"You smell like shit. Go back to your pen before I put you there myself."
The street went silent.
Even the fireworks in the distance felt quieter.
Astra clicked his tongue and looked the woman up and down slowly, like he was inspecting livestock.
Tch. Of all the people I could've run into while trying to gather information… it had to be this woman.
He needed to return to that bar eventually. He needed context. This body's history. But this piglet in front of him looked high-ranking. A noble, maybe. Which made it even stranger.
How does a noble end up in a commoner's bar?
His gaze dragged lazily from her jewels to her trembling hands.
Pathetic.
The baroness's face turned red — not from embarrassment, but rage. Her body shook, heavy breaths coming through flared nostrils. Astra frowned.
Why is she looking at me like that?
Like meat in an oven.
Disgust crawled up his spine.
I don't care about appearance. That's meaningless to someone like me. But this… this is repulsive. Her soul stinks.
"You damned lower race," she hissed. "Seize him."
The soldiers behind her stepped forward—
"Stop."
The voice wasn't loud.
But it carried.
Sweet. Calm. And impossible to ignore.
Astra glanced sideways.
Two women stood there in hooded cloaks. Their presence didn't scream power.
It pressed.
Oh?
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Nine cores.
Interesting.
There are only two nine-core users in the Human Empire.
The Crown Prince… and the Princess.
He almost smiled.
And they think that's the pinnacle.
Ignorant.
A demigod requires ten cores. Only the Demon King and the Dragon King had reached that threshold.
The baroness — Peppa, apparently — went pale.
"Your… Your Highness—"
She dropped to her knees immediately. The crowd followed like dominoes.
Only Astra remained standing.
"Rise," the princess said gently.
Her eyes were on him.
One of the soldiers barked, "You bastard! Kneel before Her Highness!"
"It's fine," she said softly. "He's… an old acquaintance."
Peppa's expression cracked.
"Yes," the princess continued. "Zephyr was our classmate. He even helped during the early phase of the war. Why are you attacking him?"
"Y-Your Highness!" Peppa pointed at Astra, trembling. "He kicked me!"
"…Pardon?"
"I might not look injured because of the clergy, but he kicked me and sent me flying!"
Silence.
The princess and the woman beside her — Delilah — slowly tilted their heads at the same time.
It was almost synchronised.
Incomprehensible.
Zephyr?
Kick someone?
The same Zephyr who couldn't even curse properly?
The princess looked at him carefully.
Something feels… off.
"Zephyr," she said gently, "why did you kick her?"
For the first time, Astra truly looked at her.
Not casually.
Not lazily.
He looked into her eyes.
And she felt it.
Those brown eyes — once timid, naive, always avoiding direct contact — were cold.
Deep. Endless. Detached.
Her breath caught.
That feeling—
It was the same sensation she once felt when she looked into the eyes of Goddess Seraphira.
No.
Worse.
She remembered her words.
{"Oh? Did you get scared, daughter? That is my essence."
"Essence?"
"Yes. Every being possesses one. It is the soul itself. You… can sense essence more clearly than others. A gift. But a dangerous one. The eyes and the soul are deeply connected. Be careful. The day you feel this same presence again… you will be looking at something divine."}
Her fingers twitched.
That's impossible.
Astra spoke.
"Princess."
His voice was the same.
But it wasn't.
"What would you do," he asked calmly, "if a naked man jumped at you while drooling?"
"…What?"
Peppa screeched, "Don't twist the story—"
"I kicked her because I was scared," Astra continued flatly. "I don't want to lose my virginity."
The entire street froze.
He trembled slightly, not theatrically.
But as if remembering something horrifying.
"…That was traumatic."
Peppa turned purple. "You insane bastard! That's literally your profession—"
"Enough."
The princess's voice cut through the noise like silk wrapped around steel.
"Lady Peppa, forgive him this once. For my sake."
Peppa stiffened.
That… was a favour.
From the princess.
"…As you wish, Your Highness."
She rose slowly, glaring at Astra with venom before storming off. The soldiers followed.
Astra clicked his tongue.
"What an annoying pig."
"Zephyr," Delilah snapped, "you shouldn't call a noble that. You know the hierarchy of this world."
Zephyr just looked at them.
While Thalia stares back
"You really are different," she murmured. "Did that accident change you that much?"
Her smile carried guilt.
She had interfered with fate.
She had changed things. Unpredictable consequences followed.
"I'm sorry."
Astra blinked.
"For what?" he asked calmly. "You and your brother led the war. But we chose to fight. We made our own decisions. We failed. You won. That's enough."
She looked at him carefully.
She raised her hand. A sealed invitation formed in golden light.
"There's a banquet tomorrow," she said gently. "For the first anniversary of the Demon King's defeat. I invited our former classmates as well."
Astra took the letter.
"I'll think about it."
He turned.
"See you."
And walked away without bowing.
Delilah stared after him.
"He really is different," she muttered. "I was ready to beat him if he proposed again."
Thalia chuckled softly.
"Let's go home."
As they walked, she glanced once more at Zephyr's back.
That feeling…
It wasn't gone.
And it wasn't human.