Velmond was a small town. Practically a village. Once, it was a thriving city on the border of the Sanctus Empire. But now, it was a shadow of what it used to be.

  Apparently, this was because of one of the previous incarnations of the Death God. Something about how they had destroyed a nearby kingdom which made it so that traders had no reason to pass through Velmond any longer.

  Hannah wasn’t really well-versed in history. Well, she wasn’t exactly the most educated individual in general. Even if Ms Mary tried to get her to sit down and read some books, the young girl hardly cared about that.

  However, despite that, Hannah knew one thing, and it was that Velmond was a quiet, reclusive place where nobody had any reason to visit.

  Or rather, it was supposed to be one.

  And yet, over the last year or so, Hannah had encountered many powerful beings here in Velmond. Firstly, her own brother, Eli, was the reincarnation of the Death God himself.

  Then she ran into an Avatar of Death, before meeting with an archdemon shortly after.

  That was not to mention Hannah herself was the next [Hero] ordained by the Goddess of Life.

  It was honestly strange. And while it could have been a coincidence, Hannah wondered if there was a reason for it.

  Perhaps it was because of her presence here in Velmond that all these beings were congregating here. After all, the Goddess of Life worked in mysterious ways…

  Anyway, that was not the point. Whether it was an ally like the archdemon that had been sent by Eli, or an enemy like the Avatar of Death, Hannah realized something that was clear to her.

  Soon, her time of living an ordinary life would come to an end. And she would have to abandon her role as a normal girl living in a small town to embrace her role as the next [Hero].

  That was why Hannah knew she was going to have to prepare herself for what was to come. Whether it was by training herself or going with the Church like all the [Heroes] who came before her.

  Even if she really didn’t want to do any of that…

  Sighing, Hannah opened her eyes as she took in the stream of light leaking into the room from between the curtains. It was morning, but not too early since the young girl had no reason to get up at the break of dawn right now.

  Ever since the incident with the Avatar of Death, both Hannah and Jay weren’t really assigned very many chores to handle at the orphanage. Despite having suffered no injuries whatsoever, they were told to just rest and look after themselves.

  That was why Hannah was sleeping in.

  Well, ‘sleeping in’.

  She had woken up a while ago and she was now just lying in bed, lost in her thoughts, which was a more regular occurrence than normal nowadays. Part of it had to do with the fact that she had less to do so she wasn’t sure what to do except just lie there and think.

  But a more major contributing factor to this was her encounter with the Avatar of Death.

  Now, Jay had been with her when that happened, and as expected from an ordinary kid like him, he had been traumatized by that encounter. He had lost all desire to go out and train to get his Rank and Class.

  Which was rather concerning— Hannah hoped he would find a way to get over his trauma soon. After all, his ambitions were a good thing. That was why if this persisted the young girl would of course try to find a way to comfort him and bring him back out of his shell.

  However, unlike Jay, Hannah wasn’t traumatized by the brief encounter. Even if it seemed that way to the other children in the orphanage.

  The young girl was simply wondering what to do. And faced with the aforementioned dilemma of whether or not to embrace her role or delay if for a little longer, all she did for now was… nothing.

  Which is stupid! Groaning, Hannah forced herself out of bed. Even if she felt like she didn’t know what to do, she knew that the one thing she shouldn’t be doing was nothing. That was why, after doing nothing for an hour or two, she finally got out of bed.

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  Clambering down out of her bed, she looked across at the bunk bed at the other side of her room. Just a month ago, Hannah would find a pair of twins still sleeping soundly there as she had to get up to help around the orphanage.

  But now their roles were reversed. Hannah was getting up just in time for breakfast while Alan and Alice were the ones who had to get up earlier to help with breakfast.

  And while Hannah wasn’t hungry and would rather skip out on breakfast, she knew there was someone else in the orphanage who would need to eat breakfast— even if they didn’t feel like it.

  Stepping out of her room, Hannah made her way across the hallway of the second floor and towards a room that was at the other end of the corridor.

  It used to be Ethen’s room before he moved out of the orphanage to join the Blood Swords. So it had been vacated and empty for a few months until just recently, when a new member of the orphanage was added.

  Hannah rapped lightly on the door, before clearing her throat.

  “Hello? Violet?”

  No response. But that was to be expected. This happened every single day. Fortunately, none of the rooms in the orphanage had a lock so Hannah just pushed the door open.

  “It’s time for breakfast, I know you’re not hungry but you have to come out and eat,” Hannah said as she stepped into the room.

  Inside, the room was completely dark. The blinds were still pulled down, and the bed at the very end of the room was a mess.

  Something rustled underneath the blankets as Hannah shook her head and walked up to the bed.

  “Come on out—” the young girl said as she yanked the blanket off the bed, revealing what was hiding underneath.

  And there laid… a little girl.

  Evidently younger than Hannah, but only by two or three years at most. With brown eyes and short dark green hair, her appearance was a stark contrast to Hannah’s golden locks and blue eyes.

  But that was not the only difference between them. While Hannah wore a smile on her face, the other girl looked… expressionless.

  Her eyes were hollow, hiding behind them what had to be either sorrow or terror from what she had witnessed. Dried lips that were cracked from having not moved in days.

  Her name was Violet, and she had been brought to the orphanage by Eli.

  Well, that wasn’t exactly true. It had been an archdemon who brought Violet here to Velmond. However, it was Eli who found her and summoned the archdemon to bring her here to the orphanage.

  Apparently, her village had been massacred by a madman and she was the sole survivor. Not wanting to leave her alone to fend for herself, Eli decided to send her here where she would be safe— where she would have a home.

  So he summoned an archdemon and had it deliver her here, which led to the current situation. And that was…

  Violet just stared up at Hannah, the look on the younger girl’s face unchanging. Empty. Uncaring.

  “Come on, Violet,” Hannah said as she climbed onto the bed and pulled the other girl to her feet. “We’ve done this every day— you know you have to eat!”

  Violet said not a word. However, she didn’t resist as she was pulled to her feet… before falling over as she remained almost completely limp. Hannah groaned as she caught the other girl. Now, while Violet wasn’t particularly heavy, it was still difficult to drag someone who didn’t want to move with her.

  So Hannah carried Violet on her back as she made her way down the stairs.

  As soon as Hannah got to the bottom of the stairs, Alan and Alice who were both getting the dining table ready caught a glimpse of her. They immediately turned towards the kitchen and called out as they pointed towards the two girls.

  “Ms Mary, Hannah is—”

  “—carrying Violet again!’

  Upon hearing that, Ms Mary rushed out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron as she went over to help Hannah carry Violet to the dining table.

  “Hannah, I told you you didn’t need to do this,” the owner of the orphanage said, shaking her head at the young girl. “You should be resting in your room, just like Jay!”

  “It’s alright, Ms Mary,” Hannah replied with a smile as the two of them set Violet down on a chair at the dining table. “I told you, I didn’t get injured, so there’s no need for me to rest!”

  Taking a step back, Hannah spread her arms wide and gestured at herself.

  “See? I’m fine.”

  Ms Mary just pursed her lips at that. Of course, she was going to worry no matter what Hannah said. Especially since she was one of the few people who actually knew that Hannah was the next [Hero] ordained by the Goddess of Life.

  In fact, the encounter with the Avatar of Death worried Ms Mary more than anyone else— because she thought that they were here for Hannah.

  That Hannah’s life was in danger.

  But while Hannah was puzzled about what had transpired— with how the Avatar of Death simply obeyed her commands— she was not concerned about her life. With how it behaved, it didn’t seem like it had any intention to harm her. So she had no reason to be worried for herself.

  But while I’m fine… Hannah thought as she swept her gaze around to see her family gather around her for breakfast. Ms Mary, Michelle, Melinda, Jason, Alan, and Alice— Jay wasn’t here as he was still in his room.

  The rest of them might not be safe if an incident like this occurred again. And the idea of something bad happening to them terrified the [Hero].

  If that ever happened, Hannah wasn’t sure how she would react. To lose everyone you knew and loved all at once…?

  Hannah’s eyes flickered at the thought. She looked towards Violet who was just staring with hollow eyes down at the bowl of soup set before her.

  Clenching her fists, Hannah hesitated. She knew she wasn’t ready to make a decision yet— that she wasn’t ready to be a [Hero].

  However, she knew she could do one thing.

  And that was to be a good big sister.

  So that was why she resolved herself to cheer Violet up so that the other younger girl wouldn’t have to suffer alone.