episode_0086

“How did it go?”

“It was a failure. I thought having Elia on our side would be a huge help, but I guess not everything goes that smoothly.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

“Ouch. That hurts, you know? What do you take my persuasion skills for?”

“Look who’s talking after completely breaking my sister…”

“Oh my. Breaking her? What an accusation.”

In the cozy room of the Grave residence, Cecilia let out a small laugh. After failing to persuade Elia, the two had agreed to finalize their plans at the Grave manor before taking action.

It was only natural that the topic of their failed attempt to sway Elia would come up while discussing their next steps.

“If cornering an ally like that isn’t breaking them, what is?”

“I genuinely believed Elia could be convinced—that’s all. It annoyed me that it didn’t go as planned. Even saints are allowed to get upset, you know?”

Elia may have appeared colder and more resolute than anyone else, but Cecilia knew better. She had seen plenty like her among those who listened to her sermons.

“The stronger someone’s will and the clearer their vision of the future… the easier they crumble from the smallest crack.”

All Cecilia did was give her a little nudge. Elia’s ideals were noble—too noble.

“You remember that disastrous meeting, right? The one Eric tried to force to an end.”

“A chaotic mess that could barely be called a tea party… But why bring that up?”

“If her convictions hadn’t wavered even after seeing Eric like that, I would’ve acknowledged her. Saving the world is our ultimate goal, after all. But Elia didn’t measure up to that. Keeping our actions from Eric must have been the best she could do—protecting him without outright betraying her ideals.”

The Empire’s promised peace in exchange for Eric’s safety. Enticed by that sweet temptation, where only a sliver of instability remained, Elia had all too easily cast aside her convictions.

Compared to the ideals she once held, it was a pitiful compromise. And yet—those tiny cracks were the most dangerous thing of all, capable of utterly destroying a person.

“No wonder it scared me. For a moment, I thought she wasn’t the sister I knew.”

“Hmm… Was it really that intense?”

“She looked ready to stab us in the back if necessary.”

“Let’s drop it. In this case, I only pushed her because I wanted her help. Besides, tricks like that won’t work on just anyone. Take you, Christine—you barely batted an eye, didn’t you?”

“So I’m just that unfazed?”

“More like… you’ve learned to adapt to reality as you go.”

“And what about Lucy?”

“Luciel… Hmm… Who bothers trying to talk to a stone?”

“Hah. That’s unusually harsh, even for you. Then—”

“Can we get back to the plan? Do we really need to sit here discussing my thought process?”

“Fine, fine.”

Christine chuckled at Cecilia’s irritation, lightly clapping her hands before leaning back in her chair.

“Fairchild is locked deep within the Church. Even if we infiltrate again, things won’t go as smoothly as you think.”

“Is that so?”

“Persuading Fairchild to come with us? Be realistic. No matter how human-like it looks, Fairchild is just a single miracle at its core. You know that better than anyone after what happened in the previous world. Fairchild doesn’t listen to anyone.”

“But the Fairchild we met back then had reason—enough of a sense of self to share its thoughts. That means—”

“That’s the problem. You can’t deceive a miracle that self-aware. The worst-case scenario—no, the inevitable scenario—means we’ll have to confront it head-on. And we have zero countermeasures if that happens.”

“That’s…”

“To me, you and Elia are the same. Acting like the world will revolve the way you want it to. Sure, I agreed to cooperate because I liked the whole for my brother angle, but I didn’t think you’d pick such an irresponsible approach.”

“Infiltration and securing an escape route to Fairchild’s location are well within my capabilities. And I have prepared for its abilities and possible countermeasures—”

“That’s not enough, and you know it. Even if we drag our family’s private soldiers along, they’d just be nuisances in front of that thing. In the end, it’ll just be the two of us after releasing Fairchild into the city. Assuming it even listens to us.”

“It won’t refuse! Think about it—it’s spent its entire life locked away. The essence of a miracle is to spread, to elevate the Goddess’ name. Now that it has a sense of self, that instinct must be stronger than ever.”

“……Sigh. Why did I agree to this reckless plan again?”

Christine stretched her arms behind her head with a sigh.

“What if we asked Brother for—”

“What’s the point if he’s just going to veto it?”

“No. He might actually listen if we word it right.”

Christine thought of Eric. Confident, seemingly guided by prophecy—yet inside, he was more distrustful and isolated than anyone. She had no intention of blaming him or trying to “fix” him, knowing she was the cause.

But she was certain of one thing.

“Persuade Eric?”

“Yeah. I can’t explain how, but it might work.”

Eric knew about the first iteration of the world they had lived through. Christine knew Eric remembered the past. Instinctively, she understood that his actions now weren’t driven by the uncertain future of prophecy—but by the experience of that past.

After all, anyone would choose the path they’d already walked over an unstable unknown.

“Brother thinks like me—always prepares for the worst. That way, even if it happens, he won’t panic or despair.”

“Quite a pessimistic mindset for the heirs of House Grave.”

“I had to think like that to survive in this household. Brother saw me gradually securing my place and adapted the same way. Even now, isn’t this entire conversation about preparing for the worst?”

“And you’re saying you have the contingency plan. Eric never backs down once he’s decided—not unless he admits he’s wrong himself. You know that better than anyone after what happened before.”

“I know. That’s why he can be persuaded. If we present a clear vision, he will advise us. Even without prophecy, he’ll help—I’m sure of it.”

“Hmm…”

This time, it was Cecilia who fell into thought.

“But can we really guarantee Eric will give us a solution? The reason we’re even here is because we don’t have a surefire way to subdue Fairchild if it’s released into the streets. With Eric unable to use his prophetic powers, what answer could he possibly give us?”

“Hah. You knew that but still went for such a brute-force approach? Our skills should be enough! Really?”

“Ugh… That’s not what we’re talking about!”

“Our plan can stop Fairchild—it’s just not foolproof.”

“How high are the odds?”

“A five percent chance we fail miserably, leading to Elia and the Imperial Army stepping in to suppress it. Ten percent chance we succeed but with heavy casualties. Five percent we suppress it without fatalities. Thirty percent we manage to barely subdue it ourselves, injured but alive. The remaining fifty is the best case: we neutralize Fairchild cleanly.”

“Hearing it out loud does make the odds sound worse.”

“Right?”

Over half the chance of success—and even in the worst case, Fairchild wouldn’t run wild like before.

Having lived through that catastrophe once, they had structured the plan to avoid a repeat at all costs. A nearly foolproof, fail-safe strategy.

But Cecilia and Christine were two of the strongest in their party—unrivaled in magic and divinity.

For them, failure wasn’t just disaster—it meant losing Eric’s trust.

And that was the one outcome they had to avoid—no matter what.