What Makes a Valid Sacrifice

The enemy wasn't pursuing them.

It took a while after they started moving for that fact to register.

Secretary Crispus and his group must have had some means of transport.

Judging they had put enough distance between them, Princess Tianis ordered a halt.

"Hold up! I need to contact Anatia-nee-san. She might be in danger."

Using a magic tool, she opened a communication line with Lady Anatia.

"Tianis, what is it? Did something happen over there?"

The voice that came through was Lady Anatia's usual tone.

She didn't seem to be in any immediate crisis.

"A lot happened, you could say… Anyway, Anatia-nee-san, secure your surroundings. If possible, don't meet with anyone until I return. And I need you to tell Uncle, Duke Baroba, to pull the army back. Right now."

"… Understood."

Without pressing for details, Lady Anatia nodded and cut the connection.

They say one word to the wise is enough. Her judgment was as swift as ever.

"All right then. Let's go. The sooner we understand the situation in the capital, the better."

"Agreed. I'm relieved Lady Anatia is safe. I was worried a coup might be underway."

"Me too. But their movements don't make sense. They didn't seem intent on capturing Yupe-nee-san or me, and nothing's happened in the capital. All this has done is expose their true colors."

"Even if we're dealing with people who do outrageous things, would they act in a way that only hurts them?"

Rationality was something even beasts defaulted to when there was nothing else guiding them.

Not knowing their objective was deeply unsettling.

"Yupe-nee-san, do you know anything? You were in contact with them, weren't you?"

"Who knows… But they did keep saying 'the promised day' was near. That they needed to gather more kindling for that day."

"Kindling… huh."

Kindling. To the Church of the Sun God, kindling meant human sacrifices.

Apparently, when they burned people, those people became offerings to the Sun God.

So they were seeking more sacrifices for that purpose.

"Is it the kingdom's people they want, not the kingdom itself? But even so, taking over would surely be more efficient…"

"They've been revealing themselves from the start, after all. The Church of the Sun God had blended into this country for a long time before our city Kassad was attacked, and they'd infiltrated the upper echelons too."

"What if there's a rule that they have to reveal themselves?"

In religion, rituals could appear utterly meaningless to outsiders yet hold profound significance to the faith.

Perhaps sacrifices offered for the Sun God's resurrection couldn't be made by simply burning and killing people.

Enemies. Yes, defeating them as enemies, or having them offer themselves willingly.

Maybe that kind of recognition was necessary for a valid sacrifice.

"That's not impossible. I can't imagine resurrecting a god would be easy. When you think about it that way, a lot of things start to make sense."

"If Princess Tianis survives here, the Church of the Sun God becomes the kingdom's enemy. Well, they already are, but now we'll have to respond not just with the Alsarm forces but with the entire nation."

"So for the Church of the Sun God, both believers and enemies are created in one stroke. How utterly obnoxious."

He approached Elza and asked for her opinion.

Different faith or not, he wanted to hear a priestess's perspective.

She thought for a moment, then turned to face him.

"I've never given much thought to sacrifices, but… in terms of quality, it would make a difference. Gods are beings defined by faith. No matter how much power they have, if they are defined as gods, they will eventually cease to exist without faith. Being known by name alone has meaning, so there would be an effect."

"It's a chicken-and-egg thing."

"Yes. They probably realized this at some point and decided it would drastically shorten the revival period. Much faster than kidnapping slum children or having destitute believers offer their lives."

Now that he thought about it, the Church of the Sun God had always prioritized visibility.

Building that bronze statue, dropping that meteor.

They could have destroyed the kingdom if they'd wanted to.

"So what, we're ingredients to be cooked?"

"That gave me chills…"

"Let's not jump to conclusions, but we should keep it in mind as a possibility."

"I was going to go to people like that?"

"Yes. If things had continued, they probably would have taken you. You who let yourself be led astray, Nee-sama."

"…"

Princess Yupe said nothing more, simply hugging herself and looking down.

Perhaps the gravity of the situation was finally sinking in.

After that, they headed for the capital in silence.

"There's no gatekeeper."

There was no gatekeeper at the capital's gate.

Someone should always be stationed there.

They had Finn slip in and open the gate from inside.

The capital's streets looked the same as always.

That was a relief, at least.

"We're going to the royal castle. I need to share the situation with Anatia-nee-san immediately… There's also the gap left by the Secretary, and I don't even know what state the kingdom's army is in."

They all headed for the royal castle.

… There were fewer soldiers than usual. Far too few.

They made their way to Lady Anatia's room and opened the door without knocking.

Inside, Lady Anatia was waiting with a grave expression.

Something must have happened after their communication.

"Welcome back, Tianis. I'm glad you're safe. Yupe too… it seems your burns have healed."

"To think I'd have to see that face again. The worst."

"I'm back, Anatia-nee-san. Now, about—"

"I've got a general grasp of the situation. We were careless. They prepared thoroughly, and we noticed too late."

From there, they began exchanging information.