Trist saw the cage which Colt occupied and was just about to enter when a calm voice entered his ears, “Don’t approach them, your highness.” Mary lightly warned.

“Is there a problem?”

“Your highness, that cell radiates danger. Let my Lord deal with that cell; he did say he was trying to find someone. It might be a long lost friend or companion.”

Trist stayed silent, ‘That explains everything.’ He thought as he finally understood why the Young Master had so much fervor fighting against slavery, ‘His honor is unmatched. For a friend, he would even risk his life.’

Trist now admired Colt.

“Who are you?” the boy asked with a sliver of dangerous intent seeping out of his eyes.

“Don’t be too alarmed; I’m not anyone dangerous.”

“You swing that sword like it’s a goddamn toy, your swing is unstable, and I can see that you’re not accustomed to your own body. For all I care, you might be someone who took over someone else’s body.”

Colt face-palmed himself—the boy was correct.

“Well, you’re not wrong about me being clumsy with my movements, but that’s not because I took over someone else’s body. It’s more like because I suddenly got stronger all of a sudden. But don’t worry, I have a good enough grasp of my mind and body that I can control it to an extent. I’m not a master by no means, but I won’t accidentally kill someone.”

“…”

“Look, I’m not a bad guy, okay? I was just cleaning up bastards around my Kingdom when I got tipped off by some mystical beings who wanted to help the Mortals of my world.”

“Mystical being, huh. What are you talking about, Gods or something? If you are, then forget it; I have long forsaken the Gods.”

“Okay, first of all, as much as I want to reject the existence of the Goddesses, I can’t. Look, they even told me some things about you…”

Colt looked directly into those eyes and reached out to his inner pockets. The boy grew warry and flinched; he glared at Colt and growled as if he was a beast.

Colt smirked as he pulled out dried meat. It was premium dried meat. Salted to perfection and was the perfect travel food.

He held it in front of the boy, and a reaction was given. The boy’s eyes widened as his mouth watered. He loved jerky more than anything else in this world. This trait was one of the few things he could remember about the Hero from the novel.

Colt did not know why, but he prepared the best just in case. With a jerky in front of the boy, Colt asked, “Do you want it?

He was hesitant, but the boy nodded his head. Colt smirked as he felt as though he had won, “First, answer my question. When did you reincarnate?”

“Two weeks ago.”

The boy’s eyes widened as he voraciously devoured the dried meat he was given.

“It’s good, isn’t it? That’s top-grade meat right there.” Colt handed over the jerky, which was promptly snatched away. The boy began nibbling it.

“How did you know?”

“I told you, Mystical Beings.” Colt looked around and saw the Knights already leaving the cave, “We’ll talk later; let’s first leave this place.”

“I still don’t trust you.” The boy stated, which had Colt casually providing him more food. The Hero was led out of the cave by Colt’s using food. He lured it out.

Trist wanted to ride with Colt, but he couldn’t bear the smell of the Hero. Colt powered through it, and Fluff smelled something worst before. It didn’t really care.

Colt returned to the City, where many merchants were fleeing. The Count had many connections; those under suspicions of colluding with him were being rounded up.

They would be tortured for information.

“Young Master, where are you going?” asked Trist, who saw Colt flying off course. With him was Mary, who refused to leave his side.

“I’m going to an Inn; I do not wish to dabble in politics, and I can’t look at the Count’s family now. Please, go without me, your highness.”

“Okay, I’ll send a Knight for you later.” Trist readily agreed. This would be his first mission without an escort.

Colt left the group, and Mary followed, stopped in the middle of the road where the most prominent Inn stood.

Colt and Mary dismounted their respective mounts. Mary called back a Solar Roc to rest. Colt had the Chick fly to Trist’s side.

Trist can’t be in danger, or else Colt would be as well. The psychotic brother was a problem he didn’t want to bother with.

“Make sure nothing happens to him. If you fail, I’ll have Fluff eat you.”

“I will not fail you.” The Chick had no other choice but to succeed. With the help of the Shadow King Raven, nothing would be able to stand in its way.

‘That settles that.’

People were eyeing Colt, and he saw the Hero cowering before these stares. In the novel, the Hero was a mere 14-year-old boy, both inside and out.

He was tortured when he was four, which continued for three years until he was seven. Colt did not know why and where he escaped from, as that was the extent of his knowledge.

However, the fact still remained that this boy was scared of others. He was a great fighter, hunter, and warrior, but he was afraid against the observing eyes of those around him.

It made him feel like he was a caged animal, someone without freedom and right to live.

‘Don’t cry…cry, and I’ll take another finger off her, cry, and I’ll make her suffer.’ Hallucinations surfaced. The boy’s breathing became ragged, and Colt took the towel he carried with him and covered the boy’s head.

“I forgot about this trait of yours…I should have gone somewhere more secluded, sorry about that.”

The boy looked at Colt with different eyes. Colt didn’t notice, for he was too preoccupied with something else.

“Mary, go and rent out the entire Inn. Kick everyone out.”

“This will not look good for your image, my Lord,” Mary warned.

Colt shrugged his shoulders, “I’m a wastrel; who cares about my image?”

Their group entered the Inn and caused a commotion.

While Colt’s location was in chaos because of a culling, back in Wing City, there was also another commotion going on.

As Mina stood inside the church with her eyes closed, Fer, the blindfolded Nun, was on her knees, praying like she had seen the Goddess herself.

“THE GODDESS HAS DESCENDED!” Fer celebrated as she cried.

As for Mina, she was in the Celestial World, where the Goddesses everyone prayed to was on their knees, begging her for food.

“THE GODDESS OF THE KITCHEN HAS ASCENDED!” The Goddesses celebrated as they opened the Gates of their World as Colt finished one of the two requests from Root.

Above the white world, Mina cooked them food and was made to momentarily stay with the Goddesses.

They gathered around the kotatsu as they waited for the pie to finish baking.

Root offered to play Mahjong, Uno, and even some good old fashion dominoes, but Mina refused.

With a pleasant smile, she made a request, “I have cooked for you guys, and I was called here for no reason while a Nun of the Dracian Fate is observing me for the past weeks, thinking that I might be one of your people’s Apostle.

“You guys had to call me up here with her still by my side? The least you Goddesses could do would be to show me my Darling’s current situation, right?”

Root, Darkness, and Light, the three Goddesses lowered their heads as they called upon water to form a screen on the kotatsu’s surface.

Mina finally saw Colt with Mary and some boy she did not know. Her thoughts immediately went wild, which frightened the Goddesses.

Darkness stepped up to make a quick explanation.

“Rescuing that boy was my request. He’s a special person. As for Mary, she was accepted as Colt’s Knight. Don’t look at us like that; you gave the okay sign when she asked for your permission.”

“Humph!” Mina pouted for a good few minutes before coming to terms with the situation. Being separated from Colt for far too long was still a hard thing for Mina.

While Mina enjoyed finally reuniting with her beloved’s image in this manner, she made a simple question, “So, why did the Goddesses brought me here while Sister Fer's watching over me. She was just about to leave too.”

Mina had been worried about Fer’s existence. Sister Mary warned her about the blindfolded Nun.

‘Fer is searching for the one clad in Divine Energy. I don’t know why but you’re also radiating with the same Energy as Colt, so she’ll be observing you for a few months.’ Such was Sister Mary’s words.

Root sighed at her words for being accurate, “Well, Mary is indeed right; Fer is observing you. She would have left if we did nothing, but that would result in something far worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to tell you, but that would be against our code, so I can’t, but this is for the sake of Colt’s and the Continent’s safety.”

“...I thought you guys weren’t allowed to mess with the Mortal World?” Mina outright asked.

“…We aren’t helping the continent. We just asked you to come here so we can have food again.”

“So…loophole?”

“…Loophole...please don’t tell Colt, he’s going to scream again.” The three Goddesses were ashamed.

However, this was a needed step for survival.

Light, after all, had recalled her chosen Apostle in this time of need. A light must emerge, and because Colt was somewhere else, Mina was needed.

If they didn’t reinforce the church’s beliefs, then bad news might visit them.

Thus…they abused the loophole and helped without so much as doing anything other than begging for food. In short, they won.