Hoodisee, always true to themself, was wandering in some dark alley where people should not go all by themselves. A back alley often filled with crimes and death. They didn't know where to go nor why they were going that way. It was always like that, but it always turned out to be enlightening somehow. Suddenly, a small noise came to their ears. It was like a small whining. Intrigued they went to see where the sound was coming from. It was a baby hidden behind two garbage cans, he was crying really loudly. The baby was wrapped up in a dirty little blanket of a light blue color. Hoodisee took him in their arms and the baby gradually calmed down.

— Oh, poor thing, who left you all alone in this dark alley? Let me take you to somewhere more cosy.

The child was really young, it seemed he was only a few weeks old, a few months at most. The baby's hair was just like fur, thick and soft, in a light brown color. On his forehead was a blue diamond shaped spot, just like a birthmark. His skin was in a fair blue color shade, it wouldn't have been noticeable if his hair were black or blue.

— So you're a little baby spirit I see.

That's when a woman with long blue hair up in a ponytail walked in the back alley. Her hair was like the edge of a cloud, they were in a light blue shade, just like a sunny slightly cloudy winter sky. Her clothes were navy blue, black and gold, which suited her pretty well. It looked just like what would wear a prince/princess or a knight. A shirt with long sleeves which looked like an extremely short dress and a black pants. Perfect for horseback riding, running and fighting. Hoodisee didn't know why she was here, but thought she could be linked to the baby.

— You're a spirit too!? Is it your baby?

The girl soon realized that the hooded one had a baby in their arms.

— What will you do to this baby?

Her tone wasn't aggressive, it was just as if she was curious. Her response clearly meant that she wasn't the mother and probably wasn't linked with him at all.

— I'll take care of him.

— But, he's a demon...

Her voice was filled with incomprehension.

— He's a spirit.

— His parents might have been demons.

— It doesn't matter who his parents were, I can't abandon him because of that. He didn't do anything yet, I can't condemn him just for being born.

— You don't seem like someone who can take care of a child on your own.

— I don't care, I can adapt.

— I heard that you never want to be involved in a dangerous situation.

— How dangerous can it be to raise a child?

— Would you do that to any lost child you stumble across?

— Other children I 'stumbled across' until now were either older or already had a caretaker. He's still a baby and he's alone. If I don't take care of him he'll die in no time.

— Why would you care? You could just let him there hoping someone finds him before it's too late, or leave him in an orphanage.

— He's a spirit. No one would take care of him, neither a random passerby nor any orphanages close from here. Both would just take him to take advantage of him. A spirit in a human world doesn't have that much of a chance in live.The only option left for me is to take care of him myself.

— But, why? Why would you radically change your life for a baby you don't even know?

Hoodisee, out of frustration, started leaving the alley while saying a last sentence:

— The one who would leave a baby to die or use them for their own benefit is the true monster of this world.

Dumfounded, the winter-sky-blue haired girl stayed alone in the alley for several seconds before running after the hooded one.

— Wait!

— What do you want?

— I'm not the heartless girl you might think I am.

— I don't care.

Hoodisee continued walking and the girl followed them.

— I asked what you wanted to do to the baby because I thought that you might have been ill intent.

They stopped.

— And, what if I were?

— Then, I would have had to stop you and take back the baby.

— I'm not.

— I know.

— So why are you still after me?

— Because you're a perfect candidate to be a new recruit in our chivalric order.

— So what?

— You might not be interested because of the baby you'll have to take care of from now on, but you don't have to worry. We have a nursery which takes care of the children of our members and it is spirit-friendly.

Hoodisee looked at the woman in front of him without saying a word. Not really touched by what she was saying.

— ...

— We also pay well.

— ...

— We have good health insurance?!

— ...

— You wouldn't have to worry about anything. Food , clothes, living place...

— ...

The woman had no idea how to convince the person in front of her.

"He's not leaving, so I guess there's a way to convince him... What can I do or say that could persuade him to join us?"

— You would be a valuable asset for us to have.

— How so?

— We always need people who could help others even if they don't benefit from it.

— Mmh.

"Seriously, what does he want? Let's just start over and explain to him what kind of organisation we are."

— We are a group of knights meant to protect the weak against the oppression of the powerful.

— Oh! That's great!

"That touched him?!"

She took out a card out of her pocket and gave it to the hooded one.

— If you're interested in joining us, you're welcome to do so. We're a little short in staff, so we need to find people like you who can put the wellbeing of others in front of their own. If you think you fall under that description, you just need to give this card to the person in front of the building indicated on it and say that 'you came for the interview'. They'll show you the way for your tests of aptitude.

— Do I need anything in particular? Other than the card.

— Being mentaly prepared, I guess... Physically too... And you might want to bring a weapon.

— Oh, if that's all.

— One more thing, if your evaluator is a tall bald muscle bag with an axe, you might want to wait some time before taking your first test. He's mercyless with new recruits, especially the ones who look strong. Though, he is a bit too lenient with women and children.

— Is that so? Isn't he just under and overestimating people depending on their gender, age and appearance?

— It could look that way, but when he goes against demons and oppressive forces, there's no discriminations at all.

— Demons or spirits?

— He considers spirits on the same level of humans so he treats them the same.

— At least there's that. I guess I can overlook his descrimination of youth and women... I have one more question before you leave.

— What is it?

— What can I do with baby bee while I'm fighting and doing the other tests?

A lot of thoughts passed through the mind of the girl with a ponytail.

"Baby bee? More importantly, how does he know the first test is a fight? Should I just answer his question and let the matter go? No! I need to know."

— How...?

— How do I know there's gonna be a fight?

— Mhm!

— Knights... Mentaly and physically prepared... Bring a weapon... Man with an axe... Merciless... Hard on men, easy on women... Harder on the ones who look strong... How could I not know? To be honest, I realized it when you said 'tests of aptitude', since you already said it was a chivalric order. But the rest of the conversation just confirmed my doubts. Though, judging by your reaction I should act like I didn't know in front of the 'evaluator' and the other people who'll be there.

"He knows pretty well how to read hidden meanings. I need to be wary of him, he might bring trouble if I misjudged him. Though he would be of great help if I'm right. Still, what an impressive guy."

— For your question, we'll take care of him, you don't need to worry.