Chapter 76 : Find A Colleague

“From now on, your name is Luna. Got it?”

“I am Lunia.”

“I know that. But you can’t use the name Lunia in this world. It’s the name of a goddess. What do you think would happen if you went around saying ‘I am Lunia’?”

“Though I am but a shell, they would welcome me with tears, for I have returned to the earth after thousands of years.”

“That’s not it! They’d report you as some crazy woman pretending to be a goddess, and you’d get dragged off to the Inquisitors and tortured! And honestly, that’d be the better outcome! We don’t even know how far the influence of the Underworms has spread—if you go around saying ‘I’m a goddess’ and spouting nonsense like that, they’ll just come snatch you back! You wanna be tied up down there again?!”

When I shouted, Lunia—no, Luna—shook her head.

“Then from now on, your name is Luna. Never say you’re Lunia, anywhere, to anyone.”

“To not be called by my true name…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

After spending a few days with Luna, I realized one thing: if I stuck around her too long, I’d probably get sick from stress.

She talks like someone from ancient times, yet refuses to speak directly and just beats around the bush.

Listening to her makes me feel like I’m going to pass out.

And worst of all, she has zero basic knowledge of the human world—so much so that just being around her makes me feel like I’m the idiot.

The fact that we got this far after days of corrections felt like a miracle.

But there was a more pressing, practical issue.

“Ugh…”

On the third day, Luna collapsed, clutching her abdomen and chest with a pained expression.

But I’d gotten so used to her nonsense over those three days that I asked casually:

“What is it this time?”

“My whole body… it hurts…”

“Did you forget to eat again?”

“No… I ate properly… drank fluids too… huff… but this seems to be…”

“You didn’t forget to go to the bathroom, did you?”

“That’s… not it either…”

Only then did I finally get up.

I had made sure to explain everything to her—eating, drinking, even how to handle bodily functions—to avoid any disasters, and she had definitely understood.

But if she’s suddenly in this much pain over something else…

“Don’t tell me… is this an aftereffect?”

“That’s… what it seems like… ugh!”

Seeing Luna break into a cold sweat in pain, I hurriedly drew my lightsaber and activated its healing power.

But her condition didn’t improve.

She collapsed to the floor, curling up like a shrimp and gasping for breath.

It’s been three days—why now, with no prior symptoms?

I quickly checked her complexion and pulse, trying to assess the situation.

“Why isn’t healing power working? If it was originally your divine power, shouldn’t it at least work on yourself even if it doesn’t work on anyone else? Where exactly does it hurt?! Is it a curse? Or a spell?”

“I-I can barely… breathe… My abdomen… hngg…! And my head… it hurts so much…”

I could see Luna’s muscles twitching all over her body as she clutched her head, retching repeatedly.

“Damn it… What the hell is going on? There’s no trace of a curse…”

Frustrated, I supported her and pressed for answers.

“What happened? You were fine until yesterday! Are you sure nothing happened today? Tell me exactly what you did!”

“Ugh… I got up… we ate together… and while you briefly wore your hood and went into the nearby city to buy those ‘daily necessities’ you mentioned…”

Wait—was she attacked during that time?

“I stayed behind and cleaned up a bit… and then, I thought… rather than doing that bothersome act three times a day, wouldn’t it be better to just do it all at once and get it over with…”

“…Excuse me?”

“So I measured out a full day’s portion of food and water… and consumed it all at once…”

“Hey.”

This kind of thing kept happening.

Having never lived as a human before, Luna had absolutely no understanding of basic bodily functions.

She did things that were so far outside the realm of common sense, it was hard to even be surprised anymore.

She took on the form most familiar to everyone—human—but living as one was an entirely new experience for her.

She was basically a complete blank slate.

It didn’t feel like I was traveling with a goddess—it felt like I was babysitting some precious but helpless child.

I stuck a piece of emergency-preserved meat into her mouth to get her to absorb some salt and mitigate the water intoxication symptoms, and waited for her stomach to settle.

The whole time, I just felt like an idiot.

“In an urgent situation like this, what the hell am I doing here, looking like a fool? This isn’t some parenting reality show…”

A while later, Luna—having somewhat recovered—walked over and sat beside me.

“I truly thought I was about to return to the stars this time. Once again, you have saved me. I am grateful for the noble act of your virtuous soul.”

“You ate and drank an entire day’s worth of food and water all at once and nearly died. If I had just sat there and watched, I’d be too embarrassed to ever talk about it, so I had no choice but to save you. Please stop doing stupid stuff.”

“I merely made the most rational decision based on—”

“Yeah, yeah. If you’re feeling better, get up already. We still need to find where my teammates are.”

“Do you know where they are?”

“Of course not. That’s why I was going to go into the nearest city, cover my face, and start asking around.”

“In that case, I will guide the way.”

I tilted my head, my mouth slightly open in disbelief.

“Guide the way?”

“You?”

Luna looked ever so slightly miffed.

“Yes, I can guide us.”

“Oh, wow. The same person who nearly died from drinking too much water is now our navigator. I feel so reassured—we won’t get lost at all.”

“…I do know which direction we need to go.”

Her voice rose ever so slightly.

So, even someone like her had emotions and could get upset, huh.

“You know where they are? My three teammates? You know exactly where?”

“Strictly speaking, not the location of your teammates. But I do know where someone is—someone who can help us find them easily.”

“Who is it?”

“Linian.”

It had been a long time since I’d heard that name, ever since we left Liberta.

But Liberta had been completely destroyed—so Linian must have left too.

And I hadn’t the slightest clue where she went after that.

So how could Luna know?

“How do you know where Linian is?”

“Linian, along with Solaris and Lunarine, was one of my very first creations. In human terms, they are essentially my children. Since we are deeply connected, even if they don’t know where I am—I can sense where they are. Even in my current state, stripped of divinity.”

Luna closed her eyes for a moment, focusing deeply as if searching for something, then turned her body slightly in a new direction.

“I can only sense the child’s location, but Linian, who has lived among humans far longer than I have, will likely be able to determine the whereabouts of many others I cannot detect. If you meet Linian and ask about your companions’ location, she will surely be able to find them easily.”

“…You’re not telling me that if we meet her, she’ll suddenly try to attack or something, right? She will cooperate, yes?”

At my words, Luna narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

“Are you, perchance, doubting and looking down on everything I say and do?”

“…Try putting your hand on your chest and think about what you’ve done these past three days.”

“……”

Luna, taking my words literally, placed her hand on her chest and blankly stared up at the sky.

It hadn’t even been ten seconds when she responded.

“Now that I think about it… you have every reason to think that way.”

…That level of shamelessness is almost impressive.

Meanwhile

Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis had been supporting Benjamin, who couldn’t move properly due to his injuries, as they made their way toward a large Lunia Temple over the past three days.

Every night, they cried themselves to sleep while desperately trying to find any clue about Alvis.

“Sniff… Alvis, where are you…? You’re still alive, right…?”

“Sob… Idiot… You dumbass… You saved us but stayed behind—what are we supposed to do without you…”

“Hrk… H-he can’t be dead… He’s definitely alive. And when we meet again… when we do, I’m gonna slap him with everything I’ve got. For making us worry…”

“Grrggh…”

When Benjamin groaned in pain, the three hurried to change his bandages and reapply medicine.

He gasped for breath and spoke with gratitude.

“Haaah… haaah… Thank you, noble ladies of the paladin order… Ever since you saved me, I’ve been nothing but a burden…”

“Just focus on getting better. Once we reach the temple and you can clear up the misunderstanding between us and Alvis, that’s all we want.”

“Hah… Urgh…! Of course. To think Robert turned out to be the traitor… and that the current paladin is a fake—I never even imagined it. I’ll stay alive until we reach the temple and reveal the truth. But the paladin—what of Sir Alvis…”

As Benjamin mentioned Alvis, the three women’s faces darkened.

Realizing he’d said something wrong, he quickly backtracked.

“N-no, I didn’t mean to worry you! And I truly believe the paladin is still alive.”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

“It’s not just words. Sir Alvis was the real paladin, right? And there are people who want him dead. Robert—who posed as a squad leader in the Goddess’s Blade unit—was one of them. If the paladin had really died back there and hadn’t escaped, the entire world would’ve heard about it by now. There’d be constant reports of an impostor being executed.”

Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis exchanged hopeful glances.

“Impostors who claim to be paladins are always publicly executed to set an example. Especially when someone like Robert is involved—he’d make sure the news spread far and wide, just to crush the spirits of those like you who believe in Alvis. The fact that no such news has appeared… means he’s probably alive.”

“…You’re right. Thank you. I was so worried I didn’t even consider that.”

While Benjamin rested again, the three women built a campfire and began preparing to spend the night.

Though their minds were more at ease than before, something still felt missing.

Every time they set up camp or prepared a meal, it hit them—Alvis wasn’t there, cracking dumb jokes and lightening the mood.

Not just Ravi and Lenis, who had physically been with him, but even Elfin—who always claimed to hate him—felt that absence like a hole in her chest.

Alvis… I miss you.

Please… please be alive…

Elfin thought that if Alvis suddenly returned—even if he pulled something ridiculous again like kissing her out of nowhere—she wouldn’t mind.

In fact, she might just be overjoyed.