“W-w-why are you going inside?” Ciel shouted at Viers.

“Chill, Ciel. She didn't seem hostile at the moment,” Viers was as cool as a cucumber and it was a pun intended.

“She’s an assassin!” Rose reminded as if the fact had been lost to Viers.

“Oh pish posh, girls. Relax. I won't do anything to you, any of you. I have made an Oath, you see. With that scary guy…”

Viers knew she was pointing out at the mysterious savior that didn't exist.

“Anyway, come in and close the door. It’s getting chilly,” Lykin weaved a robe made of darkness for herself.

“Gaaaah!! Time out, woman! Dis is my home, you gnats!” Tomthur said angrily while putting his pants back on. “How dare you barge in like you own the place!”

“But you told me it's fine to come whenever I have another good liquor to share,” Viers put on his puppy face while shaking a bottle of mead in his hand.

“Grrrr. Come on in… I hate me’self for saying that,” Tomthur grumbled but his love for alcoholic drinks won out.

***

Ciel and Rose stared at the smiling Lykin tensely, ready for a fight in a moment's notice.

“Remember, you break it, you buy it,” Tomthur shouted from behind. He was about to pour the drink into a mug but after Viers refused a share, he opted to drink directly from the bottle.

“You can stop trying to contact your friends. I’ve blocked the transmission,” Lykin teased.

“...What are you doing here?” Ciel had already conjured her sword.

“Me and Tommy go waaay back, kitties. And I need a place to recover, after you reflected that attack of mine. Sheesh, that was a nasty move.”

“I’d be happy to give you another… Who asked for my blood?”

“You think I’d tell you that?”

While the girls were having some girl time, the boys were too. With every chug of Viers’ high-quality mead, the dwarf’s anger decreased while his happiness increased.

“You are involved with a troublesome woman, sir,” Viers said to the man beside him while looking at the girls’ interaction.

“Phuuah… Aye, don't I know it. It’s complicated, lad. So whaddya want?”

“Something came up so I need to get some upgrades done on a weapon of mine. Need to be done in two days if possible.”

“Let’s see it,” Tomthur lightly smacked the table.

“Not so fast. We need to draft up a business contract first.”

“Oh, you're gonna cough up something valuable, eh? No biggie. I already got the draft ready.”

What they made was a magical contract, a lesser version of Mita’s intio Oath. The content was to protect the buyer and seller, just like any business contract on Earth. It wasn't uncommon, Tomthur had done it many times. The contract was stringent though it wouldn't cause death. Simply put, Tomthur was obliged to pay Viers many times the value of the item if he scammed Viers.

“Done. Can we get some privacy?” Viers asked.

“Come to the back,” Tomthur offered. “Lyn, behave yourself.”

“Relax, you oaf. You’ll find everything just in order when you come back. So, girls, what’s the Church been up to these days?”

“There’s no way we’re telling you!” Ciel sharply replied.

Twenty minutes later, the Viers, Ciel, and Rose trio left Tomthur’s shop. There were no unplanned fights.

While looking at their increasingly smaller figures, Lykin asked. “Since you can't stop smiling, I suppose the water-soul boy’s commission is that good? Now I’m curious. What is it?”

“Can't tell you. Non-disclosure agreement. How the boy got something like it, I have no idea. Lucky lad.”

“Hmm… Hey, Tommy?”

“You only e’var use that tone when you want to get something from me.”

“Just a little is fine. Look after the boy for me, would you?”

“Why? You got designs for the mystery boy? Leave my beer dispenser alone, would you.”

“My superior warned me to not stay in the city long.”

“Lava and stone! It’s gonna get dangerous soon, ain't it? By my beard… Is ten years of peace and quiet too much to ask for?”

“We’ve been through worse.”

“Not eager to repeat it. Now scoot. Won't the Legion come for you?”

“Might be. But…”

Lykin pushed Tomthur to the bed.

“...Woman, I’m eighty. I’m not young anymore. After two days and two nights, haven't you had enough?”

“Nope. A girl wants what a girl wants.”

Lykin and Tomthur, the two who were not a couple joined by marriage, went about their business.

***

Get a move on. Don't get comfy in the city.

That was what Lykin whispered to him before they separated. The warning only emboldened Viers to get his homework done ASAP.

“Viers, hey Viers. Did you hear what I said?” Ciel called him.

“Uh? Sorry, what was that?”

“I said why you're not agitated by Lykin. You almost got killed by her!”

After the side trip to Tomthur's shop, the trio went on with their holiday. Ciel asked after they put some distance with the dangerous individual.

“The fight created a measure of respect on both sides. I didn't think she would attack us but I’m not stupid so my life-saving measures were primed and ready.”

“Respect? For an assassin? Hmmmh!” Ciel wasn't pleased. “How is it, Rose?”

“It’s not a good time,” Rose shook her head. “Everyone is busy.”

“If only we’re not inside this stupid Valkut barrier… How could a cultist brazenly show themselves to us,” Ciel clenched her hand. “It irks me.”

“Revenge for your humiliation of defeat?” Viers said. “I can relate to that. Losing is a bitter experience.”

“It’s not about revenge! Leaving a devil cultist at large is always a bad idea. I want to reduce future tragedies by-”

“Killing her?” Viers interjected.

“Capturing her! The Church has a place for even the vilest of the vile to reflect on their actions and repent.”

Right, the Tower of Remorse. Iz’s sister is there, last I heard.

“Capture is more difficult than kill,” Viers said.

“I fully realize that. I’m not delusional about my capabilities. There are times where I took the lives of others… But resorting to killing from the start is not my justice.”

Right, they called her justice girl. Her code.

“Mind if I ask you what’s your deal with justice?” Viers was piqued about the mindset of the duke’s daughter. People like her usually grew up to be sheltered princesses.

“Other than it is related to my Profound Codex? There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality. Corruption… Someone has to stop it.”

“Ciel…”

Rose felt Ciel’s words resonated with her. On the other hand…

In my humble opinion, killing people that wanted to kill you is justice enough. Other interpretations are too complicated.

“You have great power, Viers, but it doesn't make you strong,” Ciel said softly.

“Oh? This I have to hear.”

“Being able to use great power doesn't make you strong. What does, is using it for a worthy cause.”

Worthy cause… Sounds like a line from a children's cartoon series.

Viers had heard so many heroic lines such as this that he was not impressed. Unfortunately for her, Ciel’s words of persuasion were unable to penetrate the antibodies of Viers’ morality after a life-time dose of hero-moral vaccination.

Viers had chosen to live his life exactly the way his heart told him, without moral or social chains hampering him. If the whole world branded him as a villain because of it, Viers didn't give a shit.

Ciel was about to continue whilst not knowing the inside of Viers’ mind, but something happened that interrupted her.

A group of adventurers attacked them in broad daylight, with many people nearby.

The trio reacted. Ciel and Rose thought it was the assassins again but they realized the group’s target was Viers.

Naturally, Viers defended himself. The attackers were three Level 2s and one Level 3 low. They posed no threat.

“Now what’s your deal?” Viers genuinely had no idea.

“You’re Viers Isuel… There’s a bounty on your head,” one of the people that got water-chained said.

“Oh. Almost forgot about that.”

He was walking around with his real face. A face that had been on a wanted poster. There were so many people with bounties on them, and more were frequently added everyday. It was within a realm of possibility that someone would try to collect. Viers wasn't worried, the reason being…

“Apologies but this man is already under our custody,” Ciel said.

Viers was using the Church as a protective shell.

“Why’s the man not in chains?”

“There’s a reason for this-” Rose explained.

After sometime, time that Viers felt wasted, they accepted Ciel and Rose’s explanation. The adventurer group agreed to withdraw.

Except one.

As soon as the Level 3 had the chance, he launched a sneak attack at Viers’ neck, fully intending to kill him. Viers wasn't caught off guard and headbutted the man with enough force that he cracked the ground when he fell.

“You… killed my brother… at Osemore…”

The man passed out after saying that. The party members vehemently apologized and carried the unconscious man away. The mood turned incredibly sour.

“...Killing brings suffering. It’s the beginning of a chain of hatred,” Ciel faced Viers with a serious face. “One day, we will be taken into account for all of our deeds, good or ill.”

Silence was Viers’ answer.

He made a face as if he was realizing the weight of his sins.

***

After the last encounter, the trio decided to go back and rest up at the Abbey.

Viers didn't speak a word since then.

Ciel and Rose gave him space. It was their day off and staying home to rest was fine too. It was a bit of a shame they ended the excursion with a sour note but they didn't blame Viers.

In the evening, the people that were on demon-killing duty came back. Rachel and Wendy carried Max and Bryan on their backs.

“These idiots! They competed to see who could kill the most demons until they got too exhausted to even stand!” Rachel complained.

“The two have really become good friends,” Wendy chuckled.

Max and Bryan’s napping faces were that of bliss. After fighting until they dropped, the young warriors felt the inner satisfaction of finishing a job well done after a hard day's work.

There was another reason Max and Bryan became buddy-buddy, they had a mutual enemy.

All was well and good in the Church.

***

Some time after the night fell, Rose had a late night rendezvous with someone.

“Hi, Viers. You called?”

Rose found Viers with his back turned to her, hands clasped behind his back. On a rooftop, with the twin crescent moons as his backdrop. The moon was bright tonight, the stars were almost invisible.

Earlier, someone knocked on her door, waking her up. It was the palmtop Dia, holding a letter from her master. It said Viers wanted to talk.

“Thank you for coming. I have something to tell you.”

Viers turned around and looking at his serious expression made Rose swallow her saliva. Dia leapt to his knees and climbed to his shoulder.

During her education days in Sephoria, her friends shared stories of the romantic kind. Some involved getting called by a boy to a deserted place before a confession.

Rose thought this was that. On the way here, she purposely slowed her steps so she could think of how to tactfully refuse.

“It's important… There’s no easy way of saying it so I’ll be frank.”

“Y–y-yes?”

Rose held her breath for Viers’ next line.

“At Luxore, I killed Leon.”

“..........Eh?”

Viers did say a confession but it was not what Rose expected. The killer’s confession pierced Rose’s mind and turned it blank.