slchan

Legis is dead.

*cough* Ugh, the dust.

I haven't been here since he died.

What was he to you?

I didn't know my parents. I was raised by a beggar in town. I guess you could call him my dad.

The townsfolk were okay, but no one was willing to take in a Sarkaz. I started to hunt for a living, after my dad died.

On one of those hunting trips, I ran into a big one and almost died. It was a passing Sankta who saved my life.

He shared some meat with me and told me I couldn't shoot worth a damn.

Ha.

I still remember... he froze for a moment when he saw me up close for the first time.

It took me a long time to realize it was because he realized I was Sarkaz, and thought about killing me.

But I was just a wild child who grew up in the middle of nowhere. I didn't know any of that.

I still don't really understand it, even now.

I had never seen a Sankta. I don't know why I should hate the halo heads. Plenty of worse people in town.

History is complicated.

Hey, that's what the old man said. I didn't take you for a scholar.

I'll take that as a compliment.

Well, I asked him to teach me how to shoot a bow.

But he didn't want me anywhere close. He chased me away with his gun whenever I went near.

It's funny, now that I think about it. He probably wanted to kill me many, many times, but I didn't get that. I thought it was all fun and games.

Maybe he got tired of chasing me away, but we eventually reached a kind of understanding. I would hide near his house, and he would show a move or two, pretending not to notice me.

What happened to him?

A bunch of Sarkaz bandits came three years ago. They tried to recruit me when they saw I was Sarkaz and could handle myself.

When I refused, they kidnapped me and tried to coerce me into joining.

The old man came to rescue me alone. I survived. He didn't.

...I'm sorry.

He never considered me his student. I don't think he would've wanted a Sarkaz student.

Without the skills I learned from him, though, I would have been dead long ago.

He never left this place, and no one ever came to look for him.

Now, his brother wants him to go back to Laterano? No way, not even if it's just his stuff.

He doesn't belong to Laterano. He belongs to this place.

Give up and leave, if you get it. Or you can die here.

Can I take a look around?

Suit yourself.

What are these books?

The old man liked to read. He tried to teach me, but gave up when he realized I was hopeless at it.

Histories of the Sarkaz and Sankta...

A lot of notes and annotations...

Hm? There's a piece of paper here.

A letter?

Dear Regis. It is precisely because we were brothers that we were never able to come to a compromise through our empathy, for it would be insult to one another.

Was leaving the only option, though? Thinking back on it, perhaps there was a better way.

But we should not regret our choices.

Just because we made a choice does not mean the path not taken has lost its meaning.

That was why I chose to leave Laterano.

I do not think I shall ever return.

I will miss your strawberry milkshakes, though.

Cura ut valeas, Legis.

Look at this, Tiana.

Legis didn't hold a grudge against Regis or Laterano.

He just made a choice, and chose not to return to Laterano because of it.

So what?

Either way, he doesn't want to go back to Laterano, does he?

It's not about going back to Laterano.

The brothers didn't have any bad blood towards one another. It's that simple.

People believe there is no conflict between the Sankta because they share emotions through empathy.

The reality is rather different. Sharing emotions may help you understand why the other side thinks a certain way, but it doesn't mean you must accept it.

On minor matters, the Sankta can certainly reach a compromise through empathy.

But there are certain things even the Sankta fail to agree upon.

The only consensus they can reach is that they do not agree.

Who are you?!

Velliv, Sanctae Lateranae Eccliesiae Cardinalis, Cardinal of the Holy Lateran Church.

Cardinal?!

Why—

Reverend Gun-knight Regis was highly respected. I happened to be visiting a nearby city, and when I heard there were difficulties executing his will, I felt it was my obligation to get involved.

I didn't expect someone else to take care of the problem before I could intervene, though.

No need to be nervous. I overheard your conversation from outside the door. It seems everything's been resolved with a nice little bow, yes?

Who told you—

The split between the gun-knight Regis and his brother, the scholar Legis, occurred over their attitude towards war.

Velliv raises her gun and points it at the Sarkaz.

Bitch.

I won't let you have your way, Sankta!

Tiana returns the favor, pointing her crossbow at the Sankta.

Reverend Regis and His Holiness approached war with a moderate attitude, while Reverend Legis believed in one that was more proactive and radical.

That was the cause of the split between us.

In his will, Reverend Regis requested the return of Reverend Legis's personal effects, in the event that Reverend Legis became deceased.

Those effects do not include a Sarkaz.

Wait!

This is no business for a mountaineer.

I can ask Rhodes Island to take her in!

If I recall correctly, Rhodes Island has a policy against interfering with a country's internal affairs.

The extent to which that policy is followed is debatable, but I doubt they would want to get involved in this one.

I... I can send her to Kjerag!

Kjerag?

I hope you understand the effect that deploying the Silverash name here will have, Ensia, my child.

You knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?

I won't deny it.

If you know my family name, then you also know my siblings.

Enya, Saintess of the Vine-Bead Court. Enciodes, CEO of Karlan Trade. It's becoming difficult to find someone who wouldn't know them.

At the end of the day, though, just my brother and sister. My brother and sister who haven't sat down at the same table for a decade, because of a choice my brother made.

Deep down, I understand.

It's not that my brother and sister don't understand each other, same as these two brothers.

It's the opposite: They understand each other's position, and understand that it's not something they can move past. They understand there are certain things that only the other can do.

That's why they'll never go back to the way they were.

I get it, but I can't give up on the idea.

I just learned that there was a pair of Sankta brothers in the same boat.

They understood that there could be no understanding. They chose to part ways.

But they had each other in their hearts, all the way to the very end.

A touching tale, but what does it have to do with stopping me?

The understanding between my brother and sister isn't about simple acceptance of the other's actions.