The Wrong Hero Has Been Summoned
Chapter 4: Honesty

Chapter 4: Honesty

"I get it. You were living a normal life until I arrived in your room that night. Its all my fault." He paused in front of her, his expression very cold, "Is that what you want to hear? I am sorry but I really do not care."

She wanted to fight, to show him his place but she controlled herself. "You know what. You are pathetic. You have no emotional maturity at all, it confuses me why the goddess wasted her time on a nobody like you." She turned and walked away, "go ahead then, since that’s the path you want, go on and be on your own."

She walked passed Vess and Vess noticed that despite her harsh words, her expression was that of someone about to cry. Vess looked at him, "Luther...I am disappointed."

Even for him, this felt wrong, it made his heart hurt. ’dammit.’ He thought, deactivating his power as he also went his own way.

He walked for a long time, his mind racing with angry thoughts. The fight with Luna kept playing in his head. He kicked a small rock and watched it bounce down the empty street.

"Maybe I was too harsh," he mumbled to himself.

Night was falling over the broken section. He found an old building and went inside to rest. Sitting on the dusty floor, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Stupid goddess. Stupid exam. Stupid Luna." He sighed deeply. "But maybe I am the stupid one."

---

Meanwhile, Luna sat on a rooftop, staring at the stars. Her eyes were red from crying.

"Are you okay?" Vess asked, climbing up to join her.

She wiped her face quickly. "I’m fine. He can do whatever he wants. I don’t care."

Vess sat beside her. "You know, for someone who doesn’t care, you sure seem upset."

"He’s so... frustrating! He thinks everything is about him." She hugged her knees to her chest. "But I didn’t tell the elder anything important. I was careful. I would never do that to him."

Vess nodded. "Luther is scared. There is that has him on edge. I think this goes beyond the heroes hunting him down, there is probably something he is not telling us."

"That doesn’t give him the right to treat me like that," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

"No, it doesn’t," she agreed. "But people make mistakes when they’re afraid."

"...I guess so."

---

Morning came and Luther could not sleep, his eyes were heavy, but his mind kept thinking about what happened with Luna. The fight played over and over in his head.

"I messed up," he mumbled, getting up from the dusty floor. His body ached from lying on the hard wall.

He walked outside and looked at the broken buildings around him. The morning sun was just starting to rise. He thought about what Luna said again.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was being selfish.

"I should find them," he decided. But where would they be?

He started walking through the empty streets. The section was quiet in the early morning. A few people were just starting their day, looking tired and hungry.

While walking, he spotted someone familiar. It was Selene, talking to a group of children.

"Selene!" he called out.

She turned and saw him. Her face showed surprise. "Luther? I thought you left."

The children around her stared at him with curious eyes. Selene whispered something to them, and they ran off, giggling.

"I need to find Luna and Vess. Have you seen them?" He asked, walking closer.

She crossed her arms. "Why should I tell you? You just ran off yesterday without a word."

"I know, and I’m sorry about that."

"You hurt Luna, you know. She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was crying."

He looked down at his feet. "I said things I shouldn’t have. I jumped to conclusions."

She studied his face. "What made you come back?"

"I realized I was wrong," he said honestly. "And... I don’t want to be alone."

’what the hell is going on with me, why do I care so much?’

"At least you’re honest." She sighed. "Walk with me. We need to get some water from the well, and we can talk on the way."

They walked together in silence for a minute before Selene spoke again.

"You know, in this section, we don’t have the luxury of fighting with our friends. We need each other to survive."

"Thy aren’t just my friends," he said. "We’re bound together by something bigger."

"The goddess? The one Luna mentioned?"

He tensed. "What exactly did she tell you?"

"Not much. Just that you three were on a mission together, and that a goddess was involved somehow." She looked at him. "You really don’t trust anyone, do you?"

"It’s hard to," he admitted. "Especially when gods and goddesses are involved."

They reached the well, and he began to draw water. He helped her with the rope.

"Yesterday, you asked if I wanted to come with you," she said quietly. "Did you truly mean it?"

"Yes," he replied. "The offer still stands."

"Why would you want me to come? You barely know me."

He thought for a moment. "Because I like you, something about just seems right. And because everyone deserves a chance to see beyond their walls."

She smiled at that. "My whole life, I’ve dreamed of leaving this place. Of seeing what’s out there." She looked around at the broken buildings. "But I’m also scared. This is all I know."

"Sometimes the scariest choices lead to the best places," he said.

She looked at him with a warm expression, "It really does." She smiled. "Alright, let’s go now. They are at my place."

---

At Selene’s small home, Vess was helping make breakfast. Luna sat by the window, looking outside with a serious face.

When he walked in, the room went quiet.

"What are you doing here?" Luna asked coldly, not looking at him.

He stood frozen in the doorway, Selene just behind him. The coldness in Luna’s voice hit him like a physical blow, and he found himself at a loss for words—a sensation he wasn’t used to.

Since arriving in this world, he always masked his uncertainty with bravado or anger, but now both seemed to fail him.

"I..." he started, then stopped. What could he say? The emotions swirling inside him were foreign and uncomfortable. He wasn’t supposed to care what these people thought of him. They were just temporary companions, means to an end. So why did Luna’s rejection sting so much?

He glanced at Vess, who gave him a look that was neither encouraging nor condemning—just waiting. Waiting for him to find the words.

"I came to apologize," he finally said, the words feeling strange on his tongue. "I was wrong yesterday. I overreacted."

She scoffed, turning to face him fully now. "That’s it? You think a simple ’I was wrong’ fixes everything?"

"No, I don’t," he admitted, stepping further into the room despite the tension that made each step feel like wading through mud. "I don’t know what fixes it. I’m... not good at this."

’What is wrong with me?’ he thought, frustrated by his own hesitation. ’Why do I even care what she thinks? I could just walk away again. Find another way to deal with the goddesses.’

But he knew it wasn’t that simple. Something had changed inside him.

"You accused me of betraying you," she said, her voice quieter now but no less sharp. "After everything we’ve been through. You didn’t even give me a chance to explain."

He ran a hand through his hair, his chest tight with an emotion he couldn’t quite name. "I know. I jumped to conclusions because I was scared."

The admission surprised even him. He hadn’t meant to be so honest.

"Scared?" Her eyebrows rose slightly. "The great hero, scared?"

"Yes," he said, feeling the word hang in the air between them. "Terrified, actually. If the goddesses find out what I did—rejecting Ariadne’s blessing—it could ruin everything. I’m already being hunted by those heroes. I can’t afford to have all deities targeting me too."

He moved to the window, looking out but not really seeing anything beyond his own reflection. "When I heard you talking to the elder, I panicked. I thought you were revealing everything about me."

Vess placed a bowl on the table and sat down. "But she wasn’t, was she?"

"No," he admitted. "I didn’t even give her a chance to explain. I just... reacted."

Luna stood up, walking over to him with slow, deliberate steps. "I would never betray you like that, Luther. Despite everything, we’re in this together. I thought you understood that."

He turned to face her, and the genuine hurt in her eyes made something twist inside him. It was a feeling he’d been fighting since they first started traveling together—this sense of connection, of responsibility to someone other than himself.