The Stars Answer to Her
Lethe, now dressed in the pure white uniform of Efnel, stepped forward.
Her hair, once streaked with gray, had returned to a snow-white so pristine it seemed carved from the winter sky itself, cascading and rippling down her back.
"I'll be counting on you for my escort."
Simon, who had been staring blankly, snapped out of it and nodded. "Ah—right! Leave it to me."
While she wielded Star Weaving, Lethe was completely defenseless. Guarding her during that time was Simon's job.
A mischievous smile crossed her lips. "Watching you scramble around like that, I don't trust you one bit."
Simon cleared his throat. "Don't worry."
"Good."
Lethe gave a nod, took one last look at the night scenery of Roke Island, then drew in a deep breath. "I will trust you."
Exhaling softly, she pressed her palms tightly together and closed her eyes.
She looks like a painting, Simon thought. She was always sharp-tongued and composed, but the moment she began to pray, her entire presence transformed.
Shhhhh—
The sound of grass brushing against grass filled the air.
"O great Mother of all creation."
With each line of the prayer, a white magic circle unfurled beneath her feet. The circles layered over one another in real time, until the surroundings were awash with white glyphs.
Before long she lifted her hands from each other, raised both arms toward the night sky, and slowly began to move her index fingers.
The stars...!
They began to move at her command.
Every star fixed in the heavens stretched outward, trailing long ribbons of light behind them.
A march of the stars.
Faced with a sight he had never witnessed in his life, Simon could only stand with his mouth hanging open in awe. The luminous tails left in the stars' wake conjured a spectacle of sheer majesty.
Vuuuuum!
The magic circles beneath her feet resonated in answer. As the stars drew a map across the sky, that very map was reproduced perfectly upon Lethe's circles.
The stellar authority wielded through a Saintess's power — its formulas looked, unmistakably, like constellations.
Incredible.
Simon was far from an expert in white magic, but even he could tell that each of these constellations carried a meaning of its own.
Swish, swish.
Eyes closed, Lethe conducted the stars with her fingertips, a pleased smile playing at her mouth. Her snowfall-like hair swirled and streamed, and her rounded shoulders swayed gently from side to side, keeping time with an unseen rhythm.
It was an impossibly beautiful scene.
The stars were singing.
"I can feel people's hearts."
A delighted voice spilled from Lethe's lips. "Even the people of the Dark Alliance are watching the stars and making wishes, it seems."
"Ah, yeah. I suppose they are."
"Doesn't matter where they live. People are all the same."
Still waving her hand cheerfully, Lethe soon brought both arms together and stretched them straight up toward the heavens.
Whooshaaaaaa—!
Every circuit drawn in the shape of constellations was converging into a single circle.
The circle Lethe stood upon.
The instant the circuits met and locked together around her magic circle—
Oh.
The night sky opened.
A brilliance too blinding to look upon cast its light on Lethe and Lethe alone. Bathed in a spotlight of pure radiance, she knelt meekly in the grass and recited her final prayer.
Vuuuuuum!
The magic circle poured out one last flood of dazzling light. Unable to interfere, Simon took a step back.
At last.
Sssshhhhh—!
The magic Lethe had woven from the night sky returned to its rightful place. The stars, the Milky Way, the meteor showers — everything fell back into its original order.
Her hair, which had floated weightlessly as though suspended in the sky, drifted slowly down to rest on her shoulders, and she released her clasped hands, folding them neatly in her lap.
Finally her eyes opened, revealing brilliant golden irises. A soft breath escaped her lips in a faint white haze.
Simon hurried over. "You okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
She said it matter-of-factly, but her expression was troubled.
"Good work."
Simon held out his hand with a gentle smile.
Lethe, who had been about to slap her hand down onto his just as she usually did, gradually slowed the motion — and instead rose to her feet with only her index and middle fingers resting lightly on his palm.
"Did you find something?"
Simon asked, his heart in his throat. Lethe swept her long hair back with a pensive look, then finally spoke.
"Observation complete. Besides myself, there are nine people on this island carrying divinity."
The afterimage of the magic circles still lingered faintly in her sight. She glided over and pointed in a single direction.
"Six to the west. These people are—"
"Right. Professor Parahan and the teaching assistants."
They were the converts officially affiliated with Kizen, teaching Holy Defense Studies. Lethe swung her finger to the side.
"And one in the southern cave."
"The southern cave — that's Professor Grelion's. So the Saintess of the Harvest is there."
"Correct. And one at the northern base, surrounded by necromancers."
It came to Simon at once. "The northern base? Then that's the Priest we captured this time."
"Yes. Which leaves one more—"
Lethe raised her fingertip, her voice rich and ringing. Simon swallowed hard and waited—
Tap.
She pressed her index finger to his forehead and beamed brightly. "You."
Simon's face flushed scarlet. Lowering her hand, she smirked playfully and crossed her arms.
"Looks like that's our answer."
"Wait — then that means—!"
"Yes. Yes."
Lethe's voice softened. "Ever Kire is not on this island."
* * *
Simon carried Lethe down the mountain after her Star Weaving was complete.
Fortunately, they encountered neither monsters nor sentries, and made it safely back to the secure zone. From there they traveled a little farther, until Simon delivered her to Grelion's Cave — their base camp.
-This is fine for a drop-off?
-Yes. Thank you for seeing me back.
Since there was nothing to gain from the two of them being seen together, Simon headed straight back to the dormitory, while Lethe walked the rest of the way into the cave alone.
-Your Holiness!
The necromancer agents had all seen the stars of heaven tremble, so word of her Star Weaving had already spread. She entered the cave and reported her findings to Nephthys's operatives immediately.
Nine divinity-holders besides herself.
Of course, Lethe had excluded Simon from the observation and included herself in the report. The detected divinity users were Parahan and his assistants, the recently captured Priest, and the Saintess of the Harvest.
No other users of divinity existed. In other words, the conclusion was that Ever Kire was not on the island.
-So she really did escape wounded?
-A blessing in disguise, then.
When it came to divinity, the Saintess was the continent's foremost authority, and unless one was prepared to doubt Lethe herself, her word carried tremendous force. Kizen, too, began settling on the assumption that Ever Kire was gone.
-If that still isn't enough to ease your minds, I'll perform it once more tomorrow evening.
Lethe had to remain on Roke Island until the Saintess of the Harvest returned to normal anyway. The Harvest Saintess, currently bisected by Ever Kire's ability, would be in far too much danger if she passed through space magic in that state.
And so the next morning broke.
Having heard the agents' report, Nephthys issued a new order.
Since the Saintess had confirmed Ever Kire was not on Roke Island, all ship traffic would be banned from the fourth day onward.
Once again, towering waves heaved along the shores around Roke Island, and powerful currents churned the surrounding sea.
-What sort of nonsense is this!
-We can't go back in?
Spectators who had stepped off the island briefly on errands, and merchants attempting to bring in their goods, protested in confusion at Kizen's decision — but Kizen cited security concerns, offered suitable compensation, and sent them on their way.
All teleportation circles within Roke Island were likewise suspended for the time being. It was decided that ironclad security would be maintained, cutting off every point of external entry, until the Dark Festival drew to a close.
Simon, who had woken that morning and come straight to Grelion's Cave, heard the explanation from Kazhan.
"Feels like we can finally breathe a little."
Kazhan muttered, scratching the scar beneath his eye.
"Yeah. Sealing off Roke Island was a sound call."
Simon thought the decision was a good one, too. If Ever Kire truly had been wounded by the Saintess of the Harvest's counterattack and slipped off the island, getting back in would be no easy feat.
The distance from the mainland to Roke Island was considerable.
She would have to push through the currents and the waves, break past the barriers, and evade the surveillance network stretched across the entire sea.
Her reality manipulation would have to remain active the entire way from land to the island. Getting in would be grueling enough — and even if she made it, she would most likely arrive with her power spent.
"But—"
Simon crossed his arms with a creak of joints. "The real problem is the possibility that Ever Kire never left the island at all."
"Excuse me?"
A short distance away, Lethe — seated with her legs crossed and a scowl on her face — glared at him, eyes blazing.
"Are you saying you don't trust the Saintess's authority I performed, hmm?"
"N-no! That's not it at all, Your Holiness!"
Lethe was back to the prickly Saintess act she'd put on the day before.
Complaining that necromancers were the problem with everything, whining about the smell of corpses and demanding they keep their distance — the sheer, world-class sensitivity of the performance was truly impressive.
At this point, isn't that just her real self?
Simon was quietly breaking out in a cold sweat.
"It's true the situation has improved," Kazhan went on, "but we cannot afford to let our guard down until the Dark Festival is over."
Heavy footsteps rang out — and Aleister, a Crow agent and the officer in charge of this operation, appeared.
The necromancer agents bowed their heads in unison, but Lethe continued to snort with disdain, not even deigning to look at him.
"As the Student Council President says, we cannot rule out the possibility that Ever Kire has found a way to conceal her divinity entirely with her ability. Your Holiness, I must ask for your cooperation in today's and tomorrow's searches as well."
"Good grief. You certainly know how to work an ally to the bone."
Lethe sat sprawled in a slouch, picking at her ear. "If you're that nervous, fine. But I have conditions of my own."
"Name them."
"First — I'm done playing the nobleman's daughter. It's annoying and a hassle."
She flung the dress that had been laid out for her to wear.
"Second — I hate being swarmed by a crowd of people playing bodyguard. It only draws more attention. There's no Ever Kire here, so what's the point of all that?"
"Then how would you prefer to proceed?"
"I'll just wander around pretending to be an ordinary spectator and look for her myself."
Lethe rose from her seat. "I'll comb through every corner — starting with the crowded stadiums and the like."
"...Hmm. If you're willing to go that far, we'd be grateful."
She was the one extending a hand of goodwill to help prevent a war; they were in no position to make demands of a Saintess.
Besides, Kizen had already begun orienting itself around the conclusion that Ever Kire was absent, and security had loosened somewhat compared to yesterday's emergency footing.
Lethe gave a nod and started walking out of the cave. "Oh."
She stopped mid-step and looked back.
"Come to think of it, I don't know my way around this place. I'd like at least one guide."
"Then I shall assign you an agent."
"No thanks. Two of us traipsing around — a bearded old man and me? What a picture that'd make."
Lethe glanced around the room, heaved a theatrical sigh of exasperation, and pointed straight at Simon. "You there. Student."
Simon pointed at himself, flustered. "You mean... me?"