"We are not murderers, Arkael. We are guardians," I said, my voice vibrating with the silver authority of the Goddess. I looked down at Toby, who was still on the floor, clutching his burnt hand and sobbing silently.
"And you, Toby. Look at them. They are not strong. They are only loud. Strength is knowing when not to strike. You want to be a man? Then you need to understand that a man's first duty isn't to kill—it's to ensure his family survives."
I turned back to the lead collector, whose wrist was now held at an impossible angle. Arkael gave a final, brutal twist, and the man's bones popped like dry twigs. Arkael tossed him out into the mud like he was throwing away a piece of rotten meat.
"Go back to Lord Valerius," I said, standing in the doorway, the golden light of the Aegis shimmering behind me. "Tell him the orphanage is under the protection of the Goddess Luminara. If he wants his taxes, tell him to come and find it in the ruins of the old temple. But if he sends men like you again... my Guardian will not be so 'gentle' next time."
The three men scrambled onto their horses, their Greasy Red auras flickering with pure, unadulterated fear. They didn't look back as they fled into the mist, leaving only the sound of receding hooves and the smell of mud.
Silence returned to the house, but it was a heavy, suffocating silence. Toby stood up slowly, his legs shaking. He looked at his scorched hand, then at the massive, dark figure of Arkael. The envy was still there, but it was now tempered by a cold, terrifying realization: he was a child playing with gods.
"You want to protect them?" Arkael walked over to Toby, his shadow swallowing the boy completely. "Then learn that a weapon is not for the angry. It is for the responsible. If you cannot even control your own fear, you cannot control a blade."
I reached into the system. I didn't have much Faith left, but this was a necessary investment in the orphanage's infrastructure. "System, give me the tools for a different kind of strength. Something that grows through sweat, not through blood."
[ Manifesting: Divine Seeds (The Harvest of Faith) ]
[ Cost: 20% Faith ]
A small, humble pouch made of coarse burlap appeared in my hand. I placed it in Toby's palm.
"These are Divine Seeds. If you plant them, if you sweat over the soil, and if you protect them from the crows, they will provide more safety for this house than a thousand daggers ever could. This is your responsibility, Toby. If these seeds die, the children go hungry. Can you handle that weight?"
Toby looked at the bag, then at Arkael. He saw the Demon King staring at him, waiting for him to fail.
"I... I can," Toby whispered, his voice cracking.
"Then pick up that branch," Arkael barked, kicking a heavy oak branch toward the boy. "If you truly want to carry the weight of a blade, you will start by carrying the weight of yourself. Outside! Defense position! Now!"
For the next six hours, the backyard of the orphanage became a training ground from a nightmare. Arkael was a brutal teacher. He didn't teach Toby how to "coolly" swing a sword or perform fancy footwork. He made him stand in a single, agonizingly difficult defensive stance.
"Lower!" Arkael would shout, tapping Toby's burning thighs with the flat of his gauntlet. "Your center of gravity is like a leaf in the wind! If a soldier hits you now, you fall and your sisters die! Hold it!"
Toby's legs shook violently. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to drop the heavy branch and quit. But every time he looked up, he saw Arkael's unmoving, obsidian presence. He saw the children watching from the window—Leo, Maya, and the others.
"Why are you doing this?" Toby gasped, his voice breaking from exhaustion.
"Because a weapon is a responsibility," Arkael replied, walking around him like a predator. "Every time you draw a blade, you are deciding who lives and who dies. If your heart is not as steady as a mountain, you will kill the wrong person. You call me a monster? Perhaps. But I am a monster with discipline. You are just a boy with a temper. I will break the temper until only the soldier remains."
The other boys in the orphanage began to gather near the fence. They watched in awe. They didn't see the "Scary Knight" anymore; they saw an Instructor. A man who, despite his harshness, was giving Toby something no one else ever had: the chance to be strong.
"Go, Instructor Brother!" Leo cheered from the porch, his small lungs finally healthy enough to shout.
Arkael's ear twitched at the title—"Instructor"—but his expression didn't change. However, I noticed his aura was no longer threatening Toby. Instead, it was forming a subtle barrier around the yard, keeping the biting wind away so the boy wouldn't freeze as he sweated.
As the sun began to set, Toby collapsed into the mud, his body trembling, but his eyes were different. They were clear. The dark orange of his aura had turned into a steady, solid Bronze.
That night, Toby planted the seeds. Under the moonlight, they began to hum with a soft green light. By dawn, the backyard was filled with tall, golden stalks of wheat and vibrant green vegetables that smelled of life.
[ System Notification: Faith of Responsibility Secured ]
[ Relationship Level Up: Toby (The First Squire) ]
[ Divine Feature Unlocked: Divine Storage ]
I stood on the porch, watching Toby show the children the food he had "created" with his own sweat. He looked proud—not the arrogant pride of a boy with a stolen knife, but the quiet pride of a provider.
Arkael walked up behind me. "He didn't break," he muttered.
"He had a good instructor," I said, glancing up at him. "And it looks like you have a new name, 'Instructor'."
Arkael growled, but he didn't move away. "The boy is a seed himself. If we don't water him with discipline, he will just become another weed for Lord Valerius to mow down."
I smiled, opening my system to see the new Divine Storage icon. Our logistics were finally coming together. We had a protector, we had food, and now, we had our first soldier.