It felt like talking to a broken record.
No matter how many times he explained—and how many times he rejected her—Vinica kept calling him 'Lord.'
To Jan, she was delusional.
To Vinica, this was simply another test.
It was just like before—when she was younger, standing before Zeryph's altar, begging for acceptance and hearing only silence. She hadn't given up then, either. She kept praying, kept working, until she finally earned a title.
[Servant of Zeryph] — the lowest of them all.
But to her, it was everything. She had finally been seen.
Among the Five Gods, Zeryph was known as the most selective, the one who rarely chose followers.
People called him the God of Rejection.
'Fools,' she thought even now.
It wasn't rejection, it was a test. One that she had passed before.
One that she would pass again.
With that thought in mind, Vinica left the inn.
Even after she was gone, Jan couldn't shake the unease. He turned to Sophia helplessly.
Sophia sighed. "Just accept it, Jan. Your title holds weight. Zeryph's followers will always treat you that way."
"You're one of them, aren't you? I don't see you kneeling in front of me!"
"Huh, as if! I don't give a damn about any of that! Titles don't mean much to me beyond the skills that come with them. Who cares what Zeryph thinks? If anything, I think he's a fool."
Aeris let out a sharp gasp. "Y-You shouldn't say that! Don't you fear the wrath of the gods?!"
"Wrath, my ass," Sophia muttered. "It's just some fellow who probably died hundreds of years ago."
Vinica's words still echoed in Jan's head. "She kept praying, and she actually received a title?" he asked.
Sophia nodded. "Yeah. When people pray to a god, they sometimes get special titles. My mom, Maria, my dad, and even I have one."
"You?" Jan raised a brow.
Sophia shrugged. "See? It's not about what you believe."
Jan turned to Aeris. "What about elves? Do you get titles too?"
"Not exactly. We receive blessings from the Life Tree."
"You worship a tree?!"
"Not the tree itself, you idiot—it's just a symbol!"
Sophia chuckled under her breath. "Don't believe her. I heard they even lick it."
Aeris's face turned bright red. "We don't lick it! And how can you say that—you're part elf too!"
Jan, who had fallen into deep thought, finally said. "Then if you believe the gods are dead, who's giving the titles?"
"Who gave you yours?" Sophia shot back.
"T-The system."
"There you go, then."
"Makes sense."
"No, it doesn't!" Aeris cut in, frustrated. "I don't have this system of yours! But I received a title from the Life Tree!"
"What title did you get?" Jan asked.
Aeris mumbled something under her breath.
"What?"
"Guardian of the Life Tree!"
Sophia burst out laughing. "Pfft— So you're the one guarding it from lickers."
Even Jan cracked up.
Aeris fumed. "You idiots! That's a high title! It gave me a ton of blessings!"
Jan wiped a tear from his eye, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry—it's Sophia's fault. I really didn't mean to laugh. So what kind of blessings?"
Aeris lifted her chin proudly. "It gave me the ability to control all elements!"
"Whoa!" Jan blinked. "That's awesome."
"See?" Aeris crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the ground, looking at Sophia.
"Relax," Sophia teased, patting Aeris's shoulder. "I'm joking."
"Then what's your title, Crispy?" Aeris grinned.
"..."
"What is it, Crispy?!"
"I–Instrument…"
"Pfft—no wonder you're so spiteful!"
Sophia scoffed, pretending she didn't care, but Aeris kept poking at her the entire walk to the guild.
Apparently, [Instrument] was as low-ranked as [Servant of Zeryph].
One belonged to warriors, the other to priests—the base titles that most people could earn if they were lucky enough to receive one at all.
Jan also learned that Marcus and Erza both held the highest-ranked titles:
Marcus was a [Sentinel]—the pinnacle for priests,
and Erza was a [Pillar], the warrior equivalent.
Surprisingly, Rollo had never received a title at all. That, Sophia said, was why she considered Zeryph a fool.
'She's got a point,' Jan thought.
Sophia explained that many believed titles reflected a person's potential, but Rollo—and countless others—were proof that this wasn't true.
Many others started low and earned higher titles later, as if titles weren't blessings from the gods but achievements born of effort.
'But I got the highest one before I even did anything in this world,' Jan mused. 'So that doesn't make much sense either.'
Jan's thoughts came to an end as the guild building came into view, tall and familiar.
In front of the door, a man was frantically pacing in circles.
Before Jan could even warn Sophia, the man spotted them—and charged toward them!
"Sophia! No—Princess Sophia!" he cried, waving both hands. "What's happening?! I received the Pulse and came running! I thought, 'Hey! Go to the inn!'—but then I said, 'No, they wouldn't be at the inn, it's too urgent!' Then I thought, 'The Guild Master must be in the guild!' TO MY SURPRISE, the guild was closed!"
He barely paused for breath, words spilling like a waterfall.
"So I said to myself, 'Damn! The Guild Master would never let this happen unless the urgent matter was TOO URGENT!' So I ran to the Council Hall—but guess what? NO ONE WAS THERE! I ran back here—still closed! So I started pacing, thinking, 'Do I go to Sir Marcus?! Or Sir Rollo?!' I've been running in circles for thirty seconds straight, thinking where to go—and then thank the gods, you showed up! Now tell me what the HELL is going on?!"