The Hero (4)

The whistling wind roared past her ears, and the roofs of Silvervein City, covered in black lead tiles, merged into a blur of dark shadows below.

Kaila moved like a weightless bird.

She wanted to ask Sophie how she had found and beaten that so-called cultist.

But she couldn't ask, for the answer might reveal things about Sophie that were better left unknown.

It was best if Sophie kept her hands clean and left no evidence behind.

As long as no one reported her, Kaila could avoid asking Sophie those awkward questions.

Her toes tapped lightly against the narrow edge of a chimney. Using that slight counterforce, she soared into the air, leaping over a street more than seven meters wide that was tightly sealed with blackout canvas.

She landed without making a sound; her boots didn't even cause a whisper of friction against the rough lead tiles.

Only a few seconds ago, she had been two streets away, standing in front of a bakery.

At the time, a plump shopkeeper was sweating profusely because her cart wheel was stuck in a crack between the flagstones, while a baby beside her wailed with hunger. Kaila had simply brushed past them, extending that Hand of the Hero—a hand long accustomed to weapons—and gave the cart's chassis a gentle lift.

The jammed wooden wheel cleared the obstacle instantly.

The shopkeeper felt only a sudden breeze as her heavy cart became light as a feather. By the time she rubbed her eyes and looked around, there was nothing to see but the bustling crowd; not even a ghost of a helper remained.

By then, Kaila was already racing over another alley.

“Meow—”

A shrill cat cry drifted up from a gap below.

It was a black cat that had somehow climbed onto a third-story windowsill and was now trembling with a fear of heights, clinging to a rickety wooden shutter.

Its owner, a freckled little girl on the street below, was looking up with tears streaming down her face.

Kaila did not slow down.

Her body twisted mid-air at an impossible angle, her grey nun’s habit spreading like bat wings as she threaded herself precisely through the narrow gap.

The moment she passed the windowsill, her left hand unerringly pinched the scruff of the black cat's neck. She then completed a graceful mid-air roll and landed steadily in the shadows behind the little girl.

Without a word, she gently placed the shivering ball of black fur into the empty bamboo vegetable basket at the girl's feet. Then, she pushed off again, vanishing silently around the corner.

“Mimi!”

The little girl turned at the sound and joyfully scooped up the basket, completely unaware of which kind soul had helped her.

As Kaila’s body flew through Silvervein City’s complex terrain, her mind drifted to other matters.

Being with Sophie didn't feel bad.

That white-haired, red-eyed vampire spoke in riddles and acted with a mix of laziness and pragmatism.

And yet, Kaila felt relaxed and at peace whenever they were together.

Sophie said she wanted to tour the city together.

Kaila felt the same way.

She knew several places in this city that would surely astonish that provincial demon.

It would be quite interesting to take her to those spots and see her surprised expressions.

Unfortunately, she couldn't.

Kaila stopped on a roof ridge, her golden hair ruffled by the wind.

Her emotionless eyes gazed down at the citizens of Solitude passing by, bound tightly together by their companion leashes.

The people here were cursed, unable to ever be alone.

Kaila actually envied them.

Because once they left Solitude, the effects of that curse would vanish.

But she was different. Her curse followed her wherever she went.

Her identity was the Hero.

And a Hero must do what a Hero is meant to do.

In the Destined Sanctuary: Destinos, the realm of her birth filled with holiness and precepts, everyone was born with an identity.

Some were Tailors, some were Guards, and some were Sinners.

And she, from the moment of her birth, had been branded as the Hero.

Everyone had a task they were destined to complete. For a Tailor, it was endless sewing; for a Guard, it was standing watch until death.

For a Hero, slaying the Demon King and defeating Witches was the ultimate mission, but before that, the long and trivial daily grind was the true chain that bound her.

Helping the weak, rescuing those in danger, and solving problems.

It sounded grand.

But it was a hassle.

【Heroes seek no reward】.

This meant she could not ask for a single copper from those she helped, nor could she accept a meal in return. She couldn't even stop to properly listen to a verbal "thank you," for that would give her a sense of satisfaction—a feeling that she had done a good deed—and thus pollute the purity of a Hero.

Unless someone asked for her help in the form of a formal commission.

It was only reasonable for a commission to have a reward.

Although a Hero would not starve to death, having no money to buy food and being forced to endure hunger was still miserable.

With money, she could buy more food to distribute to beggars while also filling her own stomach.

However, she couldn't have too much money.

Because 【Heroes must be incorruptible】.

If she had too much, she had to give it away.

Giving a Gold Sun to Sophie was better than giving it to some beggar on the street. Kaila had seen the consequences of giving a beggar a Gold Sun far too many times.