The crowd was surprised at his result and looked on with envy but Yohan didn't care at all.
When his mother finally let go of him, he heard the cleric call out to him and turned around.
"Your name should be...Yohan, right? I think, with your Spirit, your best option is to enroll in the Spirit Academy here, where you'll learn to muster the full potential of your powers alongside many other talented individuals. I'm sure that with how rare your Spirit is, you will receive financial aid if needed."
Yohan thought about it for a moment.
'Enrolling in this academy sounds like it would be good. I can focus on researching what those words I saw earlier meant and considering there would be many other talented students...I could lay low'
He nodded to the cleric and turned to his mother to check for her approval.
As expected, she nodded at him with a bright smile and told him that she would support anything that would bring him safety and comfort.
With this out of the way, a big milestone in his life was now cleared smoothly and he could be a bit more carefree.
Yohan was supposed to be the last child so the cleric stood up and clapped his hands, stating "That marks the end of today's manifestation cerem-
Before he could finish his words, a weak but determined voice rang out "You forgot about me."
Everyone turned to the direction of the voice.
It was a young girl with long unkempt brown hair and tattered and dull clothing.
Everyone looked confused and someone said "What is a beggar doing here?"
Someone else said "With those clothes, she's going to get 'The Farmer' at best."
People kept ridiculing her but surprisingly, the young girl held her head up no matter how many times she was mocked and the brightness in her eyes could not be missed.
Yohan commended her perseverance in his heart, and his mother had a thin smile on her face.
The cleric looked her up and down and then shook his head and said annoyingly "Come here, then."
The girl advanced towards him as the crowds of children parted to give her passage and were whispering among each other.
He then performed the usual, taking her hand and the blank card, inserting the card into the vase and taking out the card with a look that made it seem like he already knew the result.
But as he looked to the card, he screamed loudly and threw the card into the air in fright.
When the card fell down to the ground, its contents were revealed.
It was a colourful fresco drawing of a female knight with a sword in her hand and armour on.
The most conspicuous feature however, was the golden crown on the knight's head and the words written underneath.
It said 'The Queen'.
The cleric, who was on the ground, noticed people's attention on him, and regained his composure, harrumphing and then saying proudly as if he had accomplished something "Two Spirits from the Chaturanga set in one day, and 'The Queen' at that! Girl, you will have your entire tuition to the academy paid for you."
The girl in question didn't seem too surprised at the outcome and sighed, as if she expected the difference in treatment she would receive once the test was over.
The crowd's whispering had now turned to fervent gossip.
"The Queen? I've never heard of that one! It sounds rare!"
"Blablabla"
Yohan was surprised at this and had a sudden thought.
'Is 'The Queen' mentioned in the words I saw earlier the same as this one?' He couldn't come to any definitive answer but he was going to keep his attention on this girl since they will enroll in the same academy.
The crowd was still as lively as ever but he felt an hand grabbing his shoulder strongly and groaned in pain.
Yohan turned around to see who it was and was shocked senseless.
His mother was pale and was catching her breath and whispered to him "Yohan, let's go home..."
He's never seen his mother this way so he just took her hand and she ran out of the temple, sprinting dangerously down the steep staircase and only stopping to catch her breath when they were at the garden.
Just when he thought they would resume running, his mother suddenly started vomiting and at first, it was only her gastric fluids but she started puking blood and Yohan did his best to help her up but she fainted.
Yohan, with tears in his eyes, ran back towards the temple and brought some men who carried his mother and took her to the hospital.
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That was 2 weeks ago.
When he asked his father about it, he just evaded the question by telling him "Yohan, my son. There are things you can only know about when you are much older."
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At the Royal Palace of the Muzdahir Kingdom in Hasseima.
In a mind-bendingly spacious and opulent white hall of the palace, there was a golden throne on which sat a man dressed in purple and gold fabric as long as a red carpet and he was currently frowning while being fanned by his servants.
This man was the current king of the Muzdahir Kingdom, Hetter The 1st, founder of the Hetter dynasty.
The grumpy middle-aged monarch was processing information that his councilor told him earlier.
'My king, I have some important news' The councilor announced.
'Speak.' He ordered.
'In a recent manifestation ceremony, a person wielding 'The Queen' Spirit was found and has been granted a full scholarship to the Spirit Academy.'
The king remembered how he spilled out his wine and said with a cunning expression 'Hmmmm...2 Queens in 2 successive generations? That's unheard of. Take her under our wing and make sure she never gets any wrong ideas.'
'Yes, my King'
'Is that all?' Hetter asked the councilor.
The councilor answered 'My king, this might be less important, but on the same day, someone hosting 'The Bishop' was also found.'
'The Bishop? That's just a weak sacrificial piece. He'll just be a 'pawn '.' The king looked proud of his joke and laughed out loud, making his servants also force laughter to not irritate him and attract punishment.