Inside the prayer hall, the two siblings caught in each other's warmth, forgotten the passing time.
"How... What... What happened to you, sister? Why did it take so long to come to me?" After a long time of weeping and crying, Desire asked a question bugging his mind.
"It was horrifying," said Olivia, actually shivering with her words as proof. "After being abducted by that disgusting man, I was sold into the slave auction. It was a terrible place that I never want to remember. Thankfully, there were also people that stood to help me. A kind old woman took me under her care and helped me to look for you while treating me like a daughter. It was thanks to her help that I got the news that you were in the Holy Sanctuary, training to be a remarkable holy knight with exceptional talent."
Upon her words, Desire felt embarrassed and lowered his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Well, I'm not that talented," he muttered. But then he once again looked at his sister.
"Sister, you won't go leaving me alone again, will you?"
"No, I would never. This time, we two will be together till the end," said Olivia, tightening her grasp around her brother.
. . . . . .
Outside the sanctuary, standing in front of a calm pond where the reddish-colored fish could be seen swimming through the water, Aliyah stood, gazing at the pond.
"I can feel the weight of your thoughts from my own mind" a heroic-looking man came up to her, wearing awe-inspiring armor. The man presented a cheering smile at Aliyah.
"So what's bothering you?" he said, standing close to her.
"A guest arrived today, a sister of a student whom I have been keeping under my wings," muttered Aliyah, still gazing at the pond.
"Oh, you're troubled the young one's mindset would shake and he might ask to go back to his family?"
"No, it's nothing of the sort," Aliyah quickly denied the man's words. "What I'm pondering is the way his sister appeared. For the past few weeks, I've been giving my best efforts to look for her but found no clues about her whereabouts. But now she suddenly appeared inside our sanctuary. It feels odd to me."
"Did you ask that question from to herself?" asked the man.
"Not yet." replied Aliyah.
"Sometimes it's better to know all there is to know before pondering about a thing. Just ask this woman how she got here, and if the answer she gives still feels odd to you, you could do an investigation based on the information she provides," the man advised.
"Thank you. It seems I have been distressed with my worries and forgotten how to do proper work recently," said Aliyah, showing a shy smile on her face.
"It seems so, it seems so," said the man with a loud laugh.
After a brief conversation with the man, and after he left laughing for his own business, Aliyah moved from where she stood and returned to the waiting room of the sanctuary.
Once she got close, even from afar she saw Giben, who was still standing at the doorstep of the room.
"You didn't move at all. It's remarkable for someone of your age to show concern for anyone else," she said as she got closer to him.
Her words broke the silence and brought Giben back from his thoughts.
"Master, I..."
"No need for words, I know. Even though you're still young, you have the mind of an adult. And even for a child, it's easy to see that the sudden appearance of Desire's sister is somewhat odd. There's no point in pondering by yourself. Come, let's ask her directly."
The two then came in front of the door and knocked a few times before opening it. Inside, they saw Olivia telling something to Desire, who listened to it more attentively than to the teachings Aliyah usually gave.
But the two came to a halt in their talk when Aliyah and Giben stepped in.
"Did we disturb you?"
"Ah, not at all. I was just explaining how I managed to find little Desire."
"Oh," hearing her, Aliyah's interest rose.
"Please continue then. I would also like to know how you managed to find Desire, before we found you," she said with a smile, then sat on one of the seats nearby.
Giben also sat nearby Desire and looked toward Olivia, expecting her tale.
Then Olivia started telling her hard tale of how she managed to find Desire through the effort of her hard work.
It started from being sold to the slave market and then finding a mother-like woman who took good care of her while helping her search for her brother. According to her, as slaves, the two were bought by a nobleman who liked to travel around the kingdom, and during those travels, Olivia safely traveled disguised as the daughter of the older woman.
Because of that, aside from helping with carriage work and food, nothing else was demanded of her, which gave her more free time to look for Desire.
During one of those times, she heard news that a group of new young ones had been brought to the Holy Sanctuary. So, with just a doubt in her heart, she left the old woman who had cared for her and came to the Holy Sanctuary only to see whether Desire was there.
From there, her tale stopped, for the reason that everyone else knew what happened next.
"You must be so fortunate, to meet a kind soul in a place like a slave market. For the sake of Desire's happiness, why don't I free that woman from the nobleman?" said Aliyah, getting up from her seat.
"It's unnecessary," said Olivia, showing little concern on her face.
"Unlike me, she's already used to the life of a slave, and her new owner treats her better than anyone could. My mother figure is happy in her new life, and as her temporary daughter, I don't have the heart to disturb her peaceful life," Olivia said with a sigh, finishing her words. At the end, she wiped away a tear that had fallen from her eye.
The moment passed in silence before anyone spoke again. Then the one who spoke was Desire.
"Master, master, since my sister has nowhere to go now, please let her stay with me here! I promise if you do that, I would focus more on my training than ever before."
"That's a decision I alone cannot take. I have to talk this over with other high authority figures in the sanctuary right now. And more importantly, you have to consider your sister's side — maybe she has other plans."
"Not at all! From now on, my only hope is to be beside my little brother and to see him grow into the greatest holy knight there is," the words jumped right out from Olivia's mouth.
And Aliyah had nothing else to reject because Olivia's hope also aligned with hers.
"Then, I will talk about this matter with the others. Until then, Olivia can stay in our guest room."
After that, Aliyah left with Olivia and the others to show Olivia her room, and afterward, she walked alone deep into the sanctuary to meet with the current figures who held enough power to make decisions regarding someone staying over.