It was at the end of Aida’s last class that day that they received any information about Affiliates.

“As you all know, we will have Affiliates visiting us at the beginning of the new sun cycle, and staying with us through the rest of the academic year,” Professor Lloyd began. “This year’s recruitment process will be…a little different. We have more Affiliates coming, which means as Class 2, you will have more contract opportunities.” He gave a tight smile. “This is a great year for you.”

Aida frowned. Too forced. “Professor, when you say more Affiliates…do you mean more companies are coming, or that the original roster of companies are going to be sending more recruiters?”

Lloyd pressed his lips together, seeming to see her for the first time. He visibly forced himself to relax, quickly recapturing the needle of mana that pierced through his calm flow. “More recruiters from the Strongholds, as well as a select number of other companies. They have decided it’s worth the investment to increase their hires.”

“Why is that?” Aida kept her expression neutral, looking politely curious to Lloyd’s probing look. He exhaled.

“I suppose they decided they should spend more of their baen to mentor young talent,” he said reluctantly. “In any case, that’s not anything for you to worry about - just focus on growing and polishing up your abilities.”

Aida nodded docilely. She could recognize a nonanswer when she received one. He’s definitely hiding something. His response was too poised - if he truly didn’t know anything, he would have shared opinions on what he thought was happening. But the fact that he outright refused to indulge indicated there was something he didn’t wish to divulge.

Lloyd released the class, to everyone else’s relief. Aida trailed after them, not noticing the suspicious gaze Lloyd trained on her.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Aida pressed her knuckles into her temples. She had never enjoyed her social studies or history classes, and she liked it even less now. Especially since she felt like she was being overwhelmed with information - she’d been effectively isolated in Maglica, and didn’t have a good frame of reference about what life, politics, and culture outside of school was like. It’s going to take years for me to be able to catch up to what’s happening.

Charma had charitably spent half an hour pulling books for Aida to read. Under the guise of wishing to better understand her future career options, Aida had sought out the sweet librarian’s help in researching material about the Border and Naval Strongholds and major industry businesses. She had come through with two equally thick volumes describing the founding history, mission, and achievements of each Stronghold, as well as a stack of thinner (but still thick) volumes covering general history and development of the cornerstone industries: construction, agriculture, sanitation. The last pile of books she brought were a hodgepodge of some of the more notable industries Charma thought would suit Aida’s elemental affinity: spa and healing, dessert and soup-making (“I’m sorry, your affinity is quite limited in the Fire industry,” she said apologetically) and water transportation.

Aida’s biggest takeaway from reading the books was that none of them were very objective: it seemed like every book’s author was closely intertwined with the subject matter being discussed, whether as a direct practitioner in that industry, or as a family member of a famous practitioner. They all had a vested interest to portray their industry and jobs as the most noble of all undertakings. This world could do with having some forum for anonymous opinions.

Because of the skewed portrayal, she didn’t feel like she could make any sort of judgment call on which industry (or Stronghold) would be more…less corrupt. She didn’t even have a good grasp on what earning potential would be like in these industries. For all she knew, she could probably make more baen making confections than as a Healer.

Aida pushed Dignity of Desserts away, feeling her head begin pounding. She was too ambitious, trying to figure out the political field in one day out of a school library. This was a waste of time.

She felt a familiar curl of mana float over her. Glancing through the bookshelves, she smiled as Ezra stepped out. “It must be my lucky day. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Ezra gave a brief smile as he pulled out a chair. “The teachers have started relaxing their grip on us. You weren’t at dinner.”

Alarmed, Aida looked up at the massive clock on the library’s ceiling. Sure enough, there were only a few minutes of dinner left. She moaned, burying her face in her hands. What a massive waste of time!

Ezra poked at her elbow. Peeking over her fingers, she saw him pressing a folded cloth napkin against her. Smiling at him gratefully, she carefully unwrapped the napkin, revealing a nutrition bar.

“I really shouldn’t encourage your bad habits,” he said conversationally. His gaze roamed over all the books on her table. “What are you looking for?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Aida grimaced, swallowing. “I’m just trying to figure out which career path I should choose.”

“I thought you wanted to be a Healer?”

She nodded. “I do…I just thought I should look into other options as well. What do you want to do? I don’t think you ever said.”

The corners of Ezra’s lips turned down ever so slightly. “I’m honestly not sure.” The corners dipped further. “…I would like to not be part of the family business.”

Aida felt her jaw drop at his admission. She knew he didn’t get along with his older brother, Jasper Riolt - but she didn’t think about what that meant for him. He was avoiding her gaze. Hoisting her jaw back up, she aimed for a lighthearted comment.

“Well…I guess that means you’ll get all the Affiliates fighting to court you when they arrive next moon cycle. I bet the Border Stronghold would love to have you - oh, but maybe the Naval Stronghold needs your metal skills more for their ships,” she guessed.

Ezra nodded slowly. “…I’m going to keep my options open.” He glanced at her. “…if you’re committed to learning Healing, you’ll have a lot of resources at your disposal if you join either of the Strongholds.”

Aida frowned. She had never really wanted to join the military (which was absolutely the impression she got from reading the books), but it made sense that they would have all the resources to support her educational goals. “Other than resources…would they be the best to learn from? I was thinking maybe some independent clinics…”

“The reputable clinics with challenging cases can be very competitive to get into, especially considering that the Healers there are usually overworked, and less willing to take on the mantle of mentorship. That is just what I have heard. I don’t know if it is true,” Ezra added. Aida sighed. Just like in my world.

“I wouldn’t give up hope just yet,” Ezra said softly. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that there are options other than clinics.”

Aida smiled at him. “Thanks for the reassurance. I’ll keep an open mind.” She looked at the Naval and Border Stronghold books, both propped open to the “Mission” section. She had thought it would be more interesting to see where they differed, since the books seemed to follow the same dry textbook format and style.

The original Stronghold force started as an Adventuring group focused on battling back the monsters that preyed on humans. Thanks to their efforts, Wyndians were able to expand beyond the small settlements they clustered in, and were able to erect towns and cities. Because the Stronghold tamed the wilderness, Wyndians experienced an era of growth, prosperity, and technological advancement as they acquired the living margin to specialize.

As the Wyndian population grew, so did the Strongholders. Eventually, the original Stronghold founders (five individuals, each affiliated with a different element) decided to create a second branch: the Naval Stronghold. They passed on the governance of the renamed Border Stronghold to their proteges, as they spearheaded the naval effort: to battle back the sea monsters that preyed on Wyndians who had to make their living along the coast.

The two Strongholds shared the same overarching mission: to protect the people of Wyndia, and enable safe passage between settlements. The book claimed they were not driven by a particular ideology, and did not engage in local political disputes. On the surface, they seemed like two respectable organizations, but Aida had an inherent distrust when it came to large entities comprised of powerful people. There are always skeletons.

“Excuse me! No food allowed in the library!” Aida jumped at Charma’s aggressive tone - a complete one-eighty from the sweet and helpful librarian she had grown familiar with.

“I’m so sorry,” Aida squeaked, crumpling her napkin as she swept the crumbs into her hand. “I missed dinner, I don’t know what I was thinking…”

Charma sniffed haughtily, whipping out a dustpan and brush. “I’ll pretend I didn’t see it this time, but next time eat your snack in the hallway. Leave the books,” she added sternly. “I’ll hold them for you if you plan on reading them later.”

“Yes please,” Aida said meekly. She apologized again, backing out of the library with Ezra.

She sighed out in the hallway.

“The Strongholds really aren’t a bad option,” Ezra said, continuing their conversation like nothing had happened. “They pay well, and you have the option to change assignments every few years in order to gain a diverse range of experiences. Most Adventuring groups are founded by former Strongholders.”

Aida nodded thoughtfully. The Stronghold’s system sounded like an extended training program, except they would pay her for it. But…if we’re on the brink of war…

Even if the Strongholds were adamant about not partaking in political disputes, if the conflict escalated eventually they would have to take a side…and Annie had heard enough horror stories from her parents’ escape from their home country about how violent “disputes” could become.

But if the Strongholds get pulled into war…then nothing really matters at that point. Aida sighed again, this time more forcefully. Her head throbbed even more.

“What’s wrong?” Ezra was looking at her with concern. “You look very worried.” He hovered his index finger between her brows. Aida lifted her hands, pulling the skin taut between her brows.

“I’m just trying to figure out what I really want. But I guess I should wait until I meet the Affiliates before I make my decision anyway,” she said to him, speaking beneath her hands. He was looking at her with slightly furrowed brows.

“I see. That’s true, we don’t have to decide now,” he agreed. He slowly raised his hands to his own brow, before pushing his eyebrows up. “…this is what you look like.”

Aida looked at him. He was staring at her with wide eyes, courtesy of his fingers pulling his skin up. His mouth was completely immobile, giving him a wide-eyed, deadpan look. She chuckled reluctantly. “I do not.”

He nodded seriously, keeping his fingers on his brow. “You do.”

“I’m sure I look sillier than you do,” Aida retorted, dropping her hands. But she kept her smile on her face. “Want to go for a walk? I could use some fresh air.”

Ezra dipped his head, keeping his fingers on his brow. She smacked his arm, unable to hold back her laugh.