I slept like a baby last night, but when I woke up, the situation from last night had not calmed down at all. I was still getting the notifications from the system and the noise was making me go mad.

[Faith Points +46]]

[Faith Points +21]

[Faith Points +38]

[Faith Points +25]

'It is still going on?...not that it's bad. It's actually really good. But the noise is so distracting.'

I rubbed my face and sat up, trying to blink the numbers away.

"Alright, alright, I get it. I'm awake."

The notifications didn't care.

I opened the system screen just to get a proper look at the damage.

[Current Faith Points: 20,568]

The number ticked upward right in front of my eyes, updating every couple of seconds.

Twenty thousand. It was such a high number and I had never seen such high numbers before. This gave me hope that I would be able to go back home.

But I also felt a little empty. The closer I got to going back home, the more I doubted whether I wanted to go back or not. After all, what was even left for me to go back to at this point?

"Are you happy?"

I asked the ceiling, though I already knew the answer didn't matter.

The system's voice chimed-calm, neutral, unbothered.

[New items have been unlocked in the shop based on current faith tier.]

"Right…that was supposed to happen. I forgot all about it."

I inhaled deeply.

Right now, I needed something normal-breakfast, noise in the kitchen, maybe someone complaining about milk running out. Anything that didn't involve cults, faith points, or world-shaking consequences would be preferable.

I got dressed and headed downstairs.

The smell of toast and eggs helped ground me.

Leo was at the table, Luna was making tea, Nyx and Erebus were whispering about something in the corner, and Fenrir was happily chewing on something he clearly stole from the counter.

It felt like a normal day…well, as normal as it could be for someone like me at this point. But that didn't last long.

The shop door opened, and I heard a light patter of footsteps-like someone far too small to reach the handle on their own. When I looked up, a familiar face looked back at me.

Emma was back, but something about her looked…different from her usual self. I could not put my finger on what it was, but she just….did not seem like her normal self.

"It has been a long time, Shopkeeper."

She said.

I leaned back slightly, masking my surprise.

"It has. How have you been, Emma?"

She clasped her hands behind her back and walked closer.

"I have been fine, but trouble is brewing on the horizon. My people are in danger. That is why I came to you. You are the only one who has the power and resources to help us."

She kept her voice neutral, but there was just….something that made me feel like she was a stranger.

I studied her carefully, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at the moment.

"What do you need from me?"

I asked.

Her eyes flicked toward the door.

"I will tell you everything. But I cannot speak of it here. Please, follow me."

My first instinct was to refuse. But she was a patient I had undertaken and it had been a long time since I last met her. Maybe things had changed from that point on?

So, I stood and followed her out.

Emma did not go fast, but she did not go slow either. She kept turning around to take a look at me to make sure I was following after her.

Emma Jones was always polite to me, but today, she seemed anxious and a little rude. Not a lot, but just enough to make me feel unsettled. It made me pause walking as soon as we entered the dark alley.

Emma took a few steps before realizing I wasn't behind her. She turned slowly, her expression tightening with irritation instead of confusion.

"What is wrong?"

She asked.

I met her gaze evenly.

"Who are you?"

Her face twitched and then she clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Tch. I almost had him."

She didn't even pretend anymore.

She snapped her fingers.

"Grab him."

Everything shifted immediately.

Figures stepped out of alley corners and shop doors, all moving with purpose. I was suddenly surrounded by people I knew nothing about.

"Why did you have to ask so many questions, shopkeeper? It is your fault you are in this mess now."

The girl who pretended to be Emma glared at me like I had inconvenienced her morning.

"You should have just followed quietly. It would've been easier for all of us."

She muttered.

She was speaking far too much and it was beginning to irritate me now.

Her disguise didn't drop, but something behind her eyes did-an old, cold anger of someone who had lived far longer than the body she was wearing.

Whoever she was, she wasn't Emma.

Everyone rushed at me at once, but I did not panic. Something told me that I had nothing to worry about.

I took out my staff and decided to use it to push people back. A pulse of crackling energy burst outward.

The nearest attacker seized up mid-step, eyes wide, before collapsing like a puppet with cut strings. The next two hit the pavement a second later. The electricity didn't kill them but it did make it impossible for them to be able to move.

In less than under a minute, half the circle around me was on the ground.

The others hesitated to approach me once they saw what happened to their other comrades.

The false Emma-still wearing that child's body-stared at me like I had personally offended her pride.

"This wasn't supposed to be difficult. Why won't you just cooperate?"

She hissed.

"Because I don't feel like being kidnapped today."

I replied.

Her expression twisted. She suddenly raised her hand in the air before she moved it in my direction. I felt something brushing past me, but nothing happened.

[Incoming hostile magic has been neutralized.]

The girl froze.

"That's… impossible. You-! What did you do to me? How dare you…"

She whispered and her eyes darted across the ground, then back at me.

Her disbelief lasted a second too long.

I stepped forward and tapped the cane gently against her forehead and her eyes rolled back and she dropped like a stone-unconscious before she hit the ground.

The rest of her followers didn't wait. They scattered in every direction, abandoning their fallen comrades without hesitation.

Well, that solved one problem for me.

I checked to make sure she was still breathing, I wondered what I should do with her and the other unconscious people around me.

"Why does this keep happening to me?"

There were bodies unconscious all across the alley. Leaving them there felt irresponsible, and dragging them home wasn't an option. That left only one sensible choice.

I needed to inform officer Henry about what happened before I could be charged with something. And thankfully, the station was not too far away from here.

"Police station. Fast as you can."

I quickly walked toward the station, only to find that Officer Henry was out at the moment.

Instead, I found his secretary-Lina Bergs…and she did not look happy to see me. Her expression tightened as soon as her eyes fell on me.

"Oh. It's you."

She was as polite as she could be, but I could tell that she did not want to talk to me.

I set the unconscious girl upright against a chair.

"Good morning. I'd like to report an attempted kidnapping. These criminals tried to attack me."

Lina blinked.

"You… got attacked? And where are your attackers right now?"

"They are lying in an alley not too far away. I knocked them out before I came to inform you about the attack."

"You incapacitated them?"

"Yes."

She stared at me as if trying to decide whether I was a lunatic or just extremely competent.

Then, with the stiff professionalism of someone who disliked every step of what was happening but would do it anyway, she nodded.

"Very well. Attacks on citizens fall under our jurisdiction. I'll assist you… since this is my duty."

She said it flatly. Her tone told me she did not believe me but was willing to humor me about this request.

Within seconds she was barking orders, signaling for officers to collect the unconscious attackers, place restraints, and document physical evidence.

She worked fast and though she didn't smile even once, she handled everything with precision.

"You're lucky that we have a lot of evidence against these people and can notice traces of their magic. Otherwise, I would have locked you up for almost killing citizens as well."

She told me with confidence. Her words did not make me feel better but I pretended to laugh at her words. She did not look amused and told me to go back home.

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