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How dare he say that so bluntly. Faced with Zig’s unwavering stance, Sister Cremona stood up and shook her head sadly.

“This is going to be a long haul…”

What, so you *don’t* have a plan?

Due to the veteran’s defeat, Zig was forced to leave. He was the first person to be sent to the newly established reflection room.

“I’ll definitely get you out of here! I’m the one who’s going to protect the Sister, you hear me!?” Everyone there let out a deep sigh as they watched Zig being led away by Nick and Midd, leaving behind that scream.

“He’s usually a bit more reasonable…”
“I wonder if something got him all worked up?”

Sister Anansha looked completely bewildered. Apparently, he’s a bit more sensible when we’re not around.

“Noche, Sufi, did something happen between you and him?”
“Nya? Nothing in particular, nya…”
“Um… no, nothing.”

The two of them seem to have no idea what’s going on. If that’s the case, then why on earth is he being so stubborn?

“Uh…”

Just as I was feeling uneasy and wondering what to do, Filia quietly raised her hand.

“When we first got here, Nick and Midd trained with Sufi and Noche, right? Well, back then, Zig…”
“Ah, I remember now, nya. He made fun of us, saying, ‘Girls shouldn’t be adventurers,’ nya.”
“And then, Sufi—”
“Yeah! Sufi beat him to a pulp!”

Ah… so that’s it. That’s why she took it out on me, her little sister.

While Sufi flashes that innocent smile, she’s actually pretty ruthless.

“Sufi…”
“But that guy was badmouthing Alice!”

Sufi puffed out her cheeks; apparently, she was really pissed off that someone had said bad things about me.

“Looks like this isn’t going to work out for a while. Let’s just keep them apart.”

Sister Anansha let out a heavy sigh. She seemed to know full well that trying to force them to get along would only make things worse.

We’re leaving town soon anyway, so it’s fine.

“I’m sorry. I apologize on Zig’s behalf too.”

Sister Anansha, who really didn’t need to apologize, bowed her head, and we were finally able to sit down.

■■■■■

“I see. So you’re leaving town soon… I guess this town is still a hard place for beastfolk children to stay.”
“Mm.”

While sipping tea and talking with the Sister, I got a clear picture of the outline of this uproar—or rather, I understood exactly what the Sister’s side had been doing.

Apparently, both Chytis Philip and Sister Anansha had been opposed to using us as bait to begin with.

However, since the enemy’s movements clearly included actions targeting us, they had been holding repeated discussions on how to protect us.

In the end, they decided that the best course of action was to take us in at the orphanage, where the Sister’s shield’s protection extended, and were moving forward with the plan behind the scenes when this commotion erupted.

The enemy’s movements were more urgent than expected, and before we could even get ready, they kept attacking one after another. In the end, the situation was resolved with almost no time left to apologize or explain.

That said, the fact that she managed to squeeze in the condition that we be taken in—and that the orphanage be used as a battlefield—made it feel like she wasn’t one to back down easily.

“I’m so glad you’re safe. That really gave me a heart-stopping scare.”
“Mm.”

The Sister was most panicked by the attack from the Nameless Order; while she was somehow managing to stop the most dangerous Divine Soldier, the next most dangerous woman slipped past her.

According to the Sister, the Divine Soldier’s combat prowess itself wasn’t all that impressive, but his power and endurance were simply abnormal. A punch that clearly lacked speed blew the Sister—who was in a defensive stance—and her shield right off her feet, and her unprotected body took the martial arts attack in stride.

Even if she excels at cultivating Renki, there are limits. Besides, in terms of combat strength, the Sister is top-tier herself; it was entirely strange that the Divine Soldier remained unfazed after she attacked him with a blunt weapon, even if he was wearing full armor.

She deemed him to be too dangerous, so she shifted her approach to try to contain him instead.

“At first, I even thought he might have a divine blessing—to be able to create something so terrifying.”
“A divine blessing?”

I tilted my head at the Sister’s words. It was a term I felt like I’d heard before, yet wasn’t entirely sure of.

“It refers to a power bestowed by God at birth—a power distinct from both magic and sacred arts… though the specifics vary. They say that once you awaken, you’ll naturally understand what kind of blessing you’ve been granted.”

…I suppose you could call it a human-type Unknown. From the way the Sister spoke, it seems they’re a common occurrence in this world. They aren’t treated as abnormal beings, but simply as humans with special abilities.

“If it manifests, any kind of Divine Blessing is in high demand… Alice?”
“……”

I couldn’t find the words, so I just shook my head.

Since magic and magical beasts are commonplace here, it might not be so strange for humans to possess supernatural abilities either.

But, right. Over here, that’s *normal.*

“I wonder if Sufi has a blessing too. If I did, I could protect Alice better.”
“You might just have one. People with exceptional talent often do.”
“Really?”
“If that’s the case, I probably have it too, nya—definitely.”

Distracted by Sufi and Noche’s reactions, I finally managed to speak.

From then on, we continued chatting and laughing about trivial things, with the children joining in as well.