Chapter 302 - A name like any other

Sofia entered the Administrative building followed by Leverle, and all she could think about was how weird it was to her that these Exidian people, who all had horns, also almost all wore hats.

Why so many hats?

Even the receptionist inside wore a tiny hat that basically only covered a third of her head.

Just why?

Still, Sofia greeted the receptionist, “Hello.”

“Oh! Another human lady. Welcome,” the receptionist greeted Sofia before she noticed the person behind her, ”Doctor Leverle?”

The demon closed the door behind him. “Ellena? You grew lots. Are your eyes still good?”

“Couldn’t be better! All thanks to you. Did you come to have this lady registered?”

“Indeed. I am to be her guarantor, I need her to get a mithril grade ID.”

“Mithril?” the receptionist repeated while glancing at Sofia, “I must inform you that even at her level and with you as a guarantor, the request might be denied if her qualifications are unsatisfactory. The upfront cost is ten thousand.”

My level? Lady you are level 68…

“Send the bill to Bishop Clement,” Leverle answered.

The receptionist nodded and left her desk, she walked past Sofia and the Doctor to lock the front door, then asked them to follow her as she climbed the stairs in the corner of the reception hall.

Upstairs, she led them to a large room which contained a steel chair inside of an intricate ritual circle carved into the floor.

“Please sit,” the receptionist told Sofia while she entered the adjacent room in which she could see through a window in the wall. The receptionist sat behind a weird contraption on the other side.

The ritual circle lit up several times accompanied by strange clicking noises, then the receptionist came back with a notepad in hand. “Please stay seated. First I will need to see the four top lines of your status.”

“Alright.”

The receptionist narrowed her eyes as she read the four lines.

Name : Sofia Aphenoreth

Age : 21 ♢

Class : [Saintomancer] ♢

Level :  249 ♢

Oh, shit!

“Sofia Aphenoreth. Noted. One of the human ladies from three days ago had the same last name, was that your sister?”

Sofia had a cold sweat when she heard the receptionist read her name out loud, and Leverle’s head had snapped in her direction like a tracking spell as his body instinctively inched closer to the wall behind him. But he said nothing.

“My older sister, yes…”

Safe? She’s not going to disappear, right?

“Hmm, you do look a bit alike now that I know that. Humans are still a bit hard to differentiate from one another I must admit…” the receptionist complained, sighing lightly. “Your age is locked? Is that an error?”

“No, it’s a feature. I no longer age. You can attribute that to my class, I bet you have never heard of it either.”

“I have Indeed not, but perhaps the older employees of this office have? I am the only one taking the late afternoon shift though. I could search to see if we have any other Saintomancer registered but that would take a while. You can request for it later if you want, this kind of registry inquiry is only a few silver, if your Mithril ID gets accepted, that is.”

“What’s next, then?”

“I’m done with the basics information,” the receptionist explained, “this is already enough for a Gold tier ID, but there are more steps for Mithril applications. I need to see your murder list next.”

That might be bad… “There you go…”

The receptionist looked through the list for what felt like an eternity to Sofia, which was actually just a few seconds. “No children… This is still an acceptable number for someone your level. Were any of those Exidion citizens?”

“No. This all happened on the Human continent.”

“Alright. Next please, lady Aphenoreth, disclose your existing citizenships or membership to political, religious, and commercial organizations.”

“Sure… Here is my Vampire trader card, and my citizenship card from the Red Winds Empire. I also have this badge from the Saint Alliance, and am an honorary Apostle of Sorrow.”

“My, that is a lot,” the receptionist exclaimed, “please, give me an instant.”

“Since the Doctor is your guarantor, we can skip a few steps… Last but not least, I need to know the reason for your visit and how long you intend to stay.”

“I am applying to be a teacher at the academy, if all goes well I will stay for the entire school year.”

“Teacher at Brighthall? That’s a prestigious position, I wish you good luck, lady Aphenoreth. This is all I need, you can go wait in the hall downstairs, I will be back with your ID in a few minutes if your application is accepted.”

Leverle had been still as a statue for a while, his head slowly turned to follow Sofia as she stood up and walked up to him.

“Are we not going down like she said?”

“We are going,” he answered in a voice that seemed distant. Though strangely immobile, he followed her downstairs.

I can already guess what’s coming.

“Do you have an issue with my name?” Sofia asked playfully as she stepped down the last set of steps.

Leverle stopped in the middle of the stairs.

“I see. No mere coincidence, then. As I feared. I will not ask anything more. Truly worthy of the calamity’s apprentice…”

“No need to be so scared, see, nothing happened to Ellena.”

“You speak of this all the while knowing the possible repercussions? How can you be so calm?”

Sofia brought out her scepter and shook it lightly.

“What can you say about that bell?” she asked.

“It has a nice ring to it. Is that the origin of your confidence and name? Is it an artifact of the lost epoch? It cannot be identified…”

The lost epoch? Is that referring to whenever the Midenicite tables were made, maybe? It’s nice to confirm he can hear the bell. I should start using it on everyone.

“That is a gift from Ormoncleth.”

After a long silence, Leverle only had three words to say, as he slowly finished going down the stairs, “This is madness.”

It took a quarter of an hour for the receptionist to show up again, a smile on her face.

“I have your ID, lady Aphenoreth!”

Sofia could see the small green card in the blue-skinned receptionist’s hand. “Oh, it was accepted, then.”

“Indeed. It was approved by the Empress herself, as all Mithril IDs should. There you go, it’s all yours,” Ellena held out the metallic green card with both hands.

“Thank you!”

“It is my pleasure. Please check that the information on it is all correct while I go fetch the rest of the package,” Ellena announced as soon as Sofia grabbed the card.

It was tightly packed with data and even showed engravings of Sofia’s face from the front and the side.

‘Mithril rank ID n°138

Sofia Aphenoreth

As of issuing:

Human Female

Yellow hair, blue eyes, white skin

Aged 21, Height 196 cm, Weight 486 kg

Nobility rank : Baroness (Foreign)

Class ID : Saint, Benefactor Deity: Sorrow, Level 249

No criminal records in Exidion

Guarantor:

High Priest of Death’s church - Dr. Leverle (Mithrium n°6)’

Wait… I never mentioned Scripture. She just marked me as Saintess of Sorrow?

I could understand a receptionist making that mistake but, the Empress validated that?

Wasn’t the Emperor supposed to be over level 500? There’s no way his wife wouldn’t have noticed this, right? Maybe she was too spooked by my name and approved without looking over the rest? Well, whatever. Let’s just say it’s all correct.

Also, fucking hell. Half a ton? I’m wearing the anklet, too, so the real number is double that… It’s a wonder I’m not breaking everything I touch. And everyone else is the same, for that matter.

I suspect there’s more at play here, because even if my steps are heavy they’re not that heavy.

While Sofia had an existential crisis over weighing more than the average stone ogre, the receptionist came back with a stack of loose pages of paper.

“Is your card alright?” she asked.

“Yes, all good.”

“Nice! I brought you two maps, you have this one for the Empire and its surroundings, this one is the district of Exalta on one side and the location and names of major shops and places of interest on the other. The fourteen other pages contain all the rights and laws that apply to you as a Mithril ranked foreigner, please read them in detail when you have the time.”

“Will do. Is that everything?”

“Yes. I would offer help to find lodgings for your stay, but I assume that you do not need my assistance,” the receptionist explained as she threw a look toward Leverle who was already waiting near the door.

“I should be alright.”

“Then we are good.”

“Oh right, does this card expire?”

The receptionist shook her head. “The Mithril rank IDs are valid for life, only the Imperial couple may deliver or annul them.”

“Good to know. Thank you, sorry for keeping you on the job so late. Night is almost here already.”

“I get a good commission on Mithril IDs, so this is nothing.” Ellena went to open the door for them to leave. “I should be the one to thank you, actually, the bonus pay will be a real lifesaver. Have a nice stay in Exidion, lady Aphenoreth. And it was nice to see you again, Doctor.”

Sofia and Leverle left, making a beeline for the Academy. It mattered little that it was soon to be night, it was not like them nor the headmaster needed to sleep anyway.