Mountains and Buffalo.

Chapter 17: Floor of the Morose.

The doors to the Pillar were made of thick glass lined with bolted steel. Opening it was arduous and unexpectedly time-consuming– that is until Rover caught up with me. Though the hinges fought against the force valiantly, Rover's sheer strength proved to be too much. A simple shove flung them open like a cupboard door. Unfortunately, I was putting my whole being into opening the door beforehand, leading me to unceremoniously fall onto the smooth floor.

"Ow! Ahh..."

"Hmm? Did you trip or something?"

"Crass and oblivious... that's just like you."

She tilted her head at my comment. I stood up and rubbed my own, ignoring the inquiry shown in her gaze. We took a few paces into the building. Immediately, I noticed smooth, carpeted floors and lavish furniture sprawled around the entrance. There were lounges, tables, receptionist desks, and more. Though it was the first time I'd ever entered such a scene, I could draw a comparison easily– it was very similar to how the Tea Mage described the "student center" of Talbot, after all.

"...This place is giving me the creeps."

"Huh? How so?"

"Stuff like couches and carpets are for snobby rich people. Also, nobody is here."

"Couches and rich– wait a second."

Doing another scan of the environs, I found myself concurring with Rover's deduction. At that moment, the grandiose atmosphere of the room vanished and was replaced with ghostliness, and a cold sweat ran down my back. I also became confused; after all, didn't Mason say that security was tight?

"Hey, that priss with the box earlier said we just need to show the note, right?"

"He did, but, as you can see, that'll likely be difficult."

"Tch! This stinks!"

Rover stomped the ground and began to storm off, but I grabbed her wrist before she could go too far. She turned her head to me with her usual grumpy scowl.

"What?"

"Don't be so noisy! If it's this empty then something can't be right."

"What? Are you scared?"

"Frankly... no, but I'm close!"

She raised an eyebrow, perplexed, which surprised me. She then released a sigh and shook my hand off, crossing her arms.

"Kenny, Kenny Kenny. What am I gonna do with you?"

She had a wry look on her face. I understood the intentions behind her words and tone immediately, and I nodded in the face of a revelation. It was one I couldn't properly articulate, but the feelings it stirred up translated perfectly into an action.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and sighed.

"Alright, I might've overreacted. But, seriously, we should be quiet."

"...Fine."

Thus began our predominantly silent inspection of the Pillar's first floor.

Rover and I didn't spend too much time inside the foyer, since it was obvious that what we saw would be all there is. Instead, we walked deeper into it and were immediately faced with a fork in our road. A left and a right, each path leading to a hallway with a set of doors. The ends of the hallway were comfortably in sight, meaning that traveling them shouldn't be challenging. I looked at Rover inquisitively. She pointed at the hallway on the left, prompting me to take the one on the right.

My first impression of this hallway was that it was bland. There were no elegant decorations of lush chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was a hallway consisting of simple white walls and doors. Most of the lighting came from windows and the sun, though a few lights were stationed here and there. I hit the end of the hallway quickly, turning the corner and continuing my expedition. The hallway looked identical to where I was standing, which made me feel as if traveling in this sector was a waste of time. Rover was a much quicker walker than me, so she would already have seen whatever was beyond the next turn long before I made it there.

"That's no good... especially if she ends up empty-handed, too."

Our goal was ultimately to reach the Dean's office, which, according to Mason, was perched on the highest floor of the Pillar. However, Mason also said that the interior was heavily guarded. I doubted his words, but doing so wouldn't lead me anywhere, since it wasn't like I had a lead or someone nearby to ask. Therefore, I decided that I should look around more sensibly, and with my new mindset, decided to open the nearest door.

"...It's locked."

I shouldn't have been, but I was disappointed. I walked a few paces to the next door and tried to open that one but to no avail. I repeated this action for the next half a dozen or so doors, until suddenly–

"Oh! This one's open!"

Before I let the door go wide, I released my tendril, giving into the sense of trepidation I've had since entering the building. Then, I took my first step. Aside from the tiny slab of sunlight crossing barely over the threshold, the room was pitch black. I produced a Flash-Bloom and was greeted by what appeared to be an office building.

"This place is– cah! Ack!"

Thrown into a coughing fit, I eyed the inordinate amount of dust in the environs. Opening the door must've flung it all into the air. Now I stood there, coughing and in regret.

But I had to wonder: Why was a room inside a building as crucial as this so dusty? Was it just an unused room? Or, was it something else?

"Don't tell me this has something to do with the lack of people here, and all the increased security."

I gulped. I wasn't able to form any conclusions with the scattered information I had, but I assumed that something was terribly wrong.

This line of thinking, the sudden freight I received from entertaining such a thought, froze me. Even though the room was empty, even though the air was still like a statue, unperturbed, I couldn't move.

"Rover would... scold me quite hard if she saw me like this, wouldn't she?"

Somehow, uttering that stray thought that crossed my mind returned strength to my legs. Though I was still shaken, I was able to properly inspect the room now.

It was a room where tables and chairs were stationed in groups. Inspecting the contents of the table, I noticed that they were primarily empty, though a few stray pieces of paper found themselves on the desks. I could tell that this room was a workstation of some kind.

"Judging by the papers, they probably sorted out documents here– W-WOAH!"

I caught my leg on something and fell to the ground, landing awkwardly with my hands out.

"Ow... what the hell was that?"

I raised my Flash-Bloom to the culprit of my toppling and saw the tip of my shoe wedged into the floor. I stood up with an excessive amount of embarrassment. I should've expected as much from an abandoned room, so I admonished myself for my lack of attentiveness.

But still, that begged the question, why was this one unlocked?

"--No, let's try not to think about that too much."

I decided to save those questions for later and continued investigating the parameters, paying extra attention to the floor I was walking on. I inspected the desks for anything unusual, just a glance since I figured this room wasn't going to provide me with what I wanted. To my surprise, I found something that wasn't a scrap piece of paper.

It was still a piece of paper, though. This one had words on it and tears at the corner, leading me to believe that it was a part of a packet.

"What's this here...?"

Most of the page was covered in dust and other debris that, coupled with the lighting, made it illegible. Fortunately, the title of the paper was thick, bolded, and easy to read.