"Ferreiro, those old bastards in the central parish are discussing again how to convert Malin to the Church of the Goddess of Harvest," old Hoffman said as he ate his dinner, addressing the Ferreiro before him.
The latter snorted, "Does a kid who makes over a hundred thousand a month care about that bit of money from growing vegetables? They don’t think about who gave them the Divine Arts they enjoy now, a bunch of idiots, trying to compete with the God of Justice for people."
"You can’t say that; after all, it was our church that discovered Malin, and his foster father is Gaiate," old Hoffman said with a sigh, "Has he been to your place recently?"
"Once a week, obviously, his busyness is visible to the naked eye. I told him to follow me if he wanted to make a fortune, but now it seems I’m the one who’s behind the times." Ferreiro sighed as well and continued eating his vegetable salad, "As for Malin, I won’t persuade him. I feel that his future doesn’t belong in this little church, old Hoffman. When we were fourteen, we could save people from a tight spot, but what were we doing at that age? Do you remember?"
"I do remember. I was chasing a pretty girl at that time, and I still remember her vividly," old Hoffman chuckled in response.
His answer elicited a sigh from his companion, "When I was fourteen, I didn’t even qualify to stand on the surgery table... Hoffman, we’ve gotten old."
With that remark, their small table filled with reminiscence of the past.
Eventually, Ferreiro tapped his coffee cup with his spoon, "We’re old, and all we can do is sigh about it... Hoffman, when is your apprentice, Mason Wyman, coming back?"
"It should be another year; the boy wants to spend more time with his comrades. He’s a good kid." Mentioning his apprentice made old Hoffman’s face light up, and he looked at Ferreiro, "Are you really going to teach Malin everything you know?"
"Why not? Even if the boy doesn’t ultimately take up my mantle, he has the talent to create a revolutionary external cardiac compression Spell Formation. Such a child, why shouldn’t he be my most proud apprentice? Maybe in a hundred years, when people mention this child, they will remember him more than us; they’ll say, ’In the field of medicine, he was guided by Sir Ferreiro Emil, how wonderful, and I may even have the honor of being remembered in history.’"
"You really are a dreamer. Only my name will be remembered, as old Hoffman is his true mentor in life."
"Pah, your self-praise is nauseating."
"At least it’s more genuine than your narcissism."
The two old men began to act their age at the dinner table.
Watching the two old fellows argue incessantly, the middle-aged manager of the church dining hall sighed.
There’s a limit even to boasting and self-promotion, gentlemen.
"I’m so envious of you, Maya, your hair is so thick and beautiful," Jessica commented while she combed Maya’s hair.
Maya, who was soundly sleeping, was very satisfied with the recent hot spring bath, and she seriously answered Jessica’s remark, "Maya’s hair has always been ."
"That’s why Malin said it right; comparing people can be infuriating," Lillim quipped as she put on her robe and turned to look at Clovis, who was fluffy in front of the mirror, "Clovis, what are you looking at?"
"I’m checking the extent of my transformation. It’s strange; even though the legs are much better, why can’t the beastly transformation of the chest and limbs be reversed?" Clovis looked at her reflection in the mirror and said solemnly.
"Why would you want to reverse those? They’re very cute," Faye remarked as she handled her long hair with a heated comb with curiosity.
"Eh, cute?" Clovis’s eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Faye, "But it’s an ugly beastly transformation!"
"But your Mr. Malin thinks so too, don’t believe me, ask him later," Faye said with a smile.
"Mr. Malin thinks the same?" Clovis’s eyes bulged with hope beginning to show on her face.
"You can ask him; he said it himself." Faye finished speaking and glanced at Clovis, "Speaking of which, Clovis, you’re not afraid of exposing yourself dressed ?"
"My body is all fluffy; it’s quite troublesome, and with my palms deformed , even Spellcasting has become very difficult." Clovis spoke while lifting her paw, showing a hand that was completely different from a human’s normal hand, covered in light brown fur, with the claw barely visible, "Mr. Malin can’t even hold my hand."
"Eh, didn’t he hold it last time?" Lillim curiously reached out and tried to grasp it, "Your fingers, where have they gone?" Lillim was surprised to feel the fully transformed paw of Clovis, including the pads underneath.
"As I said, my palms are completely deformed; I rely on my claws to substitute for hand gestures when I cast spells," Clovis pouted, "I used to hate everything about my transformation, but it was Mr. Malin who lit the flame in my life. If it hadn’t been for him, in the past two years... I probably would have completely turned into a different kind by now."
"Don’t be scared; Mr. Malin is here, we are all here, together," Lillim hugged Clovis reassuringly.