Rain and Syme sat in their newly appointed room deep in the church building, soaking up the midday sun that crept through the gap between the semi-translucent white curtains.
A dew drop of ambrosial gardenias drifted up their noses from a bottle of small brown incense sticks on the bed-side counter.
As compared to the inns, it was worlds apart. Though it could not be compared to a room in the mansions of nobility, it had a certain soothing aura of serenity befit of a member of the church.
And though it was not lined with gold and expensive paintings–traditional of noble houses–it was not cheap by any means. The room was extremely spacious, boasting a dressing room that could, a queen-sized bed, magical insulating formations, a kitchen with all amenities, and a bathroom with counters, a sauna, and square bathtub akin to a mini-pool.
It had taken the two a handful of minutes to even explore the entire place, and still, there were probably functions they had yet to discover.
As soon as the realization had set in that this was not a dream, Syme inhaled deeply, stroked the velvety bedsheets with her hand and closed her eyes.
She would have crashed onto the bed immediately if it wasn't for how dirty she was at the moment.
"Go take a break, I'm going out for a bit," Rain told Syme as he left through the door.
As soon as he left, he was startled by the sight of a young lady in tight, formal white garments–that of a maid.
"...can I help you?" Rain asked.
"Ah! Sorry for not introducing myself, my name is Myra, and I have been ordered to serve you two as a maid" she responded curtly with a slight bow.
"Hmm… Miss… uh, Syme is resting right now, could I ask you some questions as we walk around instead?"
"Of course, young master"
'Young master, hmm, that doesn't sound so bad'.
"So," he began as they walked down the hall and up to the second floor overlooking the nave, "what's going to happen to us now?"
"Hmm?" she questioned, "well, the church will train you. Actually, I will be your guy's combat instructor."
"?"
"I might not look like it, young master, but I'm a 5th degree holy knight," she replied to his look with a smile, keeping courtesy as always.
"The church really seems to place great value over Syme don't they…" Rain contemplated.
"Of course. She has the greatest potential we've ever seen since the first holy saintess 1000 years ago."
"What happened to her then?" Rain asked.
Myra inhaled and began to explain from the start, "one thousand years ago, the great devil king Aamon tore a rift between the underworld and our world, opening the floodgates to the evil beings of Hell. It was with the sacrifice of the saintess that we were able to seal the rift. But now, as the years pass, the seal seems to be weakening."
"So, is Aamon dead?" Shinra asked innocently like a child befitting his age now.
"It is unknown if Aamon had perished, but we knew he sustained a severe injury that incapacitated him. Devils and demons are vicious creatures, so it is plausible that a new king has taken the throne of Hell."
'Hmm… What is Hell?' Those words seemed to have some sort of attachment to him, but he couldn't figure out why exactly.
He knew of Hell from the moment he was born, and he knew about how he was a part of a handful of rare anomalies that would be born outside, yet something called to him in those four letters.
Something more than just superficial connectedness.
He quickly snapped out of his daze, thinking that it might look weird to Myra.
He had already realized that Myra was scrutinizing him. The way he talked, and took action to initiate conversation with her like he did was unlike that of a child his age; and his transformation wasn't perfect. He could hide his dark mana but if someone sensitive devils looked closely, they could suspect him.
"Ms. Myra, I'm hungry, is there food?" He asked innocently, trying to dissuade her probing.
"Of course. Also you may simply call me Myra, I am here to serve you after all," she said with that same practiced respect.
The meal was good, hearty, filling, with some mana that nourished the body.
With Myra's help, they brought back a handful of clothes for Syme and himself. When he opened the door, Syme was sound asleep in bed. So, Rain showered, cleaned himself and soon snuggled up next to her like any kid would given one bed, jolting her a little bit in her rest.
The next morning they were at an open training field in a facility near and owned by the church of light.
Rain sat in the shade while he looked at two beautiful women staring at each other, training swords held at the ready.
"Come," Myra said confidently, her medium auburn hair swaying gently as she positioned herself.
Syme charged at her, taking the initiative. She knew her opponent was much stronger than she was, but still, she believed she could stand a chance in her delusion.
With one swift motion, Myra caught Syme's sword on her own, pulled her in, and parried the strike, knocking Syme to the ground.
Syme tried to get up but stopped when the tip of the training sword pressed against her neck. The unsavory memory of Rain's claw wrapper around her surfaced briefly.
She sighed.
"There's a lot to be done," Myra commented.
"Come again."
And again, and again, and again, she repeated her schedule, being knocked down over and over.
The next day was magic theory, academics, practical magic training and such. Syme was given the training methods of all the past saintesses by authorization of the capital church. Information spreads fast.
Days went on like this. Combat training one day, magic training the next. And on and on and on and on.
There were occasionally practical combat exercises in the wilderness, but nonetheless, two years would pass like this in the blink of an eye.
In these two years, Rain didn't just sit idly by. Not only did he participate actively in the training just like Syme, despite not being able to show he could use mana, he would also occasionally sneak out to hunt on his own.
Being monitored was now becoming a burden he would have to solve, as he could only stay hidden for so long.