On the Study of Man

Mindis Hall, afternoon, the Duke's study.

"You don't know why you're here, do you?"

Hearing the question, Tales looked up in the study and gazed at the person before him with faint confusion.

She was an elderly woman. She sat casually across from him, her features weathered but her bearing elegant. The nun standing behind her was only sixteen or seventeen, veiled and rigid in posture.

The Sunset emblems on their robes reflected a dim golden light, blending surprisingly well with Mindis Hall's classical yet New Wave interior.

The only incongruity was Gilbert, sitting rigidly on the other side of the room and glaring unpleasantly at Tales's guest.

Just now, after Marius had expressionlessly led the teacher dispatched by the Sunset Temple into the study, Gilbert had hurried over right behind him. His gaze at the old woman was filled with surprise and wariness.

"I know. This is theology class."

Tales sent Gilbert an inquiring look, then tentatively addressed the woman before him by her title:

"Priestess Megan...?"

But Priestess Megan shook her head, still smiling.

"No, you don't."

Megan pointed upward. Her smile was easygoing, but her eyes were reverent.

"You think you're here merely because of the arrangements for your lessons and the needs of tradition. But in truth, whether you sit here or I come here, it is all God's will."

The priestess's voice carried a peculiar mystique.

God's will?

Out of politeness, Tales managed a strained smile.

All right, all right.

For several days, the boy had been curious about what his theology teacher would be like. After all, he had had very little direct contact with clergy in his life. The Mingye officials he had encountered as a beggar had been overly enthusiastic and eccentric; the Sunset monks had been compassionate, devout, and imposing; while