The sun usually rose from the beyond the horizon . But now, it’s different .
The sun was covered by the rising Gallian continent this time, illuminating it like a halo . The scene looked majestic, nevertheless .
For those who didn’t know, they would probably get captivated by such a sight .
[Hey, Fate . ]
[Raine!?]
[What’s with that surprised look?]
[I mean, it’s rare to see you up this early in the morning . ]
[I do get up early sometimes . I just want to see the rumoured scenery this time . ]
I was sitting on a bench in the mansion’s courtyard .
Raine took a seat besides me .
[I already heard . You lost Greed . And yet here you are, looking fine and all . I thought you’d take it really hard . ]
[I guess it’s all thanks to Myne . She told me to not give up just yet . ]
[I see . Then, this is for you . ]
Raine handed me an envelope .
[From who?]
[Your father…it’s from Dean . ]
[From Dad!?]
I unconsciously put more strength than needed to my grip, causing the enveloped to be crumpled .
[He also told me that he’ll be waiting for you at the depths of Gallia . What’ll you do next?]
[Isn’t it obvious?]
I gave Raine a look .
She let out a bitter smile as if she had done something wrong .
[Already itching for a fight? You two are really similar . ]
[Similar?]
I used to feel some happiness when recalling the past .
Now that feeling was replaced by repulsion .
Dad had opened the Door to His Land .
Now, monsters started resurrecting everywhere, causing pain to the people .
Only last night I heard that a small village was annihilated by monsters’ attack .
Monsters had also gathered around the capital, probably attracted by the smell of living humans . There’s a possibility that a death march will occur some time soon .
Aaron and the White Knights desperately defended the capital . It’s fairly safe right there at the moment .
Being told that I’m similar to the person that caused all that, I was left speechless .
[Your father, he was born with Divine stigmata . ]
[Just like Snow… . . ]
[The Divine mark . It’s like the will of God, it can’t be resisted . ]
[Are you telling me that the order Dad was given is to open the Door to His Land?]
[Judging from the situation, that should be the case . Whenever he was committing himself to the effort of opening the Door to His Land, the mark on his cheek would glow . ]
Even so, there’s something strange about it .
Libra, for better or worse, was trying to prevent the Door from opening .
But on the contrary, Dad was trying to open it .
[What Libra and Dad were doing was a total opposite . ]
[Perhaps, despite being similarly sacred beastkin, they received different orders . ]
[You mean!?]
[There may be more than one God’s will . I’m pretty sure of this . Each of them might just be trying to fulfill their given mission, but your father hates Libra on a personal level . Perhaps they had a connection in the past . ]
Multiple God’s will… . . ?
Now that I think about it, if all the sacred beastkin were given the same mission, they should’ve been able to achieve it more effectively .
Why does it have to be like that? If the commands they were given are conflicting with each other, won’t there be a chance that none of them would be fulfilled?
[I simply don’t get God’s intention in all these . ]
[Indeed . Our life would probably be a lot easier if we could understand the God’s intention . On the other hand, there are more than one way to achieve something, and we are left with the ability to choose how . ]
[More than one way…]
[That’s what makes being a researcher fun . ]
[In the end it’s just for your amusement after all . ]
[Fufufu… lots of research materials awaits . ]
[Good grief… Raine, you really]
Before I could react, she placed her hand over my chest .
[Wa… . . ]
I was taken aback by the suddenness, but I realized that Raine had a serious look on her face this time .
Apparently she could tell since she’s directly touching my body .
[Arghh, alright, alright, you’re right!]
[I thought so . When did this begin? What caused it?]
I didn’t mean to hide it from her .
She’s been observing how the Gluttony skill affected my body for a while after all .
I mean, it’d be bad if there was a visible change to my body .
Although I was forced into this, I actually felt grateful .
[Perhaps from a week ago?]
[Aaaah . Then why didn’t you tell me earlier . ]
[I was busy . ]
[Geez, this will give me a lot to do now . ]
Raine pulled my at shirt, trying to strip it off from the front .
[Come on, take it off . ]
[Right here!?]
[There’s no other person here . Rest assured . ]
[As if!]
And yet she still tried to take my clothes off .
It’s her bad habit .
If she needs to know something, then she has to look it up right away .
At this rate, I’ll end up naked in the morning at my own courtyard .
But she stopped as soon as she saw my back .
[I see . Like parent, like child after all . It’s the same as what your father has . ]
[Dad has one as well?]
[His was bigger, and more powerful than yours . ]
[Which means?]
[This isn’t the effect of Gluttony skill . Your sacred beastkin lineage is also taking form . ]
[Why now of all times though . ]
In response to my question, Raine turned to the floating Gallia continent and replied .
[Back then your father told me . You’d awaken your sacred beastkin lineage soon . And that it was the Gluttony skill which made it possible . ]
[The skill does?]
[Right . Normally a human’s body is too weak to support the sacred beastkin’s power . However, you achieved Area E thanks to Gluttony skill . This finally awakened the dormant power within you . ]
My mom was a human . But my dad was a sacred beastkin .
I’m a half breed who inherited the blood of both .
I was mostly human since I was born . But now the sacred beastkin blood in me started to awaken .
[It probably acts as a counterbalance to Gluttony skill . You’ve been feeling really well lately, haven’t you?]
[Yeah, you’re right . I thought that it’ll be more difficult now that Luna, who had been keeping it at bay, is gone . ]
I don’t know if it’s a good thing .
After Luna disappeared that day, I no longer saw the spiritual world .
And the shadow me that the Gluttony skill made hadn’t appeared again since last time .
I managed to beat it back then, but I don’t know what will happen next time .
Gluttony skill has been laying low recently .
At least I thought so . Perhaps it was wary of the awakened power of the sacred beastkin .
[In any case, Fate’s body is a good source of information . Please give me a moment . ]
[Source?]
[Your father entrusted me with an Ether blood crystal . He said that it was a stone capable of miracles since it was a crystallized blood of God . Using that power, I was able to purify the Philosopher’s stone he stole from the Capital . ]
[Philosopher’s stone!? The fragment of the collective lifeform Shinn?]
[Yes, I saw it with my own eyes . The blood crystal purified the will inhabiting that stone . Perhaps we can use it to purify the Gluttony skill in your body . That way it should be even more manageable for you . ]
[That’s like something coming out of a dream . ]
[But it’s not . He entrusted the Ether blood crystal to me because he knew that I will use it for you . He’s a man who won’t lie when it comes to you . ]
Dad actually did something like that…?
[But it’s too early to feel happy . It’ll take some time to truly understand how the blood crystal works . And the required equipment is located in Grandeur, just under Hauzen . So I’ll be staying underground doing research for a while . ]
[You look happy though . ]
[It’s what I do . When you feel like it, come visit to clean the place up . ]
[Can’t you just do that yourself?]
[But, I don’t want to take over Fate’s job . ]
[Oi, I’m still the lord of Hauzen, you know?]
As soon as I replied to her, Raine got up from the bench .
[Alright then, I have research waiting for me . ]
Before she went far I called her out .
[Oi, have you told Mugan that you’re alright?]
Her father, Mugan had been worried sick ever since she was kidnapped by my Dad .
It’s Raine we’re talking about after all . She only cares about research, so I’m afraid that she hasn’t contacted her father yet .
Thinking so, I asked just in case .
And then, Raine turned around . Her face was blank .
[Ahh! I forgot!!]
[What the hell are you thinking! Mugan is crying back in the capital . Get in touch with him soon!]
He’s just a worried father .
But, it’s Raine we’re talking about after all .
Even so, knowing that she’s doing all this to help me out, I’m honestly happy .