Jetri rushed straight to the church after getting home.
He and Vya had returned after dinner. Though the church doors were still open at this hour, only Jetri was permitted entry.
So it was that Violette and Jetri sat face-to-face inside the confessional booth.
The partition board between them was gone.
"Eh... you're saying you recently realized you suddenly turned gay?" Violette nodded slowly, comprehension dawning.
"I'm NOT gay!!" Jetri flushed crimson instantly.
He then rambled about nonsense like "forcing boys onto girls," how people are drawn to beauty, and friendships deepening.
Violette’s expression remained neutral, a faint teasing smile playing on her lips like any ordinary friend.
"Alright, alright. So your condition’s flaring up again—I think if you’re worried about... well, finding a girlfriend might solve it." She offered the suggestion with a gentle, persuasive smile.
"I—" Jetri choked, despair flooding his face. "I want to find one too!!"
"I just can’t!!" Jetri stammered helplessly. "Be honest—when Vya stands beside me—or anyone, really—as a woman, wouldn’t all attention naturally fix on him?"
"There are only two kinds of men in this world: Vya, and everyone else!"
"Eh..." Violette tilted her head. "Really?"
"Isn’t it obvious?" Jetri mirrored her gesture.
"Nothing’s absolute," Violette replied softly, her warm, radiant smile utterly convincing.
"You’re right. But I haven’t found that exception yet."
"How could that be?" Violette’s tone and smile stayed light, yet she let the thought hang.
She didn’t seize this chance to confess.
Not yet.
"Ah, even a Holy Maiden can’t solve everything," Violette admitted with a slightly sheepish, furrowed-brow smile.
"When have you ever actually solved my problems?" Jetri leaned back slightly, questioning.
"Haven’t I?"
"Nope."
"I wish I could help, but some things... the timing and place are wrong. Maybe these doubts will clear up after you leave the team?" Her smile held a complex edge.
Jetri sensed another hidden message, but still couldn’t decipher it.
Maybe his single status was partly to blame.
Yet that complexity didn’t feel negative.
Perhaps it was good news?
Jetri didn’t dwell on it.
"Maybe. I hope these issues resolve after I quit. Speaking of which—I’m leaving tomorrow morning. Came tonight specifically to say goodbye."
"Oh? Shall I see you off?" Violette showed no special reaction, merely asking.
*This* was how normal friends should act. A little reluctance, but no desperate clinging.
"No need. Better to sleep in on a morning like that." Jetri kept farewells simple.
"But if I *do* see you off, I’d get to sleep in longer, wouldn’t I?" Violette winked playfully.
"Is that so?" Jetri chuckled. "Alright then."
He didn’t stay long at Violette’s. He still needed to inform Victoria and Lilith.
As Jetri left the church, Violette escorted him to the door again, watching until his figure vanished down the street.
"Sister, why not just tell the Sage the Valiant Hero’s true gender?"
"Do I look suicidal? Picking a fight with an invincible opponent? If Vya wants to hide it, let her." Violette’s smile stayed perfectly serene while her words dripped with impatience.
"Then why not just..." The young bishop still didn’t understand.
"Ever seen a level 99 adventurer snap?" Violette’s flawless smile never wavered as she turned back toward the church.
"Or do you think I stand a chance against someone who, even *as a man*, makes Chad’s heart race—if they burn bridges completely and ‘become’ a woman?"
Her hands folded elegantly over her abdomen as she walked deeper inside. When Celine followed, the church doors slowly closed behind them.
"She’s Aarons’ crown prince. Barring accidents, she’ll inherit the throne once the Demon King’s death is confirmed. But I don’t *have* to stay here—I can always run away."
"By the time she realizes it, I’ll have a litter of kids. Once there are children, what chance does Chad have of escaping?"
Celine stared in shock at the face so similar to her own.
Violette’s expression revealed nothing—as if those words had never left her lips.
*—A trick learned from Jetri.*
Keep your face perfectly normal, and even if recorded, you could deny it as slander.
"Jetri quitting. Vya returning to claim her throne... Why risk anything when I can just wait?"
The church lights extinguished completely after Violette left.
Jetri didn’t visit his other two teammates.
He merely informed their servants of his departure.
He figured it was too late—they were likely asleep. No need to disturb them.
Besides, he planned to leave at five tomorrow morning.
He didn’t want to see either teammate. The notification was merely the last scrap of camaraderie from five years together.
After delivering the messages, he walked home feeling unburdened.
Unaware that while he was out, Vya had used her magi-communicator to dial an unknown frequency.
"I thought you’d call later."
The voice on the other end was cold, laced with arrogance.
"I need you resurrected." Vya’s tone held no emotion.
"Oh?" Interest flickered in the reply. "And what price will you pay?"
"... Name your price. We’ll haggle later."
"Hmph. Humans and their strange idioms."
Had a third party overheard, they’d be numb with shock.
The Valiant Hero and the Demon King were on the phone.
Negotiating the Demon King’s "resurrection"—with the Demon King setting the price.
"I require you to break humanity’s class limits. Reach level 100 and beyond."
"Is that all?"
"Of course not. That’s merely the condition for you to survive *after* fulfilling my terms—I demand you fight for me at a future time of my choosing."
"... Who’s the opponent?" Vya didn’t ask anything else. After a pause, she simply agreed.
"Not human."
"I accept."
"Very well. Any requirements for how quickly the resurrection news reaches Delan Capital?" The Demon King sounded almost like a considerate merchant.
"Before tomorrow morning."
"Done."
"Then this concludes—"
"Hold. Though we’ve agreed on this transaction... what price will you pay for my *second* ‘defeat’ after I rise again?"
"... Silence."
"Last time, your teammate paid your price. This time won’t be so cheap."
"What would it cost to learn what price Chad truly paid?"
"That knowledge is not for sale."
"... Silence."
"... Silence."
Silence stretched between the magi-communicators.
Vya ended the call without another word.
