Elise's victory over the powerful members of the Freya Familia spread throughout Orario like a tale from a hero's saga.
No—perhaps not just Orario.
Since this city stood at the center of the world, whatever happened here was bound to spread across the entire world.
Bards carried the story far and wide, and countless people came to hear of this Saintess of Scales.
Many young boys began to yearn for the city of Orario, deciding that one day, when they grew up, they would go there and write their own legends.
Naturally, that included a certain boy.
...
Inside a room somewhere in the countryside.
A white-haired boy sat on a sofa, his face full of anticipation as he looked at the woman beside him.
Or rather, at the book in her hands.
"And so, like a shooting star descending from the heavens, the Saintess appeared and saved all those trapped in darkness. From that day onward, people began to sing praises of her legend."
As the story came to an end, the woman closed the book, finally revealing the face that had been hidden behind it.
She was a strikingly beautiful woman.
She had long gray hair, refined features, and if one had to describe it, there was a cold, aloof aura surrounding her.
However...
Perhaps because a child was beside her, that coldness was accompanied by a contrasting warmth.
Combined with the black dress she wore, her charm was further enhanced. If she were placed among a crowd, she would undoubtedly be the most eye-catching person there.
"That's amazing!"
The boy's eyes sparkled. It was unclear whether he was captivated by the story itself or by the person within it.
Upon hearing his words, a brief trace of displeasure appeared on the woman's face.
Then...
Thunk!
A very ominous sound rang out on top of the boy's head, remarkably similar to the sound of being struck by a fist.
"Uwaaah—!"
"Why did you hit me, Auntie?"
Clutching his head, the boy cried out in confusion.
Thunk!
Without immediately answering, the woman threw another punch at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
"Uwaaah!"
Before he could even recover, the boy had already suffered two such devastating blows.
Was he going to die? He was definitely going to die, right?
If this happened a few more times, he'd surely end up meeting the gods in the heavens, wouldn't he?
At that moment, a stern voice came from beside him, making the boy stiffen.
"It sounded like you just used a word I didn't quite understand. Could you repeat that, Bell?"
"Sorry, Mom! That was my mistake just now!"
"Alfia Mom!"
The boy's name was Bell, and the woman was Alfia.
Seeing Bell apologizing while holding his head, Alfia nodded in satisfaction. However, she soon noticed something off.
"What was that just now? Who taught you that?"
"Grandpa..."
After receiving confirmation, an expression of extreme disgust appeared on Alfia's face.
"That damned old man. All he does is bring negative influence to Bell's education! I should just punch him straight into the sea beyond three mountains."
"No! Grandpa will definitely die!"
Fear filled Bell's face as he recalled what had happened some time ago.
One day, his grandfather had been telling him about the deeds of the Saintess of Scales in Orario, and then...
"Bell! Remember this—at the heart of every heroic tale lies one essential element: encounters with beautiful girls!"
"A man should aim for a harem!"
Out of nowhere, his grandfather had said something like that, leaving Bell confused.
"Encounters with... beautiful girls?"
"But Grandpa, the person considered closest to a hero right now is a woman, and she's even called a saintess..."
"Men grow stronger through encounters with women, so what about women? What about the Saintess?"
"It's not like the Saintess can grow stronger by encountering women, right?"
Bell voiced all the questions swirling in his mind at once, but his grandfather only grinned, as if he had been expecting this.
"Now you don't get it, do you, Bell?"
"Just like you said, women can't grow stronger through encounters with other women, so..."
"The Saintess is a towering peak!" The old man suddenly tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling.
A towering peak?
What was Grandpa talking about?
At only around six years old, Bell clearly couldn't understand his grandfather's meaning—but that was fine, because his grandfather would explain it.
"Black hair is great, but blonde hair has its own charm too."
"You know, Bell, what a man must do is climb that peak!"
"The Saintess may be incredibly powerful, but so what? What we must do is conquer her!"
"The stronger she is, the closer she is to being a hero—doesn't that mean..."
At this point, his grandfather paused. During this time, he had been guiding Bell, trying to make him understand the romance of being a man.
Thanks to his persistent efforts, Bell seemed to develop a vague understanding, gradually keeping up with his train of thought.
"The man who conquers her would be... a hero?"
"Good job, Bell!"
His grandfather gave a thumbs-up, flashing a proud grin.
For some reason, Bell felt like his grandfather's teeth were shining, and then...
"Gospel!"
Boom—!
When Bell came back to his senses, all he could see was the setting sun before him.
Both his grandfather and the house had disappeared at that moment.
Standing there in a cold sweat, Bell realized that behind him stood Alfia, surrounded by a dark aura.
"Grandpa—!"
From that day on, no one dared to provoke Alfia's anger—not his grandfather, not Bell himself, not even his Uncle Zald...
Incidentally, the house had already been rebuilt several times.
"Enough."
Alfia sighed, gently placing her hand on Bell's head.
"Since ancient times, countless strong individuals have been born. There are many who can do what's described in that storybook. Zald and I can both do it."
Bell froze for a moment, then suddenly realized something.
The first time Alfia hit him when he said "amazing"... could it be because...?
Driven by a powerful instinct for survival, Bell's little brain began spinning at full speed.
"Yes, Alfia Mom and Uncle Zald are both amazing! You're the people I admire the most!"
After saying this, Bell could clearly feel the atmosphere in the room ease. Alfia's mood had obviously improved—he had narrowly escaped disaster.
"Alfia Mom..."
"What is it?"
"Can I ask... about what happened before you and Uncle Zald came here?"
The moment he said it, Bell regretted it, because he once again felt the air grow heavy.
However...
"To be honest, I never planned to come see you at all."
As if recalling something, Alfia's expression softened considerably.
"I always thought that no matter what, I must never appear before you."
"Huh?"
Bell hadn't expected her to say that, but when he saw her expression and remembered the stories she had told him about his birth mother—Metelia—he immediately understood. Tears began to gather at the corners of his eyes.
Back then, it had just been him and his grandfather, living in a rural area far from any town, relying on the characters from heroic tales to ease their loneliness.
Loneliness...
What a terrifying thing it was.
Even someone as strong as Alfia Mom and Uncle Zald couldn't withstand it.
Then why did you appear before me?
Though he didn't say it out loud, the question was clearly reflected in Bell's eyes.
"Perhaps I was momentarily bewitched. I was curious about my sister's child, so I came together with Zald. At first, I only intended to take a look from afar, but..."
At that moment, Alfia opened her heterochromatic eyes, filled with tenderness.
"When I saw your white hair, I couldn't suppress my feelings at all. Before I knew it, I was already standing in front of you."
Alfia pulled Bell into her arms and said softly, "You really resemble Metelia. Your white hair, your face, even your smile—they're all just as wonderful as your mother's."
"Except for your eyes!"
"Every time I see those red eyes, I feel like gouging them out."
"Eek—!"
Bell was genuinely frightened by that. It sounded exactly like something Alfia would do.
However, there was one thing Alfia didn't say.
One important reason she had come to see Bell was that Orario had finally produced an adventurer capable of carrying the era forward.
Elise Holiness...
Alfia silently repeated the name in her heart. It was only after learning about Elise's deeds that she had decided to come and see Bell.
Does that mean I should actually thank her?
Because of Bell's praise earlier, the dissatisfaction she had once felt toward that girl seemed to have faded somewhat.
With such overwhelming strength, perhaps she...
Realizing she was thinking too far, Alfia quickly cut off that line of thought and continued to enjoy holding the white-haired boy.
"Alfia Mom..."
"If you hadn't come to see me back then, would you have left with Uncle Zald and that god we saw last time?"
"..."
Hearing Bell's question, Alfia fell silent.
"I probably would have. With my current condition..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Bell remembered. In private, he often saw her coughing violently, sometimes even coughing up blood.
Alfia didn't seem like she could hold on much longer.
Bell hadn't fully understood that earlier conversation either. What exactly had that black-haired god—whose voice sounded somewhat like his own—said?
He didn't know.
But judging from how heavy the atmosphere had been at the time—even his grandfather had become serious—he knew just how grave the situation was.
"It's alright, Bell."
Alfia tightened her embrace.
For a moment, Bell found it hard to breathe, but pushing her away now would probably lead to serious consequences.
"I've already come to your side, so I will never make that choice again."
Alfia and Zald had abandoned the path of evil and completely became a village woman and a farmer in this small countryside village.
"I will stay here with you. We won't be separated again..."
"Even if no hero is born, even if the world faces destruction, I will still remain by your side."
Though Bell was still young, he already carried himself with a certain maturity.
He could clearly feel the emotions in Alfia's words, so he hugged her back.
"No, a hero will definitely be born!"
"If no one else becomes one, then I will become a hero!"
"As long as I can be Mom's hero, that's enough!"
"So... Mom!"
Bell looked at the only mother he had left in this world. Within his already red eyes, it seemed as though flames were igniting.
Seeing this, Alfia smiled.
It was a joyful smile—one that Bell had only seen once before, when they first met.
"You really are an arrogant child, daring to boast about becoming a hero in front of me."
"Then you'd better be prepared. Words once spoken are like water spilled—you can't take them back."
Alfia's response only strengthened Bell's resolve to become a hero.
"I understand!"
Within the boy's heart, his admiration for heroes solidified into a firm vow.
Perhaps he wasn't a world-saving hero yet—but he was undoubtedly Alfia's hero.
"Then steel yourself. We'll start training soon!"
"Zald and I will train you thoroughly!"
"For now, enjoy what little rest you have left."
Alfia stood up from the sofa and walked toward the door, as if she were really going to prepare training equipment.
"Soon?"
Sweat poured down Bell's forehead like raindrops. He hadn't expected it to start this quickly.
"Not from tomorrow?"
"Silly child, hesitation isn't the way of a hero. Once you've made a decision, you must act immediately. And..."
"To become a hero, you must understand the boundary between life and death, and know where your limits lie."
"As you are now... you still need to surpass your limits five hundred times."
What exactly are limits supposed to be?!
As Alfia left the room, it seemed like Bell was finally alone... except not quite.
"Yo, Bell!"
"Grandpa? Where did you come from?"
"That's not important! What matters is—you're going to become a hero, right, Bell?"
At the mention of the word "hero," Bell's expression became serious.
"That's good. Don't forget our promise!" His grandfather gave him another thumbs-up. "A real man should build a har—"
Boom—!
His grandfather and the house vanished once again...
"You damn old man! If you dare teach Bell that kind of nonsense again, I'll twist your neck off!"
Alfia's face was filled with anger. She was furious again, and anyone who tried to stop her now would only suffer.
Good luck, Grandpa... the boy silently prayed in his heart.
Zald didn't dare come over, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Once again, Grandpa was buried beneath the rubble of the house...
Wait, why did I say "again"?
Sigh!
Alfia let out a sigh in her heart. If Bell hadn't stopped her, the grass on that old man's grave would already be taller than Bell himself...
This can't go on like this!
Thinking so, Alfia decided that before Bell was led astray by that old man, she needed to find an opportunity to properly educate him on those matters.
A long road lay ahead...