"Hoo—"
A light breeze swept across the boundless grassland, rolling up waves of green and tugging at the hems of a man and a woman’s clothes.
The boy and the girl faced each other from a short distance away, one expression indifferent, the other eyes dim.
After a long ti, Charity finally spoke slowly.
"You ca to ask about the Sanctuary?"
Charity’s voice was still as cold as ever, yet it now carried a kind of lifelessness.
"You said it yourself." Reiger said calmly, "As long as I beat you, you’d tell everything."
Charity fell silent for a mont.
"I’ve already told you."
"You only told this operation’s objective."
"That’s not enough?"
"What do you think?"
Their words were succinct; it didn’t sound like a conversation so much as an exchange of blows.
But there was no longer any will to fight in Charity’s eyes, not even a trace of fighting spirit. Seeing Reiger standing before her with that bland expression, she only spoke again after a long pause.
"What do you want to ask?"
At that, Reiger answered without hesitation.
"What kind of organization is the Sanctuary, really?"
"What is this organization’s ultimate goal?"
"You’ve done so many things—what is it you’re after?"
The first and second questions went to the root; the third spelled out the pure doubt in Reiger’s heart.
Charity did not know whether she was thinking or weighing her words. After a long silence, she finally spoke faintly.
"The Sanctuary is a very mysterious organization. Its exact origin is impossible to trace, because it was a power personally founded by the leader, ’Heaven’s Hunt’."
"Though I am a Saint Envoy of the Sanctuary, I only joined on ’Fla Princess’’ recomndation. I was never very interested in the Sanctuary’s goal or origins, so among all the Saint Envoys I’m just at the bottom."
"It’s not just . Even ’Tyrant’, ’Ba Serpent’, and ’Terabit’ know very little about the Sanctuary. Only ’Colossus’ and ’Fla Princess’ understand it well; those two are also the people our leader ’Heaven’s Hunt’ trusts the most."
Although the Saint Envoys were the seven highest-ranking figures in the Sanctuary, in reality the true decision‑makers were only ’Heaven’s Hunt’, ’Colossus’, and ’Fla Princess’. The remaining four were the lower‑seat Saint Envoys; it was impossible for them to know more about the Sanctuary than the first three.
Including Charity, the ’Ice Maiden’, the four lower‑seat envoys generally acted on the instructions of the three upper‑seat envoys. Thus the ones who had truly been determining the Sanctuary’s course of action were always ’Heaven’s Hunt’, ’Colossus’, and ’Fla Princess’; the other four were nothing more than sowhat higher‑grade enforcers, seldom involved in any real decision‑making.
Under such circumstances, Charity’s understanding of the Sanctuary was indeed not as extensive as Reiger had imagined.
At the very least, she did not know the Sanctuary’s exact origin.
However...
"The Sanctuary’s goal is to ignite an unprecedented revolution on the continent of Akasha."
Charity told Reiger this.
"A revolution?"
Reiger raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Charity said flatly, "Once, the Akasha Continent had only a single kingdom."
"During the Ancient Magic Civilization Period, all of humanity lived under the rule of one king. The continent back then couldn’t exactly be called peaceful, but there was only that one external enemy: monsters."
"By the present era, the four great nations and nurous small countries stand all over the continent, contending with each other, giving rise to endless conflict and making countless people into sacrifices of war."
"We believe a world like this is twisted."
Therefore, a revolution was needed.
"The continent doesn’t need that many nations."
"For a country to rule over humanity, one is enough."
"Just like in the Ancient Magic Civilization of the past."
The Sanctuary’s goal—or rather, the goal of the Saint Envoys—was to return the continent to how it had once been, to restore its original state.
"So you go around capturing refugees and slaves, using living humans as raw materials to remake them into Magic Automatons, all to realize the unification of the continent and liberate all humankind from endless war?"
Reiger couldn’t help but speak with a mocking edge.
"What an exquisitely self‑serving revolution."
Reiger certainly wasn’t going to be blinded by a doctrine that sounded lofty on the surface.
He hadn’t forgotten what happened in the ipros Territory, hadn’t forgotten where those Magic Automatons ca from, and hadn’t forgotten what ’Terabit’ did in the royal capital Yeluf back then.
Everything they had done was built on massive sacrifice—and not self‑sacrifice, but the sacrifice of others.
Sacrificing others to fulfill your own exalted ideals?
Put nicely, that’s "those who achieve great things do not bother with trifles." Put bluntly, it’s being a whore and still wanting to put up a chastity arch.
So generous, so "great"—did you ever ask the people you sacrificed for their opinion?
All you’re doing is changing the thod while still leaving ordinary people to live in hell.
"That’s what ’Heaven’s Hunt’ kept telling us from the mont we joined." Charity, however, was not provoked by Reiger’s attitude; she spoke as if it had nothing to do with her. "I’m not interested in that so‑called revolution, nor in what the continent’s future situation will be. I only joined because ’Fla Princess’ invited ."
That was very much in character for Charity.
If this cold, icy Valkyrie suddenly started caring about the state of the continent, about humanity’s future, and developed so grand compassion for the masses, that would be what truly felt wrong.
The only reason she joined the Sanctuary was a single one: because ’Fla Princess’ invited her.
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