Chapter 115: A Little Confession

POV Eliza

“I will be very happy to help clear things up.” <Eliza>

“Then please follow me to my office.” <Freyna>

We went into Master Freyna's office together. Inside, I put my luggage in a corner and sat down on a chair in front of the desk. The doorway in the wall was closed, but I could feel it clearly.

"Let's get started then. Do you know why I summoned you?" <Freyna>

“Probably not just because I asked for it.” <Eliza>

"You're right. I still want to clear up the incident from last year and the last person I haven't asked about it is you." <Freyna>

“So the others haven't been able to do anything to clear things up?” <Eliza>

"That's right. What makes you think that?" <Freyna>

“It's not a guess, because I know who did it.” <Eliza>

“What do you mean?” <Freyna>

“It's about the opened passage behind you, isn't it?” <Eliza>

"How do you know that? Nobody knows about it except me and Brinna." <Freyna>

Master Freyna had jumped up and was leaning on her arms. Her gaze became sharp and penetrating.

“I opened the passageway.” <Eliza>

"That's impossible. Only a follower of the goddess can even see the passageway. Wait a minute, does that mean ... " <Freyna>

I had expected her to appraise me. That's why, apart from a few omissions, I had unveiled my status accordingly. I could see her eyes widen in her face and her initial annoyance was replaced by sheer astonishment.

"But, how, why ... why didn't you say anything before? Didn't you trust us?" <Freyna>

Master Freyna's astonishment was replaced first by disbelief and then by sadness.

"Please forgive me, Master Freyna, but the last time we met, I was not yet an acolyte. That's why I couldn't say anything." <Eliza>

"I'm glad about that. I thought I was wrong about you when I put my trust in you. But why did you break into my office and open the passageway? And above all, why didn't you close it again? You've caused me a lot of trouble." <Freyna>

"I'm very sorry about that. I was asleep on my last visit when I heard a call. I followed my instincts and ended up here in the office. Following an impulse, I touched the wall and the passageway opened. I was amazed to find an ancient shrine to the goddess behind it. Then various things happened and I was no longer completely in control of my senses when I went back to my room. I must have forgotten to close the passageway again." <Eliza>

“What kind of things happened?” <Freyna>

"I'm sorry, I can't say at the moment. But the day will come when I will answer the question. I would like to get the approval of the person who raised me to the rank of Acolyte first. I hope you understand that." <Eliza>

"I suppose that can't be helped, but I would have liked to know. But I'm glad to know you as another acolyte. Now I don't feel so alone after my old teacher passed away. It's nice to have more of us alive. But now you have to be even more careful than you already were." <Freyna>

"I know. This development doesn't make it any easier for me to live and operate in the Empire. But I can't ignore the call of the goddess either." <Eliza>

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Let's keep our faith in the goddess." <Freyna>

"Master Freyna, will you help me with this? Just like last time, I need training to be able to hide and defend myself in an emergency. And you have many skills that are useful and necessary for me. As soon as I can do something that will help you, I will help and teach you in the future. Or the children. And I would like to ask you to keep my acolyte status hidden for the time being. Again, the time will come when I will tell the others." <Eliza>

"All right, if that is your wish. And now that the mystery of the open passageway has been solved, we can move on to your wish. What exactly are you interested in?" <Freyna>

"I've managed to get above level 40 in both classes, I'd like to tackle my class advancement. At least the scout one. How I improve the Acolyte is still a mystery to me. I still don't know enough about the skills I need to reach the best classes. This is where I need your help, Master Freyna. I would like to learn as much as possible about dark and shadow magic, which we have already started with." <Eliza>

"As much as I can personally approve of helping you, I must also think of my children. For you, that means I can't give you my knowledge for free even as a acolyth. You can pay for part of it with favors that will be called in at a later date. But I need something tangible to help me now." <Freyna>

"That's perfectly fine. I can leave you almost all my money and work while I'm here. I plan on going back to dungeons in the near future. I can then offer you a share of my future loot. Would that be acceptable as a basis for negotiation?" <Eliza>

"That's enough for a start. We can do a lot with money and if you bring us other goods regularly, that will be enough. In your time here, you can also serve as a teacher. We only have a few who are experts in numerous skills. As soon as you have achieved class advancement and then raise the skills we need to expert, you can teach them here." <Freyna>

"That's acceptable. I'll help again as best I can." <Eliza>

"Then let's start tomorrow. The sooner we start, the faster we'll make progress." <Freyna>