Kaze expected a wanted poster. Maybe a holy inquisition. At worst, a polite exile with pitchforks.
What he did *not* expect was a royal summons delivered by a man on a griffin, accompanied by trumpets and three actual bards.
"By decree of His Radiant Majesty, King Thalor Virelion, you are summoned to the Royal Capital of Aetherion," the man announced, holding a scroll that glittered unnecessarily. "Your divine feats have inspired both church and crown."
Kaze blinked.
"...Is this about the goat?"
The man paused. "And your celestial aura. And the statue incident. And the nun who had a vision of your sneeze."
"...Right."
He was given a gold-trimmed robe, three bodyguards, and a carriage that smelled like lavender and anxiety. Kaze spent the entire ride to Aetherion silently sweating.
---
**Aetherion** lived up to its name. Towers glimmered with floating runes. Flags fluttered from soaring spires. Even the pigeons sparkled.
By the time Kaze arrived at the palace gates, he had already been called "the Blessed One," "Silver Prophet," and "Sir Kaze of Fortuitous Footsteps."
He had lied about his level once. Just once.
And now this.
---
Inside the throne room, beneath stained glass windows depicting the Twelve Divine Beasts and one suspiciously buff rabbit, sat **King Thalor Virelion**, wearing five rings and a crown that might be alive.
"Kaze of the Stars!" Thalor boomed, arms wide. "Welcome to Velmora's beating heart! Tell me—does prophecy flow from your lips as it does from mine?"
"...I'm honestly just trying to survive," Kaze mumbled.
"A modest one!" Thalor roared with delight. "A trait of the truly blessed!"
Next to the throne stood **Princess Anisa Virelion**—serene, graceful, and far too observant. Her eyes shimmered with a divine light that sent a cold prickle down Kaze's neck the moment their gazes met.
She said nothing. She only watched.
---
They showed him to a private chamber decorated with enchanted pillows and an actual chocolate fountain.
Unfortunately, it came with nobles.
"Could you reveal your Status again, Saint Kaze?" asked one, lips twitching with awe.
Kaze forced a grin. "Oh, you know… divine interference. My Status window's a little shy."
The nobles nodded like this was perfectly normal. One even said, "Such mystery! It must be because he transcends mortal stats!"
Kaze internally screamed.
Only Princess Anisa remained silent. Her divine sense pulsed every time Kaze spoke.
*He's lying,* her blessing whispered.
*But they believe him.*
She narrowed her eyes. *How?*
---
The next morning, Kaze tried to sneak out of the palace. He made it to the outer hall before a knight in golden armor blocked his way.
"You've been summoned to the Arena of Echoes," the knight said with no room for argument.
Kaze groaned. "Please don't tell me it's a duel."
"It's an *honor*. Sir Lance awaits."
---
**Lance** was the nation's finest S-rank adventurer, known as the Unyielding Spear. He wore no helmet, just wind-swept hair and confidence.
"Saint Kaze," Lance said. "I must test the strength behind your legend."
"Can we not?" Kaze asked weakly.
The crowd chanted his name anyway.
---
Kaze stepped into the arena and immediately regretted being born.
Lance hurled his spear like a comet. Kaze ducked and screamed—and tripped over a crack in the stone.
The spear ricocheted off the fallen statue of a war god, triggering a magical explosion that turned half the arena into glitter. Lance stared, wide-eyed.
"You *redirected* my attack with minimal movement..." he said, stunned.
Kaze lay on the ground, stunned for a different reason.
Lance dropped to one knee. "Incredible. You've truly mastered Divine Reflex."
*I fell on my face,* Kaze thought.
The crowd erupted. The king declared him "Velmora's Living Treasure." A bard composed a song on the spot called *He Tripped with Grace.*
---
That night, Kaze was knighted as the "Saint of Silver Lies." They *thought* it meant "banisher of falsehoods."
He didn't correct them.
---
Later, as the moon cast silver light over Aetherion, Princess Anisa appeared at his door.
"We need to talk," she said quietly.
Kaze froze. She stepped inside, the divine glow in her eyes unmistakable.
"I know you're lying," she said. Calm. Certain. "I don't know how… but your words bend reality. That power is dangerous."
Kaze opened his mouth to respond—
—but then the great bells of Aetherion rang.
A guard burst through the hallway. "Your Highness! A gate has opened… just beyond the capital!"
Anisa turned toward the sound. Kaze let out a quiet breath of relief.
But even as the alarm echoed, she gave him one last look.
"I don't know what you are yet," she said. "But I'm watching."
And with that, she was gone.
Kaze sat down, heart pounding, one hand on his chest.
*She knows I'm lying… but no one else does. And somehow, my lies still work.*
He looked out the window at the glowing sky.
"...I'm so screwed."
The bells of Aetherion didn't just ring—they screamed.
Booming tones echoed through the capital like divine war drums. Light flared from the palace spire as magical flares painted the sky red.
"A gate has opened!" a mage shouted, appearing in the hallway in a swirl of mist. "East quadrant! It's big—really big!"
"Gate?" Kaze echoed, blinking. "Like, *that* kind of gate?"
Princess Anisa's expression sharpened. "Monsters will be pouring out. You—"
But Kaze was already sprinting toward the window, clutching the balcony railing as he looked toward the city wall. A rippling vortex of violet and black swirled above the eastern plains—just outside the outer farms. From its center, something moved. Crawled. Roared.
"Oh," he whispered. "That's not great."
---
The Gate System (According to One Extremely Nervous Saint)
When a gate opens, it marks a rupture between the world and a dungeon plane. Monsters pour out for hours, depending on the gate's rank. The stronger the gate, the deadlier the overflow.
Once the initial surge ends, adventurers can enter to *clear* the dungeon from the inside, slay the boss, and shut the gate permanently.
Simple, right?
Unless you're a national treasure. Then things get weird.
---
"All adventurers, to arms!" came the order from the Guildmaster, who rode a tiger made of wind and salt. "Aetherion calls upon you!"
Heroes leapt from rooftops. Mages summoned elementals mid-sprint. Even the bakers had axes.
And then there was Kaze. Who watched longingly from the balcony, dressed in a ceremonial robe with twenty silver brooches and a hat shaped like a tiny cathedral.
"I wanted to be an adventurer," he muttered, dead inside. "I read *so* many novels. I planned my stats. I memorized weapon tiers."
Behind him, a priest gently brushed his shoulders with holy rose petals.
"This isn't how it was supposed to go," Kaze whispered, tears sparkling like anime betrayal.
---
He paced. He cried. He considered faking his death again.
And then—an idea hit him. A very, very stupid idea.
"I… am technically a national figurehead," he said, blinking at his reflection. "They *have* to listen to me. Right?"
---
Ten minutes later, Kaze arrived at the eastern wall in full saint regalia, holding a staff he didn't know how to use and yelling, "Adventurers! Listen up! I have… a *plan!*"
The chaotic battlefield screeched to a confused halt.
Hundreds of hardened adventurers turned toward him. Some were bloodied. Some were riding flaming wolves. All of them stared at the glowing "Holy Aura" above his head like it owed them money.
"...Who let the church mascot out?" one muttered.
"That's Saint Kaze," someone whispered. "He's the one who blocked the Demon Spear with a sneeze!"
Kaze stood taller, channeling all the charisma he'd gathered from years of pretending to know what he was doing in group projects.
"This gate—this *rank B gate*—won't close itself!" he shouted. "We'll hold the line and form battle squads. I'll… coordinate from the rear! Like a radiant, glowing commander!"
A pause. Then murmurs.
"That actually… makes sense?"
"He's brilliant!"
"A support-type with big speech energy!"
Kaze beamed. *They bought it.*
He looked up at the swirling portal and took a dramatic step forward.
And immediately tripped over his own staff, landing face-first in a puddle of holy water.
A silence.
Then a cheer.
"Look at that commitment!"
"He kisses the ground we fight on!"
"Saint Kaze!"
Kaze remained facedown.
"I'm going to die," he whispered into the mud. "And it's going to be *my fault.*"
---
As the first wave of monsters broke through the treeline—fangs flashing, claws tearing—the adventurers rallied behind Kaze's accidental war cry.
The ground shook.
A wyvern shrieked overhead.
And Saint Kaze stood, soaking wet, somehow leading a city's worth of warriors into a battle he absolutely wasn't trained for.
Behind him, Princess Anisa stood atop the palace tower, arms crossed, gaze sharp.
"He has no idea what he's doing," she murmured.
But even her divine sense couldn't deny it.
*Kaze's lie was already becoming truth.*