"... I'm sorry, Sir Shaperia. I cannot accept your sword."

Shaperia lowered the sword she had been offering in both hands and returned it to its scabbard. Straightening, she said, "In truth, I am not qualified. I know that well."

Though her pledge had been refused, she genuinely seemed untroubled. She was utterly composed, as though she had expected it. She knew full well that she was unworthy to serve Yohan.

For a start, Shaperia was not a knight. She could not wield aura, nor had she been born a noble. She possessed none of a knight's qualifications.

Serving a noble house as a knight—particularly a distinguished house on the Council—required suitable qualifications. At the very least, one had to demonstrate a certain level of martial prowess.

Of course, Yohan could disregard all such conventions and appoint Shaperia a knight. As the head of a house on the Council, he had the authority to confer knighthood. But Shaperia wanted no shortcuts. She wanted to prove her own worth.

Yohan said, "You are more than worthy. Do not belittle yourself."

Shaperia shook her head. "As I am now, I lack the strength to protect you, my lord. I could scarcely serve as a squire, let alone a knight. That is why I intend to open my aura core."

She meant to train in aura. Yohan was somewhat taken aback. The moment she opened her aura core, she would no longer be able to wield holy power. Even consecration would be impossible. She would be unable to serve the Great Saint.

'I will choose you over the Great Saint.'

That was how it sounded to Yohan. It was quite a shock.

"... Sir Shaperia, do you intend to abandon your faith?"

Shaperia answered at once. "No. To me, serving you is itself an act of devotion to the Great Saint."

Yohan was puzzled. "How are those two things connected?"

"As you know, the Great Saint took back my holy energy. No matter how hard I thought about it, I could find no reason. But my time with you has allowed me to understand the Great Saint's deeper purpose."

The Great Saint's deeper purpose. Yohan was very curious to hear what that might be.

"What exactly do you believe that purpose is?"

Shaperia spoke with a calm expression. "I believe it was a revelation telling me to serve you, my lord."

Yohan was seized by the urge to smack his own forehead.

'... Religious nuts.'

Shaperia attributed every coincidence and event to divine will.

'Unbelievable.'

Yohan alone was the reason she had lost her holy energy. Her Eye of Scrutiny had troubled him, so he had stripped away her power to get rid of it. The Great Saint had had nothing to do with it.

Yohan said, "I'm not sure I understand how losing your holy energy amounts to a revelation."

Shaperia explained calmly. "Ever since I lost my holy energy, our paths have continued to cross in ways both great and small. First the matter of the knight Reil, then the southwestern quarantine zone, and now this incident with His Highness Gawain. We keep being brought together."

The knight Reil's corpse had inexplicably been discovered at the site of the Apostle Beris's appearance, and Shaperia had been sent to the baronial house as a spy. Nothing unusual had turned up, and the investigation had ended. She had thought her connection to Yohan was over, too.

It was not. A group of slash-and-burn farmers she later met by chance happened to be Yohan's benefactors. She had escorted them to his domain, only to find that Yohan needed her help. In this way, their connection had continued.

Yohan furrowed his brow. "It looks like mere coincidence. To me, at least."

Shaperia shook her head. "I am certain it is not. Why else would the Great Saint have specifically shown me a miracle?"

"... A miracle?"

"You survived using the Radiant Covenant, my lord. That in itself is a miracle."

It had merely been a hallucination shown to her through Belzarak.

'Did I go too far?'

The hallucination had given Shaperia a far too exalted image of Yohan.

Yohan stifled a groan. "Well, that is true, but..."

"That was when I became certain. You are the emissary of the Great Saint, and I have a duty to assist you."

Over the past several hours, Shaperia had experienced Yohan's selflessness, faith, and unwavering sense of duty firsthand. She could not help but respect him. With so many coincidences on top of that, it now felt like divine revelation.

Yohan wanted to laugh in disbelief, but could not bring himself to do it. Shaperia's misunderstanding was entirely his fault.

Keeping his expression as calm as possible, he said, "Your interpretation does have some merit."

He decided to simply agree with her. Arguing would accomplish nothing anyway. Yohan was not foolish enough to debate God with a fanatic. He just wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

Shaperia's expression brightened a little. "I knew you would understand, my lord."

"Yes, well."

"I will begin building my aura today, so that I may serve you one day."

Shaperia looked ready to open her aura core then and there. Someone like her would probably learn to wield aura very soon. Before long, she would reach extraordinary heights. That was how it would go according to the setting of Chronicle of Humans and Demons. Shaperia was without equal when it came to martial talent.

Yohan gazed at her, briefly lost in thought. Shaperia wielding aura. Viewed dispassionately, she would truly be a superb fighting asset. She might even reach the level of a Sword Saint someday. For Yohan, that would mean having a Sword Saint as a subordinate. In truth, he had no grounds to refuse.

'... Perhaps I should just take the good fortune.'

It was certainly an unexpected windfall.

'Then why do I feel so uneasy?'

He could not work out the reason.

After pondering for a long time, Yohan spoke. "Very well, for now. Let us discuss this again once you have opened your aura core."

Shaperia beamed. "I will make certain to live up to your expectations, my lord."

Her gaze made Yohan a little uncomfortable, but he did not show it. "Shall we return to the matter at hand, then?"

Shaperia turned her gaze toward Gawain. "We have kept His Highness waiting. What can I do to help?"

Yohan needed Shaperia to stop Gawain's encroachment. He intended to link her soul to the fell spear Turabak. Shaperia would become a Demon in Gawain's place. She would be sacrificed for him.

But the situation had changed somewhat. Shaperia was showing Yohan considerable goodwill. There might be more to gain than by turning her into a Demon.

After a moment's consideration, Yohan said, "I will need your help in the Abyss. There is nothing we can do here at present. Could you return to the castle at this time tomorrow? We can discuss the details then."

Yohan needed a day or so to think. Would he leave Shaperia human, or corrupt her? Whichever choice he made would significantly alter future events. This was not a decision he could rush.

Shaperia said, "Understood. I will see you again tomorrow."

The two immediately left the forbidden library.

* * *

Yohan sat in his office chair, tapping the armrest. Though he had spent quite some time deliberating, he struggled to decide what to do with Shaperia.

If he left her human, Gawain would be a problem. He could think of no other way to stop his encroachment.

'... Should I find another favored child instead of Shaperia?'

The Great Saint's favored children shared part of their souls with one another. By using one of them, he could transfer ownership of the fell spear Turabak.

'Too much trouble. Far too much.'

He already had plenty to do. He had no time to search for a favored child as well.

Yohan let out a long sigh. At that moment, a familiar voice reached him.

"What were you talking about for so long?"

Ilea entered the office with a faint smile.

Yohan said, "What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"Shaperia. You were in the forbidden library with that woman for ages."

For some reason, her tone was a little cold.

Yohan spoke expressionlessly. "She says she wants to serve me. As her liege."

Ilea clapped her hands. "Oh, how wonderful. If she'll obediently do as she's told, that should make things easier in the Abyss."

"I agree. But I'm beginning to want a little more."

Some of the amusement faded from Ilea's face. "What more?"

"I want to try putting Shaperia to use in a different way. Her talent would be a great help in the days ahead."

"Shaperia is no more than an ordinary human. You made her that way, Yohan."

"She says she's going to train in aura."

"... For you?"

"Well, I suppose so? Honestly, I'm not sure myself. Let's just say it's because of her faith."

Ilea fell silent for a moment. Then she spoke.

"I'm against it."

"Why?"

"She was a spy for the Church."

"She isn't anymore."

"I know, but I don't like it."

Yohan frowned. "... That isn't a particularly helpful opinion."

"I'm only telling you how I feel. Objectively speaking, if she's even going to learn aura, there's no particular reason to refuse."

Yohan nodded. "That's more or less what I think."

"On a separate note, there's something I'm curious about."

"What is it?"

"Shaperia is rather pretty, isn't she?"

Yohan's face tightened slightly. "Does that matter right now?"

"It matters quite a bit to me."

Yohan clicked his tongue. "Leave. I don't have time to trade jokes."

As he waved her away, Ilea spun around. On her way out of the office, she said, "I'm against it, anyway."

Yohan sighed and returned to his thoughts. If at all possible, he needed to decide by the end of the day.

* * *

Night came, and the sun rose again. Throughout those long hours, Yohan did not take a single step outside his office. He still had not decided. Even now, with Shaperia standing before him, he was agonizing over it.

Shaperia spoke with a worried expression. "My lord, are you all right? There are dark circles under your eyes."

Yohan forced a smile. "I didn't sleep very well."

"If you're tired, shall I come back tomorrow?"

Yohan almost nodded, then stopped himself. Dragging this out would not bring him any closer to a conclusion. He made up his mind.

"No. Let's go down to the forbidden library first."

Shaperia smiled brightly. "Before that, I have something to show you."

A quiet confidence showed on her face.

"What is it?"

Shaperia abruptly drew her sword. "See for yourself."

At the same moment, a loud vibrating sound rang out. It was the sound of something starting up.

'Could it be...?'

His thoughts abruptly stopped. A transparent ripple spread from the tip of Shaperia's sword, filling the office. Yohan's skin prickled painfully.