"She wants to talk with you before she decides on accepting the squireship."

The Captain explained the situation to Donovan and Diana. He left out details about her personal issue, those being related to her people's need to evacuate, but he made the fact that she had hit a high-class noble abundantly clear. Even if it was unintentional, the Captain understood that Diana would realize the potential problems that could arise from socializing with her. At the same time, he had to make it known to them that she was far and away the best possible person for the job.

Perhaps even more effective than his own words were those of the Marshall, the one who had investigated and corroborated all that he said.

"Even if you decide that you don't wish to hire her, I would still recommend speaking with her. The only concern I have is whether or not you two can maintain a conversation. Are you certain you won't choke halfway through?"

The two of them nodded to the Marshall's concern. They couldn't keep it going at all times, but they were confident that they would not falter when they actually spoke.

"In that case, I will send her in. I will take my leave." The Marshall left, taking along with him a piece of paper that presumably had the names of other candidates.

Not even ten seconds passed before a shorter woman appeared in his place. She had ears and a tail, which would have been a surprise to them had they not been briefed on her appearance by the Captain, but it was her green eyes that seemed to bite into the soul that evoked a reaction from Diana. Shock, at both their intensity and impossible color, was the primary emotion, though she would definitely admit to being a little afraid.

Donovan did not suffer from such an impression. He would probably be able to tell she was trained in some form of combat even without being told owing to her toned forearms and the way her eyes darted around. Hips, shoulders, and legs were all quickly glanced at before she made eye contact, she was searching for weapons.

"Titanyana Strapper of the Nekh. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Aside from a slight bow, she did not perform any flattering actions. Diana recognized this as a greeting between nobles of equal status, but Don thought of it as the reservation of a soldier. "May I hear your names?"

"I am Diana Helmsguard of the Terran."

"Donovan Strauss, similarly of the Terran."

"The name of your nation is that same as that of your race?" She was surprised at this information, though it didn't show on her face. Usually a race's name was part of their nation's name in some capacity, the Holifanian Theocracy being a prime example, but very rarely was the name of the nation only the name of their race.

"Not quite. We don't exactly have a government at the moment. It's just the two of us at the moment."

"Just the two of you? Will others be joining later?" Titanyana noticed a slight slackening in Diana's shoulders.

"We mean it is quite literally just the two of us. I take it the Captain explained our circumstances, did he not?" Donovan didn't react to the reminder that they were alone, he had already internalized that information as something he could do nothing about. Instead he took it as a cue that their potential employee was not informed of all they should probably know.

"I didn't know what you wanted to become common knowledge, so I censured myself. I thought I had explained the fact that the two of you were all that remained of Terra, but that evidently didn't come through."

"Don't worry about it Captain, I can imagine how that sort of thing would be difficult to believe." Diana recollected herself rather quickly.

Watching this interaction was something of an eye opener for Titanyana. She didn't really understand how most things outside of her isolated and dying home worked, the duties of the Sanctum among them. However from this, she was beginning to see that these people in front of her were almost certainly in a more difficult situation than her own people were in.

"You are the last of the Terrans?" A change in her expression finally manifested itself. Up to this point she had been maintaining an air of professionalism and coldness that a sword for hire would traditionally need in order to have the best chance of securing employment, but the revelation that there could possibly be people worse off than the Nekh shook her.

"Indeed. Is there anything else you wish to know?" Donovan maintained his calm.

"What happened to them?"

"I think that information would be best left se-"

"They all died when this 'Veil' thing collapsed. Our planet, moon, and star died along with them." Donovan interrupted the Captain. He could understand the Captain's desire to keep such information under wraps, but Donovan decided he wanted Titanyana as an instructor already. It would be best to be open about their situation and what they knew in order to not have problems in the future. Similarly, honesty was more likely to make her accept their offer.

Titanyana glanced at Diana and the Captain, both of whom nodded. The reality of their situation struck her like a club. Her people still had a chance. Their people had already died.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I am sorry for your loss." She once again bowed her head, and some of the rigidity in her body's posture softened.

"Don't be. You had no involvement and there is nothing that can be done about it now. I would instead prefer to continue our talks about having you work for us so that we can get to work securing a future." Donovan flatly rejected her pity, the social stance that Diana suggested they take, choosing to focus on what mattered at the moment.

"You say work for 'us', but I am to be your squire correct? Will I also be training, em, do you prefer the use of your primary or secondary names?"

"We prefer the use of our last names in formal settings." Diana cleared up her misunderstanding.

"Will I also be training Lady Diana as well?"

Donovan thought about how he wanted to respond. It was on Diana's suggestion that he handle the hiring of his squire on his own owing to the fact that he would be the one working with her, but he wasn't the most diplomatic with the way he talked. "I might have you teach her how to use smaller weapons to defend herself in a pinch, but I will probably have you protect her in my absence. Make no mistake, I prioritize her health and safety far above my own. If one of us is to die, it should be me."

Titanyana could see that this decision was more than romantic, it was a calculated decision to increase the chance that their people would survive.

"I see. How often do you wish to train in a week?"

"As frequently as is reasonable. My experiences with the Captain have given me a clear demonstration of my inadequacies in the field of close combat. As such, I would like to start with that before moving on to instruction about leading a squad. You have experience in that field as well, correct?"

"I have some. If you don't mind, could you tell me your experience with combat if you have it? Even theoretical knowledge and commanding count in this consideration." Titanyana wanted to know what she was dealing with before she took on the job.

"While I would love to say that I am an expert, at least theoretically, the style of warfare I am familiar with is completely different than any that exists in this academy."

"So you are essentially a blank slate? Starting from zero?" That might make teaching him a long and arduous process, many students come with at least a basic understanding of war as part of their preparation, but it would also mean he shouldn't have bad habits.

"I would say that's a close enough approximation. I can fight with my body to a satisfactory degree, and I have received some training in the sword from the Captain, but I do not have anything resembling a technique yet. Hell, I don't think I've even had a proper spar." Donovan was sticking strictly to his honesty policy, though he was leaving out a few details that he and Diana agreed were off-limits.

The fact that he hadn't been told to shut up in the form of an elbow to the ribs was a miracle in and of itself.

"I can work with that." Already she was considering a plan of action to train him into an adequate warrior. "Would you be able to tell me how proficient you are in the use of split?" This was an important consideration in her prioritization of training. The upper limit of what someone could achieve as a combatant was defined more by their capacity and proficiency in split than anything else. Of the two, capacity was something she could find out quickly and could be built up over time, but proficiency was pretty much defined at birth.

To what she assumed would be an immediate answer, Donovan instead turned to look at Diana, as if he was trying to get approval for something. With her nod, he gave his answer. "Truth be told, we don't know yet."

An ear flick and a tiny wriggle in the tale, a sign of indignation among the Nekh. 'How could you possibly not know that sort of thing at your age?' is what she wanted to say, but she was perceptive enough to tell that there was more to it. Their gazes directed at the Captain were what tipped her off.

"Before they were brought to the Sanctum, they existed in a realm where using split was for all intents and purposes unusable. As such, it was only recently that the Great Csillacra granted them the ability to. They have spent the last week or so training to use it, but they are still incredibly inexperienced. I don't know their specific level, but I would treat them as if they were children. They have only just learned how to hold a conversation, how to speak." The Captain, far more intimate with the general perception of split, handled the explanation for them.

"We are working vigorously to improve of course, but our priorities lay with not making ourselves look incompetent. We haven't even covered how to make use of split outside of our bodies yet."

"No experience with weapon arts then, and no known ability in split sorcery either. I should be able to help with the fundamentals of using split and weapon arts, but I have to admit that split sorcery is not my strong suit. Explaining the basics of it should still be within my capabilities, I think." As if to check her assumption, she raised her open palm to just below her mouth and blew. Like a dragon, a small fountain red flames sprouted from her pursed lips. After this little gust, an ember of this fire danced around her hand before being extinguished.

Donovan and Diana alike wanted to react with awe, but they had seen a similar trick from the Arboreal Maiden countless times. To be fair she used water instead of fire, but it was far more of a spectacle owing to the increased magnitude.

"Are you confident in your ability to train me?"

"I am certain that I can, though the results will depend entirely on you." She didn't want to guarantee something she couldn't absolutely back up. This at least let her fall back on something if she failed.

"I can accept that. I do not intend on blaming you for my own failings, if close combat proves to be impossible for me I will try something else. Do you have any further questions?"

Titanyana debated internally whether or not she wanted to ask the question on her mind, though the desire to know more eventually won.

"What are your goals at the academy? Your ambitions?"

"Survival." Zero hesitation. "I will do anything and everything in my power to ensure that our race, Terrans, do not go extinct but instead prosper. The future is influenced by the past and present, and there is nothing that can be done about the past. Therefore I will attempt to enact my will upon the present violently and with vigor so that I might have the slightest bit more control over the future. Does that answer satisfy you?"

"Very much so." Titanyana practically trembled at the response. Perhaps it was the focused look in his gray eyes or the confidence and unhesitating manner with which he responded, but she could see him in a commanding role. If that meant he was aiming for the top of the academy, she could see him getting there.

"In that case, would you be interested in taking on the position of of my squire Lady Strapper?"