Mitch was a little uneasy.

He didn’t even want to play his favorite game, The King of Fighters. He paced back and forth in front of the window, sighing and groaning, worried that the children wouldn’t be able to adapt to the new life in school, and worried that they wouldn’t study hard and annoy the teacher. This made Kadora laugh, but it also made others feel uncomfortable. A boy who played well with Mitch deliberately patted his shoulder when he passed by him and said loudly, “Why think so much? You’re not their father. Even if you are willing, I’m afraid they won’t be willing, right? Hahaha!”

There was a burst of laughter in the church and the atmosphere became cheerful, but Mitch was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He waved his fist and protested to the guy who teased him. The latter saw that the situation was not good and slipped away with a smile.

“Ike was just kidding.”

Kadora came over and said softly, “But what he said makes sense, Mitch. You are not related to those children. You have no obligation to be responsible for them, and you have no right to decide their future path. In fact, it is already remarkable that you can do this. Leave the rest to Mr. Ling and the others.”

This is the truth, but Mitch didn’t like it. He had always regarded Grayhill Eagle and the young man as his goals, and tried hard to catch up with them. If he admitted that he could only do this, wouldn’t it be the same as admitting that he was not qualified to catch up? He always felt that he should do better.

The boy said stubbornly, “Who said I am not related to them? I am their temporary guardian! This is a task assigned to me by Brother Carson himself!”

“But they don’t think so, right?” Kadora said, “Although you are indeed very powerful, and have killed many enemies on the battlefield, and are deeply trusted by Brother Carson and Sister Regina, after all, everyone is about the same age. Therefore, they will only worship you as a more powerful peer, rather than acknowledging your identity as a temporary guardian. No one can force anyone to do anything, not even the Gray Hill Eagle can change their minds, okay?”

“This……”

“So, don’t have a stern face. You are our leader, right? If you are unhappy, everyone else will be affected. Don’t you think that their laughter when playing games is much quieter than before?”

“do not think so.”

Mitch was still upset about the teasing from his companions. Looking at these guys who were only focused on playing games, he was so angry that his teeth itched: “It’s not that I’m too serious, it’s obviously that these guys are too lax! Hey-“

He shouted loudly, and when everyone’s attention was focused on him, he deliberately put on a stern face and pretended to be serious: “Don’t play too much, have you forgotten that we still have a mission? I give you an hour, and you have to go back in one hour!”

“Huh?” “Why is that?” “I haven’t finished playing Zelda yet!”

The church was filled with grief and everyone was reluctant, but Mitch smiled with satisfaction, or a smile of success. Kadora watched this scene from the side, feeling speechless and a little amused. Although Mitch always said that he was a mature adult, and he thought and acted like that, he still showed his childish side sometimes. After all, the process from a child to an adult is not achieved overnight, and many people in this world are still stuck in the middle.

“What, are you guys leaving?”

Metien, who had just walked out of the kitchen, was holding a tray with nuts, cookies, gingerbread and other snacks, as well as a few glasses of juice. She only heard Mitch’s last words and was immediately surprised and disappointed: “Leaving so soon? Won’t you stay a little longer?”

Her two friends, Leticia and Shemi, are studying hard in the new school and starting a new life. Sister Livia has been invited to be a teacher, and even Gloria is helping with chores in the school. The pink-haired little girl is left alone in the huge Tianxin Church. Although Metien is not the kind of person who can’t adapt without someone, she is always accompanied by someone and feels a little lonely when she is alone in the church. She also hopes that Mitch and Kadora will stay for a while and play games happily together.

“Ah, this…”

Mitch was a little embarrassed and scratched his cheek, but finally nodded and admitted under Kadora’s slightly contemptuous gaze: “Yes, because there is indeed an important mission. Although we are not leaving today, we must prepare in advance.”

“So that’s it.”

This reason made it difficult for Metien to say anything to persuade them to stay. Compared with the disappointment just now, she was more worried now: “Are you going on a mission again? Kadora didn’t tell me, it won’t be dangerous, right?”

“Should… not be the case?” Mitch’s eyes were vague, and it was obvious that he was not very good at lying. Perhaps this was the case for people with strong self-esteem.

Kadora glared at him quietly. The reason why the girl didn’t mention this to Metien was that she didn’t want her to worry too much. As a result, Mitch spoke without thinking and directly ruined all her efforts. Sure enough, not every boy is like Pastor Lingge, who is intuitive and considerate and never makes things difficult for others. In this regard, Mitch still has a lot to learn!

“Don’t worry, Metien.” Kadora gently comforted the uneasy girl: “We will definitely come back safely, just like in the past.”

“That’s right, we are very strong!”

“The Ace of the Ash Rangers!”

“Except for Mitch! That guy is unlucky and always gets injured for all kinds of weird reasons!”

“Didn’t he bump into a tree and flatten his nose last time?”

“Hahaha!!!”

As soon as Mitch’s embarrassing story was mentioned, everyone burst into laughter. The boy’s face turned red and he waved his fists to protest against them, but he couldn’t make these guys shut up. His majesty as a leader was limited to the battlefield. In daily life, he didn’t have the courage to intimidate people like the Eagle of Gray Hill, or the calm and steady appeal of Pastor Ling.

Some even challenged him: “Are you not convinced, Mitch? If so, let’s play a game to decide the winner! I’ll use your favorite game, King of Fighters, and let you choose the character first, but don’t say I’m taking advantage of you! Oh, by the way, don’t choose that guy called Orochi!”

You dare to challenge me? Mitch laughed in anger. He had already recognized the identity of the guy who provoked him. Did he think I couldn’t find him if he hid in the crowd? “Moya! It’s you again, kid. You didn’t forget how you lost to me last time?” “Last time it was an accident! You used despicable means, otherwise how could you have defeated me?”

“What’s despicable? That’s called tactics!”

“It’s despicable, what’s the use of tactics?”

The boy named Moya muttered, “Besides, even if you used such a despicable tactic, the time you took to complete Mario wasn’t much faster than mine, right? But I won’t make the same mistake again. When I come back from this mission, I will be able to complete Zelda. Let’s see how you compare with me!”

“Eh, eh, eh?” Metien was horrified. She knew that Mitch and Moya were quarreling on purpose just to amuse her, but she said, “Don’t say that, Moya!”

“Ah?” The other party scratched his hair, looking confused: “What? Did I say something weird?”

“That sentence you just said, ‘I’ll do this and that when I come back from this mission’, is really unlucky!”

Metien counted on his fingers, “After this battle, I will go back home to get married. After completing this mission, I will retire. After defeating the demon king, I will retire… You must never say things like this, because once you say it, things will often develop in the worst direction, okay?”

This is actually what Alice told her. The pink-haired girl didn’t believe it at first, thinking how could such a ridiculous thing happen. Then the genius player said to her, if you don’t believe it, go and look through those scripts. Isn’t it true that every character who said similar words didn’t have a good ending in the end? The curious pink-haired girl went to check, and finally found out to her horror that it seemed to be true.

Is there some terrible curse hidden in these sentences? When she asked Alice, the genius player told her solemnly: “Yes, it is a curse called flag planting, and few people can escape it. Remember, Metien, never plant a flag, even if you are the protagonist’s…sister.”

Even the protagonist’s sister who planted the flag could not escape death, not to mention Moya, who is considered a minor “supporting role” in Alice’s theory. But he is not only a supporting role, but also a good friend of Metien. For the sake of his friend’s life, Metien seriously asked him to retract his preface, which was the sentence that planted the flag.

Moya and the others looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

“Is it really that exaggerated?” The brown-haired boy, who looked a year or two younger than Mitch, muttered, “It’s just your illusion, right? I said the same thing last time, but nothing happened.”

“Eh?” Metien was stunned for a moment: “You said that before?”

“Yeah.” Moya scratched his head. “It was before the operation on Hyrule Pass. My Mario hadn’t completed the game yet, so I thought that I must complete it when I come back. This should be considered as the flag-planting behavior you mentioned, right? But I’m fine now, nothing has happened to me.”

“I-Is this actually the case!?”

Metien was shocked. She didn’t expect that Sister Alice’s flag-planting theory would be wrong one day. Could it be that Moya is not a supporting role, but a protagonist? That’s right. From all aspects, he does fit Sister Alice’s protagonist theory, that is, he has a tragic life, a precocious personality, grew up in a bad environment, still firmly believes in his beliefs, and does not compromise with reality… But if that’s the case, aren’t all the people here, including Mitch and Kadora, protagonists?
Metien was a little confused.

Kadora looked at her tangled appearance and found it a little funny, while Mitch curled her lips and looked at her with disdain. Of course, she was not targeting Metien, after all, she was just too concerned, but was mainly targeting Ai Guidance’s flag-planting theory, which sounded very unreliable: “What a mess of words, powerful extraordinary people can indeed kill a person silently through curses, but that usually requires a high price, and the preparation and process of the ceremony are also very cumbersome. Just saying a word will kill you? That’s too exaggerated, totally unbelievable!”

No one would deliberately use a curse on a few insignificant young soldiers. If such a troublesome supernatural being really appeared, the first to bear the brunt would definitely be the Gray Hill Eagle and the leaders of other resistance organizations. No, considering the actual situation, the commander of the 17th Legion is more likely to be cursed, which is a good thing.

Kadora comforted Metien from another perspective: “Mitch is exaggerating. Psychological factors do affect performance on the battlefield, but this problem does not exist for us, Metien. We have made up our minds long before we set foot on the battlefield. We will not let anything affect our will. This is the most indispensable quality for the winner in the war. In addition, it is our own strength and…”

“And lucky!”

Moya interrupted and said triumphantly: “It just so happens that I am that lucky person, the opposite of Mitch.”

To prove himself, he stood up and turned around, proudly saying that I was not even injured in that battle, let alone lost my life. So, even if the curse that Metien said really existed, it would not affect me. Someone should be worried, don’t let it fall into the gutter.

Mitch’s face darkened a little after hearing what he said, and he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth in a sinister tone: “You guys are too dependent on your luck, and sooner or later something bad will happen.”

Mo Yahun didn’t care and just thought that he was jealous of him.

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Kadora stepped out to mediate and told them not to fight. If they wanted to fight, they should play on the game console. So the two started a round of King of Fighters on the spot, vowing to decide who was better this time and convince the other party. Others also gathered around with great interest to join in the fun. The exclamations and cheers from the crowd from time to time, as well as harsh words like “You are dead today” or “Let me see how you can dodge this move”, made Kadora feel helpless.

Since she came into contact with the game console, she felt that her companions had become more and more childish – of course, it could also be that after becoming a believer of the goddess, the girl had become more and more mature. However, the maturity she possessed might not be the kind of maturity that most people, including Mitch, desired.

However, even Kadora, whose mind and emotions were becoming more mature, did not notice that Metien’s eyes were inevitably revealing a look of confusion and worry.

It was hard to tell whether it was a premonition or some kind of revelation, but Metien suddenly thought: those extraordinary beings who are powerful enough to call themselves gods will naturally not use curses against a few young boys and girls.

But what if that curse is called fate?
Fate treats everyone equally. (End of this chapter)