Noir's fingers remained closed around the crimson scarf, his eyes shut, the weight of the decision pressing down on him like stone.
Choose.
Choose now.
Choose—
The door opened.
Noir's eyes snapped open.
A figure stepped into the room with the easy confidence of someone who belonged there, someone who'd walked this path a thousand times before.
He was tall—taller than Yuusha—with broad shoulders and a lean, athletic build visible beneath his dark leather suit. His hair was a striking amber color, catching the morning light like molten gold, tied back loosely at the nape of his neck. His face was sharp and handsome in a rugged way, with a strong jaw and eyes that looked perpetually tired, as though he'd seen too much and slept too little.
He appeared to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties.
Older than Yuusha, certainly.
"I'm here as you requested, dear head priest," the man said, his voice calm and professional. He bowed deeply, one hand pressed to his chest in formal deference.
Noir blinked, confusion cutting through the heavy atmosphere.
"Wait," he said before he could stop himself. "Why are you bowing? You're older than him."
The amber-haired man straightened slowly, and an amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You really do spout out whatever runs through your head, don't you?"
Yuusha chuckled softly, the sound light and genuine.
"Yes, he does," Yuusha agreed, his tone almost fond. "He's brutally honest. Though I doubt another head priest could handle his rash behavior as well as I do."
Noir frowned, glancing between them. "What does that even mean? That I just offended you?"
The amber-haired seer's expression shifted slightly—still amused, but with a hint of warning now.
"Hey, kid," he said, his tone firm but not unkind. "I think that's enough. You're lucky Yuusha is a patient man. Otherwise, you'd be squirming in pain right now."
Noir's mind flashed back to the cathedral courtyard.
Yuusha's hand catching his wrist with two fingers.
The sharp, precise strikes that had left him gasping and broken on the floor.
The humiliation of being so thoroughly dominated without Yuusha even breaking a sweat.
He winced involuntarily.
Yuusha noticed.
And laughed.
"Don't worry, Noir," he said, his voice light but edged with something sharper. "That was a one-time thing. But if you earn it again..."
He let the sentence hang, his smile never wavering.
"...it'll be much worse than before."
Noir's throat tightened, but he forced himself to nod.
"Understood."
"Good." Yuusha turned his attention to the amber-haired man. "Shin Jin, thank you for coming on such short notice."
Shin Jin inclined his head. "Of course. Though I'll admit, I was surprised by the urgency. What's the situation?"
Yuusha gestured toward Noir.
"This is Noir Adélard. As of today, he is officially a trainee of the Ise Order."
Shin Jin's gaze shifted to Noir, assessing him with the practiced eye of someone who'd trained countless recruits before.
"New blood," Shin Jin said. "Looks a bit rough around the edges."
"He's more than rough," Yuusha replied calmly. "He's untrained, reckless, and carries more emotional baggage than most seers accumulate in a lifetime."
Noir bristled. "I'm standing right here."
"I'm aware," Yuusha said, unbothered. "Which is why I'm assigning him to you."
Shin Jin's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his tired eyes—resignation, maybe, or weary acceptance.
"Me," he said flatly.
"You."
"Head priest, with all due respect, I'm already mentoring Soo Ah. And you just assigned me another recruit last week. Adding a third—"
"Is well within your capabilities," Yuusha interrupted smoothly. "You're one of the finest mentors in the Order, Shin Jin. If anyone can handle someone like Noir, it's you."
Shin Jin exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You're going to work me to death one of these days."
"Perhaps," Yuusha said with a small smile. "But not today."
Shin Jin dropped his hand and looked at Noir again, this time with a more critical gaze.
"Alright, kid. Let's get a few things straight."
Noir straightened instinctively.
"First," Shin Jin said, holding up one finger. "I don't do hand-holding. I don't do coddling. If you screw up, I'll tell you. If you're being an idiot, I'll tell you. If you're about to get yourself killed, I'll stop you, but I won't be gentle about it."
He held up a second finger.
"Second, sentimentality stays outside the training grounds. I don't care about your tragic backstory, your motivations, or your feelings. I care about results. You either improve, or you wash out. Simple as that."
A third finger.
"Third, you follow my orders without question. I've been doing this longer than you've been alive, and I've kept more people alive than you can count. If I tell you to do something, you do it. If I tell you to stop, you stop. Understood?"
Noir's jaw tightened, but he nodded.
"Understood."
"Good." Shin Jin lowered his hand. "Now, what position are you taking?"
Noir hesitated, glancing back at the cabinet where the crimson scarf still rested beneath his fingers.
Yuusha's gaze followed his.
"He's chosen the Crimson Seer," Yuusha said quietly.
Shin Jin went very still.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he exhaled—a long, slow breath that seemed to carry the weight of years.
"Of course he has," Shin Jin muttered. "Because my life wasn't complicated enough."
He looked at Noir, and for the first time, there was something other than professional detachment in his eyes.
Something almost like pity.
"Kid," he said, his voice softer now. "Do you have any idea what you just signed up for?"
"Yuusha explained," Noir said. "The curse. The tragic fates. All of it."
"And you're still choosing it?"
"Yes."
Shin Jin studied him for a long moment, then shook his head.
"You're either the bravest person I've ever met, or the dumbest." He turned to Yuusha. "I assume you've already tried to talk him out of it?"
"I have."
"And?"
"He's stubborn."
Shin Jin snorted. "Great. My favorite kind of student."
He turned back to Noir, crossing his arms.
"Alright. Here's how this works. You're going to meet your fellow trainees—two others under my mentorship. One of them you already know."
Noir frowned. "Who?"
"Soo Ah."
The name hit Noir like a punch.
Soo Ah was training under Shin Jin?
She'd never mentioned it.
Then again, she'd never mentioned much of anything about herself.
"And the other?" Noir asked.
"Another new recruit. Just joined last week. You'll meet him soon enough." Shin Jin glanced at Yuusha. "Anything else I need to know?"
Yuusha's expression was unreadable.
"Only that Noir is... unique. He attracts trouble. Specifically, rippers."
Shin Jin's eyebrows rose slightly. "Attracts them?"
"Yes. The details are complicated, but suffice it to say, his presence tends to draw them in higher numbers than usual."
"Fantastic," Shin Jin said dryly. "So not only is he cursed by his position, but he's also a walking ripper magnet."
"Essentially."
Shin Jin looked at Noir with a mixture of exasperation and grim determination.
"You and I," he said, "are going to have a very interesting time together."