"Grandpa! There is a weird-"
The doors slammed open once again. Richard watched as the woman who had attempted to harass him a few seconds ago barged into the office.
'Grandpa?' Richard was baffled.
The old man guffawed, "Oh, you two arrived at the same time. What a coincidence!"
'Damned old man! This is definitely a setup!"
Although Richard had seen through the lies, he felt no need to verbally expose them. Ignoring the lady that had just barged in rudely, he bowed politely,
"I am sorry of I appeared rude. I was caught off guard for a moment. Please accept my apology."
The old man leaned back in his seat to stare at Richard.
The rude lady gritted her teeth,
"Grandpa... Who the hell is this prick?!"
The old man remained silent for a while before chuckling,
"Well, you heard her. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
'Why? Why cause trouble for me intentionally? I knew I shouldn't have come here.'
As aan who valued his peace and quite, Richard could literally smell trouble from a thousand miles away.
He had tried to extricate himself from the situation earlier, having sensed the incoming trouble. But it seemed as though he wouldn't be able to avoid this one.
With a defeated sigh, he turned,
"Good day. My name is Richard."
A condescending look appeared in her eyes. Completely ignoring his, her eyes were still fixed on her grandfather, intent on pulling the information from him.
'Don't blame me. I'm trying my best over here.'
Not that he really cared. In reality, the only reason he was putting up with this, was because of his respect for him own grandfather, and this man seated here.
Baxter Rigborne, a true hero...
A human that had managed to stand at the forefront of the battle against the supernatural world for decades before retiring.
Very few people had earned his respect, and Richard considered this man to be one of them.
Something dark glimmered in his eyes,
'Still, it is only a matter of time before I surpass you.'
The old man chuckled again. Despite his hard external features, he seemed to have quite the jolly disposition. Or perhaps it was just a front to hide the beast within the human skin...
"Why are you being so rude to the unofficial heir of the Bane family, Celine?"
Celine, the rude lady finally turned to Richard and looked him in the eye for the first time since they'd entered the office,
"He's that piece of trash?"
It was obviysge wasn't the biggest fan. Not one to take offense in such trivial things, Richard kept a polite smile on his face.
"Sir Rigborne, while I do not want to seem rude, I'd rather not spend more time than needed here. Especially if I'm not welcomed."
The old man cleared his throat. For the first time since he entered the office, Richard saw him put on a fairly serious expression,
"Celine, apologize to him. Now."
Despite his cheerful demeanor,.his voice contained a deep pervasive power that couldn't be undermined.
With a sigh, Celine turned to face him, this time, not trying to hide her obvious disgust.
"I'm sorry for being rude, Mr Bane."
Richard awkwardly scratched his head, "You don't need to apologize. I took no offense."
Baxter nodded firmly, "Since we've gotten that out of the way, let's move on, shall we? You two, have a seat..."
'Thank the dead gods...'
Richard confidently took his seat. A comfortable leather seat; one of the few joys of a working man...
Staring at the man seated infront of him, Richard went through all the information stored in his head in but a split second.
With a serious expression, he old man pulled out two unique cards from seemingly nowhere. They were vanta black in color, with the golden insignia of the Circle of Magi engraved on it; the Arcane Eye...
"Congratulations, both of you. You are now fully fledged members of the Circle of Magi." Baxter said as he threw the cards at them.
Richard frowned, "Is that what this is about?"
The main issue Richard had been facing all this time, was his connection to the Bane family. After his last mission, he had made the difficult, not so difficult, decision to cut ties with the family and begin working for the Circle directly...
There were a multitude of reasons for this decision, but the main was quite simple;
His peace of mind...
That family was like a heavy set of iron shackles placed around his neck, hands and feet. Having finally gotten rid of it, he felt as though a heavy burden has been lifted from his shoulders.
Of course, that also came with its own drawbacks...
Baxter leaned forward, staring straight into his eyes,
"I'm sure you know what this means, Richard."
If not for his grandfather, getting his hands on this thing would have been very difficult.
Richard suppressed the urge to smile, 'I'll thank him later.'
Returning to the present, Richard nodded,
"Indeed. I won't let him down. You have my word as a Sorcerer."
Baxter seemed amused, "In that case, I believe you. Normally, there's supposed to be a procedure of screening and checks, but because I know your grandpa, I've decided they aren't necessary."
'Marvelous abuse of power right there!' Richard couldn't help but think to himself.
A sly look flashed across the old man's face, but his mustache kept his lips away from sight, so Richard had no idea how to tell if he was smiling or not.
"However, there's something you will have to compromise on..."
"Hm? And that is..."
Without giving Richard an answer, Baxter moved his attention to the other person in the room who had been silently observing the card in her hand,
"Celine..."
The beautiful young lady brought her eyes up. The old man sighed, the look in his eyes entirely genuine,
"I know I've said many times that you aren't ready. But times are changing. Perhaps its time I let you spread your feathers."
For the first time since he had seen her, Richard saw an absolutely gorgeous smile bloom to life on her face, like a budding rose coming to life on spring.
For a moment, he was tempted not to take his eyes away. However, as the trouble avoiding person he was, he quickly tore his gaze away.
"Thank you Grandpa. I won't let you down." Celine said resolutely, her face the definition cold resolve.
The previous mischievousness suddenly returned to the old man's face,
"But..."
'Here it comes...'
Since he stepped foot into this office, Richard already knew he would have to make a compromise before he left. There was.no such thing as a free gift in this world.
And judging from what he could deduce in the conversation between the granddaughter and grandfather, he could already tell what it was...
Baxter smiled. Resting his elbow on the table, he separated his middle and index finger, such that they were pointing at Richard and Celine at the same time.
With a wide grin, Baxter spoke with too much joy,
"The only condition I have, is that you two become.a team starting from today."
"Take you stupid card back, old bastard!" Celinywas already making her way towards the door.
"Wait!" The old man desperately called out after her.
Richard could only shake his head helplessly,
"What did you think would happen?"
Baxter sighed, "I knew she was stubborn, but she sure has grown quite a lot over the years."
Richard narrowed his eyes,
"I don't mean to be rude, but old man... I'm sure you know that I prefer to work alone."
Baxter's smile became deeper and even more inscrutable,
"Oh, I know... But your grandfather said that this should be one of the conditions for you want to officially join the circle."
Richard rubbed his hairless chin,
"There's more than one condition?"
Baxter nodded, "The second condition is for you to teach her all you know, while the last condition is... this."
Baxter slid something across the table over to Richard. A bit perplexed, he snatched it off the table,
"This..."
Baxter grinned, "That's a Watcher's Insignia. From now on, you have total jurisdiction over the southern quadrant of the city. I wish you luck..."
Richard's face turned pale, "What did you say?"
Baxter shook his head, "You herd me right."
'Of all things...'
A few tears threatened to slide across his cheeks, but he managed to hold them back.
'My free time... My holidays... My weekends. Gone, just like that. All gone...'
Richard stared at the Golden insignia in his hand and the very black identity card with mixed feelings,
'Is it really worth it?'
After thinking about why he was doing all this in the first place, Richard felt his resolve thicken.
"Alright. It's just a bit of overtime anyways..."
Baxter let out a loud laugh. Flicking his tears away, he sighed after a few seconds. He stared Richard straight into the eyes,
"Things are changing, Richard. Much faster than you young ones can imagine. It will be up to you to save all of us in the future."
Richard shook his head,
"The gods might be dead, but so are the problems they created. What we are dealing with is merely an afterthought. I don't think we are in any immediate danger."
Baxter shook his head, "Oh, how little you know."
He seemed disturbed by something,
"Richard, remember this; You might have Demons and Devils in your heart, but the most important part of you is still your humanity. Never let go of it. You aren't a monster. You are human as well..."
Richard was a bit stumped. However, this only lasted for a brief second before he snapped out of it.
With a smile, he rose to his feet and bowed,
"Thank you so much for today, Sir Rigborne. I promise to uphold my duty well."
Baxter nodded,
"From now on, I proclaim you the title; Watcher of the South."
With another bow, Richard quietly walked out of the office. Once the door closed, Baxter Rigborne let out a tired sigh.
Staring out the window, he shook his head,
"This world is coming apart at the seams. Are we truly doomed?"