Inside the massive hall, countless students took their seats in an orderly fashion, resembling a neat sea of people.
Looking past the dense crowd, two men sat side by side at the very end of the back row.
“Chief Arbiter, we've been chatting for so long, yet I still don't know your name.”
“Lance. And yours?”
“Noctis.”
Lance, the Chief Arbiter, snorted softly upon hearing the name.
“To think an Archbishop of the Church would take a name like that. Aren't you afraid the Goddess will hand down punishment?”
Noctis shook his head dismissively. “The Goddess of Light only examines the purity of one's soul. Why would she care about such superficial vanities?”
“Speaking of which, that witch... actually survived. Didn't you already reach an agreement with those guys?”
Lance's gaze grew cold, and he replied with a hint of impatience, “There were too many complications.”
“What complications?” Noctis asked.
Lance glanced at him before speaking.
“You know of Wesley... No, not just him. The academy's higher-ups went back on their word as well.”
“Your Church must already know about that Blessed One...”
Noctis smiled. “Of course. The Goddess has already handed down Her guidance, instructing us to bring Her messenger back.”
“Do you know who it is?”
“Now, that is a secret. You're overstepping, Lord Chief Arbiter.”
Lance shook his head and redirected his attention to the center of the hall. His gaze pierced through the surrounding clamor, quietly locking onto Sevis on the platform.
“Rather than the academy's end-of-term ceremony, it's more like a commendation ceremony held for Sevis. He did indeed achieve great merit during that incident.”
“Upright, honorable, willing to sacrifice... He seems to fit your doctrines quite well, doesn't he?”
Noctis narrowed his eyes. “You aren't guessing that he is the Goddess's Blessed One, are you?”
“And what is your answer?”
“Lord Chief Arbiter, please don't put me on the spot. With the Goddess watching over us, I wouldn't even dare to nod my head.”
Noctis put on a pitiful expression like a childish kid, but his act only drew ridicule from Lance.
“If the Goddess could interfere with the mortal realm, you would have been struck dead by Her lightning long ago.”
“Heh, if the Goddess knew you were the one running Her Church, She would probably be so 'delighted' that Her divine splendor would dim.”
As if receiving high praise, a proud smile spread across Noctis's face.
“She won't know. Never.”
Having guessed something, Lance asked with interest, “You didn't come to the academy just to welcome the Blessed One, did you?”
“If it were truly the Goddess's guidance, you would have set off the moment that night ended.”
“Isn't coming now a bit too slow?”
Noctis narrowed his eyes and remained silent.
“The Goddess didn't give you any guidance at all. You simply heard that the Blessed One had appeared and feared he would clean house on Her behalf. That's why you rushed here in such a hurry, hoping to eliminate him first.”
“Well... am I right?”
Facing Lance's aggressive gaze, Noctis did not reply immediately. He turned his eyes toward Sevis on the platform before finally speaking.
“So, you think he is the Blessed One?”
Lance let out a soft laugh.
“It seems I guessed right.”
Noctis pouted like a child. “I really hate talking to you.”
Having received his confirmation, Lance spoke.
“It's not him.”
“What?”
Noctis was slightly taken aback.
“Although Sevis did make a significant contribution that night, he was still detained at the Titan Prosecution Office when the Blessed One appeared in the Echo Forest.”
“Then who was in the Echo Forest at the time?”
“The witch, Wesley, and... the Blessed One.”
Noctis seemed to grow annoyed.
“Of course I know that! And what are you smiling at?”
Lance shook his head. He hadn't expected the other to be so slow to catch on, even after such a blatant hint.
“I'm saying, if Wesley had already betrayed us, why did he still go to the Echo Forest?”
“And why did a Blessed One of the Goddess happen to appear at that exact moment?”
Noctis frowned, then his eyes widened as realization struck him.
“Wait... you mean everything Wesley did that day was solely to welcome the birth of the Blessed One?!”
“That's impossible! How could he have known in advance unless the Goddess directly guided him!”
Lance smiled faintly and pointed his finger toward Sevis on the platform.
“These are merely speculations.”
“But if you want to root out the Blessed One, wouldn't the most direct clues lie with the people Wesley has interacted with?”
Noctis narrowed his eyes, seemingly in agreement.
A moment later, Lance stood up and asked one last question.
“By the way, did the Saintess of your Church come today as well?”
“Of course. Why? Is the Chief Arbiter, at his advanced age, still interested in young girls?”
Accustomed to Noctis's provocative tongue, Lance did not take offense.
“I only wish to know how her 'purification' is progressing.”
Noctis shrugged with a smile. “At least as a vessel, she is perfectly fine.”
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Lance did not linger and walked straight out of the hall.
...
“Ugh... this ceremony took way too long...”
“It's because Senior Sevis's speech went on forever!”
“But Senior was only thinking of our safety. More than half of it was about summer safety precautions.”
With the ceremony concluded, the students began trickling out of the hall.
“Do you want to hang out at my place during summer vacation? We live pretty close!”
“No way. I'm not used to sleeping over at other people's places.”
“Lola!”
“Oh, sorry, someone seems to be calling me. I'll head out first.”
Lola waved goodbye to the girl behind her and ran toward the source of the voice.
“I didn't expect you to actually be a student.”
Hearing Ain's remark, Lola kicked his ankle in annoyance.
“What's it to you? Is the academy only open to you guys?”
Ain shrugged.
“You don't really need to attend classes, do you? You don't actually think disguising yourself as a student makes you look younger by—oof! Cough, cough, cough!”
Lola delivered a swift, brutal punch to Ain's stomach.
“Get to the point, or I'm leaving!”
Ain clutched his stomach and pulled the Card of Canal from his pocket.
“Honestly, you didn't even ask for it back when you saw me that night. I've been carrying it around this whole time.”
“I really don't get it. Why would a Diviner leave their own cards with someone else?”
Lola knitted her brows and took the card.
“Well, now that it's back in your hands, I should—”
“This isn't mine.”
Ain was about to turn and leave when her words struck him like a bolt of lightning, freezing him in his tracks.
“What did you say?”
“This isn't mine. And when did I ever give you this card? I have absolutely no memory of doing so.”
Ain stood dumbfounded.
“Wait, didn't you use this card to bring me into the ruins?”
“Ruins? What are you talking about?”
Lola looked genuinely confused.
Ain raised a hand to his mouth. After his mind went blank for a second, his thoughts began to race.
“No way...”
Rate on N.U.
