Montelli Quarter.
"Ah waaah, sister, I'm never speaking to him again!"
Carlotta clung tightly to Ciaccona, sobbing:
"He went to the Fisalia Family to draw the sword in the marriage contest, drove away all the other participants, and then... it's said he actually pulled out that sword."
Ciaccona stroked Carlotta's hair, still analyzing for her in the role of advisor:
"See, see? If he loved you, he would definitely stay pure and never participate in drawing the sword for marriage."
Hearing this, Carlotta hugged Ciaccona even tighter:
"Waaah, sister, for a whole day and night, I called him dozens of times and sent messages—he didn't reply to a single one."
"This is just too much. I always reply to your messages in seconds! This stinking man actually left you hanging for a whole day."
Ciaccona was filled with righteous indignation, continuing to listen to Carlotta:
"I tolerated him going to the Fisalia to draw the sword for marriage, I even tolerated him not replying to my messages. Do you know what hurts me the most?"
"What hurts me the most is that he was tricked by the Fisalia into going up to the heavens, then hugged a woman and flew down from the sky. He kept flying, flying across the entire Rinascita!"
"I've never even received that kind of treatment!"
Ah, this...
Ciaccona's expression struggled to remain composed, but seeing her good sister's heartbroken appearance, she decided to continue comforting her and speaking up for her:
"What is this if not a scumbag? Flirting everywhere, using all sorts of sweet words to deceive you. Don't get close to him anymore."
"Mm, sister, you're right!"
Carlotta rubbed her eyes, sat up straight again, and shook herself spirited:
"I'll never be hurt by a man again. I'll never be deceived by a man again!"
"Beautiful! This is how my sister should be! This is the most dazzling opal of the Montelli family."
Ciaccona finally nodded in relief, then suddenly heard a special message alert sound from Carlotta's terminal.
In an instant, an ominous premonition struck Ciaccona's heart.
The moment a message chimes, all the advisor's words are in vain.
"It's Tall Chestnut. This is the special alert tone I set just for him—Tall Chestnut replied to me!"
Under Carlotta's delighted gaze, Ciaccona was quick of eye and hand, snatching the terminal first:
"Sister, have you forgotten the vow you just made?"
Ciaccona held the terminal high, not letting Carlotta reach it, and said loudly:
"Have you forgotten what you just said—that you won't be deceived by men anymore, and you won't be hurt by men anymore?"
"You don't understand. Don't meddle in our affairs."
With a big jump from Carlotta, she finally seized back the terminal and quickly replied to the message.
Ciaccona helplessly circled around her, unable to comprehend how Carlotta could become like this.
Could love really have such an indescribable magic? To make her always decisive and rational sister become so blind.
"Hey, hey, don't reply so hastily! Have you forgotten he didn't respond to your messages for a whole day and night? At least wait ten minutes."
"No, he must have been testing me before."
One sentence made Ciaccona's vision go black; she nearly fainted.
Watching Carlotta immersed in typing her reply, Ciaccona knew that whatever she said now would be useless.
"Noah, damnable Noah."
She murmured under her breath, gritting her teeth:
"I can't let you continue harming my sister whom I've grown up with since childhood. I must personally expose your true scumbag nature!"
Advisor Ciaccona decided to enter the game herself.
...
Order of the Deep.
Perhaps because the public mistook the morning's cloud anomaly for the Sentinel manifesting, an unusually large number of people came to the Order to pray today. The queue even extended two streets outside the Order.
"There are quite a lot of people."
Noah scratched his head, looking at Cartethyia beside him:
"How about we come back in the afternoon? Let's eat lunch first, and I'll take you around Ragunna some more."
"Yes, yes!" Cartethyia naturally agreed with both hands and feet.
Though she was once the Order's saintess, that was in the past. Now, facing the Order of the Deep, she felt a bit of hometown trepidation.
She wanted to see the current state of the Order of the Deep, yet feared being recognized and causing unnecessary trouble for Noah.
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, a cleric hurriedly ran toward them:
"Please wait, you two."
The cleric, panting, spoke:
"The Lord has requested your presence."
...
As the tidal hall for worshiping the Sentinel was currently packed with people, it was naturally inconvenient for receiving guests. In a private side hall of the Order of the Deep, Fenrico had been waiting for some time:
"Righteous One, you've come. And this... Your Excellency the Saintess..."
The moment he saw Cartethyia, Fenrico's eyes changed slightly, but with Noah present, he did not flare up.
"No misunderstanding, Lord Fenrico."
Noah spoke up to introduce for Fenrico:
"Different from what you know, Cartethyia is actually a dual resonator with the Sentinel's Threnodian. In the ten years she disappeared, she was always on the front line resisting the Threnodian..."
As Noah recounted, Fenrico's gaze shifted from suspicion, to astonishment, to solemn respect.
"I am deeply sorry, Your Excellency the Saintess. I never imagined you were performing such a heroic deed. I am ashamed of my suspicions toward you."
Fenrico solemnly bowed to Cartethyia:
"If you are willing to return to the Order, you remain the Order's saintess."
"No need." Cartethyia shook her head: "The former fake saintess Fleurdelys is a thing of the past. The current me has no intention of rejoining the Order."
Truly stepping into the Order of the Deep, she felt no excitement—only nostalgia upon seeing familiar sights, recalling every little thing from ten years ago in the Order.
Those former companions, friends, Echoes, and even her mount... had all died in the black tide that arose because of her.
Wait... didn't Gehinnom escape?
"Lord Fenrico, do you know the whereabouts of Gehinnom?"
Hearing this question, Fenrico glanced subtly at Noah, then answered truthfully:
"I am very sorry, Your Excellency the Saintess. Your mount unfortunately became tainted by the black tide. Though confined by the Order on Penitent's End, it recently perished in battle."
"Dead?"
Cartethyia's voice rose, unable to hide her sadness, as she continued to ask:
"How did it die?"
Noah awkwardly admitted, lacking confidence:
"I killed it."
"Oh, oh, the Laurel Bearer must have had your reasons for doing so. I understand."
Cartethyia gently pressed Noah's shoulder, shaking her head and sighing:
"After all, Gehinnom itself was tainted by the black tide. I fully understand the pain of being eroded in spirit day and night. Thank you for giving it peace."
"Then... you're welcome?"
"Mm-hmm, you absolutely must not feel guilty about this."
Fenrico lightly coughed, steering the topic back to what concerned him most.
The saintess—you saved her, no problem. The saintess's past—you cleared it, also no problem. Then what about the Sentinel?
"Righteous One, I can feel that the Threnodian whispers lingering over Ragunna have completely vanished since this morning. May I know... the current whereabouts of Sentinel Imperator?"
"Of course."
Noah's expression turned serious:
"I did not fail the trust. The Sentinel has already revived. Lord Fenrico, you can try calling Sentinel Imperator."
As soon as the words fell, he saw the man before him—who had supported Ragunna's stability for ten years and was accustomed to storms—tremble uncontrollably.
The Sentinel has revived?
Will the Sentinel respond to him?
Fenrico was uncertain, only knowing he was more nervous than ever before. He clenched his fists tightly; the pain of nails digging into his palms told him this was not a dream.
Finally, he stood up shakily. His always straight back bent unprecedentedly, as if about to face a god he had dreamed of yet deemed unattainable.
Reverence, and fear.
"Sentinel above..."
Fenrico turned his back, kneeling toward the only steed statue in this side hall, hands clasped at his chest, voice devout and emotional:
"Your faithful believer Fenrico... prays for your response."
The voice fell, but no response came for a long time. Fenrico's back bent a few more degrees, his voice carrying a choke:
"Your foolish believer Fenrico... prays for your... your..."
"I am here."
A gentle breeze swept through the side hall, removing Fenrico's mask.
The black tide traces that had eroded his face since ten years ago gradually faded.
His mind, which had been muddled with rare moments of clarity, became unprecedentedly clear at this moment.
Imperator sighed and bestowed a response:
"I am here."
Fenrico's eyes filled with hot tears.
"My believer, Fenrico, you have suffered."
Fenrico sobbed uncontrollably.