Shaking her head, Krähe forced herself to forget the slideshow of bitter memories that flashed through her mind. Then she turned her pleading gaze to the Elfuur Sisters.
“You are now a follower of Ira who has turned from the holy teachings of Arlos. A fallen clergywoman, who stands before us as a Paladin of Ira. Just because you became a citizen of Mynoghra does not mean you have completely changed on the inside. As somebody who knows the people of this land well, we desperately need your assistance, Miss Krähe,” Caria argued.
“And you might see the Scribe girl again if you’re here too,” Maria added.
“Nerim…”
Vittorio vanished from Krähe’s thoughts, and in his place came the image of a precious girl, smiling faintly. Krähe had turned her back on Arlos to save that girl. All she did, she did for her. That was Krähe’s sole purpose for being here.
“She is truly a kind and gentle soul. What should I do to save her?”
It was unusual for Krähe, someone who was often criticized for being overly strict and domineering, to seek help from others or reveal her weaknesses. She could sense herself becoming more emotional since joining Mynoghra. Her lament just now was a manifestation of that. She’d heard that the twins had also lost someone dear to them recently and hoped they might have the answer.
And they did have an answer.
“The civilization invited to heaven will live forever with ultimate happiness and unlimited peace…”
“What does that mean?” Krähe asked.
“There they will not experience hardship or pain, the dead will revive, loved ones will be reunited, and all will share in their happiness together…”
Krähe couldn’t resist intently listening to Caria’s sonorous recitation. It sounded like a poem of some sort, but not one Krähe knew. There was something about those words that powerfully drew her in.
“His Majesty said that there is a real heaven and that if you go there, you will meet those you have lost.”
Krähe sucked in a breath.
She finally saw a path to save Saint Nerim.
Krähe had met the King of Ruin once already. She hadn’t forgotten the awe she felt in his presence. Nor the primal fear and reverence she felt toward his empyreal being. Just as a tiny insect cannot fathom the full extent of a Titan, a tiny human cannot fathom the King of Ruin.
Feeling like her heart was gripped in a vise, she came to understand one thing: she was standing before a true god.
And that god declared there was a heaven.
Unlike the Holy God Arlos, who only took and gave nothing in return to Krähe, the King of Ruin was a mighty being who extended a helping hand.
Krähe’s heart sped up and her cheeks flushed crimson with her mounting excitement.
“Even without this heaven business, His Majesty is almighty. You might not have to wait too long before you can be friends with the Scribe girl again, you know?” Caria said.
Do you truly believe that? Krähe didn’t give voice to her question. She thought it was foolish to even utter it aloud. As someone who had glimpsed the King of Ruin’s power, she could now accept Caria’s statement as fact.
“But there’s a problem,” Caria shared.
“What problem?”
Krähe’s heart lurched. What in the realm could the problem be? What could possibly be standing in the way of that precious child living in a safe and peaceful world?
Emotions Krähe barely noticed existed deep within her began to bubble to the surface. Now that she was a citizen of Mynoghra, anger was one of the driving forces that compelled her.
Hurry and tell me. I’ll purge the problem with my sword right now.
Caria staidly spoke the answer to Krähe’s darkening thoughts, “We are still far too weak.”
Her words doused the flames of wrath burning within Krähe. A feeling of helplessness suddenly engulfed her, but she took a deep breath to suppress it.
Caria was referring to herself, Maria, and Krähe.
If I had been stronger, would the outcome have changed? While they had never spoken of it with each other, all three of these young women shared that same tortuous thought. It was a different time and person they had wanted to save, but they still shared in the despair of having lost someone dear to them. And in the desire for more power. It was through this shared feeling of loss that the twin sisters opened up to Krähe, and it was this that led her to trust them too.
Weakness is a sin.
Each of them had tasted the bitterness of committing this sin and needed to overcome it no matter the cost. And there was a path to overcome it, even if the road there was fraught and tenuous.
“Miss Krähe, you can use Holy Sword Artes, right?” Caria asked.
“Yes, I can. The position of Inquisitor was only available to me once I had my qualifications as a Paladin. I have all the skills required.”
“And what about the art of fighting and weapon handling?”
“Not even a question. I am trained in the art of fighting both the human and inhuman… And I even have skillsets I have been sworn to secrecy about.”
Inquisitors master a diverse set of skills. Many of the skills fell more under the domain of the Paladins, but Krähe had even mastered a variety of techniques an average Mesial or Under Paladin couldn’t even dream of competing against.
“Oooh, awesomeness!” Maria chirped.
“Now that sounds promising, Big Sista!” Caria exclaimed.
“What does?” Krähe asked, though she had a rough idea of what the twins were after.
They wanted to make up for their lack of experience with skill.
When Saint Nerim offered her memories to the Holy God and faced Vittorio, Krähe had an opportunity to closely watch how the Elfuur Sisters fought when they joined the fray. If she were to describe their fighting style in a single word, it would be amateur.
Yes, they were physically more formidable than any mortal. But their moves lacked refinement, and Krähe had the strong impression they fought relying solely on their strength to get them through. Of course, even with that impression, Krähe was absolutely positive she could never defeat them, so they were clearly powerful despite their lack of experience.
It was just that Scribe Saint Nerim was leaps and bounds beyond that.
The twins stood no chance as they were.
And that was exactly why they saw a sliver of hope in learning new skills. Krähe was convinced it was a reasonable approach as well. Even so, there were a handful of problems with it. While she painfully understood the desire to gain more power, Krähe hadn’t forgotten the tenuous position they were in.
“But haven’t the two of you been appointed as Seldoch’s Overseers? It’s wrong to neglect your duties.”
Yes, before all else came work. Work first, self after.
It might have something to do with Krähe’s stickler personality, but it felt wrong to neglect the work she was given to pursue power. It made more sense to her to complete one’s work first and then use one’s free time to train.
But before she could lecture them, the twins devised a clever plan to counter her rebuttal.
“No worries. That is what you are for, Miss Krähe,” Caria said.
“Birds of a feather, flock together,” Maria said.
So, this was their objective, Krähe thought, her brow knitting together. But she couldn’t bring herself to get angry at such young girls. When she was still a Qualian, she might’ve lashed out at them out of her discrimination against Dark Elves, but she was now a bona fide citizen of Mynoghra.
The moment she met with Takuto Ira, the King of Ruin, and was accepted as a citizen, all prejudice against other races had vanished. So, to Krähe, the people before her now were nothing more than difficult younger superiors to deal with. She began to sense that they were exploiting her inability to object harshly to them.
“Oh, since we’ve got the opportunity, why don’t we teach the Paladins of Ira the Mynoghra way?” Caria suggested. “They could be excellent opponents in mock battles. And so would you, Miss Krähe.”
“Time to get Spartan on them! No mercy!” Maria cheered.
The girls cleared the obstacles standing in their way once again.
As someone who’d already fallen to the temptation of power, Krähe was thrilled at the prospect of being able to reach deeper into its depths to obtain more. Besides, making the Paladins of Ira more powerful would directly aid in Mynoghra’s growth and prosperity. And that would serve as a foundation bridging them to the heavens they sought.
Krähe no longer had a reason to refuse.
“And so, we mustest grow stronger. Stronger than anyone or anything. So that we never lose what matters again. And in order to do that, let’s work our hardest together,” Caria said.
“Let’s do our bestest together,” Maria echoed.
The twins invited her with the same bright, innocent voices.
“I-I will help you to the best of my meager ability…”
Krähe no longer had any option but to accept their invitation with a nod.