Arwin lowered the key and let it rest against his side. “You don’t have to say anything. Things are secret for a reason.” A small laugh slipped from Anna’s mouth and she shook her head. “That’s sweet of you, but there’s no need. I think our lots are thrown in together at this point. There’s no reason to hide this any longer. I won’t claim that we’re revealing all our secrets, but I think we can tell you this much.” “What are you talking about?” Reya looked from Arwin to Anna in confusion. “Hiding what?” “Rodrick isn’t a warrior,” Arwin said. Anna nodded. “Was it that obvious?” “Not initially. I only just figured it out. An empowered attack isn’t that uncommon for a warrior, though the energy probably should have given it away. A glowing control break was what woke me up. Rodrick looked more like he was blessed rather than drawing on his own power.” “Hey, you hear that?” Rodrick asked. “I honestly thought you’d figured it out a bit ago. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside – although that might actually just be the remnants of Anna’s magic.” “If you’re not a warrior, what are you?” Lillia asked. “A paladin of some sort?” Rodrick’s smile slipped away. “I used to be. Paladin of Light, specifically. I didn’t make it all that far down the good path.” “What? What is it?” Rodrick asked. “I was the Hero of Lian,” Arwin said. “And Lillia was the demon queen.” Rodrick chuckled. “Ah, of course. I should have guessed.” “Rodrick?” Anna said quietly. Rodrick looked back to Arwin. The smile on his face slowly melted. Arwin could practically see him thinking through the fights they’d been in together and putting the inconsistencies together. “Nine Underlands,” Rodrick muttered. Something passed through his eyes and his expression darkened for an instant before he brought it back under control. “What in the world happened? The Hero can’t be out here. He’s – wait. You aren’t the current Hero, are you? You’re the one that died before him.” “What are you doing here? And how did you possibly come to start a guild with the – what, former demon queen? Shouldn’t you both be King Ranked or something like that? Why are you pretending to be Apprentice Tiers?” Arwin read the unspoken question on his lips. Why did you let Zeke die? “Because we aren’t who we used to be. The guild was playing us,” Arwin said. “They control both sides of the war. Lillia and I were both betrayed – or saved. We don’t know which. And, in the process, we both lost our classes. All we do know is that the guild and the monster coalition are intentionally keeping the war running.” “Slow down,” Rodrick said, his brow furrowed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and blinked furiously. “You’re telling me that… what, everything is just a giant conspiracy? And that you and the demon queen faked your deaths, losing all your strength in the process, to start a guild in the middle of nowhere?” “Not exactly. We didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Arwin said. “And I never planned to start a guild. Do you recall how the papers said we both died?” “A massive magical explosion, wasn’t it?” Anna asked. Arwin nodded. “It was. The thing is, it didn’t kill us. It just threw us across the kingdom and we both somehow landed here. All the magic ended up warping my class and replacing it with the smithing one I have now. Lillia–” “I became a tavern keeper,” Lillia finished. “That’s awful,” Anna said. “If people found out–” “We’d just be killed.” Arwin shook his head. “And I’ll be honest, I’ve been fighting my entire life. There will be a time when a reckoning comes to the guild, but I’m not throwing my second chance at life away completely for revenge before I’m ready for it. I’m just a smith now.” “Do you miss them?” Rodrick asked, and there was something more to his words than just mere curiosity. “Your powers. I mean – damn. You were at the peak. The strongest warrior we had. And now…” “Not for a second,” Arwin said. “I’d trade them all away a thousand times over. This is everything I’ve ever wanted. And I don’t think Lillia and I were actually as strong as we were said to be. The guild intentionally kept us weak. We were figureheads. Actors, not true warriors.” Rodrick fell silent, a contemplative look passing over his features. “It feels like someone had to have done this intentionally,” Anna said. “The chances of you and Lillia both showing up in the same city seem impossibly low.” “They do,” Lillia agreed. “That’s why we think it’s possible someone saved us. Unfortunately, we have no idea who. Or why. To be honest, we’ve got more pressing problems to deal with.” “I understand how difficult that probably was to share,” Anna said, bowing her head in appreciation. “Forgive me if I steal your promise, Reya, but not a word of it will ever leave my mouth. I swear it.” “As do I,” Rodrick said. “You know what? As far as Heroes go, you’re a good enough sort. And if you’re actually the Hero, I’m pretty sure my loyalty is meant to be to you anyway. I never got good enough to get pulled into the army, but I’m sure that was somewhere in the contract. I didn’t read it.” His words cut the tension and Arwin let out a burst of laughter. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.” Despite Arwin’s amusement, he hadn’t missed Rodrick’s reactions throughout the conversation. He’d been surprised by the reveal… but not in the way that Arwin had expected. Rodrick had been wary. More than just a mere paladin, I’d say. I get the feeling he was a little higher up in some order than he cares to admit – but I don’t think that’s any of my business. I trust him and Anna, and they clearly trust us if they’re giving us this much information. I’m not going to push for more unless Rodrick reveals it himself. “I can’t really believe I’m sitting here next to the bleeding Hero and his greatest enemy,” Rodrick said. He let out a whistle. “Did you realize you were betrayed before you met again?” “No,” Lillia said. “We had no idea.” “So when you saw each other again, did you start going at it with your crafter classes?” Rodrick asked as he covered a laugh. “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that.” “Surprisingly, no. I think we were both fed up with fighting to the point where we didn’t care anymore,” Arwin said. And I don’t think I could even try to fight Lillia anymore, even if I wanted to. He shook his head to clear it and coughed into a fist. “Anyway. We shouldn’t sit around here forever. Now you know.” “Are we really supposed to just… go back to doing dungeon stuff now?” Rodrick demanded. “I want an autograph!”