“…It’s quiet.”
The sanctuary had an antique feel, with pillars and a path leading to a large coffin at the end. That coffin must be Sabrina’s.
I hesitated for a moment about whether to move forward, then walked toward Sabrina’s coffin. It looked shabby sitting alone in the sanctuary, but as I got closer, it radiated a strange aura.
It felt too sacred to be called magical, yet a bit dull to be called holy?
Before I could even comprehend the bizarre sensation, a voice echoed inside my head.
[Oh my, you came quickly! I thought you’d dawdle a bit more. But that kiss in front of the sanctuary was quite a sight. A bit annoying, but still.]
“Sabrina?”
[What’s with the formality? I’m your mother-in-law!]
“I never had a mother-in-law like you.”
[Oh come on, your girlfriend is my direct descendant, so just call me mother-in-law. By the way, a kiss at the door? How youthful~ I had my days, you know~]
The familiar aroma of a middle-aged lady emanating from a stranger Saint didn’t seem like a mere illusion. I wondered if there was a blood relation between her and Karina.
I never heard of such backstory before.
Perhaps it was information that could only be uncovered in a true ending.
“Are you really Sabrina?”
[Who else would I be?]
“I didn’t expect to talk like this outside of a dream.”
[This is more convenient, anyway. But you’re really interesting to me. I heard there are five other women besides our Karina?]
“Isn’t it four?”
Excluding Karina, there’s Millia, Elisa, Viola, and Sif, making four.
[Really? Anyway, you’re probably the first guy to be sane while dating that many women.]
“It just happened that way.”
But why was I having such a conversation with the first Saint? No matter how I looked at it, it felt like I was chatting with a neighborhood aunt.
Could it be that Karina was doing this while training in the sanctuary? When I shot her a cold stare, Sabrina chuckled as if she understood what I was thinking and opened her mouth.
[Oh dear, did you think I’d act like this in front of Karina? Of course not! I can’t ruin that cute girl’s illusions, can I?]
“My illusions are getting smashed to bits.”
[I don’t want to just act all the time either. Oh, keep this a secret from Karina.]
There was no way I’d be crazy enough to share this conversation with Karina. But honestly, this woman’s vibe was so out of sync with her setting that my head was spinning. What even was this?
“So why did you call me?”
[We have time, so why don’t we chat a bit more? It’s a bit lonely after all.]
“Let’s skip the chit-chat and get to the point.”
[You’re already guessing, aren’t you?]
Guessing? I have a mountain of things to guess about. Starting from the outsiders to the secrets about the Quartz family. There was still a pile of things I needed to know. I really hoped she would clarify my curiosities.
“Let’s skip the preliminaries and get to it quickly.”
[How boring! Do you know that the Dragon will soon be resurrected?]
“Is that why you called me?”
Then this was a waste of time. I wanted more substantial information. Shouldn’t a first Saint have at least one big piece of intel? When I shot her a meaningful look, the translucent form of Sabrina burst out laughing.
[Oh, I love that irreverent gaze! Hmph, yes! I called you to obviously share some high-quality information. Why? Because it feels like it’s about that time.]
“Do you know about the Status Window?”
[The Status Window? Oh, I know about that…]
“Who created it?”
I wanted to know who was sending messages through the mission tab, but it wasn’t significantly different from the asking. The creator was most likely the one sending the messages.
[Ask the person directly. You’ll find out soon enough.]
“Then… what are you here to tell me?”
[Hmm, the outsiders aren’t just lurking; they are about to descend. It feels like they’ve already done all the scheming they could, and they’re starting to come down one by one.
Fortunately, it seems that only about three outsiders are interested in this area… If we handle just those three, I think we can block their access again.]
Wow, she’s quick to spill the beans.
I held back a sarcastic remark and focused on her words. Now wasn’t the time for a verbal spar; I needed to gather as much information as I could.
[And if you slay the Dragon… you’ll receive an invitation. Remember this well. It’s an invitation you must absolutely not forget.]
“…From the Quartz family?”
[Yes. It’s from the Quartz family. If you slay the Dragon, they will reach out to you. They are looking for a ‘successor’. They’re just watching for now, but… once you slay the Dragon, they won’t be able to ignore you.]
“A successor… Sounds ominous.”
So basically, they’re sending me an invitation to become a successor.
What exactly are the Quartz family up to, being involved with the outsiders, preparing a deserted island for some initiation, and getting scrutinized to oblivion?
“Is there no more information about the Quartz family?”
[Hmm, detailed information might be shared from their side, but I’m not familiar with the descendants of the Quartz family, so I can’t really provide any useful intel. As you can see, I’m stuck here, right?]
“You knew they were going to hand me an invitation.”
[That’s because my superiors instructed me to provide you with information. If there’s time, you should free me as well…]
“Your superior is…”
[The Kalon you know.]
So Kalon is on my side, huh? I wasn’t sure if I should feel happy or not.
[Kalon is working tirelessly to fend off the invasions of outsiders. We have no choice but to allow some incursions, but… that responsibility will fall on you.]
“Is there no one else?”
[All the heir candidates of the Quartz family have died.]
Was she telling the truth?
I still had too much I didn’t know, making it hard to trust Sabrina’s words outright. What if Sabrina was the spearhead of the outsiders, feeding me false information to trap me?
Once that thought crossed my mind, every statement Sabrina made became suspect.
Did Sabrina sense that intuition of mine? She looked at me with a hint of disappointment in her voice and asked.
[What are you thinking? Do you suspect me?]
“To be honest, yes. It’s strange enough you called me out of nowhere, and there’s no proof that you are the real ‘Sabrina’, is there?”
Sabrina wore a smile mixed with embarrassment at my words and then presented her evidence.
[If I were on the side of the outsiders, wouldn’t I have tried to mentally dominate you right now?]
“…That’s a point.”
[And the outsiders don’t know you’re a vessel.]
…Thinking back, that’s true.
I’ve encountered outsiders and their followers a few times, yet none of them realized I was a vessel.
“Did Kalon… do this to me?”
[It’s half right and half wrong… ]
What returned was an ambiguous answer. I opened my mouth to press for further clarification.
“What do you mean?”
[It wasn’t intentional, but your soul fell into this world, and Kalon took note of your soul and placed it into the body of a deceased Quartz family descendant.]
“What was my soul doing here?”
What usually happens for a soul to drift all the way from Earth to here?
[Who knows? Your physical body might have died, or maybe it ended up in a death-like state? A lost soul could drift in during an unstable situation with the outsiders’ invasion.]
“The blurred memories of my past life…”
[It could be a consequence of crossing worlds, or the shock of being a vessel made you lose your memories. It’s one of the two.]
“Either way, that sounds like a rather unsatisfactory answer.”
[That’s why I’ve been deliberately holding back from bringing it up.]
“I understand for now. Is there anything else you want to say? Because Karina is waiting.”
[Oh my, really fiery, huh? Have you done that?]
What is this lady on about? I sighed outright watching Sabrina, who had a meaningful smile, forming a ring with her left hand and sliding her right index finger in and out.
“What the heck are you doing?”
[Sweet and sour love is nice, but at this age, sticky and clingy love is also good~]
I can’t believe this!
Is this how you turn into a spook after hundreds of years?
I pushed aside the fact that the first saint was a pervy old lady and turned my back.
“Well, I’m going.”
[Okay, see you~ Ah! But before that, take this too.]
I turned back at her words to look at her again. The coffin in the sanctuary opened, and a seemingly ordinary sun-shaped ornament ascended from it.
A necklace that seemed to have belonged to the first saint came flying toward me.
“This is…”
[Keep it. It’ll protect you somewhat from mental pollution. You can also give it to another girl if you want.]
“Thank you.”
[No worries! I’m the one who should be thankful for keeping this old lady company. Hohoho… So if you have a child with her, come visit me once! It’s super boring here.]
“…I’ll see you next time.”
I quietly opened the sanctuary’s door and stepped out.
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