Matthias couldn't sleep that night.

Every time he closed his eyes, Mie's words would echo in his head. Emotions may sometimes cloud one's thoughts, he did not doubt that what she had said were her honest feelings. And she was right. He screwed up. Though the suggestion had come from someone else, it was ultimately his decision that they decided to wait and risk the lives of people.

In the end, he couldn't even achieve what he had risked their lives for.

So, he decided to spend some time by himself on the old church's rooftop and stargaze.

He actually didn't like doing it. But, well… Matthias came from another world. Before being reincarnated, he had experienced a life of almost thirty years. And since the skyscrapers, concrete roads and neon have all disappeared, the only thing that remained familiar to him was the sky. That was why he didn't like looking up. Even if he recognized none of the stars above him, the night at least still looked vaguely familiar. It reminded him of home. But though it was a depressing thought, he felt the need to sulk.

That world had two moons. From the surface, they appeared to be more than twice the size of his past life’s moon. However, that was merely an illusion. They were vastly smaller, but they orbited at a much closer distance around the world. On top of that, they travel along the same path at the same rate, with a bit of spacing between them. This makes them look like a pair of eyes gazing at the world below.

And at that moment, he felt like they were judging him.

"Damn it.”

If he was being honest, the incident didn't affect him much when it happened. It was just one mistake made in the early days of his journey, he thought. But he soon realized that it was an extremely selfish, insensitive point of view.

"Nobody would care for a shitty low-ranked upstart adventurer like you."

"Even that brainless idiot Soleil would have done better."

Those words stabbed him more than anything. And the fact that it was said with such a hateful voice caused him to recoil in fear and shame.

Being new to the profession did not absolve him of his mistakes. He realized that too late. Nobody, especially the family of those who had died, would care. All that mattered to them was that he had sat on his ass for a few hours instead of trying to save them the moment he could.

And how about Jelyn? Surely she, too, must have some lingering bitterness about what happened to her friends.

Matthias had been so disillusioned by the concept of fantasy and his initial success that he forgot that he was dealing with real people. And Soleil indeed would have done things differently. It wasn't because she was much stronger than him. Even if she wasn't as powerful as she was, Matthias did not doubt that she would have run to the hostages the moment she saw them. That was because she had a much simpler mindset. She just wanted to save everyone she could, whenever possible, however difficult it was.

At first, he thought that kind of mentality was a liability. Blindly charging into battle without a plan was the height of stupidity. Even Mie, despite her statements, ultimately referred to her as a "brainless idiot".

To risk oneself for others, regardless of loss or gain. Ultimately, wouldn't her choice be what would be called "heroic"?

Didn't he want to be someone like that?

A hero.

"Oh, so you're here." A head popped out from the roof edge. It was Manna, with a piece of bread in her mouth. “Huh? Are you sulking?”

Unlike him, she had gotten away mostly scott-free from Mie’s blistering remarks. After all, she had only followed his orders, and the latter knew about it. Though one could argue that she had some fault for not suggesting otherwise, it was a pretentious assumption.

“Yeah, I am. Wanna join?”

“Not my thing to mope around, but sure.”

She laid herself down beside him, so close that he could smell her scent without turning his head. It was distracting, but at the same time, it also made him loosen up.

“Who’s on watch duty?”

The question came out merely as an attempt to strike a conversation. That way, she wouldn’t get the jump on him and ask. If that had happened, then it would be more likely that the mood between them would become despondent throughout the night. So, it was much better to start casually, to prevent the mood from falling too far low.

“Me.”

“Pff– why are you here, then?”

“Nobody’s coming. I’ll hear them from the next block over anyway. Wouldn’t matter if I’m here or six feet under.”

“Don’t say that. I don’t want to see another undead for at least a year. Or two.”

Manna’s arrival interrupted his previous train of thought. His focus gradually shifted from wallowing in anxiety to trying to hide it. That proved quite difficult. She had a way with words that probed into him deeply, even while she maintained her usual careless temperament. Or maybe that was just a talent she had developed after knowing him for so long?

Regardless, it went about as well as he had expected.

“She really got to you, huh? It’s on your face.”

His attempts were futile.

“Mm. Yeah, she got me,” he groaned. “I mean, she’s right. I screwed that one up.”

“Well, if you say so. Then yes you did."

He didn’t expect Manna to readily agree with them without any kind of consolation. Though her words were very like her, at the same time she also felt distant.

“It made sense at the time, though. If you and that wolfman just ran up to them, then they may have been killed then and there. On the other hand, Soleil would have tried to save all of them without thinking. And she could. Very likely. She’s strong.” She chewed on her bread and pulled out a bite-sized piece. Then, she stuffed it in his mouth and said, “But you’re strong too. Not as strong as her, but still… If it was you alone, you could have done the same. At least, it would have been possible for you. And with us both, we could have done it.”

So, why didn’t you?”

“That’s because–”

A peculiar feeling caused his throat to contract. His words were unable to escape his dry lips. Underneath the scant light of the two moons, he saw the strange glint in Manna’s eyes. They were visible enough for him to tell that she was waiting for an answer – not excuses.

He wanted to catch the hooded figure. That way, they could obtain valuable information from him. It would let them know which group targeted the women and get to the head of the snake. The cover of the night would also make the rescue easier and less dangerous for everyone involved… were those all excuses? It was the most logical decision he could make at that time. And he still believed that.

After saying so, a grave look of disappointment and pity flashed across Manna’s face. She shook her head and sighed.

“Gonna change the question. At that time, what mattered to you the most? Their lives? Information? Our safety? Like the ones you mentioned. Which is it?”

“It’s–”

“Everything,” he wanted to say. But again, the word was caught in his throat. The resulting silence caused Manna’s expression to twist even further. Then, she did something that was… inappropriate for the occasion. She sat up from her supine position and then straddled his hips. With her face leaning close to his, she cupped his cheeks and said:

Stolen story; please report.

“How about achievements? Fame? Recognition?”

Upon hearing those words, Matthias immediately moved to deny it–but he couldn’t. For the third time, he found himself unable to speak. Why? Because of Manna's eyes? He just needed to squeeze out one word. Yet his body rejected it. Struggle as he might, he slowly came to terms with the reason he couldn’t do so.

It was the truth.

“Shit.”

But towards his pitiful self, Manna’s mood turned around and she started laughing.

“Quite frankly, I don’t care how many people die. Collateral damage is a thing. There was no fault in you for that. Mie was just one of the people affected,” she continued heartlessly. Matthias was surprised by the words that were coming out of her mouth. He knew that she was cold, but for some reason, it felt like she was completely in character. “My issue is that you’re lying to me. You’re an idiot. You’ve always been one. But at least, you’re honest with yourself. To some extent. Did Soleil’s performance affect you that much?”

“... Yeah.”

He would be lying if he said that it didn’t.

Matthias wanted to be a hero. For some reason, he felt that it was the only way for him to redeem the happiness that was denied to him in his past life. It was also a way to show his gratitude to the deity that gave him a second chance. "Defeat the demon lord." That was what was expected of him. And to achieve this, the latter had given him what he needed to succeed. For that reason, he had trained his whole life from the moment he could hold a sword. He diligently read every book he could find so he could prepare for the world at large. Armed with the strength and knowledge he had accumulated and the wealth from his family, he expected that his journey would start strong. And it did. Somewhat.

Soleil had completely overturned his expected start. She was strong. Overwhelmingly so. And she had the kind of mindset that pushed her heroism indiscriminately. She rejected wisdom in knowledge and single-mindedly pursued to save everyone she could, as fast as she was able to. Matthias felt that his poor initial results were a kind of denial of his decades-long preparation.

"Maybe that's the reason why you did what you did. You wanted to be more popular for something more than just saving a few lives. And since that choice was a "logical" one, you felt more inclined to it. Since it would validate you."

"... How did you…"

Manna smiled. She leaned over closer to him until their foreheads touched. From that spot, he felt a familiar warmth that was more than just body heat. It loosened his nerves.

"Because I know you the best."

“You're such an impatient brat. Don't rush. We've only been at it for less than a month. You'll have many more opportunities. It's fine to take what's within reach. And don't be averse to acting like someone else. Sometimes it's okay to act on your feelings, just like her. Both of you can feed off each other’s success. You can be the hero, and she could be your trusted, muscle-headed sidekick. So, you should show her some more respect."

"... What about you?"

She raised her head. The way the two moons shined illuminated her face just enough to show her warm, radiant smile. It was the same smile she always showed him when they were alone; the smile that shook his heart and gave him the strength to overcome his past mentality. It was warm and beautiful, but also… unempathetic, frigid, and heartless. Like there was only ever one thing in her eyes.

"What, fame? Don’t care."

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

Midnight had come. Throughout the several hours between Matthias’ conversation with his partner and that time, no further “incident” had occurred. Though the night was not exactly peaceful due to the rambunctious merrymaking at the nearby brothels, at least the old, abandoned church was left untouched by the slums.

By that time, Matthias and Manna were still awake. However, it was already Ujel’s turn to keep watch. The kindly young(?) priestess decided to invite them over to share the warmth of her light.

And it was a literal light. Similar to the one she had conjured during dinner, her magic manifested an orb that emitted a gentle, steady radiance out of nothing. It truly looked like a miracle from the heavens.

“The more fervent the prayer is, the brighter the light will shine.”

She said those words with a fervent tone of devout faith. It was a wonder why someone as religious and homely as her took the dirty profession of an adventurer. When he asked, she simply replied, “Someone needs to do it. If not others, then it should be me. I believe every one of my sisters has the same sentiment.”

On top of that, she also revealed that the church had recently adopted a policy that required all priests to experience the life of an adventurer for at least four years before they could be ordained as high priests. It was so that the clergy could better understand the plight of the people responsible for the safety of mankind. After that, they could continue being adventurers or return to the church. However, if they chose to remain as adventurers, further promotion would be difficult because the standards for becoming bishops or cardinals were almost entirely administrative.

“The Saint is different, though. They are born. Once they are, the gods bless us with an oracle to specify which child it is. The child is then adopted and raised by the church, while their family is paid a large amount of money.”

“Isn’t that… kind of cruel? What if the parents refuse?”

Ujel smiled.

“It may seem that way. However, for most parents, the amount of money offered is irresistible. A lot of people live in poverty, after all. For the nobility, most of them are willing to do so in exchange for benefits. But just in case any of them are wholly unwilling, then the church has no choice.”

She deliberately sunk into silence to build up suspense before continuing with an even brighter grin.

“They would have to adopt the parents, too!”

All Matthias could do was open his eyes wide in surprise at such an absurd system. Of course, he already knew about the church’s practice of “buying” the Saint, but hearing it from a practicing priestess was still a shock.

“By the way, the current serving Saintess is quite young. About your age, I think. However, nobody knows what she looks like. She hasn’t yet been revealed to the public. But it should be soon since the old Saint only has two more years left before his contract ends.”

Matthias choked on his bread.

“Contract?”

“Yes. Saints are bound to serve in their position by written and blood contract for fifty years. It is required by the gods.”

The way Ujel said so as if it was only natural was kind of disturbing. And after hearing that, Matthias didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How come he never had to sign anything?

What was supposed to be watch duty turned into a lighthearted lecture about the dominant faith in the region. Ujel was quite knowledgeable about the topic, as she rarely if ever had to pause to think about her answer even on more convoluted questions such as the relationship between the church and each country.

Perhaps it was her way of alleviating the mood between the two groups. Nail and Kilo had been extra friendly to them as well. Everybody had heard Mie scream her heart out, after all. Though she shouldn’t be the kind of person to tell everybody what had happened, it was easy to guess.

Matthias appreciated the gesture quite a lot.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Manna stood up, still with a piece of salad in her mouth. She gazed down the single road that led to that place, which was shrouded in nothing but darkness. But despite the eerie view, she looked relaxed.

“That’s a strange sight.”

From the lightless alley came a massive figure. It towered over the doors that it passed even with its hunched figure.

Ujel stood up and became guarded. On her right hand, a hazy ball of light manifested. Matthias recognized the spell. It was a basic miracle that roused people from sleep when the misty mass was crushed by hand.

He immediately held up his hand to stop her from using it.

“Please don’t. We know that man.”

The owner of the long snout and black fur became clear once Matthias saw the magical staff on its back that contrasted with his huge, muscular appearance.

“Tolg. Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Sir Matthias. Good evening,” Tolg bowed respectfully.

Matthias stammered.

“Oh. Uhh… good evening, too.”

Tolg nodded and greeted the surprised priestess as well. As usual, he carried himself with gentlemanly behavior. The disparity between his size and species with his demeanor was quite jarring to the elf, who was known to have some beef with beastkin as well due to their violent nature.

“I’ve come back due to some matters that need attention. When I passed through the area, I caught your scent by chance, so I decided to ask for your assistance if possible.”

There was some apprehension in his voice. It got Matthias curious. Tolg was supposed to have left the city already. What was it that grasped his attention that required him to go back?

Upon asking this to Tolg, his snout twisted to a frown.

“I am… sensing some dark magic within this town. And its scale is enough for me to sense it from afar.”

“Dark magic?” Ujel also started frowning. She closed her eyes and focused. But after a while, she shook her head and said, “No, I don’t sense any.”

“Perhaps it’s because you’re probing the air. Please focus your attention on the ground.”

She tilted her head questioningly. Matthias understood the reason for her wonder. Besides Earth magic, every other element had difficulty passing through the barrier that is the ground beneath them. It was heavy, much denser than air, and more difficult to manipulate. Only Earth magic, which was completely specialized in handling the soil, could work besides certain high-ranking spells.

But suddenly, Ujel’s blood drained from her face. When she opened her eyes, everybody could see that she was severely panicked.

“I have to tell everyone!”

Without elaborating further, she crushed the ball of mist on her hand and ran inside the church.

“What happened?” Matthias wondered. He looked to Tolg for an explanation, which he kindly provided.

“I believe there’s a necromancer in town.”