Chapter 3: Of Fates and Holy Knights

Chapter 3: Of Fates and Holy Knights

The magic battle expo entered its second day, which would see the remaining second round matches and the third round matches unfold. Sain, who’d already won his second match, was free to spend his morning doing some leisurely spectating as the second round wrapped up. He then ate a modest lunch, so as to avoid negatively impacting his performance later in the day. At one in the afternoon, the third round of matches commenced.

“It’s almost time,” announced Melia.

Alicia and Marni each offered some words of encouragement.

“Go show them what you’re made of, Sain.”

“...We’re rooting for you.”

“Right. Off I go then.”

He turned away from the three girls and made his way toward the lecture hall that served as a waiting room. With the conclusion of the second round, only the third round, semifinals, and grand finals remained. The dwindling pool of remaining contestants left the waiting room noticeably emptier than before, and Sain felt himself tense as he stepped in.

“Sir Sain.”

Hearing a voice behind him, he turned to find himself face to face with his next opponent, Yuria Eldis.

“I look forward to our match.”

She offered her hand. He took it with a grin.

“As do I.”

They shook hands in a display of mutual respect. It was an unspoken agreement to honor the spirit of competition and to each give it their all.

...Or so he thought, because for some reason, she didn’t let go, turning what was supposed to be a simple handshake into an awkwardly long period of mutual hand holding. He glanced at her and found her cheeks flushed and her eyes glassy.

“Uh... do you mind...”

“Huh?”

She looked at him and blinked a few times.

“Maybe letting go of my hand?”

“What? Oh! I didn’t— Oh my gosh! I’m sorry!”

Flustered by the realization of what she’d been doing, she quickly pulled her hand away in a panic before pointing at his face and declaring, “I... I won’t lose to you!”

Then, she spun on her heels and fled the scene, leaving him utterly baffled. She’d been acting strange ever since the field exercises concluded. It wasn’t that she was avoiding him, but every encounter between them felt like some sort of weird dance he didn’t know the steps to. Failing to decipher the meaning behind her actions, he ultimately shrugged and made his way toward the arena.

“Our contestants for the third match of the third round are Sain Fostess and Yuria Eldis!”

The commentator’s announcement was met with a roar of approval from the crowd. Inside the ring, Sain and Yuria stood facing each other.

“Contestants who’ve made it to the third round have been interviewed by the news club beforehand, so allow me to share a few tidbits.” The female commentator proceeded to read off a script containing material from the interviews. “When it comes to Sain Fostess, he’s someone who talks as big as he dreams, having proudly declared that his goal is to become the dark knight. His eccentric appearance has always been his defining feature, overshadowing any other strengths he might have had, but his steady progress through the brackets has surely shown that he’s not just all talk. However, he’s up against Yuria, who will undoubtedly be a formidable foe. His journey through the tournament may very well stop here.”

Younger children could be heard from the stands shouting their support with phrases like “Go go Darkness Dork!” The corners of Sain’s mouth twitched, unsure of whether they should curl up or down. The thought was nice, but the execution left much to be desired.

“As for Yuria Eldis, she’s the eldest daughter of Viscount Eldis, and her desire to avoid tarnishing her family’s reputation is surely pushing her to try for first place. According to the pre-match interview, she has no intention of underestimating Sain and is taking this match very seriously. What’s more surprising is that she apparently considered Sain a force to be reckoned with even before the magic battle expo started. According to her, she saw a glimpse of his true strength during the field exercises.”

That made him lift an eyebrow. He glanced at Yuria, who replied with a small smile. It was an earnest gesture, and he was glad to receive it.

I know I saw her as a worthy opponent, but it’s nice to know the feeling is mutual.

“Putting their comments side by side, it’s clear that both contestants see each other as a formidable foe.”

“They do indeed. It’s going to be a treat to discover what strategies they’ve prepared against each other.”

The commentators discussed the impending match with audible enthusiasm.

“Oh, on that note, I forgot to mention something...”

The sound of papers being flipped echoed throughout the ring.

“Apparently, Sain is officially dating his attendant, Melia.”

“Am not!” shouted Sain on pure reflex.

Clearly, his words had been misconstrued at some point. His hasty denial failed to convince the spectators. A barrage of increasingly loud and hostile remarks ensued, coming from a predominantly male segment of the crowd.

“You keep your hands off our angel, punk!”

“Go to hell!”

“Block off the exits! We’ll get that bastard when he comes out!”

Even from where he stood, Sain could see the burning rage in their jealous eyes as they stared daggers at him. The sheer intensity of their resentment made him break out in a cold sweat. Then, he heard a softer but equally unsettling voice from across the ring.

“...Huh?” For some reason, Yuria looked even more distraught than he did. Color drained from her face, leaving her eyes empty and lifeless. “Is that... true?”

“No, it’s no—”

“Let’s start the countdown!”

He was cut off by the announcement. With the countdown underway, he had to focus his thoughts on the task at hand. Yuria was no pushover. He couldn’t help but notice, however, that her expression grew darker and more furious with each passing second.

“Let the match begin!”

The commentator’s voice reached him almost at the same time as a bullet of solid earth.

“Whoa?!”

The surprise attack just narrowly missed hitting him as he ducked it in alarm, the motion causing him to stumble a few steps to the side. As he steadied himself, he braced for a follow-up attack, but it never came. Nervously, he peeked through his upheld arms at her.

“Unforgivable...” Shaking with rage, she fixed him with a teary glare. “I was looking forward to this match so much... But while I was spending all my time preparing, so I’d be a worthy opponent... You were busy flirting with your attendant!”

“What are you even talking about?!”

There had clearly been a terrible misunderstanding, but she didn’t give him any chance to explain.

“Crucible of swirling mud, swallow the sinking earth — Mud Grail! ”

She pressed her hands to the ground, and the earth below Sain suddenly liquefied. It was the same spell she’d used during the field exercises.

“If you’re not fully invested in this match, then you’ve got no chance of winning!”

He began to sink as the swamp underfoot threatened to swallow him whole, and he had to fight down a wave of panic, forcing himself to stay calm as he pointed an open palm downwards.

“If you think I’m not fully invested, then it’s you who has to think again!” he yelled, casting Darku Shot in the process.

A mass of jet black projectiles slammed into the swampy tendrils and ripped them off his legs, allowing him to escape.

If I’ve seen it, I can deal with it. I’ve got countermeasures prepared for every spell she used during the field exercises.

He’d always considered Yuria a formidable opponent, so as soon as the brackets had been posted, he’d been preparing for this eventuality. Before the battle expo even started, he’d already been wracking his brains on a daily basis trying to figure out how to beat her. If that wasn’t being fully invested, then he didn’t know what was.

“Mud Shot! ”

Lumps of mud flew at him in a scattershot pattern. He rushed to evade, but the mud still clinging to his shoes caused him to slip. Before he could get his feet back under him, heavy globs of fast-moving mud hit him in the shoulders, side, and shins.

“Ugh!”

He barely felt the impact, but what it lacked in pain, it made up for in immobilization. It was an approach to battle that was reminiscent of Melia. The mud — formed through compound magic of water and earth — clung to him, restricting his mobility.

“Grundia! ”

It was immediately followed up by a hard-hitting projectile to take advantage of his impairment. Compared to Melia, who used mist magic to obscure enemy vision and create openings for close range dagger strikes, Yuria’s approach differed in its implementation but was fundamentally identical in concept. He managed to extend his arm at the oncoming chunk of earth just in time to cast a spell.

“Dardia! ”

An orb of darkness collided with the earthen sphere. Unlike Yuria’s well-formed spell, his was hastily conjured and lacked the power to push hers back.

“I’m not going to lose like this!”

As the earthy boulder pushed through his orb, he quickly pulled out his sword and sliced at it. Weakened by its prior impact, the sphere was severed clean in two.

“So...” A soft utterance escaped Yuria’s lips as she watched the scene unfold, thoroughly mesmerized by Sain’s performance. “So dreamy...”

Her cheeks immediately flushed with color.

“...Say what?”

Sain gave her a perplexed look.

Is it just me, or did she just call me dreamy?

“Huh? What— Ah!” She gasped as though being jostled out of a dream. “You trickster! Stop trying to get in my head!”

“Say what ?” he said, bewildered by the fact that he seemed to have provoked her outrage by doing nothing at all. “Okay, there’s clearly some horrible misunderstanding here, so let me just straighten out the rec—”

“Shush, you despicable womanizer!”

“I’m— What?! I’m no womanizer!”

Paying no attention to his protest, she held out both hands in front of her.

“Great torrent of mud, swallow the fiends that tread the miry sea — Velle Swamp! ”

A massive mudslide roared into existence before Sain’s eyes. This wasn’t something he could just sidestep. With a grunt of effort, he broke into a sprint, committing Yuria’s position to memory before she disappeared behind the raging wave of earthly muck. It surged toward him with thunderous force, but he’d run far enough for it to roll safely past him. He didn’t stop there, though. He kept running, steadily closing in on the spot where he remembered Yuria standing. A second wave, larger and more powerful, came on the heels of the first, but rather than continue his evasive maneuver, he stopped in place. If his spatial memory was correct, she should have been right in front of him.

“Dark Ray! ”

A spear of darkness shot into the wave of mud, boring a hole straight through it and coming out the other side on a perfect collision course with Yuria.

“Eek!”

The mudslide weakened as soon as she shrieked, signaling that her concentration had been broken. With the spell unraveling, Sain saw his chance.

“I’ve got you now!”

“Ugh! Alchemia !”

True to his original plan, he brought the fight to her, closing in for melee combat. She rushed to create an earthen sword in response. Their blades ground against each other, locking them into a clash. As they each pushed against the other, their eyes met.

“You’re stronger than you were during the field exercises. I see you’ve improved,” she said.

“Yeah. I’ve put in plenty of work since then.”

“...Plenty of work flirting , maybe.”

“Damn it, I told you that was a misunderstanding.”

After an intense staredown, they broke off the clash, both leaping back a few steps. Sain then declared in a voice loud enough for all the spectators to hear, “My maid and I do not have that kind of relationship.”

Yuria regarded him with wide, hesitantly-wishful eyes.

“Do you... really mean that?”

“Absolutely. I said it before the match, and I’ll say it again. My goal is to become the dark knight. Right now, that is my sole and singular focus. I have no time to be dabbling in any other matters.”

Her expression blossomed into a broad smile.

“You’re serious, aren’t you? You really are trying to become the dark knight...”

“I absolutely am.”

As she beheld his earnest, determined gaze, she let out an enamored sigh and visibly swooned.

“...So dreamy .”

He lifted an eyebrow, finding himself baffled by her actions for the umpteenth time today.

“Uh, what?”

“I’ve never felt like this before,” she explained. “For as long as I can remember, winning was what mattered to me. The only thing I cared about was my own victory. But now... I really want to see how far you can go. It’s... a strange feeling. I never thought I’d become so invested in someone else... to want to cheer them on so much. And to feel good while doing it.”

Honest admiration flowed from her soft, kindly voice. She meant what she said.

“And that’s why,” she continued, “I’m going to concede.”

Sain watched dumbfounded as she raised her hand and held it up in an indication of surrender.

“C-Could this be what I think it is? Is Yuria throwing in the towel?”

While Sain was still struggling to make sense of the gesture, the female commentator quickly caught on and looked at Yuria to verify her intent. Upon seeing her nod calmly, she turned to the audience to announce the conclusion of the match.

“That’s it! The match is over, and the winner is Sain! I have no idea what just happened... but it seems like Yuria has decided to surrender the match! To me, it looked like she could still keep going, but it’s certainly possible that she’s having some difficulties we’re not aware of!”

Contestants in the ring had to really project their voices to be heard in the stands, so the discourse between Sain and Yuria during the match was audible only to themselves. As a result, much of the audience was bewildered by her decision. Amidst a confused uproar in the crowd, she approached him and whispered in his ear.

“Sir Sain, I’d just like you to know that I’ve fallen for your strength.”

With that, she left the arena, leaving him to puzzle out the meaning of her cryptic message for himself.

“W-Well then... You don’t see a match ending like that everyday,” said a frowning Alicia.

She and the other two girls had been watching from the stands.

“Now the question is whether that’s going to throw him off his game,” remarked Melia. “Hopefully not.”

“It’s a valid concern though...” added Marni. “Sain has a tendency to overthink things.”

All three girls agreed that an unexpected win of this nature ran the risk of lingering unhealthily in Sain’s mind. The match ended in an awkwardly unsatisfying fashion, and his candid nature might very well work against him in this regard, causing him to question himself and consider the victory unearned.

“Still, this means he made it into the semifinals.”

“Yeah, and the next match is going to decide his opponent.”

Soon, they would find out whether he would be up against Melia or Cain.

“I’m going to get ready for my match, then,” said Melia as she stood up.

Unlike the first day, which was crammed full of matches, the schedule for the later days was looser. Contestants had been notified that they could wait until the previous match was over before heading to the waiting room. Arena maintenance was carried out in the downtime, which was necessary due to the increasing intensity of the matches as they entered their second day. The remaining contestants were of higher caliber and their spells packed more destructive potential, as evidenced by the fissures Sain and Yuria had left in the ground during the match, which arena staff were in the process of repairing.

“I have to start moving, so could you hand these to Master Sain?”

“Sure.”

Alicia took a towel and a beverage from Melia.

“Huh. Did you make this drink yourself?”

“I sure did. It’s easy to wear yourself out during the battle expo, so it’s important to be diligent in treating fatigue. I’ve got a whole action plan drawn out for smoothly getting nutrients back into him after a good workout.”

“Wow... He’s so lucky to have a maid like you. Capable and dedicated.”

“It’s only normal. I do owe him more than I can ever repay, after all.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special,” said Melia, patting down her uniform nonchalantly. “A long time ago, he took me in when I’d lost myself to rage and despair after Chaos killed my family. You know, the usual.”

“You... what? Wait, are you serious?” exclaimed Alicia, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Maybe. The point is, I owe him a lot.”

Then she strolled off toward the waiting room, leaving Alicia to wonder just how much of what she said was true. A few minutes later, Sain returned. Since Melia’s match was going to be in the same arena, there was no need for them to relocate.

“Oh, hey, there you are.”

Marni nodded at him.

“Congratulations, Sain... on reaching the semifinals.”

He sat down beside them with a sigh and shook his head.

“Yeah, thanks, but I have to say, that was the kind of win that leaves a sour aftertaste.”

“Hey, Sain.” Alicia gave him a concerned look. “Is it true that Melia lost her family to Chaos a long time ago?”

The question took him by surprise, and for a while, he stared wordlessly at her in astonishment. Eventually, he figured that the only way Alicia could have known was for Melia to divulge her past herself. Slowly, he nodded.

“Yeah... it’s true. It’s probably hard for the two of you to imagine... but she wasn’t always the unflappable maid she is now. She used to be... wilder. Almost feral. And she had very little regard for her own life.”

Even now, she could still remember the day in vivid detail — when Chaos had shown up and robbed a little girl of her family.

Her home had been in a small village, and she’d led a modest life with her friends and family. Times were tough and luxuries were few, but despite the hardship, the village folk were a tight-knit bunch, weathering adversity through mutual aid and support. Life wasn’t easy, but they were happy to live it.

Then, one day, Chaos appeared out of the blue. Calamity followed. They swept through the village in a storm of death and destruction. People fell left and right, mauled and eaten before they could even comprehend their fate, much less curse it. Before she could process what was even happening, the village was gone. Everyone she’d ever known was dead.

Eight-year-old Melia was the sole survivor of her village. She’d hidden herself in the family trunk at her mother’s instruction. Then, too scared to even breathe loudly, she waited and waited for what felt like an eternity until the blood-curdling howls of Chaos finally ceased. Slowly, she crawled out of the trunk and, stumbling forward on numb, unsteady legs, bore witness to the carnage that had taken place. There was no village left; only death and debris. As her eyes took in the mutilated bodies of everyone she cared about, her mind pushed away all its thoughts and feelings save for one — revenge.

She knew her enemy was Chaos, and she knew they had to be exterminated. She swore in her heart to do so. However, despite their tendency to appear when they were least welcome, the creatures were confoundingly difficult to find when she tried to go looking for them. After a lengthy period of wandering, she was picked up by a passing merchant who’d seen the ruins of her village. After arriving at a nearby town, she began working at a local tavern. When she wasn’t on duty, she spent every waking moment trying to track down Chaos, but to no avail. As more and more time passed, with few clues as to their whereabouts, her disposition grew steadily grimmer. Despair began to infect her still-bleeding heart, festering insidiously in its wounds.

Still, vengeance continued to drive her, and during her fruitless search for her enemy, she never stopped seeking strength. Killing the creatures would require a weapon, and she had no qualms about turning herself into one. Fortunately — or, perhaps, tragically — she was naturally clever and a quick learner. While working to keep herself fed, she also found the time to teach herself how to fight. She went on solo expeditions into the wilderness, learning to trap and hunt through trial and error. Eventually, she turned her attention from wildlife to monsters and, without the knowledge of the adults around her, began fighting them for practice. The monsters she killed were not left out to rot. Instead, she dissected their carcasses to learn more about their anatomy and makeup. Eschewing neither knowledge nor skill, she hungrily sought to improve her capabilities in every way possible and honed her very person into the lethal weapon with which she would exact her revenge.

For half a year, she continued to bide her time, getting ever stronger in the process. Then, one day, word of blood-red monsters being sighted nearby entered her ears, eliciting a visceral rush of excitement. They had to be Chaos. The time had finally come. Every nerve in her body buzzed with violent energy, urging her to move, to act, to kill.

She got there too late. By the time she arrived at the reported location, she found only another ruined village. It was as if the scene from her memory had been transplanted into reality. There she was, again, standing alone amidst the devastation of her hometown.

A few months later, the experience repeated itself. Once again, Chaos had passed through. Once again, a village had been decimated. Her resolve hardened, and her eyes grew grimmer still. Chaos, she decided, was something that needed to be eradicated by whatever means necessary.

Months passed again until finally, the day came when she came face to face with a living creature of Chaos.

Kill it... Kill it! It needs to die!

Reason faded from her mind, replaced by a singular desire to see the thing dead. She picked up a pointed branch on the ground and rushed at it without another thought.

“Don’t.”

Three steps into her reckless charge, she was stopped by a young boy in a pure white mantle.

“You can’t kill Chaos with a stick like that.”

The boy had fine features, with a pair of deep blue eyes and a crop of golden hair. He looked to be about the same age as her, but he carried himself with an air of maturity. Startled by his sudden appearance, she nevertheless managed to reply to him.

“...Says who? I won’t know unless I try.”

“You might not, but unfortunately, I do. You’re fivekind, aren’t you? Chaos can only be harmed by light or dark magic. Therefore, you cannot defeat it.”

She struggled to process what he said. Most of it was jargon wholly unfamiliar to her. She hadn’t heard anyone refer to the creatures by name. It was, in fact, the first time she’d heard the term “Chaos.” She spared him a suspicious glance. Then, she looked back toward the creature and began inching toward it, her stick held at the ready.

“But... I see that won’t stop you from trying,” said the boy, his voice neither derisive nor reproachful. “This is personal, isn’t it? Very well. In that case, be my attendant.”

She stopped and gave him a perplexed look.

“Your... attendant?”

“Becoming my attendant will allow you to use light magic. That way, you’ll be able to fight Chaos. However... I’ll allow you to do so only on the condition that you promise me something.”

The boy paused for a breath before the gravity in his voice deepened.

“I need you to promise me... that you won’t indulge any self-destructive tendencies. I do not wish to see you die.”

Melia didn’t understand what he meant by that, but nevertheless, she took him up on his offer. Entering into contract as the young boy’s attendant, she then learned that he was the holy knight, Sain, upon whom the goddess had conferred her blessing. By transferring some of the blessing to Melia, he granted her the ability to use light magic, which she employed in concert with his power to defeat the Chaos that had been destroying the local villages.

After the conclusion of their battle, Sain made her another offer.

“If you don’t have a place to call home, do you want to come live with me?”

“Huh? Wasn’t that part of the plan in the first place?” said Melia with mild surprise. There was clearly a discrepancy in their interpretations of the contract. “You said ‘attendant,’ so I thought for sure I was going to be your maid or something.”

“Ah, I see. That’s... certainly one way to interpret it. My apologies for the confusion. By ‘attendant,’ I was actually speaking in reference to the power of the holy knight. I didn’t mean it in, uh... that way. Now that I think about it though, that would be a decent arrangement. You seem a little... insensitive to danger, and it worries me. I’d rather put you in a place where I can keep an eye on you... All right, then. I’m officially making you my maid.”

“No.”

“Too bad. You have no say in this matter.”

Figuring she had no need to accept an extra condition he’d attached to the offer after the fact, she refused, only to have her objection overruled.

“From now on, you’re officially my maid.”

Thus began Melia’s employment as Sain’s maid. After they returned to his residence, she started by tidying up her appearance. She took a comb to her disheveled hair, working it into proper form, and began wearing a miniature maid uniform. Her duties primarily consisted of looking after Sain until, one day, he instructed her to devote some time to her own studies. Looking over the small mountain of homework he’d left her, she pushed her lips out in displeasure.

“Doing this won’t make me any better at killing Chaos.”

“No, but it’ll make you better at life.”

She could tell that his words carried weight, but their meaning was lost on her. Nevertheless, she complied, and as time went on, she discovered the utility of academics. When she went shopping, she could calculate prices in her head, and organizing documents and reports was far easier when she had the knowledge base to understand their contents. More and more, her work changed from something she simply did to something she wanted to do. It gave her motivation and a sense of worth. One day, she looked back and realized that she’d become a different person altogether.

When, she wondered, had the vengeful Melia who lived only to kill Chaos been replaced by a gentler one who’d discovered the simple joys of a peaceful life?

When, she wondered, had she become less concerned with honing herself into a weapon against Chaos than learning how to make a perfect cup of black tea?

She didn’t know. But she didn’t mind, either. The truth was that she’d always been a gentle soul, but Chaos had derailed her life and twisted her personality, forcing her to don the avenger’s mask to keep herself from falling apart. Her cold resolve had been a front — one that Sain must have seen through on the day they’d met. Slowly but surely, the peaceful days she spent with Sain became a cherished part of her life. Even now, every memory she recalled filled her with pride and joy.

“Our contestants for the fourth match of the third round will be Melia and Cain Theresia!”

The reverberating voice of the commentator pulled her out of her reverie.

“Melia happens to be the attendant of Sain, whom we just saw in the third match. Treat her like any other attendant, though, and you’ll regret it. Her ability to freely make use of compound magic — a feat rarely seen even among fivekind — puts her on an entirely different level. It’s arguable that her strength has already surpassed that of a mere student.”

During the commentator’s brief introduction, she turned toward the stands and bowed politely. This elicited a round of cheers.

“However,” continued the commentator, “she is up against Cain Theresia, whose capabilities also far outstrip his status. Despite being a student, it’s said that he might be one of the five most powerful people in the kingdom. I’m not aware of anyone who’s better at using light magic than he is! Will this match end as a clean sweep in his favor as well?!”

In terms of pure power possessed by an individual, it was true that Cain’s mastery of light magic might indeed be without equal. He gave no reaction to his introduction, choosing instead to regard Melia with silent intensity. The countdown began.

“So, Mr. Student Council President, can I make one request?” asked Melia right before the match began.

Cain lifted his eyebrow at her.

“If I win,” she continued, “I’d like you to apologize for the things you said about Master Sain.”

Cain had insulted Sain the other day. That fact lingered at the forefront of Melia’s mind, adamantly refusing to fade.

“Very well. But...” He smiled with a confidence completely unmarred by doubt. “Like I told you before, you won’t win. Not against me.”

The countdown hit zero just as he finished his sentence.

“Let the match begin!”

Melia burst into motion immediately, generating mist through her trademark compound magic of fire and water.

“Sprites of crystalline veil, roam the endless mist — Londo Mysteria! ”

A white haze filled the space around them. Moving with silent steps, she circled behind him. Then, before she could strike, there was a blinding flash.

“Lighto. ”

He threw a beginner-level light spell at her. The thick mist permeating the ring should have prevented both of them from relying on sight to track each other, but his aim was somehow spot on. Whatever he was doing, it gave him an exceptional ability to sense his opponent’s whereabouts. Fortunately, it was still a beginner-level spell, and she had little difficulty dodging the glowing bullet before countering with her own spell.

“Lost souls gathered, scream in fear, die a shapeless death — Death Ripper! ”

The dagger in her right hand melted into mist. Her second spell, Death Ripper , allowed her to freely materialize her weapon wherever she wished, so long as the space was filled with mist. The short blade reappeared directly behind Cain, only for him to sense its presence immediately and bend his body with surprising pliancy to avoid the strike.

“Vright .”

A massive orb of light flew toward Melia, illuminating the entirety of the ring through even the thick mist. She squinted at its sheer luminance and lunged sideways out of its path. It exploded behind her, sending out a shockwave that cleared away the cloud of mist.

“Geez, do you have eyes on your back or something?”

His reply came in the form of an outstretched palm in her direction.

“Lighto Shot. ”

A swarm of glowing pellets flew at her at blinding speed. She entered into a run, waiting until just before the moment of impact to flip high into the air, clearing the barrage like a high jumper.

“...An impressive escape,” murmured Cain.

After an aerial rotation, she landed cleanly on her feet and swiftly followed up with another spell.

“Spirits of turbid water, grasp what you seek — Worta Halden! ”

Numerous watery arms erupted from the ground beneath his feet. They grasped at his arms and legs in an effort to hold him down.

“Lighto Shot. ”

Their advance was repelled by a barrage of glowing pellets, but reinforcements came in the form of Melia herself, who dashed into melee range and swung at him with her dagger. A thrust, a chop, and an upward swing all failed to find their mark, but she continued her offensive while simultaneously controlling the water arms to grab at his heels.

“Ray Javelin. ”

He took a great leap backwards and, still completely unscathed, brought a massive spear of light into existence. She immediately ceased attacking and shifted into an evasive maneuver. The spear slammed into the pool of liquid appendages, vaporizing both them and a large chunk of the ground. Dirt and debris filled the air. As dust swirled, she took a moment to catch her breath.

“...I see,” murmured Cain as he regarded her, daggers raised and still ready to fight. “Impressive indeed. As the holy knight’s attendant, you certainly live up to your name.”

“Ah... So you caught on to that part, too.”

“I’d be a fool not to. Every spell I’ve used, you’ve dodged without so much as a glance in my direction. I see that your time with the holy knight was not spent in vain... Clearly, you’re intimately familiar with the particulars of light magic.”

Melia didn’t have a single scratch on her, either, having perfectly evaded every one of Cain’s spells. There was a trick to that, though. She’d made sure to recognize any movement on his part that suggested he was casting a spell. As a result, by the time the spell materialized, she was already moving to evade it. Her years of service to the holy knight had allowed her to observe in action every form of light magic. She only needed to catch a glimpse of its beginnings to tell what spell was coming her way.

“Flash like serpent’s fangs — Lighto Whip .”

A whip of light appeared in Cain’s right hand. With a crack, its glowing tendril lashed out at Melia, who quickly ducked under the strike and, keeping her posture low, rushed in to close the distance. Undaunted by her approach, he twisted his wrist, causing the end of his weapon to abruptly change course and come whipping back toward her. Despite its sudden reversal in motion, she read its trajectory perfectly and, knowing it was going to strike her from behind, brushed it away with the dagger in her right hand.

“Sprites of crystalline veil, roam the endless mist — Londo Mysteria! ”

Mist erupted from her again, hiding her form. She stayed wary of any motion from his direction as she began her next spell.

“Swirling vicissitudes of mist, converge into a phantom of destruction ...”

The mist around her began to gather into a vortex around her right arm.

“Deafen the smoldering battlefield with your roar — Mist Wyrm !”

The dense cyclone of mist erupted from her arm with all the force of a siege cannon. It sent violent gusts swirling through the arena and carved deep fissures into the ground as it closed in on Cain.

“Great torrent of light, blind the land with an argent sea — Velle Vright .”

A vast tide of light swallowed the misty blast.

“Ugh!”

Two titanic forces collided, unleashing a shockwave that sent Melia tumbling. When she got back up, the Mist Wyrm was no more, and Cain remained where he’d been before the blast, standing like a statue.

“Not even close,” he said disdainfully as he fixed her with the gaze of a lion. “No matter how nimbly you dance around my spells, it does not change the fact that mine are fundamentally stronger. You can run from my magic... but you can never stop it.”

“...Somehow, every time you say something, I like you a little less.”

She had no intention of telling him this, but Mist Wyrm was her strongest attack. Anything stronger would require access to her powers as the holy knight’s attendant. In other words, she’d just played her trump card, and he’d shaken it off without batting an eye. That got her sweating.

“I’d love to know what kind of epic life you’ve had to live to get that strong.”

Her question seemed to rouse him.

“...What kind of life? You should know that better than anyone, seeing as yours was identical to mine.”

“...What do you mean by that?”

“You and I,” he said in a voice firm as stone, “we both had our families taken from us by Chaos.”

Melia’s eyes went wide. Her shock was twofold; Cain sharing the same trauma as her was surprising enough, but she couldn’t fathom how he knew about her past.

“Just so you know,” he added, “I didn’t dig up your life story. There was no need. Knowing that you’re a fivekind who became an attendant of the holy knight, I simply inferred the rest.”

“...You’re saying you just bluffed me?”

“It’s not so much a bluff as a statement of inferred fact, albeit one I was completely confident in.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “I know you. You hold within you the same unbearable hatred as I. I can see it in your eyes.”

It was then that Melia saw herself in his eyes as well. It was her, but younger, with a look she knew all too well — a look she saw in a pond’s reflection after Chaos had robbed her of her family, and a look she saw in the mirror day after day when Sain had just taken her in.

She swallowed. All of a sudden, she felt like she understood; she knew the source of Cain’s overwhelming strength.

“But,” he continued, disdain entering his voice, “what we share in experience, we differ in make. We were forged in the same fire, but we’re hardly the same blade.”

His form blurred. She quickly swung her arm backward and barely managed to block a strike from behind her with her dagger.

“Ugh!”

“If Chaos were to attack us now,” he said as he laid into her with a barrage of glowing bullets, “could you protect all those around you? Do you have what it takes to keep everyone safe from their vicious maws?”

She blocked the first volley, but their sheer number overwhelmed her defense, slamming into her and sending her flying.

“Of course you don’t. You’re weak. You’ll fail them. And you’ll have little choice but to watch as they die in front of your eyes.”

She pushed herself up from a roll and thrust her palm out at him.

“Londo Mysteria! ”

“Vright. ”

Only a few tendrils of mist managed to form before a massive orb of light plowed through them and crashed into her.

“Augh?!”

Every fiber of her body flared with pain, and she crumpled to the ground.

“This, you see, is the end of your road — the ultimate consequence of relying on the holy knight. It is the difference between me, who has lived solely for revenge, and you, who have forgotten your vengeance and indulged in the false promise of peace.” He towered over the flattened form of Melia as she struggled to get up, and spoke down to her. “Seeing you is like seeing a soft and complacent form of myself, and it disgusts me to no end.”

That was the last thing Melia heard before feeling herself crushed by a sphere of light.

The seventh match of the third round ended in Cain Theresia’s victory. His opponent, Melia, fell unconscious after suffering damage that exceeded the absorption capacity of her substitute pendant and had to be immediately carted off to the infirmary.

“...Good thing she’s not too badly hurt,” said Alicia as she sat down beside the bed where Melia slept.

She hadn’t suffered any grave injuries, and her unconscious state seemed to be related to the location of impact rather than degree of damage. According to the person who treated her, she should wake up before long.

“Excuse me.”

They heard a female voice behind them before the infirmary door opened and Emilia stepped in. She approached them.

“Sain... The president would like to see you.”

“Cain wants to see me?”

She nodded. He had no idea what business Cain could possibly have with him at the moment, but he rose and followed her out of the infirmary, leaving Alicia and Marni to look after Melia. They arrived at the student council office and Emilia knocked on the door.

“Here at last,” said a voice in the room.

She opened the door, and as they walked through, Cain fixed Sain with a narrow-eyed gaze. The president leaned forward on his chair and said, “Emilia, could you step out for a minute?”

“...Okay.”

She lowered her head and retreated from the room, leaving the two boys alone in the office. A few seconds of silence ensued, after which Sain was the first to speak.

“That match just now... It was already done. You didn’t need to hurt her like that. Why did you do it?”

“Because she needed to know her folly.”

Sain held back a snarl.

“What are you talking about? What folly?”

“She lost sight of reality. I simply had her feel its weight again,” he said, the statement no less cryptic than the one before. “And as for why I’ve brought you here today... It is to give you a reminder. Or, perhaps a warning. To stop meddling in my business.”

“...Meddling in your business?”

“Yes. Go do your holy knighting elsewhere. Stop getting in my way.”

Sain feigned confusion with a frown, but Cain was unmoved.

“...That’s quite the claim you’re making.”

“Not a claim. A fact. Please, let us drop this ridiculous pretense.”

Sain slowly exhaled. His cover had been blown. He didn’t know how exactly it had happened, but his actions during the field exercises last month certainly gave Cain plenty of reasons to be suspicious. The uncomfortable amount of attention he’d been receiving from Cain since then was proof of that.

“Holy knight. You’re aware, I assume, that this academy is protected by an enormous barrier?”

“...Yeah. It’s using a gigantic staff as a focus.”

Cain nodded before continuing.

“As you probably know, that instrument is called the titan’s staff. It was created by people of ancient times to assist the gods, and it’s infused with an enormous amount of power.”

Sain nodded back. This was consistent with what he’d heard from the headmaster.

“However, the enormous power it holds also makes it a target, and the Clan of Chaos is currently trying to get their hands on it.”

“What?”

“It’s been three months since you came to this school. By now, you should have noticed how frequently Chaos shows up around here. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? The reason is presumably the titan’s staff. They want it for themselves. Not for supporting the gods, of course, but opposing them. They intend to use the staff to weaken the gods and expand their influence.”

The two gods, Vicitaelia and Shartegallia, had been pouring power into the seal that kept Chaos suppressed for a long time. Weakening their power would allow more Chaos into the world.

“They can’t be allowed to do that...”

“Correct. That is why I am here. To protect the staff. You,” he said with a tone of finality, “should go mind your own business.”

Sain furrowed his brows. The whole picture had finally become clear to him. It just didn’t make any sense.

“Hold on a minute. If what you told me is true, then it seems to me that we’re on the same side. If we’re both fighting against Chaos, then it would only make sense for us to join hands.”

“I will not join hands with you,” he snarled. “I don’t trust the holy knight.”

There was a deep anger in his voice. This, Sain realized, was personal. He wasn’t about to back down without a proper answer, though.

“Why?”

Cain drew in a long breath before answering.

“Because Chaos murdered my little sister.”

Then, he told his story.

“As you surely know, there are seven special entities of Chaos known as the Founders. They are, of course, each bound by their own seal... but do you know when the last Founder was sealed? It was about ten years ago, before you became the holy knight. Your predecessor had subdued the last Founder, and he did manage to seal it, but not before a careless mistake allowed it to escape for a time. A minor mishap, you might think, and it only happened once. But once was enough for it to murder my little sister, who just happened to be passing by.”

Sain’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth but no words came. Cain continued, paying little attention to his reaction.

“I asked him. I went to him holding her lifeless body, and I asked him how it had come to this. And what do you think he said?” He let out a short, scornful laugh. “Because he looked away for a second. That was it. My little sister died because he couldn’t be bothered to keep his eyes in one place. It was so absurd. So profoundly stupid that it wasn’t even worth my rage.”

He looked straight at Sain.

“You holy knights hold great power, and that power makes you careless, the price of which is paid not by yourselves, but the ordinary people around you. I refuse to accept this as the way of things. That is why I sought power — the power to kill Chaos on my own.”

All the pieces finally fell into place. Sain now understood where Cain’s extraordinary power came from. He’d been certain that it had been the result of a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears. He just didn’t know the saying had applied to him literally.

“...I see where you’re coming from now. And you make a fair point. Still, it’s no reason to be going it alone— Wait, what’s that?”

His attempt at persuasion was cut short by the sudden presence of Chaos outside the school grounds.

“That... is what you call good timing,” said Cain, a hint of a smile appearing across his lips.

He walked over to the exit, picked up his sword leaning against the wall, and pulled open the door.

“I am not your ally, holy knight, and I have no intention of becoming one,” he spat before leaving the room.

“Huh? Cain?”

His sudden exit startled Emilia, who had been waiting outside.

“I’ll be out for a while. You’re in charge of handling my tasks until I return.”

“W-Wait! Where are you going?!” she asked, a trace of desperation in her voice.

He shot her a look of annoyance and said simply, “It’s none of your business.”

His wintry countenance forced her to swallow the rest of her questions, and she could do little but watch in despondent silence as he walked off. The sight of her made Sain bite his lip.

“Look, uh...” he said, approaching the crestfallen Emilia. “Don’t worry too much. It’s him we’re talking about. He’ll be fine.”

The Chaos he sensed were all Beasts, which occupied the lowest level on their hierarchy of power. While Cain had sustained significant injuries during the field exercises, that could be attributed to the presence of much stronger forms of Chaos. The ones that had shown up this time shouldn’t give him any trouble.

He turned away from Emilia, hoping his reassurance provided some comfort, and made for the building’s exit.

“Goddess,” he said as he ran down the stairs, “is it true that the previous holy knight let a Founder slip, resulting in the death of an innocent?”

“...Yes, it’s true.” Her ghostly form appeared beside him and nodded with a solemn expression. “It tormented your predecessor until the very end. Just a moment’s inattention — it really was just a brief moment — but in the end... it caused the death of someone who never should have died.”

“I see...”

Cain had said it was about ten years ago when his sister was killed. That placed the incident at about a year or so before Sain was given the power of the holy knight. Sain hadn’t been there. He wasn’t the one responsible. But he did inherit the title of the one who was, and that was more than enough reason for him to be the target of Cain’s ire.

“...One step at a time. Let’s solve the problem at hand first,” he muttered as he tapped into the power of his holy mantle.

Melia drifted in and out of sleep as she relived the events of the past few days. Ever since the end of her match with Cain, her mind had been ruminating on all the past memories it kept dredging up. She’d lived her life with few regrets, and she especially treasured the time she’d spent with Sain. It was of immeasurable value to her — value that Cain had refuted in only a few words.

“You and I, we both had our families taken from us by Chaos.”

His words echoed, their impact entirely undiminished. Never had she imagined his story mirrored hers. Both of them had lost their families to Chaos, leading to a deep-seated hatred that hardened their resolve to hone themselves into a lethal weapon of revenge. There was, however, a major difference between them.

“This, you see, is the end of your road — the ultimate consequence of relying on the holy knight. It is the difference between me, who has lived solely for revenge, and you, who have forgotten your vengeance and indulged in the false promise of peace.”

He’d declared that she’d reached the end of her road. In essence, he’d told her that her way of life was in error. And, somehow, she couldn’t manage to say a single word back at him. It wasn’t just because she’d blacked out soon after. Her mind was working now, and she still had no rebuttal. As she pondered the cause, the simplest answer became harder and harder to ignore.

Maybe it’s because he’s right.

She swam back up the stream of memories toward the day when she’d first become the holy knight’s attendant. Why had she done so? What was her original goal?

I remember now... My original goal was to—

“Melia!”

A familiar voice entered her ears as she slowly came to.

“Oh, good, you’re finally awake.”

“...We were worried about you.”

To her side, Alicia and Marni simultaneously breathed out a sigh of relief. She slowly sat up and looked around.

“...Where am I?”

“The infirmary. You, um, passed out during the match against Cain,” explained a hesitant Alicia.

“Ah... I did, didn’t I?”

After her loss, she’d held on to a thin strand of consciousness that was slowly recovering, which brought with it an improving awareness of both her surroundings and the fact that she hurt all over. It felt like the wounds she’d sustained during the match were waking up, as well.

“Hold on, I’ll go get a doctor,” said Marni as she got up.

Just then, a voice rang in Melia’s head.

“Can you hear me?”

It was Sain. He was using the holy knight’s power to telepathically communicate with her from somewhere else.

“Sorry. Emergency situation. Chaos just showed up.”

Melia glanced at Alicia, and the two traded a knowing look. Marni, not privy to the silent announcement, frowned at the sudden change in their expressions.

“...Alicia? What’s wrong?”

“It looks like some Chaos just appeared. I’ll go with Sain to deal with them.”

“...I’ll go too then.”

Alicia nodded and relayed Marni’s intention to Sain.

“Sain, Marni’s coming to help too.”

“Got it.”

Ever since the field exercises, Marni had joined them in hunting down Chaos on many occasions. As an expert in dark magic, her abilities proved extremely useful.

“Maid, you stay there and rest. The three of us will handle it this time—” echoed Sain’s worried voice before Melia quickly cut him off.

“No, I’ll fight too.”

“But you’re not fully recovered yet, are you?”

“Nothing hurts that badly. Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine.”

“...Fine. But don’t push yourself, okay?”

Their line of mental communication ended. Melia promptly got out of bed and started preparing for battle.

“Sain’s right,” said Alicia. “Don’t go overboard, okay? If things get a little crazy, remember that we’re here too.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be just fine,” answered Melia.

Her lips formed the crescent of a smile, but her eyes remained still.

There were a total of ten Beasts.

As Sain rushed out of the school grounds, he recalled the conversation he’d had with Cain in the student council office. The enemy was after the titan’s staff that was powering the academy’s barrier. That explained the frequency with which they’d been attacking. It was definitely true that Chaos had a noticeable tendency to show up around the school.

“Sain!”

The girls caught up to him when he reached the main gate.

“Alicia! Melia!”

He spoke their names, unleashing their latent attendant powers.

“What’s the plan?” asked Alicia as an aura of light magic emanated from her. “Should we split up?”

“No, the Chaos are moving around in groups this time. They’re to the west and south—”

He paused in the middle of his sentence when he realized the presence of one of the Chaos in the west faded as he spoke. Cain had probably killed one of them.

“We’ll head south.”

Alica, Melia, and Marni nodded at his instructions and ran with him for about a minute before they found their group of Beasts. He immediately pulled his sword from his waist and drove it through the closest one.

“Give me a hand with these!” he shouted.

“On it!”

Alicia caught one approaching from the right with her holy fire, reducing it to ash.

“Great torrent of darkness, drown the land in seas of black — Velle Darku! ”

A Beast charging at him from the left was swallowed by Marni’s dark magic. Another one leapt into the air right in front of him.

“Siem Saevas, here I bear the attendant’s mark. Second gift — Holy Sinking Blade! ”

Melia jumped up as well and met it in midair. She tore through it with her glowing daggers before hitting the ground in a run as she quickly located her next target. A monkey-like Beast was ahead a little to the right. It stood there frozen, still processing what had happened. She dashed toward it at breakneck speed, shifting her body left and right in the process to produce a zigzag effect. Her motion confused the Beast and prevented it from reacting in time to her approach. Her blade flashed. By the time the Beast’s head fell, she was already moving toward another one.

“...Melia?”

Sain watched her with a look of concern. Something about the way she was fighting felt off. At first, he’d assumed it was a bit of extra enthusiasm to prove she was fine, but it soon became apparent that wasn’t the case. Melia always fought with a kind of aplomb that almost dared her enemies to step it up and actually challenge her a little. That sense of confident composure was absent in her today. She fought with urgency, as though pressed by some invisible deadline.

“...Next!” she huffed as she moved in a lethal blur from Beast to Beast, leaving a trail of sweat and corpses in her wake. However, her still-frail body couldn’t keep up with such intense and continuous demand. Her strength failed her just as she reached one of them, and her legs gave way. The Beast saw its opening and pounced. The shadow of its massive claw blotted out the sky, and she heard the deadly swish as it swiped at her neck.

“Are you okay?”

Sain stood before her, his sword held steady against the offending claw. He looked backward and gave her a look of concern.

“...Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good... But stay closer to us. You’re running too far ahead.”

He pushed the claw away with a powerful swing that curved back into the Beast and split it in two. It was a rare blunder from Melia. Beasts of Chaos, lowly as they were in ranking, nevertheless posed a very real threat. They had to be engaged in a calm, deliberate fashion. She knew this, but for some reason, she wasn’t her usual self today; she’d lost her cool. The Beast he just dispatched should have been no problem for her had she dealt with it in her usual composed manner.

He figured it must be the lingering effects of her tournament match. She was still weary, both in body and soul. Things might be different if she’d won, but unfortunately, she didn’t, and her loss was probably weighing heavily on her mind.

“Poht Teurch, here I bear the attendant’s mark. Seventh gift — Holy Weaving Torch! ”

A blazing torch of holy fire materialized in Alicia’s hand. This kind of situation was exactly why she’d refrained from participating in the magic battle expo — so she’d be rested and ready to respond. A wave of purifying flames swept through the remaining Beasts.

“Phew... I think that’s the last of them.”

“...No.”

The numbers didn’t match up. There had been more when he’d first sensed them. A few must have noticed his approach and fled in advance. They had to be hunted down immediately.

“Found them. They’re that way.”

Melia was first to detect their presence. She dashed off immediately.

“Wha— Damn it, wait! Melia!”

Sain hastily rushed after her as she charged toward potentially hostile territory by herself. Something was definitely wrong with her today. She lacked all composure. It felt like the only thing that mattered to her right now was killing Chaos.

His pondering was cut short when two Beasts — the group’s leftovers — closed in on Melia’s distant figure. In a display of her usual dexterity, she danced circles around one of them as she cut it down in a flurry of slashes. But...

“Wha—?!”

...The other one managed to get behind her and catch her unawares as it attacked. The lion-shaped Beast charged at her, and she only managed to get her arms up in a defensive stance before it rammed her with its body, sending her crashing into a tree. She let out a short but pained groan, then immediately moved to counterattack.

“I said stop!”

Sain finally caught up and halted her with a holler. In the process, he also pulled the lion-shaped Beast’s attention to himself. It pounced.

“Whoa!”

He jerked back, narrowly avoiding a powerful jaw that tried to close around his head, and sliced through the creature’s torso with his sword of light. It fell to the ground. Only after confirming it was dead did he let out a breath.

“I told you not to push yourself.”

“I...”

She looked at him and blinked a few times before her eyes widened with the realization that she’d gone a little berserk. He let her chew on that for a while as he scanned the surroundings and confirmed that there were no remaining Chaos. Their presence to the west was completely gone as well, presumably eradicated by Cain. He took out his accessory-shaped light seals and put them back on one by one, reducing his power down to its usual suppressed state. Then, he addressed her.

“All right, talk to me, Maid. What happened?”

“Nothing really. If I have to say something, then I’ll go with... I went back to being my original self.”

She kept her eyes on the ground and avoided meeting his gaze.

“...What do you mean by that?”

“I became an attendant of the holy knight to kill Chaos. That was my original purpose,” she explained. “But something changed. At some point, when I looked in the mirror, I stopped seeing the holy knight’s attendant. I saw your attendant, Master Sain. Your attendant, who was enjoying her peaceful life with you. I always took it for granted that the change was for the better... but now that I think about it, maybe I just lost sight of my goal. Maybe I... betrayed my original purpose.”

“...Nonsense. Fighting Chaos isn’t all there is to your life. It shouldn’t define you.”

“But the consequence of that change was my loss to Cain Theresia. Our past circumstances were the same, yet he ended up trouncing me. That’s the cold, hard truth.” Anger crept into her voice as she talked, and her fists tightened. “At first, we both thought of ourselves as weapons, but while I indulged in a false promise of peace and allowed myself to dull, that man kept training. He never let go of his vengeance, and he let it fuel his drive to keep pushing his limits. It’s hardly a surprise that I lost to him. If you ask me which one of us chose the correct path in life... I think his victory proves it was him.”

Melia smiled with bitter self-derision.

“...Is that what he told you?”

She said nothing. Her silence told him all he needed to know. He’d noticed that her behavior during the match was strange. Now he knew why: Cain had apparently decided to have a rather serious conversation with her while they were pummeling each other. He took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing.

“Listen, Maid. A death wish is not a sign of strength. Do not seek to martyr yourself. Your death will appease none but your own vanity.”

A hasty, suicidal approach would accomplish little in the end anyway. From a pragmatic perspective, slow and steady was both the easier and more reliable way to produce actual results.

“But still, he—”

“He’s wrong.”

Like she described, Cain’s self-destructive fixation on becoming stronger had indeed given him a great deal of power. But that didn’t mean he was right .

“If he truly wants to eradicate Chaos, he should be making friends. Lots of them. True, you couldn’t defeat him alone. But you’re not alone. You have friends — me, Miss Gold, Miss Grim. Look at the bigger picture, and it’s obvious that we’re stronger. He just doesn’t see it because he’s been blinded by his own stubbornness.”

Even in terms of the absolute number of Chaos killed, their combined numbers almost certainly dwarfed his.

“So, Maid,” he said, figuring her pursed-lip silence was a sign that she’d regained her composure, “do you really want to become like him? Do you really think that leaving us and going off to fight all by yourself is the correct path?”

He paused for a second, then softened his tone.

“Maybe you did grow weaker as a result of meeting me, in which case I’m very sorry. But I’m still glad I met you, and I wouldn’t trade the world for it.”

Melia’s lips quivered a little. She bit her lower lip. Then, she drew in a deep breath and slowly let it all out.

“I... am also glad I met you, Master Sain. That much, I know for certain.” She looked up at him. “Thank you. I needed that.”

“No problem. Everyone has an off day sometimes.”

Seeing that she was looking more like her usual self, Sain smiled with relief. The sheer unflappability she displayed on a regular basis made it easy to forget that she wasn’t just tagging along with him for fun; she had her reasons for being here. Melia, he reminded himself, wasn’t perfect. She was just a girl — a girl who, like him, was only fourteen years old.

“It’s all clear to me now,” she said. “Cain Theresia is me — if I hadn’t met you.”

“...So he is.”

He nodded at her statement. Based on what she’d described so far, it seemed a fair conclusion.

“In that case, what I need to do is clear to me as well. Clear and quite simple.” He looked straight at her and declared, “Tomorrow, I’m going to do for him what I did for you.”

A small smile appeared across her lips.

“Are you sure? Unlike me, he’s going to be a tough nut to crack.”

“...You weren’t exactly soft and inviting, either.”

A few upsetting memories made him grimace, but nostalgia kept it half-hearted. A sideward glance revealed the approaching figures of Alicia and Marni, and he promptly signaled to them that the battle was over and everyone was safe.