God of Assassination, Become the Strongest Healer

The voice was the same as the one I heard in the Forest of Eternity, along with the fluffy furball that guided me here. I figured out that the strange actions of the spirit animals were linked to this furball.

 Then, someone shouted, “Hey! Why did you say my name in front of this kid? We’re supposed to keep it a secret until they finish the test! Seriously, all that sleeping must have made you forget!”

The furry creature kept yelling non-stop. I pulled on its soft, squishy tail, which felt like fresh-baked bread, and said, “So your name is Belzekiel, right?” 

“See?! Now this kid knows my name because of you! What are you going to do about it?” 

After six years, I finally found out the furry creature’s name. It sounded fancy and old-fashioned, which didn’t match its stuffed-animal look at all. 

“Well, Belzekiel, I think Feygan wouldn’t have figured out your name so easily if you hadn’t been screaming like that.”

“Ugh! Th-that’s…”

“And Belzekiel, doesn’t showing your true form mean you’ve decided to trust Feygan? You’ve already revealed your real self but still haven’t told them your name? Oh! I get it now!”

“Hey! No! It’s not what you’re thinking, so shut up!”

“Oh, Belzekiel, you’re embarrassed, aren’t you?”

“Embarrassed?! Who’s embarrassed?! You dumb old lady! If you keep talking nonsense…”

A back-and-forth comedy act unfolded between the furball—now officially Belzekiel—and the mysterious voice.

Eventually, Belzekiel puffed up its tail and shouted, while the cheerful, sunny voice calmly continued with another question:

“Alright, fine. Let’s drop that. One more question. Belzekiel, why are you so grumpy?”

“Why do you think?! I told you it was too early! I said we needed more time and asked you to wait just a little longer! How many times did I have to say it? But no, you had to go and drag the spirit beasts into your plan. What was the rush?”

“Plan? That hurts, you know. Belzekiel, I know how much you care about this kid. But I wish you’d see that I care about Feygan just as much as you do.”

“If you cared so much, you wouldn’t have done that! Why are you rushing things all of a sudden? Sure, this kid’s a bit sharp, but they’re still only 12 years old.”

“Belzekiel, could you just hear me out for a second?”

“And putting all that pressure on a kid like that already… Ugh, whatever! I don’t care anymore! I’ve done my part by bringing the kid here, so the rest is on you.”

As Belzekiel’s voice got louder, the speed of its flapping wings also increased.

“Belzekiel, you’re always like this. You worry way too much.”

You’re worrying too much. Didn’t you always say we should be careful? 

I said we should be careful, not hold back and think too much when the right time comes. 

Belzekiel, you’ve been talking about the importance of courage for a long time. Don’t you recall what Orpheus said? 

It seemed like Belzekiel and the voice were having a serious disagreement about something important, and it  involved me.

Orpheus said it over and over, didn’t he? That while your ability to nurture Claudius’ potential is better, I’m better at judging the right moment for that potential to shine. Based on that, I’ve decided now is the time to take a chance.”

“Ugh, that idiot! He always had to say the dumbest things.”

“Belzekiel, please trust me. And if trusting me is too hard, then at least trust Orpheus’ judgment, since you trusted him.”

“I’m not saying I don’t trust you.”

“I know how much you care for Claudius’ child. But giving them the right opportunity to grow at the right time—that’s what a proper mentor does. Please, help me keep the promise I made to Orpheus.”

Finally, their argument seemed to wrap up.

Belzekiel still looked grumpy, but the aggressive edge in their flapping wings had mostly softened.

“Hello, Claudius’ child. My name’s Lamute. Sorry for the late introduction.”

“…I’m Feygan Claudius. It’s an honor to meet you, regardless of the circumstances.”

“Is it okay if I just call you Feygan?”

“Whatever works for you.”

Alright, Pagan. First off, let me apologize. There’s a reason I can’t meet you face-to-face, so I hope you can forgive the rudeness of just sending my voice like this.

“Don’t worry about that at all. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. But there are a few things I’d like to ask.”

—Sure, go ahead. If it’s something I can answer at this point, I’ll gladly do so.

With a still-squirming ball of fluff tucked under my arm, I placed it on my head and asked,

“On the way here, this fluffy one told me something.”

—Fluffy one?

“Yes, Fluffy. Their fur is super fluffy, so I’m calling them Fluffy.”

—Pfft, hahaha. Yeah, Belzekiel is fluffy. Fluffy’s lucky, huh? Getting so much love from you, Pagan. Ah, I’m jealous!

—Both of you, shut it! Hey, kid, stop with the nonsense and get to your question.

Even as Belzekiel protested, I kept petting Fluffy’s soft little head. For some reason, it calmed me down and made it easier to ask what I wanted to.

“Lady Lamute apparently has some involvement in the pact between Claudius and the spirit beasts. Could you explain the details of that to me?”

—Oh my! Belzekiel told you that much? Congrats! Looks like Belzekiel trusts you even more than I thought.

“And today—no, I guess it’s technically yesterday now. Yesterday afternoon, that strange phenomenon in the Forest of Eternity… I heard you had a hand in that, too. I’d like to know why that had to happen.”

—Hmm… Give me a moment, would you? I need to figure out where to start.

Whenever the “co-owner of the pact” spoke happily, the purple moss on the rocky island sparkled and moved. As I watched the island react to that voice, I understood that Lamute had more power than I had realized. Neither my father nor I knew this, but deep inside the island, a strong ancient force had been waking up all along

—First, I guess I should tell you who I am. By now, you probably have a good guess, but me, and that fluffy one over there… Pfft, I mean, Belzekiel, we’re old friends of Claudius, someone who spent a lot of time with Orpheus.

“Old friends…”

—Right now, you’re probably thinking, “If you’re such old friends, why were you hiding it?” But we had our reasons. When Orpheus first settled in Esptara, we were by his side, doing everything we could to make this island the foundation for Claudius.

Even though I couldn’t see it, I could tell by the voice alone that Lamute must have had a wistful expression when Orpheus’s name was mentioned.

—And the moment we judged that Esptara had become the land that could embrace Claudius, do you know what the first thing me and Belzekiel did?

“I’m not sure.”

—We erased our traces Lamute and Belzekiel.
I had read all the ancient texts that recorded the history of Claudius, but I had never come across either of their names in any of them.
They had the power to freely command the spirit beasts, the very foundation of Esptara, yet they hadn’t even left a single line in the family’s history books. It was an unfairness that didn’t make sense.

If Lamute’s words were true, then it meant that the two of them had willingly accepted this glaring unfairness.
Why would they accept such an injustice? A sudden curiosity sprang up in my mind.

—Orpheus wanted it that way.

Unlike my thoughts, which considered the possibility of some complex deal, Lamute’s explanation was simple and clear.

“Are you saying that the founder of your family, Orpheus, erased you two from the family’s history because you were his closest friends?”

—Well, in the end, that’s what happened. But I don’t want you to misunderstand and think Orpheus was a cold-hearted person. The decision to erase Belzekiel and me wasn’t just Orpheus’s choice— it was something all three of us agreed on.

“Didn’t you ever think Orpheus’s actions were harsh?”

—Not once, not ever.

—That can’t be true!

Lamute and Belzekiel both shook their heads at the same time.

from the history of Esptara and Claudius.

Pagan, I know what you’re thinking, but Orpheus was never the kind of person you’re imagining. So, don’t even think about it, not even in your dreams.

As Belzekiel, the fluffy bundle, vigorously shook his head on top of mine, his thin whiskers tickled my forehead.
Seeing how strongly the little fluff was reacting, I realized my guess that “Orpheus might have tried to push them away because he thought they could threaten his stable rule” was probably off the mark.

—Honestly, we were glad. The reason we had to disappear in the first place was because of a promise we made with Orpheus. The fact that he entrusted such an important promise to us meant that he trusted us that much.

“A promise?”

—Yeah, a promise. Orpheus gave us a few promises related to Claudius and his dream, and Belzekiel and I have been waiting with those promises in our hearts for a long time.

The moment Lamute mentioned a promise, I instinctively knew.
The reason Belzekiel had brought me here tonight was about to be revealed.

—Pagan, what do you think Orpheus was like as a person?

“I think he was the greatest healer in the world.”

—And?

“He was the ancestor of a family who founded Claudius and spread noble ideals throughout the continent, someone worthy of great respect.”

Hmm, I’d give that a 70%. It’s a good answer, but still lacking a lot. Sure, Orpheus thought of himself as a healer until the day he died. In fact, he found the greatest joy in saving those who were sick and suffering. But that wasn’t all of Orpheus.

Every time Orpheus was mentioned, Lamute’s voice grew unusually soft and round, and just from that, I could tell how much Orpheus meant to him.

—The world really never understood Orpheus properly, and even the parts they did understand, they quickly forgot.
That, too, was something Orpheus wanted.

Why did the founder do that? He knew that having too much power can lead to suffering. Orpheus didn’t want his descendants to crave power they couldn’t manage. Instead, he hoped they would follow his example, become skilled healers, and bring light to the world.

The idea of overwhelming power struck me deeply, leaving me speechless for a moment. Lamute said gently, that it’s a wise thought, just like Orpheus.

No matter how gifted Claudius’s descendants are, they can’t take everything from Orpheus unless they possess his unique abilities. Even the most talented individuals would need their entire lives to master the medical knowledge Orpheus passed down. 

Tap tap.

Belzekiel’s chubby tail was swaying and lightly hitting my ear. Was he trying to support Lamute, or just joining our conversation? Orpheus understood that giving power to those who couldn’t even heal properly would lead to trouble. If a foolish descendant misused Orpheus’s abilities, it could endanger Claudius’s very existence. It might have just been my imagination, but it felt like the fluffy creature’s soft paws were pushing my head down, as if to say, “Listen up! I have something important about you to share!”So Orpheus made a decision. Instead of passing down his beloved and proud medical skills to his descendants, he chose to leave everything else to me and Belzekiel.

Lamute spoke first.

—And he asked us. He said that if a descendant was ever born who was capable and noble enough to bear the full weight of his legacy, we should pass everything he left behind to that child.

Belzekiel finished the thought.

Whoosh.

A strong gust of wind blew, scattering the glowing moss which shimmered in various colors. As the moss danced and settled, Lamute spoke in a voice full of the long wait and deep urgency.

That child is you, Pagan. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.