Chapter 13

Three years have passed since the most dynamic year in Amon’s life.

Three years since discovering Sonia’s talent, Amon’s talent, and then dealing with the possessed Jimmy and a psycho gorilla.

Three years since a year full of incidents that could easily make it into a radio story by this world’s standards.

During that time, Amon and Sonia prepared for their approaching graduation.

“Thank you for everything, Master.”

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Think again about my offer.”

“Thank you, but we want to see the wider world.”

Before graduating from the orphanage, Amon and Sonia wrapped things up at the swordsmanship dojo.

Hearing they were leaving, the master regretfully offered them the assistant instructor position and lodging, but they politely declined.

They would have liked to continue training calmly at the dojo.

But they were orphans.

No one to support them from behind, no connections.

It was time for them to carve their own path.

…Or so it seemed on the surface.

The bigger reason was that they were both Divine Power holders.

Amon knew how far this world would go to secure Divine Power holders, so staying at the dojo wasn’t an option.

Even if the dojo was relatively large by city standards, having two Divine Power holders meant a corporation could send a ninja squad without it being strange.

Naturally, Sonia and Amon didn’t want that.

So they had no choice but to bid farewell to the master with proper etiquette.

On the final path of farewell, the master gave them a stern reminder.

“Right. Don’t obsess over fame, just survive. Remember what I always say?”

“It’s not the strong who survive,”

“It’s the survivors who are strong. Right?”

Amon and Sonia answered in unison.

The master didn’t care about promoting himself through them or proving his teachings to the world.

He just wanted his students to live long, happy lives.

In this materialistic world, such love was priceless, so Amon and Sonia maintained their respect for the master until the end.

***

Afterward, the two began wrapping up their relationships with everyone they owed, except the master.

They weren’t ignoring them, but their worlds were different.

To be precise, their very existence was like poison to ordinary people.

Just being near them could harm others.

Amon and Sonia hid their regret and bid farewell.

“What’s the deal with this Divine Power…”

Sonia muttered gloomily.

She already knew her secret.

A year before graduation, the director had told her about the Divine Power.

Originally, it was meant to be a secret until graduation, but her dazzling talent couldn’t be hidden until then.

Her overwhelming talent made her realize her own strangeness, so the director had no choice but to tell her the truth.

Fortunately, thanks to Amon and the director’s moral education, Sonia didn’t become arrogant.

Instead, she became more humble, realizing how blessed she was.

The director couldn’t help but smile like a proud mother.

– But how did you know?

By the way, the director once questioned Amon for knowing the secret but not reacting much, but he managed to brush it off.

Anyway, they lived with the secret for a year.

Now, they had to wrap up their relationships before the secret was revealed.

Normally, one might gladly cut ties upon realizing their specialness, but Sonia, being sentimental, couldn’t do it easily.

When it came time to say goodbye, she often choked up.

So Amon calmly handled the goodbyes for her.

Sonia sometimes wondered about Amon’s composure.

“You’re not bothered at all?”

To her question, Amon always answered with a kind smile.

“I’m sad too. It’s painful to cut ties because of this Divine Power. This world is frustrating.”

“Then why are you so calm?”

“Because I believe this won’t last forever.”

Amon’s eyes shone brighter than neon signs.

“Someday, when I reach a position where no one can interfere with my relationships, and when the world becomes a better place, I’ll be able to return.”

Sonia couldn’t respond to Amon’s confident answer.

Sometimes, Amon was too confident about the future.

– You’ll shine brighter than anyone! I guarantee it!

Many children at the orphanage, struggling to survive, were captivated by his hope.

Sonia was one of them.

His declarations always came true, even if they took time.

No one believed his declaration to brighten the dreary orphanage, but by the time he graduated, the orphanage was filled with a vibrant atmosphere, incomparable to ten years prior.

So Sonia couldn’t help but believe Amon’s declaration this time too.

She even found herself convinced, vowing to follow Amon and see the bright future he would create.

The anticipation was unbearable.

As her thoughts reached that point, the gloomy girl vanished, and the usual Sonia returned, ready to discuss dreams.

“Then, for the sake of that dream, I should work harder in the priest’s class this afternoon.”

On the path back to the orphanage, Amon nodded in agreement.

After the director’s Divine Power reveal, the two began training to control their Divine Power.

Their instructor was the Narrow-Eyed Priest.

The same priest who had come to the orphanage to exorcise Jimmy’s ghost and occasionally checked on them since.

The priest gladly agreed to teach them, seeing it as a chance to win their favor.

Within a year, they became adept at concealing their Divine Power.

Sonia thought quite well of the priest.

“At first, I thought he was a bad person based on his looks, but he turned out to be nice.”

Amon smiled at her comment.

On the surface, it was a positive remark.

But inside, he disagreed.

‘Of course, anyone is kind when trying to win favor.’

In this world, neither looks nor deeds could be trusted.

The only thing you could trust was yourself.

The priest’s kindness alone didn’t make him a good person.

He was just a good person in this situation.

Ah, by the way, Sonia was always a trustworthy friend, so she was an exception to this logic.

‘Though she’s a bit of a complicated adult.’

Amon knew about the priest’s mark from the Vatican’s Heresy Inquisition, so he was sure the priest wasn’t a clean figure.

But he couldn’t call him a villain or hypocrite either, as he showed kindness to everyone he met.

There was no way to define this complicated adult, so Amon just smiled at Sonia’s assessment.

On the path to the orphanage where the priest awaited, Sonia brought up a new topic.

“So. Where should we go?”

“Hmm…”

Though the sentence was vague, Amon understood her intent.

She was asking where they should head after graduation.

Since their status as Divine Power holders was practically an open secret, they’d received offers from various groups a year before graduation.

The government was a candidate, but as usual with public servants, the harder and more honest you worked, the tougher it got, so they excluded it.

After narrowing down countless candidates, their final choices were two: corporations and the Vatican.

First, corporations offered solid money.

The harder you worked, the better the rewards, providing clear motivation.

They even promised support for the orphanage.

But like the government, if you couldn’t turn a blind eye to corruption, it would be a painful place.

No, even more painful than the government.

On the other hand, the Vatican offered less money but stability.

It was an organization where many Divine Power holders were born and gathered, allowing it to maintain influence even in a world where religion’s power had waned.

To some extent, it could rival lower-tier Megacorps.

Moreover, being a religious organization, it wasn’t easily swayed by corporations, and corruption wasn’t at its worst.

You could even use doctrine to clean up corruption if you wanted.

The only issue was the relatively lower income, but for Sonia and Amon, who weren’t greedy for money, it was a perfect fit.

However, Sonia hesitated to choose the Vatican for one reason.

“Wait, what does serving the Mother have to do with marriage?”

The marriage issue.

Vatican clergy were forbidden to marry by doctrine.

A ridiculous doctrine that even made Sonia tilt her head when she first heard it.

Amon also tilted his head, saying, “That can’t be right…”

But a doctrine over a thousand years old couldn’t be changed.

When they heard it, Amon scoffed.

“In the region with the highest density of orphanages in the world.”

Ironically, the Vatican had the highest orphan rate in the world.

There was a dark joke that if a devout nun started gaining weight, she’d disappear the next day and reappear eight months later.

Thus, the city had more orphans than children with parents and an unusually high adoption rate.

Priests claimed adopting children was practicing their faith, but, well.

Amon just sneered at them.

Returning to the story, Sonia and Amon hesitated about the Vatican because of this doctrine.

Amon was disgusted by its hypocrisy, and Sonia disliked the doctrine for various reasons.

But the drawbacks of the other two options were also significant, so they couldn’t easily discard the Vatican.

They’d been unable to decide between the three options for months.

“If all else fails, we could just go as a mercenary duo, right?”

At Sonia’s suggestion, Amon nodded.

Though mercenary work was considered a last resort, it was still an option.

Even for someone as confident in their talent and future as Amon, it was too unstable to choose lightly.

Mercenary work was dangerous, unstable, and tough.

But it wasn’t a path they should never take.

“Me as the vanguard, Sonia as the rear guard, fighting together…”

It felt like a powerful duo would be born.

Imagining that future, a smile naturally formed on Amon’s lips.

(Mainly in a gamer sense.)

Sonia, interpreting his pleased smile in her own way, smiled brightly too.

Before they knew it, they were envisioning a future of mercenary life as an escape.

“We’ll probably get scammed as beginners, right?”

“Worry about getting scammed for a room first.”

“What about the room? Two separate rooms or just one room with separate beds?”

“The latter.”

“Living together?”

“Any problem?”

“None at all.”

Though mercenary life wasn’t decided yet, being with their childhood friend made them feel like they could overcome any hardship.

As they painted a hopeful future, their happy imagination continued until someone blocked their path.

“…Jimmy?”

Jimmy, who had graduated long ago, appeared before them.