The Neutral Saint's Unexpected Lesson
While the supporting character and Arti were deep in conversation, Sosia sat on the third-floor terrace wearing an unusually grave expression. "What should I say... how can I make that child understand..."
The reason Sosia had stubbornly insisted that Joyeon protect the hospital, and why she had remained alone on the third floor instead of evacuating with the others to the special ward, boiled down to the two most important things in her life: herself and her son.
She had tried to hold the hospital because she needed a place to survive. Bound by her oath, she could not harm others, so she required a sanctuary where she could endure. The moment she left, she would have no means of protecting herself.
Her other reason was more personal. Watching Joyeon slaughter Kelts Pitra without distinguishing friend from foe, calculating only the most efficient path to victory, she had seen too much of herself in him. She wanted to pull him back from that path, so she had forced him into an act that was anything but calculated.
"He must be furious with me... I sent him straight into danger. What on earth have I done..."
She had climbed to the third floor alone because she realized—too late—that she had pushed Joyeon into mortal peril under the pretext of reversing the effects of his Forbidden Tome Recitation. Worried for his safety, she had come to the terrace to see the situation with her own eyes.
Before she was the Neutral Saint or a sociopath, she was a mother.
Should she praise him? Apologize? And if she apologized, would he even accept it? Sosia felt a headache she had not experienced in years. The mask she usually wore so effortlessly had slipped, revealing a face filled with genuine, unfiltered emotion.
"Ah, Mom!"
Sosia flinched. Startled by her son's voice, she looked up to see Joyeon and Arti approaching, led by a small insect. For once, she was visibly flustered and could only stare as they drew near.
Relief washed over her at the sight of her unharmed son, yet the sight of his furrowed brow made her stomach twist with dread. She braced herself for whatever he might say.
Joyeon stopped in front of her and quickly scanned her from head to toe. "Mom."
"...Yes."
Her mind raced. How should she respond? Could she even endure hearing his anger? Maybe she could change the subject—pretend she was injured? No, if the lie was discovered it would only make things worse...
Outwardly she maintained her usual calm expression, but inside she was desperate to escape the moment.
Yet Joyeon's reaction was nothing like what she had expected.
"Why are you standing out here alone? I told you to stay somewhere safe."
"...Huh?"
"I was already worried when those wartroll bastards smashed the hospital entrance. I thought the whole building might collapse. Being up here is even more dangerous."
"...I... see..."
"Well, everything worked out in the end. Let's head back."
With those light words of concern, Joyeon turned to leave. Sosia, who had never imagined she would escape without a single word of blame, widened her eyes and instinctively grabbed his wrist.
Joyeon looked back, puzzled. "Did you have something to say?"
"No... I just... is that all?"
"All of what?"
"The things you wanted to say to me..."
"...What? Is there a problem? Do I need to say more?"
Joyeon genuinely looked confused. He even turned to Arti and quietly asked if there was something else he was supposed to say. Arti simply shook her head, equally baffled.
"I... I sent you into danger. I thought you would be angry..."
Joyeon scratched his head, looking momentarily lost. "Oh... right, I did think that earlier. But... why was I angry again? Huh? Weird. Why did it matter?"
He shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter now. Everything turned out fine."
"What?"
"It really doesn't matter. Asking me to protect the hospital wasn't wrong in the first place."
"N-not wrong...? I sent you straight into the jaws of death—"
"Abandoning everyone and running away would have been the real mistake. Besides, you can't fight. I can. So if I wanted to protect you, of course I had to fight. That's why I'm not angry."
"...Protect me?"
"...? Why do you look so surprised? Isn't that obvious? We're family."
Sosia stared at him in shock. Joyeon mirrored her surprise at her reaction. To her, the idea that someone would risk everything simply because they were family was incomprehensible—something she could never have imagined doing herself, and certainly not something she had expected from Joyeon.
Arti, watching from the side, began to understand. Ah... the Saintess knew something was off with Joyeon. She still doesn't realize he's back to normal.
She stepped closer to Joyeon and nodded meaningfully at Sosia, trying to signal that he had returned to his usual self.
Sosia interpreted the gesture in her own way. So Joyeon might still be able to return to his old personality... that simple, adorably foolish version of him...
If that's the case, then I need to act more like family... Yes. I can't keep my distance if I want to raise him normally. I need to get closer. More like a real family. That must be it...
The conclusion she reached was slightly warped by her peculiar brand of affection.
"I see... of course. Yes. That's what family does. Family is..."
"Right? Let's go back now."
Thinking the conversation was over, Joyeon turned to leave again. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and desperately wanted rest. But Sosia called out once more.
"Joyeon, wait a moment."
"Ha... what now?"
Annoyance crept into his voice, but her next words wiped his mind blank.
"I love you."
".....What did you just say?"
"I love you."
Joyeon's face twisted in disbelief. The woman standing before him was undoubtedly the Sosia he knew, yet the words coming from her mouth were something he had never heard—not even in his dreams.
"Why are you so surprised? A mother can tell her son she loves him."
"...Well, yes, but..."
Affectionate words from a parent were not strange in themselves. But coming from Sosia, they felt utterly alien.
She did not stop there. She spread both arms wide and moved to embrace him. Joyeon recoiled as if he had seen a ghost, thrusting his hands forward to keep her at bay.
"W-wait! What are you doing?! What's gotten into you all of a sudden?!"
"Why are you acting like this when your mother just wants to hug her son? It's only natural. If anything, we've gone far too long without it, haven't we?"
"No no no no. I mean, you're not wrong, but—"
"Come here. This is normal behavior between family."
Joyeon could tell from her expression that she was not joking. There was even a hint of something bordering on madness in her eyes. That only made it more terrifying. She had never approached him like this before—quite the opposite. Instinctively, he tried to flee.
His gaze landed on Arti, who was watching the scene like a spectator.
"I-it's a little embarrassing, okay? I'm twenty years old already. Doing this in front of Arti is..."
"Eh? Me?"
Arti, suddenly dragged into the situation, looked at Joyeon in confusion. Then she felt Sosia's gaze sweep over her—an intense, almost predatory look that sent a chill down her spine.
"...I see. I didn't think of that. Such deep displays of affection should only happen when family is alone..."
"T-that's not quite it either..."
"Very well. I'll give up on the hug."
"Haa... huh? The hug?"
Sosia lowered one arm but raised the other, gently placing her hand on Joyeon's head and stroking his hair.
"You did well, Joyeon. Thank you for protecting everyone. Thanks to you, we all survived."
"E... eh..."
"This much is fine, isn't it?"
"...Yeah."
Honestly, Joyeon had never received this kind of treatment from Sosia before, so he felt deeply flustered. Still, it wasn't unpleasant. He quietly accepted her touch.
Arti watched them from a step behind, silently observing.
Phew~ I thought something bad was going to happen when the Saintess glared at me, but thank goodness...
She had no desire to get involved and simply wanted to remain a quiet bystander.
The Saintess seems a bit strange too, just like Joyeon... or maybe she's only like this when she's with him? Hmm, I can't really tell... Well, it's not a huge change, and she's usually so hard to approach that this might actually be better.
Arti decided it would be wise not to get caught between them.
However—
"Now then, it's Arti's turn."
Sosia had not forgotten her.
"Pardon? Saintess? What do you mean by my turn?"
"What else? You were saved too, weren't you? By Joyeon. Correct?"
"Eh... well, I did save Joyeon once as well—"
Zap!
"A-ah, now that you mention it, I was saved again afterward..."
Under Sosia's dark, abyss-like gaze, Arti felt an inexplicable chill and stammered out her answer.
"Exactly. So you should repay that debt, shouldn't you? To Joyeon."
"Repay... it...?"
"Repay it."
Sosia smiled her usual composed smile and pressed Arti to show her "sincerity" toward Joyeon.