Ghislain began talking with the three people first. He had many questions, but more importantly, he lacked information about this era.
The three answered Ghislain's questions without hesitation. They still believed Ghislain was Astion.
They naturally accepted the situation, as Astion had always done strange things, even before.
Ghislain listened to their answers with an amused expression.
"So, all three of you are from the same village?"
Yulian nodded.
"Yeah, including you."
"Hmm, and this mage claimed that other souls besides his own have possessed his body?"
"Yeah, we thought it was weird at first, but... now we kind of believe it."
"What do you mean, 'kind of believe it'? Either you believe it or you don't."
"Well, it sounds strange, but looking at the results, it seems plausible."
Kyle agreed from the side.
"Exactly. Astion knows a lot of strange things. Who could've taught him that in a small village? He even learned magic on his own."
Deneb nodded as well.
"Astion is our village's greatest genius. There's nothing he doesn't know. He said the other souls told him—ancient sages and knights."
Hearing that, Ghislain muttered with a fascinated look.
"Wow, you're saying such an ability really exists? I can't believe it. How's that even possible?"
"...You said you're from another era too."
When Yulian asked with a dumbfounded expression, Ghislain cleared his throat.
"Ahem, right. Anyway, all three of you are training? To become stronger?"
"Yeah. Deneb's training under orders from the temple, and we decided to join her."
Ghislain nodded and asked a few more questions.
"And the reason you want to get stronger is to fight the Demon Realm?"
"Yeah. It's almost time for it to rise again. We're going to fight it and save the world."
Yulian's eyes sparkled as he spoke. His expression showed a firm determination to succeed.
Not a hint of doubt in his conviction. Is this what makes someone a hero?
Anyone overhearing this conversation might mock them for chasing an impossible dream. But Ghislain knew that they would eventually achieve it.
He also knew just how great their accomplishments would be.
The saviors of humanity. That title suited them far better than himself.
Ghislain chuckled.
'It's funny seeing them talk like this with such sparkling eyes.'
Well, their expressions aside, even in reality, Yulian had fought for the world.
Maybe people born with that kind of face are destined to play the hero's role.
Amused, Ghislain turned to Deneb and Kyle.
"You guys also want to save the world?"
Deneb nodded vigorously.
"Yeah. It's the duty of someone who serves the goddess."
Kyle scratched his head.
"I just want to be strong."
"Why?"
"Because the strongest person is always the coolest."
'Ah, this kind of feels like Kaor, yet a little different.'
Anyway, all three of them had a strong desire to grow stronger, albeit for slightly different reasons.
Ghislain already knew about the Demon Realm from Erenes. She had mentioned that when the Salvation Church gains power, they emerge along with the Riftborn.
In the past, it happened regularly. Listening to Yulian, it seemed the Salvation Church was about to rise again.
This time, even an adversary appears, leading to a massive war. Ghislain was aware of that much, so he nodded.
"Alright. I'll make you guys stronger. Just trust me. If you have any questions later, ask me. You can ask me anything too."
The three looked at him with slightly suspicious eyes. They knew Astion was weird, but this time he genuinely felt like a different person.
Yulian hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Then what about Astion?"
"Hmm... I don't know?"
"Are you really someone else? You're not joking?"
"I'm serious. I'm someone else."
"...."
The three wore worried expressions. Their friend, who had been with them, suddenly disappeared, and someone else took his place.
This had never happened before, so they didn't know how to react.
An awkward silence lingered for a moment. Then Ghislain broke it with a smile.
"Well, that Astion or whatever will come back soon. I'm only here temporarily. So, let's get along until then."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah. So don't worry too much. I'm just here to see something."
To Ghislain, the past wasn't that important.
It already happened. He didn't think his actions here would affect the future significantly.
At most, he might help them get a little stronger.
'Maybe this encounter is what led them to know me in the future.'
That's why the mage and saintess must have shown him this vision—for his future self.
Whether it was his words or the mage's command, he didn't know yet.
'Well, it's not important right now.'
For now, his priority was to find clues about the adversary. And as a bonus, see what had happened in the past.
"Alright, let's move. Time to start our journey to get stronger."
"Where are we going?"
Yulian asked, and Ghislain threw the question back at him.
"Are there any bandit hideouts nearby?"
"I'm not sure. There probably are if we look."
"Great. Let's start with that."
"Why?"
"To get some money first."
"Huh? Why rob bandits? To help people?"
Ghislain smirked at Yulian's words.
"Do you have a lot of money?"
"...No."
Ghislain turned to Deneb and Kyle.
"You guys have money?"
Both shook their heads. Coming from a small village, there was no way they had much money.
The three looked like vagabonds—disheveled hair and grimy clothes.
Honestly, they were filthy, far beyond acceptable limits.
Ghislain clicked his tongue.
"That's why we need to loot them first. I'm not a fan of starving while training. That's only for emergencies. How have you guys been managing expenses so far?"
Yulian scratched his head and replied.
"We did village errands or odd jobs to earn money. We also joined monster hunts a few times."
"You've never caught bandits before? Didn't you take their money?"
"We caught a few when we found them, but we only took a little and gave the rest to nearby villages."
Ghislain widened his eyes.
"What? You gave it all away?"
"Yeah, a lot of people suffered because of them, so we gave it back to those people."
Yulian said it like it was obvious. Deneb nodded in agreement, while Kyle looked slightly dissatisfied, pouting his lips.
Ghislain glanced between Yulian and Deneb and let out a quiet exclamation.
"Wow..."
He'd helped plenty of people too, but not to that extent.
Despite their young age, their moral foundation was entirely different. It was no wonder they became the hero and saintess who saved the world.
But whether their methods were efficient was another matter.
That's just a one-time thing.
If Ghislain had only kept giving away the money he earned, that would have been the end of it.
However, he used the first bit of money he gained as capital to start a business, greatly increasing his wealth. He believed that he had to become strong first in order to help others.
As a result, he was able to help far more people.
Their beliefs weren't wrong. Despite their young age, they were doing their best.
In fact, it was impressive that kids their age were even helping others. When Ghislain was their age in his past life, he had been too busy just trying to survive.
Ghislain placed a hand on Yulian's shoulder and said, "You don't need to keep doing that anymore. Just do as I say. Your top priority is to get stronger."
"R-Really?"
"We're going to clear out every bandit hideout nearby and secure some funds. Eating well and resting well are key to training properly. Got it?"
"But... that's not our money."
"It's fine. Everyone in this world owes you a huge debt—or they will."
They were future heroes who would save the world. Even if kings and nobles handed over all their wealth, it wouldn't be enough.
But the three frowned. They had no idea what he was talking about.
Kyle puffed out his cheeks and asked, "What debt do people owe us? We're the ones with debts."
Ghislain was stunned.
"What? You guys are in debt?"
Kyle pointed at Deneb.
"Deneb was sold to the temple by her parents when she was little. The money the temple paid is all considered debt."
Ghislain looked at Deneb, and she nodded with a dark expression.
Her story was absurd. She had displayed holy power as a child, so the nearest temple paid a large sum to purchase her.
Since holy power is largely innate, it wasn't unusual for temples to take children who displayed such talents at a young age.
The problem was that Deneb's holy power turned out to be quite lacking. No matter how much time passed, it hadn't grown beyond what it was in childhood.
In the end, the temple gave her minimal combat training and sent her out into the world—alone, since no one was willing to accompany her.
"They call it a pilgrimage, but it's basically, 'Go earn money however you can, whether you live or die.' Help people along the way to boost the temple's reputation, too. So they can brag about how much they serve the people."
Even as Kyle spoke bitterly, Deneb gave a faint smile.
"It's okay. This trial must be the goddess's will. It's my fault for being so lacking."
"...."
Ghislain was momentarily at a loss for words.
Who? Who was lacking?
Deneb was the first saintess capable of wielding the powers of all four goddesses. She just hadn't awakened yet. This journey would lead to her awakening.
Of course, since Ghislain was the only one in this era who knew the outcome, the frustration was his alone.
Kyle continued grumbling.
"Anyway, when we heard Deneb was going on this journey alone, we decided to join her. We wanted to go on an adventure, too."
"Are you in debt as well?"
"My dad's gambling debts fell to me. I told the lenders I'd pay it back somehow, so they let me go. They didn't really have another option anyway."
"What... What about Yulian?"
"Yulian's an orphan. But the villagers vouched for him, and when they all ran off, he was stuck with a huge debt to a merchant guild."
"And the guild just let him go?"
Kyle shook his head.
"Those money-grubbers? No way. Astion vouched for him. Promised to pay it back."
"I did?"
"Yeah. Since Astion's a mage, the merchants gave him some credit."
Ghislain blinked in disbelief. They were all so young, yet each carried massive debts. It was a total mess.
The only one without debt was the mage, Astion. Being the most competent and intelligent of the group, everyone trusted and followed his lead.
Thanks to Astion's guidance, they had managed to grow stronger quickly.
Even while burdened by debt, Yulian and Deneb prioritized helping those in need.
No matter how much Astion opposed it, the two refused to stop.
'...Debt-ridden heroes...'
They kept giving and giving, and in the end, even sacrificed themselves. It was admirable but also heartbreaking.
Suddenly, another thought crossed Ghislain's mind.
'Is there a way to seal the Demon Realm and save them too?'
It had already happened, but maybe he could change it since he was here.
What would happen to the future if he altered the past?
It would be an incredibly difficult task, but the idea intrigued him.
'There must be some reason I was brought here. It can't just be a coincidence.'
He didn't have the answers yet. He figured he'd have to spend more time in this era to find out.
Clearing his thoughts, Ghislain spoke cheerfully.
"Alright, I get the situation now. But let's put that approach on hold for now. From now on, you'll do exactly as I say. Got it? So let's start by earning some mon—"
— What the hell! What did you do to my body?!
Ghislain froze mid-sentence. Loud voices suddenly echoed in his head.
Shocked, he focused on the voices in his mind.
'Oh, is this the body's original owner?'
— Who are you?! How did you take over my body?!
Astion's shout was drowned out by another voice.
— You! Become my servant!
— Ahhh! What is this dark thing?!
— Ugh, why is this place so cramped? Where did you suddenly come from?!
— I should be asking you that! Why are there two people inside my body?!
As Astion freaked out, the dark voice responded indifferently.
— Why is this your body?
— What?
— We took it, so it's ours now.
At the dark voice's shameless answer, Ghislain involuntarily nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Astion, the body's original owner, was so stunned that he fell silent.