I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life… So Why Do Heroes Worship Me?

The sanctuary didn't ask questions.

Not aloud, anyway.

But the trees leaned slightly farther inward that morning. The wind circled tighter over the herb garden. Even the birds lingered longer on their branches as if waiting to hear more of what had happened the night before.

Rei said nothing.

He trimmed a crooked vine, stirred tea, fixed a lantern hinge that hadn't been broken until that exact moment.

And when Ferren asked why the plum blossoms had bloomed early, Rei simply said, "Sometimes things rush forward when they smell a storm."

Ferren was too enchanted by a glowing mushroom to press.

But others watched.

Lynna, especially.

She didn't pace.

Didn't question.

She just stood quietly on the hill that overlooked the sanctuary gate, sword across her lap, brows furrowed like she was waiting for a question to answer.

She didn't speak until afternoon, when Rei passed by carrying a basket of dried mint leaves and honeyroot.

"That figure yesterday," she said. "The assassin."

"Not an assassin," Rei corrected softly. "A messenger."

"Who attacks with that much grace and leaves no footprints?"

Rei didn't answer.

Lynna didn't need him to.

Instead, she stood and followed.

They walked in silence through the grove, where Fluff slept on his side beneath the plum tree, belly rising and falling in absolute trust.

"Do you ever regret it?" she asked suddenly. "The silence? The hiding?"

Rei slowed.

Then said, "No."

She stared at him. "Really?"

"I regret needing it. Not having it."

Lynna looked away. "What if it doesn't hold anymore?"

"It will," he said.

But he didn't sound as sure this time.

—

That night, Ellyn brought out her old divining tools and started tracing lines on paper that sparked slightly with every completed loop. Auron sat nearby, flipping through old defense scrolls and muttering about strengthening the east wall.

Ferren built a small shrine in the woods "just in case the forest spirits are getting ideas."

No one questioned him.

Not out loud.

The air was too taut now. Too close.

And in the middle of it all, Rei moved like a man tending his garden.

Until Lynna knocked on his door.

She stood outside in the moonlight with her cloak wrapped tight, hair tied up like she meant business.

He opened the door and waited.

"I want to help," she said.

"You already do."

"No. I mean it."

He tilted his head slightly.

"I want to stand with you," she said. "Not just in battle. In this."

"This?"

"Whatever this is. This weight you carry. This past you're shielding us from. I want to face it too. Or at least stand between you and the next shadow that comes."

Rei stared at her for a moment too long.

Then stepped aside and let her in.

—

She didn't ask questions.

He didn't explain.

But they sat in quiet together while the kettle steamed and the shadows stayed just outside the window.

Later, Lynna stood to leave and paused in the doorway.

"You're not alone, you know," she said without looking back.

"I know," Rei said.

But this time, he meant it.

—

The next morning, a new beast appeared at the edge of the sanctuary.

Not threatening.

Just watching.

Wings like shattered glass. Body like smoke held together by sunlight. A creature born of myth and misunderstanding.

Rei stepped out alone.

It bowed.

And left.

Another message.

Another warning.

But this time, Rei turned back to the house and saw Lynna waiting at the door, arms crossed, jaw tight.

He nodded.

And she nodded back.

No more pretending the past couldn't find him.

But now… it wouldn't get through without a fight.