The Author's POV

'I'm sure I heard Oliver… Did I hear wrongly?'

I didn't think so.

"Eh, my dad's been kind of busy lately. I haven't even seen him around these past few days."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, but it's not like it rarely happens. It's been like this since I last remember… I'm sure you understand me."

"Yeah."

"Ehm…"

I interrupted the conversation between the two. Scratching the side of my cheek, I altered my gaze between Amanda and Emma before finally settling on Emma.

"What did you say that your father's name was?"

Emma looked at me strangely.

"You don't know who my father is… ?" She paused and furrowed her brows. "No, never mind. It's not like he's some sort of big shot celebrity. Why should I expect everyone to know his name?"

"His name is Oliver."

Amanda answered for her, and I found myself blinking several times again.

"Oliver?"

"Yes."

Only after Amanda confirmed it once more was I finally convinced that I didn't hear incorrectly.

'Oliver? Why is his name different?'

This wasn't the name that I knew of.

I looked at Emma.

"By chance, do you know of anyone that goes by the name Waylan?"

Perhaps he was still called Waylan, but went by a different name in front of people? It wasn't impossible.

…Or so I thought.

"Waylan? No, I've never heard of him before."

Emma looked at Amanda.

"Do you know what he's talking about?"

"No."

"I see."

I had no choice but to give up when I saw that neither of the two knew who Waylan was.

'I guess it makes sense in some way.'

Even though everyone I interacted with in this world had the same name as the ones in my world, it wasn't impossible for some others to have names that were different.

After all, this was a different world, and its history was completely different. The fact that their names were the same was the odd part.

'Well, whatever.'

I shrugged the thought off. It didn't seem like a big deal.

Ding―!

Right then, I received a notification on my watch. I smiled when I looked at it. 

'They're faster than I expected.'

[Ashton City Community Orphanage―Middlestone Street 56.

―Read More]

***

During the time that I was able to catch a glimpse of Octavious's memories, the orphanage was the one thing that stood out to me the most.

That was as far as Octavious's memories led me, but that was enough.

"Sir, we will be arriving shortly."

"Mhm."

The view from the window of the car revealed a run-down neighborhood. There were no towering structures, and most of the homes were on the modest side.

After what I did to the Green Paw Guild, I felt as if my life suddenly became simpler. In addition to having an excellent information network, they also provided me with a personal driver.

It was no thanks to them that I was able to find the orphanage this quickly.

"We have arrived."

The car stopped, and the driver got out. Coming around, he opened the door for me.

"The orphanage is up ahead."

He pointed at a certain chapel off in the distance with his finger. It was uncannily similar to the way it appeared in the memories I saw. It was probably a little bit more rundown, but other than that, it was pretty much the same.

"Would you like for me to wait for you here?"

"That's okay."

While calmly observing the distant chapel, I shook my head. From the exterior, nothing seemed amiss. It looked perfectly normal.

It was as if this was just a regular chapel...

"You can leave; I can go back on my own."

Sending the driver on his way, I fixed my clothes and moved toward the chapel. Secretly, I started to channel my mana and demonic energy.

If what I saw in Octavious's memories was true, then whoever this Protector was… they weren't something that I could make light of.

"Welcome to the orphanage; how may I be of assistance?"

Greeting me was a nun. She was a different nun than the one from Octavious's memories. She seemed rather young, and what particularly struck me were her deep blue eyes.

I greeted her politely.

"I just wanted to take a look. You see, my wife and I have been thinking of adopting…"

"Ah."

The nun's eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly.

"Why if that isn't great news?"

She led me toward the chapel.

"Come with me inside for a moment. I will contact the head nun and let you see the children."

"Thank you."

Creak―!

The wooden door creaked as the nun pushed it open, revealing a dark interior lit only by the flickering flames of a few candles.

The air was heavy with the scent of incense and decay.

When my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I looked around to notice the pews were draped in tattering black cloth and the walls were adorned with faded paintings that were no longer discernible. There was something unsettling about the paintings, but I couldn't quite make out what it was.

'There it is.'

At the center of the chapel stood a familiar statue. Its marble surface was chipped and stained. Clearly from the wear of time.

My feet came to a stop, and I stared at the statue from where I stood.

'It looks normal.'

The statue was… just a statue. Observing it from where I was, there didn't seem to be anything odd about it.

'I thought I'd be able to notice something since I can now control a bit of the laws, but…'

It didn't seem to be the case.

"Are you interested in the statue?"

I heard a distant voice. When I looked up, I saw an elderly nun making her way toward the statue.

I squinted my eyes at her presence.

'She seems familiar.'

She made a favorable first impression on me. Something about being in her presence was soothing, and it made me want to put my faith in what she had to say.

…but it was that sort of impression that made me warier of her.

Still, I didn't outwardly display my wariness and merely smiled at her.

"I am indeed interested in the statue."

I took a few steps forward, and curiously looked at the statue while pinching my chin.

"I've been to many churches in my life, and I've never seen such a statue before. I was just wondering who the statue is depicting."

"A question I'm very used to." The nun smiled, caressing the statue next to her. "Our chapel doesn't belong to a religious branch. You can say that this statue does not depict a god."

"Hm?"

I cocked my head.

"That's rather interesting."

A chapel was a place of worship. If they weren't worshipping a god, what were they worshipping?

"Did you say that you were interested in taking a child for adoption?"

I was momentarily thrown off by the nun's unexpected question, but recalling what I had said to the other nun at the entrance, I nodded my head.

"Yes, my wife and I are looking to adopt."

"Is that so?"

The nun smiled, and I found myself frowning. For some reason, it felt as though I was being seen through at this very moment. 

I hadn't experienced anything like it in a very long time, and it wasn't a pleasant sensation by any stretch of the imagination. Especially ever since I reached the strength that I currently possess.

"Is there something wrong?"

Her smile was unsettling.

'Why am I getting creeped out with someone that has no shred of mana in them?'

"There's nothing wrong." The nun shook her head. "It's just that we don't appreciate it when someone lies."

"Hm?"

I raised my brow.

"Lie?"

"Mhm."

The nun nodded her head. She then gently caressed the statue.

"Protector has already revealed everything to me. You're not here for the children. You're here for him, aren't you?"

"…"

I didn't like how things were playing out.

"Haa..."

I sighed while shaking my head.

'I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure whoever was controlling Octavious must've seen what I did to him."

Think thus far, I let out a long breath and nodded my head.

"You're right. I did indeed come to meet this Protector of yours. I'm not really looking to adopt children."

I decided to come clean. There was no point in lying anyway. What I needed to do now was figure out who this damned Protector was so that I could finally go back to my own world.

"That's much better."

The nun clasped her hands together. She seemed genuinely pleased by my words and moved away from the statue.

"What would you like to know about the Protector?"

"Hm?"

Her words caught me off guard.

"Am I not going to meet him?"

"Meet him?"

The nun's eyes squinted at my words.

"You wish to meet the Protector?"

"I thought I made that pretty clear."

"That is not possible."

The nun shook her head, her eyes closing into thin slits.

"The Protector isn't someone you can meet as you, please. They have far more important tasks at hand than meeting with the likes of you."

Even after everything that I did to Octavious and the power I displayed, this so called Protector refuses to meet me?

'As if I believe that.'

"Tasks? Like what tasks?"

"Keeping balance."

The nun replied, her tone reverent.

"The Protector is in charge of keeping the balance in this world."

"Balance?"

I almost laughed at her words.

"Is keeping balance the same as eliminating those who have talent?"

This became pretty obvious to me after I heard what Octavious had to say. What this so called 'Protector' did was nothing short of cleansing those who had a certain level of talent and accomplishments.

"Yes."

The nun nodded, admitting everything rather quickly.

I was taken aback.

'She's not even going to deny it?'

"That is indeed one of the many roles of the Protector."

"There are more roles?"

"Indeed."

The nun replied.

"The Protector is also in charge of blessing the world."

"Wait…" I had a sudden thought, and my eyes opened up. "When you mean by blessing, you can't be saying―"

"It is indeed as you're thinking."

The nun cut me off before I could finish.

"You and the people of this world should be thankful to the Protector. If it weren't for the Protector, your world would've never gotten into contact with mana."