[ The Administrator ]

Part II Chapter 22 - Encounter

***Lynett***

"Lynett Maedis Whiteheart! You're finally here! I've been expecting you!" A skinny man heartily exclaimed as he saw me walking in, accompanied by the chief secretary.

He was the headmaster of the Arcane Academy. Seated in his office, he already appeared somewhat tall, but when he got up to greet me, I saw how tall he really was. He wasn't intimidating, though. He was lanky and his cheek bones gave him a skeletal look. He was also much younger than I expected. Even though he had some facial hair, he didn't look older than thirty.

"You've been expecting me?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes of course!" The headmaster replied enthusiastically. "It's always a pleasure to accommodate a new student, especially one as talented as you! I've heard a lot about you."

"You did?"

"Yes. The marquis he... Uhm, what was your relationship with him again?"

"Niece."

"Right, niece!" The headmaster repeated. "Well your uncle spoke very highly of you, Lynett!"

That's a little hard to imagine. I had very few interactions with my uncle but I know he's not the kind to brag a lot, especially not about me. Although I don't think that he despise me, he definitely doesn't hold me dear to his heart. Actually, he went through so many troubles to hide my existence it was hard to imagine him suddenly commend me.

"He told me you were full of surprises!" The headmaster continued. "Even though you never attended a school before, you still managed to get an apprenticeship! That's very impressive! If you knew how many of our students are trying to get one... We're doing our best to support them, but it's not an easy task. Masters are picky about their disciples, especially ones as young as you!"

An apprenticeship? What kind of lies did Uncle Jack tell him? I don't mind the lies -actually, I'm even grateful that my uncle made up such a story instead of me- but I would have appreciated if he warned me beforehand.

The headmaster looked at me with bright eyes, full of expectations. "Also, there is something I'm really curious about. May I ask?" He inquired with a candid smile.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Which deity blessed you?" He asked.

Taken aback by the question, I widened my eyes. I knew people were naturally curious about my eyes, but no matter how much they wanted to know, they never asked anything about them. There seemed to be some kind of taboo around the subject.

"Ah, sorry," the headmaster immediately apologized, as he saw my expression. "As I thought, it's a little rude, isn't?"

I shrugged. I didn't particularly mind the question, it was just unexpected. To be honest, I've never really understood why it was such a delicate matter either.

"You see, I'm a theologian," he explained. "You could say that my job is to study deities and anything connected to them. And although it's been going on for years, if there is something that we don't understand well, it's when a child is blessed."

The headmaster marked a pause and nodded to himself, stroking his chin. Then, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he patted my shoulder in a friendly way.

"I apologize again if I was too direct," he said."But I'm a researcher! It's difficult for me to hide my enthusiasm after meeting a chosen one, especially one like you!"

I tilted my head to the side. "One like me?"

"You're Aoban's sister, right?" The headmaster asked, seemingly not expecting an answer as he continued. "I've worked with a lot of chosen ones before, but it's my first time coming across siblings who were both blessed!"