Author: Asternkm
That night, Astaire answered Dike’s summons and arrived at the chapel.
The private chapel, built solely for Dike, was small in scale, yet it exuded an atmosphere of solemn grace and sacredness.
Astaire approached Dike, who stood before the statue of the goddess, and bowed his head.
“You called for me, Saintess Dike.”
“Astaire.”
With the same benevolent smile as always, she spoke.
“I have decided to appoint Lady Elsez as a hero first thing tomorrow morning.”
Astaire’s eyes wavered at the unexpected news.
Normally, the appointment of a hero required the approval of all the cardinals from various nations, a process that took considerable time.
Once someone became a hero, they could travel freely across borders using only the hero’s seal, as all the cardinals vouched for their credibility. This made it necessary to thoroughly verify whether the candidate was truly trustworthy.
However, on rare occasions, Dike made the decision to appoint a hero unilaterally.
This meant that, regardless of what Elsez did with her newfound hero status, Dike was willing to take full responsibility for her.
“…So soon?”
“The birth of a new hero will bring reassurance and hope to many who are trembling in fear over the Demon God’s return.”
It was a reasonable explanation, yet the decision was too hasty.
‘I still haven’t confirmed her power for certain.’
Thanks to Noel and Rashiel’s constant interference, every attempt to test Elsez’s strength had ended in failure.
Astaire swallowed hard, unable to refute Dike’s words.
“But since I made this decision on my own, I’d like to hear your thoughts first. You’ve observed her for quite some time now.”
“……”
“In your opinion, does Lady Elsez have any disqualifying traits as a hero?”
Astaire stared at Dike, his lips pressed into a firm line.
The absolute embodiment of good in this world—who had no way of knowing what he felt—was looking at him with clear, unwavering eyes, demanding an answer.
‘If the young lady is truly the Demon God…’
He had to tell Dike now.
Before the Demon God’s power grew any stronger.
Before this world fell into danger once again.
After a moment of heavy silence, Astaire finally opened his mouth.
“She is…”
****
On her way back to her room after a bath, Elsez absentmindedly fiddled with the round, button-shaped magic tool in her hand, recalling the events of the day.
‘Once again, I managed to get through a crisis thanks to Tracia.’
During the combat power assessment at the temple, Tracia had tampered with the magic measurement device’s mana, ensuring Elsez’s combat power registered as lower than it truly was.
‘No, wait. Maybe this was actually thanks to my own meticulous preparation?’
Her shoulders lifted in pride.
With her prior knowledge from playing the game and memories from her first regression, she already knew that heroes had their combat power assessed at the temple in the Holy Kingdom. Today’s scenario was something she had fully anticipated.
That was why she had asked Tracia to create a tool that could interfere with the mana of the measuring device—and this was the result.
‘Hmm, I do feel a little guilty about using Tracia’s talents for these kinds of underhanded tricks all the time.’
Thinking that, Elsez absentmindedly pressed the button on the device.
But nothing happened.
“Huh?”
She pressed it again from different angles, and soon discovered that the button had to be turned 90 degrees before pressing for it to function properly.
It seemed to have been designed that way to prevent accidental activation at the wrong time.
Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered Tracia explaining this to her.
“…Wait a second. That means… it wasn’t working earlier today?”
Realizing the implications, Elsez’s eyes widened.
‘So the combat power measured by the device was my actual combat power?!’
No way. Even if her strength hadn’t fully recovered yet, she was still the Demon God! Was that measly number really all she had?
‘I should go ask Reti about this when I get back…’
Just as she hurried forward, she suddenly froze.
‘Wait. If my combat power was measured that low, doesn’t that mean my Demon God powers aren’t as strong as I thought? Isn’t that actually a good thing?’
It meant she didn’t have to constantly worry about her identity being exposed.
Thinking of it that way, it was a relief. And yet…
‘So why does it feel like my pride just took a massive hit?’
Caught between conflicting emotions, she soon arrived at her room.
Upon stepping inside, Elsez scanned the empty space with puzzled eyes.
‘Huh?’
Before she left for her bath, Reti had been curled up in her cloak. She had even left some cookies nearby for him.
She had expected to find him outside the cloak by now, either staring out the window as usual or nibbling on the cookies—but they were completely untouched.
“Reti?”
She gently shook the cloak where Reti had last been.
No response.
‘Where did he go?’
Curious, Elsez slipped her hand into the cloak’s pocket.
The moment she did, she felt something inside twitch.
She quickly pulled her hand back.
She had only wanted to check if Reti was there, not force him out.
“Reti, what’s wrong? Come out.”
After a brief pause, the cloak rustled, and a small, white fluffball hesitantly emerged.
When she finally saw him, Elsez flinched.
The black haze swirling around Reti was more unstable than she had ever seen before.
“…Human.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Reti stared up at her with dark, round eyes before suddenly clinging to her hand.
“This place… it’s too scary. It feels bad. I hate it…”
The little doll trembled violently in her grasp, his tiny body shaking with fear.
****
With a hardened expression, Astaire left the chapel and made his way to the temple’s garden.
In his current state of mind, sleep felt impossible.
Just as he reached the moonlit garden, he saw two figures.
Elsez sat on a bench, while Noel stood before her. On Elsez’s shoulder sat Reti.
When Noel extended a hand, Reti climbed onto the child’s shoulder. Watching them, Elsez smiled, her golden eyes gleaming under the moonlight.
“……”
Astaire halted in his tracks, gazing silently at Elsez.
Strong, righteous, and kind—Elsez Rohen.
‘There’s no way… you’re the Demon God…’
Astaire recalled his earlier conversation with Dike.
‘……There was none. She is a worthy candidate for the title of Hero.’
Hearing his answer, Dike had smiled brightly in delight.
‘I’m relieved that we share the same opinion. That just proves how remarkable Elsez is.’
Astaire had barely managed to force a small smile before turning away.
Then, in a much calmer voice than before, Dike spoke behind him.
‘Astaire.’
‘……’
‘I know you feel a greater burden of responsibility than anyone else right now.’
‘……’
‘But I don’t want you to carry that weight alone, whether it’s worry, doubt, or fear.’
‘……’
‘This battle belongs to all of us.’
There was something strangely ominous in her words, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
That was impossible.
But even if Dike had seen through everything, Astaire’s answer would not have changed.
‘Thank you for your concern, Lady Dike.’
Without revealing the truth, he had simply offered a polite farewell and left the chapel.
And now, standing before him, was Elsez.
Like fate, or perhaps a cruel jest of the gods.
Noticing Astaire, Noel said something to Elsez. She turned and, without hesitation, strode toward him.
“Your Grace.”
Her clear, radiant face lit up with delight.
She gazed up at him, as if trying to read his expression, her golden eyes gleaming like stars. Astaire found himself unable to say a word.
“Why do you look like that?”
Tilting her head, Elsez studied him closely before lowering her voice with a playful smile.
“Did the Saintess scold you?”
At her absurd guess, a soft chuckle escaped from Astaire’s lips.
“If that’s the case, you should tell me. I’ll listen. Oh, and don’t worry, I guarantee absolute confidentiality.”
With a teasing grin, she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the bench.
But in that instant, he reversed their grip and held onto her hand instead.
His expression crumpled, sorrow flickering in his eyes.
Feeling the shift, Elsez turned to look at him.
Under the bright moonlight, their eyes met.
‘Astaire… he looks sad somehow.’
There was a faint smile at his lips, just as always.
But for some reason, Elsez couldn’t shake the feeling that his eyes looked unbearably sorrowful.
As if he were holding back tears.
“…I think I must like you a great deal.”
The words finally spilled from his lips—words that didn’t match the sorrow on his face at all.
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