Osian gained access to Nebula Silk through this fight.
Would he have gotten to where he is today if he had chosen a different, easier path?
Osian doesn't think so.
‘I don't necessarily have to take risks.’
When he fell into this world Osian didn't have to insist on holding a sword.
There are places that will accept someone of uncertain status.
He could take a job as a waiter in a restaurant, for example, if they were short-staffed.
He could live a normal life, safe, with a decent paycheck.
‘Is that really it?’
Osian thought back to his previous life.A life without a family, working alone, commuting to and from work.
It was a life filled with lethargy and boredom, and he didn't have the courage to quit.
Having doubts about life, but not being able to get out of it, was like a goldfish in a fishbowl.
However, I was able to endure because there was a respite.
Another world on the monitor.
There, he was free. He explored and roamed everywhere, encountering and fighting various beings.
Sometimes he was angry, and many times he thought about giving up.
But once again.
Just one more time.
That thought kept him going.
And now Osian has come to the world of his dreams.
Though this world was much different than he had imagined, and the old world was a washed-up mess.
Still, it was the world of adventure and romance he had hoped for.
In such a place, could he really live the same old, repetitive life?
Could he?
‘I was brought to this world for a reason.’
Osian wanted to find that reason.
To do so, there was only one path he could choose now.
“Even if someone stronger comes along, I'll keep fighting the way I am now.”
I'll keep fighting the way I am, because more experience and fighting stronger opponents will only push me to greater heights.
If he keeps pushing forward like that, he'll eventually get there.
To the ideal he so desires.
"I see."
Ronan said, unable to help it, but with a wry smile of satisfaction.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't feel too comfortable telling you, either. It's the day you succeeded in your request, so it's only right that we celebrate."
"That's right, that's the least you can do, my junior!"
Lorraine nodded in approval.
Osian wondered if he was worthy of such praise.
"Is it that good? I think I gave a basic answer."
"There are a lot of people who can't even get the basics right. Even if you have the skills, if you have a problem with your mindset, that's all you're good for, but I'm glad you're not like that!"
Diolan, leaning his clenched hands on the back of his head, added.
"Well, everyone here is picked and chosen."
"That's true, Ronan, this guy may look suspicious, but he's got a good eye for people. He doesn't just bring people in because they're good."
"Then what are you looking for?"
"I told you, mindset."
"Can you tell?"
"He has a sense of it."
Lorraine said, glancing at Ronan but Ronan shrugged.
"And this answer confirms it. You're definitely a fixer for our office."
"I guess that was a good enough answer for you."
"Yep. You're one of us now!"
‘Family.’
Osian finally realized why Violet Fox felt different from the average fixer's office.
Whereas the Fixers were purely a group of interests united by money and practicality, these were people driven purely by heart and soul.
A group bound together by warm feelings, not cold contractual ties.
Osian closed his eyes at the words and thought for a moment.
He had no family. Being born meant he had biological parents, but when he woke up, he was in an orphanage.
He struggled to survive in such a place and somehow managed to find a place in society but somewhere in the back of his mind, the emptiness remained like an indelible stain.
What is family, what is it like to have a family?
He would be lying if he said he didn't think about it.
But for him, family was like a child thinking of the sweetest candy he could think of.
Even when he tried, he couldn't define exactly what it was.
Vague and fuzzy, something he longs for and then gives up on, something that existed only in his imagination.
‘Family.’
And now, the words were coming out of Lorraine's mouth.
The fixers here, they're like family.
It was different from a company with the title of "like a family."
There was probably no falsehood in those words. And at the same time, it also implied that the fixers affiliated with this place each carried their own unspeakable pasts and pains.
Ronan gathered a group of people who can see through that.
Osian opened his eyes and glared at Lorraine.
"Uh, uh......."
Lorraine was stunned by the look on Osian's face.
‘Did I, uh, cross the line?’
Lorraine's excitement at Osian's cheerful response, and her excitement to congratulate her junior on landing a big assignment, caused her to blurt out a few too many words.
Osian was a seemingly noble man.
Whatever brought such a man into this city with a sword in his hand, there must be some unspeakable reason.
It was no wonder he was offended since she said he was family.
‘Uh, what do I do?’
Lorraine looked to Diolan for help, but he remained silent.
Then Osian spoke.
"Family......."
"Mmm, not my real family, of course, but it's just something, yeah. Oh, and if you're offended by something I said......."
"......Not bad."
"Uh, what?"
"It's not bad."
Osian smiled faintly.
It was a warm smile that you wouldn't expect from someone who was usually so blunt and cold.
'Crazy.......'
Lorraine swallowed hard.
‘Isn't it cheating to have a smile like that on your face?’
Of course, the smile faded as quickly as a mirage.
If anything, it made her feel like she was seeing things.
"So, what are you going to do?"
Osian asked, turning to Ena.
"Me, me?"
"Yes. Now that you're in the city, you need to figure out what you're going to do."
"I haven't thought about it yet."
"Then why don't you stay here and think about it slowly."
"That's......."
"Of course, I'm not forcing you. I'm just asking you to think about it. If you want, you can leave right now and follow the witch from earlier."
"No, I don't think that's......."
Ena said, then sighed heavily.
"You're right, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."
"Then you can stay here. Isn't that right, Ronan?"
"Ahhhhh. You're asking for my opinion, too? That's very nice of you, and I'm open to it."
"But......I won't be much help."
Ena blurted out what had been on her mind.
She looked at the Violet Fox fixers and envied them, but she knew she wouldn't fit in.
She felt insignificant compared to them.
"What, that's all it was? We don't care about that!"
Lorraine reassured her not to worry.
"Who gets everything right the first time, anyway?"
Diolan and Ronan's gazes turned to Osian.
"......Of course! There might be someone like that, but most of us don't even know what we're good at, and that's something you learn as you go along, right, guys?"
The three looked at each other, half-demanding an answer.
"Right, guys?"
"Mm-hmm, yeah."
"Well, I suppose that's to be expected. I can already see Miss Ena Grundt's potential."
"Well, isn't that usually the case?"
Lorraine smiled in satisfaction at the answer, and turned to Ena.
"So take your time. You're still young, you have plenty of time, there's no need to rush."
"Well, then......will take care of you in the future."
Ena bowed her head.
Ena Grundt. The Matchstick Witch had been recruited by Violet Fox.
"Do you know anything else besides witchcraft?"
"Umm. Not much."
"What?"
Ena muttered in a low voice, as if she was embarrassed to even say it.
"Baking, cooking, brewing, writing, service industry work, and driving. There are a few more, but they're not really worth bragging about."
"......."
Everyone in the room gave Ena a puzzled stare.
Isn't that too much?
*
~The interior of a huge, ornate cathedral~
Unlike other cathedrals, this one doesn't get much light.
Instead, countless candles, large and small, glowed, bathed the interior in a scarlet color.
It was a vast, expansive space, but it was empty of people.
Then a boy entered the room.
He walked to the very front of the church and dropped to one knee.
"Holy Father, your lamb, Martinez, has been summoned and has come."
"Yes, you have come."
The man called the Holy Father was an old man with a kindly face.
He was moving the flames from the incense burner to the unlit candlesticks.
"Do you know why I have summoned you?"
"......Yes. I failed in my quest to hunt down a heretic, and yet I managed to escape with my life in disgrace."
"Yes. You failed in that task, but I have not called you here to blame you."
He lit a candle and looked back at Martinez.
Martinez merely bowed his head deeply.
"Go to Tirna."
"Yes?"
Martínez's head shot up, then down again, realizing his mistake.
The words of the holy father were shocking enough to startle the faithful Martinez.
"Martinez, I do not blame you for your failure."
"Why.......?"
"You are still young and inexperienced. In the future, you will surely become a great paladin, but for now, you are not good enough. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I feel it in my bones."
Martinez had never known defeat before, but this was his first.
And the man who had dealt him defeat was a man so noble and strong that it was hard to call him a heretic.
"The world is a big place. While we, the Order of Petra, hold sway across the continent, there are some places beyond our reach, and you know them well."
"......Tirna, the City of Sin."
"All sorts of things lurk there: heresy, warlocks, and possibly even the Devil himself."
"You want me to go there and rid it of heresy?"
"Of course not."
The Holy Father chuckled and placed his hand on Martinez's shoulder.
Martinez's head tilted further down at the warmth.
"I want you to see the world a little more broadly."
He spoke softly, not in a booming voice, but in a more heartfelt way.
At the words, Martinez looked up.
"I'm......."
"Go, meet many people, gain much experience, and your brilliant talent will be refined and perfected."
The Holy Father removed his hand from Martinez's shoulder.
"There will be a branch of our Order of Petra in Tirna. You should try living there and see what it's like."
"I'm......."
"It is also your punishment. Nothing is more painful for a man who has failed in his mission than to be sent into exile in the city of sin."
That's what he said, but Martinez knew better, how much the Holy Father cares about him.
It must have been the result of the other archbishops and paladins somehow maneuvering to get a reprieve from punishment for his failure.
Martinez knew it, and he bowed his head in gratitude.
"I accept the order."
And so a single paladin rode to Tirna.