt heavier, the spiritual flowers’ scent cloying now.

A hush lingered between them as they both stared after her retreating figure, uneasy in the silence she left behind. It was as if the whole academy held its breath, waiting for some unspoken revelation that never came.

Jax and Garret’s transport finally approached and they also heard what appeared to be the rushing footsteps of the Newman siblings coming from behind, finally breaking the pair from their respective thoughts.