"…"
Silence filled the space between us.
Mother Lilas, the youngest to gain her rank, stood in the halls of the chapel grounds wearing a fresh set of vestments, freed of all reckless tears.
"…what?" She wore a blank expression as she looked at me with her single eye.
Meeting her here was pure coincidence. I had spent the better part of my morning in the church's workshop where everything was marked up thanks to the saint and his pettiness.
While a hole was burned through my wallet, at least I was able to repair my Gearsaw and the sheath this woman broke last night. The veil that Sister Claire had given me was safely tucked into my clothing.
I wasn't much for believing in good luck charms, but against Lilas, it was better than wasting my time arguing with this adult-sized brat before me.
"Would you happen to know where both Rinne and Sara are?" I asked her.
"ERK!" Lilas looked away, the emotionless stare turning into panic.
"ERK?" I echoed.
This was the last thing I expected to see on her face. She moved her arms behind her back as she moved back and forth uncomfortably.
"Well…" Her words lingered for a moment before she continued. "Sara is with Sister Claire, getting a medical checkup…in place of Mother Kili." Her voice shrank speaking that last part.
"And…?"
"And w-what—!?" She stiffened as if spotting something. Lilas struck an exaggerated pose, a peace symbol over her eyepatch. "Sorry, got to go!" She took off running, crossing over into the courtyard.
She was a lot faster than I expected—
"Wait! Where is Rinne!?" I shouted pointlessly at the back of the woman who disappeared.
"She's fine." A voice called out from behind me.
As I turned to face the owner of the voice, there wasn't anyone there.
Strange…I thought I heard something. Was I going crazy?
"Ahem!"
The sound of someone clearing their throat startled me. It was close, but there wasn't anyone around.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the courtyard; with it, the end of a white nun's veil flew upwards. I looked down; there was a small child—
"Watch where your mind wanders!" As if reading my mind, this child—no—Mother Kili stuck out a metal scalpel with inhuman speed.
She wore vestments stained with various drinks and food. Unlike the mother who just ran with her tail between her legs, Kili here wore her veil along with her vestments. But I couldn't quite see her as the holy type, not with those dark bags under her eyes.
"What did you mean by 'she's fine?'" I asked.
Mother Kili lowered her arm and spun the scalpel around her finger before placing it in her pouch.
"Need I reiterate the obvious? She's fine. A little tired, sure, but that little lamb of yours should be investigation-ready." Mother Kili dug around a different pouch and produced two small cards.
They were IDs, one for Rinne and the other for Sara. Rinne's ID was forged, a fake name and date of birth beside her photo; while Sara's matched her information.
"You truly plan ahead, don't you?" I said, putting the IDs away.
"When you live this long, you'll learn what needs to be done before you need it to," She said smugly.
Seriously, how old is this childlike woman?
As the thought came to mind, Kili's eyebrow twitched upwards.
"S-so," I quickly pushed the thoughts about her age and appearance aside. "Mother Lilas, why did she run?"
I assumed she appeared behind me while I was chatting with Lilas. I must have been too focused on getting answers; I failed to hear Kili's footsteps.
"That girl, huh?" Mother Kili put a finger to her lips and tilted her head to the side. "I don't have the slightest idea. Maybe she's afraid that I'll rat her out to either the saint or Father Muller about her unsightly scars. But I need to examine her; she's 5 years overdue for one."
"Unsightly scars?" I asked, pretending not to know.
"Don't play dumb, Golden Steam," she said sharply. "To be frank, the only reason she is acting that way towards you is because you know about it. She usually behaves normally around others. But she has nothing more to hide from you. But that's not my place to discuss. That is why Sister Claire and I have high hopes for you to 'fix her,' for lack of a better wording."
Fix her, huh?
"Nonetheless," she turned around. "Take care; everyone should be ready in an hour or so."
Mother Kili disappeared into a room.
And so that hour passed, and I found myself outside the chapel grounds.
Comparing the outside of the chapel grounds to the inside was comparing night and day. Broken steam pipes filled the streets with their metallic shine, long since eaten away by corrosion.
The pipes that remained functional, well, they were not in a much better position as steam leaked out of the smallest of cracks. Sara flinched at each sudden burst of steam that came across us while we walked.
Lilas was there to grab her little hands, as it happens. It was moments like these that made me reconsider my opinion of her. She gave off the flair of a holy woman, well, as much as one could with that large sword on her back.
It was clear she was actively using her artifact. But seeing her casually use it made me wonder: do the Old World Artifacts really have limited uses?
"!?"
Next to me, Rinne bumped into me. Her gaze was downcast and distant. Was she tired?
"Are you okay?" I asked.
As we moved, Lilas's gaze turned back towards us. Rinne looked up and, with a sigh, she spoke, "Mother…was she really that much of a battle-crazed monster?"
Monster was a bit harsh.
"I'd replace monster with beauty, and I'd answer your question with a yes," I said.
That woman loved to fight. If there was the slightest chance that she could save someone, she took the fight. She was practically high on the thrill of fighting.
It was the one trait she had that I found rather…troubling. But Rinara's fighting style was beautiful. Armed with a dagger, a short-range weapon, she would dance around her enemies, winning every encounter with ease.
I wish I could teach Rinne to fight like her, but I only know the basics. Quick steps, fake outs; anything more was impossible for me to teach. Rinara moved to the rhythm of her heart in battle. There was no thinking. She herself said so.
Rinne seemed to be disheartened by my answer as she looked back down at the ground.
"I heard rumors of her fighting style." Lilas chimed in. "She was widely known as a blade dancer. She, and many Golden Steams of the past."
"Blade dancer?" Rinne echoed as she looked up at Lilas. But she shrugged her shoulders. "Before I could really get to know her, she lost her life on a mission with Golden Steam here."
"…"
"…wait…huh?" Rinne's head snapped towards me. She grabbed my hand and forced me to stop moving. I avoided her gaze, holding my lips shut as tightly as I could.
"Crap…" Lilas muttered under her breath. "I guess…I wasn't supposed to say that."
I glared at her, and she stiffened her posture.
"Golden Steam, you know something about how mother died?"
"Sorry, kiddo," I shook her hand off. "Same mission, different parts. By the time I found her, the light was already gone from her eyes."
I brushed past Rinne and walked ahead of her. "Lilas," I muttered.
"…" She was quiet, shrinking her head down like a sad puppy. "I…didn't know."
"Next time you do that, I'll make sure Muller knows about your little secret."
Lilas grabbed her wrists and glared at me, but the look of anger was quickly overtaken by guilt.
"Golden Steam!" Rinne shouted.
I turned over my shoulder. She was pissed. Her fist balled up tightly as she bit her lip.
My heart pounded hard in my chest. My eyes were locked with Rinne's—a flash of Rinara's image overlapping Rinne's figure.
Familiar? Why repeat this? Why not just get rid of the problem?
Air struggled to reach my lungs as a distorted voice filled my mind, and the haunting shadow appeared next to me. It loomed over my shoulder with its creepy smile.
Who cares if she's the daughter of that woman?
She'll keep asking in a voice destined to sound like hers.
Her appearance will eventually change to match hers.
Why put up with her? That woman betrayed you; she bedded another man to produce the girl before you. So, where is the harm in freeing this world from an unwanted bastard?
As the shadow spoke using my voice mixed with the likeness of Rinara's, it moved. It masked Rinne's face. The shadow's white grin ever widening.
It was wrong…
It was wrong.
It was wrong!
From behind the shadow, I heard the faint sound of Rinne's heart rapidly pounding. Her hands dropped to her sides. The shadow masked more than just her face; the unnatural darkness overtook every part of her body.
Rinne is not unwanted.
Before her, everything had been at a standstill. I won't let this thing control me anymore.
I will find out the truth behind Rinara's actions before that day—the truth behind that project.
And to do that…I WILL KILL THIS SHADOW!
One slice, I will tear through its twisted smile. It was in front of me, within range of my sword.
I reached for my sword, but it was abnormally heavy. It rattled behind me, as if something was pulling it back. A faint blue light illuminated a short area around us.
I turned my head to find that Lilas was using her artifact. Her eye was focused on me. The moment I released the grip on my blade, the blue light died, and she sighed. Worry filled her eye as she reached for Sara, who hid behind her.
"W-what is that?" Rinne said in a shaky voice.
My heart's beating returned to normal. Air flooded into my lungs. The shadow disappeared. In its place was a trembling girl. Rinne's legs gave out. She fell to the ground with a thud. She held a hand to her chest.
"Y-your eyes…this f-feeling. I-I don't understand." Her tears splashed onto the ground.
Even as despair overcame her, she kept her eyes locked on me, like how Rinara died that day.
"It felt like a void spawn was here."