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I had to admit Aleph’s spiced stew was delicious, even if it was a lot of beans. It wasn’t overly piquant, but its rich undertones added a complexity that forced you to savor it. Spending a week eating tasteless bean mush, salty jerky, and dried-out apples also helped enhance its flavor.

“More,” Tetora grunted, still chewing on his last bite as he held his bowl aloft.

“Is something wrong with your legs?” Aleph, seated across from him, asked curiously.

“Ah, no…” Tetora stood up to head back into the kitchen.

“Since you are up, please serve all of us.” Aleph handed him his empty bowl, ignoring the frown forming on Tetora’s face.

Nora and I snickered in unison as we also held up the bowls. Father Baram decided he was good with the bowl he had.

“Opportunists!” Tetora accused. “Wait your turn.” He grabbed Aleph’s bowl first but eventually filled ours as well.

When I received my bowl back, it was only half full. “Hey…”

“There’s no more left,” Tetora growled.

I gave him a wary look. “Did you even divvy it up right?”

“Everyone got the same amount who wanted seconds!” Tetora’s tail lashed angrily.

“Just let me inspect your bowl to make sure.” I stood up and leaned over the table to gauge. “As I suspected…” His bowl was filled to the brim!

“A surcharge for table-side service! You get what you get!”

“And you don’t get upset,” Nora finished with a smirk.

“The heck I don’t!” I struck with my fork, stabbing a sizeable chunk of potato right out of his bowl.

“Did you see what she just did?!” Tetora exclaimed to Aleph.

“Yes. Her reflexes are much quicker now.”

Tetora tried to retaliate by helping himself to my bowl, but I put up an arm to block him. “No way! Justice is on my side tonight!”

“To think…” Father Baram suddenly interrupted our antics. “That I thought you were Raelynn.” He shook his head slowly. “She never would have acted like this.”

I paused and sat down, feeling like I was both relieved and insulted. “How do you know?”

“I had met her once,” Father Baram replied simply.

“What was she like?” Nora asked, leaning over the table.

“The Holy Captain was quiet, serious, and determined. She would have taken nothing from anyone else. Not even a boiled potato.”

“It was all just in fun…” I had already eaten it, so it wasn’t like I could give it back.

Father Baram’s serious face disappeared, and he laughed. “I know. Fun suits you, Rachel. If she had ever met you… she might have been envious of your playfulness.”

“Really? Hmm…” I reflected on his statement while scraping every bit of stew out of my bowl.

“I hope you meet her one day. She would like you.” Father Baram stood up from the table, bowed his head to us, and headed off to his office. As soon as his back turned, Tetora motioned for me to follow him outside. He wouldn’t make me train on an overfull stomach, would he? That would be a recipe for disaster.

Once we entered the dimly lit courtyard, Tetora advised, “Do not be swayed by his opinion. Raelynn knew how and when to have fun.”

“Oh?”

“Yes!” Tetora grinned in the darkness. “One time, she coaxed a squirrel into Aleph’s bedroll, and for the next week, he refused to sleep in it!”

“She pulled pranks?” Oh my gosh, wait until I tell Nora! I may not remember the whole story, but I definitely would have remembered something like that!

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“Yes, but only rarely. She was smart enough to make it look like it was someone else, too. Usually me.” He snorted, looking out over the little town nestled below. “I think… everyone saw Raelynn differently. If you ask Aleph, he would agree with Father Baram. But if Laverna were here… she would say something different.”

“Like what?”

“Hmm. She would say… that Raelynn is uptight, anxious, and always worried about everything.”

“I see…” Could you blame her? So much pressure there.

He laughed. “That was exactly what she would say when Raelynn would refuse to drink with her!”

“Drink? Wasn’t she underage?” She was only fifteen when she challenged the demon king!

“Who is going to deny the Chosen One a drink? Only Raelynn herself.” Tetora shrugged. “But that did not stop Laverna. She believes the only way to know someone is to drink with them.”

“You miss Laverna too, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. She…” He turned back to the church for a moment, then whispered loudly, his whiskers tickling my ears. “Her original assigned purpose… was to be a thief.”

“W-what?! That doesn’t make any sense!” Telling a six-year-old that you’re going to be a thief! A criminal! Utter ackamarackus!

“Yes,” Tetora agreed. “I wanted to tell you this because I do not think… anyone else would.” I had thought the title of ‘Laverna the Thief’ was self-imposed and self-promoted.

“So Euphridia said she had to be a thief?”

“No. A priest did. But he was wrong to do such a thing.”

“But I thought the priests were only reporting Euphridia’s will.”

Tetora snorted. “Just because someone acts as a priest does not mean they act in good faith.”

“So Everett got off lucky with just getting told he is a farmer.”

“Yes. Some priests are bad. Some priests are good. Like everyone else.”

I couldn’t help but ask, “Do you… hate Father Baram?”

“No. He is doing the best he can with what he has.”

I scrutinized Tetora’s face. He was trying to tell me something crucial without actually saying it. “There are bad priests in the church council, aren’t there?”

“I’m just saying you should be very careful when you meet them. Do not let them use you.”

I took a moment to let that sink in. “I’ll be careful,” I promised.

He patted my shoulder roughly. “I do not think you are so simple. But it was easy to call you simple at that moment. Thank you for acting out earlier.”

“Um, you’re welcome,” I replied, knowing that only the second half had been an act.

“As a rare reward… no training tonight. Go get some sleep.”

“Yes!” I shouted to the stars before running back inside to my room. Nora was there, hanging up our clothes to dry near the fireplace.

“Thank you for washing them,” I praised her.

“Washing them wasn’t so hard. Wringing them out is a pain. Did you find a bible?”

I scuffed at the ground with my foot. “I could tell you I looked everywhere, but that would be a lie. There’s no way I’m getting involved with your pilfering scheme.”

“Let me guess, you’re worried about karma?”

“You’re not?” I countered.

She was about to deny such things, as usual, but stopped short. “Hmm. Maybe.” Then she shrugged. “I just thought it might help us see what else Relias had to say about how this world works.”

“We could always ask Aleph to recite a chapter or two,” I suggested.

Nora made a face. “And get lectured again? No thanks.”

“So he got you too, huh? About Names and Purposes?”

“No, we talked about Naught.”

“What did he have to say about it?”

“It’s where the souls of bad people and demons go after they die.”

“There’s no Hell?”

“I think Naught is Hell,” Nora clarified.

“Isn’t everything made from Naught? Wouldn’t that mean Speranza came from Hell?”

“No, everything was created from the potential of nothing that also exists in Hell, the Void, Naught, or whatever you want to call it.”

“The potential of nothing…” It’s just nothing, right?

“I think the theory is… all souls here are made from Naught, and those unworthy of existing will return to Naught for recycling. However, the process is filled with suffering.”

It didn’t make sense to me. “Come again?”

“Imagine you’re a disembodied soul after death. You know what you are, but there’s no way for you to interact with your environment. You exist, trapped, waiting to be disassembled into the smallest elements of Naught with no idea how long you have to wait. It gets worse from there.”

“You don’t just… fade to nothing? You’re still… sentient?” It was terrifying to think about!

Nora nodded, though her face suggested she wasn’t entirely convinced by the explanation. “But if you’re good and do what you’re told, or at least try in good faith… you get to reincarnate. It seems a little random what you come back as, but there’s one famous exception, though.”

“What’s that exception?” I already knew the answer.

“Raela. She always comes back as a human female with the same purpose. Even her covenant name is almost the same.”

“What did Aleph say her purpose is?”

“The same as the story. Continue to be Euphridia’s chosen one. Kill the demon king, and save the world.”

“Can you imagine being told all that when you turn six? It sounds completely–” My stomach suddenly flip-flopped. “Oh… I must have eaten too much.” It was a complaint I rarely uttered.

“Why don’t you lay down? You look a little pale.”

“Y-yeah. Sounds good.” Maybe Aleph’s stew was spicier than I thought. “I’ll tell you about my conversations first, though.” I climbed into the bed nearest the window. Honestly, I don’t remember if I made it through all of my mental notes because I was getting dizzy with drowsiness, but I definitely talked about the squirrel prank first. Nothing else really mattered, anyway.

After I had finished recounting the highlights of my day, Nora pondered, “I wonder where he ended up sleeping for that week. “

“Hmmm?” I drawled, forcing my eyes open.

“Nevermind. Night-night Rae.” I’m not even sure I told her goodnight back.

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Post-Chapter Omake

Nora: I wonder if we're getting paid.

Rae: What do you mean?

Nora: I don't remember setting up a direct deposit, and we've been here long enough to earn at least one paycheck.

Rae: Of all the things going on, that's what worries you the most? I'm not even sure CUP knows we're here!

Nora: Look, if I don't start saving now, my mid-life journey to find myself will just be a mid-life crisis. I want to get paid!

Rae: I just want to make it to mid-life...

Nora: With money!

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