Frida led Eli away from the caravan to a secluded spot in the forest. It was a clearing that was only a hundred or so feet away, so they could still see the wagons in the distance. However, even still, the [Nun] adjusted a ring on her finger, before an invisible bubble of magic fell upon the two of them.

  “What’s this?” the boy asked, raising a curious brow.

  “It’s a silencing spell so that nobody can hear us from the outside,” the Sister of the Luna Gez Sect explained as she raised her hand, showing one of the rings on her fingers. “Each of these rings are an D-grade artifact that had been bestowed upon me before I was sent off to Velmond.”

  Hearing that, Eli just blinked. He eyed her quizzically as she took in a deep breath.

  His gaze pierced her, and she had to steel herself. Even though she was ordinarily quite calm and collected, not often letting her emotions show on her face, she was unable to keep her cool right now.

  And how could she?

  If she was right— and everything pointed towards her being right— that meant that Eli was the next [Hero]. Finding him had been the very reason that Frida had been sent to Velmond in the first place. She had been waiting for nearly ten years for him to arrive. So that she could make him an ally of the Luna Gez Sect.

  However… she might have already messed up.

  After all, for the last few weeks she had spent around the boy, she had practically ignored his existence. In fact, at a few points, she had even been excessively rude towards him, because she refused to believe that he could be the next [Hero].

  And while he had never claimed to be so, it was evident that Reverend Donovan had thought it. That was why the [Priest] had sent Eli to enroll in the Holy Academy.

  This entire time, Frida thought it had all been a waste of time. But now, after hearing what the boy had accomplished the night before, she knew that she had been wrong. Or at the very least, it was very likely she was wrong.

  There was still the possibility that Eli was not who she thought he was. Because why didn’t he just come out and admit that he was the [Hero]? However, he could have his reasons.

  Not only had many of his predecessors throughout history also hid the fact that they were the One Anointed by Fate, but some had even tried to reject the duty they were given when they were children.

  And that was not to mention that Eli likely had more of a reason to keep it a secret than any other [Hero] in history. After all, Aria the Lady of Light was still alive. It was believed by the public— and even most members of the Church of Life— that she was still a [Hero].

  He might have thought that if he went around admitting that he was the [Hero], he would have been persecuted for it. Because while the Church of Life often displayed themselves as an organization of kindness and forgiveness, the reality of it was much darker than that. Frida herself was all-too-familiar with that fact.

  Her eyes flickered as she recalled her life in the Church before she had been taken in by the Reverend Mother. But she quickly dismissed the thought.

  Right now, the potential reasons for Eli choosing to hide his Class and his Title didn’t matter. Nor did the sins of the Church that were washed away and hidden to protect their image.

  What mattered currently was that Frida needed to make amends for the way she had treated Eli, to make an ally out of him for the Luna Gez Sect if he was truly the [Hero].

  She had rehearsed this— she had thought about what she would discuss here all night, not getting a wink of sleep. And that was part of the reason why she was unable to maintain her composure right now.

  Pursing her lips, Frida almost completely forgot what she was going to start off with. And when Eli raised a hand, she decided to just say what was on her mind.

  “Um, Sister Frida—” the boy started.

  Frida cut him off and bowed her head. “I apologize for my behavior.”

  He blinked as she took in a deep breath, before removing one of the rings on her fingers. It was an innocuous-looking silver ring— unlike the others which bore precious gemstones on them. The only thing that stood out about the ring was the shape of the crescent moon that was carved into its flat surface.

  “Please, take this,” she said as she proffered the silver ring to the boy.

  “Wait, but why?” He stared at it in confusion.

  Frida gritted her teeth, realizing that she should have explained herself first. She slowly drew back as she placed a hand on her chest.

  “I… I cannot tell you much, but I am from a sisterhood within the Church of Life that does not see eye-to-eye with Archbishop Walden.” The Sister of the Luna Gez shook her head. “What you did yesterday… saving my life… defeating the Gold Skulls… not only am I grateful to you, but it is clear that you are going to be someone important one day.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Meeting Eli’s gaze, Frida continued as she looked down at the silver ring.

  “I cannot share much details with you about my sisterhood as of right now, because I do not have the authority to make this decision. However, I would like to extend a hand to you right now— to offer you our friendship.”

  “Oh?” Eli tilted his head, listening to her speak. “But you’re a sisterhood, are you not? What good is befriending me if I’m a guy?”

  Frida shifted her feet as she tried to think of a response without cluing him in too much. “While we are a sisterhood, that does not mean we do not operate alongside the other members of the Church of Life. There is much we can offer you— even more so than a mere letter of recommendation would give you. That is why I believe… after seeing what you’ve done this last day… that a friendship with someone such as you would be mutually beneficial to all parties involved.”

  “I see.” Eli placed a hand on his chin, as if in thought.

  He remained silent for a long moment, and Frida wondered what his response would be. She hadn’t shared too much, other than that she was offering him a potential partnership. In fact, she thought maybe it would have been too vague for the boy to fully understand.

  But once again, she was proven wrong by him.

  Eli snapped a finger as he grinned back at her. “So after seeing what I did yesterday, you basically think that I’ll be a valuable asset for your organization’s influence within the Church in the future, is that correct?”

  “That’s…” Frida hesitated. It was partially correct— or rather, it didn’t paint the full picture. Because she didn’t just think he would be an asset. She thought he was the asset.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not offended or anything. Honestly, I’m intrigued.” Eli smiled as he waved a hand dismissively her way. “And what is that ring you were trying to give me?”

  “This?” The [Nun] said as she proffered it to him once again. This time, he accepted it. “It is a proof of our token of friendship. Not only does this prove that you have… earned our recognition, it also serves as a powerful artifact.”

  “I can certainly sense the magic emanating from its enchantments” Eli nodded, inspecting the ring. “But what does it do?”

  Frida drew back as she nodded at him. “It is a Dimensional Storage Ring— it is capable of storing up to a thousand pounds worth of items inside of it at maximum capacity.”

  “Interesting…” The boy grinned as he slipped the ring onto his finger.

  It fit him perfectly, thanks to its enchantments. But then he looked at her with furrowed brows.

  “But doesn’t this belong to you? I’ve seen you use it before— unless this is a different Dimensional Storage Ring?”

  “It was mine,” Frida admitted as she nodded at him. “However, I have emptied it of all my belongings, storing them into a Bag of Holding instead. Because it is yours now.”

  Eli’s eyes flickered, before he lowered his hand. “Well, I appreciate the gift. But what does this mean for me?”

  “As of right now, this is all I can share with you— and it is all I can offer you,” Frida said, lowering her head. “However, once we reach Lux, I will speak with my superiors. And I assure you, they will be in contact with you eventually.”

  “Alright, then,” Eli said as he glanced to the side, looking through the trees at the caravan in the distance. “If that’s everything you wanted to mention, we should probably get going now. We don’t want to keep the others waiting for too long.”

  “I… yes.” Frida nodded, watching him step away from her without much of a care in the world. But then she hesitated, not joining him immediately. And then she bowed her head once more, drawing his attention back to her. “I’m sorry, again.”

  “Hm?” He glanced her way as she continued.

  “For the way I disrespected you. It was wrong of me.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” came the boy’s reply after a moment. He chuckled as he gestured for her to follow after him. “Seriously, I didn’t care at all. So there’s no need to apologize, alright? Let’s just get going now.”

  “R-right…” Frida watched him leave once again, exiting the bubble of silence.

  He still carried his same casual demeanor from before— taking this a lot more lightly than she thought he would. Well, the [Nun] hadn’t known what to expect from him. However, she had thought he’d at least take a minute to come to terms with her apology.

  But it seemed like he didn’t care at all. Which was a good thing… right?

  At the very least, it meant that he hadn’t been offended by her behavior, so there was no need to make amends. And all Frida needed to do next was to speak with the Reverend Mother about Eli.

  And the Reverend Mother will be able to confirm whether he is truly the [Hero], Frida thought as she disabled the bubble of silence, before following after the boy back towards the caravan. I am certain of it.

  ***

  When Sister Frida told me she wanted to talk, I didn’t expect her to mention any of this. I had been aware that there were factions within the Church of Life— that it was not a single monolithic entity with zero disagreements on how they operated— but it seemed there was a lot more politics involved than I thought.

  I looked down at the ring I had been given as I settled into the back of one of the wagons. While I wasn’t entirely sure what I was being offered here since I was barely given any details, I wasn’t going to just reject it outright. I was going to wait and see whether it would benefit me. After all, I fully intended to rise up the ranks of the Church of Life.

  And having powerful allies early on would be quite useful to me. That was why I took what she said in stride. For now though, I just had to wait and see, since we hadn’t even arrived at Lux yet.

  But after the brief encounter with the Gold Skulls and the stone mammoth, the rest of the journey to the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire was relatively uneventful. We stopped in only three more cities, whilst mostly avoiding any major encounter.

  The biggest obstacle we ran into was actually overstaying in the first city we arrived in for a few extra days, because Richard’s [Wagon Drivers] decided to quit after that near-death experience. However, since his [Wagon Master] still remained, it didn’t take him too long to get a few new [Wagon Drivers], so we could get going again.

  It took just over two more weeks in total. But finally, after nearly a month’s journey since leaving Velmond…

  We arrived at our destination.