Chapter 81: Good Intentions

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Ian opened her mouth and widened her eyes in surprise.

Sugar had asked for help with the volunteer work after school, and she had gladly agreed to come, but there was an unexpected person involved.

“I brought the key to the dungeon. Let’s go quickly!”

Sugar twirled the key around her finger and led the way with Riley.

“You’re going to lose it like that,” Ian commented.

“I won’t lose it,” Sugar replied confidently.

Just as she said that, the key flew out of her hand.

Riley smacked Sugar on the head.

“Ouch!” Sugar cried out as she went to pick up the key, making a dramatic show of it.

Amongst this familiar scene, there was an unfamiliar face.

“You, you came too, Leon?”

Ian gathered some courage to speak, and Leon replied with a hesitant “Yeah…”

What exactly was going on here? She had already been thinking, “I need to change rooms after school!” or “I’ll have to stay with Leon for a while!”

‘No, better to just get used to it quickly…’

She didn’t quite understand how to navigate her distance with boys her age.

With Riley, since Sugar was always nearby, Ian thought, “I’ll just stand here next to Sugar.”

But when it was just her and a boy alone, she had no idea what to do.

The men she met in the cathedral were all older, uncles or grandfathers. In fact, ordinary men never even got close to her.

The problem was that Ian had learned about male-female relationships only from romance novels or from the always-present, scandalous couple she saw.

She didn’t understand friendships between boys and girls. She knew such relationships existed, but she didn’t know how to get closer to someone in that way.

How should she do it? How should she greet someone in the morning? What should she do after school? What should she do before bed?

After all, Ian was a boy now. She had to treat other boys, her male roommate, properly.

‘Ancestors, please…’

She looked up at the starry sky, desperately praying.

To think the school had a dungeon—just hearing about it was eerie. Back in the lawless days, students or mages who caused trouble were thrown in here.

By “trouble,” it meant things like committing murder or using forbidden magic. All dangerous acts.

It was a place that showed the status of the magic school which, while first and foremost an educational institution, also served as a guardian of order in the region.

Now, the organization had restructured and the agency that maintained safety and order for mages in the area was located on Sky Island.

Thus, the Steele Dungeon from the current age was nothing more than a remnant. They were going to clean it up and turn it into a research facility.

In other words, someone needed to clean it.

Screech…

A ghostly cleaning.

Or rather, cleaning the lost property or mementos.

Things like necklaces that looked like they would curse anyone who touched them or daggers that still hadn’t dried the blood after many years.

Someone was needed to clean up such strange items.

“I’ve got the cleaning manual, so let me read it to you. First, never pick up lost items with your bare hands… use magic to place them in a prepared pouch. Ghosts should be dealt with by using magic energy itself rather than elemental spells… Ghosts will run away if you use light, so use it sparingly… too bright a light will make them flee, so be careful. And… the most important warning: If you feel a sudden vibrating sensation in your body, quickly escape from that area.”

There was magic, and there were saints, so there were bound to be ghosts.

It wasn’t exactly the souls of the dead but rather the remnants of the living, the lingering thoughts of objects that had materialized into ghosts. Those who weren’t mages might not even see them.

Leaving them alone wouldn’t cause any major problems but they made strange noises and gave people headaches, so it was better to get rid of them.

“Now, let’s get started. Pair up into teams of two. If you find something that makes you say ‘Ugh, this is really bad,’ then call the other team.”

Naturally, Sugar was paired with Riley, and Ian ended up with Leon.

And so, the cleaning began.

“Riley, look at this… this dagger still hasn’t dried the blood…”

“Are you planning to kill someone with this and try to get away with it?”

“Actually, yeah… There was this girl I didn’t like. Her look at me was just too creepy.”

“Oh, really? Are you confessing?”

“Will you visit me if I do?”

“I’ll visit every day.”

“Riley…”

“Sugar…”

“Just clean up already, you two!” Ian jumped in from the side.

“Ian, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. It’s a gloomy place, and we have a new friend with us, so let’s take it easy… But seriously, what’s this conspiracy about, Riley? I accepted it, but…!”

Sugar lightly smacked Riley while looking around. The damp and decaying ceiling, rusted iron bars with squeaky friction sounds. But beyond that, there was nothing to expect.

“Now that I think about it… I don’t see any ghosts.”

“Ghosts? I’ve never seen one in my life… I know they exist, though.” Ian answered as she passed by.

“Well, that’s because you’ve lived in the cathedral your whole life…”

Huh? Was that it? Was it because there was a saint’s bloodline there?

It was a world without so-called “divine powers,” but there was a sense of hierarchy. Such petty things would struggle to handle the power of the saint’s blood. They were more likely to pierce the essence of a person’s nature because they were so simple, with no ego.

‘Now that I think about it, everyone here…’

A saint. The owner of the saint’s staff. The owner of the grimoire. The saint of the evil god.

Ugh. Ghosts might very well leave with their heads down in defeat.

Cleaning up the ghosts would have to wait until after they finished dealing with the lost items. Even if they thought of a way, they’d just send someone else to handle it later. The ghosts would come back once they left anyway.

For now, they carefully placed the cursed lost items into the special pouches. As they continued, they came across a pendant that nearly mesmerized anyone who looked at it. As Sugar’s mind began to fade from it, Riley smacked her on the head, but aside from that there were no major issues.

At one point, Ian looked over and saw a saintly pair handling the lost items together in sync.

‘…Huh?’

Her attention was drawn to Leon, and upon closer inspection, the staff Leon was holding was quite ordinary. It wasn’t the white birch staff of a saint but a commonly seen dark-colored wooden staff.

“Leon, aren’t you going to use the saint’s staff?”

“Why would I use that obvious one?”

“If you use it continuously, you’ll get used to it.”

A staff grows with its owner. Technically, the power contained in the staff gradually awakens as the owner grows mentally and physically.

“I already have a familiar staff I’ve been using since I was little. No need to use that one.”

Yet, Leon didn’t seem interested in becoming the protagonist of a growth story.

“Then, you’ll never use that staff again? Even in the future?”

“Probably not. There’s no need.”

“That’s a shame…”

“But why are you so interested in the staff? You’ve asked about it before… Are you…?”

“…What?”

What was he about to say? Did he know something about being the protagonist?

Sugar nervously stared at Leon.

But as expected, he was the type of person who kept giving unexpected answers.

“Do you want the staff?”

“What?”

“Do you want to take it? You can have it. It’s a little unreliable, but you’re from the cathedral, right? At least, you must be verified religiously.”

Sugar blinked in shock. She never imagined hearing such words from him.

“…No. I have the one Riley gave me. I’ll use this for the rest of my life.”

She answered, slightly flustered, just as Riley suddenly grabbed his chest and made a weird noise. Sugar just let it slide, as he often did that.

“And… I don’t think the transfer would be allowed by Steele. After all, they recognized you as the owner.”

“They… whatever. I understand what you mean.”

The short conversation ended, and a silence fell over the dungeon.

Usually, Sugar would be chatty, but she had quieted down. Ian, though she usually spoke a bit more, was a little nervous and felt that the situation wasn’t right for talking, so she kept silent as well.

“…It seems like we’re done here. Shall we split up? We’ll go left, Ian.”

“Oh. Okay. Then we’ll go right.”

With Sugar’s suggestion breaking the silence, the two teams split up.

Sugar waved her hand cheerfully, saying, “See you later,” while swallowing down her inner disappointment as she walked toward Riley.

‘I didn’t expect him to treat it like a burden…’

The shock from Leon’s offer to transfer the staff was still fresh. But after all, he was the protagonist. In some world, he had probably saved everyone. Even though he showed a cynical response, Sugar had always believed, “In the end, he’ll help us.”

She was sure he would help. She was sure he would offer a hand.

Sugar knew that Riley was deliberately not sharing details about the church’s situation. He must have learned something by wandering around, but he was doing it out of consideration for her. She understood that.

Sugar wanted to be of help to Riley, to make herself a companion he could rely on.

Just like how Leon in some world joined forces with his companions to defeat evil. A companion you could trust, depend on, and entrust your back to.

But right now, all they had was each other.

If she asked Ian for help, she would certainly assist but realistically, she was someone who shouldn’t be on the front lines.

There were guardians close to the church, but they had their own duties to defend the church or complete missions. They couldn’t focus on helping those living in Steele. Besides, even the training they had received had been a great help.

Thus, Sugar thought that there was no one like Leon. A hero of the new era. The light of Steele.

Of course, if he didn’t want that, there was nothing she could do. If someone chosen as a hero, forced to walk the path of suffering and glory, said they wanted to walk a quiet and peaceful path instead then who could argue with that? There would be those who would but at least Sugar wouldn’t be among them.

With those heavy thoughts, Sugar approached Riley and gently looked up at his face. She smiled, mixed with apology, and Riley, with his hand that wasn’t holding the cane, gently stroked her cheek.

“So, what were you expecting?”

“Wow… You knew right away.”

“Of course I did… You. What exactly did you base your trust on? Someone like that doesn’t get chosen for things like that. You gain the qualifications after you’ve obtained it. But look. He has no intention of doing that. No sense of responsibility at all.”

“…That’s quite an interesting thing to say.”

‘Why didn’t you choose the most outstanding me?’

That was the thought Riley had when he saw Leon being chosen in some world. It was the complete opposite of what he was saying now.

Sugar exhaled lightly and scanned the man in front of her.

Touching her cheek and holding her in an embrace, exchanging emotional words and jokes. Their values were completely different, this Riley was a far cry from the ‘Riley’ in the world where Leon was the hero.

Sugar’s Riley.

“Still, I want to believe.”

“So, based on what?”

“You.”

Sugar pointed at Riley with her finger.

She firmly believed that people inherently had good intentions. She didn’t doubt it. She wanted to believe that.

As she looked at the evidence right in front of her, her disappointment slowly faded, and hope began to rise.

In some world, those cold hands would have been drenched in the blood of innocent people. But now, they were nothing but warm.

“I still remember when you came to save me. That winter mountain, the feeling I had back then… It was so overwhelming, I can’t even put it into words.”

The day she realized everything when she saw the grimoire in his hands.

And the day she chose to trust him.

The emotions from that time still remained deeply and strongly, making her heart race every time she saw Riley as an adult.

Was it so wrong to want to view the world from the perspective of those overwhelming emotions?

“When Louveci left the church for us. When Ian expressed their feelings to me and revealed their secret. I want to believe there’s something in the connections between people, something built on good intentions.”

“…”

“Of course, I know there are people who don’t have that. Evil, villains, such groups… I know it well. But Riley, at least the people who are by my side, the ones I’ve chosen with my own eyes. I believe they are good.”

“…You’ll regret it.”

“I’ll have to see for myself.”

Because you’ve become this way.

Because you became my hero.

What matters is the cause. Whether or not you can show that goodness, whether it twists or not, it all lies in the process.

Perhaps Leon is still in the middle of that ‘process.’ His goodness hasn’t vanished or turned dark. It’s just sleeping for now.

Then, all Sugar needs to do is simple. She just needs to guide him, when he faces something difficult, she’ll help with Riley and she will show the goodness first.

Their goodness will reach him.

His goodness will reach others and it will color their hearts.

Of course, even if it all falls short of expectations, she won’t be disappointed.

It’s not something that can be forced. The weight a hero must carry is incredibly heavy.

‘If that happen then I’ll just have to support Riley even more.’

With that, Sugar closed her eyes and nestled into Riley’s embrace, Riley sighing and accepting Sugar in his arms.