SS: Keel Heads to the Academy

New Year's had just passed, and it was shiveringly cold.

A man pushed open the thick, wooden doors of the church and stepped inside.

"I'm sorry, Sister! I messed up!"

"Again? Goodness, I told you to be careful! You aren't getting any younger. Did you fall off a building again?"

The woman referred to as "Sister" approached the man, her brows drawn together into a frown. She reached out and grabbed the arm he was cradling to diagnose it.

"Yeah, I— OW! Can't you be gentler?!"

"This injury might be bone-deep." The nun then called out, "Keel! Do you still have MP left for the day?"

Upon being called by name, a boy who had been cleaning the floor set down his mop and came over.

"Yes, Sister. I think so."

"Then please help this man."

The man turned Keel's way and presented his upper arm. The boy held out his open hands and closed his eyes.

"Heal," he murmured.

His hands glowed with a light that slowly transferred to the man's wound.

When the light faded, the man's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Well, I'll be! It doesn't hurt anymore! Thanks, kid. Now I can get back to work this afternoon."

"My pleasure, sir."

The man untied the sling and bandages to examine his miraculously recovered arm. As he said his thanks, he ruffled the boy's spiky blonde hair, but the boy grimaced and ducked away.

"Goodness," the Sister tutted. "Can't you at least rest on a day like this?"

"'Fraid not, Sister. I can't just leave all the work to the young'uns, can I?"

The man shot a glance at the clock hanging on the wall, then hurriedly made his way to the door. "Money in here, right?" He threw a few silvers into the donation pot placed beside the entrance on his way out.

"Oh dear, look at the time," the nun exclaimed upon checking the clock herself. "Here's a little something for your lunch." She produced a silver coin from her pocket and placed it in Keel's hand, closing his fingers over it.

"A-Are you sure about giving me this much again?"

"Of course. Thank you for always working hard and doing such a good job. With how many mouths you have to feed, a single meal can't be cheap, right?"

"Th-Thank you, Sister."

"So, make sure that you eat up too, okay?" The kindly woman cupped Keel's gaunt cheeks in her hands. The boy looked so haggard that it pained her heart. "You look even thinner than when you first came here."

"I-I will, Sister. I'll be out for lunch, then. I'll see you again in the afternoon."

Keel hurried to the nearby market, where he purchased more bread than one single person could eat, plus a few other cheap selections. With bags close to bursting in hand, he made his way to a section of streets lined with dilapidated huts. These were the lodgings that the church had available for those with nowhere else to go.

When Keel approached a certain house, he noticed an ornate carriage parked out front. Alarm bells went off in his head, prompting him to pick up his pace. He quickly ducked underneath the sheet that served as the front door.

"Are you okay, Nina?!" he cried as he burst inside.

"Keel!" Nina, the boy's younger sister, exclaimed with relief. She was sitting at a table, surrounded by a protective group of slightly older boys and girls trying—but failing—to hide the fear on their faces.

A man in a luxurious outfit who was casually lounging in the seat across from Nina's looked up. "So, you're Keel," he said with a sneer that raised the hair on Keel's arms. "Took you a while. I've been waiting for you."

"Wha— Who the hell are you?!"

"How dare you! You would do well to mind your language!"

The lavishly dressed man was not alone—knights wearing expensive-looking full plate armor stood behind him. They reacted with anger to Keel's disrespectful choice of words, prompting frightened squeals from two children around Nina's age who were embracing each other in terror. An even younger pair started bawling, creating an ear-splitting ruckus.

"Come on, don't scare them." The mystery man stuffed fingers in his ears while admonishing his knights. "Now you've gone and made a racket."

"Shall we finish them off, then, my lord?"

There was a glint of naked steel as two swords slowly slid out from their sheaths.

"Don't bother. You'll just dirty my clothes." The ostentatious-looking man waved a hand dismissively. He apparently cared more about his expensive outfit than the children's lives.

Keel settled into the seat next to Nina's, then asked in the calmest voice he could muster, "Would I be correct in assuming that you are a noble, my lord? May I ask what brings you here today, my lord?"

Someone attended to by knights wearing such impressive armor had to be a noble with significant standing. Something had to be afoot for such a person to visit a place like this. If he let the younger ones continue making a fuss, there was no telling when the knights might lose their patience.

The slow and measured way Keel spoke to the noble prompted Nina to suppress her shaking and look up with a steady gaze. The other children fell silent once more.

"Good, very good. I like that attitude of yours. But first, there's something I have to confirm with you, Keel. Is it true that you possess the Cleric Talent?"

"Uh, yes, my lord. It's true." Keel gave the man a dubious look. 'I've been employed at the nearby church for the past two to three months for my Talent. Why come all the way here when he could have just asked the church?'

"Good, just as I'd heard." The man reached out his hand, palm up. One of his knights nodded and handed him a pouch. Upon accepting it, he promptly loosened the cord tying the opening of the pouch and turned it over, emptying its contents. More than ten gold coins fell out, clinking softly onto the table.

Keel's eyes shot wide open. "My lord?! I'm sorry, wh-what is this?"

"Travel expenses and the Academy's examination fee. If there's any leftover, use it however you want."

"Th-The Academy?" Although Keel knew of the Academy and Academy City, he could not understand why the noble would be bringing them up.

"That's right. Keel, you will be attending the Academy starting the month after next. That is what I have come here to tell you today."

"But, my lord... Me? The Academy? ...After all this time?"

"There's no problem. And if you do well, you will get what you want."

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by that, my lord?"

"Well..."

The extravagantly dressed man explained the circumstances behind why he wanted Keel to attend the Academy.

When he finished, Keel decided to accept his offer.

It would be quite a while yet before Keel and Allen's first meeting.