Chapter 184: Yurasia (3)

Kristina didn’t reply immediately. She quickly grabbed hold of her lips, which had just been about to part unconsciously, and she struggled to maintain her expression. She didn’t know what kind of expression she might make if she lost hold of herself, but she didn’t want to know either, and she also didn’t want to show that kind of expression to anyone.

“…Ah, now that you mention it, you seem to have acquired a new accessory,” Kristina replied as if she hadn’t been paying any attention to it and had just now noticed its existence.

Hiding her true feelings behind a well-practiced expression was something that Kristina was familiar with.

She finally took a good look at Eugene’s finger and said with a bright smile, “It’s on the ring finger of your left hand. Could it be that you’ve gotten engaged to someone? It’s not uncommon to do so among members of the nobility, and you aren’t too young either. However, if Eugene Lionheart were to have been engaged to someone, then surely rumors would have spread….”

Kristina said all this in a gentle tone of voice. As the train set off with a rumble, Mer immediately put both of her hands on the window and stuck her face to the glass.

As the carriage gently shook, Kristina continued speaking, “Ah, could it be, was the engagement itself meant to be a secret? Indeed, I have heard that among nobles, engagements are often polluted with political intentions and that it is easy for engagements to be broken due to changes in the positions and situations of both families. However, no matter what the case may be, being labeled as someone who broke their engagement won’t be of much benefit to either party.”

Kristina had a bright smile that hid the direction of her gaze. However, Eugene was able to tell that those blue eyes behind her thick lashes were obviously staring at his fingers.

“That’s why you must have kept the secret so tightly,” Kristina continued. “Of course, seeing as how they’re so careful of their reputation, they are sure to be a high-ranking aristocratic family, and for them to secure an engagement to someone like you, Sir Eugene, whose stock price is rising by the day… they must be a family whose reputation equals or even exceeds that of the Lionheart clan, right? Could it be that you have entered a betrothal contract with royalty?”

Eugene just smirked instead of replying. Kristina really didn’t like the look of that smile. His expression was definitely meant to annoy her. She just couldn’t understand why Eugene was using the matter of his ring to tease her.

No, he wasn’t someone that she could even try to understand in the first place. In Samar, Kristina had been made painfully aware of the fact that Eugene Lionheart wasn’t the kind of person that could be understood rationally. He was someone so incredibly violent, shameless, irritating, and childish that it was impossible to believe that he was the descendant of the prestigious Lionheart clan and a Hero chosen by the God of Light.

“I can’t help but think that the timing of this engagement is a bit too perfect. Right after we parted ways, you won your duel in Aroth against the Green Tower Master, Jenneric Osman. And recently, in Kiehl, you managed to survive in the face of the Rakshasa Princess, then accomplished the splendid feat of winning four consecutive victories against the White Dragon Knights. Since all of these acts have raised your reputation, it’s only natural that the royal families of many different countries may wish to forge ties with you, Sir Eugene,” Kristina commented.

“Is that so?” Eugene replied idly.

“Yes… while I feel like that ring seems a bit too plain to commemorate an engagement to royalty, I suppose that an ornate ring that is too eye-catching would be inappropriate for a secret betrothal,” Kristina said, having managed to convince herself that Eugene had gotten engaged to a member of royalty.

But who could it be? Was it a princess of Kiehl? The Knight-Princess of Shimuin also came to mind. She was said to be of fair looks, and she was the same age as Eugene.

Mustering her composure, Kristina promised, “Sir Eugene, if you eventually hold a wedding ceremony, I will be sure to attend and give my blessing in person. However, Sir Eugene, please don’t forget this fact. As much as I would like to respect your freedom in marriage, you are the Hero foretold by the revelation from the God of Light. Please keep that in mind first before—”

Eugene finally interrupted her. “Thanks for the well-wishes, but… this isn’t an engagement ring, y’know?”

“…Huh?” Kristina squeezed out.

“When did I ever say that it was an engagement ring, now really….” Eugene grinned as he lifted up the ring on his finger and showed it to her. “It’s just a magic ring.”

“…Why are you… keeping a ring like that… on your left ring finger?” Kristina ground out, trying to contain herself.

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“It’s not like I wanted to wear it on this finger, it’s just that the person who gave it to me stuck it on this finger as part of a contract,” Eugene explained.

“And why are you just telling me that now?”

“Would you prefer it if I hadn’t told you that?”

Kristina’s brow scrunched up and started to twitch. She clutched the hem of her skirt tightly, then wiped away the shocked expression on her face. Swallowing the anger welling up inside of her, Kristina put her hands together in front of her chest in prayer.

“What I meant was, why didn’t you say that in the first place instead of waiting until now?” Kristina elaborated.

Eugene hesitated, “Well, I mean… isn’t it up to me whether or not to reveal it at the start or at a later point?”

“But because you were so late in explaining yourself, I came to a misunderstanding and made quite a fuss about it,” Kristina said through gritted teeth.

“I took my time to explain precisely because I found your misunderstanding interesting,” Eugene honestly confessed.

“Sir Eugene….” Kristina paused to collect herself. “You have quite the mischievous personality. What’s so fun about mocking someone right to their face? As a Hero, you should be of such moral character that others can only call you saintly. No matter how talented you may be, and even if you manage to one day subjugate the Demon Kings and save the world if your personality stays this ugly, then no one will be willing to follow you!”

Eugene complained, “Isn’t it a bit too harsh for you to call me ugly just because I played a joke on you…?”

Mer, who had been clinging to the window, cut in. “Since you really are a piece of trash, you should just accept the critique honestly.”

At these words, Kristina nodded in agreement. In the end, instead of saying anything in protest, Eugene just clicked his tongue and turned to look out the window.

As he did, Eugene couldn’t help but agree with Kristina’s claim that the train had a different charm to it compared to warp-gates. The scenery was passing by at a much faster speed than what could be seen from inside a carriage. This was accompanied by an incredibly steady mechanical rumble. Eugene relaxed, enjoying the large windows.

At some point, the train left the city and began to roll through a quiet field. In the distance, they could see the white city being left behind them. In fact, the landscape didn’t have much to look at, but Mer was mesmerized by the scenery, unable to tear her eyes off the window.

By the time the sales trolley had passed by them three or four times, Kristina finally spoke up, “Aren’t you going to ask what the reason is?”

Mer, who was now sitting beside them, had already eaten two lunchboxes and was chewing her way through the armful of snacks on her lap.

“The reason?” Eugene repeated questioningly.

Kristina closed her scripture book, which was worn out from being read over and over again. Eugene’s eyes were also familiar with that scripture book; he had seen that same book every day in Samar. Kristina especially liked to open up the book and read it early in the morning, when she had just woken up, and before she went to bed at night.

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“I didn’t write down the full details in the letter that I sent you, Sir Eugene. While it was because I felt that things like the Confirmation of my Sainthood weren’t worthy of being included in my letter to you, it seems that the letter, along with my current actions, has caused you great displeasure,” Kristina said in apology.

“Hm,” Eugene tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful hum and stared at Kristina’s face. “In any case, your Confirmation of Sainthood is meant to take place at the Holy See, right? Then why do we need to go to Tressia? It would have been more convenient to just stay in Yurasia.”

“That’s because there are several things that need to be prepared,” Kristina explained. Although she felt like it was already too late for Eugene to complain or ask why, she still replied immediately, “In Tressia Parish, there is a Fount of Light that is said to have been left there by God a long time ago. Starting tomorrow, I will be fasting for three days before soaking myself in the spring.”

The Fount of Light….

Eugene searched his memories for the name. He had definitely heard that name once in his past. At that time, everyone had been a little bit drunk, and they were all talking about the mysterious places in their respective hometowns.

—What’s so mysterious about that? I’m telling you that the elven territory that I lived in had the World Tree. Hey, Hamel! Do you even know what the World Tree is?

—Isn’t it just a really, really big tree? There was a really big apple tree behind the house that I lived in as a child.

—Are you really comparing an apple tree to the World Tree? I’ve never heard such an ignorant claim! It can’t… it can’t be helped, mhm, later, once all this is over with and we can finally leave this damned place, I’ll take you to the elven territory and expand your horizons.

—No… I don’t really want to go…. If I go there, I’ll just end up meeting that bastard Signard, and there must be a lot of elves with the same face and shitty personality as that bastard.

—What’s your problem with Big Brother Signard? Also… also, you son of a bitch, I’m trying to take you there for your sake, so shouldn’t you just keep quiet and thank me, you — Ah! So that’s what it was. I get it now! If you stand next to a group of elves, it will make your mug look like the underside of a dented trash can lid. Is that what you’re worried about?

—You wanna die?

—Don’t worry, because the only ones who can stand amongst the elves and not be embarrassed by their looks are Vermouth, Anise, and… hahumph… myself.

—A hot river flows through the snowfields near the Bayar Tribe.

—Hey Molon, I understand what you’re trying to say, but you can’t just make up things that don’t make any fucking sense. Your tribe lives right up there in the far north, right? So how could there be something like a hot river in a place where the snow piles up like mountains, and there are blizzards every day?

—Just leave it alone, Hamel. Molon is even more of a village hick than you, so when this kind of talk comes up, he’s left with nothing to say. Since there’s snow here, and snow there, and snow wherever you look, Molon must just want to make something up.

—As a warrior of the Bayar tribe and a son of the snowfields, I do not lie. There really is a hot river that runs near our tribe.

—No, why would a hot river even flow through a snowfield? What kind of fire could melt the snow enough to cause a river to flow? Does that even sound possible, you bastard?

—Although it’s not a fire, there is a place where smoke and flames flow alongside the river. If you don’t believe me, then just ask Vermouth. Vermouth and I often bathed in that river together.

—The river comes from a spring that’s being heated by a geothermal vent. The hot water collects in a pool, then flows away into a river. Molon has taken me there a few times, and it’s a pretty nice place. Just by soaking in it, I could feel that my fatigue was considerably relieved.

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—It isn’t just fatigue. The minerals in the water that flows through the river are great for illnesses and wounds, and some of them can even be healed just by soaking in it. It’s especially good for the skin, so our women really like it.

—Anise, did you hear that? If that’s the case, then we’re going, right? I’m definitely going, so you need to come with me, okay?

—We can all go there together after the war is over. At that time, I will become the Chieftain of the Bayar. If I ask them to keep the river empty for my friends, then the tribe members will gladly give way for us. Then all five of us can take a bath together in the wide river—

—You crazy bastard. What do you mean, bath together?! Anise and I will go there on our own, so you guys can do the same by yourselves. Hamel, if you peek, I’ll murder you.

It was just that kind of unimportant conversation. After a battle ended, they would talk about what they all would do after leaving Helmuth. Perhaps because she was in an especially good mood that day, Anise, who rarely contributed when it came to such topics, actually spoke up while taking a drink.

—If we’re talking about mysterious places… then Yuras also has a few like that.

—What?

—Everyone, everyone, shut up! Molon, you idiot, shut your trap! Anise is trying to say something! Sienna! Fill up Anise’s cup!

—….

—Sorry, Anise. I’ll be the first to shut up, so just keep talking.

—The place that comes to mind right now… is the Fount of Light.

—The Fount of Light? And what’s that exactly?

—Just like the name suggests, it’s a spring that emits light. At first glance, it actually looks like it’s pouring out light instead of water. The water is… hmm. It’s not quite as hot as the hot river that Molon talked about, but it’s quite warm.

—Is that so? How mysterious. Let’s go and see it together when we’re done with this, okay? If we soak in it, then will our skin get better like the river in Molon’s hometown?

—If you just enter it normally, then who knows, it might have such an effect.

Anise hadn’t talked about it any further.

‘…Though we weren’t able to go there together, I still ended up seeing the World Tree,’ Eugene thought wistfully.

Although he hadn’t seen the hot river that Molon had talked about personally, that river had now become a famous tourist attraction in Ruhr. Eugene smiled bitterly as he recalled the past. If he hadn’t died in the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, would they have been able to travel together to the various places that they had talked about back then? At that time, they had already been traveling together for more than ten years, so they had often chatted about what kind of vacations they wanted to go on afterward.

Eugene asked Kristina, “Do you even need to do any fasting? It’s not like emptying your stomach will make your body cleaner after you take a bath.”

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“It’s not just simply cleansing the body,” Kristina explained. “As a Saint… no, as a Saint Candidate, immersing my body in the Fount of Light is a sacred ritual in and of itself. I have already entered that spring several times since I was a child.”

“You just soak in the spring normally?” Eugene asked.

Swisssh!

Darkness suddenly engulfed the interior of the train. Mer, who was still looking out of the window with fascinated eyes, pulled her hands back from the window in surprise. The train had just entered a tunnel.

Spells on the ceiling reacted to the darkness and illuminated the room with a soft light. It wasn’t just a simple set of lights either. Thin lines of light ran all over the ceiling, depicting a religious icon.

Perhaps because of the train’s name being what it was, the icon on the ceiling was an image of Anise praying with her eyes closed. This was the most common composition amongst the many icons depicting Anise, but the way that Anise’s figure was drawn with lines of light on the dark canvas created by the tunnel made it look like a constellation.

Kristina hoped that the darkness had been able to hide the changes in her expression. No, the truth was that her expression hadn’t changed all that much. However, she had indeed been a little shaken. Even now, the corners of her mouth felt a bit stiff.

Kristina carefully blinked once. She calmed her shaking and startled heart.

Did Eugene know something? There was no way that could be the case. In this period of time, there was no other Saint Candidate but Kristina. As such, in this generation, the baptism that all Saint Candidates needed to periodically receive by going to the Fount of Light had been monopolized by Kristina.

This meant that there was no way that the information could have leaked anywhere else. Kristina knew better than anyone just how thoroughly secret the truth behind this baptism was kept.

“I’m not sure I quite understand what you are asking, Sir Eugene,” Kristina said once she had collected herself. “Is there any other special method apart from just entering the spring, just like any other spring?”

“Well, to start with, its name is the Fount of Light, isn’t it? And you’re the Saint Candidate. So if you’ve been regularly soaking in it like it’s part of some ritual, I was asking if there’s anything special you do to make it more… ritualistic,” Eugene elaborated.

So that was what he had meant. Kristina’s agitation quickly subsided.

Rumble, rumble.

The train continued to roll along in silence for a few moments.

Whoosh!

Upon exiting the tunnel, the darkness was lifted.

“…I wear a white robe,” Kristina eventually replied.

“A white robe?” Eugene repeated.

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“Yes,” Kristina confirmed. “A different one from my normal priest’s robes. I have to wear a robe that is entirely white from top to bottom before I enter the spring. Once there, I won’t be able to change my clothes or leave the spring for the next three days.”

“What if you get hungry or thirsty during that time?” Eugene asked.

Kristina shook her head, “The process of enduring those things is part of the ritual.”

“But what if you need to go to the bathroom?” Mer, who had been looking out the window, snapped around to ask a blunt question. “You don’t just let it out little by little, do you?”

Eugene’s expression crumpled at these words, and he turned to look at Mer. Kristina didn’t even try to hide the changes in her expression this time. Her eyes widened as she glared at Mer, who just shrugged and smiled innocently.

“I’m sorry,” Mer apologized.

“In any case, I need to return to Tressia for the sake of this ritual,” Kristina changed the subject.

“That’s fine,” Eugene nodded. “You’ve got a good reason for doing that, and it can’t be helped. But… just why did you ask me to come with you today? You could have asked me to just come three days later when you’re scheduled to enter the Vatican.”

Kristina took a deep breath to stop her voice from shaking and said, “Cardinal Rogeris has requested to meet with you, Sir Eugene.”

“Why?” Eugene asked.

“I don’t know his exact reason for making this request, but is it really so unusual for a Cardinal to wish to meet with the Hero?” Kristina asked rhetorically.

Eugene frowned. “It could also have something to do with you.”

“Perhaps,” Kristina admitted.

Eugene probed, “Do you have any ideas?”

“I honestly don’t. Though… my letters to Rohanna have all been monitored, and their contents checked,” Kristina warned him.

“The cipher spell I placed on our letters has never been broken,” Eugene stated confidently.

Even in the Red Tower of Magic, it was a top-level highly-secured spell that only a few others apart from Eugene, Lovellian, and Hera even knew about. This spell was guaranteed to leave traces should anyone have tried to unlock the cipher and then re-encrypt the text.

Eugene hadn’t even informed Kristina of the decryption method. So, in order for someone else to have dispelled the spell on the letter, they had to have been able to discover the decryption code by examining the parts of the spell that were revealed on the surface.

While figuring out the process was not actually impossible, Eugene would definitely have noticed if they had tried to re-encrypt it using the same code. However, until now, none of the letters that Kristina had sent him had ever shown any signs of someone tampering with the cipher spell.

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“…However, I can’t be sure whether the Cardinal knows the letters I sent to Rohanna were passed on to you, Sir Eugene,” Kristina muttered with a shake of her hand.

“Didn’t you say that she was a reliable friend?” Eugene asked in concern.

“It’s true that she’s the only friend who I have remained in contact with since leaving the monastery, but Cardinal Rogeris may have gone so far as to have kept even Rohanna under watch,” Kristina speculated.

Eugene commented sarcastically, “Your foster father is quite paranoid.”

“Due to my appearance, I’ve received such special treatment ever since I was young,” Kristina said dejectedly.

Her resemblance to Anise alone was enough to attract attention, but on top of that, Kristina had even turned out to be a Saint Candidate. No… perhaps the Cardinal had already predicted such a future for her when he had taken Kristina in as his adopted daughter. With the fact that there was only one Saint Candidate in this generation, added to how much Kristina’s appearance resembled Anise, there was no way for Eugene not to have his own suspicions.

‘Although she didn’t go into the specific details of it, Kristina did say that she knew that I was the Hero due to receiving a revelation,’ Eugene recalled.

The Pope or the other Cardinals, who had also received a stigmata, could have received a revelation about the birth of a Saint. Eugene wasn’t sure about other countries, but such a thing was definitely possible in this Holy Empire.

“Are you offended?” Kristina asked cautiously.

“By what?” Eugene replied.

“By the fact that I didn’t tell you about it beforehand.”

“If I was really offended by that, I wouldn’t have gotten on the train in the first place. I’m not an idiot, so I guessed it was something like this from the moment you asked me to go to the Tressia Parish together.”

Kristina hesitated. “However—”

“However, what?” Eugene interrupted her. “Now that things have already come so far, should I jump off the train? Or perhaps I should get off at the next station? Would that be more comfortable for you?”

Kristina didn’t reply immediately as Eugene asked these questions with a grin.

“…I’m not sure,” Kristina eventually admitted.

She herself wasn’t even sure what would be the best answer to Eugene’s question. Kristina recalled everything that she had seen in Cardinal Rogeris starting from her childhood.

“If you say that you want to get off at the next station, then I won’t try to restrain you, Sir Eugene. Because everything that has happened is an insult to you, and it would feel like I was trying to forcefully drag you with me,” Kristina confessed.

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“You know, I get tired just by looking at you,” Eugene sighed.

Kristina gaped. “Huh?”

“Did you finally speak up after staying quiet for so long because you thought that I would need such an excuse to avoid meeting the Cardinal?” Eugene accused. “Because you thought that if I got on this train after having heard the circumstances beforehand, then you wouldn’t be able to give me any further excuses to just refuse the Cardinal’s invitation.”

Unable to think of a reply, Kristina just stared at Eugene with blank eyes.

Eugene assured her, “Also, even if you had told me your reasons for inviting me at the start, and I refused to go with you, it really wouldn’t have been such a big deal. What could they do if I said I didn’t want to? It’s just that the Cardinals might think of me as a rude bastard. As for everyone else, all they would think is that the noble Cardinals wanted to meet someone in person, only for that rude young man to throw away the opportunity by refusing.”

“…That’s…” Kristina tried to come up with an argument.

“That’s why I’m saying that you’re so tiresome,” Eugene said. “Coming with an excuse was just for your sake, not mine. If you tell them that you made a mistake, insulted me, and forced me to leave in the middle of our journey… you believe that you’ll be able to protect my position as the Hero while only your faults are exposed.”

Every once in a while, Kristina found it hard to believe that the young man sitting in front of her was actually three years younger than her.

“Is there really a need to prepare such an excuse for my sake? Why are you so worried about me meeting your adopted father? Do you think that Cardinal Rogeris is plotting to torture me and force me to give up the Holy Sword?” Eugene asked her.

“…Tha-that’s not it,” Kristina stammered. “There’s no way that would be the case, right? It’s just that I… personally, I can’t help but feel a little….”

“What is it?” Eugene prompted.

Kristina was visibly distressed, her expression twisted. Her trembling hands clutched her knees tightly.

“I’m afraid,” Kristina admitted.

“Of what?” Eugene asked.

“I’m worried that Cardinal Rogeris… might tell you… some unnecessary information about me,” Kristina slowly revealed.

What did she mean by that? Eugene blinked in shock, so surprised by Kristina’s answer that he forgot to even ask a follow-up question.

“…What… are you talking about stuff like… the fact that you wet your sheets when you were little?” Eugene cautiously asked.

“Of course not. Instead of that, what I’m worried and afraid of is that… Cardinal Rogeris might be trying to forcefully create and twist the bond that I’m trying to forge with you, Sir Eugene,” Kristina finally confessed.

“The bond that you want to build with me is the bond between the Hero and the Saint, right?”

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“Apart from that, what else is there?”

“In the end, isn’t the bond that Cardinal Rogeris wants to arrange for us the same sort of bond?”

“…I am the Saint. I’m also the one who should be forging a bond with the Hero, Sir Eugene. I first met with you due to a revelation from God, and that’s also how I became the Saint,” Kristina insisted.

Kristina herself didn’t fully understand what she was trying to say. The fear and disgust hidden in her subconscious were causing these confusing emotions. She just didn’t want Cardinal Rogeris and Eugene to meet. She didn’t want the bond between them to break because of that.

…But was that all? In the end, was it really just that Kristina didn’t want to disappoint Eugene? Kristina had been told stories about the Hero ever since she was a young girl. In the Church of Light, the Hero was called the Incarnation of Light, so wherever the Hero went, there would always be light.

Tressia Parish was the place that Kristina had lived after she had been adopted and left the monastery and until she had become the Auxiliary Bishop of Alcarte ten years ago. It seemed to be a peaceful and quiet place, as befitting of a parish governed by a Cardinal.

However, for Kristina, it was different. Through the revelation, she had felt the presence of her God. She had seen Eugene pull out the Holy Sword right in front of her. With that, she was convinced of the Hero’s existence.

That Hero… would be staying in Tressia Parish… while she was immersed in the Fount of Light.

“…I…” Kristina trailed off, unable to figure out what to say.

Due to the suspicions raised by Eugene, Kristina had carefully monitored the Cardinal’s activities and carefully looked around the parish whenever he had to come and go from the Vatican.

All of this had made Kristina feel a twisted sense of fulfillment, even though it was just a petty show of resistance. She had not really accomplished much, but she still felt satisfied by doing what little she had.

Even now, it was still the same. While preparing the excuse for Eugene, she had truly been hoping that he would get off at the next station. If Eugene really were to leave her, Cardinal Rogeris was sure to be disappointed in Kristina, and that would leave Kristina with a slight sense of satisfaction. Indeed, that was all it was. Kristina ignored the feelings that continued to bubble up in her subconscious.

“My apologies. It seems that my reason was clouded for a moment due to the strain of the duties that lie ahead of me. Please don’t worry about it any longer,” Kristina requested.

Mer glanced at Kristina’s face through the reflection in the window. It was obvious that Kristina’s condition was a bit strange. Though Eugene kept staring at Kristina with narrowed eyes, she refused to say anything further. As if to show that she didn’t want to take part in any more conversation, Kristina opened up the scripture book that she had set down earlier and resumed reading it.

“A bond, you say,” Eugene snorted and rested his chin in his hands. “Rather than a bond between the Hero and the Saint, I would prefer a bond between one person and another.”

“…,” Kristina remained silent.

Eugene continued, “Because such a bond is much deeper and more sincere.”

Vermouth had been the Hero to everyone else, but to Hamel, he was just the irritating Vermouth.

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Sienna had been an Archwizard, but to Hamel, she was just the violent, foul-mouthed Sienna.

Molon had been the Chief Warrior of the Bayar Tribe, but to Hamel, he was just the foolish Molon.

Anise had been the Saint, but to Hamel, she was just the alcoholic and treacherous-as-a-snake Anise.

They had all felt the same way towards Hamel as well. Dunce, son of a bitch, idiot, and several other adjectives on top of that, but in the end, he was just Hamel.

The bond that had connected those five people three hundred years ago was precisely such a bond.

Eugene — no, Hamel was sure of that.

* * *

The train arrived at Tressia Parish just as night was falling.

Although it was nighttime and the skies were dark, the street was illuminated. Eugene had already started to notice this before they had even arrived, as he had spotted the city through the window while they were still far away, but… this city really had far too many lights. As most of the buildings were white, the light from the street lamps on every street felt even brighter.

“They sure went overboard with the reception,” Eugene snorted as he looked out the window.

Kristina couldn’t even bring herself to smile. With a stiff face, she also looked out the window. Wearing a black shako and red robes, along with a red vest, the Inquisitors of the Maleficarum — the only ones who were allowed to dress this way in Yuras — were waiting on the platform.

These Inquisitors weren’t the only ones that had shown up. In contrast to the Maleficarum, there were also Paladins dressed in pure white uniforms, with a red cross dividing their uniform into two symmetrical sides. These were the Knights of the Blood Cross, who served directly beneath the Holy See.

Elites from the two most powerful organizations in all of Yuras were waiting at the station to greet them.

The train eventually came to a complete stop. Soon the door opened. One by one, the Inquisitors and Knights who had been charged with this task boarded the train.

Eugene began speaking, “I’m just telling you this in advance….”

The sound of the approaching footsteps drew closer. Eugene turned his head to look down the aisle and crossed his legs.

“…but if you make that grinding sound, just know that I’ll beat you up,” Eugene finished warning one of the Inquisitors.

Beneath the black shako, the Inquisitor’s hair was trimmed in a neat bob cut that framed their metal mask perfectly.

Hemoria’s red eyes narrowed as she glared at Eugene.