We had a short break before the second half of the team meeting. Tensions were high, so Opalina took the time to make everyone some of her favorite herbal tea, which we all welcomed gratefully. The taste was superb, the smell sobering.

Once I had taken my last sip and cleared my throat, I retake my position at the quest board. “I’m going to get through the rest of this as efficiently as possible. But, while I’ve already steeled my resolve, it’s still a sore subject.”

Sam is the first to offer me support, raising her fist. “We’re with you, Boss. Just get through it and do your best.” The rest of the girls all offer similar sentiments to calm my nerves except for Zutiria, who meekly nods her head in agreement.

“Right. As you all know, I made an offering to the Goddess who has been supporting me behind the scenes. Thanks to Nikita, the offering was accepted, and in return, she granted me an audience. Is anyone here all that devout? I’m not sure how this is going to go, and I’m likely going to reveal a lot of things that would qualify as heresy in certain circles.”

Meri sheepishly tilts her head, “Um. We worshipped the Goddess of Light pretty religiously back home, but I wasn’t too crazy about it or anything... I don’t think I’d be offended...”

“Far from it,” Opalina adjusts her glasses coldly.

‘No,’ The shaken Mage predictably confirms.

Sam rolls her eyes before snorting. “I went to church like a good little Princess... sometimes. Just look at me, though. Does it look like any of it stuck, Boss?”

“Th’ only Gods ah worship are Dwarven bad-arses like Thraldrad th’ Metalmaker or Skolmouth Forgejaw. We ain’t got no need fer pansy ass bitches in our pantheon.”

“I’ve got no stake in the Gods of this Realm, obviously.” Nikita rounds out the discussion, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’ll get straight into it, then. For a while now, we’ve been uncertain about which one of Karnalle’s twin deities was whispering to me and improving my life. I can now confirm completely without a shadow of a doubt that my patron deity is Lux Ultima, Goddess of the Last Light.”

Reactions are subdued, so I run the room through an abridged version of the crucial parts of my audience with Luxy. First, I told them of the Supernal Skies of Serenity and the heavenly sights I saw there, and I described the Goddess in detail. Then, without getting into the subject of destiny and Demon Lords, I explain that I was more or less made to be a Guild Master and that I was supposed to be sexually active from a younger age. Beyond that, I even go into detail regarding the bizarre ‘app’ which Luxy uses to pick out adventurers for me, and I teach Sam, Zutiria, and Meri how it was used to send them to Dewhurst.

Opalina is more than pleased to hear that a healer is on her way, but just like me, she’s very skeptical of the one Luxy picked. We all agree that we’ll need to approach our upcoming Guild member with great caution whenever she arrives.

One positive takeaway that most of the girls have is that Luxy was kind enough to grant me infinite sexual stamina when I asked for it. Sam makes no effort to hide how incredibly eager to test this out she is.

Everyone responds to my account of the Goddess’s behavior differently. Meri is a little shell-shocked due to her religious upbringing, and Sam doesn’t get it either. On the other hand, Gwin finds it entertaining, Zutiria is silent, Opal analyzes the facts, and Nikita is as unsurprised as expected.

“Spoiled, bratty, out of touch with mortals... yup, that sounds about right to me.” The Grekkan shrugs.

“I am... SO confused...” Meri’s poor little head spins as she sips some tea to calm her nerves. “Why did the Goddess give you magic s-sex powers, and is she giving you all this help in general?”

“Yes, Dear,” Opal says in an interested yet mysterious tone, “I would very much like to know the same...”

“That’s more or less all that I can say without going into our next topic, which is a bit of a doozy...” Now that the easy part is over and done with, I grab the stack of papers that I haven’t yet put on display. This is the big moment where I accept what lies ahead of me in my future. I take in a deep breath and steel myself because I need to just say it.

“I think I’ve told most of you about my grandpa at one point or another, but if I haven’t, he was the man who raised me as well as this Guild’s former Guild Master. He died of a heart attack when I was only ten years old, and... I’ve always viewed it as my fault, in a way. We were arguing over something important, but I kept defying his wishes, and his anger only grew until... it was too much for his old, old body to bear.”

Sam and Meri try to console me, though I assure them it isn’t necessary, and I continue to speak. “I’ve never told anyone what we were arguing about, not even the woman who helped to raise me,” My eyes glance at Opalina, who is weighing my every word. “He wanted me to become an adventurer, while I wanted to become a Guild Master.”

“Why was he so hung up on that?” Sam narrows her eyes, a vein on her forehead twitching with anger.

“Because when my father abandoned my infant self to my grandpa, he passed along a certain revelation that a certain Goddess told him. Namely that this child- me- was going to be the next...” I pause and close my eyes. One more step, and I’ll have said it. Almost there. “The next Hero of Light. I am the chosen one who is supposed to defeat the current Demon Lord.”

The room grows silent as a long winter’s night. Then, one by one, the different girls all start experiencing their own conflicted reactions to the bomb I just dropped on them. There’s confusion, excitement, shock, as well as a bit of tension. Noticeably, Nikita looks like she was just struck by divine inspiration, and Zutiria looks off to the side and yawns.

“Give him a handy, Gwin. He’s cute. It’ll be fun an’ naughty...” Gwin laughs at the unforeseen consequences her literally life-changing handjob led to.

“N-No... it can’t be...” Meri hangs her head and trembles before predictably hiding behind her shield.

‘I thought your reaction to hearing Sammy’s dream was suspicious, Sir. I’m not surprised.’ Zutiria calmly states with a sigh as she sinks further into Opalina’s chest.

Sam is torn. She looks on the verge of joy and a sad sort of confusion. The Princess takes time to craft her response, but all that comes out is, “What the fuck, Boss? Why didn’t you tell me...? You knew that defeating the Demon Lord is my dream, and you... you were just sitting there the whole time... Gods, you weren’t laughing at me, were you?”

“Sam! You know I would never-”

‘Sammy-’ Zutiria pulls herself out of her depression enough to grab the Princess by her hand and squeeze it tight. Sam bites her lip.

Sam’s upset, emerald eyes meet mine while flickering with uncertainty and doubt. “I didn’t tell you because I was afraid that it would change things between us, and... because... for a long time I wanted to avoid the inconvenient truth, alright? I didn’t even know if my Grandpa’s words have any merit until today. For most of my life, I thought it was just the ramblings of an old man. I pushed it away, thinking ‘there’s no way’ or ‘I can’t possibly be the Hero of Light’ while avoiding it as much as I could. Sam, please...”

My first lover closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and slaps her cheek so hard that it turns red. Her eye tears up from the stinging pain, and she grits her teeth. “FUCK,” she spits out a tiny bit of blood.

“S-SAM!?” Meri’s anxiety skyrockets.

Opalina reacts with motherly horror at Her Highness’s sudden self-harm. “Samantha! What in the Realms do you-”

“I’m good, I’m good...” The Princess shakes her head and puts a hand between her and Opalina. “I had to calm myself down enough to think straight...” Sam admits through hysterical breaths until she finally stabilizes. “I know better than to doubt you, Boss. We both know I’m young and... naive,” She struggles with the word, “But just cause I don’t understand why you’d hide from it from me doesn’t mean you don’t have valid reasons for doing it. I’m sorry.”

Such an emotional and mature response takes me entirely by surprise. Sam is disappointed but understanding and willing to try seeing things from outside her point of view. “Sam...” I was about to tell her that I forgive her, but the Princess has other plans.

She stands up, taking all the attention in the room along with her. “But don’t you dare hide anything else from me ever again, Boss...” Her cheeks redden, and her eyes angrily tear into mine. “Or I won’t forgive you, damn it!”

“Speaking of forgiveness,” Opalina says sharply, her motherly eyes contorted into a disappointed expression. “You really should have told me. Unlike Samantha, I understand why you kept it hidden- especially from me- but you shouldn’t have. Honestly...” The older woman shakes her head back and forth.

“Opal-”

“Silence. I’m chastising you.” She folds her arms around Zutiria like she were a pet. “Do you think I wouldn’t have supported your choice to be a Guild Master? If anything, all I would have done is track down that good for nothing father of yours and beaten some legitimate answers out of that worthless sack of dicks.”

The feeling of disappointing the closest thing I’ve ever had to a mother is crushing, but if I lost myself to it, then it would only lead to depression. So I simply hold my tongue and allow Opalina to say what she needs to. Her wording makes it seem like she knows my father, though, which she’s never brought up.

Eventually, Opalina stops staring so harshly and starts petting Zutiria’s head. “Oh, look at me. I’m such a hypocrite...” The Doctor sighs softly and laughs just a little. “I’m the last person in the Realm who should criticize someone for keeping secrets.”

“Nice. ‘Nother red flag.” Gwin raises an eyebrow.

“Shush, little Dwarf.” Opalina throws Gwin a teasing glare in response.

“I’m sorry, Opal. For what it’s worth.” I frown and wipe some sweat off my brow. The Doctor smiles and assures me that I have nothing to be sorry about. Although I still feel a pang of guilt, this does help to soothe it.

The subsequent reaction I get is surprising. Nikita stands up and walks toward me until we stand face to face. I look up at the tall, muscular woman who is both blushing and staring at me intently. She opens her mouth to speak, pauses, blushes even harder, then walks away with her chin cupped in her hand. The Grekkan stands there, everyone in the room awkwardly watching as the intimidating warrior tries to figure out whatever it is she wants to say.

Having never seen Nikita’s behavior become this eccentric, I give her all the silence she needs to sort her thoughts. But, of course, it takes her a while...