Chapter 02: Traven

After hearing the news from the High Priest, Aria, along with her attendant, reached the tavern where guards were trying to negotiate with a mixed group of pirates and mercenaries.

As the guards noticed her presence, they dropped to their knees and greeted her. "Aria-sama, you are here?"

"I have heard the news from the High Priest," she said in a firm voice. "Did they agree to release the hostages?"

"No, we tried to negotiate, but their demands keep increasing. They are taking advantage of us—our hands are bound by the law you created."

"Law?" A confused Aria stomped her left foot on the ground. Hearing the signal, Shawn leaned toward her.

"Don't you remember? When the title was given to you, you created a new constitution for this place—where even if a criminal commits a crime, he can only be punished after hearing his story."

"I did this?" She seemed genuinely surprised, as if hearing it for the first time.

"Of course. While the High Priest was advising you to amend the laws and making endless suggestions, you simply nodded to everything he said."

"Oh, that time. He bored me after he brought out all ten books of the constitution, so I just nodded to everything."

"Umm… Aria-sama," one guard interrupted.

"Hmm?" She turned toward him.

"About the hostages?" he hesitantly asked.

Aria put on her distant, divine smile. "You have done well. I will handle the rest. Wait here with my attendant, and I will return after saving the followers of God."

"Whaa… such divine words! I am truly blessed to be in your presence." He kneeled to her, with the others following suit, as Aria started walking toward the tavern. Reaching halfway, she raised her voice.

"Dear children of God, I am here to listen to your—"

Slip—thud.

Aria stepped on a banana peel and fell flat on her back, her head hitting the wooden dock hard.

"Ow… Oh god, oh god." She covered her head with both hands, rolling back and forth from the pain.

"Aria-sama… is this—" one guard started.

"—some kind of divine ritual?" another finished.

"We should try this too," a third added.

They all lay on the wooden floor, rolled around, and chanted, "Oh god, oh god."

Watching the scene, Shawn covered his face to stifle a laugh. "Aria… I mean, Aria-sama, if you want, I can—"

"Silence." She raised her voice, stood up, and kicked the banana peel away. After a brief pause, she drew her sword and held it like a walking cane, using it to navigate toward the mana signals of the people inside the tavern.

A pirate peeked out from the door and panicked. "Captain! We're doomed! The Sword Saint… she came here personally to rescue them!"

Tsk.

"Stupid bastard," the captain muttered to himself. He then ordered, "Hey, mercenaries, now is your time. Finish her… no, that might be impossible, but buy us some time!"

"But Captain, she's the Sword Saint! How can us lowly mercenaries stand against a descendant of the Goddess herself?" The leader of the mercenaries trembled.

The captain walked to the door and opened it a crack, hesitating but trying to act brave. "You're all being too scared. Look at her…"

Outside the tavern, Aria fell face-first as her sword got stuck between the wooden planks.

"See? She might be a divine being, but she can't see. We can at least confuse her. Now go get her!"

"But…" They still hesitated. The captain sighed, walked over, and grabbed a little girl from the crowd.

"Mama…!" The girl panicked, crying. Her mother grabbed the captain's leg, dragging behind him until he kicked her away.

"Now, learn how a real man talks!" He stepped outside, pointing his gun at the girl's head. Seeing the captain emerge, the guards raised their weapons.

"Well, well, well… how honored I am to breathe the same air as a divine being," the captain said.

Hearing his voice, Aria lifted her head, sensing his and the little girl's mana signatures.

"Child, I request that you surrender and bring yourself within the shade of God's veil. God is always merciful to those who accept their sins," she said, her voice carrying confidence and gentleness.

"Surrender, you say?" The pirate captain grinned, pulling the girl in front of him like a shield. "Sword Saint, I think you don't understand the situation you're in. I have men inside the tavern with hostages. One wrong move from your side, and you'll see this tavern become a floating bonfire."

"Wait, don't hurt the taver— I mean hostages," she said in a panic, before coughing to regain her composure.

"Aria-sama," the leader of the mercenaries whispered from the door, his voice trembling upon seeing her. "Please… forgive us. We wanted money, but we didn't know the great Aria-sama herself would come here."

"Silence, you coward!" the captain snapped. He grinned again, masking his nervousness. "Well, Sword Saint? I heard your wise words bring salvation to people. Are you feeling generous enough to shower some on us?"

Aria took a slow step forward. Her foot struck the wooden dock with a heavy thud. The captain flinched, stepping back while keeping his gun aimed at the girl.

Aria sighed and whispered, "Shawn."

Standing behind the guards and enjoying the spectacle, Shawn sighed. "Why is it always like this?" He drew his sword and, with a powerful leap, vaulted toward the captain.

The captain panicked, his attention shifting from Aria to Shawn. He fired the gun—

Click.

The shot went wide as Aria dashed forward, dropping low and driving an uppercut into the captain's jaw. He crumpled backward. The girl, slipping from his grasp, was about to fall into the water—but Shawn caught her mid-air, landing safely and handing her to the guards.

Aria walked toward the fallen captain, who spat blood onto the dock, his nose streaming red. She cracked her knuckles.

"Let's first hear the reason behind your sin. As written in the law, I will give you a chance to be heard. Tell me, child, what drove you to such desperate measures?"

The captain blinked, stunned. "What drove me? The corrupt nobles! The taxes! The—"

"I see. A tragic tale," she cut him off solemnly. "But you have committed the ultimate sin."

The captain sneered. "And what's that? Defying the gods? Stealing from the temple?"

"No." Aria's voice dropped into a terrifyingly cold tone. "You threatened the Golden Fish Tavern. You threatened the chef who prepares my weekly deep-fried calamari. For that, there is no mercy."

"What?! That's—"

Before he could finish, she struck. Her mana erupted like a shockwave—a surge of pure power so precise that it left living beings unharmed. But the violent gust of wind hurled the pirate captain off his feet, sending him flying backward into the sea.

SPLASH!

"Ah! Captain!" The mercenaries screamed inside the tavern. They rushed out, dropping their weapons and surrendering in terror.

"Hehe…" Aria puffed out her chest with a smug expression. The hostages and surrounding guards praised her; some even wept at being saved by a divine being.

Shawn sighed, retrieved her sword from where it was stuck, and called out, "Aria-sama, I think we should head back. Prayer time is about to begin."

Hearing this, Aria turned and walked through the crowd, carrying her divine smile. But after taking a few steps—

Slip.

The same banana peel she had kicked earlier.

Thud.

Her face met the dock again.

Shawn covered his face with both hands, his shoulders shaking as he struggled not to laugh.

"Oww… I hate that banana," Aria groaned into the wood.