After I left my meeting with the Reverend Mother, I met back with Sister Frida who said nothing. She just bowed her head at me simply, not inquiring on how my meeting with the leader of the Luna Gez Sect went. Her lack of a reaction led me to presume she knew that I would have been killed if I had not been found to be the [Hero].

  That I would have died, if her intuition had been wrong.

  So there was some guilt mixed with relief visible on her face, even if she tried to mask it. But I didn’t press her about this matter, instead following her as she led me out of this dormitory for [Nuns].

  “Archdeacon Emmett has prepared some temporary lodgings for you,” Frida explained, leading me through the small city state of Lux. “But once you are enrolled into the Holy Academy, there will be dorm rooms provided to you by the school.”

  I nodded as I listened to the Sister of the Luna Gez Sect, before a thought crossed my mind. “Wait, how much does the tuition for the Holy Academy even cost?”

  I was certain I could afford it— preparing to pay for my tuition fees had been part of the reason why I had taken over the Blood Swords in the first place. However, because I had been in such a rush since I arrived here literally a few hours ago, I hadn’t had the chance to ask anyone any questions.

  Fortunately for me, Frida shook her head. “There is no need for you to concern yourself with that. I assure you, we will cover any and all costs of your tuition for the Holy Academy.”

  “Huh.”

  I blinked when I heard that. It seemed that befriending the Luna Gez Sect was already starting to show its benefits. Hopefully, they will continue to prove to be helpful later on as well, I thought as I followed Frida to another, larger building.

  Apparently, this was an inn, which surprised me, considering its size. It was an entire complex of buildings with a garden at its center, so I had almost thought it was a mansion of sorts. But inns here in Lux were often rather large. After all, the small city state had to accommodate quite a lot of frequent visitors— from pilgrims to nobles— there had to be plenty of lodging prepared for these travelers.

  Frida led me to one of the rooms, having collected the key earlier while I was busy with the entrance exams. It was not a large room, but it was enough for a child like me, especially when I kept all my belongings inside of my Dimensional Storage Unit. Besides, I was only going to stay here for a week anyway, so comfort didn’t matter too much to me.

  “Thanks,” I said to the [Nun] as the door swung shut behind her.

  “There is no need to thank me. As I said, all of this had been arranged by Archdeacon Emmett before your arrival.” Frida gestured at the room around me, before bowing her head. “None of this was arranged by… my organization.”

  “Oh, right. I had a question about that.” I tapped a finger on my chin as the [Nun] raised a brow. “I assume that Archdeacon Emmett knows nothing about you and your faction?”

  “He does not,” the [Nun] answered simply. “It would be better for you to err on the side of caution and assume that no one is aware of our operations.”

  “Fair enough.” I settled down onto the bed as she drew back towards the exit.

  “I will take my leave now. However, I will check back on you soon. And if you are ever in need of something, don’t be afraid to seek me out. I will be in the Sister’s Quarters of the city.” She bowed her head, before opening the door.

  “Oh, you’re going to be staying here in Lux?” I asked, raising a brow at her. “I was under the impression that you’d be heading back for Velmond now.”

  She shook her head. “Now that we have confirmed your identity, my plans have changed. I will be your main point of contact for our organization. But do not fret, for a replacement will be sent to the Velmond to aid Reverend Donovan in managing the temple.”

  “That’s good to hear at least.” I nodded back at her. But then I paused as another thought crossed my mind. “Also— where is Archdeacon Emmett? I haven’t seen him since the entrance exams.”

  “As one of the ten examiners tasked with overseeing the entrance exams, I believe he is currently preoccupied with going over the performance of each and every candidate right now, and he will continue to be preoccupied for the rest of the weekend.”

  “Got it,” I said as I smiled at the [Nun]. “Thank you, Sister Frida.”

  “If that is all, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

  With that, Frida left the room, leaving me to my own devices. For now, all I could do was wait— perhaps spend some time familiarizing myself with the city. After all, even if all the results were decided by the end of the weekend, it would take a week before I even hear back from the Holy Academy.

  Although, I wasn’t concerned about it in the slightest, because the Reverend Mother of the Luna Gez Sect had already reassured me that she would ensure my enrollment to the school would proceed smoothly…

  ***

  Archdeacon Emmett leant back in his chair as he swept his gaze over the dimly-lit room. There were eight other figures gathered here, seated at the wooden table alongside the elderly man. Each of them were important in their own right— having been chosen to be an examiner for the Holy Academy’s entrance exams because of their merits in their own field.

  Garrion, Darius, Alina, Edmund, Mavis, Radnor, Grethe, and Tobias. Emmett knew every single one of their names. His accomplishments paled in comparison to what each one had accomplished. After all, not only was there a Ruby Rank [Alchemist] amongst them in Mavis and an Inquisitor in Radnor, but there was even a Saint here in Darius.

  It almost made the archdeacon feel out of place. Especially when considering that the rest of them were practically equal in standing to Garrion who was a Captain of the Holy Knights. In fact, the second-least impressive member of this gathering behind Emmett was Edmund who was a [High Mage Of The Arcane] and a teacher of the Holy Academy.

  But right now, none of them spoke a word. Although, they didn’t sit in silence. There was a persistent tapping sound coming from the other end of the table— Alina, a Commander of the Templars, impatiently strummed her finger on the wooden surface of the table.

  After all, they had all gathered here to continue going over the results of yesterday’s entrance exam. However, their meeting had suddenly come to a pause because one of the examiners had suddenly excused herself within thirty minutes of the gathering. And without the tenth examiner here, they couldn’t continue their discussion.

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  So they waited. Some of them, like Darius, with quite literally the patience of a saint. While others, such as Garrion or Alina, were far less patient, making their discontent obvious with the looks on their faces. Until—

  The ornate double doors of the room swung open, and the tapping stopped. Everyone in the room looked up to see the young woman dressed in a regal habit step into the room. The door closed behind her as she quietly took a seat, keeping her head down and partially obscured by the white veil on her face.

  “Mother Tera, you sure took your time.” Garrion spoke flatly, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “My apologies,” she replied in a cool voice, fractionally glancing towards the Captain of the Holy Knights. “But there was an urgent matter I had to attend to. It is all resolved now.”

  “Now what could have possibly occupied your time for the past hour?” Alina asked, raising a brow at the other woman.

  However, Tera simply gave a curt answer without any further explanation, “It was a matter of great import.”

  Both Garrion and Alina exchanged dubious glances. Although, it was the foul-mouthed Alina who spoke up, throwing her legs up onto the table in frustration.

  “And what in damnation could’ve been so important you decided to waste all of our bloody times?”

  Tera didn’t answer. Instead, Darius spoke up, raising his hands placatingly.

  “Now, now, let’s not get into an argument over this. Let’s just get back to the matter at hand…” the Saint started.

  And Alina snapped, pointing accusingly at the other woman sitting quietly across the table. “Just because she’s the Mother Superior of the Convent of Healing, doesn’t make her any more important than the rest of us!”

  “Alina is right,” Garrion said, arms still crossed. “We have our own matters we need to attend to, but we cleared our schedule to do this. If she cannot keep to such a simple commitment, then she shouldn’t have agreed to do it.”

  Even though he was agreeing with Alina, he spoke calmly unlike her, simply making his discontentment clear. And this rational argument even drew nods of agreement from both Edmund and Mavis.

  But all Tera did was bow her head once more. “I am truly sorry for this mishap. It will not happen again.”

  There was a long moment of silence as Alina gritted her teeth and Garrion furrowed his brows. But the both of them decided to drop the matter, since they knew they weren’t going to get anything else from Tera.

  Saint Darius cleared his throat, deciding to defuse the tension in the room and change the subject.

  “Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s move onto the next candidate…” he said as he looked down at the sheet of paper placed before him. The rest of the examiners followed suit, shuffling through their own notes. “Eli of Velmond. The twelve-year-old [Healer] who discovered the cure for the Blight.”

  He cast his gaze over the room, before looking directly at Archdeacon Emmett.

  “Archdeacon, I believe you were the one who vouched for him to take the entrance exams, is that correct? Do you have anything to say before we cast our votes?”

  “That is correct,” the elderly man said as he rose to his feet. He placed a hand on his chest, addressing the room. “As you mentioned, Eli was capable of finding a cure to a plague that not even the best [Healers] in all of Lux were capable of curing. But beyond just that, he has displayed prodigious talent beyond anything I have ever seen in my tenure.”

  “And yet,” Garrion harrumphed, giving the archdeacon a sidelong glance, “this boy’s performance at yesterday’s entrance exams was above average at best.”

  “While he may not have stood out yesterday, I still believe he has the most potential out of all the other candidates, especially when you factor in his young age,” Emmett countered, already prepared for this argument.

  But another voice piped up in agreement with the Captain of the Holy Knights. It was Radnor the Inquisitor.

  “I disagree wholeheartedly with that statement. Myrla Arthus is around the same age as this boy, and she performed far better than he did yesterday.”

  “You’re just biased because you watched her win her duels,” Grethe snorted to the side. She was a Sapphire Ranked [Mage] specializing in light magic, and a veteran teacher of the Holy Academy. “But Myrla’s a [Paladin], so that was to be expected, in spite of her age.”

  Edmund shrugged as he tilted his head back. “I mean, I did find her magical proficiency over elemental magic to be quite impressive, considering her Class.”

  There were a few murmurs of agreement at that. However, Archdeacon Emmett spoke up, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room.

  “While I agree with you on your assessment of Myrla Arthus, we are currently talking about Eli. And perhaps to us adults, they are roughly the same age. But as children, two years is a long time to learn and grow. That is why I believe that Eli has the most potential out of anyone— just think of what he can accomplish by the time he’s her age now, before you cast your votes.”

  “I’ll take that as a vote in favor for his enrollment, then,” Darius said as he eyed the archdeacon.

  Emmett nodded in response. “Indeed.”

  “We have one vote, now we just need four more. Anyone else?” the Saint pressed the group.

  “He cured the Blight,” Tobias spoke up, shaking his head. “As a [Healer] myself who wasn’t even able to do that, that’s enough for me to say yes.”

  “Two votes.” Darius glanced towards both the [Mages] in the room. “Edmund, Grethe, what do either of you think?”

  “I think Eli’s too young. Perhaps if he comes back next year…” Edmund trailed off.

  Grethe nodded in agreement. “I concur. The curriculum of the Holy Academy will probably be too tough for him to handle as he is right now.”

  “And Garrion, I presume it’s going to be a no from you.” Darius eyed the Captain of the Holy Knights, who just nodded in response. The Saint looked towards another pair of figures seated across the table. “But what about you, Radnor? And Alina?”

  “I wasn’t impressed,” Radnor said as he crossed his arms. “I don’t think the boy’s got the grit for it. And I know these things.”

  Alina just closed her eyes. “If this kid is truly such a prodigious [Healer], his talents would be better spent elsewhere. I don’t see the point in enrolling him to the Holy Academy when he could be saving lives all across not just the Sanctus Empire, but the rest of Parvos too.”

  “That is true,” Darius said with a nod. “However, I do think it’d be a bit cruel to send such a young child out there without any preparation first. So honestly, you’ve convinced me— it’s going to be a yes for me too.”

  Garrion harrumphed when he heard that. “The Holy Academy isn’t a charity. Only the most qualified candidates should be let in, regardless of their future potential.”

  “Hey, that’s just my opinion.” The Saint just smiled back at the Captain of the Holy Knights. “Anyway, what’s your vote, Mavis?”

  The Ruby Rank [Alchemist] placed a hand on her chin as she leant back in her chair. “Well, I can see the potential as well… so, I’ll say yes too.”

  Emmett sighed in relief when he heard that. If Mavis had said no, then that meant that there was no chance of Eli’s enrollment to the Holy Academy. Now though, it was up to the final vote.

  “Mother Tera, what do you think?” Darius asked, looking towards the woman dressed in regal robes.

  She had remained silent the entire time, keeping her head down, but a single eye cracked open, listening to the entire discussion. She raised her head when she was addressed, and Archdeacon Emmett subconsciously leaned forward, his heart racing in his chest.

  While he had spoken with the Mother Superior of the Convent of Healing many times before in the past, he could never get a read on her. He wasn’t sure how she would vote— her actions were almost always unpredictable. And after witnessing firsthand what Eli was capable of yesterday, the elderly man truly believed the Holy Academy would not only bring out the boy’s full potential, but also offer him protection from the dangers of the outside world if he was truly the next [Hero].

  So Emmett waited with bated breath for the woman’s answer.

  And it came a moment later, spoken as unassumingly and softly as everything else she said.

  “Yes.”

  Tera met Darius’s gaze as he raised a brow back at her. She just brought a hand to her chest.

  “As the Mother Superior of the Convent of Healing, it would be foolish of me to reject such a talented young [Healer]. That is why I am casting my vote in favor of his enrollment.”

  Gracious Goddess… that means that’s five votes… Archdeacon Emmett felt a sense of relief wash over him. His shoulders sagged, and he practically melted into his chair. All the while, Saint Darius spoke as he scribbled on a piece of paper, before stamping it with a golden wax seal.

  “Alright, then it’s settled— five votes in favor. Which means that Eli of Velmond will officially be a student of the Holy Academy from next week on!”