Two days after I visited Gaius’ house, my three companions and I were getting ready to make our way back to Damask. Having packed up our belongings, we were ready to depart the house by the time the sun rose. However, only Minerva’s parents were present to send us off since her siblings had gone back to work the previous day. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll visit you when we can,” Minerva promised her parents as we were preparing our horses. 

“That would be nice,” Cornelia replied. “But just take your time. And remember to spend time with one another, we’ll be waiting for grandchildren.”

“I should probably remind her about this the next time she suggests visiting you,” I remarked while Minerva hid her face away in embarrassment. “But thank you for the hospitality, I hope to be able to return it someday.”

“I look forward to that day as well,” Quintus added while patting my back. 

“Alright, it’s time to go,” Minerva declared, clearly wanting to escape this situation. “Stay safe, mother and father. And tell the others that I wish them the best.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” I said in an attempt to distract Minerva’s parents from hounding her. 

While I was receiving a multitude of hugs and pats, the rest of my companions readied the horses in preparation for our departure. In particular, both Sekh and Zeph seemed quite amused at the scene that had unfolded in front of them. And of course, the two of them provided no assistance. 

Once we were finally finished with our farewells, the four of us led our horses out through the city gate, mounting only when we left the city. As we were leaving the city, I saw Minerva cast a longing look back towards her home. 

“Hey, we can come back whenever you want,” I told her while we were riding away from the city. “Or worse comes to worst, we can hold things down in Damask so you can go.”

“Thanks,” Minerva replied warmly. “But I’d like it if we all went together, since it would be more fun that way.”

“How about just you and Azel go,” Sekh teased. “I can give you exclusive rights to him for maybe a week or two.”

“Sekh, I’m not private property,” I complained.

“Well that would be really nice,” Minerva said wistfully, almost squirming in her seat. 

“By the way, I expect to have my time paid back with interest if you take up my offer,” Sekh added, smiling mischievously. 

“Sekh, you don’t know how to calculate interest,” I pointed out. 

“I can learn,” Sekh replied, pointing her finger at me with unusual enthusiasm. 

“Can you three be normal for once?” Zeph added from the sidelines. 

“Not possible,” Sekh answered.

“Sorry, forgot you were here,” I added, provoking a rather rude gesture from Zeph. “C’mon, no cursing, Zeph. You’re not old enough, remember?”

“I’m only a year younger than you,” Zeph said indignantly.

“Too bad you don’t look like you are,” I retorted with a wry smile. 

“Are you saying my chest is too small?” Zeph asked angrily.

“Who knows?” I said while shrugging my shoulders. 

“Minerva, let’s stop them before they start actually fighting,” Sekh sighed before riding over to Zeph and patting the other girl’s head. 

“Azel, do you two not like each other?” Minerva asked while tilting her head. 

“It’s not that,” I chuckled. “Well, I don’t really have a problem with her. I just find it too amusing to make fun of her. So what about you, Zeph? Are you just feigning that you hate me?”

“I don’t hate you, not at all,” Zeph explained. “I honestly admire you, or at least the more heroic and compassionate side of you. I just can’t stand all of your teasing.”

“Shit, that was unexpectedly nice,” I said while rubbing the back of my head. “Don’t tell me that you’ve finished your monthly quota of niceness already.”

“I’d be nicer to you if you weren’t like this so much,” Zeph informed me. 

“How the fuck do you deal with Sekh then?” I asked. “Does she just not make fun of you?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” Sekh told me with a straight face. “Well, I like hugging her, but that’s about it. Besides, you tease her enough already, you bully.”

“I have mostly good intentions,” I said laxly, everyone quite unconvinced by my statement.

For the rest of the day, the four of us continued trekking along the road back towards Damask. Due to laws regarding the countryside of Tyros, we were unable to hunt game on our way. And although we could poach, Minerva was very adamant on us following the law. As such, we made do with the provisions that we had packed, which contained fresh meat and vegetables fortunately. 

“Hey Minerva, you want to sleep with Azel tonight?” Sekh suddenly asked during dinner. “Zeph and I can take care of the first night shift while you two take care of the second.”

“B-but it’s way t-too early for that,” Minerva stuttered while blushing all the way to the tip of her ears. 

“I didn’t mean sex,” Sekh chided with a sigh. “I just mean that you two will be physically next to each other in the same bed.”

“Minerva's point still stands,” I told Sekh. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” Sekh said while shrugging her shoulders. “But I’m offering this so Minerva doesn’t feel like there’s any disparity between us. Plus I was sleeping in the same bed as you before we got into an actual relationship.”

“Yeah, but that only happened because you’re not normal,” I said, leaning over to rub Sekh’s head. 

“That’s true, I am pretty unique,” Sekh stated with a gleeful smile. “So Minerva, do you want to take up my offer?”

Instead of speaking, Minerva simply nodded shyly, surprising me a bit.

“Are you sure?” I asked Minerva. “You don’t have to feel pressured into taking things too fast.”

“It’s fine,” Minerva replied. “It’s only cuddling, just don’t take things further.”

“Why are you telling me that?” I complained with raised hands. “If anything, I should be concerned that you’ll escalate matters considering how things have gone so far. Well it’s fine, I don’t mind such a development.”

No, it’s probably better to say that I actually want such a development. I just refrained from stating it because I’m certain that Minerva will feel pressured. However, I really do want to try using her chest as a pillow, it’d be a waste not to. 

“Don’t worry, if Azel crosses the line you just have to yell for help,” Sekh told Minerva confidently. “Conversely, Azel, you can also yell for help if she does the same to you.”

“So you’re equally supportive and equally suspicious of the two of us?” I asked Sekh. 

“Exactly,” she replied energetically. “And it’s not as though my beliefs are unfounded.”

“You’re not exempt from that, you know?” I retorted.

“What are you talking about?” Sekh joked with fake innocence. “I’m the embodiment of a pure maiden.”

“Definitely,” I replied lazily.

Having been reminded of the rather embarrassing incident regarding a maid outfit and a bath, Sekh immediately backed off with a red face. 

“Anyways, let’s get back to eating dinner. Sorry for distracting everyone.”

Seeing Sekh's sudden change in behavior, Minerva and Zeph couldn’t help but bat an eye. Zeph ,in particular, must have remembered the incident though she was clearly doing her best to prevent herself from giving Sekh a look of disdain.

The rest of the night went on without trouble, the four of us spending the time after dinner playing cards and dice. And when it was time for Minerva and I to go to sleep, I saw a mischievous wink coming from Sekh.

“I bet she’s enjoying this,” I thought as Sekh observed both Minerva and I. 

Sighing, I went over to Minerva and gently wrapped my arm around her shoulder. 

“Huh?” Minerva squeaked in response to the sudden contact. 

“No need to be shy,” I told her, a gentle smile on my face. 

“Sorry…” she muttered back. “I’m just nervous and I don’t want to mess anything up.”

“It’s fine as long as you don’t strangle me or do something similar,” I told her as we entered the tent. “Now let’s get as much sleep as we can, alright?”

Regaining composure, Minerva nodded before plunging into the bedroll with me. In the dim light of the tent, I could only make out the outline of Minerva’s body along with the almost negligible shine of moonlight reflecting off her beautiful silver hair. 

Smiling, I hugged my partner, pulling her closer to my chest. Squirming a bit at first, Minerva quickly gave in and returned my hug by wrapping her arms around my back, her pillowy chest now pushing against mine. 

“It feels nice, right?” I asked as the two of us rubbed our bodies against one another. 

“Mmm,” she hummed in response, nuzzling her cheek against mine. 

“Well, goodnight,” I whispered into Minerva’s ear before planting a light kiss on her cheek. 

Shaking just a bit, Minerva pressed her lips against my own cheeks, returning the kiss that I had given her. 

“G-goodnight, Azel.”

So in the end, she was still a blushing mess. But at least she mustered up enough courage to kiss me back. 

Later that night, Sekh roused both of us awake, making snide comments about how we clung to each other in our sleep. Not that she has any right to speak on such a topic. So for the rest of the night, Minerva and I watched over the camp with one another, occasionally huddling together for warmth. 

After a few more days of travel, our party arrived on the opposite side of the mountain pass at Safra. There, I began my first reintroduction as the hero of the spear, my first recipient being the Katepan that had been appointed after Loukas’ removal.

His reception was a bit disappointing in my opinion, though I barely knew the man so it was to be expected. As for what had happened, it went roughly as follows: I told the man my identity, his mind took a while to catch up so he froze, then he began to bow in respect, and he finally promised to work his hardest as a Katepan. In essence, I managed to feel amused, wounded, and let down all at the same time. 

However, the first major reintroduction would be in Camil, the blacksmithing village that I had helped a while back. When we arrived at the village, we were greeted by the usual sight of Aron manning the walls. 

Upon catching sight of us, Aron waved then proceeded to open up the gate. Additionally, he also called Vorn out to meet us. 

“Back from your trip already?” the senior blacksmith greeted us when he came out of his house. “Oh and I see that you’ve gotten a new spear as well. Has the metal been holding up well?”

“Well that’s a convenient topic to start on,” I chuckled, trying to suppress the shakiness in my voice. “The spear is certainly a wonder to handle, thanks to the metal you gave me. Though I lied about having a personal smith.” 

“What do you mean?” Vorn asked, his face fraught with curiosity. 

“I’m the hero of the spear, Azel Ashot,” I said as calmly as I could. “So I simply integrated the metal into my weapon instead of having something forged.”

Vorn paused for a bit to process my words, looking thoughtful instead of upset. 

“You know, that makes a lot more sense when you explain it.”

“You took the news surprisingly well,” I remarked.

“Why would I not?” he replied as though it was obvious. “I’d rather trust firsthand experience than some rumors from afar. And even if you are the butcher they say you are, that would only further incentivize me to stay on your good side.”

“See Azel, it’s not so bad,” Sekh suddenly chimed in while leaping onto me for a hug. 

“Yeah, that doesn’t make it any less nerve wracking for me,” I replied, provoking Sekh to hug me tighter. 

“Oh, can you show me how the metal works with the spear then?” Vorn requested.

Afterwards, I reintroduced myself to the rest of the village, the majority of whom took the news very well. Aron, in particular, even slapped me on the back and told me that he would tell his future kids that he has a hero as a friend. I responded by telling him that he needed to find a wife before thinking about kids.

The villagers were also extremely keen on asking me about the nature of my divine arm, requesting multiple demonstrations of transforming the spear’s shape and composition. And although some of the smiths wanted to theorize on ways to replicate the divine arm, they quickly came to the conclusion that such a thing was impossible. Well, there is a reason that enchanted equipment is virtually nonexistent on the mortal plane. 

So after spending a night in Camil, our group continued the trek through Damask to meet with the various other people that we had become acquainted with during our time there. 

Once we left Camil, we headed southeast towards the marshland area to visit Anna, the girl we had rescued from the foglings, and her family. And just like before, their reaction was a bit confusing for me.

They more or less brushed over the fact that I was a hero and complained about my extreme lack of visits. And although we did buy food from them occasionally, the transactions were always made by Sekh and Zeph. The berating did subside by quite a bit when I told them that I was appointed as the Doux’s second in command, though I ended up getting a list of complaints about taxes afterwards. 

Finished with our trip to the south, we headed north back to our beloved home of Damask. And just to pat myself on the back, I would say that the road safety has certainly improved based on our very representative sample. 

“Home sweet home,” Sekh remarked when we were nearing the Labor Bureau building, the time somewhere around noon. 

“How do you think those two are holding up?” I asked as we were leading our horses into the stable. 

“Who knows,” Sekh said laxly. “Maybe they got married already.”

Well today was a holiday, one dedicated to a holy person from Stygia that I don’t recall, so the clerks won’t be present to drown us in questions.

Upon entering the building, we were greeted by the familiar sight of empty chairs, wide tables, and a mostly clean floor. Since it was around lunch time, the first place we went to check for Justin and Irene was in the kitchen. There, we found the two of them cooking lunch together in a rather idyllic scene.

“Looks like they did get married,” I said to Sekh once we had entered the kitchen. 

It appeared that the couple hadn’t noticed us, probably having withdrawn into their own world, since they turned around with startled looks on their faces.

“How did you get in so quietly?” Justin asked in shock.

“The real question is how you didn’t notice us,” I quipped. “Did you two get stuck in a love bubble or something?”

“Something like that,” he replied while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Clearly I was not the only one that had made progress during our separation. 

“Did you have lunch yet?” Irene asked us, trying to steer conversation away from the previous topic. 

“Not yet,” I answered. “I’ll get to making lunch soon. But I have some unpacking to do, so you two lovebirds can enjoy your time together.”

Although I had intended to tell them about the whole hero thing, I decided to wait until lunch as it would be a more suitable time.

“So what happened while you were in Tyros?” Irene asked us when we sat down for dinner. 

“A lot,” I replied. “But first things first, I’d like to reintroduce myself. I’m actually Azel, the hero of the spear, Iblis was only a fake name that I was going by for convenience.”

Similar to the other people I had talked to, both Justin and Irene took a while to process the situation. 

“I’m going to be honest, I really don’t know how to feel right now,” Irene said neutrally. “It’s a bit jarring to find out that a mostly amiable and mischievous friend of yours is actually a famed killer.”

“When you put it like that, I can’t help but agree,” I said with an easy grin. 

“Well I feel a bit more proud about the sparring matches with you then,” Justin chuckled nervously, possibly unnerved by me. 

“If you don’t have any questions about me then I should also let you know that Minerva and I got into a relationship,” I continued. “Oh, and I also met a guy in Tyros that I’m bringing over here to help me with work.”

“Are you just trying to distract us now?” Irene accused me. “I’d like for you to talk about things more in detail. Especially your relationship with the Bureau manager.” 

So for the rest of lunch, I spent my time recounting what had happened to Irene and Justin, with occasional comments from the other three at the table. Additionally, I also found out that Irene had confessed to Justin while we were gone. So much for watching things with our own eyes. 

With that out of the way, I only had a few more people that I had to talk to. Before going to Doux Isaac, I went to see Adrea as well as the orc bowyer. And although the bowyer seemed rather excited that one of his customers was a well known individual, Adrea was not quite so happy. 

“So how are you treating Sekh?” she immediately questioned me upon hearing my explanation. 

“Well?” I responded unsurely. “Do you think I’m mistreating her?”

“Your reputation isn’t exactly the cleanest you know?” she retorted. “Personally, I don’t care much about who you are. However, I will make you regret living if I hear that you’re mistreating Sekh. And Zeph for that matter.”

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem,” I replied with an amiable grin. “Oh and I should let you know that I got into a relationship with the Bureau manager girl.”

“‘It shouldn’t be a problem,’” she mocked. “And then you hit me with a real problem right after.”

“I had to be honest,” I explained. “Sooner or later you would know so there’s no point in hiding it. Besides, you can take this as an opportunity to hold me accountable for things I do in the future.”

“I’m not your mother,” she complained.

“True, but we are friends right?” I continued. 

“I guess,” she sighed. “Well, I’ll tell my husband later since he’s busy right now. As for you, I just hope you make those girls happy.”

“Already on it,” I said while saluting her mockingly. 

“Make those girls happy huh?” I thought after leaving the smithy shop. “Now that’s a goal to aspire towards.”

After some walking and daydreaming, I entered the citadel of Damask. There, the guards and servants gave me warm welcomes, glad that I had returned from my trip. Gallus in particular seemed quite glad that I had returned. 

“It’s really good that you’re back,” Gallus said. “Now that Isaac’s health has deteriorated, things haven’t been running as smoothly as before.”

“How bad is it?” I asked, quite concerned at the sudden revelation. 

“He’s pretty much unable to work,” Gallus sighed. “Whether he dies or not, that is up to fate.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “I was planning to tell him that I’m the hero of the spear, but do you think that shock might harm him?”

“Doubt it,” Gallus replied. “It might even make him feel better since a hero is the one taking care of the region in his stead.”

“The least reputable hero,” I pointed out.

“Wrong,” he said, somehow looking triumphant. “Having someone like you lead will instill fear in the hearts of brigands and other outlaws.”

“I guess,” I remarked before going off to see Isaac. 

So it seems that I might end up being a guard dog for the empire in the end. And although it left a bitter taste in my mouth, I didn’t really know if there was a better choice. I could hope that Alexios assigns someone competent, but I would have to hold things down for a while. 

Now with Isaac in critical health, I was certain that there would be people trying to take advantage of the situation. So instead of some unknown veteran leading in Isaac’s stead, it would probably be better to bring in a hero. 

But I at least had the option to do things differently. If I played things smart, I could avoid having to rely on fear to instil order. More importantly, I could clean up my own name. 

Upon entering Isaac’s new room, I saw the sight of the Doux reclining on a large bed with a book in hand. The room was more or less similar to the rest of the castle, stone walls with wooden interiors and a variety of furniture. But the presence of potted plants, vials of medicine, and plethora of pillows showed that it was a room for a sick person.

“Ah, good to see you, Iblis,” Isaac greeted me when I entered the room. 

Hearing him call me by the false name, I couldn’t help but sigh tiredly. 

“Sorry to do this to you when you’re all sick, but I should let you know that I’m actually the hero of the spear, Azel.”

“But I checked your records and everything,” Isaac said in shock. “I made sure that you were a real person in the Iasor registry so that I wouldn’t be getting deceived. Was the information forged?”

“Nope,” I answered, smiling a bit too much considering the situation. “You see, I actually made sure to use the name of someone that does exist. In fact, this ‘Iblis’ fellow is actually a friend in the Iasor military. Another young marcher like me, though he fought for coin instead of divine duty. I also made sure to get his information before we left Megara. I had to explain how going undercover would be beneficial for Alexios to give his consent on the matter.”

“I see…” Isaac mumbled. “Well I’m at least glad that you’re here to help. If you’re the same person that I’ve been working with then I guess there shouldn’t be any issues. Though I wonder if you should reveal yourself to the public.”

“I’m not entirely sure myself,” I said wistfully. “But I want to see if I can change my name. You think that’s a bit too optimistic on my part?”

“I don’t know,” Isaac said with a shrug. “All I can say is that you’ll have a lot of work ahead of you. As for me, I also have quite the challenge.”

“So we do,” I remarked. “You want some flowers next time I come.”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” Isaac chuckled.