Chimente

Absorbed in the music with his eyes closed, he didn't realize that everyone in the monastery flocked to his presence. Even Anabella abandoned her prayers in the chapel to come closer and watch.

And what a spectacle it was.

Leonardo's spiritual presence was always unusual. On an instinctual level, people felt drawn to him. Whether it was a matter of pheromones or psychic energies having an impact, he wasn't certain.

And now, even without consciously wanting to, his emotions were unleashed through his tune. Perhaps resonating with his longing, the orphans found themselves infected with the same abstract desire he had, and they fell into thoughtful trances of their own.

None of the people here paid heed to the passage of time, and irrespective of their attitude towards one another, they found unity in the song. A minute passed, and then a dozen. The people sat down in a small circle around him, some with their eyes closed, others examining nature as if with renewed clarity in their eyes.

Even after years of daily prayer, and proclaiming to be in the house of the lord — the children never had their spirits riled so much. Only unnatural psychedelics might evoke something similar. The resonance of the flute struck a deep chord in their hearts and drew out their rawest emotion.

A longing was set ablaze in their hearts, for a better life. For fulfillment, and familial love—

(( Neigh! ))

Alas, their spiritual cleansing came to an abrupt halt. The atmosphere was broken in an instant, leaving the orphans dazed and confused. They shared unsure glances, but didn't know how to broach the topic. Luckily, they didn't have time to discuss the awkwardness as they had guests.

A wooden wagon entered the courtyard uninvited. The horse trotted with impatience and neighed constantly until the gruff driver silenced it with a whip, before tying it to a tree. Once the carriage came to a complete still, a second man emerged from the back. Donning more luxurious clothing, he was clearly in charge of the visitors.

The orphans huddled together behind Anabella, clearly weary of the strangers. They rarely had guests here. As for adoptions — they were unheard of. Leonardo wasn't too intimidated, because he'd noticed the callused hands and signs of wear on the man. Clearly, he was used to manual labor and thus definitely not a noble.

Anabella herself was bewildered and startled, perhaps still recovering from her past incident. Seeing her linger at the back with the rest of the orphans, Leonardo walked to the fore and asked them directly, "May I ask what brings you to the Saintess monastery, sir?"

The man looked over the malnourished children, then paused briefly to nod at the nun. Finally, his gaze stopped on Leonardo, flickering slightly at the sight of the ornate flute.

"Do any of you here know a boy Fino?"

Giving Yuki a side-glance, he blinked his eyes at her in hopes the girl would remain quiet, before bowing and answering with an even, polite tone. Unsure of the man's identity, he felt it was best to remain wary.

"I do indeed. My name is Leonardo. May I ask if you are his father?"

"That's me. My sister's told me you took care of the boy and asked for a donation."

Scrutinizing the man's attitude and the wagon loaded with goods, it finally dawned on Leo that his reward was here. Nevertheless, he didn't lose his caution and even activated his psychic senses. Studying the peculiarities in the man's aura, he would detect if he was up to something nefarious.

Luckily, the man seemed forthcoming and truly came here with generous intent. Trusting his magic, Leonardo dropped his cautiousness and slapped on an inviting smile, lest he make the guest uncomfortable.

"As you can see, we're in need of everything and anything, sir. Any help is greatly appreciated. As for asking for a donation, I would say it was more of a plea. I hope you took no offense."

"Sister Anabella will prepare some juice. Would you care to come inside while we unload?"

The man seemed genuinely surprised by Leonardo's eloquence. Even among noble children it was rarely seen to be so long-winded in speech.

"Ah. Might I know benefactor's name? We will surely keep you in our prayers."

Giving the man a good natured smile, he gestured to the hall door before giving Anabella a glance. She seemed to get the memo and scurried off to prepare a glass of cold grape juice from the cellar. The other children meanwhile joyfully scrambled to unload the wagon with the burly driver.

A few boxes of vegetables, some second hand textiles and straw mats. The goods weren't luxuries, but they were much needed supplies for the orphanage.

"I'm Chimente," the man answered unhurriedly while his gaze wandered around the destitute monastery.

"So it's sir Chimente," Leo nodded to commit the name to memory. "How is your son?"

"He's better. He can move his hands now. I've had the physician examine him and he lauded your work. He was very impressed."

"I'm glad to hear it. Please, have a seat here."

"Speaking of which, you mentioned to my sister that there was a way for him to recover fully?"

"About that… there is no method, yet."

Leonardo gave the man a meaningful glance, seemingly insinuating something.

The man seemed to get the wrong idea and grunted in displeasure, thinking Leonardo was trying to swindle him for more money. Nevertheless, with his child's future on the line, he didn't complain and quickly contained his anger.

"How much?" Chimente assented as if willing to negotiate.

"How much?" Leo repeated with a quizzical look, before it dawned on him what he meant. Worried he'd displease the donor, he hurried away with an explanation. "I think you misunderstood, sir. It's not a matter of money, I am truly incapable of doing anything now."

"His bones will require time to heal. A follow-up procedure may be possible in years to come, however."

Naturally, he wouldn't tell the man that his Vita proficiency was insufficient. Were he to be a Virtus III mage, he might heal the boy fully. With Vita IV, he could outright regenerate his limbs from scratch.

"I have no intention of misleading you, sir. If you are willing to wait, after some years I might have a solution. If you are unwilling to wait, then you can freely reach out to other healers. Though I fear they will merely play on your hopes."

The man paused and sized Leonardo up. No matter how you look at it, the boy was but a 10 year old urchin. Yet he carried himself with the gravitas of a true blue-blood noble. His face was handsome and physique well proportioned, so he set a mean contrast with the rest of the orphans.

"Say, brat. Are you the bastard of some deposed noble?"