Quinton sat down on his desk and had me sit in the chair in front of him. He seemed surprised at first since hearing about the “truth.” He closed his eyes for a minute and I waited intently on his response. Then suddenly, he opened his eyes.

 

“Those are words that I haven’t heard in a long time.”

 

“I wish to protect my family and reach the “truth.”

 

“I understand, you’re truly one to admire Shinjeo.”

 

I could see the glint in Quinton’s eyes. He knew something I didn’t, but he knew what chasing the “truth” meant. His desk drawer opened for him and he pulled out a document. It had a stamp printed on it that looked similar to the one I saw on the locked door. It was the logo of the ESSE, the document seemed to sparkle as he put it down on his table.

 

“I’m gonna be frank with you Shinjeo. You are one of the most talented Schwalbes I have ever seen.”

 

“Thank you sir, I just hope to use my abilities to help those I love.”

“A great goal for you young man, I have a proposal to make.”

 

“Let’s hear it.”

 

The document again sparkled and before my eyes the stamp disappeared after he took his hand off of it. The contents were laid bare as he pulled out three separate sheets of paper.

“First of all, I would like to offer protection as a courtesy from the ESSE, we always make sure that the families and friends of our students is guaranteed,”

 

“That is greatly appreciated sir.”

 

It would be hard to protect my friends on my own. There were only a couple people that I cared for, but still I couldn’t be there for all of them all at once. Even for me, someone who can fight most monsters at the D-C rank. When the “awakening” occurs in six months time, I planned to coordinate an area where I could keep them all. Support from ESSE would make this even easier for me.

 

“Second of all, you will have to stay for testing, so we can measure your abilities. Accommodations can be made for you to stay here. There are dorms here where all students stay.”

A dorm could be troublesome, but I could handle one or two people. I lived alone for quite awhile in the future, I made sure that I was the only one I was going to worry about. The first two requirements seemed reasonable enough to me.

 

“Third of all, I will offer you a team to work with. Most Schwalbes here work in teams of three. An attacker, a defender, and an all-rounder is a basic team that can be made. Fighting alone is quite hard, having teammates to watch your back is important and builds trust.”

 

The third agreement seemed quite hard for me to grasp, sure I understood that fighting in a team made it easier to eliminate monsters, but I had fought many monsters on my own in the future. Maybe it was because I worked so hard that I could always stand on my own.

 

“I agree with the first two sentiments, but I find it hard to work with others in a team. I have always fought my own battles.”

 

“I’ll change the offer then, I will give you time to accommodate yourself with the team given, and if there is still a problem with the team, you will be given clearance to fight on your own. However that all depends on how you perform, as well as how the team performs.”

 

The offer still sounded off to me, but I understood that he wanted me to to make a “trial run” with the teammates given. I guess I would be fighting with others after all, but I promise I will rise above all expectations and make my own path.

 

“Thanks for considering my opinion, I accept the three offers, but I have one more request of my own.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I want to be given free reign of my fighting-style, I saw that earlier that many were being taught in different ranges of martial arts and weapon styles.”

 

I remembered the classes that I passed by. A couple of the different rooms had been larger than others to accommodate for practicing combat, maybe the student was assigned to different ranges of learning depending on their ability.

 

“Permission granted. Most students here learn other styles and build on their own through them. A couple different classes are recommended, but it’s up to you.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

“One more thing, in the future there will be a certain event that will occur. I’d like to sign a contract with you to fight for the ESSE, you seem to be the type to be a freelancer, but the higher-ups would like to pay you in your worth.”

This was a big offer. If I accepted, I would be granted many resources and money from the ESSE, but I had to check the time first.

 

“How long would I be contracted for?”

 

“One year, that is all. We will not stop the youth from fighting for their own passions, if you still choose to fight for the ESSE, a further contract will be made.”

 

One year was an amount of time I could spare. The facilities here at Section 11 would provide a great base for me to build up my skills. I could fight probably far better than I did in my early years with their support.

 

“Alright I accept, but one favor, I have noticed potentials of ether energy in two of my friends. Their names are Aldo Christens and Kuroda Chen.”

 

“Okay we will check their potential as well, are the conditions cleared?”

 

“Yes, I am ready.”

 

It looked like I was going to be staying here for a year. I was lucky to have been granted this opportunity. The timing seemed great for me. Quinton took note of our conversation and held the three documents out.

 

“Everything we discussed was on these documents, if you’d like you can check each statement over again.”

 

“No, it’s fine, I assume we are building trust here right?”

 

Quinton winked at me as he placed his left hand on each document. He was setting his part of the contract first for me. This would definitely be a big step in improving the future for me.

 

“Now, I am done with my part, please place your hand on each document and supplement a bit of ether energy.”

 

I placed my palm in the first document and felt my ether energy seep in with Quinton’s. The energy seemed to blend and mix as the contract sealed. I felt the same way with each signing. 

As I finished the final document, I heard some noise outside.

 

“Ah, it seems your new classmates are quite interested in you.”

 

I turned around to see Hiiragi and Haru backed up to the windows. Students were bunched up in the front waiting for me to walk out. I guess I looked interesting to them. I smiled and winked a bit to tease them and a couple of them turned away embarrassed. I chuckled a little bit and turned back to the chairman.

 

“Welcome Shinjeo Curato and enjoy your stay at Besondere Institute.”