It's so fascinating to observe how much the human face can contort when it came across something it considered unpleasant. I never knew a nose can wrinkle like that until I saw Celine scrunched hers up.

"Wait a minute… Why do I have to tell you everything I know? You're supposed to be the one teaching me, so I can get my abilities soon," she complained, spilling half her beverage as she practically slammed the glass against the table.

I gestured at one of the waitstaff to clean up the mess before responding, "First of all, I'm not a teacher. Secondly, to get an idea why you might be having trouble with your abilities, I need to know whether you actually understand what you're getting yourself into. Since I have no idea what exactly the folks at Personnel Development teach new recruits these days, do enlighten me."

Back in my day, there was no such thing as Personnel Development. Instead, a new recruit would be assigned to train under a more experienced Gatekeeper, and how much you were able to learn before being thrown into the battlefield depended on how much your mentor knew and was willing to teach you.

Back then, I had the worst luck of being assigned to my brother. Nathan was terrible at explaining things (he's always been better at talking with his fists), and his primary method of teaching was to leave you to 'sink or swim'.

However, the policies regarding the recruitment and training of new Gatekeepers have since been standardized. After Yeager's reforms, all new recruits would receive the same coaching drills at one of the five established training bases: Kora, Andante, Addaggio, Tsiftel, and Pirri. Although Nathan had often complained that coddling new recruits would only degrade the quality of future Gatekeepers, I personally would have preferred to know about some of the things Personnel have included in their early training materials when I first started my duties.

"Besides, don't people always say that recitation improves your retention of knowledge? Since you have no abilities, the least you can do now is show me that you're not clueless as well," I added, once the waiter who had come to wipe up the spill had left.

Celine's face swelled like a leavened dough as she puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy at being called powerless. But, presumably eager to prove herself by demonstrating her knowledge, she finally answered my question.

"Okay. Fine. For thousands of years, our world has been plagued by an unnatural phenomenon called Anomalies, which cause distortions to the fabrics of the universe and bring chaos and destruction wherever they appear. But people who possess special abilities to control a particular aspect of reality—known as Gatekeepers—are able to keep them at bay," the girl recited with ease. She spoke quickly, as though she wanted to get the words out of the way as quickly as possible.  

"Gatekeepers obtain their powers by fusing themselves with a compatible spellstone shard. There are twenty-six types of spellstone shards, and each one has a distinct set of attributes. The compatibility between a user and a spellstone shards depend on how well their attributes match. I have fused with an ammolite spellstone myself, but I was actually compatible with the aquamarine and amethyst shards as well."

With an aggravated sigh, she planted her chin on top of the table's polished surface, only pulling herself upright when the waiter returned to set a plate of kingfish ceviche right in front of her nostrils. "I chose the ammolite because I thought it'd give me better abilities, since it's so rare. But maybe I should have picked the amethyst instead…"

Celine threw me a hopeful stare, and I offered her a taste of the marinated fish, finding amusement in her exaggerated expression of disgust as she inched further away from the dish.

I suppose she had wanted me to help her replace her spellstone shard then. She's looking to the wrong person if that's the case. Only Klaus and his father have the authority to remove a spellstone shard from a Gatekeeper's body, and Klaus would almost certainly not entertain any requests from me at this point.

"Interesting. What makes you think that fusing with an amethyst spellstone would give you a better outcome?" I asked back in between bites. Some of the amethyst's known attributes include 'focus' and 'intensity'.

The girl leaned forward. "Didn't Sir Lennard get his powers from the amethyst spellstone? So I thought it would have allowed me to gain my abilities faster."

That, of course, is a completely wrong assumption. Possessing the ability to manipulate speed has no bearing on how quickly a person can develop their powers. Besides, even if she had decided to fuse with the amethyst spellstone, there's no guarantee that she would gain the same power over movement as the late Kinetics Expert.

"If your statement is true, he would have become a Master a long time ago." I pointed out. Being a mere Expert, Lennard's proficiency rank was two levels below mine. Not that this meant anything, however. These rank designations merely inform how well a Gatekeeper is able to utilise their spellstone abilities. They don't necessarily translate into aptitude on the battlefield, nor do they reflect an individual Gatekeeper's overall qualification to serve as mankind's primary line of defense against otherworldly threats.

"What made you decide to sign up as a Gatekeeper anyway?" I finally asked. A delayed manifestation of spellstone ability is uncommon, but not unheard of. It usually meant that the user still had reservations about their duties as a Gatekeeper.

Celine drew herself to full height, her face set in a resolute expression. "Because I want to save humanity from the dangers of Anomalies, of course," she declared with utmost conviction.

I stared at her for a moment, before returning to my meal.

Yeah, right.

To save the world and protect its inhabitants from Anomalies is indeed something all Gatekeepers should be aiming to accomplish. But, as far as I know, most of us have other motives besides an altruistic concern over the well-being towards our fellow man. Based on her reasoning for choosing the ammolite spellstone, and her eagerness to replace it with the amethyst when her first choice failed to meet her expectation, I have deduced that this new recruit is more interested in acquiring spectacular powers that she can show off than in actually helping others.

I managed to refrain from asserting those presumptions, however. As long as Celine isn't intending to abuse her currently non-existent powers to harm others, I couldn't care less what her true motives for becoming a Gatekeeper are.

"How very gallant of you," I told her instead. "I'm sure your father would have been proud. Now—"

"I know, right?!" she suddenly exclaimed, rising to her feet and knocking her chair over before I could finish my sentence. I looked up from my grilled barramundi, and saw that Celine's glossy eyes were now quivering. "Then why won't that stupid ammolite grant me any abilities? My father was a Gatekeeper! I know exactly what this duty entails, and I know I have what it takes to be just like him!"

The silver fork I was holding clattered onto the floor. I could almost kick myself. Mentioning Frederich is the completely wrong thing to say, now that I think about it.

But how could I have known it would provoke such a fiery reaction from Celestine? Lennard's demise didn't seem to affect her at all, and she had continued in her cheerful demeanour when she first admitted to being Frederich's daughter. I thought she'd have gotten over her father's passing, or that she never cared about it in the first place. Clearly, I have misjudged her.

Pushing my plate away, I snapped my fingers at a stunned waitress, told her to cancel all my remaining orders and asked her for the bill.

Thankfully, Celine never actually cried. Once the fire of her outburst died down, a stone-cold mask descended on her face, replacing her previously excitable façade. Her eyes, which had glimmered as starlight now glistened like icicles, and the way she looked at me as I paid for our meal reminded me of my former headmistress, Ms. Qualia.

I think I preferred her other mask.

Once the payment had been settled, I wasted no time making an exit and leaving those stares and whispers behind. You never know when there might be a sensationalist among the crowd looking to dig up dirt. "Come, Ms. Alcott, let's just find a place to rest. We'll head back to the base the first thing tomorrow morning. Maybe someone else can assist you instead of me."