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After completing his most recent mission, Saint Leonard returned to his cathedral.
Now a Sequence 2 Servant of Concealment, the only missions the Church required him to complete were those personally assigned by the Evernight Goddess. Most of the time, Leonard was no longer as constantly busy as he had been at lower Sequences.
But likewise, missions directly from the Goddess were rarely simple. Coupled with Leonard's identity as "Mr. Star," almost all high-level missions that the Goddess deemed to require cooperation with the Church of the Fool were thrown his way. Add to that the occasional Tarot Club missions requiring the assistance of the Angel of Darkness or the Church of Evernight, and among his fellow Servants of Concealment, he was the busiest.
As always, after personally completing the ritual of prayer to the Goddess, he awaited the deity's audience.
The daylight filling the room gradually dimmed, and thick shadows enveloped the angel standing within. The faintest sounds dissolved into the spreading night, while the air filled with the fragrance of Slumber flowers and Night vanilla.
Leonard knew the Goddess had turned Her gaze upon him.
He briefly reported the outcome of his mission and, after confirming the Goddess had no further instructions, paused for a moment before speaking.
"There is one more matter I need to report to You and seek Your stance on.
"That is—I wish to be with Klein, as family."
The night was silent, offering no response. Though silence could sometimes be an answer in itself, Leonard knew that the Evernight Goddess—the absence of any sign of Her Horror revealing Her attitude—was merely waiting for Her believer to continue.
Leonard traced the four-pointed star over his chest before speaking again.
"Previously, Klein wanted to give me a birthday surprise and did something.
"He stole and fooled my memories, constructed a dream world without extraordinary abilities, and had us live there together for over half a year.
"It was an ordinary and happy world. We were both at Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen. The Captain, Ma'am Daly, Old Neil, and Kenley—my former teammates—were all alive.
"He and I met ordinarily and lived simply.
"We both had many regrets from the past. For instance, in Tingen, he hadn't been warm toward me, our relationship hadn't been close enough, neither of us had made the effort to truly understand the other, and there was that restaurant I never got to take him to before we parted... In that dream world, he worked hard to make up for all those past regrets.
"But it was only a one-time gift. Klein never intended for us to stay in that dream world forever, so he didn't carefully remove all my memories and abilities. Thus, within the dream, my spiritual intuition kept telling me something was wrong. And at the final birthday celebration, because of the warning of my spiritual intuition, I used 'Wish' to break free from that world.
"I cried over it. Klein apologized to me, and I made him promise not to do it again.
"He changed the subject and didn't answer me directly. So I understood that he was probably still thinking that at some moment he deemed necessary, he would still choose to fool me like that again. I should be angry. He has too little confidence in himself, in me, in this relationship. But I can't really blame him. He's just too cautious about our relationship, to the point of wanting to prepare for the worst-case scenario right now.
"Goddess, I know he's truly trying. He loves me with all the humanity he has left. He's given me everything he can. He possesses the authority of Fooling and Deceit; he could simply steal my memories. But even though he knows that not answering me directly will make me suspicious and remain angry, even though he knows this could become an unstable factor between us, he didn't deceive me further. You know that for someone like him, who always wants to keep everything under his control, allowing something to potentially slip beyond his control goes against his divine instincts.
"I can't even say his concerns are unfounded, because I can also see that his condition hasn't been good lately. I used to think the end of the apocalypse would be the end of everything, but now it seems this is only the beginning. He and I both have a long battle ahead. I can rely on You and his help, but most of the time, he has to face his battles alone.
"Of course, now—even if it sounds presumptuous—I won't say I'm unimportant to him anymore. Before, I always thought that as long as I was alive, proving that the easiest days of his life in this era were real, that was enough. But during that period when I was lacking humanity, he showed me that he doesn't just need me alive. He truly needs my love for him. Not the kind of love for a deity, but the kind that sees him as a lover, as family—the kind that wants to protect him, guard him, truly wish for his happiness. The kind of love you can only have for a person.
"I used to think my love for him was nothing but blasphemy, or something insignificant. So I once buried it all deep in my heart. He spent a long time dredging it all back up, polishing it until it shone again. And since this love is so important to him, from now on, all of it belongs to him.
"After recovering my humanity, I talked to many people and learned many things he did during that time, as well as various thoughts revealed in his few words.
"All I can say is that Klein is far too cautious with me. He's somewhat at a loss about this relationship. He tries not to use his authority to control me, hoping that everything I give him comes from my own will, not a twisted wish. So aside from commissions from the Lord of Mysteries, he hardly makes any requests of me anymore. Because he knows that if he wants me to do something but I don't want to, he could simply twist my thoughts and make me do it.
"He's too powerful, so he's increasingly afraid of losing control. Afraid that I'll become his puppet. Afraid that my love will become a phantom in his dreams. I even think that birthday incident may have worsened this, because he prepared a surprise out of his own thoughts, and I showed strong aversion to it.
"But honestly, now that I've calmed down, I don't think his thinking is wrong. If one day our humanity truly erodes to the point where we can no longer maintain this relationship, letting our final moments rest in a happy dream would be fine. My aversion, aside from losing memories related to him, was more because I thought he would be the only one suffering in that process. Like in that dream, he was the only one who remembered everything about us. Those heavy memories that should have been shared by two people—he alone carried them. That would be very painful for him.
"He never wants me to suffer, but I don't want him to suffer either.
"So I started thinking: if we are destined to be separated by something other than life and death, then why not, before we are separated, do our best to leave no regrets? He spent that dream filling in past regrets, but is our present already completely perfect? Is he truly so happy that he wants for nothing?
"Then I realized: a normal emotional relationship wouldn't be as cautious as his. I actually wish he would just tell me directly what he wants. Of course, I think I know him very well now—I can guess many of his thoughts. But I still want him to tell me. I want him to have the confidence that even if I refuse him sometimes, he won't actually control my thoughts because of it. He should have more confidence in his own self-control.
"Our relationship, his feelings for me, my feelings for him—all of it is far more solid than he thinks. But how do I tell him that? Of all the humanity he has left, what does he most want?
"Then I remembered: a very, very long time ago, on the day he became a Bizarro Sorcerer, he asked me if I wanted to leave the Church.
"I refused at the time.
"Actually, I had already prepared for both of us to completely disappear from each other's lives. But later, Mr. Fool—that is, he—let me join the Tarot Club. A relationship I thought would be completely severed was reconnected.
"Looking at it now, this is just how he is. I take fifty steps toward him, and then when I hesitate and stop, even start to step back, he immediately rushes over. Crossing the remaining fifty steps, crossing the distance I stepped back, coming to stand before me—even if I stepped back far more than I stepped forward, he doesn't care. He's always like this. He can't let go of those who first showed him goodwill. Even someone as slow as me, after experiencing it again and again, understands this perfectly.
"I know now: he is like this simply because he no longer has a home. No place that gives him constant support and warmth. So even a small bit of goodwill, he wants to keep carefully, doesn't want to let go. He has always been so lonely. That's why he wants a home all the more. A place he can always return to. A place he can rely on. This is one of the few things his human part still wants.
"But who can be his family? Not just Klein's family, but the family of everything he represents. The family of a deity. A thought that sounds like blasphemy—it seems only I dare to have it.
"So then, let me become his family. Let me give him a home.
"Of course, even for an angel, saying 'become a deity's family' is too arrogant. But this is one of the few things he truly wants, and one of the few things I can truly give him.
"I want to establish a closer relationship with him.
"From the perspective of divine authority, this may be a great betrayal. So, Goddess, if You believe that because of such thoughts I am no longer fit to serve You, please tell me. I will do my utmost to make amends.
"I cannot compensate You by myself. I haven't yet asked Klein what he would be willing to compensate You for this. For now, I cannot promise anything on his behalf. But I believe, given the help You have given him, and us, he will certainly do his best to help me make up for any loss I cause You.
"You can have other Servants of Concealment, other Angels of Darkness. I believe that, by Your mercy, there are no fewer children like me who received Your grace from childhood and can serve You with more sincere devotion. But what Klein wants—though it sounds like boasting—it seems only I can give him.
"Of course, if I am extremely fortunate that You are still willing to let me continue serving You, I will still carry out Your will as always. But regardless, You will always have my loyalty and reverence."
"Do as you wish," a soft voice sounded, ethereal as a dream that does not exist. "And as long as you still walk my path, you remain a child of the Darkness, my Servant of Concealment."
"There is no loss. I will bless you and the Lord of Mysteries."
"I am deeply grateful."
The Angel of Darkness lit up the stars over his chest.
The shadows receded, and the room he stood in returned to light.
It was only three in the afternoon.
A conversation, unbeknownst to all, had ended.
Leonard walked out of the church. Before he could decide what to do next, he saw a gentleman in a top hat standing under the nearest tree.
"Klein? Why are you here?" He quickly broke into a radiant smile and took a step in that direction. The next moment, he found himself already standing before the other—the distance between them had been stolen.
"Your mission report took longer than usual today. Did you encounter any difficulties?" The brown-eyed young man nodded reservedly in greeting and handed over a bouquet of flowers he was holding.
"Thank you." The Angel of Darkness hugged the brilliant bouquet of red roses, lowered his head to smell their fragrance for a moment, then continued, "Not at all. Rather, something very good happened."
"Something very good?" The Seer's right hand moved instinctively, but he quickly restrained himself. The curiosity and worry hidden in his eyes nearly became tangible.
"Mm, something very good. But I'm not going to tell you just yet." Hearing this, the neatly dressed gentleman rolled his eyes in a very ungentlemanly manner. But after a moment's silence, he still looked uneasy as he grabbed Leonard's clothes. "You will tell me, won't you?"
"Yes. But it's also a surprise. I won't say anything until I'm ready. So, Klein, you are not allowed to secretly divine it. Of course, divining would be useless anyway—I asked the Goddess for the power of Concealment."
"Fine." The young man pouted, but quickly reached out to straighten the Angel of Darkness's somewhat messy collar and shirt hem. "What would you like to do next?"
"I have a few hours of leave. Would Mr. Fool be willing to grace me by taking a walk with me through the streets of Backlund?"
"Since His Holiness Saint Leonard has requested it, I must comply." After straightening the clothes, the young man casually took Leonard's free hand. He still wore an air of doing it merely out of convenience, of not really caring. But now that Leonard was familiar with all of Klein's little gestures, he keenly noticed the tips of his ears turning red.
"You brought me a bouquet. I want to buy you one too. And when I came back, I heard some churchgoers talking about a new dessert. I don't know if you'll like it, but we can try it. I remember you still have some of the coffee I brought last time—we could have afternoon tea together. Once I've bought everything, I'll bring it all to Sefirah Castle."
"So you're coming to see me today?" The young man was visibly happy now.
"Yes—unless you don't want to see me. Otherwise, I want to see you every day." Leonard smiled at him, satisfied to see the other's entire face turn crimson at that smile.
The three o'clock afternoon sun was, indeed, just right.