"Good afternoon," the receptionist greeted out of habit. "Good afternoon," Staxius returned said greeting then proceeded to take the lift. Amazed, the twins walked at a crawling pace. They were like slugs trying to get around. A quick tap on the shoulder sufficed to snap the growing intimidation. The aura this building gave off was immense. A place only elite could ever dream to access, a place that determined if a guild was worth the effort or no. Many adventurers were envious of stepping foot in here. Once someone had it through those doors, the ones that automatically opened, it was set in stones – life was made.
The receptionists downstairs threw around a few rumors about who walked in. In the end, the pointless chatter was dropped as members from Pegasus returned. If it had been a second earlier, they would have run into one another.
"Sister, sister," Emma called, the voice filled with astonishment.
"Yes, sister, no need to say more," Emmy replied, "-this place is the famed building that all the top guilds use."
"Yes, yes, the place"s rent is expensive but worth the effort," Emma ended the conversation. Uninterested, Staxius didn"t join for the mind was lost onto something else. Auic"s face came to mind, the fox was undergoing training with Diane. "I wonder how much she"s improved over these past few months," the elevator opened with a ding.
"Here we are," he called, a tap of the keycard later, the closed elegant brown door with golden edges opened. It had been changed from the previous one, a change that he only noticed – one courtesy of the Dwarves. No sound, nothing, the door opened in utter silence, the light coming from the window enlightened the hall.
"Welcome to Kniq"s headquarters," he spoke and walked. Struck by awe, the girls could but hold his hands and follow. Step after step, murmurs and chatter oozed from room number two located on the right side after getting off the lift.
"I presume we have guests," Staxius spoke gently, to which a click later – the door opened.
"Master," Avon called, sat closely around the rather large table, Staxius walked.
"It"s good to see you again," Undrar voiced with a smile – it had been a day since their arrival.
"Yes, it"s good to be back," he replied then continued the trip to the front. Someone else sat, a familiar face that had been the topic of conversation till now.
"Auic?" stood behind Avon"s seat, Staxius asked. The lady whomst sat, gazed at the floor.
"Good afternoon," she spoke, the tone firm and confident. The way her head moved from looking at the floor, to now up and stern, a complete change in persona.
"Good afternoon," Staxius returned the greeting.
"It"s been far too long, sir," she stood and walked, "-may I enquire who these lovely ladies are?" the tone friendly yet vigilant.
"Yes, words cannot express how long we"ve been gone," the tone equally as imposing, "-how"s everything been?" he asked, to which she pulled out a tablet and began to search for any relevant information.
"Nothing much has happened, sir. The situation in general around the capital has been subtle – nothing of any relevancy," a courteous smile later, she stood with a straight posture, one dignified, one of someone who"s confident in her abilities. In addition to that, her gaze displayed a whole other array of information.
"She"s come quite a long way," Achilles spoke with a smile.
"I agree, our shy Auic has grown tremendously," Undrar, who sat next to Achilles added.
"The eyes of a fighter," Deadeyes voiced.
"More like the eyes of a hunter," Avon added in jest.
"Oh, come on," her tone dropped into one playful, "-it"s not like that," she replied with a wink. "All this flattery," her eyes shyly glanced away, "-It"s embarra.s.sing."
"What a relief," he sighed, the tone now casual, "-I"m glad to see the confidence. I a.s.sume the training with Diane was fruitful," he pulled out three chairs from the table and sat, the twins silent for it was a new environment. "And for the question, these lovely ladies will be joining Kniq,"
"Really?" Undrar jumped with excitement.
"The more the merrier," Achilles added with an enthusiastic tone.
"Welcome to the guild," Avon and Deadeyes gave out a thumb"s up.
"T-thank you," Emma added slowly. "-W-we"ll do o-our best," Emmy nodded.
"Auic," Staxius called, it took her by surprise. "Y-yes?" she asked a little bit fl.u.s.tered.
"Since we"re back, it"s for you to get to work," he smiled, "-three months is more than enough. The order of business is to get the paperwork ready for these girls to join. From today forth, room one, also known as the reception area will be yours. If there"s anything you lack or any changes you want to be done, come to me directly. This office will be in your care after all,"
"Very well, sir," she smiled, "-I"ll do my best to pull my weight from now on," to which a bow later, "-will you girls accompany me?" she asked politely, the twins could but fall to her charisma.
"Master," Avon called, "-I don"t know how it was done, but Auic can now fully stand on her feet," he smiled.
"We all are proud to see her growth," Undrar spoke on behalf of everyone, "-Kniq is now officially opened, right?"
"No," he voiced strongly, "-the guild starts the day after tomorrow," the door opened, "-go out and have some fun," with a slight nod, he left.
"Now that I"ve got a secretary; one that will handle the guild – I can be free to focus on researching the Relic cla.s.s scroll. But first, I"ll go visit Lizzie."
*Knock, knock,* "-come in."
"I apologize for barging in," Staxius spoke, "-but can I have you for a moment?" sat in front of a computer, Auic"s fingers typed tirelessly, the twins could but wait – the registration was nearly complete.
"Fill out these boxes," she pointed at an application then headed to the door.
"How can I help?" she asked courteously, the tone stern and appropriate for it was her workplace.
"After the application is done, care to escort the twins to Pandora?" the voice subtle, almost like a whisper.
"Should not be an issue," she replied, "-but what about the portal?"
"No need to worry, I"ve already added their ident.i.ty – it should not cause any trouble. Also, on a second note, at what time does Lizzie get out of school?"
"Around two-thirty. You"re planning to go pay her a visit?" the gaze lit with glee.
"I suppose," the face blank, "-she"s a member of the Kniq family. I"ve been far too distant, guess it"s my way of paying back her efforts in trying to change into a better person."
"Forgive me if I"m out of line," the face warm and affectionate, "-but you sure are a good person."
"Not really," a tap of the shoulder later, "-I"m not a good person," followed by a nod, the main door opened to which he vanished.
"I didn"t mean in general, you"re a good person when it comes to people who rely and count on thee, majesty, nothing else from the king of Arda," without much delay – the secretary headed back to her work.
"Two-thirty," the lift reached the ground floor, adventurers of other guilds were seen at the reception. "It"s two," a glance behind said counter revealed the time for a diamond-shaped clock rested amidst the trophies. "Her school should not be far away. At her age, she must be in secondary. I wonder how the girls were able to get her enough grades to enter that school. Come to think of it, I know she goes to school but have no clue to what that inst.i.tution actually does. Well, I think I did but it eludes me now. Slacking off is bad, here I thought I was a responsible adult," a snicker later, he entered Void. "It"s my job to learn more about what kind of education someone under my care is going through. This should be the perfect opportunity to learn more. As far as I remember, education is divided into three levels, Primary, Secondary, then Tertiary. Age six to twelve go through Primary, then an exam later, you get into secondary which is another six years, then finally, tertiary – universities and so forth. Claireville academy is cla.s.sified as secondary, but away from the main system since students allowed must be sixteen or older. This is for normal people, those of middle-cla.s.s with enough to get by. Education is expensive depending on the inst.i.tution. Either way, that doesn"t affect me directly, what people do is their business, the concern at hand is how Lizzie is doing," fifteen minutes later, the school came in view.
Barred by a fence gate, the place brought back memories. Trees swayed along the path leading up to the establishment. Located inside the scholar"s district, a place were libraries, research facilities, universities, and so on were built, the place was idyllic. Away from the daily mess of people trying to go to work, this place was a haven for those who wanted to study. Separating districts by districts was wise – students weren"t at risk, also, there laid a barracks for Royal Guards. That district was located after the commercial district, at the top of the capital. Depending on how traffic was, it could take anywhere from one hour to three hours – Rosespire wasn"t the capital for nothing. Its sheer size could put anything to shame. With Adete on the shoulder, Staxius waited outside the entrance with Void parked closely to the stone-pavement. The roads were well-maintained, a lovely breeze that tickled the skin. The silence that loomed, blissful, and tranquil. A perfect environment to study. The clock kept on ticking, as expected, vehicles of high prestige drove forth slowly. Education was considered a luxury, and the place that stared Staxius in the face was more than luxurious. It was a branch of the main Claireville Academy. One that was devoted to normal studies as opposed to a magical oriented environment. The way fate works could be described as annoying.
Leaned on Void"s hood, Staxius watched and waited as butlers from prestigious families arrived. The car reflected the family"s power, it had been a long time – but inequality was still present. As a person, he had moved away from all that unnecessary trouble – he didn"t feel the prejudice of being a low-born thanks to the adeptness at blending into the atmosphere. However, for someone like Lizzie, the same could not be said. That thought ran around the mind – more than anything, he was disappointed.
"Have you decided on doting everyone in Kniq?" Adete voiced, it was close for cla.s.ses to be dismissed.
"Actually, yes," he added with pride, "-I"ll dote on anyone I please. More specifically, I"m worried about how Lizzie fits into this school," the hand reached inside the car.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Look at that board," he pointed at the gate, engrave and hung inside a small hole in the wall, the words *Claireville Junior Academy,* in an obnoxious golden color.
"What about it?" her mind was fully confused by this point.
"This place is bad," he held a cigar, one that Jason gave as a parting gift earlier that day.
"What do you mean by bad?" the question kept on flowing as if a waterfall.
"All I mean is that this place isn"t merit-based," the cigar lit to which he puffed smoke at regular intervals. "Unlike Claireville Academy where the disparities between n.o.bles and commoners isn"t that apparent – here, it"s way worse. People are only worried about one thing, that is the prestige of the family"s name, imagine how the students might turn out to be." As time went on, more and more butlers and maids approached, they gave side-glances at Staxius who had parked Void closest to the entrance. They were angry, for that place was reserved, an unwritten rule to which he had no clue. Despite this animosity, he didn"t care. The combination of a firm face, a strongly built body, a blazer with torn-skinny jeans paired with a scarf borrowed from Avon earlier. He looked more like an idol as opposed to the usual formal dress sense. The reason for this change was the bath earlier today – he took the liberty to change during that visit. The clothes were bought months ago but forgotten. It was during the whole incident of not having clothes to wear after the body changed.
"Isn"t that spot reserved for that man?" in the corner, maids began to gossip. "Yes, but it"s not any of our business."