"Lady Elies."

"............"

"Lady Elies, honestly."

"Hyah!?"

A cold hand pressed against her back. The chill raced through her entire body, and Elies shrieked and leapt to her feet.

On the second floor of the Main Spirit Palace, in Elies's private room--

"Nebirim!?"

"If you keep sitting in the sun by the window, you'll get heatstroke. Besides, didn't you say you didn't want to tan any further?"

Nebirim had slipped into the room at some point, opening the door without Elies noticing.

Rather than the deep purple vestments that marked her as the highest-ranking Healer... she was, unusually, dressed lightly, with her upper arms bare from the shoulders.

"I just took a cold bath. It helps with the heat and clears the mind for prayer. You really should try it too, Lady Elies."

"...Honestly. So that's why your hands were cold."

Elies stepped away from the window with a wry smile.

Just as Nebirim had pointed out, she'd been staring out the window for so long that the intense sunlight had left her drenched in sweat. The golden vestments she wore as everyday clothes had soaked through and grown heavy.

"You seem quite lost in thought today."

"About what?"

She hadn't meant to dodge the question. She genuinely couldn't think of what Nebirim was referring to right away.

"If I had to guess, you've been thinking about their journey. It's been three days since they left. If the road has been smooth, they should have reached the Vanessa Wetlands by now. They might have even made it to the Underworld already."

"............"

It wasn't until Nebirim said it that she realized. The reason she'd been staring out the window was exactly what Nebirim had just described.

(...I wonder if Ren and the others made it through the Demon Lands safely.)

(...The Underworld is supposed to be unimaginably dangerous. I hope nothing terrible has happened to them.)

Without even realizing it, Elies had slipped into feeling as though she herself were a member of their party.

"Our Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage was originally founded by missionaries devoted to spreading the spirit faith. We do engage in Roaming Beast extermination and exploring hidden lands as acts of good, but our true calling is to find the dwelling places of spirits and protect them."

In a voice as gentle as falling rain, Nebirim turned toward the window, squinting against the brightness. "Our goal in seeking the Encore is ultimately to uncover the cause of the strange phenomenon of spirits growing frightened across the world. In that sense, maybe it lacks the fun of traveling the world and discovering unknown frontiers the way they do."

"I'll be fine. I'm not about to get swept up in anything."

"...You seem to be having fun."

"I am. This is the first time in about a year that I've been able to go out freely like this."

The days she had spent with them had been genuinely exciting for her. But she had never forgotten her duty as the holy maiden, and she had no intention of abandoning it now.

"You seemed especially happy when Ren was showing you around Canaan. Our party doesn't have many men your age, after all."

"...That's not what it was."

She turned her face sharply away.

Secretly, her heart had given a tiny skip--but she'd never admit that.

"...If you're telling me to go cool my head off with a cold bath, then fine, I will."

"No, no. That wasn't my intention at all."

Nebirim's lips curled into an amused smile.

"Besides, that isn't why I came. You have a visitor."

"A visitor?"

"Please, come in."

At Nebirim's invitation, the door to the room swung open.

Elies didn't remember making plans to meet anyone. Who could it be? As she watched the doorway, what came into view was golden hair that flowed like silk thread.

--A swordsman with an androgynous air about him.

Sharp yet charming features beneath a warm expression. His presence carried a gentle, almost feminine softness, yet his whole being radiated unmistakable vitality and energy.

A swordsman with two spirit swords strapped to his back.

"Shion!?"

"Hey, Elies. We've been running into each other a lot lately."

The golden-haired young man raised a hand in an easygoing wave.

Sword Saint Shion. The genius swordsman hailed as the strongest of the modern era alongside Knight King Zelbright had come to visit the Holy Land once again.

"...Honestly. You could at least tell me before you show up."

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, glad to see you're safe. Good to know we both made it through."

"You mean Elmekia?"

She gestured for Shion to take a seat, then settled into the chair across from him.

(...Visiting Canaan twice in such a short span...)

(...Something must really be bothering him.)

Elies had been challenging The Hegemon City Elmekia alongside Ren and the others around the same time that Shion had been making his own moves. Perhaps he was here to exchange information.

"You said you'd back us up early since there was a good chance we'd get surrounded by Elmekia Dusk once we entered Elmekia. But then you were late getting there. I was seriously worried, you know. And then you just vanished when we were trying to escape."

"Sorry, sorry. We had a lot going on too."

The Sword Saint scratched the back of his head apologetically.

"But that's not why I'm here this time. Actually, did the message I sent get through?"

"...If you mean about the Silent Agency, yes, I heard."

That had been the Telepathy received just before Ren and the others departed from the Holy Land.

A warning broadcast to every major city in the world. Reports of destruction by individuals believed to be the Silent Agency, accompanied by a request for each city to bolster its defenses.

Quite a few cities used ancient ruins as tourist attractions. The warning had stated that the Silent Agency might target those sites.

"Did you come all this way just to explain?"

"Just to be safe. Canaan manages far more ruins than any other city. But actually, there's one more reason I'm here."

Shion looked up at Nebirim, who stood at attention nearby.

"That old chapel you showed me the first time I visited. I want to see it again. You know, the one with the statue they call the 'Spirit Princess.'"

"The ancient temple, you mean?"

It was a place she had shown Ren as well.

Said to be the oldest surviving structure of the spirit faith.

"Do you guys like this place too?"

"Like! Like!"

"...Like."

She remembered how, when Ren had visited that place, his two spirits had manifested and bounced happily around the space--a space beloved by spirits.

"Actually, there's something about the Silent Agency I want to confirm."

"You found something?"

"Nah, it's still just a theory."

Shion shrugged with a curious grin.

At first glance it seemed breezy and vague, but his words carried an unmistakable confidence beneath the surface.

"If you're busy, I can go alone--just give me a pass to get in."

"Absolutely not."

Elies answered the straight-faced Sword Saint without hesitation.

"I'm coming too. You can't say something like that and not expect me to be curious."

"I figured you'd say that. Then it's settled."

"--Nebirim, make the arrangements immediately. We head for the ruins as soon as everything's ready."