Aiming

~~~🏹~~~

Rei was relieved he wouldn’t have to endure more beatings—at least for now.

Though he wasn’t sure trying on a suit in front of the palace servants was exactly his idea of fun.

“Ah!” one of the maids stifled a gasp. “It’s perfect, Hero!”

“…You think so?” he asked, uneasy.

He felt like a clown—or at least that’s what he thought—since he’d never worn anything like it.

A long dark-green coat with orange details covered his torso, back, and part of his legs. On his head, a tricorn hat of the same colors made him look like an old eighteenth-century sailor.

The suit was heavier than he’d expected, but comfortable. Rei moved a little in the garden clearing, feeling the rub of the reinforced fabric against his arms. The cut fit well without being tight, and the seams were perfect. He even thought he might be able to wear his tool belt and work goggles with it. Definitely not the kind of clothing he would have chosen—but this was Solaria’s will, or something like that.

He had spent a while testing basic movements—leaning, twisting his torso, raising his arm as if brandishing an invisible sword. A servant tailor had stood watching in silence, perhaps evaluating whether he could walk without tripping. It felt endless to Rei, but they finally left him alone once they were satisfied.

Once alone, Rei sat on a stone bench under the shade of a tall tree, feeling the morning chill seep through the folds of his new uniform.

Despite the calm, confusion lingered—like a gray cloud behind a freshly cleared sky. Everything that had happened since his arrival blended together: the summoning, the castle, Ettor’s brutal training, the cold evaluation of the Enlightened… and Leonoris. She had healed him more than once, looked at him as if trying to decipher him, and although there had been a trace of faith in her gestures, he couldn’t help but wonder if behind those eyes she thought he was beyond saving.

“It suits you.”

Rei looked to his left. Nessus stood there, hands clasped behind his back and wearing a half-smile that seemed carved into his face—as if it was the least cheerful expression he could make.

“The orange trim matches your eyes. And your hair.” He leaned slightly toward him. “And the light that brought you here. I think that’s the best proof Leonoris wasn’t wrong about the summoning.”

Rei blinked, too stunned to think of a clever reply.

“…Thanks,” he muttered, as if the “Leonoris effect” had already worn off.

Nessus dropped onto the bench beside him, adjusting his cloak so it wouldn’t wrinkle. He quickly settled into a relaxed position, as if the entire bench belonged to him.

“Tough first day yesterday, huh?”

“You can say that again.” Rei ran a hand over his face. “Not a great first impression, right?”

“To be fair, I don’t think it’s entirely your fault.” Nessus tilted his head. “I mean, the Goddess’s prophecy speaks of a warrior forged in a hundred battles, bearer of unstoppable strength and a spirit to inspire everyone around him. And no offense, but…” He looked him up and down. “You’re… far from that.”

Rei gave a dry laugh.

“I noticed. Sorry I’m not what you were expecting. Must be disappointing, considering what’s at stake.”

“Well…” Nessus narrowed his eyes. “Clearly Ettor’s disappointed and furious—mainly at fate. He’s going to push you hard from now on. Honestly, I’ve never seen him train anyone so violently.”

Rei remembered the beating the senior Enlightened had given him, a shiver running through his freshly healed wounds.

“I’ll give it my best.”

He glanced down at the ground. At that moment, he recalled the conversation he’d just had earlier.

“I talked with Leonoris in the infirmary. She was completely different from her brother, you know. I felt like she had faith in me.”

“Ah, that’s just like her.” Nessus smiled. “I knew she’d want to help you from the start. She’s a good girl.”

“But…”

Nessus was surprised to see Rei didn’t look encouraged.

“Her eyes, when I asked if they were expecting someone else… She seemed disappointed too, despite everything.”

“Hm…” Nessus looked toward the sky for a moment, turning his gaze away from the Hero. “Makes sense. She’s lived her whole life as a devout follower of Solaria, and to see the Hero turn out not to be the great legend she was promised must have been a blow. But she’s also very curious. And she’s waited for you practically her whole life.” He shrugged. “Knowing her, it’ll pass. Besides, it’s more likely for a mountain to move than for her to lie. What she told you wasn’t just to comfort you. You understand?”

A faint ray of hope warmed Rei’s heart.

“I understand. And you? Are you disappointed?”

“A little.” Nessus didn’t hesitate. “I prefer to be honest. But I like you. I see a spark in you… like an impromptu campfire. Small, fragile—but it could burn down the whole forest if it wanted to.”

…

“…Uh… thanks. I think.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” Nessus smiled. “Besides, my father, the king, trusts you—whether genuinely or because we have no other choice. Either way, what he says, goes. Speaking of which, I have to go supervise the guard change at the southern wall or he’ll have me cleaning the stables for a month.”

He stood, but after a few steps noticed Rei was still staring into the distance.

“You know I can be helped to hit a bird from a hundred meters away?” Nessus said suddenly.

Rei raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean ‘you can be helped'?”

“Oh, it’s just an expression.” Nessus unslung his bow with a smooth, almost theatrical motion and began scanning the surroundings. “You see, for Kounaria, Solaria is everything. And for the royal family, even more so. We’re all taught from a young age to ask the Goddess of Fortune for comfort or help whenever we need it. Whether you’re a commoner, merchant, warrior, or courtier—she’ll be there for you, simply because you live on her land.” He stopped and pointed toward the crown of a nearby tree. “See that thrush?”

“Yes.”

“Watch.”

Nessus closed his eyes and murmured something under his breath—a prayer Rei couldn’t fully make out. The arrow nocked on the string began to glow with a white light. Rei’s eyes went wide.

“Those were the arrows that saved me the other day. And Ettor’s sword shone like that too.”

He remembered the weapons Ettor and Nessus had used to save him the day before—though he had also seen a dark crimson explosion.

“Yesterday you probably thought, ‘How can they live under the pirates’ terror? How do they endure hunger, pain, fear?’ Well, we do it because we know she’s watching over us, guiding us mysteriously toward a better future.”

He opened his eyes, whistled to mimic the bird’s call, and, as if controlled by his mind, the thrush took flight.

“And that, just like when Kounaria was founded and she defeated the Great Devourer of the East, she would send a Hero who would come and… set… us… free.”

He released the arrow. The projectile sliced through the air in a flash, striking the bird with perfect precision.

“Bingo. Dinner for tomorrow’s patrol.”

He began walking toward where the prey had fallen. Rei watched him, and for a moment, another memory came: he and his siblings, orphans, living under a bridge; the hunger, the cold, and then…

“Come with me.”

Gorō’s voice, his hand extended—something Rei would never forget. A home, warm food, and the condition that he’d help in the workshop.

Now the situation was reversed. He wasn’t some divine savior, but he had arrived when they needed him most. Could he turn his back on them, when Gorō had chosen not to turn his back on him?

“Not very big, but not bad. A light dinner it is.”

Nessus returned with the bird in hand, ready to head back into the castle—but stopped just after passing Rei, giving him the same over-the-shoulder look Leonoris had given him earlier.

“The Goddess never makes mistakes, Sir Rei. And she chose you. Show us why.”

He straightened and kept walking. Rei clenched his fists, thinking. When I needed him most, the Gods sent him to me. And, strange as it sounds, they see me the same way we saw Gorō.

“Nessus!” he called.

The prince turned.

“Yes?”

He hesitated for a moment. That seemingly naïve prince had become another support he could lean on.

“Thanks.”

Nessus smiled with satisfaction.

“Naturally. I’m amazing, ha.”

Rei watched him walk away, then looked back at the sky peeking through the branches.

He didn’t say aloud what he had decided, but his breathing deepened, and a faint determination began to seep through the confusion.