Crusader's Academy, Sanctum of Faith
"Urrmm…this doesn't look like an office."
The next day, I made sure to follow the directions laid out in the letter I received, which was supposed to direct me to my meeting with the assistant division leader. I still don't know who she is, as she didn't bother making any prior introductions. But I was expecting to get to know her in a fancy office or something…
I'm just outside…sitting by a fountain, somewhere on Academy grounds. And I've been here for a while now.
I began to question myself, wondering if I had gotten the location right. But what was written here was definitely 'fountain' and after several instances of asking around, there isn't any building named 'fountain'.
So I'm not lost. Definitely.
"Sorry, I'm late."
A feminine voice came from behind, sharply followed by the speaker's reveal. Black flowing hair with a purple hue at the ends, a decent figure, and height nearly equal to mine. The assistant division leader finally made her appearance.
"Oh, it's nothing." I brushed it aside, standing up from the wooden bench that I sat on to extend a handshake.
But before I could, she walked past me and helped herself to a seat, right on the same bench that I just got up from.
Having no choice, I lowered myself back to my former position, sitting a few inches away from her.
"Urmm.."
"Urmm.."
…..
"It's fine. You can go first." I smiled wryly, scratching the back of my head.
"Alright, I will." She concluded, flashing a brief smile at me.
Upon closer inspection, her irises which I had thought to be black had a faint purplish glint in them, and I momentarily hallucinated a pulse, which, if I must say, resonated quite well with her hair. Her face was slightly round and smooth, with lush skin that seemed to trap the sun's radiance. When she smiled, her dazzling set of whites was…
Wait. Why am I describing her?
Oh yes. For the reader.
"I'm Mary. Sister Mary." She extended her hand, imitating my gesture.
"I'm Joshua. The new guy." I received her handshake. Her hands were warmer than I expected. But her palm was rough. Unusually rough.
"As you already know," Her voice was quite sweet but very much mature. "I'm the assistant division leader. And as you can see from my uniform," she gestured at her deep-blue habit, "I'm a Purger."
"Err..I'm an Initiate."
"Yeah. I know."
Yeah. You do.
Mary had her two hands tucked between her legs, and her fingers constantly fiddled with each other. Her chin was slightly raised, and her eyes were set on the distant birds in the sky.
"So quick question." She suddenly said, "Why did you join the fifth division?"
I thought it out for mere seconds before responding. "Well, I didn't really have a motive per se. Or rather, my one major intent supersedes any secondary one, which I may or may not have. So, maybe not specifically for Division 5, but as an Exorcist in general."
"Nice. But without saying what this 'major intent' is, you haven't really answered the question."
Ah.
"Well umm. I just wanna hunt demons."
"....." Mary glanced sharply at me before swiftly averting her gaze. "Don't mind my opinion…" her voice wandered.
"Well, I'll try not to."
"But don't you find your ambition as a rather childish one?"
"...."
"Just asking. No hard feelings."
"Well…"
.....
Honestly…
Honestly, I've thought this through once. No, many times prior. And it's always been a dilemma that I ultimately decided to chuck up as a rhetorical question.
What then?
What then if I hunt demons?
Is that satisfactory in some way? Nah, the last two exorcisms definitely weren't satisfactory.
So…why do I feel moved to such a peculiar…wanting? Yes, wanting. Is it even any more than a want?
But then, I say that. I force myself to believe otherwise. Yet, I can't ignore this feeling.
It's like a calling. Almost.
No, it feels like a calling. And it's really the only thing I've felt 'called' to do.
So, maybe it's childish. But still…
Am I still a child mentally?
Have I not found my purpose yet? Do I develop slowly in this area?
"You seem conflicted."
"...."
Without saying a word, I took a moment to analyse myself. Knitted eyebrows, stern expression, and a strong sense of worry and tension that seemed to escape through my eyes.
Of course, I seemed conflicted.
"Ha ha….ha." I tried to laugh it off, but I quickly felt awkward. Especially because Mary was just staring blank-eyed at me.
She smiled.
Her hair fell down the sides of her face as she tilted her head, like a stream being unleashed, but in the calmest and shortest possible way.
"It's okay to have a childish dream." She cheered. "I have one, too."
It sounds like what anyone would say to make me feel better.
But it's kinda helpful.
"Well, if I may ask, what's thi-!"
"Not telling." She swerved her head away at lightspeed.
Ah.
Well, at least, that's more convincing.
But wait, does she see me as a kid or something?
"Hmm…"
I wonder.
"What?" She inquired.
"What?" I echoed.
"You were 'hmm-ing' just now."
Ah.
"Don't mind me," I replied. "Subconscious things."
"Rrrrriggght." She had to drag her words. And the look she was giving me…It seemed halfway through suspicion and caution. But more of suspicion.
…..
Never mind that. What's with this informal atmosphere?
I expected our meeting to be a lot more…
She was only here for a few minutes, and we're already talking this way?
"Ah yes!" Mary jolted to her feet, her eyes lit up in a strange but alluring light. "I have a little gift for you."
Oh?
"Thank you." I appreciated her instantly. A few seconds later, I realised how odd it was to thank someone without knowing what the present was, especially when the gifting was abrupt.
Mary didn't seem to mind it. Instead, she pulled out something from beneath her pellegrina.
It was a box. A black box.
Her fingers caressed the top surface of the small black box, and suddenly, her index finger sank into it.
She pushed a button on it, and the box snapped open. Two sides stretched out at once, like a book open from the middle. And in the centre of the division, there was a ring.
Ah! Is she propo-!
What am I even thinking…
She gave me that look. Again. But it was only for a while. Fortunately, I can always live under the delusion that I hallucinated it, thanks to how fleeting that moment was.
Mary quickly regained her smile.
"To our sixtieth member of division five-! Wait, it's not sixty…"
"Yeah, not even close."
"A moment." She pleaded. "I'll figure it out."
….
That's kinda anticlimactic.
What was even more anticlimactic was her way of 'figuring it out'.
She was counting her fingers.
Seriously..?
Was she numbering everyone in the division? She knows all their faces? All of them?
...
"74, 75, 76, 77, 89…"
How?
"89 members!" She concluded. "So to our 90th member of division five-!"
"Not even close."
"...." Mary stood frozen, and expressionless for a while.
"Well..urmm.." She pouted. "If you don't mind telling me.."
"123," I replied sharply. "Including me."
"Rrrriiighht." Her expression was different from the former this time, thankfully…
"So to our 123rd member of the fifth division," she proclaimed. "Here's your official badge."
"Thank you." I stood up, feeling prompted to, and took the ring, sliding my thumb through it.
Mary put on a weird face.
"Your thumb…" she muttered. "You put rings on your thumb?"
"Is there something wrong?"
"....err…absolutely not. It's all fine." She even gave me a thumbs-up to show how normal it was. Or maybe she was jesting at my ring placement choice. I couldn't tell.
Anyway, something else, although insignificant, was bugging me.
"Why's it called a badge if it's a ring?"
A smile that spelled nothing but delight carved itself onto Mary's face. "Very good question." She commended. "I have no idea."
"....."
…..
"What?"
"Father James is the one who decided on the naming." She confessed. "Other divisions just call it a communication device."
"Communication? Is it for communication?" My interest in the black metallic thing with a number 5 carved on its head had risen quite quickly.
"Yup. It's not just some flashy thing." She explained. "That's your identifier to every other division member. To others outside the division, you'll only be recognised as a 'member of division 5'. And yes, you could use it for communication. Quite handy in group missions."
"That's really…convenient." My eyes were now stuck on the number '5' that was engraved into the ring's head.
Then again, calling it a badge….
The image of Father James holding out a ring and proudly saying; 'This is a badge' surfaced in my mind. And I can't deny that laughter nearly erupted from my bowels. But fearing he would spawn up from nowhere and ask me to do 500 push-ups caused all my humour to evaporate into nothing.
"Do you like it?" Mary asked, seeing as my gaze didn't lift from the ring.
"It's nice," I replied. "Thanks a lot."
"You're welcome."
I finally raised my head to meet her stare. For a moment, our eyes locked, but it felt strangely uncomfortable so I utilized the 'ancient art of wandering eyes' to avoid it.
"I'm honoured to work with you in Division 5." I declared, purely out of formality. Okay, maybe with a tiny mix of gratitude.
"Me too. Anyway, I'll be off now. I hope you fit in nicely with the rest of them."
And then she turned and started walking away.
However, she looked back at me. "Especially Daniel. He's a difficult person but you two would make good friends."
"Yeah. About Dani-!"
"Bye."
…..
She kinda dodged me on that one for sure.