Chapter 164 - Xenovia: We Really Have Been…
In the dining table, Xenovia and Irina channeled their grief and frustration into eating, devouring their breakfast that made them look like they hadn't eaten in days.
"Ah, these two have quite the appetite. It looks like breakfast might be a bit short," Akeno remarked with a smile, amused by their intensity.
"So, what are you two planning to do next?" Rias asked, taking a graceful sip of her tea before setting the cup down.
Watching them eat like this was almost enough to fill her up.
"We'll eat up first, then contact the church and ask them to pay off our debt," Xenovia said, barely pausing as she bit into a strip of bacon and shoved another piece into her mouth.
"Well..." Irina stopped eating, a look of frustration crossing her face, the confusion in her eyes unresolved.
As a devout believer, learning that God was no longer around had shaken her deeply.
"Someone from the church contacted me last night," Rias said suddenly.
"The church is acting that quickly?" Mahiro was a bit surprised.
"Yes, Underworld reached out directly to the church," Rias confirmed. "If nothing goes wrong, someone from the church should be coming to Kuoh Town today to retrieve the holy sword."
"Rias Gremory, what do you mean by 'someone will come to retrieve the holy sword?'" Xenovia suddenly stopped eating, gulped down a milkshake and looked seriously at Rias.
"What's wrong, Xenovia?" Irina asked, surprised at her sudden seriousness.
Rias's mention of the church sending someone to collect the holy sword had struck her as standard procedure, but seeing Xenovia react so strongly left her puzzled.
"Rias, did the church tell you anything else?" Xenovia asked, clutching her fork tightly as she looked intently at Rias.
"No, they just informed me that someone from the church would arrive today and asked me to hand over the holy sword to them," Rias replied, shaking her head.
"Just that?" Xenovia pressed.
"Yes, just that," Rias confirmed.
Xenovia's face darkened, and she slowly released the fork in her hand.
"Hey, Xenovia, what's the problem? We completed our mission. Once the church pays us, we'll be free," Irina said, confused.
"Irina, retrieving the holy swords was our mission. Now that it's complete, it's up to us to bring it back," Xenovia explained quietly.
"Yeah, so what's the issue?" Irina asked, still puzzled.
"But now the church is sending someone to take back the holy swords, and they didn't say anything about accepting us," Xenovia muttered, gritting her teeth.
"Huh? Could it be that the higher-ups know about our debt and don't plan to pay us? Are they just going to let us work here until we've paid it off?" Irina exclaimed, displeased.
"That's so heartless! It's not like we took on this debt for personal reasons; it was official business!"
"It's nice to be so naive," Mahiro muttered.
"Indeed. Ignorance is bliss," Xenovia replied with a sigh, watching Irina with a look of frustration.
"Hey! I'm not naive!" Irina protested, noticing their expressions. She looked over at Mahiro with annoyance.
"Then tell me what's going on. Isn't it that the church doesn't want to pay our debt, so they're refusing to let us return?"
"Asia, looks like you'll have two more companions soon. Things should be more lively around here," Mahiro said with a smile, glancing at Asia.
"You'll have to set a good example as senpai here."
"Eh?" Asia, nibbling on her bread like a little squirrel, looked up in surprise at Mahiro's comment.
"I'm in first grade right now?" she replied innocently, thinking Mahiro was talking about their status at school.
Hearing her response, Mahiro chuckled.
"Come on, don't play coy with me!" Irina said, clearly exasperated.
"I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to cry," Mahiro teased.
"I won't cry! I've already survived the awful news of the Lord's death; nothing in this world can shake me!"
Irina retorted and looked at Mahiro defiantly.
"Good spirit. I wonder who was sobbing earlier?" Mahiro said with a smirk.
"Alright, enough teasing. Tell me what's going on."
"Alright," Mahiro replied, finally serious. "The church probably excommunicated you and Xenovia."
"Haha, very funny," Irina scoffed, crossing her arms and looking at Mahiro with a smirk. "I'm a devout believer and a holy sword wielder. There's no way they'd expel me!"
Mahiro simply looked back at her with a pitying expression.
"Stop looking at me like that; I'm not an idiot!" Irina protested, her confidence shaken.
"Still don't understand? Let Xenovia explain it to you," Mahiro suggested.
Irina looked over at Xenovia, but her expression was grim.
"Xenovia, say something to refute him. He's taking this joke way too far, even if he did help us," Irina urged.
"Irina, what Mahiro said is true," Xenovia said weakly. "We really have been…"
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