Sister slowly unwound her arms from around my neck.
As if the distance between us just moments ago had been a lie, the air cooled a beat too late.
"Let's do tutoring on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."
Her voice was crisp and decisive.
She picked up my pen from the desk and marked the dates on my calendar.
"You're free then, right?"
"…Yeah, I'm free."
Tutoring sessions, just the two of us.
To interpret this situation optimistically would require rose-tinted glasses thick enough to blind a person entirely — but hey, good things are good things.
It only took a short while, but I could tell right away.
Sister was a born teacher.
She pinpointed exactly where I got stuck, which concepts I was merely pretending to understand, and even the precise moment my eyes would flicker with uncertainty mid-explanation.
She cut away unnecessary explanations without hesitation, and instead poured her time into the exact points where I was confused. It was a method that left no room for glossing over what I hadn't truly grasped.
It wasn't just raw intelligence — she was the type who specialized in reading people.
This was closer to a gift than a skill.
"She teaches well. Keep learning from your sister consistently and you'll improve by leaps and bounds."
Shu spoke with something like admiration.
"…That level of potential is genuinely rare."
Shu murmured to herself, circling around Sister in lazy loops, examining her from every angle.
"And beautiful, too."
Shu poked Sister's elegant nose with a little boop.
Whoosh!
Sister's eyes flew wide open as she swung her hand sharply through the air right in front of her face. A purely reflexive movement.
"What was that…?"
Naturally, Sister couldn't see Shu.
She touched her nose briefly and glanced around the room.
Confirming there was nothing there, she shifted her gaze directly to me.
Shu giggled in midair.
"…Was that you?"
"Was what me?"
"Never mind."
Sister didn't press further. She wrapped things up with her usual composed manner.
"I'll head out now."
She gave my shoulder a couple of light pats and left the room.
Her presence faded. I turned to look at Shu.
"…You're more of a little troublemaker than I expected."
"You have no idea how entertaining it is to watch someone so superior make a completely baffled face."
"If she catches you, you're dead."
"Only if she catches me."
"Good grief."
I shook my head.
* * *
A few days later.
Matyos made time to leave the academy.
"Ah, Student Matyos. Your exit pass."
Students needed their supervising professor's permission to leave the academy grounds.
But the gatekeeper who recognized Matyos waved him through without a second thought.
Had it been Taibeon or Tiana, he never would have allowed it.
Power was wonderfully convenient — especially in that it required no explanation.
Beyond the academy gates, the city of Porca spread out before him.
True to its nature as a city that lived and breathed trade and commerce, the people were perpetually busy. Carriages came and went, merchants hollered themselves hoarse, and the clink of coins drifted through the air like background noise. It pulsed with the sensation of being alive.
But Matyos's destination was somewhere far removed from all that vitality.
The outskirts of Porca.
The moment he left the city center, the texture of the air changed. A stale, musty smell pricked his nose, and the streets grew rapidly filthy.
Ruffians lounged against walls, and prostitutes displayed themselves like wares on a shelf.
"Oh my~ a young lord, and such a young one. Want this big sister to keep you company?"
"I'll give you a special deal, half price, since you're so adorable."
Matyos passed through without sparing them a glance.
He stopped in front of a dilapidated building.
The sign bore two crossed, rusted iron swords.
'Found it.'
Without hesitation, he pushed open the wide door.
Inside, it looked less like a tavern and more like an abandoned barracks.
Several tables were scattered about in no particular order, and around them sat old men with heads full of white hair — some seated, some sprawled out, all drinking heavily.
"Kid. Get out."
One of the old men glanced at Matyos and waved him off. The irritation was plain on his face.
Matyos didn't retreat. He looked them over.
At first glance, they looked like homeless vagrants who'd taken over a derelict building to drink themselves into oblivion.
But look a little closer, and the picture changed.
The lean, hardened muscle settled into their frames. The well-maintained swords and spears. And above all, their eyes were different. Honed like blades, sharp as spearpoints.
These were seasoned warriors.
And on their exposed forearms was a tattoo of a black eagle.
Beneath the eagle was the number '9.'
'The 9th Legion.'
Once the empire's finest, guardians of the northern frontier.
Decades ago, the legion that had thrown itself into the flames for Friedrich during the great civil war that shook the continent.
The decisive battle that would determine the outcome of the war. That day, Friedrich had made a fatal mistake.
Lax scouting had left him walking straight into an enemy ambush.
The surprise attack shattered the right flank entirely. The enemy had exposed the side of the central army.
If the enemy's main force pushed through that opening, the result would be catastrophic.
Friedrich's own life hung in the balance.
Friedrich hastily deployed the 9th Legion to meet the enemy head-on. It was an order, but in truth it was a sacrifice.
The 9th Legion fought with ferocious tenacity, holding the enemy's assault at bay.
Countless soldiers died. The 9th Legion was left beyond recovery.
Their sacrifice allowed Friedrich's army to retreat safely.
"Kid, I said get out."
And their sacrifice went unrewarded.
The Great Emperor buried the 9th Legion's existence — they were a reminder of his own failure.
He pressed a modest sum of money into their hands and refused to take them back into the military. Their honor and glory were stripped away.
On the day Friedrich was crowned Emperor, the 9th Legion was not there.
What must it feel like, to be discarded by the very emperor you created?
"You're mercenaries, aren't you."
"That we are. But we're not so idle as to be hired by some kid."
The old man replied with flat indifference.
"Though from the looks of it, there's no one else lining up to hire you?"
"…So?"
"I want to hire you."
For men who had given their entire lives to the military, seeking out some other line of work at this stage was simply absurd.
The only thing they knew was killing enemies with a sword.
The 9th Legion, having drifted across the continent, had eventually settled in Porca and scraped together a small mercenary band.
And as was plain to see, no one came calling.
This, too, was information only obtainable through multiple playthroughs. The mercenary band only became available for hire after clearing the sub-story titled 'The Great Emperor's Flaw.'
Thud!
I set a heavy cash box down on the table.
I opened the lid. Bundles upon bundles of money fanned out before them.
My adoptive father had given me 'pocket money' when I enrolled.
Whether it was appropriate to call it pocket money was debatable given the sheer amount, but he'd told me to spend it however I liked, so there was no issue.
An expenditure of this scale was trivial.
"…You mean to buy us with money?"
"Yes."
"Hmph."
The old man shook his head.
"You've come to the wrong place, kid. We have no interest in money. Now go."
Thud!
I added more.
"Enough. No matter how much more you offer, we—"
Thud!
The old men who had been watching me with bored detachment began to stir.
"We…."
Thud!
"Command us however you wish, my employer."
Matyos smiled and slid the employment contract across the table.
*
"The Noim Mercenary Band…."
"Simple, isn't it? Still, it's a name we deliberated over for months before settling on."
The old man's manner of speaking had, without his noticing, become respectful.
Noim. In the Imperial tongue, it meant 'nine.'
Even after being cast aside by the empire, they still held their country in their hearts.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. My employer. I am Halshtein, the commander of the Noim Mercenary Band."
He was the same old man who had first told Matyos to leave.
Halshtein bowed his head with measured courtesy.
"Our band numbers thirty in total. Every member can wield mana, and we are proficient with swords, spears, and shields."
He spoke briefly, but Matyos knew they were far more formidable than those words conveyed.
These were the invincible 9th Legion. Veterans who had held the line against impossible odds, in battles already lost.
To hire men who had once moved only on the Emperor's command — at this price, it was practically a bargain.
"I see."
"What is our mission?"
"Nothing for now. Stand by until I call for you."
"Understood."
Matyos had come to feel the necessity of having an organization at his disposal, not just his own personal strength.
The incident with Professor Harsen, the Thorn Forest affair — both had made that clear.
He couldn't rely on others' power indefinitely.
A force that moved on his orders, according to his will. The Noim Mercenary Band was exactly what he needed.
"I'll take my leave."
"Yes. Safe travels."
Halshtein moved to salute out of habit, then caught himself.
He had remembered that he was no longer a soldier.
At that moment, Matyos saluted first.
"…!"
Halshtein's dim eyes went wide.
"I'm counting on you."
In that brief salute, Halshtein understood a great deal.
"…You knew who we were."
"Would I have paid this much to hire you if I didn't?"
"No. I'm simply curious. Do you trust us?"
"You mean, do I have faith in you?"
"Yes. Mercenaries move for money. You know this. We could betray you."
"You won't betray me."
"How can you say that with such certainty?"
"Because I believe in the actions you'll show me going forward."
"…That is an irresponsible thing to say."
"Does that bother you?"
"No."
Halshtein smiled and shook his head.
"How could it bother me. When you trust us like that."
He raised his hand in an Imperial salute.
"Halshtein Bükeburk. Give us any order you wish. Whatever it may be, we will see it done."
Matyos extended his hand, and Halshtein let out a quiet laugh and clasped it in a firm handshake.
And just like that, the finest mercenary band was his.
* * *
Sunday.
I had gone for a morning jog with Professor Vilhelmine and was resting afterward when a message came in.
Tiana (Sis): Mati! Do you have a moment?
An unexpected summons from Tiana.
Without giving it much thought, I replied that I'd be there and headed to the park she'd named as the meeting spot.
I spotted Tiana from a distance without any trouble.
She was in her school uniform, soaking up the sunlight, bouncing lightly on her heels.
"Mati! Over here, over here!"
"Sis."
"Hehe. Come on over."
Tiana held out a paper bag as if she'd been waiting for exactly this.
"I bought two chicken skewers — want one?"
"Sure."
"Here!"
Before my answer had even finished leaving my mouth, something warm settled into my palm.
The smell of freshly grilled meat drifted through the air.
"Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
I was about to take a bite. Then Tiana spoke up and I paused.
"Hold on, Mati."
"What?"
"Let's say a prayer first. It'll only take a second!"
"…Okay."
There was no opening to refuse.
Tiana folded her hands neatly together and closed her eyes.
Exactly five seconds. Brief, but a silence without a single distraction.
Then she opened her eyes and said,
"Thank you for this meal. You can eat now."
"Thank you for this meal."
I repeated it perfunctorily and bit into the skewer.
Tiana chewed her own with a look of quiet contentment — as though this moment itself were some small blessing.
We sat side by side on a park bench, nearly finished with our skewers, when she spoke softly.
"Mati, do you believe in God?"
"…God?"
"Yeah. God."
I was suddenly at a loss for words.
God.
In my previous life, I had been an atheist.
But after experiencing reincarnation firsthand, my certainty that 'there is no God' had wavered somewhat.
That said, did I believe? — No, not that either.
There was no proof that my rebirth was necessarily the work of some god or transcendent being.
The possibility that it was pure chance was entirely sufficient. An absurdly low probability, nothing more.
And above all, there was no concrete evidence.
Therefore, God might not exist.
On top of that, this was a world where mystery and miracles were already being interpreted through magic and scholarship.
Even holy arts had been proven through experimentation to be usable by non-clergy.
So scholars these days preferred to describe divine power not as 'the power of God' but as 'another branch of mana.'
God was gradually becoming less an object of faith and more a concept in need of explanation.
'The story never made it explicit either.'
In the end, I said what I actually thought.
"…Honestly, I'm not sure."
"Not… sure?"
"Whether God exists."
Tiana stiffened for a moment.
Her gaze drifted slightly sideways, and the warmth drained from her expression, replaced by something flustered.
"U-um… I see. So that's how Mati thinks."
Pretending to believe for her sake would be absurd. I don't believe it — how could I lie about that?
"Then, Mati."
Suddenly.
Tiana took both my hands in hers. They were warm. Whether from the skewer or just her natural warmth, I couldn't tell.
"Would you come to church with me sometime?"
She smiled brightly.