“Oh, I get it now… Phil wanted me to do that. I was wondering why you’d give a fake name. Gotcha.”
Surprisingly, Alicia bows her head in apology.
Not expecting her to apologize at all, Phil is taken aback and abruptly regains composure.
“N-No, I’m the one who should apologize. That was completely unreasonable of me.”
“No no, I’m at fault here. I did something awful in return for you saving me…”
They look at each other apologetically.
However, the awkward air soon dissipates with the questions raised.
“Huh? But how’d you know my name? And more importantly, how did you know the Shadow Hero gave a fake name…?”
“I may look this this, but I have a great memory! Specifically, I can remember voices I’ve heard once! Like, well enough to recognize them!”
“Whoa, nice. Super useful in high society when remembering names and stuff right? How much do those sell for?”
“Not for sale~~! I’ve got the hidden gem kept tucked away in the deepest vault!”
“What a shame─ Huh?”
He realizes something.
Why mention such an ability now?
What it signified in terms of the flow of conversation.
“C-Could it be… You saw through me by my voice…?”
“Yup!”
“…Oh man, I chose the wrong person to try fooling.”
Phil has attended his share of high society gatherings too. Same goes for Alicia.
Which means even if Phil doesn’t remember, they’ve likely seen each other’s faces a number of times before.
With the same status, same peerage… Given those conditions, they’d definitely gather in the same places even if they live far apart, like for coming-of-age ceremonies or such.
So it’s not surprising that Alicia would know. She has a good memory – she would remember Phil’s voice and name even if she had heard his voice once from a distance.
In other words─ the instant he gave that fake name back then, she saw through the Shadow Hero’s true identity by Phil’s voice.
Completely inevitable perhaps, but a miscalculation on Phil’s part.
“(N-No, this still falls under good news! It means that method could still prove effective!)”
Adopting a positive mindset for now, Phil pulls himself together.
Meanwhile, seeing Phil clench his fist, pumping himself up for something, Alicia feels relieved “He’s cheering up”.
“I at least wanted to properly thank my savior when we met again. You did save my life… me and my guards are fine thanks to you, Phil.”
Alicia lines up alongside Phil, her lustrous silver hair shimmering as she smiles.
Bathed under the starry sky, she looks fantastically ethereal, so beautiful it pulls the eye.
“Didn’t do it to get thanked or anything. Just a little hobby of mine.”
“Fufu, rescuing people as a hobby – Phil sure is weird.”
“You’ve heard the rumors about me right? It’s only natural a sleazy deadbeat weirdo like me would have some screw loose. So, young lady ─ standing by trash like me any longer might pollute those eyes of yours?”
“Hmm, is that so? At least in my eyes you look─”
Alicia peers into Phil’s face with limpid amethyst eyes.
“Like a cool hero!”
What might it do to a man getting told that by a girl who could pass as an angel?
Any man would likely blush, extreme embarrassment hitting all at once.
Even Phil, used to being around such beauties as Kahlua and Milis, is no exception.
Getting told such frank affection with no pretense flusters him inevitably.
“…Show mercy, please.”
“Fufu, nope~!”
Alicia’s laughter rings across the balcony.
The heat rising to Phil’s face slightly stains his haggard complexion, making him look unexpectedly presentable.
“(But I keep saying I’m not a hero or anything…)”
──Phil’s kindness stems from wishing for “happiness”.
Seeing people saved by that kindness be happy, even if it takes him further from his personal freedom, still makes him feel gladdened.
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“Oh, that rosary…”
To keep from exposing his pleasure, he suddenly voices puzzlement about something he noticed.
“This? My whole family are believers.”
The rosary symbolizing their faith.
He hears how most believers can’t bear to part with it at any time – as Alicia lightly grasps hers to show him.
“The church, religion… Pardon my saying this to a believer, but does everyone need to cling to some imaginary person in the sky just to survive? It’s not like some huge present is gonna descend from up there, right?”
“Fufu, you definitely shouldn’t say things like that to the church people, okay? I’m not that devout myself, but for the genuinely faithful, it could be blasphemous. Especially the Archbishops… yeah, I don’t mind but still.”
“Duly noted. I’ll get some needle and thread ready to sew my mouth shut.”
He really should be more careful with what he says.
Recalling the holy maiden who was just beside him earlier, Phil makes a nonchalant quip.
“Well, I get where you’re coming from. Religion is mostly an extension of escapism for most people. Diehard realists wouldn’t comprehend it.”
“Alicia is quite blunt herself. For a believer, she seems to be missing her obligatory communion wafers.”
“To live an honest life is also a believer’s duty! Lies are proof of impurity!”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Believers are still human after all.
While belonging to a particular faith, not every single one is devout.
In their daily life, when in need, each finds their own time and reason for revering the Goddess.
For believers who aren’t part of the church, those aspects tend to be more diluted.
“Anyway, enough of what can and can’t be understood – what’s going on with the factional disputes? With no Pope, that should be all anyone talks about right? Like who to vote for and stuff getting shoved down our throats.”
“It’s crazy~… Since we’re nobles, we don’t exactly fall neatly into the whole believer framework, but there’s immense pressure like “Vote now!” flying all over. Got nagged about it constantly today too.”
“Some fierce campaigning there. Everyone’s desperately scrambling to shore up backing, it’s like the church is trying to win by number of sponsors now?”
“While you’re right, it’s mainly the Orthodoxy Faction that’s being so conspicuous. They’re the ones making the biggest fuss, and you’re spot on about them competing by member count.”
Orthodoxy Faction. The unfamiliar term makes Phil tilt his head slightly.
Seeing that, Alicia begins explaining.
“The current church factions are split between Orthodoxy and Conservatism. And those names basically just come from the faction leaders’ — the Archbishops’ — policies.”
“Ohh…”
“The Conservative Faction essentially wants to maintain the status quo. Let’s keep venerating the Goddess as we each see fit, respecting people’s personal beliefs while spreading the teachings − that’s them.”
“I see… They seem quite peaceful.”
“The Orthodoxy Faction fundamentals are the same. Whether to convert and spread the teachings is a personal choice and that’s fine. But there’s one point they differ radically on – they absolutely cannot tolerate evil.”
The sudden ominous term makes Phil knit his brow.
“The Goddess’s teachings are absolute. Those who stray from church doctrine are evil. Those who disturb the peace she desires are evil — carrying out judgements accordingly and punishing those deemed evil, that is the Orthodoxy Faction. Simply put, it’s like they’re LARPing as the Goddess’s substitute judges.”
“No matter how cute your phrasing, it doesn’t change how dodgy they sound. In the end it’s just a cult group trying to enforce their own arbitrarily defined peace and justice.”
“Not an incorrect assessment. And indeed, they’ve already judged and punished quite a few people… by force.”
“And believers still follow freaks like that? The scales are pretty evenly balanced right?”
“I think it comes down to the targets they judged being clear-cut [evil]. Mostly thieves, criminals – obvious nasty types. Successfully punishing such unambiguous baddies lends credibility to their claims on paper. So believers keep increasing from thinking “We are justice!” In that sense, hasn’t Phil done the same?”
Can’t argue when she puts it like that.
In the end, Phil too was called a hero for distinguishing between who to save and not.
Somewhere in his heart, he might have recognized those people as [evil] in this heroic game of make-believe.
Of course, that was never the sole reason, but faced with an outright “no it wasn’t”, he can’t deny it.
“So in short the Conservatives are “let’s all get along nicely”, while beneath the Orthodoxy Faction’s outward face of peace lies strict discrimination against villainy and evil – that it? With that picture, it’s easy to guess which side’s desperately chasing funds.”
“Probably accurate speculation right? Most of the church guys here today are Orthodoxy. I still dunno which horse I’ll ride, but Dad says he’s sick of them and gonna back the Conservatives. This kind of high-pressure sales crap is so annoying.”
“Overdoing the sales pitch destroys customer confidence. You’d think they’d realize something that basic about the wavering human heart.”
“They likely don’t even think of it as sales pitches since they see themselves as “justice”. Doubt they could become salespeople even if they left the church.”
──While exchanging such quips, the necessary intel enters Phil’s mind.
Being at least partially involved with the factional disputes, obtaining whatever information he could get his hands on was desirable after all.
He’d felt too hesitant to directly ask Milis given she’s at the heart of things, so meeting someone easy to chat with now feels like a godsend.
Time flowed by unnoticed in the relaxed atmosphere and soon the event of the dance begins.
“Well then, shall we bring an end to whispering with cute ladies? My partner might start circulating a missing person report soon.”
“Fufu, popular people have it rough, hmm? But I got to express my thanks properly, so I’m satisfied~”
“Yeah yeah, no need for further thanks. I’m plenty grateful for today, Alicia.”
“I should be thanking you! And also… Being by Milis Aramilia seems to make you eager for talks like this, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, just to confirm — Milis is Conservative Faction right? I can tell from watching her.”
Gentle, kind, pure.
No sign whatsoever of fanatically upholding some warped sense of justice, only wishing to help others.
Spending time with a girl named Milis, such things become intuitively obvious.
Thus─
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gonna guess the mace girl from the othoroxy faction then