Chapter 17. Omel's Entrance

The morning after the eventful night at the bar, the Ocean God's church residents were given surprising news.

"What!" Maya stood in shock at the cafeteria door as a tall man, larger than the already towering Father David, sat eating breakfast. 

Charon was already heading towards the church's lunchroom for breakfast but hurried at the nun's shock. Landing beside her he careened his neck around the doorframe in an attempt to spot what stirred the nun so much. 

Sitting next to David in formal attire was a well-shaven, golden-haired man, a full head taller than the priest beside him. The handsome man bore a stark resemblance to the young boy next to him, sharing the same golden hair. The boy, around Charon's age, sat with the same rigid formality, groomed to perfection like his father.

Waving an awkward hand to the nun, the father introduced his guest to the two newcomers at the door. 

"Maya, Charon, this is Sir Omel and his son, Lionel. They'll be having breakfast with us today so please treat them with kindness and respect befitting the church." The priest introduced.

Opening his mouth full of clean, perfectly white teeth, and shined a bright smile as the knight welcomed the two. "Hello Maya and Charon, nice to meet you, and as you heard from my friend David, or I guess you call him Father David here" He corrected himself earning a light chuckle from the priest. "This is my son, Lionel Omel."

'The man they talked about the other day?' Charon mentally noted before following Maya's lead in saying hello, correcting her previously rude shriek of excitement. 

"Sorry for my scream, It's just that I didn't expect to be seeing a knight today let alone the illustrious Sir Omel and his son," Maya said in a polite tone that she picked up after the initial greeting.

Charon noted that Maya bent her body slightly in greeting the knight and did the same but skipped the greeting portion. The young boy still was on the fence when it came to socializing with those he did not know, only having just gotten comfortable with the people living in the church he didn't hold the same sentiment towards the knight.

Noting the Charon's refusal to speak Father David spoke on his behalf, "This is Charon, a recent addition to our family here at the church."

Nodding his head at Father David Sir Omel turned back to Charon and squinted his eyes to scrutinize the boy. Seemingly done with his examination of the boy his eyes widened and he donned the same friendly smile as before. 

"Hello Charon nice to meet you, say, you seem about the same age as Lionel here." He said as he tapped his son back at the acknowledgment. "What do you say, Lionel, why don't you and Charon go and play after breakfast."

Lionel agreed with a nod of his head, "Yes, father." 

"Great, that gives me and Father David over here some time to talk over the smaller details of our presentation to Lord Ramon today."

"Agreed, I'm sure Charon wouldn't mind either. Actually, I plan on him being one of my first students at the school when it goes through." Father David beamed.

Allowing a mischievous smile to grow on his face Sir Omel added on.

"So that'll make them classmates then! What a wonderful idea that the two of them would have the time to grow closer today as well." 

'hm?' Charon and Lionel thought at the same instance.

"Hm?" Father David raised an eyebrow in mock surprise at his friend's statement. "You're going to enroll Lionel, your son and first heir, in my school?" Receiving an affirmative nod from the knight, Father David allowed a delighted grin to spread across his face. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a bit shocked that you would entrust me with such a role, but it would be an even greater lie to say I'm not ecstatic at the proposition."

"Then you'd best not mess my son up," the knight warned, a joking edge to his tone. "He's the next Golden Lion of the Omel house, after all. We can't have you maiming a lion in his educational career before he's at least able to manage my territory."

With a grin, Sir Omel added, "At most, a good spanking will do him good in his education. Maybe a good slap on the hands, like the old man used to."

At his words, Lionel's face turned a shade of purple, while Father David bellowed out a laugh.

"I'll make sure to deal out the punishment judiciously, unlike that bitter man," Father David said with a dramatic shiver at the mention of their old teacher.

Bursting out in laughter, the two men could barely contain themselves. To Charon, they resembled nothing better than the schoolboys he used to see around the streets.

Sister Isha who had been there the whole time dropped two bowls of stew into the still-standing Maya and Charon's hands while signaling them to sit.

Noticing Lionel's still fear-induced face she attempted to ease his worries.

"Oh, ignore them, sweety, they're just two childish boys stuck in the bodies of old men," Sister Isha said with a wink. She wiped her hands on her apron and added to Charon and the standing nun, "Now, eat up before it gets cold."

Maya and Charon exchanged amused glances before taking their seats at the worn wooden table. The aroma of the hearty stew filled the air, mingling with the sound of the men's laughter.

Charon still decided to eat at his lone table in the corner.

As they began to eat, Charon couldn't help but feel the sense of warmth shared between the two men. Despite the raucous banter and teasing, there was a palpable bond of camaraderie and family that filled the room stemming from the two men.

Even with his shallow understanding of any forms of relationships, he could tell these two had a healthy and close one.

Sister Isha sat down across from Lionel, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "You know," she said, "no matter how old they get, some boys never really grow up."

Maya smiled, taking a spoonful of stew. "I guess that's what makes them who they are."

Lionel nodded in agreement, allowing a sense of ease to settle over him. 

Finding a break between the laughter Sir Omel nudged his son's arm with his elbow before speaking some words for him to join Charon in the corner. With a nod, Lionel stood with his food in hand and joined Charon at the lone table.

Standing in front of the young orphan church boy, the golden-haired Lionel extended a rigid hand to his peer. "Hello," he began, his voice lacking warmth and dripping with what Charon could only guess to be a rehearsed introduction, "I'm Lionel Omel. But you can call me Leo."

With a mouth stuffed full of food, Charon stared at the boy's stuck-out hand before he managed to mumble out, "Hi, I'm Charon."