After enjoying the quiet a bit longer, I left the basement of the research building to go to the castle. They're fairly close to each other, so I walked, and I made myself at home in the castle foyer.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I used any Holy Magic, let alone actively tried to advance it. In retrospect, it feels like I should have found a way to make time for it. Oh well. I decided to start with a simple spell to warm up and also improve the lighting. The sun was setting outside, and it was getting more difficult to see.

After that, I thought was the most useful Holy spell I knew, so I chose to practice with that. However, after casting the spell the same as always, Isn't it kind of weak?

What should have been a soft but strong white dome was thin and flickering.

What gives? I put in enough Magic Power, but most of it scattered after the casting.

Feeling worried and confused, the only thing I could think of to help troubleshoot was to use on the feeble barrier.

[[A Holy attribute defense spell called . Can only be cast by those with an affinity for Holy spirits. Especially strong against elemental magic and Demonic magic from a weaker caster. Weak against Demonic magic from a stronger caster.]]

[[This barrier is on the verge of dissipating due to a lack of Holy spirits to sustain its structure.]]

A lack of Holy spirits? What could that mean?

Using again, I tried to check the balance of spirits in the area and in my body. The results were… baffling-- far more skewed than I would have guessed.

In the surroundings:

Earth: 52%

Spacetime: 15%

Air: 10%

Light: 6%

Dark: 6%

Water: 3%

Wood: 2%

Fire: 2%

Lightning: 2%

Holy: 1%

Demonic: 1%

And then in me:

Earth: 57%

Demonic: 18%

Holy: 17%

Spacetime: 3%

Air: 2%

Water: 1%

Lightning: 1%

Dark: 1%

Light: 0%

Wood: 0%

Fire: 0%

Maybe because of the nature of the city, the environment is practically dominated by earth spirits. If this were a wuxia-type world with martial cultivators, I'm sure this would be at the level where people with earth affinity would fight over this place as a training spot.

More importantly, my own constitution is completely weird! Let’s just ignore the fact that I have zero affinity with fire, light, and wood spirits. Why the hell is my affinity with the Demonic attribute so high?! It’s higher than the Holy attribute? Isn't that impossible?!

Because I can't believe it just because told me so, I put my hands over my ears, took a calming breath, and listened to my palms. There was the familiar sound/feeling of being half-buried in sunny soil. A feeling of being blessed and immersed in an element: it’s clearly a Holy-Earth combo. Where is there the Demonic attribute anywhere in there?

Desperately, I prayed, Spirits, what is the sign of having an affinity for the Demonic attribute?

[[Information is accessible. If the user possesses a significant affinity with the Demonic attribute, upon listening to their body, they will experience a feeling of being blessed.]]

Wha--?! Then what’s the sign of having an affinity for the Holy attribute?!

[[Information is accessible. If the user possesses a significant affinity with the Holy attribute, upon listening to their body, they will experience a feeling of being blessed.]]

… Why is it the same? How are you supposed to tell a Holy affinity and a Demonic affinity apart?!

[[Informa--shh--n is accessible. It is usually obvious whether one possesses the Holy or Demonic attribute based on race and skill access. Additionally, a case where both spirit types are present in one body is normally impossible by design.]]

Yeah, but I still happened, didn't I? Can't the system put in a little more consideration for special cases like me?

[[Information is accessible. In the user’s case, both attributes were granted by automatic systems which things like the wills of the gods and the intentions of the lords of darkness have no control over.]]

Eh? I didn't ask yet though. And “things like?” Also, wasn't that “Informa--shh--n” from before a little distorted?

[[...]]

Hello? The spirits aren't able to say things like that because of the W system or something, if I remember right. Am I talking to someone else?

I listened closely, but there wasn't any response for several seconds, so I started to give up.

[[D-discovered so easily. I thought I mimicked them really well, though.]]

The abstract and ethereal voice from before was replaced by an alto woman’s voice. My eyebrows twitched up, but I wasn't given time to say anything else. Once the imposter gave herself up, she spoke quickly and deliberately.

[[Listen, what I'm doing is a no no, so don't tell anybody. And I'm reaaal busy, so I gotta go anyway. Two things first quick, m’kay? Now that you know about it, don't use any Demonic skills or magic unless you want to get noticed. And take good care of your family; some of them are my family too. またね！]]

W-what? Hey!

The spirit imposter was gone for real that time, leaving me more confused than anything else.

What language was she speaking?

The spirits spoke to me in English, my native language, but once the mystery woman dropped her act, what she spoke wasn't something I could even really identify as a distinct language. Because of my innate Orc Language Magic, I felt like I could recognize hundreds of languages at once, but one distinct meaning was clearly being transmitted outside all of that. It was baffling.

Except for that last part. Wasn't that just Japanese? “See you later”? What the hell…

My emotions today… Please, stop…

***

“Balk, sir, there’s a message from the wildflower.” A man dressed entirely in off-white said, while holding out a letter sealed with wax. A rose-like imprint with a thin sword was stamped on it. This man wasn't a ranger per say. He was more just an employee who helped manage the Guild.

When Balk just frowned at him and didn't reach his hand out, the man started to sweat. “F-from Lady Claudia Sartiella, sir.”

“Good. I've been waiting for it,” he said while accepting the thin parchment. The plain letter opener he used made a sharp sound as it cut a clean gash, and a brief letter was extracted from inside. The contents were basically,

Balk,

You know what’s going on already. We’re a bit short on capable Rangers still. I'll accept any recommended individuals you send our way. Please be quick; we depart in two days at the latest.

Sincerely, Claudia A. Sartiella

“I've already prepared a response,” the man muttered, pulling open one of his desk drawers and removing a sealed letter from inside. “Please see that this gets delivered to the young lady. I’ll send what she asked for tomorrow morning.”

The Guild employee nodded and trotted off, leaving Balk alone in his dim and narrow office. From his already-opened drawer, a few scraps of paper caught his eye. He pulled them out yet again to examine the contents.

They told the worst possible news that he simply hadn't been daring enough to anticipate. Reports of giant, tiger-shaped golems; a fortress city surrounded by Orichalcum walls; and an unknown, unapproachable interior structure and population. A new report hadn't arrived in far too long. Balk was sure the people he’d sent had been discovered and killed. They were loyal and skilled individuals, so it was a painful loss.

But no matter how skilled hey were, they were spies who had minimal skill in combat. It was plainly clear now that fighting strength would be necessary when investigating the Orc Lord in the future. Coincidentally, three of the Sartiella sisters had gotten together and decided to train themselves against the Demonic Beasts near the Black Mountain, so they would be penetrating with a capable force near the area Balk was interested in. If gleaning more information was impossible even with this much, there would be no choice left but to present all that he did have to those who held power in the city. It would be beyond him at that point.

It was solely because he dreaded that a few foolish people would stir the currently docile disaster-class monster to action that he had kept it to himself for this long.

He had kept it nearly to himself. There was an incident where the head priest of the nearby temple, as well as one of the priestesses, had been made aware of “an Orc with the Holy attribute” and nearly ruined things. Luckily, a Ranger who was loyal to him had been praying to Helvetia and was able to listen in through the thick walls, sending a message containing what he’d heard.

“Listen carefully, my son! Fraternizing with Monsters is not something the Gods look lightly upon! The more civilized a Monster appears, the quicker you should aim to kill it!”

“But the church also teaches that Holy creatures are allies,” Samael posed drearily.

“A Monster crafty enough to use your good faith to protect itself is the kind that should be feared the most!”

“Monsters are a resource for us to harvest to aid in our prosperity,” the priestess Maria offered. “But the Gods warned us not to be deceived into seeing them as anything better than that. Our doctrines have priorities, please be sure not to mix them up.”

“I, I understand,” Samael said weakly, leaving while clutching his staff tightly.

The priestess waited only a few seconds before crying out in terror. “Father! What do we make of this?!”

The head priest’s voice was quivering. “We must send word to the Holy Son, summon the sacred knights to dispatch that abomination! B-before any more of the secular people start to doubt our doctrine regarding Monsters!”

At that time, Balk wasn't in the city: he was out discovering Vyra’s existence for the first time. However, even though the head priest and priestess panicked at first, they were able to calm themselves down enough to be rational. By the time Balk was suspicious about the threat Vyra posed, there was still enough time to intercept the letters the temple had sent requesting Holy Knights to come. When his suspicions were confirmed and Vyra was demonstrated to be the Orc Lord, he was able to reveal his interference to the temple along with a reasonable excuse. They’d since come to an agreement, allowing him to gather information before attacking a sleeping dragon.

But they won't wait for me forever. If this time fails as well, I’ll really have my back against the wall.

***

I took some time to relax by staring at a wall for a while with my eyes glazed over. Just… meditating…

Anyways, when some measure of mental recovery had been achieved, I tried to make sense of what had happened a minute ago. I suspect the person talking to me was a god, since it was able to hijack the spirit support system (name pending) and speak beyond language. There’s also that thing she said about being noticed if I used any Demonic skills. Probably, if I used them, the ones to notice me would be the Lords of Darkness, implying that I've already been noticed by the gods for using Holy skills.

I don't know many Gods, but I can only think of one who might want to talk to me. That would be Ashtante, the god who blessed my and Fiara’s sisterhood and awarded me the title. From what I hear, she’s a bit of an eccentric god, with doctrines suiting people over a wide range of mental stability.

Even though that seems like the most likely explanation, I don't feel like I was just visited by a god at all. Honestly. But, just in case, I shouldn't take a (possible) divine message lightly. I'll have to think carefully whether it’s worth it to use Demonic skills.

Protecting my family was something I was going to do anyway, so it didn't really need to be said. What did she mean by calling them her family, though? Does the god of kinship see familial bonds in a different way? Or do some of my family members worship her, and they're family in that sense?

Anyway, last was that thing about my Holy and Demonic affinities. She said they were awarded by automatic processes? My Holy affinity was a result of killing a Holy Beast for my hunting ceremony. I don't even know how long I've had the Demonic attribute for, so it’s hard to guess where it’s from.

Is it even physically safe to have both affinities? My body won't, like, tear itself apart, right?

Suddenly, I don't really feel like practicing my Holy Magic. I think I'll just hum and carve some little decorations: relax a little before something else happens.