“…I suppose I can see why you wanted Ena gone so bad, Eleanor. But there’s still something I don’t understand.”

  At the mention of her name, the nephilim turns to stare at Sincir emotionlessly. “What I don’t understand is why you’re still here. Father, isn’t it far past the time for the children to head to bed?”

  “Hirious,” Sincir counters, “But that goes for the both of us, doesn’t it? And yet, Father Anders went through the trouble of bringing us here, which means he wants our help to reach a solution for the problem at hand. Isn’t that right, Father?”

  Eleanor frowns. “We don’t need-”

  “I’d rather not have involved the children,” Father Anders interrupts, attracting the nephilim’s attention as he smiles softly, before continuing, “However, I’m afraid it might be too te for that… I never expected you’d grow so close to Ena, Sincir, but I’m gd you were able to finally make a friend, dire as the situation may be.”

  Sincir grimaces. “Don’t patronize me, old man. Do you want my help, or not?”

  “Sincir!” Sister Leona excims, shocked sounding.

  “That’s all right, Sister. In spite of his age, Sincir has a unique way of viewing things, and I figure we could use his insight on the matter,” Father Anders says, raising his hand in her direction, then shifting his gaze back to Sincir, as he continues, “And so, now you know of our predicament, son, though I was hoping to spare you from it. As it happens, your first friend also happens to be at the center of the matter… I’m sorry.”

  Sincir shrugs. “Did I not know better, I might’ve accused you of orchestrating the whole thing. But, as I was saying earlier, there are still some things I do not understand.”

  Father Anders nods. “Go ahead. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”

  To start, Sincir points his thumb toward the unhappy-looking ,ephilim standing by him. “First, why is she here? If the church is looking for promising acolytes, Eleanor over here is about the best they could ever hope to find. I can’t imagine they’d let her rotting in some backwater orphanage for a second more than necessary… No offense.”

  Eleanor grimaces briefly, while Father Anders chuckles. “None taken. You’re right, of course. Eleanor is exactly the type of child the church would kill to get their hands on, and the reason she’s still in my care is quite simple: I’ve hidden her from their gaze thus far, just as I have Ena, and many others who have now left, to live their lives free of Estrein’s oppression.”

  Sincir takes a gnce toward Eleanor, meeting her cool gaze for a moment, before shifting his eyes to rest against Father Anders once more.

  “Does that mean you’d also be punished if she’s found out here?”

  Father Anders shakes his head. “Much the opposite. Handing her over, even at this age, would most likely increase the orphanage’s funding, and my standing with the church… Of course, alternatively, were she to run away or disappear, with the church ter coming to know of the fact she existed in my care for an extended period of time, I’d then have to take responsibility.”

  “And I take it you would’ve accepted the risk, but Eleanor over here has other pns?”

  Father Anders sighs. “She knows of my wishes, but I cannot deny her the chance to choose her own future.”

  “Pain in the ass, is she?”

  “…Unlike you?” Eleanor murmurs.

  Heh, fair point.

  “All right, Father, we’ve danced around the big question for long enough. What happens when these inspectors finally arrive? Surely, if you have gone through this so many times before, you must have some type of pn?”

  Father Anders nods. “Naturally. The inspectors will not arrive without ample warning, and Ena will remain hidden outside the orphanage during their stay. Since they’re technically not here to search for dissidents, and having Eleanor's existence to occupy their attention with, Ena’s presence should go unnoticed, unless someone goes out of their way to inform them of it.”

  Not bad. Sincir isn’t sure he’d have done it differently himself, but…

  “And what if someone does? Eleanor has gone through great lengths to make sure everybody hates her. Won’t that be a problem?”

  “I have not,” Eleanor corrects, “I might have pyed a part in it, but Ena was ostracized from the beginning.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “You mean to tell me Jael isn’t your boyfriend?”

  “…Who?” Eleanor asks, looking confused.

  …Oh.

  Either she is a great actor, or Ena’s bullies are not working together, as he assumed after hearing Eleanor’s story… Damn it, did he have her beat up the wrong bully!? And after all those speeches he gave her…

  Ignoring a slight blush he most definitely feels spreading throughout his cheeks, Sincir clears his throat. “…Anyway, how do you pn on making sure no one tells on her, Father?”

  Following Varzath’s question, Eleanor turns to stare at Father Anders, obviously interested in his answer. By her reaction, it seems she is also in the dark about this.

  “How to, indeed…”

  Father Anthers sighs, his gaze turning toward the angel’s statue overseeing their small reunion.

  “The Creator teaches us to be truthful, but how could a lie, great or small, compare to the life of a child…? I’ll tell the children a partial truth, that if Ena’s existence is ever uncovered, it’d bring shame upon this institution, greatly diminishing their chances of ever being chosen for a high position at the church,” Father Anders continues, his tone somber, “Even if they themselves were the ones to reveal it. The church might occasionally forgive, but it certainly does not forget, and the mark of having mingled with a demi-human would always stay with them. As for the Sisters, at least those who do not yet know of it, I’ll simply tell them the whole truth: many of the children we love would be tossed on the street if Ena is found to have lived within these walls.”

  Sincir supposes Father Anders could tell everybody the truth, but that would make many of the children become terrified, which could very much have the opposite of the desired effect; This way, they’re likely to keep their mouths shut for the good of their future, but they won’t be inclined to confess in order to escape punishment…

  Huh? Was his help not needed from the beginning? Ugh. And after he went through all the trouble of steeling himself for it…

  “The risk is far too great!” Eleanor says, suddenly stepping forward with a half-desperate expression on her face, “If they find out we are actively hiding her…! You won’t even be able to feign ignorance, Father! They would torture you to know how many more demi-humans you’ve hidden, or helped escape! Please, let me-”

  “Eleanor, that’s enough,” Father Anders interrupts softly, his gaze shifting in her direction as he steps forward and brings a hand to rest against her shoulder. “I understand your fear, daughter, but we must fight, however we can, for that which we believe is correct. And sometimes, doing as much might put our lives on the line… As for the Inquisition, their torture would not break me.”

  “…Father would not be the only one to suffer it,” Eleanor murmurs darkly, “I don’t know if they’d touch the children, but the Sisters would certainly not escape scrutiny.”

  Father Anders smiles at her, though it is clear his expression is not completely devoid of fear. “The vast majority of them know little which could be used against them. The Inquisition might be merciless, but they don’t torture for entertainment, or pleasure… They will give the matter for closed with my death, as the one who orchestrated everything.”

  Eleanor clenches her teeth. “…And what about me?”

  Father Anders sighs. “They’d forgive you… Under the condition you go with them, swearing to serve the church for the rest of your life. On second thought, I figure they might even spare this pce from total destruction, if it means you’ll accept their terms.”

  “They? They would forgive me?! Is that a joke?” Eleanor murmurs, fists closing as a gust of wind suddenly blows around her, extinguishing many of the candles and causing Father Anders to widen his eyes.

  Sincir blinks, stepping back reflexively. That was most definitely magic… Has the old man been teaching her?

  “Eleanor-”

  Eleanor abruptly sps Father Anders's hand from her shoulder, turns away, and begins to head for the exit.

  Sister Leona, expression pale, quickly steps back, daring not to stand in her way after what just happened.

  “Eleanor!” Father Anders calls, causing her to stop and gnce over her shoulder.

  As she does so, Varzath realizes her eyes glow faintly, burning with Holy Magic, ready to explode forth.

  “I shall accept your decision, Father… But know that I’ve made vows of my own, and I have no intention of breaking them.”

  And with that, she heads off, walking through the chapel’s open doors without a second look back.

  …Wow. Considering her age, being able to do that much without casting a spell shows some crazy potential… No wonder the old man thinks the Inquisition might spare this pce if it meant appeasing her to become a good church dog in the future.

  Father Anders clears his throat. “Sister, could you please accompany Eleanor to her room? I’m afraid she might try to head outside, and she’ll need her friends around her now… As they’ll need her, after what happened earlier.”

  “F-Father-”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll listen to you. She might not look like it, but she’s a good girl.”

  Sister Leona nods, though she still looks unsure as she turns and heads after Eleanor with hurried steps.

  “…Just what part of her is supposed to be the good girl part, exactly?” Sincir says, once the Sister is gone from sight.

  Father Anders sighs. “Sincir… I wish you had come to me instead of causing so much trouble.”

  Sincir smiles at him. “C’mon, you can’t bme me for making assumptions when I was left out of the loop this whole time… For what is worth, I apologize for storming in with Ena instead of coming here. In retrospect, I might’ve let my emotions get the best of me.”

  Father Anders blinks.

  Seeing the priest’s expression, Sincir rolls his eyes. By the shocked look on his face, one might think he never apologized for anything before.

  Sincir clears his throat. “Anyway, I’ll admit fault this once, so spare me the lecture, okay? Old people shouldn’t be staying up this te.”

  Father Anders chuckles. “Neither should a small child... Come, help me put out the candles.”

  Sincir almost points out Eleanor already blew out most of them, but stops himself. He’s getting off light here, all things considered, so why not take advantage of it?

  And, things might’ve turned out much different than he pnned them to, but he was able to acquire a rge amount of information about the inner workings of the church in Itera.

  Who knew so much was happening around the orphanage as he wasted his days away, surrounded by brats…?

  Sincir releases a small sigh after the candles are put out, having offered the usual prayers for each of them.

  Father Andres waits for him near the altar, containing the only candles still lit in the chapel; Though, those will stay lit for the whole night, and there’s one for each member of the clergy working here.

  “Thank you, Sincir. I intended for Sister Leona to return for you, but it seems she assumed otherwise. Come, I’ll walk you to your room.”

  Sincir sighs. “Don’t overwork yourself, Father. I can find my way well enough.”

  Father Anders smiles, but shakes his head. “After everything you heard, you must be worried for the future. Tell me of your thoughts.”

  Sincir frowns as the old priest begins to head for the chapel’s door... However, seeing no other choice but to follow, he just sighs again.

  “The world is a cruel and dangerous pce, Father. I’ve known as much since the beginning.”

  “You’ve always been too smart for your own good.”

  “This again…? There’s no such thing. Being intelligent is an advantage, period. At best, one’s ignorance simply blinds them until the very moment of their demise, or that of the ones they love… And then, they’ll be ignorant no longer. Wishing for ignorance as a means of protection is simple foolishness. For example, even were the children of the orphanage never to learn of the danger lurking above their heads, it still wouldn’t stop the Inquisition from burning the pce to the ground one day.”

  “Perhaps,” Father Anders murmurs while gncing at Sincir over his shoulder, “But, for the ones cking the strength to change their fate, wouldn’t being ignorant until the very end allow them to experience happiness, however briefly?”

  Sincir shakes his head. “I disagree. Not knowing their time is coming to an end, they might waste it in all sort of pointless ways, rather than doing things they care about. Even the weak should have the right to a choice… And a chance to prove themselves otherwise.”

  Father Anders blinks, before looking away. “…So, do you think I should tell the children the truth?”

  Sincir chuckles. “I never said that… The chance one of them will break under the pressure is far too great. In this case, they happen to have a higher chance of survival by remaining ignorant, so let’s call it an exception… They’re children, after all, and children shouldn’t have to worry about losing their home. That’s their parents’ job.”

  Father Anders sighs heavily as he stops and looks up, toward the starred sky above the two of them. “Am I putting too heavy a burden on you, my son? Maybe I shouldn’t have brought this up-”

  “I would’ve heard it from Eleanor sooner or ter. And she would’ve probably learned the truth eventually, even if you hadn’t gone out of your way to tell her… Besides, I can handle it, so don’t worry so much.”

  Also, he’ll be leaving with Ena soon, which should put the orphanage in a better position with the church. From what Eleanor said, if Ena is no longer here, and they don’t have to actively hide her, then at least Father Anders can pretend he was going to hand her over when the time came, or that he did not know of her heritage personally, having left the care of the girls to the Sisters of the orphanage, who were ignorant of Estrein’s ws regarding demi-humans…

  Though, Sincir doubts their lies would fly so easily, so it is still best if Ena’s existence is never uncovered to begin with.

  Since Father Anders seems thoughtful, while Sincir himself has a lot to think about, the rest of their walk is mostly silent.

  Making a living for himself in this body was already a concern, and now he has to consider how to care for a thirteen-year-old girl, as well?

  Damn soft, bleeding heart.

  And if the things he learned today are anything to go by, demi-humans might not have any an easier time in Adell than Ena had, growing up at the orphanage.

  Should he aim for a different continent altogether…? He might, if he could, but unfortunately, at present, he simply doesn’t have the means.

  Sincir sighs. He’s is tired, and also hungry, since he ended up missing dinner... He’ll think about the complicated stuff tomorrow.

  ...The next morning, Sincir goes out to wait for Ena as normal. However, once she doesn’t show up immediately, he begins to warm up on his own.

  Something couldn’t have happened, right…?

  No, he’s worrying too much because of what Eleanor said. Most likely, Ena couldn’t sneak out of her new room as easily as before.

  Well, even if she misses their st week of training at the orphanage, since they’ve decided to head out together, it won’t really matter…

  Ugh. Now that he has grown used to having a training partner, doing it by himself feels so much worse…

  Stupid brat! This is all her fault!

  “Hey, you started without me?!”

  Sincir jumps. Then, gncing over his shoulder, he spots Ena as she runs in his direction, panting lightly.

  “…You’re te.”

  Stopping as she smiles at him, Ena extends her hands in his direction… Sincir realizes then that she has an apple in between them.

  “You missed dinner yesterday, right?” Ena says, “The Sisters always tell us exercising on an empty stomach is bad… Hey, don’t just stare at it! I went through the trouble of getting it for you, and you even started without me!”

  So, the reason she was te…?

  Grabbing the apple from her, Sincir clears his throat as he averts his gaze. “…Idiot, what if you had been caught?”

  Already starting her own warm-up routine, Ena sticks her tongue at him.

  “You can… Consider it my thanks for yesterday… And for having agreed to take me with,” she says, looking away as she does so.

  …Is that a blush? Cute.

  Well, he is indeed starving, so he won’t refuse…

  Sincir eats his apple while watching Ena, and occasionally correcting her form as she finishes her warm-up.

  “Sincir… could you stop… speaking with your mouth full…?” Ena compins through her heavy breathing, aiming him with an annoyed look.

  Although Sincir suspects her annoyance comes from the fact he was being stricter than usual with her, he does throw away the mostly eaten fruit, instead of continuing to munch on it.

  “How do you feel?” he asks.

  Ena shrugs. “Fine? I just can’t wait to leave this pce for good… I want to see the world outside, beyond the sea. What about you? Father Anders must’ve talked your ears off after what happened.”

  Is she assuming she won’t be disliked for her heritage out there…? Should he warn her that the church’s influence might’ve affected the continent in its entirety? But then again, he isn’t sure that’s necessarily the case.

  “The world is a cruel pce, you know? Don’t expect too much from it, or you’ll be disappointed.”

  Ena raises an eyebrow at him. “Said the boy who so far has spent his entire life in a closed-off orphanage… And besides, weren’t you the one who wanted to leave, Sincir?”

  “I never said I wanted to leave because the world outside is nice.”

  Ena rolls her eyes. “Right, you said something about spreading your wings… And not belonging here.”

  Pausing her movements, Ena gives him a full-body once-over.

  “You don’t mean…?”

  “I’m fully human, so don’t get any ideas,” Sincir cuts her off.

  His body is, anyway.

  Shaking her head, Ena crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. “You know what? I don’t believe you. No normal eight-year-old would have the strength to drag a bunkbed that way… And I still haven’t forgotten the ‘nonsexual massage’, you used to cure me of a cold that day.”

  Sincir sighs. Well, since they’ll be traveling together, the secret would’ve come out sooner or ter…

  Snapping his finger, he conjures a small fme above his palm, causing Ena to gasp as she quickly steps away.

  “This is magic,” he tells her, “And I’ve been able to use since I was two. Satisfied? Now lest train; We don’t have much time left.”

  Mouth hanging slightly open, Ena points an incredulous finger in his direction, seemingly at a loss for words… A loss for words which doesn’t st very long, unfortunately.

  “Since two…?! I know what magic is, obviously, but I’ve never heard of a human who was able to just use it from birth!”

  Sincir shrugs, putting out his fire spell. “Said the girl who so far has spent her entire life in a closed-off orphanage… Look, the reason I can’t give you a complicated expnation is because I don’t have one. At some point, I realized I had the knowledge to do it, and so it felt natural to do so... At the same time, I also realized I was different from the other children, and so I’ve kept it a secret thus far. In fact, a part of the reason I want to head out is to investigate my own origins… I know I just cimed otherwise, but who knows, I might not be fully human, after all.”

  As far as lies go, it's better to keep them as simple as possible. Now, best not to let her think too hard about it…

  “Ena, listen. Before, I was training you so you’d be able to fend off a bully or two… But since you’ve decided to come with me, I can’t afford to go easy on you anymore.”

  Ena blinks. “What? You mean that was you going easy…? No, wait, aren’t you just changing the sub-”

  Sincir smiles, pushes against the ground, and jump kicks, aiming at Ena’s head.

  “…You brat! Let me finish speaking!”

  Oh? She dodged that?

  Sticking his tongue at her as she did to him earlier, Sincir sways his head to avoid her punch, then ducks under her kick as he sweeps her supporting leg, bringing her down.

  “Sincir!”

  “Shh!” Sincir articutes, pressing his finger against his lips, then offering Ena a hand as he winks at her.

  She grimaces, but she does accept his hand. “…What the hell was that?” she murmurs.

  “Your new training regime. From now on, after every fall, I’ll give you exactly a second to move, or I’ll spsh you with cold water… Remember, surviving in battle is the most important thing, so you must always remain aware of your surroundings, even while among allies… And for fuck’s sake, remember to keep your voice down. Do you want us to get caught?”

  “Spsh me with cold water…? Ah, wait! I wasn’t-”

  Ena goes down again, and, this time, Sincir immediately spshes her body with a water spell, making it as cold as possible without actually freezing it.

  “You said I was going to have a second!”

  “Shh, you idiot! And that was a second,” Sincir lies, “Do you think an enemy would simply wait for you to get up again? Now come at me, or I’ll just keep doing it over and over again.”

  Ena clenches her teeth, gncing at her now-drenched clothes, then rises.

  “You can be a real piece of shit sometimes; Anyone ever told you that?”

  Sincir sidesteps her kick as he ughs out loud, grabs her leg, and pulls it, bringing her down again, then immediately spshing a bucket’s worth of cold water on top of her head.

  “…Yeah, I get that sometimes!”

  “You bastard, there’s no way that was a full second!”

  “Is that so? I must’ve miscounted…”

  “To one?!”

  “Just so you know, I’m not using magic to fight right now… Meaning, the opponent you’re being trashed by is just a normal eight-year-old, Ena…”

  “Just you wait! I swear I’ll punch that smug look from your face one day, Sincir!”

  Sincir would be lying if he said he isn’t having fun. Ena is a total beginner, but she learns fast, and since she’s genuinely angry at him, he doesn’t need to worry about her pulling her punches on him.

  However, if he were to constantly throw her down over and over again, his mana might not st until the end of their training, and she also wouldn’t have a chance to practice her attacks.

  As such, he goes on the defensive after every other throw or so, allowing Ena to chase after him.

  “That was clumsy, Ena… Your bance is all over the pce; Remember what I said about always thinking of how your opponent might react to your blows?”

  “Fuck off!”

  “You’re full of openings… Want me to show you?”

  “Ah! Fuck, Sincir, that’s so cold!”

  “…That’s the point. If you enjoyed it, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment, now, would it?”

  “Ah, stop! I’m getting up already, so stop it, you demon…!”