Make Your Luck

"You have unearthed a diamond for the council, Siegfried."

Making his way towards the podium, Drakos was accompanied by the overseer. At the end of today's proceedings, he was going to be the one to award the champion.

"I have nothing to do with this, sir. He is here on his merit and hard work."

Siegfried could not accept any credit for that.

"I trust your intellect enough to know what I mean."

A subtle hint. The overseer understood immediately and smiled in response.

'The council has his eyes on him.'

Behind them, all the red-knights currently present in the academy were marching together with their weapons. One of them was at the front, leading the charge with a shield and a sword in her hand.

Drakos looked at the boy who was standing alone on the iron platform. Unnaturally swollen arms hanging by his sides, messed up hair, and multiple stains of blood and dust on his blue vest and pants.

"Hand me the pin."

Siegfried dug into his pocket and took out a small pin.

"Here."

He handed the pin to Drakos, who placed his feet on the platform and raised his body to come face-to-face with the champion.

"I don't carry my weapon around anymore. Being a knight was something that was taken away from me ever since I decided to join the council."

His first words to the young page. He brought the pin close to his vest.

"However, watching you fight with endless grit and determination made me want to be a young knight again."

After hooking the pin, he gently placed his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Don't lose that, and don't get caught up in the feeling of being slightly ahead of your peers. Age and responsibility will eventually get the better of you. Your job is to squeeze every drop of your potential out to shine the brightest while it lasts, and make sure that the memory of that light is everlasting in the grand scheme of this world."

Countless white rays that were a gift to him by the moon revealed a violet trident to the world. Despite its size, this singular pin has been responsible for the making of many great knights, as well as a staunch lesson of a disappointment for many others.

"Make your luck."

Patting his shoulder for the last time, Drakos smiled.

"I will keep that in mind, sir."

Gawain, currently lacking many words due to the sheer pressure of awe in his mind, weakly answered.

"I hope you do."

Drakos took his hand back and turned around. Siegfried looked at Joan and said,

"Begin!"

"Scrutiny before Reverence!"

"Scrutiny before Reverence!"

The other knights repeated it after her.

"The Trident Accepts Its Wielder!"

"The Trident Accepts Its Wielder!"

The Academy Motto was followed.

"Valor, determination, and strength!"

Only the leading knight spoke those words. The knights continued.

"The Code of Our Lives!"

Joan raised her right leg and stomped it on the ground.

"Below the Eyes of Astarte!"

"We Carve Out Our Path!"

All of them raised their swords towards the sky.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A few hours later,

"You can tell me anything, you know. The rot of your sins shouldn't be caged in the sanctuary that is your mind."

"I haven't visited that place."

"Are you coming in?"

Celia and Joan looked at both of the brothers and asked.

"Yes."

Gawain moved forward and walked into the restaurant. Godwin increased his pace and caught up to him to continue. He was in a sleeveless tunic now, along with a brand new set of bandages that were covering both his arms.

"Are you serious? Not even once?"

"Mr. Saint-in-training. One more word and I will spill the beans. Mother will nail you to the wall."

Godwin shut his mouth.

'Sigh.'

"Welcome back, Sir."

Bharat smiled and greeted him.

"It's nice to be here again."

It was getting pretty late, and the place was looking empty.

"I hope that we aren't too late."

"With so many new customers, I think we can keep it open for a short while."

He had four more people in tow with him this time around. More customers mean more profit.

"Thank you."

He felt relieved.

"A table for 5?"

"Yes, please!"

Godwin answered on his behalf. He was dying of hunger.

"Right this way then."

Gawain and Godwin sat down together on one side, while Regina had the two sisters with her on the other side. Bharat handed a menu to each of them, and then stood at the side while they decided on their orders. His eyes were constantly wandering towards his repeat customer's bandaged hands.

Joan, Regina, and Celia concluded pretty fast.

"Three servings of spice tea, a buttered sandwich with sour sauce, and potato wafers without the extra spicy dip."

Bharat noted their choices.

"And sirs?"

Gawain smiled.

"Two servings of Laxmi's explosives, Remedial Chili soup, and the spice tea."

Bharat smirked.

"Are you sure?"

Godwin smacked his fist on the table.

"Bring it on."

He noted down their orders as well and walked into the kitchen.

"Master, you will be paying, right?"

Gawain sheepishly asked. Joan chuckled at this and said,

"For the third time, yes."

"Thank you for the treat, master."

He averted his sight and grinned at his brother.

"You aren't prepared for the hit that is coming your way."

Godwin puffed his chest out and said,

"I might be younger than you, but it is a fact that my heat tolerance is higher."

"We'll see."

Regina wanted to smack both of them in their heads.

"Have you forgotten your manners?"

Silence ensued thereafter until the order arrived.

"Welcome back~"

Gawain froze. Celia, Joan, Regina, and Godwin, all simultaneously followed his line of sight.

"I hope that you didn't miss me too much~"

Her manner of speaking was setting off all sorts of alarms in their heads.

"It is nice to see you again, Kali."

"Same here, Gawain."

She winked at him. Godwin playfully nudged his shoulder with his own, while Celia silently looked on in anger. Regina was eerily quiet, and Joan was quite pleased by the sudden development.

Gawain didn't mind their attitude, but owing to hindsight, he probably should have.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-