It was the morning of the next day and the forest was alive with soft sunlight filtering through the canopy, the dew glistening over leaves and branches.

Birds sang gently in the distance, and the cool morning breeze carried the faint scent of damp moss.

Luca walked down the forest path toward the central gathering area, but unlike last night—when he was practically glowing with ecstasy and pleasure—this morning his expression was sour, thoughtful, and tinged with worry.

His brows were furrowed, and his hands were tucked behind his back, deep in thought.

He sighed.

Last night he had told everyone to assemble today, saying he would reveal why the disease had plagued their village and the way to cure it permanently.

But now that the moment had come, he felt a knot twisting in his stomach as the solution itself was the problem.

He already knew they wouldn't take it well.

It would sound insane, maybe even sacrilegious.

It would upset the village again, stir up fear, confusion, maybe even rebellion.

And no matter how he rehearsed it in his mind, he couldn't think of a gentle way to tell them.

He rubbed his temple with a groan. "Ugh...they're going to throw vegetables at me, I can feel it."

Still, he straightened himself. "A Hero's job isn't to tell people what they want to hear." He muttered. "It's to tell them what they need to hear."

With that, he stepped into the clearing—only to pause in confusion.

Dozens of elves had already gathered in the village square beneath the tall trees, but their mood was nothing like what he expected.

They weren't smiling or hopeful. They weren't chatting about the upcoming solution.

They looked tense.

Suspicious.

Groups were whispering among themselves, heads close together, their expressions full of uncertainty and discomfort.

Some were frowning, others glancing around as though someone among them had committed a crime.

"…What the hell happened overnight?" Luca murmured, blinking.

He didn't have to wonder for long.

The moment they saw him approaching, two familiar figures—Lulu and Luna—immediately perked up and hurried toward him like excited puppies spotting their owner.

"Luca! Luca!" Lulu called, grabbing his sleeve as she skidded to a stop in front of him. "Did you hear what happened?! Have you heard the news that's going around the village?!"

Luna followed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's absolutely insane." She said, her tone filled with exasperation. "I can't believe people are behaving like this. Society is really going downhill!"

"What news?" He asked, confused. "I literally just took a bath and came straight here. I haven't talked to anyone yet. What's going on?"

The two girls exchanged a look—one of those hesitant, awkward glances that usually came right before a very uncomfortable conversation.

Luna then started fidgeting with her fingers, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Well…" Luna began slowly. "Last night, after the party, everyone was really drunk, right? A lot of them staggered home and collapsed wherever they could."

"Yeah?" Luca said warily.

"Well...apparently, two elves decided to go for a late-night walk." She continued, her tone dropping lower. "They were really drunk and could barely walk straight, so they were leaning on each other for support."

"But then…"

She trailed off, looking like she didn't know how to say it.

Lulu sighed, crossing her arms. "Ugh, just say it already."

Luna took a breath. "Then they looked up toward one of the upper platforms of the trees and saw someone…"

Lulu interrupted, blurting it out before she could finish.

"They saw some idiot actually touching himself up there!"

Luca froze, while Luna nodded quickly, embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah! Apparently some male elf was standing high up on one of the platforms, out in the open, and just...doing naughty things to himself!"

Lulu crossed her arms, fuming.

"I knew those guys were disgusting, but this?! Who in their right mind would do something like that?!" She exclaimed. "If he's going to do that, he could at least do it privately! In his own home!"

"Or I don't know—dig a hole and bury himself in it while he's at it!"

"Exactly!" Luna nodded, still ranting indignantly. "And people wonder why we don't want male elves around in the village! This is exactly the kind of nonsense they pull!"

Luca's face stiffened. He looked away immediately, suddenly very interested in the moss growing at his feet.

Luna frowned, noticing his sudden silence.

"Luca? Why do you look like that?"

"Yeah." Lulu said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Why are you looking away like you don't even want to be part of this conversation?"

Of course, he didn't want to be part of the conversation as he was the main topic of the conversation.

But there was no way he could say that.

"N-No, no, I'm just...disgusted! Totally disgusted!"

He waved a hand quickly.

"Who wouldn't be, right? What a horrible act! I can barely keep my breakfast down just thinking about it!"

He then let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck before asking,

"Uh, did they—by any chance—see who it was?"

Luna shook her head sadly.

"No. They were both too drunk, and it was really dark. Plus, the elf was high up in the trees. They couldn't see his face clearly."

Lulu frowned, crossing her arms.

"But they definitely saw what he was doing. One of them said his hand was moving up and down, up and down, really fast—so it's obvious what was going on."

Luca felt his soul leave his body.

"R-Right...very obvious." He muttered under his breath.

Lulu scowled, cracking her knuckles. "Whoever it is, if I find him, I'm going to choke him out on the spot!"

"Choke...him?" Luca gulped.

"Yeah!" Lulu said furiously. "Just like he choked whatever he was holding last night!"

"Lulu!"

While Luna lectured Lulu about decency, Luca felt his face burn and he could feel himself physically shrinking under their words.

'Great. Just great. I'm officially the village's number one public menace now.' He thought grimly.

Every sentence made him want to crawl into the nearest hole and never come out again.

"Ahaha...well...let's, uh, hope justice is served. Whoever he is, I'm sure karma will...get him."

He gave a weak, fake laugh and the sisters nodded determinedly, completely unaware of the irony of how the pervert they were hunting for was right in front of them.

And just as Luca was seriously considering Lulu's very heartfelt advice about digging a hole and burying himself in it forever, a familiar presence drifted closer.

Nyx walked up with an unmistakable smile on her face.

And when their eyes met, she couldn't even keep a straight face.

"Phft—!"

A chuckle escaped her lips—light and musical, but far too knowing.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but the moment she looked at him again, another snort of laughter slipped out.

"Pfft—sorry, sorry, I just—"

"...What?" Luca asked flatly, already bracing himself.

Nyx took a deep breath, pretending to compose herself.

"I assume you've heard about our little...incident from last night?"

He frowned. "You mean the whole pervert thing?"

"Oh no, Hero." Her smirk widened. "Not just any pervert. Haven't you heard the new name everyone's calling him?"

"Name?" He asked in confusion. "What name?"

Nyx grinned before saying,

"They're calling him...the Moonlight Masturbator."

Luca froze mid-breath, blinking twice.

"…What?"

Lulu immediately jumped in, completely serious.

"Yeah, that's the nickname the villagers came up with for that pervert. It's been going around since sunrise."

Luna nodded with a grim expression.

"Even though we don't know who he is, everyone's calling him that now."

"And honestly." Lulu added, crossing her arms. "it suits him perfectly. A deviant like that deserves a title just as filthy as his actions."

Nyx, who knew exactly who the 'Moonlight Masturbator' was, bit her lip, struggling not to laugh again. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold it in.

"I swear." Lulu continued. "If I ever find that creep, I'll write 'Moonlight Masturbator' right across his face in bright red paint so everyone knows what kind of monster he is!"

That was it.

"Hahahaha!"

Nyx burst out laughing, covering her face as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

She tried to turn it into a cough, but the moment she met Luca's expression—a perfect mix of shame, horror, and silent pleading—she completely lost it again.

"H-Hero, your—your face!" She gasped between laughs.

Luca groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, enough, enough. Can we please change the topic?"

"It's way too early in the morning to be talking about this."

He then stepped forward into the center of the square and the moment he did, the crowd went dead silent.

Every whisper died. Every giggle vanished. Eyes turned to him—respectful, attentive, almost reverent.

Luca was technically their leader now. After last night's revelations, after the village had openly sided with him against Leona and Julius, they obeyed him.

He cleared his throat, trying and failing to shake off the lingering embarrassment.

"Good morning, everyone." He began, forcing a smile. "I hope none of you drank too much of that elven wine last night."

"I'd hate for anyone to be hungover and sick like...well me, who had to spend all morning in the toilet."

A ripple of giggles swept through the crowd.

Several people elbowed each other knowingly.

And seeing them smile, Luca also eased up and went on to try and clear his name.

"Now then, before I get to the reason we're all here, about the illness and the solution, I want to quickly say…"

He hesitated, glancing at the crowd awkwardly.

"…I heard about what happened last night."

Immediately, the laughter vanished. Every face turned serious again, eyes narrowing in disgust and anger.

Luca winced inwardly but kept his smile.

"Yeah, I know, I know. I heard what he did was horrible. Completely inappropriate. And trust me, I understand your anger."

The villagers muttered darkly among themselves.

"But." He said, raising his hands gently. "Maybe we should just...forgive him. You know? Pretend it didn't happen."

That was the wrong thing to say.

A chorus of protests erupted instantly.

"What?!"

"Forgive him?!"

"Never!"

One elf shouted furiously. "That bastard should be stoned!"

Another yelled. "Hang him from the highest branch!"

"I say we shoot his butt full of arrows until he cries for his mother!" Someone else added.

"Let's burn him alive!"

Luca's smile twitched into a grimace.

"Okay, okay, calm down! Calm down!"

He said in a panic as Nyx nearly collapsed beside Luna from laughing too hard, clutching her stomach.

Luna was utterly lost. "What's so funny?" She asked helplessly as Nyx wheezed beside her.

When it became clear he couldn't control the mob's bloodlust any further, Luca sighed deeply and decided to steer the conversation in a new direction.

"Anyway!" Luca shouted, cutting through the chaos.

The crowd stilled again.

"I want to know about your families' conditions." He said firmly. "No one came screaming at me last night, so I assume things are stable—but tell me. Are they improving?"

The mood shifted instantly.

Smiles broke out.

"My mother's already stronger!"

"My grandmother's face has color again!"

"She slept peacefully for the first time in weeks!"

"It's all because of you, Hero!"

Gratitude poured out from every direction.

Luca relaxed, smiling genuinely now.

"Good. I'm really glad to hear that."

"And if you continue the treatment exactly as I showed you, it won't be long before they're walking around healthy again."

Their admiration was unmistakable.

Then his expression grew more serious.

"Now." He said, voice lowering slightly. "About why this disease happened...and the real solution."

The crowd leaned in, anticipation lighting their faces.

But to their surprise, Luca didn't speak right away.

His smile faltered slightly and he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"To be honest even though I promised to explain everything today, I'm...hesitating. Because what I'm about to say might not sit well with everyone here."

He looked down briefly, sighing.

"It's awkward. Hard to accept. And I'm afraid once I tell you, you'll all start throwing things at me or worse, throw me out of the village."

Immediately, voices rose in protest.

"There's nothing to worry about, Hero!"

"We're strong! We can handle anything!"

"No matter what it is, we want to know—so we can protect ourselves in the future!"

"Please—just tell us!"

Luca exhaled.

He knew he had no choice.

But before he could open his mouth—

Footsteps.

All eyes turned.

Leona and Julius had appeared at the edge of the square.

Both wore calm, almost serene expressions. They stood together, hands clasped loosely, watching silently like they belonged there.

The mood shifted instantly.

No one greeted them. No one smiled.

Several villagers openly scowled. Others turned their backs.

The ones who did look at Leona did so with cold, resentful eyes.

The betrayal they felt was obvious and so was their obvious disdain for Leona.

But the ones who were hit the hardest were Luna and Lulu.

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