After everyone dispersed after the meal. Kain and Bridge called the director and Milo aside to speak privately. The director then led them to his office.
They had one last item to give the director. However, the fewer people that know about this item the better. Not that he doesn’t trust the others and their neighbours. However, they were very young, and John and Sally were also pretty simple. Therefore, any of them may accidentally let something slip.
An item that can increase the chances of awakening would definitely cause a lot of unkind eyes to focus on their little orphanage.
After everyone was seated Kain pulled out the preservation box containing the Celestiviolets.
“In this container are 19 Celestiviolets. I want you to hold onto them until everyone is ready to use them. There should be enough for everyone to use two. Although the second one won’t cause much of an effect after the first one, it’s still something.”
The director accepted the container gratefully, but Milo looked as though he was going to hyperventilate.
Unlike the majority of the orphans who don’t know their parents, and therefore hold onto the hope that they may have a chance at inheriting an affinity, Milo knew that both of his parents and grandparents were unawakened. Therefore, his chances of awakening an affinity are extremely slim.
Therefore, he had long given up hope of becoming a beast-tamer and instead focused the majority of his energy onto his academic courses. Similar to Kain, the 14-year-old had entered high school with the highest exam ranking and hoped to maintain that ranking until college when he could hopefully enter a decent academic major.
However, instead of being thrilled by the presence of the Celestiviolets, he looked scared. They had ignited something very dangerous in him—hope. And he did not want to futilely get his hopes up only to be crushed at the ceremony in 4 years.
Aware of Milo’s worries, Kain knelt next to him while signalling with his eyes for the others to leave the room.
Milo had always admired Kain the most due to his stellar grades. This admiration only grew when he found out that he had also been admitted into the competitive Planner Major with a perfect score. Therefore, Kain knew that he’d listen the most to what he had to say now.
“Milo, I know you must be filled with uncertainty and fear right now. It’s completely natural to be overwhelmed when faced with an opportunity for something you’d always thought was impossible, it’s as if the very ground beneath you has shifted.
“But remember, this chance isn’t something to be apprehensive of, and hope isn’t some huge enemy. This is an opportunity to step into a new chapter, one where you get to explore a side of yourself you’ve only dreamed of. And while it’s true that you may not awaken, what is certain is your courage and worth.
“It’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to have doubts. What matters is that you have the courage to embrace something new and take a leap of faith. Whether or not you awaken an affinity, what you already possess—your character, your spirit, your ability to face the unknown—is truly extraordinary.
“Whatever happens, remember that you’re not alone in this. You have people who care deeply about you, who believe in you no matter what. So you can take this opportunity not just with hope, but with pride in who you are now.
“You’ve got this, Milo Whitaker. And whatever the outcome in four years, you’re already an outstanding person.”
Kain then pulled him into a hug, and felt his shoulder gradually get soaked.
“…taker…man…” Came a faint voice.
“What?” Kain wasn’t able to hear him clearly.
“My name is Milo Whitaker-Newman.” He said clearly, after lifting his tear-streaked face from Kain’s shoulder. His face now filled with a lot more confidence.
Kain’s face immediately broke out into a huge grin, and pulled him back in for another hug.
—-
The next morning, Kain went downstairs to see Milo in the backyard next to the Aurose. Usually, by his age students have already fully, or almost fully saturated their spiritual spaces with spiritual power. That is, unless their talent is extremely poor. The remaining time until the affinity ceremony is usually spend on trying to condense all of that free spiritual power into a star.
It’s a difficult process that is difficult to guide others through, therefore a lot of trial and error is needed for the first star especially.
Milo, wasn’t untalented, however since he had no hope in awakening an affinity, he thought it’d be useless to take time away from studying to cultivate. Especially since the boost to mental strength provided prior to the first contract is not huge.
However, now Milo was working diligently to increase his spiritual power.
“How long has Milo been out there,” he asked Bridge who just came back in for a break after training his contracts.
“He was already out there when I got up to start training, so since before the sun rose.”
Kain was touched by Milo’s sudden determination. Wanting to give him a little extra support, he went into the kitchen and began to brew a pot of tea made from the leaves of one of the spiritual plants they collected that can increase the rate of spiritual power condensation and added some spiritual honey to the cup.
While he was in the kitchen, he also added a few more containers of tea to the pantry and a jar of honey.
He then went out to where Milo was with the teacup and a journal. “Milo, you must have been out there for at least 5 hours now, come take a break.”
Sitting next to Milo, Kain handed him the cup after explaining the effects, and handed him his journal. “This was a journal I wrote during the time I was struggling to condense my first star. It has all of my mistakes as well as the different strategies I tried. The process of forming each start is very different between individuals, but I hope this will be of some help to you.”
Kain wanted to continue talking about his experiences and even offer to buy Milo his first contract as an incentive, but decided against it in fear that Milo would feel pressured to succeed in the affinity ceremony.
So he headed back inside and began to organize a training plan for himself and his new partners so that he could familiarize himself with their abilities.