The next day, I woke up late into the afternoon, getting nearly twelve hours of sleep. Mary had been exhausted after the events of yesterday, so she needed a day to rest, letting us do as we pleased instead of holding us to keep up with chores.

  Even though I had the mind and mana of the Death God, I still had the body of a child. I might have been Bronze now, however I still strained myself excessively with what I did the night before. And that was why I welcomed this much-needed rest without complaining.

  Hannah was still asleep when I woke up. Unlike me, she had the mind, body, and mana of a child. So she most definitely overexerted herself last night. I was sure she would remain bedridden for the rest of the day, even if she woke up in an hour or two from now.

  It was not like I was going to disturb her anyway. With what I needed to do next, I didn’t need her help. She just needed to keep quiet about my identity, and something deep inside me told me that I could trust her to do that.

  So I exited my room and grabbed a quick bite to eat from the kitchen. Jay was the only one who was still in the orphanage at this hour— he was sitting at the dining table, reading the same book as yesterday. Everyone else was either doing chores because they wanted to, or they had run off to do something else.

  Although… I suspected Ethen was also still resting in his room. But I didn’t see him around.

  “You know, Eli,” Jay said when he saw me, not even bothering to greet me with a ‘hello’, “you probably should’ve waited until you were in private to tell Mary that you became a [Healer].”

  “And why’s that?” I asked as I munched on a piece of bread.

  “Michelle cannot keep her mouth shut for the life of her. You and I both know this. All her friends will hear about this by the end of the day.” Jay shook his head as he set the book down to the table. “And Alan and Alice are kids. I wouldn’t trust them with counting to ten, let alone keeping this on the down low.”

  I just waved a hand dismissively back at the boy with glasses. “Don’t worry. I’m sure even if they gossip a little bit, nothing will come of it anyway.

  Jay pursed his lips. “I highly doubt that.”

  As do I, I thought as I finished my loaf of bread, but remained silent. After all, this was exactly what I wanted.

  So I left the orphanage with a small smirk on my face as Jay resumed reading his book. I did have more questions I wanted to ask him about the Artifacts of Death and whatnot he had mentioned— especially after what transpired yesterday.

  But I was sure that Nicky would have more answers for me than a little kid would.

  ***

  Nicky was nervous. Her heart was pounding in her chest like a smith’s hammer. She could hardly breathe with the bands of fear wrapped around her throat, becoming tighter and tighter with each passing moment.

  As they had agreed upon the night before, they would meet up outside of the warehouse today. But since they didn’t mention a specific time, the redhead had been waiting for the Death God since the morning.

  She hadn’t even had the chance to eat yet, and she was starving. But each time she considered leaving for a few minutes to grab a quick bite, she thought about what would happen to her if she arrived late.

  “And where exactly were you?” she imagined the boy saying, his eyes glinting red dangerously. “Don’t tell me you were plotting to… betray me?”

  Gulping, she could not even bring herself to imagine what would happen to her next. All she knew was that she didn’t want to suffer the consequences from getting on the bad side of the Death God.

  So she waited. Even as her stomach growled and hunger pangs struck her. She just closed her eyes and waited.

  “Hungry?” a voice piped up from the side, drawing her attention up.

  Nicky immediately straightened and faced the boy who was approaching her from a nearby alleyway. He wore a casual smile on his face as he gestured back where he came.

  “You should’ve gotten something to eat before coming here,” he said simply. “I saw a few food stands just a few streets away. I don’t know what they were selling, but it smelled delicious.”

  “S-sorry, boss,” Nicky quickly replied as she bowed her head apologetically. “Next time, I’ll grab something to eat before our meeting.”

  She wasn’t even sure what she was saying— she just didn’t want to anger him in any way. Because she knew what he was capable of doing. Not only had she heard the stories of the last Death God’s atrocities, she had also seen what he could do the night before.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that in her lack-of-thinking before speaking, she must’ve upsetted him in some way. Because the boy just tilted his head at her and stared at her for a long moment.

  Oh, no, Nicky thought as she froze, the sounds of her stomach groaning the only thing audible in the silence. Don’t tell me he was being sarcastic…

  After all, why would he care if she was hungry? He was the Death God.

  But he finally spoke up, revealing what had caught him by surprise.

  “...boss?” he repeated what she had said earlier.

  And Nicky realized her mistake. You idiot, she scolded herself in her head. He’s a god— why did you think calling him boss was a good idea?

  Backing up, she immediately floundered over her words as she tried to rectify her mistake. “I-I apologize… your majesty?”

  He stared blankly back at her, and she realized that she was still making a mistake.

  “I truly mean no disrespect, my lord!” she practically exclaimed, beginning to break out into a cold sweat.

  Still, no reaction from the Death God. Nicky pursed her lips. She realized she was just digging her grave here.

  Lowering her head, she spoke dejectedly, wondering if she could even salvage the situation. “Please, I am new to this whole ‘servant’ thing. How may I address you… my liege?”

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  She hoped that was the correct answer. But the boy stared at her for a moment longer, and she began to accept her faith. Until, finally…

  “Just call me Eli,” the boy said as he waved a hand off. With a chuckle, he drew back from her as she stared at him with wide eyes. “You don’t have to address me by any fancy title if it makes you uncomfortable.”

  Nicky blinked a few times when she heard this. She opened her mouth in protest, still in disbelief as to what he said. “A-are you sure?”

  “I am,” Eli said as he rolled his eyes. “Also— you’re not my servant. I told you this yesterday, didn’t I? Now, come on, let’s go get you something to eat.”

  Nicky’s head spun as she processed what he said. She stared at his back for a moment longer, feeling a sense of relief wash over her, before the same dread from before crept back up, telling her this was a test, and if she failed, he was going to kill her.

  However, before she could deliberate over the validity of her feelings, Eli just glanced back at her and gestured for her to follow him.

  “Are you coming?” he asked expectantly.

  And Nicky immediately snapped out of her stupor as she hurried after him. “Y-yes!”

  ***

  Nicky followed Eli as he brought her to Velmond’s relatively small market street and bought her some skewered meatballs. He even paid for it, much to her surprise. And she truly couldn’t help but wonder if this was a test.

  “Are you sure?” Nicky asked as she reached for her pockets. “I have the money— I can afford it.”

  Eli just scoffed as he shook his head. “I don’t really care about money. I have plenty, especially since I’m the leader of the Blood Swords now.”

  “O-oh, right.”

  Pursing her lips, Nicky just wondered if that was why he was treating her. Rather than out of kindness, it was because he was her boss now, and he thought that was what he had to do.

  “I mean, I presume you guys do have a vault full of gold, don’t you?” the boy asked, giving the redhead a sidelong glance.

  “We do have gold,” she replied with a nod. “But it’s not exactly a vault.”

  Eli shrugged in response. “That’s good enough for me.”

  “I see.”

  Nicky eyed the boy from behind as he strode casually through the market street. He seemed quite carefree— much more than she was expecting from the reincarnation of the Death God. It almost seemed like he didn’t quite care about anything. But he had asked for her to meet with him for a reason. So there was obviously something he wanted.

  “I…” Nicky hesitated, before mustering up the strength to ask the question that was bearing down in her mind. “What did you need from me?”

  “I want you to bring me to the local temple,” the boy answered as he tilted his head back. “But I do also have a few questions for you too.”

  Nicky furrowed her brows, and she wondered what his intentions were. But still, she answered his question. “The temple? It should be just a few streets ahead— at the center of the city.”

  He came to a halt and glanced back at her expectantly.

  “Well? Lead the way,” he said simply.

  “R-right.” And she did.

  As the two of them made their way through the streets of Velmond, Eli began to list out a few questions for her— mostly about the city, the temple, and the Blood Swords.

  “Tell me,” the boy said, “what’s the situation like with the temple here? I mean, I feel like a small city like Velmond wouldn’t really have a very lavish temple full of [Priests]...”

  “That is true,” Nicky answered, before shaking her head. “But that’s less the fault of the Church of Life, and more the fault of the Lord of Velmond.”

  Eli raised a curious brow at that as the two of them turned a street corner. “Oh? And what does that mean?”

  So Nicky explained, “While the Church of Life is in charge of maintaining all of their temples throughout Parvos, they can’t allocate equal resources to them— especially when they are collecting very little in donations from small cities like Velmond. That’s why, usually, the temples are often supported by local subsidies by the city itself.”

  “So the Lord of Velmond is expected to pay out of his pocket to help fund the local temple, I see.” Eli nodded understandingly.

  As the two of them spoke, they arrived at the main square of the city. There were quite a few shops and luxurious buildings lining the sides of the streets. There was a large palatial structure that was patrolled by guards at the very front of the courtyard— and that was where the Lord of Velmond resided.

  Nicky drew her lips into a thin line as she looked at a decrepit building right across from the residence of the lord of the city.

  “Yes. But unfortunately, because Lord Alistair Velmond is a greedy and corrupt man, as you can see, the temple is severely underfunded.”

  Eli frowned as he eyed the building. It was a small marble building that looked like it could have been quite beautiful once. But it had fallen into disrepair over time. Its white walls and pillars were cracked and discolored, and the steps leading up to the temple was filled with garbage and beggars

  There was a small line of sick folks leading up to the entrance of the temple, but only a single elderly lady in old white robes was overseeing them.

  “As such, the temple is run by only a [Priest] and a pair of [Nuns]. They take volunteers whenever they can. But even that’s rare, because nobody wants to be around helping poor and sick folks all day when they have their own problems to deal with.”

  Nicky clenched a fist as she eyed this scene. Eli noticed this, and he tapped a finger on his chin.

  “I assume the Blood Swords are somehow partially responsible for this too?” the boy asked.

  And Nicky nodded. “Not entirely, since this has been a thing for a while now. But thanks to my brother’s influence, Lord Alistair Velmond has become even more corrupt, greedy, and negligent of the city. So the situation has only gotten worse as of late…”

  “I see…” Eli nodded as he listened.

  The two of them stared at this busy scene outside of the temple for a long moment, before a shout drew both of their attention. A middle-aged woman was trying to force her way into the temple, shoving past the line of people that was already queued up there.

  “Please, you need to let me through!” she pleaded as she held up a sick child in her arms. “Gracious Goddess, it's my son! He’s very ill— if the [Priest] doesn’t see him now, he will die!”

  Unfortunately for the woman, she was shoved back by the crowd of people that were already ahead of her. Nicky gritted her teeth when she saw this. Sights like this were starting to become more common lately. She just wished there was something she could do.

  But as Nicky just watched the scene unfold— as the [Nun] kicked the woman out of the temple for disorderly conduct— Eli moved.

  The boy stepped forward and began to approach the temple as Nicky blinked.

  “What are you doing—” she called out after him.

  But Eli ignored her as he strode up the steps of the temple. She watched him walk up to the mother as she cried, clutching tightly onto her sick son. And he placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s going to be alright,” he reassured her as she looked up at him and wiped away her tears from her eyes.

  “Who… are you?” she asked.

  But Eli didn’t respond. Nicky looked on as the boy stood up straight and simply clasped his hands together like he was about to say a prayer. And he spoke softly, barely audible to the redhead’s ears from a distance.

  “[Aura Of Light].”

  And as he spoke, a dome of white light spread out from where he stood, encasing not just himself, but the mother and her sick child as well. The woman stared at him in confusion as she and her son were bathed in the light.

  But it was not her. The light spread out further, befalling the line of sick and injured people queuing to enter the temple. They all looked around in confusion as Eli just stood there behind them with his eyes closed.

  The [Nun] stepped forward when she saw this, snapping at the boy. “Hey, you! You can’t just go around casting random spells without consent—”

  But a shout of surprise cut her off from the side.

  “My leg—” a man who had been walking with crutches dropped them as he exclaimed in shock. He stumbled forward with round eyes. “It’s been healed— I can walk again!”

  The [Nun] paused as similar voices called out all across the queue of people. She looked around, utterly befuddled as she tried to calm everyone down and understand what was going on.

  Meanwhile, the mother held up her son as she breathed, watching as his face grew to a natural color, the lumps on his skin vanishing.

  “My son…” she whispered, before looking up at Eli.

  He lowered his hands as he opened his eyes. The spell came to an end, the dome of light fading away. And she knelt on the ground, bowing her head at him as she practically hugged his feet.

  “Oh, thank you… may the Goddess of Life bless you… you saved my son…”

  All the while, Nicky just watched with round eyes as a crowd gathered at the scene, wondering what just happened.