“It’s only a letter of recommendation for your enrollment to the Holy Academy of the Church of Life from both myself and Archdeacon Emmett,” Donovan had explained when he handed the sealed envelope over to me. “Unfortunately, you’ll still have to pass the entrance exam and meet all the qualifying requirements before you will be allowed to enroll.”

  Unfortunately, it was not a golden ticket that brought me straight to the upper-echelons of the Church. But at the very least, it put a foot in through the front door. And that was what I was hoping for from spending time in the temple.

  “If you agree to doing this, I can arrange transport and a place to stay for you when you arrive at Lux. Archdeacon Emmett will be there to look after you. He is my former mentor, and I guarantee you can rely on him.”

  Donovan finished as I stared down at the seal of the Church of Life. It was a golden heart that almost seemed crystalline in texture despite being dried wax. But I didn’t react with too much excitement, despite this being what I wanted. Instead, I feigned some apprehension in front of the [Priest].

  “I know this is a lot to take in all at once. That’s why you don’t have to make a decision immediately.” Reverend Donovan reassured me as he led me out the front door of the entrance. Please, talk about it with Hannah, Mary, and the rest of your adopted family, and think about it. Spend some time with them too, you don’t have to help out here for now. Whenever you’ve made a decision, you can come talk to me.”

  And with that, I left the temple behind for now.

  It would be quite unusual for a kid like me to make an immediate decision for something so significant, so I was going to take a few days to discuss it with everyone else just like Donovan suggested. But I knew what my decision was going to be in the end, despite what anyone said.

  It was not like I was in a rush to leave Velmond anyway. But also, there were a few arrangements I had to make before I actually left too.

  So that was why I took my time before leaving the city.

  ***

  “Wait, seriously?” Hannah exclaimed as she practically slammed her hands on the table and leaned closer, nearly knocking me off my chair.

  I caught myself as she hurriedly apologized, before I scratched the back of my head. “Yes, seriously. Reverend Donovan offered me an opportunity to study at the Holy Academy— and yes, I’m talking about the one in Lux.”

  I had gathered everyone in the orphanage at the dining table right before dinner to break the news to them. Everyone had a different reaction to hearing it, but they all responded in varying degrees of shock.

  “That’s amazing,” Ethen said as he patted me proudly on the shoulder. “And I mean it, Eli— I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished this last month.”

  Ever since I saved the young man’s life, he had treated me far less harshly than before. Well, it was not like he hated me or anything in the past. But I knew that he hadn’t trusted me to even tie my own shoelaces back then. Or at least, I was pretty sure that was how he used to feel towards me.

  “W-wait, does that mean you’re going to be leaving us?” Alice asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

  Alan shook his head alongside his twin sister. “You can’t leave, Eli— you’re the city’s [Healer]! Everyone loves you!”

  “I know,” I said, before shrugging. “However, Reverend Donovan says that Velmond will be fine without me since the temple’s been receiving funding lately. They’re even bringing over some extra helping hands from the capital.”

  “But you don’t even like to study!” Jay protested, rising to his feet. He was the least excited for me out of everyone in the room. It was evident that he was slightly jealous. “You do realize that you’ll need to pass a written test to enroll, right?”

  “That is true…” Sarah piped up as she rubbed her chin. Her voice was filled with concern, unlike Jay’s tinge of envy. “Do you think you’ll be able to handle it? You don’t have to go if you don’t want to…”

  However, Jason rolled his eyes as he leant back in his chair. “This opportunity is too good to pass up just because you’re scared for him. Besides, Eli’s a genius— he can handle it.”

  Melinda pursed her lips. “I think Eli should go too, but I wouldn’t say he’s a genius…”

  “Nope, he totally is,” Michelle countered, wrapping an arm around her younger sister with a grin. “You guys just don’t believe in him because you haven’t seen him in action. I have— he’s definitely a genius.”

  “You should go!” Hannah said as she grabbed my hands, and I met her gaze. She was beaming ear-to-ear, practically bursting with excitement for me. “I know it’s up to you at the end of the day, but I believe you should go!”

  I stared into her sky-blue eyes. A part of me did wonder why she was so keen for me to go to the Holy Academy, considering she knew my true identity. But she was quite an enigmatic girl herself.

  A few weeks ago, shortly after I met Reverend Donovan, I had asked her why she was even hiding her Class in the first place, since she was supposedly a [Healer] like me too. After all, she spent quite a lot of time at the temple. So I thought she’d want to be able to help out in more substantive ways than just simple volunteer work.

  But her reasoning was that she didn’t want to deal with the responsibility of it all just yet. In the future, she would. For now, she wanted to simply be a kid.

  I didn’t quite understand what that meant. But I never had an ordinary childhood myself, and from the time I spent here in the orphanage, I actually quite enjoyed it here. At the very least, the lack of responsibilities and pressure was relaxing.

  However, I felt like Hannah’s explanation was incomplete. I knew her— Eli knew her. And she was still hiding something.

  But I chose not to press her any further because it was clear she did not want to talk about it. Besides, that was not relevant to this current moment, nor did it matter to my decision here.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Won’t you miss me though?” I asked Hannah as I tilted my head back at her. “If I’m gone from the orphanage, who’s going to help you with your chores?”

  The young girl just chuckled as she flicked a finger on my forehead. “I already handle all your chores for you, silly! So don’t worry about me— you have to go!”

  Behind her, Ethen, Jason, Melinda, and Michelle all nodded in agreement with her. But Jay, Alan, Alice, and Sarah were more hesitant, each one for different reasons.

  “Now, now,” Ms Mary said, cutting everyone off. “Eli has plenty of time to make a decision. And you shouldn’t force your choice onto him. Let him decide in his own time…”

  And while I feigned uncertainty, I knew what my decision was going to be. After all, it was what I had planned for this entire time— it was what I wanted to do since the very beginning. I just had to make the final preparations before I could go.

  ***

  “Wait, you’re going to be leaving Velmond?” Nicky stared at me in shock when I told her about the offer I received. “But wouldn’t that be a problem, considering…?”

  She eyed me knowingly, not saying the part where I was the Death God out loud, but letting it be implied.

  I just waved a hand off dismissively. “I’ll be fine. Trust me. As long as I avoid using anything except for my healing magic within the premise of the Holy Academy, there won’t be a problem.”

  “That still sounds risky…” the redhead trailed off. “But if that’s what you want to do, then I can’t stop you. But I can’t come along with you either.”

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t expect you to,” I said as I packed a few things into a small sack. We were in the storage room of the Blood Swords’ hideout, and I found an F-grade Bag of Holding which could carry a decent number of items inside of it without an issue. “Just keep the Blood Swords running while I’m gone. And keep an eye out for any letters from me in case I need anything.”

  I stuffed the Lesser Death Dagger and the skull-like mask into the Bag of Holding as well. I was probably going to need it, just in case. And as long as the Lesser Death Dagger was inside of the Bag of Holding, it would go undetected. After all, the spatial magic that wove together the inside enchantment of the cloth served to obfuscate anything that was inside.

  “Will do,” Nicky said, before pausing. “But we also do have a few contacts over at the capital. Friends of the Blood Swords who could help you out if you ever need it. Here, I’ll give you a list— but be warned that the Sapphire Stalkers pretty much rule over the underground there. You don’t want to make them your enemy.”

  I nodded back at her as I started out of the room. “I’ll try not to.”

  But before I could leave, Nicky piped up once more. “By the way, you know that boy who helps out at your orphanage…”

  “You mean Ethen? What about him?” I asked, glancing back at the redhead curiously.

  She scratched her cheek. “Well, he actually has been wanting to join us— since he thinks I saved his life, he wants to be like me. And I told him I’ll think about it once he chooses a Class. But… I feel like I need your permission first before I can make a decision, since he’s your friend.”

  I shrugged at her. “I mean, I’m not opposed to it at all. Not like I’m going to be around when that happens anyway.”

  At the very least, I was glad to hear that not only was Ethen handling his near-death experience with the Blood Swords just fine, but also that Nicky was finding new members to recruit, instead of just rehiring old members.

  So I knew that everything would be perfectly fine here in Velmond when I left.

  ***

  It was night when I returned back to the orphanage, bringing my Bag of Holding in tow. In it, I carried everything I would be needing for this trip to the capital— a few hundred gold coins and a few potions, alongside my mask and dagger.

  I thought that everyone would be asleep by the time I returned. But it seemed Mary was still awake, sitting at the dining table by a small candlelight as she stared at a piece of paper in her hands.

  “Oh, Ms Mary, you’re still awake.” I blinked as I closed the front door of the orphanage behind me. “I thought you’d be asleep at this hour.”

  She shook her head as she set the piece of paper down and chuckled. “How can I sleep, when I was worried sick because you aren’t home yet?”

  “Sorry,” I said as I bowed my head apologetically. “I would’ve gotten home sooner, but there were a few things I had to do at the temple.”

  Mary took in a deep breath as she lowered her head. “So, what did you have to do today?”

  “Oh, the usual.” I waved a hand off and quickly changed the subject. “But I spoke with Reverend Donovan too— about the offer he gave me. And I think I’ve made my decision.”

  There was a pause. Mary’s gaze darkened, before she exhaled. “And what is your decision?”

  “I think I’ll go to the capital,” I said as I stepped forward, placing a hand on my chest. “I know it’s not a guarantee, but I think it’ll be good for me— if I were to enroll into the Holy Academy. There’s a lot I can learn there. A lot I can accomplish.”

  I spoke like how a child should, trying to convince his mother of a big decision he was making. And I was even kept aware of how a choice like this would affect Ms Mary, considering that she was the one who adopted Eli and raised him.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Ms Mary. I’m a [Healer] now. And I’m Bronze Rank too. I’ll be able to handle myself.”

  I nodded at the middle-aged woman, and she closed her eyes. For a moment, she remained silent. Then she rose to her feet and turned away from me.

  “Even if you’re a [Healer] now, you will always be my little boy,” she said as she gazed longingly out the window into the night sky. “Martyr’s guide us… that is why I will always worry about you.”

  I stared at her back as she didn’t say another word, taking her time to process my decision. I shifted my feet hesitantly as I wondered what else to say, when the candlelight on the dinner table flickered, drawing my attention to the piece of paper she had set down.

  It was a letter. But it wasn’t an ornate letter from the Church or anything of the like. It was evident the handwriting on it was that of a child— each word was scribbled so poorly I could barely even make out what they meant.

  Mary craned her neck back, glancing towards the letter she left on the table.

  “You wrote that farewell letter to me four years ago— when you ran away from the orphanage for the first time,” she said in a soft voice. “You told me how you were going to leave Velmond and go to the capital… become a member of the Templars or an Inquisitor… and that you’d only ever return to this ‘stupid city’ once you’ve made me proud.”

  Mary’s lips began to quiver, and she averted her gaze from me. I smiled as I picked up the letter. Somehow, as I stared at it, I almost saw a vision— faint memories of Eli writing this note, before sneaking out in the middle of the night.

  The feelings he felt back then when he made his decision to leave, before eventually being overwhelmed by fear and returning to be reprimanded… it all washed over me right now.

  “Well,” I said as I looked back up at Mary. “I guess I finally get to live my dream, huh?”

  Mary nodded as her voice trembled, still not facing me. “Yes… you do…”

  And she paused, raising a hand to wipe at her face. Was she crying? I couldn’t quite tell because she still wasn’t looking at me.

  “But—” she started, before her voice choked.

  I pursed my lips. Now I was certain she was crying. I wasn’t sure what to do. But I felt compelled to comfort her. So I walked up to her and I took her hand. I did not say a word as I looked up and saw her crying face.

  She tried to wipe away her tears as she continued to cry, and I stayed quiet by her side. It took a few minutes. However, eventually, her crying subsided, and she steeled herself.

  “But…” Mary continued as she slowly turned to me.

  She met my gaze, and I tried to offer her a comforting smile. Her tears were gone, but she still wore a somber expression on her face. Taking in a deep breath, she finished what she was saying in a whisper.

  “But you’re not Eli, are you?”

  And I felt my blood run cold when I heard that.