What she saw in those people's eyes was not gratitude, but fear.
She couldn't protect those beggars forever.
Identity was a very rigid thing.
Furthermore.
【Heroes must be humble】.
A Hero could not manifest their glory before others, for that would only breed vanity.
She had to be like a transparent ghost, appearing silently the moment a commoner faced a crisis, solving the problem, and vanishing before they could even react. She could never allow for a commotion or any form of worship.
Kaila didn't want to do these things—at least, not all the time.
She would rather go and fight; at least combat was exhilarating.
Battling Witches was a heart-pounding experience.
Although most of what she had said to Sophie before the battle was sincere, it had also hidden a small, personal motive.
Kaila didn't love everything about being the Hero.
But this was her curse.
Her stamina was inexhaustible, and she was immune to fatigue.
Yet, she could still feel bored. She could still feel annoyed.
Pausing for a few seconds, Kaila took a deep breath and began to move again.
For the next few hours, she continued her work.
In a blacksmith shop in the west of the city, an apprentice accidentally overturned a cart full of iron sand and was about to be scolded by his ill-tempered master.
The moment the blacksmith raised his whip, Kaila charged into the shop at a speed exceeding the limits of human vision. With her bare hands, she righted the several-hundred-pound cart and the iron sand within, swept up the scattered grains in passing, and vaulted out the back window.
At the cloth market in the north of the city, a sudden freak wind blew up the moonlight-proof canopy of a merchant's stall.
The heavy, rain-proof tarp was about to crush an elderly couple picking out fabrics below. Kaila descended from the sky, grabbed the edge of the tarp, and used strength beyond human comprehension to force it back into place. She crushed three rusted iron nails with her bare hands, wedging them into the gaps of the wooden pillars to secure it, before vanishing into the crowd before anyone could cry out in surprise.
In the slums of the south, a drunken rogue was kicking a beggar.
As Kaila passed by, she simply flicked a pebble the size of a fingernail from her pocket.
The pebble struck the rogue's knee pit with pinpoint accuracy, sending him crashing to the ground instantly, unable to get up for a long time. Kaila didn't even break her stride.
She repeated this over and over and over.
Pushing carts, moving heavy objects, finding lost companion leashes, stopping thieves, helping those who had fallen.
She used her incredibly high stats to handle these trivial, mundane matters.
The fervor brought by her Hero identity finally subsided for a moment.
That didn't mean she was free.
A Hero never had a true vacation.
It was just that for an identity, the duties themselves had a hierarchy of priority.
If someone called for help in front of her, she had to respond.
If the weak were being harmed, she had to act.
If events involving monsters, cults, or Witches appeared within her perception, she had to intervene.
But beyond those, the smaller, lower-intensity, yet never-ending daily acts of kindness would enter a brief silence once a certain threshold was reached.
They didn't disappear.
Rather, the identity judgment acknowledged—【Today's duties have been sufficiently fulfilled.】
Kaila could feel it.
That burning sensation deep within her spine—the one that urged her to keep running, keep helping, and keep being the Hero—was slowly receding.
Like a fire that had been fed.
It was still burning.
But for now, it had stopped biting.
And on the list of commissions Miss Hill had given her, there was still one task left for today.
【Accompany the dangerous vampire to inspect Silvervein City's livelihood to prevent potential incidents.】
On paper, this was a surveillance mission.
According to the system's judgment, its priority was very high.
Sophie was a vampire, an anomalous individual who had just participated in a Witch's battlefield, and currently the only person capable of stable contact with multiple Witches while knowing the truth behind various calamities.
Allowing her to act alone in Silvervein City could lead to consequences far more severe than an overturned cart, a lost cat, or a few thieves.
Therefore, as long as no new, explicit calls for help rang out, and as long as no high-risk events occurred directly before her eyes, the Hero identity would recognize the priority of this commission.
Which meant.
For the time being, Kaila could stay by Sophie's side.
She could relax herself by executing a higher-priority Hero task.
She looked down at her palm.
A few strands of black fur from when she rescued the cat were still stuck to the edge of her glove.
Kaila gently brushed them away.
This way, she could focus on her date with a clear mind.
No.
She could focus on executing the commission.
Kaila's mood quickly improved.
However, just as she was about to turn and leave the roof for the meeting place.
A sound of crying reached her ears.
A child's cry.
Kaila's feet automatically changed direction.
Rate on N.U.
