“I thought you lived in the temple.”

“You thought I was an orphan?” Kelsey asked with a raised brow.

“Huh…?”

The priestess gave her a strange look. “I sometimes forget that you don’t know about the most basic things.”

Ray grimaced, but she couldn’t deny her friend’s words. It wasn’t unusual for her to come across things that everybody except for her seemed to know about.

“People who stay in the temple rooms are those with nowhere else to go,” Kelsey explained. “There are very few members of the clergy who actually live in the temple, though we all spend a lot of time there. The rooms are set aside as a place for orphans and others who have fallen on hard times. Since Cairel is primarily a military outpost, they’re mostly empty.”

“Oh?” Legion muttered.

Ray could feel his surprise and interest, so she decided to ask a few questions for his benefit. “Is that because of a god’s commandment?” she asked.

Kelsey twirled a finger in her blonde hair. “In a manner of speaking, you could call it that.”

“What does that mean?”

“There is not an explicit ‘commandment’, per se, from any of the four gods to take care of those who are less fortunate. However, Dallin does have various related teachings regarding strength.”

“Strength? How is that related to helping orphans?”

Kelsey pursed her lips as she considered how to answer. She turned off the main street and led Ray under a stone arch covering the path to a residential area.

“What do you know about ‘domains’?” she asked.

Ray shook her head. “I hardly know anything. I know that Legion’s domains are War, Harmony, and Freedom and that they somehow represent him as a god.”

The priestess examined her with a critical eye and then let out a soft sigh. “You have a lot of studying to do if you want to be a proper Tether.” She turned down another side street and slowed her pace. “As you said, a domain represents a god. More specifically, domains define the boundaries of a god’s power and influence. Two of Dallin’s domains are Strength and Ambition. A common misconception is that Dallin only cares about the strong and the ambitious, but domains are far more expansive than that.”

They came to a stop in front of a small stone structure. The windows were empty, and the wooden door was old and cracked, with one of the bottom corners missing.

“As the God of Strength, Dallin’s reach encompasses the entire range of strength, from those who are the strongest, to those who are weak and desire to be stronger. Since he is also the God of Ambition, his teachings generally target those who are struggling and trying to improve their lives. Most of his followers are those who have sweat, bled, and cried to make their lives just a little bit better, and Dallin blesses them for it.”

“And, as a result, the temples began to aid orphans and the less fortunate…” Legion concluded.

“This Dallin seems like a pretty good god,” Ray observed.

If it wasn’t for this system inspired by Dallin’s teachings, she wouldn’t have had a place to stay when she first entered Cairel. Though she could have figured something out herself given more time, the aid allowed her to focus her attention on other things, like learning to fight and use magic. It wasn’t a world-changing system, but it was a mercy.

“Anyways, this is my home,” Kelsey declared.

Ray examined the dilapidated structure with a keen eye. Through the window, she saw a single magic lantern hanging from the ceiling inside, lighting up the interior. Beneath the flickering light, there were four people doing separate tasks. Two of them were young boys that looked like they were playing, while a chained foxkin was folding clothes and a man was writing at a desk in the corner.

“Is that your family inside?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, yeah,” the priestess replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She strode forward and swung the door open. The hinge let out a loud, creaking noise as if announcing their regal entrance with a trumpet.

“It’s Kels!”

The two kids jumped up and rushed over, pouncing on their sister as she walked through the door. She caught the younger of the two and held him in her arms while the other one wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her robe.

“Why are you back already? Did you come for lunch? Are you staying a long time?” the youngest boy spat out question after question, not giving his sister any chance to talk.

Kelsey reached out and placed a finger over his lips. “Shhh, Kingston. You need to give me a chance to introduce my friend.”

Kingston’s eyes grew as wide as saucers as he looked over her shoulder at Ray. “Oh my goodness!” He pushed against Kelsey’s shoulders, struggling to worm his way out of her grip. She carefully released him and he plopped down to the floor. Then he rushed over to the door leading into another room. “Dad! Kelsey brought a girl home!”

A moment of silence, then a voice called out from the other room. “Is she pretty?!”

Kelsey sighed, covering her face with a palm. She gently nudged her other brother and he backed away.

“Yes, she’s super duper pretty!”

There was a strangely loud ‘bang’ from the other room, followed by hurried steps. A man rushed around the corner and stopped. She couldn’t help but feel like she had met this man before. He looked extremely familiar, but none of his features stood out to her. He had short-cropped brown hair and brown eyes. There was some stubble on his chin as if he hadn’t shaved yet today. His shoulders were broad and his muscles were well-defined, stretching the fabric of his t-shirt to declare their presence. Over his t-shirt was a frilly cooking apron.

He stared at Ray for several seconds, before taking a hesitant step forward. His face twisted with uncertainty, despite his confident gait and posture. “Young lady, may I ask your name?”

The man sitting at the desk let out a loud, heavy sigh and shook his head. He never looked their way, but he seemed like he was paying attention.

“Ray,” she replied as she stepped through the doorway.

The man held out a hand and she accepted it, noting the hard callouses that must have formed after many hours of grueling work.

They shook hands, and the man revealed a satisfied smile. “Phew, I was getting nervous about when it would happen!”

“Dad, stop!” Kelsey shouted from the side. The teenage girl rushed over and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him toward the door leading out of the room.

Ray gave him a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”

The man ignored his struggling daughter and chuckled before answering the question. “Kelsey has always kept to herself, and she’s never brought a friend home before. I used to keep a sword sharpened for the boys she brought back, but she never showed any interest. But now, she brought a girl home!”

“Dad, it’s not like that!” Kelsey groaned.

“Leroy! Go get the ale for me! Kingston, get some juice for everybody else. It’s time for a feast!”

The two young boys, Leroy and Kingston, rushed out of the room with excited smiles. Once they were gone, Kelsey and her father started arguing.

The man in the corner let out another exaggerated sigh. Then he stood up and turned to face them. He ignored his father and sister and approached Ray. “I’m sorry about my family,” he muttered softly.

Ray examined the arguing father and daughter with longing eyes before laughing. “There’s nothing to be sorry about,” she replied.

He shook his head, the wrinkles on his forehead growing deeper as he furrowed his brow. “My name is Rhett. I’m Kelsey’s older half-brother.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ray replied. “I didn’t know she had a half-brother.”

“Yeah, we have different fathers but the same mother.”

“Is she around?” she asked, searching the room with her eyes.

He shook his head. “No, you won’t meet her here.”

Ray wanted to ask more, but Rhett changed the subject. “Are you one of Kelsey’s friends?”

“Yeah,” Ray replied with a nod. “We’re both students of Master Rambalt, and we’re in the same adventurer party.”

Rhett scoffed. “You got Kelsey to join a party? Yeah, right.”

“It’s true, though we haven’t gone on any adventures together yet. We’re leaving tonight to hunt some monsters.”

He shook his head. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Then he walked over and smacked their father on the back of the head. Instead of smacking Kelsey, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Stop fighting. We have a guest in the house.”

Kelsey bowed her head slightly and their father just looked at them with a goofy grin on his face. It looked odd because of his large appearance, but Ray thought it looked cool. Her mouth tilted down with the slightest bit of envy.

Rhett calmly sat back down at his desk and resumed writing on a piece of paper. Kelsey and her father turned to Ray just as the two younger kids rushed back into the room. One of them was carrying a small keg the size of his head, while the other had a carton of apple juice in his hands.

““Let’s party!”” Leroy and Kingston shouted together.

Kelsey blushed a deep red and let out another embarrassed sigh. She motioned toward the other room. “Want to have some lunch with us?”

The warm invitation dealt a lethal blow to the envy budding in Ray’s heart. She couldn’t help but smile as she accepted the invitation. “I would love to.”

She moved as if to enter further into the house, but Kelsey’s father stretched his arm out, barring her path.

“Young miss, I just have one other question first.”

His expression was deathly serious. His eyes were hard and focused as if he was staring at an enemy on the battlefield. She had experienced a similar glare whenever she sparred with Siegfried and when she had fought Edwin Weston.

This man was a warrior.

She tilted her head quizzically, a bead of sweat forming on the back of her neck.

“What is it you like so much about my daughter?”

“DAD!” Kelsey punched his arm as hard as she could, but he was completely unfazed.

Ray considered the question seriously for several seconds before replying. “She’s intelligent, friendly, and tries to form her own opinions. She’s my friend, and she accepts me for who I am without judgment.”

She spoke from her heart. There were many things she didn’t know about Kelsey still, but she knew she could trust the young priestess. Kelsey was the first person she told her secret to after she became a Tether, and the priestess protected her secret despite serving another god. She knew Ray wasn’t human and accepted her against the teachings of the gods of humanity.

As far as Ray was concerned, those were likable qualities.

He examined her with his serious gaze for a few more seconds before his expression softened. The corners of his lips turned back up into a goofy grin and he started to laugh. “Yes, yes, you really do know!” He lowered his arm and motioned for her to enter further into his home. There was a gleam in his eyes, and he looked extremely happy.

Kelsey, for her part, had flushed an even deeper crimson than before. Her ears and neck were red, and her hands were shaking. She clenched her teeth and stormed into the other room.

Just as Ray was about to follow, the man caught her shoulder in his calloused hand. “The name’s Rex,” he introduced himself. “I hope to see more of you around here. You seem like an excellent friend for my daughter.”

Ray smiled and nodded. “She’s a great friend for me, too.”

As she stepped through the doorway into the next room, she looked back at the two people staying behind. Rhett continued working on something at the desk, and the foxkin slave observed them from where he had finished folding laundry.

The foxkin slave tilted his head up in greeting, and then picked up a pile of folded clothes.

Ray turned back into the other room, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if it was Rex or Rhett who owned that slave, but whoever it was would end up suffering in a few days. She hoped that they were rational enough to give in early – they both seemed like nice enough people.

She stepped into the other room in time to see Rex pop the lid off of the cask. Kelsey was pouring apple juice into small cups for her two brothers. Kingston and Leroy were bouncing in their seats. The youngest of the two looked back and forth before he snuck a piece of fruit from the plate. Ray saw, and she suspected that Kelsey and Rex both saw, but nobody said anything.

The table was in decent shape, the worn wood showing many years of use. There was a cloth covering over the center where food was placed. She saw some diced fruit, some pieces of meat, and sliced bread.

Kelsey nodded toward an empty seat on the right side of the table and Ray sat down, the hard surface uncomfortable yet strangely welcoming at the same time.

She accepted a cup of apple juice as everybody sat in their respective seats, and then Rex motioned toward the food with a grand gesture.

“Dig in!”

Ray tried a bit of everything with enthusiasm. The meat was unbearably salty, and the bread was stale. The fruit was cut unevenly, and some of the pieces looked like they had been sitting out for too long.

It was the first time she had eaten a meal like this one.

Of course, she frequently tried the food at the restaurants and stalls she sometimes visited with Lexi before. She always took one bite, but she didn’t need to eat food to survive like humans did, so she abstained from eating more and gave the food to Lexi. There was never anything that tasted good enough to bother eating more.

She took another bite of the unbearably salty meat and rinsed it down with a swig of apple juice.

This was the first time she took a second bite.

It tasted incredible.