"Mother…"

 

Beryl spoke, shifting awkwardly.

 

"By the gods', I never thought I'd see the day!"

 

Cressida fitted her daughter in an older robe she'd been holding on to for nearly fifteen years at this point. She was attempting to fit it onto a frame just a few hairs smaller than its original wearer.

 

"Our Beryl, already choosing her class! Have you given it any thought? Two of your starting classes are mage and cleric. Cleric? No, no, no, you’d be tracked down by any lord looking to recruit a sufficient ward. Mage then, I heard you mumbling about it with Vaughn before. I could teach you more branches of magic if you want. In the legions, the more branches of magic, the more you could adapt!"

 

Sophia continued her rambling whilst preparing dinner in the background, the aroma of vegetables boiling in stock overwhelming the room.

 

"I know right? And she was an egg nearly thirteen suns ago!"

 

Cressida said with a smile, joy overwhelming her voice.

 

"Ah!"

 

Sophia nearly dropped a wooden spoon into a pot of stew as she gasped.

 

"We need to start preparing her some adventuring kit! It'll be alright to have everything prepped, right? The sooner the safer, but what will the other parents think? Are we being too carefree?"

 

Sophia lowered the intensity of the mana-generated fire to a slow simmer. 

 

"Beryl, we need to get you fitted for a tail harness."

 

"Mother."

 

"I understand it'll probably be uncomfortable, but it'll allow you to carry more-"

 

"Mother.."

 

Sophia took a step back smacking herself in the forehead. 

 

"Will we both continue training her? Should we hire a tutor to help keep us from smothering her learning experience? Or should we leave it to-"

 

Beryl felt her frustration coming to a head, unable to remain patient.

 

"Mom! Would you calm down?!"

 

Beryl yelled in a sudden outburst of frustration.

 

"Miss Hatsumi is a great teacher, so I think I'd like to stay with her. She was the Lord's war mage, was she not?"

 

Beryl looked to Cressida.

 

"You two were trained together too. With both of you, I don't think I'd have an issue at all. But-"

 

Beryl looked at Sophia for a moment before returning her gaze to the ground.

 

"Choosing mage…I'd thought about being one like both of you, Mama Sophie. But Miss Hatsumi was the city's lead War-mage. I could follow in her footsteps…"

 

Beryl raised her hands slightly, looking at her palms, then at a chest at the corner of the room.

 

"I've overheard you when you fighting with that one guard captain, with Miss Lorn, with Mister Gregor… I've heard about the preparations…"

 

Beryl silenced the room with her words. Beryl was showing on full display her perceptive abilities. 

 

"Beryl, those are merely preparations… We don't want what happened before-"

 

Beryl forced a smile, silencing any worries Sophia had.

 

"I know. I'm just doing what the eldest should do. I'm thinking ahead."

 

Beryl stood up.

 

“I made up my mind long ago before we ever arrived in Brenton. I just-”

 

Beryl looked to a small flower at the far corner of the room next. It was sealed in a protective case, safeguarding it from the ambient cold of the building. 

 

“-never thought I’d be following through on that desire so soon. With Vaughn and Kiyomi, I can do it.”

 

Beryl looked at each of her mothers.

 

“I want to be a mage!”

 

A sudden flash occurred in Beryl’s eyes as she smiled brightly, a small droplet of blood forming from her nose.

 

“Beryl… did you just-”

 

“Mhmm!”

 

Beryl nodded, coaxing an expression of bittersweet pride from Cressida.

 

“You’re growing faster than we’d like.”

 

Sophia and Cressida both moved to embrace their daughter, overcome with concern and joy. 

 

“You stupid girl, it's not your job to worry!”

 

Sophia muttered, running her hand through Beryl's loose hair that was yet to be braided. 

 

“You’ve seen and fought so much already.”

 

Sophia released Beryl, standing back a moment to look the girl up and down. 

 

“Aye, now if that is not a sight to any man or woman I know what not it be. You look the part of a brave serpent!”

 

Beryl’s hair was still down, and instead of her light tunic, the near gambison-like coat she now wore adorned her frame. In a way, she looked like Hatsumi, discounting the vastly different biology. 

 

“Does that mean we’re gonna see Miss Lorn?”

 

“Aye, though the counseling is mute since you’ve just selected the class you wanted. Though we could walk through your advanced skills together, finish up your guild registration while we’re at it. They’ll need quite a few release signatures.”

 

Cressida moved to the entrance, throwing a robe on over her own tunic and tossing an additional garb to Sophia. 

 

“We shall await you in the hall, dear. Dinner should be fine if left to simmer, aye?”

 

Sophia nodded as she motioned for her wife and daughter to part ways. 

 

“A few more minutes, I’ll catch up shortly.”

The excitement was evident in Cressida's tail as she pushed her massive body forward. Pride as a mother and as a warrior for her daughter's achievement earlier in the day. For Beryl to be so lively even after fighting a Wyvern, it was a mark of stamina few mages could boast. 

 

You've grown so much.

 

Cressida looked to her daughter who strode alongside her. A light drip of blood forming every few moments, the mark of her body adjusting to her new abilities that would disappear within a few moments. 

 

It's like looking at a mirror image.

Knock-knock

 

"Enter."

 

Following those words, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching the door to Lorn's office as Cressida pushed it open.

 

"Apologies Madame, we were just finishing up with Master Gregor and Vaughn. 

 

 Maria's face was the first to greet them, apologizing needlessly for being unable to open it in time.

 

"It's fine Maria, really."

 

Cressida waved off the maid's apologies as she entered, Beryl trailing behind. Turning her eyes to the far end of the room, Cressida and Beryl were greeted by Lorn, Gregor, Vaughn, and Stannis. Vaughn waved to Cressida and Beryl, a piece of cloth being held to his face with the opposite hand.

 

"Just in time, the boy locked in his choice."

 

Gregor boasted a sense of pride in his voice rather than his usual stern tone. Lorn was rather silent, simply raising a brow the moment Beryl came into view before shaking her head. Waving for the two to approach, she began shuffling paperwork on her desk. 

 

"Stannis, do come to the side. Now that the advisory portion for the boy is done, we can do what little is left for the girl."

 

Stannis grabbed his shield from the desk's side, opting to take his post behind Gregor. With the room cleared for Cressida and Beryl, the two took their place directly in front of the Guild Mistress. An empty space was left with Sophia in mind, the final Lamia undoubtedly joining them shortly.

 

"Young Vaughn has chosen Knight, cementing the first of your group to complete the assessment. Naturally, before the choice is made, you would go through your options with a wide array of your elders present to assist in a well-thought choice. However-"

 

Lorn crossed her hands, looking up at Cressida in a neutral manner. A rather strange sight for those present, as even Cressida expected a scowl at the least. Lorn looked back down to Beryl, her features softening and giving a sense of calm.

 

"You benefit from not one, but two well-learned parents. With this, alongside your apprenticeship so far under Hatsumi, it's fair to assume the chosen class was Mage?"

 

Lorn asked needlessly, simply asking out of courtesy. Beryl nodded, prompting Lorn to continue.

 

"Then from here, it will be rather simple, yes? Let us see your progress."

 

Prompting Beryl to summon her status screen, the information was shown to herself and those present as Vaughn's was. The list of accumulated skills tallying to five in total.

Alert: new class skills acquired!

Mana pool 2->3 increases mana pool capacity to 1500

 

Lighter ward: once per day, the user creates an aura mimicking various monsters and warding away smaller creatures

 

Favor of the flame: base fire magic is easier to call forth, requiring less effort and mana.(note: does not apply to higher level casting until rank 5

 

Favor of the spark: base lightning magic is easier to call forth, requiring less effort and mana. (note: does not apply to higher level casting until rank 5)

 

Tree of Life's touch: using natural remedies alongside healing magic produces faster results. Grants the user the ability to channel the mana in those they heal, conserving the user's own.

"And here we have our second adventurer of the day."

 

Lorn raised her brow, seemingly impressed with the skills listed. 

 

"For each of you, this is a rather large jump. Considering past events, alongside your escapades within the last year-"

 

Lorn held one of her hands to the side, motioning to a recent addition to her trophy wall. The mounted skull of a large mustelid, a wolverine.

 

"It would be incorrect to state your achievements, while mostly avoidable, to be insignificant. You may even qualify as stay-in adventurers one day, given time and experience."

 

Lorn idly tapped her fingers against the desk's surface. The sound of fingernails landing against dense wood echoed into the air. Lorn did so for quite some time, her eyes passing over the papers on her desk. 

 

"Miss Lorn?"

 

Vaughn asked reflexively, put off by the now-extended silence from the adults. It was still a few moments before the Elf looked up at Vaughn, almost staring through him. 

 

"Aside from everything, there is one fact you both need to accept. You very well may have by now, but I doubt you fully understand the meaning of it. To be retainers, or what that tells you about the girl that you're both trying to tie yourselves to."

 

Lorn stood, the chair creaking as the wheels rolled backward. She walked slowly to the bookcase placed against the wall, hesitating as she reached for a small blank portion of the shelf. For just a moment, a small red book appeared. She paused for a moment and looked back to the group undoubtedly deliberating her coming words. More specifically though, she was looking to Gregor and Cressida. With a look back to the shelf, then to her desk, Lorn continued to speak.

 

"Do either of you know what a retainer is?"

 

She began pulling her hand away, the book disappearing back into the case. Taking the same slow and deliberate steps as she did before, Lorn walked to the front of her desk. She waited patiently for an answer until Beryl broke the tension. 

 

“A… servant? Er-”

 

Beryl paused, prompting Lorn to clarify the purpose of her question. 

 

“This is by no means a confrontation, nor a scolding.”

 

Lorn sighed. 

 

“I’m bringing this up for both of your benefits.”

 

With a cross of her arms, she leaned against the desk just as Stannis did.

 

“What did you think, when you received the system alert… what did you ascertain from it? Of Kiyomi?”

 

Beryl and Vaughn each held their tongue as they looked at each other for a few long moments. Vaughn looked to the ground, then past Lorn, to the outside world that was blanketed with snow.  

 

“We’ve heard her mumbling in her sleep. About people she never mentions.”

Beryl followed Vaughn's words with her own. 

 

“And that she’s not from Brenton or any part of Morus.”

 

They looked at each other, then at Lorn. Beryl continued with more confidence in her words. 

 

“Retainers are supposed to stick by someone's side, usually someone important. I know that much from my lessons on imperial history.”

 

Beryl glimpsed over her shoulder briefly, at Cressida, who was currently biting the insides of her cheeks to hide her expression of discomfort.

 

“We guessed she wasn't some random kid already. Not with her sword glowing as it does. Not with that strength.”

 

The sound of wind buffeting the windows and the crackle of fire filled the voids of conversation. 

 

“We want to protect her just as she does us, and now we can make that a reality.”

 

Lorn raised a brow. 

 

“You realize what I’m about to ask?”

 

Each of the children nodded quietly. 

 

“The job of us, the adults within this city-”

 

Lorn motioned to each of her colleagues within the room.

 

“Is to protect each and every person that can't protect themselves. While your duty, while self-appointed, is to protect a Higher-Demon noble.”

 

Beryl and Vaughn both listened intently, youthful confidence showing within their posture. 

 

“To protect your friend. To protect Kiyomi.”

 

Beryl and Vaughn were quiet for some time, looking to the floor, averting their eyes from those of the adults around them. With the conversation brought to its head, the two felt a sense of closure somehow. As if they were no longer being told they could not venture about. That they were viewed with enough confidence to enable their own safety. As they regained their ability to look up it was clear the conversation had served its purpose.

 

“Shall we move on?”

 

Lorn asked before she nodded to Maria, the maid approaching with two wooden cases. 

 

“With that conversation out of the way, we have but a few minor pleasantries to get out of the way.”

 

The boxes were held toward Vaughn and Beryl. Each one contained a knife wrapped in a simple leather sheath.

 

“Your Guild-markers. Maria will escort you both downstairs to complete your registration.”