“Haa… Haaa…”

Arnold walked down the second floor hallway with heavy breaths.

His stamina was all but gone now. He wanted to take a long bath and go to bed so that he can sleep for an entire day.

‘Everything hurts.’

He collapsed in front of the door of his room. He tried moving his left arm.

He could close his fist properly but he couldn’t exert a lot of strength. The good news was that the pain was completely gone. Arnold unwrapped the bloody bandages to take a look at his wound.

The wound was completely closed. There was still a strange yellow glow under his skin which was probably the golden rod that Rafaela put it there.

‘…So tired…’ Arnold’s eyes felt heavy and he couldn’t think straight.

He closed his eyes to sleep. The fact that he was sitting on the cold hard floor didn’t register in his tired mind.

“—You can’t sleep in the middle of the hallway, mortal.”

“….Mn?” Arnold opened one of his eyes to look up to Rafaela who spoke to him. He didn’t even hear her approach him. Did he fall asleep that quickly?

“Get up.” Arnold could see a long pair of milky white legs in front of him.

Rafaela’s short beige skirt was the only thing keeping him from seeing her panties. He begged for a small gust of wind to blow by.

Arnold groaned as he got up. He suddenly felt two small hands grab him.

“I was just about to come find you…” Arnold said before yawning loudly. Rafaela frowned.

‘I know it’s bad manners but I can’t help it.’

“It didn’t look that way to me. Forget it. I wanted to come heal your injuries. What do you need?”

The two entered the room. It was rather spacious. Of course, it was much smaller than his bedroom in the Berkley Castle.

“You need to cover Kalda’s body with a blanket soaked in holy water to prevent her soul from slipping away.”

As mentioned before, even a fragment of the soul is enough to give as an offering. The rest of the soul will find its way back to that fragment. It varies how long it takes so the person who wants Kalda’s soul might have to go look for the fragments on their own. In Kalda’s case, she didn’t need her soul back, unlike… Nait. Which means that it doesn’t matter how long it takes.

If this mysterious “First of Its Kind” entity wanted the soul then it’s likely that it knows the abovementioned as well. As such, there should be nothing wrong with presenting a fragment of Kalda’s soul. Unless said person is extremely impatient to have the entire soul.

“It will be a long process. It may take up to a day or more to make the holy water.”

Rafaela helped Arnold climb onto the bed.

Arnold grunted.

“Alright then… For now, bring me a piece of paper and a pen.”

“I have some paper here,” Rafaela rummaged in her bag, “What do you need it for?”

“I need Tanaera to draw what I’m going to draw right now. She should use her mana instead, though. Speaking of Tanaera… Where is she?”

Rafaela looked at Arnold silently before speaking, “She shut herself in one of the rooms.”

“What? Just when we needed her? Bring her here.”

“She said that she doesn’t want to speak to anyone right now… much less you.”

“….”

“I know why you did what you did but it seems that she’s finding it hard to accept,” Rafaela approached Arnold who was sitting on the bed, she stood between his legs and placed her hands on his head, “If anything, you saved her life by almost sacrificing your own.”

“…..”

A green light surrounded Arnold’s head. His headache slowly calmed down.

“Your injuries won’t heal with just a simple healing spell. I’ll need to prepare a ritual to cast a Greater Holy Spell on you tomorrow. I’ll get started after I’m done with the making of the holy water. It’s best to rest for now. I’ll bring you some food later.”

“…Yeah…” Arnold began drawing on the paper when Rafaela stepped back.

“What is that called?” Rafaela asked curiously.

“It’s a Greater Rune used for sealing apparitions. It works for all types of energy. Rune circles are what people used to cast magic back when magic circles were still mystery to people. The only requirement for rune magic is that you understand the letters of the Rune Table.”

The Rune Table is similar to the alphabet, only there were over 200 letters and symbols. 110 of which were Great Runes.

“What can one do with rune magic? I’m not that well-versed in magic other than arcane.”

“You can control the weather, move tectonic plates, and cover the sun with a false moon for example. There are many other uses but all of them effect the world in some way. While there exists magic spells that can do the same, the effects are miniscule compared to what a greater rune can do.”

“Why does a warrior know so much about the runes? Only mages and priests typically learn them in their arcane and divine studies.”

“…I’m trying to use magic in my martial arts which is why I’m studying in my spare time. But it’s going to be hard to do that since I can’t even cast simple fireballs with my little mana.”

“A magic swordsman, is it? I’ve read about them in my master’s books but I’ve never encountered them during my travels. While it’s rare for me to stray from my intended path, I do sometimes visit settlements to enjoy a variety of food. I’ve seen many magic academies. If you want to increase your mana pool then why not enroll in one of them? There are several worlds with academies that offer short courses.”

“….I’ll think about magic when I get my hands on the book.”

Arnold then said, “I’m done with the rune” before handing it to Rafaela.

“…These are quite odd and complex formulas. An average scholar could never decipher this.”

“If Tanaera can’t understand it then she should get to studying them. There are 200 formations under this single rune so she should get started right away.”

Arnold gave the paper to her. She put it into her bag.

Formations are patterns of magic circles imbedded within greater runes. Think of it like magic circles of normal spells stuffed into a single rune.

Mastering rune formations is a considerably hard thing to do. Only wizards and scholars are able to decipher and control greater runes at will.

While greater runes are definitely superior to magic in some ways, there are a few areas where they lack when compared to modern day magic.

First: They consume too much mana. Even more than it should.

Second: The caster should control the rune, supply mana to it, aim the spell, and hold the formations to maintain the rune. Unlike great runes, magic circles allow you to share burdens during a spell cast with other mages. All of the above can be performed by several other mages if it’s modern day magic.

One area where rune spells are superior to magic spells is their invulnerability to antimagic. Antimagic is the study of breaking formula circles used in arcane magic, to stop mana from supplying mana to spells, which in turn break the entire spell. Rune magic has no such weakness despite its many flaws.

Rafaela stopped healing Arnold’s head. She took out a clean bandage which she wrapped around his head.

“You should rest. Don’t go anywhere while in this state. You lost a part of your skull, leaving your brain exposed and prone to internal bleeding. If you need to go to the toilet then get up slowly. We don’t want your brain to hit your skull from standing up too fast.”

She stood up after she was finished and was just about to head out.

“Rafaela.” Arnold called out to her.

“What?”

“Would it kill you to call me by my name?”

“…Why is that important? Besides, I’m sure I’ve called you by name before.”

“I don’t remember you doing that, though.”

She probably did but his memory was fuzzy from the head injury.

“…..” Rafaela turned around and faced the door. She stood there for a few seconds before silently opening the door.

Before leaving the room, she said softly: “Rest well… Arnold…”

Arnold chuckled and fell back onto the bed.

His body felt ten times heavier when he released all that pressure that he’s been holding in.

A long sigh came out of him before he drifted off to sleep. He was too tired to do anything else.

◇

….

….

Everything was dark.

Despite this, Arnold could turn his head.

There was a sound that was coming far in the distance.

A hum.

From where, he wondered.

There!

Arnold could pinpoint where it was coming from but it sounded so far away.

But wait…

It got closer, as if the person humming was approaching him.

It was a woman’s hum.

He couldn’t quite grasp what song this woman was humming to.

-~~~

The humming got closer and closer.

-~~~

It sounded as if was right next to his ear.

A shadowy figure with white glowing eyes emerged when he squinted his eyes. It was in the shape of a human.

A pair white wings came out of the figure’s back. The light emanating from the glow of her wings blinded Arnold.

‘!’

The darkness vanished and Arnold opened his heavy eyes.

Why did he still hear humming? He looked towards the source of the humming.

‘…A woman?’

There was a young woman with blonde hair smiling down on him. Her seductive, cat-like golden eyes looked at him gently and her smile oozed warmth. Her revealing dress seemed like it might burst from containing her massive bosom. One could tell from looking at her wide hips and thin waistline that she was well-endowed even without her standing up.

Who’s this woman, wondered Arnold.

The woman suddenly stood up and leaned over him with her hair tickling his face. Her swaying breasts hit his chest. He could feel the softness and heaviness of her bosom.

Naturally, he got hard instantly.

Her face got closer. Her red lips puckered.

….

Arnold’s eyes suddenly shot open.

“What the…”

‘Was I dreaming just now?’

The woman was nowhere to be seen. It was like she was never here.

Arnold noticed that his head wasn’t hurting anymore, nor were his other injuries.

He took out his pocketwatch.

It was currently early morning.

Arnold looked towards the table next to the bed.

He could see a silver tray.

‘Rafaela said that she’ll bring me food. Maybe she used some healing magic while I was sleeping?’

But he recalled her saying that she’ll need to prepare to cast a holy magic spell since conventional healing spells won’t do the trick. Holy magic is cast using pure divinity, which has immensely better healing properties than healing spells cast with mana.

‘It wasn’t her who healed me. Also, there’s no way I healed this quickly on my own. Then…’

Could it have been that blonde-haired beauty?

“Who was she anyway?”

Arnold stood up and stretched. His body felt much better thanks to that mysterious person who he assumed healed him.

Arnold noticed that a fresh pair of clothes was sitting on the chair in front of his bed. The clothes were even ironed neatly. He looked down at his clothes which had multiple tears. There were quite a few holes that weren’t fixable.

He picked up the clothes. It was a simple long sleeve white shirt with a pair of black pants. He looked inside to check the size. Coincidentally enough, it matched his usual size.

‘Did someone measure me in my sleep…?’

Arnold took off his old clothes and threw them aside.

He stood there in the mirror, looking at himself.

“Hmm… I lost some muscle.” He muttered as he flexed his arm. His abs and biceps were almost unnoticeable.

“Should I start exercising again?”

The last time he even did simple pushups was when his training with Sebastian concluded a year ago. Sebastian told him to keep training his body but he obviously didn’t listen.

Besides, he was already strong. What good is physical exercise if he can easily lift up to ten tons without reaching his limit? He could lift even more with aura.

A knock came from the door while Arnold was putting on the clothes.

-“Are you awake, Lord Arnold?”

‘Is that Caerwyn?’

He recalled that pink haired woman’s face when he heard that familiar voice.

“…I’m busy.”

-“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just wait. I’ll be done in a minute.”

Arnold finished buttoning up his shirt and tucking it in his pants. He grabbed one of the sandwiches that was sitting on the silver tray and ate it.

‘I hope there’s more than just sandwiches. I’m starving.’

Fighting with your life on the line can make anyone hungry. Not just that, but a warrior needs to eat a lot more than a normal human.

Arnold opened the door after he finished eating two more sandwiches.

“Good morning!” Caerwyn greeted him cheerfully.

“?” Arnold looked her up and down, “…Why are you wearing a maid outfit?”

She was wearing the same maid outfit that Rafaela wore back then.

“I volunteered to serve you so I needed the proper uniform for the job!”

“Is that Rafaela’s?”

“Yes. She gave it to me earlier. Apparently she has more so she said that I can keep this one!”

‘Why does she have more of these outfits? Is human fashion that interesting?’

It wasn’t even fashion, just a profession. Of course, there are many different types of maid uniforms. Some are cute, formal or elegant, while others are revealing and lewd.

What was once a profession solely for working purposes turned into a fetish for humans.

One of Lufulur’s guildmates dressed all their female homunculi in maid uniforms of all sorts. The uniforms didn’t even have any specific use besides satisfying that pervert’s fantasies. Not just that but the guild member even changed the dialogue settings on the NPCs to mimic the sham of a cute act you can often find in maid cafés all around Earth.

Hearing “I love Master, nyaan”, “With this heart, let this food taste gyoood~”, “D-Does Master really wuv Kitty~?” and all sorts of other annoying dialogue almost made Lufulur kick the guild mate out and sell the NPCs for scraps on the Star Shop.

‘I’m glad he’s not here to meet Rafaela.’

Both of them seem to be enthusiasts on this sort of thing, as odd as that seems.

“Where is Rafaela?”

“She’s in the bathroom preparing the holy water as you ordered, Lord Arnold.”

‘Why the bathroom?’

“And Tanaera?”

“She’s still in her room.”

“Alright. Take me to her. Has she left the room at all since yesterday?”

“No, she hasn’t left the room even after being called for breakfast two hours ago. I passed by her room earlier and noticed that the food I brought her was still there. I’m not sure why but she refuses to even answer the door. Going there will be pointless if the person herself won’t let anyone in.”

“I need to tell her something important.”

“Oh… Then please follow me.” Caerwyn left the room.

Arnold followed after her.

The two walked in silence for a moment before Arnold decided to break the ice. He spoke to Caerwyn’s back as the two walked.

“Listen—I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Caerwyn stopped.

“What’s there to apologize for? Everyone forgives you for they know the power that Kalda wields—wielded, I mean. She can control your every action and you will never know what you did during the mind control. She did it to me once. I couldn’t remember a thing once the control wore off.”

“That’s the thing… I was conscious the whole time. I could see what I was doing.”

“...Is that why you shot yourself in the head? It wasn’t unintentional?”

“….I saw an opportunity and took it,” he said while looking at his left hand.

This might sound crazy but he was actually glad that his arm was broken.

“Look, what I’m trying to say is: I know everything that I did while Kalda was controlling me. This is why I wanted to apologize.”

He's not the type of person to apologize often. This time it wasn’t even his fault but still he felt bitter knowing such a thing could’ve been avoided.

Caerwyn turned around. She tilted her head.

Her expression remained unchanging from that cheery girl who greeted him in his room.

“I understand.”

“So, do you forgive me?”

“What’s there to forgive? That wasn’t Lord Arnold, after all. The one responsible for causing all that suffering is dead. One strike to the heart. She didn’t experience the suffering she had caused others. No, no, no. She died quickly. I wanted to kill her in her sleep so much—”

“Caerwyn, uh, can we get a move on?”

“Yees~ Lord Arnold~!” Caerwyn cheerfully shouted before walking away.

‘What dangerous thoughts.’

“How is everyone doing?” Arnold asked when he caught up to her.

“All of us were injured in that battle. But that’s a price we paid for wanting to save Lady Siana.”

“Why did all of you decide to travel alongside Sceptim and Siana?”

Why did they risk their lives just to protect one woman?

“Personally, it was the restrictions we had placed on us by society and our kingdom. Every citizen of our kingdom despised anything that was out of the norm for them. Magic was deemed witchcraft and those practicing it are executed in extreme cases. The Elves and fairies fell victim to genocide. Forests began to wither in their absence. What’s funny is that they blamed magic for it. They called it the ‘Arcane Curse’ born from the hatred of the creator of magic—whoever that might be.”

“Sounds like your people were all kinds of crazy.”

“Yes, I devoted myself to helping others as a mercenary back then. Fighting was my only purpose. That was until I met Master Sceptim. He was known as our kingdom’s strongest knight, a force to he reckoned with.” There was a sparkle in Caerwyn’s eyes.

“You seem to admire him.”

“I do… He was the one who helped me become what I am today. If I hadn’t accepted his lessons then I would’ve been dead already. Our journey through hundreds of worlds was no walk in the park. We encountered many dangers. But we managed to survive thanks to Master Sceptim. Were it not for his leadership and strength then most of us wouldn’t have made it this far.” She continued, “I’m not sure why the others followed Her Majesty. I began serving when Master Sceptim offered me a position in his unit. I only began seeing what kind of person Her Majesty is when I became a captain. There are currently four captains out of the original 200 knights.

Seeing the kinds of things she’d do for the misfortunate and helpless folk… It made me admire her. She could brave stormy waters in nothing but a paddle boat just to deliver a loaf of bread to a starving family.”

“…Quite the stretch.”

Caerwyn laughed, “Believe me, I’ve seen her do far worse things just to help people. Despite how kind she was… everything and everyone changed when they found out about her power.”

“Soul powers are considered a gift in my world. I only know a few people who inherited those kinds of powers from their ancestors.”

There was Shirley whose ability to turn into a Divine Beast is also considered a soul power.

“It seems every world is different.”

The two of them descended the stairs in the great hall where the battle took place.

Arnold stopped to take a look around when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

He could see people using magic to carry away debris. One of them was also repairing a pillar with restoration magic. All signs of damage was quickly repaired with different kinds of utility magic.

“They’re already rebuilding?”

“Her Majesty wants everything fixed before we transfer ownership of this palace to Lord Arnold.”

‘That really wasn’t necessary since I’m planning on renovating this palace.’

It was already huge so he didn’t need to do anything about its size. The problem were the decorations.

Everything is too shiny. A stronghold is meant to exude the authority and power of its owners. He doesn’t care about the grandeur of noble castles. All he wants is to show his might.

‘Should I tame an ancient dragon using Elizabeth’s power? No, my people will freak out and fear me even more.’

He wants to make them respect him, not fear him. This is why he wants to mine the crystals and give everyone jobs. Fearful citizens only cause trouble for their lord. Also, he doesn’t want to make them fear him and then look over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

Take what happened to the previous lord for example.

“Let’s go.”

Arnold decided not to stop them.

“Yes. This way.”

Caerwyn turned right. She began walking down the small hallway that led to the door that was on the left side of the stairs.

Arnold quickly followed after her.

◇◇◇

“Here’s her room.”

Caerwyn stood in front of one of the three doors that was in this hallway. She picked up the plate of food that was sitting next to the door.

“Why did she choose this room? It’s so far from the entrance.”

They had to walk through the entire west wing of the palace just to get here.

Arnold walked up to the door and knocked.

-“I’m not hungry…” Arnold heard a tired voice coming from inside the room.

“It’s me.”

-“…..”

“I thought about your request. The one about going with me to my world. Turns out I can make it happen sooner than expected.”

-“….”

Arnold glanced at Caerwyn who smiled wryly.

“I think it’s best if I let Siana use the artifact to take the palace to my world. I’ll help them find a new world once I return.”

The “Rising of a Hero” DLC featured many different worlds.

Luke’s journey to become the greatest hero didn’t just revolve around one world. He met people from other worlds who he became friends with. He made enemies and rivals on different worlds as well.

Their world was already so vast so there were a lot of stories to tell about it. Of course, everything didn’t appear in the main story since there were so many stories to tell. Because of this, the developers had to make side stories just to fit everything into the same DLC.

Having the brain of a genius, Liam should be able to find a suitable world for Siana and her knights quite easily just from memory. In fact, he already had several in mind.

“You can go with them. I’ll write a letter to my second-in-command to look after you until I go back to the city.”

-“…..”

“Are you listening?”

-"....Okay...."

“How far have you gotten with the containment seals?”

-“…I finished two so far…”

“We need it by the end of the day. If we don’t seal Kalda’s corpse then all that fighting yesterday would’ve been for nothing.”

-“….”

Caerwyn spoke at that moment, “Maybe we should give her some space for now. She’ll probably come around by the end of the day.”

Arnold sighed.

“Alright."

He looked back at the door for a few seconds before turning and walking away.