Inside a moderately sized house in the residential area of the Third City. A short red-haired woman was twisting around in bed for hours. Even the comfortable mattress used by high-ranking nobles and affluent merchants was unable to provide her any comfort.
But as uncomfortable as that experience was, no matter how many times she winced in her sleep, her eyes did not open even once till sunrise.
"Ugh… that…" Maia sat up covered in sweat, even the cooling device was of no use. And she could care less about that, the things she had seen in this dream—more like a nightmare—have made her question many things.
"Vult… No way…" Her head was pounding, the images did not leave her head no matter how hard she tried to forget.
This nightmare appeared to be more than what it was, she had never had such a detailed dream before and the incidents seemed too real to be complete fantasy as it involved all of the people she knew.
The worst thing was that she could not forget the man she met at the end of her dream, the words she said at the time rang in her head.
"I don't want to forget what happened and live in a lie… I don't want to make the same mistake…" Just repeating those words calmed her down to an extent, she was about to deny the possibility that Vult would do something like that and doubt this vision.
She covered her naked body on instinct just by thinking about what happened in the dream. Even then, Maia wanted to reach the bottom of this, and in order to do that she would need to head to the capital.
"I need to talk with Lady Celestine and see that man again, that is the only way to get my answers." Maia got off the bed and put on her clothes, it barely covered anything aside from half of her breasts and legs.
Wearing these clothes for as long as she can remember, she had never felt the need to change for a new set. And wow she had almost no time to be thinking about this. Walking down the stairs she reached the first floor, but when she opened the main door to set out on her journey. Maia found a few familiar faces waiting for her.
"Ah… Lady Maia!" The San Bernado knights, an order made up of pure maidens who served the Goddess Larentia, and by extension served Celestine.
If Claudia Levantine was Celestine's sword, San Bernado Knights were her hands and feet. Helping the High Queen in her attempts to thwart the Dark Queen Olga Discordia, even now they should be in the north on expeditions to deal with the monsters that attacked helpless human villages.
"Emilia, why are you here?" The one standing in front of Maia was the leader of these knights. Standing there proudly with a spear in hand, her beauty was enough to enchant the men walking by as her long blue hair fluttered in the gentle morning breeze.
"Lady Celestine has arranged a conference for the Seven Shields, so we were sent to inform you of it," Emilia said plainly, and looking past her, Maia could see that Alicia and Prim were also with them.
"Alright, I was planning on asking for an audience myself. So this works out." Maia nodded and walked towards her fellow Princess Knights who greeted her with warm smiles. She got onto the horse prepared for her, and the entourage left the fortress under the cheers of the people who gathered to see them off.
To the unassuming eye of the public, this sudden gathering appeared more akin to a march, and they wanted to see off their protectors with happiness at the end. But this sentiment was not appreciated by Maia. After they were halfway into their journey to the next fortress, the silence was finally broken.
"Do you have any news, Maia?" Alicia turned towards her. Truth be told, Maia wanted to ask her the same thing, but her mind was just too occupied with the nightmare she had last night.
"I have no idea." Maia shook her head, but deep down she had a hunch. The nightmare and then this sudden summons, considering how they were given this chance, it was clear that the white-haired man she saw already planned for this.
"B-But before you said that you were about to ask for an audience with Lady Celestine," Prim caught onto her, she looked at the timid girl but Maia knew that this kid was kind at heart. She likely just happened to hear it, and it was tough to locate her because of her small presence.
'Or maybe my senses are deteriorating lately, have I been too lax? No, I am sure, otherwise I wouldn't have been done in like that.' Maia knew that there was some problem, but she will need to think about that later.
"I just had a very strange dream last night. So… I felt like asking the High Queen for some guidance on the matter." Her heart was unable to settle down after what she had seen, even if it didn't do anything to her body. The things that happened in the dream, were enough for her to have doubts about the way she had lived her life.
"Is it somehow related to the dream thing that Miss Emilia asked us about?" This was when Alicia asked a question that shook Maia out of her deep and dark thoughts.
"Did you get a dream too?" Maia's overenthusiastic words caused a few heads to turn her way, but they did not say anything. As for her inquiry, Alicia and Prim shook their heads.
"We didn't, that is why we were confused about what this whole deal was. Lady Celestine had never called for us in such a manner before, and then that question made me nervous for some reason… Then you were behaving differently, so the dream seems like a big deal… but I don't know and I have a feeling of not wanting to know about it…" Alicia couldn't explain this feeling, it was like she was suddenly atop an icy peak whenever the thought of the dream crossed her mind.
This reaction confused Maia even further, she didn't know what Alicia and Prim wished for in the dream as they were never spoken to. At the time she did not notice it, but it was possible they did not want to remember it.
"I do not think the dream is really important, maybe we'll find something out when we meet Lady Kaguya? Both Lady Celestine and her are always on the same page, so she might know about these dreams." This was when Prim spoke up to blow away the depressing atmosphere.
She was the one who needed answers the most, since morning Prim had seen Alicia being especially tense when she heard about the dream from Emilia. She also had a vague sense of uneasiness about this sudden ordeal, but it was overwritten by the worry for her older sister.
"Yeah, she might know more about this." Maia nodded with Alicia also feeling a little better, the calm aura around Kaguya was something she tried to emulate when she was around Prim.
But today it wasn't working, even then at least they had some reassurance. This way the question wouldn't eat at their heart till they arrived at the capital just that luck was not on their side.
"Lady Kaguya already left for the Capital!!" Emilia was shocked upon hearing that, there was no way for Kaguya to know about the summons in advance. So, how did she leave at the crack of dawn on her own?
"Yes, she said that the object of her faith awaits her in the capital. We have also been ordered to move the entire Temple by the end of the day… I truly do not understand what is happening…" Even the shrine maidens that were the closest to Kaguya were in the dark like them.
But hearing those words Maia's eyes widened, she remembered Kaguya's actions toward the God that appeared in her dream. And looking at what was happening now, it was clear.
"It actually….. happened?"