Ian and Glendia had a unique relationship.
In the prologue of Heroic Academy, which depicted Ariel during her time with the Hero Party, it was clear that Glendia was always by Ian’s side.
There were even instances where Ariel, in her soliloquies about the past, mentioned how Ian and Glendia often shared many conversations.
‘It was said that they were practically inseparable, except when they were sleeping or bathing. Rumors even circulated in the community that Glendia and Ian were lovers.’
To anyone observing, it was almost inevitable to misunderstand their relationship as romantic. It was a possibility that seemed quite plausible.
Of course, things were different now.
“Is that kid still like that these days? I wonder when she’ll finally grow up.”
“She’s not a bad person by nature. She’ll probably get better with time.”
“Sometimes I think… you’re really something else. If my younger sibling had acted like that, I would have cut ties long ago. Yet, you continued to take care of Ariel.”
Glendia and Ian were not together because they were lovers.
Glendia, exhausted by Ariel’s unpredictable behavior, had begun to vent her frustrations, and Ian had merely become the emotional dumping ground to prevent the party from falling apart.
It was so difficult that Glendia could only calm down after talking about those times for two hours.
“Anyway, it’s good to see you doing well. Honestly, I was quite worried.”
“About me?”
“Of course I was worried. The rumor that you were branded as a betrayer who obstructed the Hero’s path even reached here.”
“I didn’t think it would spread to Edenria as well, though.”
“You told me not to mention it. Those of us who were involved probably wanted to clear things up but had to hold back.”
An unintended worry. As Ian gave a wry smile, Glendia subtly lifted the corners of her mouth.
“It’s been a while since we met. We’ve talked about heavy matters. Should we change the subject? How about the gift I gave you? I put a lot of effort into it.”
“So you were the one Raymond mentioned.”
“Only someone like me could openly challenge the Pope’s opinions.”
Although the Pope held powers that would not be unusual for an Emperor in Edenria, he did not have absolute control over everything.
As a city that followed the teachings of Eris, they could not ignore the one who directly received the divine will.
And Glendia was that person.
Selected by Eris, she was a saint with the power to communicate directly with the goddess. No matter how powerful the Pope was, ignoring a saint’s words was impossible.
“The Guardian’s Silver Ring is a gift I prepared specifically for you because I thought you needed it. I hope you like it.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t like it. You must have put a lot of effort into it.”
Seeing Ian’s genuine gratitude, Glendia smiled brightly.
There was nothing more pleasing than being acknowledged for the effort put into acquiring the gift.
“It was very difficult… You might not know this, but our Pope is quite stubborn. Still, since it was the will of God, I had to bend it.”
“Did Eris tell you to give it to me?”
If that was truly the case, even the Pope would have to accept it.
No matter how much power they had, if they believed themselves to be creations of Eris, her words would be absolute.
But there were aspects that didn’t make sense.
‘Was Eris even in a state to speak?’
According to the information from conversations with Belphegor, Eris and the Demon God had used considerable divine power.
So much so that appointing a new hero was difficult, and they had to resort to using someone like Ian.
‘Didn’t they say that after creating me, there were countless failures, causing them to continuously twist the timeline?’
In a situation where there were already no divine powers left and successive failures had further depleted their divine essence, could they really ask for the Guardian’s Silver Ring?
It was a moment of doubt.
“Of course it’s a lie. While Lady Eris is merciful, she wouldn’t bother with such trivial details.”
“What?”
“Deciding to hand over the Guardian’s Silver Ring was entirely my own judgment. We need to prepare for a major battle ahead, and having good equipment would be advantageous, wouldn’t it?”
“To lie to the Pope… that’s quite bold.”
“But there’s no risk of being caught. So you don’t need to worry. Besides, the fact that Lady Eris didn’t react after the item was passed to you can be seen as a sign of agreement.”
Even at such an incredulous statement, Ian merely nodded.
It was hard to understand why a saint who moved according to the will of the gods would act independently.
But honestly, it wasn’t a bad thing.
‘After all, it’s equipment that will be necessary.’
If he knew what kind of battles he would face in the future,
Knowing how much trouble he had gone through possessing Ian’s body,
It would be understandable if Eris herself had descended to give the gift.
That’s why.
“I’ll use the gift well. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Just consider it a reward for all the hard work you’ve done.”
The reason why he decided to receive the item Glendia had prepared.
Glendia’s relief only came after Ian stopped fussing over the ring she had prepared.
“It’s nice to meet someone my age again after so long. Working with high-ranking people isn’t easy, you know.”
“Why not try meeting other colleagues? Even if Hexar is busy, Illian should have some free time.”
“That guy is always traveling around the continent. It’s unlikely he’ll come here for leisure. So I gave up on that idea.”
At that moment, as the conversation seemed to be drifting, Glendia suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, I didn’t mention this earlier. Do you know that Ariel went to meet Hexar Madukelan?”
“Ariel… met Hexar?”
The news about his younger sister’s whereabouts, which Ian had not expected, made him frown deeply.
***
“Ugh. It feels like it never ends. Is this really reality?”
Hexar Madukelan stared with a disheartened expression at the mountain of documents piled high on his desk.
‘There’s a saying that one who wears the crown must bear its weight, but this seems to be going too far.’
Despite achieving the grand feat of uniting all the guilds within the empire, Hexar had to pay a price.
While he was away with the hero party, the paperwork he needed to approve piled up at an insane rate.
The towering stack of documents almost touched the ceiling. What was even more astonishing was that this was after he had already cut it down as much as possible.
‘Damn it… If I had known this would happen, I would have ignored my father’s dying wish. I thought being a guild master would be great, but what on earth is this?’
He sighed deeply in frustration, but the paperwork didn’t decrease.
In the end, Hexar had no choice but to tackle the documents with a heavy heart.
As he flipped through the papers relentlessly,
“Guild Master, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh! Has Lucille finally understood my feelings?”
The woman with a neat appearance and mid-length rose-colored hair, Lucille, approached him with an expression of exhaustion.
“What are you talking about? I already told you that I wouldn’t take the position of Deputy Guild Master you proposed earlier, didn’t I?”
“Why don’t you reconsider? There’s no one as capable as you to solve this dilemma!”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I can’t even handle mana properly. If I were appointed as Deputy Guild Master, there would be backlash from the guild members. I’m not interested in that position.”
After hearing her firm refusal, Hexar gave up hope and leaned back in his chair.
“If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have kept Illian around. He would have been a useful asset.”
“Enough with the strange comments. We have a visitor.”
“A visitor? I’m already swamped with work. If it’s someone from the royal family, just ask them to wait until the kids come back and deal with the dungeon issue.”
Hexar resumed his focus on the paperwork, but Lucille remained in place.
The reason for her persistent presence was clear.
“…Sigh. Just how high-ranking is this visitor that our secretary is acting like this?”
“The Hero wishes to see you.”
The Hero? At that moment, Hexar’s face lit up with excitement.
“Are you talking about Ian? It’s been a while since I told him to come by when he had time.”
How heartbreaking it had been for them to part ways without even having a meal because of an unfortunate incident.
The parting due to an unfortunate incident had been so painful that he hadn’t been able to offer help, even though he wanted to. It was a source of guilt for Hexar.
“Lucille! Do I still have that special wine I’ve been saving? Fetch it. My dear younger brother is here after a long time, and I should properly entertain him.”
Although he would have liked to invite Ian to where he was, he knew Ian was not someone who wasted time, so he refrained from doing so.
In such a situation, the fact that Ian had come to him of his own accord was a stroke of good fortune.
Hexar was ready to bring out the wine he cherished for Ian. Just as he was smiling broadly, Lucille interjected.
“Sorry, but I said the hero, not Ian.”
“What? No way…”
“Ariel Volkanov wants to see the Guild Master. She’s right at the door. Should I let her in?”
Involuntarily nodding, Hexar was stunned when a woman with white-blonde hair appeared.
“…It’s been a while, Mister Hexar.”
“Oh. Ariel?”
Seeing her, Hexar’s mouth fell open in shock.
‘Why is she here?’
Reuniting with the Hero after such a long time turned out to be the worst possible scenario.
