《Inspector of God》


 Prologue- A Sad Tale

    Let me tell you a tale. A rather tragic one at that, if I do say so myself. Many years ago there was a young child¡­ a happy child.


    He lived in large two story house with two loving parents. The mother was a housewife, whilst the father worked as a high ranking officer in the city guards. The father was a man full of justice, a man full of kindness and a man with an empathetic heart¡­ yes, he was a very good man.


    The details somewhat allude me these days, but from what I recall, he was a tall man, standing at 6ft5, with a strong build. He always used to carry quite the intimidating atmosphere, with his dark hair always neatly combed back and his deep blue eyes seemingly able to pierce right through you. And yet numerous wrinkles suggesting a man full of smiles and laughter were ever present on his face. It really is quite strange to be able to remember him in so much detail after so many years.


    Now onto his wife, the woman always supporting this good man. She, with her long chestnut coloured hair and large dark brown eyes, was quite the beauty. A woman who dedicated her everything to her family and who would do anything to protect it.


    The good man had many enemies. The criminals whose business he interfered with, and the other officers whose actions were always overshadowed by his dedication to his job. It should be no surprise that all their jealousy and hate eventually reached the tipping point.


    To put it simply, the good man was found guilty of accepting bribes and even assisting some criminal organisations, staging the feats he had accomplished in career in collaboration with them. Of course, he was framed.


    In the end nobody wanted to damage the trust the citizens had in the guards and kept the matter discreet. The kind man was exempt from imprisonment and was heavily fined instead. Now that I think about it, this fate seems somewhat crueler than just imprisonment.


    Although the details of the incident were not widely known, very few wished to hire what they could only assume was a man with a questionable character. He could also not leave his family alone in the city to work as a mercenary, due to the fear of his enemies taking action.


    Despite all this, the good man kept working hard for his family and to pay off the fines thrust upon him. He worked day and night, accepting any job requiring physical labour to keep his family¡¯s lives comfortable. Then one day he died; exhaustion had killed him. Both the wife and child cried day and night mourning the death of that good man.


    The heartbroken wife sold the house, and moved to a poorer district with the child, where they would continue their lives. Unfortunately, things weren¡¯t so simple. After all, the good man was gone, and yet there were still some who felt wronged by this good man.


    The outcome should be quite obvious. Let me paint you a picture:


    Outside of the newly bought house sat a child of 6 or 7 years of age. He sat there on the ground lifelessly like a puppet with its strings cut. His dark hair neatly combed back just like his late father and his large dark brown eyes full of tears.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The sun was quickly setting, but that child didn¡¯t move from his spot. He just continued to gaze for hours at what lay before him. It was as if his brain couldn¡¯t process what his eyes were seeing. In front of that child of the good man and dedicated wife lay a body. Mottled bruises were spread across all limbs and on the skin showing through the ripped fabric of the dress the body wore. It was an act of cruelty to let a child see his mother in such a state. Of course she was long dead, I mean how could one be alive despite the numerous bleeding gashes on her once fair and unmarked skin? How could one still be alive despite their limbs being twisted at such angles? Would one even want to be alive after experiencing such brutality of both a physical, and evident of the ripped clothes, a sexual nature?


    Despite those clearly lifeless eyes, the child kept sobbing the same thing over and over:


    ¡°Mom, please don¡¯t go. Wake up! Please wake up! You can¡¯t leave me to!¡±


    The child was in hysterics. His eyes were a deep red, tears streaming down his face. He kept repeating the same thing between heart wrenching sobs.


    ¡°Wake up!¡± ¡°Wake up!¡± ¡°Wake up!¡± ¡°Wake up!¡± ¡°Wake up!¡±


    Unfortunately nothing can wake up the dead. The once happy child was now sad, and oh so very alone. Eventually he was taken away from the corpse by the neighbours despite his incessant cries that she would wake up any moment.


    The sad child was now an orphan. Days later a sister of the church came to take him away. To take him to the orphanage where he would learn about the so called wonders of God and begin his new life, at least according to the endless blabbering of the sister. As she led the gloomy child to the church orphanage, she realised she¡¯d forgotten something; she didn¡¯t even know the child¡¯s name. Turning around and crouching down to his level, she asked the child.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Cyne, Cyne Wight¡±, responded the child, with an empty voice.


    ¡°Well Cyne don¡¯t look so down, soon you¡¯ll be learning about and embracing the love of our god, Sol¡±, she said.


    She had a somewhat unnerving, fanatical gleam in her eyes as she attempted to cheer up the sad child. But how could such words truly clear the murkiness in his heart. Despite the pain of losing his mother and before that his father, he put on a smile. The sad child smiled to hide his broken heart, he smiled at the unfairness of life and he smiled at what he can only assume is a bleak and empty future.


    I can tell you that he still wears that smile to this day while his true emotions remain hidden, and while his true character remains unknown. Yes, it¡¯s true; after those events so many years ago¡­ I never stopped smiling.

 Chapter 1- My Life So Far

    It was another sunny day. The birds were chirping and there wasn¡¯t a cloud to be seen. I looked up from where I sat at the empty blue sky, letting myself get lost in it. I can¡¯t say that I particularly like sunny days, in fact I prefer dreary and rainy days, but there¡¯s just something about letting your gaze wander through all that¡­ blue.


    I was currently sat in a courtyard, on one of the benches at the side. The middle of the courtyard was empty and peaceful, the only signs of life being the grass and a single tree at its very centre. The courtyard was square in shape, surrounded by walk ways separated by pillars. The colour scheme was quite boring to be honest; everything was white. The bench was white, the pillars were white, the buildings were white¡­ even the bloody tree bark was white.


    Of course this can only be expected of an area in the church of Sol. Yesterday had been my 18th birthday¡­ I¡¯ve been in this place for more than eleven years now. I¡¯m sick of it.


    After first arriving at this church, I was happily greeted and welcomed by all the other children who lived their lives at the orphanage. Of course I smiled and greeted them back, quickly making friends. Or at least that¡¯s what it was like on the surface. My heart still hadn¡¯t healed, I mean, how could you expect it to? I was a child, only 6 years old, and I had lost my mother only a few days prior to my arrival.


    While I interacted with the other children, I couldn¡¯t help but think to why all this had happened. I kept thinking underneath my fa?ade of happiness and content. My father was a good man, so why did it turn out like this? My mother gave her all for others, so why did it turn out like this?


    Weeks went by, then months, and eventually years. I had come to a conclusion on my 9th birthday: it turned out this way because my father was good and because my mother was selfless. I did not want a similar fate. I decided I wouldn¡¯t be a good man, and that I¡¯d only live for myself.


    My father did his job out of passion, not simply to make ends meet. Therefore my motivation would only be monetary reward. My mother became selfless because she loved others, so I would be selfish, loving only myself. I made a decision that day.


    I would always put myself before others and I would never do anything unless the reward was great enough. I would use others to the benefit of myself and only care about physical things of value, instead of concepts such as trust and love.


    But I eventually reached a slight bump in thought process. How can I use people? How can I covet things of value? The answer was simple. The answer was money and power. It was what made the world go round after all; the criminal gangs targeted my father because he was making them lose this precious thing, and is colleagues targeted him because his efforts were earning him greater monetary reward.


    Eventually my 10th birthday came along, and I had wholeheartedly adopted my new way of life. All the children of the orphanage gained a weekly allowance of two copper coins, and I used every trick in the book to get my hands on those few copper coins. It amuses me now at how desperately I hoarded all the pocket money of the orphaned children. I had stolen, cheated, and gambled all the other children of their money each and every week. Of course, no one suspected the pleasant smiling child of stealing, and the sisters that looked after us would never reprimand me after tricking others to hand other their coins to me in rigged bets and games after I pulled out the puppy dog eyes, with just the slightest hint of tears.


    A few days after my tenth birthday, all those of us who had recently turned 10 were taken to one of the inner halls of the church. They said they were going to test our soul purity. I had heard of this prior to the event from some gossiping sisters; apparently it would hold a large part in determining our futures.


    We all line up against the wall at the side of the hall and went up one by one to a large transparent pillar at the centre of the room. A strange object that seemed like simple glass but also shone with what I could only describe as divine radiance.


    As the children put their hands on the pillar, darkness seemed to seep out of them, turning a portion of the pillar opaque. When it was my turn, I held out my hands and a significantly smaller amount of darkness seeped out into the pillar, leaving about 80% transparent. The priest overseeing the process seemed to almost radiate happiness at the event, and the sisters standing by the side began to whisper to one another in excited yet hushed tones.


    The previous children had provided results of between 20% and 40% transparency. I later learned that this meant I had soul purity of the 8th tier. Soul purity is directly linked with one¡¯s ability to manipulate magic and my results indicated that I had the potential to learn tier 8 magic. At the time I had no idea how lucky I was, but to put things into perspective, in the continent where I lived, Huras, approximately 30,000,000 other people also lived. Currently, those capable of using tier 10 magic or have the capacity to learn in the future is 5 (well 5 known), those able to use tier 9 magic is in the tens (somewhere between 30 and 50 individuals), and those able to use tier 8 magic lay somewhere between 200 and 300 individuals.


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    The majority of the population only had the capacity to learn tier 3 magic and below. So it was no wonder the priest was so excited at the time.


    From then on, I graduated from the basic education provided by the orphanage and was inducted into the church¡¯s main school. After 2 years of education, those of us who held sufficient soul purity (4th tier and above) were allowed to choose our paths for the future. We could train to become a priest, a holy knight, or an inspector of god.


    I¡¯ll tell you a little about all three paths:


    First we have the priest, the very essence of kindness, forgiveness, love, and all of that nonsense. They specialise completely in purification and healing magic, almost never leaving the church.


    Then we have the holy knights, righteous do-gooders who protect those in need. In contrast to the priests, they specialise almost completely on close combat attack magic, with only a little support and minor healing magic. They tend to only participate in wars, or guard the priests on the rare expedition.


    And finally we have the path I chose, the inspectors of god. These fellows are the least well received by the public, acting as the watchdogs of the church. If a heretic pops up, the inspectors hunt him down and then return him to their god, Sol, for judgement. Sol, the god of the church I am currently sitting in, is widely known as the god of fire and light, old legends telling of his palace being on the sun where he watches over us. A bunch of hogwash if you ask me, but still we inspectors go and ¡®send¡¯ heretics to Sol. By that I mean we burn them alive. An inspector is essentially the jack of all trades; they learn all types of magic to a moderate degree: attack, support, healing, and control.


    Very few people choose the path of the inspector due to requirements to go on patrols to nearby villages and towns in addition to the whole burning people alive thing. My reason was simple. The pay is good. An inspector gets paid nearly twice as much as a knight or priest. Sure the job is harder, but you can also take bribes to supplement your income!


    I could go into detail about the following years of gruelling training but I¡¯ll give you a brief overview instead. I learned sword play, magic of various types, torture methods (y¡¯know¡­ for when the heretic doesn¡¯t admit he¡¯s a heretic), and of course all about Sol. To be honest I slept through most of the lessons on religion. I mean come on, who really cares? At that stage I just wanted to learn more about being a badass.


    I still remember the day I graduated¡­ Actually now that I think about it, that was only a week ago. People graduate when they¡¯re deemed ready by their instructors, and turns out not studying religion and instead focussing on all the other classes paid off. I just cheated off someone else to get by on the written exam on the religion of Sol. My instructor was even crying at the end, sobbing about how proud he was of me. I¡¯d successfully graduated at the young age of 18, 3 years earlier than average. I was competent in swordplay, using the rapier as my main weapon, I was also able to use magic up to 5th tier, which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself, considering the learning facilities were only equipped to teach up to 4th tier. Most of the additional 5th tier magic I had learned came from my instructor. Apparently he was moved by my torture techniques and had promised me he would do everything in his power to support me on my journey to becoming an unrivalled inspector. Great guy.


    And well¡­ here I am getting lost in the sky. I have my first expedition tomorrow to one of the villages on the outskirts of the kingdom to the south. The city I was currently living in is the capital of the kingdom of Sol and located centrally. And yes¡­ these religious fanatics named their country after their god. Can you guess what the capital city is called? It¡¯s called Sol city¡­ yep.


    The expedition tomorrow is nothing serious, but it is quite unusual that both a priest and a knight will also be coming along. Just a team of three, usually it should be three inspectors, one senior and two juniors, but I guess the church want the priests and knights to get a bit more fieldwork. From what I¡¯ve heard, all three of us are newly qualified and the geniuses of our respective professions, so a senior wasn¡¯t deemed necessary.


    I groaned out loud at the prospect of having to tolerate both a super righteous knight and na?ve and kind priest, or priestess. I¡¯ve not yet met them in person but rumours do go around and I hear that both are the very embodiments of what their professions stand for. I¡¯ve also overheard rumours about myself. The genius inspector, a friendly man who¡¯s always smiling, whilst holding both a comforting atmosphere and a relaxed demeanour. In other words a great guy, and not really holding a personality one would expect of an inspector; they¡¯re usually all grouches or wrong in the head somehow.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa¡±


    I let out a sigh, and stretched myself out across the bench letting my head fall back to continue viewing the sky. This expedition¡¯s going to be long.

 Chapter 2- New Comrades

    Exactly how much longer do I have to wait? I had been standing outside the church entrance for the past hour, waiting for my new comrades to show up, so that we could get this over with. And still no sign of them. I took a look at the church in all of its excessive grandeur, thinking back to when I first arrived.


    At the time I was astonished by the monstrously large building. It was and still is ridiculous. It¡¯s the size of a palace, and everything is white. Why white? I mean shouldn¡¯t it be yellow or something, Sol is the god of the sun after all. I guess they just like to emphasize purity and all that.


    I left my gaze drift over the numerous spiralling towers that pierced the sky with their sharp peaks. There¡¯s basically no consistency in this place. It¡¯s like a maze; I can¡¯t even remember how many times I¡¯d gotten lost before. Despite its current size, it¡¯s not even complete. At this very moment I can see 3 new towers under construction.


    I was starting to zone out as I absentmindedly gazed at the numerous inscriptions, sculptures and carvings littered all over the place. This place really is over the top. I shuddered as I thought about how I would be spending the rest of my life here in service to the church. Oh well, in the end I¡¯ll just escape and go on a journey if I ever get to the breaking point.


    The neighbouring countries aren¡¯t as focussed on their religions, so I could just go to any of them. Maybe not to the east, that place is full of demi-humans, and to be perfectly honest they¡¯re quite an intrinsic people. An outsider like myself, especially being human and all, wouldn¡¯t be welcome. Such a strange people¡­ although I guess they may not like humans all that much due to the whole slavery thing.


    Now that I think about it the South is no good either. Despite not being nearly as fanatical about religion over there, they worship that moon goddess, whatever she¡¯s called. If anyone found out I had been in service to the church of Sol, I¡¯d become an outcast¡­ maybe even be killed.


    So the west or the north! But then again the further west you go, the more frequent shadows become, till you reach their home, the wastelands. Shadows aren¡¯t very pleasant things. The church teachings say they¡¯re born of the sins of all humanity; they¡¯re twisted creatures, all savage and insane monsters with their forms never consistent.


    There have been a few theories as to how they came into existence, but none have been proven. Some think they¡¯re creatures whose soul purity was 0% at birth, others think that they were once normal beasts who became infected by some mysterious disease. Well I don¡¯t know or care. If another shadow uprising happens, the kingdoms will just summon heroes to deal with it like they always do.


    Shadow uprisings are pretty easy to predict after all, as soon as those creatures show even a shred of cooperation the kingdoms become cautious, and if a humanoid shadow appears, heroes are immediately summoned to ¡®help cleanse our sins from this land¡¯ as the scripture of Sol says.


    ¡­Why was I standing here again? Oh that¡¯s right¡­ my two future comrades decided being late by an hour and a half now is acceptable. I felt like bursting out in fit of anger, but contained myself, after all, I have a reputation to uphold.


    Oh! Is that them? They certainly look the part. Walking towards me was a large man, slightly taller than myself, standing at 6ft5 (I¡¯m 6ft3 by the way). He looked young, around my age¡­ or maybe even younger? He had short blonde hair neatly cut into the style standardly used by the military and blue eyes, the colour of the sky. He had pretty good face as well, I¡¯m sure tons of girls were always swarming for his attention. As he strode forwards towards where I was waiting, his metal armour clinked on the stone tiles¡­ Why is he wearing full plate armour? I just don¡¯t get some people. But it did suit him well. The pure white armour, probably made of mithril, was lined with gold and had a gold sun emblazoned on the front of his chest plate. The gold¡¯s a nice touch, holy knights are usually just all white. He was basically what the vast majority of people would envision when thinking about a holy knight.


    By his side, also coming towards me, was a young girl dressed in traditional priest garb. Are you kidding me?! She¡¯s like 14! Compared to the giant next to her, her stature of about 5ft3 was tiny.  She had vibrant amber eyes, large and innocent, in addition to similar coloured hair neatly arranged in a single braid that went down her back. There was nothing special about her garbs; just the plain old white robes all priests and priestesses wear. She seems to have a peculiar bounce in her step as she walked down the path from the church entrance leading to where I was waiting¡­ she¡¯s skipping? Is this going to end up as a babysitting job? If so I¡¯m making Mr Knight over there take care of her.


    They eventually got to where I was. I was leaning against a tree, arms folded, enjoying the shade and the light breeze dancing its way through the tree leaves. I put on my best smile and waited for them to greet me. It was only common courtesy for them to call out first considering how late they were. They stopped a few metres away from me and continued to chat.


    The knight had a deep, manly voice slightly contrasting with his relatively young appearance, whilst the priestess had high pitched voice common in children, although hers was very clear, like the jingling of bells.


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    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing Mr Inspector isn¡¯t here yet, right Gant?¡± happily exclaimed the priestess.


    ¡°Indeed Mary, it would seem he¡¯s even later than we are. It would¡¯ve been terrible if we had kept him waiting.¡± replied the now dubbed Gant.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s ok then! I mean I can¡¯t believe we spent a whole hour and a half chatting. You¡¯re really fun to talk to!¡± said priestess Mary.


    ¡°I too enjoyed our talk Mary, it truly is a wonderful feeling to discuss our lord, Sol with another so devoted.¡± said Gant.


    ¡°Yep that was really fun! And you¡¯re really cool as well, being a knight sounds awesome!¡± said Mary.


    They happily started to compare life as a priest and that of a knight... Are they retarded? Did they not see me? But I literally met the gaze of that Gant fellow. I could feel a vein throbbing on my forehead. Calm down and smile, calm down and smile, calm down and smile¡­ All better. I¡¯ll take the initiative then.


    ¡°Hello there future comrades! I noticed that you were a tad late today, I hope nothing serious caused the delay?¡± I began, with my signature smile plastered across my face.


    ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± replied Mary and Gant respectively.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Gant.


    I think I¡¯m going to burst a blood vessel. Didn¡¯t I just make it obvious you big dolt! I mean for the love of Sol use your skills of observation! Clue one: I called you two idiots, comrades. Clue two: I have the typical white shirt, trousers and waistcoat that all inspectors have. Clue fucking three: I know you¡¯re late to something. Who the fuck else would know? I¡¯m quite literally the only one here and perfectly fit the image of what should be your comrade.


    ¡°Gant, I think that should be mister inspector¡± said the ever so observant Mary.


    ¡°Oh! You might be right there.¡± responded the retarded knight.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cyne. Pleased to meet the two of you! I¡¯ll be your third party member for this expedition and look forward to working with you both.¡± I said.


    The two had now acknowledged who I was and introduced themselves, after which they began to continuously apologize for their tardiness.


    ¡°One apology is enough. I forgive the both of you! How could I not as a fellow devotee to Sol. But I do feel its best we move onto our journey. The carriage should be waiting outside the city gates.¡± I reminded them after the 6th apology.


    ¡°You truly are a benevolent man!¡± exclaimed retard, followed by a chirping ¡°I think so too¡± from the child.


    We quickly proceeded to the city gates with our luggage, loading up the carriage and quickly setting off. The journey should take a week or so. Normally it would take longer but the horses pulling the carriage were magical beasts after all. Renowned for both speed and stamina these bad boys could run day and night for the entire journey.


    They¡¯re ridiculously expensive and yet the church casually uses them for such a minor expedition like ours. This extravagant display of wealth touches my heart. To so openly flaunt ones wealth in front of others, while dangerous, is the true pinnacle of being fulfilled in life (at least in my opinion). The church receives so many donations each year that it¡¯s no surprise that they¡¯re easily wealthier than the kingdom¡¯s royal family.


    Although the donations are more like a tax to be honest: if you don¡¯t pay up a decent amount to the church each year and word gets out then you¡¯ll get ostracized from the community and receive lots of hate in general. It¡¯s such a beautiful scheme, at the scale of which I can only dream of.


    The tall walls of the city were quickly being left behind by the speed machines pulling the carriage. I gazed out of the carriage window, leisurely stretching across the cushioned seats as I admired the green fields and beautiful scenery. Mary and Gant were happily chatting to one another on the other side of the seats, and on more than one occasion tried to include me, whereupon I said something profound or confusing to muddle their little brains and get them to leave me alone.


    The journey will most likely be uneventful. For the most part we¡¯ll be staying in the carriage, only stopping twice at some well-established inns for a break. As long as nothing happens during those periods, we should be able to avoid in danger or trouble that could come our way. These magical horses are able to outrun a great deal of things. Very few beasts can compete in speed so on the road we¡¯ll be able to easily flash past any potential issues like bandits and the like.


    After two days had passed we eventually arrived at our first stop, Treetop inn. The old building was very large with a solid stone foundation on top of which lay sturdy wooden walls. The roof was tiled, something quite rare out of the city; most roofs were thatched. And at one corner a tree had seemingly fused with the walls, the top just peeking over the roof, hence the name treetop.


    To be perfectly honest, this was my first time out of the city, and despite my calm exterior, I was rather excited about this whole journey. The whole experience would be a whole lot more pleasant if dumb and dumber weren¡¯t following me around. Well what can you do? I gave a small sigh and then entered the inn.

 Chapter 3- A Beautiful Tune

    Truly wondrous! I mean how exciting can this get?! I was currently sat down at a table near the corner of the inn¡¯s dining area, having just rented two rooms, one for guys and one for the girl. I had a clear overview of the entire area and was enjoying a medium rare steak of a magical bovine beast. As I was savouring the new flavours and seasonings of the dish, a great contrast to the plain food typically served at the church, a great commotion broke out.


    A group of four thugs from what it looked like had made their way up to the inn¡¯s counter, and began to harass the owner. To think there would be a day when I saw such a scene, it was exactly like those novels I often read to pass the time. It would be just perfect if they asked for his daughter as compensation for some fabricated wrong doing by the inn keeper.


    As my thoughts started to stray towards the numerous books I had read in my spare time, a young girl came out of the back door behind the counter, leading to the kitchen area. Most likely she had come to see what the commotion was about. She was of about 16 years of age and had short brown hair and green eyes, quite the looker in my opinion. Now that I think about it she has some resemblance to the portly inn keeper¡­ No way.


    ¡°Father, is something the matter?¡± She asked the inn keeper in a timid voice.


    Her gaze darted towards the thugs who had settled their eyes, now full of what I can only assume is lust, on her slender but well-proportioned body. It¡¯s actually happening! For me to be so lucky to see such a famous scenario.


    ¡°Hey, old man! If ya give us da girl fer a night, we¡¯ll let ya off fer causin¡¯ us so much grief¡± said thug1.


    ¡°Yeah old man! Dis establishment here wouldn¡¯t want any trouble would it?¡± said thug2.


    ¡°Dis girl here would be a good apology for the shite you call food dat we was served here.¡± said thug3.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame us for getting upset if yer don¡¯t give us a proper apology old man!¡± said thug4.


    The now terrified young girl quickly hid behind her father as he tried to appease the thugs, promising them free food and rooms for as long as they like, and even offering them a substantial amount of money. But the thugs were dead set on getting the girl it would seem.


    Personally I would have gone of the money. Don¡¯t they know that if they were to go to the city, they could purchase a night with 4 decent prostitutes with that amount of silver? Maybe I should offer the inn keeper some help in exchange for a decent reward. No! I need to restrain myself, this should be the part where a hero gallantly arrives to aid the innkeeper and his daughter.


    Ah here it comes! Wait a moment¡­ he looks familiar. At this moment in time I noticed the empty seat on my right. I proceeded to let out a sigh. Looks like retard will go to their rescue. If that was going to be the case, I should have intervened for some extra cash. Mister righteousness over there won¡¯t accept anything after all. He¡¯ll probably say something idiotic, like it was his duty as a knight.


    As the thugs noticed him striding towards the counter they immediately became more guarded. After all, even though he didn¡¯t have his full plate armour on, he was still an intimidating figure, with his well-developed muscles clearly visible underneath his shirt. The shirt is tight enough for them to be visible because it¡¯s mine. The idiot didn¡¯t bring any spare sets of clothes, and he could hardly wear the kiddo¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°What do yer want?¡± asked thug1, his hand slowly drifting towards his sheathed dagger.


    ¡°It is disgraceful for people to behave in such a way. Cease this unsightly display at once!¡± replied the retard sternly.


    ¡°Wha?¡± said thug2, 3 &4 simultaneously.


    It would seem he used to many difficult words for them. Thug1 seemed to get the gist though and responded by lunging towards retard with his dagger unsheathed. Quite a nice surprise attack, but unfortunately Gant is a highly trained holy knight, and one considered a genius at that.


    Gant grabbed the wrist of thug1 with ease, crushing it in his hand before proceeding to knock out all 4 thugs in the space of about 2 seconds. It looked like he was just lightly tapping them of the head, but anyone even a little competent with magic could see that he¡¯d infused enough magical energy into his blows to make each tap feel like the blow of a hammer.


    Humorously all the thugs fell into one big pile, out cold. Mary then ran up from the table to Gant.


    ¡°Gant, are you okay?! That was so awesome how you beat all those bad people! You were like bambambambam and all of them went down!¡± excitedly chattered Mary.


    ¡°It was nothing.¡± said Gant.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much! Please take this as a reward. I really can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± clamoured the innkeeper, thrusting out the sack of money towards Gant.


    ¡°No, I cannot accept such a reward, I was only fulfilling my duty as a knight.¡± replied Gant, his eyes ablaze with righteousness.


    Called it.


    ¡°At least have your meals on the house.¡± insisted the innkeeper.


    Gant after some deep thought eventually gave his consent to such an arrangement with a nod. After which he turned to the daughter.


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    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked, concern evident in his voice.


    ¡°Y-yes, I¡¯m okay. Really thank you very much. If there¡¯s anything I can do to repay you just let me know¡± replied a slightly flustered innkeeper¡¯s daughter.


    Looks like she fell victim to his charm, and if I¡¯m not mistaken that last sentence was almost an invitation. Those upturned eyes when she said it and bright red ears gave the game away.


    ¡°No, as I said before it was simply my duty¡± replied the dense fuck.


    The daughter seemed rather disappointed but quickly returned to the kitchen while Gant and Mary made their way back to the table.


    ¡°Hey Cyne! Wasn¡¯t Gant awesome back there?!¡± exclaimed a still excited Mary


    ¡°Hmm? Yeah, as expected of a holy knight, you do your profession proud.¡± I replied somewhat absentmindedly.


    I was still lamenting over the lost opportunity of gaining some extra cash. Gant however seemed extremely pleased by my response going on to talk about how holy knights were expected to do such things while Mary listened attentively. Suddenly my ever present smile widened.


    There was still an opportunity for money! Those thugs would probably just cause problems in the future and killing them wasn¡¯t exactly an option¡­ unless you¡¯re an inspector, hehehe. I excused myself, saying that I wanted to make sure everything was alright with innkeeper now that the trouble had been dealt with. I proceeded quickly to the counter, ignoring the admiration in the gazes of my comrades.


    ¡°Hello, I see you already met my companions over there and I thought I would just make my way over to introduce myself. I¡¯m Cyne, it¡¯s a pleasure¡± I began.


    I held out my hand as a greeting which the innkeeper gladly took, giving it a strong shake. We had met before when I had ordered the rooms but no pleasantries were exchanged.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too lad! Can¡¯t believe how lucky I was for your friend over there to be here to intervene¡± said the innkeeper happily.


    ¡°It was truly fortuitous, but I am concerned that these fellows may cause trouble in the future¡± I continued.


    I gestured towards the pile of bodies yet to be removed from the establishment. In response to my ¡®concerns¡¯ the innkeeper immediately paled, realising that the future was still somewhat grim. Smiling even wider now, I leaned forward and whispered into his ear.


    ¡°It would be truly beneficial if they turned out to be heretics you know. After all, I¡¯m an inspector myself and would love to be able to both help you out and fulfil my role as devotee to our lord, Sol.¡±


    As I said this I eyed the pouch of silver he had been planning to give to the thugs. Luckily the fellow caught on quickly, discreetly handing me the pouch. He looked somewhat upset at the loss of money but relieved that his problems were going to go away.


    I strode over to the bodies pretending to inspect them, after which I miraculously found a pendant that held the symbol for some old pagan god of nature in their pockets. Hehehe, good thing I always keep this thing at hand. I let my smile lessen and said one word.


    ¡°Heretics¡±


    The entire inn seemed to freeze. Multiple people looked over to where I was. My voice while soft had carried through the entire establishment, and despite my casual attire, many quickly realised my occupation as I inspected the pagan pendant dangling before my eyes. My smile turned cruel, fitting to my role, and I dragged the unconscious bodies outside.


    Now decision, decisions. How should I burn them alive? Magic? No that¡¯s too easy. Let¡¯s build a pyre! This really is my favourite part of the job. Others tend to avoid becoming inspectors due to this duty, but there¡¯s just something comforting about burning people alive. I instructed nearby villagers to construct the pyre out of fire wood and straw.


    The residents of the village quickly went about it. Disobeying an inspector in his righteous act of sending heretics to Sol was widely known to have dire consequences. In just half an hour a pyre was constructed. I then bound all the bodies to the pyre using some of my rope supply I had taken from my luggage and set the thing aflame with my trusty old flint. This was my first time burning people alive outside the church! They used to bring us pre-bound heretics to practice on, but I can honestly say the real thing feels much better.


    The thugs quickly woke up after the heat began to burn them, and soon they began to scream and beg for mercy. Didn¡¯t they know that this was mercy? I was sending them to Sol, if they weren¡¯t heretics they needn¡¯t fear that their souls be burnt to ashes before his divinity. Surprisingly, my two comrades hadn¡¯t actually noticed the commotion. How oblivious can you get?


    Hehehe. I started to whistle a tune. It was a sad and slow tune, I recall my mother used to whistle the very same tune quite often back when our family was whole. It was rather beautiful, and as a child I had begged here to teach me how to whistle that beautiful tune as well, although some could argue that amidst the screams it was a tad eerie.

 Chapter 4- Second Impressions

    I opened my eyes, greeting the new day. I could feel a smile stretch its way across my face without the usual effort I had to put in. It would seem that yesterday had really helped me unwind. With a sack full of silver and the wonderful memory of the symphony of screams I heard the other day, I felt as though not even my comrades could ruin my mood!


    As I walked down the stairs with a strut in my step I noticed the fearful gazes of the other resident of the inn. I love this feeling.


    Considering my room was empty when I awoke, I can only assume that Gant had gotten up early to do whatever a knight does in the morning. Probably sword exercises or something. I looked out of a window as I made my way towards the dining area for breakfast and saw a shirtless, sweaty Gant repeatedly swing his sword.


    Called it.


    It seems Mary was by his side cheering him on. That girl really is far too excitable. I took this opportunity to see what kind of weapon Gant used, as he hadn¡¯t carried it with him during the journey despite wearing his full plate armour. It was a massive thing, as tall and wide as he himself was. That¡¯s going far beyond a great sword.


    What¡¯s he trying to prove choosing such a monstrosity as a weapon? Its end wasn¡¯t pointed, but flat instead, and it had no cross guard. It had two cutting edges laterally but was blunt at the flat tip of the sword. It was in all essence a weapon to mow down foes by the dozen, and surprisingly enough he seemed relatively competent with its use, based on the performance he was displaying in his practice.


    He seemed to notice that I had begun to watch from the window, and both he and then Mary turned their gazes towards me. Oh that¡¯s quite the reaction! Is that a hint of fear I see? Fantastic, it seems they heard about yesterday. Hehehe, they won¡¯t be ignoring me any time soon, that¡¯s for sure. To actually successfully notice me, I¡¯m impressed considering his previous performances.


    And Mary, no need to look so frightened! Surely you¡¯ve heard about inspectors before. Mary¡¯s gaze had only met mine for a second before quickly looking away and pretending to not have noticed me. I gave them both a wave and the friendliest smile I could muster.


    ¡°GOOD MORNING!¡± I called to them.


    They seemed startle by my uncharacteristically loud greeting. Usually I was more reserved but still quite an approachable person.


    ¡°G-good morning¡± stuttered Mary.


    ¡°Good morning¡± replied Gant in a somewhat level voice.


    I then departed to have breakfast. As I approached the dining area I gave the innkeeper a nod and a smile. The nod he returned, the smile he did not. It seems the poor fellow feels somewhat guilty about hiring me to kill those fellows off. It was legal (almost) so it¡¯s fine! Either way, I¡¯m still happy with my reward, his feelings don¡¯t really matter.


    I sat down in my corner and had breakfast on the house. Not having to spend money on such delicious food almost moves me to tears. After finishing off my breakfast I quickly exited the inn and made my way to a nearby bench where I allowed myself to relax. It was a nice spot, with shade provided by a nearby tree. Yet another sunny day.


    Today was far less noisy than the previous. Is it just me or are there barely any people on the streets today? They must be late risers. I have no idea why they wouldn¡¯t want to be out an about on such a bright day. Hehehe, I¡¯m sure they have their reason.


    The day was calm and quiet, I eventually found myself thinking back to that beautiful tune yet again. A complacent smile had found its way to my face. I wonder when burning people alive became such a source of comfort. If I think back a bit maybe I¡¯ll remember¡­


    Ahhhhh, that¡¯s right. It was our first time burning peo- sending heretics and sinners to Sol. I was 14 at the time and each trainee had been brought a person to burn. The instructors had to desensitize us to such activities after all. I was truly a lucky child. The first thing the man they brought in to be burned said to me was, ¡°I remember you kid! You look just like yer father, hahaha! Did yer like the surprise we left you at yer house! Yer mother was great by the way!¡±. The man had burst out in laughter before eventually being gagged by the instructors. They didn¡¯t want any mental damage done to their trainees after all.


    I was a lucky child. None of the prisoners knew what they were in store for. Hehehe¡­ oh the look on that man¡¯s face when he started to realise his situation. It only came out as muffled cries but I like to think he was begging for forgiveness or something of the like. As he began to burn and his muffled screams resounded across the training area, I couldn¡¯t help but whistle that beautiful tune my mother once taught me. I¡¯d gotten a good amount of revenge for my deceased mother, and by sheer luck.


    As I burned prisoner after prisoner during training, I always ended up whistling that tune. It became habitual. Ever since that first prisoner burned alive, every time I killed another with the same method, I can¡¯t help but look back fondly on the memories of my loving mother.


    I let that tune play in my head with a bright smile as laid down on the bench and watched the blue sky. I slowly fell asleep, comforted by the memories of my mother and the screams of sinners burning.


    --Mary POV¡ª


    I was scared. I was terrified. When I first saw Cyne he looked like a really nice guy, the kind of person who¡¯d go out of his way to help others. He had dark brown hair and eyes, almost approaching black, and his hair was neatly combed back, giving him a very sophisticated look. Even though Gant and I were late and hadn¡¯t even realised he was there, he had been very kind, immediately forgiving us as though it was nothing. If I had been waiting that long I would¡¯ve been very mad.


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    He was quite a quiet person on the trip but responded whenever Gant and I tried to talk to him, but the things he was saying were difficult to understand, so we couldn¡¯t include him in our conversation very much. I felt a bit guilty about that.


    He always gave off such a calm atmosphere and he was always smiling. He wasn¡¯t bad looking either. He had a sort of good guy face. I don¡¯t know how to describe it properly but his looks were above average and his facial expression was always open and welcoming, matching his dark brown eyes that almost seemed to swim with kindness.


    Gant and I were talking on our way to the meeting point about how the third member of our party was going to be inspector. I was really worried, and even Gant seemed troubled by it. Everyone knows that inspectors are recluses and are always mean to everyone. The common people are also scared of them, one mistake and there would be trouble. I¡¯d even heard that part of their job was to burn people alive. It was just too cruel. I didn¡¯t want to be around someone who did things like that and neither did Gant.


    So basically when we met Cyne, both of us were really happy. He didn¡¯t look like the person people typically described inspectors to be. Gant probably didn¡¯t even realise it was him because of how nice he looked. We both expected him to look¡­ I don¡¯t know, evil I guess?


    When we got to the inn, Cyne got a lot more talkative, going on about how great the food was. I have to admit, he was right. It was much better than anything I¡¯d eaten at the church before. I had quickly dug into the food. I had ordered the same thing as Cyne because I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted. I eventually noticed the commotion. I think I was the last of the group to notice.


    Cyne had already directed his gaze over towards the bad people bullying the innkeeper and his daughter. I couldn¡¯t read his expression very well, but I was sure that he was worried about them. Gant was also looking over there. I could see he was super angry. I expected Cyne to go over there and peacefully resolve it, but in the end Gant beat him to the punch.


    Gant quickly dealt with them. Although he did it so easily and quickly, I was still worried. Maybe he had gotten hurt somehow? I¡¯m no good at fighting so I can only support Gant and Cyne.  As soon as I realised he was fine I felt so relieved, and told him how awesome his fighting was. Eventually we returned to the table and we had even gotten our meals at the inn free. It just goes to show that good deeds pay off!


    As we returned Cyne congratulated Gant, and Gant looked pretty happy to receive his praise. Cyne was just the sort of person who made you feel good when he praises you. It¡¯s probably because he doesn¡¯t say that much, so for him to go out of his way to do so makes you feel happy.


    He was still looking over towards the innkeeper. I thought he might still be worried about them, and as if confirming my theory, he excused himself to check up on them. I snuck glances at him and noticed that the innkeeper had a worried face after something he said, but then got more relieved after Cyne whispered something in his ear. I refocused on my food and ignored the rest until I heard that word.


    ¡°Heretic¡±


    His voice was soft but it was clear. I looked over and saw Cyne looking at a pendant while crouching by the unconscious bad guys. His smile was different from usual after he put the pendant away. It was cold and cruel. He then dragged the bodies out of the inn. I was worried, and excused myself. I told Gant that he should go to bed before Cyne and me after his meal, and that we would come later.


    Gant hadn¡¯t seemed to notice the commotion and just accepted what I said. I stealthily made my way out of the inn and to where some villagers were gathering, carrying wood and straw. They were making something in the centre of an open area just outside the village. I saw Cyne there with the bad guys.


    After a while the villagers finished what they were building and to my horror I realised what Cyne was going to do. He bound all 4 bad guys to newly erected pyre, and set it alight. I was frozen in place. I couldn¡¯t run away, I couldn¡¯t stop him, I couldn¡¯t even avert my gaze.


    They started screaming after they woke up. I was still frozen, watching the scene in horror. I noticed Cyne¡¯s smile got bigger after the screams started¡­ the same smile I had seen for the past few days. Now that I think back, he never stopped smiling. That¡¯s a bit weird, but I didn¡¯t think about it too much, I was just happy to have a nice person for a comrade. But Cyne wasn¡¯t a nice person. I know that now.


    He could easily burn them with his magic in a matter of seconds, but he prolonged their suffering. It was just too cruel.


    He started to whistle soon after the screams began. It was a slow and sad tune. I don¡¯t know why but the tune made me want to cry. It just sounded so sad. It even snapped me out of the frozen position I had been in. I took one last glance at Cyne before running back to the inn and hiding under the covers of my bed.


    He was smiling¡­ He seemed happy, but he also seemed sad.


    The next day I woke up early and decided to watch Gant practice his swordplay to get my mind off of what happened last night. It seems that Gant heard from the other residents of the inn what had happened last night. He seemed troubled. I don¡¯t think either of us know how to act around Cyne in the future.

 Chapter 5- Heretic Hunt

    I could see our final destination in the distance. Maybe another half an hour and we¡¯d be there. I began to observe the surrounding area. It was heavily covered in pine trees, their thin leaves a very dark green. It was almost unnerving to be surrounded by a forest so dense that it appeared pitch black inside. Mary looked terrified but she¡¯s a child after all; can¡¯t really blame her.


    The path was currently going downhill towards the sunken valley of forest in which the village was located. Once we got a certain distance down into the forest, I lost sight of the village. It was relatively easy to spot from the high standing we previously had, but now all that remained visible was forest.


    The last few days had been uneventful to say the least. No heretics to burn, and no clich¨¦ scenes to witness. To be honest I was starting to get a bit irritable. Gant and Mary had been quiet for the majority of the journey. Ever since our night at the first inn, their company had been much more pleasant. They no longer attempted to I include me in their little chats and in general tended to keep it down when near me. It looked like they¡¯d become more considerate of me. I¡¯m quite touched that they¡¯d go out of their way to make the environment more relaxing and comfortable for me.


    As the carriage made its way at a steady base down the dirt trail I decided to look over the expedition instructions once again. It would seem this village hasn¡¯t had an inspection for quite a few years. Not surprising, considering how remote it was. It would appear that the real aim of the expedition is to deal with some sort of disease. Guess that explains the priestess. The disease holds similar symptoms to the plague the capital experienced last year. I suppose they don¡¯t really want that happening again, the body count was awfully large. If anyone infected somehow gets to the capital, it would start quite the ruckus.


    So Mary heals the sick, Gant protects Mary, and I go heretic hunting! Joyous days, and if there aren¡¯t any heretics I¡¯ll just frame some relatively bad people and burn them instead. I also seem to have the additional task of exploring the old ruins of a pagan temple. I don¡¯t really see the point, it¡¯s been explored before and nothing was found. Maybe I should just skip that part of the job and go whole heartedly heretic hunting. But if my superiors somehow find out, I¡¯ll be severely reprimanded. I suppose there¡¯s no helping it; I¡¯ll go and maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and discover something interesting.


    It was midday when we finally arrived at the village. It had a pretty standard set up; simple wooden houses with thatched roofs. It wasn¡¯t too large, maybe 50 or so families living here. Most have the occupation of hunter according to the data from the previous inspection. It makes sense; personally I can¡¯t see any other way of gathering food from the surroundings. Well, apart from foraging.


    We would officially begin our jobs tomorrow, seeing as we had arrived slightly ahead of schedule and during the evening enjoyed a simple yet satisfying meal of wild game and forest vegetables at the home of the village chief. He was an old fellow with only a few wisps of white hair still on his head, but he compensated with a magnificent beard. He was going on and on about how grateful he was to the church for sending us, and how he knew his dedication to Sol would pay off. For some reason he kept glancing at me when he said that last part. Don¡¯t worry old man, you¡¯ve fed me well, and in my book that means you¡¯re not a heretic.


    All three of us had to stay in the same room that night due to the limited space in the village chief¡¯s house. It was fine though, I would never lay my hands on a child, like Mary, and would make sure Gant kept to the same principles. As we each got into our respective beds I bid them each goodnight.


    ¡°Goodnight comrades, tomorrow begin our tasks so rest well¡±


    Mary flinched when she heard my voice, poor thing must be nervous sharing a room with two men. Gant on the other hand paused before replying, but what can I expect of someone as slow as he is.


    ¡°Goodnight¡±, ¡°G-goodnight¡± they both responded.


    The next morning we all woke up early, just as the sun was beginning to rise. We each got dressed in our official uniforms, of course we gentlemen exited the room when Mary was changing. Mary and Gant quickly bid me farewell, heading over to the area where the sick had been quarantined, at the very edge of the village. The villager¡¯s eyes seemed to light up with hope as they saw those two. The white clothing really made us stand out from the dreary surroundings.


    I looked to the sky, and saw an endless grey instead of the constant blue sky I had become accustomed to. Grey is good too. As I made my way to the first house I would inspect, people soon began to notice me, and in their eyes was fear and worry, greatly contrasting with how they gazed at the other two. What¡¯s with this biased treatment? I am also doing a much needed job you know. Now time to find some heretics, hehehe.


    First house nothing, second house nothing¡­¡­¡­.. The day was drawing to a close as I checked the final house¡­ and nothing. I was beginning to feel irritable again. Calm down and smile. Alright! Nothing to be worried about, this was just the first stage of the hunt. The house checks are well-known for barely ever producing results. Tomorrow begins the individual interrogation!


    It seems that Mary was able to successful cure the sick of their disease but it required a substantial amount of magical energy. Guess it really was the plague, that thing took tons of magical energy to put down. It looks like she¡¯ll need a few more days to cure everyone.  Plenty of time to continue the hunt. My smile widened in anticipation.


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    Day 2! I got up earlier than the other two. I was so excited to begin interrogation that I could barely sleep last night. I¡¯m sure that I probably had dark bags under my eyes but my smile and cheery demeanour were ever present. With a spring in my step I set off to work.


    Nothing¡­ I tried everything to get something I could use out of these villagers, even some trick questions, the answers to which I could build a reasonable basis for suspicion of heresy. These villagers are too sharp. They didn¡¯t fall anything and answered all questions I had about Sol and his religion with near perfection. I¡¯ve heard about this from senior inspectors! They practice their answers and prepare for our arrival. Essentially that means everyone is still under suspicion.


    The day had ended and I learned from a bored Gant and a tired Mary that they would need three more days to finish healing the sick. Only three days left¡­ what to do, what to do?


    Day 3¡­ I was a bit stuck in my investigation. In all honesty, I could tell none of them were worshipping pagan gods, but in the end it¡¯s not like I actually care. I just need to burn someone alive. My irritability was growing, and it had been about a week since I burned those fellows at treetop inn. Back in training we were brought prisoners every 4 days. Maybe I had become spoiled by such frequent opportunities.


    My hands were itching to light a fire, or at the very least perform a bit of torture. I¡¯ll just sneak around today and listen into any gossip. And so, I spent the entire day listening to the gossip of the village. Nothing serious, just this guy and that girl getting married, or that family having another child on the way, until I heard something interesting.


    ¡°Did you hear about John¡¯s boy, Nathaniel, y¡¯know the one with a few screws loose. I heard he attacked and ravaged poor Christine the other night. T¡¯was a tragedy. The parents settled it by making it so that they would marry when they¡¯re both of age.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. I heard that too, poor Christine, to be forced to marry an invalid! John shoulda just kept that boy locked up.¡±


    ¡°I heard he was locked up in John¡¯s shed but then broke out in the dead of night. He was s¡¯pose to stay their till that inspector fellow left, so that he wouldn¡¯t cause no trouble.¡±


    My smile by this point had turned into a fully-fledged grin. That was enough! That was all I needed! These two old housewives did me a huge favour today. A crazy rapist kid was definitely someone I could burn with a clear conscience. Not that it needed to be clear, it just felt more satisfying if they deserve it. I remember when I burned a fellow imprisoned because of debt. It helped me unwind, but I couldn¡¯t quite get into the mood. I recall not whistling at that pyre.


    I asked around and eventually found my way to John¡¯s house, which was located on the outskirts of the village. It was rundown old building, barely usable. It looked like it would crumple under its own weight at any second. I gathered a little information on old Johnny boy and discovered that he was a widowed man. It seems his crazy son had even killed his wife a few years back, but he still didn¡¯t let the other villagers run him out the village, claiming that the boy didn¡¯t know what he was doing. This just kept getting better and better! A murderer and a rapist.


    I knocked in the decrepit old door, and after a few moments, a middle-aged man who I could only assume was John answered the door. I gave him quick glance over. He had a full head of grey hair and a messily shaven face with patches of beard growing here and there. He was sloppily dressed in ripped clothing with a multitude of stains and stunk of alcohol. He looked very much like those beggars seen in the poorer districts of Sol city. No doubt it was his son that drove him to such a state. It looks like I¡¯ll be doing him a favour rather soon.


    He paled as looked at my uniform and narrowed his eyes as he looked me over. Such an openly hostile and cautious look¡­ I was a bit offended. I¡¯m only here to help after all.


    ¡°Wha do yer wan?¡± slurred an intoxicated John.


    What an uncouth fellow. It seems we were going to skip exchanging pleasantries. Alright then, onto business!


    ¡°Hello John, I¡¯m sure you know who I am. Yesterday I spent the day speaking with all of the villagers, yourself included in order to ensure no dangerous heretics had laid their roots in this lovely village. This morning I was rather concerned to here that you have a son who didn¡¯t come to see me. Having some free time I decided it was best if I personally came to have a chat with him.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don know wha yer talkin¡¯ abou!¡± shouted John.


    His eyes were shifting back and forth nervously and I could see he was slowly moving his hand towards the hunting knife on his belt. Behind him, further into the house I could hear banging and crashing sounds. John nervously jumped at the sounds and positioned himself to block my entry.


    ¡°Mr Inspecter, yer should leaf righ now!¡± John said, his voice uneven.


    I noticed my smile had widened yet again. Today was a very good day. Hehehe, this whole situation was oh so very entertaining.

 Chapter 6- Poor Old John

    ¡°John. You should step aside now.¡± I informed him.


    If he didn¡¯t allow me to do my job, I can¡¯t be blamed for what happens, hehehe. John seems to have grabbed his knife. Oh dear! Things aren¡¯t looking good for old John. He has been making a few bad decisions so far. I¡¯ll give him another chance! I¡¯m nothing if not fair.


    ¡°John, I¡¯m just doing my job. All I want to do is chat with your boy, who knows, he may even have seen some suspicious individuals recently. Such information can help me ensure this village is safe. Be reasonable John. Confronting me like this isn¡¯t something you really want. Let me through.¡±


    He seems to be hesitating. Oh the conflict in his heart his just there for the world to see in his facial expressions. How exciting! Let¡¯s see what he does.


    ¡°I don trust yer! Yer jus wanna hur ma boy!¡± shouted John.


    It would seem John didn¡¯t take the sensible route. He drew his knife and lunged at me unsteadily, his aim was probably my heart but he was so intoxicated it seemed that he¡¯d miss even if I stood still. He then fell to ground, having tripped up on his own feet. That¡¯s quite sad to watch. I knelt down and took John¡¯s knife from his hand.


    ¡°John, you know you just attempted to assault an inspector of god right? That¡¯s heresy, plain and simple. I have the right to kill you now John.¡± I whispered in his ear.


    I wonder how he¡¯ll react. He said nothing and didn¡¯t move. It looks like he¡¯s crying. He then began to tremble.


    ¡°Please, yer can kill me! But please don hur ma boy! He don know wha is righ and wrong¡± sobbed John, ¡°He¡¯s all I got! Even if yer don kill me now, if he¡¯s gone I¡¯ll kill maself later¡±


    How pitiful¡­ What should I do now¡­? Ok, I¡¯ve decided! In one swift motion I drew my rapier and pierced John through the heart. His eyes widened in shock and he sent his disbelieving gaze towards me. I simply shrugged in response.


    ¡°Killing yourself is an affront to Sol, John. Since I¡¯ve already decided I¡¯ll deal with your boy, this is the only favour I can do for you now. Getting killed by someone else isn¡¯t heresy but suicide certainly is.¡±


    I left my rapier embedded in his heart and once again knelt down by his side. John was slowly bleeding out onto the ground outside his house, the dirt soaking up his blood. I made sure that the way he was pierced would prolong his life as much as it could be with such a wound. I leaned in closer and began to speak to him in a soft voice with a comforting smile.


    ¡°John, I¡¯m doing this for you. If Sol really does exist I¡¯ve just saved your soul, and by dealing with your boy, I¡¯ll be taking revenge for everyone he¡¯s ever hurt. Don¡¯t cry John, you should be happy.¡±


    Despite my well put argument John continued to cry, his eyes slowly losing their life. In a way, by protecting his boy, he was an accomplice in Nathaniel¡¯s crimes. Once John took his final dying breath I retrieved my rapier, cleaning it with the handkerchief that I kept for such occasions. It was old and a bit worn, with its original vibrant gold fading away. Despite its wear, it was a keepsake of my own father, something he had often used before his death. I smiled fondly at a memory that popped up.


    It was when I was 6 and just after my father had lost his job with the guards. I was crying at the time at how unfair it all was. No doubt he too felt his fate was unfair, no doubt he also cursed the ones responsible. But I recall him kneeling down by my side to wipe away my tears with this very handkerchief, telling me it would be alright. That he would never let anything hurt his family, that neither my mother nor I would experience any difficulty because of it. A reckless promise from a good man. He left that handkerchief to me that day. I lightly chuckled as I looked down at the now blood stained memento. I¡¯ve kept it on me for so many years now and will continue to do so in the future.


    Now that I think about it, John was also a father, a father that was desperate to protect his child. Kind of similar to how my father was desperate to protect my mother and me from any misfortune. He also met an unfortunate fate, although I think it was kinder than my father¡¯s. I held no malicious feelings towards John after all.


    I then decided to wipe away John¡¯s tears with the now blood stained handkerchief, leaving bloody smudges, but removing his tears. My smile became more sincere after that. I then put away my handkerchief and sheathed my rapier. I burnt John¡¯s corpse to ash afterwards, using the tier 4 spell, solar flame, a spell that would coat anything I touch with a burning flame with a colour similar to that of the sun.


    ¡°John, you weren¡¯t a half bad guy.¡± I said to the pile of ashes slowly being blown away in the wind.


    I then made my way into the house, following the sounds of banging to a locked door at the back of the building. I circulated a bit of magical energy to my legs and promptly kicked the door. Oops, a bit too much power there. I forgot the house was in a state of disrepair; the door was easily blown off its hinges and sent flying across the room. It smacked into the person standing behind it as it went, sending them sprawling across the ground.


    I looked at the figure laying in the ground. It was a boy, around Mary¡¯s age or maybe a bit younger. He had long greasy locks of hair, the colour undiscernible due to the filth present in it. As he began to writhe in pain on the floor he met my gaze. He had wild eyes, blood shot and animalistic like that of a starved beast. They were a light brown in colour. If you tidied him up a bit he would look pretty handsome, but in his current state¡­ only the word savage can be used to describe him.


    I could see empty plates of food in one of the corners and a pile of filth in the other¡­ this is really gross. It kind of put me off having an extravagant show where I¡¯d burn the evil child in front of the village and be celebrated a hero. It was just another pitiful scene.


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    I slowly walked over to the boy while dodging all the filth on the floor. While I approached, the boy began to snarl at me, but I only showed him a smile and kind expression. He got more passive as I came closer and just looked at me confused when I leaned down and put my hand on his shoulder. Poor boy probably never saw a friendly face, no wonder he¡¯s so confused.


    In the next moment I set him alight with the same spell I used to dispose of his father¡¯s body. He screeched and began claw at his skin whilst throwing himself into the muck on the floor in an attempt to put the flames out. I just watched the scene. In the end I was doing both him and those around him a favour here. Pleased with my work I began to whistle that beautiful tune as I made my way out of the house, leaving the boy to burn to death.


    I had a content smile on my face as I entered the centre of the village. My first proper job, and a job well done indeed! It had all the drama you needed for a successful heretic hunt. The first few outside treetop inn didn¡¯t count, that was just a side job. Now what do I do? I¡¯m pretty sure there aren¡¯t any more heretics or sinners running about. I should probably go and investigate the ruins. I let out a sigh¡­ I didn¡¯t really want to go. I¡¯ll go tomorrow! I still have 2 and a half days left. For now I¡¯ll see what Mary and Gant are doing.


    I spent the rest of the day as a 2nd bodyguard for Mary, watching her purify villager after villager¡­ It was pretty dull. No wonder Gant looked so bored the other day. After the job was finished, we headed back to the village chief¡¯s house where I informed him that both John and his son had been heretics, and had been dealt with appropriately. He didn¡¯t seem too happy though. Maybe he was a friend of John¡¯s? Oh well. I then went to bed.


    Day 4! Map? Check. Supplies? Check. Positive attitude? ¡­ We¡¯ll make do without. I grudgingly moved onto my second task here in the village, and discovered it would take half a day of walking to reach the bloody ruins. I don¡¯t feel very motivated, but in the end that can¡¯t be helped. This isn¡¯t like a heretic hunt with all of its excitement and emotion. I then sighed for the umpteenth time before setting off into the dark forest.


    The journey was nerve racking. I used a small light provided by a tier 1 light spell to guide my path and read the map. If I had to be honest, I would say I had no idea if I was going in the right direction. Well, if in doubt, go for it! And so I kept walking in the endless darkness beneath innumerable pine trees.


    After 8 hours of nonstop walking I came across my first bump in the road. And by bump I mean a pack of wolven magical beasts. Before I knew it, I found myself encircled by 8 of them. They were like regular wolves, except 3 times the size and ridiculously strong. Their fur looked more like numerous grey spines than hairs. This particular species should have a defence mechanism like that of a porcupine if I my recollection is correct. Ok! So watch out for flying hair darts and beat the crap out of them.


    After making my plan, I drew my rapier, engulfing its blade in solar flame. The metal used to form the blade had ridiculously high heat resistance as I had requested when it was forged. Most knights and inspectors don¡¯t really use solar flame very often due to the requirement to come into close physical contact to use. Especially since no one ever thought of I don¡¯t know, using a weapon as an intermediary instead of trying to lay your hands on the enemy.


    I then circulated magical energy to all parts of my body, followed by the tier 5 light spell, light barrier, forming a protective shield of light around my body. All of this took only a second of time before I lunged towards the closest wolf with frightening speed, spearing it through the heart. The flames weren¡¯t even needed for that one.


    The wolves weren¡¯t put off by my display however and proceeded to pounce on me as I killed their fellow pack member. Or they tried to at least; as I lunged towards that first wolf I had used the tier 4 control type spell, light chains to bind the legs of the closest wolves to the ground, resulting in the spectacular failure of a lunge where they crashed snout first into the ground. I had to hold back a laugh when that happened.


    The wolves further away however had launched numerous grey spines towards me. There were too many to dodge so I just let my light barrier absorb the impact. It chipped away some of my remaining store of magical energy, but I was still in a comfortable position in the fight. I swiftly finished off the nearest wolves bound by light chains with accurate, piercing thrusts through the bases of their spinal columns, connected to their skulls, using each of their bodies as meat shields whenever the rain of spines came from the surviving wolves. 5 left to go!


    The rest of the battle followed a similar pattern, as I methodically took down one wolf at a time. The entire battle had been easily within my comfort zone, and I didn¡¯t even have to worry about them running away, due to the strong concept of revenge that was always present in all variations of wolven magical beasts. After finishing the last off with thrust through the eye, skewering its brain, I collected a few valuable from their bodies; primarily their magic cores. They could be used to resupply my own store of magical energy when needed and fetch a high price back in the city due to the benefits of incorporating them into weapons and armours forged, for example the high heat tolerance of my rapier. I then continued on my journey towards the ruins further into the forest.

 Chapter 7- Serenity

    After a few more hours of walking and a second encounter with those grey wolves I eventually found it. Amidst the towering pine trees in a small clearing lay a ruined temple. It had a traditional style, made of dull grey stone, now covered in moss. Numerous pillars lay shattered and it seems that the roof had caved in long ago. The building was quite simplistic really, it was just like a large grey cube, with what was left of the roof held up by pillars, some of which were now in a state of disrepair.


    The inside of the moderately sized temple was viewable from the outside, the walls having crumbled a long time ago. Vegetation had sprawled all over the place, ivy climbing up whatever was left standing and weeds growing between any cracks in the stone tiling. It was quite beautiful and gave off a nice, peaceful aura. I couldn¡¯t help but let myself relax and soak in the atmosphere. I wouldn¡¯t mind staying here for a while. I guess the trip wasn¡¯t wasted.


    I quickly scanned over the area, finding nothing of significance, just a few old carvings about the god that was once worshipped here. Soon after, I laid down on one of the fallen pillars and put my hands behind my head, I let out a deep breath and made myself comfortable.


    If the carvings are anything to go by, this place was a shrine to that old pagan god of the night. What was its name again? It was something to do with peacefulness or calmness¡­ peace? No¡­ Tranquility? No¡­ Most of the older pagan gods are named after one of the traits they embody. I let out a sigh. Man, I really need to look these things up again. Maybe its name was-


    ¡°Serenity¡±


    Hmmm? Yeah, that¡¯s it. Good job brain, you didn¡¯t let me down. Of all the pagan gods, this one was probably my favourite, although I¡¯ll never admit anything of the sort. I enjoy burning others, not being burned. This particular god was always portrayed as a female in the old texts in the church library. Most of the god¡¯s genders are unknown and how they¡¯re portrayed changes often. I turned over on my side to look at the temple once again, trying to remember what she looked like.


    Hehehe. This time my brain seemed to be working in overdrive. I could practically see her in front of me. Black hair, black eyes, shrouded in wisps of darkness that seemed to form a long dress, typically seen on noble women. It was simpler, yet more beautiful due to that very simplicity. Let¡¯s have a closer look. She was barefooted and her skin was very pale, giving off a similar glow to that of the moon. She really is quite beautiful. I slowly felt more and more relaxed, my muscles felt like they were almost melting. I let out a yawn and rolled back over to look at the sky.


    I wonder if she¡¯s real or not. Some pagan gods are spirits, naturally occurring masses of magical energy born of nature, while others are born of the magical energy and desires of we humans. There were even a few cases where it was just some pretty strong fellow, pretending to be some sort of deity. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say she¡¯s probably a nature spirit, made of the agglomeration of natural magical energy released at night. The older pagan gods usually are those types after all, while the younger tend to be born of humans. Serenity is one of the oldest according to what I¡¯ve read.


    ¡­Why do I feel killing intent? I quickly shot up and scanned my surroundings. There was nothing in the vicinity. Just my good old brain¡¯s image of Serenity. I quickly relaxed once again and continued with my musings.


    ¡°Human, why do you ignore me?¡± asked the figment of my imagination.


    Normally I would be worried that it was the real thing, but in the previous inspection, nothing out of the ordinary was sighted, and while sometimes we inspectors end up hashing it out with spirits/wannabea deities, it¡¯s pretty much impossible in this situation. The only reason that spirits form consciousness after all is due to people worshipping them, and Serenity hasn¡¯t exactly been a popular god in the last few centuries, hehehe. She should have dissipated by now, if she ever existed,


    ¡°Human¡­ Do you not see me?¡±


    This hallucination was quite the persistent one. Usually they go away after I ignore them for long enough. Although, having its company wasn¡¯t bad, and its voice was kind of comforting. It was a quiet, calm voice, but not empty. I could still feel various emotions in it, but it was just¡­ serene. I like this hallucination! I hope it sticks around. It¡¯s not bad eye candy and it even talks. I let my gaze wonder over the hallucination¡¯s slim, yet curvaceous body. The breasts were a bit smaller than average, but still not bad. I feel killing intent again¡­


    The hallucination narrowed its eyes as it looked at me, positioning itself so that I could no longer gaze upon its bosom.


    ¡°Human, its best that you stop your vulgar gaze and thoughts, before you make an enemy out of me.¡±


    ¡°Why does it matter if you¡¯re just a figment of my imagination?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? You know who I am, and yet choose not to acknowledge my presence.¡±


    ¡°Well why would the real thing come and speak to an inspector of god? My job is to kill you fake deities and your followers.¡±


    ¡°I never claimed to be a deity, and my followers are long gone. Only because of the magical energy I¡¯ve gathered over so many years have I been able to sustain my consciousness for this long.¡±


    Oh, the probably-not-a-hallucination is making sense. Although I still don¡¯t know why she approached me.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple human. I do not wish to lose my consciousness. I do not wish to cease existing. So I ask you to do me a favour and form a spirit contract with me.¡±


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    Is she reading my thoughts? Well it doesn¡¯t really matter¡­ Hmm? A spirit contract? Demi-humans tend to form those with lesser spirits due to their lack of inborn ability to manipulate magical energy. It¡¯s a symbiotic relationship, allowing the spirit to develop and maintain a consciousness, while allowing the contractor to absorb and manipulate the type of natural magical energy from which the spirit is formed. Hehehe¡­ that¡¯s not a bad deal. I could feel myself grinning to which Serenity seemed hopeful. If I form a contract with a spirit formerly revered as a deity and use her power, my heretic hunting could probably go even smoother!


    ¡°Alright! You¡¯ve got yourself a deal¡­ so how do we make a spirit contract?¡±


    ¡°Just carve this symbol onto the back of your hand¡± She responded with a relieved smile.


    The shadows around her twisted to form a black circle numerous wispy lines interlocking within it¡­ Wait, I¡¯m supposed to cut that ridiculously complex pattern into my hand. This going to hurt and take bloody ages. I let out a sigh before withdrawing my trusty pocket knife and getting to work.


    After more than an hour of what can only be described as seemingly endless trial and error, cutting up my hand, and then healing it when Serenity pointed out the mistakes, and then repeat, I finally succeeded. I raised my blood stained left hand into the sky, celebrating that the whole ordeal was finally finished. I dislike pain, but for an opportunity like this, I was willing to keep at it. Also, normally it would take 3 or 4 inspectors to deal with an average fake deity spirit, let alone one as old as Serenity. If she got pissed, I¡¯d probably be in trouble, even if she was now considerably weakened.


    Seeing my success, Serenity let out a pleased smile. That happy expression almost stole my heart, but no, I am a man dedicated completely to his career! Burning heretics and sinners was what I was born to do!


    Serenity¡¯s form began to twist and change, forming a shadowy wisp-like creature that flew toward my wounded hand. Once she reached it, she began to wiggle against it, slowly entering my body through the freshly carved symbol. Along with near unbearable pain shooting through my body as I began to writhe around on the floor, I could feel a foreign energy beginning to form what felt like a second set of magical vessels, the conduits for one¡¯s magical energy.


    Once it was all over and I lay panting on the floor, trying to catch my breath whilst wiping the sweat from my brow with my handkerchief, I felt around the new magical vessels that had formed. They felt fundamentally different, not surprising considering they¡¯d have to transport natural magical energy as opposed to that produced by my body. I also noticed the second energy store by my first. It was almost completely empty, with only a few wisps of dark energy present. It didn¡¯t appear to be able to replenish by itself. I guess I¡¯ll have to go and absorb energy at night-time to fill it up.


    I looked at my left hand and immediately felt my blood go cold. I¡¯m an idiot. I had stupidly assumed that the symbol would disappear after I had successfully formed a contract. On my hand was that very same symbol, I had spent over an hour to carve but now instead of being comprised of gaping wounds, it was pitch black, kind of like a tattoo. I should have seen this coming. All those demi human shamans have tattooed bodies, and by overlooking this detail, I¡¯d successfully made a huge blunder.


    Why?


    Oh Serenity? I guess she¡¯s now in my head! Well, to put it simply, if any other members of the church with enough experience or knowledge to identify the symbol on my hand spot it, I¡¯ll be captured and burned alive for being a heretic.


    Oh¡­ That certainly doesn¡¯t sound pleasant. But regardless, I¡¯m grateful to you for accepting my offer and¡­ in a manner of speaking, saving my life. Had you chosen to ignore me and leave, I doubt I had enough power left to stop you. I was really at my final moments when you came.


    Hmm? So I guess I was worrying about nothing when I thought she might attack me. Anyway, you¡¯re welcome! Hehehe, we¡¯re going to have so much fun together from now on. I¡¯m going to show the true joys of the world! You¡¯ve probably had enough of this forest by now, so just you wait, before long we¡¯ll be back at the city and I¡¯ll show you around! Afterwards we can even go and do something of my favourite things. This is so exciting. Look forward to it!


    I will


    She sounded quite happy and content there. I guess she really is looking forward to it. I do hope we share the same hobbies and interests. It would be just perfect. Now, how do I deal with this symbol?


    You could just wear gloves.


    You. Are. A. Genius. I swiftly took out a pair of white gloves I keep in case I need to touch anything filthy and slipped them on. Hehehe, it¡¯s been a good day; the spoils of today: a whole bunch of magical cores, a new source of power to play with, and a new friend! I decided now was a good enough time as any to travel back to the village. I would be travelling at night, but at the same time I could probably absorb some natural energy of the night. Serenity how do I absorb natural magical energy?


    You don¡¯t. I will be absorbing the energy that I¡¯m made of; you wouldn¡¯t be able to influence it. Only once I¡¯ve incorporated it into your new magical vessels can you manipulate that natural energy.


    An automated system! I like it. I then began my journey back to the village with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

 Chapter 8- Future Plans

    Having the opportunity to chat with Serenity as I made my way back to village, I learned that she was a relatively quiet person. I talked to¡­ well more like talked at her for hours, but her responses were always the same acknowledgements like, mmm, or, is that so? I guess I can¡¯t really blame her. From what little information I could pry out of her, I learned that she had spent the good deal of the last millennia alone in this forest. She said that her last contact with an intelligent being, other than myself, was 3 centuries ago. I think that was just before the church of Sol got established as the kingdom¡¯s main religion. It¡¯s easy to tell what happened. Inspectors happened!


    It seems that all of her followers were quickly eradicated, and she was left all alone. Wait a second¡­ wasn¡¯t there another inspector who came here just a few years ago?


    That one was unpleasant. I did not wish to show myself to him. I was only slightly stronger than when I met you, and a battle would have done far more harm than good. Nor could he be my vessel. Your high soul purity is what allowed us to form a contract. If I were still in my prime, even those with 100% soul purity wouldn¡¯t be able to form a contract with me.


    Hmm? She¡¯s getting more talkative. When I was telling her all about my favourite torture techniques and the different people I¡¯d burned to death (which took up the last 8 hours) she was as quiet as a mouse. I guess she was just listening that intently. It¡¯s good to have a friend around with similar interests. So Serenity, what are your favourite torture techniques? As I said before, my personal favourites are old-fashioned skinning alive, branding and the finger breaking and healing cycle.


    ¡­


    I guess she¡¯s tired after forming a spirit contract, poor thing. I¡¯ll just let her rest. I stretched my arms upwards and let out a deep breath before trudging on. It would take another hour to reach the village¡­ This really is boring. How can I entertain myself? Setting the forest on fire maybe¡­


    Don¡¯t!


    Oh right! This was your home wasn¡¯t it Serenity. Hehehe, sometimes my thoughts just wander like that. Don¡¯t worry, I probably wasn¡¯t going to do it anyway; fire without the screaming just doesn¡¯t feel right.


    ¡­


    She¡¯s resting again. Ok! I¡¯ll just whistle a tune. What to whistle? The beautiful tune is a no, as it¡¯s reserved for special occasions. What else did my mother used to whistle? My smile brightened as I thought of a perfect tune. It wasn¡¯t as slow as the beautiful one, but gave off a somewhat serene feeling. Perfect considering my new comrade.


    I began whistling the tune as I made my way through the darkness. It echoed through the forest as I continued to walk. Once I saw the village, I stopped whistling. For some reason people got nervous around me when I did that.


    Probably because it¡¯s creepy


    Oh! Serenity you¡¯re up. Wait, what do you mean by creepy? The tunes I tend to whistle are all quite beautiful works in my opinion. The one I just stopped was quite serene, I even chose it to celebrate you becoming my new comrade. I felt a bit hurt. These melodies held special meaning to me, holding memories of my family with them.


    The tunes aren¡¯t creepy, you¡¯re right to call them beautiful, but your cheery expression certainly is.


    Well that¡¯s alright then! I made my way past the villagers, who seemed to scurry away as they caught sight of me and headed over to check up on Mary and Gant¡¯s job. I¡¯d already told Serenity all about those two. Although we had a rocky start, they were starting to grow on me. Maybe their consideration for my love of peace and quiet is what brought about this change.


    I had just reached the quarantined area and stepped in to see the situation. Those who spotted me turned even paler than they originally were. That¡¯s a bit rude. I don¡¯t mind the fearful gazes, but to show such an exaggerated reaction was a bit much. Gant and Mary also noticed me, greeting me with a smile and nod, but they too were taken aback by my appearance as they visibly froze for a fraction of a second before continuing with their work. What is wrong with these people?


    Your clothes are speckled with blood, as well as your face.


    I looked down to see that serenity was right. I should really take my appearance into more consideration. Seeing a blood covered inspector walking around must be bad for the heart. I withdrew my already bloody handkerchief and proceeded to remove the wolf blood from my face.


    I quickly excused myself before heading out to change into my spare set of clothing before coming back.


    Looking good as new, I re-entered the quarantined area and made my way up to Mary and Gant.


    ¡°How goes the healing?¡± I asked in a cheery tone.


    ¡°O-Oh, it¡¯s good. There¡¯s only two people left, so we should be done soon.¡± replied Mary.


    Gant just grunted in agreement. Would it kill him to be polite and actually say a few words? I let out an internal sigh. I can¡¯t expect that much of him, it would just be unreasonable. Using that much brain power could break the fellow. I looked towards the two remaining sick people. A child and an old man. Both appeared to be in a rather dire condition, much worse than the ones I¡¯d seen previously. Their skin was as white as paper and their eyes were rimmed with red. Some of their veins looked black¡­ this doesn¡¯t look like the plague anymore.


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    ¡°Mary, shouldn¡¯t you have prioritised these ones first? They look much worse off than those you¡¯d healed earlier.¡±


    ¡°S-sorry¡± timidly replied Mary. She looked a bit confused.


    Gant gave me frown before looking at the two remaining people with a puzzled look on his face. Don¡¯t try too hard Gant. You just have to look pretty and say clich¨¦ lines to get by.


    ¡°They look ok to me.¡± Said Gant.


    Gant¡­ I¡¯m concerned about you. Not only are you stupid, but you are also blind. Both Mary and Gant seemed to have trouble understanding why I had said the two villager¡¯s conditions were poor¡­ This was starting to get annoying. I supressed the urge to shout insults at the two dimwits.


    ¡°Just heal them and get it over with¡±


    ¡°O-ok¡± stuttered Mary, still puzzled.


    She proceeded to purify each of their disease¡­ Their complexion got a bit better and the redness around their eyes died down, but the black veins were still present.


    ¡°Ok, done!¡± happily exclaimed Mary.


    ¡­No, you¡¯re not done. I felt my smile tighten, and then raised my hand to my face, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to think of the reason they would make such an incompetent display.


    Cyne, they can¡¯t see it. These villagers have been corrupted with natural magic energy. Our contract allows you to see the symptoms. Your comrades cannot.


    Mary looked over to me, probably expecting some praise or something. I ignored her however; those puppy dog eyes couldn¡¯t work on someone like me, who had mastered the art, and I was also still looking at those black veins. What does getting corrupted by natural magic energy even mean?


    Those people have a terrible fate. It would be best that you kill them now. They¡¯ll eventually lose their sanity, and turn on their loved ones. It¡¯s because they live in this forest. The presence of natural energy here is dense, making such occurrence more common than elsewhere.


    If allowed to live, eventually these two would become twisted creatures, driven to destroy all life they come across. Two cases at once is an extremely rare occurrence. Were there more I¡¯d fear that another shadow uprising, as you humans call it, was about to start.


    Insanity and violence towards loved ones, that reminds me of something. Nathaniel! He must have had the same affliction. Poor John was pretty unlucky, his house was one of the closest to the forest. I couldn¡¯t help but look back fondly at the good deed I¡¯d done at John¡¯s. Bringing myself out of such fond memories I refocused. So now I know how shadows are spawned, mystery solved. Does that mean natural energy gets thicker as you go to the west, towards the wastelands, their home? I wonder why that is¡­ Serenity?


    I¡¯ve not left this forest since my birth.


    I¡¯ll take that as an ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯. While relatively happy to found out something interesting, I was also quite unhappy. If Nathaniel was taken into account, this meant a new shadow uprising¡­ For Sol¡¯s sake! Dammit! The church always sends their troops to the front lines when this happens. I just want to go heretic hunting in peace, why is life so unfair?! Alright calm down. I took in a large breath and started to relax. I just need to find a way to get out of this. I can either run away and become a wanted heretic by the church, somehow increase my rank to commander before it begins (then I can just stay at the back and take it easy), or join the heroes party when they¡¯re summoned¡­


    First one is very risky, so no. I also kind of like having the authority to burn people alive. The second option is a bit unrealistic, I might be a ¡®genius inspector¡¯ but that would require years, and at most I have a month or two. Heck, the kingdom may already know it¡¯s about to start. That leaves option three. Accompanying the heroes¡¯ party as they gain experience. At most I¡¯ll only be involved in the final battle, and I can just let those ridiculously strong summoned people do all the work. To be honest, I¡¯m also pretty curious about them. Every time heroes had been previously summoned they all appeared to be from the same land.


    I too am intrigued about these summoned heroes


    Well that settles it! Option 3 it is. The heroes¡¯ party is comprised of the 3 summoned heroes, a representative from the church, a representative from the adventurer¡¯s guild, and a representative from the royal guard. Tradition has it that the representatives have to be within 3 years of the age of the summoned heroes, who for some reason always happen to be teenagers around 16 years old. I only just turned 18, I¡¯m considered a genius, and I have a versatile set of skills. I¡¯m a shoe in!


    By this time I had started to completely ignore Mary and Gant who still looked towards the villagers, trying to figure out what I had meant. After a few moments of thought, I turned my head back to them and gave them an appraising gaze.


    The only issues could come from my two comrades here. They also have a chance to be selected. In the end the heroes make the final decision, and if they want an idiot knight or immature priestess, I¡¯m in trouble.

 Chapter 9- Back to Sol City

    As I pondered over how to deal with the problems which had just cropped up in my masterful plan, I slowly unsheathed my rapier. I focused on the two now ¡®cured villagers¡¯ and began to walk towards them. They were currently fast asleep on some mats laid down on the ground, purification magic does tend to take a toll on the young and the old. Serenity said they¡¯d be better off dead, so why not? I¡¯m a good guy after all. As I drew closer, Gant and Mary took notice of my actions. Before I could get close enough to deal with the soon-to-be shadows, Gant barred my way, taking a defensive stance with that big lump of metal he calls a sword levelled towards me. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh at his misguided actions. By defending them he was just making their lives more miserable, and he was also getting in my way.


    ¡°Cyne, stand down!¡± ordered Gant.


    I could feel my eye twitch. He had quite some nerve giving me orders, we were technical on equal standing during this trip as comrades. I was starting to feel rather irritated. Shouldn¡¯t he know that I wouldn¡¯t do something without good cause¡­ or a big enough sum of cash?! Well, we¡¯ve only been together for a short time I suppose, and it¡¯s obvious a holy knight would have problems with the act of slaughtering innocent villagers, especially an elderly person and child. Wait¡­ this could be a good opportunity! If he attacks first it¡¯ll be legitimate self-defence and the church will probably let me off, although I don¡¯t think those belonging to the holy knight faction would be all too pleased, Gant¡¯s one of the first geniuses they¡¯ve had in quite a few decades. As long as I make some excuse involving heretics, I¡¯m sure everything will be fine.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Cyne, what are you doing?¡± asked a meek Mary.


    I realised that I¡¯d just been standing there for quite a while, smiling at Gant with my weapon unsheathed. I really should stop letting my mind wander while interacting with others. Now¡­ how to provoke an attack?


    ¡°It¡¯s really quite simple Mary. Gant you should listen well too. On my recent trip to the nearby pagan ruins, I found something rather interesting. It was an old tome. After flicking through the dusty thing, I came across some information in regards to shadows you see.¡± I began.


    After hearing that the situation was related to shadows the two seemed to lower their guards slightly and began to listen more attentively. Hehehe, this is good. If I spin this tale well enough, I¡¯ll become the hero who informed the kingdom of the upcoming shadow uprising, almost guaranteeing my spot on the heroes¡¯ party. I licked my lips before continuing, looking at both the young and innocent face of Mary and dim face of Gant. They both seem to be paying attention, good! I¡¯ll continue my tale now.


    ¡°The book held details on how shadows come into being. Apparently it¡¯s due to corruption by natural magical energy, which this area is rather dense in, at least according to what was written. It also held details on who was the most susceptible to this corruption, and how to identify it.¡±


    Hehehe¡­ I don¡¯t really know how to go on from here¡­ Serenity, a little help please?


    Why would you proceed with deception if you had no idea how to go about it?


    Don¡¯t be so cold! Help a friend out, I did save your life after all.


    ¡­Fine. Lucky for you, there are some physical symptoms on both these villagers, although they rarely appear in the majority of cases. Look at the slight blackening of their nails. It¡¯s not dirt, but instead a manifestation of the natural energy that¡¯s invade their bodies. The elderly one also has strands of black hair amidst the majority of white, yet another sign.


    You¡¯re the best Serenity! Next time you need anything, and I mean anything, I¡¯ll be at your service. Luck is on my side yet again! I proceeded to explain the symptoms to both Mary and Gant.


    ¡°Can we see this tome?¡± asked Gant.


    ¡°My sincerest apologies comrade, but I burned it after I¡¯d finished reading. It was short sighted of me I know, but it was still scripture of an old pagan god. As an inspector, I can¡¯t let such heretical texts continue to exist. It would be an affront to Sol!¡± I explained.


    That should do it! I feel like I really captured my devotion to Sol there, in which case he can¡¯t really reprimand me. Not that he has the authority to. A large frown spread across his face as he started to display a pondering look. Is he trying to use his brain? I wonder if I should tell him to take it easy. Oh, he¡¯s stopped¡­ and now he¡¯s looking at Mary.


    ¡°What do you think Mary?¡± asked Gant.


    Really Gant? You¡¯re leaving the decision making to a child? You¡¯re not a very responsible person you know.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think Cyne is lying¡­ but I don¡¯t think we should kill them either. They did nothing wrong!¡± replied Mary.


    Alright, now that it¡¯s clearly established that we¡¯re in opposition I guess a conflict can now break out. Joyous days! With this opportunity I can kill Gant, and maybe even Mary. Now to continue the act.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you two, but I¡¯ll do what I think is right. Leaving them alive will just bring harm to the village in the future and prolong their suffering. Killing them now would be sparing them of a fate far worse than death. Would either of you want to become such wretched, twisted beings? Instead of living a life in the light of Sol, they¡¯ll spend it wallowing in the darkness of despair, hunger and insanity. Even if I have to kill you both to spare them of such a fate, I will do so with a clear conscience and an open heart.¡±


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    Now that it¡¯s established that they¡¯re in the wrong, let the fight begin. Wait¡­ why are they standing down? Both Mary and Gant seemed to be moved to tears by my speech. They had ashamed looks on their faces and shared a glance before nodding.


    ¡°You¡¯re truly a strong and righteous man, Cyne. I misjudged you. Please do what you can for these two poor souls. I do not have the heart to strike them down myself¡± said Gant, tears trickling down his face as he looked to the two sleeping villagers.


    Mary grabbed his shirt and led him out of the building, with her face also clearly contorted with sadness¡­ She looked back just before they¡¯d exited the door way.


    ¡°Cyne¡­ *sniff* I-I thought you were a bad person before¡­ I¡¯m sorry. But I can see that you¡¯re actually really kind an caring now!... That¡¯s why you can do so many difficult things but still feel content with the result. After you finish, let¡¯s go back to the city.¡±


    ¡­I felt like punching a wall. Why didn¡¯t they try to stop me?! Shouldn¡¯t they doubt me a little more? They did hear about what happened at the inn right? They¡¯re supposed to think that I¡¯m a bad guy. They were supposed to suspect that my intentions were sinister! Dammit! I strode over toward the peacefully sleeping villagers, furious but still keeping that pleasant smile. I thrust my blade through both of their hearts, sealing their fates. I knelt down and burned their bodies to ash as they stared at me wide eyed, their gazes full of confusion, fear and pain. Guess that little jab woke them up.


    Cleaning my blade till not even a speck of blood remained, I left the building, walking over to my comrades who were still weeping. Mary looked up at me here eyes red.


    ¡°Did they feel any pain?¡± she asked in a trembling voice.


    Well¡­ yeah. I mean I finished them off by burning them before they were properly dead. You can¡¯t blame me, I was angry that my scheme had failed.


    ¡°No, they passed away peacefully while still asleep.¡± I comforted her.


    It seems that statement did Gant a good deal of good as well. He finally manned up and stopped crying. Turning his head in my direction, he gave a grateful nod. Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re welcome you big idiot.


    ¡°Something troubles me still Cyne.¡± Said Gant.


    Did he realise something? Will there still be a chance to kill off the competition. I had to suppress my feeling, holding back an expression full of glee.


    ¡°What is it Gant¡± I responded.


    ¡°Those people were turning into shadows¡­ doesn¡¯t that only happen when a shadow uprising is about to occur.¡± said Gant.


    Well he hit the nail on the head, but didn¡¯t go in the direction I wanted him to. This whole situation has just been one disappointment after another. In response to Gant¡¯s question I nodded. Both he and Mary paled.


    ¡°We have to return and inform the kingdom as soon as possible!¡± exclaimed Gant.


    Mary began to vigorously nod her head in agreement. Looks like we¡¯ll be heading back with due haste. No more opportunities to get rid of these two¡­ I¡¯ll just have to make a good impression on the heroes. While I¡¯m at it, I can sabotage everyone else, because¡­ why not? In the case of Gant and Mary, it¡¯ll help my cause and in the case of the rest¡­ well it might make me look a bit better if everyone else makes a fool of themselves.


    ¡°I agree Gant, let¡¯s return immediately¡±


    With that all three of us headed to the carriage, bidding the village chief farewell as we passed his house. He seemed a bit relieved to see us go, Gant and Mary must not have made a very good impression on him. I stifled a sigh as I thought about the journey ahead. We¡¯d all agreed that to reduce the travelling time we¡¯d make no stops, so the next few days would all be spent in that carriage. It¡¯ going to be dull.


    Serenity, do you know any good games to play on the road?


    No.


    Ok¡­ do you want to learn some games that we can play on the road?


    Not especially. The amount of time I can spend interacting with you is limited at the moment. I¡¯m still getting used to living in your body and need to spend most of my time awake gathering natural magical energy to strengthen my consciousness.


    This trip was going to be veeeeeeerrrrrryyyyy boring. Suddenly my head flared up with pain as images, diagrams and texts flashed before my eyes. I could feel as they burned their way into my mind, and halted for a moment before continuing on when Gant and Mary gave me questioning gazes. What in Sol¡¯s name was that?!


    It looks like you¡¯ll have time on your journey. Utilise it to practice the spell I just showed you. Currently it¡¯s the only one you can learn from me and is by far the weakest that I know, although you can utilise it in quite a few ways.


    Thanks. But give me some bloody warning next time! It hurt! A lot! And why are you only teaching me your weakest spell?


    Duly noted, and in answer to your question, currently your control over magical energy only allows you to cast tier 5 spells. A spirit¡¯s spells aren¡¯t ranked, but the one I just gave you is the equivalent to that of a tier 5.


    Fantastic! Another tier 5 spell to add to the arsenal. Maybe today wasn¡¯t too bad. At least I¡¯ll have something to do on the way back to Sol city.

 Chapter 10- Lighter Pockets

    I did it! It took me the entire 5 days we spent in the carriage, but I did it. Not sleeping for 5 days straight really paid off! I¡¯d finally mastered the spell Serenity gave me. It was called ¡®A Dream at Night¡¯, and despite the somewhat lame name would be exceptionally useful in the future. It was an illusion type spell with two main abilities; the ability to twist shadows to conceal yourself and others, or even objects if you want, while the second consisted of manipulating moonlight to create visual illusions. Unlike most spells I know, this one has the ability to be used in a variety of different ways, giving different outcomes, whereas regular spells only have one outcome¡­ like blowing something up. The only downside was that it wasn¡¯t that useful during the day: not too many shadows or dark areas to manipulate and no moonlight. Granted, if it was a dreary day and the sky was grey I would be able to conceal myself to an extent¡­ but still no moonlight.


    You mentioned earlier about stones that could absorb light while you were talking to yourself.


    Wait¡­ that could work. I know that the city is illuminated by magic crystals engraved with inscription patterns to absorb light when exposed and release it in its absence¡­ it would only work if I could turn it on and off at will. I guess I¡¯ll have to take a look at the inscriber¡¯s shop later. Hold on, what do you mean talking to myself? I was chatting with you Serenity.


    When you didn¡¯t stop long enough for me to get a word in, I could only assume that I wasn¡¯t part of the conversation.


    Hmm? Are you upset?


    ¡­No


    Hehehe, to think you wanted to talk to me that bad. Alright next time we have a chat, I¡¯ll listen to you for as long as you like!


    No, in fact I would prefer if you sto-


    I ignored the rest of what Serenity had to say. I had the feeling it wasn¡¯t important anyway. What had drawn my attention away in the first place were those tall grey walls in the distance. Nearly back at the city it would seem.


    Mary and Gant started to chatter about how we had to immediately make our way to the church headquarters to give our report and warn them of the upcoming crisis, but I couldn¡¯t help but start to drift off. I hadn¡¯t slept for 5 days after all. According to Serenity, this wasn¡¯t a major issue because as she absorbed natural magical energy, I was revitalised somewhat by it. In reality, I could go another two days before desperately needing sleep but when I heard the voices of my comrades I couldn¡¯t help but drift off.


    ¡°What do you think Cyne?¡± asked Mary, disrupting my descent into sleep.


    ¡°Yes¡± I answered non-committedly. That would probably do.


    ¡°Yes?¡± said Mary.


    She seemed confused, I guess my response didn¡¯t answer whatever her question was. Alright second try.


    ¡°I agree with what you were saying.¡± I said.


    ¡°Ok! That makes all three of us in agreement.¡± said Mary.


    Yeah, yeah, keep it down would you. I stifled a yawn and looked out of the carriage. We had made our way to the gates. Upon the checking of our credentials by some uninterested-looking guards, we entered Sol city.


    ¡°Quick lets go!¡± exclaimed Mary.


    She grabbed both mine and Gant¡¯s shirt sleeves pulling us with all her might in the direction of the church. I knew she was weak, but this is pathetic. A 5 year old child could probably overpower her. As I continued to think pointlessly on such matters, we gradually made our way to the church entrance where we quickly requested entry and to see the church leaders with urgency.


    After our request was accepted we were led through the white walkways to a whited door, through which we entered a white office. In the middle of the room sat a broad white desk at which three old fellows sat, all dressed in white. Too¡­ much¡­ white¡­


    This is a rather unpleasant place.


    I couldn¡¯t agree more Serenity. You should try the food they serve here, it¡¯s awful!


    I can¡¯t eat physical food.


    That¡¯s nice. I refocused on the three old church leaders in front of us, one belonging to each profession. In the middle sat the Pope, the highest ranking priest belonging to the church of Sol. His face was basically mass of wrinkles. I could barely tell his different features apart. He was clean shaven but possessed some spectacular eyebrows that drooped down by about 10 cm. He looked quite frail, as though a breeze could snap him in half.


    To the right of the pope sat the Holy Knight-Captain, a stone-faced fellow with a full head of grey hair cut short, in a similar style to Gant¡¯s. As he looked us over his facial expression didn¡¯t even twitch. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that bad to show a smile you know.


    And on the left, the head of my profession, the Lead Inspector. He was about the same age as the Knight-Captain, but compared to his strong and broad figure held a slim and thin body with a gaunt face. His eyes were set deep into his skull and his now greying brown hair was tied into a ponytail that ran down his back.


    ¡°So what did you come here to report?¡± questioned the Knight-Captain, in a deep, gravelly voice.


    Both Gant and Mary looked to me to take the lead. It looks like they¡¯re no good under pressure. Why does all the work get left to me? Isn¡¯t life being a bit unfair these days? I proceeded to tell the same story to the 3 church leaders, after which I awaited their response.


    The Knight-Captains expression had finally changed and settled into a frown. The Lead Inspector¡¯s eyes were practically gleaming with interest at the new knowledge I¡¯d put forth, while the Pope¡­ frowned I think.


    ¡°This is troubling news. Normally such a serious matter reported would be looked upon with a degree of scrutiny, but you three are already well-known as rising stars of your professions. I can¡¯t see you fabricating something as serious as this.¡± said the Pope.


    ¡°We should take action immediately! Let¡¯s approach the palace and inform the royal family. While the Knight Captain and I do this, you can go and gather the priests necessary for a summoning and meet us in the inner palace summoning chamber.¡± said the Lead Inspector to the pope.


    ¡°First let¡¯s send a message to the adventurer¡¯s guild to also inform them of the situation. We¡¯ll need their nominees for the heroes¡¯ party immediately.¡± said the Knight-Captain.


    Now all in agreement, they stood up from their seats and began to make preparations. Before heading out, the Knight-Captain turned to us.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.¡°You three will be the church¡¯s nominees. Although only newly graduated, you proved your competence with this report. Meet us at the palace entrance in 2 hours, and come in appropriate attire for the heroes¡¯ banquet.¡±


    I stifled a groan after he said this. Looks like these two are still in the running. I was hoping that since I¡¯d gathered the information, that I would immediately gain a place. The last battlefield is at the Heroes¡¯ banquet! After the summoning, the royal family, representatives from the church and adventurer¡¯s guild, and all the nominees for the heroes¡¯ party will participate in a banquet to become acquainted. The selection of party members comes after the occasion.


    Looks like I¡¯ll have to go out and buy some formal attire, suitable for the occasion. Currently all I have in my wardrobe are multiple sets of uniform. All white¡­ I¡¯m going to make sure whatever I buy today will not be white. Unfortunately my aesthetic sense isn¡¯t too great. Serenity you choose!


    No.


    But¡­ I saved your life!


    ¡­fine.


    Success! Now I can let Serenity do all the hard work and I¡¯ll just pay!... I hate spending money. I couldn¡¯t help but shudder at the prospect of giving my hard earned coins to others. Is there any way to get free clothes? I could always threaten them¡­ but if word got out I would get in trouble with the higher ups. Dammit, I¡¯m just going to have to suck it up and pay for it.


    After leaving the church building and slipping away from Gant and Mary before they could invite me out or try to get friendly, I quickly made my way to the high class commercial district in the city. It was just to the side of the Nobilities¡¯ residential areas, which surrounded the palace, the most centrally placed building in the city. Since the Church was pretty close, it wouldn¡¯t take that long to reach, and I needed some quality goods if I wanted to make a good impression on the heroes.


    Despite the busy streets I easily slipped through the crowd¡­ well they basically made way for me; I was still in uniform and no one wants to piss off an inspector. Despite the bad reputation, even if you do offend one they can¡¯t really do anything to you until there¡¯s solid proof you¡¯re a heretic. It¡¯s only in non-central, villages, towns and minor cities that they can abuse their power. Good thing no one knows that though, hehehe. The perks of being feared are just too convenient.


    Before heading to a tailor¡¯s, I quickly stopped by the inscriber¡¯s shop to enquire after light absorbing crystals with the ability to turn off and on. Turns out I was in luck. It was a relatively new product that some up and coming genius inscriber had come up with. It certainly is a very useful item, especially since I¡¯ll be able to use it to create illusions during the day. It was a tad unwieldy though, a sphere with a 5 cm diameter. I can¡¯t just take this out every time I get into a fight to use my illusions.


    ¡°Are there any that come in a smaller size?¡± I asked the portly shop keeper.


    ¡°Our smallest one is this¡± replied the shopkeeper.


    He withdrew a small chip the size of a finger nail with minute inscriptions running down it. It was transparent like the sphere before¡­. I have a great idea!


    ¡°I¡¯d like to make a request kind sir. I would like a glove for my left hand made with many of these crystals inserted into it, kind of like a scale pattern often seen in gauntlets these days¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ I think that¡¯s possible sir but it¡¯ll be right costly I tell you now.¡± Replied the shopkeeper.


    After handing over a heart-breaking 50 gold coins for the item¡¯s construction I left the establishment. I wiped the tears from my eyes and continued on to the tailor. I would have to come back in an hour to pick up the finished product, at least it was a speedy process.


    I eventually arrived at the most well-established tailor in the city and walked in, eager to see what Serenity would pick out for me. Alright Serenity it¡¯s your que!


    Okay.


    From there on out I was instructed by Serenity to try out a myriad of different outfits. It was an extremely tiring process. If I had chosen, I would have just picked out the first item I saw. At least the time its taking means Serenity is serious, and for my sake too. I¡¯m touched, really I am. After trying out the better half of a hundred articles of clothing, Serenity decided on an outfit. Not bad.


    I looked in the mirror to see a relatively tall youth of 18 years, with dark brown hair neatly combed back and dark brown eyes. I was dressed in relatively plain attire, suiting the preferences of Serenity no doubt. I had black boots that came 2/3rds the way up my calves, into which were tucked equally dark trousers made of smooth yet firm material, probably the skin of some kind of magical beast; yep, the label said bat magical beast leather. I had a belt around my waist, a dark brown, similar in colour to my hair and eyes. On my torso I wore a collared, beige shirt with a black coat over it. The coat was made of a leathery material, once again, probably some kind of magical beast skin, and had some belt straps about the mid-section and waist to tighten it if necessary. After looking at the label I identified the leather to be once again bat magical beast leather. Why bats?


    All in all the outfit was simple, yet functional. I think it kind of suited me. The style was a bit similar to my inspector¡¯s uniform but it had a much preferable colour scheme. It wasn¡¯t really something you would normally wear to a formal event, and could double as clothes I could use in my day to day activity, but I liked it, and since Serenity had actually gone to the trouble of choosing for me, I  wasn¡¯t about to choose something else. I went up to the tailor and ordered three sets of  the same clothes, once again parting from a mass of gold coins, 10 gold coins to be exact, but this time I held back the tears. After all, I¡¯d spent some quality bonding time with Serenity. But still! 10 gold coins could buy you a decent magical core infused weapon, so why did they cost so much?!


    I then returned to the inscriber¡¯s shop and retrieved my order. The glove was a dark brown, same as my belt and was covered in a thin layer of transparent crystals, arranged in a scale pattern on the back of it. Perfect. I slipped on the glove, replacing the white one I had been wearing since gaining the symbol on my left hand, leaving my right hand without a glove. If anyone asks, I¡¯ll just say it¡¯s a fashion statement.


    Now dressed in some high quality clothing, I approached the palace. I also couldn¡¯t help but notice my pockets feel significantly lighter¡­ Dammit, I¡¯m going to cry.

 Chapter 11- The Summoning

    It really is nice to be dressed in a colour other than white. Can white even be called colour? In reality it¡¯s just a lack of colour. It¡¯s boring. But then again, is black a colour? A lot of my current clothing is black, or at least a very, very dark grey. Still, it¡¯s my first time dressing up in non-white clothing for quite a few years now. It¡¯s not like we weren¡¯t allowed to go and buy our own casual clothing when we were back in training, but I have issues with spending money when it¡¯s not essential. Why by more clothes when you get uniform for free? Well, I think this shopping spree was well worth it. I look rather dashing if I do say so myself. Wouldn¡¯t you agree Serenity?


    ¡­ Yes


    Stop, you¡¯re going to make me blush! I stopped admiring my attire when I finally reached the palace gates. As I observed the tall gilded metal gates and smooth, light grey stones making up the building I noticed that I was the last to arrive of the church nominees. Gant and Mary were already waiting by the gate alongside stone-face (Knight-Captain). They don¡¯t look too bad.


    Gant wore traditional formal attire, sticking to the colour theme his armour followed: a bright white with gold trimmings. He wore a tail coated jacket over his buttoned shirt and the same trousers as he normally does when wearing his uniform. Next to him was Mary, looking quite nervous. She was wearing an extremely pale yellow dress with an absurd amount of frills which actually kind of suited her. It put a lot of emphasis on her childish features, making her look, well¡­ adorable. Stone-face was just wearing the same thing he had in the office.


    ¡°Greetings!¡± I called to them as I ascended the stone steps leading up to the gate.


    ¡°Hi!¡± ¡°Hello.¡± greeted Mary and Gant respectively.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, let us be off¡± said stone-face.


    The guards by the gates quickly made way for the Knight-Captain, opening the gates at his request. These guys should be part of the royal guard. They certainly look better trained than regular bunch that protect the city from criminals and keep the peace. After my father was removed from his position in the guards, I hear it took a turn for the worst. They¡¯re pretty corrupt these days and in the majority of the population¡¯s opinion pretty useless. These royal guards however! They have the air of a fighter about them.


    The royal guards were wearing full scale armour with skull caps to protect their heads, over a steel coif. Over their armour they wore a tabard with the insignia of the royal family stitched into it, a sword¡¯s silhouette encompassed by a sun. The royal guard are primarily responsible for the safety of the royal family, but also regularly go out to subjugate bandits and roaming monsters that come too close to the proximity of the city, so they¡¯ve had their fair share of experience. From what I¡¯ve heard, they¡¯ve only had one genius crop up recently, becoming a full guard at the age of 15 a year ago. They¡¯ll probably be the only nominee. I don¡¯t think there are any other fully-fledged guards within the age range of the heroes.


    I¡¯d never been in the royal palace before, so as we followed the Knight Captain to the summoning chamber I took the opportunity to observe my surroundings. It wasn¡¯t as extravagant as I had imagined it to be: the corridors were quite plain with only a bit of carpeting present. I¡¯d been expecting works of art lining the walls and priceless treasures lying all over the floor or something, but¡­ no.


    We finally came to a stop in front of a door, which I could only assume led to the summoning chambers.


    ¡°Stay quiet and follow me¡± said the Knight-Captain.


    He then quickly entered the room, after which we followed. The room was smaller than I had imagined, only 10x10 metres. Where¡¯s the massive hall with a ceiling 100s of metres above us? Am I asking too much? The only thing this room had was some sort of magical circle on the floor, with a diameter of about 4-5metres and a bunch of old guys standing around it. Oh those are the priests for the summoning.


    10 priests were standing in a circle, evenly spaced around the summoning circle. They were releasing huge amounts of magical energy into the crystal in the centre of said summoning circle, its light slowly growing brighter and brighter.


    Overseeing the ritual were a few people off to the side, most of which I didn¡¯t recognise. If I had to take a guess then, the broad middle-aged man with grey hair and neatly trimmed beard is the king¡­ He has a golden crown and robes after all. The woman in her early 30s next to him would probably be the queen then. She had some pretty good features, in addition to flaming red hair and eyes to match. She was wearing an extravagant emerald green dress and seemed about as adorned with jewellery as you can get. It was a bit gaudy, but she was a good looking woman so it didn¡¯t take away from her appearance too much. Of course Serenity¡¯s much more beautiful. I decided to through in a little compliment there.


    I appreciate the sentiment.


    Alright back to the people! To their left stood some old royal guard fellow, his atmosphere kind of reminding me of stone-face here. By his side stood a youth of 16 years of age, also dressed in the typical attire of the royal guard. He was quite the effeminate fellow, having too many delicate features to be considered masculine in any way, but some girls like that I hear. His auburn hair was long and hung loose to just below his jaw-line, and his grey-blue eyes were focused on the priests and summoning circle.


    And last but not least, the adventurer representative and nominees! The representative was basically a bear: big, hairy, and grizzled. He looked kind of ridiculous in formal attire, but at least he was making an effort. Of the three in front of him only one stood out to me. It was a she, and she was dressed in practical battle attire, despite the formal occasion. She had a wild atmosphere about her, similar to that of a ferocious predator. Her face was good too; she was quite beautiful, having a healthy looking tan on her skin, short cut, glossy dark blonde hair and sharp maroon eyes. You don¡¯t normally see a shade of red in eye colour in this part of the world, so she might be foreign. The other two nominees looked like gorillas stuffed into formal attire.


    We walked over and stood in place, adjacent to the adventurer group and waited for the summoning to finish. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how much longer the whole thing was going to take.


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    ¡­1 hour later¡­


    Serenity, I¡¯m bored!


    I¡¯m aware, this is the 63rd time you said that.


    I know, but I¡¯m reeeeaaaaaalllllyyy bored!


    As I said, I am aware.


    It was taking ages. In order to pass the time, I had been making conversation with Serenity for the past hour or so, but after declining to hear about any more on the different people I¡¯d burned alive or torture techniques I¡¯d found the most effective in practice, I was at a loss on how to continue the conversation. Damn, I just realised it¡¯s been days since I last burned anyone. Don¡¯t think about. Don¡¯t think about. Don¡¯t think about it.


    That uncomfortable itch was creeping into my hand as it often did to light something ablaze. Unfortunately now wasn¡¯t the time.


    Luckily it looked as though the ritual was coming to a close. The summoning circle was getting progressively brighter, releasing a low humming sound. As the priests released the last of the necessary magical energy into the diagram, the bright light reached its pinnacle, blinding room with white. I wasn¡¯t really expecting it, so I was taken by surprise. That really hurt my eyes just now. After cursing internally, I looked back to the summoning circle with now blurred vision, obscured by dark patches. Really, some warning would be nice next time.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Where are we¡­?¡±


    ¡°Eek!¡±


    The 3 figures now present at the centre of the summoning circle each let out voices of confusion before observing their surroundings. In the past cases of hero summoning the typical trend was that one male and two female heroes would be summoned, and it looks like this trend had continued. My vision was still somewhat blurry, but I could at least make out that one was male and the other two female from their voices and general outline.


    Previous heroes all had varied degrees of reactions according to the church records. Some would show excited reactions and immediately accept the kingdom¡¯s plea for help, no questions asked, while others would thoroughly interrogate the royal family and representatives before making their decision. In the end they had to be convinced to help; heroes are considered free existences and previous attempts to enslave them with good old fashioned inscribed collars ended up with spectacular failure¡­ for example blowing their heads off.


    Due to this freedom there were quite a few heroes in the past who either left to explore the world or used their power to gain power and influence. In the end though, most were ¡®good¡¯ people who ended up helping the kingdom.


    My eyes finally regained their lost vision and I scrutinised the 3 individuals in the centre of the room, who were gazing around with dumbfounded looks. The male was muttering something like ¡®no way¡­¡¯. Are they familiar with being summoned? Perhaps we have experienced heroes this time. They all had similar foreign features, of which you would probably see if you went to the far eastern Isle¡¯s on the continent next over.


    The male had short black hair, black eyes and in general looked¡­ what¡¯s the word? Boring, wimpy, weak¡­ average. Shouldn¡¯t a hero look more like a hero? I couldn¡¯t help but let some distain flash across my face before quickly hiding it. The male was looking at me with a confused look. Oh dear, did he see that just now? Looks like I¡¯ll have to make an effort to get friendly with them.


    The taller female of the two had long, straight black hair, droopy black eyes and a very feminine features. Her figure was extremely¡­ womanly, despite her relatively young age. She would be quite the enchantress in a few years.


    In comparison, the last of the 3 was significantly less curved¡­ Weren¡¯t they supposed to be 16? If this one¡¯s lack of curves, short stature and childish features were anything to go by then I¡¯d say no. She had short curly hair that reached to just above her shoulders, and unlike the other two it wasn¡¯t black, but a light brown. The colour looked a bit unnatural though, so maybe it was just a dye. Her big, innocent eyes were darting around the place while she sported a frightened expression. Tears were starting to gather in her eyes, after which she threw herself towards the average male, clinging to him tightly.


    ¡°Yuki-kun! Where are we! What¡¯s going on?!¡± she whimpered.


    The more womanly one of the two gave a small frown at her actions before telling her to calm down. Looks like they¡¯re all acquainted, which is pretty rare for these summonings, although now that I think about it they are all wearing similar styled clothing. The so-called ¡®Yuki-kun¡¯ wore a short sleeved white shirt with both a collar and buttons with a navy blue tie, in addition to navy blue trousers and a pair of black shoes. The cry baby and the curvy one both wore the same white shirts, minus the ties and had navy blue skirts that went to just above their knees, accompanied by black knee socks. After the crying one calmed down, the curvy one turned to where we were all standing and took the lead. Guess you can¡¯t expect much from average guy (already forgot his name).


    ¡°Who are you people? Where are we?¡±


    ¡°We are sincerely apologetic towards you and your friends, but we need your help. Please take this time to listen to our story and decide on your future actions.¡± replied the king.


    Both of the girls looked confused, whereas the guy was getting visibly excited. Calm down would you! The king then explained our situation, how they were summoned, why they were summoned, and how we would be eternally grateful if they helped us ¡®cleanse our sins from this land¡¯ (deal with the shadow uprising) and yadayadayada. The girls slowly came to understand the situation as the king continued to explain, the curvy one with growing interest, and the cry baby with a worried expression. Average guy looked like he was ready to jump with joy after hearing all that. I on the other hand could barely stay awake. I still hadn¡¯t slept for days, and the king¡¯s droning was taking its toll on me.


    ¡°Now heroes, will you come to our kingdom¡¯s aid?¡± ended the king.


    All three heroes looked to each other, and had a hushed discussion, after which the curvy one turned back to the king to give their reply.

 Chapter 12- Heroes Banquet

    ¡°We have a few questions before we give our final answer, is that alright?¡± asked curvy.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem, please ask anything that comes to mind,¡± insisted the king.


    ¡°Is there any way we can go back home?¡± enquired shorty. She had retained her nervous demeanour since the moment she was summoned, and looked quite desperate as she asked that question.


    ¡°I apologize, but we have no way of sending you back. The previous heroes also asked after this topic, and the only way for you to return to your homelands is for someone to summon you back. Forgive us, but we truly require your help for our survival¡± explained the king.


    He was being very polite to these heroes, probably afraid that they¡¯d go off on their own and forsake us. Without the heroes to stage the final assault on the shadows, we would be hard pressed to put down the uprising. They really are ridiculous existences when it comes to raw power.


    All three looked stunned at the statement the king had just made. Even the previously excited average guy turned pale for a moment.


    ¡°B-but, what about our family and friends! Will we never see them again?!¡± choked the shorty, she had tears streaming down her face at this point.


    The king adopted an apologetic expression, once again stating that they couldn¡¯t return home, and would never see their families again. This is the moment where we¡¯d see if they break or persevere. The average guy began to console the shorty while curvy glared angrily at us.


    ¡°What gave you the right to take us away from our homes?!¡± she asked, her voice icy.


    ¡°Once again, I can only apologize on behalf of the kingdom of Sol. We¡¯ll do everything we can to accommodate you. I know it¡¯s a lot to ask, but I still request your assistance on behalf of this kingdom¡± replied the king, his devotion to his country and subjects evident in the humility he displayed before these potential heroes.


    ¡°Since we can¡¯t go back home, we should help them. What¡¯s done is done, so we can only do our best in this new world.¡± said the average guy.


    He said something surprisingly sensible and level headed, maybe his appearance doesn¡¯t match his personality. Wait¡­ No, it does match his personality. He was discreetly taking peeks at all the females in the room and had regained his excited expression. He¡¯s probably thinking he can make a good impression on the women by stepping up as a man. Like that would work. Hold on a moment¡­ Mary, why are your eyes gleaming like that?


    ¡°I suppose¡±, ¡°I¡¯ll follow Yuki-kun¡­¡± responded curvy and shorty respectively.


    ¡°Thank you young heroes. Now that you¡¯ve made your decision, let¡¯s make our introductions. I am the king of the country of Sol, Theodore Solan the third. The beautiful woman by my side is my wife, Alexia Solan.¡± said the king.


    Both he and his wife directed their smiles towards the heroes. Yuki even blushed when he met the queen¡¯s gaze. The three of them then responded in kind, introducing themselves as Sasaki Yuki (the guy), Mori Rin (shorty), and Tamura Hina (curvy). Unlike in our kingdom, heroes always introduced their family names first, for whatever cultural reason they had. In the future it would be interesting to ask about their customs in more depth; the church library only held so much information.


    It was then the royal guard¡¯s turn to introduce themselves. The older guards introduced themselves first, after which it was the nominee¡¯s turn.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Deane, no family name. I will be in your care in the future, and will do my utmost to ensure your safety until you¡¯re powerful enough to protect yourselves.¡± said Deane.


    The girls seemed quite taken by his feminine appearance and knightly manner, whereas Yuki didn¡¯t seem to show any particular like or dislike. The heroes were initially confused by what he said about accompanying them, but the situation of the heroes¡¯ party was quickly explained to the three. They then made their way over to the adventurer¡¯s representative group. The gorillas and the bear introduced themselves, after which it was that fierce looking woman.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Catherine Wellard, you can call me Cath for short.¡±


    She shook each of their hands, and basically had the Yuki fellow drooling over her. Despite her fierceness, it seems like she wasn¡¯t as unfriendly as I had first assumed her to be. I was expecting her to be like a wild animal or something, or maybe a quiet person like Serenity. Although her atmosphere would be completely different, kind of like a silent hunter, stalking its prey. Serenity has a more mysterious and calm aura to her. Serenity¡¯s the best!


    ¡­


    Hehehe, she¡¯s being shy (probably not ignoring me). The heroes then came towards our group, and after greeting stone-face, Mary, Gant and I were up. When Mary introduced herself in a stuttering voice, Yuki¡¯s nose started to inexplicably bleed, casing quite the panic, whereas the two girls squealed and started to hug her like a doll¡­ Damn, it¡¯s not looking good for me. Next up was Gant who seemed to intimidate Yuki, but mesmerise the two girls. Alright, I¡¯m up. Time to use special move.


    ¡°It truly is a pleasure to make all you. My name is Cyne Wight, a newly graduated inspector of god. To think a simple devotee to Sol like myself would have the opportunity to lay eyes on the future heroes of this generation. I must say, you all look the part.¡± I began. I then turned to Yuki.


    ¡°The decisiveness you showed earlier when making the decision to help our kingdom, was truly magnificent, nothing less than what one would expect from someone chosen to be a hero!¡± I flattered Yuki. He started to look a bit embarrassed. I then turned to Rin.


    ¡°And, despite being in such an unfamiliar place, you swallowed your fear and pressed on. It was an admirable display. If I was in the same position, I don¡¯t know if I could have done the same.¡± Rin, started to get a bit flustered and fiddled with her short hair, replying with a barely audible ¡°Thank you¡±. After that I turned to their final companion.


    ¡°You too showed skills required to be a hero. To be able to level-headedly analyse your situation as you did was truly fortuitous. Thanks to you, communication was properly established between our groups.¡± She had a less exaggerated reaction than the others, but seemed pleased with what I had said.


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    ¡°Even if you do not choose me as your companion, I can only be grateful that our kingdom was blessed with such capable heroes.¡± I finished.


    I then revealed my most sincere and grateful smile ever. It was on the level of temporarily blinding those who saw it, a special move I¡¯d developed over the past decade. Yuki visibly relaxed when he saw it, while Rin turned a deeper red and quickly turned away, avoiding eye contact. Hina on the other hand seemed to hold a level of resistance against my smile, and only responded with an appreciative smile of her own. She would probably be the hardest to manipulate in the future.


    I was sure that I had made a good impression on them, but my selection wasn¡¯t for sure. If only there was some way I could brainwash them, or control their minds. Unfortunately life¡¯s not that easy. Unless¡­ Do you have any spells to control minds Serenity?


    None that would be applicable here, or that you would be capable of using.


    But you actually have some? Do tell.


    I only have one within your capacity to eventually learn. It won¡¯t be very useful to you now, but once you¡¯re able to cast tier 6 spells, I¡¯ll teach you. It grants you the ability to send people into a deep sleep whereupon you can manipulate their bodies. Until the spell ends they won¡¯t wake up regardless of what they experience. As your ability to control magic increases you¡¯ll be able to control more people at once.


    That sounds very interesting, but not so much controlling their minds but their bodies. I decided that I would practice my ability to manipulate magical energy with due haste to reach be able to cast tier 6 spells. After the introductions were done, all those present were lead to the hall at which the banquet would be held. We quickly arrived at the location, which had two long tables with a variety of extravagant foods piled up for the taking. The room itself was lavishly decorated with a variety of banners and ancient depictions of the previous battles against shadows, and the appearances of the previous heroes.


    The evening progressed quickly, during which I was unable to get close enough to the heroes to start a conversation. A number of high ranking officials, advisors and nobles had been invited, and were practically swarming the newly summoned heroes. In the end I stood at the side of the hall, rather peeved by my lack of progress, but still enjoying the well cooked food. Now that I think about it, each companion gets to bring an attendant don¡¯t they? If I¡¯m chosen, I¡¯ll have to go and hire one. Being the only one without would just be embarrassing, and even if I end up the only one to bring one then no harm done; better safe than sorry. I don¡¯t really want to hire, so I¡¯ll probably go down to purchase a slave later to save some money.


    After making my plans, I heard a loud dinging sound. I looked over to see the king had raised his glass and was gathering everyone¡¯s attention by tapping at it with a spoon. Looks like it¡¯s time for the main event. Soon everyone hushed down and the previously loud hall was silent.


    ¡°Today is a good day. Today we summoned our heroes! Today we ensured this kingdom¡¯s future; our future; the people¡¯s future! These young heroes hold our hope on their shoulders. It is too absurd to ask them to take it on alone, so now they will be given the opportunity to choose their companions!¡±


    The hall erupted in applause as the king gestured towards the heroes. They began to shuffle around, embarrassed by the exaggerated display. The king then went down and led them personally to the front of the hall, for the king to do such a thing was quite the honour, the nobles and other guests present practically had their eyes bulging out of their sockets. This simple action made it clear to the crowd that the king respected these new heroes, something which wasn¡¯t always the case. At these banquets, it was widely acknowledged that how the king treated the heroes, indicated how worthy they were of the title.


    Now that I think back, they didn¡¯t really make that great an impression, did they? Thinking about it, it was probably my fault. When I started to flatter them I did notice the king nodding his head in agreement to my words. Isn¡¯t this guy a bit too easy to lead on?


    The heroes had made their way to the front and stood there awkwardly in front of the admiring gazes of those present in the hall. Yuki took a step forward, and began to speak.


    ¡°We decided that each of us would choose one companion. I accepted the position to formally accept, the royal guard¡¯s nominee. Our first companion will be Deane, we look forward to having you as a comrade.¡±


    Deane nodded from the crowd and made his way to the front to stand alongside them. Does that really count as choosing a companion? He looks like a guy easy to push around, so the others probably forced him into that position to choose their favourites. The culprit was most likely Hina. Yuki took a step back and Rin took over.


    ¡°I-I was allowed to choose a companion from the adventurer¡¯s guild nominees. I¡¯d like to invite Cath to join our party.¡±


    Allowed? I guess Hina really was responsible for the peculiar way the heroes had decided to select their companions.


    Cath nodded with a friendly smile on her face and made her way to the front. Standing alongside the heroes as Deane had also done. Unlike the stiff and proper Deane, she stood more casually, looking as though she¡¯d be ready to spring into action at any moment. She looks like a dangerous one.


    Rin then stepped back and Hina came forward to finish off the selection process.


    ¡°And finally, I chose from the church¡¯s nominees. To accompany us in the future, I¡¯d like to formally invite¡­¡±


    Here it comes!


    ¡°¡­Mary¡±


    ¡­ WHAT?!

 Chapter 13- The Right Choice

    I just stood there. My expression froze as I tried to make sense of the situation. Where did I go wrong? I could have sworn that I would be chosen. As I stood there at a loss for words, Mary started to walk forwards towards the heroes and other companions. She looked nervous as all those present watched her walk to the stage. She began to twiddle her fingers together, looking towards the ground so as to avoid meeting the numerous gazes. When she finally arrived at the stage it hit me. I really wasn¡¯t chosen.


    I looked over to Hina. She had taken the opportunity to choose from the church¡¯s nominees, so for what reason did she choose Mary over myself? Looking over there I could see Hina beaming smile aimed at Mary, a gentle look in her droopy eyes. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because she thought she looked cute?! We¡¯ll see how cute she looks after I burn her face off! My anger began to bubble up from deep within my stomach, and I could feel my eye had started to violently twitch, while my smile had turned ghastly. I never was good with dealing with my anger, or any emotions really.


    It¡¯s strange really. Such a small thing triggered the gushing forth of almost twelve years of pent-up, negative emotions. I¡¯d always hidden them behind my smile. But my smile was starting to crack. The corners of my lips started to tug downwards, as my hand began to itch.


    I really need to kill someone. As painfully as possible, as soon as possible. Who better than my former comrade, Mary and the foolish twit, Hina? Shouldn¡¯t they take responsibility for their actions? Life isn¡¯t fair, I¡¯ve always known that, and I think it¡¯s for the best that I let others know it too.


    I started to circulate my magical power in preparation to unleash the tier 5 spell, Solar Flare. Everyone had their focus on the front where the heroes and companions had begun to chat, getting to know one another. The twit looked over to my position and gave me an apologetic smile. I felt something snap. I could feel a downwards tug on my lips. My smile broke. However, just as I was about to unleash hell on the room, I felt something interfere, something holding me back, something making me calm again.


    Cyne don¡¯t do this, control yourself! Committing such actions now doesn¡¯t hold any benefit to you. Think rationally.


    My rapid breathing slowed as I heard Serenity¡¯s words in my mind. The smile was still broken for the moment, my face expressionless. I don¡¯t care whether I maim or kill those in this hall, but Serenity was right in saying it would hold no benefits. In fact I would probably be subdued by the representatives and executed on the spot. My emotions had neatly tucked themselves away again, deep inside me. Hopefully they won¡¯t come out again anytime soon. It was an unpleasant experience. I had finally returned to my sense and slowly forced a smile onto my face. Luckily no one had been paying enough attention to notice the internal struggle I was caught up in.


    Thank you Serenity. You¡¯ve calmed me down, you really live up to your namesake, hehehe.


    I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re fine. I¡¯ll be resting now; it took up a significant sum of my gathered magical energy to restrain your spell. Please keep in mind that I also live in this body¡­ keep yourself safe. It may be a few days before I fully recover.


    With that Serenity became silent. I couldn¡¯t help but feel grateful to her. If she hadn¡¯t been here, who knows how things would¡¯ve gone. I¡¯ll have to find a good way to thank her¡­ I¡¯ll just ask her what she wants when she wakes up again.


    I once again refocused my attention on the front. The entire exchange had only taken a matter of seconds. I was able to see the reaction of the other two heroes to Hina¡¯s choice at the time, but had been too dumbfounded to pay attention. Now that I think about it, they too had looked quite surprised, I guess I wasn¡¯t the only one Hina had caught off guard with that decision.


    Yuki looked conflicted, most likely happy at yet another cute, female companion, but also guilty at having not chosen the one who had encouraged them earlier. Rin on the other hand looked completely opposed to the arrangement, probably scared of her title of cutest and most vulnerable being stolen away, hehehe. She looked over to me as I observed the group, meeting my gaze. Her eyes widened as she saw my smile. She blushed and looked away, before turning back to mouth ¡®sorry¡¯ to me. I can use this! Hope is not lost!


    I just smiled at her, giving the most understanding and empathetic gaze I had in my arsenal. I mouthed the words ¡®It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not your fault¡¯ over to her. She looked away quickly, but I had the chance to see her expression before she managed to. She had guilt clearly written across her face. Perfect. Now that I¡¯ve planted the seeds of guilt, all I can do is wait. If nothing comes of it then I¡¯ll just arrange Mary¡¯s death by unfortunate accident.


    The banquet quickly continued on, and a multitude of people went up to congratulate the new companions. After a few minutes, during which Rin had spent the majority of the time looking uncomfortable and stealing glances at me, she looked like she finally realised I wouldn¡¯t go forth to congratulate the new companions or interact with her or the other heroes. It looked like by ignoring her and the others, I was successfully growing the seed of guilt. It should flower soon.


    As the banquet began to end and the hall slowly emptied of the guests, my work finally showed some results. I saw Rin pull Yuki to the side and began a hushed discussion. I liked where this was going. After a few minutes of talking, and a determined looking Yuki. They made their way over to the other party members. Yuki quickly called for everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Sorry to trouble you all, but Rin and I have been talking it over and think that we should¡¯ve done the selection in a different way.¡±


    Hina narrowed her eyes at the statement, while all the companions froze, worried looks flitting across their faces. Having been chosen as a member of the heroes¡¯ party none of them would easily give up the position. Yuki noticed their expression, and quickly went on.


    ¡°As you know, there was only one nominee from the royal guards, Deane. The result of my inviting him to the party was me not getting the ability to contribute to the selection process. Not that I¡¯m unhappy having Deane as a companion! But I think I should¡¯ve gotten a little more say.¡±


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    Deane looked visibly more relaxed as he figured out that he was in a relatively safe position. Hina however, looked troubled by what Yuki had said.


    ¡°But, you agreed to it, so isn¡¯t it a bit strange for you to start complaining now?¡± responded Hina with a challenging tone. It looked like she knew where this was going.


    Yuki had been rendered useless by this simple, logical sentence. I suppressed a sigh. Couldn¡¯t he have a bit more conviction? Luckily Rin came to his rescue.


    ¡°Well when we were all talking before, we all said that we would choose Cath from the adventurer¡¯s nominees, so in reality I didn¡¯t really get that much of a decision in the choosing process either.¡±


    Catherine displayed a happy expression, looking pleased that all three of the heroes would have chosen her as a companion. She didn¡¯t really have any competition, so why is she looking so pleased with herself? Surely she didn¡¯t think the heroes would choose one of the gorillas¡­ did she?


    In contrast to Catherine, Mary became visibly unsettled by the situation. The conversation was obviously about the choice from the church nominees. Hina started to show an angry expression and stood in front of Mary.


    ¡°I stand by my decision in choosing Mary!¡± she said.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t your decision alone though. We are a team. I think we should vote for who we want from the church nominees!¡± countered Rin.


    Hina had no way to argue, and after a moment, gave her consent with a disgruntled nod. Hehehe, she looks pretty downhearted. It can only be expected, after all, both Rin and Yuki definitely won¡¯t choose Mary.


    ¡°I choose Mary¡± began Hina.


    ¡°¡±I choose Cyne¡±¡± stated the other two.


    Beautiful play! I can only pat myself on the back for that. A job well done, yet again. It really was a good thing I didn¡¯t blow up the room earlier on. Mary looked a bit down, but not as much as one would expect in such a scenario. Hina looked over to her.


    ¡°Sorry¡± she said in a barely audible voice.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s okay! You don¡¯t have to be sorry. I probably wouldn¡¯t be that helpful anyway. Cyne can do lots of things I can¡¯t, so it would be better if he went with you.¡± Replied Mary.


    Strangely enough, she ended up consoling the now thoroughly depressed Hina, after which she bid her farewells and went on her way. She was taking it rather well. Mary, I have a new found respect for you. You¡¯ve officially entered my good books!


    After the conversation had ended and Mary had left, I was called over and the change in the situation was explained. I showed a happy smile to everyone present as I was told the news that I¡¯d become a companion, but then changed it into a sad one.


    ¡°I greatly appreciate the opportunity and will do my best as your future companion. I feel bad for Mary, but knowing that she held faith enough in my ability to graciously step down, is comforting and inspiring. I look forward to being in your care.¡±


    Both Rin and Yuki looked towards me with admiration in their gazes, whereas Hina was throwing a scowl at me. What¡¯s that for? I mean really, according to your knowledge none of this was my doing. My new companions gave me an appraising gaze before introducing themselves. They didn¡¯t look to have any particular opinion on the switching of a companion, but Deane kept giving me a suspicious look. What he was suspicious about, I don¡¯t know. I mean I¡¯m just your typical super-friendly, polite inspector of god¡­ I guess I really am suspicious. I decided it would be best to make a good impression on them early, and put on a sincere smile in preparation to flatter them.


    ¡°Miss Catherine, and Sir Deane, I look forward to working with you in the future. You both have a very capable air about yourselves, of which I can only be envious. In comparison to your experiences out in the real world, my meagre supply is rather pitiful. I am however pleased to see such traits in my companions, as I am sure the heroes are too.¡±


    Catherine started to show a big goofy grin at the praise, and even Deane seemed to relax his suspicious gaze at me. It looks as though I¡¯d have to watch out for Deane and Hina in the future, but the others are easy enough to lead by the nose.


    ¡°Hahaha! Don¡¯t worry about it! You might be lacking in experience but you look like you¡¯ll get the hang of it easy! Till then you can rely on me whenever.¡± Said Catherine.


    I gave her a grateful smile as she started to slam her palm into my back¡­ what frightful strength. This wild woman was evidently very friendly and quick to trust others, contrary to her dangerous and predatory appearance. I guess you can¡¯t always judge a book by its cover.


    ¡°I think we should all get to know each other some more! Our new companion here hasn¡¯t been around for much of the talk so far. So let¡¯s take the time to talk some more tomorrow, after the revealing ceremony!¡± suddenly suggested Catherine.


    The revealing ceremony was where we would learn about the individual powers of each hero and their speciality. Personally I didn¡¯t know much about it; the church records only ever mentioned it.


    Hina was still sulking over the loss of Mary and Deane was still performing his cool and quiet guy act, but both Yuki and Rin looked eager at the suggestion from Catherine. Yuki was discreetly glancing at the well sized breasts on Catherine, while Rin kept glancing over towards me¡­ Dammit, is this one going to get attached to me now? That would be awfully troublesome. Rin seemed too nervous to agree, whereas Yuki was at the moment mesmerized by Catherine¡¯s assets, so I took the lead.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a great idea¡± I said, after which everyone agreed with varying degrees of enthusiasm.


    By this time, it had already entered the late stages of the night, the sun having set long ago. The banquet had officially ended and a number of servants had come to show the heroes where they¡¯d be residing for the time being. I bid my farewell to the heroes, receiving a glare from Hina. Rin however made a suitable response, albeit in a nervous and stuttering way. Of all of them, Yuki achieved the most points in my book for being able to properly say goodbye.


    The banquet having properly ended and both the heroes and other companions having left, I headed back to the church for some much needed sleep.

 Chapter 14- Slave Shopping

    It was a new day and I had just woken up. Feeling refreshed from the good night of sleep, I went over what I had to do today: there would be the heroes¡¯ revealing ceremony where they discover their powers. I also still need a slave as an attendant, so I would need to go to the slave auction or one of the slave stores to purchase one (preferably a cheap one).


    After slowly forcing myself out of bed, I headed off towards the commercial district to purchase a slave.  I started to get chills when I thought about how costly slaves could be. What I needed was a cheap and functional one. It doesn¡¯t have to be pretty, I don¡¯t even care if it¡¯s the most disgusting thing I¡¯ve ever seen, as long as it¡¯s got a low price. Some slavers are too lazy to heal their stock when ill or injured, so I could get a cripple for a decent price and just use recovery magic on it. Demi-humans make up the majority of slaves and the rarer, the more expensive, so one of the more common species would be in my buying range.


    I was walking down the cobbled streets, scanning the area surroundings for a slave store, as auctions tended to be a bit pricier. I¡¯d never been out to buy a slave before, so I was somewhat unfamiliar with the process and was looking forward to the new experience. I quickly spotted a sign above the doorway to a store, indicating the place to be what I was looking for. It was a rather old building, some of the mortar between grey stone bricks starting to crumble away. I wonder if it¡¯s even structurally sound.


    Entering the premises, I went up to the simple counter of dark wood set up in the entry room and waited patiently for someone to arrive.


    Before too long, a greasy, skeletal, humanoid creature came out of the door in the back. It had murky brown hair slicked back and a gaunt face, similar to the depictions of ghouls in what I¡¯d read and was dressed in patched up formal attire showing the signs of age. I put my guard up, but lowered it once again when the creature spoke.


    ¡°Ahhh! A customer. So how can I be of help today?¡± asked the creature.


    It was the shopkeeper¡­ If he had been a moment late with his introduction, I would have ended up running him through with my blade. The fellow can hardly be called human.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to buy a slave today. It needs to be relatively strong to carry luggage and I¡¯d prefer it come at an affordable cost. In fact I don¡¯t even really care if it¡¯s injured or ill, so if I could just browse your wares that would be fantastic.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? A man who knows what he wants! Seems like I won¡¯t be needed. Just go through the back door and choose one. You can come to pay upfront and then we can transfer ownership.¡± said the creature.


    I gave him a nod, my smile unfazed by his peculiar appearance. I then walked to the back door and headed down a set of stairs into a darkly lit corridor, about 2m wide. On either side at regular intervals were metal doors with viewing slots large enough stick your head through, and a price, as well as some basic information, crudely scrawled on the front with charcoal. The place smelled of cheap perfume, probably to override the smell the slaves gave off. I saw down the corridor another customer was already peering through one of the viewing spots, with a lecherous look in his eyes. He was an old man, probably in his late 60s, bald and rather portly. He was so focused on whatever slave was in that room that he didn¡¯t even notice me enter¡­ how rude.


    I decide to in turn ignore the rude man and started to browse.


    50 silver; Mouse demi-human, age 7, female. Nope.


    75 silver; Cat demi-human, age 14, male. Too scrawny.


    1 gold; Wood elf demi-human, age unknown, male. Missing a leg.


    10 gold; Demon variant demi-human, age 16, female. Too expensive.


    ¡­


    After another hour or so of browsing I had come to a conclusion.


    None of them. None of them were suitable. I could maybe make do with the demon variant, since they tend to hold a lot of physical strength, but she was just too expensive! I also got creeped out by her vacant expression. She was quite the beauty, possessing pale, flawless skin and platinum hair. The only difference from a human being the silver horns¡­ so she was probably raped in captivity. Damn that¡¯s troublesome. She looks completely out of it¡­ but if her virginity were still intact she would¡¯ve cost over 100 gold, so maybe this is a good deal.


    As I struggled over whether to buy her or not, I heard a ruckus coming from the room the rude man was viewing.


    ¡°Please! Anyone else! If anyone else is there please buy me! Don¡¯t let this guy buy me please!¡± shouted a voice out of the room.


    The voice sounded female and quite distraught, probably upset that she¡¯d be ravaged by that rude fellow in due time. I could hear sobs coming down the hall way. She was probably not fit for my purpose, but I might as well check it out.


    I made my way over to the rude man and the only room I hadn¡¯t checked. I peeked around the practically drooling old man. Hmm? Mixed race variant demi-human, age 15, female and at the price of 5 gold. I looked into the cell to see an extremely peculiar demi-human.


    It was crouched down in the corner trying to hide itself from the gaze of the lecherous old man. She was female and held quite the strange appearance. Blood-red hair cascaded down her shoulders, forming delicate locks, covering what appeared to be slightly pointed ears. Her eyes were a dark yellow, with slit pupils and at that moment were filled with tears. Her skin looked like that of the typical human resident of Sol city until you saw the minute details: she had a barely visible scale pattern running down the back of her arms and legs, her entire back, hips and the scaly skin also came up onto her cheeks. The skin with the scaly pattern appeared a shade redder than the rest, as though it had been lightly burned. She also had a thin, long tail, similar to that of a lizard¡¯s wrapped around her. The scaly patterns were far more visible on the tail and were also a more evident red colour.


    All these feature pointed towards a lizard variant demi-human, but there were still more features which didn¡¯t allow this conclusion. Along her spine and tail, as well as the back of its arms up to the elbow ran line of dark red fur, similar in colour to dried blood. She was in all respects a completely bizarre product. Her price was surprisingly low, probably due to the fact it¡¯s mixed-blood; people tended not to buy them due to their peculiar appearances, even if they are rare.


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    Her eyes brightened up when they saw me peeking over the man¡¯s shoulder to have a look inside, and she immediately began to beg.


    ¡°Please buy me! Please! I¡¯ll do anything you want! Anything! E-even if you want my virginity you can take it! Just don¡¯t let this disgusting old man buy me!¡± she wailed.


    She once again began to sob uncontrollably, garbled words coming out about how he said he was going to make her do this and that, beat her, treat her like a pet and the list goes on ¡­ I guess the rude guy is a bit of a sadist, and looking at the product in question, has some very peculiar sexual preferences. He noticed my presence after she began to beg and glared angrily at me, probably upset that I¡¯d interrupted him threatening the product with sexual violence.


    ¡°Oi! You should get out of here! Don¡¯t even think about buying this one, she¡¯s mine!¡± spat the rude fellow.


    Some of his saliva hit my jacket¡­ I felt a flash of rage and next thing I know there¡¯s a burnt corpse lying on the floor¡­ tapped him with my foot to see if there was any chance of him still being alive¡­ nope; his body crumbled to a pile of ash after I prodded it. My emotions have been running rampant of late. I think the technical term for this condition is ¡®mentally unstable¡¯, but that¡¯s just a label. I¡¯ll have to do better in the future for Serenity¡¯s sake.


    It¡¯s easy enough to just say he was a heretic or something. Since I¡¯m one of the heroes¡¯ companions now, no one will properly investigate. I turned back to the room in which the product looked at me with eyes full of hope.


    ¡°How much can you carry?¡± I asked.


    She displayed a confused expression at my extremely easy and reasonable question. Is she trying to get on my nerves?


    ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± she asked.


    She is trying to get on my nerves. She would probably have been more considerate of me if she¡¯d seen the other fellow burnt to ashes, but unfortunately she was unaware of the events that had just transpired.


    ¡°Do you have the capability to carry my luggage for me and act as my attendant on a trip for an extended period of time?¡± I asked in a clearer way.


    ¡°Y-yes?¡± she responded.


    I kept my smile but felt my eye twitch in irritation. Calm down and smile. One of her parents must have been a lizard demi-human, who are well-known for strength, as a rather militaristic community in their homeland, so she¡¯ll probably have the strength and stamina needed. She was also cheaper than the broken demon variant demi-human.


    I went back upstairs without a word, leaving the product crying out towards me to not leave her there. When I reached the counter I informed the shopkeeper of the great deed I had done by sending a filthy heretic to Sol, in his establishment. He looked rather displeased but didn¡¯t voice a word of complaint, but instead took my 5 gold and gave me a slave collar, which we¡¯d just bound to me using my blood. I was told to go and put it on the slave myself, and was given the keys for the room. Isn¡¯t this fellow being too lazy here? Well, since he didn¡¯t complain about the death of the other customer, I won¡¯t complain about this. I am fair after all.


    I went back to the room and opened the door, giving the product a huge fright, but after seeing that it was yours truly she burst into tears of joy.


    ¡°Thank you, Thank you, Thank you¡­.!¡± She continuously said, getting snot on my trousers as she clung to my leg as though it was her last hope.


    I was unhappy that she¡¯d soiled my clothing, but the dark colours made it barely noticeable, this was the second time I¡¯d gotten someone else¡¯s fluids on my person¡­ disgusting. I tried to shake her off, but the harder I tried to shake her off, the harder she clung on. Dammit, get off!


    I clipped on the slave collar and my brand new slave flinched as it glowed, officially making her my property. Once I¡¯d reached the end of my patience with the clinging, I activated the slave collar¡¯s pain stimulator. This was the main function of all slave collars, allowing the owner of the slave to make their slave experience pain, in order to punish their wrongdoings.


    The inscribed patterns on the collar started to glow a light blue, indicating the pain stimulation function had activated. The slave in question however, only flinched before continuing to cling with even greater strength than before. What in Sol¡¯s name is going on!? She should be writhing on the floor in pain after that. That stupid store owner gave me a defective collar!


    I immediately made my way back to the counter to complain, the slave still clinging to my leg, much to my annoyance. She was surprisingly strong, and had stuck like glue. Forcefully removing her might cause damage, which would be a pain considering how much I just bought her for. I could just heal her afterwards, but considering that I would probably need to break her arms in order to pry her off, that would require more effort than walking to the counter with her attached to my leg. Healing broken bones isn¡¯t the easiest thing to do, especially since I wasn¡¯t specialised in that area.


    When I eventually reached the counter, the shopkeeper saw my problem and let out a snort of laughter. This guy is really starting to irk me.


    ¡°Excuse me, as you can see there¡¯s a bit of a problem with the collar you gave me, I was wondering if I could get it replaced.¡± I inquired politely.


    This was a good opportunity to work on my emotional control. The shop keeper smirked when he heard my inquiry.


    ¡°Sorry, the collar isn¡¯t defective, it¡¯s the slave. The reason that one was so cheap was because of her ridiculously high pain tolerance.¡±


    ¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean I don¡¯t really have any control over her? My smile tightened as I thought about the implications; I¡¯d need to buy a more advanced collar to force her to follow my orders instead of just experience pain when she doesn¡¯t. Those things cost at least 125 gold¡­ No.


    ¡°Would it be possible to get a refund?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 15- Revealing Ceremony

    The slave in question looked up at me and started to tear up again, snot dribbling down from her nose. She had just stopped crying, but it looked like my wanting to sell her back to the slaver initiated a second waterfall. She buried her face into my leg and started to wipe the snot and tears away as they continued to trickle from her¡­ don¡¯t do that. At this point I was about as unhappy as I could be with how my purchase had turned out.


    ¡°P-please don¡¯t put me back in there! I¡¯ll do anything! I¡¯ll be obedient and follow any order you give. S-so please.¡± She started whimpering, face still buried in my leg.


    I ignored her as she continued to whimper and tighten her grip, and focused my attention on the shopkeeper.


    ¡°Sorry, no refunds.¡± He said.


    ¡­ Why me? At this moment in time I¡¯d found myself stuck in quite the situation; I¡¯d spent a whole 5 gold on the damn slave, so I can¡¯t just throw it away! I looked down to the slave latched onto my leg. She was still whimpering; she probably didn¡¯t hear what the store owner said. Maybe this can work out; I always heard that a grateful slave was far more productive than a resentful one, so let¡¯s use this opportunity to make her indebted to me.


    I gently placed my hand on her head. She froze at the unexpected contact and looked up, face still unsightly from all the crying. I smiled at her and crouched down to her level, a difficult feat when she was still attached. She had frozen completely still at this point, eyes opened wide in shock at the unexpectedly gentle treatment.


    ¡°Listen carefully. I¡¯m not a bad man, but I need someone who can follow my orders in the future. I don¡¯t want to get rid of you, really I don¡¯t.¡± I began.


    I let my expression flash with guilt and broke eye contact for a moment before returning to her wide-eyed faced.


    ¡°If you can guarantee me that you¡¯ll obey me regardless of what I ask, then this isn¡¯t necessary. I don¡¯t want it to be necessary, so would you make a promise with me?¡±


    She slowly nodded.


    ¡°Good. Repeat after me: I hereby pledge to follow the orders of Cyne Wight, and to carry them out to the best of my abilities; to act as his attendant in the days to come until he assigns another role to me and to avoid the taking of any actions that would cause him distress. In the name of Sol, this I pledge.¡±


    She was still quite stunned by the situation and began to panic when she realised she hadn¡¯t been listening to the words I had told her to repeat. Of course this was the opportunity I wanted. As she started to show signs of distress, I took hold of one of her lightly scaled hands in both of mine (carefully avoiding the talon like nails). I lifted it from its previous position clutching onto my leg and held it between the two of us. The surprise at having her hand held made it easy to lead the once irremovable hand away from my leg.


    ¡°Calm down¡± I said.


    She just gazed at her hand, dumbfounded by my actions.  She regained her senses for a moment, after which she looked up to my face, to see the most reassuring face I could muster. Her face flushed slightly, hardly visible on the red-tinged scaly skin on her cheeks. Sorry, a girl with a scales is a big no-no; if any other devotees caught wind of a mixed race relationship, I¡¯d be branded a heretic (Sol only advocates same race relationships). She¡¯s also still pretty young, although now that I viewed her up close, she wasn¡¯t bad in the looks department.


    ¡°Listen again¡± I said.


    She nodded and I repeated what she had to say. After hearing it the second time she promptly parroted it back to me flawlessly. All the while I used the skin contact to bind her with the tier 4 spell, A Pledge to Sol. Hehehe.


    This way if she goes against what she pledged in the name of Sol¡­ well let¡¯s just say she won¡¯t get away with anything below severe third degree burns. The plan worked perfectly. The spell isn¡¯t that useful in most cases as it requires skin contact throughout the entire pledge and for the one saying the pledge to have the intent to follow it (at the time anyway). Plus if she wasn¡¯t so brain addled by my actions, she would have noticed the faint glow that began to wrap her body as she made the oath. This way I won¡¯t always have to be on guard around her!


    ¡°That will do¡± I said.


    She looked at me, eyes swimming with happiness. I then stood up, helping her do so as well, lifting her by the hand. She followed whatever my actions indicated without the slightest bit of resistance, her eyes still glued on my face¡­ You can stop now.


    ¡°Well, from now on you¡¯ll be my attendant/slave. Since we¡¯ll be together for the foreseeable future I¡¯d like to know your name.¡±


    Honestly I didn¡¯t care, but making her think I valued her more than I did would be beneficial to productivity¡­ in theory at least.


    ¡°I-its Melissa.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cyne. Well then Melissa, let¡¯s get you out of those rags and into some more appropriate clothing.¡± I said.


    She meekly nodded and followed me out of the store. The shopkeeper looked as though he was going to pass out from holding in his laughter at my performance in the store. I took the high ground and ignored the fellow, turning my mind to the things that still had to be done.


    After exiting the store, I led Melissa to the closest stall for clothing I could find. The products on display at the little stall were hardly high-quality, but they were sturdy enough. After paying a number of copper coins for some simple clothing typically seen on the average citizen in Sol City, I handed the clothing to Melissa.


    She accepted it, a slightly happy expression on her face, clutching the clothes into her chest before thanking me.


    The entire ordeal of purchasing a slave had taken up quite a bit of time, and the revealing ceremony was fast approaching. In order to prepare, I quickly made my way back to the church and to my quarters.


    Melissa seemed confused as to why we were rushing, so on the way I explained that I was one of the heroes¡¯ companions to which she looked at me in admiration. Once at my quarters, I gave her some space to get changed. I of course also changed clothing, ridding myself of the items contaminated with both the spittle of the rude man and the snot and tears of my slave.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I must say, she looked significantly better in the new clothing than the old sack like article she was wearing when I first purchased her. Seeing approval in my expression, Melissa shyly smiled as her tail began to slowly sway side to side¡­ are you a dog? Wait¡­ she actually might be part dog demi-human, I don¡¯t know what her other lineage is.


    After everything was settled I told her to wait here while I went to the ceremony. Despite looking panicked at the prospect of being separated from me, she accepted the order without any complaint, she really is quite obedient. As I exited my quarters, I noticed the newly bought slave becoming more and more anxious. Are slaves supposed to get separation anxiety? I know pets can get it, but seriously¡­ a slave? I decided that now wasn¡¯t the time to address the issue; if I took any more time, I would be late to the ceremony, and that would make quite a poor impression.


    After a brisk walk to the palace entrance, I was identified by the guards and taken to where the revealing would be held. As I walked through the rather boring corridors of the palace again, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the entire ceremony. How did they reveal the heroes¡¯ powers? From what I knew, the heroes always had a very specific set of skills and strengths that would increase, as they killed more magical beasts.


    Unlike the residents of this world, the heroes had no limits. The established theories are that each time they kill a magical beast, they would permanently absorb a portion of the beast¡¯s energy, expanding their own magical store each time. Heroes didn¡¯t adhere to the concept of soul purity; it didn¡¯t limit the degree to which their magical store and vessels could grow. Also, they wouldn¡¯t need to practice their magic or skills; they immediately understand how to perform a skill as soon as they become strong enough to use it.


    Isn¡¯t that a bit unfair? They get more powerful without any effort. In order to expand my arsenal of magic spells, I had to carve that bloody seal into my hand for Sol¡¯s sake! Not to mention the agonising process of having Serenity enter my body through it.


    Although I don¡¯t know how they do it, essentially the revealing is the forging of their souls into weapons which dictate their strengths and skills. This same process is probably what removes their limits. If only I could go through the revealing ceremony. In the end the companions aren¡¯t much help at the later stages and are basically just glorified bodyguards while the heroes gain experience fighting and strengthening themselves by killing magical beasts.


    A hero who¡¯s gone through the revealing ceremony is widely acknowledged as a force to be reckoned with, and even those who declined to help the kingdom would end up developing unnatural strength and speed, without having gone through the revealing ceremony.


    Once the guards led me to the room in which the revealing was held in, I was surprised to see everyone else had already gathered, including the Pope who was leading the ceremony. The room was a bit small and only held a simple stone basin of water in the centre, around which the three heroes had gathered themselves.


    Hina grimaced as I walked into the room, turning her nose as if she had gotten a whiff of a bad odour. Rin¡¯s expression however, brightened as she saw me. Yuki didn¡¯t even notice me; the idiot was ogling Catherine¡¯s assets yet again and was completely oblivious to his surroundings. I didn¡¯t really mind about Yuki, but Hina¡¯s obvious distain was uncalled for. What¡¯s with that attitude? Mary¡¯s gone, get over it.


    The Pope noticed my entry and decided to start the ceremony. He gave each hero a small stone chalice, with a plain design. The chalices held no patterns, consisting of only smooth, grey stone. He then explained how the ceremony would work.


    ¡°You young heroes listen well. First take the knives I gave you earlier and use them to cut your hand, dripping your blood into the chalice thereafter.¡± said the Pope.


    Yuki followed the instructions with a surprising lack of hesitation, I was expecting him to wimp out. He grimaced as he cut across his hand, letting a few drops of blood hit the chalice in front of him. As they touched, inscriptions started to engrave themselves into the chalice by some invisible force. Before long the peculiar inscriptions formed the shape of a sword on the side of the chalice. Seeing the change in Yuki¡¯s chalice, both Rin and Hina followed his example, getting over their own hesitation. After they¡¯d let their blood hit the chalice, the shape of a sceptre of some sort and a bow made themselves evident on Rin and Hina¡¯s chalices respectively.


    ¡°Good, now fill your chalice with the water blessed by Sol and drink it.¡± said the Pope, once he¡¯d seen them complete the first stage.


    This time, there was no hesitation. All three immediately filled their chalices from the basin of water at the centre of the room, and drank the contents. When the chalices were first filled with water, the inscriptions began to glow a golden colour, something the heroes would have noticed if they didn¡¯t immediately go to drink the water. They would also have been a tad more hesitant if they had seen that the glowing inscriptions had also started to squirm unnaturally.


    When each took their first sip, the inscriptions rushed off of the chalice and onto their skin, quickly travelling down their face and neck to who knows where. Oh¡­ it looks like it hurt quite a bit; all three heroes were beginning tear up and started to let out painful gasps as they scratched at where the inscriptions travelled. If their frenzied attempts to pull off the inscriptions with their nails could be used as any indication, then all of their inscriptions had ended up on their chests, on the upper part of their sternums to be exact.


    This kind of reminds me of my contract with Serenity, except I had to carve the damn symbol into my skin myself. Also I think Serenity entering my body was probably way more painful than whatever the heroes were experiencing right now. Heroes really do have it easy.

 Chapter 16- Preparations

    As the heroes continued to struggle with the pain, their bodies began to be enveloped by a golden glow, the same as those surrounding the inscriptions. Eventually the glow began to fade and all the heroes sighed with relief as the pain started to recede.


    ¡°You¡¯ve endured well so far, now all you need to do is summon your weapons. You should instinctively know how to do it.¡± said the Pope.


    Before long the heroes showed eyes of surprise and proceeded to raise their hands, summoning their respective weapons with a flash of golden light: Yuki held in his hand a double-edged sword, a solid golden colour with the same unfamiliar inscriptions on it as what had appeared on the chalices. The same went for Rin and Hina, summoning their respective sceptre and bow, both golden in colour while holding the same inscriptions as their chalices.


    ¡°Good. From what I can see, Yuki here is essentially a swordsman, Hina an archer, and Rin a healer.¡±


    A healer? Well I guess that lightens my load in the party quite a bit, but that sure is an unusual way for a hero to go. The Pope looked ecstatic as he looked over to Rin, probably intending to invite her to permanently join the church when the shadow uprising was put down. Now that I think about it, she has great potential; after gaining enough strength, she could continuously heal an army to the point of them being near immortal. It¡¯s quite a terrifying concept really.


    Yuki and Hina were pretty standard; many heroes in the past had wielded a sword or a bow. However, both looked pleased as they viewed their weapons, Yuki almost glowing with excitement. His gaze was nearly as focused as when he ogled a woman¡¯s breasts.


    I decided that it would be best to go up and congratulate them, and so, I walked up to the three alongside the other companions.


    ¡°Great job you three! Although I¡¯m disappointed in myself that I couldn¡¯t do anything for you when you were in pain, all three of you successfully forged your weapons.¡± I congratulated them.


    ¡°You guys look fine now though! And each of you have such cool looking weapons! Don¡¯t you agree Deane?¡± said Catherine.


    *nod*


    Deane put a bit more effort in. I¡¯m starting to wonder if instead of playing it cool he¡¯s just too lazy to speak. I get that sometimes.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt but the heroes should be immediately taken to the practice grounds to test their newly found powers. You three companions should also go and make preparations for the coming journey. You¡¯ll all be leaving in a week¡¯s time. The heroes will be briefed on their first destination and will convey the information to you when you next see each other.¡± Interrupted the Pope.


    Oh, I guess no chat then? The heroes were quickly led away by the pope.


    I suppose I do have quite a few preparations to make for this next week. First: ensure my new slave is competent in her duties, second: quickly advance to tier 6 spells and third: gather moonlight energy in my glove.


    After arriving back in my quarters, I scanned the room for my recent purchase and found her hiding under the covers of my bed¡­ who said you were allowed there? I pulled the covers off in preparation to give her a scolding, but found she was fast asleep, having curled up into a ball, her tail wrapped around her as she tightly clutched onto the bed sheets, nuzzling her face into them.


    Damn¡­ Even I don¡¯t feel cruel enough to wake her up. That adorable sleeping posture felt like a direct punch to the heart. I struggled, trying to think of what to do. Before long, Melissa started to show some movement, nuzzling deeper into the bed sheets and started to dig her talon like nails tighter into them. Before long I heard a tiny rip in the fabric¡­ For Sol¡¯s sake! This is what I get when I try to be nice.


    The bed sheets were practically ruined. Calm down and smile. Okay, I¡¯d already established myself as a caring and kind person in her eyes. Somehow I need to keep her loyalty to this image and still punish her for causing that tear. As I thought about the situation, I could hear further tearing. A could feel a vein pop out of my forehead.


    I walked over to the bed and grabbed hold of the bed sheets, now ruined, violently pulling them off the bed. The tightly attached Melissa also followed, hitting the floor with a loud thunk. She looked up at her surroundings, now groggy and confused. It looked as though she wasn¡¯t even in pain from the fall. As she saw me her eyes brightened, and a happy smile lit up her expression. I knelt down on the floor to reach her level.


    ¡°Are you alright? It looks as though you fell from the bed while you were sleeping.¡± I asked in a concerned voice.


    ¡°U-um, I¡¯m alright. Sorry for sleeping in your bed¡± she replied in a slightly embarrassed tone.


    Your damn right you should be sorry. It¡¯s also unfortunate that the fall didn¡¯t cause any damage.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s okay. I feel ashamed that I didn¡¯t make any sleeping arrangements for you, when you had clearly endured a very stressful and tiring time back at that store.¡± I replied.


    Gratitude seemed to shimmer off of Melissa and tears started to gather in her eyes, after which she started to let out hiccupping sobs, snot once again running down her nose. She pounced forwards, wrapping her arms around my midsection, burying her fluid covered face into my shirt. Sol dammit! You already got snot on me earlier! Suppressing my anger at her unreserved actions, I just patted her back.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there anything I can do?¡± I enquired, holding back the profanities that were struggling to leave the orifice that is my mouth.


    ¡°N-No, nothing¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s *hic* just b-been such a *sniff* long time since anyone so nice to me. And I¡¯m *sob* just a slave, but your still so kind.¡±


    ¡°Well, you promised me that you¡¯d do your best, didn¡¯t you? And the position you have is more that of an assistant than a slave, and I¡¯ll treat with at least as much dignity as the role deserves.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you¡±


    I let her cling to me for a while more, trying to ignore the snot and tears to the best of my ability. After about 5 minutes of crying, she finally calmed down, and I went over to the bedsheets on the floor, picking them up. I positioned myself so that Melissa could see my expression as I saw the damage that had been done. I let my calm smile tighten, the change visible even to Melissa, but didn¡¯t say a word about it, simply folding up the bedsheets and laying them back onto the bed.


    When I looked back at Melissa, I could see that my little punishment had worked. I¡¯m just a nice, caring person who went out of his way to help her get out of a horrible place, and then treats her with dignity, respect and kindness. And there she was destroying my property, the first person who had been kind to her in who knows how long.


    She looked distraught at what she¡¯d done, but when I didn¡¯t mention it, her expression turned guiltier and her tail fell limply to the floor. I turned back to her and gave her a kind smile.


    ¡°Melissa, I¡¯m going to quickly head out and fetch some bedding for you, okay? I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± I said.


    With that, I can leave her to wallow in guilt for a while. Having someone punish themselves is quite a fun method of punishment. I made my way to the nearest store room and retrieved both some bedding for Melissa, and new sheets for myself.


    When I re-entered my room, I saw Melissa was still on the floor looking visibly depressed. When she saw that I¡¯d brought new sheets for my own bed, she opened her mouth, but hesitated, not having the courage to apologise as I¡¯d not mentioned it earlier. I walked over to her, and handed her the bedding.


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    ¡°Here you go. It¡¯s not the most luxurious stuff, but hardly anything at the church is.¡± I said, keeping my atmosphere light and friendly.


    ¡°T-thank you, I¡¯m really grateful.¡± she replied.


    She took a glance at the bedsheets I still held in my over arm, before looking away, ashamed. I pretended not to notice. Asking her what was wrong, would let her apologise and get rid of that guilt I¡¯d worked for.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting pretty late. I¡¯ve had quite a long day so I¡¯ll turn in for the night. You should too, I know you slept a while earlier, but you should let yourself recover.¡± I said.


    I then laid out my new bedsheets and got into bed.


    ¡°Goodnight¡± whispered Melissa, her voice extremely soft and tinted with a tad of depression.


    ¡°Goodnight¡± I replied, giving her a fright as she probably hadn¡¯t expected me to have heard her.


    With that we both eventually drifted off to sleep.


    The following week wasn¡¯t especially eventful. Melissa seemed to have taken to her new job as quickly and dedicatedly as she could, probably to try and get over her guilt. Slowly but surely she grew more competent in her duties as an attendant, and slowly forgot about the situation. I kept up a friendly attitude around her, treating her like an equal instead of a slave, and her loyalty as a result is at an all-time high if I do say so myself. She¡¯s still a bit clingy though, much to my annoyance; one night she had a nightmare and ended up crawling into my bed and latching onto me. Of course, I tolerated it, allowing her to stay when she noticed I was awake and had panicked. Maybe I should have kicked her out; when I allowed her to stay clinging to me, she teared up again, smearing my clothes with her snot and the like. It feels like every time I do something kind, it ends up like that.


    Other than dealing with the clingy slave, I also dedicated a lot of my time towards improving my control over magic. It was a lot easier than I recall it being, and after 5 days of continuous practice, developing my control by manipulating and causing variations in low tier spells, I reached the ability to cast tier 6 spells. At least according to the church priests¡¯ assessment. The only tier 6 spell I could learn was Solar Beam, which shot a ray of concentrated heat energy. It was a very basic tier 6 spell, relying on mostly raw power. Unfortunately more advanced tier 6 spells and above are reserved for the higher echelons of the church. Stingy old bastards. But at least I could now get a few more spells from Serenity.


    Speaking of Serenity, she had stayed asleep for the entire week and to be honest, I was starting to miss her. Having only myself in my head was getting a bit lonely. A day after I¡¯d successfully managed to learn Solar Beam, I received a message from a palace, stating that I would have to meet the heroes and other companions at the South City Gates in two days¡¯ time. It was at this time that I realised that I¡¯d had no down time for quite a while, and decided that I should go and relax before I headed off to accompany the heroes.


    So here I am now.


    *crunch*


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! PLEASE STOP! STOP! I¡¯M SORRY! I¡¯VE ALREADY TOLD YOU EVERYTHING!¡±


    *snap*


    ¡°WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING THIS TO ME?!¡±


    I looked up to the tear stained face contorted in agony in front of my eyes. He would have been quite the intimidating fellow back in the day, I think he was in for murder. I was currently sat in the Church prison, doing my daily duty as an inspector. Over the past few days I had neglected them, but as I was joining the heroes¡¯ party, nobody really minded.


    The other day I just dropped by and said I¡¯d make up for not having done my duties, and so here I am. The prisoner under interrogation was already in quite the state. He was strapped down to a white table in the centre of a white room. Even the prisons were a spotless white around here, personally if I got locked up in a pure white room I¡¯d lose my mind.


    I stopped observing the room and turned back to the prisoner. I¡¯d barely even started yet and he was already this far gone. I¡¯d only broken a few fingers (all 10 to be exact), and crushed a few toes (once again, all 10), and here he was blubbering like a child. I let out an audible sigh; no one was around to hear it, so I could just talk to the criminal however I wanted. No being polite, or courteous, or friendly, or happy, or kind, and the list goes on. I¡¯m sure if one were to look at me at this very moment they¡¯d see a sadistic grin on my face.


    ¡°H-has it stopped?¡± whimpered the prisoner.


    Technically I have to stop if they¡¯ve already confessed everything they know¡­ I gazed at his twisted fingers, bone shards sticking out of the skin¡­ stopping now would just leave an incomplete feeling; I mean there¡¯s barely any blood yet.


    ¡°Hehehe, you know¡­ I think you¡¯re still hiding something. Getting these kinds of things off your chest is good for your health you know. I¡¯m really just helping you out here.¡± I said, my smile transforming into a grin.


    ¡°B-but I don¡¯t have anything else I can tell you!¡± he shouted with frustration, through the tears.


    I could feel the tension leaving my body. That attitude is what I want, that defiance.


    ¡°Well how about this, you can tell me your life story while I simply do my duties and I can help you identify your wrong-doings, sounds good right? Trust me you¡¯ll feel better after all this is done. If you listen carefully you can hear the prisoner next door having a great time!¡± I said.


    ¡°W-what are you talking ab-¡° began the prisoner.


    I put one of my gloved hands over his mouth and gestured for his silence. After a few moments, the faint echoing of laughter could be heard. If one were to hear this laughter, they¡¯d call it the laugh of a madman, but in my opinion laughter is still laughter. I call that prisoner chuckles; he just started to laugh one day after I¡¯d ¡®interrogated¡¯ him for a few hours to relieve stress. He¡¯s a much more fun fellow now; listening to his crazy ramblings is quite entertaining.


    ¡°If you just let me do my job, you can be just as happy as chuckles over there¡± I told the prisoner.


    He looked at me, wide eyes filled with indescribable fear and panic. These are the good thing in life; I could feel my entire body begin to relax, the pressure of the last few days spent suppressing my emotions falling away. I walked over to the tray holding all the equipment needed for a good job, and picked up a thin razor blade. Testing its sharpness on my finger, I smiled as I saw a drop of blood drip down. Sharp as always, I must make a note to remember to pack these tools into my luggage.


    After testing the blade, I made my way back over to the table, humming a happy tune. The tune this time was quite well-known here in the capital, the song¡¯ lyrics telling the tale of a young man¡¯s rise to becoming a hero. It was bright, cheery and fast-paced, a nice change from the usual stuff.


    ¡°Alright, shall we begin?¡± I asked the pale faced prisoner.


    He didn¡¯t look capable of speech¡­ Well his consent isn¡¯t really necessary. I then brought my blade down to do my job. Hehehe, happy days.

 Chapter 17- The Journey Starts

    ¡°Cyne! Long-time no see!¡±


    I looked over from my shaded spot to see Yuki running towards me happily waving his hand in greetings. Following behind him were Hina and Rin as well as, Catherine and Deane¡­ Why are they all together already?


    At that moment I was leaning against a tree by the South gate, taking refuge in its shade from the unnecessarily bright sun. The arranged time to meet had finally come, and I¡¯d happily spent last few days having some me time. By my side was Melissa, dressed suitably in travel attire, my luggage on her back. Despite the almost ridiculously sized bag she carried, she showed no physical strain, although she did look a bit nervous, which had been the case ever since I¡¯d told her she¡¯d be meeting the heroes and other companions today.


    Looking at the heroes, I could immediately spot some changes. They had more of an air of confidence about them, and their travelling attire actually made them looked reasonably competent adventurers. Catherine was in her usual tight fitting practical clothing, while Deane had finally changed out of his uniform into similar clothing to the heroes.


    I was still curious as to why they were in a group already. If I had been left out, then I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯d be hurt. Hina looked over towards my position after Yuki had shouted his initial greeting and gave a small frown, dislike evident in her eyes. Damn woman was starting to get on my nerves with that attitude. Rin waved happily alongside Yuki, while Catherine raised her hand and Deane just gave me a nod. I decided to take the initiative to start off the conversation.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s been a while, I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re all looking well. I am a bit confused though, weren¡¯t we only supposed to gather at the gates and not prior?¡± I asked.


    Everyone sported a confused expression.


    ¡°Umm, we sent messages out the other day that we should meet up beforehand. This is our first time out of the castle, so we thought we could all have some fun. Umm¡­ we thought you were busy since you hadn¡¯t shown up.¡± said Rin.


    ¡°Message?¡± I asked, now I was genuinely puzzled¡­ What message, I check my written messages every morning.


    Yuki turned to Hina and gave her a questioning gaze. She adopted an apologetic expression in response.


    ¡°Oh, sorry! I must have forgotten to send you a message.¡± she said.


    I see, so you¡¯re playing those kind of games¡­ If it wasn¡¯t obvious before, it was now that Hina was out to get me. This one can certainly hold grudges, but I can too. I smiled sweetly back at them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, everyone forgets thing from time to time, in fact, I¡¯m sorry but¡­ this is a bit embarrassing but leaving it for later would be more so¡­ what was your name again?¡± I asked.


    Hehehe. Her expression was priceless after that, she turned red, whether it be from the embarrassment of having her name forgotten or simply from anger, I couldn¡¯t care either way. I admit it was a bit childish but it left me with a satisfied feeling.


    ¡°Her name¡¯s Hina¡± answered Rin, in place of Hina who had decided to withdraw from the conversation.


    ¡°Thank you Rin¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, now that that¡¯s over, Yuki, how was your day in Sol city? Was it as you imagined it to be?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s so cool! Everything looks like it¡¯s out of a fantasy novel, and I love the European styled buildings! And¡­¡± Yuki started to talk endlessly, showing an excited gleam in his eyes, but soon his expression darkened.


    ¡°But, when we were walking through the commercial district we saw that you guys still use slaves. It isn¡¯t moral! If Deane hadn¡¯t stopped me, I would have gone and freed every last one of them! What kind of hero would allow something like that to continue?¡± Yuki said, his tone getting unhappy and angrier as he continued.


    Oh dear¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have bought a slave. I could feel my nervousness start to rise from the pit of my stomach. How can I communicate to Melissa that she shouldn¡¯t identify herself as a slave? But even then, there¡¯s the slave collar¡­ My smile had started to strain itself as I looked for a way out of the situation.


    Rin seemed to have noticed my uncomfortable expression, and interjected.


    ¡°U-umm! Of course we also know that Cyne wouldn¡¯t get involved in anything like that, Yuki is just really unhappy about it. Slavery isn¡¯t right where we came from, so we can¡¯t accept it, he¡¯s not directing any ill-will towards you.¡± said Rin.


    That¡¯s very kind of you Rin, but my actual concern is how to hide the fact that I actually have a slave with me. I saw Hina look over towards Melissa with curious eyes.


    ¡°Cyne, who¡¯s that?¡± she sked, gesturing towards Melissa. Damn it woman!


    Melissa froze, as she became the centre of all the gazes and hid herself behind me. What the heck are you doing?! Didn¡¯t I tell you not to embarrass me? Oh well, at least this way only I¡¯ll be doing the talking.


    ¡°This is my attendant, she¡¯ll be accompanying us on the journey. Of course, when we enter dangerous areas, we¡¯ll leave her behind at the nearest village or town.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! I heard you guys could bring one each. Cath and Deane didn¡¯t bring any, so we thought you probably wouldn¡¯t either.¡± Yuki said, perking up from his previous slump.


    Really, I was the only one? This is actually a bit embarrassing. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have brought one. Well too late now. Catherine was looking over towards Melissa, making her increasingly anxious.


    ¡°She¡¯s a demi-human right? Are they allowed to work as attendants? Also, isn¡¯t she a bit shy for an attendant?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well she¡¯s only been recently trained, and despite her nervousness around others, she is perfectly capable as my attendant.¡± I replied.


    Melissa¡¯s eyes brightened, and then steeled with determination. She stopped hiding behind me and walked in front of the others, trying to look professional. Too late now, you already messed up. Wait, damn! They¡¯ll see the slave collar. Before, she could properly reveal herself I used some of the moonlight in my glove (which I¡¯d been storing for the past few days) to cast an illusion around her neck, making it look like a type of thin scarf.


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    ¡°I-I¡¯m Cyne¡¯s attendant, Melissa. P-pleased to make your acquaintances.¡±


    ¡°WOW! You look so cool!¡± exclaimed Yuki, eyes glued on her slightly scaled skin and tale.


    Melissa began to shift uncomfortably under his gaze, hiding her tail behind her. Hina took notice, and smacked Yuki over the head, after which he seemed to calm down. Why is it that Hina gets so considerate whenever she sees something cute? I could see the same gleam in her eyes as when Mary was around.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± said Yuki.


    Unfortunately, Melissa had regained her shyness, began to hide behind me once again. Yuki looked apologetically towards me, and then endured a scornful glare from Hina. Catherine simply watched in amusement, before turning back to me.


    ¡°So why did you bring an attendant?¡± she asked.


    Why¡­ what do you mean why? How else am I supposed to carry around all of my luggage?... Speaking of which, why didn¡¯t these guys have any bags.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get a storage ring?¡± she continued.


    She raised her left hand and on it was a silver ring, completely covered in miniature inscriptions, layer upon layer, it was dizzying to look at. Those things cost a fortune, why do they have them?


    ¡°Where did you guys get them from?¡±


    ¡°Well I got mine from the adventurer¡¯s guild, and the heroes and Deane got theirs from the royal family¡­¡± she explained.


    Those stingy church bastards. Damn! Well, nothing I can do now, and the higher echelons in the church would never consent to spending any of their money regardless of the practical purpose. Catherine seemed to have realised that the church hadn¡¯t exactly been forthcoming with their monetary support, and stopped pressing the subject looking slightly awkward. I could see Hina smirking at me in the background. I swear, if she doesn¡¯t stop that, I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s a hero or not, she¡¯ll end up like chuckles.


    ¡°Well, anyway. What is our plan of action then?¡± I asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°Oh we¡¯ll be going to some place called Plyan. Apparently we¡¯re going to get experience there, killing magical beasts in a nearby dungeon¡± chirped Rin, who looked a bit left out from all the conversations that had just occurred.


    I smiled appreciatively at her, causing the appearance of a flushed face. Hehehe, Rin will definitely be the easiest to manipulate and deceive in the part- OW! Cursing at the sudden pain in my back, I looked back to see a slightly unhappy slave. Jealousy¡­ really?! You¡¯re my slave, and doesn¡¯t this count as causing me distress? That blasted Sol¡¯s Pledge spell is really temperamental sometimes.


    It looked as though she didn¡¯t realise that her nails were digging into my back, she just started to grab onto me hard than usual. I suppressed a sigh, and turned towards her, bringing my mouth to her ear.


    ¡°Melissa, could you relax your grip a tad, it¡¯s starting to hurt.¡± I whispered.


    She looked at her hands, realising the mistake she¡¯d made. Quickly releasing me from her grip she looked away, ashamed. It only took a few moments before she turned back to me with watery eyes.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± she said.


    Dammit, don¡¯t cry here! Do you understand what I meant by don¡¯t embarrass me; having an incompetent and emotional attendant is perhaps one of the most shameful things in high society, here in Sol city. She really needs to control her emotions better, or find a release¡­ I wonder if I could introduce her to torturing and burning¡­ No, I don¡¯t think she has the right qualities needed to truly do such activities justice. Anyway, I needed to immediately calm her down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not angry. It¡¯s your first time meeting my companions, so I can understand you are feeling nervous. Just take a deep breath and do your best¡± I said.


    I gave her a reassuring smile, calming her down. She quickly regained her composure and gained a determined look, similar to the one that had inspired her to take the initiative to introduce herself. Looks like she¡¯s getting more confident. Maybe she won¡¯t be useless for much longer.


    The other members of the party had given our hushed discussion curious gazes, but decided not to pry, seeing that Melissa was still relatively uncomfortable in their presence. Anyway, where were we going again? Oh right! Plyan, an average sized city to the South of the kingdom. When they say dungeon, they must mean the progressive dungeon found in its vicinity. Unlike most dungeons, this one increased with difficulty as you got deeper, instead of adhering to a set difficulty. I think the adventurer¡¯s guild has all different kinds of ranking systems which would be able to better explain it¡­ I¡¯ll ask Catherine later.


    ¡°Well, should we be on our way, Plyan isn¡¯t too far away, but the sooner we get there, the better. Have we been provided transport?¡± I said.


    The heroes and companions shook their heads.


    ¡°Apparently we¡¯re travelling by foot to get used to environment around here and to build- up our stamina, so the journey will take about 2 weeks.¡± Replied Yuki.


    Walking huh? It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if Serenity was still awake, then I could just talk to her all the way. Everyone decided that now was the time to set off, while the sun was still indicating early morning, and with that we took our leave.


    Cyne? I¡¯ve recovered enou-


    SERENITY! You¡¯ve got no idea how lonely I¡¯ve been! Just hearing your voice is sending shivers down my spine. You¡¯ve actually arrived just in time, I bet you¡¯ll be wanting to hear all about what happened while you were asleep. Hehehe, I know you too well. Okay, so listen here¡­

 Chapter 18- Chatting

    ¡°And so that¡¯s how it is.¡± I finished.


    I¡¯d just finished telling Serenity all about the events that had transpired since she was last awake. It had taken about 4 hours, during which my companions had given me peculiar looks due to my silence, but I couldn¡¯t care even if I wanted to; I mean Serenity¡¯s back. It¡¯s good to have someone who understands me around.


    ¡­ As I was saying, I¡¯ve recovered enough energy to talk to you again.


    Hehehe, I just realised that Serenity hadn¡¯t gotten a word in during the entire conversation. That takes me back! We¡¯ve only been together for such a short time, but she¡¯s the person I¡¯m currently closest to in the world. Good old Serenity!


    It sounds like quite a lot has happened. I¡¯m pleasantly surprised to see you¡¯re able to cast tier 6 spells now. Would you lik-


    Oh! I never told you about chuckles, did I? He¡¯s my favourite prisoner at the church. He was a pretty gloomy fellow to begin with, but after I was done with him, he was only smiles. I remember the first time we met, it was-


    Sorry to interrupt, but I don¡¯t want to hear about chuckles. Would you like to learn that spell?


    I¡¯ll be honest, I was a bit upset that she interrupted me. It was a bit rude¡­ However, I quickly forgot about it when she mentioned the spell. I¡¯d been waiting for this for a week now. That would be fantastic Serenity. Just do your thing, I¡¯m ready fo-


    AHHH! Sol dammit! It hurts. Act cool, act cool. Although no external signs were showing, that familiar blinding pain flashed through my head accompanied by those nostalgic images, texts and diagrams. It eventually faded away leaving the knowledge I needed. I can¡¯t wait to learn this spell, hehehe.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking pretty happy Cyne, did something happen?¡± asked a curious Rin.


    She¡¯d been trying to talk to me for ages now. Every time, a new conversation topic came up, she¡¯d try to include me. Of course I was polite and friendly, but kept my responses short. I was too busy talking to Serenity after all, I have priorities.


    I looked at my surroundings, at the green grass, the trees, the blue skies, taking in all of it with a deep breath.


    ¡°I just enjoy being out of the city.¡± I said.


    It wasn¡¯t a lie. I always felt like I had to watch my actions when in Sol city, and this outside environment just leaves me with this free feeling! Rin just smiled at my answer, looking a bit sad that she couldn¡¯t get more out of me. Yuki had been talking non-stop with Deane¡­ well at him, it was kind of sad to watch; whenever Catherine tried to talk to him he got all shy and red-faced. I often find myself asking the same question: why exactly was he chosen as a hero. In fact none of them have very heroic qualities despite that nonsense I¡¯d said at the summoning. Well, there¡¯s nothing that can be done now, they¡¯re already summoned.


    I decided to take my mind off of the unlikely heroes and started to turn my attention to the gritty dirt road. It would still take a few hours before we reached the village we¡¯d be staying in. Plenty of time to get to know the heroes, now that I¡¯d finished updating Serenity. Melissa had stayed as silent as Deane for the journey so far, sticking ridiculously close to me. She was about as close as you could get without actual physical contact. Serenity hadn¡¯t really commented on my purchase, but I got a vague sense of disapproval. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s also against slavery¡­ since when was slavery so wrong? It happens all the time; whenever we ran out of practice prisoners during inspector training, they¡¯d just whip out a few slaves. Well¡­ whatever, I guess slaves are an acquired taste.


    ¡°So Rin, I¡¯m kind of curious about where you guys come from. What were you doing before you were summoned?¡± I asked.


    Rin¡¯s expression brightened with my initiative to start a conversation. She turned towards me, eyes glimmering with excitement. Calm down, I only asked you a question.


    ¡°We were all students. Yuki and Hina were in the same class as me, and we were all friends before we were summoned as well.¡± She replied cheerily.


    ¡°Students? What did you study?¡± I asked. Students was quite a vague term, I mean really, students of what? They don¡¯t look competent in anything physical if their stamina was anything to go by; Yuki had already started to drag his feet. I know that there are a variety of schools and centres of learning in the kingdom of Sol; magic universities, Aristocratic Colleges, and the list goes on, so I suppose they could have studied something of that sort.


    ¡°Umm¡­ You know, normal stuff. We studied maths, history, languages, sciences and that kind of stuff¡± she answered, a skip in her step. Does talking to me really energise you that much? Weren¡¯t you extremely tired only moments ago? These heroes are such strange people.


    It¡¯s amusing for you to say th-


    Sorry Serenity, I want to talk to you too, but I¡¯m involved in conversation at the moment, so be patient. I prioritised you for the past 4 hours after all, so you should feel honoured. Ignoring Serenity for the moment I refocused my attention on the small girl with a spring in her step by my side. Melissa was using me as a shield from the view of the others, closely attached on the opposite side to Rin.


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a strange curriculum¡­ Over here, most centres for learning are aimed towards preparing you to join a specific profession.¡± I informed her. You can¡¯t only demand answers after all. It¡¯s only polite to exchange information, and I¡¯m nothing if not polite.


    ¡°You also said, that you knew the other heroes before being summoned?¡± I continued.


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ve known Yuki since we were kids, and Hina and I became friend when we entered high school.¡± she replied.


    It sounded as though they had relatively deep ties¡­ I guess Hina dying in a tragic accident won¡¯t go down overly well¡­ Shame. I continued to converse with Rin, getting an idea of the kind of life they¡¯d lived before being summoned. It was a very peaceful existence, one that they were all content with at the time. Rin began to look a bit sad after talking about it for a while, the same going for Yuki, and Hina who had been listening in to the conversation. Apparently slavery had been banned by law, and there was very little violence¡­ It sounded extremely boring. Serenity had also given her views on the topic, having positive comments on such a lifestyle, devoid of the extremities often seen in this world. Of course, from what I¡¯d garnered, there were wars and violence in their world too, but they were far from where they¡¯d lived.


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    After chatting with Rin, I turned my attention towards Catherine, enquiring after the guild ranking systems. Apparently everything has a danger level between F and S; people, dungeons, magical beasts, shadows; the whole lot. It was pretty simple in the end. Each category was split into low, medium and high. Catherine, despite being at only the age of 19 had achieved a record breaking low B ranking, displaying her competence. I¡¯d not yet seen her fight, but she should be able to compete with experts of their respective fields of battle.


    When I asked what determined the rankings, she had been rather vague about it, saying that some guild officials dictated it. Well that¡¯s not very helpful is it? But apparently, high S rank individuals would be those capable of tier 10 magic, or the older generation of magical beasts.  Apparently they¡¯ve yet to see any shadows surpassing A rank; the main problem is the endless hordes they travel in during uprisings. I wonder what rank I¡¯d be at¡­ Well the dungeon we¡¯re going to progresses from F rank to high B rank difficulty, so I should be able to test my capabilities there.


    After the remaining few hours of walking, we¡¯d finally made it to the village at which we¡¯d be staying. It was a medium sized village, dedicated to the maintenance of agriculture in the area, and was still relatively close to the capital, so it was comparatively safer than villages on the outskirts of the kingdom when it came to bandit or magical beast attacks. It was very quaint; personally I liked it.


    All three heroes looked exhausted. Seriously? We¡¯d only been walking for a few hours, well I suppose they¡¯d never really had to do this much walking before. When they saw the inn, they all sighed with relief, looking ready to collapse. This is kind of pathetic to watch; look at Melissa, she¡¯s been carrying all those bags and she hasn¡¯t even broken a sweat!


    We all entered the small inn, renting 3 rooms; one for me and Melissa, one for the girls, and one for Yuki and Deane, from a sleazy looking innkeeper. He was obviously looking the females of the party up and down as we entered.


    When the others decide to turn in for the night, I informed them that I¡¯d turn in later; I kind of wanted to just enjoy the night¡¯s air, as well as absorb some moonlight, so I left the inn. After exiting, I was exposed to a refreshingly chilly breeze of air.


    I decided to get my bearings, and went for a small walk around the village¡¯s perimeter, admiring the night sky as I strolled. There¡¯s just something about being out of the city. After experiencing the freedom on the previous expedition, I just couldn¡¯t get used to that kind of urban area again. It¡¯s so quiet, calm, cool¡­ Serene. Serenity, I can see why you like this.


    This is what I¡¯m made of after all; the natural magical energy from the night. Of course I¡¯d be comfortable here.


    How is it to not have a body for yourself? Is it uncomfortable?


    It is relatively comfortable here in your body, and I don¡¯t mind giving up my body to maintain my consciousness.


    To be honest, I kind of wanted to see her again, but talking to her is still good. Is there a possibility for you to get a body again?


    Certainly, there is a way to allow me to enter another body and control it, but it will be a long time before I gain enough of my former power to manifest myself physically.


    Hmm? How can you control another body?


    I can enter through that symbol; the same one you carved into your hand to enter into a contract with me. As long as the body I¡¯m entering has a weak mind, I can take over. Unfortunately, humans have too much of a sense of individuality to control.


    Well¡­ it was one of the compulsory inspector courses to understand how to probably perform a lobotomy; it¡¯s a good way to convert people to the religion of Sol¡­ at the expense of intellect and personality of course. Also, I don¡¯t want to brag or anything, but I got a perfect score.


    No, don¡¯t do that.


    So what then? Can you control animals?


    Possibly; it depends on what kind of animal it is.


    If you enter another body, will I still be able to communicate with you? Although I wanted Serenity to have some more freedom, it would be a problem if we couldn¡¯t chat when I got bored.


    Even if I enter another body, a part of me will be left alongside the contract in your body, so communication would still be possible.


    Well, next time I see something appropriate, I¡¯ll carve your symbol into it. I wonder what would suit her¡­ something to do with the night¡­ I¡¯ll just browse next time we cross paths with a pet store.


    ¡­Thank you


    With that, the conversation came to a halt. I just stood there amidst the darkness of the night for a few more moments, enjoying the silence, a complacent smile making its way to my face. After a while, I eventually headed back to the inn, planning to turn in for the night, but was stopped by the innkeeper on my way up. I¡¯ll be honest, I was feeling pretty tired, so I wasn¡¯t exactly in the mood to deal with others, but out of common courtesy I listened to what he had to say.

 Chapter 19- An Unpleasant Innkeeper

    ¡°Excuse me, you were with that bigger group earlier, right? I saw you had a rather peculiar looking demi-human. I was wondering if you¡¯d be willing to sell; I have a couple of contacts in a nearby city. A big shot noble over there loves to collect mixed-races like her. This transaction could fetch a pretty penny, so how about it?¡± proposed the innkeeper.


    Seriously? Do I look like someone who would accept that deal? ¡­ Well I know that I might accept it, depending on the price he offers, but still I shouldn¡¯t look like it. I gave the innkeeper a glance, he was a disgusting fellow: he looked to be in his early forties, with a slightly balding head, he also had an unhealthy complexion, accompanied by a pudgy body, with sweat practically dripping off of him. He was rubbing his sweaty little hands together, with a crooked business smile plastered across his face. I decided not to respond and just gave him an ambiguous eyebrow raise, retaining my own polite smile.


    He took that as some sort of indication that I was interested, and continued in his attempt to entice me.


    ¡°I can guarantee you a solid 15, no, 20 gold! Just give her over to me, and I¡¯ll send her through my contacts and before you know it you¡¯ll have your money.¡±


    He continued to babble on, his eyes narrowing when he saw I¡¯d begun to ignore him. Come on, I can see a scam a mile away! Who does this idiot think he is? If he didn¡¯t shut up soon, I think I might start to get a bit unhappy with the fellow. Although I¡¯ve got to say, why on earth is this sleaze bag in some insignificant village? You¡¯d usually find fellows like him in the back alleys of larger settlements. Probably avoiding debtors or something like that.


    When I noticed that despite my complete disinterest that he¡¯d continued to ramble on about all the benefits, and how he¡¯d take care of everything, I started to get a bit impatient. I¡¯d had enough of the fool, and decided to make it clear that I wasn¡¯t interested. I raised my hand, gesturing for his silence before speaking my part.


    ¡°I apologise, but I¡¯ll have to decline. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, I intend to turn in for the night.¡± I said.


    Alright that should do it! Hopefully the fellow leaves the issue alone. I was feeling a bit cranky that I hadn¡¯t made my way to bed yet. I mean, sure, I don¡¯t need to sleep that often because of Serenity, but I certainly prefer sleeping as opposed to not sleeping.


    ¡°You know, giving up this opportunity wouldn¡¯t be smart of you.¡± said the innkeeper.


    Was he threatening me? His eyes had narrowed and two large thugs came out of the back door. Wait¡­ was this really happening? I tried to hold back a laugh at such a ridiculous display, but failed spectacularly, letting out a light chuckle that eventually developed into a full blown laugh. I mean, I know I don¡¯t look especially threatening with my friendly demeanour, but seriously? My equipment should at least give this guy a hint. Where did he even get those thugs? Sure they¡¯re big, but judging by their clothing they¡¯re just slightly larger than average villagers.


    He looked confused when he heard my laughter, anger flashing across his face as he then gestured for the thugs to teach me a lesson. They both walked towards me, trying their best to look intimidating, I couldn¡¯t help but smirk. Once they got close enough, before they could even prepare to start getting violent, my rapier had found its way through both of their throats. I couldn¡¯t help but shiver in delight as I felt the blade pierce their skin, and I could feel a vicious smile begin to dominate my expression as I watched the blood flow. It¡¯s been a while since I used this thing.


    The two villagers-turned-thugs looked down at my blade, now covered in blood, and began to gurgle in alarm. Once they noticed the gushing fountain of blood spurting from their throats, they desperately attempted to stem the bleeding. Unfortunately for them, their pathetic attempts didn¡¯t succeed and before long they¡¯d both found their way to the floor, lying still in growing puddles of blood.


    The innkeeper looked smug however; I had used an illusion to show him what he wanted. In the little scene I had played out for his viewing, I had been intimidated by his thugs and given in, making my way over to him in order to continue discussing the deal. As if I would ever do that. I must say, this guy has been a bit amusing so far, despite the initial annoyance he caused. I should probably let him live as a reward. It would also be strange for the innkeeper just to suddenly go missing after all.


    Once I got close enough to him, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of skin and flesh tearing, followed by a loud thunk. His face paled as he looked down at his hand, now pinned to the wooden counter. I played along, following his gaze, and upon seeing it, feigned surprise.


    ¡°Oh dear, it looks like you¡¯ve ended up in quite the accident there! You know, it may not be my speciality, but I do know some healing magic, would you like some help?¡± I asked in a mocking tone.


    At this point, I released the illusion, and the remnants of blood drained from his face as he saw the bodies behind me. Hehehe. What a fun reaction. This is the part that always gives me such a pleasant feeling; when they realise the situation they¡¯re in.


    ¡°Do you like the decorating I did, personally I think my aesthetic sense in room design isn¡¯t half bad.¡±


    I grinned malisciously at him. I licked my dry lips before continuing; the night air wasn¡¯t exactly moist outside.


    ¡°You know, that threatening thing you were doing earlier wasn¡¯t very polite, but I can¡¯t exactly kill you for such mistakes, after all I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t even realise my profession.¡± I continued, not bothering to actually explain what my profession was.


    ¡°So how about this.¡± I continued.


    I ripped the dagger free from the counter and his hand, sending a splatter of blood across the desk, and inciting a gasp of pain from the innkeeper.


    ¡°You took away some of my time today, so it¡¯s only fair that I take something away from you, right?¡±


    I reached down and took the coins on his person. Oh not a bad sum; pretty good for the innkeeper in a village like this. Probably gained from underhanded deals though. Oh well, the origin doesn¡¯t matter.


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    ¡°And, I also want you to keep this matter silent, you understand?¡± I said.


    He started to vigorously nod his head, still struggling with pain in his hand. Should I let him off with just that?¡­ No, I mean you can never be sure if people will keep their promises, so I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t talk about it. Before he could react, I reached over, forcing his mouth open and prepared my knife.


    He stared in panic at the knife and began to put up a feeble struggle under my grip. I decided to not get immediately to the main act, and slowly traced my knife over some vital spots of his body, just to give him a bit of a scare. I was looking forward to his reaction, but when he defecated himself out of fear¡­ That¡¯s just disgusting.


    With my fun ruined, I brought my knife to his mouth and carefully sawed his tongue off, making sure to get a nice clean cut. It was quite difficult with all the wriggling the fellow was doing. I¡¯m sure that if he could, he would¡¯ve screamed. Personally I would have preferred him screaming too, but my comrades were just upstairs, so I had to keep things quiet. I had my spare hand wrapped around his throat just tight enough to shut him up. This was the perfect opportunity to whistle a tune¡­ but unfortunately I had to keep it down; I¡¯m not rude enough to interrupt others sleep.


    *plop*


    There goes the tongue. Both the innkeeper and I admired my work lying there on the counter. I couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat prideful at the execution of everything; it was my best tongue removal ever. While I looked at it with admiration, the innkeepers gaze was stunned. It was as if he couldn¡¯t comprehend what he was seeing. That¡¯s right, this piece of art was so stunning it left one at a loss for words. Hehehe, at least I¡¯m pretty sure the innkeeper won¡¯t be saying anything any time soon.


    Eventually the situation hit him when he noticed all the blood pouring down from his mouth. Oh¡­ he passed out.


    Looking at this room, it really did get messy¡­ how am I supposed to hide what happened? I really need to plan ahead more. Well¡­ at least it wasn¡¯t a total loss if you take a look at the borderline art I produced. Wouldn¡¯t you say Serenity?


    ¡­ That was a bit violent. Also, shouldn¡¯t you heal the innkeeper before he bleeds out?


    I decided to follow Serenity¡¯s advice, healing the fellow and then threatened him with further violence if he didn¡¯t clean up this mess as soon as possible when he subsequently woke up. After which I made my way to the staircase. Serenity seemed to have held some disapproval in her tone, I wonder why. I mean, I¡¯ve essentially saved so many future travellers from this innkeeper¡¯s dastardly schemes.


    As I turned the corner I bumped into a familiar figure. Melissa stood there, staring at me with eyes wide. She looked exceptionally anxious. She had almost certainly watched the scene just before. Damn I really need to think about the time and place for such things. Well it was nice knowing you Melissa, unfortunately, I have an appearance to keep, and so you have to go.


    ¡°U-um¡­ thank you.¡± She said.


    Wait¡­ Now I¡¯m confused. Did she see what happened or not? She looked at me with her upturned eyes and continued to speak.


    ¡°I-I saw what just happened, b-but I won¡¯t tell anyone I promise. You¡­ you were doing it for my sake, so¡­ um¡­ thank you¡­¡± she said.


    Her sake? Thinking back, the proposition was about selling her. Well if she wants to see it that way then fine that just makes the situation better for me. She started to shift uncomfortably under my scrutinising gaze. What¡¯s with that expression? She looks embarrassed, and started to blush deeply¡­ does she even realise there were a few corpses and bucket loads of blood in the room behind me?


    Her eyes hadn¡¯t lost their sparkle when they were turned in my direction¡­ Wow, that loyalty thing really worked, it¡¯s as though she can¡¯t see me ever being in the wrong. I¡¯ll just give that theory a little test.


    ¡°Melissa, I¡¯m not as nice as I first appear. I¡¯ve burned people alive and interrogated an innumerable number of people using torture.¡± I said, carefully observing her response.


    ¡°U-umm, you¡¯re still nice to me¡­ and it¡¯s part of your job, right? So you have to do it.¡± She said.


    She showed a sincere expression. Unless she was exceptionally skilled in deception, she¡¯s being completely honest in her lack of disgust or ill-will towards me. Fantastic, she looks unwilling to believe I¡¯m in the wrong, regardless of what I say.


    ¡°I appreciate your understanding. To be honest, I was worried about how you¡¯d see me after seeing something like that.¡± I said, attempting to convey a sense of gratefulness.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll always be on your side¡­¡± said Melissa in small voice, seemingly pleased that I was ¡®grateful¡¯ towards her.


    ¡°Could I leave cleaning up the mess to you? I¡¯m rather tired after all that¡­ It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to though.¡± I asked. May as well see if I can avoid cleaning up duty.


    She paled momentarily at the prospect of cleaning up after my work, but soon regained that determined expression she was starting to get more of, as of late. She looked me in the eyes and answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s part of my job as an attendant to clean up after you when appropriate, so I¡¯ll do my duty.¡± She said.


    What an admirable display. Normally one would be totally freaked out by this situation, I mean I did just ask her to clean up some corpses, right? I guess she doesn¡¯t really mind seeing the death of humans, kind of like how most humans wouldn¡¯t care about seeing a demi-human die¡­ or like how I wouldn¡¯t care seeing anything die. Actually that¡¯s not true, if they die in a spectacular way then of course I¡¯ll hold feelings of appreciation to the scene.


    I gave Melissa a bright smile, and placed one of her hands in mine, grasping it tightly.


    ¡°Thank you¡± I said.


    She blushed, turning away from my gaze, before nodding back at me and hurrying away to clean up the corpses and blood. Hehehe, looks like I¡¯ve got a little helper now. She didn¡¯t turn out useless after all; cleaning up was always the biggest pain in these situations. She looked a bit hesitant, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll adapt to this new job just fine.

 Chapter 20- Bandits

    The next morning went without a hitch. I woke up nice and early to see if my little accomplice had cleaned up after my mess/art, and was pleasantly surprised to find not even a single drop of blood to be seen. The blood from those thug-like fellows should have been soaking into the wooden floor for quite a while, but even those areas were completely clean. In fact it looked as though new floorboards had been cut and placed in their stead. I couldn¡¯t help but give Melissa a well-deserved nod of approval. This was about as well done as the job could¡¯ve been done. She looked extremely pleased at my reaction, tail swishing back and forth.


    That poor misguided girl.


    Hmm? Serenity what are you on about? She¡¯s just making herself useful, and in my opinion she¡¯s doing a fantastic job! As long as Melissa kept up the hard work she¡¯d remain in my good books. Having someone to get rid of the evidence is great, but having someone to blame for the crimes should they come to light is even better, and Melissa fits into both categories perfectly. Work hard Melissa!


    When the heroes and companions eventually made their way down, we all exchanged greetings before quickly getting ready and setting off to the next village over. The sun had just risen, and if we wanted to make it before nightfall, we had to pick up the pace. Unfortunately the pace was still very much not picked up. The heroes were apparently not morning people; their movements kind of reminded me of zombies, and their eyes were still closed for the most part. At the beginning I was pretty tempted to trip Hina up, but decided not aggravate her¡­ yet.


    The day was rather nice. The sun was present in the sky shining down on us, but it wasn¡¯t unbearable due to a nice chilly breeze that accompanied our journey. The journey itself was rather uneventful in the end; just walking, occasionally meeting other travellers and the occasional break. During one of these breaks I decided to ask Melissa where she hid the bodies, simply for curiosity¡¯s sake. To be honest, I was surprised at where they ended up. Turns out she removed all the floor boards with blood and buried the bodies underneath the inn before replacing said floorboards. It sounded as though it took a lot of effort, so I decide to give Melissa a pat on the head, in order to encourage such future endeavours. Truly such a simple creature; Melissa seems content with just praise and appreciation. I would have asked for some money.


    The others kept the talking to a minimum, primarily because it seemed the heroes were so sore from walking the other day that they¡¯d struggled to even get out of bed this morning. Catherine was feeling chatty, but with Deane, Melissa or myself to choose from, she would only receive responses which were either non-existent, too soft to hear or extremely curt. Eventually the day began to approach its end and the sun was near setting. Despite the slow pace, we were going to make it just before nightfall to the next village. This village was considerably more remote than the other, not being that close to any particular city or large town.


    On the final distance of our journey, Melissa called over to me.


    ¡°Cyne, why is there smoke over there?¡± she asked, with a worried tone and an expression to match.


    What¡¯s she so worried about? I looked over to see the distance glow of fire and pillars of smoke rising from it in the distance¡­ The village is on fire? Where are we going to sleep tonight? This is just my luck. I suppose we could try and make camp out here, but I don¡¯t really like sleeping outside. Personally I need walls around me and a roof above my head. I¡¯m also positive that the heroes would agree. What to do, what to do.


    Shouldn¡¯t you first go and help the villagers?


    What?... Why? Sometimes you say the strangest things Serenity; why should I get involved in something like that. I¡¯m an Inspector of God, not some self-righteous hero. I fight in the name of what is considered religiously correct in the kingdom of Sol. Unless there are heretics lighting those fires, I have no obligation what-so-ever.


    ¡°OH NO! Quickly guys we need to go and help them!¡± shouted Yuki, when he finally discovered the scene.


    Yuki¡­ for Sol¡¯s sake, why? I know you¡¯re a hero and everything, but come on, shouldn¡¯t you take your companions¡¯ feelings into consideration. Looking over I saw that both Catherine and Deane had worry clouding their expressions. They drew their weapons; a pair of curved daggers for Catherine, and a standard broadsword and shield for Deane. They turned to the heroes, and replied.


    ¡°Of course, let¡¯s go¡±, *nod*.


    Traitors. Dammit, now they¡¯re all looking at me. I drew my rapier brandishing and pointing it towards the scene dramatically. Might as well make a show of it. I had to suppress a groan before offering my response to the others.


    ¡°Indeed, we must hurry to aid them¡± I said.


    I sounded like an idiot, but the others nodded in agreement. We all ran towards the village. Except for Melissa of course, she¡¯s no fighter. I left her behind with a spare short sword and told her to hide. If she¡¯s as good at hiding herself as dead bodies, she¡¯ll be fine.


    I started to lag a bit behind the others, due to my lack of urgency, but made sure not to make it too obvious. Come on, at best it¡¯ll be a few common bandits, hardly a problem for anyone here. Even the heroes in their current ¡®weak¡¯ conditions could slaughter the lot. I think I¡¯ll just stay back and relax; they probably won¡¯t need my help.


    Soon, we came close enough to see what had happened, and what do you know, its bandits. A bunch of filthy fellows dressed in ragged clothing with extremely crude and rusted weapons. The small wooden houses were all on fire, not a single one left untouched. I admire their dedication to torching houses, they do bandits everywhere proud. Oh, and there¡¯s some rape over there¡­ and there¡­ and there. These guys are animals.


    Some of the bandits were chasing down villagers attempting to flee, hacking down the men and capturing the women, and children. They¡¯d almost immediately proceed to rip their captive¡¯s clothing off, despite their struggles and cries for help. And¡­ well you know. There were a couple of better looking women being ganged up on by many of the dirty looking fellows. I¡¯m shocked, never before have I seen such a display; there were even children, boys and girls, being used by the bandits. I almost wanted to applaud these guys for sticking true to the way of the bandit. I mean it was like human their basic human decency didn¡¯t even exist; you don¡¯t get to see this kind of display often after all. I can''t help but admire such stereotypical scenes;  It kind of reminds me of that incident all the way back at treetop inn. I must have read this scenario a thousand times before, and being a part of it was surprisingly exciting.


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    My companions weren¡¯t so impressed, most of their eyes filling with rage. Hina and Rin seemed shocked, and unable to comprehend the situation. But soon, a surprisingly heroic Yuki gave them a wakeup call.


    ¡°You two wake up! We have to help them!¡± he shouted.


    With that all of them shot off towards different areas of bandits. Catherine moved like a wild animal, gutting the bandits she passed, and inflicting wounds that would cause a substantial amount of pain let me tell you. I¡¯ve studied this stuff and she was impressing even me with her performance. Deane on the other hand was picture perfect, the rage clearly present in his expression, not affecting his clean and precise swordplay. Each time he swung, another bandit would be incapacitated. Surprisingly he was avoiding killing blows.


    Looking at the scene, I noticed that heroes with their clumsy movements and coordination were also avoiding killing anyone¡­ seriously? Where¡¯s the fun in that? Won¡¯t capturing them delay our journey? I sighed out loud, and casually strolled towards a group of bandits who had remained under the radar of the others. As I made my merry way over to the group of bandits, I took my time to admire the scenery, the atmosphere; burning buildings, cries of pain and pleas for help. Music to my ears, these bandits did a pretty good job here, although I personally prefer burning individuals one at a time, to hear each one¡¯s own unique melody. I do however appreciate a well-orchestrated symphony though, don¡¯t get me wrong, this is just about personal preferences.


    Maybe coming over here wasn¡¯t so bad. Before I knew it I¡¯d started to whistle that tune. That, slow, sad, beautiful tune. I knew the survivors crying for help in the area were giving me shocked stares, but I just tuned it out, doing my best to harmonise the tune with the screams and roars of the flames around me. I eventually reached the bandits and partially took myself out of the trance I was in. The environment was almost¡­ intoxicating, but I still had a job to do.


    The bandits were pretty disgusting. If I¡¯m not wrong, I¡¯m pretty sure that child is dead, and they continue with their activities¡­ I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Well since I¡¯m here, might as well kill them. With that, I briskly strode to their position, stabbing the closest through the eye, giving his brain a little stir with the tip of my blade. Yep, that¡¯ll kill him.


    The other three present took notice, and immediately picked up their weapons taking up a defensive stance, one fellow with his manhood still hanging out¡­ I don¡¯t want to see that. With a quick swipe I removed it, sending it flying somewhere towards the plaza with a flick of my wrist. Once he realised he¡¯d lost something very important to him, the bandit fainted. Ok enough playing around, I dashed over to the remaining two, sending thrusts of my rapier through their hearts. They couldn¡¯t even react in time. In fact they didn¡¯t even realise they¡¯d been killed until the geyser of blood made itself known.


    As they both collapsed to the ground, I began to carefully remove their blood from my blade, using some low tier healing magic to remove any potential diseases from said blood. These guys don¡¯t exactly look clean after all. When the last of the blood was removed by my handkerchief, I had a quick look around to see what else I should do.


    Most of them were taken care of already¡­ Well, I did enough to say I contribu- SHIT WHAT IS THAT!?


    I spun around and stabbed at the thing that had grabbed onto my leg and¡­ Oops. As I looked down toward the end of my blade, I saw I had impaled a child. She looked to be about 7 years old, blood oozing from her wounds and unspeakable fluids flowing from her¡­ parts. You know, I was pretty sure she was dead just now¡­ I guess those guys weren¡¯t actually necrophilous¡­


    I carefully removed my blade, ignoring her pleading stare that slowly began to fade away. I¡¯d stabbed her through the heart, so she¡¯d die in a sec, but with her last strength she tried to pull herself closer to me, mouthing the words ¡®help me¡¯ from her dainty mouth which seemed to have lost a few teeth from abuse. That appearance of hers is rather unpleasant¡­ and kind of repulsive.


    I avoided the filthy, dying child, until the last of the light flickered out of her eyes. Would the others investigate the wounds? If so, this could be problematic. What to do? Oh! I looked over to an almost ruined and collapsed house, and came up with an idea. I carefully rolled the corpse of the child, using the tip of my shoe, over to the building and then with a solid push made it collapse on her.


    Cause of death= collapsed building. Sorted.


    Cyne¡­ Are you really human?


    Of course I am Serenity! What else would I be? You ask such strange questions from time to time, but don¡¯t worry I understand. You were alone for so long you lost even your common sense. Don¡¯t worry and just ask me anything that comes to mind!


    ¡­


    Well later then, I guess. After the brief and somewhat strange conversation with Serenity I jogged over to the others, trying to emulate a sense of urgency. They looked over to me with tired and angry eyes. It looked as though they¡¯d rounded up all the bandits they¡¯d incapacitated. Good job guys!


    ¡°Cyne, where are the bandits you took care of?¡± asked Hina.


    Her tone sounded almost accusing. What¡¯s that for? I helped too. Trying to prevent an outburst directed at Hina, I turned to the others to report what I¡¯d accomplished, adopting sad eyes, and a pitying smile.


    ¡°I took care of some bandits over there¡± I said, gesturing towards the area they¡¯d overlooked. The group looked over.


    ¡°Yes, but where are they?¡± asked Yuki.


    Where?... Does it matter? Yuki, I didn¡¯t know you had a habit of collecting corpses. Although it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve seen it. One of our instructors back in inspector training had the same hobby. His classroom always smelled disgusting, but he was a damn good teacher.


    ¡°They¡¯re dead¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Dead?¡± parroted Yuki, staring at me wide eyed. The other heroes adopted similar shocked expressions.


    Deane and Catherine were whispering about something to the side. All I could catch was ¡°you didn¡¯t tell him?¡± It looked as though I¡¯d been left out of the loop. I had no idea the other companions were too incompetent to relay important information. I looked over to the still shocked expressions of the heroes and couldn¡¯t help but wonder what I did wrong¡­ that they were aware of.

 Chapter 21- An Important Smile

    Alright, let¡¯s just take a look at the current situation. I¡¯m standing here confused, the heroes are standing there shocked and the other companions are whispering about something over there. All in all I¡¯ve got no idea what¡¯s wrong¡­ The silence had kept going for a good half a minute before Yuki finally broke it.


    ¡°D-did I hear you right there? You said you killed them.¡± He said.


    ¡°Indeed¡± I responded.


    Once again, dumbfounded looks. Seriously? If you guys have something to say, you should just say it. Standing around like this was starting to bore me. I decided to have a closer look at each hero, and observed their expressions. Yuki had a conflicted look; almost as though he was struggling between being angry or satisfied. Rin had shock clearly written in her expression, eyes disbelieving. Hina just looked at me with both disdain and disgust. Hina was the first to restart the conversation.


    ¡°How could you!? Those people were still people, you can¡¯t just go around killing them as you please: proper steps are in place to serve them justice, and you have no right to punish them in its stead¡± she practically spat the words at me.


    ¡­ Since when wasn¡¯t I allowed to kill people? I¡¯m an inspector of God. Hina had started off with quite a harsh tone, and I¡¯d be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t a tad irritated. Why was I being reprimanded?


    They are most likely unused to the loss of human life due to their previous environments. Despite the crimes these men committed, the heroes most likely believe they should be brought to justice.


    That would explain it, but isn¡¯t a bit idiotic of them to assume that the world would just work the way they wanted? Nothing comes easy. If they want to change the way things work here, they¡¯ll have to do more than rely on their status as heroes. This entire situation was starting to anger me. It was as though I was in the wrong here.


    There have been plenty of times in the past when my actions were ethically questionable, but to receive such treatment at the death of a few insignificant bandits was unacceptable. These low-lives, these beasts in the form of men, don¡¯t deserve their lives. I¡¯m not the one that usually dishes out punishment in these scenarios, but had it been a patrol of knight, each of these bandits would have been impaled and left to bleed to death.


    Hina maintained her annoying, disdainful gaze, while Yuki also started to show a tad more anger in his expression. Rin on the other hand was just blankly staring at me. My so-called companions were merely watching by the side lines. No help? Really? I am not in the wrong here!


    ¡°Yuki, Hina, if you would explain more carefully as to how my actions went against your wishes, I¡¯m sure we can remedy the situation.¡± I said, in attempt to improve the atmosphere.


    Both of them turned their glares on me, anger evident in their eyes. Hina whispered something in Yuki¡¯s ear, after which he took a careful look at me, his expression turning quite grave. It didn¡¯t suit an idiot like him.


    ¡°Cyne, why are you still smiling? Why are you still smiling despite seeing what happened to these poor people? Why are you smiling after killing people? WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SMILING?!¡± shouted Yuki, seemingly having lost it.


    I could feel my eyebrow twitch, but kept my expression unchanged. Looks like he¡¯s taking out his anger on me. His anger at these bandits was being taken out on me. The one who did not do a single thing wrong (that they know of). This attitude, this approach, was unfair, but what can I expect? I knew how life worked from a young age. I know how humans work.


    They betray easily, they¡¯re corrupted easily, they succumb all the different Sins listed by Sol, all so easily. They tread on others easily, they throw away their friends easily, they sell their souls easily and all for the right price. Humanity is greedy, and I¡¯m no different. I¡¯m yearn for money, power, the pleasures I find in life, and a great deal more. Over the years I learned a lot from the people I tortured, each one confessing even the smallest of things; the smallest of wrong-doings. I was the one who knew each and every one of them the best in this life. I knew their secrets, their desires, everything that made them human.


    Looking at the heroes in front of me with my wealth of experience, how could I not know exactly what was going on in their little brains? What Yuki yearns for now is an outlet for his rage, what Hina yearns for is a way to put me in an uncomfortable position. What Rin yearns for is for me not to be a murderer. None of them are getting what they want.


    ¡°You are upset with me smiling?¡± I asked pleasantly.


    ¡°YES I AM!¡± shouted Yuki, Hina nodding angrily in agreement.


    And with that I stopped smiling. No emotions rushed out of me like last time. I was expressionless; I was empty; I was incomplete. After so long, my smile had truly become part of who I was. It kept me sane, it kept me feeling, it kept me alive. The smile for feelings, the whistling for memories, the mementos for my past. All a part of me. Those deep, suppressed emotions are still buried far too deep to come out just by losing my smile.


    I just stared emptily at them. I couldn¡¯t muster up any feeling. Yuki looked surprised, Hina looked stunned. What did they expect? They hadn¡¯t pushed me to my breaking point. Underneath my smile there¡¯s nothing to see. Some people wear a mask to hide their true selves. I wear my mask, my smile, to complete myself. They most likely expected to see my true colours or something underneath my smile, but in reality it¡¯s all part of it. Look deeply enough and you¡¯ll see.


    ¡°Are you happy now?¡± I asked in that same empty voice I had just after my mother had died, so many years ago.


    Yuki had visibly calmed down, and started to look down to the ground ashamed, even Hina looked uncomfortable with how things turned out. I turned my gaze to my ¡®companions¡¯ and saw both Catherine and Deane staring back as still as statues. It was enough, I¡¯d defused the situation, but for some reason I couldn¡¯t smile again. I couldn¡¯t feel. I couldn¡¯t live.


    ¡°Cyne, I¡¯m sorry. I was unfairly taking out my anger on you¡­¡± said Yuki. He then proceeded to nudge Hina, who returned an unwilling look before looking at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sorry.¡± She said. Yuki looked at her, stunned, but before he could cut her off, she continued.


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    ¡°I didn¡¯t like you the moment I saw you. Your smile is disgusting. After we¡¯d been summoned and we were training, I read up about inspectors.¡± She said, giving a pause before continuing.


    ¡°You people are just evil. You kill others because of differences in beliefs and do all manner of horrible things.¡±


    ¡°I even asked after you in particular. The lead inspector came along one day, and I took that opportunity¡±


    ¡°He could hardly deny a hero, and so I learned about you. The smiling inspector. Others come out with severe psychological problems after going through that kind of training, but you never showed any distress.¡±


    ¡°A child who whistled at each pyre with a smile on his face. A child who tortured others while humming a happy tune. A child with a bright smile. That was you.¡±


    ¡°I was expecting you to flip out or something when I eventually managed to stop you smiling, but your reaction was even creepier. Are you even human?¡± she looked at me with disgusted eyes.


    Normally, had my smile been on I would have done something by now. Responded, defended myself, that kind of stuff. But I just couldn¡¯t feel the point in anything anymore. Why should I defend myself? Why should I care about what they think? Why? Why? Why?


    Cyne¡­ are you okay?


    Responding was a lot of effort in my current state so I simply ignored Serenity. Why did I even let her in my body again? Why was she asking me a question? Was she concerned? No¡­ she asked the same thing as Hina, am I even human? I guess she also wants an answer. Does it matter if I don¡¯t answer?


    I think I wouldn¡¯t like this state if I had enough emotions to consider it¡­ What drove me before? What did I hold on to? My hand absentmindedly travelled to my handkerchief, now stained with blood. I started to remember my father, my mother¡­ my family. So long ago now. As I stared at the bloodied handkerchief, the other looked at me with worried eyes. Quite the contrast to before, although Hina still looked more wary than worried.


    I started to think back to the tune that accompanied me through all these years. By each, pyre out loud, and in my head during times of peace. I remembered that beautiful tune, I remembered all the people I tortured, I remembered the promise I made myself so long ago. Hmm? A smile was starting to creep its way back, the corners of my lips began to tug upwards and eventually they settled into a content smile. I returned my gaze to the others, once again a complete person. That was a pretty close one; there may have been no coming back had it continued for significantly longer.


    Cyne?


    Serenity? Sorry to worry you! I¡¯m right as rain now. After reassuring an uncharacteristically worried Serenity, I refocused on the situation. Where was I¡­ oh right! That plotting woman put me in a tough spot. Hina, Hina, Hina, if you knew I wasn¡¯t such a good guy, why did you aggravate me so?


    ¡°Sorry everyone, I was just lost in thought for a moment¡± I said.


    Everyone started to visibly relax, although Yuki still looked guilty, while Hina was being¡­ well Hina. Yuki walked up to me and knelt down on the floor, lowering his head to the dirt¡­ What¡¯s he doing?


    ¡°Please forgive me! I have no excuse! You were my companion and I turned my anger towards you¡± he said. Well¡­ yeah, you did.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I was at fault for not being more considerate of you guys¡± I responded.


    Yuki and Rin both looked relieved, while my companions looked somewhat guilty. Well they were the reason everything happened. I¡¯ll get them back one day. Hehehe.


    ¡°Psycho¡± muttered Hina.


    *thump* Oh! Nice punch Rin! Hina clutched at her side in pain as she stared in shock at a somewhat furious looking Rin. Hehehe, she got some of what she deserved¡­ She¡¯ll get the rest eventually.


    ¡°Stop talking¡± ordered Rin. Oh, the shy Rin is finally taking a step a forward.


    Hina looked unwilling, but after the comical scene of Rin threatening her with a raised fist, she submitted. I let out a chuckle at the scene, which caused Rin to turn red from embarrassment and caused Hina¡¯s expression to turn sour. It also looked as though everyone conveniently ignored what Hina said about me; well it was pretty obvious she didn''t like me, making her biased in that situation. Good on you guys for carefully considering the validity of the information presented to you! Although I think Rin probably just didn''t want to believe it and Yuki was too focused on his guilt.


    After everything had been settled, and everyone apologised, we moved onto our plans for the future. The village had 21 captured bandits and only 9 surviving villagers (apparently some committed suicide as soon as they got a chance). Initially my foolish companions wanted to take all the bandits and villagers to the nearest town to deliver the bandits to justice and the villagers to safety. Of course, this would take up an annoyingly large amount of time, so I convinced them to leave the bandits for the next patrol of knights to pick up. Of course the knights would just kill them all, but that information was withheld. In regards to villagers, I steered everyone towards the option of dropping them off in the nearest village; fellow villagers would probably be more willing to help them out than the folks in town, and of course, the next village was only a day¡¯s walk away. Everything just works out this way, and luckily for me no one disagreed (well Hina tried, but got punched by Rin).


    To end the day we all set up camp, using the emergency supplies in the heroes¡¯ storage rings, and I was put in charge of sending all these poor souls to Sol. Dammit, they¡¯re just making me clean up here. I got Melissa over, and had her drag all the bodies to the centre of the plaza where I¡¯d constructed a rather magnificent pyre. I couldn¡¯t help but give myself a pat on the back.


    The evening ended with a burning mound of corpses. It was quite a spectacular display, far superior to the comparatively shoddy job done by the bandits, but it was missing the energy and excitement that screams of pain brought to the table. I brought my hand to my face, covering my smile. It turned out that I really did need this smile. I can¡¯t afford to lose it in the future, so I think I¡¯ll try to have as much fun as possible from now on. Hehehe¡­

 Chapter 22- Pet Store

    The remainder of the journey was walked in near silence. There was an awkward atmosphere hanging in the air, with Yuki holding an ashamed expression and Hina directing spiteful glares in my direction every now and again. Come on Hina, there¡¯s no need to be that way, to be honest your attempt to get me kicked out of the party was very poorly executed. I¡¯ve already made a solid foundation in this little group of ours, and let¡¯s be honest, nothing you can do will affect my position here. The only thing the entire situation did, was make me aware of who needs to have an accident in the coming days. Hehehe¡­ I¡¯ll show you have to properly orchestrate a plan.


    No dramatic events occurred after that bandit incident, which was both relieving and disappointing at the same time, well at least in my opinion. Usually when a hero goes on his journey, lots of things happen like damsels in distress and¡­ you know, dragons and stuff. Unfortunately no damsels, dragons or heretics. Thinking about it, that is probably the top of my bucket list; to actually burn a genuine heretic to death outside of training. I¡¯m only freshly qualified and to be honest, I haven¡¯t come across any heretics¡­ wait do I count as a heretic? I did get into a contract with a self-proclaimed pagan god.


    I already told you I never identified myself as a god.


    So you say Serenity, so you say. Well in any case, burning myself to death doesn¡¯t sound that fun. Unless it¡¯s while going out in a blaze of glory; like killing an army of heretics with some sort of self-detonation magic¡­ yep. Serenity make a note!


    ¡­How?


    Anyway, after talking the small exchange with Serenity I could see our destination on the horizon. Plyan, a decently sized city, renowned for a large adventurer¡¯s base and its open market for magical beast materials. Dungeons really do so much for the economy! I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how the spoils from our dungeon runs would be split¡­ if we end up going with evenly split spoils, I¡¯ll just take it easy, but if it¡¯s based on contribution, then I¡¯ll be all over it.


    ¡°Cyne, is that the city?¡± asked Melissa, also having spot our destination in the distance.


    I nodded in response. She was becoming far more outspoken lately, the correct term would be developing as a person. Good for her! Unfortunately she still exhibits separation anxiety and tended to cling onto me at all times possible. It really is quite the strain to stop myself from just throwing her off sometimes, but patience is a virtue, I also still want her around so that she can clean up after my recreational activities.


    We eventually made our way to the gates where our identities and paper work were checked. The heroes had been given fake identities as beginning adventurers; don¡¯t want to start a massive fuss after all. We got into the city smoothly, but the guards began to eye me somewhat cautiously when they read my profession. If I remember correctly, there aren¡¯t many inspectors in this city, if any at all¡­ why was that again? Whatever, if it¡¯s important I¡¯ll remember it later.


    The city was quite nice from its first appearances; the buildings followed a similar style to those in Sol city, but in general things were less densely packed and the buildings tended to be smaller. Compared to huge streets of the always crowded Sol city, this moderately occupied area was comparatively easier to navigate through. The walls also weren¡¯t as large as in Sol city, but once again held a similar style. Taking everything into account, it looked as though someone had taken one of the districts of Sol city and just stretched it a bit to decrease its density. Where¡¯s the originality? I was hoping for a change in culture! Not the same old stuff all over again. Well, at least the weather¡¯s nice.


    The day was still young, the sun high in the sky, with only a few clouds dotted around here and there. In the end, we all decided to go our separate ways, promising to meet up at the inn tonight for dinner. We¡¯d be discussing our plans for the dungeon trip and some of the small details associated with it. I didn¡¯t really have anything I wanted to do, so I decided to randomly walk around, with Melissa trailing behind me. After getting something to eat from a quaint stall by the side of the road, a shop managed to draw my attention.


    A PET STORE! Perfect. Serenity we¡¯re getting you a body, how does that sound?


    Okay, but let me choo-


    Alright! Off we go!


    When I entered the store, I immediately noticed the rather extravagant decorations and displays, which were comprised of large glass planed enclosures dotted around in a bit of an unorganised fashion. The carpet was a lovely red velvet and the walls on the inside as well as the counter were a polished, dark wood. No doubt, this was a high class store. I suppose commoners wouldn¡¯t be able to afford pets normally, and especially not the peculiar animals running around in here. What even is that?


    It took me a while but I eventually pulled my gaze away from the¡­ thing and sent Melissa to go back to the inn. Can¡¯t bring a slave into a high class establishment; that¡¯s just rude. Also, I¡¯d end up having to carve Serenity¡¯s symbol into the animal I purchase, and who knows, maybe Melissa will be against animal cruelty. Then next thing you know, my little helper becomes useless again.


    I gave the refined looking shop keeper a nod and smile, which he returned, before drifting through the establishment in an attempt to find the creature that just screams Serenity at you. There were quite a few pets on display, all still relatively young, and after I enquired, I discovered there were more in the displays in the back. Now this is how a customer should be treated! This fellow is well-dressed, polite and fully acknowledges that as the customer, I am always right. It¡¯s a good thing too; I¡¯d had enough of establishment owners I¡¯d been coming across as of late. His polite and formal tone of speech almost caused me to shed some tears of joy.


    Alright, time to get serious!


    Miniature Black bear? No, not elegant enough.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Monochrome snake? Right colours, but doesn¡¯t feel right¡­ so a maybe?


    White fox? It gives off the impression of cheekiness; it doesn¡¯t reflect her well in my opinion, so no.


    Bat? Wait¡­ I think this thing is what was used to make my clothing. Are all these guys magical beasts? Upon closer inspection, I could get the impression that they held magical cores, from the slight natural magical energy leakage I could see, due to Serenity¡¯s influence. Nice, anyway bat?¡­ no, too ugly.


    ¡­


    Soo tired. Too many animals. After an hour of browsing, taking Serenity¡¯s opinion into account, none of them were suitable so far. Serenity was adamantly against taking over the badass spider with a skull on it when I tried to convince her. She was right, what was I thinking back then?


    My mind had started to wander, but I was snapped back into attention by what was in my opinion, the perfect match. I hurried over to the exhibition to get a closer look. It was an owl, a small one at that, perfect for travel, being only slightly larger than my hand outstretched.


    The owl, a creature of the night, a serene and calm looking thing. I personally adore owls. This one looked almost identical to the typical barn owl one would find almost anywhere, but followed a monochrome colour scheme like that one snake from before. It¡¯s perfect. How about it Serenity?


    I¡¯m tired of all of this. As long as it¡¯s female, it¡¯s fine.


    Does the gender actually matter?


    If you were going to get a new body, wouldn¡¯t you prefer one of the same gender?


    Point taken. After quickly enquiring after the owl I discovered that it was indeed female, and gained the seal of approval from Serenity. The only issue was the price, which nearly made me pass out. 500 gold. 500 gold coins. I know it¡¯s a magical beast but really?


    ¡°Excuse me, but why does it cost so much?¡± I asked, hoping to find a way to lower the price.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but all of our animals are magical beasts, and this one in particular is an exceptionally rare sub-species of owl magical beasts.¡± He answered, politely.


    Damn it, it looks like a regular old barn owl, except for the colours and size. Of course, since I¡¯d promised Serenity that owl, I had to deliver! Cyne Wight, as a gentleman, does not forget his debts. This should settle the case of her calming me down during the companion choosing at the heroes¡¯ banquet.


    After handing over, a soul crushing 500 gold, I was given the little owl in a nice, decorative cage. It looked at me curiously, turning its head at odd angles. At least it¡¯s adorable. Now time to carve something into its back with a knife!


    Excited, I quickly headed into the closest back alley to do the deed. Having someone come over due to the cries of pain of the owl would be troublesome, so I just used the tier 6 spell serenity taught me to send it to sleep, after which I started to carefully carve into it. Wow! This spell is nice; there¡¯s literally no reaction from the owl.


    10 long minutes of animal abuse later I finally carved a seal up to standard. That familiar dark wispiness flowed from the seal on my hand and into the owl¡¯s. After a few moments the flowing strand of darkness had halted, and the owl hopped up, breaking my spell. It then turned its gaze to me.


    Cyne, it worked.


    Serenity had successfully made the owl¡¯s body hers, and flew up to my shoulder, perching herself there. Wow, that¡¯s some impressive flying, wouldn¡¯t it be difficult having never had wings before?


    I can make use of its memories and instincts, so there¡¯s no problems.


    Well that¡¯s quite convenient, so what can that owl actually do? It¡¯s a magical beast so it should have some fighting capabilities right?


    That¡¯s correct. It appears to rely on speed and surprise attacks to blind its enemies with its talons before slowly bleeding them to death. These little owls are capable of taking down larger, and more powerful magical beasts, as long as they have the benefit of a surprise attack and enough time.


    This little purchase was both adorable and dangerous. Perfect combo, and I love the slowly-bleeding-them-to-death tactic! Serenity also looked great as an owl. It was surprisingly funny to see the little bird on my shoulder making sounds as she spoke in my head. They were some pretty weird sounds though; she was making clicking and hissing sounds each time she spoke. Are owls supposed to sound like that? Serenity try hooting.


    Okay


    The next moment she let out the most Sol awful sound. Never before had I heard such ear rending screech. It was within an inch of bursting my eardrums. It looks as though you have a stun attack as well Serenity.


    It¡¯s just the sound it normally makes. In fact, regular barn owls also make similar sounds, although I¡¯ll admit this magical beast variant¡¯s calls are more unnerving. The screech I just gave should be this owl¡¯s equivalent to a hoot if compared to other-


    Alright, got it! Looks cute, sounds awful. OUCH! The second after I interrupted Serenity, I received a sharp pain on my ear. I quickly brought my hand to cover it, and turned in the direction of whatever the danger was. I came face to face with an unhappy looking owl perched on my shoulder. Wait¡­ Serenity, was that you?


    ¡­ No


    If I had to say, I don¡¯t think Serenity would lie to me, but the situation was a bit too suspicious. But why on earth would she have reason to attack me? I continued to ponder the mysterious case for the entire trip back to the inn, holding my still sore ear whilst ignoring the pedestrians¡¯ gazes at the little owl perched on my shoulder. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn¡¯t figure out who the culprit was, and so I eventually came to the conclusion that I¡¯d simply imagined the whole ordeal.

 Chapter 23- Pairings

    I had finally reached the inn, in which my party would be staying. It was a rather modest establishment; not overly extravagant, but it pleasantly neat and tidy. The relatively small inn was quite close to the gates, and looked like a place often frequent by those adventurer types who could utilise the location to quickly exit the city to go adventuring and what not.


    It seemed to just ooze a cosy atmosphere when I made my way in, radiating a comfortable warmth that was just the right temperature. Looking around the quaint entry area, I discovered that a number of rough-looking adventurers were drifting in and out of their sleep. This kind of atmosphere no doubt keeps any violent behaviour to a minimum. What a clever set up, but then again, I guess no bar fights. I kind of would¡¯ve liked to watch one.


    I scanned the seating area for the heroes and companions, and spotted them already gathered on one of the larger tables situated by the large stone brick fireplace. Good choice, the nights were starting to get chillier as of late; I guess summer can¡¯t last forever. I walked over to the table, whilst ignoring the drunken adventurers staring stupidly at Serenity.


    ¡°Hey, *hic* ish tha an owl?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? *burp* yer seeing thins buddy that there is jus some kind of new fashion trend I tell ya.¡±


    ¡­Fashion trend. How drunk are these guys, since when were owls a fashion trend? It was also extremely insulting to Serenity, practically calling her an accessory. Don¡¯t worry Serenity, I appreciate you. Don¡¯t forget that alright? Serenity twisted her head to my direction and cocked it to one side, conveying the sense of confusion.


    ¡­ Ok


    Since Serenity seemed fine I decided to let those fellows of the hook, and just continued to walk to the heroes¡¯ table. Once I was about 4 metres away, I was finally spotted the others. The first to notice me was Yuki, who began to raise his hand in greeting before pausing to observe my shoulder, or more specifically Serenity. I greeted him with a smile and nod before pulling up a seat and making everyone else aware of my presence. As per usual, each of their expressions differed, but they were at least all polite enough to give a proper greeting, even Hina. Melissa wasn¡¯t at the table, probably uncomfortable around their company. She¡¯ll probably be upstairs cleaning the room we¡¯re staying in or something. It warms my heart to have such a dedicated slave.


    After the initial greetings, silence permeated the area as everyone had their gaze on one point. Serenity was ignoring these gazes however, acting as though the others didn¡¯t exist. Eventually, to my surprise, Hina was the first to speak up.


    ¡°Cyne, what is that?¡± she asked, eyes sparkling.


    Calling my precious companion a ¡®that¡¯, how could she? Hina¡¯s image just keeps falling lower and lower in my eyes. I decided to keep my answer rather curt; don¡¯t want to get into a proper conversation with her, lest she starts picking a fight.


    ¡°She¡¯s an owl, and her name is Serenity.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Why do you have an owl?¡± asked Catherine, curiosity evident in her voice.


    Now that I think about it, what excuse should I use? Serenity, any ideas? I couldn¡¯t help but turn to Serenity perched on my shoulder as I asked her the question. She gave me a thoughtful look before giving her advice, whilst clicking and hissing as she does when speaking.


    Just keep it simple and say you bought me as a companion beast. As long as you make no intention of explaining further the-


    Alright let¡¯s go with tha- OUCH! Once again the surprise attack on my ear had occurred, proving that it wasn¡¯t my imagination previously, however the culprit remains unknown. Maybe one day I¡¯ll solve this mystery, but for now I need to return to answering the question. I looked away from Serenity and back to Catherine who was staring at me with strange eyes.


    ¡°I just bought her as a beast companion.¡± I answered simply.


    Everyone seemed a bit put out about the lack of explanation, but decided not to press further on the matter, each one for their own reasons no doubt. I noticed in the corner of my vision that Hina had slowly creeped towards Serenity and myself and was in the process of stretching out her hand to touch Serenity. That won¡¯t do. Isn¡¯t it presumptuous of you to go and try to touch other¡¯s property without their permission? This girl had no manners, and I was just about ready to cut off said hand, before an amusing scene unfolded.


    Serenity twisted her head back as only owls can do, staring straight at the hand reaching for her, before performing a vicious sequence of hisses, clicks, and small screeches. The sudden action took Hina by surprise, causing her to stumble backwards, tripping up over her own feet and falling onto her behind. I had to supress the laughter but couldn¡¯t hide the amused smirk. Hina looked back at me with hate in her teary eyes. I wonder whether the tears were because of the pain or not being able to touch Serenity? Either way the end result was fun to watch. The rest of the party also found it amusing, laughter being suppressed in most cases, while Catherine simply burst out raucously. What an unrestrained woman. Good job Serenity, you really lightened the atmosphere.


    ¡­


    Serenity stayed silent but almost looked smug as the little owl seemed to puff out its chest ever so slightly. Now back to the party.


    ¡°So what are the plans?¡± I asked, getting straight to the point.


    ¡°We were waiting for you before we began so that everyone could be included.¡± said Rin.


    I would have preferred if they sorted out all the troublesome details themselves. Was there any real need to include me?


    ¡°How about we let Catherine take the lead? She¡¯s the most experienced with these kinds of things.¡± I said.


    Everybody nodded in agreement. Catherine had her usual stupid smile on her face. Looks like being relied on makes her day. Whatever floats your boat I guess, as long as I don¡¯t have to do anything. I prepared to tune myself out before a suddenly short screech in my ear snapped me out of it. Damn it Serenity, what was that for?! I looked over to Serenity to see she was looking in the opposite direction¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll just slowly let my mind drift away- DAMN IT! Serenity, why?! It felt as though my ear drum was going to start bleeding. I suppose she¡¯s doing it for a reason¡­ but what? Maybe to pay attention? I might as well give it a shot.


    I turned my attention to the conversation which had already started.


    ¡°So we¡¯re all in agreement that we should speed run to the lower levels and quickly increase the heroes¡¯ strengths? Personally I¡¯ve never been to this dungeon before, so it¡¯s risky since magical beast species can vary greatly from dungeon to dungeon.¡± Said Catherine.


    ¡°It may be risky, but we¡¯ll have you guys with us and isn¡¯t the upcoming crisis for the kingdom worth the risk? We need to get stronger fast¡± said Yuki.


    ¡°I agree with Yuki here, getting stronger as quickly as possible should be main priority. Not only for the kingdom, but to survive in this new world.¡± said Hina.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°If Yuki and Hina think so, then I agree.¡± chirped Rin.


    Catherine looked concerned at their lack of caution at the prospect of entering a dungeon. Well, what can you expect? They don¡¯t have dungeons back where they came from so obviously they wouldn¡¯t know how important it is to be aware of the dangers.


    Magical beasts all have their own quirks and if an inexperienced adventurer was to fight one without sufficient knowledge, even if they were stronger than the beast, they could get caught off and killed. It¡¯s the primary reason why most adventurers die so early on their careers. They should¡¯ve joined the church and just taken it easy like me¡­


    Of course they¡¯d also have to go through years of intense training and have sufficient talent to begin with. I can only thank Sol (if he exists) that I was fortunate enough to get into such great career! Burning, torturing, money, what more do you need? I started to think back to me training days before a small screech brought me back to the conversation.


    Normally I would be annoyed that my train of thought got interrupted, but I can hardly turn my anger towards Serenity, especially in her little owl body. Alright! I just need to tolerate it like a gentleman. I refocused on the group and saw that Catherine had turned to Deane for his opinion.


    ¡°I think that the heroes¡¯ decision is the most appropriate for the kingdom, but I am also concerned about their well-being. As their companions we need to remain vigilant through the duration of the dungeon trip.¡± replied Deane. Wow, long time since I heard that guy speak.


    ¡°Is their anyway we can make sure the heroes stay safe?¡± pondered Catherine out loud.


    The heroes in question looked a bit uncomfortable at the conversation going on. I guess they don¡¯t like being treated like vulnerable children, probably adding to their motivation to get stronger quickly. Catherine snapped her head back to towards the group. Looks like she has an idea. I could only hope it wasn¡¯t going to be too much work. I suppressed a yawn and listened closely. This area really was too comfortable, I felt like I could drift off any second now.


    ¡°How about we get into pairs? Each companion is responsible for the safety of one hero and solely focusses on protecting that hero. That way any poor coordination won¡¯t interfere with their protection.¡± said Catherine. She sounded excited.


    To be honest, it wasn¡¯t exactly a bad idea, but it depended on who I got paired with. If I end up with Hina, this entire trip will just be focussed on restraining myself from killing her, let alone protecting her from the dangers posed by the dungeon.  Then again, if the hero I¡¯m in charge of dies, I¡¯ll not exactly be able to get off easily. As I pondered the suggestion posed by Catherine, everybody else had already given their consent to the idea; well in terms of protecting the heroes it is the most efficient. Catherine had her maroon eyes settled on me, eagerly awaiting my input. I¡¯ll just have to go along with it.


    ¡°I consent to the proposal. It¡¯s a good idea.¡± I said, and Catherine gave a happy smile at the meagre praise I gave her plan. How easy is it to please this woman?


    ¡°Alright then! To make it fair, let¡¯s all draw numbers out of a hat! Same numbers match up!¡± said Catherine, with eagerness in her tone. Don¡¯t get too excited you simple woman.


    She drew a hat out of her spacial ring, and I couldn¡¯t help but enviously gaze at the ridiculously expensive item. She also drew out some paper and a quill and some ink, writing the individual numbers on the papers and throwing them into the hat. She placed the hat at the centre of the table and seemed to exude enthusiasm, similar to that of child. We all reached in to draw our numbers.


    Yuki and Deane got 1, Rin and Catherine got 2, and Hina and I got 3. Sol dammit, where is my luck going these days?! Of course, my smile stayed pleasant as I looked over to Hina, amused to see her grimace as she looked at the number. Maybe the arrangement can be changed if both parties don¡¯t consent. Before I could raise the issue, Hina beat me to the punch. I was a bit offended that she didn¡¯t want to partner up with me to such an extent, but at least the problem would solve itself now.


    ¡°I refuse to go on psycho¡¯s team!¡± she said, loudly.


    Psycho¡­ Harsh, very harsh. I have never been anything but courteous around her (at least from what I can remember¡­) and she has the audacity to label me a psycho, and in front of an entire room full of patrons. Rude doesn¡¯t even begin to describe this woman. Certainly, she¡¯s said it before, but there¡¯s a time and a place for that nonsense. Serenity go make her ears bleed.


    I don¡¯t think that would solve anything.


    Come on Serenity, aren¡¯t you on my side? Aren¡¯t we in a contract together? We¡¯re practically even closer than lovers could ever be! The owl upon my shoulder simply continued to ignore my pleas for support. She didn¡¯t have to go and actually do as I ask, but at least some supportive words like ¡®Don¡¯t worry Cyne, you¡¯re not a psychopath¡¯ would be appreciated. Serenity of all people should know my activities are artistic; we¡¯ve even had conversations for hours on end about such things. Despite being disgruntled by Serenity¡¯s lack of support, I returned my attention to the scene at hand, which was Catherine adamantly denying Hina¡¯s refusal to be on my team.


    ¡°This is a good opportunity for you guys to get over your differences.¡± said Catherine. No one needs your interference here, Cath.


    Unfortunately her words resonated with the others, causing a cascade of agreeing nods.


    ¡°But I could seriously die! He could just leave me to the beasts alone!¡± she started to shout in a panic.


    This damn woman is making me look bad in front of all the other patrons. Even if most were passed out drunk, she really needs to learn to restrain herself; doesn¡¯t she understand that this will only make our relationship worse?


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the reason why this needs to happen: your opinion of Cyne needs to change, you guys will be together in the party for quite some time in the future. Settle your differences and get along. Also, just to put your mind to rest, if you died on Cyne¡¯s watch, he¡¯d be executed.¡± said Catherine.


    Executed¡­ looks like I¡¯ll actually have to protect the rude woman. Hehehe¡­ that doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t get a couple of injuries here and there though. No! I can¡¯t think like that; one slip up and I¡¯ll be hanging by neck before you know it. Serenity I¡¯ve got a request: during the dungeon trip tomorrow, keep an eye on me! I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to restrain myself from pushing Hina into a chasm should the opportunity arrive.


    ¡­ okay


    With the pairing decisions made, we all went to bed. Tomorrow is going to be tiring.

 Chapter 24- Dungeon (1)

    After a good night¡¯s rest, I awoke to Melissa, tightly clinging to me in her sleep, claws tightly digging into my sides. This happens far too often, but how on earth am I supposed to deal with it? If acting harshly will mean losing her devotion, then not only would I lose a useful pawn, but she could shed light on some of my activities that the others don¡¯t know about. Like the case with that unpleasant innkeeper.


    I looked down at her content face, lips curled into a smile as she did her best to further nuzzle her way into my side. This is really irritating; I¡¯m a man who enjoys personal space, and having it invaded so frequently is starting to wear my patience. I decided to do as I usual do and just shoved her off the bed. She hit the floor with a loud thud, before waking up confused and groggy. It was at this point that I noticed an owl on my nightstand giving me an accusing stare. What?


    ¡­Nothing


    Serenity removed her gaze from me and started to ignore me. Melissa was still on the floor attempting to get her bearings. She had been surprised last night at Serenity¡¯s addition, but quickly took a liking to her. Unlike the case with Hina, Serenity allowed Melissa to touch her, which brought a surprising amount of joy to young Melissa¡¯s face at the time. Well she¡¯s still practically a child after all. After explaining to Melissa how she fell of the bed after she had snuck in during the night, she was more occupied blushing than questioning why she always woke up in the exact same way.


    It was still early and the sun was only just beginning to rise. Outside of my window I could see that the sky was a tad more cloudy than usual, so it would probably rain later on in the day or at night. It didn¡¯t matter though, I¡¯d be in the dungeon for the majority of the day anyway. Unfortunately I would be accompanied by Hina, but it was still a good opportunity to make some money from magical beast materials; there¡¯s a silver lining to every cloud; every rude, annoying cloud.


    I made my way downstairs after getting dressed and gathering my equipment. Handkerchief, check; rapier, check; trusty pocket knife, check; and it seems I¡¯ve got all the other stuff too. Surprisingly when I found my way to the lobby area, I was the first down. It was surprisingly refreshing to be the first one to arrive. Lately it felt as though I was always arriving last. Punctuality is something that is rather important in my opinion.


    Back during training, if you weren¡¯t punctual enough then you¡¯d miss out on teaching displays where they taught you how to perform the activity in question correctly. Some kids back then missed the displays entirely, something to do with a mental breakdown. Education is important however! They were forced to watch later, I remember hearing some had to have their eyes held open to make sure they actually watched. I still to this day can¡¯t understand why they wouldn¡¯t want to watch; the displays always fascinated me as a child.


    After reminiscing on fond memories for a while, the next one came down the stairs. Much to my dismay it was Hina, and of course upon seeing me she displayed an irritated and disgusted expression. I decided to set my beaming smile to maximum and then cheerily called out to her.


    ¡°GOOD MORNING!¡± I called, voice filled with energy.


    She flinched at the loud greeting, and decided not to reply, and instead turned away from my smile with a grimace, ignoring me. There¡¯s really only so rude you can be for you can¡¯t blame the other person for burning you to death you know. That kind of attitude just doesn¡¯t go in the real world, unless your hero of course, and unfortunately she is. Maybe I can talk her into getting some manners during today¡¯s dungeon trip, heh- DAMN IT!


    I looked over to Serenity sitting on my shoulder. I know I told her to keep me in check but we¡¯re not even in the dungeon yet. No need to cause unnecessary damage to my ear drums. I don¡¯t want to end up hard of hearing at such a young age. In fact, if I couldn¡¯t hear then no more beautiful tunes or screams of burning heretics¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Serenity from now on don¡¯t screech in my ear, just peck me or something.


    ¡­ Fine


    Crisis averted. With that done, I noticed that Hina had been giving me strange looks. What¡¯s with her? She eventually turned towards my direction and walked up to me with a determined expression and began to speak.


    ¡°Look. I don¡¯t like you, and you don¡¯t like me. You know that if anything happens to me in that dungeon you¡¯ll get in trouble right?¡± she asked.


    Is she worrying for her own safety? What a self-centred person. Shouldn¡¯t she put apologising for her rudeness before all of that? Didn¡¯t she ever learn any manners? I decided to give her a response by nodding in affirmation in addition to the trademark smile, which caused her to once again grimace. Looks like she¡¯ll never improve.


    ¡°Okay, good. Let¡¯s just go to the dungeon today and do what we need to do, no personal feelings coming into play. I¡¯ll treat you like a companion and you do your job and protect me.¡± She said.


    Do my job and protect her in exchange for her treating me as she should do¡­ This one really irks me.


    ¡°Of course. No matter how you see me, I would never allow any harm befall you. I swear this in the name of Sol.¡± I replied.


    After making a pledge in the name of Sol she seemed to relax, clearly reassured that I wouldn¡¯t do anything to her. Hehehe¡­ she must have read an article on how inspectors were the most devoted of all the professions within the church. I could break a pledge like that in a heartbeat.


    After a few more minutes passed, everybody had arrived down in the lobby, fully geared up and ready to go. Yuki appeared to hold boundless quantities of excitement that almost radiated off of him, while Rin was the far incarnation of anxiety, constantly being reassured by Catherine who walked by her side.


    The trip to the dungeon was surprisingly short; only a half hour walk from the city gates. The consensus among us was that we¡¯d each walk our own paths and then meet up outside the dungeon again at the end of the day and compare progress. The dungeon entrance was just a small rocky out cropping on one of the numerous grassy hills in the area and looked like a natural rock formation until you saw the tiny inscriptions covering everything and the large dark hole marking the entrance. Adventurers were littered about here and there, each preparing to enter the dungeon. It was relatively early though, so there weren¡¯t as many around as you¡¯d typically see.


    The dungeon had relatively simple layout according to the information Catherine had managed to gather the other day, and was a regular layer by layer set up. The uppermost layer had extremely weak monsters of F rank and their strength would increase as you go down. Dungeons were often explored for the treasures of old they often hid, but this one had been well ravaged by the hordes of adventurers who came before. Some speculate that there are lower floors than to what they¡¯d managed to explore so far, but after about 2 decades of no progress finding deeper floors, it¡¯s been designated as a fully explored dungeon. Most adventurers frequenting the place were here for training.


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    I couldn¡¯t help but feel put out that any chance of stumbling across treasure was next to nil; we should¡¯ve gone to one of the newer dungeons. Sure, they¡¯re more dangerous since they¡¯ve not been fully explored, but if you think about the rewards, then I¡¯d be willing to sacrifice a few of my companion¡¯s lives.


    Once everything was settled, and each of the pairs were ready we set off, entering the dungeon. As soon as Hina and I entered, the area became ridiculously dark, so to start off with I created a glowing sphere of light to illuminate our path. Hina appeared to be very nervous as we walked along the tunnel, the craggy rock walls, absorbing all heat. Of course, her anxiety is a granted; her weapon is a bow. In close quarters like these, she¡¯s completely vulnerable to surprise attacks. In all essence, she¡¯s completely reliant on me. Well, when we get to the lower floors anyway. I don¡¯t think a low rank magical beast like a slime, bat or rat could cause her too much trouble.


    *splat*


    I just stepped in something. I looked down to see my first kill of the dungeon; I¡¯d successfully stepped on the core of a small, regular slime, shattering it. My boot was unfortunately covered in its juices as a result. Dammit, that¡¯s disgusting. After cursing internally at the event, I wiped of the slime juice on the nearby wall. Aren¡¯t these monsters kind of a joke? I started to pick up the pace, causing Hina some trouble to keep up. When are we going to get to a lower floor?


    Head in that direction


    I turned my head to Serenity, and noticed she was looking into one of the side paths of the main tunnel. Why?


    The natural magical energy density increases in that direction.


    Oh! That means more energy seepage, which means more magical beast; Serenity you¡¯re a genius! Over the next few hours of coming across low level magical beasts like rats, bats, snakes and other small creatures we eventually started to make our way deeper down into the dungeon. Before we left the starting spot, Catherine had given each of us a tool used by adventurers to judge a beast¡¯s strength; they were small stones that would light a different colour depending on the strength of the beasts in the vicinity. Truly a useful little gadget.


    We finally encountered some wolven magical beasts; they were unlike the ones I¡¯d encountered in the forest before I met Serenity. These ones were the size of small dogs, and had pitch black fur and red eyes. They were low C ranked magical beasts. When I first spotted them, what surprised me at first wasn¡¯t the impression of strength each individual gave, but the vast number of them that came. 10 of them to be precise. When Hina, became aware of their presence, the stupid girl let out a shriek, stumbling backwards and the little black wolves darted forwards, some running along the roof or walls, their claws digging deeply into the hard rock. I really don¡¯t want those claws digging into me.


    It had been a long time since I¡¯d last had a decent fight, so I decide to just test out my physical abilities. The regular and spirit magic can be saved for stronger beasts. While the little wolves were relatively fast for a beast at their strength, their movements were still easy to follow. All 10 of them were focused on me, probably wanting to take out the larger threat first.


    As the first lunged at me, I simply side stepped the beast, dodging by a small margin, as I whipped my blade across its side. The wound was only meant to be superficial in order to anger the wolves into attacking in a blind rage, but I was surprised to see the little wolf neatly bisected, blood showering onto Hina behind me. I don¡¯t remember being quite that strong. Well there¡¯s still a fight to get to, so those questions can be left for later.


    Fully taking advantage of my surprising strength, I casually kicked the next wolf that lunged into the craggy rock wall behind it. It hit with a loud thud, and crumpled to the ground, and although not dead, at the very least severely injured.


    The wolves began to take a more cautious approach, and began to attack in pairs, aiming for different spots on my body. Unfortunately, despite the decent tactics, they weren¡¯t fast enough and a few exchanges later they were all dead on the ground, bisected, pierced or broken. That felt a bit too easy. Serenity?


    It¡¯s because of the presence of natural magical energy in your body. As your skill to control magic increases, so does the amount of natural energy your body can take and use, a side effect being that it seeps into your bones and muscles, strengthening them.


    Oh! That sounds very convenient. Do all spirit contactors experience this?


    Some do, but to a lesser extent. The potency of the natural energy I absorb and refine in your body is far stronger than that of regular spirits. I must warn you though, there is a small possibility of aesthetic side effects.


    Aesthetic? You mean my looks will change? I¡¯m not going to turn out like a shadow am I? Those guys are horrific to look at.


    No. Shadows don¡¯t have anything refining the energy they absorbed and it doesn¡¯t enter their magical stores, but only enters their physical body. As such, shadows gain high strength and speed in addition to physical deformities. The energy your body is absorbing is refined by me and done so in far smaller, less frequent doses.


    Well that¡¯s a relief. But what kind of changes are you talking about then? There was no need to scare me like that. I felt extremely relieved that I wouldn¡¯t end up like one of those things, but was also curious as to how I might change.


    Spirit contractors, if they experience aesthetic changes, they tend to take after their spirit. In your case the most you can expect is paler skin and darker hair and eyes, due to my humanoid form.


    Why even mention it then? Serenity you don¡¯t have to cause such a panic.


    I just felt you should know.

 Chapter 25- Dungeon (2)

    With everything cleared up, I stopped paying attention to the little owl clicking away on my shoulder and observed Hina. She was still on the floor, exactly the same place where she stumbled. She was just looking at the little wolves¡¯ corpses blankly. I suppressed a sigh and walked over to her.


    ¡°Hina, it¡¯s over. You should use your spacial ring to absorb their corpses now.¡± I said gently, a comforting smile on my face.


    She seemed to snap out of it when she heard my voice and adopted her usual grimace that I so often saw when she was in my presence. Ungrateful woman, I just saved her life, the least she could do was have some manners and thank me.


    She walked over to the corpses and despite looking pale, quickly collected their corpses. Despite not being directly involved in the battle, she should have gotten stronger. It was one of those strange things about heroes; if someone in their designated ¡®party¡¯ kills a magical beast, they get stronger to a certain extent, although not as much as when they¡¯re killing it themselves. Being able to get stronger so easily is truly an envious ability.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s continue on.¡± I said pleasantly.


    ¡°Okay¡± replied Hina in a quieter than usual voice. It looked as though the atmosphere of the dungeon was getting to her.


    We continued walking down the seemingly endless corridors, occasionally encountering another pack of wolves, which I would quickly dispatch. Even Hina managed to kill one, at the cost of nearly putting a hole through me. I know that there¡¯s limited space, but being so incompetent is just unacceptable. If I was hit by that arrow, I would¡¯ve been injured quite badly. Luckily for me, my reflexes are still up to scratch.


    We also encountered other species: spiders for example, ghastly looking things that jumped around, spitting webs and acid at us. Hina nearly fainted when she saw them. Of course, the fight wasn¡¯t difficult, but they aren¡¯t pleasant to look at in the least. We also eventually came across large centipede magical beasts, once again causing Hina to shriek in fright. I wouldn¡¯t even be able to say how many times that scream reached my ears so far. Once again no big deal, except I wasn¡¯t completely sure where to cut in order to kill them. It ended with trial and error until all of them were just hacked to pieces and stopped moving. Quite tedious work. So far the wolves have been low C rank, the spiders were middle C rank and the centipedes were high C rank. So if we follow the path Serenity was directing me towards, we should encounter some B ranks relatively soon.


    After a while longer walking, we exited the tunnel system and entered an open and cavernous area. There were numerous rocky outcroppings littered all over the place with stalactites and stalagmites also dotted here and there. It was a large empty space, and in the darkness the clear sounds of scuttling and scratching could be heard. At least Hina will have space to use her weapon now. I looked over to her to discover she was frozen stiff when confronted by the sea of darkness in front of us.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± I whispered in low voice, causing her to jump out of fright.


    She turned and glared at me before giving a somewhat reluctant nod, following me as I led the way through the cavern. Hina looked scared stiff, I had to struggle to prevent a chuckle escaping my lips. Maybe I should ¡®accidentally¡¯ separate from her for a while, hehehe¡­ That would be kind of interesting to wat-


    I was rudely interrupted in my fun plans for Hina by a peck to the side of the head. Why? Leaving her alone in the darkness with a bunch of rank B monsters would put her in harm¡¯s way¡­ Well I¡¯ll be watching from a distance, so I¡¯ll rescue her if anything bad happens, ok? I just want to see her suffer just a little bit, hehehe¡­


    Serenity the owl just continued to gaze at me intensely. I¡¯ll take that as a go for it then! Strangely enough she seemed to drop her head in almost weary looking state. Guess travelling around down here for so long has taken its toll on her, poor thing.


    ¡°Hina, just wait here for a moment.¡± I said.


    She turned to look at me with disbelief clearly present in her face, before displaying a panicked expression.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t just abandon me here, look I¡¯m sorry for before, just don¡¯t leave me alone down here.¡± She started talking in a hurried and flustered tone, tears forming in her eyes. It looked like being alone down here was a terrifying prospect to her. In fact, ever since we came down here she¡¯d been on edge, don¡¯t tell me she has a phobia of the dark, hehehe¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t abandon you, remember there are dire consequences if I do, so be at ease. I¡¯m just going a little way off to relieve myself.¡± I said.


    She still looked worried, but despite her fear couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask if she could accompany me on my journey to go and water some non-existent plants. A full-proof plan.


    I quickly walked away, leaving the little light by her side. As I entered the darkness, far away enough for her not to see me, I used the shadows to wrap myself, erasing my presence, and then moved in a bit closer to watch the show.


    Hina had begun to pace back and forth, fear clearly shown in her every movement, from the glances into the darkness to the flinching at even the slightest noise in the background. She slowly appeared to be getting into a state, pacing faster and faster. Even from this distance, I could see that her breathing had become rapid and her eyes wouldn¡¯t stay still, trying to be everywhere at once. A few minutes had passed and Hina looked to be at her rope. Tears had begun to form in her eyes as she desperately looked towards the direction in which I¡¯d walked.


    ¡°Cyne!¡± she hissed in a quiet voice. Her tone was uneven and even an amateur at reading others could tell there was only one thing she was feeling at that moment. Panic.


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    ¡°Cyne, are you there?!¡± she continued in a slightly higher pitched voice. She was starting to lose her cool all together now. I couldn¡¯t wait to see how things would progress.


    ¡°Cyne! Cyne! Please, come back quickly.¡± Her voice slowly turned softer and softer until she was just muttering to herself under her breath. From the distance, I couldn¡¯t quite make out the words she was saying.


    She continued pacing back and forth, with increasing speed. It should be known that she had started to fully hyperventilate by this point. She couldn¡¯t stay still, tremors clearly running through her body as she looked into the darkness that surrounded her. Tears were now freely flowing down her face, something I hadn¡¯t seen before. It was quite amusing, that expression of fear. This type of pain I was inflicting on her was a bit different from the usual kind, but I could still appreciate it. Time to turn up the intensity.


    I slowly began to dim the light I¡¯d left behind for her. It was at a speed that was barely noticeable, but once a few minutes had passed with Hina already in an extremely panicked state, she finally took notice that her surroundings had gotten darker, that very darkness slowly creeping towards her as the light began to dim. She just stood there, watching in horror as the darkness crept forwards inch by inch and then began to mutter again.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this, I can¡¯t do this¡± she whimpered over and over.


    She knelt down on the ground as close to the light source as possible, taking her head in her hands as she began to let out small whimpers and sobs. Tremors racking her body as the beasts in the distance made scuttling sounds or low pitched moans. Hehehe¡­ looks like she¡¯d finally lost it. At the same time, I noticed that a monster in the distance had slowly been making its way closer to the dimming light source.


    It looked kind of like a hairless gorilla, fingers curved into talons, and a gaping maw that hung open, exposing jagged teeth like shards of broken glass. Hehehe, I can¡¯t wait to see her reaction when it gets close enough. It slowly edged closer to Hina, who was still trapped in her state of terror.


    Once the hulking ape was close enough to be visible, it made a grunting sound, drawing the gaze of Hina.  As she saw the monstrous creature in front of her, her face turned as white as paper. It was entirely possible at this point that she would die of fright. The ape gave a happy, rasping chuckle. Looks like the big fellow likes terrifying its prey. I can relate to that.


    It slowly lumbered forwards, the movement causing Hina to start scrambling away. She summoned her bow, but was far too jittery to loose an arrow upon the beast. Her eyes were wide open, looking at what she most likely thought would be her demise.


    ¡°CYNE!¡± she shrieked.


    Looks like my fun¡¯s over. It was a very entertaining show though, hehehe¡­ I darted forwards, using the shadows to smother my appearance and muffle the sounds of my footsteps. Before the beast could realise what was happening I had already arrived at its back, and with a neat thrust through its spinal cord, at the base of its skull, it fell forwards limply, only inches away from the terrified Hina who still looked at its face unwaveringly as though unable to believe the thing that was about to kill her was truly dead.


    According to the stone that should have been a low B rank beast. As long as I can use the darkness in this area, I should be able to end most of these creatures before a fight begins. It would be convenient if things go that way. I walked over to Hina, adopting a concerned expression. I reached out my hand to help her up, which she took with her own trembling hand.


    She finally appeared to realise she hadn¡¯t died and relief flooded her face, but the tears began to fall more rapidly, as she looked at my face with an expression I¡¯d never seen before. Her eyes glistened with gratefulness, her face currently scrunched up to try and stop the flow of tears. She threw herself towards me, embracing my body with a hug.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for being mean to you, I¡¯m sorry f-for all the things I said, I¡¯m sorry! T-Thank you for saving me!¡± she started sobbing.


    Dammit woman, man up and stop getting your fluids on my jacket.


    You¡¯re the one who put in her that state.


    You didn¡¯t stop me did you? The blame partially falls to you, Serenity. The little owl gave me an incredulous look, which I ignored, turning back to the crying Hina.


    ¡°Thank you, b-but what took you so long? I w-was alone in t-the dark f-for so long.¡± she asked, her voice still uneven from fright. Hmm¡­ good excuse¡­ Think, think, think. Got it.


    ¡°I got lost¡± I answered in the most sincere voice I could.


    Hina looked up at me giving the same incredulous gaze that Serenity had just displayed. She looked a bit angry through the tears, but instead of doing as regular Hina would, she appeared to get over it, just asking one thing of me.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me alone again.¡± She begged in barely audible voice, unable to look me in the eye.


    ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that. As your companion I should have been here with you. I won¡¯t allow any danger to befall you.¡± I answered, attempting to emulate a sort of heroic visage.


    She simply nodded meekly, still unable to look at me. That was a job well done! She just had a very vulnerable side of her exposed, hehehe. This should do something positive for our relationship and make her easier to manipulate in the future¡­ probably. If not then at least I had a fun show to watch.

 Chapter 26- Dungeon (3)

    A few hours had passed since the incident with the ape-like magical beast, and Hina was still as on edge as ever. She kept shifting her gaze all over the place, to the point where it was almost distracting. You don¡¯t really have to get that twitchy, I get that you¡¯re afraid now stop it.


    We¡¯d encountered a few more of those grotesque ape like creatures but they were quickly taken down; they had quite a bit of strength, if the shattered floors, walls and flying shrapnel were anything to go by, but if you were fast enough then no big deal. In fact it was almost funny to run circles around the dumb brutes. Of course Hina was the very definition of useless throughout each skirmish with the apes, just standing there and looking scared.


    I was pretty tempted to just leave the idiot behind, but then Serenity would keep nagging and nagging until I changed my mind. She¡¯s a lot more difficult to phase out with all the little screeches she produces. To be blatant about the situation, I was starting to get a bid fed up with the dead weight I had to drag along with me. Not only was she no help whatsoever when fighting, but I actually had to make sure she doesn¡¯t die. In fact, I couldn¡¯t even really afford for her to get a little bit maimed, and that¡¯s not even so bad, it wouldn¡¯t kill her at least.


    We were still walking through the large cavern, in the direction Serenity was indicating, and it felt as though we were getting nowhere. I was bored, I was irritated; life at this point was not fun. I¡¯d started to take note of all the scenery we passed by, and if I had to say, everything looked exactly the same. Nothing of interest. Oh look a crack in the ground! What¡¯s that? Another pebble¡­


    Cyne, the natural magical energy is starting to get thicker at an accelerated pace.


    Hmm? And what does that mean? Natural magical energy getting thicker, so stronger monsters? Nope, no monsters in the surroundings¡­ Unless I¡¯m losing my edge. No, it can¡¯t be that, I¡¯m as sharp as ever. Doubting oneself can only end badly. So doubt others! Serenity are you losing your edge?


    The little owl turned to look at me with the most unimpressed expression I¡¯d ever seen on an owl. Not that I¡¯d seen that many though.


    Just be careful


    Careful¡­ ok. I then continued doing what I¡¯d been doing for the past hour or so; walk. Careful walking of course, can¡¯t be tripping over and embarrassing myself on this relatively flat floor¡­ careful walking¡­ All of a sudden I heard a crack. Wait, did I just fail at walking?


    I quickly surveyed the area and spotted a frozen Hina. This one again. I looked down to see she¡¯d stepped on a crack, enlarging it. I on the other hand had been playing the game, avoid the cracks for the past few hours quite successfully. Oh well, no harm done. As I thought this, harm was done.


    *crack*


    The crack spread further, snaking its way towards me. Of course, at this moment the only thing I could think of were a wide range of profanities. The entire cave seemed to rumble as the crack spread like lightning. Hina, you were just dead weight before, but now you¡¯re a bad luck charm. The floor split into a gaping wide maw, and at the bottom only darkness was visible. Hina looked to me desperately, expecting some sort of miraculous move to save her. Unfortunately my feet weren¡¯t exactly on solid ground.


    Her expression quickly turned to hopelessness as she noticed this minor detail. I took the initiative and stretched out towards her, grabbing her wrist and drawing her closer. I embraced her in full body hug. She stiffened at the action, but quickly began to clutch tightly onto me in response, releasing sobs into my chest. Operation use-Hina¡¯s-body-to-soften-the-landing will now commence.


    As Hina whimpered ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ over and over again into my chest, I slowly positioned myself to direct the most impact towards her body. The dumb girl hadn¡¯t even noticed that she was the one underneath. If we hit the ground, she hits first. It¡¯s only fair, right? I mean, we¡¯re falling to our deaths because of her, so she should be held accountable for actions and respond with proper compensation¡­ like being a meat shield against whatever was at the bottom of this trench.


    In reality, even using her like this will probably get me killed. I mean, we¡¯ve been falling for like half a minute already. The concept of death doesn¡¯t seem overly pleasant. I¡¯ve got so much more to do for the world after all. No one can quite hold a heretic burning like I can, even my peers at the church had to admit that. My bucket list will remain incomplete it would seem. I will never have the opportunity to burn a true heretic to death. I could almost feel a tear form in the corner of my eye; so many good things I¡¯ll never do for the world. It¡¯s a tragedy really.


    But I couldn¡¯t allow myself to stay in such a state any longer. Think positive Cyne! Maybe Sol exists, and you¡¯ll go and live in a paradise of eternally burning heretics. That would be nice. I¡¯d actually started to look forward to it in fact. Unfortunately, such an outcome wasn¡¯t a certainty.


    CYNE!


    Hmm? Serenity? It would appear that Serenity had been shouting at me about something, but since her little owl form had been left up at the top of the trench, I could easily phase her out. Oh the nostalgia. I was about to enquire after what she was interrupting my musings for before everything went black.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Hey, do you think these guys are alright?¡± unidentified person 1


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ They look fine. But why are they down here?¡± unidentified person 2


    ¡°We should be the only ones with that map, right?¡± unidentified person 1


    ¡°¡­ Do you think they¡¯re here for the same thing?¡± unidentified person 2


    ¡°Dunno, maybe we should just finish them off before they wake up.¡± unidentified person1


    ¡°¡­ No, they may just have gotten down here by accident or something. Let¡¯s just have them wake up and then we can ask them.¡± unidentified person 2


    I decided instead of opening my eyes when I became conscious, I¡¯d just continue listening to the two unidentified people nearby. Things were sounding interesting. Well, from what I¡¯d gleaned, I¡¯m not dead, so luckily for the world my good deeds will continue to spread. Bad news was they said ¡®guys¡¯¡­ As in plural, so Hina probably isn¡¯t a flattened meat patty as I¡¯d planned. But then how on earth did I survive?


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    I reached you two before you hit the bottom


    Serenity¡­ But you¡¯re just an itsy-bitsy owl.


    Fortunately for you two, this owl can direct magical energy into its wings.


    ¡­ That still doesn¡¯t really sound possible. No matter how I tried to imagine it, being carried by that tiny owl just doesn¡¯t seem possible. Seriously how¡¯d you save us?


    I already told you. This variant has the ability to manipulate some magical energy into its wings to aid flight. I simply took some of the natural magical energy from your store to redirect enough energy to its wings.


    If you say so. I was still a bit sceptical about the whole thing though. I¡¯ll believe it when I see it. Wait, why did you save Hina as well?


    Wouldn¡¯t it be bad for you if she died? If you must know, I prioritised your life; she was just clinging to you, who I¡¯d grabbed onto. Even when you both fell unconscious she still didn''t relax her grip.


    Hina certainly has some crazy survival instincts if that was actually the case.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up with that owl?¡± unidentified person 1.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it must be a pet. If it were hostile it wouldn¡¯t perch itself on someone like that.¡± unidentified person 2


    ¡°Can we kill it? Its stare is creeping me out.¡± unidentified person 1


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any harm in taking out the pet.¡± unidentified person 2


    What uncouth people. To kill someone else¡¯s pet without just cause. Truly despicable. It had become clear that the time to make my consciousness known had come. As I heard the drawing of a weapon, I groaned and sat up, acting groggy as I gazed at my surroundings, taking in the scenery.


    It was still dark, but this time there were small crystals embedded in the stone ceiling, walls and floor, illuminating the area to an extent. Through the dim lighting I could see two adventurers looking at me with cautious gazes. They were quite the characters as well. From the masculine voice of unidentified person 1, I could only assume that the big hairy guy with a hammer was the very same fellow. He had some magnificent facial hair, braided down to his chest. Something seemed off about his proportions though¡­ he was a bit short. His grizzled, stout body was heavily layered with a disorganised mismatch of leather armour and metal plates. This guy¡­ was really short. The initial big impression he gave was due to his breadth, but a closer look showed a man of about 150cm in height. He was a dwarf if I wasn¡¯t wrong. Don¡¯t see those guys often.


    Unidentified person 2 matched her feminine and soft voice with a willowy appearance. Tall, sleek, lacking in breast and butt, with a pair of pointy ears to top it off. No doubt that she¡¯s an elf. And what a typical colour scheme; slanted green eyes, and long green hair. An elf and a dwarf, and both adventurers. I¡¯ll have to be careful here.


    Of all the demi-humans that we as superior race (as dictated by the book of Sol) attempted to enslave, these guys fought back the hardest. I think the war is still going on¡­ Hopefully they don¡¯t care about country relations and the like.


    ¡°Greetings, fellow adventurers. May I be so rude as to enquire where I am?¡± I asked, in a friendly tone with a smile on my face.


    Both of the adventurers gave me a wary look.


    ¡°Ah! Forgive me, pleasantries should be exchanged first. Blame my confused state for such an error. I¡¯m Cyne Wight, a B rank adventurer.¡± I continued.


    They both appraised me with a few glances up and down. After they finally finished with their, what I could only assume was an attempt to literally see through me, they also gave their names.


    ¡°I¡¯m Caine, A rank adventurer¡± said Mr. Dwarf.


    ¡°I¡¯m Liselle, also an A rank adventurer¡± said Ms. Elf.


    Two A rank adventurers? That¡¯s a pretty big deal. You don¡¯t get many of those guys; to be promoted to A rank you need to accomplish and bring proof of some sort of impressive adventuring feat. You can¡¯t just be able to kill A rank beasts. A rankers aren¡¯t exactly a frequent sight. Being A rankers also means that they know what they¡¯re doing. If they¡¯re down here, so is something very interesting. My smile started to curl upwards as I my imagination began to run wild.


    After a few moments a groan sounded from behind me and Hina slowly lifted herself from the ground. When she finally regained all of her senses she looked at me, and her eyes began to fill with tears. Happiness flooded her face as she looked both herself and me up and down, finally concluding that neither of us were dead. She then noticed the 2 individuals in front of me, giving her glances.


    ¡°That¡¯s my companion Hina.¡± I said. Best not let her run her mouth and ruin any opportunities here.


    ¡°She¡¯s also an adventurer. From the fact that you two A rank adventurers are here, I can only assume that we¡¯ve ended up in a relatively dangerous part of the dungeon. If you would be so kind as to allow as to tag along with you experienced people, we¡¯d both be eternally grateful¡± I said, as courteously as I could manage, clasping my hands together as I did so.


    They gave each other conflicted looks. The dumb-looking dwarf didn¡¯t look like someone who¡¯d be making any decisions in the team, so that leaves elf lady. She looked back towards us and let out a sigh before nodding. Hehehe, she has a soft heart. Most elves are like that though.


    ¡°You guys can tag along, just don¡¯t get in the way. We can talk some more as we walk. Let¡¯s go.¡± She said, turning around and quickly walking away. The dwarf then lumbered after her gesturing for us to follow.


    I didn¡¯t move immediately though. I¡¯d seen something.


    ¡°Cyne? Cyne, shouldn¡¯t we follow them?¡± asked Hina. It looked as though she¡¯d quickly figured out the situation. Good for her. I ignored her pestering, which was being done with a voice gradually increasing with irritation at being ignored.


    I saw something very good. As that elf lady turned around to walk away. That glimmer. My smile curved upwards as far as it could go. I had to suppress my excitement, lest I go and do something rash. I¡¯d know that pendant anywhere. That was the pendant of the pagan god of the forests. A relatively minor pagan god that was localised in only a few areas under elven rule. Hehehe¡­ I guess Sol decided to reward me for all of my hard work (or it¡¯s just good luck). It looks like I¡¯ll finally get to burn a genuine heretic.

 Chapter 27- Dungeon (4)

    Ok, I need to keep a level head. This is an opportunity that just can¡¯t be allowed to slip away; it would be a tragedy. It¡¯s my duty as an inspector of god to catch these heretics, otherwise they¡¯d be running wild doing heretic things, and corrupting the innocent people of the kingdom of Sol. But I can¡¯t just kill her down here. No, no there definitely needs to be a display. This is a grand event after all; my first genuine heretic burning. I¡¯ll have to do in front of the citizens of Plyan, and share the experience.


    I can¡¯t wait, but then again, how do I get her to the site of the pyre? She¡¯s got that dwarf fellow there, and I very much doubt he would be open minded enough to hand her over. Two A rank adventurers¡­ A head on confrontation is risky. If I had to guess, with my current capabilities, in a head on fight I could probably take on a standard high A rank magical beast, but there¡¯s two of these guys, and they¡¯ll probably complement each other in battle. Adventurers are all about team work after all. What to do? I mean for all I know they won¡¯t even be heading to Plyan after this. In fact that¡¯s almost certain. Two demi-humans walking into a human city? Not a chance.


    I kept pondering and pondering the situation. The sooner I put together a plan, the better. As I walked alongside the two adventurers and Hina, I picked up a few details from a small chat we had going. Of course I didn¡¯t allow Hina to open her mouth. Every time she tried to enter the conversation I made sure to cut her off, if she mentions me being an inspector, things will go anything but smoothly. Most free demi-humans have got a kill all inspectors on sight rule or something. I could never get my head around it either, we¡¯re only doing our jobs. You guys chose to worship the wrong god, so we go over and burn you alive (or you get enslaved if you worship Sol). No need to just kill us whenever we wander into you territory. It¡¯s also due to this that I don¡¯t think travelling is a very viable option in the future.


    The details which I¡¯d gathered from the small conversation with the elf woman, whatever her name was, weren¡¯t great in quantity. Despite being kind hearted enough to allow two adventurers who were out of their depth to tag along, I couldn¡¯t even get a hint as to why they were down here. They mentioned a map earlier, but I had yet to see anything of the sort. These fellows must have memorised it.


    Well from what information she did impart, she and her colleague are relatively well known adventurers further down to the South in that country that worships that moon goddess (kind of like the alter ego of Sol). Of course, from the fact that they could do their adventuring without trouble down there just goes to show how lenient those moon worshipping heretics are. I mean, if you are going to have a religion for the entire country, you¡¯ve got to go and get rid of all the other religions and discriminate against other races, otherwise you¡¯re not doing it right. They should take note from how the church over here does things; race isn¡¯t human, so probably doesn¡¯t worship human religion, so enslave or burn if a heretic. Logic.


    Apart from that, I could also see that they didn¡¯t hold any ill will towards humans. When I asked them about it, they just said they were brought up in a city where many races lived. Most of the cities over in that moon country are like that. So accepting and what not. I had to suppress a shudder as I thought about how badly they were going about running a country. What was it called again? It wasn¡¯t very creative¡­ Lun! That was it; Lun, the country that lies to the south of the kingdom of Sol.


    Mr Dwarf didn¡¯t say much throughout the entire thing, only grunting whenever I directed a question his way. Of course, they eventually found my constant pestering irritating, and I got the hint, so I stopped probing them. No useful information was gathered. How am I going to make sure that heretic ends up on a pyre?


    Cyne, shouldn¡¯t you focus on the situation at hand? The natural magical energy is getting extremely dense, so you should be wary of strong monst-


    Serenity, don¡¯t interrupt my train of thought now! I¡¯m dealing with a very important issue. Okay, after turning my attention away from the unhappy owl, I refocused on how to deal with the elf. I have priorities after all. I can incapacitate one with that spell, sending them to sleep, and then over power the other. But then I still have to deal with Hina¡­ Okay, I could knock Hina out, send Mr Dwarf to sleep and then overpower the elf¡­ but how exactly do I explain things to Hina or transport said elf? Well¡­ I could make something up to Hina, like they were assassins sent to kill the hero. Yep, that could happen; a few heroes¡¯ in the past were assassinated by evil cults before they got strong enough to fight the hordes of shadows.


    With my plan of action nearly complete, I began to think about transporting the elf. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t have any slave collars on me, otherwise this would be an easy endeavour. I could always knock her out and just bag her; elves tend to be light, so I could just carry her around¡­ but then there are problems in her potentially escaping. Elves are widely known as expert escape artists; go and ask any slave trader out there: one second they¡¯re there, the next they¡¯ve vanished into thin air.


    Eventually an idea popped up into my head. I just need her alive for the burning, not necessarily intact. Hehehe¡­ Alright, it¡¯s decided! I¡¯ll just throw all her parts into a bag afterwards. That sack the dwarf is carrying looks big enough for the elf. Perfect. The next issue is when I should start. If I get rid of them, then would I be able to find whatever treasures they¡¯re after? In addition to that, I was rearing to go, but I was also way too excited. I could make mistakes! Then, no heretic burning¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll just go for it. I don¡¯t need these adventurers to find whatever they¡¯re looking for. I can just take their map!


    The area had become eerily quiet. No sounds but our own footsteps. The air carried a chill, as it slowly flowed past the four of use. Now was as good a time as any.


    I gave Hina a sharp rap over the head with the back of my knuckle, sending her out could, plummeting into the hard stone ground, face first. Ouch, that looked like it hurt¡­ the scrape marks don¡¯t look pleasant either. Well, it¡¯s her fault for having such poor awareness and a weak body, plus I could just heal those skinned areas later.


    The two adventurers looked over, the dwarf surprised by her sudden collapse and the elf concerned. Hehehe, they didn¡¯t see me cause it. Fantastic. I gave my hand a little wave in the direction of the dwarf, manipulating my natural magical energy. The confused dwarf noticed the small shadowy wisps of energy heading towards him and did his best to dodge. I¡¯d have to commend his efforts there! Despite being faced by a surprising incident, sneak attack and unknown magic from someone who was previously non-hostile, the small fellow actually managed to regain enough awareness of the situation to try and dodge.


    Unfortunately for him, his dive to the side was simply followed by the dark wisps, whereupon they entered his body through his nose. As the last of the dark wispiness flowed up his nostrils he collapsed into a snoring heap. This spell was truly convenient. In the future when I¡¯m able to use it on more than one person¡­ I could barely hold back my anticipation at the thought.


    The elf caught on as her friend collapsed to the ground, immediately entering a fighting posture with her thin, curved short sword held in front of her. I was actually taken aback at how ferocious the previously harmless looking, willowy creature appeared. Well, that¡¯s an A rank adventurer for you. Even though she was a heretic, I couldn¡¯t help but admire the dangerous vibes that her stance sent my way. She watched me closely, eyes taking in every detail. She wasn¡¯t making the first move. So I did.


    I immediately clad my blade in solar flames, darting towards her and sending a lunging thrust aimed at her shoulder; don¡¯t want to kill her after all. Initially she was slightly caught off guard by the speed of my attack but quickly regained her composure, swaying to the side like a leaf in the wind. She dodged the attack, but there was still the heat. She flinched away from the burning sensation and took distance.


    Before I could follow up on my attack, her expression turned to one of concentration, and a faint green glow emanated from a tattoo on the side of her neck. A spirit contractor. Fun times. I¡¯d never fought one of them before. Well, first things first; I scanned the areas and observed her closely in anticipation of the spell¡¯s effect. Before long her short sword sprouted barbs similar to what you¡¯d find on certain plants. They were oozing with some sort of clear fluid. I decided it was best not to touch said barbs and continued my assault.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I sprang forwards, whipping my blade at her throat. She responded by ducking below the swipe and directing the tip of her sword towards my abdomen in an attempt to impale me. Of course I dodged, doing quite the impressive acrobatic manoeuvre in my opinion. To my misfortune, my dodge wasn¡¯t perfect and one of the barbs sliced across my abdomen. Pain quickly starting shooting through my body, and I began to feel nauseous. Well, the situation wasn¡¯t looking too good. That was pretty obviously poison. It shouldn¡¯t kill me, but my combat ability would definitely be impaired for the remainder of the fight. I really need to be more careful.


    The elf took the initiative to start the next exchange after that, darting forwards with a swipe aimed at my legs. With some difficulty, I parried her blade and responded with my own downwards blow aimed at her shoulder. She rolled to the side, avoiding the blade by a margin.


    Like this the battle continued for a few more exchanges. I¡¯d finally lulled the adventurer into a false sense of security, keeping my attacks to a set pattern. This elf may have experience fighting beasts, but not so much humans it would seem. This was further accentuated by her constant dodging instead of parrying with her blade. I proceeded to begin our final exchange. I circulated my natural magical energy, manipulating the moonlight in my glove, creating an image of myself performing several other attacks, overlapping with the one I actually had aimed at her. The sudden attack and peculiar display of several blades coming her way sent the elf into a panic, wildly swiping her blade in my direction in an attempt to gain some distance.


    Half way through her swipe, I impaled her arm into the ground with my weapon. She shrieked in pain as it pierced her flesh and the flames began to eat away at her. Of course, I couldn¡¯t let her die yet so I extinguished the flames after they¡¯d successfully ruined the majority of the muscles in her forearm. Her hand went limp, having no strength left in it, dropping her blade to the ground. The barbs disappeared as it left her hand.


    The elf was focused on her arm, staring in dismay at the charred remnants of what had lain there before. I kicked her in the chest while she wasn¡¯t paying attention, causing an alarmed cry as she fell backwards. I¡¯ll be honest, the injury she gave me had irritated me somewhat.


    I went over to pick up her weapon before she managed to regain some control over herself and stabbed it into her other arm, digging it deep into the ground. She won¡¯t be getting away from that. I watched with amusement at the elf gasping in pain with both arms firmly held against the floor as I applied some healing magic to my wound, just quickly sealing it so that I wouldn¡¯t lose any more blood. It was only superficial, it just looked really nasty. She met my eyes after a while, pain, anger and fear were all present in those eyes. I let loose a chuckle, and walked over to Mr Dwarf.


    As she watched where I was heading her eyes began to show far more fear than the other two emotions.


    ¡°W-wait! Why are you doing this! Who are you?!¡± she shouted in hoarse voice, full of pain.


    I looked back with no intention to answer yet and just reached down to the dwarf. I held his head in both my hands and with a sharp twist, broke his neck. The crack resounded through the empty dungeon area, and was soon followed by a grieving wail from the elf. Tears openly flowing from her red rimmed eyes she glared at me, anger now being the most prevalent emotion.


    ¡°You! Why?! Dammit, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± she shouted, although if I had to say, in her current state, she wasn¡¯t especially intimidating.


    I took the dwarf¡¯s sack and emptied its contents. It¡¯s not stealing because number 1, he¡¯s dead and number 2, it¡¯s being commandeered for a good cause. After all the¡­ is that mead? After all the mead was emptied out of the large sack, I threw it over to the elf. She was still screaming at me in the back ground about something or other. Of course before I get back to her, I needed a sharp knife. The pocket knife won¡¯t do¡­ oh! The dwarf has something that¡¯ll do the job. I took a well-made steel dagger off of the corpse and tested its sharpness. The blood that dripped from my finger being a tribute to its capabilities. Since I¡¯d left my interrogation set with Melissa at the inn, it would have to do.


    I walked back over to raging elf whilst playing with dagger in my hands. I looked down at her tear stained face and allowed a sadistic smile to settle on mine.


    ¡°I charge you with being guilty of heresy.¡± I said.


    She looked at me dumbly. After a few moments she seemed to understand and began to spit harsh words at me. How rude.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of those inspector bastards! Why do you scum even exist?! You should just go and die for your crimes already.¡± She started spouting more things following a similar trend.


    Telling me to die wasn¡¯t very pleasant. I stabbed the dagger into her leg, stopping the torrent of abuse. Instead, a shriek escaped her mouth. She looked down at the dagger, terror now filling her eyes. Oh? So she finally understands her situation? I began to saw the through the flesh around her femur, enjoying the sensation of slicing through muscles and tearing skin. Before I knew it I¡¯d started to whistle as I worked. This particular tune was from a song dedicated to a pair of lovers who died, fleeing from all those who wouldn¡¯t accept their love. The details of the story allude me now, but I remember it being sad enough to bring a tear to my eye. It was beautiful tune full of meaning, harmonising with the painful screams of the elf.


    After I was done, separating all the flesh, I was challenged with the problem presented by the bone. I didn¡¯t want to risk dulling the dagger by sawing through it, since I still had a few more limbs to get through, and I don¡¯t really like working with a dull blade. It¡¯s a bit crude, but force will have to work.


    With this decision made, I place one hand above the gaping wound and on top of the leg, and the other below the wound and under the leg. The sensation of my hands caused the elf to flinch and as she saw what I was about to do, the pleading for mercy came. Of course, this was something I had to do. I couldn¡¯t leave her with the ability to escape. She won¡¯t even need her limbs to burn alive so it¡¯s fine. I proceeded by applying pressure in opposite directions.


    *snap*


    Shrieks full of pain echoed through the empty darkness. Oh, that looks nasty! The bone had splintered and dug into the flesh at the stump I¡¯d just created. I cauterised the wound and applied some healing magic thereafter, to ensure the elf wouldn¡¯t die before she got to the pyre. She was still screaming quite loudly even after I¡¯d healed her. It was actually starting to hurt my ears. I threw the severed leg into the large sack and turned back to the wailing elf. I got in close and brought a bloodied finger to her lips. The action silenced her as she looked at me in confusion, pain still clearly present in her gaze as well as the new addition of despair that had appeared after I turned her into a cripple.


    ¡°Shhhh, you need to keep those screams for later. I¡¯m putting on a big show when we get back to the city, and you¡¯ll be the centre of attention. So save your screams, after all a heretic burning with no screaming won¡¯t get the crowd all riled up.¡± I said, letting out twisted smile.


    The elf¡¯s face turned even paler and the begging began again, but of course I simply ignored her and continued to systematically remove her limbs, each going in the bag that the main body would also end up in. Today is a good day: I caught a genuine heretic, and am now on the trail to what I can only assume is treasure. What a fruitful journey. Of course, the owl watching with sad eyes in the background was a bit off-putting, but as usual I just phased her out.


    <hr />


    Looking back, I actually feel a bit guilty about writing the elf''s fate in such a way. BTW that heretic and her companion have their own sins *wink*, which may make you feel they deserved their ends *wink* (although Cyne didn''t know at the time)

 Chapter 28- Dungeon (5)

    Well that left me feeling refreshed. I got up from my crouching position and stretched. I looked down at the large sack deposited in the middle of the pool of blood that had managed to accumulate as I worked. Luckily for me, it didn¡¯t really look like blood in the dim lighting of the cave, so when Hina wakes up she probably wouldn¡¯t notice it.


    I walked over to the sack that gave off slight moans and shuffling, reaching down and grabbing it by the handle. Picking it up, I was pleasantly surprised by the weight, or more like lack of it. This must be what, 30kg? Elves sure are light, but then again, how else would they pull off all those jumps and flips they always do? I think even Hina could carry this, which is good, since I need to be able to react to any dangerous situations. In reality, the only way for Hina to be helpful at this point is to carry the sack full of elf.


    The dwarf still lay in the corner, his head twisted at an odd angle. Can¡¯t have him here when Hina wakes up! I quickly made my way over to his corpse and proceeded to drag him away from where the sack and Hina lay. Once we got relatively far away, I found a nice little cranny to stuff his corpse into. Before I did though, I had a quick check through his pockets. You never know if he¡¯ll have anything useful on him. It was a good thing I checked too. Out of the dwarf¡¯s pocket I pulled an aged strip of paper, with what appeared to be the layout of the dungeon plastered across it with a particular area highlighted. The text on the map wasn¡¯t in the common human language however, so I was a tad troubled; I still didn¡¯t know what to expect down here.


    What¡¯s with all these curvy lines? Does this even count as a language? It looks more like a child¡¯s scribbling; probably ancient elvish or something of the like. Obsolete languages like those were pretty much gotten rid of ages ago (well at least in the kingdom of Sol) and the human language was established as the norm. Preventing others from speaking their native language and forcing them to learn the human one; I can¡¯t help but admire the church for that one. Now people can connect more easily, and conflicts can be resolved with words. Sure the few who were against it were enslaved or killed, but it was for a good cause.


    I stuffed the map into my pocket and then crammed the dwarf¡¯s corpse into the cranny I¡¯d found. After a few snapped bones and some scraped skin, the contorted body of the dwarf was neatly packed into the small little opening. It¡¯ll do. I looked up in surprise at a sudden familiar weight on my shoulder and was pleasantly surprised to see that Serenity had once again perched herself there, although she wasn¡¯t saying anything. Well, if she doesn¡¯t feel up to chatting, I won¡¯t force it, since I¡¯m a nice guy.


    As I returned to the previous area, I found that Hina had managed to get out of her unconscious state, and was looking around confused. She seemed to notice all the scrapes on her arms, and a nasty one on her face and started tearing up.


    ¡°Owowowowowow¡± she started whining.


    Hmm? I get that she¡¯s hurt, but isn¡¯t that a bit dramatic. Seriously, for the love of Sol, everything she does seems to annoy me these days. Oh well, I¡¯ve just got to cope with it. I made my footsteps a bit more emphasized as I walked towards her. She looked up, relief flooding her gaze when she saw me. I smiled, and quickly cast some healing magic to heal the scrapes. She noticed the faint glow and the recession of pain, looking towards me gratefully before getting to her feet.


    ¡°Cyne¡­ What happened?¡± she asked.


    ¡°¡­ Unfortunately, those two from before weren¡¯t as friendly as they first appeared. The first knocked you out and then attacked me.¡± I said, getting straight to (inaccurate) point.


    ¡°WHAT?! Where are they now?!¡± she shouted angrily. Calm down already, it¡¯s not like you¡¯d be able to even lay a finger on them considering how useless you are.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I fought them off. I captured the elf, but the dwarf escaped.¡± I explained indicating the large sack as I did so. Best make her aware of the elf, although the elf¡¯s stated didn¡¯t need to be expanded upon. That was just one of those insignificant details anyway.


    ¡°I see, but why did they do that?¡± she asked, slightly suspicious, perhaps due to the lack of detail in my explanation. Why can¡¯t she just accept things as they are? I¡¯m her companion, so she should just trust me.


    ¡°It¡¯s happened in the past; some cults either kill, or kidnap in this case, the heroes when they¡¯re still weak. Sometimes it¡¯s because they worship shadows, other times it¡¯s because they want to use the heroes¡¯ powers.¡± I explained. I decided to stick with a relatively believable story.


    Hina seemed to buy it. She initially seemed a bit suspicious of me, but it looked as though what I¡¯d said before made sense to her. Why is this one always so on edge? I mean, I¡¯m literally blasting her with sincerity at the moment, through the use of my smile of course.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t down here for only us either. It seemed as though they were looking for something. As a member of the church, it¡¯s my duty to investigate anything to do with cults, and the likes. What they were looking for down here could create problems in the future. So we should proceed.¡± I said.


    Hina nodded in agreement, a burning determination blazing in her eyes. It looked like that tale I¡¯d told had resonated with her sense of justice, or whatever that peculiar trait that all heroes seemed to hold is. Hmm, it looked like the word cult had done it. I guess cults and such aren¡¯t viewed in a good light by the heroes? Ok! From now on all heretics are ¡®cultists¡¯, at least in the heroes¡¯ presences.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t very experienced in battle yet so it would be best to leave everything to me. If you could carry the elf I captured, that would be helpful enough¡± I said.


    She was rather put out after I said that, but grudgingly accepted it while muttering something under her breath. She¡¯d only get in the way. As much as I¡¯d love for her to actually be useful, that most likely wouldn¡¯t be happening anytime soon. At least she can act a distraction or bait should things get desperate. Regardless of whether she¡¯s a hero or not, I need to get out of this alive.


    Well, with everything sorted out, Hina picked up the large sack, and even made a surprised comment on how light it was. It was at this point that I noticed that the sack wasn¡¯t waterproof and some suspicious liquid was dripping out of it. Damn, should have cauterised the severed limbs as well. Oh well, let¡¯s hope she just doesn¡¯t notice it. I was actually sort of surprised that Hina didn¡¯t comment about my stuffing the elf into a sack¡­ Well, I guess Hina believes these guys were trying to kidnap her, so maybe she doesn¡¯t care. What a spiteful woman, where did all of your justice or whatever it is go?


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I¡¯m not exactly sure how the heroes would react to seeing the elf in such a state, so it¡¯s probably best to not let them see it. Not that I have any intention of not burning the elf in a public display¡­ I¡¯ll figure it out later. Hina and I began to continue walking onwards, in accordance to the directions on the map. Hina looked a bit sour at being a pack mule, but really what else could she do?


    We continued walking for a few hours, the darkness getting deeper and the chill getting colder. The large, cavernous area was slowly decreasing in size, the path getting narrower. As the walls started to get closer I noticed inscriptions snaking their way in a disorderly manner across said walls. They weren¡¯t ones I was familiar with and reminded me of the ones that appeared on the heroes¡¯ chalices during the revealing, but for some reason they gave off a different vibe. They were different but the same? Best not to think about too deeply. At least from these incomprehensible inscriptions, whatever¡¯s ahead is probably valuable.


    All of a sudden the air got colder and our footsteps weren¡¯t the only thing making sounds in the darkness. I cautiously drew my blade, readying for whatever was approaching from further ahead. My action alerted the pack mule whereupon she took the initiative to get back.


    Out of the darkness walked a hazy human figure. It dragged its feet as it clumsily made its way towards us. I didn¡¯t know what the heck it was; No matter how I tried, I couldn¡¯t make out its details. The face was a haze, its proportions every changing. Its colour was a varying shade of grey, constantly changing and helping it meld with the darkness in the surrounding area.


    I couldn¡¯t help but ask myself if it would even get hurt if I stabbed it with a physical object. At least it was slow. It walked at a leisurely pace, taking its time to regain its balance after each step. I wasn¡¯t completely sure on what to do. I kind of wished I¡¯d learned elvish to read that damn map now; it may have had some details on what this thing is. Hina behind me was just staring blankly at the grey humanoid. It didn¡¯t really give off an intimidating atmosphere, but it was strange. Of course, I remained cautious; better safe than sorry.


    It had gotten within 6 metres distance when it opened its mouth, releasing what sounded like someone¡¯s dying gasps. Trust me, it sounded like that, I know. It raised its arms in my direction, and continued to walk whilst grabbing at the air with its spindly fingers. As it did so, out of the darkness more of those creatures began to appear. Umm¡­ Serenity?


    I don¡¯t know.


    You don¡¯t know?


    Yes.


    Any ideas?


    They look empty. They almost don¡¯t seem real. I suggest avoiding any physical contact.


    How exactly are we supposed to get through then? So many problems popping up now. I sighed but the quickly turned back to the owl on my shoulder. Can you read elvish?


    ¡­Yes, a few hundred years ago there were some elves in the fore-


    I don¡¯t need your life story (I could only assume it would take a while), just wait a moment. I quickly took out the map and just held it out in front of her. The owl¡¯s eyes flicked over the text and soon Serenity¡¯s voice resounded in my mind again, this time a bit irritated. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why, but it was good that she was herself again.


    The text is mostly just directions. There¡¯s only a brief note at the end about these creatures. It says they¡¯re some sort of undead creature created using one¡¯s memories and emotions as fuel.


    Great¡­ So best not let them touch me. But how do I get around this obstruction? As I started to move backwards, I noticed that they¡¯d begun to follow my movements. Looks like they follow whatever¡¯s closest to them¡­ Should¡¯ve kept that dwarf as bait. What a situation. Can¡¯t afford for Hina to die, don¡¯t want the heretic to die yet, and me being bait is out of the question of course.


    WAIT! Could this be why that elf was so open hearted earlier? Thinking back, she was probably going to use the dumb-looking dwarf as bait , but with two extra options, I¡¯m sure she just couldn¡¯t give up the opportunity and was maliciously planning our demises for her own gain (probably). But then again, what can you expect from a heretic? I did a good deed.


    Well let¡¯s try smothering my presence with darkness. Oh, that worked? Should have tried that first; sometimes the simplest answer is the correct answer. The grey things stopped moving. It¡¯s like they were frozen in time. After a few moments, all their heads turned to Hina who had a surprised expression at my sudden disappearance. They slowly began making their way towards her.


    She began to panic and started to run away. Seriously? You don¡¯t know if I¡¯m alright yet! Of course, I¡¯d do the same in her position, but this is this and that is that; she¡¯s a hero, so she¡¯s supposed to be worried about things like these. I reluctantly chased after her, and smothered her in the same darkness. All the grey things became inanimate again. I can¡¯t keep this up forever, so best to travel fast.


    I grabbed Hina by her collar and dragged her along as I ran and darted through the masses of creepy undead memory-emotion monster things. I ignored her sequentially surprised and then annoyed expressions. She can¡¯t move fast enough, what exactly does she expect? Also after basically showing all indications of abandoning me, I¡¯m not going to be as considerate as I usually am. She only took a few hours to revert to her normal self after being scared stiff that one time. The sack was also getting dragged along on the floor, letting out pained groans as it experienced the rough ride.

 Chapter 29- Dungeon (6)

    After a few minutes more of running, we eventually made it past all of the grey humanoids. It was a good thing too, I wasn¡¯t sure how long I¡¯d be able to keep up that whole near invisible trick, and it¡¯s not like I can immediately replenish the energy needed to use it. Well, I¡¯m safe and sound, and that¡¯s all that matters in the end. Hina was stumbling after me; it seems the pace I set left her rather disoriented. She was moaning almost us much as the sack she carried.


    Looking around, I noticed that the area had changed once more. Now that all those creatures were long gone, we¡¯d found quite the cavern. It was decorated with skulls and bones of every variety, in a sort of mismatched style. It¡¯s really creative if you look at it from a fellow artist¡¯s perspective. The way they¡¯re arranged as whole skeletons in various poses really gives of a feeling of mystery and intrigue, as though each has their own story to tell.


    Personally, bones aren¡¯t really my style. I prefer more spontaneous, in the moment forms of art. Just when the irons hot one might say¡­ or when the limb¡¯s cut. This display is of a far more preservative nature. The cave was far more illuminated now, various embedded stones emitting light. When Hina entered the cave after me, she gasped in what I could only assume was appreciation at the artistic display. It was so astounding that she even began to tremble with what was most likely joy. I understand the feeling Hina, I understand.


    ¡°Cyne, what is this place?¡± she whispered in an uneven voice.


    What is it? It¡¯s beautiful is what it is, although far more tame than the stuff I¡¯m often involved in. After a few moments pondering her question, I came to the realisation that she was actually asking after the function or purpose of the room, or perhaps the history behind it. How exactly would I know that?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s just keep moving forwards.¡± I responded in a similarly quiet voice; can¡¯t disturb the atmosphere set by the scene.


    She looked a bit displeased by my answer. I was starting to wonder if there was anything I could say without her life being in danger, or her being injured that would elicit a positive response. There are always those people you can¡¯t get along with I suppose. Unfortunately this one isn¡¯t exactly disposable.


    As we walked forwards through the large cavern, I started to take more notice of the ever present stench of decay. While I can appreciate the scenery, such a Sol awful smell could only be described as repulsive. Hina looked to constantly be on the verge of emptying the contents of her stomach.


    On the far end of the cavern lay a large door, approximately 4 metres in height. Like the rest of the area it was made of a similar dark stone, and the inscriptions along the walls that had constantly converged up to this point congregated on the door, swirling around one another to form a dizzying display. Every time you looked at it, your eyes couldn¡¯t help but wander around, tracing along the inscriptions, and next thing you know, you¡¯ve got a headache. Or at least I did. Hina was just concentrating on holding in her last meal.


    Well, it was pretty obvious that the treasure, whatever it may be, was through that door. It was also pretty obvious that the dead people around us were most likely trying to get through that door¡­ Should I make Hina go and try open it? Unfortunately, that¡¯s not a viable action; if she dies a needless death then problems will definitely outweigh benefits. Serenity?


    Most likely there is some sort of guardian that exists in the area; I had my own guardians long ago, although they eventually the passed away. Considering the density of natural magical energy, it¡¯ll be S rank by adventurer rankings.


    Well that isn¡¯t a good to here. An S rank creature? No thank you. Maybe I¡¯d be able to kill a low S rank or at least severely injure it if I went at it with the intention of giving up my life, but I like my life. All I could do was hope it was intelligent enough to be bargained with or stupid enough to be fooled. I decided to stop procrastinating and simply walked towards the door, fully prepared to hide in the shadows and run like the wind should the need arise.


    When I got within ten metres of the door, a low rumbling shook the cavern. It looked as though the guardian beast was going to make a dramatic entrance. Well, at least he knows how to fill his role properly. Thinking these pointless thoughts, I noticed that the slightly elevated mound to my right had started to fracture and the stone was crumbling away as whatever lay beneath began to emerge. The old emerging-from-underground entry; at least it¡¯s a classic.


    As Hina began to scramble backwards in the corner of my vision, the shape of the creature became more and more apparent. Gnarled horns jutting from its shoulders, muscular humanoid upper body dotted with tiny black eyes, in addition to a large gaping may of needle like teeth in that very same upper body. It also had double jointed legs at the end of which existed feet with bird like talons, and it had ridiculously long arms with blade like projections from its fingers. How¡­ pleasant?


    It was lacking a head, but it may still be able to communicate. This thought was relatively quickly dismissed as the newly emerged creature began to fix it many beady eyes on me whilst its chest-mouth hung ajar, drool evidently leaking from the corner. This looked a lot more like a shadow than a magical beast.


    It is a shadow. I recall having to keep my guardian beasts free of corruption by natural magical energy. The state of this creature means whatever presided over this area is long gone, or in a deep sleep. You should-


    Nice update. Alright, so first time I¡¯ve fought a shadow. There are no recorded S rank shadows, so all I could do was cross my fingers and check the adventurer stone¡­ Damn. That definitely indicates S rank¡­ and middle S rank to be specific¡­ well at least it¡¯s not high S rank. To get through that door, I probably need to kill this thing. Sometimes I can¡¯t help but ask why life is so hard.


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    As I started to lament over the unfairness of the world, the shadow sprang into action. It began wildly scrambling along the floor on all fours towards my position, whilst making an irritating jittering sound. At least shadows are stupid. I created an illusion of myself and hid my real body in what darkness lay in the area. The shadow sprang at the illusion, maw wide open and did its best to swallow me whole. It was extremely fast if I had to say, so thank Sol it wasted so many movements; if it were actually to move with some semblance of efficiency, I would be in its stomach by now.


    I observed the shadow, deeply confused by the lack of Cyne in its stomach, for openings to launch an attack. I was displeased to note that Hina had made perhaps the speediest retreat I had ever seen. Not as in actual speed, but the time it took her to abandon me once again. Heroic qualities? No, you don¡¯t have those? Well that¡¯s a shame. Eventually, when the shadow began facing the other direction, I darted in to pierce its body and test its body¡¯s sturdiness.


    My rapier managed to pierce about 1/3 of the length of its blade into the beast with the help of solar flames. Looking at it from a bigger perspective, compared to the 5 m tall monstrosity, that wasn¡¯t very deep. It even took it a moment for the shadow to realise it had been struck. Of course once it did, it immediately flailed around in an attempt to snatch me to have as a snack. All it grasped was an illusion though. It began to survey the area making grunting sounds as it did so. If I relied on my sword, killing this monster wouldn¡¯t be too different than killing a human with needle pricks. I don¡¯t have that kind of time or energy. Let¡¯s try some tier 6 spells.


    Next up, I fired solar beam at the unsuspecting shadow¡¯s face-chest, which it impressively managed to block with its forearm despite the lack of earning. Instincts are a terribly dangerous thing. The beam which consumed a substantial amount of magical energy gave the beast a second degree burn. Although, I was hoping for it to be cut in half or something of the like. Well, it is an s rank creature I suppose. To do substantial damage, I¡¯d need a tier 8 spell. Once again replacing myself with an illusion and escaping the flailing arms of the enraged shadow as it dribbled all over the place, I gained some distance once again.


    Time for Serenity¡¯s spell! I sent a few dark wisps towards the creature, discreetly entering its system through the mouth without being detected. The only noticeable change however, was that a few out of a dozen or so of its eyes began to look a bit drowsy. To make this one fall asleep, I¡¯d have to become better at manipulating magical power in addition to increasing the energy I can use at one time. Well, from all the information I¡¯d gathered, my two strongest moves could give it a nasty burn (something you might get if you¡¯re particularly negligent in a kitchen), and make it slightly sleepy.


    Things weren¡¯t exactly looking good. I had a limited amount of natural magical energy and moonlight left, and once it was gone, it was gone, and my magical energy would take some time to recover. When I estimated that I¡¯d be able to hold up in the fight for only another 20 or so minutes, I couldn¡¯t help but get slightly depressed. I could certainly make a run for it, but it¡¯s questionable if I could get through those grey humanoids with the energy I had left.


    If you keep up this tactic, I can slowly draw out the magical energy corrupting it to replenish your supply; the energy corrupting it is one of a dark nature, similar enough to mine for yo-


    Fantastic Serenity, I can always count on you. Let¡¯s do that! But what will removing the natural magical energy do? Will it revert to the former guardian? If so, wouldn¡¯t it be smarter and possibly stronger?


    No, the natural magical energy that corrupted it forced the magical energy already present in its body. Removing it will leave it powerless, and its mind has long since been destroyed.


    Great, so¡­ how long would this tactic of yours take? It can¡¯t be especially easy to just take out the natural magical energy.


    Indeed, it will take me longer to convert it into something usable by you, and it¡¯s also harder to extract it from a creature. I¡¯d estimate, if you keep up how you¡¯ve been approaching the shadow I¡¯d be able to keep your natural magical energy store stable and the process of completely draining it would take about 24 hours.


    Serenity, all I needed from you was the 24 hours. As I thought this, the owl managed a scowl at me. Not sure why; I¡¯d long accepted that she was big talker, never stops in fact. Wait¡­ 24 hours? I returned to owl a gaze of incredulity. I have to fight for 24 hours straight and not die, against an S rank shadow? Also, who knows what¡¯s happening to Hina at the moment, she may have fallen over and broken her neck, knowing how useless she is. I suppressed a sigh; if Hina wasn¡¯t here I probably wouldn¡¯t even have to fight the stupid shadow; it would chase after the stupid girl if I just sat and waited for Serenity to finish.


    Oh well, the next 24 hours are going to be long. I gave a few stretches, making sure everything felt loose and free; can¡¯t go pulling any muscles. Alright Serenity, begin! And with that I renewed my assault on the shadow.

 Chapter 30- Dungeon (7)

    And so it continued; I constantly bombarded the creature with attacks to keep the dumb brute¡¯s attention. Unfortunately its attention span was about half a minute. Why can¡¯t it be a little more interested in finding me? Sure, I¡¯m grateful it¡¯s about stupid as it can get; I mean I think it hasn¡¯t even realised that I can create illusions yet, just that I¡¯m really fast from the way it keeps looking at the surroundings in the hope to miraculous spot me. Of course, I stayed hidden.


    I was rather unhappy with the sheer difference in strength between the creature and I; to be honest I prided myself in being highly skilled in combat amongst the human population, but it¡¯s oh so very evident that I¡¯m far from the top. Experienced heroes or those famous wizards with their tier 10 magic could wipe a best like this out after a few moves in all likelihood. How enviable. I enjoy my job, but being strong is also something that would be nice. Serenity gave me an edge, but there are limitations on her power, and so far nothing has been usable in direct confrontation, although I can¡¯t say that her spells haven¡¯t been useful at all.


    I¡¯d only been fighting for a few minutes and I was already feeling some mental strain from constantly being on guard as I launched my assaults; one mistake and I would be done for. It¡¯s irritating that that stupid hero isn¡¯t here to help, or at least offer support. I sighed in the darkness. Not that she¡¯d be any help; wait a few months and sure she could probably take down the slobbering shadow in front of me, but now? No. Just my luck. Why do heroes even get given all that power? Shouldn¡¯t the residents of this world be given it? I mean, it is our world. Heroes always end up making changes in society whenever they come, each enforcing some of their ideals with the power granted to them by the world¡­ wait, could that be the reason? To change our society? But nothing¡¯s wrong with it...


    Oh, looks like the shadows let his guard down enough to launch my next attack. I took the opportunity to dart in and perform a wonderful manoeuvre where I gave the shadow a vertical, superficial gash in its back, followed by launching myself off of it back into the shadows with a flip. May as well do this in a flashy manner to prevent me losing interest. The shadow swung around when it realised it had been wounded, clearly enraged, if its frothing from the mouth was anything to go by. It didn¡¯t really appear to feel much pain if any at all.


    I was rather proud of my ability to cause pain with my attacks and here this thing wasn¡¯t even flinching. This characteristic would be useful against an opponent who fought head on, certainly, but against myself with these guerrilla tactics, it was only playing to my advantage; can¡¯t feel my attacks and can¡¯t find me? It¡¯s pretty much a guaranteed loss for the shadow. Although, granted I can¡¯t exactly kill it with these wounds.


    Serenity, want to chat? I¡¯m pretty bored.


    Can¡¯t. I¡¯m concentrating


    I sighed. Looks like Serenity won¡¯t be able to keep me occupied. Letting my mind wander for the next 24 hours seems the only way to go. Initially I was worried that I¡¯d be especially tense all the time, but in reality it was only when I had to launch another assault, the rest of the time was just boring. Well, I can just go for it I suppose.


    1 hour after start¡­ That¡¯s a quite a nice number of injuries on the shadow. To be specific that last one would be my 165th superficial wound I¡¯ve inflicted. Kind of reminds me of that one day with chuckles. I came round with a bottle of wine I¡¯d smuggled into the church, not that alcohol was illegal, just that it was frowned upon, and I¡¯d laid two glasses out for us. Sometimes I liked to chat with chuckles. His mad delusions and ramblings were sometimes quite insightful. Wisdom in madn- happiness I guess. Anyway, that day was pretty fun; I decided to cover as much of chuckles¡¯ body with incisions, and of course I let him enjoy some wine afterwards; just poured the stuff directly onto his wounds. The faster it enters the blood stream the better, right? Good times. We had good old laugh back then, unlike the shadow here, which was madly scrambling in a frenzy all over the place. It seemed to have gotten the gist that I was invisible, unfortunately. Now this meant moving around a bit in my breaks. Just another 23 hours or so.


    6 hours after start¡­ I was starting to get tired at this point, but luckily the amusing scene of the shadow slipping in its own pools of blood kept me awake and entertained. By now it was covered in so many wounds that barely any skin was left, but the damn thing still wasn¡¯t in pain, in fact it was as energetic as ever, climbing up the walls with its talons, trying to find me. Well¡­ I wasn¡¯t on the walls, so once again I was left to my own devices. All I could do was reminisce, attack, and repeat. Serenity hadn¡¯t said a word for ages and the little owl body of hers appeared to be in some sort of meditative state, with the eyes gazing blankly at nothing in particular, but still miraculously maintaining balance as I attacked the shadow. I tried waving my hand in front of her faces and got no response. Kind of reminded me of chuckles just before he started chuckling; no reaction whatsoever. He was pretty boring back in the day, but we all have our dark pasts, right?


    12 hours after start¡­ Yep, still at it¡­ I¡¯d started focusing on specific areas of the shadows to mince up, and one would be able to see strands of flesh hanging down from those areas and a slightly more concave shape of the wounds as I tried to dig out as much meat as possible with my rapier. Not the best weapon for the job but I was getting there. The stupid thing had started digging holes, as if I¡¯d be hiding under the floor as it was when I first entered the cavern. I make fun of stupid beast, but in reality if it weren¡¯t for its entertaining antics I would probably have fallen asleep from boredom long ago. I was also getting a pretty good work out; muscles starting to burn slightly. I¡¯d definitely be sore after all of this. Ok! Next attack, let¡¯s start with a nasty burn.


    23 hours after start¡­ So. Very. Close. The ragged and bleeding figure that still energetically dashed around the place, leaking blood and saliva by the litre was starting to become a bit of an old sight. It could only be so long before it ran out of creative things to do. On the brighter side, I¡¯d nearly crippled its leg; got half way through one of the muscles, causing it to stumble quite a bit more. Only one more hour or so. I just don¡¯t get the same rush from doing all of this damage when it doesn¡¯t react with cries of pain, or you know, pained screeches. This entire scenario just felt incomplete.


    I wonder what Hina¡¯s up to. Did she get eaten by something or fall to her death. No, my luck isn¡¯t good enough for something as unfortunate as that to happen to her. Speaking of Hina, is that her over there? Oh dear¡­ it is. Why did the idiot come back?! She was just at the entrance, peeking her head in to the cavern. She actually fainted when she saw the big, bloody mess running about the place. Of course, as soon as the big, bloody mess saw Hina it sprinted at her with full speed. Serenity, you nearly finished?


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    Few more moments


    Well it¡¯s a race against time for Hina, I¡¯m not stepping in. I watched as the shadow ripped up debris as it hurtled towards Hina¡¯s body. It was at this point that I noticed Hina had actually kept that big sack with her. Maybe she¡¯s not as bad as I thought; I would¡¯ve expected her to just throw it away somewhere¡­ or is it because of some twisted hero-justice, not leaving anyone to die, thing¡­ except me. Or did she think I could kill the monster here? Well she did come back¡­ Oh well, let¡¯s see if she survives. It would be a shame to see the heretic die though; she would¡¯ve never made it to the pyre. It¡¯s quite sad when you think about it.


    Of course hero¡¯s luck intervened and the muscle I¡¯d half butchered, tore as it was closing in, sending the shadow face first into the floor at full speed. I could hear a few of its bones snap as it did. Of course, the determined fellow wasn¡¯t giving up so easily, it dragged it¡¯s partially broken body towards Hina with its limbs in a grotesque manner, but once again hero¡¯s luck occurred.


    Finished.


    And with that it dropped powerlessly to the floor, succumbing to its injuries as its last vestibules of strength left it. It made a garbled gurgling as its life slowly faded away. I walked over and prodded it with my foot to see if it had died; even if it was still alive it couldn¡¯t do me any harm now. Nope, dead. If this was a magical beast I¡¯d be through the roof at this moment, but these damn shadows never have anything valuable on them. After they die, you cut them apart and what? Cracked magical crystals: worthless, now weakened body parts: worthless, equipment of adventurers they¡¯d eaten: worthless; who would pay for a half melted steel dagger?


    We actually benefitted quite a lot. You didn¡¯t use more natural magical energy than I absorbed and refined, so your store has been filled quite well.


    Well at least it wasn¡¯t completely useless. Although I would¡¯ve liked something of monetary value. Well, all I could do was hope that the large door that had ominously creaked open, as I looked the dead shadow over, had hidden something valuable behind it. I turned around to look into it and saw it was pitch black. Nothing could be seen inside. The doorway seemed to emanate an eerie aura, discouraging those who approach from entering. It was actually a little bit nauseating, but who cares? If I get something valuable, it will be well worth the upset stomach.


    I left the fainted Hina to her own non-existent devices and walked over to the now opened area. I couldn¡¯t take her along; she would most likely cause things to become problematic. If something comes along and eats her while I¡¯m gone, then it can¡¯t be said to be my fault; she somehow survived the past 24 hours, so she can survive a few moment more. It was also clearly evident from the bags under her eyes and gauntness in her face that she was thoroughly exhausted. Waking her up right now would just be cruel; so of course, I¡¯ll be kind enough to allow her to continue resting, in that sprawled position, on that comfortable, stone floor.


    I walked over to the door and entered. The first thing I felt was, strangely enough, a sense of familiarity. A relatively small room, a stone basin at the centre of that room and a chalice on the floor in front of it. The spitting image of the location where the revealing ceremony for the heroes occurred back in Sol city. Of course there was some minor differences. Like the all the stone in the area being a charcoal black and the liquid in the basin itself being a disgusting, oily looking black substance, in contrast to the crystal clear water that the heroes drank from. It was like some dark reflection of the revealing room.


    So, a room to create another hero? I know other kingdoms have their own methods of creating heroes; some have similar methods to the kingdom of Sol, others invite their citizens to try and get chosen by some magical weapons or something like that and so on; I never really looked into it that often. This could be some kind of ancient way to create a hero? Well, no instructions anywhere, or anything to help me understand anything about the stuff here¡­ I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t tempted to imitate the heroes¡¯ revealing ceremony¡­ but back in Sol city, anyone native to this world died after drinking¡­ but I really want to try¡­ Should I test it out on the heretic first? If it works, she¡¯d still be weak; can¡¯t do anything without limbs after all.


    After making up my mind, I returned to retrieve the elf. Once I re-entered the revealing room, I casually tossed her out of the bag, sending her rolling across the floor, causing her to let out a few grunts of pain. When she eventually lost momentum, she looked up at me with eyes devoid of hope. Without explanation I walked towards her, drawing the same knife I used to make sure she couldn¡¯t escape. Despite not having any limbs left, she made an admirable attempt to escape with the stumps I left behind, her expression only revealing panic and terror, as they began to fill with tears.


    ¡°P-please¡± she stuttered as she desperately tried to crawl away. Please? Please make you drink this oily, black substance and see if you survive? Of course.


    ¡°No problem¡± I replied with a kind smile as I knelt down next to her and made a small incision, collecting some blood on the blade to drip into the chalice. After this I walked away, leaving the elf confused and trembling. I picked up the chalice and dripped the blood onto the chalice. As the blood was absorbed into the stone, as with the heroes¡¯ chalices, inscriptions began to engrave themselves onto the stone. They were similar in structure to those on the cavern walls leading here, similar to that of the heroes¡¯ inscriptions but also holding notable differences in the style. The inscriptions didn¡¯t form a weapon but the outline of an elf. I scooped up some of the oily black liquid and observed as the inscriptions seemed to start jerking around oddly on the stone, emanating a mysterious aura, which I couldn¡¯t place to any particular attribute, unlike the light attribute back in Sol city.


    Afterwards, I returned to the still confused elf and forced the black liquid down her throat as she started gurgling and doing her best to spit it out. Couldn¡¯t have that, so I held my hand over her mouth and nose after pouring the liquid down her throat to make sure she drank every last drop. The inscriptions jerkily travelled onto her body and she began to writhe in pain as they went onto and sank into her skin. After about a minute she stopped writhing and looked around in confusion. She appeared disoriented as though she had just woken up from a deep sleep.


    ¡°W-what did you do to me?¡± she asked, appearing slightly befuddled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡± I answered pleasantly, proceeding to stuff her back into the sack with the rest of her limbs.


    Well¡­ It didn¡¯t kill her, so it shouldn¡¯t kill me. My turn then.

 Chapter 31- Dungeon (8)

    With the suspicious looking liquid tested, it was clear that it was probably not fatal¡­ Unless it had a delayed effect or something like that, causing long-term health issues¡­ Oh well, sometimes in life you¡¯ve just got to take risks! I took a closer look at the once again plain and unadorned black, stone chalice. The previous inscriptions had entered the elf¡¯s body and the chalice consequentially looked as it did when I first entered the room. It gave quite a foreboding aura. Serenity took the opportunity to closely look the item over while I held it, curiosity quite clear from the keenness with which she scanned it over. Well she was as she had previously admitted, unfamiliar with it.


    I¡¯d explained the heroes¡¯ revealing ceremony to her earlier on when she recovered from that incident after the companion choosing, so she was up-to-date. I decided to continue on with the ceremony a second time and drew the knife across my hand, tightly clenching it into a fist over the chalice and letting some blood drip down, soaking into the dark stone. With it in my hand, I could feel a light vibration coming from the chalice as my very own inscriptions began to appear. If the trend continues then a human¡¯s figure should form¡­ Hmm?


    The figure that appeared looked a little bit different than what I¡¯d expected. The elf had been a rather simple outline of an elf with some bog standard features, but the inscriptions the second time round had lined up to arrange quite an accurate representation of me; There was a male human figure, with vaguely similar attire to mine and even a little owl on his shoulder. It wasn¡¯t quite so specific for the elf¡­ The face it gave me was a tad weird though. You could see tiny inscriptions forming an unnaturally wide smile on the small image, with cracks in the form of even tinier inscriptions spreading from that very same smile. It didn¡¯t make the elf limbless, so why all the detail? Whatever, it¡¯s probably a good thing.


    I filled the chalice with the oily, black substance, giving it a swirl before my I took sniff and nearly emptied out the contents of my stomach. The vile liquid smelt Sol awful! It was hard to describe; almost as though it was everything I found nauseating and just mixed it all together. The inscriptions began to jerk around unnaturally once again, but more synchronised than it had done with the elf, almost as though the entire little figure was restlessly shifting around. Some might think it suspicious, but you never know, this could be a good thing.


    Cyne, are you sure you want to try this?


    I appreciate the concern Serenity, but if I don¡¯t down this liquid, this entire endeavour will have been for nothing. Wasting my time isn¡¯t something I can allow. Time is money¡­ and more ¡®interrogated¡¯ suspicious individuals¡­ and more burned heretics. Time is a valuable commodity.  Not drinking this disgusting liquid would be like not burning heretic who had been convicted, caught and tied to the pyre¡­ sort of. I decide to get the entire thing over and done with and pinched my nose before gulping down the liquid as quickly as I could.


    It felt and tasted exactly how it looked: oily, disgusting and so on. I felt the inscriptions travel onto my skin and begin to crawl to my chest. The sensation was far from pleasant, in fact I¡¯d compare it to feeling of ants crawling under your skin. Unfortunately, I¡¯d felt that before; an accident in the torture classroom, where one hysterical child, shouting about ¡®not being able to take it anymore¡¯, ran from the room, knocking a bowl of flesh eating ants onto my arm. Thank Sol for healing magic. Not pleasant, but as compensation the same child was my next practice for torture class. Good times.


    I stopped reminiscing when the pain began to worsen as it felt as though the inscriptions were burrowing their way to my heart. I dropped the chalice and clutched at my chest, falling to my knees. I was panting as sweat dripped off of me by the bucket. Very unpleasant, almost Serenity contract unpleasant. Serenity had flown off of her perched spot on my shoulder, positioning herself nearby as she worriedly looked me up and down. Hehehe, it¡¯s nice to know she cares.


    Surprisingly the pain got even worse. If I had to describe the sensation, it would be akin to those inscriptions snake around and constricting my heart. The pain wracked my body and I lost all composure, reacting in a similar way to the pain as I did when contracting with Serenity; rolling around on the floor with no dignity. Just need to stay positive and tough it out. Next thing I knew, everything went black.


    Oh dear¡­ I certainly hope I¡¯m not dead. I looked around, but nothing. Just endless darkness even deeper than that of the cave I was just in. It was empty, seemingly devoid of anything, except myself of course. The afterlife appeared rather dull in the end. Wait, stay positive! Not necessarily the afterlife.


    Isn¡¯t the world unfair?


    Why it certainly is, creepy, disembodied voice. The voice appeared in my head, similar to how serenity and I would communicate, but of course it wasn¡¯t Serenity. Her voice was beautiful and soothing, whereas whoever this fellow was had a voice that was raspy and a bit off-putting if I had to be brutally honest.


    You agree? Don¡¯t you want change?


    I don¡¯t know. It wasn¡¯t exactly a topic I¡¯d thought on that often. I mean how many people are there in history who can actually change the world. I¡¯ve always like to just live life for myself and to stay happy.


    Why do you do what you do?


    You mean my job? Well because I enjoy it I suppose. I¡¯d started conversing with this fellow in the hope too alleviate some boredom, but all he was doing was asking question after question. Wait, was this some sort of trial?


    You do it because you enjoy it? To stay happy? To keep sane? Why?


    I don¡¯t recall mentioning staying sane in what I¡¯d said previously, but what do you mean ¡®why¡¯? Everyone wants to enjoy themselves. This suspicious voice wasn¡¯t getting to whatever its point was with any great speed. What exactly does sanity have to do with anything here?


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    The world is unfair, so you do your job to stay happy? The world is unfair, so you do your job to stay sane? If the world was fair would you be happier, would you be saner?


    ¡­Would I? How would one even go about making the world a fair place? I was sceptical of the voice to begin with, but for some reason, he was starting to make sense. His words started melding with my surroundings as well as appearing in my mind, echoing endlessly to form a mind-numbing droning sound.


    You can do your job and be happy while working towards a fair world and greater fulfilment. You just need to change a few things as you go along.


    I do? I was struggling to think at this point. Everything felt hazy and unreal. The voice was starting to sound more and more convincing. Is this some sort of magical effect? Or am I just agreeing because he makes sense?


    YES. Just follow a bit of guidance from myself, someone who wants to make the world a better place.


    It can¡¯t hurt, I suppose. Did the elf go through all of this? She wasn¡¯t out long enough to get through a conversation this long.


    The elf was unsuitable. She couldn¡¯t understand that the world could be happier. She also couldn¡¯t make the world happier. But you can. All you need to do is taking my hand.


    An ebony coloured arm materialised in front of me. It certainly wasn¡¯t human. It had elongated claws on the end of its finger and spines running down its arm. It was barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness, but it had a sense of existence the rest lacked. This fellow was obviously trying to pull me into some sort of contract, and had even partially clouded my thought process. Should I say yes?


    Yes.


    I wasn¡¯t asking you. Well, if I was to look at the pros and cons¡­ I don¡¯t know the pros and cons. What are the pros and cons?


    You get stronger. All you have to do afterwards is follow your instinct. The heroes will take you where you need to go.


    Get stronger and follow instinct¡­ He might not be telling the truth¡­


    I am.


    Yes, yes of course you are. Well, I¡¯m no stick in the mud, why not? Nobody ever told me forming a contract with no clear specifications with a creature of clearly suspicious origin was a bad thing to do, so I accept your proposal. With that, I reached out and clasped the hand in front of me. As I did so, I felt a surge of power flow from that arm and into my body. It was vague and didn¡¯t have a particular elemental trait I could assign it to, which is strange since I would have though for certain it would be darkness of some kind, but it felt unspecified.


    When I opened my eyes, I was back in the cavern and had an owl¡¯s face directly next to mine, staring at me intently. I sat up, throwing her off, causing some annoyed sounding clicking, and immediately tried to examine my body. I felt a bit lighter and stronger¡­ but it was a rather disappointing increase for all the big dramatic contract I just agreed to. I was expecting to be able to break mountains down into pebbles with a single punch or something like that.


    Cyne, are you alright? You went still for a number of minutes. What happened?


    Sorry to worry you Serenity, I was just chatting with some suspicious individual and made a contract with him about something or other. The owl scowled at me upon hearing my brave actions. After a minute or so of berating, which I couldn¡¯t take seriously as the little owl hopped around furiously in front of me, she eventually calmed down.


    I suppose that explains the change in your soul purity.


    Hmm? I just heard something interesting. One can¡¯t know their own soul purity without going to test it at the church in Sol city. I guess since Serenity lives inside my body, she¡¯d be familiar with such details. What happened to my soul purity?


    It jumped up to 90% in total, so you¡¯ll be capable of tier 9 spells in the future.


    That¡­ is also a bit disappointing. How is that enough power to change the world or whatever that peculiar fellow said earlier? It was at this moment that I felt a slight tugging. Not of the physical kind, but the instinctual need to travel in a particular direction. 6 particular directions to be exact. How strange. Perhaps that¡¯s what was meant by following your instinct. The heroes should supposedly take me to those places¡­ Maybe there¡¯ll be more opportunities over there. Hehehe¡­ That would be wonderful if that was the case.


    I then proceeded to explain the characteristics of the creature¡¯s arm, which left Serenity thoroughly confused. I had to suppress a sigh in the end; she had no ideas as to what I met actually was. It was at times like these when Serenity¡¯s lack of knowledge became truly evident. Despite having been alive for so long, her worldly experiences and general knowledge was severely lacking. Maybe the church archives for the higher echelons know. Well, that¡¯s for another day; worrying over the small details now is just a waste of time.


    Before I left the room to retrieve Hina, I looked the area over again to check if I¡¯d missed anything, and what do you know, something convenient had popped up. I swear that oddly convenient staircase leading upwards wasn¡¯t there before. Am I losing it? No, I shouldn¡¯t think too hard on such matters, perhaps that suspicious individual somehow created the convenient-looking staircase. Well, if my luck is good, that should lead to the entrance or somewhere close. Now just to collect meat bag number 2 (Hina). I left meat bag number 1 (sack full of elf) in the room and went back to retrieve meat bag 2, who was still sprawled in an uncomfortable-looking position on the stone floor.

 Chapter 32- Convenient News

    Well, we got out of the cave rather fast. Getting out of that place was significantly easier than reaching it in the first place, but there sure were a lot of stairs.  Once I¡¯d finally reached the top, it had opened up relatively close to the entrance, the staircase sealing off once I exited. It was quite well camouflaged. Looking at it, there¡¯s no way for someone to figure out it was here, and even if they were aware, breaking through to it would be quite a tough endeavour; the stone around here is relatively sturdy. Of course it would be easy if you had a middle S rank shadow at your heel. That guy was tearing up the place like no tomorrow.


    I eventually exited the dungeon, being exposed to the outside world yet again. Ahh, sunlight how I¡¯ve missed you so. Thinking about it, we¡¯d been down there way longer than we should of; the original plan was to meet up at the entrance at the end of the first day. I would¡¯ve been able to make that time, had I not had to fight that shadow. My own lack of punctuality was rather irksome as I thought about it, and no doubt I¡¯d have to come up with a good enough excuse¡­ Well, I¡¯ll just say what happened, without the whole forming a contract with the creepy creature. I also told Hina that the elf was an assassin, so I should probably incorporate that into the story as well. So much to do.


    I took a look at my companions, giving them a quick glance over now that we¡¯d entered lighter conditions. Hina was looked roughed up, with numerous scratches and blemishes on her attire, no doubt her own fault; I was doing my job of protecting her just fine. She was hung over my left shoulder, and Serenity was perched on my right. Serenity¡¯s body looked no worse for wear, but then again she didn¡¯t really get directly involved with much, although that¡¯s not to say I didn¡¯t appreciate her support against that shadow. Without her, I would have been dead¡­ or have fled and left Hina for dead. I then turned my gaze to the sack I was dragging along the floor. Yep, the bloodstains are a lot more visible in the light, but at least it¡¯s dried up now. I¡¯ll just say it¡¯s the design of the sack.


    I gave the surroundings a quick look, and surprisingly there weren¡¯t any heroes around with worried expressions as I¡¯d anticipated. Does that mean they don¡¯t care about Hina? Well, I can empathise but still they¡¯re technically comrades. Just leaving your comrade to die without even trying to help them isn¡¯t heroic behaviour (doesn¡¯t apply to me, I¡¯m not a hero). Even then, I¡¯m still with her. No, disregarding the case of Hina, they certainly wouldn¡¯t have abandoned yours truly. I¡¯m a nice guy after all, they wouldn¡¯t have abandoned me¡­ probably, and at least I think Rin should have been completely against the idea. Did I go wrong somewhere when manipulating her? Something may have happened. I hope it¡¯s interesting.


    With that, I made my way through the grassy fields back to the city of Plyan, accompanied by an unconscious girl, an owl and a suspicious sack. The city walls had quickly come into view, it wasn¡¯t that far away after all. I¡¯d given a little thought to giving a convincing excuse due to our tardiness. Basically, it was all a conspiracy by heretic assassins; as an inspector, they can¡¯t really argue against me when it comes to heretics. Pretty much, if I say its¡¯s a heretic, it¡¯s a heretic. How would they know the difference? As my mind wandered back to my companions I started to get the strange feeling that I was forgetting someone¡­ Ok, so there was Rin, Yuki, Catherine, Deane, and¡­ I swear there was one more person. Well I¡¯ll come across said individual when I get back to the inn with all likelihood.


    After a short trek, during which I had to explain to the guards at the gates about the unconscious girl and suspicious sack that I was carrying, I managed to reach the inn. Thank Sol that guards didn¡¯t ask anymore after finding out my profession. You¡¯d think you would get loads of people pretending to be inspectors with all the perks, but the church keeps quite a close eye on such things, and if you impersonate an inspector then you¡¯re a heretic. I stepped through the door and was greeted by that same cosy atmosphere from before. It was a sensational feeling after delving into the cold and dark depths of that dungeon. Oh, my companions are over there! Hmm, Deane¡¯s there, as well as Rin and Catherine, but where¡¯s Yuki? The gloomy atmosphere implies quite the tale, I can¡¯t wait to hear. I first slipped past to the stairs.


    It was best to put the sack away safely in my room. I tip toed up to my room with adequate stealth before quickly slipping in. Upon entry I was tackled in the side by a sobbing individual who immediately began to rub her tear stricken and snot riddled face into my jacket. This one. This one, was the one I¡¯d forgotten. Yep, these annoying actions by which my clothes end up soiled time and time again. Resist the temptation to hit her. Okay, resisted. Harming her while she¡¯s fully aware that I¡¯m the one doing it wouldn¡¯t do wonders for our relationship. I still need my little accomplice after all. I began to pat the sobbing individual on the head. What was her name again? Melinda? Merissa? Melissa! That¡¯s the one.


    ¡°There, there Melissa calm down and talk to me.¡± I said in the usual gentle and caring tone I used to address her. Although, I must say it¡¯s been easier to address her as such. I guess ever since she got more useful, you could say I¡¯ve grown fonder of her. But this rubbing her tears and snot onto me thing has got to stop. It¡¯s just unhygienic.


    She stopped trembling and looked up to my face whereupon I could clearly see her face smothered in tears. When our gazes met she began to let out even more hiccupping sobs as she did her best to speak to me. By this point I¡¯d casually tossed Hina onto the bed at the end of the room and the sack into the corner. Serenity had taken perch elsewhere.


    ¡°I-I thought y-you *hic* were d-dead! T-the others s-said *sniffle* that you didn¡¯t come out and t-that y-you were probably dead! I¡¯m happy you¡¯re alive!¡± she said.


    She did her best to give me a smile at the end, and despite obstruction by tears I could see genuine relief and happiness in her expression. Well, she did end up becoming rather reliant on me, this much could only be expected. Although I wonder why the heroes and companions were so quick to assume I was dead (and Hina).


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, shhhhh. I¡¯m alright. Look at me, I¡¯m fine.¡± I said as I cupped her face with my hands, forcing her to keep eye contact with me. She began to tear up more and squeezed extremely tightly. Even with somewhat improved strength and toughness, it still hurt. Just how strong is she? A normal person would have spewed out his intestines long ago.


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    ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised you were so quick to react to my arrival.¡± I said, hoping to pry some explanations out of her. I mean, I was pretty confident in my stealth abilities, but as soon as I was in the room, there she was. My ego was actually a bit hurt.


    ¡°I-I could smell you¡­¡± she said in a timid voice, a deeper shade of red appearing on her lightly scaled cheeks. So she has tracking abilities; her other lineage is almost certainly some sort of canine.


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m going to quickly go and talk with the others downstairs about the situation. I¡¯ll be back soon, but for now I¡¯d like you to keep an eye on Hina and that sack over there. If Hina wakes up, send her downstairs, and also make sure that sack stays in this room.¡± I said.


    Melissa appeared unhappy with the idea of parting for even a moment but once again displayed her impressive obedience, letting go of me and proceeding over to the bed on which Hina was flopped. She started to stare intensely at her, it was more of a glare to be honest. Also, now looking closer at the bed, it was pretty much torn up and almost resembled some kind of nest. I suppressed a sigh, and decided to ignore it for now. Old habits die hard after all. Am I being too lenient? I¡¯ll think of a punishment later.


    After getting Melissa to unwrap her tail from my leg, an action she displayed a substantial amount of embarrassment over, I went downstairs for my next conversation, with Serenity once again taking her place on my shoulder. I quickly got back to the lounge area and made my way over to the depressed individuals in the corner. Time to make my return from the dead!


    The first to spot me was Catherine. Her senses always were sharp. As soon as she saw my smiling face, her eyes widened and her mouth fell ajar. How unladylike. Deane, quickly followed her gaze to see me and even upon his usually rather stoic face, surprise was clearly displayed. Rin, the poor girl, was the last to catch on. She began by confusedly staring at her companions before taking the initiative to see what had made them so flabbergasted. Her reaction was one of relief. When she saw me, and by this time I was right by their table, she jumped up with tears at the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°Cyne!¡± she shouted.


    ¡°Hello everyone, sorry for the delay! Hina and I ran into some trouble down in the dungeon.¡± I said, quickly getting to the point.


    ¡°Hina, is she with you?¡± asked Catherine hesitantly, almost as though she expected to be disappointed.


    ¡°Why, yes she is. She¡¯ll be upstairs and resting in my room. I left her in the care of Melissa. Also, I heard that you guys thought we were dead, I¡¯m terribly sorry to have worried you.¡± I said.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just happy to hear some good news.¡± She replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you are alright.¡± Interjected Deane. Wow, wasn¡¯t expecting him to actually say anything. I¡¯m touched by the effort he just put in there.


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately we ran into some trouble. There were a few cultists of some sort who set a trap for us, and unfortunately it delayed our return by quite a significant margin.¡± I quickly explained.


    ¡°You too huh?¡± said Catherine, gloominess once again dominating her expression. Rin and Deane quickly followed.


    ¡°Something happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We ended up in a similar situation as you and Hina; some grey robed people ambushed both of our pairs while we were down there. I don¡¯t know how they tried to deal with you guys but, ours incidents were just all-out battles¡± She said, her voice downcast. Surprisingly, Deane pitched in next.


    ¡°Catherine and Rin were able to fend them off without any serious issues. Yuki and I however didn¡¯t do as well. It was my negligence that led to our current situation. Yuki ended up suffering an injury from a poisoned blade.¡± Said Deane, self-loathing evident in his voice. This story is getting quite dramatic now.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just your fault, I can¡¯t get rid of the poison, even though I can heal.¡± Said Rin, who had been silently brooding for the majority of the conversation. But that¡¯s interesting to hear. She can heal but not cure poisons? So essentially her magic is only useful in immediate combat. She¡¯s surprisingly useless.


    ¡°Yuki is upstairs, resting in his room. Every time his condition worsens, Rin repairs the damage done. He¡¯s in pain right now.¡± Said Catherine.


    ¡°Would you like me to try and get the poison out of his system?¡± I asked. If I could pull this off, my standings would get significantly higher in the party, hehehe¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s no point. A local priest from the church came yesterday and couldn¡¯t do anything for him. The king was already sent a message by bird, so all we can do is wait. Hopefully he¡¯ll send for an alchemist to come and study the poison and hopefully concoct a cure.¡± Said Deane.


    Well, that sucks. The opportunity to make a hero in your debt doesn¡¯t come around every day. Deane just had to go crushing my dreams. I take back what I said about being touched before. The mood quickly sank again. Well, all we can do is wait I suppose. Whether Yuki dies or not is up to fate. Best not to think about it too hard. Anyway, who would¡¯ve thought that they would actually get attacked by cultists? Convenient things like this happening makes me more inclined to believe in Sol and that he¡¯s on my side.


    I should probably not mention the person I captured. They¡¯d probably want to meet and interrogate her, and there would certainly be a myriad of problems if such a thing were to occur. I decide to quickly excuse myself, with the reason of being exhausted after the dungeon. Okay! Next steps: get Hina out of my room and into hers, tell her some tale about my heroic rescue of her while she was unconscious, and tell her that I had to leave the captured elf behind to do so.


    With this, as long as nobody sees the bag, no inconvenient discrepancies will occur in the story I told. Nobody would want that, I mean all it would do is begin to fracture our bonds of trust and unnecessarily complicate things. Yep, it¡¯s best they don¡¯t know about the elf. In fact, with everyone so depressed, they¡¯ll likely not pay attention to my actions for a while, which means it¡¯s probably a good time to hold a heretic burning, hehehe¡­

 Chapter 33- A Grand Display

    Beautiful. Just beautiful. There I stood, in front of the local church of Sol, where my very own work of art was almost complete. I had some trouble deciding how to go about the burning in the beginning; I mean it couldn¡¯t just be simple after all. It¡¯s my first genuine heretic burning! Sticking them on a pyre just won¡¯t do. It needed to be artistic. A spectacle for the crowd. The result of course, was this beauty.


    Before me lay the elf, eyes full of pain as she teared up and let out gasps in agony. Tying her up wasn¡¯t enough, so I decided to impale her above the fire that was about to be lit. Straight through the intestinal region. Some may think, ¡®but wouldn¡¯t that just kill her?¡¯, well no, no it won¡¯t. I made the tip of the stake especially sharp! With decent anatomical knowledge, it was easy to avoid piercing any organs; I just pushed them all to one side. Although it wasn¡¯t an easy task with all that wriggling and panicked shrieking in addition to avoiding causing too much damage. She¡¯d even managed to draw a crowd before the event had begun. People sure are eager for these kinds of things, huh?


    Normally, if one was to see someone shoving a large stake through a limbless elf lady and then planting it in the ground for the world to see, they¡¯d probably try to stop said person, or call the authorities. However, I was dressed back in that boorish white uniform. Can¡¯t interfere with an inspector doing his job; Plyan may be on the borders of the kingdom of Sol, but they¡¯re still under the church¡¯s jurisdiction. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯d worn these clothes. To be honest, after wearing that set that Serenity picked out for me back in Sol city, the uniform felt a bit stiff and awkward.


    Anyway, back to the display. In the end, I decided to use her limbs as decorations, and impaled them with smaller stakes, planting them in the ground around her, so as to try to line them up with her stumps. I¡¯d also made sure to rip off all of her clothes for the event. The poor clothes don¡¯t need to be burned, only the heretic, plus I thought it might rile up the crowd a bit; despite not having limbs, her body wasn¡¯t bad. But then again, they couldn¡¯t go and get too excited, so I added a small bit of mutilation here and there.


    The main feature was ¡®heretic¡¯ etched across her chest, so now when her assets draw the gaze of the men, everyone will understand the situation, hehehe. I used my tools for it; I began by heating up a small scalpel to rather high temperature, and then slowly sliced away her flesh, scrawling the word heretic into her. The screams were nice, but it got a bit boring when they turned to whimpers. It¡¯s understandable though, I was taking my time to get the detail right. If it was poorly written, then some may not be able to read it; can¡¯t have that! I also have to say, I didn¡¯t mind the smell of burning flesh. Oh, just thinking about it gives me the chills.


    I couldn¡¯t have done that back at the inn of course, so I found a nice back alley somewhere nearby and began my work. I had Melissa stand guard. She really is becoming quite useful. After everything was done, that was when I took the naked, mutilated elf to the front of the church. All the necessary straw and firewood was piled up nice and neatly underneath the heretic, just waiting to be set alight. I¡¯d also made sure that the elf was just far away enough from the fire to suffer for the longest possible time. I looked up at the heretic and let loose a grin at the elf, who was still gasping for breath and had a face contorted with pain. Must be hard to breath with a massive wooden stake through you.


    I turned around to see the crowd that had gathered and was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire yard was filled to the brim with a variety of residents. Some had faces filled with shock, some with pity, some with anger, and even some with glee (guess those are the true believers in Sol). No heroes or companions had arrived. They were probably still moping around after that dungeon incident back at the inn. They should learn from me and just live life to its fullest regardless the circumstances! I kind of wanted to see their reactions to the display, how would they look? Shocked? Scared? Angry? I wonder¡­ Well, they wouldn¡¯t recognise me if they came so that¡¯s all fine; I took precautions and came with a mask!


    I ran my hand over the mask, feeling the features once again. It wasn¡¯t anything special, just something I¡¯d quickly bought at one of the nearby stands. It was the face of a man in pain, home to the biggest grimace one would ever see, quite the contrast to myself. It was just a blank white colour, matching my outfit, and was apparently supposed to represent some spirit from a local legend in the area. The spirit got betrayed by humans and ended up in agony, or something like that. I don¡¯t really care, well as long as they don¡¯t go calling that spirit a God.


    Speaking of spirits being called gods, Serenity had decided she¡¯d opt out for the event. I tried to convince her that it would be fun, but for some strange reason she was adamant on not coming to the burning. It was a little hurtful; this was almost like a coming of age for me, and to have someone close to me refuse to come¡­ It hits hard. Oh well, she¡¯ll just be missing out on all the fun. I¡¯d sent Melissa back to the inn, since she probably wouldn¡¯t enjoy the scene, and I also can¡¯t just babysit her while I¡¯m trying to hold an event. I turned to the crowd.


    ¡°Good people of Plyan, it is good that you¡¯ve gathered here today. You will witness something truly great, something truly beautiful! I will take on the task of sending this heretic to our beloved Sol, the one who rules over all of us. She will travel to his palace and be judged for her heresy, and whether her soul be burned or her sins cleansed will depend on the sincerity of her repentance.¡±


    I gave the crowd a moment to digest the words, some ended up mumbling in the back about something or other, and the ones closer to the front had started to get a rather feverish look in their eyes as they shuffled around excitedly, eyes glued onto the heretic. Those fellows are certainly true followers of Sol! I decided after a few moments of silence to continue.


    ¡°All of you, look carefully at the fate of those who stray from the correct faith, no, stray from the correct way of life! Despite not being centrally located in the kingdom of Sol, you should all be devout followers to the faith of our kingdom. You should devote yourselves entirely to Sol. Even if you were to have your life threatened, stay true to this faith. Even if you were to have the lives of your family threatened, stay true to this faith. Do you know why you should do all this?¡±


    With that question, murmurs became increasingly loud, and the devout followers at the front were practically frothing at the mouth, waiting for the burning (they were actually starting to creep me out a bit), while the majority looked on with complicated expressions. Time to give them the answer.


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    ¡°Because, the consequences of losing your faith are far direr than losing your life or your family.¡±


    And with that I sent a spark to the hay and firewood piled up beneath the heretic, and in an instant the entire thing went up in flames. The fire wreathed around, giving off tremendous heat as it crackled and its flames began to lick at the sturdy poles impaling the heretic (and her limbs). Then the screaming began.


    The few at the front of the crowd started cheering, while some let out gasps from the back. Of course, I couldn¡¯t allow there sounds to interfere with the screams. I raised my hand, signalling for silence, and luckily the crowd complied, otherwise I would have had to take other measures so that I could enjoy the sounds. The shrill shrieks of the heretic then began to spread across the yard, likely reaching far beyond. She certainly has a pair of lungs on her. I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Soon I began to whistle that tune. That beautiful tune. Some of the crowd turned their gaze towards me, with frightened eyes. What are you guys doing looking over here? The real show is the still screaming elf woman. Just look at that blistering, peeling skin. Just look at how the tears are flowing down her face. Just listen to the increasing hoarseness of her screams. Is this paradise? It certainly might be. Next thing I knew the screams stopped.


    The heretic was lifelessly hanging from her impaled position with an arrow stuck through her skull¡­ Why? Who would do such a thing? Interrupting such a momentous occasion! It was stuck straight through her left eye, leaving a trickle of blood that quickly dried up from the heat of the fire. Damn it! Who did that!? I violently turned around to the stunned crowd, all looking blankly at the heretic who had been killed far too quickly. Doing this was basically an affront to Sol, so who dares be branded a heretic? Those who interrupted the event can take the elf¡¯s place.


    My eyes scanned through the crowd, trying to pick out the perpetrator, but unfortunately the masses made it difficult to spot the individual. Luckily for me, an arrow flew in my direction, aimed at my chest. That¡¯s a rather accurate shot, and the power behind it is solid. B ranked? Yeah, it would be an attack from a B ranked fellow by adventurer standards. Had such a lowly sneak attack been directed my way before meeting Serenity and creepy contract man, it would likely have killed me.


    I caught the arrow between my thumb and forefinger, giving it a little twirl between my fingers before snapping it and turning my gaze to the direction from which it came. An interesting sight made it sway before me. It wasn¡¯t just one fellow, it looked like a group. They were dressed in dirty brown leather armour with faded cloaks and were equipped with worn looking equipment, not to say that it wasn¡¯t good, just that those swords and bows had likely seen their fair share of battles. They had the air of veteran fighters about them.


    Let¡¯s find out why they decided to interfere, and depending on their answers, the severity of their punishment may change somewhat. No, who am I kidding, they¡¯ll die painfully anyway. They cut off the screams, and my tune after all. I felt my eye twitch with irritation as I looked at the cloaked fellows, who were momentarily frozen in place after my casual display earlier. They weren¡¯t running away, which was quite strange in itself. Weren¡¯t they afraid that the guards would come? Before I could begin questioning them, they began a little speech. A fellow stepped forwards, with a lithe and powerful looking figure. The lower half of his face was covered by a scarf, but from the wrinkled eyes, he was likely an older fellow.


    ¡°Why are you here? We made our message clear to the church! We don¡¯t need filth like yourself coming into our home city and spouting nonsense whilst torturing innocent people!¡± shouted the leader, his tone angry and passionate.


    Wait! I remember this now: Plyan had some issues with rebellious factions, didn¡¯t they? What were they called again? Hmmm¡­. Ah! It was something rather corny¡­ Honesty, wasn¡¯t it? (Never really understood the name; how isn¡¯t the church honest?) These fellows had caused quite the ruckus from what I¡¯d overheard, killing inspectors left and right in these parts. I really do forget such important details sometimes. In the end the church didn¡¯t want to waste any more resources on them and just decided to deploy only holy knights and priests to the area. They seem fine with those two professions. That¡¯s discrimination! These vile people, with their prejudice on others based on their life choices. Truly despicable; the fact the church let these people remain is astonishing! They obviously aren¡¯t very good people. They interrupted the burning, and even called me filth. These scum have no manners.


    ¡°I understand the situation now. It would seem that you fellows have something against punishing heretics? Well, interrupting so rudely just goes to show how uncouth you people are. I wouldn¡¯t so much as give you the time of the day, let alone listen to your angry ranting.¡± I said. I then turned to the crowd.


    ¡°You poor citizens have no doubt been under such tyranny from these fellows, but worry not for Sol is on your side, and in his name I will free you from such bad influences.¡± I continued.


    I then drew my blade, ignoring the blank looks on the citizens¡¯ faces and turned to face my assailants. No doubt this group is deeply rooted into this city, so it¡¯ll take some time to completely wipe them out. Well, luckily for me Yuki is bedridden, so I¡¯ll have plenty of time to save this city from the clutches of evil. Soon they will once again walk under the light of Sol, without this organisation pulling them from the right path.


    I¡¯ll have to leave a few alive to interrogate later. Oh, this is going to be fun! First I need to find the rats, then lure them out of their holes. After that the fun truly begins. But how to lure them out¡­ Well, maybe these fellows now running towards me will have some useful snippets of information. It would be perfect if I could find their families; being the direct relations of a heretic will put you under suspicion after all, and I doubt these heretics will just lie around doing nothing while I ¡®question¡¯ their spouses and children, hehehe. Well to start with, I need to take out these fellows. With that I ran towards the group, weapon ready and a smile widely plastered across my face under my mask. Fun times; looks like I¡¯ll be putting down some heretics with revolutionary ideas for the next few days!

 Chapter 34- Interrogation (1)

    There were ten cloaked warriors in total, sprinting with haste towards me. It would certainly be an impressive scene to the bystanders. I took a look around and was greeted by faces filled with shock at the blatant attack on an inspector of god. Some looked on with admiration, and others with disgust. Everyone has their own opinions on these kinds of things, and that¡¯s understandable, but whether their opinions are right is for the church to decide.


    The cloaked warriors were only a small distance away from me now. The crowd had taken the initiative to clear the way and began to watch from the side-lines of the yard, so as to avoid any threat of injury in the crossfire. Of the 10 men, 3 would be about the level of a B rank adventurer and the other 7 around C rank. Not too shabby, but certainly not enough. Shouldn¡¯t they have come more prepared? Inspectors of god are all at least around B rank. Perhaps it was more of a rash decision born from fury. In that case, this interruption may not have been calculated, and these fellows may simply be a patrolling group who came across the event.


    The first of the group finally reached me. It was the old fellow who had spoken out, ridiculing myself and interrupting the occasion. Can¡¯t let him off too easy. As he lashed out with a horizontal swing with his short sword, I ducked beneath the blade and gave a rap to both his kneecaps with my knuckles as I slid past the fellow. Of course, with now shattered knee caps, the old man could only fall to the floor in agony. Can¡¯t walk too well without kneecaps in the end.


    My actions managed to cause some hesitation before the next few launched an attack. They approached the situation more cautiously the second time around, attacking in small groups. Of course, these heretics weren¡¯t really a match for me. If they were mostly B rank with a few A ranks, then they could give me a bit of trouble. Perhaps the organisation does have such forces. After all, from the frenzied swipes of the warriors it was quite clear that the fools had acted without any clear strategy or orders. I mean, who goes about just rushing at their enemy and hoping to get away with it? That¡¯s just irresponsible.


    I casually swayed out of the way of their strikes, occasionally parrying a blade when I had to; I mean I¡¯m not flexible enough to dodge four attacks at once. Their style of fighting reminded me of somewhat of how many mercenary bands operate, but it also felt reminiscent to the teamwork displayed by soldiers. Are they deserters per chance? What dastardly fiends, abandoning their duty in the righteous war against whoever-we-had-decided-was-the-most-heretical-country-this-year, and preying upon these poor city people who just want to live their lives in peace under the guidance of Sol. They¡¯re obviously doing their best to brainwash these poor folk and have them form some sort of large scale cult devoted to unholy things, like equality and what not.


    In my anger I finally struck out at one of the warriors, piercing his heart with a swift and clean lunge. I didn¡¯t need them all alive after all; I¡¯ll just keep the B rank fellows alive for now. With that said, I became blur of lunges, swipes and kicks to the crotch. It was rather amusing when that fellow died from the crotch kick, although granted, it did shatter his spine if the deformed back is anything to go by. Next thing you know there were the two still standing B rankers surrounded by the corpses of their comrades. I personally would have liked to send them all off to Sol, but keeping them around and captured just for that would¡¯ve required a bit more effort than I would have liked.


    The two remaining heretics looked around, stunned by what met their eyes. Well that¡¯s what you get when you rush out unprepared to fight an opponent you¡¯ve clearly underestimated. How happy go lucky can these fellows be? My blade had gotten quite drenched in heretic blood by this point, so I took the moment of reprieve to wipe it down a little. In contrast to the blade, my uniform hadn¡¯t gotten a single speck of blood. You tend to see stains on white after all, so surprisingly enough back in inspector school one of the classes was to learn how to avoid dirtying your clothes in combat. We all learned relatively fast considering what would be staining us was actually quite the strong acid. I remember that was the day that we nicknamed that one kid Burny (his name was Bernard), hehehe. He didn¡¯t find it very funny though; he even started breaking down after the incident. Hehehe, you don¡¯t need a face to be an inspector, never did figure out why he was so upset.


    Where was I? Oh yes, the heretics. I looked over, depositing my handkerchief back into my pocket, and saw the two of them standing there, one bristling with rage and the other absolutely terrified. Quite the contrast between the two, huh. The crowd had been silent for the duration of the fight, most likely looking on with awe at the skilled display that very few would ever be able to see in their lifetime. I mean, how many high-levelled battles do you see in the streets these days? I started to slowly walk over to where the two were standing, amidst the efficiently executed heretics. I made sure that my steps avoided the pooling blood that leaked from the bodies, making it look like a rather unnatural swaying walk as I approached them.


    Surprisingly the awkward trip resulted in an extremely pale heretic, and even Mr angry over there started to look creeped out. I skipped over the next large puddle of blood, and the two began to turn tail. No, you don¡¯t do that in a fight. They started this confrontation, so isn¡¯t it only honourable for them to stay for the entire duration? I gave lazy wave of my hand, manipulating some of my magical energy as I did so and bound them in place with chains constructed of light.


    They were quite panicked now. It must be quite terrifying to have a masked man walking towards you amidst the corpses of your friends. The fight wasn¡¯t especially challenging in the end. It was rather dull, not that I don¡¯t enjoy slaughtering heretics, don¡¯t get me wrong; it just felt rather anticlimactic. Hopefully the activities that come after will be more entertaining. When I got to the two, they put a bit of a struggle but a few light blows to the head and they were out for the count. My physical strength really has improved. At least I probably won¡¯t be having too much trouble with any human or demi-human enemies in the future, as long as they¡¯re not some super famous and skilled warrior or something like that.


    No true tension ever entered the fight; if you¡¯d watched from the side lines you would¡¯ve known how it was going to end from the beginning. They hadn¡¯t a chance in the world. I looked back at the now dead heretic elf, her corpse rather crispy from the flames now. It was a shame that the event was interrupted in the end. I felt a bit depressed at the entire sequence of events. Sure I¡¯d found a new way to make use of my time, but this was supposed to be perfect. Things rarely go to plan. People have different interests and always end up interfering with others. Isn¡¯t it all so selfish? Damn heretics always causing so much trouble. This is why they get hunted down! I mean, why do they need to worship a different religion, or rebel against the worship of Sol? It doesn¡¯t make any sense. If they don¡¯t resist then there¡¯s no conflict. But wait¡­ if there¡¯s no conflict and no heretics, I¡¯d be out of a job¡­ I guess the world does need heretics.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Soon the guards arrived on the scene. They were a bit late in the end weren¡¯t they? Luckily they managed to redeem themselves by helping me carry the 3 captives to the local barracks where they¡¯d be put into cells. Once we manage to reach our destinations, we¡¯ll be having a friendly chat.


    We reached the barracks, a boring, grey, old building with no distinct or noteworthy architectural features. It was almost too plain. Well, whatever. Before long I entered the first prisoner¡¯s cell. The old man. I¡¯d removed my mask by this point. It would be rude to interrogate the fellow with a mask on, and so I also took the liberty of removing his scarf, and was greeted by an old, grizzled sod. Scars ran down his face and his eyes drooped as they unwaveringly gazed at my face. His wrinkles weren¡¯t those of a smiling man; he may never have smiled in his entire life, how sad. He just gave off that kind of vibe; an old, depressed man trying to do something with his life before it came to an end. I started off the meeting with a large smile and a warm greeting.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to properly make your acquaintance old fellow. We¡¯ll be getting know one another for the next few hours, so make yourself comfortable before we begin! Those chains may be uncomfortable, but remember they¡¯re for your own safety. Wouldn¡¯t want you flailing around and hurting yourself too badly after we get started.¡±


    The old man gave me a rebellious gaze, not a single word leaving his mouth. His lips were tightly pressed shut. My smile began to widen into a grin and I proceeded to take out my tool kit. Where to begin with this fellow? I randomly picked out the chisel from the set of tools. This¡¯ll do.


    I approached him and tried to get a hold of his hands which were chained in front of him, but unfortunately the guy wasn¡¯t being very cooperative, so in the end I had to use more force than I liked to, to restrain him while I went about the deed. These guards should invest in a full body restraint table. Those things are great! They just make life so convenient.


    I had the chisel nicely lined up underneath one of his fingernails. The old man¡¯s eyes started to widen in panic, but despite his struggling, his lips remained sealed. I then reached over to the tool kit and got the small hammer that usually accompanied the chisel. I gave my lips a lick before continuing. I lined up the hammer with the chisel and gave it a light tap. The old man grunted in pain, holding back any screams. Well, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be too painful yet. The chisel had only gone under about of a third of the nail.


    Another light rap. Two thirds of the way there! Blood started to seep from under his nail, and the old man¡¯s face turned slightly pale as he saw I had one more strike before that digit was done.


    Final strike and off comes the nail. Well, almost. It sort of broke a bit and was hanging on by a small piece of flesh. Of course, I couldn¡¯t leave any nail behind, so I just got some tweezers and started to yank out the fragments, merrily humming as the old man¡¯s grunts started to become more and more exaggerated.


    Like this I continued. Nail by nail. 3 light raps of the hammer and off they come. The old man was getting paler and paler, before long the grunts turned into yelps of pain. He did his best to hold himself back. What a fine effort. Unfortunately everyone has a tolerance level. It doesn¡¯t really matter how much pain I inflict, as long as it¡¯s inflicted for long enough. After hours or even days, that same, once tolerable pain will become the bane of your existence. You slowly come to focus more and more on the pain, until eventually it becomes your whole world. That¡¯s when the begging begins. The begging for mercy, to stop the pain. They were always messes at that point; snivelling, sobbing, etc.


    The old man didn¡¯t really seem like the type to just give up after experiencing some short lasting, but excruciating pain. No doubt from his wounds, he¡¯d been tortured before. Probably captured by enemy forces; it was pretty much guaranteed that he was a deserter. He had been whipped, the skin off his back flayed. They had driven nails into his joints. They had branded him. He had suffered through a lot, and wasn¡¯t a broken man. Strange. So of course, I¡¯d take a different approach.


    No matter how many hours or days, I¡¯ll keep the pain barely within his tolerance level, until his life becomes pain. He¡¯ll start to lose his sanity shortly afterwards. This wasn¡¯t the brutal method that had left chuckles in shambles, but the slow and methodical chipping away at an old man¡¯s sanity. Soon hours passed. I¡¯d heal and regrow the fingernails and toenails, only to slowly peel them off again, and again. Some may think the work would¡¯ve been boring, but I could never lose my fascination with this kind of stuff. It¡¯s part of who I am.


    As time passed, the old man¡¯s reactions to the same pain over and over became more and more exaggerated. I think I¡¯d also inflicted a bit of psychological damage with endless happy tunes I would hum as I took each nail off, slowly and carefully. Simply mutilating the fellow isn¡¯t what I need to do now; he needs to be worn down for the information I need.


    I never asked a single question, just waiting for the old man with bloodstained fingers to come forward and tell me what I need to know. This type of torture always put me in such a calm frame of mind. I truly struggled to be as jovial as I normally was when doing this kind of long-term torture.


    After an entire 24 hours the old man broke. I was expecting him to last longer to be honest. He was rather disappointing in the end. It was clear when his yelps had turned into agonised wails and tears started flowing down his face, that the old man had reached the breaking point.


    ¡°P-please stop. N-no more, I can¡¯t take any more. Please. I don¡¯t know much; my only contact is the weapons dealer from the ¡®sword and shield¡¯ store.¡± Said the old man, his voice quivering as he gave me all that he knew. That was quite a bit of effort for such a vague lead. Perhaps the others would have more for me¡­


    The heretic looked rather ashamed of himself. His expression told a tale of some sort of internal conflict. Probably telling himself that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything with what information he had. Lying to yourself is no good. Inspectors are rather good at following leads you know. Even if your buddies weren¡¯t nearby, I¡¯d still track all of you down.


    I simply smiled at him and stopped the repetitive motions I had been making for the past few hours. The heretic sighed with relief, his tensed muscle finally relaxing. The relief didn¡¯t last for long though; the heretic gasped with pain when he saw my scalpel digging deeply into his guts. Business was done, so time for some fun!

 Notice

    Hello to those of you who read this story! You guys may have noticed a lack of chapters recently, so I thought I''d give you a heads up.


    Basically, I don''t have much time; currently a student at university and my course has been taking up a lot of my time recently.


    I don''t know how other authors go about it, but when I write a chapter, I sit down and just write for an hour or so, BUT WAIT! There''s more. After writing the chapter I take my time to read over it and reword everything I don''t like or start again if I find it boring. All in all it''s actually pretty time consuming.


    So, for the next few weeks, I might post the occasional chapter here and there (you might even get one later today), but I won''t be able to keep up the pace I started with at the beginning.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Once Christmas holidays kicks in I''ll be able to speed up the releases once again. Well, I''ll be able to write loads again, though I may not have access to the internet... So it may end up in a small pile of chapters in early January.


    So yeah.


    P.S It''s nice to see people enjoying the fiction! Wasn''t too sure how people would find Cyne (TBH even I had mixed feelings about some of Cyne''s actions... and I created him), but looks like the good people of royalroad can appreciate a bit of torture and burning alive.

 Chapter 35- Interrogation (2)

    Yo, people who read this fiction! It''s been a while. I''ve been very busy and didn''t really get much done in terms of writing over Christmas. It''s pretty tough to pump out chapters and get through my daily schedule, so chapters will be far less frequent than they were in the past. No set plan; I''ll just do them when I have a bit of free time here and there.


    Also, it''s a pain to go over them as I''ve done in the past and fiddle around to make the flow better or fix mistakes, so chapters from here on out may be bit a scruffy compared to earlier chapters.


    Well here''s the chapter.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°And so you see, then chuckles started laughing his head off! Good times.¡± I said.


    I¡¯d been taking a break from proper interrogation by playing with the old fellow down in the barrack prisons. For some reason, once I¡¯d started cutting him up without any reason, he¡¯d lost his composure. The pained cries of the old man were quite loud; in fact the prison guards came by a little while ago when they heard it, wondering what the ruckus was about; well granted, for the past few hours the fellow hadn¡¯t done much except for painful groaning and yelps, but he¡¯d actually managed to successfully rip his vocal chords in the last 2 or so hours (I lost track of time, but who can blame you when you¡¯re having a great time!)


    The guard also left very quickly after seeing that everything was alright. Although, I wonder if he¡¯s ill; I heard quite a bit of vomiting once he¡¯d left the room. Whatever. I went back to carefully pulling out the old fellow¡¯s intestines, making sure not to cause too much damage, and applying enough healing magic to keep him conscious and alive. I¡¯d begun by carefully slicing open his stomach, which if I had to say, I don¡¯t think he found especially pleasant, hehehe. When I first started cutting him open, the pain didn¡¯t actually hit immediately. He just stared at me with a confused expression, which turned rather quickly to hopelessness and pain after the initial incision.


    He started squirming with all his might after that, in a feeble attempt to flee. The rude fellow! I mean, I¡¯ll put him back together when I¡¯m done, so it¡¯s all fine right? His expression was something that I couldn¡¯t help but savour at that moment. He wasn¡¯t a veteran warrior anymore, but a terrified old man desperately trying to crawl away. Of course the squirming had to stop, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to have my fun. I¡¯d knelt down and gone about debilitating his arms and legs with a pair of surgical scissors: a few tendons cut there, just a bit of mangling of the muscle here, and there you have it; the most well behaved prisoner you could ever ask for. Of course during the process the old man had done his best to fend me off despite being chained. He even tried to attack me, I mean, how despicable. All that earned him was back handed strike across the face. He lost quite a few teeth, but he deserved it in the end. What did I do to deserve such retaliation? In the end this heretic was in the wrong, and the majority of the kingdom of Sol would agree with me there.


    Anyway, back to what happened. Well, after making him easier to deal with, I got a good grip on both sides of the incision I¡¯d made and gave a strong tug in opposite directions. Unfortunately in these cases, even I can¡¯t keep my clothes completely clean with all the blood that seeps out of the wound. So, as the skin began to slowly stretch and tear as I made a nice opening to his intestinal region, and that was when the fellow began to scream his head off. I admit, it mustn¡¯t be a pleasant experience to have your belly torn open, but in the end the wounds will heal better when I patch him back up at a later date.


    And, well here I am. My white gloves and the sleeves of my overcoat were drenched in blood, unsurprisingly, and there were a few speckles here and there on the torso area due to some spurts when I was opening the heretic up. It was getting a bit annoying to hold open the tear while scooping out his intestines, so I reached over to my tools to sort out the problem. I took out a needle and thread, and began to suture the sides of the tear to his arms, so that it would hold open. Once I¡¯d finished, I couldn¡¯t help but look in admiration at that quality suture, and the effectiveness with which it worked. I was actually just improvising a bit, but it really did wonders. The old man, was also admiring my work¡­ well, probably. He was certainly stunned as he saw the quick fix I¡¯d made. It¡¯s a good thing he can¡¯t move his arms, otherwise he¡¯d probably end up splitting a lot more skin, or just tearing it off. He can thank me later once he¡¯s converted to Sol.


    In the end, he didn¡¯t really have anything against Sol the god, from his speech earlier, but with us hard working individuals at the church. As long as he fixes his attitude, he¡¯ll be able to re-enter society, a happier man. Of course, if like the elf lady, he¡¯d worshipped some other god, then he would be burned alive. Personally, I was still unhappy that the fellow had interrupted my grand event, but in the end he was likely just misguided. The ring leader of this band of heretics needs to be brought to justice! And burned! The rest of his merry band of heretics can just have a short chat with me, where I can help them correct their attitudes and behaviour.


    I started to decorate the room with his intestines, circling them around on the floor and hanging them on the ledges that acted as shelves for the prisoner. In the end the display was beautiful! A single broken, old man lying motionlessly whilst silently screaming with all his might. His abdomen torn open and sutures to his arms holding it nice in place, whilst his  guts were sprawled all around him, creating a lovely background image. It looked like an explosion of passion (guts). As I looked deep into his pained and tearing, wrinkly old eyes I felt an elated feeling rush through me. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a happy sigh as I smiled warmly at the scene. This is the life.


    When I put him back together later he probably won¡¯t turn against the church again. Of course, the satisfaction I felt quickly turned sour when I saw his eyes begin to dull. This old heretic was dying on me! I understand that being so old might make such trauma more difficult to handle, but he didn¡¯t have to go and start dying! Well, whatever. I¡¯m nothing if not a nice guy. I healed the old man¡¯s vocal chords and dulled the pain he felt just enough to be able to hold a coherent chat with myself.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°You are dying. *sigh* And after all the effort I put into correcting you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure that if you truly repent, Sol will be merciful in the afterlife. Tell me old fellow, do you have any last wishes?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Charlotte¡­ Granddaughter¡­ She should be playing with her friends now¡­ Only have each other¡­¡± Mumbled the old man incoherently, as the beginning of tears began to well in the corner of his eyes.


    Wow, this fellow was completely out of it. His eyes kept lazily drifting around as they got progressively duller. Normally one wouldn¡¯t so readily talk about their family with an inspector of God. Never really knew why. My impression of this old fellow just improved quite a bit. To show my gratitude, I called over a guard and had them go search for the child after I wrung out a few more details from the old fellow. It¡¯s the least I can do to allow them a few moments; I can just imagine the heart-warming scene now: she¡¯ll run in all in tears and go by her grandfather¡¯s side, clutching his hand as she begs him not to die. I could barely wait to see the dramatic scene.


    After about an hour, I heard the guards come back and my ears also detected some lighter footsteps alongside their heavier ones. Perfect! I quickly skipped over the entrails and out of the room to entertain the new guest. What I saw when I exited the room was a child of about 11 or 12 years of age. She was rather ordinary, having the typical dirtied garb from playing outdoors and dull brown hair tied back with eyes of the same colour. She looked to be rather unnerved, the poor thing even began trembling as her gaze settled on me.


    I quickly made the decision to be kind to the child. Her grandfather might have been a heretic but it was unlikely he¡¯d passed on his tendencies to her. Even if he had, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give a few words of wisdom before he dies, ow that he¡¯s been re-educated. I took off my blood stained gloves, casually tossing them to the side, following which I withdrew a fresh pair from my pocket. I put the gloves back on and held my hand out to the slightly grubby looking child, displaying a friendly smile which seemed to make her ease up ever so slightly.


    ¡°Hello there, my name is Cyne. I¡¯m a friend of your grandfather. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± I began. I¡¯d say the old fellow and I had been in each other¡¯s company for long enough to be called friends¡­ It is a time dependent thing, right?


    ¡°I-I¡¯m Charlotte¡± the other party hesitantly replied, shaking my hand. She seemed to have eased up just a tiny bit more after hearing that I was a friend of her grandfather.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be the one to tell you this but your grandfather is dying¡± I began adopting a sympathetic smile as her face went blank, clearly whilst the girl tried to comprehend my words.


    It didn¡¯t take too long before tears were streaming down her face and the all too familiar snotty nose had made its appearance¡­ this unsightly display was way too familiar.  I promptly gave the child some space, having learned from my past experiences that my clothes may end up getting soiled if such actions weren¡¯t taken. Through the tears and sobbing, the distressed child managed to get out a few words.


    ¡°Where¡¯s grandpa?¡±


    How pitiful. I should really let the two see each other. I pointed to the door from which I¡¯d just exited, and the child ran with all her might towards where her grandfather lay waiting. What good grandchild. I quickly followed, hoping to see a tear jerking farewell.


    After passing through the door way, the silly child didn¡¯t look where she was going and got her foot snagged on some entrails, leading to quite comedic tumble face first into one of the pools of blood scattered about the room. Blood doesn¡¯t come out easily I¡¯ll have you know. Most of the time I just get new clothes, especially since my working clothes are white.


    Okay, time for the child to redeem herself. She got off the floor and stared at in shock at the bright red colours which livened up the room. Her eyes blankly gazed at the hanging entrails, slowly following their course to the centre of the room where her grandfather lay, his breathing now so shallow it was basically non-existent. Well there you have it child! Your grandfather is there, so run to him and comfort him in his final moments. I really wish there was a way to record scenes like this.


    Unfortunately things didn¡¯t go as I planned. The old fellow was barely conscious and didn¡¯t even notice his own granddaughter and it would seem the teary and caring display before from said granddaughter were exaggerated since she wasn¡¯t focused on her grandfather¡¯s last moments. She let out a terrified screech which actually hurt my ears quite badly, noisy little brat. She turned around and ran towards the exit where I was located but slipped up on the bloody floor and fell with a splash. She also managed to ruin my great display, one of her arms desperately having grabbed some suspended intestines, ripping them apart.


    After all that delicate work¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but sigh and crinkled my nose as the smell of waste intermingled with the meaty smell I was used to by this point. The girl looked at the chunk of entrails she held in her hand and threw up before passing out¡­ How anticlimactic.


    I left the room and closed the door behind me. The guards can go and fetch her after she¡¯s had some alone time with her grandfather. I have heretic hunting to do after all; can¡¯t spend all of my time meddling with family matters.


    I walked past the two guards who had brought in the child and left the building. Those guards looked a bit pale¡­ I wonder if they¡¯re alright¡­

 Ive lost my drive.

Yo!


    I could continue this fiction, but I sort of lost my drive for it. I may continue again in the future but for now I''ve dropped it. If I do any more posts on royal road, then it''ll probably be a new series to get my blood pumping.

 Chapter 36- Art

    Hello, it has been a while. Life is starting to settle down a little bit, so I have some more free time. I found myself writing more for this story, so here''s another chapter.


    I can''t say I''ll be putting out frequent or consistent chapters, but another one may pop up from time to time.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I lazily gazed into the flames as I leaned back in my chair. Everyone needs a little time to relax, and what better way to do it than by sitting next to a warm fire and taking a nap. I let my eyes flutter to close as I produced a sloppy grin. The place isn¡¯t too bad either. I took a good look at the surroundings after rousing myself from my nap. The room was quite lavishly decorated, with ornament adorning the walls and a lovely beige carpet covering the floor. The couch (which happened to be the location of my nap) was also divinely soft. Thank Sol for comfortable furniture.


    Who would have thought that in the end it was actually an aristocrat who had incited the resistance against the church? I certainly wouldn¡¯t have. Haven¡¯t we always had a good relationship with nobles? They give us money¡­ and we do churchy stuff. It¡¯s a relationship that works. I looked over to the fireplace and yawned, feeling sleep beginning to overcome me again. Regular fire hadn¡¯t really done the job so I had to use a bit of magic to aid the process, but the result was nice; the scorched bones really accentuate the atmosphere. Had a hard time cramming that fellow into the fireplace though, but a few broken bones later and all was well. At least he was joined by his family soon after.


    The entire ordeal had turned out somewhat insignificant in the end; just a few fools attempting to bring about change. Why change anything? I¡¯m pretty happy with the current climate of the kingdom. If they want change, they should go over to the Lunar kingdom; it¡¯s only a bit further south, and those guys accept any and all refugees. The main religion worships the moon goddess over there, and in general, said religion sucks. No torture, no burning, and they don¡¯t even accept brib-unofficial donations.


    I slowly rolled off of the couch and began to head to the exit. It was about time I headed back; the little chase took around 4 days in the end.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Okay¡­


    Inn burned down, check.


    Companions nowhere to be seen, check.


    A little owl screeching in my ear about a kidnapping, check.


    Looks like they just took a break from adventuring and went somewhere to rela- OUCH! I glared at the owl which had ferociously attacked my unguarded ear.


    Cyne, they were taken.


    Who?


    Melissa, the heroes and their companions.


    ¡­Who?- OUCH! Another attack. I let out a self-depreciating smile. I¡¯d just finished chasing after heretics and now I¡¯ve got to go and track down the heroes? Why can life not be a simple compilation of heretic burnings and the like? Is that too much to ask? No, it isn¡¯t.


    Aren¡¯t you concerned over your slave at the very least? Asked an owl whose glare was currently burning a hole through my head. Since when did she get attached to the lizard-dog-girl-thing? Man, such troubling situations just seem to love me.


    After releasing a pent up sigh, I moved onto the task at hand. So, who kidnapped them?


    People in grey cloaks


    Not much to go on, but ok¡­ Which way did they go?


    Serenity¡¯s head sharply turned due south. The kingdom of Lun? I don¡¯t have any authority over there¡­ Is it really worth it?... The kingdom would probably be rather irritated if I didn¡¯t take action wouldn¡¯t they?


    Whilst pondering my options I quickly stepped backwards so as to avoid the numerous daggers flying my way. To my left, perched up on an adjacent building was a grey cloaked individual. Surprisingly enough, there was only one. That attack looked lethal, so the kidnappers most likely didn¡¯t want to kidnap me. I¡­ I feel kind of left out. To add to that, they though one of them was enough to take care of me? Really? Ughh!


    Okay, time to pay attention; a dagger definitely just pierced my lung. I looked towards the previously thrown daggers and was rather miffed to see them all hurtling towards me. I twisted out of their paths but was dismayed to notice the silver wires attached to them. Turns out someone was manipulating them from a distance. Quite unusual, but nevertheless very deadly. Using a solid kick I managed to dodge the trailing wires as they converged on my previous position. Yep, that would¡¯ve made minced meat out of me.


    After making a clean exit from the entrapment, the grey cloaked individual began hurtling towards me, a numerous wires glinting as they exited from under the cloak. This fellow was rather skilled; enough to take down most elite warriors at any rate. I released a wisp of darkness which speedily trailed towards the incoming individual, entering the hood of their cloak. The cloaked attacker immediately collapsed, a faint snoring drifting from there now motionless body. That was rather strange¡­ the spell was quite a bit faster and more effective than usual. Hehehe¡­ maybe that deal with the creepy disembodied voice had more perks than I originally thought.


    Despite the spell being more effective than usual, shouldn¡¯t the attacker have been able to dodge? It was pitch black after all; not exactly hard to miss¡­ but then again that was its only characteristic, so if you don¡¯t see it, you can¡¯t detect it. Hmm¡­


    I walked over to the cloaked individual and slung them over my shoulder. They were extremely light, and now looking closer the individual was quite petite and slender. Whatever¡­ time for some interrogation!


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    Beautiful¡­


    She¡­ she¡¯s a work of art.


    The wires were sown into her skin. Her mouth, eyes and even lady parts all sown shut with this silver wires. This mutilation of the human body, was so creative! Who was the genius behind this?! We need to exchange notes! Imagine the good we do together! Wait¡­ how does she eat? Whatever.


    The girl herself was quite beautiful as well with white hair and skin bordering on translucency. Her age appeared to be that of maybe a teenager? Not too sure; she¡¯s relatively petite, standing at only 1m 50cm, but she seems to have developed relatively well despite her slender frame. Her skin was all the more beautiful with numerous pale scars crisscrossing over it. I slowly caressed each blade mark and whip injury gently, taking in the texture and shivering in delight. She was a beautiful creation; although I tend to prefer short and snappy moments of art, this work that had clearly been cultivated over who knows how many years was just too incredible. The pain, the suffering, the burns¡­ I took a moment to calm myself down.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as if I had intended to gaze upon her naked body, it¡¯s just that the cloak was the only thing she had been wearing. I¡­ I can¡¯t interrogate her; one wrong move and I could completely destroy the synergy of her scars! Any imperfection would be a tragedy! I continued to ponder how to get the information I needed out of her. Oh, looks like she woke up!


    The masterpiece began to struggle against the restraints on her arms and legs, but unfortunately, strength wasn¡¯t her strongest attribute. Ignoring her struggling, I just continued to caress each and every beautiful mark on her skin. The girl tried to shrink away from my touch, like a frightened animal; I wonder if she had ever been contacted in a non-violent way? I mean, I can¡¯t do anything without ruining art here, so she shouldn¡¯t be so afraid.


    I continued to stroke her wounds and admire her body as I contemplated how to proceed. Serenity had left as soon as I had said it was time for interrogation, speaking of which, I had borrowed the barracks cells again. As I continued delicately tracing my fingers over the captive, the shying away ceased and every time I made contact with her skin a small shiver ran down her body. Her face despite being neatly stitched up managed to show a confused expression. As far as I could tell, all of those wires did a great job of restricting facial expression, running through numerous muscles responsible for such actions under the skin.


    ¡°You really are beautiful¡± I whispered into her ear. She has definitely entered my top ten works of art.


    Her expression grew more confused but her struggling had completely ceased at this point, her body had even begun to try and draw closer to my caresses. Whether this was voluntary or involuntary was unknown to me but who cares. It was very relaxing. I ended up just sitting there for almost an hour, caressing the art and even voicing my praise on occasion.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    How am I supposed to get information without torture? I was never taught how to deal with such a situation¡­ She can¡¯t speak either¡­ I started my internal struggle as of whether or not to cut the wires enclosing her mouth. It would be a waste, but it had to be done; without information, the heroes were as good as gone, and who knows how much trouble I would be in. I sighed before fetching a scalpel from my bag.


    I walked over to the still restrained individual and began placed the scalpel to her lips, pulling against the wire that held her silence. As I drew the blade across her mouth, each stitch snapped one by one, unable to hold up against my well-kept equipment. As I proceeded, the girl began to struggle again, a fearful expression once again dominating her face. I leaned down and whispered into her ear.


    ¡°Why so scared? I just want to talk¡­¡±


    With those few simple words, she began to relax, although still visibly uncomfortable with the situation. As the scalpel reached the other end of her mouth the job was done. Her mouth then opened, as she sucked in a deep breath. She continued to open and close her mouth, as though the sensation was completely foreign to her. It was somewhat amusing¡­ The sensation I was experiencing from observing her wasn¡¯t the usual exhilarating thrill of burning someone alive or interrogating a heretic. The right word would be fascinated¡­ I am fascinated by her; her appearance sent shivers of delight down my spine. I kind of want to keep her¡­


    I gazed at her, taking in every detail of her actions as she experimented at moving her lips and tongue. I once again absent-mindedly traced my finger along a silvery-white scar running across her abdominal region. The action which had previously been met with silence, elicited a sharp gasp from the girl. Her voice was raspy, no doubt from lack of use. It somewhat reminds me of how heretics would eventually lose their voices after a bit too much interrogation.


    ¡°Hello there, I¡¯m Cyne.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She opened and then closed her mouth hesitantly.


    ¡°No need to be shy. I won¡¯t hurt you¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Once again I was met by silence.


    ¡°Not used to talking? Come on, I¡¯d love to hear your voice some more; I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just as lovely as you are.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± The sweet-talking was met with silence once again, although the girl showed and awkward and unsure expression when I¡¯d called her ¡®lovely¡¯.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s try again. I¡¯m Cyne, who are you?¡± I tried asking a direct question instead of beating around the bushes and happily enough, got a reply.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ a¡­ mess..en..ger¡­ of¡­ god¡­¡± she rasped. Which god? Sol?


    ¡°Which god would that be?¡±


    ¡°The¡­ true¡­ god¡­, Lun¡±


    Seriously? She¡¯s a follower of the moon goddess? Wait¡­ Wait a moment! Their religion must be better than I first thought if they can produce masterpieces like this. Perhaps they¡¯re simply more secretive with the way they deal with heretics¡­


    ¡°Do you have a name?¡± Let¡¯s begin with introductions.


    ¡°¡­No¡­ Not¡­ need..ed¡±


    ¡°Why do you not need a name?¡±


    ¡°Am¡­ tool¡­ of¡­ god¡­¡±


    That¡¯s a rubbish excuse; I¡¯m technically a tool of god and I still have a name.


    ¡°Just because you¡¯re a tool doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t need a name.¡±


    ¡°¡­are¡­ you¡­ sure?¡± She exhibited a confused expression. Clearly she hadn¡¯t actually conversed with someone before. Likely she had simply been told things, and with no way to respond, her ability to develop and learn were limited. With mouths forcibly closed, questions could never be asked¡­ That¡¯s a pretty good strategy, although a tad ruthless; those who serve god should be rewarded, not sentenced to silence¡­ but I guess things are just different for these backwards heretics.


    ¡°I¡¯m positive. Everybody needs a name.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡­ think¡­ I¡­ had¡­ a¡­name¡­ can¡¯t¡­ re..mem..ber¡±


    ¡°Well, how about I call you Silk?¡± It suited the silvery wires that ran through her skin.


    "ok..."


    ¡°So, why did you attack me earlier?¡± I asked.


    ¡°¡­or..ders¡­¡±


    ¡°Whose orders?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Not going to say? It¡¯s a shame, I do like your voice. Speaking of which, why did you even begin to answer my questions?¡±


    ¡°¡­Haven¡¯t¡­ spoken¡­ for¡­ long¡­ time. Wan..ted¡­ to speak¡­ with¡­ some..one¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you really believe in your god?¡± Might as well test her so called devotion. In response to my question she quickly became frightened, and hurriedly answered.


    ¡°¡­yes¡­¡±


    Well that wasn¡¯t too convincing. It would appear that she¡¯s had the fear of her heretic god deeply rooted into her. This kind of devotion however, was often the easiest to destroy; all you needed was to assure them safety; to convince them that everything before were just cruel actions of heretics and not gods. It would be best to begin by tempting her; it would seem that the wires closing up her orifices were likely part of her religion, separating her from communicating or interacting with the outside world; unable to experience many of life¡¯s pleasures.


    ¡°Would you like to see?¡±


    Her response was fear as she desperately began to shrink away from my voice at such a suggestion.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a sin if I¡¯m the one who gives you back your sight; you¡¯d be doing nothing wrong. You would only be a victim.¡±


    Her struggling became less as she clearly pondered my point. Eventually she settled down submissively. These heretics really need to train their soldiers better; the girl is far too trusting, but then again, I¡¯m probably the first person who she¡¯s talked to in a long time.


    As I drew my scalpel to her eyelids she lay motionless, showing know resistance, but not actively seeking the ability to see once again. I slowly cut the wires that shrouded her world in darkness. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room curiously, and finally her gaze rested on my smiling visage.


    ¡°Hello¡±


    She just stared at me in silence. Her eyes were a dull and lifeless grey, but the colour suited the atmosphere her entire appearance already gave.


    ¡°How does it feel?¡±


    ¡°¡­good.. I think¡­¡±


    She craned her head to look down at herself, her eyes turning into saucers as she observed her body. She began to tremble and tears started to form in the corners of her newly opened eyes.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ why are you crying?¡± How odd. While her body may pleasing in an artistic sense perhaps she didn¡¯t fully appreciate its splendour. Perhaps comforting her will open her up to me a little more.


    She froze as I traced my fingers down the scars that crisscrossed her skin.


    ¡°You really are beautiful¡±


    Her gaze left her body and returned to my face once again. She stared at me, dumbfounded. Her body was definitely an acquired taste, but she shouldn¡¯t look so surprised; it almost feels as though she¡¯s making fun of my preferences in art. After a while she turned her head away, refusing to make eye contact again. Oh dear, perhaps my comment made her feel uncomfortable¡­ Whatever. I continued to caress the whip lashes on her arms as I continued the conversation, her body shivering upon contact.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel good to see and to speak?¡±


    She started to shake in fear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re doing no wrong; there aren¡¯t any sins in your actions.¡±


    The trembling lessened but it was clear that her fear was still present. A fear of her heretic god. The only god people should fear is Sol.


    ¡°Do you believe in your god?¡± I asked the question for the second time.


    She instantly replied with a ¡°yes¡±


    ¡°Was it his will that you live your life is a tool?¡±


    She nodded hesitantly, unable to see where I was taking the conversation. Her inexperience with human interaction was rather entertaining to observe.


    ¡°Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°¡­priest¡­¡±


    ¡°How did he know?¡±


    ¡°¡­God told him¡­¡±


    ¡°Has he ever spoken to you?¡±


    ¡°¡­no¡­¡±


    ¡°How do you know the priest isn¡¯t lying?¡±


    These few simple sentences were placing doubts in her mind, clearly evident from her constantly changing and conflicted expressions. If you¡¯re really that easy to sway from your faith, you were never really a believer of that heretic religion. Perhaps I can convert her¡­ And then I could keep her- Hehehe, I mean that way I could get the information I needed out of her.


    With that, I began to turn her away from the path of a heretic.

 Chapter 37- Lun

    And another chapter, because why not?


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    I let my eyes wander across the countryside as I walked along the meandering country paths, across the border to the kingdom of Lun. This area¡¯s infrastructure had never been properly developed after all; there had never been any trade relations between the two kingdoms due to their differing beliefs, and despite what one might expect, there was also next to no military stationed in these parts.


    Since a long time ago the two kingdoms shared this hazy border and completely ignored one another; Lun was always a more peaceful nation whereas the kingdom of Sol wouldn¡¯t make any moves without completely superior military forces, capable of crushing its opponents. To be honest, I don¡¯t really agree with this peace; the lack of effort to convert the respective kingdoms to one another¡¯s religions simply showed how lacking the church and kingdom leaders¡¯ faiths were.


    I looked over to my new companion and unhappily noted that she was hiding her face under the grey cloak that she¡¯d retrieved after we¡¯d finished our little talk. The conversation had been a long and philosophical one, and by the end her fears appeared to be somewhat alleviated, although the impact that her ¡®education¡¯ had had on her couldn¡¯t be so easily erased. She appeared tense and uncomfortable; a good way to describe it would be that she seemed paranoid, as though her heretic god would suddenly appear and smite her. Hehehe¡­ seeing this little killer so afraid can only be called an adorable sight.


    I did most of the talking in the end. Silk over there is quite the quiet one. Compared to the little screeching owl, she¡¯s a more pleasurable conversation partner. Her silence reminds me of how Serenity was back in the beginning. Those were the good old days, but just because serenity has changed doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll abandon our friendship! She¡¯d likely be devastated to lose my company.


    I¡¯d attempted to gain a little more information about the heroes¡¯ kidnapping from Silk, but unfortunately, it would appear that her knowledge on the topic was limited. From what I¡¯d garnered, Silk was only ever given orders; no explanations had been provided or information on the plan thereafter. Although this was quite frustrating, it was nice to see how co-operative my new companion was being.


    Silk, as far as I can tell, is akin to a sheep which will blindly follow the herd and do as it¡¯s told. Although not an especially healthy mind-set, it is quite endearing. We were at present, half way to our destination, the northernmost city of Lun. My knowledge of the kingdom wasn¡¯t especially good, and Silk wasn¡¯t exactly a well of information either, so we were just heading in its general direction, according to what Silk could remember from her journey.


    I looked over to her, and saw the picture of a young girl taking in the sights, staring at every little thing that drew some of her attention, as though she were afraid it would all disappear in but a moment. Her dull, grey eyes sparkled with a bit more life than I had originally seen in them. She noticed my gaze, and briefly met it before turning away, shifting uncomfortably. She had a complex about her appearance. It isn¡¯t something I can say that I particularly understand; the story of abuse and torture that her scars told was beautiful. She shouldn¡¯t hide it away like that. But, I suppose not everyone has the same tastes¡­


    I felt a sharp pain from my ear as Serenity dug her tiny beak into my flesh. Damn bird. She hadn¡¯t given any opinion on the new addition; she briefly saw the girl¡¯s suffering and had let the topic, of her joining us, rest. The tiny owl looked over, showing concern. Every time Silk so much as showed any indication of discomfort, Serenity would immediately attack my ear. It is an unfair world. We don¡¯t know for certain whether it is definitely my constant glances and borderline creepy staring which is making Silk uncomfortable. It''s simply an assumption she made. Where is the evidence?!


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    We finally made it! After almost a week of travelling, where I was the main propagator of any and all conversations in this little group of ours, we were now stood in front of Lun¡¯s northernmost city. Like most cities around these days, it had had a solid wall surrounding it. It was a strangely smooth wall, as though it was all one slab, which had conveniently shaped as such. I wonder how they did that. These crazy heretics and their weird architecture.


    ¡°This is definitely it. The sounds and smells are the same.¡± Said Silk, opening her mouth of her own volition for the first time in days.


    ¡°Fantastic. Shall we enter?¡± I asked. I was a little bit happy that Silk spoke to me. I could feel our bond strengthening; she¡¯d even gotten used to the staring. It was quite a soothing experience for me to simply gaze upon her scars; it even dampened my urge for a good heretic burning. But only a little. At the very least, it was convenient for long journeys with heretics few and far between.


    She nodded in agreement to my proposition, her face lacking any significant expressions. It was part of her charm, but it was a bit of a barrier to communication. There is only so much you can understand from body language alone.


    We walked in line with the rest of the travellers, all of them filthy heretics. Whoops! Can¡¯t go showing any enmity towards these fellows, this is a covert operation! But, I must say, it truly is odd to see the races intermingling so freely¡­ There¡¯s and elf over there, some demi-humans over there, and what¡¯s that I see? In the name of Sol! It¡¯s actually a demon, walking about freely and without any sort of restraint?!


    The cultural shock was almost too much. We had only been in this backwards country for a week at most, and I was already seeing such peculiar practices. Of course, Silk wasn¡¯t too familiar with any sights whatsoever, and was simply watching everything curiously, from under her hood. Once again, that little complex of hers. She shouldn¡¯t be ashamed of her appearance¡­ But, then again, it¡¯s like she¡¯s my own, private piece of art to behold whenever I wish¡­ I¡¯ll leave her be.


    We approached the large, iron gate and were soon halted by a 2 fellows, who from their appearances were guarding the place. They wore chainmail and strangely pointy helmets¡­ Do they stab people with those things?


    ¡°Identification.¡± droned the guard, clearly unenthusiastic about his job. The other appeared somewhat simple, having a staring competition with Serenity. Don¡¯t these heretics know about passion?! Passion for your job! It¡¯s what always keeps me going¡­ Wait, I don¡¯t have any identification.


    ¡°Sorry, we don¡¯t have any¡­¡± I replied. The two guards looked at us strangely, and in response, I gave an awkward smile. Hopefully they take pity on us, and just let us in, otherwise we¡¯ll have to sneak in. Wait¡­ we should have just done that in the first place. I suppressed a sigh at my lack of foresight. With the powers I gained from Serenity, it would be a simple matter of gaining entry. Well, what¡¯s done is done.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have identification? Hmm¡­ Well, you and your companion will have to pay a fee and go straight to the government office to get one. We¡¯ll have Joe join you.¡± Said the first guard. I widened my eyes in surprise. It was so simple? I would¡¯ve assumed these heretics would have their cities¡¯ on tighter lockdown this close to the border.


    At the mention of the so-called ¡®Joe¡¯, the fellow who had been focused on the battle of gazes with Serenity, refocused and turned his attention back to the people, and not to the owl. This dim fellow, was clearly Joe. I paid the fee and followed Joe into the city.


    The city was diverse and bustling with activity. All the buildings were slightly unique in the way they were built and the materials that were used. It practically screamed multicultural at you. It was disgusting. These damn heretics need to learn about maintaining a good theme! All the houses and buildings should follow a similar style of design and be made of the same materials with only minor differences so that they were distinguishable between.


    The variety was giving me a headache. On the other hand, Silk was looking around frantically, although I couldn¡¯t tell whether she was uncomfortable or excited to be in such a place, due to the hood and whatnot.


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    Eventually, Joe led us to an office where we ended up vaguely filling out a few forms, and receiving identification cards. It was a simple process, and one that was severely lacking in security, in my opinion.


    The end of the day was quickly approaching, so I took the liberty of renting a room at an inn recommended by Joe, who had by this point once again gotten into a staring competition with Serenity. The inn had a very unique design with a peculiar, domed roof¡­ it looked somewhat like a capsized boat, I suppose. What happened to good old, triangular, tiled roofs?


    Of course, I only ended up renting one room, to save a bit of money; no need to needless waste on expenses. I could also cuddle Silk in my sleep. Her figure is quite petite, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to fit on the bed. The idea of gently caressing those scars as I drift off into dreamland where all the nasty heretics are burning¡­ Before that though, it was time for some information gathering.


    I told Silk to head up to the room first. She seemed rather distressed at the idea of parting ways, but eventually complied when Serenity flew over and landed on her shoulder. This way she wouldn¡¯t be alone for too long. I¡¯m too soft on that adorable creature; she¡¯s reliant on me, has an extremely malleable concept of the world and her body is, to put it simply, an artistic masterpiece.


    I proceeded to walk to the innkeeper, in order to strike up a conversation. The fellow in charge of the inn was a large bear demi-human. I¡¯d put him in his late forties, but he was still built like an ox¡­ or should I say bear? I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter. I strolled over casually, with a friendly smile dominating my face. The big bear fellow looked over, and sent me a frown. He was quite an unsociable fellow, but I¡¯m sure I can get a few tidbits out of him.


    ¡°Hello innkeeper! I was wondering if I could ask you about the goings-on in the city these days.¡± I began, keeping my tone light and my expression approachable. Big bear squinted as he sized me up.


    ¡°Why?¡± he grumbled. No need to be so grumpy¡­


    ¡°Sorry to bother you, but I¡¯m new to the area and thought it would be best to not stay clueless about current events.¡± I continued.


    ¡°I see. Nothing big has really happened.¡± He grumbled, curtly. He really isn¡¯t very cooperative. Damn heretics don¡¯t know about basic politeness?! What sort of barbaric society have I stumbled into?!


    ¡°Really nothing at all?¡± I asked again, smile twitching slightly as I pestered him for more information.


    ¡°I suppose there was that announcement by the government.¡± Mumbled the bear as the cogs in his brain started to slowly turn. We were finally beginning to get somewhere.


    ¡°Announcement?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the one about those heroes.¡± He continued, his tone monotone and clearly uninterested in the conversation. For Sol¡¯s sake, how much effort do I need to put in to get this damn bear to talk?!


    ¡°Remind me.¡± I said.


    ¡°You know, the one where we rescued them from that racist country to the North.¡± He grumbled. Racist country? You don¡¯t even know the country¡¯s name¡­ They can¡¯t mean the kingdom of Sol can they? No, our prejudices are completely justified by religion. These ignorant heretics. If they just took the time to read up on the scriptures of Sol, they would understand that humans are naturally meant to have higher status than other races.


    ¡°Where are the heroes now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know, this should be common knowledge by now¡± grumbled the bear, unhappily. Despite his displeasure, he continued to say, ¡°the government said they¡¯d be educated and train at the National Academy of Combat and Magic. My son goes there, you know.¡±


    No I don¡¯t know. But anyway, why would they train them in an academy? Isn¡¯t it for more time efficient to throw them into danger and quickly increase their power?


    ¡°Why are they being trained there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know, they were forced to fight monsters without adequate training in the country to the North. They probably also weren¡¯t aware of how terrible the country they were working for was. In the end, they¡¯re still needed to fight the shadows, you know. So they¡¯re receiving proper training.¡± Said the bear.


    Well, certainly¡­ Many of Sol¡¯s citizens weren¡¯t even aware of the extent to which the church was involved in the running on the kingdom. And, certainly we¡¯ve done a few things here and there, which would have been deemed inhuman under normal circumstances. But it was all for the greater good and in the name of Sol!


    Wait, what happened to Deane and Catherine?... oh, and Melissa? Whilst I was wondering about those three, my questions were surprisingly answered of the bear¡¯s own accord.


    ¡°Not only the heroes. I heard they brought over some young talents who hadn¡¯t been fully corrupted by that country. When they¡¯re shown the wrongdoings of their birthplace, they¡¯ll surely turn to the side of justice and equality.¡± Said the bear. His previous lack of enthusiasm had disappeared as he began to spout unrealistic nonsense about this so-called ¡®equality¡¯.


    Well, in any case it would look as though I need to go to this academy and retrieve the heroes and company before their heads are filled with lies about equality and such. Next thing I know, they¡¯ll be saying slavery is a bad thing or that heretics shouldn¡¯t be burned alive. This Sol-forsaken country and its abnormal ideas¡­


    ¡°Well, thanks for the information. I¡¯ll be turning in for the night.¡± I said, abruptly ending the conversation. I¡¯ll find out the finer details later, but for now I don¡¯t feel like speaking with this stupid bear and his ¡®equality¡¯.


    I quickly headed to my room, eager to slip into bed and use my new relaxation device. I opened the door and was faced with a plain room with a bed covered in plain, white sheets, a bedside table and a single wooden chair. As I entered, Silk who was already under the covers became startled and looked over to me in confusion.


    I ignored the little owl, who was glaring daggers at me from the bedside table, and kicked off my shoes before slipping into bed, next to Silk who had remained petrified the entire time. Her dull, grey eyes were opened wide as she stared in surprise at my actions. Every single muscle in her body was tense as I wrapped my arms around her and began to caress her scars. The soothing sensation of the smoothness of her skin, where the scars crisscrossed her body, enveloped me. It was truly delightful.


    That familiar shivering came from her body, every time I made contact with her skin. Soon she began to wriggle slightly, making a half-hearted attempt to escape my grasp. Of course, I wasn¡¯t willing to let such an enjoyable time end so quickly and simply strengthened my grip slightly.  I could feel a loose smile lazily showing itself on my face.


    Silk looked me in the eyes, her conflicted expression gradually disappearing as she reached up and began to trace the smile on my lips with her fingers. It was a bit weird, but since I was caressing her scars, I may as well allow her to do whatever. As she ran her light, ticklish touch over my lips, the facial muscles in her own face began to twitch as the corners of her mouth began to ever so slightly raise themselves.


    The multiple wires running through her skin restricted her facial movements quite severely, and it was clearly showing from the resistance those lips met when they tried to rise. She looked to be somewhat pained as she forced her mouth into a smile. After a few moments of hard work, she eventually managed a half-formed, trembling smile. It was quite a peculiar smile, one which I personally had never displayed before; it had a strangely frightening aspect about it as the pain and strain on her face conflicted with the expression she was so desperately trying to display.


    Smiling is good for you. I should know; I mean who would I be without a smile? She should try smiling more, even if it was a lot of hard work in her case. Time for old Cyne to offer up some encouragement.


    ¡°Your smile is lovely.¡± I said, keeping it simple. I¡¯d found that she was rather weak against complements, and especially the more exaggerated and elaborate ones. Even this, in my opinion rather basic complement had caused her to show embarrassment and discomfort, but strangely enough the smile didn¡¯t leave her face.


    Slowly she began to relax, and made no attempt to escape. Instead she began to nestle herself closer to me as I began to drift off to sleep. That¡¯s better¡­ Now just to ignore that burning gaze of Serenity¡¯s¡­

 Chapter 38- Happy

    It was dark and I was floating. Or at least, as far as I could tell, I was. There was a sense of weightlessness which was somewhat unnerving. The darkness surrounding me was deep, as though light could never and had never existed here, and the silence in itself was deafening. Where in Sol¡¯s name am I?


    It¡¯s been some time, my comrade.


    Oh, it¡¯s him. The creepy disembodied voice once again made an appearance. It was at this point I realised I must be asleep, and this fellow was likely speaking through my dreams. Ignoring that, comrade? Since when were we so-called comrades?


    You accepted my offer. You accepted power. You accepted an obligation to fulfil.


    Thinking back, there was some sort of condition attached to that somewhat underwhelming power-up. He was going on about how the world was unfair or some such nonsense. To be honest, the fellow came across as a bit of a pessimist; if you don¡¯t like the world just look at it all from a different angle! Do what you love! Be it burning heretics or other Sol-approved activities!


    We work together now. We¡¯ll make the world happier.


    Yes, yes. I suppose that I can¡¯t go back on my deal with the mister happy over here. So what could the point of this meeting be I wonder? You told me the heroes would take me where I need to go, and then they go and get abducted, so here I am following them.


    Fate is an interesting construct. The fate of the heroes leads you to your own, and to mine.


    This fellow doesn¡¯t know how to speak simply. Speaking of which, what are you? This was a question which had been in the back of my mind for a while now. After all, I¡¯d never heard of a creature like this fellow, even with all the reading I did back in the church archives.


    I am me. I am old. I am weak. I am trapped.


    Sorry for not making the question clearer. What species are you? This fellow just loved to ramble. His way of speaking was becoming rather irritating, but all I can do is wait it out¡­


    Species? Not a species¡­ I am the desire for a better world. Faith is what makes gods. Desire is what makes¡­ Devils?


    I felt some surprise at his claim to be a devil. The term wasn¡¯t unfamiliar, but neither was it a subject that had much information on. The most the church archives had ever stated about devils were that they were a type of pagan god, but were thought to have died out long before our time. It was clear, however that this fellow was different from Serenity. Serenity was a spirit that embodied the night; basically the aggregation of tons of natural magical energy shaped by human desire and imagination, resulting in consciousness. Like the devil, the desires of humans influenced her shape¡­ but unlike this so-called devil, she represented the origin of her natural magical energy as opposed to the desires of humans.


    If I had to say what the difference between the two was, I¡¯d say this devil was the construct of far stronger desires¡­ And he didn¡¯t give off the feeling of natural magical energy, but something a bit different. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter¡­ What¡¯s the reason for the chat, Mr. Happy?


    You must feel it. The growing attraction to another chalice. Your destination holds another opportunity to increase your power. Power is needed for our goal.


    The academy had a chalice? It was true that I had felt that strange attraction growing over the past few days¡­ But, did that really need a visit from Mr. Happy?


    It is sealed. It is hidden. It is a secret. You must not take rash actions. You must infiltrate this facility. You must gain their trust. You must gain their knowledge.


    ¡­ It would appear, that the stay would be longer than an in and out rescue mission then¡­ Oh well, what can you do? Alright Happy, I¡¯ll go and get that chalice for a happier world or whatever¡­


    Good¡­


    Thank Sol for Silk. I probably won¡¯t have many opportunities to burn heretics over the next who knows how long. She and her scars will have to substitute¡­ With that I left the darkness and returned to my pleasant dreams where the smell of burning flesh calmed my nerves.


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    I could feel someone¡¯s gaze upon my face. It was morning, and I had just been roused from my sleep by the light which had trickled in from the window. Initially, I felt refreshed and in all honesty, I don¡¯t think it would be inaccurate to say that that was one of the most pleasant and resting sleeps I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure to experience. However, that feeling was quickly washed away by an unnervingly intense stare.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.I could feel the small body still in my arms, her soft, smooth skin a pleasure to touch. I let my eyes open, and was met by the source of the unnerving gaze. Surprisingly enough, it was my companion here. Silk¡¯s large, grey eyes were deadest on my face, refusing to break eye contact as she normally would. Her lips began to tremble as she forced her muscles into action, producing her¡­ unique smile.


    It would seem she¡¯s grown somewhat more confident. Is for better or worse? It doesn¡¯t matter; seeing the little former heretic do her best to greet me with a smile¡­ It was surprisingly pleasant. Seeing those silver wires tighten as her muscles strained, in addition to the slight pain in her eyes as those same wires dug further into her face as her lips trembled to hold their position. It was stunning.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I said, producing a heart-felt smile of my own. Her gaze remained on my face, to the point where it became unnerving. Unwrapping my arms from around her, I withdrew from the bed and began to prepare for the day. As I went about my business, Silk simply wrapped her grey cloak around herself to cover her nakedness, and sat cross legged on the bed, staring at me. Okay, it was starting to get somewhat creepy. Thinking back, this may be revenge for how often I took the time to admire her appearance.


    Alright! Today what I need to do is: get some directions to this national academy, buy some supplies and perhaps purchase some steeds for the journey.


    I recommend you also purchase some undergarments for your new companion.


    Oh, Serenity? Are you sure she isn¡¯t perfectly comfortable like that? She hasn¡¯t voiced any complaints¡­ I received a sharp peck and immediately consented so as to avoid any further damage. One of these days she is going to take a chunk out of my ear.


    The rest of the day went by surprisingly quickly. Time flies when you¡¯re having fun! From what I learned in a small conversation with the fellow at the clothing store, the national academy is located in the capital, Lun (just as creative as the capital of Sol being Sol). To get there I just had to head south along the main roads, or we could hitch a ride with a caravan if they required some defensive measures.


    A number of undergarments were also purchased for Silk. Of course, I ended up buying clothing of finer quality so that the rough fibres wouldn¡¯t get caught on the wires in her skin. It ended up being a rather hefty sum, but she seemed pleased enough to receive them. And of course we purchased some supplies from a general shop.


    We were at present walking towards the city gates, where the stables were said to be kept and where mercenaries were hired. Silk had already had the opportunity to change into her undergarments and was walking by my side with an ever so slight spring in her step.


    It¡¯s good to see that she¡¯s gotten a new lease on life. In my opinion, it must be the fact that she¡¯s turned away from the self-destructive path of a heretic and seen the light. All around us were heretic after heretic, some of them openly wearing half-moon pendants or some other pagan god nonsense. Seeing all of them walking free and happy made me feel quite nauseous.


    After tolerating the crowds of heretics, we had found our way to the stables and were confronted with a standard-looking building, in front of which was a large signpost, with numerous leaflets attached.


    I walked up to the board and began to read through the different leaflets; most of them were job requests to escort caravans to different cities, and coincidentally there was even one travelling towards the capital. Of course, there were conditions attached, like having to prove your combat ability against their already hired guards, but such matters were simple. It also provided a good opportunity to see Silk¡¯s method of fighting. It was a fascinating style, and our previous clash wasn¡¯t enough to see how strong she really was, not that I expect the caravan guards to pose any threat whatsoever.


    Normally people would hire adventurers or mercenaries directly through their respective guilds, so the way that some people advertised escorting jobs like this, was a bit peculiar and unreliable, I would have thought. These wacky heretics. My internal ramblings were interrupted by a small gasp, which had an oddly sensual aspect to it.


    I looked over in surprise at my hooded companion who seemed to be letting out strange noises every now and then. How peculiar. It was at this point that I realised at some point my hand had entered her robed and I had begun to trace my fingers along her artistic body. Oh dear, this seems to becoming an unconscious habit.


    Realising that the surrounding people had begun to send disdainful gaze in my direction I swiftly withdrew my hand. One especially disdainful gaze originated from the little bird perched on my shoulder. For Sol''s sake¡­ it looks like I¡¯ll have to control myself a bit better from now on. But it isn¡¯t entirely my fault: no one voiced any complaints, and if I had sent a few heretics to Sol more recently, I wouldn¡¯t have the need to calm down that urge.


    Ignoring what had just happened, and that oddly intense gaze of Silk''s, I hastened forwards to arrange a ride¡­

 Chapter 39- Taking Care of Certain Needs

    Hello, it''s been awhile. My computer broke, and had to be sent off for repairs. I unfortunately lost the POV chapter I had been working on, when I finally got it back and I quickly proceeded to sulk. I eventually regained some will to write, and decided to go ahead and continue with the story.


    The POV chapter will probably be the chapter following this one. Also, due to a lack of motivation, I didn''t proofread this chapter, so it may have a few mistakes or be awkwardly worded here and there.


    Enjoy.


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    It¡¯s been too long. I can¡¯t take it anymore! I thought I¡¯d be able to hold on for longer, but I can¡¯t do it. I was stood in a dark alleyway, littered with all manners of foul waste. It didn¡¯t bother me though. I couldn¡¯t focus my mind. I thought I was doing fine¡­


    It¡¯s been almost a week since we¡¯d arrived at the capital. I haven¡¯t killed anything or anyone for so long now, let alone burned or tortured anyone. I woke up in the middle of the night with tremors. I felt like I was going crazy, in fact I still do.


    I shambled aimlessly along the cobblestone path, hoping to come across some suspecting prostitute or drunkard. My scalpel was at hand, and my arms were filled nervous energy. All I needed was a person. Anyone would do. It¡¯s fine since this is a heretic city, right? Yes, that¡¯s right¡­


    I need that sweet relief. It was like an unbearable itch. I can¡¯t keep ignoring it. Silk provides only temporary relief, and the urge had been growing far stronger as of late. I noticed that I had begun to mutter my thoughts under my breath. Dear Sol, I¡¯m definitely losing it.


    I frightened whisper distracted me from my never ending train of thought. I looked towards a small bundle by the side of the path. I surprised myself. In my normal state, I never would have missed that panicked breathing and rapid heartbeat. A person. No, a heretic.


    I quickly approached the small bundle of dirty rags. Each cloth used to produce the make shift blanket was stained or smeared with substances emanating unpleasant odours, which I ignored. I quickly reached out, ripping the blanket from the clutches of the heretic who was hiding beneath it.


    Not just one but two?! Thank Sol, it¡¯s my lucky day. I felt giddy with joy. These two were definitely thrown out by society, and from the state of their malnourished bodies and ulcerated skin, it was clear that whatever diseases and deficiencies they had would finish them off even if I hadn¡¯t chanced upon them.


    They were two little heretics. Aged maybe 7 or 8 years old. It was hard to tell with their skinny frames and the dirt that covered their bodies. The boy looked up with a fierce glare and placed himself in front of the smaller girl. Perhaps they were siblings? It doesn¡¯t really matter; as long as they care about each other, this''ll be even more delightful.


    I began to bite my lip, hard enough to draw blood. I could barely restrain myself anymore, but if they cause any noise, then the guards may cause me some trouble. Without a second to lose I cast my newest spell, which Serenity had been kind enough to part with.


    Everything became silent. The sound of breathing gone. The sound of their beating hearts gone. The distant merrymaking of drunkards and the like, gone. Everything was quiet in this little space. I really need to thank Serenity next time I see her.


    The two little heretics noticed something was off. Their heads darted from side to side as their eyes widened in terror. They opened their mouths and tried to speak, only to find that they had no voice. Despite the no doubt terrifying situation, the boys continued to position himself in front of his little companion. His legs were shaking and tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes. The one behind him was in an even worse state as tears began to stream from her face.


    I could feel my smile begin to widen. It actually started to hurt my cheeks a bit, but I couldn¡¯t help it. It really had been too long since I¡¯d seen these kinds of faces. I strolled up to the little duo, savouring the atmosphere.


    After a few moments, I crouched down in front of the brave little heretic, and looked him in the eyes. He was petrified. To begin with it had no doubt been bravery, but he had long since lost the ability to move. I twirled the scalpel between my fingers, allowing the boy to get a good look at how shiny and beautiful my little toy was. The ungrateful little heretic actually looked away.


    I held the scalpel and pointed it to his chin. I lifted his head using the side of the blade, to regain the eye contact. The fear was clearly scrawled across his face, and it was delightful. I leant in close, and whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be going someplace better now.¡± My voice was the only sound in this quiet little world.


    The boy began to tremble all over, but still couldn¡¯t move his body. With a thrust of my hand, the scalpel silently entered his throat. It was quite hypnotic to see the blade slide through the skin and then to witness the startlingly bright red leak from the wound.


    I slowly withdrew the knife and watched in fascination as the wound began to faintly bubble as the air and blood mixed. The brave little heretic collapsed onto the ground, finally having regained control of his now dying body. He desperately began to clutch his throat, as though it would somehow prevent his now inevitable death. He watched in despair as his blood began to pool on the floor.


    Slowly but surely, the light in his eyes began to flicker and die as he made a last attempt to grab the hand of his little companion, who could only watch blankly. He produced a sad expression as he failed to grab her little hand, and died with that lonely look written across his face.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The other little heretic was roused from her shock too late. She looked at the pooling blood and began to tremble ever the more violently. She reached out and desperately grabbed his hand. Her lips moved rabidly as tears and snot began to cover her face.


    She slowly crawled over with her weak body, to the side of her little friend. She leant down and desperately wrapped her arms around his corpse as she silently whimpered. I felt so much better. It¡¯s good to go out and have some fun every now and then; it¡¯s not good for you to only work.


    I reached over and with flick of the wrist, sliced open the throat of the second heretic. The blood fell like a silent, little waterfall, seeping into the dirty rags of the boy whose body she lay on top. Despite the fact that she was dying she still looked at the boy¡¯s face. At his lonely expression, and she produced her own anguished look.


    Her light slowly began to die as she desperately clung, with the last remnants of her strength, to the boy. They both died in silence, leaving two corpses. One corpse of boy who died alone, and another of a girl who desperately followed him. It was art. In fact, it was so heart-warming it actually brought a tear to my eyes.


    Using my handkerchief to wipe off the blood from my scalpel, I happily whistled that beautiful tune. In the silence it was the only sound that could be heard, and I was the only one there to hear it, but it was pleasant all the same.


    I looked fondly down at the corpses. It was a more subtle form of art compared to the more colourful masterpieces I tended to produce. If only there was a way to preserve this scene. I sighed at the waste. All good things come to an end. At the very least, whoever discovers the scene will be in for a treat.


    With a spring in my step and a load off my back, I happily made my way back to the inn at which Silk, Serenity and I were staying.


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    The capital of Lun, much like the city which we¡¯d previously visited, was an extremely diverse place. There was no common theme among inhabitants nor architecture. To put it simply, it was a complete mess. No order whatsoever. When I first arrived, I couldn¡¯t believe that people could actually tolerate such an unorganised environment.


    The journey here was uneventful to say the least. We¡¯d joined a small convoy of caravans, and despite the supposed dangers on the road, we ran into no trouble. The entry requirements as a guard for the convoy were also mediocre. I let Silk take the stage against the fellow they wanted us to prove ourselves against, expecting a good show but was severely disappointed.


    It only took her a couple of seconds to completely wrap the big guy in silver wires, immobilising the weakling. There was a little friction, which we managed to smooth over when Silk took things a tad too far. I suppose I should have explained that the fight wasn¡¯t to the death¡­ I should remember that she¡¯s lacking somewhat in the common sense department. I¡¯ll have to teach her everything I know¡­ But then again, it was quite amusing to see the big fellow literally get sliced into big meaty chunks when the she tightened the wires. It also made glad I avoided those same wires during our first meeting.


    That aside, there were no problems. We entered the city quite easily, with our recently acquired identity cards and then proceeded to rent out a room in a relatively decent inn for a few weeks. Of course, one room was enough since Silk had become instrumental in order for me to fall asleep. She also didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much.


    Actually¡­ Over the past few weeks, her staring has been getting more intense. She¡¯s also developed a habit of clinging to me at every given moment, in addition to shooting glares at people who got too close to me¡­ This¡­ I don¡¯t really know what to say. She stays quite pleasant when we¡¯re alone though. Of course, since I get to touch her scars, I won¡¯t make any complaints.


    Serenity hasn¡¯t been spending too much time around me as of late, leaving me somewhat lonely. Of course, she does enjoy my company, that¡¯s a given, but she took it upon herself to go and eavesdrop for information on the heroes and company, in addition to scouting out any leads. She¡¯s such a hard worker. I better reward her with more attention in the future.


    So far all we managed to find out, was that the heroes and company were brought to the capital almost a week before we¡¯d arrived. They¡¯d apparently gotten a large procession through the streets, and it had been a major event. Those ungrateful heroes¡­ They¡¯re off playing around with believers of Lun, while I, a man of the one true God, am working myself to the bone to rescue them from the evil clutches of those Sol-forsaken heretics.


    They don¡¯t want to be educated in that academy! Practice makes perfect, so as long as you get thrown in a dungeon enough times, you¡¯ll learn well enough. I couldn¡¯t help but shudder as I imagine all the torment they¡¯d be subject to whilst under the custody of the Lun kingdom. No doubt, they¡¯ll be bombarded with lies about the great religion dedicated to the worship of Sol, and the kingdom which recognises his greatness.


    Those poor fellows¡­ Of course, if they do get brainwashed into believing that nonsense, there¡¯s a simple way to return them to the path of the righteous. I brought my tools with me after all. Of course, such drastic actions won¡¯t be necessary. After all, who are they more likely to believe, their dear friend Cyne, or the monsters who abducted them?


    It¡¯ll be good ol¡¯Cyne. Hehehe¡­

 Chapter 39.5- Silks POV

    Hello! POV chapter here. It''ll be very different to how I write Cyne''s perspective, which is full of rambling and detail.


    Enjoy, and tell me what you think.


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    He¡¯s here. The priest spoke of him. He has to be killed, not captured. Our targets were captured. I was left behind to finish the mission.


    I could hear him, I could smell him, and I could feel his movements in the air. I threw my daggers at the target. Strange¡­ he dodged.


    I curled my fingers into a claw, sending magical energy along the wires. The daggers targeted him again. One successful hit. He dodged the rest.


    The target is dangerous. I leaped from the building I was stood, planning to slowly entrap him in a meshwork of wires. But then, everything went black.


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    Where am I? I tried to move my arms and legs, but found myself restrained. I felt my pulse quicken and my breathing became erratic. I was captured. I failed.


    I felt something, lightly running along the surface of my skin. I panicked. Punishment. I don¡¯t want to be punished. I tried to pull myself away from the caressing touch of the target. I couldn¡¯t.


    The caressing continued. I was scared. I hadn¡¯t been scared for so long. I failed. Lun will punish me. My despair started to wash over me. I worried and worried. The caressing never stopped.


    I lost the will to resist. Lun will surely punish me. I am alone. I felt resigned. I wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid my fate. It¡¯s strange. The only comfort came from the soft touch of the man I was sent to kill.


    I could feel his face come closer. His lips were right beside my ear when he whispered.


    ¡°You really are beautiful¡±


    What? My mind went blank. Beauty. It¡¯s a foreign thing. There was a time when I was permitted to see the world with my own eyes. Am I beautiful? Does it matter?


    I felt confused. The caressing felt less ominous. It was almost¡­ tender. So delicate, as though it was afraid to harm my skin. This feeling was also unfamiliar. Punishment was the only time similar to this. But I wasn¡¯t feeling pain. It felt nice¡­


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    It continued for hours. I found comfort in his touch. His fingers would trace patterns over my skin. The patterns were familiar. They were the results of punishment. Now instead of pain, it was a soft and pleasant sensation.


    He stopped. Don¡¯t stop. Don¡¯t leave me alone. Don¡¯t go. I wanted to speak. I can¡¯t. I felt my despair seeping into my thoughts once more. Lun will surely punish me. I enjoyed being captured. I was happy that that I had failed. It was only for a moment, but it sealed my fate.


    He was coming back. I could only feel despair. I yearned for his soft touch. My fate was decided. I wanted to feel the sensation of his fingers running along my skin. I would be punished. Please stay with me.


    Something cold pressed against my lips. What? There was a painful tug on the edges of my lips and a snap. No. He can¡¯t. Don¡¯t. The punishment. It will be worse. I struggled. The restraints were tight. I couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Why so scared? I just want to talk¡­¡±


    The stitches snapped. One by one. Scared. I was scared. They were gone. I opened my mouth. Air rushed in. Strange, it felt very strange. I was scared, but curious. I moved my lips. My mouth opened and closed.


    While I was distracted, his finger suddenly ran along my abdomen. I was surprised. I let out a gasp. The sensation felt refreshing.


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    He gave me a name. Silk. I think I like it. He was a person. It only came to me now. He wasn¡¯t just a target. He was nice. Even though I tried to kill him. A strange feeling began stabbing into my gut. It was unpleasant. Guilt?


    He asked if I wanted to see. I do. I can¡¯t say that. I vainly struggled. Then he said something. I stopped. Is that right? I¡¯m the victim? I¡¯m not sinning? So¡­ no punishment? Relief. I felt relieved. But then guilty.


    Wouldn¡¯t he get punished? I don¡¯t want that. He was the target¡­ but he is nice. The wires were removed from my eyelids.


    I opened my eyes. I saw him. The nice man. He was young. And¡­ handsome, I think? I don¡¯t remember the last time I used my eyes.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Hello¡±


    ¡°How does it feel?¡±


    He asked me this question. It feels good. It makes me happy. So I answered, ¡°¡­good¡­I think¡­¡±


    I was curious. I want to see more. What do I look like? I looked down. My eyes widened. Shock. Horror. Sadness. My body¡­ I could see all of the remnants of punishment etched all over my body.


    I felt tears. I couldn¡¯t control myself. Punishment reflects your wrongdoings. Your mistakes. There were so many scars. I made mistakes. My body paid the price. I had been mutilated by my own sins.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ why are you crying?¡±


    His voice shook me from my thoughts. I watched as he traced his finger along the scars.


    ¡°You really are beautiful¡±


    How? How can he say that? He was wrong. It wasn¡¯t beautiful. But¡­ His words were comforting. I liked them. But, I felt uncomfortable holding his gaze. I realised now, that I was without clothing. This sensation would be embarrassment. It¡¯s new, and uncomfortable.


    He continued to speak with me. As he did, doubts about Lun began to grow in my mind.


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    He kept staring. We were travelling. Day after day, I felt his eyes on me. I felt embarrassed. He had seen my body. It was strange though; I didn¡¯t really dislike it when he looked at me.


    His owl was nice too. It would occasionally peck him, but their interaction was different and amusing to observe.


    We eventually entered the city. There were new sights. Everything was a new sight. I¡¯d been here before. It was much more fascinating to see everything. Before, the noise and great number of people were confusing. I was unable to feel comfortable with my sense so obstructed. Cyne sorted most things out. I simply kept looking around. I felt happy.


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    What? Why is he coming here? I felt my heartrate rise. It was almost jumping out of my chest. Wait¡­ He only booked one room. I couldn¡¯t move. He got into the bed.


    What does he intend to do? I felt panicked. He wrapped his arms around me. My body tensed in surprise. His fingers slowly traced over my scars. It was pleasant.


    I was frightened. I liked it, but it was scary. My emotions confused me. I tried to free myself from his grip, but it strengthened in response.


    I looked at his face. What was his intention? He was smiling. He always smiled. He looked really happy. Why? Was it because of me? That possibility made my heart race.


    He was always touching me¡­ So it would be fine to touch him¡­ right? I hesitantly put my fingers to his lips. I was nervous, but he didn¡¯t reject it. It made me happy.


    I want to smile as well. I forced my facial muscles to pull up the corners of my lips. It hurt. The wires were digging into my flesh. They tightened all along my face. It hurt a lot. But I was smiling.


    ¡°Your smile is lovely¡±


    That¡¯s what he said. Four words. Only four words, but they made me feel so content. I didn¡¯t want to stop smiling, even though it was painful.


    I felt a bit embarrassed by his words. I didn¡¯t want him to see my embarrassment. I pulled my head down and into his chest. I tried to get closer to him, pulling myself further into his embrace.


    I don¡¯t know why I was so worried. He¡¯s a nice person after all.


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    I like him. The teachings of Lun always said that it was wrong for his tools to desire worldly things. I don¡¯t like that. Lun hasn¡¯t punished me yet. So it¡¯s okay to desire something.


    It was night time. The slow, rhythmic breathing of Cyne¡¯s, relaxed my body and mind, as I enjoyed the comfort of his arms. I looked at this sleeping face and began to trace my fingers over his lips again, pulling them up into a smile.


    I desire him. He¡¯s nice. I¡¯ll stay with him until the day Lun punishes me, should it come to pass. Until then¡­ He¡¯s mine. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I don¡¯t want to let go. I like it here, in his embrace.


    We''d only been in each other''s company for little over a week, but I feel so close to him already. I want to get closer. I want more. More of him. He won''t reject or punish me. I want him to embrace me with a stronger grip. I want to be as close as possible. I want him to embrace me in every way possible. If I can have him, he can have me.


    I slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms, looking forward to the days to come.

 Chapter 40- Interview

    And, in comes a random chapter out of nowhere!


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Today was the day! Today I would infiltrate the national academy of Lun. If all goes to plan, this will be far easier than I had initially anticipated. I looked around in the small waiting room at the other individuals who had decided to attend the interview. They were quite a varied bunch in terms of race.


    It had been just the other day when Silk and I were taking stroll through the market when Serenity came back with big news and a flier: the National Academy was hiring instructors. As long as you had confidence in your ability, you were encouraged to attend the interview. Unfortunately no details were provided as to how they¡¯d be assessing us.


    The flier implied that instructors well-versed with swords and battle-oriented magic would be looked upon favourably. I¡¯m practically a shoe-in.


    The interview wasn¡¯t being held in the academy, but in another venue which was often rented out for various purposes and events. It was quite a large and glamorous building; very brightly painted with artistic patterns scrawled across its walls. It made me sick. Don¡¯t these heretics know how to build a normal building? They all seem to be addled in the brain.


    If the interview wasn¡¯t delayed, then all of those present in the room would enter together in a few minutes. Strange format for a job interview, but then again when it comes to these Sol-forsaken degenerates I was met with one surprise after another.


    In preparation for the interview, I donned my usual darker attire. After all, even in such a peculiar place, my work clothes would be easily picked out of a crowd. Having ensured that they were spotless, in addition to polishing my boots, I made for quite the suave gentleman. Of course, I also donned a mask (the same grimacing white mask that I used at the heretic burning in Plyan), just in case these interviewers are somehow aware of my appearance. After all, I was one of the heroes¡¯ companions. At the very least, Silk could pick me out of a crowd despite being blind¡­ Would a mask do any good? Oh damn it all to Sol! I¡¯m wearing it now, so I¡¯ll just keep it on.


    *tap tap tap*


    The fellow sitting by my side had been tapping his foot unceasingly since he arrived. The flier instructed us to arrive at a specific time, and as a gentleman I rightly arrived exactly 5 minutes early. My impression of this tapping fellow immediately fell to rock bottom when he arrived a whole minute passed the time indicated on the flier.


    It was clear that he was nervous, judging by his expression and the tapping. It was quite the contrast to his large frame; the fellow was around 7 feet tall and built like a brick wall. Of course, he wasn¡¯t human, but some other species I wasn¡¯t too familiar with. He had muddy brown skin and extremely prominent lower canines which peeked over his upper lip, akin to tusks. He was also quite unkempt, with his shaggy beard and greasy locks of hair. And yet, despite all of his faults, his attire was pristine. There wasn¡¯t even a single crease¡­ I can respect that.


    But the tapping had to stop.


    ¡°Hello there, you look a bit nervous big fellow¡± I said, my tone cheerful, and friendly.


    Said big fellow looked around with a surprised expression. I¡¯m talking to you, you dolt. When he finally realised that he was indeed the person I had intended to speak with, he gave an unsightly grin, revealing his ghastly dentition.


    ¡°Hello. Yeah, I¡¯m a bit nervous. Who wouldn¡¯t be, right? It¡¯s an interview for a job at the National Academy.¡± Replied the brutish fellow. I was happy to see his tapping stop, as he got distracted by the conversation.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Cyne.¡± I said, in an amiable manner, extending my hand out to my new acquaintance, who took it in a strong grip.


    ¡°Nice to meet ya. My name¡¯s Burg.¡± He said. It was surprising to see how quickly he¡¯d lost his nervous demeanour. The most likely explanation would be him having a simple mind; he probably can¡¯t think about more than one thing at a time. At least, that¡¯s the impression his appearance gives off, and personally I¡¯ve found that judging people on their appearance is usually quite accurate.


    Burg and I chatted a little while longer, as we waited to be brought into the interview room. In that time I found out that Burg was actually an A rank adventurer who specialised with heavy swords. According to his words, he felt as though he was past his prime, and wanted to make a change to a more stable and less dangerous career.


    He eventually began to go on and on about his family. In fact, I was shocked to find out he has a wife, and if he isn¡¯t fibbing, she¡¯s an elf at that. Aren¡¯t elves supposed to be attractive? Why would one be willing to marry this unappealing lump of muscle? His wife wasn¡¯t the main topic on which he spoke, but it was instead his 3 year old daughter which he kept blabbing on about. I couldn¡¯t help but shudder as I imagined a small, female version of Burg over here.


    My suffering came to an end when a servant came to announce it was time to begin the interview. We were all ushered into a new room, in which there was a panel of 5 people sat at a large wooden table. Two of which looked far too young to be part of the faculty in the National Academy.


    The first to speak was an old man with a big bushy beard, contrasting greatly with his gaunt face and thin frame. He was draped with rather flashy, bright blue robes and looked to be of the human race, but you never can be sure these days, what with all the human-ish looking species out there.


    ¡°Greetings, I¡¯m the vice-headmaster of The National Academy. It¡¯s wonderful for you all to have taken the time to come here. This interview will be conducted with all of the applicants present so as to save time.¡± Croaked the Oldman.


    ¡°You may be wondering why there was no manner of pre examination. The answer is simple. If you lie about your abilities or in response to one of our questions we¡¯ll know. I will be present to determine whether you speak the truth.¡± Followed up the short-haired lady who also sat at the panel. Her features could be described as sharp, and her piercing blue eyes angled upwards, which in addition to her arched eyebrows produced an ever present glare. This one was probably not human if her strangely shiny blue hair was anything to go by. Unlike the old man, she was dressed in a navy-blue military-like uniform.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous! Be at ease and just answer our questions honestly. The unnecessarily serious woman over there is the Head of Academy Law Enforcement. I¡¯m in charge of the religious division within the academy.¡± Said a friendly-looking, middle-aged human. I couldn¡¯t help but immediately start to dislike him. That smile of his is incredibly fake¡­ He didn¡¯t have any features which stood out, and wore light grey robes of a similar colour to his gradually greying hair.


    After their introductions were finished, I looked over to the two additions to the table. They were a boy and a girl, whose ages I¡¯d put at around 14 or 15. They both looked human and had similar features, leading to the impression that they were sibling; they both had the same violet eyes and platinum-blonde hair.


    ¡°I see a few of you noticed our two young additions! These two are very important students who will be attending the academy from this year on, and should you be approved as a teacher, and they take a liking to what you teach, they may be your students. They requested to be present so as to influence the choice of new faculty.¡± Explained the middle-aged guy.


    The old man looked to have fallen asleep¡­ or died, while the blue haired lady was glaring at each of those in the room with unnerving intensity, so it looked as though that disgusting Moon-worshipper would be doing most of the talking. The two younger additions cleared their throats as they prepared to introduce themselves.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Grace Viola, 3<sup>rd</sup> princess of the royal family of Lun. It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintances.¡± Said the girl.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Victor Viola, 2<sup>nd</sup> prince of the royal family of Lun.¡± Said the boy.


    ¡­Okay¡­ So they¡¯re royalty? Why on earth would they be allowed to meet with a bunch of strangers?- I suddenly felt an even more penetrating glare from the blue haired woman. I guess that answers that. If these fellows are capable enough to hold such high positions in this so-called National Academy, then they should be able to protect these two brats.


    The other interviewees had gotten too their knees before I knew it, leaving me standing somewhat awkwardly in front of the panel. The blue hair¡¯s glare was practically burning a hole through my head at this point. In front of all the critical looks, I released an embarrassed smile and awkwardly scratched my head, waiting for the uncomfortable silence to stop. At least I stood out from the crowd¡­


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting on your knees?¡± asked the boy, his tone clearly indicating his displeasure. His eyes were narrowed as he appraised me. To be honest I don¡¯t really want to get on my knees¡­ Not in front of a heretic prince at the very least. Luckily, an (heretic) angel came to my rescue.


    ¡°Vic, don¡¯t be so rude! They don¡¯t have to kneel to us. Everyone please stand up¡± interjected the princess. She sent an apologetic smile my way, while the prince continued to glare.


    A few moments later, everything was back in order, and we began the interview. The questions were simple in regards to your name and previous occupation, as well as abilities;


    ¡°Your name?¡± asked the heretic.


    ¡°Cyne Wight¡± I replied.


    ¡°Previous occupation?¡±


    ¡°Just a do-gooder¡­¡± This answer was quite obscure, but nobody questioned it surprisingly. And of course, since I only went around doing good deeds, it wasn¡¯t picked out as a lie.


    ¡°Specialities?¡±


    ¡°Light attribute combat magic, and light sword mastery.¡±


    ¡°To what degree is your strength?¡±


    ¡°Capable of casting grade 7 magic, and combat ability on par with A rank warriors.¡± That answer got some impressed looks. Yes, be impressed you heretics. This was you can achieve when you believe in Sol.


    ¡°Do you hold any ill intent towards the Royal Family of Lun?¡±


    ¡°No¡± I replied succinctly. The all-seeing glare of the blue woman didn¡¯t waver, after all I don¡¯t even know the royal family, except for that irritating little boy and polite young girl. If anything, I¡¯d say I didn¡¯t really care about this diseased country nor its residents. It¡¯s an unsalvageable place. Pity¡­ yes, I have pity for these lost souls. The human mind is strange isn¡¯t it? Truth is subjective, and so long as you whole-heartedly believe something it becomes true to you.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, your abilities make you more than qualified to become a teacher.¡± said the heretic, his eyelids squinting as he examined me. ¡°There are only two positions available, so if there aren¡¯t any better qualified candidates, you¡¯ll be pretty much guaranteed a position.¡±


    The two children who sat by the side also gave me some probing glances, the victor boy sporting a sour expression. Oh my, it looks like my mistake from before will be held onto by this child. How irritating¡­ I¡¯ll just try to get into the good books of the polite one. Then again, maybe I won¡¯t even have to meet them again after this. That would be for the best. With the interview coming to its conclusion, the blue woman finally took her eyes off of me, and enquired to the side, ¡°Victor, Grace. Do either of you have any input?¡±


    Oh, I see. Get them used to making big decisions, after all they¡¯ll be leading this scummy country. Is that why they¡¯re here, to play king and queen? Well, I don¡¯t mind¡­ fun is fun after all, but I¡¯d rather it not interfere with my plans. I studied the two of them, hoping that either they¡¯d keep their mouths shut, or say something positive. Unfortunately, Sol did not have my back this time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like him. He¡¯s creepy. I mean what¡¯s with that mask? He¡¯s obviously not taking this interviews seriously, and he has a clear lack of respect for his betters.¡± Started the boy, rattling off a few reasons so as not to select me. My smiled became a little more curved as my right cheek began to contort so as not to go over and break the little heretic¡¯s jaw.


    ¡°I disagree! Victor! He¡¯s probably wearing the mask for cultural or religious reasons. Why else would he come to such an important event with it? Sorry Mr Cyne, I hope we didn¡¯t offend you. I for one am quite interested in light magic, and father always wanted me to learn how to defend myself with a weapon, so I may even be interested in any fencing lessons you may give.¡± Piped up the little angel/heretic. I looked at the polite and agreeable child with soft eyes. She¡¯s a good girl, it¡¯s just a shame that she¡¯s been polluted with a filthy ideology. She even gave me a good excuse for the mask¡­ Back in Sol they would¡¯ve just torn the bloody thing off.


    ¡°Oh? The princess seems to be interested in what this guy can teach¡­¡± croaked the old man, who¡¯d regained consciousness at some unknown point during the interview. The comment was met with an approving nod from the blue woman, while the biggest heretic in the room had already moved on to the next candidate.


    The rest of the candidates were to be frank, far below par. Why did they even show up? One fellow is a D rank adventurer. Buddy, you should be a student, not a bloody teacher! The only other candidate who met the cut was ol¡¯ Burg. That annoying prince took a liking to the whole ¡®big swords¡¯ thing he had going for him. Small, light swords¡­ that¡¯s the way to go. There¡¯s finesse in my fencing! Burg¡¯s brute strength method just isn¡¯t comparable. At least the young princess isn¡¯t a moron like her brother.


    Needless to say, Burg and I got the positions. We were given a time and a place for the induction and rudimentary training to be an instructor and were basically thrown out thereafter. Well, this¡¯ll be fun¡­ Don¡¯t worry young heroes! It won''t be long before you''ll be bakc in the kingdom of Sol, where you belong. I just hope they haven''t been fed too many lies before I get there.

 Chapter 41- Classroom

    The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the streets are bustling! What a beautiful day! Unfortunately such a lovely atmosphere is wasted on these disgusting people. I leaned against the window frame of my inn room, watching the street below with a mild-mannered smile. A week had passed since the interview, and during that time I¡¯d attended the induction session as required. It was rather dull, with the old man from the interview showing Burg and I around and droning on and on about the various college rules. If I was to be entirely honest, I don¡¯t remember the majority of what that decrepit, old heretic said.


    I did store away what was essential to know of course. My classroom would be located in the Combat Department Building, to the east side of the college campus. I got to have a look around on the day, and I must say, while nothing in comparison to the church of Sol, back at the capital, it wasn¡¯t too shabby. Big hall for some practical battles, and desks lined along the back for when studying the theory of magic.


    I must say, I can¡¯t get my head around why this wretched kingdom would allow for the National College to exist. A place that gathers talents and trains them, but then requires no obligations from them after their period of study. Certainly there would be gratitude to country¡¯s royal family for paying for their tuition, should they come from a poor background, but there¡¯s no guarantee. Back in the land of the righteous (Sol), almost all education is associated with the church. If you gave a large enough donation, then your children would be allowed to study at the church facilities. Almost every educated official in the kingdom of Sol is bound by their religion, and the vows they made before Sol, to the prosperity of our kingdom. A far better system than this messy College nonsense.


    Well, at any rate I can¡¯t spend my time relaxing here. Today I begin my first class. I¡¯m actually rather excited. This last week has been lovely, spending time chatting with Serenity and Silk, but I need a change of scenery. Speaking of Silk, she¡¯s grown increasingly clingy. The effort it requires to pry her off of my body is definitely substantial.


    Having gotten into the grey uniform provided by the old man along with the mask from the interview, I strode to the front door. As I reached out and opened it, I felt two small hands grasp at my jacket firmly. Looking back I met the round, grey eyes of Silk as she anxiously clutched onto my coat tail. Yes¡­ I¡¯ve been too soft on her, and now she has developed this peculiar attachment.


    ¡°You can¡¯t come with¡± I told her. It was simply how it had to be, after all I couldn¡¯t afford for her to be recognised somehow.


    ¡°please¡­¡± she asked in a small, shy voice.


    ¡°Even Serenity can¡¯t come, and neither can you.¡± I replied. Serenity is unique, and I can¡¯t afford the heroes recognising her and blowing my cover. It all needs to be covert! Should they come running into my arms with grateful tears in their eyes as soon as they realise I¡¯ve come to rescue them, then everything would be ruined. I can¡¯t take on an entire country by my lonesome.


    ¡°disguise¡­¡± she insisted, a glimmer of determination present in those previously lifeless eyes. Maybe I should just let her come along¡­ As long as no one sees her face, it¡¯ll be alright, right? Then again, she may be recognised via her grey cloak. How to solve this conundrum. Sol grant my guidance!


    Silk looked visibly excited as I pondered how I could make this happen... Well she was expressionless but having spent some time with the petite former heretic, I¡¯ve improved my ability to read her body language. She is under my care after all, and she has certainly taken to the guidance of Sol like a fish to water, after casting aside her previous allegiances. I looked around the room for inspiration.


    The white bedsheets caught my eye. By Sol, that¡¯s it! As long as it isn¡¯t a grey cloak, everything will work out. After all, I¡¯m only trying to fool a few heretics. They believe in a ¡®moon god¡¯ so they¡¯ll probably believe anything. I grabbed the sheet, and cut two appropriately sized eye holes.


    Silk looked blankly at the scene until I eventually draped the white sheets over her. With my good eye for measurements the eyeholes fit perfectly, allowing her sight to go relatively unhindered. In front of me stood a small figure draped in a white sheet, only her grey eyes showing. I nodded approvingly, before motioning for her to follow my lead as I walked over the door. Wait¡­ should I do the same for Serenity? No¡­ an owl draped in a scrap of bedsheet would look too suspicious.


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    The journey was short, and despite Silk¡¯s peculiar appearance, nobody took too much notice. With all the variety in this Sol forsaken city, no matter how ridiculous the garb, it was very unlikely for anyone to make a fuss about it. Silk hadn¡¯t let go of me the entire journey as per usual. At first I was worried that the cloth may have been hindering her breathing, what with her drawing in unusually deep breaths of air, but when queried about the matter she looked uncomfortable and even embarrassed. At the very least, it didn¡¯t look like there was a problem with the bedsheet¡­ although maybe I could have had it washed before draping turning it into a garment.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    At any rate, after a short walk we got to the main campus of the college, located relatively close to our inn, in a more affluent district. Seeing my uniform, I wasn¡¯t stopped by the guards/college law enforcement officers (blue woman¡¯s lackeys), but they did stop poor Silk. The matter was resolved by saying she was a teaching assistant¡­ that and I may have threatened to break their legs¡­ and did break one¡­ but only one¡­ I¡¯m not a violent person after all.


    And here I am, sitting at my desk, in my classroom. Silk had taken it upon herself to drag a chair over and sat directly next to me¡­ she was quite close¡­ close, as in making contact close. Ignoring her peculiar habit, I idled, waiting for the students to arrive.


    To my knowledge, all students are required to attend language classes and basic arithmetic, and beyond that they were allowed free rein. They could choose any class available, and needed to gain a certain number of credits to pass the year. I as a teacher would be responsible for handing out such credits.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± sounded out a familiar voice from the doorway. I looked over and saw heretic princess standing in the grey student¡¯s uniform; grey knee-length skirt, grey stockings, grey shoes & a pale grey collared shirt.


    ¡°Hello.¡± I replied with a smile. The princess gave a smile back and walked to one of the available seats and sat down. The small, individual by my side appeared to be staring at the heretic princess a bit too intensely. I gave her a small pinch, after all we can¡¯t go rousing suspicion.


    The glare stopped, but Silk decided to take it upon herself for whatever reason to switch seats from the chair to my knee. Now I looked down at her, my smile straining. This was getting a bit ridiculous now. The princess sat quietly and didn¡¯t mention my small companion¡¯s odd behaviour despite sending some curious glances. Good etiquette¡­ for a heretic.


    As a few more minutes went by, the students slowly started to trickle in, taking seats close to the front. They all seemed around the same age group; 14-15 years of age. Once you start a course with a particular teacher, you can¡¯t change till graduation, so there was a week to allow students to try out different classes before making their final decisions. In all likelihood, the thirty-odd people who came to this lesson would likely be reduced by the next. Oh, would you look at that, time for class has started.


    I stood up from my desk and glided over to the centre of the front of the room. Silk kept pace, making sure not to be further than a foot away. I gave a large welcoming smile and began the class.


    ¡°Hello students. My name is Cyne Wight, and I¡¯ll be responsible for the teaching of this class. What I will be teaching is how to fence with light swords, in addition to combat oriented light-magic. Today I thought we¡¯d start with a little chat about magic!¡± I began. My words were greeted with no complaints, and the children were nice and polite. Shame they¡¯ll all inevitably be burned by Sol¡¯ righteous fires.


    ¡°Now, magic allows you to influence the magical power within your body to produce various phenomena, depending on which attribute you are aligned with. I am assuming you all are light-magic attributed?¡± I asked. The class nodded. Their eyes were focused and attentive, what a lovely class.


    ¡°One¡¯s soul purity affects the limits of your achievements in the field of magic. Those with high soul purity are increasingly rare. What I am going to emphasise and teach is how to use your magic wisely and intuitively in combat scenarios. Regardless of how weak your magic may be, it can still give you¡¯re the upper hand, depending on how you use it.¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher!¡± called a student from the back.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°What about heroes? What¡¯s their soul purity?¡± asked the child. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! I was hoping to steer the conversation towards this.


    ¡°Heroes? They have no limit to their magical abilities. The limitations we have on our souls, don¡¯t exist within theirs. Why do you ask?¡± I asked, feigning ignorance.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s heroes supposed to be coming to the academy sometime this week. Didn¡¯t you know teacher?¡± asked another child.


    ¡°Oh, I was unaware. I do fail to keep up with such events. Will they be attending classes normally?¡± I asked.


    This time the princess answered my question.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll be joining our year, although they¡¯re a year or so older. There companions will also be joining in a higher year¡± She answered.


    ¡°Oh? You seem quite sure of that.¡± I probed.


    ¡°Well, I was there when father sorted out the details. I even got to meet them for a short while.¡± She replied, a little smugly as she looked around at the class¡¯s amazed facial expression. It looks like she¡¯s got a bit of a bragging side to her. Thought she was overly polite for someone of her age, but then again that may just be in front of authority figures.


    ¡°Yes, well that was enlightening. Thank you for that Grace. Now, before we move on are there any other questions?¡± I asked. So the heroes will be coming, and soon¡­ It¡¯s been a while. And, not only them but Deane, Catherine and maybe even Melissa. I can just imagine the heart-warming reunion now. Of course, I may have to put them down if they are too far gone down the path of a heretic.


    ¡°Teacher, I have a question¡± called out a student, breaking me away from my train of thought.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Who is that, and why are they staying so close to you?¡± asked the student, pointing at Silk. Oh¡­ I see¡­ Their eyes were never focused on me, the teacher, but on the peculiar fellow by my side. I didn¡¯t respond for a moment as I suppressed a sigh. These damn heretic children, leading me to believe that they were genuinely enthusiastic to learn¡­


    ¡°Teacher? Anyone? I¡¯m not the only one who sees it right?¡± called out the student again, sounding a bit agitated. I waved my hand and calmed him down.


    ¡°This is Silk.¡± I replied succinctly, and continued with the lesson. The students didn¡¯t seem overly happy with the curt explanation, but they were here to learn! Not to interrogate me over who I associate with.


    In the back of my mind I began to plan how to approach the heroes and co, without looking too suspicious.

 Chapter 42- He needs me

    Class finally came to an end. After talking at the group of students for an hour or so, I was relieved from my duty as the crisp sound of a bell chimedthrough the air, having no apparent origin. If nothing else, the college certainly has some interesting applications of magic. I waited for the students to slowly file out of the room, so I could be left to my own devices.


    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t freed from my obligation as a new teacher so easily. The heretic princess for whatever reason appears to have remained in her seat. I walked over, eager to hurry her on her way. As I approached, I couldn¡¯t help but rub my fingers back and forth as a few desires crept to the forefront of my mind. Nobody else was here¡­ Unfortunately, I vaguely recall the old fellow mentioning indoor fires being against their ¡®health and safety regulations¡¯.


    ¡°Excuse me, Grace. Did you need something from me?¡± I asked amiably.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Yes, actually I do need your help, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± Replied Grace. Her face showed conflicting emotions, as she began to hesitate. Oh, Sol give me patience. The bloody girl hasn¡¯t even made up her mind about whether she intends to actually ask whatever it is of me.


    ¡°And that is?¡± I prompted, my tone still warm and friendly.


    ¡°My request is¡­ Umm, a bit unusual.¡± She responded. She paused briefly, looking at my mask as though attempting to pry something from the frozen features, before continuing, ¡°I know it¡¯s against school regulations for teachers to privately tutor pupils¡­ but I was wondering if you¡¯d maybe¡­¡±


    Well, I got the idea, even with the girl¡¯s evident lack of urgency. I studied her for a moment: for what it¡¯s worth, her request seems genuine for whatever reason, and not because she appears suspicious of my origins¡­ However, it would be unwise to associate with this girl considering her status within this diseased country.


    ¡°I assume you¡¯re asking for private tutoring then?¡± I asked with a chuckle; it¡¯s best to keep the conversation light and friendly after all. I cocked my head to the side, before asking, ¡°For what reason would the princess of entire country want tutoring from someone with an unknown background, and in all honesty, someone who has questionable teaching skills?¡±


    ¡°If I was attributed with any other kind of magic, then I wouldn¡¯t need to ask this of you¡­¡± she began to explain. Why on earth would her attribute be a problem? My head remained cocked to the side, as I looked at her inquisitively.


    ¡°W-well¡­ There aren¡¯t any other light-attributed magic teachers. Since light magic¡¯s commonly associated with the kingdom of Sol to our North, people tend to discriminate against it, and should one be born with such affinity, they tend not to use it¡­¡± she said, her eyes downcast, and a hint of frustration building up in her voice.


    These heretics and their confusing practices. Light-attributed magic is a blessing of the highest degree, by our lord, Sol. For them to waste such a gift for what? My palm had a familiar and faint itch. It¡¯s frustrating when you see so many sinners, but aren¡¯t allowed to carry out your duty.


    ¡°It just so frustrating! As a country, we¡¯re amongst the most non-discriminatory in the world, and yet we discriminate against light magic of all things!¡± exclaimed the princess, getting clearly worked up over the whole thing. ¡°And if it wasn¡¯t for those monsters to the North giving it such a bad name, I would never be in this situation.¡±


    Monsters? My eyelid twitched and I could feel my cheek cramp as I held back my righteous fury. Calling the devout followers of the church of Sol monster, hmm? Sol forsaken hypocritical country, with its stupid people. No, no¡­ Calm down. She¡¯s a child who doesn¡¯t know the glory of Sol. Of course she would say such things, with the polluted ideas about the devout followers of Sol being filtered into her mind each day.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m pleading here. Please, give me private tuition. I¡¯ll make it worth your while! Anything you need, just ask! My siblings are easily surpassing me in magical studies¡­ It¡¯s frustrating.¡± She said, as she clutched her hands together, looking at me with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes.


    I leaned back on one foot and took a moment to think. This na?ve young girl, wants private tuition so as not to be outcompeted by her siblings. She seems quite desperate too. Is that an opportunity I smell?


    ¡°I¡¯m willing, but in exchange there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask of you-¡± I replied. The heretic princess¡¯s eyes began to shine with delight. She jumped up from her desk and cut me off before I could continue speaking.


    ¡°Anything you want!¡± she exclaimed, as though afraid I¡¯d somehow take back my words. I cast and annoyed glance at the princess who¡¯d seemed to have lost a number of manners.


    ¡°Yes, well as I was saying: I was rather intrigued by the heroes the class mentioned today. I was perhaps wondering if you could set up a meeting for us. I am quite interested in meeting them, but very much doubt I¡¯d get a chance considering the difference in status¡­¡± I explained my request. I looked meaningfully at the princess. Her determined attitude hesitated for a second as she digested my request.


    ¡°I-I can do that! I can get my father to arrange an outing for the heroes and I, and you can join once we exit the royal residence!¡± said the princess, she pondered a few moments more before following up with, ¡°It won¡¯t be able to be too soon. Probably in only a month or so when the heroes and their companions are properly settled in, but I¡¯m pretty good friends with them, so I think I can push for this. I¡¯ll even put in a few good words about you when I next meet them!¡±


    I nodded my head in agreeance. That¡¯s the kind of attitude I like to see! This little heretic has been nothing but helpful since I met her. Wait a moment¡­ My name¡­ By Sol, have my brains become addled?! Why did I give the College my real name?! I suddenly fell to a crouching position as I held my head between my hands. Well¡­ I couldn¡¯t have done otherwise, thinking back; that blue woman was using some kind of magic to root out lies after all.


    I hadn¡¯t thought of it before, but the heroes and co could have given these heretics my name! The records of inspectors are tightly under lock and key in the kingdom of Sol, and very few would be willing to speak of one lest suffer the consequences, but the heroes could have spoken of me.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    No, wait, they haven¡¯t made a move against me. They probably haven¡¯t spoken about me, otherwise my idiocy would have been my undoing by now. I looked at the princess and returned to my feet. My actions had left her speechless, and somewhat concerned. Not for me, but likely that I¡¯d decline her request. The heroes may not have spoken about me, but they know my name.


    ¡°I¡¯m humbled by your determination to meet my request, Grace. In truth I¡¯d rather you don¡¯t go mentioning me, though.¡± I said. Grace pursed her lips, looking at me thoughtfully. Damn it, just do as I ask and don¡¯t question it!


    ¡°Ok, I won¡¯t mention you. I don¡¯t really get why, but since you¡¯re agreeing to teach me, I don¡¯t mind.¡± She agreed, her voice full of high hopes.


    And just like that, the princess skipped out of my classroom, gleefully.


    I, in contrast to that excited fellow, felt weary. I sat down at my desk and massaged my temples as I ignored my petite companion who deemed it necessary to once again perch herself on my knee, whilst viciously jabbing me in the side. For whatever reason, she wasn¡¯t pleased. I reached over and began to trace the scars on her body on top of the sheet she still wore, my memory substituting for the lack of vision.


    She stopped her assault, and sat there calmly. I tried to relax as I caressed the scars and stitches. This entire endeavour has been unbearably draining. I can¡¯t even blow off some steam with a good old-fashioned burning. I lightly whistled a tune as I sat there, trying to just get away from the world, for even just a brief moment.


    I felt uncomfortable, my skin crawling as my free hand very faintly tremored. Really need to burn something. I can¡¯t take much more of the secrecy. I want to make it a display. I almost felt like crying out of frustration. The previously still companion of mine seemed to pick up on my discomfort, shifting over and sitting cross-legged in my lap as she looked at me with those now familiar grey eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, her voice as faint as a light breeze. After giving her, her voice back, she¡¯d gradually improved her speech, and more importantly her ability to put emotions into her words. At this moment I could hear concern.


    ¡°I need to burn something.¡± I replied, my voice faint. I chewed on my lip till blood began to trickle down to my chin. If it wasn¡¯t for this uneasiness being the need to commit the just act of sending heretics to Sol, I would probably have thought there¡¯s something wrong with me. I feel so¡­ wrong when I don¡¯t fulfil my duties. Is it Sol? Is he really there, urging me to go out and do this? I never really went so long without fulfilling this intense desire.


    ¡°What do you want to burn?¡± asked that faint voice once more.


    ¡°Heretics¡± I answered without a second thought. I distract myself with words and ideas. I keep my mind busy, but there¡¯s always room for that longing¡­ never leaving me alone¡­ never giving me a moment of respite. I continued to whistle. It was a sad, slow tune. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt like this before. The longer I let this situation continue, the more peculiar I get. My thoughts don¡¯t feel like my own.


    What will happen to Cyne, if I can¡¯t do what¡¯s necessary? Sol¡¯s existence never seemed to matter to me before¡­ But now that I lack the euphoria that comes with smell of charred human flesh, and agonising screams¡­ I feel like it might matter, that I might need him to exist.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Silk POV


    Cyne¡¯s sad. He¡¯s never been sad before. Did that girl who stayed behind make him sad? I don¡¯t like that. She¡¯s bad for him.


    He was silent on the way back. Not just silent on the outside but on the inside too. He still smiles but it doesn¡¯t have any emotion.


    Even Serenity looks concerned. Cyne seems strange. When I asked him what he wanted, he said that he wanted to burn heretics.


    Heretics? Like me? I was a heretic, I think? Does he want to burn me? He can if he wants. I¡¯m used to it. He¡¯s always soft and gentle with me. I want to be soft and gentle with him.


    Night time has come. I¡¯m in bed next to him again. In his warm embrace. It¡¯s become my happy place, being near him. But, he doesn¡¯t touch me like before¡­ I want this to stay my happy place.


    I could feel my lips tremble as I traced the smile on his sleeping face. He seems lost. He seems sad. It makes me sad. Tears started to form in my eyes. He needs to turn back to normal.


    I have to do it. Cyne needs me, like I need him. I pushed at his chest. Wake up! He keeps sleeping. I begin to pinch his cheeks as hard as I can.


    Cyne leaps up, eyes open wide as he begins to rub his cheeks. I hurt him. I feel bad. He looks over at me with those eyes. Those warm brown eyes. I want him to need me.


    ¡°Cyne¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked, still looking tired.


    ¡°You want to burn a heretic?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± He mumbled, his eyes glazing over.


    ¡°I was a heretic¡­¡± I said. He looks at me with confusion. I bit my lip before continuing.


    ¡°I was never punished¡± I said. I need to help him.


    ¡°I won¡¯t feel better until I¡¯ve paid for my sins¡­¡± I continued. His eyes were gaining their light.


    I reached over for the little, sharp knife he keeps on the bedside table, and lit a candle nearby. I reached over and grabbed his hand.


    One by one I uncurl his fingers, as he looks at me blankly. I put the knife in his hands, and make him hold it over the candle. His eyes have changed now. He looks happy. That makes me happy.


    I sat still. Looking at his face in the flickering candlelight. He looks better. I¡¯m helping him. That thought made me shiver with pleasure. I¡¯m helping him, like he helped me. Like he still helps me.


    Minutes pass and now the blade is glowing. He looks lost. He looks uncertain. I want to help him more. I grabbed his hand with the blade, and brought it to my bare skin on my forearm.


    I look at the scars. At the silver wire stitches. I don¡¯t like these marks. I looked up and into Cyne¡¯s eyes, which increasingly grew with clarity. I want marks from him. I want them to prove he¡¯s real. I want them to help him get better.


    I pushed the flat of the blade against my skin.


    I let out a gasp as the pain ran up along my arm. It hurts. It hurts. I don¡¯t like it. But, I want a mark from him. I look at Cyne, my hand trembling as I hold his, keeping the blade sizzling against my skin.


    He looks happy, and so, I am happy. He looks like the old Cyne now. His smile looks real. His eyes look real. He looks real. The pain was still there, but Cyne is making it happen. As I think this, it doesn¡¯t feel so bad anymore. It¡¯s like he needs me now. I feel that strange pleasure again.


    The blade had rested long enough. I pulled it away, tearing burnt flesh away with it. An angry red burn appeared on my skin. I traced my finger around it. This was Cyne. I liked it¡­ It looks better than the others.


    I continued to help Cyne throughout the night. He wouldn¡¯t do it himself. That made me happy. He cares about me. I guided his hand and burned myself countless times, covering old marks with new.


    The pain eventually stopped and I only felt pleasure each time we made a new mark. He cares about me. And now he needs me. I feel strange. I feel hot.


    I look at Cyne. He looks back. He is Cyne again. I looked at his smile. I smiled. He was getting closer. His smile was getting closer. Our smiles touched. I feel happy. No, I feel strange. No, I feel hot.


    I wrapped my burn covered arms around his neck. I want him closer. I want our smiles to continue touching. I feel hot, very hot. Too hot.


    His tongue. It¡¯s touching my smile. I want him closer. I opened my smile and it entered me. We¡¯re close. So close. The pleasure kept increasing. My stomach feels weird and the place between my legs feels tingly.


    His tongue explored my mouth. The pleasure and tingly feeling got stronger. Stronger. Stronger. Stronger. Then it peaked. My body arched. There was no pain. Only pleasure. I can¡¯t think properly.


    Everything¡¯s going dark. I think I¡¯m going to sleep¡­ It feels strange. I¡¯m reluctant. I think something even more wonderful could have happened if I just stayed awake a little longer¡­


    He needs me now.

 Chapter 43- Days Before a Reunion

    My eyes slowly fluttered open, the crack of dawn shining light through the window and rousing me from an unexpectedly peaceful slumber. Warmth radiated from my small companion, creating an atmosphere which could be called perfect. It was peaceful, and pleasant.


    My gaze wandered down to the content face of Silk, who lay in her usual spot within my arms, curled up in a fetal position, facing me. The recollections of the previous night were still fresh in my mind. I¡¯d never expected this fellow to be so accommodating¡­ I certainly feel much better than the previous day. Had I continued to suppress my desires, I can say with a great degree of certainty that my mind would have become further impaired. Right now, the hyperactivity of my mind had calmed.


    I traced the burns along the arms of Silk, the wounds barely crusted over. Strangely, despite the pleasurable sight that those injuries provided, my eyes kept returning to her soft, pink lips. That sensation¡­ I wouldn¡¯t mind doing that again.


    I moved forwards, bringing my lips to hers, savouring that soft sensation as they brushed against one another. I¡­ I quite like this. Romance and women were never at the forefront of my mind, yet despite this I enjoyed this proximity. It¡¯s different, but not necessarily inferior to that feeling when a heretic burns in the flames I lit.


    Oh dear, it looks like I was too absorbed in my activities¡­ Bleary, grey eyes looked into mine, slowly gaining clarity. I withdrew from the kiss, and got up, out of the bed and began to get dressed. In the corner of my eye I could see the now awake Silk, brushing her lips with her finger, a dazed look dominating her expression. Oh, she smiled¡­ It¡¯s quite nice isn¡¯t it? Her smile.


    Well, enough of that. I still have work to do and a rescue to plan. I put the situation with Silk to the side for the time being, and centred my attention on preparing for the day.


    I never expected you to have a tender side.


    I glanced over at the little owl that had squawked in my direction. Oh, Serenity? You were here all along? I must say I¡¯m somewhat embarrassed for you to see such a display from yours truly. Serenity is an old spirit, and from our time together I¡¯ve garnered that she enjoys all the stories of my escapades; the torture, the executions, the magnificent conflagrations. Her image of me must be crumbling what with that romantic display. Don¡¯t worry Serenity, I¡¯m the same old Cyne, which you know and love!


    ¡­I see. And here I was hoping you¡¯d changed¡­


    Oh, Serenity! A joker as always. I do enjoy these conversations of ours. We haven¡¯t done this in a while! I bet you¡¯re lonely being left to your own devices!


    It was nice to see you treat that girl with such compassion, albeit after inflicting injuries upon her. It almost convinced me you were human¡­


    Oh, she always cracks me up. That sarcastic humour of hers is something I can appreciate. But, she should be glad she ended up with me; others may end up taking her comments seriously.


    At any rate, I was appropriately dressed and was ready to head to the college campus. If I recalled correctly, something was said about a faculty meeting this afternoon. I¡¯m interested to see what kind of heretics are in charge of educating these children. I felt a familiar tug on my coat tail, and as I anticipated, it was a Silk, draped in a bedsheet and ready for the day.


    She seems quite pitiful, grabbing onto my coat like this¡­ I held out my hand. Silk looked at it for a moment, dazed. Only a few seconds later she grabbed it with both hands. Oh, that is a tight grip. What¡¯s she doing now? Taking advantage of my surprise at her actions, she¡¯d successfully gotten hold of my arm, and was hugging it tightly into her chest, pressing herself closely against me¡­ Well, it isn¡¯t overly bothersome, I suppose¡­


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The next few days seemed to drag on forever. Every moments felt like an eternity, as I waited for a development with Grace and the heroes. My class had decreased by about half in the second lesson, and remained at a number of 15. They were all talented individuals¡­ I wonder if they wouldn¡¯t think about joining the Church of Sol, after all this country of heretics has no appreciation for their talents.


    At any rate, the lessons consisted mostly of the discussion behind the theory of light magic along with stretching exercises to increase their flexibility for when the fencing lessons began. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t simply tell them the whole truth of how light magic was a blessing given to mankind by our great lord, Sol, so I spouted out some nonsense that the academy library¡¯s books held.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Back when I was still an inspector-in-training, one had to learn the passages of the Holy Scriptures off by heart. By devoting yourself to this task, the words recitation various stories, and the lessons learned from them, would bring you closer to Sol, and naturally your ability to use his blessing (light magic) would increase. The heretics however had a crude system going, where it was essentially trial and error. They would learn from experiences and the experiences of those before them, as opposed to the wisdom held in the Holy Scriptures. As such, their progress was limited despite their talents.


    It¡¯s for the best. We can¡¯t have a bunch of heretics running around and using Sol¡¯s blessing for unholy purposes. The princess had pestered me for further lessons, but in reality, there was little I could teach her without drilling the Holy Scriptures into her head. Her persistence eventually led to the agreement of today¡¯s date being the beginning of our lessons.


    At present I was sitting in my desk, waiting for the princess to arrive. My white-sheeted companion had perched herself on my thighs, leaning her head against my chest as I laid back in my seat. The warmth of her little body was quite comfortable. The class had gotten used to her now, although I did overhear the students taking guesses at what could be underneath the sheets.


    Ever since the¡­ interesting night we had, I feel far more comfortable in this place. The agitation of being surrounded by individuals whose ways of life are quite the contrary to Sol¡¯s teachings, has slowly dissipated. The urgency I felt, to set them ablaze has subsided. I am only one man, and ultimately, they¡¯ll face their punishments one way or another. Perhaps I should encourage a holy war on the kingdom of Lun, when I get back to the capital of Sol¡­


    Silk¡¯s attitude has gone mostly unchanged after that night. Her constant proximity to me has remained the same, and we still sleep in the same bed. Something feels off though¡­ I used to be quite content with just holding what I considered a work of art in my arms as I laid my head to rest. But now¡­ I think I may want to do a bit more than that. Silk¡¯s attitude may not have changed, but I think I mine certainly has. No events of a similar nature have yet occurred since the first time, and I¡¯m in no hurry to rush things.


    Well enough about that, it looks as though the princess has finally deemed the time suitable to grace us with her presence.


    Grace entered the room, a bounce in her step as an excited expression made its way onto her face. Bubbly, energetic and eager to learn. Silk on the other hand tensed up quite suddenly, gripping onto me significantly tighter. Yes, this has been something she¡¯s had a habit of doing for a while now.


    Grace pulled up a chair and sat directly in front of my desk, eagerly awaiting her private lesson. I suppose it¡¯s time to let this heretic princess understand her erroneous ways and know the glory of Sol.


    I grabbed a few sheets of partially crumpled paper out of my pocket and deposited them on the desk, Grace¡¯s eyes following the paper like a bloodhound. I took time last night to write the first passage of the Holy Scriptures onto some sheets of paper. I looked at the princess once more, before making a final decision as to whether or not to risk this.


    She looked pristine and perfect as always, but there was that glimmer of dark emotion in the corners of her eyes that really swayed me. It was obvious that she held resentment towards those who ostracised light magic users, and perhaps she even held ill-will to her own siblings who surpassed her despite her own efforts. Well, I suppose with that desperation I can smell in the air, it would be only appropriate to let her find salvation in Sol.


    I let go of the papers, which were quickly snatched up by Grace, who looked over them intently. Eventually her gaze began to cloud with confusion as she returned her attention to me.


    ¡°What is this?¡± she asked, brows furrowing.


    ¡°This is a story. A story of many, which I will present to you in time.¡± I said, an amused grin forming beneath my mask. Oh, how satisfying would it be if I converted one of the heretic kingdom¡¯s royal family? I then continued to say, ¡°You will read this story and memorise, till you can recite it back to me. Not only will you read it, but you will think about the messages behind it.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t what we agreed on!¡± exclaimed the princess, her frustration building.


    ¡°Back in my homeland, these stories helped one understand light magic through indirect methods. You don¡¯t always need to look at magic directly. Instead, you should try to understand the world around it, and what role it plays.¡± I explained, my voice calm and steady.


    I received an unconvinced glance, before the child ran out of the room, her posture reflecting that of a sulking teenager.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel satisfied as I watched her take those papers. The holy scriptures were always very tightly guarded by the church, and as such, no one outside of the church faculty know the words. I wouldn¡¯t have taken this risk, if that story could be easily identified. The perfect part of the Holy Scriptures would be that they only once refer to Sol, nor the church. In each story, they place different roles under different names, at least until the very last story where their names are exposed.


    I stifled a sigh, as I returned to my previous posture, and laid back against the chair. Silk snuggled into my chest once more, having lost her apprehension over the princess¡¯s presence.


    The heroes will arrive tomorrow. There¡¯ll be a grand display of sorts, a tour around the campus with the heroes and their companions in tow. They¡¯ll garner quite a crowd, without a doubt. At least, the student gossip lately appears to be primarily focused on them, so I can imagine they¡¯ll be quite the popular display.


    Perhaps I¡¯ll take a look too¡­ From what I¡¯ve heard, they¡¯ll be shown around by the headmaster. With that fellow being their guide, they¡¯ll only be observed from a far to begin with. I¡¯ll have a mask, and I¡¯ll be part of a crowd, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to spot me, right?


    It really has been such a long time Rin, Hina, Yuki, Deane, Catherine and Melissa.

 Chapter 44- Their Arrival

    Another day has passed in this Sol forsaken city, with its countless heretical residents. Soon however, I¡¯ll get to see my previous companions. Who knows, it may only be a short while till I get to leave this place. There are so many things you just can¡¯t get used to in this country: the variety of races, the colour, and the different religious symbols. It makes me nauseous thinking about it. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if they just didn¡¯t exist?


    The morning proceeded as per usual, involving peeling Silk off of my arm, before readying myself for the day ahead. I mentioned the previous night that the heroes would be arriving today, to Serenity, and she¡¯s been surprisingly insistent that she accompany me. I never knew she was attached to those fellows. Then again, I suppose she was around them for quite a while. Even I, who doesn¡¯t easily grow fond of people, don¡¯t hold too much ill-will towards the heroes and co.


    Consequentially, I cut out a smaller sheet and cut out two small eye holes in it, draping it over Serenity and placing her on my shoulder. She protested to begin with, but in the end she fell silent in response to my flawless logic: she¡¯ll be less recognisable this way, after all. It only took an hour or two to convince her to wear it. By my side was a small sheeted figure and upon my shoulder was another. Don¡¯t we make quite the team?


    Ok, now before we get to the college, I do need to remind myself of these heroes. So there is Yuki, the strangely generic-looking one¡­ Wait wasn¡¯t he poisoned a while ago? These fellows must have cured him already. Ok, our relationship wasn¡¯t bad if I recall correctly.


    Then there was Rin. The small hero. The polite one, yes that¡¯s the one. She was a healer of sorts wasn¡¯t she? If it wasn¡¯t for her intervention I wouldn¡¯t have been chosen as a party member. Yes, she isn¡¯t of a bad sort.


    Hina¡­ The impolite one. Uses a bow, and quite recklessly if I do say so myself. I think our relationship was beginning to improve towards the end, or maybe it was my imagination. Ok, so she¡¯s the unpleasant, rude one.


    Now for the two companions. Deane, who was from the royal guard, and Catherine, from the adventurer¡¯s guild. Deane was quite the refined fellow, while Catherine had more of a wild side.


    Oh yes¡­ there¡¯s also that one isn¡¯t there? The snot bag, Melissa¡­ I may as well rescue her while I¡¯m at it, if they didn¡¯t just kill her off already. Although¡­ she wouldn¡¯t be my slave anymore; they¡¯ve probably removed the collar with their heretic ways. If she wants to come, she can come.


    Well, without further ado, it is best we set off!


    -------


    What a crowd. Students and teachers by the hundreds had all congregated in the main College Pavilion, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the heroes. I saw a few of my students amongst the crowd, not surprising considering how much of their spare time they spend talking about this. The little heretics were polite enough to greet me, but I didn¡¯t appreciate the strange glances they cast towards Serenity, who had fully embraced her incognito costume. Fortunately they didn¡¯t pry.


    There were only a few more minutes before their arrival. I wonder if they¡¯ve changed much. Will they arrive as part of some sort of grand display, or will it be less flashy. My smile cramped a bit as I thought back to how these bloody heretics just took our Kingdom¡¯s summoned heroes. Really, that is a bit much. I understand that we have a difference of beliefs, but to think they¡¯re so willing to antagonise the Kingdom of Sol.


    Oh? That¡¯s a familiar lump of muscle heading my way¡­


    ¡°CYNE! It¡¯s been a while!¡± exclaimed Burg, his face beaming. Oh dear, I¡¯ve been trying to avoid this fellow for the past few days. He seems to have somehow come to the conclusion that we became friends. Due to his size and intimidating appearance, very few have been willing to approach him, so he¡¯s probably feeling lonely. It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if it wasn¡¯t for that constant sweaty smell mixed with strong cologne that emanated off of him.


    ¡°Oh, Burg. It¡¯s good to see you. How are you going?¡± I engaged him in friendly conversation. I¡¯ve dealt with far more irritating people in the past, so it¡¯s not too difficult to feign interest in his general affairs and act pleasant.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Oh, you know! It¡¯s been good. My wife had been in such a good mood since I stopped adventuring, and I can even spend more time with lil¡¯ Jess (his daughter).¡± He laughed. Oh and the cycle repeats itself. The conversation will centre on his family, and how proud he is of his daughter, and things like that.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± he made a pause, and his attention turned to the sheeted individual on my shoulder, before looking back to the other sheeted individual latched onto my arm. His brows furrowed as he attempted to use his brain. He then said, ¡°Cyne, did you know you¡¯ve got another one of those things following you now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know¡± I replied, not really wanting to focus too much on my companions. Come on Burg, go back to talking about your family. Unfortunately he seemed quite concerned about these two for whatever reason.


    ¡°Cyne, I didn¡¯t want to mention it before, since you seemed okay with it, but back in my tribe there were legends of evil spirits. They were pale white creatures with no distinctive features, which would latch onto their victims and slowly drain their energy. Are you feelin¡¯ alright?¡± said Burg. Ok, so Burg is a superstitious fellow¡­ as well as being incredibly below par when it comes to intelligence. Most people would be able to figure out these aren¡¯t evil spirits.


    Feeling too tired to explain, I waved him off and thankfully the sounds of the school bell interrupted this brain numbing experience. I looked over to the gate where a group of people had arrived. They¡¯re here. All dressed up in the same school uniform. Oh, so Melissa¡¯s not dead.


    They walked slowly into the pavilion, following the lead, of a handsome, blonde-haired fellow dressed up in grey robes and also sporting a scraggly, blonde beard. That would be the Headmaster.


    Yuki was looking well, and not poisoned, so that¡¯s good. We wouldn¡¯t be able to put him to work, fighting the shadows if he¡¯d gone and gotten himself crippled. He, as well as the rest of the group all looked fit and healthy, and even exuded a more self-assured aura. Unlike his previous, average self, he now masquerades as a brave hero, and his performance is doing quite well. I can see a few of the ladies swooning in the crowd.


    There¡¯s Rin, looking quite nervous still, but not as much as she was in the past. She seems to stick quite closely to Yuki, so not too much has changed there. She even looks to have grown a little in height, although she still lacks womanly curves. She may have grown, but she still looks childish, and seems to have kept her curly, brown hair short.


    Hina is also by their side. She appears worldlier than last time we met, projecting a mature aura, despite her relatively young age. The males amongst the crowd seemed quite enraptured by her feminine features, droopy eyes and large assets.


    Catherine is there as well. She seems the same as she was: dark-blonde hair cut short, sharp maroon eyes, healthy tanned skin, giving her quite the wild look. She too seems to have a few admirers.


    And there¡¯s that feminine-looking pretty boy, Deane. Auburn hair, grey-blue eyes. Why are there people who look that attractive? I¡¯m not too bad in the looks department, but seriously? This guy always looks perfect.


    And, last, but not least, Melissa. No slave collar. Her blood-red hair had been tied back in a ponytail, revealing her pointed ears and scaly red patterns decorating her cheeks and the rims of her eyes. Her tail was twitching nervously as she followed the pack.


    ¡°I see quite a large crowd has gathered!¡± exclaimed the headmaster, sweeping his eyes over the students and faculty. He gave a light smile before continuing, ¡°As you can see these six people will be the newest addition to our college; the three heroes and their talented companions!¡±


    He looked over to the group and gestured for them to say something and so they did. One by one they stepped up and addressed the crowd.


    Yuki- ¡°Hello. It¡¯s nice to meet you all, I look forward to being in your care.¡±


    Hina- ¡°Hi, we¡¯ll be here for the foreseeable future, so I¡¯m pleased to make your acquaintance¡±


    Rin- ¡°H¡ªhello, nice to meet everyone¡­¡±


    Catherine- ¡°Not a hero, but I look forward to studying here all the same!¡±


    Deane- ¡°I too am not a hero, but hope to improve myself at this college.¡±


    Melissa- ¡°U-umm. Hello. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Their speeches were quite poor and really weren¡¯t very impressive at all, and yet the crowd still gave them a cheer. These fellows are far too excited to see heroes. Surprisingly enough, the male demi-human crowd gave quite a large cheer for Melissa. It would seem she¡¯s actually quite popular? I suppose if you took away the non-human features, she would qualify as a beauty.


    The headmaster motioned for the crowd to disperse, and so they did. I left with the crowd, casting a few glances back at the heroes. Unfortunately they don¡¯t appear to be poorly treated¡­ I hope they haven¡¯t gotten overly fond of this heretical country.


    As I was looking back with my masked face, I saw something that nearly stopped my heart. Melissa was taking in deep whiffs of the air, a confused expression making its way onto her face as she began to turn her head in my direction.


    Oh dear, I forgot about her sense of smell¡­ Her gaze became dead set on my mask. She looked confused initially, but as her gaze caught a glimpse of the sheeted figure on my shoulder, a moment of clarity seemed to overcome her. A number of emotions flashed across her face. Surprise, relief, excitement, and even a few tears came to the corners of her eyes.


    Thank Sol, she seems happy to see me. That snot bag could have ruined my plans just now. I do need to be more careful. I moved a finger up to the lips of the mask I wore. In response she came to the realisation that now was neither the time nor the place, and regained her previous demeanour albeit with a smile creeping onto her face.


    Why did she seem so surprised to see me?

 Note

    Hi, its been a while... again. Real life can get a bit busy, so consistency is pretty much an impossible thing.


    Also, when writing you eventually get a bit tired of the same story, so I''ve started another one. Maybe it''ll be nice to bounce between writing them.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    If you feel like checking it out, here''s the link:http://royalroadl.com/fiction/10500


    There''s only two short chapters out, but feel free to give a bit of feedback.


    BTW, consistency is still not going to be a thing I do.