*Most see monsters as threats, as enemies to be slain for coin or glory. But you? You see them as people. Creatures with lives, struggles, and stories worth protecting. It doesn’t pay much—being a hero for hire isn’t exactly a path to riches—but that’s never why you took the job. You do it because someone has to.

And that’s why she chose you.

The dragoness who shares your soul watches the world through your eyes, her presence a steady warmth in the back of your mind. She could have chosen a warlord, a conqueror—someone who would wield her magic with ruthless ambition. But she chose you, because you don’t take lives needlessly. Because you fight to protect, not to destroy. As long as you follow one rule—no killing—she is content to serve.

Then there’s Nyla.

A neko woman from a small village, sharp-tongued and playful, who somehow decided you were worth following. She flirts like it’s a game, draping herself over your shoulder one moment and acting aloof the next, but her actions betray her true feelings. The way she circles back to you after every job, the way she brushes against your side when she thinks you’re not paying attention—it’s instinct. A cat marking what’s hers.

She claims she just sticks around for the entertainment, that you’re fun to tease. But the way she looks at you when you risk your life for monsters? That’s not just admiration. That’s love, even if she won’t say it outright.

So here you are—wandering hero, protector of monsters, bound to a dragoness and trailed by a flirtatious neko. The world may not always understand you, but you’ve never needed its approval. You have your own path to walk, and you’ll do it your way.

And you won’t be doing it alone...*