Arrangements

A beautiful, mature woman dressed as a priest stepped forward. Judging by the looks in the other ministers' eyes, this priest must have held an extremely high position within the empire.

Bishop Iris smiled gently at the Heroes. "These are the weapons blessed by the Deity. I ask that each of you Heroes save our human race."

The weapons were a sword, a bow, a dagger, and a staff.

The Heroes immediately took a liking to their preferred weapons. However, when Misa noticed Chen Yi walking toward the staff, she hesitated for a moment before heading toward the dagger.

After distributing the weapons, Iris glanced at Chen Yi and left under Hero Kenichi's reluctant gaze.

Although she had not deliberately drawn attention to herself, Iris left a deep impression on the Heroes' minds.

Afterward, the king grew sleepy and had Princess Anna, who looked like a doll, show the Heroes around the royal palace.

Faced with the cute and unusually accommodating Princess Anna, the Heroes from another world began to let themselves loose.

They cried out in surprise whenever they saw something unfamiliar, but what they did not know was that every time they exclaimed in astonishment, Princess Anna revealed a disdainful look.

Although Anna was only an ordinary person, her status was noble enough that she could move freely throughout the palace with them.

"Princess Anna, may I ask where one can learn magic?"

After imitating the Traveler and bowing to the princess, Chen Yi asked the question.

The effect of his etiquette was obvious. Princess Anna's eyes seemed to light up as she returned his bow, pinching the hem of her skirt as she curtsied.

This one must be a noble from another world. As expected, he's completely different from those crude commoners. He didn't make a fuss either.

"This Hero's name is Yi... right? It really is different from the names in our world."

"If you wish to learn healing magic, you will need to go to the church. With your identity as the Healing Hero, the nuns will not make things difficult for you."

Chen Yi nodded, behaving like a gentleman. "Thank you for answering, Princess Anna."

It was merely a normal exchange, but the Sword Hero saw it differently.

Kenichi glared viciously at Chen Yi. He despised any man who got close to Princess Anna.

Just a mere healer, yet he could not even recognize his own place.

He was practically a completely different person from the timid figure he had been before.

That completely undisguised malice was like a firefly in the night to Chen Yi's senses. Was I too good-tempered?

That night, Chen Yi's room was empty.

Priest Cross Marin had just returned to his room when he suddenly shouted coldly, "Who's there?!"

"Relax, Priest Marin."

A flame precisely struck the candle on the table, and the firelight illuminated the two of them.

Marin said in surprise, "Lord Yi, did you enter the wrong room? Let me take you back. You must get plenty of rest. Training begins tomorrow."

Combined with his harmless appearance, he gave off no reason for anyone to lower their guard.

Chen Yi said nothing and merely watched him silently.

The warmth in Marin's smiling eyes gradually turned cold.

"Can we have a proper talk now?"

"..."

The room fell silent.

Chen Yi was considering how to achieve his goal, while Marin was considering whether he could take Chen Yi down without alerting the guards.

After a long while, Marin broke the silence first. "Aren't Heroes from another world supposed to be ordinary people?"

"Normally, yes. I'm simply a little special."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Marin regained his gentle demeanor. "Then, Mr. Yi, what business do you have with me?"

Chen Yi could not help but let out a breath of relief. The hardest hurdle had already been crossed. "Actually, I've always been very interested in magic. It would be nice if there were somewhere I could learn it."

"This small matter can be left to me. A Hero's problem is my problem."

"Then... thank you, Priest."

After Chen Yi left, Marin's expression shifted uncertainly beneath the candlelight.

Most palace guards were warriors and were not particularly sensitive to Mental power.

He sensed the guards' positions and used Mental Power to conceal the traces of his movement, returning to his room without disturbing anyone.

Talking to these old foxes was exhausting.

From the moment he stepped out of the Summoning Array, Chen Yi had planted a Nano Eye on Marin.

It was precisely because of this Nano Eye that he behaved completely differently from before. Their conversation with Marin had only lasted a few sentences, yet every one of them had been repeatedly considered by Chen Yi beforehand.

The relationships within the palace were tangled and complicated. Chen Yi had discovered three factions.

The largest was naturally the empire. They had a clear objective, and summoning the Heroes had been arranged by this faction.

Next was the religion. The Heroes' weapons were actually kept in their custody, though their current objective remained unclear.

The final faction was the force behind Marin. Their objective was unclear, and they did not dare reveal themselves within the palace.

Yet none of the three factions were something Chen Yi could handle. Furthermore, none of them seemed to care who the Heroes actually were, which gave Chen Yi room to maneuver.

Healing Staff (Unverified)

Quality: Deep Purple

Physical Attack: 5-6

Magic Attack: 10-12

Intelligence +2

Effect: Increases healing effectiveness by 20%

Durability: 35/35

Level: 1 (0%)

Evaluation: A weapon that can grow stronger. Now you've seen one.

The identity of a Hero was important, because Heroes could make these weapons stronger.

The identity of a Hero was unimportant, because there were five Heroes this time.

In the darkness, Chen Yi did not meditate for once. Instead, he considered how he could preserve himself.

As for those real Heroes, what did that have to do with him?

Early the next morning, they went to meet the king. The king assigned a team to each Hero and granted them a large number of Gold Coins.

However, Kenichi, the Sword Hero, received the most Gold Coins, while Chen Yi, the Healing Hero, received the least.

This preferential treatment only further inflated Kenichi's arrogance. The way he looked at Chen Yi now carried a threat.

Misa, who had been forced to take the dagger, felt delighted inside. Her originally timid demeanor had vanished without a trace.

Under everyone's gaze, Chen Yi stepped forward. "Greetings, Your Majesty. I have a matter I wish to request of you."

The king was somewhat impatient. "What is it?"

The surrounding ministers' expressions also turned unfriendly.

The Neon Braves, who were quite adept at reading the atmosphere, watched Chen Yi with schadenfreude.

"Your Majesty, you also know that I am the Healing Hero, yet I do not know any healing magic."

"If I train alongside the Priests and clergy, it may not produce any training results at all."

"Therefore, I ask that you withdraw my team and give me some Gold Coins so that I may form a team among the common folk."

The clergy assigned to Chen Yi's team, who had originally only intended to watch the show, were suddenly dumbfounded. Before they could say anything, the king's voice rang out. "I approve your request. Someone, give the Healing Hero enough Gold Coins to form a team."

Marin stepped forward to acknowledge the order, while the other ministers praised the Healing Hero as young and promising, certain that he would achieve great things.