Since Lena had withdrawn, the turmoil on Blue Island quickly subsided.
Snow returned to normal...
The rioters decreased in number, and almost all were apprehended.
Thus, the incident was resolved, but the damage was severe.
Many people were hurt, many buildings were destroyed.
The death toll was not small, either.
Why did Lena cause such a tragedy?
She talked about making a new magic sword by driving Snow into a frenzy…
But sacrificing a whole town for that? That's absolutely unacceptable.
Next time we meet…
"I have to find out what she's really planning."
I can't just leave Lena alone.
I can't ignore the Dawn Alliance.
Someday…
With that resolve in mind, I made my decision.
――――――――――
That aside.
Now that the city's recovery had settled down, a new issue arose regarding Snow.
Many people had witnessed Snow going berserk.
WonShouldn't she be dealt with ?What exactly is that beast?
Won't she go out of control again?
Shouldn't she be dealt with?
Such concerns spread rapidly…
But Sofia silenced them all.
She declared that they would take full responsibility for Snow.
If anything similar happened again, she, as the Sword Saint, would bear all the consequences.
Hearing that, the townspeople were convinced.
That was a relief.
And so...
Despite everything that had happened, peace gradually returned.
It returned, but…
"Shake."
"Woof!"
"Other paw."
"Woof!"
"Sit."
"On!"
In the garden of Lyra's house, Aisha was playing with Snow.
She seemed to be training her, rewarding her with dog treats every time she succeeded.
Watching that heartwarming scene, I turned my gaze back to Lyra, who was buried in books, absorbed in researching.
"So, in the end, does that mean Aisha is a priestess?"
"Hmm, I can't say for sure. I'm not exactly an expert on priestesses either. But given the circumstances, that seems like the most natural conclusion."
"I thought so..."
She possessed immense magical power…
And not only that—she had restored the rampaging Snow to normal with some mysterious force.
No ordinary person could have done that.
As Lyra suggested, it made sense to consider her a special being—a priestess.
"If you're really curious about Aisha, I could conduct a physical examination..."
"Heh, do you want to be cut down?"
With a sweet smile, Sofia reached for the hilt of her sword.
"I'm sorry, that was a joke."
She was definitely serious.
...Or so I thought, but saying that out loud would only complicate things, so I kept quiet.
"So, about Snow... is she a Divine Beast?"
A messenger of the goddess.
A judge of the world.
A savior.
Many terms were used, yet no definitive information could be found.
She was considered a legendary existence, with few people knowing about her and almost no written records remaining…
Because of that, it was impossible to determine what was true and what wasn't.
"I'd say it's safe to assume she's a Divine Beast."
"But why would a Divine Beast be here…?"
"Hmm, this is just my guess."
With that preface, Lyra continued.
"Maybe Snow was this town's guardian spirit or something similar? Or perhaps, its successor. Since she's a child, that would make sense."
"A guardian spirit just roaming around like that?"
"Hmm, that's hard to say. But maybe she appeared to help the priestess."
"Now that you mentioned it, Snow first showed herself when Aisha got lost, didn't she?"
If it was to help Aisha, that would make sense.
That's how much a Divine Beast must cherish a priestess.
"But what about when she went berserk?"
"There's no proof, but… I think it's because so many people lost control, filling the area with negative emotions. Maybe Divine Beasts are sensitive to human emotions. That's why, when the city fell into chaos, Snow did too."
"That theory holds up, at least."
Snow was the city's guardian.
She appeared because Aisha was in trouble.
But since the townspeople had lost control, she was affected and went berserk.
That explanation made sense.
It made sense, but…
"In the end, it's all just speculation."
And on top of that, we still knew nothing crucial about what a Divine Beast really was.
"What should we do next…? Ugh, this is giving me a headache."
"I don't think there's any need to be so pessimistic."
"Huh?"
"There's still a lot we don't know… but as long as we understand what really matters, that's enough."
"And that is?"
"That Snow is an important part of our family."
Divine Beast or not, Snow was already family.
There was no need to change how we treated her now.
Sofia seemed to agree, smiling warmly.
"You're right."
"You two really make a good pair, honestly."
Watching us, Lyra sighed with an exasperated but amused smile.
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