All of this began with a single prophecy.
“When the time comes, three heroes will defeat the Demon King.”
It was a prophecy that stated three heroes would appear to save a world that was gradually becoming unstable due to the erosion of the Demon Realm.
People used that prophecy as a guiding light, continuing their lives day by day.
As the erosion from the Demon Realm reached its peak, the first hero to appear was the “Undying Saint,” Renie.
Originally a saint, Renie was appointed as the avatar of the god and received the power of immortality; ultimately, through Renie, the god designated the three heroes.
Chosen ones, appointed directly by the god.
Thus, the heroes revealed themselves to the world.
A hero with the Holy Lance, capable of unleashing the greatest attacks: the Holy Lance Bellikiss.
A hero with the strongest shield, capable of defending against any attack: the Iron Wall Tyrant.
News of the three heroes’ emergence filled people with the belief that they would soon defeat the Demon King and bring peace back to the world.
However, the god does not understand the hearts of humans.
An immortal, unaccustomed to change, cannot comprehend the ever-changing mortals.
The god was unaware that the sudden bestowal of great power and authority would inevitably corrupt humans.
No matter how virtuous one may be, having the mental fortitude to resist the temptation of power is an entirely different matter.
How can one be sure that a hero won’t fall, when even the most fanatical paladins can succumb to corruption?
Yet foolishly, they come to realize this truth far too late.
They soon became intoxicated by their own power and strength.
So much so that the fear of losing their powers upon killing the Demon King began to grip them.
These were divine artifacts and powers conferred directly by the god.
What an alluring power it is!
It is not difficult to understand why they would not want to let it go.
Thus, the hero of the Holy Lance and the hero of the Iron Wall planned to abandon their duty of killing the Demon King and retreat.
Even if the whole world perished, they believed that they alone, chosen by the god, would surely survive.
However, alas for them, before they could even plan properly, their scheme was overheard by a servant, leading to its discovery.
Hearing that the heroes might abandon their duty and flee, the paladin order immediately set out, but subduing heroes blessed by the god was no simple task.
The Holy Lance, capable of piercing through anything, and the Shield of the God, capable of nullifying any attack.
The combination was originally designed to confront the Demon King, so dealing with mere paladins was not a problem at all.
These artifacts, originally meant to target the existence of evil, had now been used to brutally kill humans.
But what was fortunate for the paladins was that the heroes were still inexperienced in utilizing the Holy Lance and the Holy Shield.
Thanks to that, the Iron Wall Tyrant was subdued after incurring quite a few sacrifices, but the hero of the Holy Lance, Bellikiss, successfully pierced through many paladins and escaped.
This disaster turned the hero of the Holy Lance into a traitor to humanity, rendering people unable to trust heroes any longer.
And the one responsible for all this was none other than the saint and hero of the holy kingdom, Renie.
——-
So began the adventure to find the fleeing hero of the Holy Lance half a year later.
In a worn-out room of an inn, a man with white hair spoke.
“So, you think there might be something at the thieves’ guild?”
“That’s right! The god has spoken!”
“Is this time for real?”
“Honestly, I swear to the god!”
“I should be able to believe that you swear to the god now. There is no trust left in that statement.”
“Well, the god is merciful! Lord Luke Irushi, he forgives little lies!”
There were enough times when swearing to the god resulted in lies.
Is that really the saint…?
If she were an ordinary cleric, she would have been judged a long time ago for blasphemy.
She truly is a reckless saint in many ways.
However, there is likely no one left in the material plane who can deliver a sharp religious admonition to her.
Renie, the saint and hero.
As an avatar of the god, she is treated almost equally to the divine in the material plane and does not die.
Being that close to the god, to give her religious advice would be nonsensical.
The man with white hair sighed deeply.
A man with a muscular appearance resembling a light-armored mercenary nodded in agreement to the white-haired man’s reaction.
“It’s really hard to believe this time. Could we really find ‘that’ in such a shabby information guild?”
“I told you so, Kail?”
The woman responded confidently, causing the white-haired man to stroke his beard as if in thought.
“However, there must be something behind that door which only women can enter… Rani.”
No matter how one looks at it, it is evident that there is something illicit going on; the fact that it is a prophecy, too.
If one assumes that it is indeed a ‘prophecy,’ one could somewhat comprehend the circumstances by piecing it together.
The fact that someone who is not accustomed to a life of fleeing has not yet been caught suggests that someone behind him is aiding him.
The treasures he has stolen while fleeing likely made that possible.
There have always been those who only care about their own survival, regardless of the doom that may come upon the world.
Perhaps the black hawk is assisting him.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to hide from the world for over half a year.
Yet he is a human intoxicated by power.
He must eventually reveal himself.
Otherwise, his fleeing would be meaningless…
And it is natural for such a man with power to desire ‘women.’
The story circles back around to this place, the thieves’ guild, which only that woman can enter.
The thieves’ guild processes various information.
Thus, it’s not particularly special for them to arrange ‘unauthorized businesses.’
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard rumors lately about female adventurers going missing or being murdered in this town.”
“I heard it was the work of monsters, but still, it seems suspicious.”
“That’s right, and that thieves’ guild seems to be preparing to leave this place!”
“Hmm.”
Luke stroked his chin and spoke.
“I’m getting accustomed to a long life on the run; gradually, tracking him is becoming more complicated. So, I certainly don’t want to miss this opportunity.”
If what Renie speaks of as a ‘prophecy’ is not just a lie to enjoy this adventure further, then it is certainly an opportunity not to be missed.
“Then let’s just dive right in.”
Luke picked up the cane resting against the table and stood up.
He had no reason not to break down the door, and with magic, he could easily manipulate a person’s mind to make them reveal all the information they possessed.
If what Renie says is without a single lie, there’s no need for him to even hesitate.
“Wait a moment.”
Kail blocked Luke.
“What is it?”
“Hey, think back to last time. What if it doesn’t work out?”
“….”
Kail was referring to the incident when Luke and Renie had to deal with the aftermath of killing a group of refugees who had been preparing to attack them with knives in order to treat them to food.
In the end, it took a few days before Luke and Renie finally returned everyone to their original selves, but it was indeed a significant incident.
Due to using extreme magic that precariously straddled the boundaries of necromancy and white magic, Luke had to suffer for a while, and Renie scolded herself for not being more careful.
If Renie had not been a saint, Luke would have become a murderer of refugees.
“Then does that mean we have to go in ourselves?”
“That’s right? It’s not like we have confirmed that those folks have committed ‘capital crimes,’ right? There are quite a few of them to handle individually with religious trials.”
“Ugh…”
People must always be punished for the sins they commit.
So, those who attempt to kill someone should receive capital punishment, those who attempt to harm others should suffer the same harm, and those who steal someone’s belongings should return the same item.
However, humans are never perfect beings; they can make erroneous judgments.
And as always, since it is quite difficult to bring a person’s life back, making a mistake breaks that law.
But the god does not simply stand by and watch such matters.
That is why the ‘religious trial’ is executed.
It is one of the miracles that bishops and higher can perform; if a sinner sentenced to death while under a ‘religious trial’ has committed no sin, he can be resurrected in his former state without any penalty.
Thanks to that, religion can always carry out ‘righteous acts,’ under the premise that those who wield its power are benevolent.
However, the divine power required for that is quite vast, and even Renie would need quite a bit of time to perform that miracle on each individual.
After all, it is a lengthy casting process.
“But really, you mean to go in alone? That’s absolutely not acceptable.”
Even if Renie is an immortal, that does not mean she is perfectly protected from all threats.
To put it bluntly, if Renie were to experience even a moment of discomfort, that would be a huge issue.
Luke did not want to see Renie lose her girlish innocence, and erasing the memories of an immortal with magic is impossible.
Not to mention that one cannot just dangle various artifacts when entering such a guild, and if it is out of sight, magic cannot be used.
Also, it is suspicious for a girl like Renie to enter such a dubious place, and even if she did, he had no certainty that she would manage well.
Renie’s mind is too bright and does not fit in such places at all.
No matter how he looked at it, he could not allow that to happen.
“So what should we do?”
Kail scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.
Then Renie smiled brightly and said.
“There is a way, lord Luke! By the way, you can also use ‘Polymorph,’ right?”
“Well, I can, but… wait, are you suggesting what I think you are?”
——–
In the end, after a bit of argument, it was decided that Luke would go into the thieves’ guild together with Renie.
Luke, who was fidgeting with the spot where his beard had been, muttered.
“… Hmm, I’m a bit sad about having to shave.”
There are no bearded women, so he had no choice but to shave.
He did not simply throw away the hair; he used it as an offering for the polymorph, but still, it was quite inconvenient to sacrifice even a little of his hair for a physical transformation.
Moreover, since he could not openly reveal that he was a ‘mage,’ he had to buy new clothes to fit his disguise.
After putting on his outfit, Luke fastened a belt around his coat and sheathed his sword.
He was set up as an adventurer who uses a sword.
In fact, he could handle a sword decently, even if not as well as Kail.
Finally, after checking his appearance in the mirror, Luke thought it would do, and opened the door.
Outside the door, Kail stood and gasped upon seeing Luke’s appearance.
“The disguise is finished… What the hell! What is this?”
“What’s the problem?”
Kail pointed at Luke’s chest and shouted.
“Yo, it’s huge! Are you insane? You, is that your preference?”
The physique was stunning.
Honestly, if one did not think of it as Luke Irushi, it might have been somewhat attractive, being aesthetically perfect.
“Well, since it is something he created himself, of course, it would be perfect…”
And Luke simply retorted.
“What are you talking about? If I don’t want to evoke thoughts of a male, it should naturally be large. If I were to make it ambiguous and then have someone say behind my back that I’m actually not a woman when sneaking in, that would only cause trouble. I cannot lie.”
That makes sense.
As for the face, he looked just like a typical parasite, so aside from the fact that he shaved, he did not look much different, but with a chest and physique like that, anyone would think he was a woman.
Kail could not help but allow his gaze to drift downward toward Luke.
“Um, is it really attached now?”
“Of course! It’s merely a disguise; there’s no need to get rid of what was there.”
Polymorph cannot fundamentally change the essence of male and female.
While it can change the form’s appearance, the essence remains male.
Thus, modifying the objects that constitute that essence is unnecessary and, for now, impossible.
Upon hearing Luke’s explanation, Kail nodded for a moment before swallowing his saliva and spoke.
“This is magic… Truly amazing. Can I touch it just once? It’s really fascinating.”
“What? Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what it means to touch a mage’s breast?”
Luke grimaced and scowled.
For mages, a breast is a ‘Circle.’
For someone who is not in a priestly relationship to touch them freely is a terrible insult and utterly unacceptable.
Even if they are long-trusted friends, there are boundaries that must not be crossed.
Realizing the meaning of his words, Kail, feeling embarrassed, began to raise his voice instead.
“Then make me one too! It’s really bothering me!”
“You’re fixated on breasts; are you still a child? It would waste mana and be visually violent, so I reject it. Do you even know how much mana it takes to change that body?”
“What? What are you saying? Hey, isn’t that how men are? You’re the weird one. You crazy mage!”
While the two continued to bicker and argue, Renie watched them laughing.
“Ahahaha, you two really get along every time!”
