A week had passed since that night beneath the white moon.
A quiet week.
But not an idle one.
The day after their date, Sora had already departed from the Divine Sanctum, returning to her homeland—the Luminous Duchy in the eastern territories of the Atlantis Empire. Her duties as the only child of her parents could not be neglected for long.
Which meant—Null was alone again.
Well. Not truly alone. But the Sanctum definitely felt different without her presence. Perhaps quieter. Or perhaps that was only in his head.
Either way, he hadn't allowed himself the luxury of dwelling on it. Because the past week had been… exhausting.
Under the relentless supervision of Commander Dhonmac, Null had been training like a madman. Weapon drills. Mana control. Endurance conditioning. Combat theory. Human anatomy. Magical safety protocols. And then repeating everything again until his arms trembled and his mana circuits burned like fire. Dhonmac showed no mercy. Not even a little.
According to the commander, Null's combat instincts were "barely above a civilian's," which meant the only solution was repetition—until those instincts were forged into something sharper. Painfully so.
Outside of training, however, Null's daily life in the Divine Sanctum had begun to settle into a rhythm.
He cooked his own meals. Partly because he enjoyed it. Partly because the Sanctum's cafeteria had an alarming obsession with boiled vegetables.
He spent time exploring the Sanctum's sprawling halls, slowly getting acquainted with its residents—priests, acolytes, healers, paladins, scholars. Most were curious about him. Some were cautious. But thanks largely to Illiana's energetic introductions, the majority had grown friendly enough.
Speaking of Illiana—she had been a constant presence during the week. Sometimes as a guide. Sometimes as a supervisor. And sometimes simply as a loud, mischievous companion who seemed to enjoy teasing him whenever the opportunity arose. Occasionally, with permission from Pontiff Seraphel, she even accompanied him on missions outside the Sanctum. The official reason was simple: to make sure Null didn't die due to rookie mistakes. An explanation she often justified by loudly claiming she had promised Sora to "watch over the idiot."
Null wasn't entirely sure whether that was an excuse or the truth.
Still—he appreciated it. Illiana was busy most of the time. As one of the Sanctum's key operatives, her schedule was rarely empty. And yet, for some reason, there were days when she would deliberately push aside her own responsibilities just to accompany him—something Null found quietly touching, even if he never said it out loud. Because if he did, Illiana would probably become unbearable.
Aside from training and Sanctum life, Null had also begun taking low-rank missions. Not for money. But for experience. Real fights. Real decisions. Real consequences. And perhaps most importantly—a chance to explore the strange fantasy world he now lived in.
Which was exactly what he was doing today.
---
The Mission Hall buzzed with low chatter.
Priests behind the counters processed requests. Trainees and Sanctum operatives studied mission boards filled with parchment notices.
Null stood before one of those boards now. Reading. Scanning. Judging.
"…Hmm."
He tapped one parchment.
Bandit suppression. Low-rank.
A group of petty criminals had been harassing merchant caravans along one of the main roads leading to Lumeris City. The mission required subduing them and delivering them to the Justice Regulators. Simple. On paper.
But among low-rank missions, this one had a reputation. The bandits were organized enough to be troublesome. Not dangerous for veterans. But certainly challenging for novices.
Which meant—perfect.
Null tore the mission slip from the board.
"I'll take this."
At the registration counter, the priest processed his request quickly. "Understood. Several local adventurers have also accepted the mission. You will rendezvous with them at the designated location."
Null nodded. Good. There was no way he could take on a bandit group alone. Not yet.
Once the paperwork was complete, he left the Mission Hall.
The corridors of the Sanctum were quiet this morning. His footsteps echoed softly against the polished stone floor as he walked toward the teleportation chamber. The Sanctum floated high above Lumeris City, meaning most outside missions began with teleportation.
As he approached the glowing circle etched into the chamber floor—
He saw her.
Illiana stood near the teleportation platform. Arms folded beneath her rather impressive chest. Her expression—odd. Anxious. Her half-elven ears twitched repeatedly. Constantly. Rapidly. Almost like nervous antennae.
Null slowed slightly. That was… unusual. Normally those ears were relaxed. Or perked with curiosity. Or angled aggressively when she was about to start teasing him. But this? This was something else.
When Illiana noticed him approaching, her anxious expression vanished almost instantly. Too quickly. But her ears—they started twitching even faster.
She lowered her head slightly and walked toward him.
Null stopped a few steps away. He waited.
Illiana clearly wanted to say something. But for nearly a minute—she didn't speak.
And during that minute—Null found his attention drifting.
Not to her face.
But to those twitching half-elven ears.
They were right there. Soft. Delicate. Moving slightly every few seconds.
And for a brief moment—a dangerous thought entered his mind.
…I wonder what would happen if I nibbled them.
Immediately—Null crushed that thought. Because he was a man of discipline. A saint in spirit. A gentleman of impeccable restraint.
So instead—he carefully stored the idea in a mental "future cultural bucket list." For research purposes. Of course.
"…What?" After a minute of silence, Null finally broke.
Illiana sighed. "…Null-kun…" Her voice was unusually hesitant. "I… won't be able to accompany you on your mission today."
Null blinked. "Oh?"
"My master assigned me an important task," she continued. "Something I can't postpone, so—"
"You won't be coming with me today, right?" Null finished for her.
Illiana nodded slowly. "…Yes. Sorry."
Her shoulders drooped slightly—which looked extremely strange for someone normally so energetic.
Null chuckled, then lightly patted her shoulder. "Why do you look so depressed over that?"
Illiana blinked.
"And what exactly are you apologizing for?" he continued. "You're not some bodyguard I hired. You've been helping me because you want to. For that, I'm already very grateful."
Illiana's ears relaxed slightly. Relief flickered across her face. But the guilt didn't disappear completely.
"Bu–but…" she muttered. "I promised Sora I would look after you while she's gone."
Null shrugged. "And you did. Every day this week. And you'll continue after today, right?"
Illiana nodded. "…Yes."
"Then it's fine." He smiled. "I'm sure Sora will understand."
Illiana thought about that. "…Well… yeah." A small smile appeared. "I know how kind she can be beneath that cold facade she puts on."
Null nodded proudly. "I know. That's my Sora for you."
The words slipped out. Effortlessly. Naturally.
And the moment they left his mouth—Null froze.
Slowly—he turned his head.
Illiana was staring at him. Her brows lowered. Her eyes sparkled.
"…Yours?"
Uh-oh.
Her gossip instincts had activated. Full power.
"Hey!" Null immediately said. "Didn't you say you have an important mission from your master?"
Illiana blinked.
"You should go! Otherwise your master might be waiting with a sharp stick to slap your butt if you're late!"
It was a tactic Null had learned directly from Sora—the ultimate Illiana deterrent.
And—it worked.
"Oh crap!" Illiana's eyes widened. "Null-kun, thanks for reminding me!"
She turned to run, then suddenly spun back around with a serious face. "Be very, very, very careful. And don't die, okay?"
Null blinked. "…Why does it feel like you're jinxing me by saying the word 'die'? Do you have that little faith in my survival skills?"
Illiana stared at him. Flatly. "You're a novice. So… yes."
Null clutched his chest. "That hurts. But okay. I'll be careful."
Illiana nodded firmly. "Good."
She turned to leave. Then suddenly stopped halfway down the corridor. Without turning back, she spoke.
"Oh. Don't think you dodged my suspicion." Her voice carried a mischievous edge again. "I'll make sure you spill the beans after you return."
And then—she left. For real this time.
Null sighed. Internally.
Damn it. How did I let that slip?
He rubbed his face.
Did getting a beautiful girlfriend make me careless or something?
After a moment of bitter reflection—he reached a conclusion.
New plan. Avoid Illiana. Entirely. At least until Sora returns.
Unfortunately—Illiana knew his daily schedule inside the Sanctum. Which meant the plan was… not very practical.
"…I'll figure something out later."
For now—there was a mission waiting.
Null stepped onto the teleportation circle. The runes beneath his feet glowed softly. Light surged upward.
And the next moment—he vanished.
Reappearing moments later in Lumeris City far below.
Unaware—
That somewhere in the shadows of the world…
A death order had already begun to move toward him.