"Hero?" I asked as I stepped deeper into the cathedral.
Heiter stood near the altar with his hair slicked back and sparkling like polished obsidian. He wore dark clergy robes and a black cross that glimmered under the candlelight. Even though every book and legend said he should be halfway to being an old grandpa, he looked more like a man in his early thirties. Not a single wrinkle, just glowing skin like he moisturizes with divine blessings every morning.
He smiled at me warmly. "Well, aren't you the young man who saved me from the thief?"
I glanced around. The cathedral was… a cathedral. Fancy pillars, long rows of chairs, stained glass, candles everywhere. Enough atmosphere to make someone feel guilty for stepping on a squeaky floorboard.
"I may have saved you, but surely you must be able to take care of yourself. You are a hero, no?" I tapped a finger on my chin.
"Oh yes. Priests are for healing and those types of boring roles," I said, answering my own question before he could speak.
He put a hand dramatically over his heart. "Boring? Comments like that truly wound me."
I shrugged. "Well, you look fine. And younger than expected. Good skincare routine?"
His eyebrow twitched.
But enough messing around. I sat on a nearby bench, letting my voice dip serious. "So, what did you bring me here for?"
The churchmen behind him shifted uneasily. Heiter kept smiling but his eyes sharpened.
"Those three individuals that escorted me here," I continued, "had high mana levels. They stayed exactly twenty to four hundred yards away from me. They swapped positions every two hours. They only closed in once I met that girl, Helga. At first, I thought they were demons stalking me. I was going to confront them near the church… but fate seems to enjoy throwing curveballs."
I pulled off my blindfold, letting the light hit my Six Eyes. The entire cathedral seemed to freeze.
Heiter's expression didn't change much, but the flicker in his eyes told me he saw something he did not expect.
"Not only that," I said, "you have a suspicious number of scriptures and rare spell texts up there near the altar. You clearly did not bump into me by accident."
I yawned. "In case you were planning on giving a dramatic confession, just skip to the important parts."
Heiter tilted his head slightly, then smiled in that overly gentle, priestly way.
"Yes, our meeting may not have been a coincidence," he said slowly. "Or perhaps it was fate. Maybe the Goddess guided you here. Maybe I simply got lucky that my wallet was saved by a prodigy."
He clasped his hands behind his back. "But what matters is not how we met. What matters is why you are here."
I leaned back, folding my arms.
"Fine. Why did you bring me here then?"
Heiter walked toward me, stopping just a few steps away. The cathedral lights caught his eyes, making them glow faintly.
"You see, Satoru Gojo," he said quietly, "a demon was found in this city two nights ago. One that should not have appeared within holy ground."
"The demon seemed to be muttering your name, saying it had murdered your master," Heiter said quietly, almost like he wanted the walls to hear him.
"Oh?" I stretched my arms and let out a lazy yawn. "I remember around two days ago, but sorry, no, I wasn't the one who killed it. Technically, I haven't killed a single demon."
Heiter narrowed his eyes. "I find that very hard to believe. One look at you and I can see that you know more than you let on."
I raised my hands dramatically. "Well, you caught me." I chuckled. "But what I said was correct. I may have fought it, but I didn't kill it."
"So it ran away?" Heiter asked. He tapped a finger near his temple, his face twisting in contemplation. "This makes things a little more complicated."
"Not at all. My student Julian killed it. I just helped him tire the demon down," I said casually, like I was talking about helping someone carry groceries.
"Your student? Where is he now?" Heiter looked truly puzzled.
"He's… hmm… busy?" I scratched my cheek. "Honestly, I don't know."
Silence fell for a moment. The candles flickered, casting uneasy shadows around the cathedral. The churchmen pretended to look busy, but even they were listening.
"But that still doesn't explain my answer," I said, dropping my voice. "How did you manage to find me so quickly? I am pretty sure I told no one about my existence."
Heiter clapped his hands softly, as if dusting off a thought. "One step at a time." He walked toward the altar. "It is better if I explain where all of this came from."
He picked up an old scroll, locked with a golden seal. When he unrolled it, the parchment crinkled like dry leaves. Strange symbols glowed faintly across it, twisting, unfamiliar.
I leaned closer. The letters were nothing like the common writing of this world. I had mastered those within a week of arriving here, so this was something entirely different.
"Can you read it?" Heiter asked.
"No, I cannot," I replied. "I know how to read, but this seems unfamiliar to me."
Heiter's face darkened in thought. The look of a man trying to solve a puzzle he did not actually want to solve.
"This is a holy scripture," he said slowly. "The best of the best have been working to decipher it."
"Interesting," I said, lifting an eyebrow. "What does it say?"
Heiter took in a quiet breath. "Holy Scriptures usually include tales and spells, but this one was particularly short. After decoding it, the message read something… phenomenal."
My ears perked up. Even my heartbeat seemed to pause.
Heiter continued. "It says: There comes a time where a man not of this world comes. He does not abide by the rules of this world. He kills demons but does not bow to the Goddess. His hair is as white as snow and his eyes as blue as the ocean."
The room seemed colder. A breeze passed, although no windows were open.
I blinked slowly.
Well, that was oddly specific.
Heiter looked directly at me now. The playful priestly smile was gone. His expression wasn't hostile, but it wasn't gentle.
"So tell me, Satoru," he whispered. "If this scripture is true… what exactly are you?"
Behind him, the candles sputtered, and a soft ringing echoed through the cathedral, like distant bells.
Outside, life in the city probably continued as usual. People eating bread, merchants yelling about fresh fruit, kids running around…
And here I was, being stared down by a legendary hero priest in a midnight black church, being accused of being a prophecy.
Lovely.
I sighed.
"…Can I answer after I get something to drink? This is a lot to take in on an empty stomach."
Heiter blinked, completely thrown off.
"Did you not just have breakfast?"