April 9th, year 024 Angels Descent

It was the morning after the Cardinal of Benevolence arrived, and the class were waiting in the central plaza to greet him. They had the previous evening, during the welcome banquet, agreed to meet by the ninth bell.

As the moment of their agreed meeting approached, they kept looking around but couldn’t see him nor his bodyguards. The clock tower that stood over the plaza continued to tick onward, ever nearing the hour.

“Where is he?” Bea asked, looking in every direction from her perch on Gunter's shoulder.

“Maybe he got lost; it’s not like he is familiar with the school grounds,” Gunter suggested.

“I knew we should’ve given him a map… I’m the worst at organising stuff,” Daisy muttered, looking despondently at the clock tower as the ninth bell rang out.

“Oh, heavens forbid, you have been most cordial to this old bag of bones,” Benevolence said as the class all simultaneously turned to stare at the old man.

“What? It’s almost like you didn’t see me,” he said with a grin. “And I thought I was the blind one.”

“Sir, you have played your jest; may we proceed… I am uncomfortable being guided by such young…” one of his guard knights muttered before Benevolence held up a hand to stop him.

“None of that. I know you are new to my retinue, but you will have to change your outlook. I mean, look at me; I can’t even look, and I have a far healthier outlook than most of the clergy,” Benevolence paused with his hands out with a big goofy grin as he waited for the laughter at his joke.

“Ha…Ha…Ha…Ha,” one of his guards laughed in a jilted, monotone manner that sounded more like a robot voice recording was jumping.

“We were wondering what you would like to do, sir,” Daisy began trying to break the ice. “Considering that-”

“Sightseeing was the plan, right? I love looking at stuff, especially when in places I’ve never seen.” The class only felt more awkward hearing this knowing their initial plan had been such a disaster.

“Come now; surely I’ve made enough blind jokes for you to realise I don’t mind your little mix-up. I imagine your teacher didn’t tell you just to see my reaction. A good way to get a gauge of a diplomat is by showing weakness. Will they go for the jugular, nash and bite in a rage or be accommodating the error”

“So, sir, used us as canaries?” Maxwell asked.

“Seems likely… Rather unkind of him, but I can see the humour… Well, please lead the way. I want to bask in the sights and smells of the city.”

“You mean we should proceed with the sightseeing tour?” Gunter asked.

“Yes, I’m sure my bodyguards will get just as much out of it as I would,” he replied with a grin.

“Come on, crack a smile. Otherwise, I’m just going to be making weirder jokes,” Benevolence said as he poked Daisy’s cheek.

“Lord Benevolence-” Kline began only to stop when he held up a hand.

“Please call me Johan. Think of me as a blind, old bugger that you have been forced to take care of.”

“Lord Johan, we will proceed with the sightseeing tour if that is actually your wish,” Johan nodded eagerly.

“If I said no, may the gods pluck my eyes out of my head.”

Seeing little recourse, the class decided to concede to his desires and began taking him on a guided tour through the Academy.

“This here is the hall of a light,” Maxwell began as they entered one of the famed hallways of the academy.

“Wow, is it always so bright?” Johan asked as he shielded his eyes.

“Not always, but the light crystals in the ceiling absorb sunlight. In summer, it can get rather bright and…” Maxwell trailed off as he looked at the Cardinal, who had a very Alex-like grin, one Maxwell couldn’t help but return. Even he had to admit the blind jokes at the Cardinal's own expense had worn him down.

“Where to next?” Johan asked.

“To the Academy Overlook,” Daisy replied as she now led the way to the flower garden to the north of the academy.

Weaving through the paths that snaked the academy grounds, the class with the Cardinal and his two guards in tow arrived at the Academy Overlook. A place where a beautiful flower garden had been planted, making a relaxing garden that was popular with students and teachers alike.

“Wow, look at all those colours… whew, they smell very flowery,” Johan muttered as he knelt down to smell the flowers. Bea and Gunter couldn’t help but smirk this time. The Cardinal smiled at them, seeing he had succeeded in making half the class smirk.

“Oh, your namesakes,” Johan said, gesturing to a small bunch of Daisies.

“Best be careful around them; with how old I am, I’ll be pushing them sooner or later.” It seemed it was Kline's turn to crack. Johan was going out of his way to make the class smirk at his terrible jokes.

“If you’d like, I can guide you to the balcony that looks over four lower plateaus,” Daisy offered.

“I would love to be guided, I left my dog back in the church, so I was kind of just getting around with blind luck… eh?... geddit?”

“Hilarious, sir,” one of his guard knights said in the same monotone.

“Oh, Lobates, I will get you to break one of these days. Yes, please, young lady, please guide me to the balcony.”

Daisy sidled up next to Johan, who so far had shown very little issue getting around and guided him by his elbow towards the balcony that looked over the lower plateaus.

“The Academy was founded by Lord Sloth hundreds of years ago. He picked the location due to its highly defensible positions. Five plateaus make up the entire city. The ground plateau where you arrived, the lower plateau where the commoners live, the middle plateau where a lot of commerce happens, the upper plateau where the rich live and the academy plateau where the Academy grounds sit.” Daisy began as she pointed down to the plateaus below.

“As you can see, each of the plateaus has a single path up between each level in a zig-zag pattern. Any invading force would need to expose its flank just to progress. Not to mention each plateau has mandatory green areas that can be converted into fields in a siege situation.”

“Wow… such a sight… I will remember this sight for the rest of my days,” Johan said with an awed tone of voice.

“Sir, please… I put real effort into helping create this itinerary, only to find out it was all useless,” Daisy replied rather melancholically.

“Oh, I wasn’t being facetious; the sight truly is beautiful. This city hums with so much life,” Johan replied as he turned to face Daisy.

“We thank you for the military information, young lady,” Lobates added, causing Daisy to gasp, realising her mistake.

“Oh, he is teasing you. We have to know what you told us since the second crusade. We have even experienced its defences during the second, third and fifth crusades.”

“Those fools thought attacking a city of mages on the high ground with fortifications was a good idea.”

“If this one is so hard to take, what is the easiest fortification to take?” Tasha asked.

“Hmmm, probably the Seraphim Walls,” Johan replied.

“Sir!!!”

“Oh, Lobates, they know it as well as we know about this place. The Seraphim walls were built to stop any counter-invasions. The problem is your military, while small, are outstanding defenders. Your people often take the wall and use it to keep our crusades out. I have heard the walls joking referred to as the foreign exchange walls. Like they were a student sent abroad,” Johan explained with a chuckle.

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“Are you actually blind sir?” Tasha asked.

“Tasha?!!” Daisy hissed through gritted teeth.

“Oh, it’s ok; I am very open about it. It’s why I make jokes to put people at ease. Yes, young lady, I am truly blind.”

“But you move like you can see… You even caught those stones yesterday.”

“Yes, truly a fun trick wasn’t it,” Johan replied with a grin as he turned back to face the flower garden.

“This is a place where lovers confess, I assume?” Johan asked, gesturing to a bench in the middle of the garden.

“How can you tell?” Bea asked, shooting a quick glance at an already blushing Gunter.

“I can see the spirits of love are drawn here. It often happens in romantic spots where the love of mortals is dispersed into the spirit world,” Johan explained.

“You can see spirits, sir?” Lobates asked, clearly surprised.

“You finally break your stoney expression, not for my stellar jokes but because I have manasight?” Johan muttered, looking despondent.

“You children know what manasight is?”

“Yes, our teacher showed us what it’s like,” Daisy replied.

“Yes, I suspected he had such sight. You see, children, when you reach the right level of power, you gain manasight.”

“It works even when blind?” Tasha asked.

“Yes, because it uses the sight of your soul. It is how I get around. I can see the winds of soul energy sweep around. You children, for instance, I can make out silhouettes.”

“I have another question, sir?” Tasha began, as the class, all held their breaths as Tasha had been asking rather blunt questions.

“Why are you still blind?”

“Tasha, you can’t ask someone that… no matter how interesting a question it is,” Bea hissed.

“Oh, that, It is a very valid question. Why wouldn’t someone with my influence not get godly regeneration to regrow them? Or why not get artificer eyeballs? The answer is simple; it would defeat the point.”

“Defeat the point?” Tasha repeated as she cocked her head.

“Yes, you see, children, I didn’t go blind by illness or injury. I went blind because I plucked my eyes from my own skull.”

“WHY?!!” Daisy asked with a look of connor on her face.

“There is so much hate in this world, and I couldn’t bare to look upon it anymore. So I got a poker and went-” Johan mimed, plucking his eyes out while making a popping noise with his mouth.

“It is thanks to doing that I gained the ability to commune with the gods and even became the best diplomat for the Theocracy.”

“Why does blinding yourself do that?” Gunter asked.

“Because I don’t… can’t judge people based on their appearance or race. I judge them based on who they are and what they are like.”

“We Cardinals are more than just spiritual leaders. We are very much like your Sinful Lords. We need power as well as influence. But having those does not mean that we are suited to our roles. My predecessor was on shockingly bad terms with every nation he visited that it is a divine miracle we didn’t have the whole world declare war on us.”

“It is why I am not allowed to retire. They are yet to find a Cardinal who isn’t a human supremacist.”

“About that, sir…” Maxwell began before trailing off.

“Please ask away; I am here to help build bonds, so if answering a question can facilitate that, then I have the imperative to do so.”

“Can you tell us more about the Holy Continent? Our history books don’t say much.”

“I imagine they mainly say religious nutjobs send armies from here,” Johan chuckled.

“Very well, I can tell you a little about my homeland. Like we are a matriarchal society,” Johan began.

“Wait, really? How did that start?” Daisy eagerly asked.

“You have read stories about dragons snatching princesses, right?” Johan asked; the class all nodded in response.

“Lord Insithrilax said that collecting princesses was a craze a long while back. Getting a rare collectors edition princess was all the rage. They even built palatial towers to keep them comfortable and in mint condition.”

“Ah, good, you know a lot already, then. A lot of those towers became convents, you know. But you see, the Kings at the time were faced with a problem. If they let a dragon steal their princesses, they would either look weak or lose a political marriage. But to keep the princesses safe would take an inordinate amount of money. Hiring soldiers making and maintaining anti-dragon weapons and the like.” The class all nodded along.

“In the end, a few kings concluded it would be cheaper to train the princesses to defend themselves. So they hired combat instructors, and the princesses all became incredible fighters.”

“I don’t see how this creates a matriarchal society?” Daisy asked.

“Well, I am yet to meet a king who wouldn’t take the advice of a woman who could singlehandedly fight a dragon. These wise kings eventually had their influence overtaken by their queens, and the tradition stuck. Nowadays, princes have to worry about arranged marriages while princesses learn swordplay.”

“The Theocracy follows these traditions as well. Our Lady Pope Vespasia the Golden-” Johan paused as he and his guard knights knelt in reverence. “Is an angel who descended to defend the righteous souls. Far more women hold positions of power on the Holy Continent. The only exception being the Steel hills of the dwarven clans.”

“So, tour guide, where to next?” Johan asked, having finished his little lecture.

“We will be going to the upper plateau marketplace,” Daisy replied.

“Oh goody, do they sell candy clouds? My granddaughter Lucy absolutely loves them… Then again, that scarily clever girl loves everything sweet.”

Leading the way through the Academy gatehouse, the class with the Cardinal and his two guards in tow made their way to the upper plateau.

“You sure it’s safe for you to be travelling with so little security?”

“I am accompanied by two grand master crusader knights and six of the most powerful students in the academy. I think I am very safe in your care,” Johan replied with a warm smile.

As they made their way down the ramp, Johan took out of his pocket the three rocks from yesterday and began juggling them absent-mindedly.

“You’re rather good at that,” Kline commented as he watched the Cardinal effortlessly juggle as he went down the ramp.

“Thanks; I was part of a performing troupe in my youth; it’s all hard work and practice. Both, like the whetstone, can sharpen skills.”

“So you were born a commoner?” Maxwell asked.

“Yes, the Theocracy is the best way to rise up in the world on the Holy Continent. Though few know luxury is not really widespread amongst the upper echelons. After becoming a high priest, the pay doesn’t increase even up to the seat of the pope. It is supposed to stop people seeking wealth by joining the Theocracy.”

“Could’ve fooled us with that walking church

“Ah, the houses for the gods do demand more excess than the priests. But I live in a house that is likely closer to the level of people on the middle plateau,” Johan explained as he repocketed the stones.

“We are at a sweets stall, sir,” Daisy explained. The merchant running the stall was familiar to them; it was the ice cream merchant they had encountered that first night they went adventuring. He had expanded his business and gained upper plateau permits, all thanks to a financial windfall that very same night.

“I would love some candy cloud, thank you. What about you, kids? It’ll be my treat?” Johan asked, turning to face the class.

“We will respectfully abstain,” Maxwell replied, much to Tasha’s and Bea’s disappointment.

“You children can have anything you want,” Johan pressed.

“Still, we must refuse,” Maxwell replied.

“Oh, I know you kids are refusing. I meant them,” Johan replied, gesturing to the corner of a building where many pairs of eyes were watching them.

“Come on, children, have anything you like,” Johan beamed as half a dozen children the class recognised as Alex’s tag-alongs when he passed through the upper plateau with his weird marching.

“Shouldn’t they ask their parent's permission?” Daisy asked.

“It is written in the scriptures, ‘Tis better to asketh for absolution than beggeth for permission’.”

“Where does it say that?”

“Dunno, it’s a long book, and you could probably infer it somewhere,” Johan replied with a shrug as the children all began picking out the sweets they wanted.

Seeing the children off, the class proceeded to their next destination, which was the upper plateau overlook, which gave a similar view to the Academy Overlook but from a different angle.

“Wow, this city is bustling with life,” Johan muttered as he took a long draw from a bottle of freshly squeezed juice he had bought.

“Tell me, kids do you know what that building is?” Johan asked, pointing out into the city. Following his finger, the class could make out one building rising slightly higher than the rest. One they all recognised well.

“Oh, you wouldn’t want to go there, sir,” Daisy replied.

“The fact you deflected tells me you know more about that place. Do tell me so I can decide if it is a place I should go myself,” Johan asked with a very Alex-like grin on his face.

“That, sir, is a tavern named the Biting Remark. It isn’t a place you should visit,” Daisy replied.

“Oh? But the spirits for fun and merriment are swarming it, especially more than last night.”

“Probably because of the Golem fights tonight,” Kline replied.

“Golem fights?”

“Yes, they have a few golems, and they duke it out over Friday and Saturday nights,” Kline replied, oblivious to the glare Daisy was shooting his way. Kline was just eager to advertise the business he was a part-owner of.

“Oh, I really must go now,” Johan said with a big child-like grin.

“Sir, we cannot. It is too dangerous to go,” Lobates said, unwilling to budge.

“Awe, spoilsport… Sorry children seems I’ve been grounded,” Johan replied with a weak grin.

“Sadly, my babysitters are intent on not loosening up and getting stomach ulcers.”