Dilek looked up to a wooden ceiling as he said, "An unfamiliar ceiling…" He sat up, pushing the blanket down, and looked at his body. His chest was covered in bandages. "Hmm… where the hell am I?" His mind flashed back to the ruda. 'Did it die? Must have, if I'm here safely.'
"Ugh, I still feel the disgusting blood on my tongue." Dilek stood up and looked outside the window.
The city beyond was alive — Portrident, the city of the shore. From his room on the upper floor, he could see the harbor filled with ships rocking gently in the tides, the cries of gulls echoing through the salt-tinged morning air. Sailors shouted from the docks, merchants bustled through the streets below, and smoke rose faintly from the taverns and forges.
He stared outside for a while as he thought, 'Damn… shouldn't someone be here to check on me?'
Turning to the door, he opened it and saw an empty hallway. The floorboards creaked softly beneath his bare feet as he walked, the scent of herbs and old wood filling the quiet corridor. After a few steps, he reached the staircase.
As he began to step down, a sudden sting of pain seared across his head. He missed a step and felt himself falling.
'Ahh, what a scene. I am sure someone will come and save me from falling at the last second. That's it, I should at least look gracefu—'
THUMP–THUD–CRASH.
"SHIT—MY BACK!" Dilek groaned, grabbing his back as he slowly got up. "My back… my back…"
He heard a chuckle.
"Were you expecting me?"
The Darkest Night stood at the top of the staircase, his figure shrouded in dark cloak that seemed to swallow the light.
"I wasn't," Dilek said, wincing. "But if you were here, you could've picked me up. Damn, my back hurts."
The Darkest Night chuckled as he descended, then effortlessly picked Dilek up in his arms and carried him back upstairs in a princess carry. Setting him gently on the bed, he said nothing.
"That's embarrassing, dude…" Dilek muttered before looking at him curiously. "Are those real?"
"Are what?"
"Nevermind…" Dilek said, sighing. "Anyways, Tusk, how was the raid?"
"Oh yes, it was successful thanks to you."
"I'm supposing I get a four-star title now due to my major achievements?"
The Darkest Night laughed. "Oh no, no. You didn't get any credit."
"WHAT?! WHY?? I TURNED THE TIDE!" Dilek shouted, ready to get off the bed, but Tusk raised a hand.
"You should be laying low for a while. You're currently a valuable asset to the guild."
"Valuable… Do I get paid?"
Tusk blinked, surprised. "Of course, you will get paid handsomely. But do us a favor and don't cause much ruckus."
"Oh… How about my friends? Are they alright?"
"Yes, they are. In fact, they visited a couple of hours ago," Tusk said.
Dilek looked around. "And no one left me a gift? Not even flowers?"
"Well, it's not like you died," Tusk replied dryly.
"It's common tradition to bring flowers to a recovering person, y'know…"
"Is that so? I don't believe in getting flowers for recovery. I'll only get flowers for a dead man."
"How come? You want me to be dead or something?" Dilek looked annoyed.
Tusk smiled.
"Dude, stop smiling! Not like I can see over that elephant mask covering your face."
"I won't get you any flowers, nor will I let anyone give you flowers for a long while," Tusk said.
"What? Nevermind. When can I leave?"
"Leave? Already? Well, if you don't mind, rest a little. Your wounds were quite serious. Also, if I may, can I ask some questions?"
Dilek suddenly tensed. "Sure g— Hold on, I have an option?"
"No," Tusk responded firmly.
"Then why would you say 'can I ask'? You jackass… Sure, ask away."
"Well, tell me about the light you made."
"It's Fullbright. A simple skill given by a goddess to me, Well I tweaked fullbright a little, I can't do that again. Though if I want, I can still cover people in light."
"Fullbright? Goddess? What goddess is it?" Tusk asked.
"Yaguya…" Dilek responded.
Tusk stared for a moment before chuckling. "I see. I've never heard of it."
"Yep, she's new in heaven," Dilek said.
"Well then, you best be prepared, messenger of Yaguya."
"Prepared? Prepared for what?" Dilek asked.
"There are a total of three churches in Portrident—each worshipping a different god: Seran, Cael, and Liora. Considering how seriously they take their faith, I think you'll have troubles with them."
"What did I do?" Dilek asked.
"You performed a miracle. And your friend, Diego, I suppose, shouted all over the place about Goddess Yaguya and you being her messenger. So, I suppose the churches will target you. It's going to be hard for you."
"DUDE I SWEAR I DON'T WANNA FIGHT SHIT"— 'Hold on, does this mean some people believe in me being a messenger? If they start actually listening to me, won't I be completing the main quest…' Dilek thought, giving a thumbs up and a smile. "It's okay, the goddess is by my side. Wanna join my cul— I mean, follow the blessings of our goddess?"
Tusk looked at him, surprised, then laughed. "Hilarious."
Dilek asked, "Hold on… how many died?"
Tusk's tone turned serious. "A lot this time. Don't concern yourself. You did the best you could. The best you can do is respect them."
Dilek looked down as Tusk stood up. "I'll go inform others that you've woken up."
Dilek watched him reach the door. "You don't trust me, do you?"
Tusk paused. "Of course I do," he said before closing the door and leaving. Outside, he stood for a second. "Cautious much…" Tusk muttered as he walked away.
—
"SAINTTTTT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA DIEEEEE! UWAAA!" Diego was crying uncontrollably, clinging to Dilek.
Marcus smiled. "Glad to see you're alright. I kind of knew you would be."
"Did you?" Nandita said, crossing her arms. "Marcus was asking the doctors to let him stay for the ni—"
Marcus quickly covered her mouth. "It's nothing! Dilek, glad to see you're getting better."
"Oh yeah, totally." Dilek looked at Marcus. "Come to think of it, where were you?"
"Oh, me? I was in the city. Basically killing the goblins that were about to attack the civilians."
"Cool…" Dilek said. "How many goblins you got?"
Marcus sighed. "Zero. Most of them were taken by one guy."
"One guy? How come? Who was it?"
"I don't know. He was an old man—and real strong. He was taller than me and sturdier than me."
"Sturdier than you? I'm surprised," Dilek said as Nandita suddenly went closer, grabbing his bandage and trying to pull it away.
"PERVERT! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING?!" Dilek shouted, covering himself with the blanket.
"OH, DON'T BE SUCH A BABY!" she shouted. "YOU HAVE NO ASSETS, NO CHEST, NO ABS, NO FACE, NO HAIRS!"
"Hey, don't go that far, man…" Dilek said with a tear in his eye.
Nandita ignored him and examined the wound, removing the bandage. The wound had fully healed but left a scar on his chest.
"Woah, a scar right beside my nip—"
Before he finished, Nandita shut him up. Dilek looked around. "Where is Ami?"
At her name, all three of them went silent. Dilek noticed their faces. "What's the issue?"
Diego spoke first. "Saint, forget her… She was planning on running away. She was taking Nandita away, shouting things like we must be dead."
Marcus and Nandita both looked down. No one dared to say anything else.
Dilek frowned. "Is that it?"
Diego was surprised. "S-Saint… she can abandon us! She would only save herself! She could cause our deaths someday!"
"So?" Dilek said, still confused. "I would've done the same."
Everyone froze.
"She's human, guys. She was obviously scared. Who wasn't? It's totally normal for her to do that. Instead, I'd encourage you guys to leave me the same way in case it gets ba—"
"OKAY, STOP," Marcus interrupted. "No… I can't."
Dilek smiled. "It's alright, guys. The fact that she tried to take Nandita to safety as well speaks volumes. If Diego, you were with her—or Marcus, or even me—I'm sure she'd do the same thing. I'm sure she didn't want to see any of us die. That situation was terrifying. So many died in an instant… I'd rather not let her go. She's a kind person."
Nandita smiled. "Weren't you the one saying she shouldn't be part of the team?"
Dilek smirked. "Hmph, I guess I'm too good, am I not?"
Diego grinned. "Of course, Saint, you're the kindest!"
Nandita sighed. "Come in, Ami. I told you he isn't planning to let you go."
"What?" Dilek looked confused as Marcus opened the door. Ami stood there, head bowed, her hair tied back today.
"Sorry…" she murmured.
"I see," Dilek said. "Can you kneel and apologize? Like the dogeza in Eastern Asia."
She looked up at him. Dilek expected a harsh response, but she just smiled softly, grateful.
Dilek coughed. "Ahem, anyways, we're getting paid and a shit ton of money, I'm expecting to say the least."
Each of them smiled until a cry came from downstairs, growing louder.
"STOPPP! DON'T LET AMI LEAVEEEE! DILEK, SHE WAS SCARED AND SHE EVEN TOLD US TO COME HELP YOU DO—" Hela burst into the room, freezing when she saw Ami there. She coughed. "Ahem, Dilek, are you doing well?"
"Oh yeah, totally," Dilek said.
Duja, panting, appeared behind her and flopped down on Dilek's bed.
"HONEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! HE IS INJURED!"
"And I am tired," Duja said, lying flat.
Dilek laughed. "Thanks for helping back there. I was actually surprised seeing you two."
Hearing that, their moods darkened as they apologized for not being fast enough.
Dilek smiled. "It's alright. At least the Darkest Night saved me, right? Guys, I even saw his hair."
"Darkest Night?" Hela looked confused. "No, he didn't… It was someone else."
Marcus and Nandita tensed up. "It was the main character guy."
"Main character guy?" Dilek looked confused.
Marcus nodded. "The guy we met in that barrier. The one who killed the troll… the one you hate."
"What… he's here?"
Nandita nodded as Ami and Diego looked confused.
Ami said, "Wasn't it just a handsome guy princess carrying Dilek?"
"PRINCESS CARRY? HOLD ON, WHAT'S UP WITH EVERYONE CARRYING ME LIKE THAT? CAN'T ANYONE GIVE ME A NORMAL PIGGYBACK RIDE?!"
"He mumbled pathetic as well, y'know," Marcus added.
"GET THAT GUY! I'LL SHOW HIM WHO'S PATHETIC! I WAS THE MVP! Y'ALL HEAR THAT?! MVP!!!" Dilek shouted.
He was allowed to go back to their tavern that evening.