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You won't be able to do that, Ensia.

Even if I can't bring my sister back home, I need to be with her at a time like this.

She must be very confused after everything our brother's done.

If I can't stop him, then, I at least want to be there for her!

Olafur, your youngest daughter's gotten pretty big too.

Young Lady, I am sorry, but by the Master's orders, you are not allowed to leave the estate. It's for your own safety.

Stand down.

Huh?

Uncle Chester!

Sir, you're directly contradicting the Master's orders!

I'll accept all responsibility for what happens here.

But... Even if you'll go so far to vouch for her, how can that be more important than her safety?

A Silverash never takes unnecessary risks.

This time, let's trust her.

Ugh... Fine.

Go, prepare a burdenbeast for the Young Lady and our guests from Rhodes Island.

Understood.

Thank you, Uncle Chester!

Thank you very much, Sir.

I always thought you...

No need to thank me.

Now go. Time is of the essence.

Okay!

Ensia.

Hm?

Be careful out there.

Will do!

Olafur.

Ever since you and Elizabeth passed on, I've always regretted that I stood against you and the reforms you tried to bring to our land. I should have stood with you.

So, when your son decided to take up your ideals, I chose to support him wholeheartedly.

Enciodes has done exceptionally well.

As the Saintess, Enya has won the adoration of the people of Kjerag.

Though Ensia contracted Oripathy, her condition is under control and she is as happy-go-lucky as always.

But, it suddenly just occurred to me.

How long has it been since I saw these three kids getting along, smiling and laughing as siblings should?

Great Elder, you still need to rest...

According to the records, this great hall was built by the people of all three clans following the establishment of the Tri-Clan Council. The existence and cooperation of the three clans far predates the modern Tri-Clan system.

Then, after thousands of years passed, the system was tweaked and sanded down, until it became what we see today.

And this chair may well have been here for thousands of years.

Over a dozen Great Elders sat on this seat, spending their lives here.

Juast as a dozen Saintesses found their final resting spot atop this mountain.

From the very beginning, the Saintess was a fabrication of the Vine-Bead Court to facilitate the spread of the faith.

Now that you've chosen to tell me these things I've known for a long time, are you meaning to say that our faith is false?

You seem to be a lot more direct as well. But I mean the opposite, Enya. Sorry, Saintess.

Saintess... *cough* *cough*... Do you know my original name?

...No.

I'm afraid no one in the present Vine-Bead Court remembers either.

Even I, myself, have forgotten.

Each Great Elder, after taking up the mantle of the previous one, is known only as 'Great Elder'.

One day, the people will also forget your name, and know you only as 'Saintess'.

Then, the Great Elder and Saintess come to realize––

What people believe in... is not Kjeragandr.

People can believe in anything, as long as there's a story, a few neat coincidences. They will believe in you, in me, in Enciodes, in the mountain, in the water, even in a single leaf.

If people can believe in anything, then what is faith?

The Great Elders finally came to an answer:

What people believe is faith itself.

People choose to vest power in the object of their faith.

People attribute the things that they shun to their faith.

People unconditionally trust the way of life to which their faith guides them.

So, what is faith?

Faith is laziness, escapism, and decadence! Faith is stability, faith is stagnation! *cough* *cough* *cough*––

Let's get you to bed, Great Elder.

No, Saintess. Saintess!

The Great Elder desperately clutches at Enya's wrist.

His grasp is so tight that it leaves a red mark on her skin, as if he spent all his remaining strength on it.

His eyes are fixed on the Saintess before him, but he seems to be looking at someone else.

Faith is ugly! But even so, it is indestructible!

In the thousands of years of Kjerag's history, the cracks between the three major clans have gradually widened, yet no one can deny faith. Faith is the foundation of Kjerag!

Faith unites the people of Kjerag. People seek out faith, people rely on faith!

Kjerag has existed like this for thousands of years!

The people crave stability! The people crave stagnation!

Enciodes thinks he has won, but he hasn't. He cannot win.

How could he possibly defeat the faith that has coalesced in Kjerag for millennia?

This old man is about to die, but you are still young. You are the Saintess of this Vine-Bead Court, and you will become the Great Elder of this Vine-Bead Court.

Go forth and instruct him, overcome him. Make him understand that in the face of faith itself, his actions are insignificant, beneath even mention!

Enya remains silent for a while, but forces herself free of the Great Elder's grip.

She feels pity for the old man before her, but she feels a greater determination.

...I disagree, Great Elder.

You say that faith equals stagnation, and that people depend on faith because they demand stability.

But that's not how I see things.

It is true that once people accept a faith, they come to rely on it. Laziness, escapism, decadence... I can't argue those.

But this does not mean that faith itself is stagnation.

Faith is just faith, nothing more. It has no attributes by itself, and its substance comes from what is put into it.

If the faith progresses, then the faithful will progress with it.

If the faith stagnates, then the faithful will stagnate with it.

The reason why you think the people of Kjerag crave stagnation is precisely because Kjeragandr's faith has been stagnant for thousands of years in the hands of the Vine-Bead Court!

We've drawn up this land as a prison to preserve the rules of some ancient agreement, surviving in these snow-capped mountains for millennia without exploring or even making contact with the outside world.

And you mean to tell me this agreement has anything to do with our faith?

Is it not just the arrogance of the Vine-Bead Court?

Arrogance? No, no, this is how things were meant to be!

Nothing is inherently meant to be.

If it seems that way, it's only because it's never been changed.

It's time to change, Great Elder.

No, Saintess, you cannot change anything.

Faith... *cough* *cough*... is the fundamental reason why Kjerag is Kjerag.

I will go and face Enciodes, but not in the way you want.

I don't know if I'll succeed.

But, since the Saintess has always been used by the Vine-Bead Court as a tool to guide the peoples' faith...

I shall put this tool to good use.

I am the Saintess, but I am not the Saintess of the Vine-Bead Court. I am the Saintess of Kjerag.