Chương 64: Sisters

"Valir provides." Enel watched as more and more people emerged from the fog. And after a while, people actually started stepping through it, holding emptied baskets. He almost instinctively stopped them from going inside, but then saw them bow their heads to the cave. And once again, he could only watch as they stepped inside… then came out with their baskets full of food.

He tilted his head, trying to hear what they were doing inside, but their footsteps echoing inside the cave made it hard to discern anything else.

"Are… you alright, brother?" The little girl moved in front of him, looking up at him with her eyes wide and slightly moist.

"I… am fine, my lady." The little girl narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you calling me a lady? I'm not old."

"Then… may I ask what your name is?"

"Mira."

"M—" Enel blinked, lightly taking a step back as he stared at the little girl's face.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head.

"I… you have the same name as my mother.

""Oh." Mira looked back at the cave.

"Valir must like my name to bestow it to others, then?"

"That—Perhaps." Enel smiled.

"Perhaps. My name is Enel. Enel of House… just call me Enel."

"Hmn." The little Mira nodded. She sat down on the floor again, picking up her plate and placing it on her lap. Still, she did not eat and only stared at the fog.

"Are… you truly not sad?" And Enel sat back with her.

"No."

"Then why were you crying earlier?"

"Because I am happy, brother Enel."

"Do people cry when they are happy?"

"Yes." Mira nodded.

"They do. You have a lot of questions." Enel chuckled a bit.

"I was told I could be nosy, sister Mira. She looked down at the food on her plate, then finally smiled a little.

"I am blessed," she said. Enel's eyes widened slightly.

"You are Blessed?"

"Yes. By Valir himself." Enel looked at her carefully, wondering what she could do. Sigrud, the only other Blessed he had met, was able to conjure flames without the need of Breath. But this little girl in front of him who just happened to have the same name as his mother… did not really feel like one at all. But seeing little Mira's eyes glisten while she stared at the fog, Enel did not really say anything else.

He only stared at her for a moment, and right when he was about to leave her alone, he saw a single tear trail down across her face. Enel reached for his coat, pulling one of the small gold clasps near his collar.

"What… are you doing?" Little Mira quickly noticed, but Enel only smiled at her. He held the clasp between his fingers, then pressed, bending the gold like it was just wax.

"W-whoa…" Mira's eyes widened, covering her mouth as she continued to watch as Enel twisted the clasp carefully. He shaped it into some sort of pin, then pressed the ends several times into similar shapes. Enel looked at it for a moment, nodding to himself before holding it out to her.

"For you."

"What… is it?"

"A flower hairpin."

"A… flower?" She looked carefully at the so-called flower hairpin… and it looked like loose teeth bundled up together instead. She looked up at Enel again, and then, seeing his serious face, a snort escaped her nose… then she laughed fully. Enel's brows lowered.

"It does not look that bad."

"It… it does," she mumbled, her words muffled by her covering her mouth.

"It… it looks like someone stepped on it!"

"Do you not want it?" Mira snatched it from his hand at once and held it against her chest.

"I… I did not say that." She pushed it into her hair. It sat crookedly near her ear, one strange golden petal sticking outward like a bent horn.

"How… how does it look?" she asked.

"It suits you quite well, sister Mira."

"Ha…" Mira smiled wider this time. Enel smiled too.

"Are you no longer sad?"

"I was never sad," she said.

"Thank you, brother Enel. I will take this gift and—""Mira!" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Someone called her name from the banquet. She turned, and a woman in white robes stood there. Beside her was the other girl who looked almost exactly like Mira, though her hair was shorter.

"Mother!" Mira waved back while standing up. She adjusted the flower pin on her head, then also waved at Enel.

"I have to go."

"Of course, sister Mira." She ran a few steps, then turned and waved at him again with the hand holding her plate. Enel waved back, watching as she hopped toward the woman and the other girl. Only when she disappeared into the square did he notice Guinevere standing beside the water channel, watching them.

"My lady?" Enel said, standing up to approach her.

"You gave her gold."

"Oh." Enel looked down at his sleeve as he stood in front of her.

"Yes?"

"You should not give gold away so casually, my lord," Guinevere said.

"Especially not to people outside your territory." Enel looked at her, confused.

"Why?"

"Because gold is valuable."

"I know. That is why I gave it. I felt she needed it more than I did, my lady."

"But she is not one of your people. The gold is wasted, my lord." Enel's confusion deepened.

"I do not believe she needs to be from Widow's Wall to be our people. She is one of Aldwyn's people. That is enough."

"That is a dangerous thing to say, my lord," Guinevere said after a moment.

"Something only someone who wishes to lead the realm would say."

"What? No." Enel laughed softly and waved it away.

"I will only lead the people of Widow's Wall, as such is my oath."

"But you just said they do not need to be of Widow's Wall to be your people."

"That…" Enel blinked, not knowing how to respond to that anymore. Fortunately for the young noble, he saw Lamb waving at them.

"Ah. They are calling for us. Shall… shall we rejoin them, my lady?" He held out his hand, and Guinevere only looked at him for a moment longer before placing her hand in his. Lamb kept waving at them, making them hasten their pace a little.

"Is… something the matter?" Enel asked. And even though Lamb motioned for them to hurry just moments ago, she took a large mouthful of roasted meat, chewed it for a while, then swallowed before finally talking.

"Tiny spoke to one of the mothers," she said while wiping her chin.

"They said there is a library here. Maybe you can find things there?" Enel immediately glanced at Guinevere, and she quickly nodded without even a slight hesitation. They remained in Valir's Crescent after the feast. Not for a day, no—the library turned out to be as large as the Blackwood manor.

"W-why would a cult even have books?!" Lamb complained—that was her only complaint, however, as she left the library with Tiny after that, only coming back to call Enel and Guinevere if it was time to eat. And as the days passed by, the more normal Valir's Crescent seemed. Exceptional, even. The bells rang in the morning, and people gathered to eat. All children went to lessons, and all the adults had jobs that contributed to their community. No one seemed hungry. No one seemed idle.

Lamb even noticed that the water channels were cleaned twice a day. The community was… exceptional. And while she and Tiny walked around to familiarize themselves with the small neighborhood, Guinevere, Enel, and sometimes even Bernard spent hours in the library. Hadd had even helped from time to time, even giving them books that had already been hidden inside chests. Most were prayers, songs, and teachings of Valir, but some spoke of the sanctuary's founding.

"Valir's Crescent was founded one hundred and thirty-two years ago," Guinevere muttered, handing the book to Enel.

"By a person who was saved by someone wearing a black mask."

"... Them again?" Enel looked at the book.

"These Black Masks… who do you think they are?"

"Hadd called the one we held a few days ago an Acolyte," Guinevere said as she approached the other shelves.

"I would assume, like most cults, the Black Masks are their clerics."

"Do you truly not know more about them, Sir Bernard?" Enel asked, almost dropping the book in his hand.

"H-huh…?" Bernard, who was already dozing off on one of the tables, almost pushed away all the books around him.

"What… was that, M'lord?"

"It… was nothing, Sir Bernard. You may continue sleeping." The days passed after that, and aside from history, there was actually not anything useful in the library. And so, it came to the point that Guinevere was the only one left reading, and… their space was invaded by children.

"Ah! Me next! Me!" The children seemed to all like Enel, and the fact that he could lift four of them at once without trying made him even more popular. Mira also joined in, and she brought her sister with her.

"This is Alma! She was the one who gave you flowers!" she introduced. Alma did not need any introduction, however, as she immediately raised both her hands at Enel.

"Carry me!" she demanded.

"A-Alma! Me first!"

"No! I am the older one!"

"You were only born a candle light earlier!"

"Older is older! I will always go first!"

"It is fine." Enel only laughed, then lifted Alma and then also Mira together.

"Ah! We are so high up!" Alma laughed.

"Is… is this what it would feel like to be an adult?" Mira whispered.

"How old are you, brother Enel?! Are you like a hundred?!"

"... I am only four and ten."

"Huh…?" Both Mira's and Alma's eyes widened. But then burst out laughing together.

"You are funny, brother Enel. You are probably a hundred!"

"I…" Enel closed his eyes, then made his voice raspier.

"I am a thousand years old!"

"W-wah!" Enel laughed as the two girls carefully jumped out of his arms. He started chasing them, and the other children started joining in. Mira wore the golden hairpin every day, and she kept on teasing Alma since she was jealous she did not have one. Enel offered to make another, but Mira then said hers would not be as special anymore. Another week passed for Enel and the party. And still, they found nothing that led to the Veilguards or how to thin the Veil.

Then, one day, as the party had decided to leave, Enel woke up to the sudden silence that veiled Valir's Crescent. Enel stepped outside the guest house they had been sleeping in for more than a week and saw the main road lined with villagers. Almost like a wall of white with their robes. Flowers hung from windows, and pale ribbons stretched between houses. The adults stood with clasped hands, and their heads lowered. The children stood beside them, quieter than Enel had ever seen them.

Lamb came out behind him, hair messy as she held her bandana in her hand.

"What… is this?"

"I do not know." Tiny stepped out next, rubbing his eyes. Guinevere followed, already holding her book, and Bernard came last. They were about to check out what was happening, but then someone slammed into Enel. Enel gazed down as a pair of small arms wrapped around his waist—Alma. She clung to him hard enough that her flower crown fell from her head. Her face pressed against his coat, and her shoulders shook.

"B-brother Enel," she cried. Enel immediately lowered himself. Alma's hair was a complete mess, the ends hacked unevenly.

"Alma? What happened? Did… someone do this to your hair?"

"N-no. I… I am Mira."

"Huh…?" Enel blinked, then gently touched the ends of her hair. It had almost reached the floor before. Now it barely touched her shoulders.

"You… cut your hair?"

"A-Alma cut it." She sniffled.

"What? Why would…" Enel leaned back, then finally noticed the golden pin missing from her hair.

"Did Alma take the hairpin I gave you?"

"I knew I did not like the cheerful one," Lamb muttered.

"Where is she?"

"She… she said she was the older one," Mira stuttered.

"So she should be the one going first. She grabbed the pin and cut my hair. It… it hurt."

"Going…?" Enel glanced back at the others before focusing back on Mira.

"Where is she going?"

"To Valir," Mira whispered.

"She is going to Valir instead of me. I… I was the one supposed to go. I… she said… she said she was already an adult, and that… and that I should become an adult first before I can be with Valir. She… she is not coming back."

"Not coming ba—No…" And right there and then, something crawled across Enel's skin. He stood up while carrying Mira, and at the same time, the people lined up on the road knelt, bowing their heads until their faces touched the ground. And there, they saw Alma, walking quietly across the main road with a bouquet in her hands. She had a smile on her face, and the pin that Enel originally gave Mira was attached to her hair, glistening under the sun. But something else glistened on Alma's face—tears.

"Wait…" Lamb's fists curled on their own.

"... Are they fucking sacrificing her?" Mira pressed her face deeper into Enel's shoulder. And then, very subtly… …she nodded.