Cleric's healing cube can be as large as he wants to be but the more people inside it, the less effective the healing becomes.

So in the next morning, we all agreed that the Sage and Cleric should use their healing skills on the people who got injured last night. While our necks hadn't fully recovered, the four of us could easily go a day without any heals. We felt fine for the most part.

The Samurai inspected the collapsed houses alongside the other fakes who helped build them.

"Well... it was bound to collapse one day." One of them admitted.

"These were the older ones right?" Another one commented, "I don't think we knew what we were doing when we built those."

"I mean... we still don't know what we're doing whenever we try building these things."

They all laughed in agreement.

None of the houses in fake town looked the same. Most of them were different shapes and sizes but all small. Some seemed more firm than others. I heard that whenever they tried building a hut, it was like rolling a dice to see if it turned out good or not.

"You all did a fine job," The Samurai complemented, "the wind was just a bit too vicious last night."

"A bit you say." Someone chuckled.

"Well then... shall we get started?" Her tone sounded way too casual for someone who was about to reconstruct a building, "Whose helping?"

All the inexperienced builders looked at each other before looking back at the Samurai and raising their hands.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

When the Samurai first agreed to stay here at Fake Town, the Reaper and I both agreed that we shouldn't rely on her for everything.

With that said, within the few weeks that the Samurai had stayed here, she has already helped build three stable huts, assisted the farmers in improving the fields, began constructing a fishing boat with Elizabeth1129 and if the Reaper or I were ever too slow, she would instantly kill any monsters that occasionally attacked the town like the wandering elemental T-Rexes that I still struggle to beat.

Everyone was absolutely blown away at the intense speed she worked at. The entire village quickly began to greatly respect her and for good reason.

From a distance, the Reaper and I both stared at the Samurai with blank expressions as the words 'don't rely on the Samurai too much' echoed in our heads. While I'm sure the Reaper was just as almost grateful as I was, we both couldn't help by feel inferior to her in every area we could think off.

"Just how much god damn life experience does that woman have?"

"Well... she did build an entire community by herself so we shouldn't be surprised," I said as I carried a sleeping Cleric in my hand, "she might over take you as leader at this point, Reaper."

As serious as I sounded, that was indeed meant to be a joke. The Samurai already made it clear to us that she had no intentions of being the leader of this place.

The Reaper replied, "Even if she wanted to take over, that would be the least of my concerns."

Agreed. We both knew there were worse possible outcomes if the Samurai is the only one who could put up a good fight against bigger threats. The Samurai did say that we were different from her previous community, however, if the Reaper and I don't learn to pull everyone's weight like she can, than Fake Town may very well end the same way.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

The Sage eagerly stood in the middle of the village with her air fish staff in hand. It almost looked like she was trying to pose with it.

She eagerly looked around like she was waiting for something.

As soon as a pair of Zeno fakes walked past, the Sage greeted them a bit too loudly, "Hey guys!"

"Oh hello there, Sage."

"How's your day going?"

"Pretty good, what about you?"

"Pretty good as well."

"That's good to hear."

They all slowly nodded at each other for no particular reason.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The two Zeno fakes could sense that Lily was clearly expecting something from them but they weren't sure what she wanted.

"So you guys ah... you guys feeling ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're fine-"

"Are you sure?" The Sage said a bit too abruptly.

The two Zenos looked at each other, "Y-yeah..."

"You don't need anything?"

"No. Not really. We're perfectly okay."

"Oh... I see." With just those few words, the Sage managed to sound defeated, disappointed and dejected all at the same time.

The two Zeno fakes looked at each other again.

"S-sorry?" Zeno wasn't sure why he was apologising. He just felt like he had too.

Meanwhile, in the background, Cleric was frantically chasing after an oblivious Zeno fake after spotting a small cut on his leg.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

"Good morning, Summoner."

"Morning Jack ," I greeted before asking, "have you seen Cleric lately?"

"Oh he was just with me a moment ago but he went on to chase after Zeno."

"I see."

"He helped my back ache feel a tiny bit better so tell him I said thanks."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

While everyone was outside doing their daily activities, the Reaper and the Samurai were both inside and about to discuss something. They both held wooden cups of fresh water which was taken straight from the infinite water well.

Reaper leaned by the window to watch the fakes outside while the Samurai sat down against the wall, with her long katana leaning against her. She had her eyes closed as if meditating.

But then she spoke.

"Reaper."

"Yeah?"

"Would you like me to assist you when you go hunting for food next time?"

The Reaper looked away from the window and straight at the Samurai who still had her eyes closed. Yukari replied, "I used to hunt enough food for everyone all by myself. And now with the Summoner's help, it's more than enough so no thanks. Besides, if you do come along, you'll end up doing the hunting for us."

"I see... Are you sure there isn't any specific job you want me to-"

"Do whatever you feel like doing," The Reaper took another sip from her cup before elaborating, "Go wherever you want to go. Rest whenever you want to rest. I would rather not force or order you around all the time..."

The Samurai chuckled softly, "Very well... but are you sure?"

"Well...If you really want to know my... personal preference, there is one thing..."

Samurai opened her eyes for the first time in the conversation. She slightly leaned her head towards the Reaper to listen closely.

"I would prefer you stay here, as close to the villagers as you can, especially if all our fighters are unavailable for whatever reason."

Lily's expression formed a gentle smile, "I will keep that in mind."

Yukari was dead silent for a few moments before she softly replied, "Thanks."

With that, the Samurai closed her eyes and leaned agaisnt the wall while the Reaper finished drinking the rest of her water.

"Oh by the way, I believe there is a leviathan sleeping at the bottom of your lake."

The Reaper spat out all the water that she drank upon hearing that.

The Samurai yawned as if about to take a nap, "It seemed quite similar to the one we defeated at the Blue Mountain."

"You mean the one that you defeated at the Blue Mountain?"

"Reaper... it was a joint effort."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." The Reaper dropped her wooden cup and began walking towards the exit of the hut.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular," The Reaper lied as a psychotic grin appeared on her face, "I just have this sudden urge to go diving."

"You will most certainly endanger the village if you do that."

The Reaper stopped herself. She looked back at the Samurai who still had her eyes closed. The Reaper slowly backed away from the exit and returned to the window where she was previously leaning against.

"Not if you're here." Argued the Reaper.

The Samurai laughed. A laugh so gentle that it could tickle your ears, "You know... living near a sleeping leviathan comes with a surprising benefit."

"Really?"

"They are known to spawn fish. So if Elizabeth and I can get that boat floating, you could potentially have access to another unlimited food source... Just like Viridescent's forest."

The idea sounded compelling but there was still the major concern of: "What if it wakes up?"

"It is said they can slumber for their entire lifespan if no one disturbs them. That is why they are very rare creatures in the first place."

"Why don't they ever wake up?"

"I... actually do not know. There is a running theory that while it dreams, the leviathans sees through the eyes of the fish that it spawns... but obviously, there is no way to prove that."

"So fishing in that lake won't wake it up?"

"Do no worry about that, trust me they are very heavy sleepers. As long as you mean no harm, they will never wake up..." The Samurai chuckled as she tapped her own eyelid with her finger, "Even if you forcefully stuff food into its mouth or poke its eyelids five times with a tree branch. They never wake up."

"That sounded oddly specific."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Alfred was cheerfully jumping around, swinging his tiny blade as he pictured himself slaying scary Leviathans and dear-headed creatures with his "unlimited" imaginary power.

But his fictional journey was put to a sudden halt when he spotted his little brother, Cleric, walking nearby.

Alfred waved to him but the healer didn't seem to notice him.

In fact, it seemed Cleric wasn't aware of most of his surroundings in general. He was walking slower than usual and his head was swaying left and right as he walked with no destination in mind.

Alfred watched him with mild curiosity until Cleric suddenly fell forward and collapsed, his face falling flat onto the dirt.

Panicked and internally screaming, Alfred rushed over to him with the immediate assumption that his little brother had just died before his eyes.

But he calmed down after realising that Cleric was just sleeping. It seemed the small healer was just really tired.

After making himself grow a bit bigger, Alfred picked up the sleeping Cleric, raised him over his head and brought his little brother inside.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Apparently, Cleric had spent the whole day chasing after people who never noticed him since he doesn't have a voice to call out with. He could've asked to borrow Alfred's power since he prefers to stay in his smaller form most of time but then again, Cleric would never truly improve on his own if he did that.

"Please Cleric, don't work yourself too hard," I said as I rested him on my lap, "everyone greatly appreciates you but you were literally born not too long ago, you're free to take longer breaks."

My second knight lowered his head in defeat. He apologised as if he was guilty of doing something horrible even though all he did was overwork himself by helping too many people.

"Once you grow up like Alfred, you'll be able to help a lot more people. But that's going to take some time so be patient, ok?"

He nodded.

I looked over at Alfred and rubbed his helmet, "Thanks for bringing him in, Alfred."

Alfred proudly placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest as he humbly accepted my thanks. I laughed.

I decided to bring them outside for a bit.

I sat against the outside wall of our hut and rested both my knights on my lap.

Once we were all comfortable, all three of us raised our heads and looked up to admire the stars in the night sky.

It was something Alfred and I had only recently started doing a bit before Cleric was born.

We weren't the only ones. Throughout the few buildings of Fake Town there were several small groups of neutrals, all looking at the stars while softly chatting to one another. Others laid down on the dirt while others chose to sit up against a wall like me.

In fact, they were the ones who gave me the idea.

The stars themselves were a sight to behold. No matter how long I looked at them, there was always something new to discover.

It looked as if the stars were all dancing in sparkles with the full moon as its lead performer.

"Humans usually say they can see certain shapes in the stars but I honestly can't see anything like that. I mean, I don't think I can see a pegasus up there, do you?"

I received no answered as it turned out both my knights had already dozed off to sleep on my lap.

To not disturb them, I remained quiet as I continued admiring the stars.

My view was interrupted when I spotted the Sage walking by. She was pouting but in a very frustrated manner like a child who didn't get the exact present that they wanted. It was moments like this that made me understand why the Reaper would often forget that the Sage was actually older than us. Which I admit was quite rude of me to be thinking.

"What's wrong Sage?" I asked.

She didn't notice me at first so she jumped a little. But her pout only grew more frustrated yet dejected when she faced me, "Oh hey Summoner, can I sit next to you for a bit?"

"Of course."

She sighed as she sat next to me.

"So what's been bothering you?" I asked.

"It's just... it's just... You know, I'm a healer, I'm suppose to be healing people."

"That is true."

"So I told everyone to come to me if anything hurts but so far no one has willingly come to me for help." She said, still pouting and crossing her arms.

"So you want them to get hurt?" It was meant to be a joke although my dead tone might've made it sound a bit more serious than I intended.

"No! No! Of course not!" Lily waved her arms, slightly panicked, "I just think that maybe no one here thinks I'm capable enough. Since my heals are so minor, they probably think it's a waste of time to ask me for heals."

"I don't think it's that at all."

"Hmm?"

I looked around at all the other fakes admiring the view of the stars, "Everyone here is very nice. Almost too nice you could say. I'm sure they just don't want to bother you. Whenever someone has an injury or sickness that they deem to be 'minor', they tend to keep it to themselves and hope it heals on its own. Although we've also had many sick people lie about their health even if it felt serious."

"Really? But why?"

"Well before you and Cleric were here, whenever someone got really sick, the Reaper and the Scout would have to go through the trouble of searching the whole world for a doctor. It's hard enough to convince a healer or doctor to travel far just to come here, let alone, a doctor who doesn't discriminate against us fakes."

"..."

"I've been told that whenever something like that happens, the Scout and the Reaper barely sleep until they find someone. So I guess they just feel guilty and it became a habit."

The Sage didn't say anything but it seemed like she hadn't thought of that perspective before.

"Part of being a healer is how attentive you can be of other people's wellbeing. So that you can act faster and take the initiative before it gets too serious."

"I see ... I never thought of it like that," Said the Sage, "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Summoner, wow, you're so knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

"Huh? Oh! No, no, no. Most of the things I said was just me repeating what Cleric was saying to you." I pointed down at my lap where said healer was sitting. He had actually woken up the moment the Sage came to sit next to me. Alfred was still fast asleep.

As soon as the Sage made eye contact, Cleric gave her a small wave.

"OOOHH! I didn't see you there, haha-" The Sage then proceeded to whisper when she also noticed Alfred sleeping, "I didn't mean to bother you three."

"It's fine, it's fine." I chuckled.

With me as the translator, Cleric and Sage had a small discussion about their skill trees and he gladly shared all the knowledge he was born with such as the difference between 'cure' skills and 'heal' skills. In simple terms, cure skills are for people who are sick and heal skills are for injuries.

Although, at one point in their conversation, my knight mentioned a few new skills he had learned. When Sage asked about how Cleric had already learned new skills while she was still stuck with her beginner ones, Cleric innocently answered by talking about all the people he had helped in past few weeks.

Lily clutched her chest as if an imaginary sword had pierced her heart.

Outdone by a child. I could imagine how much damage that must've done to her self esteem. Cleric had been going around helping so many people while the Sage had spent all that time, patiently waiting for them to come to her.

"If you want, Cleric said you can follow him tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Of course! In fact, if you can carry him around, you'll make it a lot easier for him. He spent too much energy today, trying to chase after people." Now that I think about it. Since they are the only two healers in the village, it's a wonder why they haven't been collaborating sooner.

Cleric gave a reassuring thumbs up.

"Oh! Ok ah, well, if you don't mind then... sure! Yeah! I would love that! I guess that makes us partners then." Said the Sage as she happily gave Cleric a "handshake" with her index finger.

"Don't overwork yourselves though. Make sure you rest as much as you can." I said to the both of them, "Especially you Cleric. There are other things you can do like playing with Alfred and-"

I stopped talking when we suddenly heard the soft noise of clanking metal. Alfred was crying. He was still sleeping but trembling in my arms. Cleric placed his small hand on his brother's shoulder.

I pulled Alfred closer towards me and gently rubbed his head as I whispered, "Sshh, it's okay Alfred. It's okay... I'm right here."

My first knight cried for a few more moments before calming down and continuing his peaceful sleep.

"Is he okay?" The Sage asked with a soft tone.

"Yeah... he probably just had another nightmare," I explained.

Ever since the Blue Mountain incident, there have been a few nights where Alfred started suffering from really bad dreams. When I asked, he strongly refused to tell me anything about his nightmares. Although, considering the timing, I think I already had a good guess.

The Sage paused for a brief moment before whispering, "Would it be rude of me to say that I thought that was really cute."

I chuckled, "No. Not at all."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

"Good morning! Have you seen Cleric and Sage lately?" I asked with a huge yawn.

"Oh you just missed them," Replied one of the Elizabeth fakes, "they helped my sore knee feel a lot better so tell them I said thanks if you get the chance. I must say, they are quite the adorable duo."

Later on the day, I would spot the pair from a distance. Cleric would seat on top of the Sage's hand, pointing to whatever direction he wants her to walk towards. He would point at his "target, Sage would grab their attention and then the mere sight of Cleric's presence would explain everything to them.

Sage would later tell me about what they did and how happy she felt to finally help others more. She had even unlocked a few minor skills which is always a positive.

Cleric was also really happy now that he was able to efficiently reach more people per day.

And so the duo had created their own daily routine.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Arthur6239 stopped walking when he spotted Cleric standing in his way. It felt like the small child was glaring at him like a predator that had finally cornered its prey.

The first time they had 'met' was when Cleric almost charged into the bathhouse while he was washing himself. Despite having his clothes on this time, it somehow still felt just as awkward. Not really knowing what to do, he started with a simple greeting, "Hello there! Nice to meet you?"

Cleric didn't move or make any gestures. He just kept staring at him silently.

"Oh, there you are Cleric." Sage called from behind Arthur, "Geez, wait for me next ti- oh hello Arthur."

Occasionally, the pair would split to help more people at once. Although most of time, if they were ever separated, it was probably because Cleric would get distracted by chasing after someone while the Sage was still in the middle of healing.

"Oh hey Sage."

"I'm sure you've heard already but Cleric and I are training our healer skills. Mind if Cleric has a look?" Sage asked.

"Sure of course!" Arthur laughed nervously.

The truth was that Arthur6239 had been feeling unwell for a while now. He frequently woke up tired and found that his stamina would run out quicker than usual. Although, the worst part of it was the constant feeling of wanting to vomit that kept plaguing his throat. No matter how hard he tried to force it out and cough behind people's back, his body never allowed him to let it out.

He never thought that the constant sick feeling of wanting to vomit without being able to do so would be worst than the actual act of vomiting. Out of force of habit, he hadn't told anyone even after the village got healers.

He was slightly intimidated by his first encounter with Cleric but if these two could really make him feel a tiny bit better, that would already be a huge help.

"How's my condition, Doctor?" Arthur asked playfully as he spread his arms in a welcoming manner. He tried his best to not sound super sick.

For the first time in Cleric's life, he didn't move.

Instead, Cleric just stared at him in complete silence.

"..."

"..."

Once again Arthur had no idea what he was suppose to do.

He looked over at the Sage but she seemed equally confused.

Cleric continued staring at Arthur6239, not moving a muscle. With every second that went by, Cleric's stare somehow grew even more intense.

"Umm, Cleric, are you okay? What's wrong?" Sage finally asked.

Cleric turned around... and then walked away.

Arthur and Lily blinked several times.

"Eh? Huh? What? Hmm?" Flabbergasted was a good word to describe the Sage's current expression. It was unusual for Cleric to just seemingly ignore someone like that.

Arthur on the other hand, started looking at the ground with a very depressed and dejected expression.

Lily panicked, "Umm! Wait! Wait! Wait! I- ahh, umm, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding! I- I'll be right back- CLERIC WAIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Arthur6239 found a spot behind one of the houses, away from the others. After making sure no one could possibly hear him, he covered his mouth and started coughing.

There it was again, that intense feeling of wanting to vomit even though nothing wants to come out of his mouth.

At times, he would often try to cough as hard as he could to try force it out but he found that it not only prove ineffective, it would only make him feel worse. So far, he had done a good job at hiding his sickness from everyone. He may be sick but he did have the sheer willpower to hold it in when others were watching.

He was well aware that this was not healthy for him. But in the past, the Reaper once spent four days looking for a doctor because of him getting sick and he has felt bad about it ever since.

Now they did have healers which Arthur placed a little hope in. Although of all things, he definitely did not expect to get rejected like that. He coughed again.

"So you are sick." I whispered into his ear as I leaned over his shoulder.

He involuntarily screamed out loud for the whole village to hear.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

The Scout was relaxing on the roof of one the houses as he always does before he turned his head towards the sound of an Arthur fake screaming. He went to check it out with his invisibility skill still active.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." I apologised.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Arthur replied as he clutched his chest as if he was recovering from a real heart attack.

Putting two and two together, the Scout chuckled as he could only empathise with the poor man.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

I didn't want startle him so I whispered but that might've made it more scarier for him.

Once he recovered from my unintentional jump-scare, I asked, "So how bad is it?"

He paused, scratch his head and avoided eye contact, "Probably just a small flu or something. Just got it this morning."

I eyed him with a neutral expression. He was scratching his head a bit too much.

He probably knew that I wasn't believing him.

"Cleric is ready to see you now." I said.

"Eh?" Arthur looked back at me with a confused look, "Cleric? Wait, what do you mean by ready?"

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Arthur6239 gulped nervously as he looked up at the healer knight. Cleric looked down on him, with his staff in hand.

He had seen Cleric's larger form from a distance before but this was the first time Arthur had seen it this closely.

He definitely preferred the smaller Cleric.

Safe to say, the healer's usual intense stare was a lot more intimidating now. It felt like the healer was about to rob him. Although, he had to admit: the floating, spinning cube on Cleric's staff looked really cool.

Alfred casually sat on top my head as we spectated. Besides the morning healing sessions we have to heal our necks, Cleric usually preferred to heal with his own power and abilities so I was wondering why Cleric randomly requested to use "Iron Switch" with his older brother. To think there was someone so sick that it required Cleric's full attention.

Sage waved awkwardly as she stood next to Cleric with her leviathan staff, "Sorry about earlier, by the way."

"No need to apologise. I'm sorry for misunderstanding." Earlier, Arthur genuinely thought that Cleric just didn't care and now he felt a bit guilty for assuming that.

Cleric rose his staff with his right hand and stabbed it into the ground.

'Cubic Cure.'

The cube on top Cleric's staff started glowing. The glow was silver. It wasn't bright enough to blind you, in fact, it was beautiful to look it. He opened the palm of his left hand which also began glowing. The outline of a second cube started forming within Cleric's left hand. Once the cube was formed, a silver glistening liquid begun filling it up.

It looked like the liquid form of silver coins. It sparkled as the cube held the medicine like a wine glass.

He then handed it to Arthur. The cube wasn't large and perfectly matched the size of Alfred's palm.

"He said drink it." I translated.

Arthur looked at the cube from all angles, "H-how?"

There wasn't any holes in the cube where he could drink it from.

"Put your lips against it and then suck on it."

Arthur leaned forward and practically kissed the cube. He was shocked when he felt the liquid actually go through the cube's wall and down his throat without spilling anything. Although, seconds later he recoiled and placed his hand over his mouth before forcefully swallowing.

The sparkling liquid was beautiful to look at but judging from Arthur's reaction, the taste was probably really awful.

Cleric's stare grew more intense. Arthur didn't need me to translate as he could already guess what Cleric was trying to say to him: "drink all of it."

So he did. He was surprisingly able to drink it all in only a few tries. After getting through the initial taste, Arthur's eyes lit up as he grasped his throat. He felt a sense of relief run down his throat like a calm waterfall washing away his sickness.

Cleric looked over at Sage causing her to flinch, "O-oh! My turn?"

He nodded.

The Sage almost jumped in her spot as she took in a deep breathe. She looked excited. Apparently, there was this new skill she had learned a while ago that she always wanted to use but she never got the chance. Until now, that is.

"Curing Dolphin!"

The ground beneath the Sage's feat begun to form ripples as if she was standing on invisible water.

SPLASH! An air dolphin jumped out of the ground and into the air.

When Cleric's staff shined, he grabbed the attention of anyone who was nearby. However, as soon as the Sage summoned that dolphin, the entire village was watching.

The Samurai smiled.

The Reaper grinned.

The Scout softly clapped even though no one heard him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing just to witness it.

It was the first time anyone here had seen a real dolphin. In fact, most of us didn't even know that dolphins made noises.

The most excited person by far was the Sage herself. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes looked as if they could hold the stars.

The dolphin 'swam' around in the air as if aware of all the people admiring it. It wasn't long till the air dolphin locked onto Arthur as its target. It did a backflip before diving straight towards Arthur.

"Eh?"

He braced himself for the incoming impact. But there was no impact, instead, the dolphin phased right through him as if the dolphin was a ghost with no physical body.

To his pleasant surprise, he felt no pain. On the contrary, he felt a sensation of immense relieve the moment the dolphin swam 'through' his body. The air creature made more dolphin noises before diving back into the ground and disappearing.

Arthur clutched his chest, amazed by how much better he now felt, "Th...t-thank you! Thank you so muc-"

"Once per day."

He turned to look at me, "Huh?"

"Cleric said you'll have to do this once per day for the next two weeks if you want to completely recover." I explained further, "Although it may take longer depending on your recovery rate, said Cleric."

"Oh... Okay then! Yeah, of course." He wasn't complaining, this had already exceeded his initial expectation by tenfold and he was beyond grateful.

"Arthur, according to one of Cleric's skill, your condition was 'very bad'."

Like most skill description, Cleric's analysis skill was vague and used the words "good", "okay", "bad" or "very bad". The only other time he ever saw the words 'very bad' was when the Reaper, Samurai, Sage and I had knives in our throats. Not to say Arthur's sickness may have been equally as bad but definitely something that needed immediate attention.

"If you ever feel sick next time, please tell us. I know you may have done it out of habit but our healers are always happy to help."

Arthur nodded, his expression looked as if an entire burden had been lifted off his shoulders, "Okay! Thank you so much!"

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

"Hey Lily, have you seen Cleric lately?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just did. He went that way with the Sage."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Cleric had grown bigger.

He was now the size of a human toddler and lifting him up required both my hands. The sleeves of his robe was still too long for his arms but at least the lower part of his robe didn't drag across the ground anymore so he could walk a lot easier now.

Alfred was determined to always be the "bigger brother" so whenever he discovered Cleric had grown, Alfred would increase his height so that he was always taller than Cleric by at least a few centre meters.

Cleric, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind so it was quite amusing to watch.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

"Have you seen Cleric lately?" I asked.

"Oh he was just here a moment ago. Want me to call him?"

"No, no. It's okay."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Cleric had learned more new skills during his time here. More improved heal skills and even his analysis skill had levelled up so it gave slightly better descriptions than before. So once again, he approached the Samurai with new hope in his stride.

He stared at the Samurai. The Samurai stared back at him.

Their intense staring contest lasted for only a few moments.

...

...

...

Cleric just started crying.

All his determination. His hope. All gone within seconds of the wind.

The Samurai gave him a warm smile as she gently rubbed the healer's head, "Do not worry, little one. Some things in life are just not meant to be healed."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

"Have you seen Cleric lately?" I asked.

"Yep! Just did. He healed my hiccups and then left before I could even thank him. He went over there in case you were wondering."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

The Sage approached me while carrying Cleric in her arms. He had slumped shoulders and his arms droop over the Sage's arm.

The Sage gently gave Cleric to me and as she did, Cleric immediately fell asleep. I rested him on my lap as I whispered thank you to the Sage.

It was only mid day.

He had clearly overworked himself. He most likely skipped out on a lot sleep just to wake up as early as the others.

Ever since Cleric had grown bigger, he has been coming to me less and less. The increase in stamina and MP must've given him a false sense of security that made him think he could last the whole day.

I hugged him as he slept peacefully slept on my lap. His nap lasted around two hours before he woke up, stretched his arms and immediately begun thinking about the person he was going to check up on.

It took him a full second to realise that he couldn't get up because I hadn't let go of him yet. My arms made sure he couldn't leave straight away this time.

He looked up at me. I looked back at him.

He pointed towards the other villagers and said he wanted to go that way.

"Cleric... do you dislike being with me?"

He shook his head.

"You just really love to help others, huh?"

He nodded.

"But are you sleeping well?"

He flinched which gave me the obvious answer.

I sighed as I stood up and lifted him up with both my hands, still facing him. He looked down at the ground before looking at me. Even after growing up, he was still lot lighter compared to Alfred.

"One day," I tried to sound stern and nice at the same time so it just came out as a weird mix of the two, "One day of no healing per week."

Cleric shivered. The idea sounded horrifying to the boy.

I tried to find the right words to convince him.

"It'll just be one day. A day of rest. A day where you can heal yourself rather than others."

The word 'heal' immediately peaked his interest.

"And if you keep overworking yourself every day, I'll enforce what the humans call a bed time."

Cleric greatly shook his head.

"So do we have a deal?" Perhaps part of my intention was just so I could spend more time with him. Regardless, Cleric definitely needed to rest more considering the workload that he likes to give himself.

He gave it some time to think before nodding yes.

At that moment, something tug my leg. It was Alfred. He saw me carrying Cleric up and now he wanted to be thrown into the air again.

I've said everything I've wanted to so I put Cleric down, watched as the little healer ran off towards his next target before picking up Alfred to throw him up in the air.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Completely forgetting to go find the Sage, Cleric walked around looking for his next patient.

Then he saw someone from a distance. It was someone he knew quite even though he had barely interacted with her before.

The Reaper.

Cleric watched her as the Reaper walked out of the village. This wasn't the first time he had seen the Reaper leave since she was most likely going to the forest. Usually, that would be the end of it but then he saw it...

A cut. A small yet deep red cut on the the Reaper's ankle. It looked new since the blood around it was still bright red. It was a small wound for someone like the Reaper but regardless, it was a wound that cleric couldn't ignore.

"T-Rex incoming!" One of the villagers yelled from the other side of the village, "This one looks a bit different from the other times."

"Alfred! Let's go!" I yelled as we both went to confront it with the Scout's assistance.

Everyone including the Samurai went to watched the T-Rex fight from a safe difference.

Everyone except Cleric.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

From a distance, the Reaper looked back at the commotion caused by the elemental dinosaur.

It was certainly different compared to the other ones they had faced before but the Samurai must've also been watching so the Reaper had nothing to worry about.

After deciding that it was in good hands, she stepped on the dark shadow and sunk into it until she was no longer there.

About 10 minutes later, Cleric found himself staring at the same portal the Reaper just went through.

He had hoped to catch the Reaper before she entered but he was way too slow and late.

He found himself staring at the dark shadow, contemplating what to do.

"Cleric, there's a shadow portal away from town that the Reaper, Alfred and I always use to go to a very dangerous forest. Whatever you do, DO NOT go through it. Under no circumstances are you to use that portal. It leads to a very dangerous place where you could get seriously hurt. Do you understand?"

Those words echoed in his mind as he stared at the portal.

The logical thing to do would've been to just wait till she comes back.

But that deep cut on Reaper's ankle. Cleric felt an intense obligation to heal it as soon as possible. What if it was infected? What if it interfered with the Reaper's hunting?

From Cleric's point of view, it was a temptation he couldn't ignore.

It hadn't been long since the Reaper entered. He'll just quickly go in, heal the cut and then immediately get out...

...

Well...

...

At least, that's what Cleric was thinking when he stepped into the dark shadow.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

It turned out that Cleric was ridiculously observant of the people around him. I slowly begun to notice this behaviour of his after realising that whenever Cleric came to me to recharge, it was always during the exact same time when I usually study my skill tree. He has never once come to me to recharge when I was busy doing something.

Over the many weeks Cleric had stayed here, he seemed to have developed some sort of "schedule" in order to ensure that he can meet and treat as many people as he can every day.

It was amazing to see how consistent he was.

In order to create such a schedule, he would've had to study everyone's else daily routine, what they do throughout the day, their habits and especially their favourite locations to hang out at.

For example, he would specifically go check up on Eve somewhere during mid-day because he knew that by the time he finished checking up on Eve, a pair of Zenos would "coincidentally" walk by so he could easily reach them.

It even reached a point where Cleric begun to study the exact time that certain people would wake up so he would often walk into the huts early in the morning and wait for them to open their eyes. Although, he has unintentionally jump sacred a few people by doing that.

He did have a specific order of people he would see throughout the week. For example, considering the day today and the recent T-Rex attack, Cleric would have stopped by this Elizabeth fake right here.

"Hey Elizabeth." I greeted.

"Oh hey Summoner, great job on defeating that T-rex. It was a completely new type so some of us were a bit worried."

"Thank you, yeah it's always scary versing a monster you know nothing about. Although I will admit that it was very assuring to know that the Samurai was watching the fight."

"Haha, I guess that's true."

"By the way, have you seen Cleric lately?"

"No. No I haven't actually."

I froze. My hands dropped the bucket of water.

Before Elizabeth could ask me what was wrong, I bolted to the next person on "Cleric's list".

"Jack! Have you seen Cleric lately?" I asked, a slight form of panic was slowly taking over.

"No, I have not," He replied, "I may have seen him before the T-rex attack but besides that, no I haven't seen him. Is something wrong?"

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

The Reaper was no where in sight.

The trees were so tall that their branches and leaves lived above the mist.

There wasn't a single thing in Cleric's sight except for those tree trunk. The distant sound of flowing water could be heard.

Seeing that the Reaper was no where to be seen, Cleric decided... to just go back.

The forest looked devoid of any dangerous life but Cleric didn't want to push that luck.

So he turned around, faced the dark shadow portal and stepped-

The sound of water splashing caught his attention.

Was it the Reaper? Cleric asked himself. Without even thinking twice, the small healer walked towards the sound.

He didn't have to walk far to find the source of the water splashing.

It wasn't the Reaper.

It was a green skinned creature. Almost the same size as Cleric but slightly taller. It wore nothing except a loincloth around it's waist and had a pointy nose along with yellow eye balls with no pupils. It was a goblin child from the looks of it. The goblin was severely injured.

It's right arm had been cut and there was blood oozing out of its injury,

It was laying down on its stomach, probably because it was too weak to stand up or even move.

It's right arm was desperately reaching towards the shallow, clean river that was right in front of it as if mocking the injured goblin. Only the globin's finger tips could touch the water. It desperately tried to move forward but ever time it tried, it caused intense agony to the creature. The goblin tried stretching its tongue as far as it could to get a single sip but it wasn't long enough to reach.

It cried out in frustration and pain as it lost more and more blood.

But then it stopped. The goblin stopped when it spotted Cleric walking up to it.

Cleric rose his tiny staff with bright optimism. A bright cube appeared in his glove which he inserted into the Goblin's wound.

He then got another cube and placed it inside the shallow river. The transparent cube absorbed the water into itself until it was full of water. He gave it to the goblin and the goblin gladly ate the water cube.

Cleric then filled up more water cubes to satisfy the goblin's thirst and then activated a few more heal skills that managed to lessen the pain and slightly improve the wound. It was still bleeding and the wound definitely required more treatment but at least the goblin was now strong enough to stand back up.

The goblin smiled while Cleric happily clapped his hands, celebrating that he was able to help another life that was in great danger. He loved that feeling. The feeling of being able to help those in need. Every time the villagers smiled at him with bright appreciation, it always warmed his heart no matter how many times he saw it.

Cleric looked up at the Goblin, wondering what it would do next.

The globin summoned a small wooden club and bashed Cleric in the head.

Cleric fell to the ground, his helmet slightly cracked. The healer was confused, scared, horrified. All these emotions flooding in like waves. He curled into a ball and cried.

The goblin started laughing loudly as it rose its weapon and bashed him again. Then again. Then a third time. It laughed even louder with every strike that crushed Cleric's weak body.

Alfred ran in and swung his giant great sword. The long great sword swiftly sliced the creature's body in half, ending the goblin's life while it still had a grin on its face.

"CLERIC!" I cried out as I ran over to him, "oh god, oh god, oh god!"

He was shivering and crying as I picked him up and wrapped my arms around him. Panicked and not knowing what to do at that moment, I placed my hand over his cracked helmet and rubbed it gently with shaking hands, "Oh god, Cleric. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

It was all I could do. Apologise. Helpless to do anything to help Cleric's injured state. I should've gotten here faster. Instead I second guessed myself. I kept asking everyone whether they had seen Cleric but I never asked them to help me search because I didn't want to worry them. Now look at me, Cleric was my responsibility and it almost led to his death.

Cleric buried his face in my shirt, not saying anything as he continued to cry. I found myself crying as well as I hugged him a bit tighter. Alfred knelt next to us in silence.

"I-it's okay, I'm here now." I said with a shaking voice, "I'm so sorry. It's... ok... it's..."

Then it got worse. So... so much more worse.

Alfred stood up as he saw something flying towards us from above. He stood up to defend us but was shocked to see it was the Reaper. Her body looked limp as she crashed into a tree trunk that was right behind us and landed roughly on the ground.

I took one good look at her. The Reaper had blood flowing down her face and one of her arms looked twisted and broken. Thankfully she was breathing but she looked unconscious with her eyes were half opened.

STOMP! STOMP! The ground shook as the footsteps grew closer and closer.

Alfred stood in front of us raising his great sword.

Emerging from the mist was a giant goblin, almost 100 times larger than the globin Alfred had just killed, if not, larger.

It wore a golden necklace and all sorts of Jewlery around its neck. It was fat yet muscular with a pannus stomach that was the size of five cannon balls combined. Its loincloth had a fancy red and white design to it. Its giant club had a red jewel on the top of it that radiated an ominous glow.

Red text briefly appeared on the top of the monster's head, displaying the words:

Genad: The Goblin Prince

B-Rank

I didn't move as Cleric was still shivering in my arms.

B-rank? Another one? The Reaper and I could barely land a scratch on the last B-rank creature we fought.

What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?

We should run. Get the Reaper and run as far as we can. But my legs. They weren't listening to me. Even if we did run, the moment we turn our backs on that creature, we would be dead anyway right?

With the Reaper unconscious, we would be too slow as well.

Maybe Alfred and I could distract it while Cleric runs back to the village to get help. No... Cleric was in no condition to be running. He wasn't responding and could only tremble as he buried himself in my embrace.

Genad took another step forward.

Not wanting the monster to get too close to Cleric and I, Alfred moved.

Alfred's sword began shining as he sprinted towers the B-rank creature.

Usually I would try stop Alfred from doing something so reckless, but at that moment, no words could escape my mouth. It was strange. This creature was the same rank as Viridescent and yet... I've never felt so motionless. It felt as if, no matter what I did, the result would be the same. Our fight against Viridescent was still terrifying, of course, but seeing this B-rank monster felt so much more pressuring. But why? They're the same rank right?

The monster rose it's club and swung it down at my first knight.

Alfred dropped his sword to decrease his weight and hence increase his speed.

He evaded and Genad's club smashed the glowing sword instead of Alfred which caused the ground beneath me to vibrate.

Since it was his starter weapon, he was able to summoned his iron sword again when he near the monster's leg.

Great Divide! His great-sword glowed brightly as Alfred jumped and slashed the green skinned monster.

His blade bounced off the creature's body.

Genad's skin looked soft and mushy yet Alfred's most powerful skill couldn't pierce the first layer of its skin.

The giant goblin swung its weapon again. Alfred defensively rose his sword to block. Almost instantly within impact, Alfred's great sword shattered into pieces and his body was sent crashing into one of the tree trunks. A large crack appeared on his chest plate.

I needed to fight. I stood up with trembling legs, "Okay Cleric, I need you to run away and..."

Cleric wouldn't let go. He clung to me with a shaky grip as if letting go would mean certain death.

"Cleric... I..." I wanted to say that I needed to fight. That I wanted to protect him. But my legs that could barely stand disagreed with me. I couldn't even step forward when the Goblin looked in my direction. But why? I had faced a B-rank creature before, why was now so different? Was it my guilt? Maybe. I still couldn't believe my carelessness allowed my second knight to almost get killed.

"Cleric please I-"

The Reaper walked past me with blood still flowing down her body and her arm still broken. I stared at her in disbelief as a twisted smile took over her face.

"Bloody Reaper!"

Her shadow jacket wrapped around her entire body and made bone crunching noises before she began to grow in size. She transformed into a dark creature that was almost the same height as the goblin prince.

In this form, she had no other visible body parts besides two floating, skeleton arms that were positioned near by where arms are usually located. They looked detachable. She had no legs creating the image that she was a large ghostly cloak with glowing red eyes. Holding over her shoulder was a giant scythe with a blood red blade.

Now almost the same size, the two large creatures faced off each other.

The Bloody Reaper pulled back her giant weapon and swung it at Genad.

The Goblin prince deflected her weapon with ease.

With her other skeleton harm, Yukari stabbed her bone fingers into Genad's eyes.

Enraged, the giant goblin closed its eyes and blindly swung its club in the Reaper's general direction. The Bloody Reaper flew back to avoid. Her skeleton arms looked detachable because they were detachable.

They flew away from the Reaper's main body, still carrying the giant scythe.

Before the creature could react, the skeleton arms managed to stab the goblin's ear, successfully piercing the skin causing the monster to drop its weapon.

The Goblin roared in anger before it grabbed the skeleton arm that was holding the scythe and snap them into pieces with just its bare hands.

The last remaining arm retreated back to the Bloody Reaper's main body.

The scythe was beginning to form itself again from the red particles that were detaching from the Reaper's main body but the process was slow.

Alfred stood back up and sprinted towards Genad to support the Reaper.

Great Divide! Instead of aiming for the Goblin's body, Alfred aimed for its weapon. The club remained unscratched despite the impact of Alfred's sword but he still managed to knock the weapon out of the goblin's hand.

But even without its weapon, Alfred didn't stand a chance against Genad and was easily blown away by its fist.

The distraction gave the Reaper enough time to regenerate her scythe. Genad reached down to pick up its weapon again which gave the bloody Reaper the perfect chance to strike.

Hollowing Death Bringer!

There she was, swinging her scythe with every intention to kill. Her scythe successfully pierced the giant goblin. The blade sunk deep into its shoulder. Blood burst out of it's body like a broken fountain. Genad let out a loud screech of agony.

The wound was deep and smelled like rotting insects.

The B-rank creature... then glared at the Bloody Reaper with intense furry.

It was a severe injury. But that's all it was. Just an injury. Not enough to kill it. Far from it.

It grabbed the head of the Reaper's large scythe and crushed it within its fist as it picked up its weapon.

Slightly panicked, Yukari flew backwards to retreat and recover. Since she levitated off the ground, she was swift.

But just when she created some distance, Genad leaped towards her. Considering the Goblin's size, it was horrifying to see its feet leave the ground with such ease.

It covered the distance within mere moments and swung its club.

BASH!

While the impact's damage was significantly decreased by its shoulder wound, it was still enough to instantly turn the Reaper back into her orignal form and send her flying. She crashed into a tree and her limp body landed near me.

I stared at the motionless Reaper with incredulous fear. A fear that only escalated when I felt Genad's stare.

With small pieces of metal falling off his armour, Alfred stood by my side, placing a hand on my shoulder.

With a leap like that, escaping from this creature would be near impossible. Unless... if I were to use 'Shield Enhance" combined with "Shield Dash" right when the creature least expects it. Maybe then Alfred could grab the Reaper and Cleric and run away.

I wasn't sure how long I could hold it off but at this point, there were no other options. I gave Alfred that look. Naturally, he was hesitant.

With Cleric still clinging to me, I stood up. My legs still shook as I held the small healer in one arm while the other held my shield.

Genad roared as it started running towards us.

"SHIELD EN-"

"Come on Summoner, let's go home." Said the Reaper as she began limping towards the exit. She spoke softer than she usually does and yet we both heard her very clearly. The moment she spoke, both Alfred and I immediately turned our heads to stare at her back out of reflex.

"W-what?" I asked.

It was then I noticed that the only reason why I heard the Reaper's voice even though she was speaking softly was because everything around us had became eerily silent.

My knight and I turned our heads back, only to see that the B-rank goblin had completely vanished from our sight. Even its blood that had splattered all over the ground had disappeared. All that was left... was the tall, skinny yet ominous tree trunks and the thick mist that always haunted this forest.

"Shouldn't we be worried?" My voice trembled with uncertainty, "This is where we get our food. What if we bump into it aga-"

The Reaper slowly turned her head to look at me. She had a distant look on her bloody face, "Have you already forgotten where we are right now?"

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Genad looked around in furry, still clutching the deep bloody wound in its shoulder that was healing slower than a slime's speed. It's injured ear was also still bleeding so its hearing was also messed up.

It was so close to smashing and devouring its prey when the mist suddenly surrounded them. Within a second, the fakes were gone and the goblin prince was now alone.

The giant creature aimlessly walked through the mist. Occasionally it would smash one of the trees down out of frustration due to the pain it was feeling. This only exacebrated its wounds.

Due to how fresh its injury was, Genad left a trail of blood as it walked. But since the creature never looked back, it never noticed that the blood trail it left behind would vanish from sight, as if the mist was consuming it.

The Goblin Prince saw a shadow in the distant mist. This shadow almost looked like Genad and was copying its movements. So Genad tried walking towards the distant shadow.

Eventually it reached an opening where the mist was gone and a perimeter of trees surrounded the area like a wall.

In the middle of this opening was a hill. A hill surrounded by a shallow river.

On the top of that hill... was another large creature.

"He doesn't like it when other monsters enter his territory." Said the Reaper.

A creature with six arms.

A creature with furry legs and hooves.

A creature with the torso of a human and the head of a dear.

A creature with an army of monsters behind it.

Consumed by rage, the injured Genad screamed before it leaped towards the dear headed creature, swinging its club.

Viridescent pulled back all six of its arms, gathering energy for a triple palm strike.

Genad: The Goblin Prince

vs

Viridescent: Watcher Of The Forest

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Alfred and I stared silently at Yukari.

"Hey Summoner, could you ask Cleric to heal my-" The Reaper stopped talking when she saw the shivering Cleric who was clinging to my shirt and refusing to even show his face.

I silently looked down at Cleric before helplessly looking back at the Realer's broken arm, the blood flowing down her face and the way her legs trembled where she stood.

"Forget it. I'll just ask the Sage." Said the Reaper as she continued limping towards her shadow portal.

I tried to get Alfred to hold Cleric so I could go help the Reaper but my healer knight refused to let go.

Understanding how his brother must've had felt, Alfred walked ahead to give the Reaper some assistance. Alfred was injured as well but he still had the strength to support someone. Placing her arm over Alfred's shoulder, the Reaper and Alfred continued on while I followed behind them.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Emerging from the portal, we noticed how the distance between us and the village suddenly looked a lot further than usual despite the portal being in the same place it has always been in.

I told Alfred to wait while I sprinted as fast as I could towards the village to call the others for help.

After bringing the news, the Samurai swiftly bolted out the hut and went straight towards the pair. After Alfred gently handed Yukari's limp body to her, the Samurai carried the Reaper in her arms and brought her inside.

Alfred was hurt but he insisted that the Reaper needed more treatment than him so we told the Sage to only focus on Yukari and Cleric. The Sage used every heal skill she could while greatly panicking. She was understandably even more stressed and worried since she didn't have Cleric helping her this time.

A lot of people, including the Scout, crowded around the hut to watch. Even Eve9654 who would usually lecture us on something like this was silent. I could only watch helplessly as Cleric remained in my arms, still silently crying.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Cleric didn't do his usual health check-ups on anyone for the next few days. He never left my side and his head often remained buried in my shirt, refusing to even show his face to anyone.

Everyone expressed their concerns but they respected his wish to be left alone.

Alfred, in his smaller form, had tried several times to cheer up his young brother by either using his fork and knives, showing off some cool sword poses or by simply patting his head. Although, none of it seemed to work. Maybe Cleric just needed time.

It was about night time as I silently leaned against the outside wall of the hut. I was looking up at the stars. Cleric wasn't. He still had his head facing towards me. My arms were gently wrapped around him to give him whatever comfort I could.

Alfred wasn't looking at the sky and was instead patting Cleric on the head when the healer started trembling again. Ever since the goblin incident, he would cry like this from time to time.

This whole time I could never find the right words to say to him. Seeing him cling to me as if I was his last source of comfort made me feel unforgivable. Do I even deserve to be his guardian at this point?

A gentle hand place itself on my shoulder. The Samurai knelt besides me while softly rubbing my shoulder.

"It is only naturally to feel responsible for an incident like that but allow me to tell you this..." The Samurai began as she sat down next to me, "Most parents in your shoes would've taken at least a whole day to realise something was wrong. Even when Cleric was always off doing his own thing, I could tell you were observing him closely. Your vigilance and careful attention to detail saved his life. So do not be too hard on yourself...ok?"

"... yeah."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

The Reaper woke up. She was bandaged pretty heavily which wasn't a surprised. She looked around with her eyes and saw that she was laying down on a mat under the roof of one of the huts. It was early in the morning but the people who usually slept here probably moved in order to give the Reaper space so she was alone. Well... At least, it looked like she was alone.

"Here to lecture me again?" The Reaper asked.

After turning off his invisibility skill, it was revealed that the Scout had been sitting next to Yukari this whole time.

"That's Eve's job." He said with the same voice of the original hero Arthur, "She won't let you hear the end of it after this."

"Can you tell her I'm on the verge dying?"

"She won't believe that... you've used that lie too many times."

"Good point."

There was a brief moment of steady silence that went by before the Scout spoke again, "I was told you fought a B-rank monster again."

"That I did."

"Of course you did... You should've ran when you saw it."

"And let Viridescent kill it before I get the chance to try? How could I?"

"I honestly can't believe you sometimes."

The Reaper would've laughed if it didn't hurt so much. Another blanket of silence fell on top the two fakes. Within the sanctuary of silence, there was a soft whisper that emerged:

"You ok?"

The Reaper smiled, "I'll be fine."

Another moment of comfortable silence flew by.

Yukari aimlessly stared at the ceiling, thinking deeply about her most recent fight.

The Scout aimlessly stared at the wall, thinking deeply about how the Reaper was such a-

"Reckless bamboo."

"Antisocial creep."

"Psychotic clown."

"Perverted stalker."

The Scout paused for a moment, "... I do not stalk people-"

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"It's called people watching."

"Which is another word for stalking."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You do."

"I do not."

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

Upon entering the hut, Cleric revealed his face to look. It was the first time he had done that outside of eating times.

He inspected the Reaper's injuries for a brief moment before burying his face in my shirt once again.

The Reaper's eyes were closed but she opened her mouth the moment I entered:

"If you want someone to blame. It was my fault."

"..."

"How's the scardy cat doing?"

"You should be more worried about yourself," I said as I sat down and leaned against the wall, "How are you feeling?"

"Oww."

"I see."

I slowly placed the food and water that I had brought near the Reaper's head.

"You got questions, don't you? Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere so ask away."

I came here, ostensibly to deliver her lunch but she saw straight through me.

So I went straight to the point, "Our confrontation with the Goblin Prince got me thinking about Viridescent again."

"Oh really?" Yukari asked even though she probably already knew I was going to question her on this subject. She opened her eyes but remained staring at the ceiling.

"I've never heard you refer to Viridescent as a "he" before. You used to say 'it'. Why the change?"

The Reaper chuckled. If it didn't hurt to laugh, I imagined she would've burst out laughing like a maniac.

"You really do have a sharp observation for such seemingly pointless details." The Reaper commented.

"Is it pointless though?"

The Reaper paused for a moment until she finally answered, "I don't know. I seriously have no idea why. Ever since then, it just felt like... he was always a "he"... even though that was the first time I referred to him as such..."

She wasn't lying. At least I don't think she was. What reason would she have to lie over something like that? Or maybe she got smashed in the head real bad.

"Next question?"

"You once said that if we attacked Viridescent, he wouldn't hesitate to kill us."

"Did I say that?"

"Yes. You did."

The Reaper giggled like a child. Getting bashed in the head by a giant club must've messed her up a lot.

"I mean, he was pretty close to killing us, right?" argued the Reaper.

"But would he?"

Another pause.

I expanded the question, "Let's say the Scout wasn't there to save us and we truly had no way of escaping. Would Viridescent have actually killed us back then?"

"..." The Reaper continued staring at that ceiling but there was a subtle change in her expression when she replied, "I don't know."

I eyed the meat and water that I placed near the Reaper's side, they were still untouched, "I always found it strange how the forest can be completely devoid of monsters especially during times when we're finished "hunting". You call it hunting but... That creature is simply feeding us... isn't he?"

The Reaper shrugged with a smile that hid a different emotion. Whether it was curiosity or confusion, I wasn't sure.

"I don't know."

"..."

"..."

"You were looking for Viridescent again, weren't you."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I'm not so sure myself. Am I curious? Frustrated? Trying to get stronger? I don't actually know..." Perhaps this wasn't the best time to ask the Reaper these types of questions. Maybe I should've waited until after she recovered.

She continued, "Did you know that I've only met Viridescent a total of three times. The third time was with you. The second time was when I first challenged him but as for the first time..."

...

...

The younger Reaper ventured into the misty forest.

She found it strange that it was empty despite the fact that it was filled with monsters yesterday.

Then she saw it. A giant, B-ranked, slime monster. It looked as if the slime creature was made out of pure acid. Any water, grass or dirt that it slide over would turn pitch black. The slime creature would walk straight through the tree instead of going around them. It was as if the slime was consuming them. Although, the rest of the tree would mysteriously remain floating in the air despite missing its lower trunk.

The Reaper raised her scythe with eyes that hungered for battle but before she could do anything, Viridescent emerged from the mist and with one powerful strike from three arms, the slime monster was obliterated. Bits and pieces of its acid body fell over the trees and ground, only to be consumed by the mist.

The Reaper fell back upon the impact of the strike, staring at the dear headed creature.

That was when Viridescent spotted her. But instead of attacking, the creature just stared at her.

For a brief moment, neither of them did anything. But then the creature turned around and simply disappeared into mist.

Sitting there, almost speechless, the Reaper only had one thought running through her mind at that moment, "Was it mocking me? Why you cocky, little basta-"

...

...

I couldn't help but show a deadpanned expression when she said the last a bit.

"He felt... familiar, for some reason... it felt as if... I already knew who he was even before my first encounter with him," The Reaper frowned. It seemed like she was questioning every word that left her own mouth.

I eyed the Reaper's expression carefully. She wouldn't lie about something like this so it wasn't that I didn't believe her. It's certainly not the weirdest thing I've ever heard but it was peculiar. Considering how much that creature likes to shroud himself in mystery, I didn't really expect solid answers anyway.

"One more question..."

"Mhn?"

"Hypothetically, lets say you were strong enough to overpower Viridescent... would you have actually killed him?"

"No." Her answer came in a whole lot quicker than I expected.

"But you fed him poison."

The Reaper grinned while giggling again, "Oh yeah... I did... Didn't I...hehe... hehehehe..."

Perhaps it would be best to let her rest for now.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

A few more weeks went by with Cleric still recovering from the Goblin incident. While he didn't cry as much anymore, he still wanted to be close to me at all times no matter what.

Morning turned to evening as I was inside one of the house, holding a sleeping Cleric in my arms. Alfred, in his smaller form, suddenly entered the house with his head held high and his posture filled with overflowing confidence.

In his hands were a bunch leaves and a few sticks he must've found randomly on the ground.

Those leaves he was holding. They weren't ordinary leaves. They looked too clean to be regular leaves. I know this because they looked exactly like the type of leaves that the Scout always uses to communicate with everyone.

Alfred happily displayed the leaves towards his sibling. Look brother! Brother look! Look at this! Alfred kept repeating as he jumped up and down.

Cleric slowly turned his head away from me to observe what Alfred wanted to show him.

Alfred dumped all the leaves down and then picked up one of the random sticks before posing with it as if it was his sword.

He then laid down and started "drawing" on one of the leaves with the stick. Wherever the wooden stick touched, it would leave a clear, dark mark allowing Alfred to draw pictures on the leaves.

You usually can't do this with regular leaves, especially with just a stick. This would explain how the Scout usually writes his "leaf messages".

Alfred drew what i assume was suppose to be him, Cleric and I holding hands together, although, it was very hard to tell.

Cleric didn't move but he kept staring at Alfred's drawing, curious but still a bit shy.

"Want to have a go?" I said with a soft tone so that he wouldn't feel pressured.

My heart warmed up a little when Cleric nodded yes. I gently placed him down next to Alfred who gladly gave the small healer a stick for him to draw with.

I laid down on my stomach with my chin resting on my arms as I gleefully watched my two little knights draw whatever pictures came to their mind.

They drew suns, stars, houses, people, weapons and Alfred even drew himself defeating a bunch of monsters.

Whenever they ran out of leaves to draw on, Alfred would run outside, stretch his tiny arms towards the sky and more leaves would magically fall on top of him. I'll be sure to give thanks to the Scout after this.

So my two knights spent the rest of the day drawing and comparing their art pieces while also showing them to me, asking for my opinion. They both had a lot of fun.

As Cleric was busy drawing this one picture in particular, I patted Alfred on the head, whispering to him, "Good job."

Later on, when it felt like the right time, Alfred started teaching Cleric about monsters and how it's in their nature to attack most things that move. He had heard about Cleric wanting to heal the injured Golbin and must've been afraid that he might do it again.

But Alfred and I were both shocked when Cleric told us that he already knew that.

Cleric already knew that most monsters were bad... he just thought that by saving its life... the Goblin might've had, in his own words, 'a change of heart'.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

People were glad to see Cleric slowly open himself up again. While he still didn't want to leave my side or do his every day checkups that he used to enjoy doing, he no longer hid his face and would wave to others if they ever said hi.

Then one day, some of the villagers conjured a "plan".

One Aria, two Lilys and one Jack fake were all huddled in a circle, whispering to each other. They had specifically picked this spot because it was right near the hut where I was resting with my two knights.

Cleric and Alfred were busy drawing while I watched the group outside. They were clearly plotting something and I was curious as to what they were going to do.

After they were ready, they got into their "positions" even though Cleric wasn't even outside to see what they were doing.

Aria and Jack both walked and then 'accidentally' bumped into each other.

"Oh no, I tripped and hurt myself," The Aria fake said with the most atrocious acting I had ever heard, "now my knee really, really hurts. Owww..."

"Owww, my head," Jack groaned with acting skills that were just as bad as Aria, "feels like that's gonna leave a big painful bruise."

"Oh dear," The fake Lily 'cried' out, "these people are hurt and the Sage is too busy healing the Reaper!"

Cleric's head perked up.

"If only there was another, talented, amazing, healer in town who could help these poor idiots with their injuries."

"Oi, what did you just call us?"

"Shush."

I guess they were all just really awful at acting in general.

Other nearby neutrals stopped what they were doing to watch the spectacle. They all wondered the same thing, "what in the world are those guys doing?"

The other Lily fake who was with them, covered her face as the second hand embarrassment was clearly getting to her.

Although something they said must've triggered something because for the first time in a while, Cleric pulled out his signature healing staff.

Alfred and I watched with relieved expressions as Cleric paced out of the door.

To say that the fakes outside felt dumb for acting out their drama play would be an understatement. But once they saw Cleric exit the hut by himself, holding his tiny staff, it all became worth it.

Everyone who was watching all clapped and expressed their relief for his recovery.

The Aria and Jack fake who pretended to get hurt to lure Cleric outside laughed as they got ready for their health check ups.

However, Cleric walked right passed them. Completely ignoring them.

"Eh?" They blinked in confusion.

Even Alfred and I were puzzled.

All that acting and Cleric completely ignores them.

It was slightly concerning but once we saw the direction Cleric was heading towards, we all smiled.

...

-I-I-I-I-

…

I could imagine the amount of relief the Sage must've felt when she saw Cleric enter the hut, triumphantly holding up his staff.

Lily, who was in the middle of healing a sleeping Reaper, let out an excited cheer for my second knight, "Welcome back, partner!"

...

...

End Chapter

...

...

(There's a bonus scene after the author's note, feel free to skip to it)

Chapter 2 has been edited. Here are the list of changes.

Chapter 2 Patch Notes:

- Made a few changes to the beginning exposition dump about the "Great Demonic War". Things were cut out and and some things were added. A few name drops were added: "The 66 Apostles", the original hero Elizabeth, The original Arthur, general Enri, "The Fake Massacre". I tried making it shorter but it's pretty much the same but reworded.

- I added this line: "The human king was brutally murdered during the slaughter."

- I added this line: "It's important to note that the nine heroes attacked the Demon Lord as soon as they saw him activating the curse. Most of the heroes were convinced that the curse must've simply malfunctioned due to their interruption."

- Before the fakes existed, they were named "The Nine Heroes" before they were eventually renamed "The Nine Original Heroes"

- Even though it's implied, I forgot to mention the fact that the MC's wings disappear after the reset so I added that.

- I rephrased a lot of lines and pieces of dialogue between the MC and the father of the church.

- When the main character exits the church, a leaf slaps her in the face. This is to foreshadow the fact that the Scout did try to communicate with her but failed due to harsh winds.

- Fixed more typos and rephrased a few lines. Should still mean the same but more cleaner. I tried removing a few lines but the word count is pretty much the same.

- Fixed some formatting.

- Small detail changed at the end of chapter. Before, when the skill tree ask her "Activate skill?" the main charatcer had to physically click "yes" with her finger but I changed it so that she only had to 'mentally' click it with her head.

If you're reading this, as always thank you so much for getting this far and I hope there will be many more chapters to come. Anyways, here's the bonus scene.

...

...

Bonus Scene

...

...

We must've been really bored at that time.

"Alright, you can look now." Said one of the Aria fakes.

Someone noticed that Alfred and Cleric had the ability to perfectly distinguish me from the other Aria fakes even if they were only looking at our backs. To test this, we gathered every single Aria fake in the village and played a mini game with them.

Basically, we would cover our numbers by using cloth and random pieces of clothing before shuffling me into a line of 5 or more Aria fakes with all our backs facing my two knights. After shuffling, Alfred and Cleric would have to point out which one is me.

9 rounds we played and 9 times my knights got it exactly right. To everyone's bewilderment, they never even stopped to think about it. They would open their eyes, take a brief moment to search, and then point directly at me no matter how buried I was amoung the crowd of Aria fakes.

For the tenth round and last round, we decided to try something different without telling Alfred or Cleric.

"Alright, you can look now."

When Alfred and Cleric turned to look at the crowd of Aria fakes, they were confused for a few moments. Although, it didn't take long for them to spot me hiding amoung the spectators. They immediately ran up to me. Cleric hugged my left leg while Alfred jumped on my right and even started climbing it a bit.

Everyone laughed while the Aria fakes all gave up.

"Is it a skill?" I asked my two knights.

They shook their heads, saying no.

"So how then?"

They shrugged. In their own words, they said "we just know."

...

This chapter was finished on the 19/04/2023