To Save A Soul

His gait casual and unhurried, Isaac arrived at Loki's study and opened the door.

Rather than the star of the hour, the guest, the one that his gaze fell upon first was Loki, who was still wallowing in self-pity. She looked miserable and didn't even seem to pay full attention to her surroundings. Like a limp rag, she was slouched on one of her sofas, the ground around her covered in bottles that had previously contained various alcoholic drinks. Despite Hermes sitting just a few meters away, she didn't bother with him - if Isaac had to guess, she had probably only greeted him lifelessly before returning to her pathetic state.

A hint of disappointment and disgust flashed past his eyes, then he proceeded to ignore her. He had listened in to what she had told Jakk when she had last updated the Hume Bunny youth's Status, so he was well aware of the cause of her current condition. It was because of that knowledge that he couldn't find any compassion for her in his heart. Rather, it was the opposite: He was already looking forward to her well-deserved comeuppance.

His momentary emotional fluctuations obviously couldn't escape the notice of Hermes, who had been sipping on a cup of wine while he had been waiting. The god smirked a little because both of them had decided to do the same thing - to disregard the owner of the manor entirely.

"It's been a while, Hermes. Has everything gone well for you in the meantime?"

The bright smile on Isaac's face just as vibrant as if he was meeting an old friend, he sat down on the sofa opposite of Hermes and leaned backwards, shifting around a bit until he was sufficiently comfortable.

Still just as confused as when he had been given the news that a deity was here to see him, Kalin took a seat next to his teacher, cautiously scrutinizing the one who had called for him. For the record, he was also turning a blind eye to a certain goddess. Loki's state had elicited a short gasp from him when he had first.entered the room, but he had quickly adapted and had stopped paying any attention to her.

"You're right, it's been a little over a month. My various undertakings have indeed mostly panned out as I had expected, so I can't complain. But it seems that you've grown far more than I could have ever even dreamed of. Looks like I vastly underestimated you. Maybe the 'role' that I had in mind for you truly isn't a fitting one."

Because Isaac had made no conscious effort to hide his current Level, Hermes could easily approximate some of his stats by paying attention to the most minute of his movements. That just gave him a very general idea, but even despite being restricted to a mere morsel of information, Hermes was honestly shocked. Intrigue sparkled in his eyes as he reciprocated the enigmatic young man's sunny expression.

"It's nothing much. I've barely had the time to focus on raising my stats, so what you're seeing now isn't a me that I'm particularly proud of - at least not when it comes to my Level."

Under normal circumstances, the god of wanderers would have mentally scoffed at such boisterous claims, but because he could very clearly determine which of Isaac's words were the truth, he instead raised an eyebrow in surprise. He was very confident in his ability to detect lies or even someone's intentions to mislead others, so there was no need to doubt his own judgement.

'It looks like he vastly exceeds any and all metrics that could be used to assess him. No wonder he caught Váli's attention.'

Not voicing any of these thoughts, Hermes finally brought up one of the reasons for his visit.

"That goddess whose mortal vessel you've slain, Petbe… she belongs to a certain group, a pantheon of gods. Are you aware of this, and of the potential backlash that you might encounter?"

A small smile played across Isaac's lips as he nodded.

'As expected, he knows about them. I would have been sorely disappointed if he had been oblivious of a faction as major as this one.'

"I am. They are subservient to a primordial god called 'Váli'. I have already made arrangements and sufficiently prepared myself for what may or may not come."

Surprised at the young man in front of him even being cognizant of the name Váli, Hermes grew a bit more serious. He paused for a few seconds, then he spoke slowly, an indecipherable emotion in his voice.

"There are many things that are still too early for me to tell you, but I can say this: Try to avoid conflict with them, with those who called themselves 'Váli's Pantheon'. They aren't the enemy. Although it's a lot more complicated than that, fighting them would practically be the same as engaging in friendly fire."

Now it was Isaac's turn to be taken aback by his conversation partner's statements. While he had considered the possibility of the entire conflict not being as black and white as it seemed on the surface, Hermes' words painted those gods in a much better light than most of his speculations had made them out to be. Admittedly, though, he had been - and was still - lacking too much information.

'Too early to tell me, huh? So he just doesn't want me to mess with anything too vital yet. More importantly, his words can't be taken as gospel either.'

"I'll keep that in mind. However, no matter their identity, if someone lays their hands on my people, I'll make sure to retaliate. Petbe's people tried to kill my students, so they had to be eliminated."

As the patiently listening Kalin's heart grew warner at these words, Hermes was overcome with complicated emotions, and a confusion that he had already fallen victim to earlier, when he had read his familia's report about what had happened on that day.

'Why in tarnation did they attempt to do that? I know they have been unruly these last few hundreds of thousands of years, but they wouldn't be blind to such an opportunity, right? Clearly, somewhere along the line, something has gone horribly wrong.'

With a helpless sigh, Hermes nodded his head.

"I understand. Your actions make sense from your point of view, and I can't criticize you for them. For now, I'll try to find out more about what led to this situation in the first place."

After this comparatively heavy topic was dealt with, the mood brightened a lot and the two smiling men exchanged pleasantries and small talk that completely went over Kalin's head. Was there some intel hidden within that he simply couldn't make out, or were they truly just having a good old time? Right as his doubts were about to reach their peak, the god with the feathered hat finally turned to face him.

"My apologies for leaving you hanging for so long, but I had a lot to discuss with your teacher. I wanted to get it out of the way first, before getting to the main reason for my visit. You see, there is a certain situation that I want to tell you about…"

Hermes' first few sentences didn't serve to clear up any of Kalin's puzzlement at all.

With there being temporarily no need for him to take part in the conversation, Isaac finally made use of his copious amounts of spare focus to check out a number of system notifications that had appeared a few minutes ago.

[ Quinn Graham's Loyalty has increased by 15. ]

[ Quinn Graham's Loyalty has reached the maximum.

A new stat will be generated for him.

Quinn Graham has been bestowed with the stat 'Admiration'.

Quest 'Make two subordinates' Loyalty reach the maximum.' completed. 200 AP rewarded. ]

Isaac couldn't help but smirk amusedly at this news. He had long since been looking forward to the second one of his subordinates reaching this threshold, but he had been relatively sure that it would be Averin. However, for whatever reason, the rooster was stuck at 99, while the cat boy suddenly jumped from 85 to 100. It was a honestly baffling development, which shouldn't have taken place under normal circumstances - heck, even under most extraordinary ones.

'So he's made considerable progress in his path to Mana Cultivation, I assume. It's too bad I can't inspect others' mental layers yet, else I could confirm this. That aside, this achievement somehow triggered an increase in Loyalty as well. It's not something that is entirely outside of the wildest of my expectations, but I definitely wouldn't have banked on it. Lastly, this development finally confirms that my subordinates can obtain differing stats after maxing their Loyalty… interesting.'

Just like when his faithful dog had maxed her Loyalty, a peculiar kind of connection formed between him and the young Cat Person. It was not identical to the one that he had to Mina, but it was a bit similar. He could feel the potential to receive energy from Quinn's side, but he wasn't entirely certain about what his side gave in return. Intending to confirm which one of his speculations was actually on point, he continued to read the last two new system notifications.

[ The host and Quinn Graham have obtained the Skill 'Inspiration Incarnate'. ]

[ Inspiration Incarnate: Users of the Skill can be classified as either the inspirer or one of the inspired.

(Active) The inspirer can initiate a resonance with their inspired, which will provide them with a certain amount of power. The exact amount is determined depending on the inspired's Admiration stat. A period of one hour has to pass between the end of one activation and the start of the next activation.

The inspirer will get an X% buff to all of their stats. It can last up to Y seconds.

(X = total Admiration of all inspired x 0.01)

(Y = total Admiration of all inspired x 1)

(Passive) The inspired will find it easier to follow the path of the inspirer. Improves comprehension speed of all that is encompassed in the inspirer's path by a certain percentage. The exact numbers are determined depending on the inspired's Admiration stat.

The inspired's aforementioned comprehension speed will be improved by Z%.

(Z = personal Admiration x 1)

Inspirer: Isaac Blackshaw

Inspired: Quinn Graham ]

Although it seemed a bit lengthy at first glance, the essence of the Skill wasn't anything complicated.

Inspiration goes two ways. The one who inspires others can draw temporary strength from the Admiration of others, while those who get inspired by the inspirer's actions will find it easier to chase after them and to replicate their various successes. A big factor playing into this is the close attention that the inspired pay to the inspirer's path. They grow more familiar with it via their various observations, and therefore find it easier to replicate.

Basically, Isaac gained a Skill that could temporarily buff him, with endless growth potential but a currently barely noticeable effect, while Quinn would now enjoy the support of the very laws of this world, at least as long as he tried to advance upon the path that Isaac had already trod.

Some ignorant folk might be tempted to decry Inspiration Incarnate as a worse Skill than Reverential Resonance, but Isaac thought differently. While the former wouldn't give him any permanent benefits - just a semi-permanent buff in the later stages - the inspired would find it far easier to grow stronger. Instead of having been given strength directly, they were provided with the opportunity to grow their strength more easily.

'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.'

Isaac's smile couldn't help but grow a bit weird as he recalled that particular quote. Although he didn't have much respect for the religion that had treated the work of literature that this quote originated from as its sacred scripture, he wasn't pointlessly petty enough to refuse to admit that many of the lessons taught within that book were useful.

'Anyway, back on topic. I'll give my congratulations to Quinn later. Let's first get this Renard business sorted out.'

Although he had used fractions of his focus to skim through all of the latest system notifications, Isaac had still made sure to listen to what Hermes had to say, and it was… a lot.

He told the tragic tale of a young woman from the Far East who fell from nobility into slavery and prostitution, obviously against her will. She was a Renard - a race that only differed from humans in their fox ears and tails - which meant that she was considered a rare commodity in this part of the Lower World. Her origin as an upstanding young lady only made her even more sought after. Around four years ago, shortly after her capture, she had been sold to a brothel in Orario - but on the way there, she had caught Ishtar's eye. Even though she had gotten bought by the goddess of beauty, she had still gotten treated as nothing more than a slave and a harlot, despite having become a part of the Ishtar Familia. Well, every single member of that familia was a sex worker, so that wasn't really a surprise…

If that was where Hermes' story would have ended, then it would have been a somewhat tragic one indeed, but not one that particularly stood out. There were countless tragedies taking place in this city every hour of every day, after all. Also, the reason for his retelling of the whole thing wouldn't have made sense. However, the tale didn't end here.

Apparently, this poor woman had ended up with a supremely useful Skill or Magic, one that had convinced Ishtar to make a drastic decision. A little more than a month ago, she had approached Hermes and commissioned him to get her a 'Killing Stone' from the Far East, an item that was extremely difficult to obtain and could host the soul of a Renard within. The way it worked was a bit convoluted, but at the end of the day, it basically turned a person into a piece of equipment, whose Skills and Magics could be freely accessed.

Of course, to get this stone to house the soul of a fox person, one had to remove that soul from their mortal vessel and move it into the stone, which could only be done during a full moon - in other words, one had to kill the Renard. But even after having been made aware of this, her's was still not a fate that stuck out to Isaac. Death was just death, after all. In this world, the unfortunate young woman would obtain the opportunity to be reborn again after the Killing Stone lost its effectiveness and crumbled to dust. That would take some time, possibly hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, but it would happen. Well, that was under regular circumstances.

All of this only worked if the soul was intact. However, Ishtar planned to shatter the Killing Stone into pieces to distribute it amongst her children, to enable each one of them to make use of the Skill or Magic that the young Renard lady had gotten 'blessed' with. However, due to the special state that the soul would be in when housed within the stone, this was actually one of the extremely limited known ways to damage a soul. The woman's soul would be shattered into pieces!

Even Isaac raised an eyebrow at this, as prior to this conversation, he hadn't actually encountered any ways in which to harm a being's soul in this world. This made the scientist inside of him beam with excitement. How exactly did it work? He just had to know!

He was well aware that he still had almost innumerable other matters to research first, and this world was a true treasure trove of knowledge for him to dive into. But hey, one more bullet point on his exceedingly long list couldn't hurt, right?

As for his feelings regarding the poor woman? He felt pity for her, because what Ishtar had planned for her was truly an excessively terrifying fate. While he wouldn't usually blink an eye at anyone's death - as long as he didn't know the person, that is - preventing someone from reincarnating intact was crossing a line, one past which he felt a slight itch to extend a minimal amount of effort to prevent whatever irked him. It wasn't much, but at least he was a bit moved.

Aside from that, he felt quite intrigued by whatever Skill or Magic it was that had convinced Ishtar to take such drastic steps. Even a woman like her - not that they had ever met, therefore he really didn't know her - should have some affection for those blessed with her Falna, so to sacrifice one of them in such a brutal and thorough way definitely needed a good reason. But even if there was no affection to be found, then the cost of procuring a Killing Stone alone should have caused the goddess of beauty to at least consider her actions carefully. In conclusion, Isaac could only ask himself one question: What secrets did this Renard woman hold?

Contrary to his teacher's relatively unaffected state, Kalin was overcome with emotions. By the time Hermes arrived at the end, he was clenching his fists in anger. Disregarding proper etiquette, he glared at the god of wanderers. He wouldn't get rightfully incensed at any old injustice, but this… it truly went above and beyond any fate that he could still stomach others enduring! His own worries and doubts that had plagued him for the past few days, that had robbed him of plenty of sleep, were wiped away, temporarily forgotten.

"And despite knowing all of that, you brought Ishtar a Killing Stone!? If everything goes according to her plan, then you'll be partially responsible for the destruction of the girl's very soul! How could you just silently participate in this? Why didn't you do something about it!?"

His smile as calm as ever, Hermes appeasingly raised his arms in defense.

"But I'm doing something, am I not? After all, I'm here now and telling you about it. Due to my own circumstances, I couldn't refuse Ishtar's request, because that would have had worse consequences than the death of a single person. Still, I'm not comfortable with letting it end just like that either."

On the side, Isaac shook his head slightly, smiling to himself. It wasn't hard for him to tell that the god wasn't exactly being truthful at the moment, but the general essence of his statement should still be somewhat accurate. He wouldn't inform his student about this observation, though.

After having taken in the deity's claims, Kalin's excessive anger slowly receded, to be replaced by a more controlled demeanour. Still, there was a distrustful glint in his eyes.

"My apologies for my outburst. If what you said is true, then I just overreacted. But why did you tell me about all of this? Do you think a weakling like me is somehow able to make a difference? Shouldn't you have asked my teacher for help instead? Or are you trying to pressure him into solving this mess by convincing me to join your cause first?"

Positively surprised by how deeply this youngster had thought about any potential schemes and pitfalls, Hermes' smile brightened, turning a lot more genuine in the process. Unhurriedly, he shook his head and explained himself.

"I'm not trying to do that. Instead, I was hoping to convince both of you that there is something to be gained from helping that girl. Your teacher has definitely long since seen the benefits that he could obtain, but he should be unwilling to play the most essential 'role' in this 'play'. From what I understand of him, he would think of it as 'annoying'. But you? You fit it perfectly, and it should also be mostly aligned with your heart's desire."

After glancing at Isaac for confirmation and getting a short nod, Kalin focused on Hermes again. There was still something that didn't make sense to him.

"But why me? And what exactly is that 'heart's desire' that you mentioned?"

Flashing a bright grin, the man wearing a feathered hat spread his arms widely as if attempting to encompass the entire world in his embrace. Excitement was written all over his face.

"To prevent injustice when you see it. To save others. In other words, to perform heroic deeds!"

He deliberately didn't make use of the sentence 'To be a hero!', because he was certain that it wouldn't entirely resonate with this young man. The desire to be a hero, and the desire to save others and fight injustice were quite different from each other, after all. While the end results of both might be very similar, the motivations that led to them could be almost entirely unalike.

A short pause later, Kalin finally took in the god's words and blushed slightly. It was true that he didn't want others to suffer, and that he would try to prevent unjust acts from occurring should he be in a position to do so. But to call those 'heroic deeds' was a bit much, wasn't it? At most, he thought of himself as someone who tried to be a good person, nothing more. And even then, he was aware that he wouldn't always be able to help others whenever he wanted to. That was just how life was.

Shaking his head, Kalin dispelled these thoughts and gave the expectantly staring Hermes a response.

"You're not totally off. And I do indeed want to help that girl. After hearing about her circumstances, I'd feel horrible if I didn't at least try to do something. But… the Ishtar Familia is very strong, and I can't stand up against them on my own. I'd just… well, die."

Slightly hesitating, Kalin turned to face Isaac, clearly nervous.

"Teacher, he said that you're also interested in saving that girl. If it's not too dangerous for us to get involved… then I'll play whatever 'role' that I need to play. But I don't want to get us all into trouble just for the sake of one person who we don't even know! So, if it's too much, then let's not do it."

By the end of his appeal, Kalin had grown quite anxious. He really didn't want to negatively impact the plans of his teacher too much, or to put everyone else in danger. Mentally, he had already prepared himself to attempt to get over the pangs of guilt that he would feel for not being able to help out in such a horrendous situation.

And yet, when he saw the reassuring smile that stole itself on Isaac's lips, his worries disappeared almost as quickly as they had come.

"It's fine. By now, a mere Ishtar Familia isn't a problem anymore. I'll leave the weaklings to you, while covertly getting rid of all of the problematic roadblocks without anyone being the wiser. Anyway, the next full moon should be in 17 days, so there is plenty of time. I'm quite interested in finding out what made Ishtar so obsessed with that Renard woman."

Before Kalin, whose face had brightened up in relief and joy, could say anything, Isaac hastily continued.

"But before the full moon arrives, we have some other things to take care of, which could very well prove to be far more dangerous. So by the time we'll get around to saving that woman, it might be a little too easy of a matter to involve all of the students in. Maybe you alone will be enough."

Feeling the burden on his shoulders growing heavier due to the high expectations of his teacher, Kalin's expression turned more solemn, and he nodded. Then, suddenly, he recalled something that had been nagging at him in the back of his mind. With an inquiring gaze, he addressed Hermes.

"We've been calling her 'girl' and 'woman' all this time, but really, what's her name? Now that we've determined that we're going to save her, it would be really awkward if we don't even know how to address her when the time comes."

The usually composed god of wanderers abruptly froze up and a sheepish smile formed on his lips. He coughed into his fist a few times, then he scratched his slightly reddened cheek.

"Oops. I actually forgot to tell you, didn't I? Her name is Haruhime. Sanjouno Haruhime."