"Celia… I came here asking for a favour." Favours from Noah were rare because in his mind, a favour was like giving someone the reins to your life. Albeit, he was a bit eccentric, playful when it comes to missions. Noah understood the meaning behind favours and showing a level of integrity from his guild master.
Wiping her salty tears, she quiet mutters, "What is it…"
'Forging identity will be tiresome when it comes to prestigious academies.'
A heavy, long exhale broke the silence.
"I need to live at your place." Noah used every ounce of his power he could muster in his voice.
'Did that come out right?'
Sitting on the stool next to Noah, Celia observed his expression with greater detail,
"Why do you need to live at my place?" Amused, Celia nudges his side more, closing the gap between the two.
During his past recollections, Noah knew that he could return to her home at any point in his life. But, he steered clear away from her for one good reason. It's to protect her, being close to people in his field of expertise was akin to revealing a major weakness for your enemies to take advantage of.
Still, Noah felt it was about time he was capable of doing that without needing to distance himself. He was at a level where people wouldn't want to mess with him rather than aim for his life for mere pennies.
"It's—something important."
"And that is?" With a teasing gesture, she leans in closer to his face, breathing upon his rosey cheeks.
Turning his head away, Noah felt an extremely profound pressure, stronger than any encounter he had came across.
"I—I need to apply to a prestigious academy." He coughed, using his hands to hide his vulnerable side.
"Is that so…" Celia in the past had insisted him to apply for an academy. But that was three years ago, that academy only allowed students at the age of thirteen to sixteen, Noah was sixteen at that time. However, there were other academies out there with higher age ranges.
There was one particular famous one in the city, Fervian Academy. It's an academy with one of the highest requirements ever needed to enroll. Noble status did not matter, what mattered was pasting a cruel test. The aptitude test for the many studies which are conducted there. The studies are science, alchemy, scripture, combat, taming, magic, swordsman, so on…
The cruelness wasn't behind the studies being conducted, it was the cruel reality of someone who wanted to study in a particular field only to be brought news about their inept aptitude for it.
"Noah…" Curling her hair with her finger tips, she was anticipating a certain answer.
For an adequate background, he needed to propose a marriage in order to be have legal rights of being a part of someone's family. Adopting someone who was a bit younger or perhaps older than you is out of the picture, the laws did not allow such things. The problem with picking the option of adoption was that Celia didn't have any parents or guardians to take care of her after the age of fifteen.
The tavern master acts like a guardian, however, he chose to foster her as a child without the documentations. With the documentations, the tavern master had legal rights over her assets in this city, Moosa.
Noah was hesitant, this marriage means a lot to him. He was twenty while Celia was nineteen. But in this world, there were marriages with inexplicable high age gaps.
But one thing is for sure, Noah knew that Celia had all the right to reject his request and he would stay at stage one unable to go through with it further.
Turning his head towards Celia, he asked, "Should I settle this with money?"
"…But I don't particular need money."
"What are you looking for then, Celia?"
"…Nothing." Celia leaves in a fleet of hurry, taking the many orders that happened of late.
'Noah think! How am I suppose to use this scroll?!' Feeling the fine tumors settling in his mind, he was propelled to make such drastic decisions because of his guild master.
What if the next day, the guild master came knocking on his window aiming for his throat? He couldn't possibly allow such a tragedy to happen, the strongest could see and breath the air whenever they want while the weak will always cower before the mighty not knowing when to be put on the slaughter.
'I understand marriage means a lot for that woman, but this marriage only matters because I need to enroll to the academy!'
Stroking his chin in contemplation, Noah weighs the pros and cons with going through this marriage.
He has a place to return and rest. He can be affiliated with a household name and have more freedom than before. He can enroll into any prestigious academy as he sees fit. He can apply to be a priest, albeit, difficult considering his past actions and an opposing mindset. He can actually say he has a family to take care of, increasing his reputation immensely. Lastly, he can pick and choose a comfortable, sustainable job without needing to go through imperial checks.
And onto the cons. Noah thinks with a worrisome look, a stark contrast to his stoic side. The sound of an eerie gulp permeated through a small subset of this tavern causing his facial expression to darken in fear, a rare occurrence.
Taking on a marriage would mean more responsibilities—maintaining the relationship wouldn't be as simple as it seemed.
He would have to consider Celia's feelings carefully, especially since proposing a marriage for pragmatic reasons could deeply affect her.
He didn't fully grasp what marriage entailed. What if it became more than he could handle? What if it fell apart?
Socialising had never been his strength. What if he had to interact with Celia's friends or acquaintances? The very thought of making those connections sent an uncomfortable chill down his spine.
More thoughts piled onto each other, spiraling into a tangled mess in his mind. Each one felt heavier than the last, sending more beads of sweat trickling down his temples.
He shifted uncomfortably, his chest tightening with the weight of it all.
Sitting alone in the dim, forgotten corner of the tavern, he slumped forward, letting his head fall onto the dusty table with a quiet thud.
His fingers absently traced the rough surface of the wood as if searching for answers he couldn't find within himself.
A long, strained sigh escaped his lips. This wasn't like him. Subtle defeat crept into his posture—the hardened exterior he wore everyday cracked ever so more with this heavy hitting thoughts.
'I'm done.'