Chương 113: Interviews Part 4

"I do appreciate honesty," Damion said with a smile while he looked to Ms. Teft.

"I can't help but wonder, were the other schools offered this same advice?"

"They were. All the school representatives were present for Mage Teft's presentation regarding you and her proposal. Each of the schools agreed to employ Ms. Teft, given her relationship with you and her recovered abilities, as evidenced by her performance during the beast wave."

"It seems you were the only one to take the advice to heart Headmaster," Damion told the man as he briefly wondered why the other schools did not bother heeding Ms. Teft's advice. Was it greed? Or perhaps the desire to control him instead of relying on earning his loyalty? Or did they not listen because they believed they would all act the same?

"While I would like to say that is a surprise, but it really isn't. Am I to take this to mean you intend to accept the offer from Silver Spire Magic Academy?" Manager Halsey asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yes sir," Damion affirmed.

"Though, wait a day or two to tell the other schools. I want to make it seem like I at least considered their offers."

"A wise choice. I was going to make the same suggestion," Ms. Teft said.

"Then I will bid you all a good day, though I would recommend Damion is formally tested by the Association and has his license updated," Manager Halsey suggested.

"Can that wait a few days?" Damion asked quickly before offering an explanation.

"I'm pretty sure I am close to the magic power of C Rank, but I have also just started using spells, so I'd like a day or so to be able to practice. To make sure I can properly use my magic."

"Understandable. Absolutely understandable," Manager Halsey agreeing with him lifted a weight from Damion's shoulders.

"I'll make the announcement of your choice of schools in two days. After that, come to the association and get tested properly. We can also treat it as the evaluation for Silver Spire."

"That is agreeable," Headmaster Sorin said. Damion left Manager Halsey's office and headed out of the Adventurer Association. Despite saying he needed time to practice, Damion did not feel like actually practicing magic. The moment he had been waiting for his whole life had come, but it was soured by the loss of his family. He wanted to celebrate his achievement, but he did not have anyone to celebrate with. Home was the last place Damion wanted to go, but it was the only place he had.

Without somewhere else to go, Damion began wandering. Sections of the city were still being rebuilt. Large swaths of land that were once neighborhoods and shopping districts were now just rubble. After a while of aimlessness, it could have been an hour, it could have been a day, Damion was not sure, Damion stopped in a park that was untouched by the beast wave and sat down in the grass.

This park was not familiar to him, but despite some areas of the city nearby in ruins, this park was lively, full of families and children playing. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. For quite some time Damion watched children play while he thought of Bethany. The empty heaviness of his heart began to lighten. His loss still felt real and overwhelming, but seeing these children play helped him forget about some of his pain.

Damion kept watching in silence as the children played, though his eyes did not see these children. Dancing before his eyes was Bethany. Damion was lost in his illusion until a ball rolled over and hit his foot.

"Are you the Hero of the East Gate?" a little girl about nine years old asked Damion when she came to retrieve her ball.

"The Hero of the East Gate?" Damion repeated. He only half heard the girl's question and was a bit confused as to what the little girl was asking.

"The knight mage that held off the whole beast wave when the wall broke." Damion was not sure how to respond to the girl or what he should tell her. He did hold the gap in the wall, but he did not do it alone. There were plenty of ranged knights and mages supporting him from the top of the wall. There had also been other breaches in the wall, all of which were defended by brave knights and mages. Really, he had just only kept the weakest of the Ferocious Beasts and Demonic Beasts out.

"He is indeed the Hero of the East Gate," a familiar voice said from behind Damion. Turning to look Damion saw Ms. Teft and Arica standing behind him. Damion did not think they had just happened upon him by chance, but he was glad for the familiar faces. Most likely they had followed him from the Adventurer Association. Letting him be lost in his thoughts and emotions until he was ready to open up.

"Really! You looked really cool in the playbacks. Why did your hair change?" the girl exclaimed. Her voice carried over to the other people in the park and very quickly the other children and even the parents were looking over and murmuring about the young man with the light blue hair.

"It is complicated," Damion told her, not sure how to answer her, but not wanting to brush her off either.

"Young man. I just want to thank you. Your bravery highlights what it means to be an adventurer." A man said walking over and shaking Damion's hand. Very quickly, the majority of people in the park were coming over and wanting to shake Damion's hand and offer him their thanks. A few even asked for Damion's autograph. After several minutes, Ms. Teft stepped in and freed Damion.

"I apologize, Mage Wells has an appointment he has to keep." Once Damion was free of the crowd that had grown and consisted of far more people than had been in the park initially Damion thanked Ms. Teft for the rescue.

"Why is everyone treating me like a great hero? All I did was what I was supposed to do."

"Don't sell yourself short Damion. Not many D Rank knights could fight for over a day constantly. I trained you well, but I had no idea you had that much stamina," Ms. Teft said as they walked towards Damion's home.

"I kept going well beyond my limits. I just knew I had to keep fighting as long as there were still beasts trying to get through. I don't even remember most of it."

"Be that as it may. The news agencies are hailing you the Hero of the East Gate and while the fame will only last a few weeks at most, I think it is good for you to hear it. You need to remember you did a lot of good and it is not your fault your family passed away."

"I know. It is hard not to feel like it is though," Damion replied.

"Remember. Life is motion. Keep moving forward. You can't change the past. All you can do is keep moving forward and honor their memories." Mage Teft told him as she walked him to his house. As they walked Mage Teft kept a careful eye on Damion. Emotionally, he was a mess, but who in his situation would not be. He became a hero to the masses and lost his family. Mage Teft just hoped she had done the right thing.