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After leaving the café and parting ways with my friends, I strolled through the festival streets with Mariel.

Seeing Mariel’s usual self, I resolved to spend some money today, but surprisingly, Mariel was quite eager to spend too.

Of course, she didn’t pay the full price; she used various tricks to haggle it down somehow.

“Thank you for attending! After an hour’s break, we’ll switch members and continue the performance!”

Ignoring the shouting of the theater staff trying to promote the next show, Mariel and I exited the theater after the play ended.

Over there, a crowd had gathered for autographs from the actors, but neither Mariel nor I were particularly interested, so we headed straight to find the next shop to explore.

“Hehe, how was it? Was it fun?”

“Umm, yes… it was enjoyable.”

The play was an adaptation of the legendary hero’s journey, using familiar themes to enhance immersion.

Even I, who was watching a play for the first time, could enjoy it quite a bit.

“Hey, your face doesn’t look like you had fun though?”

Perhaps I could not hide my expressions unconsciously; Mariel pointed it out.

But as I said, I thought the play was pretty good.

“Not a fun face? It looks like something’s bothering you instead.”

Mariel tilted her head, inspecting my face closely.

“Hmm… you don’t look tired… Is there something on your mind?”

“Eh, it’s nothing, really. Just something trivial.”

I tried to hide my expression, forcing a smile as Mariel worried about me, but having already seen my bad expression, Mariel wasn’t fooled by my smile.

“It looks like it’s not nothing… Just tell me.”

Mariel was being persistently probing.

But when I continued to remain silent, she didn’t give up and grabbed my hand, leading me somewhere.

“This won’t do. I’ll give you some advice like last time, so come here!”

The place she led me to was a quiet corner of a café where few people came.

It even had a temporary partition, making it seem good to escape prying eyes.

Without asking what I wanted to drink, Mariel ordered a couple of coffees and sat me down, diving straight into it.

“Alright. Here, nobody will overhear us, so feel free to spill your troubles to this Saint!”

Mariel, confident that I had worries rather than guessing or doubting.

Caught off guard by her certainty, I hesitantly brought up the matter I had been pondering.

“Um… it’s really nothing serious. More like déjà vu? It feels like I’ve experienced similar things before, or dreamt of them… It’s been happening a lot lately.”

“Really? Isn’t that something that happens often? Aren’t you being too sensitive, Hero?”

Mariel treated it nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed by what I said.

Had it been any other time, I would have dismissed it just like Mariel.

But I couldn’t shake this feeling of déjà vu, and it was because of the play we had just watched.

It was undoubtedly my first time seeing this play.

Being an original adaptation from the theater, I wouldn’t know its content at all.

Yet, throughout the play, I felt an unsettling sense of foresight, as if I could see what was next.

Here, the actor playing the hero was about to deliver a line. And then suddenly, the Four Heavenly Kings would pop up. The heroes would struggle but ultimately prevail, and so on…

Not only the main plot points but also the intricate details unfolded in my mind a beat ahead of the play.

Even a twist that all the audience completely didn’t expect felt almost precognitive; it was too unsettling to simply chalk up to déjà vu.

Could I be dreaming of the future?

“Um… Saint? You know a lot about the Goddess and Heroes, right?”

“Of course! As the only spokesperson of the Goddess, she often communicates with me in various forms.”

“Then… do you happen to know anything about the Hero’s powers? Like, does he have any precognitive abilities…?”

If I weren’t the hero, and if the one hearing my story wasn’t the Saint Mariel, it would surely sound like a ridiculous tale that would provoke hearty laughter.

Yet Mariel listened solemnly, devoid of any hint of a smile.

“Well… There are some small tribes on the continent that read fortunes by divination, maybe something like that?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t know how to read fortunes. Isn’t that just superstition?”

“Sorry, Hero. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure it out. Just like I said before, the Goddess doesn’t know the future either. One of her teachings is to learn from the past and move forward.”

“Hey, don’t worry too much. It’s just déjà vu, not a big deal.”

“If that’s what you say, then maybe that’s true… But if something feels off, or if you need help, you have to tell me immediately! Your body doesn’t belong to just you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

Unlike at first, I wore a calm face now, while Mariel’s expression was full of concern.

I wondered if I had worried her unnecessarily, but I didn’t harbor any feelings of guilt toward Mariel. That would be rude to her instead.

Instead, I decided to express gratitude, not apologies.

“Still, thanks to you, talking like this makes me feel at ease. Thank you, Saint.”

“Hehe, don’t mention it! This is part of my duties as a Saint! Oh, and you don’t have to pay me for the last counseling session! Since I caught you first today. Festival-period service, service!”

Indeed, the worried expression on Mariel’s face turned back into a smile at my gratitude.

In the meantime, her bringing up the counseling fee felt decidedly Saint-like.

…Wait a minute? Counseling fee and Saint? This sounds odd.

“Seriously, you’re pretty relaxed. Going to see plays with a target on your head and all.”

Back in the dorm room after wandering the festival streets with my friends. A familiar yet nauseating voice came from the dark.

“…Not like you should be concerned about that?”

In the dark room without even turning on the light, Third was leaning back on the couch, welcoming me as I stood by the door.

“Seems like your skills have improved? Enough to bypass the dorm security.”

The dorm was a high-end academy dorm for the noble students, and its security was top-notch.

When I accepted this assassination request and came to the academy, Third’s skills weren’t up to this level, so it seemed quite a bit of time had passed.

“Well, our Third has been on a mission for so long, so it’s not surprising you wouldn’t know.”

Watching Third respond to my snark with a mockery of his own was annoyingly irritating.

“Today’s already over, and we only have two days left. Given that our Third wouldn’t betray us… Are you scheming some grand assassination plan? Truly worthy of the Guild Master’s assassin!”

“Damn. Aren’t you getting tired of coming every day and chattering? That master, master, master nonsense! Can’t you just shut up and hide in a corner or something?”

Once a frequent phrase of mine, now the unusual curse slipped out harshly as I raised my voice at Third.

However, Third merely shrugged, showing little reaction.

“True, with the Master-Servant Mark, you wouldn’t have the option to betray even if you wanted to. Hehe…”

Starting with a soft chuckle, Third’s laughter grew louder.

“Yeah. You’re just the Guild Master’s sword, someone who can only think. Ah! The Ego Sword from the tales is right here!”

Staring blankly at his boring joke, Third finally managed to stifle his laughter and continued speaking.

“Well, if you ever need help or anything, just say the word. Our Third is having a hard time, so I should help.”

I contemplated tossing a nearby empty teacup at Third, but it would only make a ruckus and improve nothing, so I slowly put it down again.

Third, having apparently said everything he wanted, got up, patted my shoulder as he passed, and simply left through the door.

If someone were to see Third entering the girls’ dorm, it would surely cause a commotion, but apparently, he had mastered the art of stealth because nothing stirred.

After Third left, I sat in silence, pondering in the dark room for quite a while until it had turned into early morning.

While it wasn’t anything grand, I had already devised a plan. All that remained was to see how Third would respond.

For now, without the Master or the Master-Servant Mark scroll around, there was no obstacle in progressing my plan, but I couldn’t predict Third’s behavior, who came every day just to poke fun.

But I wasn’t overly worried. At least, no matter how much Third’s skills had improved, they were still not as good as mine.

To ruin my assassination plan, eliminate Third, and protect Selian.

Setting aside the nitty-gritty details, I just needed to remember these three things.

As my eyes grew heavy and sleep began to arrive, I kept reminding myself over and over again.

 

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