"Can you tell me how this came to be?"

The gruff man, who went by the name Gabriel, said in a surprisingly soft tone. Turns out the man was able to act less scared when the situation called for it and he guessed this one counted.

Still, Simon was very happy not to be the focus of a man who had such an alien entity as that angel next to him. And he was very sure that those glowing eyes had some sort of subtle mind-control effect, because he was constantly fighting the urge to relax. His father taught him to always be on his guard in new scenarios and yet something about that being was making him want to spill his guts and this he did not trust. Not to mention the warning he had gotten from Flora.

But it was necessary for Jimmy because the boy finally calmed a little and did not look like the world was about to end every moment.

"Umm... There was this chest and I opened it. There was this orb inside. When I picked it up there was this magical whooshing and I was in the boss room, my friends were not with me... I had left the crystal in my bag... It was so scary..."

Jimmy hugged himself shivering and to this, his monster girl gently touched his shoulder only for him to jerk away in fear. This caused the monster girl to slowly take her arm away while looking pained herself.

This scene told Simon two things, both of which were very sad even if they were undeniable truths about the reality he lived in. First, the monster girl was finally gaining her 'humanity' as monster girls liked to call it. 

Tamers simply dubbed it as bonded sentience and, as much as he hated it he agreed with the tamers, they were more accurate on this account. Monster girls were simply incapable of empathy and sympathy as it existed in humans. That was not to say that they did not hold any such emotions, it was just that their fundamental thought process was very alien to the human version. 

Second, and in his opinion, the worst of the two facts, was that the Tamer had developed an instinctual fear of his monster girl and would probably require professional help before he was able to delve again. He did not understand this aspect of Tamer's life, his first encounter was also considered very violent but he was fine.

But since there was an entire book on this specific phenomenon, Simon was not surprised at the boy's reaction.

The man also noticed the boy's reaction and gave a nearly imperceptible nod at his angel.

"Perhaps this is not a good time. Dear Jimmy, can you look at me?" 

The angel spoke and Simon once again felt that wave of calm. He did not think it was even directed at him and yet he almost felt compelled to listen.

Jimmy had no problem locking eyes with the angel despite his clear distress, giving her slow blinks that caused the tears welling in his eyes to start trickling down. Simon saw the monster girl behind the boy tense up looking at the angel wearily but making outward movements.

"How about we get you to a HOLY clinic? How does that sound? We can have this boring discussion later, hmm? Once you are all good and strong."

There was a motherly tilt to her words, one that pulled on Simon's heartstrings. He almost could not resist the temptation to wrap his arms around her. Only the sudden tenseness in Flora, which was so palpable that he felt over the bond as if it was his own stopped him.

The boy slowly nodded and the monster girl behind him narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

The angel jovially clapped her hands before stretching it out to the boy. The Titan almost lashed out but stopped herself when she saw his hands extending in exchange.

"Now, Jimmy do you have problems with teleportation magic?" She asked softly.

He gently shook his head no, and with that, the angel, legendary golem, and Jimmy were all gone leaving Simon with the gruff man. Whose attention was now fixed on him.

"Your monster girl filed a mental complaint about the specifics of the test and its result."

"Yes. Well. The team given to me was wasted when I entered the mini-boss room by the monster girl under Jimmy. As such I had no choice especially given that I had to use my escape crystal to allow Jimmy to escape, leaving me without other viable options."

Funnily enough, without the presence of the angel, the man all of a sudden looked a lot less threatening, if anything, the man felt like a peer now. As such Simon was able to talk with more confidence in his voice. 

Also, he sent a silent thank you to Flora who had acted so quickly, but her bond was still nothing but nerves at the moment.

"I see... And I assume you want that ruling to be overturned and to be instated as a licensed Delver?"

Gabriel gave him a very hard stare, one that felt like it had a physical effect on the room. Yet... Simon only felt like he was being challenged as an equal so he answered in kind.

"Of course. Would you have preferred it if I left him inside with a legendary monster girl still without a bonded sentience and came out by myself?" 

The man narrowed his eyes at Simon before giving him a very vicious grin.

"You are a wily one, aren't you? Well, given that our church has gotten the greatest boon over the last I am currently in a very good mood. I will instate your license, you should get the notification by the end of the day. Now make yourself scarce."

With that he was dismissed, Simon somehow felt slighted by the man and was about to start to argue before he felt the tug of Flora. For a moment he was torn between his pride and the increasing tension in his monster girl, but better heads prevailed, and he quietly left the man's room.

As the door shut behind him, the magical barrier surrounding him prevented him from hearing Gabriel's next words.

"After all, our newest saint needs a whetstone on which to sharpen his blade."

What the man did not realize was very very very powerful being had heard his words and said to herself in a place no one could hear.

"Oh! You have no idea."