An Opportunity

“Mother, mother!” I said, pointing at the church’s door.

“Let’s go inside.” Mother said, smiling.

A few wagons passed, I ran toward the entrance of the church, then climbed the ivory staircase while holding onto the handrail with my hand. The large door stood before me, I gulped, then shifted my gaze at the door handle. If the world was created by Yusaka Kurose, then it was improbable for Goddess Clartia to exist, yet a church stood in front of me, devoted to her. I had no idea what was going on. With a sigh, I curled my fingers around the handle and expeditiously pushed the door forward.

A breeze pushed against me, wrapped with vaguely distinctive unfamiliarity. I stepped inside the church and when I brought my eyes to the aisle between pews, my lips parted.

The sunlight streamed through the tinted windows, forming a prismatic effect on the wooden floor. The warm colored lanterns at each pew illuminated the church with the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The candelabra throughout the church gave a quiet atmosphere with a gentle fragrance as if an incense was burning. At last, I looked at the sculpture behind the altar.

It was a statue of a woman sleeping and smiling as she hovered above the pedestal. Her soft wings covered her from the waist down. Her hair reached down to her waist while she lightly hugged the pillow against her cheek. And the sunlight drifting inside through the windows behind her gave the statue a grand appearance.

My clenched fists gradually relaxed as I realized there was no doubt. She was the Goddess of Light: Clartia.

A door opened and a man appeared from a room next to the pews. He turned his head and waved his hand toward me. “Good evening, Kurose. It has been a while.” It was Qifrius.

“Good evening, Qifrius.” My mother said, taking her hat off as she stepped into the church.

“Good evening, Hely-san,” he greeted my mother as he walked over to me. “It has been a while.”

“You’re doing good, Qifrius?” My father asked him, pushing the church’s entrance door shut.

“Yes, Ven-san,” he said. “Thank you for coming today.” He glanced at me and continued. “Should I start right away or…”

“It’s alright.”

“Then Hely-san and Ven-san,” he placed his hands on my shoulders. “Please sit in one of the pews. It’s going to take a while.” He gently raised one finger. “And is it alright if I take Kurose to my room…?”

“Okay.”

“Uhm…Qifrius,” my mother murmured, gripping her hat with her hands as she glanced into my eyes, then looked at him. “Kurose…is really fine right?”

“Don’t worry, Hely-san.” He placed his hand on my head. “I’ll inform you if there’s something wrong with him.” He continued, smiling. “In the first place, it’s a test for his health and nothing more. Rest and take it easy, Hely-san.”

“...Yes.” She lowered her gaze and my father comforted her.

“Thank you,” he bowed slightly. “Then Kurose, let’s go!”

“Okay.”

He started walking toward the room he came from as he asked me to follow him. I had an unsure feeling in my mind, but it was tinged with excitement given how the church looked from the inside—I gulped, braced myself and walked behind him.

“Kurose,” he said, opening the door. “Welcome to my study!”

I was expecting Qifrius’s room to be distinctive, something out of the ordinary, but to my great surprise, it was pretty normal. A messy writing desk was at the front of the room with a window behind it. A few shelves at the corners of the room were stuffed with books, and a table sat beside the sofa in the center of the study.

“How is it,” he said, looking at me. “Kurose?”

“Uhm… Normal?” I shrugged as I wondered why he was asking for my opinion.

He smiled as he snorted proudly. “Well! I’m normal!”

“Then Qifrius-san, why did you call me here?” I asked, cutting straight to the point, looking at him.

“Well, your father had told you already,” he walked to the sofa, tapped on one of the seat cushions and continued. “I wanted to check your health one more time. Is that alright with you?”

I sat on the sofa and replied. “I don’t mind, Qifrius-san, but you already checked my health once, right? Why one more time?”

I was curious why he called me here? I had thought there would be no chances whatsoever for us to meet this soon. But somehow, I was sitting on his sofa and talking to him.

“There’s no special reason, but I wanted to check your health once more,” he continued. “You know when you were gasping for air a week ago… I guess?” He leaned on his desk, resting his arms on it. “And then you fainted as if nothing happened?” I gulped as he pointed a finger at me. “That’s what I want to know, Kurose—if the abnormality in your body happened due to something unusual, or it was just a chunk of food that caused suffocation.” He cleared his throat. “Then Kurose, shall we start? It will take an hour or close to that. Is it okay for you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, give me a few minutes.” He walked to one of the bookshelves and it seemed as if he was searching for a book. After a few minutes, he grabbed a book and sat on the sofa in front of me.

“Uhm…” I murmured as he opened the book. “Qifrius-san, what book are you reading?”

“It’s Body Manipulation Arts.” He had the exact book I had in my closet. I assumed he was the one who gave me this book since there was no one in my house that opened the closet even once to grab a book.

“Body Manipulation Arts?” I mumbled.

“Wait.” He closed the book and looked at me as he showed the cover to me. “If I remember correctly, Kurose. I gave you a copy of this book. Have you read the second chapter?”

My perception was correct. It was Qifrius.

“Yes, I have read it.”

“Good! Hmm…what was the name of the chapter again?” He opened the book and flipped through pages. “Yes, the Cellular Restoration Art! It was…complicated, yes?” He sighed.

“...It was.”

He let out a quiet laugh and glanced at the clock. “Oh, the sun will set soon.”

“Kurose, give me a few minutes. I’ll read the book quickly.”

“Okay.”

A few minutes passed, then they turned into hours. And eventually, I was on the verge of falling asleep. He was delving into the book as if couldn’t notice my presence and forgot I was present here. A bubble of my patience burst and I spoke.

“Uhm…” I tapped on the table. “Qifrius-san, are you done yet?”

He raised his arm and gestured to wait.

“Qifrius-san, what are you even reading?” I sighed.

“Wait, Kurose. And read your copy to find out what I’m reading.” My gaze shifted to the book and I noticed he was on the last pages of the book. With a sigh, I leaned and relaxed on the sofa.

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. How long will Qifrius take to read a book—

“Kurose,” he stood from the sofa and closed the book. “Come here, I’ll begin your treatment.” Finally, his reading was over and he would tell me what was wrong with my body.

“Yes,” I stood from the sofa and walked until I was closer to him.

“Kurose,” he looked into my eyes, and shifted my gaze at his waist. “Stay silent.”

“...” I gave him a little nod.

He gently tapped on my head and took a long, slow breath, and exhaled as he hovered his hand over my head.

It was dead silent for a few seconds until he spoke, sharply. “The Goddess of Light: Clartia,”

“Offer Thy blessing unto this lost child, and thus grant him the power to seek the light.”

A bunch of twinkling pale blue particles gathered in his hand, then as he sighed, they began trickling down over my head, to my shoulders, then glimmered as they disappeared the moment they reached my feet. It was still surprising for me to gaze at them even the second time. I was amazed by how gradually they dissipated into the air.

He rubbed my head gently, and walked toward the study desk. He didn’t say anything. I was wondering what he was thinking. He sat in his chair and rested his elbows against the table as he interlaced his fingers.

“Uhm… Qifrius—”

“Kurose,” his eyes locked onto mine. “Do you want to learn magic?”