Preparation (2): Kaya's True Destiny
After Hendrick entered the bathroom, Kaya finally exhaled a long breath. She had been frozen stiff, barely daring to breathe, too ashamed to even look at his face.
What... what do I do?
Even though she was wearing underwear, this was the first time she'd ever shown her bare skin to another person. It was only natural to feel flustered. And for Kaya, it hit even harder.
From a young age, she'd been bombarded with insults like "dirty mongrel" and "lowly bitch" until they were seared into her ears. Her self-esteem had been shattered because of it. Following the goddess of mercy and tolerance, Raella, had allowed her to at least act like a person, but the harsh experiences of her childhood had taken deep root in the foundation of who Kaya was as a half-elf.
Even during her apprenticeship at the monastery, she'd covered her face whenever possible and devoted herself to grueling physical training or prayer rather than mingling with the other novice nuns. To her, her face, her figure—herself—were all filthy and lowly, but the goddess had bestowed mercy upon her, allowing her to serve as one of her handmaidens. That was the concept ingrained in her.
So when Hendrick had called her "pretty" before, her shock hadn't been an act at all. And even now, though she was flustered, she'd forced herself to stay calm—not for her own sake, but for the sake of their leader. She didn't want to cause him any trouble. She feared her filthy, lowly body might make things awkward between them, ruin their previous camaraderie. She couldn't bear the thought of their "fate" diverging because of it.
If meeting a handmaiden of Raella had been the first happiness she'd found after her parents' death, and feeling Raella's mercy the second, then she firmly believed that joining Hendrick's hero party now—her third, and perhaps final—happiness was just as precious.
She'd been a battle nun for years now. What if she looked like some cheap temptress trying to seduce a man? Of course, with her filthy body, the leader probably wouldn't even glance her way...
Even as she donned her casual clothes, dampened a rag with water, and knelt before her armor, her thoughts wouldn't stop churning.
What if the leader's disappointed in me?
He was just as tired and worn out, yet he'd told her to rest first, showing consideration. And as their leader, he'd come back after doing extra work—only to see her in such a vulgar state...
As time passed and she scrubbed at the bloodstains hardened to the point of being impossible to clean, Kaya's eyes began to glisten. Even during years of brutal physical training that left her muscles screaming, she'd never once shed a tear—merely grimacing at the soreness. But now her eyelids fluttered twice as fast as usual.
It was just a minor mishap—the perfect timing of Hendrick returning to the inn. But in Kaya's mind, that one negative scenario spiraled endlessly out of control. Before she knew it, her brain had conjured an image of herself abandoned, kneeling at Hendrick's feet with tears streaming down her face, hands clasped in desperate plea.
Clack—
The sound of the bathroom door opening snapped her back to reality, signaling the end of her imagined nightmare. The rag was soaked red, but only one spot on her armor had been cleaned—because she'd unconsciously kept scrubbing the same place.
Act... as natural as possible. If she stayed calm like before, maybe she could pretend the earlier incident never happened. That's what Kaya thought.
"L-Leader...?"
"Ah. Ahem. The bathroom's so cramped, there's nowhere to set my clothes."
The moment she saw Hendrick in his underwear, her mind went blank.
**
"I-It's not a problem, but... could you maybe turn around for a bit?"
"Ah, y-yes! Sorry!"
After a warm shower, he locked eyes with Kaya staring straight at him. Damn this bathroom. He'd managed to keep his underwear dry, but the rest of his clothes were another story. Who would've thought?
Was the inn's interior designed without assuming anyone would dress in the bathroom? Fuck, what am I even thinking?
No way they'd design it like that on purpose. This was just the overactive imagination of a lifelong virgin running wild.
Either way, having someone—especially a woman—stare intently while he dressed was mortifying. When he pointed it out, Kaya's neck turned stiffly, like an unoiled machine.
Well, yeah. She was a nun who'd only recently left the monastery, so she was probably pure in these matters.
Unless she's a lesbian or something. Ahem.
Fuck, begone lewd demon. Kaya wouldn't think of me that way anyway, but if I misread the situation and fucked up, causing her to quit the hero party?
Relax. It's not like we saw each other fully naked—just underwear for a few seconds, right?
Underwear? Fuck, that wasn't relaxing at all! The whole shower, he'd been tormented by visions of Kaya in her underwear—her ass thrust toward him, those long, slender legs... Sip. Holding back from jerking off was harder than fighting an elite monster. It was too much stimulation to relax.
So he took drastic measures, pulling up the message log from the tutorial's end: Failure means death. Only then did his pounding heart and that hyper-elastic rod calm down.
Yeah, that's right. Pulsing huge and throbbing—no time for that. We were barely keeping up with level-ups.
Slipping into a light shirt and pants restored a surprising sense of stability. That's when he finally noticed Kaya's outfit and the rag in her hand.
And in seconds, his heart was racing again, making a mockery of his earlier resolve.
Ka-Kaya! Why do you keep setting my chest on fire? I just put it out...
Why the hell was she wearing her "real deal" battle nun outfit indoors!? You bastard creators—does it make sense for a nun to walk around in that getup? Of course! It was eye candy! What? In this shitty world, shouldn't we at least have some visual treats?
The curve of her thigh peeking out, the blatantly exposed lines of her upper body—it made him dizzy. Reflexively, he squeezed his eyes shut and staggered back.
A one-dimensional reaction to block the intense stimulus. No deeper intent—just his subconscious at work.
But...
"I'm sorry."
"...Huh?"
Why the hell was Kaya kneeling before him? Why? He'd been the one ogling, the one with the dirty thoughts—why her...?
The dizzying visual feast before him collided with the incomprehensible situation.
"Ka-Kaya. What's wrong?"
"I was wrong. I... I did wrong."
No, what did you do wrong?
Normally, he'd have calmly analyzed and responded to Kaya's baffling behavior. But the situation was off. Like rolling dice and hitting six every time—weird coincidences piling up. He was flustered, she was probably flustered. The car had lurched forward and was now accelerating without brakes.
"I won't disappoint you. I'll do better. I'll fight harder. So please... me..."
"Kaya. Disappoint? What are you talking about?"
Huh? Disappoint?
But that word slammed on the brakes. Something was off-kilter.
Grab—
In the confusion, Kaya clutched his leg.
"Please... stay with me. You said we're a community of fate, didn't you...?"
He wanted to demand what the fuck she was on about, but her upturned face—desperate, utterly sincere—held him back. The word "disappoint" braked him once, her expression braked him again, and finally he regained his senses.
He stopped his retreat, extended both hands, and gently gripped her shoulders. She let out an odd little sound.
"Ah..."
"Kaya. I don't know what's suddenly gotten into you, but let's calm down first."
"Leader..."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not disappearing. Okay?"
Her wildly shaking pupils gradually steadied. I could see it.
What the hell...?
One thing was clear: as he'd sensed a few times before, Kaya's mentality was weaker than expected. Before, there'd been the excuse of a elite monster's mental attack, but now? No such thing, and this was a problem.
He quickly scanned her profile—no new negative traits. Relationship status fine too.
Once she seemed calm, he helped her stand. As his excitement toward her faded, exhaustion surged back, and he dove straight into bed.
He felt Kaya cautiously lie down beside him.
"Kaya."
"...Yes, Leader."
"Can you tell me why you're aiming for the dungeon run?"
"Pardon?"
His question must've caught her off guard—her voice cracked slightly. He played dumb.
"You asked me last time. So now I'm curious. Why's a devout nun like you putting herself through hell to come here and chase a dungeon run?"
"That's..."
He didn't press. Maybe this weird behavior stemmed from the instance dungeon's mental attack. He'd thrown out that question to resolve the moment and probe the reason.
"The reason I came to this place, Seilroom."
As the mattress and blankets lulled his eyes shut, Kaya's voice roused him.
"It was because I received a revelation from the goddess."
"...Revelation?"
"Yes."
Was this what they called a mood revelation? He fell silent in a different kind of surprise, and Kaya glanced around the empty room before whispering even softer than before.
"It wasn't some long, grandiose prophecy. But the goddess did speak to me directly. She said this:"
"My daughter Kaya, go to Seilroom."
"There, your wandering will end, and you shall realize your true fate."
"Seilroom is the dungeon city. I interpreted it as a call to run the dungeon. If I'd walked the path of tolerance, maybe not—but as a battle nun on the path of mercy, that's how I saw it."
"So, the 'fate' you mentioned..."
"Yes. I believed my fate lay in Seilroom—specifically, the dungeon run—so I registered at the hero agency. Even with the goddess's revelation, even without dungeon knowledge, I knew better than to enter alone."
The heroes in the first draft had backstories like this? Plenty of people came to Seilroom for hero work with their own tales, sure...
"But no hero party accepted me for a long time. My skills were lacking, no dungeon experience, and maybe because I'm a mongrel."
"..."
"Just as I grew anxious, Hendrick appeared."
Her voice suddenly brimmed with energy—no, fervor. Whispering so close, her breath tickled his face. Was it his imagination, or had it grown hotter?
"Hendrick accepted me as I was. Despite being human, he held no prejudiced gaze toward this half-elf. Even when I messed up in the dungeon, he scolded me sharply then—but no personal insults. Inexperienced like me, yet reliable. I trusted him. But at this rate, when and how would I find the fate the goddess foretold... That's what I wondered."
So. She asked. What the leader was fighting for in the dungeon run.
"And then. I found it—the true fate the goddess spoke of."
Before he knew it, Kaya's face was inches away. Her gray eyes gazed down at him.
"Leader. Hendrick. You called the dungeon run your affirmed first fate. So I'll pursue the dungeon run too. Because you are my fate."
Gulp—
It was absurd, ridiculous to think this in such a serious moment... but Kaya's whispered words sounded impossibly sexy.