Chapter 42

1 Regardless of what had transpired, Ix still had a job to do. He and Shuno went to the monastery the following day, but he couldn’t focus on his work at all. He noticed that his hands had stopped moving, and he’d lapsed completely into thought. It was the first time something like that had ever happened to him. He hadn’t been able to do anything at that dinner. Of course he couldn’t. Considering his low social standing, it wasn’t his place to say anything. But even if he had been a participant in the debates, he would have kept his mouth shut. Ix hadn’t known about Yuui. He hadn’t tried to find out her secret. His only interest was in wands; he didn’t care about his clients’ situations, so long as he could keep crafting… Ultimately, he’d only been able to watch as she was put in danger, then slink back to the monastery to make wands again, like he was running away. He wondered what would happen to her. Unfamiliar with the scriptures as he was, Ix did know it was a grave sin to claim you were a god. If they took Yuui to trial for this, she would lose an arm at best. Typically, this sort of crime led to a death sentence. Chills ran through his entire body as he considered the possibility. Would she be executed? Was that why they had brought her here? Had they tempted her with the prospect of returning to Lukutta only to lead her to the gallows? “Can I help you with anything?” asked Beter. His face was half-visible as he peered in from the doorway. He was smiling cheerfully. He was blissfully unaware of the meetings in the city and the underground passage. Seyoh had given him a random explanation as to why Ix and Shuno had gone missing. “No, I’m okay,” said Shuno. “Ix?” Beter looked at him, his head tilted. His table, which would normally be covered in wood shavings by now, was still clean. Ix almost said nothing was wrong but stopped before he could get the words out. Instead, he brought a hand to his mouth and asked, “Can you…bring the three monks here? The ones I’m making staffs for?” “Of course, I don’t mind at all, but…” Beter blinked, not understanding the reason for his request. “Is there an issue?” “No, there’s not. I just kind of want to talk to them.” “Okay! I’ll get them right away.” For some reason, Beter’s smile glowed even brighter, and he left the room. Ix wasn’t exactly sure why he’d asked this all of a sudden. But he wasn’t going to get any work done today, so he honestly just sort of wanted to hear what his clients had to say. The first monk came quickly to the room. He’d been in the middle of work, so his clothes were dusty. “Is there a problem?” he asked, furrowing his brows with anxiety. “It’s not that important.” Ix shook his head. “Could you take a seat?” He looked at the monk as he sat down across from him. Ix had gotten into a bit of an argument with him about woodwork on the first day of the job. “…I’m sorry about before,” said Ix, running fingers across his wandmaking tools. “Huh?” The monk’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “I complained about the treatment on your wood, even though you did your best to research and work it. That was impolite of me.” “O-oh…” The man looked taken aback, his mouth agape. “No, don’t be sorry. It was my fault for doing too much without a strong grasp of the fundamentals. Um, is that what you wanted to talk about?” “No… Let’s chat a bit more.” Despite Ix’s insistence, he didn’t have any specific questions to ask. They spoke about the staff a bit more. “Honestly, I know how inconvenient this assignment is,” said the monk at some point during the conversation. “What do you mean?” “I know how much staffs normally cost. The monastery isn’t rich, so I’m sure you’re not getting compensated enough. I bet you don’t often make staffs for regular people like me.” “Well…” Ix brought a hand to his mouth. “The first staff I ever made was for a kid from a regular family; they weren’t nobility or anything.” “That’s amazing. And did it cost about as much as usual?” “Uh…yeah.” Ix didn’t mention that the order had been canceled due to some special circumstances. They quickly ran out of things to chat about, so Ix told the monk he was free to go. “Sorry for interrupting your work; you can head back,” he said. “Ah, okay…,” replied the monk. He walked toward the door but then spun on his heel to face Ix again. “Um, thank you,” he said with a deep bow. “Huh?” “I’m going to keep working hard to become someone deserving of the staffs you make.” Ix couldn’t figure out what to say in response, so he just nodded and vaguely said, “Okay.” The monk smiled and left the room. After that, Ix talked to his other two clients. He didn’t apologize to either of them, but oddly enough, they both thanked him before they left. Ix had no idea why. It actually made him feel uncomfortable. He hadn’t done anything to deserve their gratitude. Time passed like that until noon came. Just as Ix started to head off toward the cafeteria with Shuno, Coaku suddenly called out to him. “Ah, Ix, could you stay behind for a moment?” he asked. “Sure, I don’t mind…” Ix told Shuno to go on ahead. Coaku offered him a seat in front of the fire, which he accepted. He gazed at the old man’s face, wondering what he could want. The flames reflected off the old man’s glasses, behind which he stared at Ix with narrowed eyes. “It’s good artey, isn’t it?” said Coaku. “It’s particularly high quality this year.” “Huh? …Oh, yeah. The components are great.” Ix was surprised for a moment but nodded. “Coaku, do you use the artey from here, too?” “I would love to use some, but those trees belong to the monastery.” He smiled sadly. “But the wood makes a good sound. And your shavings are smooth. Thanks to all the work you two put in, they’ll make for great staffs.” “…You saw our unfinished catalysts? When?” asked Ix with a frown. “I haven’t examined them. I planned on speaking up if there was an issue, but I have no doubts about either of your skills. A glance was enough to tell me as much. That’s let me relax here.” Ix couldn’t tell if Coaku really meant that or if he was just saying things while half-asleep. When they first met, they’d only exchanged a few words and a handshake, yet now the craftsman was implying that was all it had taken to evaluate Ix’s skills. That didn’t seem realistic. “…Did you want something?” asked Ix, ignoring the other questions he had for the wandmaker. “Sorry, I’ve gotten into the habit of prattling on as I’ve gotten older.” Coaku brought a hand to his forehead. “I just wanted to tell you that you pass.” “Huh?” Ix stared hard at Coaku’s face. What was this all about? But it wasn’t just Ix who seemed to think this was strange. Coaku also scratched his head, looking befuddled. “What do you mean, ‘Huh?’…?” He adjusted his glasses and tilted his head. “Perhaps you didn’t hear.” “I heard you the first time, but what are you talking about? What did I pass?” “I approve of your registration as a craftsman.” “…What?” Ix blinked several times. This was either the cruelest joke ever, or he’d misheard. But Coaku didn’t correct his last statement and simply said, “How odd. The Guild should have told you that this assignment doubles as an exam.” “Hold on a second.” Ix turned his face to the side and held up a hand. “I don’t understand… Shuno’s the one being tested here.” “Of course they are.” Coaku nodded. “I decided they passed on the very first day. I haven’t told them as much, though.” “Passed…? What are you judging if you haven’t seen the finished product?” “I already told you that you have plenty of skill.” He smiled. “There are all sorts of craftsmen. The ones who follow their own ideals, the ones who pursue money, they can do whatever they like. The important thing is to know what you’re after. That’s the only thing about you that I was uncertain about… But after seeing you today, I realized that wouldn’t be a problem.” “Now I’m even more confused,” said Ix, staring at the ground. “Today I was less steady than I’ve ever been.” “That’s why. You seemed lost, but you’ll probably be fine like that. Because up until now, you’ve just been drifting.” Ix had no idea what Coaku was saying. He was being contradictory. Besides, there were more conditions required to become a craftsman than just passing the Guild exam. “A shop… Yeah, I’m completely hopeless when it comes to having a shop,” said Ix, raising his head. “You need one to be a craftsman, right?” “Which is why I told you I’d give you mine, but it seems you didn’t hear that, either.” “Give your store…? To me?” Impossible. Ix shook his head over and over. He couldn’t believe this stroke of good fortune would just fall into his lap. There had to be a mistake. Or maybe it was a trick. “If you’re saying that,” said Coaku with a sad smile, “does that mean you don’t want to be a craftsman?” “N-no, that’s not it. It’s just…” Ix been aiming to complete his registration as a craftsman for ages. But he hadn’t been emotionally prepared for this revelation, so the first emotion to come to him was confusion, not happiness. Seeing Ix’s flustered state, Coaku lowered his brows in uncertainty. “Well, let’s just leave it at that for now,” he said as he got up. The craftsman leaned on his cane and bent his knees. “It seems like a good idea to give you some time before I ask for your final decision. We’ll both be here for the winter regardless. Take some time to mull it over.” “O-okay.” “To be honest, I would really like to leave my shop in your hands. You apprenticed under a good friend of mine and are a promising craftsman in the making. If there’s anything you’re unhappy with, or if you have any conditions about our arrangement, please let me know. I’ll do my best to accommodate them.” “Yeah…,” said Ix, though he was no longer in a state where he could think about anything. He had no idea how to react to this reality. But just before Coaku left the room, Ix remembered something he’d forgotten to ask. “Earlier…,” he started. “Yes, what is it?” asked the old man as he stopped and turned his face only to look back. “You said you contacted me earlier, right?” “I did.” “Who did you send the letter to? Morna? Or maybe Layumatah?” When Ix asked, Coaku only looked more confused and said, “They should be in town. Have you not met them?” “You can’t mean…” “Rolphie and Hemsley. I sent them numerous exchanges. I thought that was the reason they were in Estosha…” 2 Ix grabbed his lunch and went out of the cafeteria to find Shuno sitting in their usual spot. They were sitting in front of the pure-white landscape, silently moving the food around their half-empty plate. “Hey, what did Coaku want to talk to you about?” asked Shuno as Ix sat down next to them. “He wasn’t lecturing you…was he? He seemed so nice before.” “No… I’ll tell you about it later. I need some time to sort things out first.” “O-oh? Are you okay? You can always talk to me if you need advice.” “Yeah.” Shuno glanced sideways at Ix several times. Though Ix noticed this, he just didn’t know what to say to his friend. For a while, they ate in silence. A light snow fell to the ground, and a few flakes even landed on the back of Ix’s hands. They melted away immediately, as though they were never there in the first place. “You’ve been like this ever since yesterday,” muttered Shuno. “Something happened when I left the room. Tell me about it.” “…Someone I know is sort of…” “…You can’t seriously think that explanation’s gonna cut it. Someone you know is sort of what?” “Sort of in danger of getting killed.” “Th-that’s pretty serious!” Shuno looked around. They were all alone, of course. “A-and? When?” “What do you mean, ‘When?’” “When are you going to go save them?” Their quick response left Ix silent. He couldn’t change the fact that Shuno could never truly understand. No matter how much Ix wanted to save Yuui, they were up against powerful opponents. They must have concocted an elaborate scheme to set her up like that. There was nothing a mere apprentice could do to stop them. He couldn’t even get into the meetings. But if Ix explained everything to Shuno, he would get them involved, too. Just as he was concluded that it would be best to gloss over the issue and push it aside, his friend spoke up. “You’ve already thought of a way to save them, haven’t you, Ix?” “What makes you say that?” “You’re not the type to show stuff on your face, but I can see that much right now. We’re good friends, after all. And because we’re so close, I can tell that you don’t know if you should go through with this, right? But this is exactly the kind of situation where I step in as your senior. So lay it on me! What do you need advice about?” “Advice…?” “I told you, didn’t I? That you shouldn’t hesitate to rely on me if you’re in trouble,” said Shuno, smiling proudly as they thumped their chest. There was something encouraging about their face at that moment. Nevertheless, Ix stared at the ground through the space between his knees for a while. A thin layer of snow settled on the back of his head before he finally looked up. “…I would be betraying someone I owe if I go through with my plan.” “Someone you owe? Are you saying it’ll hurt them?” “No, that’s not it. This person is no longer with us. But…they’re very precious to both the person I know and me. And this will disgrace them.” “Hmm…” Shuno looked up at the sky. “This might be a flippant opinion, but isn’t the life of someone who still draws breath more important than the honor of someone who’s dead?” “……” “Wow, this is quite the trifling conundrum you’ve got. How very you,” said Shuno with a sigh. “…I told you before I was planning on taking up the family business, right?” “What’s this about?” asked Ix in surprise as he looked sideways at Shuno. “Nothing, really.” They smiled wide. “Just…thought I’d distract you with a story. It’s about the blast powder from yesterday. You’ve never heard of blast wands before, have you?” Ix shook his head, and Shuno grinned like they’d thought as much. “They’ve been around for a long time, blast wands. My family’s made them for generations. That’s our trade, essentially,” said Shuno. “You were next to me yesterday when I spoke, so you probably know already, but there’s this substance called blast powder. It burns violently when you expose it to fire. If you get a lot together and apply pressure to it, the resulting explosion will be even larger. Depending on how you do it, you can wield some serious destructive force with the stuff. This has absolutely nothing to do with magic, by the way. Blast powder produces the same force regardless of who lights it. Blast wands were a type of weapon that used blast powder.” “I’ve never heard of them.” “They were deadly weapons back in the day. My dad and his dad were experts in the field. Blast wandmakers were pretty much the only ones who knew how to make them and how to produce the powder for them, plus the only people who understood its effects. They were valued by their countries and treated pretty well, so enemy nations couldn’t get them to betray their homelands. That was all until Rednoff invented man-made wands.” “Then the reason your family’s business went bad…” “Was because of magic wands. The business was already about to go under back when I was born.” “I don’t want to interrupt, but did demand for blast wands really get that low?” asked Ix, his head cocked. “It sounds to me like they were pretty effective, with no difference in strength between users. Wouldn’t people use them alongside magic wands for different things?” “About that. Blast powder’s super difficult to synthesize. You produce it by combining a few different substances together, but one of them is incredibly difficult to get ahold of. Difficult enough that you need the support of a nation to do it.” Shuno sighed. “Unfortunately, that support dried up. Besides, the stuff just makes explosions… It can only be used for violence. But magic wands can be used over and over so long as the user has mana left, and they can do all sorts of things. Compared to that, blast wands are nothing. The kingdom went all in on fostering magic wandmakers, exacerbating the transition away from blast wands…” “But you became an apprentice wandmaker.” “I wanted to learn about them. I wanted to get to know these magic wands that everyone talked so much about. Mom and Dad insisted I was betraying the family… But to me, it was plain as day which was the better of the two. I thought, Ah, so this is why blast wands are going away, and wanted to laugh. Ever since, I’ve been working to improve my craftsmanship. “But you know. I was a bit happy to hear that conversation yesterday. Blast powder was useful for something, even if it was just digging that tunnel below the city. I’m not obsessed with blast wands or anything; I’m entirely focused on magic wands now. But…I dunno. So… Uh, what am I actually trying to say?” “I thought you just wanted to distract me?” “Well, there was that…” Shuno crossed their arms and grimaced. “Oh, that was it. Here’s the rub: your senior betrayed their living family. So you shouldn’t care about being disloyal to someone who’s dead. Or maybe you should care a little… Anyway, maybe it would be best for me to say you should just look the other way this time? When it comes down to it, I’ll be with you in front of their grave apologizing.” “What the hell was that?” Not even Ix could hold back a laugh of surprise at how contrived Shuno’s explanation was. But at the same time, he felt some of the tension slip away. Seriously… What am I hesitating for? he thought. He didn’t have the sheer goodness that Yuui did, but he should at least be able to take on this much responsibility. 3 The pair moved away so no one would overhear them. They left the monastery behind and slipped into the artey forest that surrounded it. The branches drooped under the weight of the white snow settled on the dark-green pine needles. Every once in a while, a branch near breaking would bend lower and shudder like a beast shivering, causing the snow to slough off. “This is a nice forest,” remarked Shuno. “Yeah,” replied Ix. The trees were growing at regular intervals, and they had been trimmed of extraneous limbs. You could tell humans had carefully crafted this place. Ix suddenly recalled the mountain he’d grown up on, though the trees there were completely unsuited to wands, unlike the ones here. As he reflected on that, he felt a very strange sensation. Why was he here? Why was a child who’d been abandoned on a winter’s day now walking across the snow in this far-off place? Ix told Shuno about his plan, though there wasn’t really anything he needed from them. After that, he decided to ask more about blast wands. He suspected Shuno’s knack for crafting had come from his familiarity with this older style of wand. Perhaps certain theories applicable to blast wands and weapons that used blast powder were also relevant to magic wandmaking. Maybe Shuno had limitless ideas about crafting because they’d entered the field as an outsider, so they weren’t constrained by its conventional wisdom. “Well, blast wands are a weapon that…,” said Shuno, speaking with their hands as much as their words. “You produce an explosion in a very sturdy tube, and the reaction shoots out a rock or something…” “Reaction? “It’s a secondary effect, yeah?” It was a strange weapon, this wand that needed an explosive reaction to shoot something. In a magic catalyst, that would be considered a secondary effect. It seemed like blast wands weren’t able to shoot out explosive force itself. What exactly did they look like? At that point, his thoughts caught on something in the back of his mind. Reaction…? Shooting something out with a reaction? He stopped in his tracks. “Shuno…” “What’s wrong?” they asked after walking a couple of steps past Ix. “Have you ever tried to make a magic wand using blast wand structures?” “Bit and pieces, yeah… Which part are you talking about?” “The ‘shooting something out using a reaction’ part. Couldn’t you accomplish the same thing with mana?” “Ah… Well,” began Shuno with a wry smile, “yeah, I’ve thought about it. I’ve put together different types of wood. One stick in the middle, with another around it to make the reactive force. But it doesn’t work, and you’d probably arrive at that conclusion yourself if you ran the calculations. The wand isn’t sturdy enough. It breaks if you try to output more magic power than it can handle. It wouldn’t pan out.” “Oh, right…” Though Ix nodded along with Shuno’s explanation, internally, he was confused. No—Shuno was wrong. What were they even saying? Ix knew the wood wouldn’t withstand the blast. But that was only an issue if you were outputting the maximum amount of force. You could put a limiter in the wand to avoid that. Why hadn’t Shuno realized that? No, that wasn’t the question… It wasn’t just Shuno. This was an incredibly simple structure. Anyone could come up with it. It absolutely was not difficult from a technical perspective. People could have implemented it perfectly well a hundred years ago. And yet… Shuno, Ix’s fellow apprentices, and all the wandmakers in the world… Had his own master not even thought of it…? Ix brought a hand to his mouth. He was shaking. If his master had thought of it, he would have tried making it at least once. But he didn’t even do that, despite being so close. Which meant he really hadn’t thought of it. Ix wondered why not but then shook his head. Why not? The reason was obvious: Because all wandmakers sought the ultimate wand, their ideal catalyst. Oh… That’s why. That’s why the wand underground was the ultimate wand. Compared to something like that… But that was it, wasn’t it? Use a magic reaction and put in something to limit the force. You wouldn’t need the fine skills of a craftsman or a careful selection of materials to produce it. You could make large quantities of identical wands. You could make an infinite number of catalysts, devoid of special characteristics. Craftsmen would find no value in trying to make something like that. It was worthless. Or was it? Was it truly worthless? You could put that kind of wand in the hands of lots of people for cheap. Did that really have no value? Was Ix the only one who considered that valuable? Possibly… Probably. There was only a single person in the entire world who saw the worth in a wand like that. Only a person without magic could understand it. If he’d known how powerful magic was, he would have sought only to amplify its power further. That’s why everyone had considered the idea of a wand that could be mass-produced but had never tried to actualize it. It was an idea any other craftsman would subconsciously dismiss. The tips of Ix’s fingers grew cold. His excitement was drawing the blood from his extremities. “Ix!” That voice brought him back to reality. Shuno was staring, their face right up to his. “What’s wrong?” asked Ix. “What’s wrong…? That’s what I should be saying. What’s wrong with you? I thought you’d lost consciousness with your eyes still open or something.” “Oh, really?” he asked vaguely with a nod. Shuno gave him an anxious look. “Are you sure you’re all right?” “I’m fine… I’m fine.” “Maybe you should take the afternoon off from work. Did you get enough sleep?” “No, that’s not it. I just…” “Just…?” repeated Shuno. “Just…” Just what? Just thought…of what? “I just remembered something. The esne forest on the mountain I grew up on.” A type of wood that repelled mana. 4 They treated Yuui no differently after the incident. She stayed in the same room as always, and she had her meals brought to her. But now, she wasn’t allowed out of her room, and Nova didn’t come visit. Yuui hadn’t the faintest idea about what was going on outside her room or what the next conference would hold in store. She passed a day doing nothing but gazing out the window. Those days continued. And then before she knew it, the time came. Heaven’s Worship. The day of the meeting where she would be tried. Unlike every other time she’d attended, Yuui was the first person in the hall. The furniture had been rearranged from how it had been the night of the dinner to its typical setup, with chairs scattered throughout the darkened chamber. But there wasn’t a seat for her. Instead, she was made to stand beside the wall. She watched the participants trickle in one by one. As they entered, they would glance in her direction for a brief moment, then look away. Quite a few had arrived already, but no one was doing any chatting. Mellay’s arrival produced a slight murmur, but otherwise the participants kept their mouths shut tight. Eventually, Seyoh opened the door and entered. He walked to the small table in the center of the hall. The scribe took out their writing utensils and placed their left hand on the paper. “The 934th meeting will now come to order,” Seyoh announced gravely. “During our last conference, we decided that today’s debate would concern the distinction between magic beasts and humans. However, now that we are here, we find ourselves with another topic at hand. I believe this concern to be of great urgency for these meetings and, as such, would like to discuss placing it at a higher priority. Please raise your hand if you have any questions or disagreements.” Seyoh swept his eyes slowly across the faces of the participants, but no one raised their hand. “Agreed?” he said, this time scanning the entire chamber. “The debate participants unanimously agree to change this meeting’s topic. Before we begin, I would like to announce that while I did invite Misters Rolphie and Hemsley to attend, they were unable to do so because of an urgent matter that arose.” No one voiced the suspicion that their absence had been planned from the very beginning. “Now then, we will discuss how to handle easterners who claim to be descended from a god. Please raise your hand if you wish to voice an opinion.” This time, two or three people shot their hands up immediately. The debate played out as Yuui had imagined it might. Except now there wasn’t anyone guiding it. It was running its natural course. First, the participants confirmed the severity of the sin that claiming to be a god was in Marayism. Next, they accused Yuui of misrepresenting God by claiming to be a deity. The conversation was well laid out and proceeded without issue. They were about to declare her guilty, with airtight logic at that. Just as the debate was entering its final phase, there came a quiet knock at the door. Seyoh, who had been in the middle of a sentence, stopped speaking and turned in the direction of the entrance. The servant standing in front of the door had a quiet conversation through it with whoever was on the other side, then hastily opened it. “Apologies for interrupting,” said a small elderly man as he entered. He was leaning against a cane. From behind his small spectacles, his eyes swept across the faces of each person in the room in turn. “Might you allow me to impose for a moment?” “Master Coaku?” said Seyoh as he strode quickly over to the old man’s side. Yuui had never heard Seyoh address someone more humbly. “What has brought you here so suddenly? I was under the impression you would be unable to attend today due to work…” “Well, that was the plan originally, but my schedule opened up,” responded the man in his gentle voice. “I appreciate your coming out of your way to visit us, but unfortunately…,” said Seyoh as he rubbed his hands together, “there has been a last-minute change of topic today. We were hoping to hear from wandmakers at the next meeting…” “Oh?” said Coaku as he shifted his cane to the other hand. “What topic is it, then?” “The crime of claiming to be God,” explained Seyoh shortly. “Ah, good.” Despite the last-minute change, Coaku smiled and nodded. “That’s the reason I came, actually.” “Uh…? You came to debate this matter as well, Master Coaku?” “Oh, no, not me. A wandmaker I know. Come in,” he said, directing the last part to someone outside the door before turning back toward the chamber. “I know this is highly unusual, but I hope you’ll forgive me. I had to give in when he gave me this condition.” “Condition?” asked Seyoh with a puzzled look. As they spoke, they heard footsteps approaching from outside the entrance, and a backlit person appeared behind Coaku. It was a man with gray hair and an uncongenial look on his face. He was immature, with many years yet ahead of him. Someone Yuui knew well. Ix… He passed Coaku and entered the hall. Without stopping, he walked to the center. Some of the participants must have realized he was the same man who’d gotten up at the dinner the other night. “Ix…?” said Seyoh as he rushed toward the apprentice wandmaker, his long hair flowing behind him. “What is going on? How do you know Master Coaku…?” “Sorry for doing this out of the blue. My name’s Ix. I’m a wandmaking apprentice. I came to Estosha to work on staffs at the monastery,” said Ix, completely ignoring everything else around him. The participants listened in utter disbelief. “I know this isn’t the kind of place someone like me should be. And I think I get what you’re all debating. It’s something theologians and clergy should be arguing over, not something a wandmaking apprentice should be sticking their nose into.” “So why are you here, then?” asked Mellay. Then she looked around, smiled, and asked, “Well, it can’t hurt to listen, can it?” The confusion gripping the room subsided, giving way to the feeling of a group of adults watching an excitable child. Mellay had deftly handled the crowd. Yuui couldn’t tell if Ix noticed that change in the atmosphere or not; he just kept talking in a flat tone. “The reason I had Coaku help me get in here to address you all is because I’ve noticed something that I can’t overlook as a believer living in the kingdom. And that…” His eyes darted to Yuui by the wall for a brief moment. “Has a lot to do with your current topic of debate. Sorry for asking this after I started talking, but I would like permission to speak. It won’t take long.” “I see now,” said Mellay in a voice mixed with laughter. “A youngster with a straightforward sense of justice is a treasure in any generation. How about it, everyone? I feel we should give him an opportunity to speak.” After she said that, there came murmurs of “That is fine” or “I agree.” The voices clearly resembled that of parents watching their child have a hissy fit. Mellay nodded back in response, then signaled Seyoh with her eyes. “Ah, well then, Ix.” With that glance, Seyoh seemed have wrested back control of the situation, as he returned to a tone even more polite than normal. “Please do speak. We would be happy to hear what you have to say.” “I appreciate it. But I didn’t come here to speak,” announced Ix with his arms crossed as he glared at the people around him. “I came to reveal a sin.” “Oh, and what is that?” asked Seyoh, his head tilted. “Misrepresenting God, of course.” “Ah, right now we are—” “I’m not talking about the girl standing by the wall.” This time, Ix didn’t look in Yuui’s direction. Instead, he locked his eyes on Mellay. “This misrepresentation of God is far more severe. I have come to lay it bare as a morally upright, devout believer.” “I see. That is quite a serious charge, if true.” Seyoh nodded slightly. “Then let me ask: Who have you come to expose for misrepresenting God?” Almost everyone in the room smiled as they waited for what was to come next. Ix passed his gaze over their faces, then said, “Everyone here.” 5 Ix’s voice filled the chamber, and it fell silent. It was now or never. “There is a story about the Chapel in this town. One where Rednoff, the inventor of man-made wands, stowed away in an underground room to complete the ultimate catalyst. Or so the legend goes.” Ix’s mouth kept moving as he thought through what he would say. “I get the impression it’s a famous story among people related to the Church. From where I sat at the end of the table, I even heard a few people bring it up at the dinner that night.” He glanced at the faces of the people around him. They were staring at him with confusion, or with anger, or as though he was weird. “The guests at the dinner came to a conclusion,” he said, looking back again to the vukodrak named Mellay. “They determined Rednoff locked himself below the Chapel because of his faith in Marayism. They arrived at this without any real proof, but that’s what was said. Am I getting that right?”