Tears trickled down her cheeks as she said her final farewell to her beloved. It may have been a simple ceremony, but it had been one nonetheless.
On closer inspection, Aldia’s crown prince, the children of nobles, two divine beasts, the queen and princess of Relirex, and Kairomea’s Philomath Dragon, chief librarian, and her assistant were all in attendance. It was an impressive gathering of high-ranked officials, and bystanders would’ve surely gasped with awe.
“And now it’s all over,” I said with relief.
“Not quite,” Magiluka replied.
I turned to her with surprise. “U-Uh, what do you mean by that? Is there still something left?” I looked around with panic.
“Lady Mary, didn’t you come here because you wanted to do a report on the Argent Knight?”
“Oh, yeah... Now that you mention it...”
I clapped my hands together with realization—this had all started because I was searching for a report theme. It was a sorrowful tale with nothing glamorous about it, not really one I wanted to pass on to future generations. At the same time, I did want the world to know the story of Agard, the kindhearted young man.
As I was mulling over what I should do, Noa, seeming to have sorted through her feelings, returned to my side.
“Since Noa needs to be on Xeoral for a while, maybe I’ll stay too and do some research,” I said.
“That sounds like a lovely idea! ♪” Magiluka said.
“I won’t be much help, but I’ll lend you a hand! ♪” Sita added.
These two ladies immediately jumped at the chance to join me. I knew that Magiluka knew when to hold herself back, but the same couldn’t be said for Sita and Orthoaguina. I can’t have them causing any more trouble. I need to keep them under strict surveillance.
“You’ll stay here?” Noa asked, surprised.
“Huh? Of course,” I replied. “We’re going back home together, right? I think mother and father are eagerly awaiting the return of my adorable younger sister.”
Noa must’ve assumed that she’d be all by herself on Xeoral—she looked stunned for a moment before her face turned red and she turned toward the ground with embarrassment.
“Huh? Did I have it all wrong?” I asked, not expecting her reaction.
“No, not one bit,” Noa replied. “Thank you, big sister.” When she looked up at me and smiled, she looked cuter than anything I’d ever seen.
✦ ✦ ✦
According to tradition, the first place God ever deigned to alight upon the world was at the sacred mountain. The site of this miracle became home to a religious district, a settlement replete with majestic chapels and churches interspersed throughout its countless abodes.
At the apex of this mountain lay the the most sacred church of all, a holy ground upon which only the chosen few would ever be permitted to tread. Presently, one such young man was traversing the church’s grand, vacant halls, his heavy footsteps a striking disruption to the tranquil silence...until, at long last, he had reached a chamber in the church’s inner depths. He proceeded to kneel at the foot of the figure seated there reading a book.
“We’ve received one final message from Xeoral...” the young man reported.
The seated figure twitched, stopped reading, and slowly looked up. “Did he die?”
“He did.”
“That was the only successful replica we could produce to enable research in Xeoral to continue... Bah. None of that research has borne any fruit, so I suppose it’s a trifling loss.”
The young man continued to genuflect as his superior mused.
“And what does the message say?” the seated figure asked.
“Vessel found: Argent Holy Woman,” the young man reported.
“The Argent Holy Woman?”
“Our intelligence bears no record of such a moniker—however, even were we to identify a target, given the heavy losses the Annihilation Corps has suffered, they would not yet be prepared to mobilize.”
“How fare your fellow cardinals?”
“The surveillance of Aldia, the establishment of a beachhead in Relirex, and the invasion of Kairomea have all ended in complete failure.”
“Useless, the lot of you.”
“You have my sincerest apologies, Your Grace. However, one piece of useful information has emerged: The Aldian royal family has had a hand in the dismantling of each of these operations.”
“Aldia, you say... Hmph, they’ve always been such a thorn in my side.”
The young man silently awaited orders.
“Very well,” the seated figure replied. “Find this so-called vessel. I could ask for nothing more.”
“As you will it, Your Grace,” the young man replied. He then swiftly left the church to begin fulfilling the pope’s ambition—it was his duty as a cardinal of the Einholst Papacy, the small nation on the sacred mountain.