After the battle at the Cult of Pleasure against Velma, I was taken away to be treated by the Millishion knights. By the time I woke up, it was already the morning of the next day, and I found myself lying in one of the special guest rooms normally reserved for hosting heads of state in this city. To paint you a picture, I figured if I accidentally broke a single thing in here, I'd probably spend the rest of my life paying it off.
Surrounding me was a whole squad of knights standing guard, and about a dozen healing mages checking on my condition. Only after they confirmed I was fine did they finally feel secure enough to let me leave.
Ah, I say "leave," but I was actually escorted straight to see the Pope.
"It's hard to believe we were just talking like this yesterday," the Pope said with a benevolent smile. "And yet today, you've already crushed an entire cult's lair. It truly is astonishing."
"Just a bit of luck blessed by Saint Millis," I smiled.
To be blunt, I felt like I was something else entirely, not even human anymore. A problem that countless knights in this city had spent years trying to solve, I wrapped up in a single day. I am so cool!
Honestly, yesterday felt exhaustingly long, like a whole week or even a month had passed. So much crap happened, but at least it got a decent ending. The people Velma kidnapped were rescued, all freed from his control once the Inquisitors took custody of that North King. I have no idea what they did to him, but I can guess it wasn't anything pleasant.
Among them, Vierra had also regained her sanity. She was apparently receiving treatment somewhere in the Holy See alongside Shierra. Larry got patched up too and was staying with the two sisters.
As for me, all my injuries had been completely healed. I felt absolutely spectacular right now.
"But why are you wearing an eyepatch, Atur? Didn't the clerics heal your eyes?" the Pope asked.
"I just think it looks cooler this way," I replied deadpan.
Yep, they even healed the eyes I gouged out during yesterday's battle. Both of them were perfectly fine now, and my previously blind left eye was fully functional again. But since I'd gotten so used to seeing out of just one eye for so long, taking off the eyepatch just felt weird.
"Cooler, huh? Haha, you really are still young, aren't you?" the Pope chuckled. "People kept telling me you were only 15, but I think I finally believe it."
I was actually way older than that, to be honest. But no matter the age, guys always want to do cool shit. Boys don't actually grow up until they're well past sixty anyway.
"However, I believe you are owed a proper thanks for helping me and the Holy Kingdom defeat Velma. He was a dangerous and unpredictable man," the Pope continued. "So if you desire, I would like to reward you handsomely. What do you want, Atur? I imagine you aren't the type to care for money or fame, correct?"
"Right, I don't need either of those."
Money would definitely be a solid choice. Having lots of cash is never a bad thing. But I didn't exactly want to be seen as some greedy glory-hound. It's not like I desperately needed it either; if I wanted money, I could always find a way to get it. And fame was even more useless—if I wanted that, I would've just accepted the Pope's offer yesterday.
However, there actually was one thing I wanted.
"Could you let me learn the healing magic that restored my eyes?"
Knowledge, obviously. And healing magic of that caliber had to be King-tier; you couldn't find that just anywhere in this world except Millishion. So, this was the thing I wanted access to the most.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," the Pope shook his head. "That is highly forbidden knowledge accessible only to a select few clerics. I don't have the authority to show it to you unless you are one of our own."
"Yeah, I understand."
"How about becoming a cleric? Or an Inquisitor?" the Pope nodded as he made the suggestion. "An Inquisitor has access to far more than just King-tier healing magic, you know."
"I'll have to pass."
This man really wanted to rope me in as an ally, huh? Taking advantage of every single opening.
Well, his refusal was pretty predictable. The Pope was in the middle of an intense power struggle; handing state secrets over to an outsider like me wasn't exactly a politically savvy move. I could easily just turn around and hand that intel over to the Holy Country's enemies.
And after the deed I've done, the Pope is more than convinced that I am not just a rumor anymore.
But really, besides that, I had no idea what I even wanted. Finding all the missing people immediately? That'd be tough... Ah, wait.
"If that's a no-go, then could I ask for your assistance in freeing the people from Fittoa who are currently enslaved in the Kingdom? Assuming they actually want to be freed, of course."
Religiously speaking, the Millis faith permits slavery. To them, it isn't an inherently evil practice but in the opposite, a virtue one. In the eyes of people in this world, slaves are a social class in need of protection. Owners have a duty to provide shelter, food, and security. In return, the slaves repay that protection with their servitude. A mutually beneficial relationship built on mutual respect.
At least, that's what their holy scriptures say. Not everyone actually treats their "property" with respect. So Paul's efforts to fight for their freedom were completely necessary, and I wanted to help out with that. Especially since we'd be leaving Millishion in just a few days.
"I believe I can arrange that," the Pope nodded. Good. "Is there anything else?"
"Huh? You're offering more?" I blinked.
"Considering everything you've done, that is barely a fraction of what you deserve," he replied. "Consider the emancipation of those slaves a personal favor from me. The Holy Kingdom still owes you one."
Oh wow I didn't expect that. But I really didn't know what else I could possibly need. I was pretty well-off at the moment. Hmm...
Ah, that's right.
"Could you cover up the fact that I defeated Velma, as well as the existence of the Cult of Pleasure?"
"Oh, certainly we can. But why? Doesn't it make you more famous as a hero?"
"That's exactly the reason why."
I had both personal and broader reasons for this. So, I started explaining.
"I don't want to suddenly become overly famous. My current level of notoriety is already way too high for a guy like me. I want to be stronger first."
As always, I was paranoid that some genuinely dangerous people were lurking out there in the world. If I drew too much attention to myself, they might track me down and stir up trouble. I naturally hated dealing with bullshit, so if I could avoid it, I wanted absolutely no part of it.
Not to mention, fame tends to make people wildly overestimate my actual abilities. Yeah, I beat Velma, but that was strictly because my spatial awareness has always been ridiculously sharp. I didn't use a single lick of actual swordplay during that entire fight. Besides, I could already picture some random bard spicing up the tale, claiming I could slice through soundwaves or some nonsense.
After that incident at Fortress Necross, I already knew firsthand just how distorted word-of-mouth media could get.
Those were my personal reasons; as for the broader ones...
"And I want to protect the victims' futures," I continued. "They were all brainwashed by a Demon Eye and dragged into that depravity. If this gets dragged into the light, society will probably look at them with sheer contempt. That'll just make their lives miserable and hopeless. I don't want that to happen."
In my past life, I'd seen plenty of cases where the victims ended up getting victim-blamed even worse than the actual perpetrators. Like cases where a young girl would get assaulted, and the public would start critiquing her looks or claiming that her walking alone at night was the root cause. Even their acquaintances would refuse to protect or support them.
I didn't know if things worked the same way here. But Millishion was the capital of the Millis faith. A religion that places such heavy emphasis on chastity and fidelity probably wouldn't be very understanding toward Velma's victims.
"I see." The Pope kept his hands steepled the whole time I explained. His eyes glinted with approval. "You truly do think several steps ahead. I promise you this matter will not be made public. Furthermore, we will assist the victims in returning to their previous lives."
"You have my deepest gratitude," I bowed my head.
The Pope nodded. "Everything you've asked for is entirely reasonable; there is no need for such formalities."
And with that, I had officially wrapped up all my business regarding the incident known as Velma.
…
Later that afternoon, I left the Holy See and planned to head back to the inn. But the moment I stepped outside, two familiar figures were waiting right there.
"Ah! There he is!" Vierra called out, pointing right at me then raise her hand high and waving it vigorously. "Hey! Atur!"
Yep, the warrior girl who usually paraded around in bikini armor. She was wearing perfectly normal, modest clothes now, so I almost didn't recognize her. Which meant the person standing next to her was definitely...
"Eek!? Ah..." Meanwhile, Shierra looked just as panicked as usual. Yep, she hadn't changed a bit since yesterday.
Why'd they call out to me out of nowhere? Probably to discuss who gets custody of Larry? Oh well, my damn cat was basically glued to them at this point anyway, so there wasn't much left to debate.
Still, I couldn't just walk away.
"Oh, hey. You two holding up alright?" I asked.
"We're fine, the healing mage of Millis sure is something." Vierra answered instantly, immediately glancing over at her younger sister. "My little sister has a few things she wants to say to you."
Well, cutting straight to the chase, huh? That saved me some small talk at least. I just wanted to go back, faceplant into bed, and pass out.
"Sis!" Shierra blushed, nervously glancing at me and stammering.
But maybe I was misreading the situation? For some reason, Larry was perched on Vierra's shoulder, flashing me a thumbs-up with a ridiculously proud grin.
I decided to just wait and see what she had to say.
"What's on your mind, Miss Shierra?" I asked.
"Ah... Um... Just 'Shierra' is fine. I'm still young, after all..." she mumbled, her voice getting quieter by the second. Good thing my hearing was sharp.
"Ah, right. Sorry, old habits," I scratched my forehead.
It's standard practice for Japanese people to append honorifics, after all. Since the prefix 'Miss' was basically a substitute for '-san', I just used it out of habit. Plus, in noble society, people address each other like that all the time, so I was used to it. Even after all these years, I couldn't shake the habit unless I was speaking a different language.
In other words, I was just too used to being overly polite.
Shierra looked pretty embarrassed herself. She stammered for a moment before (seemingly) gathering all her courage to continue.
"Atur... I'm so sorry for all the rudeness and trouble I've caused you!" She bowed deeply, shouting so loudly it actually made me jump. "Can you please forgive me and my sister!?"
"It's no big deal," I waved it off. "A few petty misunderstandings are nothing."
In the end, everyone gets to go home safely, so all's well that ends well, right?
"But... I called you a shameless pervert..."
"I'm used to it."
"I even thought that guys like you should just go die..."
"A bit harsh, sure, but everyone makes mistakes."
"I also—"
"Alright, alright. You're forgiven, so let's stop there."
I had to hold up a hand to stop her. I didn't exactly want to hear an itemized list of how terribly someone used to think of me. Especially from a girl, thank you very much. I might not look it, but I have a very fragile heart, you know.
But it was strange. By all rights, Vierra should have been the one doing the talking. Just yesterday, she was speaking on her sister's behalf and constantly shielding her from the gazes of men. Yet today was completely different.
"Big sis, I finally said it..."
"You did great."
"Meow!"
Right, seeing them like this, I figured I understood the situation. So Shierra had specifically wanted to be the one to talk; she was probably trying to better herself. Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel a little happy for her.
"I'd like to apologize as well," I bowed a full ninety degrees. "If I had been a bit more tactful, I wouldn't have caused so much extra trouble."
"Ah! It's completely fine!" Shierra panicked again. "It was because I selfishly took Kitten—I mean, Larry, in the first place!"
Tracing it back to the absolute beginning, that was technically true. But the fact that she had taken care of my cat the entire time I was locked up was still highly appreciated. Besides, Larry seemed to like Shierra way more than he liked me anyway.
Hmm...
"It's alright, you can keep calling him Kitten from now on if you want," I nodded. "Also, if it's possible, could you help me take him back to his actual home?"
"Kitten's... home?" Shierra tilted her head.
Meanwhile, Vierra snapped her fingers in realization. "Ah, the whole Death Forest thing you mentioned to Paul. I thought you were just spouting nonsense back then, but I guess it was true."
Yeah, well, it did sound incredibly absurd, so I couldn't really blame her.
"Death Forest?" Shierra turned to her older sister.
"I'll tell you on the way. Let's head back first."
So, the four of us walked back to the search party's inn together. On the way, I recounted the story of Larry and why I needed to head to Begaritt. While I was at it, I also explained the whole saga of why I got thrown in jail a few days ago.
"So you felt responsible for Norn and Aisha, and wanted to escort them safely back to Asura instead of dragging them to a dangerous place like Begaritt," Vierra concluded.
"Yeah, I was planning on proposing that to Paul. But because of Larry, I didn't say anything for the past few days. Now that he trusts you two so much, I wanted to ask for your help in getting him home." I replied.
"That'll be easy enough," Vierra nodded.
Shierra, currently cradling Larry in her arms, enthusiastically agreed. Her eyes sparkled with fierce determination. "Mhm! I promise I'll get Kitten back to his home!"
Damn, Shierra actually looked way prettier than I thought when she smiled with that kind of determination. I was almost captivated for a second there. But nope, I have a fiancée. I have a fiancée. I have a fiancée. Don't think another girl is pretty when you have a fiancée alright?
And so we finally made it back to the inn. I had a chat with Paul, who thanked me profusely for saving the search party members. Afterward, I pitched my plan to him as discussed, and Paul agreed instantly. I guess I've earned a bit more of his trust after everything I've done over the past few days, huh?
However, I wasn't just going to drop Norn and Aisha off at some random spot in Asura. We'd be heading to Lilia's parents' place. It was a dojo near the royal capital, Ars. According to Paul, it wasn't the absolute best option, but it was the only viable one we had right now. I didn't have any objections.
Later on our journey Paul would receive a letter from Rudeus, which would end up changing our final destination entirely. But that's a story for another time.
For now, I just wanted to get some incredibly deep sleep, then wake up tomorrow and take a peaceful stroll around Millishion.
Maybe I'll invite Isolde, Roxy, and Talhand to tag along.