Up on the deck of the airship .
Roxy and Myne were standing next to me .
They seemed to also have something to say to Libra .
[I proudly welcome you all to my airship, Endeavor!]
Libra spreaded his arms, welcoming us with a smile .
But I bet his inner thoughts remained the same .
[Myne, it's been a long time . Do you still remember me?]
[Naturally . But I thought you're dead... how come you're still alive]
[Thanks to you, I was gravely injured . I've been treating my wounds all this time... right, it really surprisingly took that long]
[Really?]
[I can't lie . Regardless of what I did, I'm still someone who directly received God's grace . Don't you already know that, Myne? Ah... how preposterous to think that I would lie . ]
Myne and Libra seemed to share an acquaintance .
Granted, she had lived for a long time, and was a mortal sin skill holder .
Naturally, she'd clash with Libra at least once or twice .
Myne then turned away and ignored Libra .
[Arara, so you still hate me . Nothing changes at all...]
Libra seemed to have ascertained that he would not get anything else from Myne .
So he now turned to Roxy who was still in Angel Mode .
[If it isn't Roxy Heart . Congratulations on being able to fuse with Snow . I can certainly say that if not for you, the sacred beast Aquarius wouldn't have been sunken . It was truly a miscalculation on my part . ]
[I suppose I can take that as a compliment?]
[Of course . Remaining so innocent while having the holy sword factor... truly a wonderful specimen, you are . ]
[Factor?]
[Oho? Haven't Eris told you already? You and your kinds, the Holy Knights, are the descendants of the people we, the Sacred Beastkin, granted with a small part of our power . ]
[Power of the Sacred Beastkin?]
[Yes, that's right . You see, our number wasn't that many . So we need people to work as our extra limbs . These people were the first of the Holy Knights . Although, due to being exposed to our power, their mental state became unstable . ]
[Was that why the Holy Knights tend to act cruel...? No way...]
Roxy was horrified by the revelation .
[A piece of our inner thoughts leaked into them when they were granted our power . That was a failure on our part . The first few batches of the Holy Knights were insolent brutes . ]
Libra said with a troubled look, then sighed .
[But seeing you was a relief . Over the years, the power has become more stable it seems . Do tell me if you want to serve under me after this battle . ]
[No, thank you . I have something I want to protect already . ]
[Ahh, what a shame . Such a waste for a good specimen like you . ]
Libra's eyes flickered as he looked at Roxy .
Back then he didn't even give a damn about her .
Perhaps being in Angel Mode had escalated her position in Libra's eyes .
It's as if he only regarded Roxy because she may be useful to him .
[You said you want us to work with you, and yet you already cause frictions with us?]
[Ahaha, pardon me . I constantly look for good specimens . Especially if it's a Holy Knight . ]
Libra seemed to be particularly interested in Holy Knights .
Even more so, when one managed to adapt to the fusion with a Sacred Beastkin .
[So, are we going now? Or perhaps you'd like to take a break for a bit?]
[Let's depart already . ]
[I thought so . Let's go then . ]
The airship was idling in the air until now .
But it suddenly turned 180 degrees following Libra's words .
[Who's driving this airship?]
[It is I . It reads my intentions and moves accordingly . ]
[Eh... is that really possible?]
At the moment it's only us standing around the deck .
I tried searching for signs of other people, but found nothing .
Which means, Libra was telling the truth .
[If something were to happen to me, this airship would crash . So be careful . Well, not that the collision will kill you all . ]
Libra turned away from us .
[We'll arrive at Gallia tomorrow morning . Until then, it's best if you guys take some rest . I'll be in the captain's room . Come visit me if you feel like it . The rest, I'll leave it to Eris . ]
That said, Libra disappeared into the ship .
Leaving Eris alone on the deck .
[Oi, Eris! Get a hold of yourself!]
I tried shaking her shoulders, but there's no reaction .
It's as if her mind was completely closed off .
[Myne, is there anything we can do?]
[U～n, nothing I can think of . This Ero was originally a doll . She just goes back to how she was before being freed by Kairos... look at that side]
Myne pointed at Eris' neck .
There was a collar-like tattoo around her neck now .
[Unless you can dispel that, it's impossible . ]
[Then how do we dispel it?]
[Like I said, I don't know . All I know is that only Kairos... and Libra himself who're capable of dispelling that seal . ]
Kairos...
I haven't met him again since Myne's dream world .
Since Luna passed away, I'm no longer able to visit the spiritual world .
If I could, I'd like to meet him again... but it's not possible for me at the moment .
Before we parted, he said that [I'm inside you] while pointing at my chest .
If he's telling the truth, then we'll probably meet again . One day .
This time, it was Roxy who tried to shake Eris' shoulders .
[Eris-sama, please wake up . ]
Still no reaction .
For now, should we just follow Libra's words and treat her like a maid?
[Can you guide us to our rooms?]
[... . . Yes . I have received your order . ]
I see now . She only reacts as per Libra's command .
Perhaps, the command blocked off anything else that doesn't involve guiding us to our room .
[This way . ]
Eris guided us with such a graceful manner .
Eeehhh, you aren't supposed to act like this! She acted like a totally different person that I want to snap at her so much .
She guided us into the ship through a different entrance than the one Libra took .
[The interior looks surprisingly soft . ]
[Yes, the interior was created mostly from wood . It is because the exterior was fully made from metal and looks dull . ]
I was expecting a pure white space like the Gallian laboratory .
But instead, I found myself in a calming place .
Looks like the decoration of a holy knight mansion .
A red carpet was laid on the floor, becoming the highlight with the wooden wall around .
[There are many guest rooms here, feel free to use them all you like . If you need anything else, please push the call button installed in every room . ]
[Eris, wait!]
As soon as she finished guiding us in, Eris immediately walked away .
I ended up looking around the doors from the aisle .
Roxy was doing the same .
[So what do we do about the room?]
Myne replied quite immediately .
[I'll pick the same room as yours . ]
[I will do that as well . ]
[Alright then . ]
If we took separate rooms, it might become hard for us to discuss the future plans .
If something happened, a rendezvous would also take a while .
So we looked through the rooms one by one, and settled with the largest .
[Let's pick this room . This one also has four beds . So we still have one extra . ]
[In that case, I'll go to sleep now . ]
It seemed that Myne was about to sleep already .
Nothing less from a battle prodigy like her . She could take a rest at any given time .
Though it is indeed important for a warrior . Even Aaron had nothing but praise for Myne .
Myne leaned Sloth against the wall, then immediately jumped to bed .
In less than 3 seconds, she already fell asleep .
Even I was amazed by this .
She fell asleep even faster than when we were travelling together!
Roxy was stunned as well, but she looked impressed .
[It is amazing . ]
[It's nice to be able to sleep . Waking up is the worst . ]
[Then how about a small talk?]
[U～n, sure why not . ]
It's Myne . even if she's sleeping, she'll wake up immediately upon emergencies .
Besides, I also want to have some alone time with Roxy .
Following behind her, we went back the way we came from towards the deck .