“Ah, Archbishop, the light is a little too harsh. Could you move it away?”
Nana, restrained on the interrogation chair, faced the light shining directly onto her face and felt rather helpless.
My eyes are about to go blind.
“Nana, answer my question. Have you already fallen?”
Belon shifted the light aside and asked in anger.
“Fallen? Archbishop, which aspect are you referring to?”
“Of course, assisting Via Shirleyford.” Belon widened his eyes. “Without reporting to the Holy Land, you helped Via enter the Temple and find Sister Sophie.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Nana looked puzzled. “Via only wanted to see her sister.”
“Only? Don’t you understand what she has done?”
“What has she done?” Nana seemed a little blank.
“Via has completely fallen. She accepted the transformation of the demonkin, became a despicable demonkin, launched an attack inside the Temple, and attempted to assassinate Sophie!”
“Ah? There’s actually something like that?” Nana was very surprised. “The earlier disturbance in the Temple was caused by Via?”
“Are you truly stupid or just pretending? Your actions are pure heresy, a betrayal of the Holy Land, assisting the demonkin! When did you make contact with Via?”
“I really don’t know. It was just today. After the prayer ceremony ended, I happened to run into Via, so I asked her to eat together and we chatted for a while.” Nana looked completely innocent. “She said she wanted to see Sophie, so I helped a little. That’s all.”
“Nonsense! Do you think an excuse like that can fool me?”
Perhaps Nana was not lying.
Sophie’s voice rang out as she stepped forward from the area the light did not reach.
“She’s always been like this, constantly doing foolish things and never thinking things through. Being deceived by Via and doing something like this fits her usual personality perfectly.”
“Sophie, don’t say that. I’m really not an idiot!!” Nana protested loudly. “If anything, being able to spot Via at a glance in a crowd even while she was disguised makes me a genius!”
Belon ignored Nana and fixed his gaze on Sophie.
After the incident in the Temple, he had received orders from above to investigate the matter thoroughly and track down the missing Via.
After all, this incident counted as a major accident within the Holy Land.
A saintess candidate had actually fallen and become a demonkin, and the crucial point was that she was the daughter of the former Perfect Saintess and the younger sister of the current Saintess.
What concerned him most right now was Sophie’s attitude. “Sophie, regarding Via’s fall into a demonkin, how much inside information do you know?”
“Archbishop Belon, I do not know too many specific details, but one point can be confirmed. She actively embraced the power of the Abyss. It was not forced upon her by anyone else. It was her own will.” Sophie paused. “From this, it can be determined that she actively chose this path.”
“And afterward, how do you intend to deal with Via?” Belon deliberately reminded her. “She is your blood sister, the only living blood relative you still have in this world.”
“The next time we meet, I will completely purify her, whether it is the sins she carries or her life itself. Since she chose to throw herself into the Abyss, it means she has already become our enemy.”
Sophie gave her reply with extreme speed, using her resolute attitude to make her stance clear. She would not waver in the slightest.
“You… are certain?”
Belon was quite surprised.
He had expected Sophie to search for some excuses to exonerate Via and try to lighten the sins on her shoulders.
Yet the reality was the complete opposite. Sophie offered no protection for Via’s decision, and her loyalty to the Holy Land was frighteningly high.
“Saying more will not help. I will use this weapon to prove the words I spoke today.” Sophie raised her hand. A silver sword rested horizontally across her palm, the blade reflecting her cold face.
“Sophie, you and Via are real sisters. If there’s something to say, sit down and talk it out properly!” Nana suggested.
“Shut up, Nana. You are aiding the wicked! Via has already abandoned everything she once had in the Holy Land. She is no longer a cleric of the Holy Land. Why should we still speak on her behalf?”
Belon’s voice carried clear displeasure.
“It seems you truly need to be sent back to the Holy Land for a proper investigation. At a time like this, you are still standing on Sophie’s side.”
“Don’t! I don’t want to be thoroughly purified. I don’t want to be burned into charcoal!” Nana’s face crumpled. This time she truly could not manage a smile.
“Sophie, regarding Via’s subsequent whereabouts and movements, do you have any clues?” Belon hoped to extract some useful intelligence from her.
Sophie shook her head. “I do not know. When Via came to find me, she sent no notice or letter beforehand. Who she has currently sought refuge with, I also have no idea.”
“Is that so.”
Belon fell into thought.
He had always been dissatisfied with Via, and it now seemed he had never misjudged her.
If possible, he would very much have liked to publicly announce the fact of Via’s fall. Instead, those above required that related information be controlled first and not allowed to leak.
After all, these were serious negative events for the Holy Land.
“We must increase the intensity of the search. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will find Via and subject her to complete purification.”
“Via?”
Stella, remaining inside the room, heard the door open and raised her head.
She knew it was Via without even looking.
Only Via possessed the key that allowed entry without knocking.
Via’s expression looked somewhat dejected. She walked into the room, closed the door, and stepped forward until she stood in front of Stella, saying nothing.
“You disappeared for several days. Where did you go?” Stella blinked.
Via still did not speak. She simply stood there, her entire person appearing quite exhausted, as though both body and mind had suffered some kind of blow.
“Via…”
Stella noticed that Via seemed strange, different from her usual high-spirited state, as if the soft part of her heart had been exposed.
She took Via’s hand of her own accord and pulled her onto the sofa, deliberately letting the other lean against her.
The currently wanted princess did not ask what had happened to the Demon King. She simply offered her shoulder.
“Stella, aren’t you going to ask?” Via said in a quiet voice.
“Things Via does not want to talk about, I will not ask.” Stella answered softly. “I can keep accompanying you like this until your mood improves. I will not leave.”
“Thank you.”
Via felt Stella’s gentleness. Resting against that soft shoulder, her mind received a measure of comfort.
She gradually relaxed, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.