The chapel stood at the edge of the battlefield, pristine and out of place — a white stone structure untouched by scorch marks or stray magic blasts. The Guild War Trials had paused for the evening, giving competitors a moment to breathe, mend wounds, and question life choices. MC was bleeding from the shoulder, which he swore was a tactical decision and not because he'd tripped during their last fight.
Lina had fire-bursted a troll through a wall. Kaela was resting after wrestling a corrupted griffin. Kira was patching up her boots with surgical precision while muttering about amateurs. Iris, as always, remained composed, but even she had taken a few hits that glimmered faintly under her cloak.
They needed a healer.
Not just potions, or Kaela's herbal mud paste that smelled like wet disappointment. A real, honest-to-goddess healer.
That's when they saw her — a soft figure in pure white robes, kneeling beside an injured warrior from another guild. Her hands glowed with a pale, calming light. The man's burns faded. His breathing steadied. He looked at her like she'd parted the heavens.
MC looked at her like a desperate man clinging to hope.
He approached with a limp and a hopeful grin. "Hi. I'm bleeding. But, like, charmingly."
The girl looked up with wide violet eyes. Her long silver-blonde hair shimmered like moonlight, and her expression was that of someone who'd never said a mean word in her life. She blinked at him. "O-oh. I… I can help."
Her hands trembled slightly as she placed them near his wound. Warmth spread through his shoulder, and the pain ebbed away like a receding tide. He felt better almost instantly—physically, at least. His pride would take longer.
"You're amazing," he breathed.
"I'm just doing what I can," she whispered, voice barely above the breeze. "I'm… Luna."
"Luna," he repeated. "Pretty name. Are you part of a guild?"
She hesitated. "N-not really. I've been… traveling. Helping where I can."
"Alone?" Lina asked, suspicious. "That's either brave or stupid."
"I don't like fighting," Luna said quickly. "But healing… healing is different."
Kaela leaned close and sniffed. "She smells clean. Too clean. Like temple incense and lies."
Luna flinched.
Kira narrowed her eyes. "Something's off about you."
Iris, who had been quiet, stepped forward. Her gaze locked with Luna's, something unreadable passing between them. "She's not lying about the healing," Iris said. "But she's hiding something."
MC looked between them. "Okay, so she might have a dark past or a secret agenda. Don't we all?"
Luna's hands clenched at her sides. "I want to help people. Even if… even if my past is complicated."
There was a weight behind those words, a tremble not just of nerves but of deep conflict. The way she looked at the group — like she wanted to be part of it, but feared what they'd think if they knew the full truth — was all too familiar.
MC smiled, gentle this time. "Then help us. Join us. Not forever — just… try it out."
Luna stared at him, startled.
"You healed me when you didn't have to," he continued. "That already makes you a better person than most people here."
Lina folded her arms. "I still don't trust her."
"Good," said Kira. "That's healthy."
But Luna took a breath, nodded once, and said, "Okay. I'll join you. For now."
Kaela groaned. "Another one?"
MC laughed nervously. "We really need to work on our recruitment standards."
That night, Luna sat quietly around the campfire, clutching a small pendant hidden under her robes — a symbol not of any known church, but something older, etched with runes that shimmered faintly in moonlight. She watched the others laugh and argue and bond.
Then, when no one was looking, she whispered into the pendant, "I'm in. They don't suspect a thing."
And the faintest voice echoed back from the magic within: "Good. Observe the Harem King. Report all anomalies."
Luna lowered the pendant and stared into the flames, a war playing silently behind her soft, worried eyes.
The healer had joined the party. But so had the System Cult.
END OF CHAPTER 38