After bringing Yoshino and Kurumi back to the room, Rita quickly showcased her superb culinary skills.
After inquiring about their taste preferences, she promptly prepared two additional servings of breakfast.
Seeing that she had finally finished her busy tasks, Amber finally spoke up to persuade her: "You haven't slept a wink all night. Take this chance to get some rest."
It wasn't a case of "using and discarding," but rather, she knew very well that if these tasks weren't completed, Rita wouldn't rest.
Even now, however, Rita showed no intention of resting: "Lady Durandal stayed up all night just like I did. Until Lady Durandal closes her eyes to rest, Rita won't either. After all, for Rita, fulfilling Lady Durandal's needs at all times is one of my responsibilities."
"My physique is quite sturdy, so it's fine."
Rita didn't reply but maintained her smile, as if silently saying, 'My body is sturdy too.'
But she clearly knew their levels of sturdiness were different. This was obviously using her own health to pressure Amber into resting as well.
Amber sighed.
"Bianka stayed up all night?"
The well-behaved Yoshino asked in confusion, "Was there… a mission last night?"
"No, she was just mentoring a very talented member of the team."
Amber explained: "Originally, we planned to just discuss a little and then sleep, but she had an unexpectedly intense passion for training."
"Though I knew I should stop her in time, when faced with someone giving their all to improve, I couldn't bring myself to interfere."
That's what she said, but it was still within reasonable limits.
If the training had been unreasonably intense for a prolonged period, Amber would never have allowed it to continue.
"Because that child maintained such enthusiasm, Lady Durandal's drive was ignited as well, so they kept training until now… There's no helping it. Lady Durandal has never been one to refuse those who work hard when they seek help."
Rita's tone carried a hint of helplessness, but also a subtle pride, even though she wasn't praising herself.
"Then… Bianka should hurry and sleep too."
Yoshino nodded, "Staying up late stunts your growth."
Staying up late frequently isn't a good habit.
Yoshino herself had sometimes stayed up late watching nighttime TV dramas, waking up close to noon the next day. But after Amber put a stop to it, such occurrences became rare.
"…Alright, I understand."
Amber was conscious of her role as a 'role model for the children.' No matter what, she couldn't give Yoshino the impression that staying up all night was acceptable.
"The two of you have a good relationship. It's quite unexpected. I thought the relationship between Valkyries and Spirits… would be more tense."
Kurumi, who had been observing the situation, spoke up.
"Indeed, there are difficult-to-resolve conflicts between humans and Spirits."
Amber nodded, "For Schicksal—to be precise, for most Valkyries in Schicksal—that's the case. Outside of the Immortal Blades, if other Valkyries encounter a Spirit, they would immediately prepare for combat."
"But this isn't because Valkyries harbor hatred toward Spirits. Rather, as members of humanity, it's a normal response when facing Spirits."
"In Schicksal, Spirits aren't considered evil but simply natural disasters. There may be Valkyries who hold resentment toward Spirits, but such cases are very few."
"As warriors, the most fundamental thing for Valkyries is to understand what they're fighting for."
"What they're fighting for? For all that is beautiful in this world?"
Kurumi tilted her head.
"Exactly. The enemies of Valkyries have never been Spirits themselves, but the Spacequakes brought by Spirits."
"The reason for killing Spirits is solely because eliminating Spirits is the only way to fundamentally resolve Spacequakes. Only after all Spirits are gone, or a method that doesn't require fighting is found, will Valkyries truly have fulfilled their duty."
This topic wasn't particularly light-hearted, and Yoshino lost her appetite because of it. She kept her head down, staring at the tabletop, clearly feeling a bit downcast.
Amber comfortingly took her hand. When Yoshino looked up, Amber's firm gaze told her, 'This isn't your fault.'
Only then did Yoshino's mood ease a little.
Anyone would feel upset knowing that their very existence is considered wrong, especially someone as sensitive as Yoshino.
"I see."
Only then did Kurumi understand how the Yamai sisters and Yoshino could maintain such innocent personalities despite long-term contact with humans.
"However, hasn't Schicksal already found a way to suppress Spakequakes?"
The Yamai sisters and Yoshino were clear examples.
"That isn't suppression, but neutralization."
Rita explained, "The reason Schicksal's floating islands can remain airborne year-round isn't just due to electricity, but more importantly, the Reiryoku of Spirits."
Hearing this, Kurumi finally realized: "So, all of Schicksal's past records of 'eliminating' Spirits weren't actually killings, but captures?"
"Exactly."
The smile on Rita's face remained unchanged.
"It's precisely because Dr. Mobius had been researching Spirits since they first appeared thirty years ago that we were able to build the artificial islands in just five years and keep them floating for twenty-five."
Kurumi felt a chill run down her spine. "Then… those Spirits captured by Schicksal from the beginning…?"
She thought of herself. Back then, she had been tricked into this mess by the First Spirit under the pretense of being a 'champion of justice,' leading her to kill many 'monsters'—the girls used by the First Spirit to purify Sephira Crystals.
After all, the Spirits back then were impossible to communicate with and caused destruction everywhere. Calling them monsters wasn't an exaggeration.
Though she had no standing to condemn Schicksal in this regard… she still felt somewhat uneasy.
"Schicksal possesses a weapon called 'Black Abyss White Flower.' It can ensure the host survives even after the Sephira Crystal is removed."
This wasn't something Rita was familiar with, so Amber added.
Although, in reality, she had only obtained Black Abyss White Flower after arriving here—it didn't exist back then—but… the final right of interpretation belonged to Dark Amber.
And Dark Amber's right of interpretation belonged to Amber.
"I see…"
Kurumi sighed in relief, even though she knew she wasn't in a position to criticize.
Feeling somewhat heavy-hearted, she took a deep breath. "Schicksal… Even though the whole world says Mobius has unusual ulterior motives, after actually interacting with them, I've realized that both her and Schicksal are completely different from what I imagined."
"Meanwhile, DEM, and even the anti-Spirit departments of any country, hold the utmost hostility toward Spirits."
"You don't need to worry about being treated unfairly within Schicksal."
Amber said, "Schicksal has recently reached a cooperation agreement with Ratatoskr and has preliminarily developed a method to truly resolve Spacequakes at their root without harming Spirits."
"The specifics will be disclosed by Mobius at the upcoming international conference. You can rest assured—even if you're dissatisfied with the method later, we won't force you."
"However, until a better method is found, Schicksal will impose certain restrictions on your range of activity. We hope you'll cooperate in this regard."
Kurumi never expected that there would come a day when humans would care so much about her feelings.
Thinking of all she had done over the years, in this moment, she truly felt her defenses crumbling.
If she had sought refuge with Schicksal earlier, perhaps she wouldn't have become a blood-stained villain?
"But… what if I'm a Spirit who caused countless human deaths of my own will?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.