Ashe's lips quivered. "Lysdia?"

He wanted to praise the name and say how beautiful it sounded, but something seemed to grip his throat, trapping the words inside. It felt as if a sponge had soaked up all his strength, leaving his voice clogged.

"That is not possible. You are Lys. Don't joke around. Besides, you are not some innocent little girl. You're a schemer and a little troublemaker. How could you possibly... how could you possibly... How could you possibly be the Gospel's First?!"

Ashe practically roared the last sentence. It was the first time he had ever shouted at the little girl before him. When he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, the cold morning air irritated his nose. He could not help but cough twice, coughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.

He wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes with his palm, but the more he rubbed, the dirtier and messier his face became. He had spent so long rolling around in the rain the previous night. His battle against the Sacred Realm sorcerers had scattered shattered stone and thick sludge across the landscape, reducing the bridge before the parking platform to rubble. Afterwards, he had ridden his nearly wrecked Raven Aerial Motorbike all the way back to the palace. Grime already coated his skin, and smearing it around created an even bigger mess.

Ashe tried to clean his face with his sleeve. The corners...