I took one of the Healing Herbs out of my Inventory and smashed it against my face, where it refused to do anything. This was either not the proper method of usage, or they simply did not work on psychological and emotional damage.

Of course, there was the entire matter of being reincarnated into a rather dangerous world and probably never seeing my family again. However, my current source of distress was a different one, namely the sorry excuse of a 'book' held in my other hand.

There were helpful books that advised on foraging, detailed the uses of local plants, showed maps, and gave information on the various towns.

There had also been significantly less useful books, like Ilias's religious texts. Suffice it to say that they were heavily biased and more than a little untruthful. They also noted Ilias' Five Commandments.

1. "Thou shalt not have intercourse with monsters."

2. "Be dutiful in your prayers."

3. "Point your sword at the Goddess, and thou shalt cry."

4. "Thou shalt not rely on other gods."

5. "Thou shalt not disgrace the Goddess."

Yeah...

I was probably going to break all of those in some capacity.

There was also a well-loved (and heavily edited) rendition of Heinrich's journey, complete with pictures. Luka must have read it hundreds of times for it to be this worn.

Starting from Ilias continent, then going to Sentora, and finally Hellgondo, Heinrich is shown killing the evil monsters, saving villages and townsfolk alike. The book ends with Heinrich slaying the Monster Lord and ascending to Heaven.

Truly, I don't think it could be more inaccurate if it tried.

Funnily enough, despite the monsters in the book being vilified, the Alipheese The Eighth depicted in the book still fell short of the real deal in terms of being evil and terrifying.

And finally, there was this. It wasn't even really a book, just a pile of notes written by Luka, based on all the travelers he had allowed to stay at his Inn in exchange for lessons in Swordplay. I had been fully prepared to mentally give him shit for his signature move at the start of the game being 'Flail Wildly,' but after reading this, I lost my stomach for it.

Quite possibly, the most effective combat move in here was the non-ironic use of End Them Rightly, and my sword didn't even have an unscrewable pommel to use it with. If there were a cover, you could likely rip it off to find a second one with the title, Monster Food 101. And yes, Edging was, in fact, one of the 'Sword' techniques included.

I threw it into my Inventory, never to see the light of day again. Unless... Hmm, I wonder if Salamander would be mad if I threw some trash into her volcano. It wouldn't really serve any purpose, but it would make me feel better to see it burn to ashes. Not that I'd get there anytime soon.

It had taken me the better part of two days of holing myself up in my new house to go through all the books available and make some initial plans on all I'd have to accomplish during my journey. It was a tragically long list, and much to my chagrin, I realized I likely wouldn't even be able to skip out on just about any of the sidequests, most of them being of importance in one way or another.

First off, I would have to increase my personal power, learning the Cursed Sword techniques from Alice and contracting the Four Spirits. Preferably the... advanced version of the contract, if only to ensure Promestein's bullshit didn't suddenly leave me significantly weakened. No ulterior motives there, honest.

Glancing at the ring on my finger, I contemplated using some of the remaining time I had to attempt to unlock Luka's angelic nature. It would be a tremendous boon in combat, and, given enough control, it could trivialize fighting monsters that would otherwise be a death sentence early on.

That lasted until I pondered the matter from a different angle. Would I inject acid straight into my veins if it helped me with fights? The answer to that was a resounding 'No, you stupid idiot! Why would you even consider that!?'

I didn't share the same martyr complex that the original and Alice had. I still held out some small hope that I would make it through all this alive. Taking the easier path was nice and all, but if it led to my inevitable demise in the end, I didn't want it. If I was going to save this world, I would have my own Happy End, damn it.

Angel skills were out for the time being. I might be able to ask Michaela if there was a less self-destructive method of using those, but that presented its own issues. Michaela was one of the very few people aside from Ilias that could potentially both notice and care about the fact that I was not the original. She never knew her nephew personally, but that didn't mean she wouldn't notice that there had been a soul switch or something of that nature. I needed a safety net to get a safety net. Why couldn't things be easy for once?

Aside from that, I would need to sabotage the efforts of my enemies. Even after all the ways to strengthen myself, the power balance was terrible enough to cause nightmares. There wasn't much I could do about the Angels besides trying to get the discs for the global anti-holy magic field from one of Promestein's labs. The others, however, were free game. Rebel monster factions and Seekers of Truth both, could be talked or beaten down ahead of schedule.

Getting an early kill on Promestein, in particular, would make things immeasurably easier. But unless I could confirm she had already created the aforementioned discs, it might also be a terrible idea. Without those, I would likely have to combat the entirety of Heaven on my own.

The last guy who tried that was currently spending eternity in the Sealed Sinners Prison. I'd have to remember to visit the spirit of Heinrich to learn his techniques unless I could figure them out myself. He also likely knows quite a lot about fighting Angels which would be helpful.

...Even if Angel Halo ate his brain at some point during his rampage.

And as if dealing with my enemies wasn't enough, I'd also have to ensure that my prospective allies fall into line. Alice, The Four Heavenly Knights, the human kings and queen, various monster queens, and some other monsters of note. I guess the Four Spirits also fall under this category, even if they would be part of me for most of the time.

Some of them would be easier than others.

Alice had the same enemies by virtue of being the Monster Lord, and befriending her shouldn't be too difficult if things unfolded even remotely close to the start of the original plot, even if her initial attitude was rather bad.

Granberia was a total white knight type of person and, even above that, had sworn loyalty to Alice, so I saw little problem there. I'd probably still have to fight her several times, battle junkie that she was.

Tamamo... Honestly, I would be hard-pressed to even imagine a situation where she would be an enemy. I looked forward to meeting her, even if I dreaded the following conversation that would likely be excruciatingly long.

There were also some troublesome ones.

Erubetie was the only one of the Knights that might betray the others given enough incentive. The Slime race was in dire straits, and as the queen, she would go to almost any length to save them. Not only that, but she also hated humans since they were the cause of many of their woes. I'd have to spend some effort on her. Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea of what buttons to push to get to her.

Alma Elma wouldn't betray us, not for the enemies we were facing. Their ideals and goals were just too different from hers. But there was a decent chance she would fuck off (perhaps literally) to Ilias-knows-where and leave us to deal with the mess on our own. She wasn't really a bad person at the core. She actually liked humans, their culture, and art. She was also a veritable savant, excelling at just about anything she ever tried her hand at. Unfortunately, her seeing no issue in taking someone's life in exchange for greater pleasure put a damper on that. Were it not for that, she would likely be pleasant company, in more ways than one.

She was also rather carefree. I think the biggest reason she helped as much as she did was that she had taken a liking to Luka... and Granberia, I suppose. I was not exactly sure how to replicate that or if I even needed to actively do anything. It also felt like it would be detrimental to my health if I were to try.

Combine that with all the other prospective allies, and I had quite the extensive workout ahead of me.

And as if all that still wasn't enough, I would also need to collect the Six Orbs to summon Garuda if I wanted to have a decent method of transportation. In the game, Amira took care of any you had missed, but relying on the Unfortunate Lamia seemed a foolish idea in my situation, especially with her mysterious and fourth-wall-breaking nature. I would have genuinely preferred not meeting her at all, but I didn't think I'd be spared that experience.

My stomach grumbled.

I had completely forgotten to eat today while immersed in books and my thoughts. Intent to rectify that problem, I went downstairs to the dinner table, careful not to stumble over my cape. Despite my initial experience with it, I decided to wear it after all, or at least in town environments.

Luka, just like his ancestors, had a severe case of Shota syndrome, so I needed the symbol of heroism for people to take me even somewhat seriously. I also wasn't willing to give up on those sweet, sweet Hero Discounts.

I took one of Luka's pre-prepared dishes out of the Inventory and got to eating. It was only a simple Omelette, and yet it was probably one of the best things I'd ever eaten, threatening to inflict my tastebuds with the ecstasy status effect. So, I made sure to savor it.

If Luka hadn't taken up the heroing business, he probably could have saved the world with food, especially since both the Monster Lord and the Goddess were self-proclaimed 'Gourmets'.

I couldn't help but chuckle as the thought stuck in my mind for a while: 'Shokugeki no Luka, making monster girls foodgasm.' Now, that is a show I would have watched.

Meanwhile, my own level of cooking...

Well, by process of elimination, it would have to be medium, as it was neither rare nor particularly well done, heh.

Jokes aside, what I could do was pretty basic, but enough not to humiliate myself utterly. I'd need some practice and instruction, though, if I wanted to make something more special for some monster girl, like Inari Sushi.

I still hadn't solved the question of what I would do for the remaining time before the plot arrived. I'd planned to go on a small shopping trip through Ilias Village. Luka had prepared rather poorly; he only had enough food to last this week and the trip to Iliasburg, and that was assuming he'd be alone. Meanwhile, I knew I would soon have another traveling companion, a hungry one at that. So I would need more provisions. Actually, make that a lot of provisions for someone like Alice. There were also some things I might as well buy now, since I would need them anyway, like clothes for warmer and colder climates. And some other minor things.

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That wasn't enough to fill one day however, much less five. I needed something more...

There was a knock on the door.

...What was with that ominous timing? I stared suspiciously at the door, having the odd feeling that I would regret opening it, but at the same time, I didn't have a good excuse not to do so, and I was pretty bored.

With a sigh, I stood up and went to welcome the uninvited guest.

A face I didn't recognize came into view, which was not much of a surprise, considering that the villagers were only silhouettes in the game.

The guy seems to be a guard of some sort, judging by his armor. "Hey, Luka, you didn't show up for sword practice today, so I came by to check up on you."

Thinking quickly, I responded, "Eh? Ah, right, sorry, something came up, and I didn't have time."

And that was precisely why I hated having to think on the spot. What the hell was I going to tell him if he asked what kept me?

But still, Sword practice, huh? So this must be... Maki, I think? The diary did mention him as Luka's sparring partner.

"Oh? That's a pretty weak excuse. Are you sure you aren't just chickening out on me?" he taunted.

It was pitiful as far as taunts go, but I didn't have anything better to do at the moment, so I went along with it.

"Yes, I'm sure. You still wanna go?" I asked in response.

He gave me a wide grin, "Of course, I can hardly just let you rest on your laurels after your victory last time."

...Luka seriously managed to win against someone in a swordfight at this point in time? I was rapidly reevaluating his worth as a sparring partner, but I figured just once wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, lead the way then." I agreed with a nod.

Following Maki for a little while, we eventually arrived at an open space near the village, and he threw over a wooden sword. I fumbled a bit but ultimately still managed to catch it. Upon seeing the weapon in my grasp, he came charging at me with his sword held above his head and a loud yell.

Ironically, the only reason the attack almost hit me was my moment of disbelief over how incredibly telegraphed it was. I sidestepped the strike, almost stumbling. I briefly glared at my cape. It was bad enough during regular movement but utterly unacceptable in combat. After taking some distance from my opponent, I made sure it was well stowed away in my Inventory.

"Getting serious, are you? Well then, show me what you've got!" Maki challenged.

The spar continued for about half an hour, neither of us ready to call it quits even after getting hit... a lot; I kind of lost count there. He was getting hit far more than me, however. By properly observing Maki's movements, I could easily dodge the vast majority of his attacks and then sneak in some strikes of my own while he was open. Well, whenever I didn't trip after a dodge. I might not have been wearing the cape anymore, but I still wasn't entirely used to this body.

So this was the prowess of the legendary level 1 guard, huh?

I made sure not to say this out loud out of decency, but he might actually get beaten one-on-one by a slime girl.

Still, I had to admit, something about bashing each other's heads in with oversized wooden sticks was really enjoyable. It helped to unwind, and I certainly needed that.

In the end, we were both a mess, littered with scrapes and bruises, me more due to face-planting in the dirt than anything else.

Huffing and puffing, we sat on the ground, and after a small moment, Maki started talking, "My loss again, huh? You're even better than last time."

To say I had mixed feelings about that remark would have been an understatement.

He paused for a moment and then resumed, " I ever tell you why I became a guard at Ilias Village?"

Oh, by Ilias, what did I do to make him want to tell me his life story? I didn't want to be rude, so I merely shook my head in the negative while suppressing a groan.

"I did it because it's an easy job. It's peaceful around here. Even the occasional monster is so low level that we guards can handle it when we're in a group despite being weak. I never really had any great aspirations, so I thought a quiet life like this would suit me, but... seeing someone like you, who strives so hard every day to become a proper hero, makes me wonder if I made the right choice."

I was struck speechless. It may have been different for Luka, but I barely knew this man. I didn't know how to respond after being entrusted with this, so I merely remained quiet while trying to come up with something and cursing my social ineptitude.

After a short awkward silence, Maki stood up and turned to leave. "I better get back to my post. Sorry for bothering you with something like that. See you tomorrow morning. Don't forget this time, ey?"

I sat there a little longer. With a deep breath and some concentration, my bruises disappeared almost instantly. I allowed myself a wry grin despite the other emotions swirling in my head. He would still be feeling his for the rest of the day.

Well then, I might as well go shopping since I was already outside.

In the end, I was able to get more food, salt, water, and some heavier clothes lined with fur. Unfortunately, something suitable for a desert or a volcano didn't exist in a small village like this, so I'd have to pick up some more clothes on my travels. Getting to those biomes would lead me to many other settlements on the way anyway, so it wasn't like I was in a hurry.

I also commissioned a boomerang at the tool shop. I had wanted to buy one outright, but they didn't have one in stock. It was good that I hadn't pushed off the shopping even further, or it wouldn't have been able to be made in time. It wouldn't have been a big loss since what I was planning to use it for was a pretty long shot anyway, but it still would have rankled me.

Time to head home. Oh, but before that...

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to be interested in buying any Healing Herbs, would you?" I asked the owner of the item shop.

He chuckled weakly. "I was actually hoping to ask you that question. Sales haven't been going well recently with no pilgrims coming to Ilias Temple."

Darn it, figures.

"You have been a great customer, Luka. It will be sad to see you go in a few days. This shop might not be here when you come back." he said morosely.

"Ah, sorry to hear that," I said somewhat awkwardly, knowing just how true that statement would be if things happened according to canon.

Perhaps I should stop talking to people. It seemed like I ended up regretting it every time.

It wasn't quite nighttime yet, so I decided to spend some more time running around and doing parkour in the forest nearby, still well within sight of the village; I didn't want to risk running into a monster just yet.

The movement worked wonders for acclimating myself to my body, and any improvements in mobility I could gain this way would be valuable indeed.

Eventually, I returned to the Inn and slumped into bed. Not even Meditation could fully stave off the effects of exhaustion. I fell asleep, trying to think of what to tell Maki the next day.

The following morning, after breakfast, I went straight to the sparring grounds, where he was already waiting for me.

After exchanging a light greeting, we got right down to fighting, and the result was disappointing. Although it had been only a single day, the skill gap had widened considerably. It almost seemed like he didn't improve at all. So now that I'd kind of grown accustomed to my body and didn't faceplant like an idiot quite as much as before, the spar proved little challenge.

I had been expecting as much, but it was still annoying. At this rate, there would be no point to this.

"Hey, Maki, remember what you told me yesterday?" I asked.

His face went a little red at my question, "Ah, that? You don't have to pay it any mind. I was just rambling a bit", he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Oh, really? Because I was thinking that regardless if you ended up staying as a guard in Ilias Village or left for another place, it wouldn't hurt to make you a great fighter, so you have some prospects." I was exaggerating a bit here, but I needed to pique his interest.

He snorted a bit in laughter in response, "A great fighter? That's a good one, Luka. You know just as well as I do that I haven't even had formal training and hardly any battle experience to speak of."

"And that's why I was thinking. I could give you some pointers. Lately, I've been noticing some ways you could improve." I offered.

He looked at me incredulously for a moment and then adopted a grin.

"Is that so? Alright, I'll humor you. What teachings can the great Hero Luka impart on this lowly guard?" he asks in a faux mocking tone.

Although he was clearly joking, I was still taken slightly aback by the shift. It was too late to back down now anyway, so I decided to push through.

I began pointing out various mistakes like telegraphing his attacks, overextending, consistently using both hands to swing the one-handed weapon, and, for the love of Ilias, at least try to dodge!

...He had been holding the sword on the correct end, at least.

Contrary to my expectations, Maki was a fast learner and picked up on my advice quickly. He might have been suspicious at first, but after noticing his rapid progress, he got far more into it.

It was a shame I myself was hardly an expert. Otherwise, he might have actually reached a basic level of proficiency.

With his most grievous mistakes fixed, the spars were a lot more even than before, and it felt like I wasn't totally wasting time now.

Alas, good things must come to an end. Ultimately, Maki was but a human, so unlike me, who had the Meditation skill, physical damage was an actual problem for him. So, while I was able to pretty much fully recover in the brief resting periods between spars, his body was pretty much a single big bruise now.

I don't think he even noticed me using some weird ability to recover. Well, Meditation was rather subtle admittedly, having no visual cues other than wounds closing.

After saying goodbye, Maki unsteadily wobbled away. Maybe I was a little too hard on him, but no pain, no gain.

I had expected the next day to go mostly the same, but instead, Maki interrupted me at breakfast with a serious face.

"Luka, I've made a decision. I'm sorry I won't be here for your baptism, but I will be leaving on my own journey. I considered waiting a bit more to join you, but I feel like this is something I have to do by myself."

He gave me a nod and a slight smile. "I'm sure we'll meet again; see you later, Luka." With that, he turned around and began walking into the distance before I could recover enough to get a word in edgewise.

I was left standing in the doorframe, dumbfounded and with a slightly open mouth.

Did that really just happen? That was... unexpected, sudden too.

And considering his skill level, I wasn't sure if he'd make it 500 meters out of the village before becoming a monster's sex slave.

Wait...

He was a guard at Ilias Village, which meant he was almost certainly baptized...

I looked towards the distance, where his figure had already disappeared beyond the horizon.

'Oh god,' I thought, this time not even having the mind to jokingly invoke Ilias' name. That poor bastard was heading straight towards his death, and it felt like it was entirely my fault.

For the only person I had really talked to, as little as it may have been, to leave on this kind of note felt like a punch to the gut.

The rest of my time at Ilias Village passed quietly. During my entire stay, I hadn't interacted with the villagers much other than when I had to. The bonds the previous Luka had with them had seemed intimidating, and I didn't want to take risks. In addition, a lot of their small talk involved their overt hatred of monsters, which had me straining to keep a straight face. But I couldn't stop a slight wince whenever one of the children asked me with innocent eyes to, 'Please kill a lot of those bad monsters!'

While I doubted anyone had ever heard Luka take an anti-monster stance, he'd been far more experienced at hiding his true thoughts after living with these people for so long. Add my more reclusive tendencies, and it didn't take long before they took notice. When some of the villagers inevitably approached me looking worried, I was not able to assuage them beyond a stilted smile and an 'I'm fine.'

...

Soon, I would be free of this village.

Even if it were not to be devastated by angels this time, there would be no Hero's homecoming for me.

I didn't belong here.

----------------------------------------

-Previously, in the Monster Lord's castle-

Ilias was considering how to deal with an eyewitness.

The one who had seen her was not some watchful guard, nor was she discovered due to any elaborate trap set against intruders. No, the one who had seen her just happened to be there as she was sneaking by.

It was the Imp currently frozen in fear in front of her, looking like she wanted to be in literally any other place right now. It was that accursed Imp. The one whose body mass was comprised of at minimum 50% boob. The one Luka had lost to a total of four times despite the fact he was fully capable of striking her down with a single hit. Until then, he'd at least had the decency to pretend he lost in battle.

Every time Luka disgraced himself with that pathetic excuse of a monster, Ilias felt the distinct need to strangle someone, not that she ever did (technically speaking).

Were it not for the catharsis she felt when Luka finally decided to utterly destroy the monster with a Quadruple-Giga, Ilias would have likely turned her into ash on sight.

The Imp took that moment to collapse on the floor, frothing at the mouth. Ilias' focused animosity had been too much for the tiny monster to bear for long. The only shred of dignity left to her was the fact she managed not to wet herself in fright.

Ilias looked down in scorn. She would not dirty her hands with this scum; nobody would believe her anyway. Imps, similarly to those flea-ridden fur balls, were notorious pranksters. A sudden disappearance, on the other hand, was plenty of cause for both alarm and investigation.

Ilias proceeded deeper into the castle, this time unimpeded.

It didn't take her long to arrive at the spatial distortion.

Fortunately, it seemed that none of the monsters had noticed the anomaly.

As conducting her investigation would take a little while, doing it here would pose a significant risk of discovery. So instead, Ilias isolated both the distortion and a good chunk of surrounding space into a portable sub-dimension to take with her while being careful not to cause further damage and then filled in the gap. For someone who had created the entirety of Heaven, something of this level was trivial. Ilias made her way back out of the castle, this time remaining unseen.

Soon, Ilias would locate Luka's soul and retrieve it. After all, for someone of her power and skills, how hard could it possibly be?