Note: the *text* is supposed to be italicized, i.e., the thoughts, leaving it in case I missed some.
The carriage moved through the market, stopping before the
"We have arrived"
Arthur stepped slowly out of the carriage, his boots touching the solid ground with a dull thud. Finally, they had reached the academy. The sight before them was, if anything, slightly disappointing—austere stone structures and muted grey architecture standing against the morning sky—yet there was no denying the pragmatism of it. They had arrived earlier than expected. The journey had pressed them hard, leaving precious little time for proper rest during the grueling stretches of the road, but the substantial reserves of light mana Arthur had stored and distributed had sustained them through the worst of the fatigue.
Beside him, Cellis exited the carriage, stretching her arms and letting out a soft, delicate yawn that betrayed the lingering exhaustion in her bones. She glanced down at the bundle resting against her side before looking up at Arthur.
"Arthur, what should we name the pup?" she asked, her tone light despite the miles behind them.
Arthur stared blankly down at the small creature, his mind drawing a blank. He offered no immediate answer.
Undaunted, Cellis continued, tilting her head as a thought struck her. "Lumine is a good name, right?"
Again, Arthur remained silent, his thoughts drifting inward. I haven't heard a name spoken with such care in a very long time. Lumine indeed felt fitting—bright, resonant with the very energy that sustained them—yet as he observed the tiny Knightmane resting quietly, the light's knight seemed strangely unsatisfied, as if the moniker fell short of the creature's true nature.
Before Arthur could weigh the thought further, an abrupt ripple cut through the quiet of his consciousness. A thought entered his mind—a voice, startlingly familiar yet entirely out of place.
Where is it coming from?
The voice, echoing straight into his awareness, sounded genuinely shocked. "You can hear me? However may curiosity ask—I am in haste. Meet you soon, Arthur."
The words faded almost as quickly as they had arrived, leaving a lingering resonance in the back of his mind. The fleeting presence stirred an old memory, a quiet certainty rising from the depths of his recollection. Arthur's lips barely moved as he answered the vanishing echo. *"I seek so too, Violet."*
"A well-thought name," the instructor's voice cut through Arthur's reverie, stepping up beside them and nodding approvingly at Cellis's suggestion. Without missing a beat, the instructor shifted his gaze toward the broader grounds and deviated from their momentary pause. "Now, let us head to the Lithold."
* Was that dream real?* Arthur thought, following behind Cellis, he felt lighter; the weight of his creation had decreased, and the magnitude of what he could do so also increased. Was that the thing inside him now doing this? Regardless, he had to measure the specifics to be sure.
soon they reached before the Lithold, a grandeur building, standing tall, but shorter than the walls of Furifur he had seen, roof like countless spears overlapping each other, the room would have be made out to be either square or cylindrical in the place, and the inside opened to a chapel, far larger than what the outside showed, silent so that footsteps could be heard, the worn and grey turned walls didn't follow inside, the frame of the door marked the start of the the golden palette with various other hues reflecting off the benches, the railing on the upper floor, the decorations hanging on the walls and the clothes of the Saintess, praying Infront the pristine white of the pillar; standing tall and untouched, rising above what the height of the Lithold could be.
"Be quiet, go towards the pillar, hold your 'own' hands together and pray, so your fatigue may go away." Arthur did as he was told, as he used to do at the Lithold back at advent, knelt on one knee, bowed his head before looking up and holding his hands together to pray to the The Saint. The silent moment and his closed eyes gave him the chance to feel the magic thoroughly, the sensation of relaxation and ease no amount of pure mana could give him.
Is this Magic?
It wouldn't make sense otherwise, because the only thing that is truly senseless is what magic can do. He listened further to the world around him to see the cause of the magic, and he saw something he had not noticed: the amount of mana within the premises of the Lithold and the academy was magnitudes higher than it was in the places that he had gone through.
*Then return to the benches*
Arthur stood up, walking back to take a seat. He looked at the Saintess, *Have I met her before?*
The Saintess finished her prayers, looking toward Cellis, then to the Escort. *She must be the candidate.* She stands waiting until the two finally end their prayers,
" It is good to see better and improving candidates.",
The Escort bowed slightly. "I have brought the Light safely; there were some inconveniences in the way, so we had to come early."
"You don't have to be so formal at this moment; report to me later."
She moved towards the benches, calling out Arthur,
"How are you?"
*Huh*, Arthur looked back, confused.
"I have no memory of you, so I would like to know if we have met before."
"Saintess", the Escort interrupted.
"Princess, he is the light's knight, or, to be knight." He pointed towards Cellis.
"Forgive my mistake. What is her name? "
"It is Cellis.", Cellis replied weakly, disappointed that the saintess hadn't remembered her.
She walked towards Cellis. "Cellis? Beautiful name"
She looked towards the escort,
"Could you do me a favor and help her 'knight' around the place? "
"Arthur", Arthur replied, heading out along with the Escort.
>>>
"The Lithold and the Academy are in the same sector of the capital. The Saintess, and the third oldest child of Lesse by age, is the current supervisor for both"
"What is your name?" Arthur interrupts the Escort.
"Are you not more curious about the Academy? its systems? its ..."
Arthur remained silent.
"Hmm,.... My name is Jason Romire. From the Romire clan, same as Herold, but as a branching member, I lack the middle name."
Arthur opens up a bit more. "So, where is our place to stay?"
"That will depend on Cellis, but needless to worry, you will be very close to her as you are her knight"
*I will at least have a separate room ... or so I thought; in the end we get stuffed in the same room.*
The carriage arrives with all the things they had brought for themselves. Herold exits the carriage, fully recovered in less than a day.
"Hold this pup; I will bring in your stuff in return."
Arthur is forced on the pup as Herold unloads the carriage. He looks behind to the multi-floored building, and it's wide with enough space, seemingly too much for someone as small as Cellis.
"Which Room are you in?"
*If only they weren't sharing a single room even within the building.*
In a later time, Cellis walked in on gasping Arthur; she caught a glimpse of his veiny and sweaty left hand before he hid it in his pocket.
*Doing this in a shared space is going to be hard.*
Cellis felt curious about the smell, but she had something else in mind. She looked ahead; Arthur stood by the table between their beds, in the room where only two of them were present,
"Arthur", she called, moving slowly towards him.
"Yes?"
She stood right in front of him, then grabbed his loose, hanging hand. A strange sensation brushed through; at first, it felt warm, then it felt unchanging yet warm; it was static and frozen warm,
".....do you know what the saintess told me?"
She couldn't feel her heat return, so she let go,
"Tell me." he moved back, sitting down on his bed.
Cellis stood for a moment, then pulled the chair from under the table, sitting it,
"So, as you left the Lithold, the saintess was looking your way then..."
Maria changed her focus back to Cellis,
"Cellis? Do you know why you are brought here? "
" Because I have light mana? ", She had lost her excitement.
" Though that is a reason, almost, light mana is not that lowly found among people, but yours is higher, and you are here as the next saintess candidate; there are others too"
"Is that exactly what she said?" Arthur asked.
"I think she meant that it was not the answer she was thinking of", Cellis answered, lying on the bed
"And that you have more mana than usual?" Arthur yawned, "added that there are more like you? "
"Probably," she replied. "Then she was silent for a bit..."
"Hmm....."
"Let me show it to you." the saintess moved forward, and she followed closely behind until the saintess stopped, and all she could do was admire the pedestal, more accurately, a pillar. It stood at the very center, radiating an unstoppable desire to touch it
"Not that one." She moved slightly, letting Cellis see the pedestal, tiny in comparison to the pillar, but still slightly taller than Cellis's chest
"Put your hand on it", the Saintess instructed, gesturing toward the pedestal.
Cellis pressed her hand against the surface, and immediately, a small orb of light materialized before her.
"Add mana to it", the Saintess prompted.
As Cellis channeled more energy, the orb flared brighter, its radiance expanding slowly.
"Now, let me", the Saintess murmured, placing her own hand on the pedestal. An orb emerged, noticeably larger and carrying a more mixed hue, yet distinctly lacking the sharp brilliance of Cellis's.
"Do you know any other magic? "
"This is the only one", Cellis replied, once more forming a simple sphere of light.
The Saintess mirrored the action, though her initial output was dimmer. She compensated by forcing more energy into it, expanding its scale. "Although mine is larger, yours is far brighter", she observed, her gaze lingering on the glow.
As Cellis looked up, her eyes reaching just high enough to meet the Saintess's expression, the older girl shifted her tone. She explained that light mana could be shifted and converted into other properties, handing over a bound volume to illustrate the point. The conversion methods detailed within, however, appeared partial and incomplete, leaving glaring gaps in the theory.
*Detecting possible bug due to change in properties*
She closed the book.
"How about telling me something as well?"
"What?"
"the deviant you were talking about."
*no bugs*Adoption*