"Oh? That is some good tea. What's this tea called?"
"Violet Powder from the Nyrdocl Mountains." Viel coldly answered.
"…are you still mad? Look, I was in the middle of a test, okay? I needed to leave... without telling you."
"I am not mad the Young Master going out without permission after being strictly told not to for his own sake. I'm not even going to bring up that you went to a brothel with the Church Representatives as a Saint? No, no, no, how can I be mad at you, Young Master?" Butler Viel laughed at the insane notion.
"Yeah, I see your point now. Sorry about leaving, though I still don't; it was bad to go to a brothel on the record. Though disappointing, it was quite pleasant." Theo argued.
Butler Viel snorted at his words, but he did not say anything further.
But, listening to Viel disregard, his point set the supposed calm and collected villain off.
"Just to set things straight, going to the brothel isn't a problem. It's your dirty minds that make it a problem. If I don't use their other services, it's not that different from a restaurant that employs beautiful waitresses. Those people work for their coins to survive in this world. It's not wrong unless Butler Viel actually prefers them to be assassins or dogs of wars, getting their living by taking the lives of others. Even if you sell your body for a spare coin, it doesn't matter. After all, not everyone is blessed to be born with even scraps to be called a meal."
Viel froze at his Young Master's words, as well as the others who were allowed inside. They looked at him with stupefaction, but Theo just laughed a second later, "But, I was born with talent and money, so what right do I have to speak of others, right? Let's just move on."
Satisfied with his victory, Theo just let things go.
"Anyway, thank you for the tea, Butler Viel; you may leave."
By his side remained Viel, who learned his mistake from before. The old man snorted as he and Theo looked each other in the eyes.
"…fine, you can stay." Theo's smile quickly disappeared as he faced the blue-haired crybaby standing on attention right in front of him.
"Can't you sit down? You're making me tired by looking at you. Ease up, like those two." Theo pointed at Aegis and Lucas enjoying their cup of tea.
But Grant stubbornly shook his head, "I dare not be so disrespectful to his Divine Presence. A Knight to be lax in front of the Saint is worthy of death by a thousand cuts.
"You say that, but aren't you disrespecting me by disobeying simple orders like sitting down?" Theo casually remarked.
Grant's face contorted at his words, "No, that's not —"
Theo stopped him before he could argue any further.
"It was but a jest; let it go. So, why are you here — Grant Acker, that is your name, correct? You are the Captain of the Crimson Knights, correct?"
Grant bowed as a response, "Yes, your Divine Presence. I am Grant Acker of the Crimson Knights and the Acker Family."
"Oh yeah? Good for you — now, let's talk about the real topic at hand. Why are you people of the Church of Fate here? Other than Aegis, your group isn't supposed to be here, right?"
Grant did not expect the Gecko of the Dragons to be so perceptive, but he was not that surprised, 'He was once the brightest Dragon before getting struck down.'
Grant found it hard to believe that a Saint ascended in the withering Region of Leian. However, he was not so narrow-minded to dismiss the Region's true nature.
The Leian Region may still be developing, but their power was more than anyone could contest. For them to be independent meant they could fend off the surrounding forces.
Grant took a deep breath, "My group and I are a part of the Order stationed at the Eastern Rashuvan. Cardinal Esperalda sent us here to investigate the movement of Divinity. We don't know what it was, but now I see that the people of the Church foresaw the Saint's arrival. They must have sent us here to welcome your arrival — it must be Destiny, no, FATE!"
Grant joyously announced. Aegis, Lucas, and Viel felt their hearts beating faster and felt the need to offer a prayer. For them to divine something like that to happen was nothing less miraculous.
Years it had been since Grant became a Knight for the Fate Sect. He rose through the ranks of Captain after two years at the Eastern Rashuvan.
Their post was incredibly close to the Leian Region; thus were made to investigate the surge of Divine Energy in the City of Fang.
Grant thought it was odd, but when he saw the pillar of light that pierced the Heavens, he already understood what was happening.
Even if Grant didn't want to believe a Saint would be born in a place like Leian, to stand before Theo was enough.
"The Cardinal must have sensed the Saint's arrival. That's why they sent us here to meet his Divine Presence."
"Is that so." Theo did not say any more, but he wanted to call bullshit on his words.
'The surge of Divine Energy must've been when I broke free of Fate's hold. Meet me? What bullshit.'
Theo wanted to rebuke his claims but chose to stay his words and chose to be the bigger person, "…hey, tell me more about this Rashuvan place?"
"Um… it is the Faithless Region where calamities are common, your Divine Presence. It's where hordes of monsters spawn and vicious criminals run off into hiding."
"Oh? A Horde Point. Correct me if I'm wrong; there must be many Floods there, right? Meaning you and the other Knights are some sorts of like the Protectors?"
"Yes, your Divine Presence is correct."
"…huh, that explains the air and smell around you."
Grant snuck a sniff, 'Do I smell bad? But, I can't smell anything, though.'
"It can only be picked up by those who'd been around it long enough."
'Wait… did he just—'
"No, I can't read mind; everything is written all over your face, that's all."
'Th-that's too accurate to be—'
"I can't read minds. It would be better if I had it, though. I detest lies, so don't even think about me hiding anything."
Grant's mind was only further clouded.
"Mind reading aside; I now understand the situation. The Rashuvan is where Knights and most probable people in the same line of work gather to stop a flood from decimating the mainland. If that place is as bad as you say, that would also mean many criminals go there, meaning it's a lawless land. A life of fighting is barbaric, but without you, then more lives would be lost. I don't like the elitist look you have in your eyes, but what you're doing is worthy of respect."
"I am undeserving."
"Just take the compliment."
"Ye-Yes, your Divine Presence." Grant lowered his head to thank Theo for his kind words while hiding his flushed expression, 'I heard such words before, yet hearing it from him... why can I stop myself from smiling?'
Grant had heard hundreds of speeches spoken to him by empathetic people of his family and the Church. However, only now did he hear a piece that held not a single sense of jeering and disappointment where every word uttered was genuine.
For him to feel gratitude to the Shadow of the Dragon Slayers, it feels as though Theo had never changed. 'Is it because he's a Saint?'
In the end, Grant could not tell.
Their talk carried no grad reason. It was mere pleasantries and introduction.
It went on for another hour before Theo got the chance to cut them off and found a reason to kick them out.
"It was an honor to meet your Divine Presence." The three of them said in a chorus.
Theo just waved his hand and did not bother showing any sense of courtesy.
After giving Theo a stern and threatening warning, Viel guided the Knights and the representatives.
As he slouched on his chair, Theo let out an exasperated sigh.
"That was exhausting."
[I did not expect you to act so Saintly as you did.] Fate spoke suddenly.
"Huh? What part of that is Saintly? Was going to the brothel not enough to ruin the image? As far as I'm concern, that's as far as any Saint should act." Theo argued.
[I expected worst.]
"Worst?"
[I thought you would rebuke the notion of Fate and Destiny. That it was all a coincidence, and berate those who believe in God, tarnishing our existence you do hate us, after all.] Fate was no fool; she understood the risk of turning Theo into a Saint. If he wanted to, Theo could've destroyed the image of the Fate Sect in a single night with a single sentence.
Theo does not speak a single lie and only speaks and acts on his own beliefs, but that's enough to make Fate fear him. Theo blames what he experienced on Fate and the other gods, and she expected him to use every chance he gets to destroy her name, yet, he didn't even do anything that affected the religion as a whole.
[You could've called bullshit on the Knight Captain's claims. You could've divined some superfluous vague future. You could've said that the Saint controls a Demon. However, in the end, all that you did was destroy your image, for someone who hates Gods, who revile our existence, why didn't you do it?]
Theo turned his chair and rolled it near the window. With his foot on the window sill, Theo looked at the glowing moon and shrugged his shoulders, "It's because I'm not a fool."
[…] Fate could not understand.
"Fate, Destiny, and Religion as a whole are necessary to live. I do not believe in such things. I think fate is malleable and easily changed with a single action; however, others are different. Many cling to beliefs that someone above them controls their fates, that their future can change for the better. Fate is not only destiny, not just prophecy or a sham. It is not just a beautiful lie; fate is also Hope. If I destroy that, then I would be dooming everyone. I hate you and those like you, but that doesn't mean I have to destroy everyone's Hope to get what I want. After all, if I do that, I would be creating more of myself."
Theo does not want to steal other people's lives. He was a Villain and believes that he still is to some extent. His beliefs are different from others; Theo could kill if needed.
However, even Theo wishes not to have others fall as he did.
"Religion is necessary to keep everyone's sanity in check. Hope brings change. Hope brings miracles. Hope brings endless chances. I am a Villain, not an anarchist." Theo argued.
[…thank you.]
"But don't get wrong, I'm still not above taking advantage of others. Also, Fate remains a sham in my eyes. For all I care, Fate can suck my d—"
Creak~
"Older brother~ (Older brother~)."
"—diamond!"
Both Lyria and Lisa appeared with an archduke demon caked in makeup.
Apo glared hatefully at Theo.
Theo ignored him.
"Huh? You're alone?"
"Who were you talking to then?"
The twins asked.
"The Goddess."
Theo answered truthfully.
"The Goddess!? (The Goddess!?)"
Their eyes shone with brilliance.
"Older Brother can talk to the Goddess without any ritual?"
"That's amazing! We didn't know you could do that!"
They were shocked, to say the least.
"Well, I'm different from the other Saints. The Goddess and I are closer than you think, though I don't really like her."
"That's amazing, and they said Goddess Zritz is reclused and doesn't often speak." Lyria ignored Theo's last words and looked up to him in admiration while Lisa furiously nodded at her sister's words.
Theo's ears twitched.
"Wait, Zritz? The Goddess of Fate's name is Zritz?"
"Yes… but shouldn't Older Brother know that already?" Lyria asked.
"Mm? What's wrong Older Brother? Why are you shaking?" Lisa was weirded out and moved back.
Theo's body shook, his eyes turned sharp, and then, he burst out laughing!
"GAHAHAHAHA! So that's why she didn't want to tell me her name!"
[How childish!] Fate huffed in anger and frustration inside Theo's head.
Crash!
He even fell from his chair, but he continued laughing. He grabbed his stomach for dear life.
The two girls walked up to him to confirm if their Older Brother had gone crazy. They poked his cheeks with their little fingers.
"Older Brother, what's so funny?"
"Yeah, what's so funny?"
"Oh… yeah, you two wouldn—hehe—wouldn't understand." Theo smiled and got up from the ground, "Well, you see, there's this unknown time where undiscovered mystical creatures keep appearing, and mythical items of remarkable properties appeared one after another. It was a time of great abundance, and in these times, there's this worm called Gold Scales, and people of these times… hehe… turns them to noodle dishes. They turn them to noodles and meat dishes called Zritz… hehehehe."
"…It's not that funny."
"Yeah, it's not."
"Hehehe, really? You don't think it's funny one of the most revered Deities got named after a dish using worms?"
The two girls innocently shook their heads.
"Well, maybe it's because you haven't seen her hair. They look exactly like Gold Scales… I'll introduce you two to her when I learn how to cast Fae Magic."
"Older Brother will let us meet a Goddess?"
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, why not? I'll just cut space, fortify it, create a domain, and use Goddess as its center. You two can meet her then. Well, either that or I'll make an accurate depiction of her body which I don't want to do. What do you two want? Want me to create a synthetic body for the Goddess or for me to create a dimension?"
"..."
"..."
The two looked at each other and then huddled to make a decision. They mumbled to each other for a good minute before making a decision!
"Synthetic body!"
"Yes, yes, we want to show the Goddess the City!"
"I originally planned to make her a rat; meh, why not."
[You planned on what!?]
'What can I say? I still hate you. Also, you owe these two your future."
Two girls' whims decided the Goddess of Fate's future.