"This was a failure! A failure! A BIG failure!!"
The voice boomed through the Light Church's grand headquarters, specifically within the ornate meeting room reserved for high-ranking officials. The air was heavy with tension, the kind that made even the walls seem to lean in, listening.
Rosy and I had just returned from our mission—suppressing the monster strife, escorting civilians back to safety, and wrapping up the leftover tasks. Exhaustion clung to us like a second skin. Yet, no sooner had we stepped foot into the hall than we were summoned to this gathering.
What awaited us was a room filled with important-looking people, their stern faces carved from stone. Among them stood an armored knight, his face flushed with anger, gesturing wildly as he bellowed.
"Hero Rosy!" he roared, his voice shaking the chandelier above. "This monster-cleansing mission was nothing short of a disaster! A failure! To think we allowed the Fire Church to steal our glory! That's the ultimate disgrace! Is there any shame worse than this?!"
The knight slammed a pile of papers onto the table, the sound reverberating like a gavel. The room fell silent for a brief moment, save for the rustle of the papers settling.
Curious, I stepped closer and glanced at the documents. Bold letters screamed from the top page:
"In the Monster Strife at Makiling Forest, the Fire Hero Played a Big Role."
Ah, so this was about that. A newspaper.
I'd learned of these devices while accompanying Rosy back to headquarters. An ethereal-powered machine had made it possible to print identical stories on hundreds of sheets of paper, spreading news far and wide. During our return, Rosy had even been briefly interviewed by one such reporter.
"Hero Rosy, what is your duty as a hero?" the knight demanded, his voice dripping with disdain.
"To… protect the people from the threat of monsters," Rosy replied quietly, her tone devoid of its usual strength.
"In doing so," the knight continued, "you are supposed to demonstrate the majesty of the Light Church! This, in turn, bolsters divine faith in our goddess, Theia. And yet, this outcome has made it appear as though our Light Church is weaker than the Fire Church!"
"Knight Commander Colby, please, calm dow—" someone interjected.
"Do you expect me to stay calm?!" Colby roared, cutting them off.
The room shifted uncomfortably, the air growing colder with each passing second. Despite the attempts to soothe him, the Knight Commander—Colby Bryant, as I now knew—showed no signs of cooling his temper. His eyes blazed with a fervor that bordered on fanatical.
"Hero Rosy," he began again, his voice steady but no less biting, "as Knight Commander, I've long questioned your aptitude as a hero. And today provides the perfect opportunity to address this failure in full."
Rosy flinched slightly but nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"First of all, at the time of deployment, I heard you utilized the small flying motorcycle. Is this true?" Colby asked, narrowing his eyes.
"…Yes," Rosy admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
"That accursed machine! It corrupts humanity, drives us further from God's grace! Its use is strictly forbidden within the church. For the hero herself to flagrantly break this sacred rule is nothing short of inexcusable!"
Rosy remained silent, her head bowed.
"We will dispose of it immediately," Colby declared with finality. "Hero Rosy, if you wish to represent the Light Church, then you must adhere to its rules without fail! Do you understand—"
"Can rules kill monsters?"
The room froze. My words cut through the rising storm like a blade.
All eyes turned to me, their collective shock palpable. Even Colby seemed momentarily stunned into silence. I seized the moment and stepped forward.
"Rules are important, but they can't stop a monster from ripping through a village," I said firmly. "Following protocol is admirable, but reality doesn't care about rules when lives are at stake."
Colby's face turned crimson. "Who do you think you are?!" he thundered. "I am Colby Bryant, Knight Commander of the Ilocos Knights! How dare you challenge me?!"
"Isn't the purpose of a meeting to exchange differing opinions and arrive at a unified solution?" I countered, my voice steady. "Or are you saying that dissent is forbidden in this holy hall?"
Beside me, Rosy's worried gaze tugged at my resolve, but I pressed on. Around the room, the other officials looked on, their expressions a mix of intrigue and apprehension.
"Let me ask you, Knight Commander," I continued, "you deride the flying motorcycle as if it were the greatest evil. But wasn't it thanks to that very machine that Rosy arrived at the scene first? Shouldn't that achievement count for something? And now, you plan to discard it. Isn't that unfair?"
"Machines corrupt faith!" Colby spat. "They weaken our connection to God! Their very existence is evil! What's wrong with eradicating them?!"
"And yet, the one who seems most devoid of faith here is you."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
"What did you just say?!" Colby bellowed, his rage now fully directed at me.
How must I appear to the people in this meeting?
To them, I'm just a nobody. A fresh recruit who joined the Light Church just yesterday. A kitchen grunt rejected outright from the entrance exam. Yet here I was, standing in defiance, hurling accusations at the mighty Knight Commander.
If someone were to judge the situation rationally, they'd probably think I was insane. For someone like me to show such disrespect to a figure like Colby Bryant—well, it wouldn't be surprising if I were dragged away and executed for my insolence.
But I'd already stepped into this storm. There was no turning back now.
"I?!" Colby bellowed, his voice thunderous, his face red. "You dare claim that I, Colby Bryant, Knight Commander, have lost my faith in the Light Goddess? What absurd accusations are these?!"
His words were filled with fury, but I stood firm, meeting his glare without flinching.
"In today's monster subjugation, things got really tough," I said, my tone unwavering. "Why didn't you come?"
Colby faltered. "Ugh…"
"The number one duty of the knight corps is to protect people from monsters, isn't it? So, why didn't you do that? What exactly were you doing while others risked their lives?"
I could see it. My words had hit a nerve. The commanding presence Colby exuded earlier now seemed to waver.
"I heard from Rosy," I continued. "When the report of monster sightings came in, it took your knights an hour to gather, another hour to prepare, and three hours to mobilize. Is that correct? In emergencies where every second counts, you wasted hours. By the time you would've arrived, it would've been too late. Yet here you are, blaming Rosy—who was the first to reach the scene."
"…T-That's why your amateur perspective is so shallow," Colby retorted, trying to recover his composure.
He straightened up, forcing an air of authority back into his voice.
"Listen well," he said. "It's not just about rushing to the scene. Once we arrive, we have to engage the monsters, minimize damage, and secure victory under challenging circumstances. That requires careful preparation. Moving as an organized unit takes time, and there's nothing wrong with that. Ignoring these necessities just to focus on who arrives first is—"
"And yet," I cut in, my voice calm but sharp, "you still didn't make it in time."
The Knight Commander froze. My simple statement unraveled his carefully constructed argument.
"Preparation is important," I continued, "but timing is everything. You've ignored the necessity of urgency, and because of that, you've rendered yourself useless. That's not just on your knights—it's on you, Colby Bryant, the Knight Commander."
Colby's face contorted, his teeth grinding audibly as his frustration boiled over.