A few hours later, we were sitting in the elder’s office again. Just like last time, I found myself at the head of the table. He had given up his seat to me once more — though this time it was probably because I was the main reason for today’s meeting.

  Morning had already arrived. After the exhausting night, everyone had managed to get some rest and had gathered here again.

  I, on the other hand, hadn’t slept at all.

  Not that I needed rest. But tonight was different — I had spent the entire night preparing for the conversation about who I really was.

  The people in this room deserved to know the truth.

  And I wasn’t going to hide it any longer.

  Before this, I had discussed everything with Elaris.

  She said nothing terrible would happen if they finally learned the truth.

  Her words gave me confidence — and I needed that today more than ever.

  The only one missing right now was Sophie. She was tending to the wounded after the battle. More precisely, she was mostly helping the Reapers. Our people had gotten away with nothing worse than blisters on their hands from nonstop archery.

  Speaking of the Reapers I had captured… and those who survived.

  Garen and Harsul had gathered them all and thrown them into the dungeon before going to rest. Their wolves were locked in the stable.

  Now the Reapers were tied up and waiting for the knights who would soon arrive to take them to Elysium for trial.

  But before that, I still wanted to speak with them.

  And give them a chance to make things right.

  A quiet knock sounded at the door. It opened, and Sophie stepped inside.

  — Sorry I’m late.

  She quietly closed the door behind her and walked to an empty seat, sitting beside Aria and Lucia.

  They exchanged smiles. It was nice to see that in such a short time they had already become friends and were getting along well.

  Now that everyone was here, we could begin.

  I clapped my hands lightly, announcing the start of the meeting.

  — Well then… where would you like me to start? Or maybe it would be easier if you ask questions and I simply answer them?

  — You could start by telling us about yourself. After that, everyone can ask their own questions, — Garen said, crossing his arms.

  He looked slightly offended.

  I wasn’t entirely sure who had upset him… though I had a suspicion it might be me. Most likely he was bothered that I hadn’t told him the truth while I was living in his house.

  I nodded to him and looked around the room again.

  Oven and Suron looked the same as always. Sophie too.

  And the tieflings… well, the same as ever.

  Each of them looked like they were about to explode with impatience to hear what would happen next.

  Their eyes were full of genuine curiosity.

  — Alright. I think all of you have noticed some… strange things about me. More specifically, my unusual knowledge about certain things and so on.

  Everyone simply nodded and continued listening.

  — That’s because I’m an otherworlder. I died in my previous world… and ended up here.

  — Yeah, I suspected that.

  — Same here.

  Garen and Oven had simply received confirmation of their suspicions. I had often told them about unusual things from my old world — like that story about sewage systems I mentioned earlier.

  But the rest of the group reacted differently.

  For some reason, the tieflings actually looked happier after hearing this.

  — I doubt that’s the only thing you’re curious about today. So it’s time to talk about who I really am. I’m sure you’ve already guessed that I’m not exactly human, — I paused and glanced at Sophie. She quietly nodded. — In fact… I’m not human at all.

  The room grew noticeably quieter.

  Everyone stared at me, waiting for what came next.

  But Garen broke the silence.

  — Yeah, I’ve never seen a human with wings before.

  He was still sulking and clearly taking a jab at me for not telling him earlier.

  ?Damn… I’m definitely going to have to apologize to him later.?

  I fell silent for a moment.

  Saying it out loud turned out to be harder than I thought.

  But it was too late to turn back now.

  — The thing is… — I took a deep breath. — I’m an angel.

  .

  .

  .

  Kai quickly caught up with his group and joined the others. Together they headed toward his father’s village — the same one that, according to their information, was about to be attacked.

  The entire way there he prayed that his father and sister were safe.

  But something else was bothering him too — that Rein his father had briefly mentioned during their conversation.

  All sorts of scenarios spun through Kai’s mind. He feared they might already be too late.

  Finally the village appeared ahead, and the group began descending, guiding their pegasi down.

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  When they landed, Kai’s heart started pounding even harder.

  Some kind of fortifications had been built around the village, and the streets inside looked like a brutal battle had taken place during the night.

  There were stains of blood on the ground. Some houses were damaged — as if explosions had occurred. A few windows were shattered.

  But what frightened him most was something else.

  The village was completely empty.

  Kai ordered his men to search the streets while he headed straight for his father’s house.

  When he reached it, he threw open the door and rushed inside.

  But no one was there either.

  That left only one place.

  The village hall.

  Kai spun around, ran outside, and sprinted toward it.

  When he reached the hall, he noticed the doors were wide open. Inside, a young secretary was sitting calmly at a desk.

  The sight seemed almost absurd — she was quietly doing paperwork while outside the village looked like it had survived an apocalypse.

  Seeing her made Kai relax slightly.

  At least people were still here.

  — Hello… Could you tell me if my father is with Lord Harsul right now?

  — Ah… probably…?

  The girl looked at him in confusion. She clearly didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her.

  Hearing the answer, Kai immediately turned and ran upstairs.

  — Ah…! Wait! There’s an important meeting going on right now!

  But Kai wasn’t listening anymore. He rushed to the second floor and headed straight for the door he needed.

  He opened it — and froze.

  The sight before him was strange.

  The room was full of people, and most of them had expressions of complete shock on their faces.

  But their reaction clearly wasn’t because of his sudden entrance.

  Following their gazes, Kai quickly understood what had captured everyone’s attention.

  At the head of the table — where the elder usually sat — was a girl he didn’t recognize.

  And judging by everyone’s looks, she was the reason for what was happening.

  Only now did Kai notice the elder himself, standing slightly aside with his hands behind his back.

  .

  .

  .

  After my words, the faces in the room froze in shock.

  For several seconds, a heavy silence hung in the air.

  I was starting to wonder if I had rushed things by revealing the truth so suddenly. Maybe I should have prepared them better.

  People were clearly stunned.

  And the tieflings… it was hard to tell whether they were shocked or excited.

  ?Seriously… what’s wrong with them??

  At that moment, however, my unexpected salvation arrived.

  The door suddenly flew open, and a long-haired young blond man in armor rushed into the room.

  People were still looking at me, but after he appeared their attention gradually shifted toward him.

  — Come in, Kai. You’re just in time.

  Kai stood in the doorway for a few seconds, but after hearing his father’s voice he stepped inside.

  — What’s going on here… and… — he looked at me. — Who is that?

  — Ah, that? That’s Rein. Rein, would you mind introducing yourself to Kai… and please say again who you are?

  Is he messing with me?

  Once was enough…

  If I say it again, I’m not sure anyone in this room will survive it.

  — Wait… is this the same Rein you mentioned during our conversation?

  — That’s right. The very one.

  I looked at Kai and held out my hand.

  — Nice to meet you. I’m Rein… — after a brief pause I added, — and I’m an angel.

  Kai stared at me silently for several seconds, still holding my hand.

  — Ha… ha-ha. Funny joke.

  — He’s not joking, Kai.

  Kai looked confused. He still didn’t seem to understand whether everyone was serious or messing with him.

  — What?

  — He’s not joking!

  Garen said it in a tone that left no room for doubt.

  Still holding my hand, Kai looked at me again and quietly said:

  — An angel…?

  — Yep.

  I smiled and said it as innocently as possible.

  But that didn’t seem to reassure him at all.

  Letting go of my hand, Kai turned and walked over to the open window. After standing there for a moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

  ?Seriously? Cigarettes? In this world??

  Where did those even come from?

  What else existed here that I hadn’t seen yet?

  Maybe they had cell phones too?

  He placed one cigarette between his lips and lit a tiny flame at the tip of his finger, calmly lighting it.

  Taking a deep drag, Kai slowly exhaled smoke and turned back toward me.

  — An angel, you say…? — he paused and took another drag. — And how exactly do you plan to prove that?

  His gaze turned colder.

  He no longer looked confused like before.

  — Maybe you managed to fool the others… but you won’t fool me.

  — Pfft… that idiot has never been satisfied with words. Show him, Rein.

  Kai briefly glanced at his father but said nothing. Instead he took another drag and looked back at me.

  — There’s not much room here…

  — Oh come on. Do it.

  Well, if he insists…

  I stepped aside a little to clear some space.

  With a simple thought, I let the power inside me manifest.

  In the next instant, white wings unfolded behind my back, spreading gently inside the cramped room.

  Kai, who had been about to take another drag, suddenly froze halfway. The cigarette slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

  He just stood there, staring at me.

  — See? We told you, — Garen said calmly.

  But Kai didn’t respond.

  He simply stood there like a statue.

  A second later he crooked a faint smile, let out a quiet chuckle…

  And collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

  ?Oh damn… I think I overdid the demonstration.?

  Sophie quickly jumped up from her seat and rushed to him.

  — Seriously… why is he so sensitive?

  — Uh… A? Is he okay? — I asked Sophie, worriedly looking at Kai lying on the floor.

  ?And this guy is a knight? A commander, even… What a mess.?

  But she didn’t answer.

  Instead, she grabbed a glass of water from the table and splashed it in his face.

  Kai suddenly gasped and woke up.

  But Sophie wasn’t done.

  The next moment she slapped him.

  Either to fully wake him up… or because he had actually fainted.

  — Ow! What was that for?!

  Kai rubbed his cheek, glared at Sophie, and then looked back at me. By that point I had already hidden my wings again to avoid repeating the previous incident.

  For several seconds he just sat there, as if trying to figure out whether he had imagined everything.

  Then he slowly pointed at me.

  — Uh… where did those… go? Or was I hallucinating?

  What am I supposed to tell him?

  He’ll faint again.

  — For god’s sake, pull yourself together. You weren’t hallucinating! — Sophie said irritably.

  Well, Sophie did the job for me. Thanks.

  Kai looked at me again.

  — So he’s really… an angel?

  — Yes. And that’s not all. Thanks to him, we survived the night.

  — Exactly. If it weren’t for Lord Rein, none of us would have made it through the night, — Lucia added.

  Huh? Why do they think that?

  It was a team effort. Everyone fought. Everyone mattered.

  — Wait, don’t give me all the credit, — I raised my hands, trying to stop them. — Every one of you played an important…

  — Yeah, yeah, but who came up with the whole plan? — Suron interrupted, standing up and walking over to me. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he added: — You.

  I slowly turned my head toward him.

  ?You could’ve just stayed quiet.?

  — Seriously…? — Kai muttered.

  He still looked completely confused.

  — Alright, let’s all sit back down and we’ll explain everything, — Garen stepped in.

  Kai silently got up from the floor and took an empty seat at the table.

  .

  .

  .

  Once everyone had sat down again, each person began telling Kai about me.

  Kai listened silently.

  Sometimes his expression shifted — from shock to confusion.

  Everyone shared their stories… and, it seemed, embellished them a little.

  Suron insisted he had realized who I was the moment he first saw me in the forest.

  The tieflings enthusiastically retold the story of how I had saved them in the woods.

  Then the elder explained why I was sitting at the head of the table instead of him.

  Kai listened to everything without interrupting.

  After that, the conversation moved to the battle during the night. They began describing how I had come up with the plan to defend the village with traps and walls.

  Everyone described their part of the fight against the Reapers — and the more they spoke, the more “genius” my decisions sounded.

  Listening to it all, I kept thinking that half of what they were saying sounded more like a legend than what had actually happened.

  When they finished, Kai sat quietly for a moment, processing everything.

  — Hm… you’re a very interesting guy, Rein, — he finally said. — I think you should meet Gerdar.

  I looked at him questioningly.

  Kai explained that Gerdar was one of the five “Fingers” of the current king of Elysium. According to him, he was an excellent strategist and one of the best planners of military operations.

  — And anyway… this is all technically a secret, — he added.

  — Hah? Gerdar is still serving?

  — Yeah. Though honestly, I think that old coot should’ve retired a long time ago.

  Apparently Kai didn’t like Gerdar very much.

  According to him, Gerdar was a real pain. Even though they technically held equal status, Gerdar constantly behaved as if Kai were his student.

  Or something like that.

  And he justified it by saying Kai was still too young.

  — Anyway… the part about you being an angel and an otherworlder is clear. But there’s one thing that still bothers me.

  Kai paused and looked directly into my eyes.

  — Can an ordinary otherworlder even become an angel? Reincarnating in another world in a different race is already extremely rare. But becoming an angel right away…?

  Kai had asked a very good question.

  I still didn’t know why I had become an angel.

  Elaris always dodged the question and redirected everything toward the Skill Manager.

  And whenever I tried asking him directly…

  He simply stayed silent.

  More and more, I had the feeling that the two voices in my head were hiding something from me.

  *…*

  […]

  Hey!

  Wait a second…

  Are you two working together?!

  I’ll have to teach them a lesson someday.

  For some reason I was starting to suspect the Skill Manager had its own consciousness.

  [That is impossible.]

  If I were a machine with consciousness, I’d say exactly the same thing.

  […]

  Sigh…

  I think I’m starting to lose it.

  Arguing with the system.

  Alright… I’ll deal with you two later.

  Shaking off those thoughts, I returned my attention to the meeting.

  And immediately noticed that a small argument had already broken out between the tieflings and Kai.

  The tieflings insisted there was nothing strange about it — after all, it was me.

  Kai, on the other hand, tried to counter them with religious arguments.

  — That’s impossible!

  — If it’s Lord Rein, then it’s possible!

  — You’re lucky the church hasn’t heard about this yet!

  Uh…? How did a normal conversation turn into this?

  Maybe I should calm them down?

  But Garen beat me to it.

  — Alright, enough! Stop arguing like a bunch of merchants.

  He slapped the table lightly, drawing everyone’s attention.

  Then Owen spoke up.

  — I actually have my own opinion about this… and an argument. If our god allowed a new angel to appear, then there must be a reason. As far as I remember… — he paused, thinking — there were twelve angels.

  — Correct, — Harsul added calmly. — And six of them became fallen after betraying god.

  — Hm? Fallen?

  Harsul nodded briefly and began telling the story carved into the walls of the first temple of this world.

  Thousands of years ago, god created twelve angels.

  But six of them betrayed him and left the heavenly palace, becoming what people later called the Fallen.

  No one knew where they went.

  However, after some time a strange realm appeared in the world — something people began calling Hell.

  Different demons began to be born there. Occasionally they entered the physical world and committed all kinds of atrocities. Later it became clear that the Fallen angels were behind it.

  Several thousand years later, the Great War between humans and demons began.

  The gates of Hell suddenly opened, and its inhabitants poured into the world by the hundreds of thousands.

  That was when the archangels intervened.

  They descended into the human world to destroy the strongest demons, leaving their god behind in the heavenly palace.

  And that was exactly the moment the Fallen had been waiting for.

  While the archangels were fighting below, they infiltrated the heavenly palace and slaughtered everyone inside.

  The last ones left alive were the god himself and his wife.

  But even they were killed.

  How the Fallen managed to kill a god remains unknown.

  Many people still believe the god is alive and continue to worship him. But over the centuries religion has been rewritten many times, and now there is no single unified faith left in the world.

  And the war with the demons…

  Perhaps it had only been a distraction.

  A spectacle created by the Fallen to infiltrate the heavenly palace.

  — So, Rein… you should worry about making sure the Fallen never learn about you.

  There was logic in his words.

  If they truly killed their own god…

  And thousands of years later a new angel suddenly appears in the world…

  That would definitely attract their attention.

  And they probably wouldn’t like it.

  Someday, I might even have to ask the archangels for help.

  If they don’t decide to kill me themselves first.