"Master," Ikaris laid on her stomach, wrapped in the bedsheets while Sol was standing by the window, watching the sun slowly rise over the horizon. "Is your goal to challenge and defeat the Arkadian pantheon?" She asked, taking a deep breath and standing on the bed with the sheet over her shoulders.
"I don't want to, not at all," Sol looked around at her. "In all honesty it'd be great if I never had to raise a sword or spear again as long as I live, ten years have left me with scars and sights that I never want to relive again... But,"
"But?" Ikaris asked walking up to him and resting her forehead on his bare back.
"These gods cursed me, and they have shown interest in me, then there's that mural I saw in the heroes' bathrooms; it was the two of us fighting that demon lord from another dimension, I don't think I can rest easy as long as I'm on Arkadian soil, and I don't think we can leave whenever we want either, so I want to be strong enough that not even the gods can disturb my peace, and you won't have to stain your hands with fighting," He turned and rested his hand on her cheek smiling fondly at her.
"I quite like the exercise every now and then though, Master," Just as Ikaris closed her eyes to receive a kiss, there was a knock on the door, and they heard a maid clearing her throat.
"Please pardon my intrusion!" Sara slowly barged in with her head lowered. "Good morning Hero Ikaris, Lord Vestic." She gave them both a bow and then raised her head with a stoic expression. "Herpes training begins in a few minutes, the general has asked me to remind you,"
"What, me too?" Sol turned to her, and she quickly blushed and looked away, causing Ikaris to open up the sheets and hug Sol under them reminding him that he was still very naked.
Well, we're ready," Ikaris dropped the sheets revealing herself and Sol wearing common Arkadian cloth.
"Wow," Sara mused and then clapped twice inviting several other maids into the room. "T-then, the room will be cleaned and restocked in your absence, please follow me," She directed them to the door and started walking.
"Why do I need to train?" Sol sighed depressed.
"It is the demand of the queen that you undergo the same training as the heroes, since you also possess the abilities of a hero through blessing, you will be treated the same as they are in every regard, except title," Sara smiled as she lead them down the castle grounds toward a large clearing. "In that respect..." She went serious as she remembered every inch of Sol's body. "Lord Vestic, are you perhaps a warrior from your own world as Lady Ikaris had declared?"
"Hm?" Sol looked at Ikaris, and she looked to the side with a nervous smile, unable to hide the guilt of outing his secrets. "Why do you ask?"
"I washed you last night, sir, you do not have the body of a man who has seen a day of peace in years, from the way you walk, to the fact that even when you hold nothing you still feel like you are holding a dangerous weapon, you have yet to drop your guard, I assumed you must be some kind of warrior, surely,"
Sara turned with a sudden punch, forgoing her restrictions with the intention of stopping her punch halfway so she didn't hurt him, but out of the blue before she could even stop she was upside down and falling.
"Oi, that was dangerous," Sol caught her by her leg and let her down gently, but the maid was so shaken that she couldn't move right away.
"What just happened, I didn't see anything," She thought, staring at Sol's unassuming and innocent stare. "What the hell just happened, how did I end up upside down?" She stared at him with her eyes wide in shock.
"Are you okay?" Sol snapped his fingers at her.
"Ah-yes!" Sara righted herself and stood, fixing her dress.
"Pardon me," She turned and walked without explaining why she had suddenly attacked him.
"Aren't I level 70, how did I end up on the ground so fast, aren't the heroes supposed to be under level 20? And he didn't even get the blessing, so his level can't be more than 5, but yet..." She bit her nails as a look of admiration and interest cast itself across her face along with a blush. "I was utterly beaten before I even understood what was going on!?"
"She looks like a child that has just discovered a new toy," Ikaris nudged Sol's ribcage.
"I did not intend to, but our war quite literally ended just a day ago, as far as my senses and reflexes go, I'm the sharpest I've ever been," Sol stared at his hand as he remembered what happened.
The moment the maid punched at him, Sol reached out his hand and twisted her fist with so much precision and accuracy that her entire body revolved with it, causing her no harm in the process.
It happened so fast that not even the wind around him broke, it was flawless.
"The training grounds," Sara announced turning the last corner and gesturing to the clearing they had been walking toward. It was a large clearing with small barracks at the farthest side with multiple different types of training facilities all across it, and standing in the middle with the general and several other soldiers were the heroes, and a few unknown people.
"I am kind of curious about what they're gonna do in this training," Sol admitted running his nose, staring at everyone and their levels. The highest was still the general, but using him as the peak of military power, these six unknown people weren't all that bad.
"It will be a hassle," Ikaris stared at the field. "Master, is it not better to simply march to this demon lord right now and kill her?" She complained.
"I don't want to," Sol chuckled. "Training is easy it's good to relax a little Ikaris," He patted her head with a grin.
"But-"
"Come on now, Ikaris," Sol smiled and pinched her cheeks. "If you want to play hero, you have to do a good job and impress me, if you want to be around me there is one thing you absolutely must learn,"
"Master... I can't-"
"You have to learn how to get along with humans,"
"Did he just say get along with humans?" Sara bit her lip in shock after eavesdropping on their conversation.
[The goddess of war is paying attention]