“Um, teacher. What does that mean…?”
With a clattering sharp sound, a teacup was placed on the table.
The tea was still steaming hot, and a wave of vapor splashed over, spilling onto Vigrind’s fingers and leaving a water mark.
But Vigrind, not even aware of the heat, was gazing at Aege.
“… I mean it, Vigrind. Yona has been here.”
“Y-Yona… Yona?”
“Yeah. It’s only been a few days since she left.”
Vigrind quickly looked around.
Fortunately, no one was around, including Ludvik and the others.
It was a good thing that he came alone; he wanted to have a quiet meeting with Aege.
Maybe it was because he came alone that Aege even felt comfortable talking about it.
“Uh, how was… Yona?”
At that question, Aege gave a faint smile.
If questions like “Where did the apostate go?” or “Why did you meet her?” had come up first, Aege would likely have been deeply disappointed.
“Seeing you ask how Yona was first, I guess I didn’t teach you well.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Vigrind seem flustered.
It was a bit awkward to ask how Yona was; after all, she was now a saint of the Church of the Celestial God, maybe he should have asked something more serious.
But before such questions even popped into his mind, the question about Yona had slipped out first.
“She’s fine. You two are my pride, not hers. Yona… well, she must have her reasons. I believe that. You believe it too, Vigrind?”
“……”
Even at Aege’s words, Vigrind couldn’t reply.
Looking back, it wasn’t something to be shocked about.
Vigrind thought that Yona would definitely come to Evian to meet Teacher Aege, and just as he expected, Yona had visited Evian.
Teacher Aege met her safely, and though it was amazing that Yona arrived before Ludvik and Vigrind, no matter how she managed it, it was still a relief.
“… Actually, I want to believe that Yona hasn’t really become an apostate…”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that. Vigrind had painfully confirmed that Yona had indeed become an apostate.
Especially in the midst of the Infura Church Region, with plenty of witnesses present, the situation made it even more undeniable.
It was meaningless for Vigrind to cling to that belief alone.
“She has become an apostate, that much is clear. Vigrind, even if I say this, you mustn’t do the same.”
“Vigrind, even if I say so, you shouldn’t do that.”
Aege’s stern voice pulled Vigrind out of his thoughts.
As always, with her strict tone and expression, Aege gazed at Vigrind.
Her eyes radiated undeniable warmth, yet they remained firmly locked on Vigrind.
“You are a Saint of the Church of the Celestial God. You should be stricter with the doctrine than anyone else. I am someone who can be swayed by personal feelings, but the Saint must not be. You should value the church above all.”
“…Then can you tell me? Where did Yona go?”
“What do you plan to do when you find Yona?”
No answer came back to the question.
Vigrind quietly stared at Aege without responding to her inquiry.
Aege also gazed back at Vigrind in silence.
Time passed aimlessly as they locked eyes.
The silence was neither heavily oppressive nor entirely light, a kind of weighty but not crushing stillness.
Within this silence, the teacup had already grown cold.
“…I’ll grab your hair and shake you by it. What on earth were you thinking, doing something like that?”
“And then?”
“I’ll make you kneel behind the cathedral and hold your arms up.”
Pfft—
Aege burst into laughter.
That was a frequent occurrence.
Whenever Yona skipped class to go out, she always found herself kneeling behind the cathedral with her arms raised.
Sometimes, she was even caught sitting there holding a bucket of water.
“Would this be the kind of answer you wanted, Teacher?”
“Yes. Vigrind, that was a Saintly answer. You have to follow the doctrine, but as a Saint, there are things you can do. Like kindness and compassion.”
“You do remember it was you, Teacher, who said a Priest shouldn’t be so fierce, right?”
Vigrind, with narrowed eyes, looked at Aege.
And Aege, receiving that gaze with ease, faintly smiled.
“Rumor has it that the first Saint, Sonia, had quite the temper before she became a Saint. They say she fought tooth and nail when she first met Hero Shiwoo… It’s just a rumor, so it’s not very credible, but still.”
“…I don’t wish for that.”
“Well then, anyway…”
Sister Aege lifted her teacup and leisurely savored its aroma.
Though the tea was already cold, leaving nothing but bitterness, Aege took a sip and set the cup down again.
“…I hear you’re going to the Katus Empire.”
“The Katus Empire?”
If you’re headed to the Katus Empire, you have two options. There might be more, but from the perspective of Evian, it’s either the port city of Foret or the Kingdom of Lukasia’s Katus Port.
Among those, the closer choice is Katus Port, while Foret is where Ludvik and Priest Vigrind came from, so that’s definitely not it.
“…It must be Katus Port then.”
“Well, I’m not sure about that.”
She actually knew, but why bother.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I didn’t say anything, alright?”
Sister Aege pretended to wink and joked around.
Vigrind smiled faintly and nodded along.
If Ludvik asked who she heard that from, it would be easy to dodge the question. It would be a disaster to say she heard it from Aege.
“And I have one request.”
“Please, go ahead, Teacher.”
“…You do know about the crazy things the Church of the Celestial God is up to, right?”
Vigrind’s fingers hesitated.
He couldn’t possibly be unaware of the crazy things the church was doing—it was something he knew all too well.
“Could you do something to stop that madness? It seems His Holiness has finally lost his marbles, as he can’t tell what’s acceptable and what’s not. No matter how much the Church of the Celestial God has authority equal to the royal family, such behavior shouldn’t be tolerated.”
Both Vigrind and Aege would understand why they were capturing girls with white hair.
But it was the subsequent issue that was troubling.
The persecution of black-haired individuals during a time of silence was still a well-known tale.
Rumors spread by the Righteous God, filled with malice, and those duped by that malice drove the persecution against black-haired individuals.
Aege couldn’t shake the feeling that it was happening all over again.
Rumors spread quickly that the Church’s inquisitors were specifically targeting girls with white hair, and the perception that the inquisitors wouldn’t just randomly capture them followed swiftly.
Households with white-haired daughters were busy hiding their children. There were even rumors that white-haired individuals were demon worshippers.
“Things are already happening in Evian. This is truly madness. Perhaps this is more important than following Yona.”
“This is absolutely crazy. Maybe this is even more important than following Yona.”
“Well, it does feel that way.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
– “Sister Aege.”
“Who’s there?”
As Aege turned to ask after pausing her conversation with Priest Vigrind, the answer soon came.
– “It’s the Inquisition Branch Chief. May I come in?”
The unexpected visitor was Sir Alistein.
*
It seemed they had covered about half the distance.
It was mostly due to delays at each village, but still, giving up on traveling by carriage was not an option.
“Why are there so many carriages around? Doesn’t that seem odd?”
At Yona’s words, Kaiyak glanced back at her.
It was indeed something that could feel strange to her.
Though Evian was a mid-sized city, the overwhelming number of adventurers passing through wasn’t related to significant trade or anything like that.
Yet, even so, since Yona and her party left Evian, they had passed dozens of cargo carriages.
Initially, Yona didn’t pay much attention.
But passing by so many cargo carriages naturally started to feel strange to her.
“It’s the middle of winter, so it’s not the season for grains, and it’s not a time for heavy trade either. Why are there so many cargo carriages?”
“It’s probably a coincidence.”
Kaiyak frowned, his eyes twitching in annoyance.
Those cargo carriages surely contained a bunch of white-haired girls he had seen before.
It seemed they were being captured as far as the Kingdom of Lukasia and sent to the diocese in Evian, but now Yona was getting curious about it too.
“Coincidence, my foot. If coincidences keep happening, it’s fate. Something feels off.”
Yona was always quick to pick up on things.
And now that she had become a Saint, her intuition was heightened, signaling to her that this situation shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Alebians, come out here.”
The cargo carriage that just passed by was still within sight.
Though Yona couldn’t see inside the carriage since she was sitting with her back to it, Alebians, in the position she was seated, would have a clear view.
Alebians quietly moved aside, and Yona switched seats to gaze intently at the cargo area of the passing carriage.
“…What’s that?”
Yona’s eyes widened in surprise.
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