“We’re not assassins anymore!” said Maxine quickly.

  “Yeah, we gave that up!” said Liliane. “We’re just normal adventurers!”

  “Oh, really?” I asked, raising my eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

  “W-we saw the error in our ways,” said Maxine. “We realized that killing people was wrong, and now we use our powers to help people.”

  “Bullshit,” I said. I didn’t recall them being very reluctant about murder when we first met. “Don’t lie to me.”

  The twins eyes widened in fear.

  “We ran away,” said Liliane after a few seconds. “We failed our mission. Assassins who fail missions don’t live long.”

  “We traveled to the other side of the country, and became adventurers to make money,” said Maxine, looking down in shame.

  “But it turns out we were pretty damn good at it!” said Liliane proudly.

  “Shut up!” hissed Maxine.

  “I can see that,” I said. “If you’re on this team, you must have gotten pretty good. Let’s see…” I pulled up their stat sheets. “Oh, level 63 and 61, not bad.”

  “63 and 61?” said Maxine. Then she turned to Liliane in anger. “You said you were 65!”

  “So did you!” said Liliane.

  “Well I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t said you were 65,” Maxine shot back. “At least now I know that I’m stronger than you.”

  “No you’re not!” said Liliane. “Level doesn’t equate to strength!”

  “She’s right, you know,” I said. “After all, I was only level 19 when we first met, and I still beat both of you when you were in the 30s.”

  The twins grew silent at that.

  “Anyway,” I continued. “While your levels are impressive, I don’t think they’re quite strong enough to be on a team like this. Everyone else seemed to be at least level 80 or 90.”

  “It’s ‘cause we’re really good for our level,” said Liliane.

  “It’s because of me,” said Maxine haughtily. “There are only a few people in the world who are as good with mental skills as me, and most of them are criminals.”

  “And you’re not?” I questioned.

  “Not anymore,” she said. “We haven’t committed any major crimes since we tried to kill you.”

  “Good for you,” I said, trying to sound genuine. “Then why is Liliane here too?”

  “‘Cause I’m really good,” said Liliane.

  “Because we’re not going into any Dungeons, so we don’t actually need a strong Scout,” said Maxine. “Liliane is high-level enough to get the job done, and we don’t need her to fight, so she doesn’t need to be that strong.”

  “Hey!” said Liliane.

  “I see,” I said. “Well, then I don’t have a problem with you being here. As long as you don’t do anything dumb or try to sabotage us.”

  “We won’t,” said Maxine. “We would never do that.”

  “Yeah, they’re paying us too well,” said Liliane.

  “Shut up, idiot!” said Maxine.

  I laughed out loud, which caused them both to go silent again. “Well, this has been fun, but I believe Liliane said she was hungry earlier, so I won’t keep you too long. Enjoy your dinner.”

  “Thank you, m-m’lady!” said Liliane, springing to her feet.

  “Thank you,” said Maxine, standing up much more calmly.

  Once they had both left the room, I started to consider my next move. With that situation resolved in an almost disappointingly boring fashion, I now had about twelve hours of free time before sunrise. I could explore the city, but that wouldn’t take much time. It was a coastal city, so perhaps I could go find a sea monster to fight or something. I remember hearing that sea monsters were typically higher level than land monsters, because they were difficult to hunt, and had more opportunity to grow. It would be a good chance to possibly earn a level or two if I found a strong enough monster. With that in mind, I left the church, and started wandering throughout the city.

  Hengeberg was built around a crescent bay flanked on either side by rocky outcroppings on which two lighthouses had been built. Most of the bay closer to the center of the crescent was full of piers where ships were docked, but the areas near the lighthouses were largely untouched stretches of smooth sandy beaches. The rest of the city was nothing special, though I did find the architectural differences between it and the cities in Ravel to be mildly interesting.

  After a couple hours of exploration, I made my way to the leftmost lighthouse and flew to the top of it. Though I had originally planned to go hunting for sea monsters, the sound, sight, and scent of the beach made me reconsider. Even back on Earth, it had been years since I had seen the ocean, and I had forgotten how calming it was just to relax and listen to the waves. I made myself comfortable at the top of the lighthouse, laid down, looked up at the stars, and for the first time in years, I rested.

  I’m not sure how long I lay there– it was probably at least an hour– but I was roused from rest when I noticed voices on the beach below me. Curious, I floated over to the edge of the lighthouse, and peered down to see a young couple holding hands and enjoying a moonlit stroll on the beach. I smiled softly as I watched them slowly walk away from me, and focused my hearing on their conversation.

  “...worry, my love,” said the man. “We’ll get through this. Everything will be fine.”

  “I-I know.” The woman’s voice sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I had heard it. “I just- I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

  “It’s alright,” said the man softly. “No one did. You shouldn’t blame yourself for that.”

  “I had known her since we were children,” said the woman. “I knew her better than even her father. But I- I still didn’t notice that she had been replaced.”

  Upon hearing that, I realized who the woman was. It was Ophelia Lyon, the impossibly beautiful woman I had met at the duke’s mansion. My realization was confirmed, when she turned to her side to embrace her lover, and I saw her teary face.

  “It’s ok,” said the man, holding her tightly. “It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault but that Demon King’s. And I promise you, I will not let them get away with this. I will hunt them to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes!”

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  “N-no, you don’t have to-” protested Ophelia weakly.

  “No, I will,” said the man firmly. “I will never let anyone get away with hurting you.”

  “But- what about our work?”

  “It can wait. Even all the money in the world is worth nothing compared to you.”

  “No!” cried Ophelia. “I-I’ll be ok. It might take a little while, but I’ll be fine. We can’t just throw everything away over something like this.”

  “I wouldn’t be throwing away everything,” said the man. “I’d still have you.”

  “No!” cried Ophelia again. “If-if you do something stupid like that for my sake, I-I’ll never forgive you!”

  “But ‘Pheli,” said the man, in an almost pleading tone. “I don’t need to give up everything to chase down one cowardly Demon King. It will just be a short break, and I’ll get right back to work.”

  “The church has been searching for Envy for years with no luck,” said Ophelia.

  “The church doesn’t have my connections,” replied the man.

  “What if you find them, but are defeated. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I wouldn’t lose. Not to a coward who runs away without a fight.”

  “It’s a Demon King,” she said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he replied.

  “Don’t do it,” said Ophelia, hugging him tightly. “Please.”

  The man sighed. “If you insist. Anything for you, my love.”

  “Thank you,” said Ophelia quietly.

  The two stood in silence with their arms wrapped around each other, gently rocking side to side, for a few minutes before Ophelia spoke again.

  “I’m sorry, Mimi. I should get going soon. If I’m gone too long, someone might notice.”

  “Just a few more minutes,” said the man, holding her tightly to his chest.

  “Only a few,” she said.

  About ten minutes later, Ophelia finally pulled away.

  “I really need to go,” she said.

  “Of course,” said ‘Mimi.’ “Do you need anything before you leave? Do you want me to take you back? I know that artifact is draining to use. I could-”

  “No, you can’t,” said Ophelia apologetically. “Archmage Natalya has the entire city under heavy surveillance. My artifact can slip past it, but you couldn’t.”

  “It will be fine, I’ll be gone before she can react,” argued the man.

  “But then it will become known that I left, and if they know I came out in the middle of the night to meet you, it would be difficult for me to do it again in the future.”

  “...Fine,” he said, disappointed. “When can I see you again?”

  “Not until after the funeral,” said Ophelia. “I’ll contact you the usual way when I know more.”

  “I can’t wait,” said the man with a smile. “I’ll have a present ready for you by then.”

  “I look forward to it,” said Ophelia as she drew in close. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” said the man, leaning in to kiss her.

  The kiss lasted almost a full half-minute before they finally separated.

  “Stay safe,” said Ophelia. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

  “You too,” replied her lover.

  “Farewell,” said Ophelia.

  “I love you,” said the man again.

  “I love you too.”

  With that, Ophelia pulled something out of a spatial bag, and a second later, she was gone. I could barely sense the mana that was used to teleport her out. No wonder I hadn’t noticed her arrival. She wasn’t lying about the artifact letting her slip past surveillance.

  With Ophelia gone, the man stood still for a moment, staring at the place where she had disappeared from with a dreamy look. I looked closely at his face, trying to figure out who he might have been, but I didn’t recognize him, nor did I notice any striking resemblance to people I did know. However, he did match Ophelia quite well, being almost as handsome as she was beautiful, and sporting the same black hair.

  I wanted to go down to greet him, but I decided it was best not to. Even when talking to his lover, he seemed hotheaded. He probably wouldn’t take too kindly to someone appearing immediately after his secret tryst, having eavesdropped on it. If he was as capable as he claimed to be to Ophelia, then he was not someone who I wanted to have a bad first impression of me. He could make for a useful ally later as long as I didn’t ruin it by trying to talk to him at an inopportune time.

  I watched him stare at the empty footprints in the sand for another minute before he too disappeared. With my entertainment gone, I returned to my spot in the center of the lighthouse roof, and gazed back up at the stars. Before I could drift off again though, I heard the faint sound of another pair of feet walking across the sand in my direction. When I looked down, this time, I saw the unrecognizably mysterious form of Humility.

  I watched in silence once again, though this time for a completely different reason. If Humility was out by himself, on a seemingly abandoned beach, there was a chance he might remove his mask. In all likelihood, I wouldn’t recognize whoever was underneath it, but if I could just catch a glimpse of his face, I would be able to replicate it with illusion, and I might be able to find his identity.

  Unfortunately, Humility did no such thing. He walked slowly toward the lighthouse, appearing to look out at the sea, and when he was only a hundred feet away, he stopped, and sat in the sand, and remained nearly motionless for almost an hour, only moving to adjust to a more comfortable sitting position.

  Eventually, I got too bored to continue watching while doing nothing, and decided to go down to greet them. I knew it was probably unwise, but a one on one conversation with Humility might be helpful in the long run. If I could talk to him, and get a better understanding of his personality, and possibly his abilities, I would be better prepared to handle him later if my identity got revealed.

  I floated down next to him, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Hello, Humility,” I said.

  “Hello, Lucy,” he replied without turning to look at me. “I see you’ve found my spot.”

  “So it seems,” I said. “It also seems that you knew I was here.”

  He shrugged. “I guessed. In this city, the two best places to relax are here, and near the other lighthouse. It was a 50/50 shot.”

  “I guess,” I said. It seems Humility was more intelligent than I had originally estimated.

  “So, how old are you, Lucy?” he asked.

  “28 next month,” I said warily.

  “Quite a young age to become an archmage. You must be quite proud.”

  For the nth time in my life on Astraeus, I was glad that my heartbeat was under my control, because if it wasn’t, I’m sure Humility would have been able to hear it.

  “It would be strange if I wasn’t,” I said cautiously.

  “Ah, relax,” said Humility chuckling. “It was just a joke. People get so worked up over that one.”

  “Then, perhaps you should stop making it,” I suggested coldly.

  “Perhaps,” he said.

  “Why do you hide your face?” I asked.

  “If I showed my face, I might be tempted to be proud of it. It is the same for my body. Pride is dangerous, even in small doses.”

  “...If you say so,” I said.

  “You do not believe me,” said Humility. “You will see, eventually. There is nothing in this world more dangerous than pride. It starts wars, destroys friendships, tears apart families. The amount of suffering and death in this world caused by pride is incalculable.”

  “Well, if that’s your argument, then wouldn’t greed be more dangerous?” I asked. “Most wars are started over resources, not pride. And most poverty is caused by it as well.”

  “No. Greed is not good either, but it is nothing compared to pride. Wars may start due to Greed, but they continue due to pride. The greedy will eventually come to an agreement, because they value their lives more than their greed, but the prideful will always fight to the death, because they value their pride more than their lives.”

  “I disagree,” I said.

  “That is because you have not seen what I have,” said Humility before I could continue. “Pride is a scourge on the people of Astraeus. A curse from the Chaos himself. It must be avoided at all costs, and when it gets too great, it must be eradicated.”

  I was beginning to understand why Antonio had told me to stay away from Humility. If this was the kind of stuff he said when you tried to talk to him, no wonder he was all alone out here, while the rest of the group was probably enjoying each other’s company.

  “That’s an absurd stance to take,” I said. “And a completely unrealistic one too.”

  “Not so,” said Humility. “If it were that unrealistic, then the gods wouldn’t have blessed me with this power. They have recognized me, and I will not disappoint them. Pride will be destroyed, no matter the cost.”

  “...Well, I’ll leave you to contemplate your crusade against basic human nature,” I said, not wanting to stick around any longer. “I was planning on hunting a sea monster or two tonight. I need to get going, if I want to have time.”

  “You are not free of guilt,” said Humility, suddenly raising his constantly changing voice. “You have too much pride. If you do not humble yourself, mark my words, your pride will be your downfall!”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said as I flew out towards the open water.