"S-Satoshi?" Sivina couldn't believe her eyes.
"Satoshi?" Ana was watching with her mouth open.
"It's the idiot," Yurine said. There was no expression on her face.
"Who the fuck is Satushi?" Kigaro had the most innocent reaction.
With his short black hair, slanted eyes, dark skin and lean body, Satoshi entered the hall of the Andromeda Church.
"It's not Satoshi. We buried him."
Satoshi was hanging by his neck and his intestines were spilling out onto the floor. It was impossible for anyone to live after that moment, not even Satoshi's healing powers could keep someone alive in that state.
On top of that, as Yu had said, they had buried his dead body in a graveyard in Redchapel. Sivina had watched as the soil was thrown over his body, so there was no way he could have come out of the grave.
"Look at that most normal face Japanese iskeai guy and look at the girl next to him."
Next to her walked a girl with rose-colored red hair and green eyes that shone like emeralds. The smile on her lips was seductive to men, but as a girl Sivina could see the slyness in it.
She took men's breath away with her long legs and slender waist, her jeweled neck and wrists, and the green silk dress she wore. The gods had also given her porcelain-white skin and large breasts.
"It's not about the girl right now." Sivina still couldn't take her eyes off the boy as Ana reached out and pulled Yu's ear.
Were Sivina's eyes playing tricks on her? Then what was it that Ana saw? The person walking in front of her couldn't be anyone else. A person could not look so much like another person.
"That girl is the pontifex's niece, Akalda," an unexpected man said. "So actually, I guess the niece of his niece is also his niece."
"This is the special place reserved for the Virgo Cathedral."
"Hey, buddy."
Link, the blond man who had come to their cathedral yesterday to pick up the prisoners, had made a creepy entrance, suddenly appearing behind them. Apparently he and Yu were not on friendly terms.
"We're not talking about the girl, the boy..."
He entered the hall with twenty people, and those twenty people were only soldiers, and there was an army of servants who kept coming behind them.
"That boy is not Satoshi. Sivina, you can't possibly believe that something so illogical could be true. And even if he did come out of the grave, with his level of intelligence, there is no way he could have tracked us here and become the Cardinal of Libra on top of it."
It made sense, it was impossible for Satoshi to live. His soul must have already reached the other world.
"Then who is he? Satoshi's twin or something? There's no other explanation for the resemblance." Ana was waiting for an explanation.
"It's surprising to me too, the only human male I've ever met with his phenotype was Satoshi. Either there is a land east of this world where slant-eyed people live and that's where he comes from, or like Satoshi, he comes from where I come from."
"You look nothing alike," Sivina said.
"There's a saying that Japanese people look alike, and I think the gods want to give us that saying, but the reason I don't look like him is because I'm unique. And I'm not Japanese, so I can't possibly look like him."
"His nation is called Japanese? I've never heard of it, thanks for the information."
"Why are you still here?"
"Can't I come to my friends? I thought that since we traveled a long journey together, we must have become friends."
Sivina might have thought that Yu would be jealous of Link because he was handsome, but Yu was still the most handsome man she had ever seen, so she didn't think so.
"Good thing you're not like him, Yu. You're good like this." Yurine took Yu's hand in both of hers and brought it to her cheek. Yu stroked her cheek too.
"I feel like you were being racist sometimes, but thank you."
Yu's eyes were on the boy who looked like Satoshi, locked on him, following his every move. He said he came from where he came from, but don't people from the same place look alike? Yu was again withholding information, giving off an air of mystery and making Sivina uneasy.
"I understand that she thinks you are handsome, but it is not the behavior of a cardinal to insult another."
"This man speaks the truth."
Kigaro supported Link's comment by slapping him on the back.
Sivina agreed with him. Yurine had to change her attitude towards people. Her contempt for others, even as a small child, might one day become intolerable.
"What do you know..." Yu reproached.
The Japanese boy, the heir to Libra, and his entourage moved to their allotted territory. It was bigger and attracted more attention than Sivina's territory.
"The Duke is coming," Ana said.
In the past, Duke Leoral dri Vermilia would have attracted the same attention as the Libra heir.
But now, as an old man who had lost his land, all he could muster were looks of pity.
He was seated in a wheelchair, a servant was pushing it, when the Duke arrived with his army of servants, no less than the Libra followers that had just arrived. He was the greatest and only supporter of Virgo Cathedral.
"My young lady," Leoral greeted Yurine.
"Welcome back."
"I apologize for standing in front of you like this."
It was hard not to be struck by the respect that a man over seventy years old had for a child who pretended to be nine but was actually three years old.
"That's what you said this morning, I told you it was okay."
"The young lady is very kind."
"Hmph, I know how to behave with my subordinates."
Yu praised Yurine while Yurine continued to hold his hand. Leoral stared at their hands for a moment, but then had to tear his eyes away from them as his chair was turned towards the Star Altar.
As the Pontifex entered the hall, escorted by the Andromeda Guardians, the number of people talking slowly diminished and after a few seconds the hall was completely silent. The last to stop talking were the Pontifex's smiling relatives.
The Church of Andromeda was supposed to be neutral, while the Pontifex's relatives were intertwined with the Libra group.
"The ceremony is about to begin, go to your place."
Yu didn't hesitate to turn to Link and dismiss him. Sivina wondered what had happened between them.
"I'm in my place."
"This is for members of the Virgo Cathedral."
"I'm a member too."
To everyone's surprise, the Pontifex started to speak, so Yu, who was preparing to argue with him, had to keep quiet.
"Let he who inherits the Libra Blessing step forward."
Standing in front of the Star Altar, the Pontifex wasted no time and began the ceremony. The first person to be called was the Cardinal of Libra, and the Pontifex's decision angered Yurine.
"How dare they? How dare they stand in my way!"
"The lead singers are the last to go on stage, young lady, let the rookies prepare the stage first."
"Hmph."
As Ana was trying to calm Yurine down, the heir to Libra's legacy stepped forward. He was dressed in traditional Libra Cardinal attire, a one-piece blue robe and golden sash.
"Keichi Tempo, I inherited the Libra Blessing from the Libra Cardinal before me."
The boy, who said his name was Keichi, came before the Pontifex and bowed his neck, not yet kneeling.
"What kind of a last name is Tempo? He must have gotten it after he came here. Not only that, we speak the same language."
While Yu Valarfin was talking to himself, the Pontifex was muttering a prayer. After he finished praying, he ran out of Keichi's way and led the way to the Star Altar.
"Go up to the altar."
If he went up to the altar and it didn't shine, he would be recognized as not having the Blessing of Libra and he would be called a liar. What would these people gathered around him think then?
Keichi Tempo stepped behind the Pontifex and walked towards the Star Altar.
Sivina didn't miss Yu and Yurine's watchful gaze. They were both watching him as if it was the most important thing in the world.
The altar resembled a large floor table. It was slightly off the ground and had thirty corners. The floor of the altar was matte black, like glass. As soon as Keichi Tempo's foot touched the altar, a blue light emanated from its corners.
"Like that time," Yurine said.
When it was confirmed that he had the Libra Blessing, Keichi received a round of applause from the people. "The Libra Cardinal!" everyone exclaimed, except those in the Virgo Cathedral section.
"Cardinal of Libra!"
"Long live the Cardinal of Libra!"
"Azer bless you!"
The ceiling reflected the image of stars that appeared on the floor beneath Keichi, which when combined resembled the shape of a scale. Sivina had never seen such a constellation before.
When Kiechi stepped down from the altar, it was clear that he was now eligible for the title of Cardinal of Libra. He went before the Pontifex and knelt.
The Pontifex dipped his hand into the cauldron brought to him and pulled it out wet. He waved his soaked fingers towards the kneeling Keichi, splashing water on his face and hair. This gesture symbolized that the Cardinal of Libra was also affiliated with the Church of Andromeda.
"May our God Azer be with you, and from now on you will be one of his representatives as Cardinal of Libra."
"I will work hard to fulfill my mission and be worthy of our God."
"I appoint you governor of Libra City, historically the seat of the Libra Cardinals."
"I would be honored."