Hana returned to the party after Caeldaemos left the palace. She was happy to see her companions mingling well among the nobles, and the atmosphere seemed better.

“Lady Hana.” The general stepped up next to her.

“Good evening, general.” She looked to the ground with a sad smile.

He looked at her with concern. “You know. Sometimes I have difficulty understanding why the gods do the things they do or why they chose him of all people in your world. He looks the part of a hero, but inside he is rotten.”

The general placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes, allowing others to shoulder a bit of the burden is best. If you need any help, give me a call.” He handed her a note with his number.

“Thank you, general.”

The general wandered off to speak to some other nobles as Haley approached.

“Did you learn anything?” She asked.

“Yes… That Evil Eye was worse than we thought.” Hana replied.

Haley pressed for more information, but Hana said that they would talk about it later with the other two heroes present.

“Her Majesty is sure to inform the other world leaders about this. I don’t know if Gabriel will be able to stay a hero.” Hana commented.

“All the better, in my opinion. If the Demon-Lord is good like we are hoping, then we have nothing to worry about.” Haley stated.

The Demon-Lord…

“I am going to retire from the party early. I have something to do.” Hana said with a smile.

“Oh, okay. We’ll finish up here. You take care of yourself.” Haley squeezed Hana’s hands, assuring her.

Hana quietly left the banquet after saying farewell to a handful of nobles she was closest to.

Changed into more comfortable clothing, Hana arrived at the Temple of Io in Galgalake. It was late in the evening, and she used a key she had been given before and entered a staff entrance.

Walking through the quiet halls gave her a feeling of calm she greatly needed.

She heard a set of shuffling feet and a yawn. A man in simple robes rounded the corner and saw her.

“Hero Hana? Welcome back to the temple.” The man smiled.

“It is good to see you, high priest.” Hana smiled.

“Staying the night? Your room here has been kept in order.” He informed her.

“Actually, I wanted to ask about something.”

“Of course. I was on my way back to my room. Please, come along.”

Hana followed the high priest back to his office. His bedroom was directly connected to it.

They sat down across from each other in a pair of comfy seats.

“So, what is your question?” He asked cheerily.

Hana pursed her lips. “Is it… Possible to speak with Io?”

The high priest thought for a moment. “Hmm. I have not heard of such a thing in a long time.” He stroked his long graying beard. “But yes, if one falls asleep with a chaste priestess loved by Io, it is possible to establish a connection. Or at least that is what has been written.”

“Is there such a priestess?” She asked.

“There are a few I know of that are beloved by Io. Here at our temple, there are two. One of them you are close with.” He smiled warmly.

A smile came to Hana’s face. “Is it Ophelia?”

He nodded.

Hana left the high priest’s office to head to the priestess’ room. It took her a few minutes to get to the women’s wing, but when she stood before the door, she could see the light from underneath it.

Shaking her head while happily sighing, she knocked on the door.

Hana heard some quick chaos from the other side of the door before it cracked open.

A small silver-haired girl looked out to the hall cautiously.

The moment she saw Hana, she squealed with happiness and pulled the door open entirely, embracing Hana in a warm hug.

“Hana!”

“Hey, Ophelia.” Hana hugged the small girl.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“You came back! How long are you staying? Can you teach me some more?” Ophelia rattled off her questions.

“Let’s go inside, and I will tell you,” Hana said as she carried the girl back into her room.

The room was in utter chaos. Papers, drawings, trinkets, pens, brushes, and all matter of other items were strewn about the room.

Hana took a moment to look at Ophelia, a bit disappointed.

“Um… sorry…” Ophelia looked away, regretful of letting her room get into such a state.

“You know the high priestess will get mad at you if you fall asleep at your morning sermon again.” Hana set the girl down and began picking up around the room.

“I know… It’s just there are so many interesting things in the world! If you had not rescued me from that small town, I would have never known how big the world is!” Ophelia went about the room cleaning things up as well.

About ten minutes later, the room was mostly organized, and they were sitting on the edge of the bed.

“So, you’re leaving tomorrow,” Ophelia said sadly.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could stay longer, but circumstances changed today, so I will have to return to the Vualdulin empire.” Hana pet Ophelia’s head, scratching behind the girl’s round bear ears.

Ophelia had a blissful expression. “So, will you stay with me tonight?”

“That was the plan, but I was hoping you might help me with something,” Hana said.

“Is it to talk to the goddess?” Ophelia asked to Hana’s surprise.

“How did you know?”

“The goddess spoke to me in a dream. She said you might come to me one day to seek an audience with her.” Ophelia replied.

“So, it works?”

“Only in special cases, from what Io said. I am sure she is waiting for you.” Ophelia crawled under her bed sheets.

Hana wanted to stay up and talk to Ophelia a bit longer, but that would have to wait. Changing into a set of simple pajamas, Hana laid down with Ophelia, holding the girl lovingly like a little sister.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana felt light. She opened her eyes only to have her head pulled in for a hug to the goddess’ chest.

“I’m so sorry, Hana!” Io apologized.

“Io?” She asked in a muffled voice.

Io backed away and leaned down to look into Hana’s eyes. Hana could clearly see that Io was distraught.

“I should have taken better action. This is a failure on my part for you to have to go through this.”

“It’s not, Io.” She hugged the goddess. “I’m sure I will be fine.”

Io hugged Hana back.

After a few minutes of comforting one another, they sat at a small table in Io’s divine realm.

“What questions might you have, Hana?” Io asked.

Hana didn’t think she would get as far as she did, sitting before the goddess.

“I… I want to know about the Demon-Lord.” Hana took a moment to ask.

“I see.” Io placed her teacup down. “I won’t tell you everything just yet, but I can, at the very least, tell you that what you know of him is true.”

“So, he is good?” Hana asked.

“Yes. I have watched the many things he has done in the world, and I must admit, he is as much a hero as you are.” Io replied with a smile.

Hana’s expression turned distraught. “And we hurt him!”

Io placed a comforting hand on Hana’s. “You did not know.”

“We must tell everyone. Make it known that-.”

“You cannot.” Io stopped her.

“Why? All it would take is myself informing them of what you said!” Hana argued.

Io shook her head. “This is a difficult mountain of a task. Do not worry too much about the Demon-Lord. He is making his own path to help the world see who he really is.”

“I am sure they would listen!” Hana continued to press.

Io got a reluctant smile. “Listen to me, Hana. The world would be faster to condemn you than support you. If you truly wish to help the Demon-Lord, try to be there to support him when he needs it.”

“Then who is he? Where is he?” Hana desperately asked.

Io shook her head once more. “I will not tell you. It is too early for you to know just yet. I cannot wait to see your expression when you see the truth.” Io giggled.

Hana looked at the goddess, annoyed. During her time with the goddess, she knew that Io loved to play pranks or tease those she favored most.

“There is something else I am curious about,” Hana said.

“That is?”

“Why did the Demon-Lord target only Sylfaerune and Gabriel?”

Io froze and looked uncomfortable with the question.

“Is it something you can’t answer?” Hana asked out of concern.

Io looked away and sighed. “All I will say is that the Demon-Lord has a justifiable reason.”

“I see…” Hana’s eye’s felt heavy.

“Ah, it seems we are out of time. Ophelia is still young, but her power will blossom in the future.” Io commented.

Io hugged Hana one last time. “Good luck Hana. If you meet the Demon-Lord again, please treat him with kindness.”

Hana’s eyes shut, and she returned to the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After waking up, Hana said her goodbyes to Ophelia and quickly headed to the airship. She ran into the other heroes outside the airship ramp.

“Hana, how was Ophelia?” Lindsey asked while smiling.

“She was the same as usual. Thankfully she only got lectured a little bit this morning.” Hana joined them as they headed into the airship.

“You saw the message, right?” Haley asked.

“Yes. It is obvious that all the rulers have heard from the queen. An immediate recall back to Vualdulin.” Hana replied.

“It might be the end of him,” Greggory commented as they boarded the lift to the middle deck.

They arrived at the mess hall and found a cheerful Gabriel socializing with several soldiers.

“Odd… I know full well that those soldiers don’t like him.” Haley commented as they approached.

“Ah! Welcome back. I saw the message from the palace. I already spoke to the captain. The ship is ready to leave as soon as you are ready.” Gabriel said to them with a smile.

Something felt off to them. It was like he was someone else, or perhaps he was putting on an act. But they all fully believed that he did not change for the better.

“I see… Then I will notify him to depart immediately.” Hana replied, feeling uneasy.

Gabriel noticed and asked the soldiers to give them a moment, asking one to let the captain know to depart. The soldiers went off while cheerily chatting with one another.

“Look. I know I have messed up badly. But through the goddess’ help, I have been reborn.” Gabriel stated with a somewhat fanatical glint in his eyes.

The four heroes were taken aback by his actions and demeanor.

“I promise I will do better. Once we save the world from the Demon-Lord, we can continue helping the world to be a better place.” Gabriel promised.

“I see. That is good to hear, Gabriel.” Hana responded to his promise, smiling at him.

Gabriel smiled back. “Well, I have things to do in my quarters. I will see you all later.”

Gabriel turned and headed toward the forward end of the ship.

“What. The. Hell?” Haley was in shock.

“Do you really think?” Greggory was concerned.

“Did you sense anything, Lindsey?” Hana asked.

“I didn’t, but something felt off,” Lindsey replied, shivering.

Hana was unsure what to do, but her conversation with Io came to mind.

“I have to speak with the three of you in private.” She told them.

Hana finished going over her meeting with Io with the three heroes.

“So, the Demon-Lord is actually good?” Haley stated with surprise.

“To think that I hurt him….” Greggory was lamenting his actions.

“I am sure he would forgive you. You were quite angry with what happened to me.” Lindsey comforted him.

“All of you understand that we need to keep this from Gabriel, right?” Hana asked them.

They nodded.

“Good. Let’s go about our business for now. Remember, we cannot tell the world yet.”