9

Anima guides them through Ecg to reach the building housing the mercenary guild. The building isn’t much different from the surrounding ones. The only things setting it apart are the large double doors and the emblem of the guild, two crossed dragon horns in front of a sword.

Scima opens the doors and enters, the others following after him. The main hall is nearly empty of other people. At the wooden tables are only middle-aged drunks and tired mercenaries recently returned to the city.

Anima leads them across the hall to a reception desk. The woman sitting there perks up when they approach.

“Good afternoon. What can I assist you with today?”

“We’re here to register for the guild.”

“Understood.” The woman pulls a round crystal out from under the desk and props it up in a metal holder. “The process is very simple. All we need are your names and hometowns, then you’ll place your hand on this crystal. Afterwards, a guild identification card will be created with your information.” Anima turns back towards the others.

“I’ll register first, if that’s alright.” She turns back towards the woman at the desk. “My name is Anima Tredan, and this is my hometown.”

“Understood. This crystal will display your Class, so if you would like to keep that information private—”

“No, I think it’s fine.”

“Very well. Please place your hand on the crystal.”

Anima touches the crystal. It shines gently with golden light, the sign of divinity. The light forms into a word in its center, “Tamer”. Everyone sees the word as though it is facing them directly, even as they look from different angles. The woman pulls something out of the desk as the words fade. She hands Anima a small card.

“Welcome to the guild, Ms. Tredan.”

“Thank you.” Scima approaches the desk as Anima moves back. He places a hand on the desk and leans forward on it slightly.

“I’m Scima Yslende, from Clea.” Scima presses his hand into the crystal without being prompted. It glows brightly as it had for Anima. The woman hands Scima the card.

“Welcome, Mr. Yslende.” Scima walks towards Eva and prompts her to go next. Eva walks to the desk and stands there with her back straight.

“My name is Eva, also from Clea.” Although hiding her name and status, Eva cannot hide her regal bearing. The woman feels pressured just from her presence. Eva places her hand on the crystal. When her Class becomes legible, “Dragonflame Priestess,” both the woman and Anima are shocked to see a Class they’ve never heard of before. The woman collects herself quickly and hands Eva the card.

“W-welcome, Ms. Eva.”

At this point, the woman doesn’t know what to expect from Sion. For all she knows, he could have something even more absurd, as each of the others had surpassed the previous. She was bracing herself for anything.

Meanwhile, Sion had figured out what would happen when he placed his hand on the crystal. If his Class was hidden from even priests, then he was sure that a crystal would be no different. He doesn’t know what he should do. It would be strange for him to suddenly refuse to register at the guild, but it would be stranger still for his Class, or rather, his apparent lack thereof, to be revealed. As Eva steps away from the desk, Sion decides to follow through with the registration. He will keep his word to help Anima, and so he will register in the guild. He approaches the desk.

“I’m Sion. I don’t know my hometown’s name.” Scima calls out from behind him.

“Ma’am, you can just register as from Clea.”

The woman nods and gestures towards the crystal. Sion places his hand on the crystal, trying to use his body to block it from view. Nothing happens for a moment. The woman is about to speak, telling Sion that the crystal may need to be checked. However, before she can, the crystal begins to turn black, like ink dripping into water from the place Sion touches. The crystal quickly fills with darkness, becoming a solid black ball. Sion grimaces as he looks at it.

The woman jolts to her feet, taken aback by the strange occurrence. She begins to stammer as she tries to collect herself. The others are also shocked when they lay eyes on the pure black orb. Sion says and does nothing, simply resigning himself to whatever happens. The woman bows her head in a panic.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Sion! It appears something has gone terribly wrong with the crystal! I apologize, but we cannot register you to the guild at this time!”

Sion removes his hand from the crystal, the blackness leaving it like it’s following his hand. The woman picks up the crystal carefully and rushes further into the guild offices. Before anyone can think of something to say to him, Sion turns around solemnly.

“I’ll wait outside.” Sion leaves the building without waiting for a response.

Scima starts walking to a different open desk. Eva follows him. It takes Anima a moment to process what had just happened. She whips around to look at Scima and Eva.

“Hold on! Is Sion alright? Shouldn’t we check on him?” Scima pauses to answer her.

“I think he’ll be fine? You can go check if you’re worried about it.” Scima continues to walk as Anima turns towards the door. She walks outside the building and sees Sion standing there, staring off into the sky, rubbing Regn’s head.

“Um… Sion… Are you alright?” Sion turns to face her.

“Yeah. It was what I expected.”

“A malfunction like that? How could you have expected it? Are you just unlucky?”

“No, I think I’m lucky. And it wasn’t a malfunction.”

“It wasn’t? Then…” She looks shocked when she realizes what Sion must mean. “But how is that possible? I’ve never heard of something like that!” Sion speaks lightheartedly.

“Neither had Father Cynde. Nor Father Erd.”

“How can you still call yourself lucky with something like that?” Sion smiles at her.

“I am lucky. I’m blessed with the power to help others.”

“Blessed? But you got strong all with your own effort.”

“I was blessed with people who would teach me even if I didn’t have a Class, too.”

Scima and Eva walk out of the building. Scima holds a rolled up sheet of paper in his fist. He joyfully reports to Sion and Anima.

“We’re cleared to go for the goblins, let’s go.” Sion and Regn follow after Scima and Eva without another word. Anima follows after them, slightly confused.

“But Sion wasn’t able to register with the guild, so—” Scima interjects.

“It’s a shame about that malfunction, but that doesn’t change what he has to do.” Sion looks towards Anima and continues after Scima.

“Right, I promised to help you.”

Sion gets on Regn’s back as they continue to walk towards the edge of the city. Scima blocks Eva from sight as they pass through the gate. Neither of them think that the average guard would recognize her, but they’d rather not take the chance to have to deal with that.

As they walk, Anima draws closer to Sion and Regn. She looks up at Sion on Regn’s back. She calls to him, trying to not be heard by Scima or Eva.

“Sion, can we talk?” Sion turns his head to her.

“Sure.” Sion leans forward and whispers something to Regn. Regn yips happily and slows down. Sion turns his body and reaches a hand out towards Anima. “Get on.” Anima takes Sion’s hand and climbs onto Regn’s back behind. Sion swivels around to sit facing her. “What did you want to talk about?” Anima looks nervous, and keeps her voice low.

“Umm… You…”

“Me?”

“I was hoping we could continue our conversation from earlier.”

“Alright.” Sion allows her even though he doesn’t know what he might still need to say.

“About your… Circumstance… Do Scima and Eva not know?” Sion thinks for a while, never having considered the fact he didn’t tell them.

“No. They don’t.”

“Should I be keeping it a secret?” Sion is unsure himself.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I’m not sure. In my village, everyone knew about it.” Anima can’t imagine it.

“Everyone?”

“Of course. I got lost in the woods and nearly died, so they all knew by that night.”

“You nearly died?”

“I got caught by a carnivorous plant colony. But I also met Regn trying to help, so it turned out fine.”

“So you’ve always been like this?”

“Like what?”

“Helping others without a second thought.”

“It’s what’s right.” Anima realizes they’ve been sidetracked.

“Ah! We were talking about keeping it a secret.” Sion nods and recollects where he left off.

“Everyone knew, but it didn’t cause any problems. But now, people are telling me about ‘image.’ And even though I don’t really understand, I think it would cause problems for Scima and Eva if people knew or if they knew.”

“Then why did you decide to tell me?” Sion ponders his reason.

“I don’t know. I thought it would be fine.” Sion stares at Anima with pure, unclouded eyes as he answers her. She doesn’t know how to handle it.

“Before we went to the guild, Scima said that you needed to leave soon. Are you three on a mission?”

“It’s really not a problem that we’re helping you, we have the time.”

“That’s not what I meant… I was just interested.”

“We’re going to Sagax.”

“Huh? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think to.”

“I wish you had. It’s comforting to know.”

“Comforting?”

“I was a little nervous about being all alone surrounded by so many amazing people…”

“But you’re amazing too.”

“Not really, I just work hard.”

“That’s amazing too.” Anima gets embarrassed from the praise.

“No, compared to the sorts of geniuses and prodigies who go to Sagax normally—”

“Talent doesn’t mean a thing if you won’t put in the effort. And no matter who you are, your hard work will always mean something, even if you wind up not succeeding.” Anima has trouble believing in Sion, even as she wishes it were true.

“Is that really true?”

“I’m sure of it. My father said it often, and I feel it deep in my heart myself. I’m certain Lord Vacokenos protects us.”

“Vacokenos?”

“The God of Emptiness.”

“Sorry, I haven’t heard of him.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Father Cynde told me that it would be strange for anyone other than a scholar or a priest to know.”

“I see. So your father is—” Sion looks ahead along the path they’re following, turning his head over his shoulder. He sees a wide perimeter, people in uniforms spaced out in a loose circle.

“We’re close to the goblin nest, so we should stop here.” Anima doesn’t know what to make of the abrupt end of the conversation.

As the group approaches the edge of the perimeter, the nearest man in uniform steps closer and calls out to them.

“Hold on! This is a guild restricted area, please display a valid proof allowing you entrance.”

Sion slides off Regn’s back, then raises a hand to help Anima down. She walks forward to join Scima and Eva. Scima unfolds a slip of paper and shows it to the man. The man reads it and nods.

“So it’s you three? All you need is to show me your identification cards, and you can go through. But…” He looks at Sion and Regn. Scima starts to explain, lying like it’s second nature.

“Oh, him? Sorry, he’s just here to send us off. He just wanted to wish us luck, but he’ll stay back, don’t worry.”

As Scima, Eva, and Anima show the man their cards, Sion pets Regn’s head, whispering to him.

“The entrance to the goblin nest that’s closest to us is too small for you. Regn, I’ll need you to stay out here and be calm, alright? And if I get caught by someone, I need you not to attack them, okay?” Regn yips loudly, surprising the uniformed man. Scima quickly diverts the man’s attention from behind the perimeter. The man turns at the sound of his voice.

“Ah, actually, would it be alright if we asked you a few questions before we went any further?”

Scima watches as Sion prepares himself to dash forward. Just as the man begins to respond, Sion begins to move. His long and powerful legs propel him quickly. The uniformed man double takes, assuming Sion to be no more than a trick of his mind in the corner of his eye as he passes by. By the time the man processes what has happened, Sion has already cleared half the distance to reach the entrance to the goblin nest. Scima, Eva, and Anima have also started running. Anima looks panicked and confused by what has happened.

The entrance to the goblin nest is barely more than a hole. The dirt slope becomes a tunnel towards the underground, small steps just barely present. Sion, not wanting to waste time on the steps when the guild employees may be trying to stop him, lowers himself into a slide. He slips down the entrance quickly, the stairs barely doing anything to slow him down. Scima, Eva, and Anima soon join him at the bottom of the entrance. Anima begins to talk through heavy breaths.

“That was your plan? I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything when you just said to ignore Sion, but still!”