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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Three years had passed since that remarkably dynamic year in Amon’s life.
Three years since the year they discovered Sonia’s talent, and Amon’s talent, and subsequently grappled with the ghost-possessed Jimmy and the psycho gorilla.
Three years since the year filled with so many incidents and accidents that it would have been worthy of a radio story, even by the standards of this world, where such things were commonplace.
During that time, Amon and Sonia prepared for their approaching graduation.
“Thank you for everything, Master.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Reconsider my offer.”
“Thank you, but we want to see the wider world.”
Before graduating from the orphanage, Amon and Sonia first settled their affairs at the swordsmanship dojo.
Upon hearing of their departure, the master expressed his regret and offered them positions as assistant instructors, including room and board, but they politely declined.
If they could, they would have liked to continue their training peacefully at the dojo.
But they were orphans.
They had no one to support them, no connections.
It was time for them to forge their own paths.
…That was the superficial reason.
The bigger reason was that they were both Divine Power wielders.
Knowing how far this world would go to secure a Divine Power wielder, Amon knew he couldn’t stay at the dojo.
Even though it was quite large by city standards, with two Divine Power wielders present, it wouldn’t be strange for a corporation to suddenly send a ninja squad to the dojo.
Naturally, this was something neither Sonia nor Amon desired.
Therefore, they had no choice but to bid farewell to the master with due courtesy.
As he saw them off one last time, the master earnestly urged them:
“Alright. Don’t obsess over fame, just survive for a long time. Remember what I always say?”
“It’s not the strong who survive,”
“But the survivors who are strong. Right?”
Amon and Sonia replied as if reciting from memory.
The idea of promoting himself through them was already insignificant in the master’s mind.
He wasn’t interested in them proving his teachings to the world.
There was only a teacher who wished for his students to live long and prosperous lives.
In this world saturated with materialism, such love was more precious than anything money could buy, so Amon and Sonia maintained their respect for the master until the very end.
Afterward, the two systematically concluded their relationships with everyone they were indebted to, except for the master.
It wasn’t that they were disregarding them, but the two lived in a different world.
To be precise, their very existence was like poison to ordinary people.
Their mere presence could cause harm to others.
Amon and Sonia, suppressing their regret, made their farewells.
“What’s so important about this Divine Power…”
Sonia muttered dejectedly.
Sonia already knew her secret.
With only a year left until graduation, the director had revealed the secret of the Divine Power to Sonia.
Originally, it was supposed to remain a secret until graduation, but her brilliant talent was simply too remarkable to conceal until then.
Her talent shone so overwhelmingly that even she could sense her own peculiarity, so the director had no choice but to tell her the truth.
Fortunately, Amon and the director’s character education hadn’t failed; Sonia didn’t become arrogant after realizing her talent.
Instead, she reflected on how blessed she was and resolved to be even more humble.
As a bonus, the director couldn’t help but smile maternally at her admirable attitude.
But how did you know?
Incidentally, the director questioned Amon, who had reacted rather indifferently despite knowing the secret, but he somehow managed to evade the issue.
In any case, they lived with the secret for a year.
Now, they had to sever ties with people before the secret was revealed.
Ordinarily, people would gladly sever ties, rejoicing in their specialness, but Sonia was too sentimental to do so easily.
When the time came to say goodbye, Sonia choked up, unable to speak.
So, Amon calmly took care of severing ties on her behalf.
Seeing Amon’s unwavering composure, Sonia felt a sense of wonder.
“Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
To her question, Amon replied with his usual pleasant smile:
“Of course, I’m sad. It’s sad that we have to cut ties with people because of this Divine Power. I’m also resentful of this world.”
“Then why are you so calm?”
“Because I believe this won’t last forever.”
Amon’s eyes shone brighter than neon signs as he spoke.
“Someday, when I reach a position where no one can interfere with my relationships, and furthermore, when the world becomes a better place to live, I’ll be able to come back.”
Sonia couldn’t respond to Amon’s confident answer.
Sometimes, Amon would speak with overwhelming confidence about the future.
You’ll shine brighter than anyone! I guarantee it!
How many children, barely surviving in the orphanage, were captivated by him showing them the beauty of hope?
Sonia was one of those children captivated by him.
His pronouncements, even if they took time, always came true.
No one believed his declaration that he would make the dreary orphanage more vibrant, but by the time he graduated, the orphanage was filled with a bright atmosphere, incomparably different from 10 years prior.
Therefore, Sonia couldn’t help but believe Amon’s declaration this time as well.
Beyond just believing, she had somehow become certain.
Before she knew it, she found herself resolving to follow Amon and witness the bright future he would create.
The anticipation for that future was already unbearable.
As her thoughts reached that point, the gloomy girl vanished, and she returned to her usual self, beginning to discuss her dreams.
“Then, for the sake of that dream, we should listen even more attentively to the priest’s lesson this afternoon.”
On their way back to the orphanage, Amon agreed with Sonia’s words.
After the director’s Divine Power coming-out, the two began training in earnest to control their Divine Power.
Their instructor was the narrow-eyed priest.
The same narrow-eyed priest who had come to the orphanage to exorcise Jimmy’s evil spirit, and who occasionally visited afterward to check on their silver anklets.
The priest readily agreed to teach, saying it was a chance to build goodwill with them.
Under the priest’s tutelage, the two learned how to handle Divine Power, and in less than a year, they reached the level of skillfully concealing it.
Sonia had a rather favorable opinion of the priest, with whom they continued to maintain a connection.
“At first, judging by his appearance, I thought he was a bad person, but he turned out to be a good person.”
Amon responded to her assessment with a smile.
At first glance, it seemed affirmative.
But inwardly, he disagreed.
‘Of course, anyone is kind while they’re trying to curry favor.’
In this world, appearances, and even actions, couldn’t be trusted.
The only thing you could trust was yourself.
In such a world, he couldn’t judge the priest to be a good person based solely on his kindness.
The priest was simply a benevolent being to them in this situation.
Oh, and Sonia was an exception to this logic, as she was a friend he could always trust.
‘Though she’s a bit like a complicated adult.’
Amon had seen the mark of the Vatican’s Inquisition on the priest, so he was certain the priest wasn’t a clean character.
However, given that he showed kindness to everyone he encountered, he couldn’t be simply labeled as evil or a hypocrite.
There was no way to define this complex adult in a single word, so Amon merely responded to Sonia’s assessment with a smile.
As they walked towards the orphanage, where the priest awaited them, accompanied by Amon’s ambiguous assessment, Sonia brought up a new topic.
“So, where should we go?”
“Well…”
It was a sentence with many omitted parts and no subject, but Amon grasped her intent.
She was asking where they would go after graduation.
As if the fact that they were Divine Power wielders had become an open secret, they had been bombarded with offers from various groups since a year before graduation.
The government was initially an option, but as was typical of government officials, the more diligently and honestly they worked, the harder it became, so they excluded it.
After filtering through numerous options, they narrowed it down to two main candidates:
Corporations and the Vatican.
First, corporations guaranteed money.
The harder they worked, the more certain the rewards, providing clear motivation.
They even promised support for the orphanage.
However, like the government, it would be a painful place if they couldn’t turn a blind eye to corruption.
No, it would be even more painful than the government.
In comparison, the Vatican offered relatively less money, but it was stable.
It was an organization where, strangely enough, many Divine Power wielders were born and gathered, so even in this world where religion’s influence had plummeted, they could still make their voices heard.
To what extent? Enough to engage in power games with lower-tier megacorporations, if not the top tier.
Moreover, even though they were a religious organization, they weren’t entirely swayed by corporations, and their level of corruption wasn’t the worst.
They could even use doctrine to address corruption head-on if they so desired.
The slightly lower income was a problem, but it was a perfect fit for Sonia and Amon, who weren’t particularly greedy for money.
However, there was a reason why Sonia hesitated to choose this option.
“But what does serving the Mother have to do with marriage?”
The issue of marriage.
Vatican clergy were forbidden to marry due to doctrine.
It was such an absurd doctrine that even Sonia tilted her head in confusion when she first heard it.
Amon, too, had cocked his head upon hearing it, thinking,
‘That can’t be right…’
But there was no way a doctrine that had lasted for over 1,000 years could be changed.
Upon hearing that doctrine, Amon had scoffed:
“In a region with the highest concentration of orphanages in the world.”
Ironically, the Vatican had the highest proportion of orphans in the world.
There was a bittersweet joke about the Vatican:
If a devout nun started gaining weight one day, she’d disappear the next, only to reappear about eight months later.
Therefore, for some reason, there were more orphans than children with parents in that city, and the adoption rate was strangely high.
The priests claimed they adopted children for the sake of practicing their faith, but well…
Amon merely offered them a cynical look.
Returning to the story, the reason Sonia and Amon were hesitant about the Vatican was this doctrine.
Amon was disgusted by the contradictory doctrine, and Sonia disliked it for various reasons.
However, the drawbacks of the other two options were also significant, so it was a shame to remove the Vatican from consideration entirely.
For months, the two couldn’t decide between the three options.
“If all else fails, we can just be a mercenary duo.”
Amon nodded at Sonia’s suggestion.
Even though they considered being mercenaries as a last resort, it truly was their final option.
Even for Amon, overflowing with talent and confidence in the future, it was too unstable an option to choose readily.
Being a mercenary was that dangerous, unstable, and difficult.
Still, it wasn’t a path entirely off-limits.
“A duo with me as the vanguard and Sonia in the rear…”
It felt like it would be a pretty powerful duo.
Imagining that future naturally brought a smile to Amon’s face.
(Mainly in a gamer-like sense.)
Sonia, perhaps interpreting his satisfied smile in the same way, returned a bright smile.
Before they knew it, the two began envisioning their future, using the mercenary life as an escape.
“We’ll probably get scammed a lot as newbies, right?”
“We should be more worried about getting scammed on our lodgings first.”
“What do you want to do about rooms? Two separate rooms in different suites, or the same suite, different rooms?”
“The latter.”
“Living together?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Of course not.”
Even though their mercenary life wasn’t set in stone, it felt like they could overcome any hardship together, being childhood friends.
As the two envisioned a hopeful future, their happy fantasy continued until someone blocked their path.
“…Jimmy?”
Jimmy, who should have graduated long ago, appeared before them.
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