Shetiel saw no reason to lie. Although she knew full well that Lady Isobel was, to some extent, the mastermind behind everything, magical beasts were of the same kind after all.
Deceiving one another was meaningless and a waste of time, so she simply spoke the truth.
“Isobel?” Sathya asked, her attention drawn to their conversation.
The name sounded vaguely familiar. Suddenly, a memory surfaced, reminding her of that powerful enemy.
“The Deceptive Magical Beast.”
“Mhm, the Deceptive Magical Beast. She told me that she was the one who sent Sister Tina to the White Dusk Forest.”
Sathya was quite shocked. She had sensed the presence of the Deceptive Magical Beast last time, so she should have realized sooner that such a creature would awaken early. “What is her goal?”
“She wants to build a kingdom of magical beasts. Hmm, I think it sounds pretty good.”
“Is that so...”
Sathya glanced at Tina in her arms, cradling her soft body, while the "little beast" looked up at her in confusion.
“Lady Sathya, when did you start using the term ‘Demon King’?” Velrose suddenly remembered and asked.
“The Demon King has always existed. She will be our leader and the ruler of all magical beasts.”
“Is that how the magical beasts define it?”
“Well...” Sathya found herself unable to explain clearly either.
The fundamental reason was that the Demon King had never actually appeared, yet now, Sister Tina perfectly fit the definition of the Demon King.
But only she knew that Tina had experienced the "future," which was why she had coincidentally done things similar to the Demon King.
However, she only did it for me.
Was that really all?
If everything was just falling into place naturally, it would be far too much of a coincidence.
If it were the old Sister Tina, who had once slain the Deceptive Magical Beast with her own hands, she probably would have noticed this too and quickly reached a conclusion.
Sister Tina was just that remarkable.
At this thought, she glanced at Tina again. When others spoke, Tina often appeared somewhat timid, like a child who was afraid of strangers.
This was likely the true inner world of Sister Tina, laid bare without any pretense.
That was why she kept stroking Tina's body, wanting her to at least feel that she was right there with her.
“By the way, I haven't asked where your ‘sisters’ went,” Sathya said, looking at Shetiel.
Shetiel was a girl with absolutely no sense of personal boundaries. She seemed ready to hold hands with other magical beasts at any moment... which was fine, but there was even a chance she might suddenly cling to Sathya.
“They are all inside my body. I can call them out at any time.” Shetiel pointed to her heart.
...
With the onset of winter, the uniforms of the Holy Academy were gradually replaced with warmer winter wear, though there was virtually no difference on the surface.
Of course, for most students, using magic to ward off the cold was also a required course. Thus, even in heavy snow, the students went about their day as usual, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow.
However, Lavertis did not share their ease.
She had learned that Saintess Sathya had been attacked by magical beasts during the operation in the White Dusk Forest, but the three apprentice Saintesses who were originally in the Leaflight society had all vanished.
In her panic, she hurriedly checked various records, only to gasp in shock.
This was because their information had completely vanished, as if it had never existed, with no records whatsoever remaining.
Everyone around them, except for those in the Leaflight society, knew absolutely nothing about this.
Many of them even assumed that Sathya was still studying and living her life as normal.
It was snowing today.
The weather was freezing. Honestly, she didn't mind seeing the Leaflight society constantly ranking at the bottom.
She was a student herself, a minor holy sister who had clawed her way up from a small convent. The Leaflight society she founded was meant to provide a haven for these poor children, rather than forcing them to compete for the scarce learning resources with society members who had families and backgrounds.
She cared deeply about Tina and Sathya...
Although they weren't extremely close, they were still classmates who had played and chatted together. In her heart, she already regarded them as friends.
Yet they had suddenly vanished into thin air, just like many others in the White Dusk Forest.
The Church had to be hiding something.
She was absolutely certain that the two of them were not dead.
That evening, she called a meeting with some of the students she trusted.
They discussed how to break through the Church's information blockade to find the missing Sathya and Tina.
Especially little Tina.
That dummy was very likely a tsundere who said one thing but meant another.
Over the past few days, the core members of the Leaflight society had begun applying to leave the school under the pretext of “outdoor training,” searching for clues everywhere without actually leaving the city.
And this movement happened to be noticed by Krulu.
The young lady of the Sarather family slipped into the Leaflight society one night to meet with Lavertis.
The tearoom on the first floor was unlit, ensuring their conversation would not be overheard by anyone.
“Krulu, do you have a purpose for coming this time?”
“Nothing much. I simply heard that your society has recently been looking into the news of the Saintess's disappearance.”
Krulu smiled, and Lavertis felt no hostility toward her.
This merchant prioritized interests above all else, and though she occasionally suffered from “princess syndrome,” it was thanks to her that the Leaflight and Nightingale societies maintained close relations. This was the first time the Leaflight society had ever received such care from another society.
However, a discussion as intimate as today's was a first.
Yet, the current situation was far more complicated than they had imagined.
According to recent news, the newly appointed Cardinal Elcalan had enacted many new dogmas at the Pope's suggestion.
Every single one of these new dogmas revolved around the “Saintess Selection.”
Currently, Krulu was the President of the Nightingale Society, while the former President had become the Principal of the Holy Academy.
The Sarather family and the Church would soon engage in close cooperation.
She had a bad premonition. At the very least, Krulu and her group would not be standing on the same side anytime soon.
But Krulu's response shocked her.
“I will support you.”
“Miss Krulu?”
“Our Sarather family will be paying close attention to this matter.”
“Thank you very much...”
With the backing of the Sarather family, Lavertis instantly felt much more reassured, especially since the promise had come directly from Miss Krulu's own mouth.
But just to be safe, she still asked, “Why? There's no reason for the Sarather family to help Leaflight.”
“There are some things within the Church that have not been made public to you,” Krulu said, her eyes narrowing.
“...”
“Just yesterday, the newly appointed Cardinal Elcalan made a grand show of issuing orders to all the high-ranking officials of the Church.”
“What did she say?”
“She ordered all of her subordinates to do everything in their power to hunt down Sathya and Tina, putting out warrants for them to be brought to the Holy Capital.”
“Wh—”
“Tina, Sathya, and Velrose aren't in any danger at all. They are simply fleeing from Elcalan's pursuit.”
Despite the freezing winter, Krulu wore a magnificent dress, and frost condensed on her exposed thighs—a result of her magic.
“The Saintess Selection will be the death of us all.”
“...I see. I understand now. No wonder Tina said those things before.”
“Oh, by the way.”
Krulu seemed to suddenly recall something and said, “A few days ago, Elcalan single-handedly defeated a bizarre, powerful magical beast hiding among humans.”
“And the result?”
“Supposedly, she succeeded.”
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