Part 4: A lovely girl like you ain't allowed to be sad on a gorgeous day like this.
quote:
My time with you was the happiest...and the most painful...I've ever known. Just as the brightest light casts the darkest shadow...If you stayed with me, you'd find out just how disgusting my true nature is...Sometimes, I think it would have been better if we'd never met...
He wishes he'd never met me. He said...He SAID that...I...I...Man's Voice: Nooo, no, no!
Huh?
Feel the gentle kiss of the wind on your cheek!
A lovely girl like you ain't allowed to be sad on a gorgeous day like this. It'd sadden Aidios, too, y'know. Uhmmm...
H-Hey, waidasec! I'm not dangerous! Well, okay, maybe I come ACROSS as--
A-Anyway! You just caught my eye the moment you came aboard, y'see.
You seemed a little broken up over something, so I thought to myself, 'Heeey! I'll put a smile on her face with my OVERPOWERING charm.'
Ummmm... I...don't quite get what you mean, but thanks...I guess? To be honest, this is what we usually call, ah, 'putting the moves on.' So how 'bout it? Want to head down to the lower observation deck? You can get drinks down there, too! I'd be happy to treat a new friend. What d'you say? Well, um, I appreciate the offer, but...I'm not...not really in the mood...
I'm sorry...can you just-- Hmmm...I think I see how it is. All right, then, time to knock it off with the come-ons and put on the work face, eh? After all, it's my job to guide lost lambs like you. Your job...?
Heh, darn right! Look at this!
quote:
The previously-insensitive jerk held forth a medallion with a chalice engraved in the center.
Eh? That's...Isn't that the seal of the Septian Church? Bingo. This is the grail emblem. Lemme introduce myself properly. I'm Kevin Graham. Looks and, uh, moves aside, I really AM a priest of the Septian Church.
Huh, wow.
Wait, for real, or is this another joke? Aww, why d'you have to doubt me still? I'm a serious, devoted priest, y'know! I never miss the Trinary Prayers, and I always have my Testaments right...at... ...hand? Uh...
I...think I left 'em on my seat. Sorry!
Yeah, that really helps your case, there.
Heh heh...You really are kind of a weirdo, Father. AH-HA! Laughter! Victory is mine! That's more like it! Cute girls like you deserve to smile. Anyway, if you want, I'll give you an ear in my official, priestly capacity. No pick-up lines, I promise. Aidios smite me dead otherwise! Well...okay...But...where do I even...? I... ...*sniff*... W-Wait, hold on now...I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry anyway! I...It's myyyyy...Muh-My fau-fau-fauauuuuuu...auuuu-huuuuuu...
Waaaaa-haaauuu-haaauuuuh! Great Goddess...-Dancing With The Wind-
My shoulder is yours. Come on...cry it all out. I'm here... Waaaaa-haaauuu-haaauuuuh! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
I'm sorry. That was pathetic of me. Heeey, no big, seriously. My shoulder's always got room for a girl to cry on. So how 'bout it? Feel a bit better now?
Yeah...A little. I'm Estelle. Estelle Bright. I'm a member of the Bracer Guild. Esteeeelle, eh? Dang, even your name is cute! ...Er, hang on, you said the Bracer Guild?Don't let on that you're holding, Kevin. You can still escape.
Yeah, I'm a newly-minted senior bracer.
Might be hard to believe after seeing me break down like that, though. No, not at all. Now that you mention it, you do kinda look loaded for bear. You a martial artist of some kind? I guess you could call me that. I focus on staff combat. Though you said you're a priest, Kevin? I do appreciate the shoulder, but I gotta admit, you don't look much like any priest I know. Or would trust, usually. Ahaaa, ka-zing. Through the chest, madam!
Well, I'll admit that us wandering priests are sheep of a different color. Wandering what now? Well, okay. You know how there's villages 'n farms 'n whatnot without churches, right? My order heads to such places at set times each year and offers church services and teaches Sunday school. Think of it as 'home delivery churchening'! Or something like that.
Huh. I never knew there were priests like that, but it does make a lot of sense. And unlike church-bound priests, there's a lot of us who are more carefree about dress code. The church just kind of lets us do our thing, so... Uh, well, fair enough I guess! So, Kevin, I guess you're off to some village somewhere? Nah, not immediately. I actually only just arrived in Liberl, like, today. The High Seat dispatched me here since, apparently, there's not enough wandering priests around right now! Oh, really? Okay, then. The High Seat...They mentioned that in Sunday School, but I don't remember where...She's totally testing his story, in the most amateurish way possible.
It's in the Holy City of Arteria, in the middle of the continent. Anyway, I figured I'd do a bit of sightseein' before I went and reported my assignment to the bishop of Grancel Cathedral. And, well, here I am!Note that this flight departed from Grancel.
Uh...That seems just a bit irresponsible to me...
You really are kind of a half-baked priest, aren't you? Heeey, it's cool. I'm checking out the places I'll be wandering to in advance. Besides, I got to meet a troubled--and lovely!--young woman.That's actually something Cassius and Schera talk a lot about in FC--not meeting women, but saying that it's good for bracers to see the places they'll be protecting with their own eyes. That's a big part of the reason Estelle and Joshua first set out around the kingdom.
This is surely a blessing from Aidios, praise be to Her name! Yeah, smooth recovery, there. But...really, thank you, either way. Letting it all out helped to clear my head a bit, I think. Seriously, I'm being a ninny. I should trust Joshua. He won't do anything stupid. Huh? Who? Oh, uh, Joshua is my b--my, um, brother. Sort of, in a sense. He disappeared suddenly, which has been a bit of a shock...
'Disappeared,' huh...? You mean he ran away from home. Ahhh, no, no, no. He just went back home ahead of the rest of us. I mean, he's family. He wouldn't just run off on his own... I...see.
Really, though, what was I THINKING? Worst mistake ever, telling him how I felt. Especially at THAT moment. Next time I see him, I'll have to make up some kinda excuse about that... ... Hey. Estelle. Huh? Well... Well, like I was saying! I'm basically just a tourist without a plan or a clue right now, so! Howsabout I land with you in Rolent and make sure you get home safely? Whaaa...?!-Provincial City of Rolent-
Gotta admit, though...it feels a bit like a backwater farming village with an airship dock dropped on it. Well, excuse the heck out of us for living in the boonies. At least we're big enough to have our own church, Mr. Totally-Pretending-To-Be-A-Holy-Man.A small hometown is nothing to be ashamed of, Estelle.
Oh! I'd better go pay my respects over there once we're done. So, Estelle! Which of these fine boonie-shacks is yours? Uh, setting the 'boonie-shacks' bit aside...you really don't need to escort me home, you know. It's just outside town, and crying fits aside, I really AM a bracer. I can take care of myself. Nah, nah, don't worry about it. It's a duty of us real, manly men to make sure a lady gets home safely. 'Sides! I'm looking forward to meeting this boyfriend of yours. B-B-Boyfriend isn't the term I...think I'd use...maybe... But, fair enough, I guess! I'll fix you some tea or something when we get there. And I get free tea out of the deal! Victory again! Well, lead the way.