Go Go Talent Show

I was, surprisingly, the last one called into the nuns’ offices.

None of the people involved in today’s earlier scuffle had come out the room yet. I feared the worst, naturally.

Across from me sat one of the only people who’d had my back that made the situation more bearable: a certain lamia.

They didn’t have much to say to Piper, apparently—just praised her for standing up to her friend, then scolded her for feeding the fire instead of putting it out.

She broke the silence from her seat. “Earlier… what did Daisy mean when she said you ‘saved her’? What could a demon need from you?”

Ah. So she had heard about Daisy’s outburst during the kidnapping.

Do I tell her?

…Screw it.

Even if she ends up trusting me less, she deserves to know.

“She’s got the Devil’s blood in her, yeah… but there’s still something human there. I’ve seen it. She can be trusted—I swear. You don’t have to be afraid of her.”

She snorted softly. “It’s a bad habit to believe whatever a Crystal says… but I believe you.”

That wasn’t how I expected her to react. I expected her to call out on my bull—I know I would have if I was in her… e-hem, metaphorical shoes.

“Where is she, anyway?” I asked.

I just needed to talk about what happened back there… when Alexandria’s words seemed to get to her. I don’t think she trusts me completely yet, and I wanted to know why.

“Dunno. I doubt she needs to get involved too deeply though. She only intervened, didn’t instigate. She’s probably off the hook.”

But the smirk Piper had on didn’t reach her eyes. She still looked deflated.

“Hey,” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I made a promise,” she said quietly. “To protect you, remember? I already failed once, back when you got sick. And I failed again today. I should’ve dealt with those bipedals in seconds… but their magic kept me on the back foot.”

“You took on two people though!” I was adamant. “That’s… come on, that’s impressive.”

Piper shook her head. “Whatever I’m doing… it’s never enough. I’m never enough. I’m not… smart. Like you.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, frowning. “People respect you enough that the whole room goes silent when you come in.”

“It’s because I am a lamia, not because of me as a person. I can’t cast magic,” she muttered. “Not even a spell to save my life. Whereas you conjure a force of nature barely two days out of your kidnapping. Kidnapping, by the way.”

There was a silence after that. I watched as the fireplace firelight danced across her scales. 

“One day,” Piper said finally, “do you ever think we can ever get out of this place?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to be here my whole life. I want to explore the world. I want to go to that bakery which apparently exists on a hill near East Gate. But I know there are plenty of adventuring parties pulling off stuff I could only ever dream of. And I know I am not at that level yet.”

She’s thinking exactly like me. Only difference was… I was the one who gave up on that dream years ago, back in Japan.

Piper still has hope.

So I told her what I really think.

“If I had to leave everything and everybody behind here... and got the opportunity to go on an adventure? I would. I want more than anything to get that cha—"

“Cotter?”

At the new voice, I turned to glance at the door open ajar slightly.

At that, all Piper did was smile at me. “Good luck, little man.”

“Thanks, Piper.”

I was going to need it.

Grrrkkrr!

I started. What was that noise?!

I turned, my ears twitching, scanning for danger—and… oh.

The sound came Piper’s stomach.

She blushed a storm. “Say a word to anyone, Cotter, and I will choke you out.”

“First thing we’re doing once we become adventurers is finding that hilltop bakery!”

“J-Just go!!”

\\

Light shined through the office and somehow acted casted a spotlight straight down my face. How conveniently unhelpful.

Damn you, Malmagos!!

Sitting on the edge of a stiff wooden chair, I fidgeted under its garish glow. Staring at me from the far side of the office were the very same people I fought against.

Which begged the question… why haven’t they left yet, like Piper was allowed to?

The nun across from me folded her hands and gave a professional smile. “The Mother Matron told us what happened—and don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” A short pause. “Much.”

Gulp.

“Is… Mother Martha safe at least?” I asked.

At that, the nun’s jaw tightened.

“Yes,” she finally said. “She is making swift recovery at the healer's office.”

I slouched back with relief. “Good. That’s all I needed to know.” 

Whatever punishment to me came next was fine. Just as long as Martha wasn’t—

“But first,” she said, rising from her seat, “we've received, in short notice, a very important visitation from the Sunlight capital."

I sat up straight. Finally, someone who'd come to East Gate and fix this mess.

A shadow stepped into the room before I could ask exactly who they were. 

He wielded a long coat, casted a gaunt expression, had blonde hair slicked back like oil. 

The man looked like he hadn’t smiled in years and didn’t intend to start today.

“To begin, let’s make things clear," he began, his voice gravelly as death. "You are not important enough to know of my name. I shall tell you why I am here, much as it loathes me. My little fairies detected a rather atypical anomaly coming from East Gate,” he said, pacing slowly. “Alongside the usual filth and dysfunction, of course.”

He pulled something from his coat: a device that looked part tablet, part relic.

“The Sunlight Academy supplies us with tools in the environment to detect Spirit, Power, or in this case… Magic. Earlier today, one such anomaly was detected. A spike originating from this exact building.”

He clicked the device. Lights blinked to life. Symbols danced across the screen.

“The portal device I took to get here was certainly… dusty,” he added dryly. “But I’ve come prepared.”

I squinted at the screen.

Wait. Are those… stats?

Character stats?

The man didn’t seem to notice my spiraling thoughts. Or maybe he didn’t care.

His boots clanked against the worn wooden tiles as he continued pacing.

“As we all know, greatness rarely comes out of East Gates. Famously, the bedtime story ‘The Great Hero Percy’ is a tale of rags to riches: whose titular protagonist, I might add, came from nothing. Guess where that nothing is?”

He stopped walking. Looked down at me with faint disdain.

“That kind of power,” he continued, “is generational. It is the product of lineage… of two converging legacies in one body. That’s what we saw today. Now without further ado…”

He grinned.

“Let’s begin the evaluation. Documenting everything I say here is strictly mandatory. I didn’t dress so sharply just so you can erase this moment from your feeble memory.”

He pointed the device at the salamander-kid.

BEEP…

“…Pathetic.”

Johann was next.

Beep…

“…Weak.”

“Hey!” the boy protested.

Next. Frowning Alexandria.

BEEP!

He paused, tilting his head.

“…Slightly less weak. But still mediocre.”

Finally, he came around to me. When the device pointed straight at me, no sound came out at first. His confusion turned into frustration. Nay, anger.

He threw the device onto the ground.

“Useless scrap!”

The room dropped ten degrees.

I knew that feeling. He seemed really desperate for some good results to happen. He’d travelled all this way for a result—and got zilch. It reminded me of riding the Shinkansen during sales season.

He huffed.

“I’ll be off, then. Feel free to rot away or whatever it is East Gateians do—”

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP.

He froze mid-step; turning slowly, he stared at the device’s screen... which was now blazing gold.

He blinked; something I'd never seen him actually do. Then he smiled.

[SALARYMAN STATUS SCREEN]

[The Adventurer's Guild] Reputation gain! +20

New status unlocked! The Diamond in the Rough

DESCRIPTION: You are exactly what the Adventurer's Guild was looking for.

“The Crystal,” he whispered. “Of course it’s the Crystal. You broke the scale!”

The second he stepped closer to me, I felt myself instinctively backing away.

“You understand now that this is not a normal visit. I'd come for a specific purpose and specific goal. You're my goal. Therefore, you’re being extended an offer. A placement in the Sunlight Academy’s custody sponsored by the Adventurer's Guild... otherwise, yours truly. Surely you see now that this place is beneath you.”

My throat felt dry as I swallowed spit.

He seemed… desperate. The why didn’t matter right now, so much as it is how I should best give an answer that definitely wasn’t what everybody here was hoping for.