There was no room to move. It felt as if every 15-year-old in the world was present at the same time at the same location.
Well, even if the ground floor was cramped, the floor above was full of nobles and powerful merchants. Above that, on the third floor, even royalty was present, sitting in extravagant chairs, hoping to recruit talent as soon as they saw one.
Because today was the day when these young adults got their jobs. jobs, in the sense an occupation, granted by the twelve deities. This, by definition, means that someone's value in the world is proportional to the job they have.
On that note, the twelve deities are the overseers of the world. Their mere presence is akin to that of gods or spirit monarchs, the main difference being that no one has seen the spirit monarchs in centuries, while the deities often descend onto the moral plane.
Having a good job would mean that one is in the fancy of some of the strongest beings in existence, while having a bad one would mean one would be shunned for life.
And thus it was quite normal for these teens to be nervous; after all, this was quite literally the most important day of their lives. Anxiety was creeping up on everyone there.
Everyone, except for an odd-looking child. His stature in itself emitted the aura of a high-ranking noble, and rightfully so.
He was the oldest son of the newly appointed Marquis Creed, famous for his exploits at the frontier. However, what set him apart was his bright maroon eyes and black hair, along with a slight silver hue.
This was quite odd, as one's hair color indicated their affinity for mana. White hair would indicate a mana shifted towards divinity, red one towards flames, blue towards aqua and so forth. Black hair was the distinctive trait of evil, completely opposed to white. Adding to that, silver was unique to the boy and him alone. No one in the world has even a tint of silver in their hair, and the boy took pride in that.
This wasn't a particularly bad thing. From a young age, he was smart and knew that people would target him as a means to grab the attention of his father, who was now a marquis. The only reason they hadn't did so already was due to his father's fame.
...
"Aria Evans! come forward, now."
The nun, who was standing on the small stage up front, spoke loudly to grab everyone's attention. Behind her, two knights in white-and-blue armor stood gallantly, perhaps showcasing how the kingdom values jobs.
A pretty girl with green hair and petite stature, who was with the boy since earlier, talking about how there was no space at all to move, looked at the nun and ran towards her while waving at the boy cheerfully.
Green hair signified a mana type that was deeply connected to nature, which was especially renowned due to being one of the only three types of mana that had the potential to heal someone other than the user —the other two being divinity and aqua.
"Sil! See you later!"
She spoke to the boy, who just waved back in return while gleaming with excitement. He was trying to hide it, but he wasn't doing a very good job at it.
"Yeah, Aria! I hope you get a good job."
"Thanks!"
...
"The job given to you by the ones above is... High priest!"
The nun said, while keeping both of her arms firmly yet gently at a blue orb on a pedestal in front of her, just like how one would caress a newborn.
Murmurs immediately began to spread.
"A high priest? And one with nature type mana? That's amazing!"
"We've already gotten two high priests this week alone! The gods must be looking after us!"
"Her future is set in stone! As expected of the Evans family, famous for their loyalty towards the deities and producing excellent healers!"
"I thought at first that she wasn't going to get it because of her nature type mana, but now that she's gotten the job perhaps she can even create elixirs?!"
"Now, it's only so much time before a hero emerges!"
Sil was proud. He met Aria when he was just four years old, when his father took him to the Evans family, who helped Sil's father during the great expansion, a period when the kingdom aggressively expanded its territory a decade ago for unknown purposes. Sil's father was often at the forefront of the invasions, and due to the feats he accomplished there, he caught the king's attention and was granted a noble title.
And after years of meeting, Aria and Sil were now both engaged to each other.
After things had settled down, the nun summoned the next child, not knowing the chaos that was to follow just ten minutes later.
"Mare! Come forward, now."
A boy with a physique better than most adults along with a face straight out of a fairy tale stepped forward. Sil noticed that his hair was white with a golden hue...
wait. A golden hue? That's just like me, with my silver hue.
Sil thought, while Mare stepped forward silently.
A commoner? In front of the king? Who is he?
this sentence was on the lips of everyone there. It was outrageous for just a commoner to blatantly come forward without even paying homage to the nobles and royalty.
And just as suddenly, a thunderous voice came down from above. While it wasn't specified to anyone, no one in the room couldn't hear it.
"I advised this child to take the ceremony here. Please forgive him for any discourtesy, as he was a commoner until I had adopted him."
People looked up to see the king standing.
He was quite old, but only in age. His aura defined the term 'majestic.' Most nobles thought the reason the king had pointed this out was to say that Don't make a move on him. He's under my watch.
...
"Adopted?"
"Wait. That means he's now the third prince?"
"What job does he have, for the king to personally adopt him?"
"Ah... He must be a hero."
Everyone understood. The hero is the proxy of a deity, addressing their every wish unto the world itself. 12 deities, meaning 12 heroes in the world, second only to their master. In a sense, it was quite appropriate for the king to adopt him so. But that in turn would mean the king illegally checked Mare's job before the ceremony.
While the lower nobles were confused as to why he would commit such a crime, Sil and the higher nobles understood that the king was willing to risk it if it meant he could bind a hero to the country, unlike the other heroes, who were as free as the wind.
By that point, when the nun said he was the hero, it wasn't a surprise to anyone, although everyone cheered anyways.
But what the question now was,
"So he's the hero of which deity?"
Out of the twelve deities, only seven were known to a proxy. Meaning that Mare had to be the hero of one of the five deities who didn't have a proxy.
They waited, until a blindingly beautiful light, the same golden color as the hero's hair, came down from the sky- perhaps, from the heavens. And along with the light, came the goddess. Her hair was pure golden without a hint of any other color, and she wore slightly revealing white clothes adorned with gold threads.
"My child..."
She spoke. Befitting of a goddess, her mere presence was enough to bring everyone to their knees, including Sil and the king. The only one who could stand was the hero himself, who came to his knees willingly.
"Would you like, to relay my thoughts and ideals unto the world?"
"Of course, oh deity."
"Are you certain, that you can walk this thorny path?"
"Without hesitation, my lady."
Lies.
Sil thought. He knew that the hero was given expensive medicine, elixirs, equipment and strong companions from the get-go. After training for half a year under the best teachers and best possible conditions, the hero would be sent out to 'get achievements' to be recognized by the common people. While this is said to the public, every minor detail is exaggerated to the point that it seems completely different.
But to the people who didn't know, the hero would seem as someone sacrificing and staking his life every day for the commoners.
"You may get hurt."
"I'll accept it with pride."
"Then, would you like to officially become my proxy to the mortal realm?"
"Absolutely."
The hero kissed the goddess's hand, and another blinding light later, the hero had the symbol of a shield with a cross on his right hand, the stigma of the goddess of protection.
This line caught Sil's attention.
Officially? Why did she specify that? There's no reason to... except if they have already met. I might just be overthinking... actually, didn't the saintess emerge during last year's ceremony? From what I know, she's the only one who has the capabilities to 'talk with a deity' without restrictions or penalties. Well, it's not like I can do-or want to do anything.
The hero put his hand up, showing the stigma to everyone. The audience was shocked at first, but began to applaud aggressively after understanding the gravity of the situation. More than applauding, everyone present there wanted to be in the good graces of the hero, but they didn't show it on their faces.
"Everyone present here,"
The king began to speak,
"Has witnessed a miracle. I believe that you all will support him with the best of your capabilities, just like how I shall. Tell me, oh hero, perhaps you'd like anything from here right now, from all those present here?"
That's clever. His majesty asked the hero this right now, in front of everyone. This implies that his majesty wants gifts or resources to be given to the hero, even if the hero doesn't ask for it. And as the hero is the king's adopted son, all of the gifts given will indirectly belong to the king, since the hero has to be away and travel for most of the time.
Sil thought. He wasn't one to speak his thoughts, but it didn't mean he didn't had any either. In fact, he understood politics just as much as any high noble-man would, perhaps because of his genius, and he was used to attending noble parties with his father.
"What I want, father, is her."
The hero said, pointing at Aria. No matter how much of a genius or calm person Sil is, this enraged him.
"Ah! That came out wrong. I want her, father, to be in my party. It's only right that a high priest would be with a hero, no?"
You're not saying that, are you? I can feel you gazing at her. She's mine. Back off.
Even though Sil wanted to say that, he was the hero AND king's son- adopted or not.
While everyone was talking to the person next to them, a man of large stature, crimson hair and bright red beard stepped forward from the other nobles at the second balcony, facing the king, who was sitting on the third.
Father...
Several guards got ready to jump at him any time, but with one hand of the king waving at them, they backed off immediately. Well, it's not like they could do anything against the person who single-handedly killed a dragon either.
"Please excuse my impertinence, your majesty, but the Creed family and the Evans family have already decided that both of the families' heirs be engaged to each other. That means my son, Sil von Creed, and Aria Evans are engaged. I hope that you think on this matter before making a choice."
"I understand, Marquis Creed. However, what the hero- my son- has said is for Aria to be in his party, not to be engaged to her."
"But..."
"Marquis creed, stand down."
"Your maje-"
"That is an order, Flare von Creed."
Shit. Is the king really saying that? If Aria is in his party, then she'd first have to be away with the hero to train for half a year, and after that go out to get achievements with the hero. There's no way that he wouldn't make a move on Aria. Hell, I'd say he'd make a move on her right after this ceremony. And Aria can only turn down 'the hero' for so long until... fuck.
...
"May I continue?"
The nun said abruptly, breaking this awkward silence.
after the king gave his approval, the nun began to call up more young adults one by one. Well, after the hero, there weren't many whose jobs amazed those present here. Until,
"Sil von Creed! Step forward, now."
"Yes, nun"
He stepped forward. Although as soon as he did, the bright blue orb changed into bright maroon- the same color as his eyes.
"Your job is... what?"
"What happened, nun?"
"Let me try again. The job given to you by the ones above is... wh- why?"
"What's my job, sister?"
"He- heretic?"
Sil shuddered. He heard correctly, but he didn't want to believe it.
"Can you say that again?"
"HERETIC!"