The place is white. It cannot be called a place in the snow or a place with bright light, it is just a white space. The only thing that speaks in that place is white.

"Oh, scary, scary. I wonder how far he'll go. I can't stand the fear.

　The words it echoes don't seem to be filled with any emotion. It was as if all the weight that should be in the words was missing.

　This is also the case with the words I have just uttered, which, while claiming to be frightening, are actually completely devoid of it. It's as if the sounds were forcibly put together.

　Shiro made another sound, playing with the air with his fingertips.

But in the end, nothing changes. The show is about to begin. When the snow dies, it will all be over.

　Shiro made a series of sounds as if he were laughing, as if he were trying to get at least one country. It's a sound that severely embarrasses and offends those who hear it. It was a sound that would distract the faint of heart at the mere mention of it.

　The shadow of the face-to-face talks about such sounds as if chewing them up.

Theater is something that always falls out of the hands of the playwright. Have you forgotten that, Artius?

　The shadow's cheeks lift in a contorted way. Is he amused, or is he feeling something else? The expression on his face was unreadable. And so it was with the white one.

　With a rolling sound, Shiro says.

"I remember. I can't forget that you tore up my plot, even if I wanted to. Oh, I'm so sad, Oufru.

　You say that as if you're not sad at all.

　I no longer know what I'm looking at. Is it people talking, or is it just sounds being made, or is it a completely different language being waved? I have no idea.

　The only thing we can understand is that the white and the shadows are communicating with each other in some way.

　Altius, the white one called Altius, takes over the sound. Why did you do that? The shadow took it and said with a laugh, as if monologuing.

"I don't need to be asked. You didn't give it to him, so I did. That's all.

　The shadow gestures grandly as he speaks. The shadow gestures grandly and says, "You really are like an actor on stage. Then this
Then perhaps this scene will soon come to an end. The shadowy figure sways as if pushed back by the surrounding light.

　The shadow wavered as if in a dream, and continued in a voice that was beginning to sound a little disoriented.

I only picked up what you, who call yourself a divine spirit, spilled.

　Hearing the words of the shadow, Shiro was extremely amused. I'm not sure if you can even tell if you're feeling it from the way you look at it, though. Anyway, he was making sounds as if he was laughing. I'm not sure if it's because I can't tell if he's feeling it or not.

　Shiro says. I didn't spill it, I left it.

I said I'd give them salvation, you said you'd bring it all in. There's no way in the sky you're gonna break that. With one exception.

　The shadowy figure blurred and was almost gone before long. The only thing I can see is the slight narrowing of its eyes. It's like he's got an agenda.

"The family is only privileged. That's right, just like you did with Lugis the human. I'm only granting the wishes of my family.

　With that sound, the shadow disappeared from the space. And then, without paying much attention to it, Shiro closed his eyelids, as if nothing had happened.

　It's natural. What happened here and now is just a dream. It didn't happen, it can't happen.

　Just a whim that happened in the blink of an eye as the world switched. So I'm not even sure if this conversation really happened anywhere.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　When he opened his eyelids, Alueno noticed that the familiar ceiling was right there. Alueno opened his eyelids and realized that the familiar ceiling was right there, and for a moment his brain wondered why it was in his field of vision. The golden eyes blinked once, twice, to dispel the drowsiness. Then, finally, you realize.

　--Well, I'm in a cathedral.

　Alueno had been on pilgrimage for more than a few months now, being called the Saint of Divas. During that time, she was sometimes fortunate enough to be invited to a nobleman's house, and other times she slept in a carriage without lodging, but the latter was far more frequent.

　With God's blessing, I did not encounter bandits, but even so, I can say that I did not sleep well.

　Perhaps because of this, being able to sleep in his own room in the cathedral was like nectar to Alueno. And even in his own room, he was treated differently from when he had spent several years as a nun.

　The bed, which had been so hard that he could even feel the pain in his back, was now soft enough for him to sink into, and the blankets, which had been thin, had been replaced with much thicker ones.

　The blanket, which had been thin, had been replaced with a much thicker one. It was so obvious that Alueno couldn't help but shake his long eyelashes and let out a breath. Even though he was in the room, the breath he exhaled quickly took on a white appearance.



　The cold water that had been prepared to cleanse me was like ice. If they're going to treat us well, why not make this place a hot spring as well? He groomed himself, shook his golden head of hair, and touched his eyes. The sleepiness had long since left the back of his skull.

　It wasn't because he had finished his pilgrimage that Alueno stepped up to the cathedral. Rather, the revelation still pointed to a more distant land. Therefore, she was still only a candidate for sainthood. She was closer to being a saint than anyone else, though.

　The reason why I was forced to carry my leg to the cathedral was because of the progress of heraldry. Of course, the pretense was that once in the cathedral she would be cleansed and relieved of the fatigue of her pilgrimage.

　After the retreat, or frankly defeat, on the plains of Sarnio, the Great Saints are more than a little upset. In the midst of all this, we are entering a period of death and snow. The cries of the people cannot be hidden.

　Therefore, she would like to bring back the saintly diva herself to comfort the people, even if only a little.

　Alueno thought of this and smiled a small smile, feeling a warmth in his heart. Truly, it was a small smile that only he could understand.

　A breakthrough in heraldry. It is spoken of with the names of two people. One was the witch Mattia. And the other, my childhood friend, Lugis.

　The great evil, the wicked dragon, the man of vice. The rumors of his childhood friend, who changes his title every time he hears his name, do not always please Alueno. It is a sign that he is devoted to the twisted salvation of heraldry, and the very fact that he has turned against the Great Saints. There was no way he could be honestly pleased. Under normal circumstances, there would be no other feelings.

　At the same time, Alueno was well aware of the dark, sticky, sticky emotions crawling in the depths of her guts. It was a feeling that was hardly befitting a saint.

　I don't know what to say, but it's not something I should ever tell anyone. But Alueno couldn't help but feel a twinge of joy every time he heard of Lugis' success. The fact that he was a herald meant that his sins were compounded. It means he will fall deeper and deeper.

　Each time, he becomes harder to save. No one will take his hand. Even God will abandon him in the end.

　Yeah, and that's when I'll save him. Everything around him will be cut away, everything will be lost, and I'll take his last outstretched hand. Then slowly atone for his sins and give him salvation. I'm the only one who can give it to him.

　Such an inexplicable urge and conviction. Such an inexplicable urge and conviction. Unknowingly, Alueno forgot about the freezing cold and walked down the corridor in an exuberant mood.

　He had already done most of his tour of the city yesterday as a consolation to his people. Today, he remembered that he was going to select a cathedral knight to guard him.

　However, there is nothing that Alueno will actually do. In the end, everything would be decided according to what the divine revelation indicated. Alueno believes that his wishes lie beyond that.

　--I'm sure I'll wish for the same thing in the past and in the future.

　Her golden eyes gleam under the cold sky. In them, there seemed to be the light of faith and something else, something dark.