I had to admit I was apprehensive.

And as if to balance me, Renn was anything but.

Renn was happily humming in excitement, a few feet from me. She was sitting at the table and peeling a fruit as to munch on. She wore a rather comely dress, and didn’t even have a single weapon upon her. She had left the spear back at the guild, on purpose. I didn’t want Light to recognize what it was.

We had arrived only a little bit ago, and even though I had told Light to be ready and prompt… we were once again waiting for her to show up. At least this time Less had been kind enough to bring snacks for us, or well, for Renn…

Glancing at Renn, and her happy smile as she stuffed her face with a huge piece of fruit, I wondered if they had somehow known her penchant for tasty fruits.

Probably had. But because others had told them of her fondness for snacks, or had they known because of prophecies, I wonder?

My eye twitched, since I’d just thought something ridiculous.

Knowing that Renn liked snacks. From prophecies. And that simple little fact annoyed me, as if it was some great secret that shouldn’t have been shared or known by anyone.

Really… I was letting this all bother me far too deeply.

“This is tasty, Vim,” Renn said between bites.

I didn’t respond, since there was no point. She’d just offer me some, and I’d turn her down, and then she’d smile happily at me as she took another bite.

Usually I’d bask in such adorable conversation, but right now I was in no mood for it.

No mood at all.

There was just too much happening at once. Too many issues. Usually I wasn’t too bothered by such a thing, but all the problems felt… personal. Too personal.

Light. Her people and her schemes. The Society, always needing help. My friend Berri and her daughter, needing help. And now there was something very concerning happening, right next to me.

I could now sense Renn. And not just in the way I did people, and others. I sensed her like I would any other monarch or god-touched being or object. She felt like a monarch to me now, and not subtly either. She now had divinity within her… and in no small sum.

Though noticeable, I didn’t feel her as strongly as I felt Light, who was nearing us. Likely walking down the hallway, heading our way. But I did feel Renn in a way that was far too familiar. Far too real.

The fact it had taken me this long to notice her change was rather concerning. I had noticed the other day when she had clambered up onto my back, when I had scaled Lumen’s walls. And then confirmed it with her when she had realized she could smell me, and get drunk. Oddly, the reason she had been able to get drunk in the first place was likely because of the heart she had absorbed. A byproduct of it affecting her, and her body being in the process of forming her own within her. Once it solidified, odds are she’d not get drunk again the rest of her life.

It was the same for her being able to smell me now. Though… that was still up to debate. After all, she had lost her own scent long before she had attained her ancestor’s heart.

Frowning deeply, as Renn sniffed and smelled a new fruit before tasting it, I wondered if it was all related or not. A part of me wanted to say it had to be… but… maybe not? Maybe the weirdness about our scents, and the stuff involved in them, were related to me and not her…?

Glaring at her side, since I wasn’t angled properly enough to see much else, I tossed my thoughts aside a moment and wondered if she felt odd with a heart in her stomach. She didn’t seem to be acting so, based off the way she was eating. Usually when people swallowed a heart, even a small and weak one… they got sick. They became nauseous and threw up and whatnot. Renn hadn’t done that at all.

I knew the reason was because she was already absorbing it. Already adapted. The heart she had absorbed already, her ancestor’s heart, had been a very powerful one. Maybe not as strong as Miss Beak’s, but closer to hers in divinity than most others we’d encountered lately. Even Tor’s ancestor’s heart, the one in my rear bag, wasn’t much stronger than the one Renn had absorbed.

But that didn’t mean the heart Renn would end up with would be as strong, however. We’d not know that not only until after her heart had formed properly, and it was given time to solidify. That could be decades from now.

Renn herself didn’t have an actual heart yet. Well, other than the tiny one she had swallowed last night. But that heart was small and weak. Nothing compared to the one she had absorbed over the last few months. And nothing compared to the one that was forming within her. As it stood right now, I couldn’t even tell where it’d form yet. But a part of that was because of just how much divine power was inside of her. She had so much it made it kind of hard to sense specific details in that way.

It was a tad risky to let her absorb another heart so quickly before her own core formed, but I knew a saint… especially one as powerful as Light, would find it odd otherwise. The tiny heart in Renn’s stomach, which would slowly be absorbed by the real heart forming within her, would do several things. First it’d trick Light into not being able to tell if Renn has had children yet or not. Because to Light, in any saint’s eyes, Renn would glow oddly in unnatural ways. Secondly, and more importantly, it would confirm their suspicions and prophecies. Enough to keep Renn safe, and give us time to properly handle the situation.

Plus rejection usually happened in the first few hours of swallowing a heart. If taking in that small heart would have hurt her, or caused problems, it’d already be doing so.

Though… that was only one of the many worries concerning her condition.

“Mhm…” Renn made a small noise as she bit into another fruit. Her ears fluttered a little; in joy at eating something she found delectable. Under normal circumstances, I’d be falling in love with her again. She was that adorable. Right now though…?

Right now I just felt sick. Because the warmth I felt from her, a warmth no one else felt not even saints, told me just how well she had absorbed her ancestor’s heart.

It’d not take long. A few more months maybe, and her core would form. Her own heart. Though it’d still be dyed in the colors and powers of the one she had originally absorbed. And although it’d take centuries to fully grow and solidify, I knew what kind of changes it’d put her through… even if over such a long period.

She’d grow stronger. Heal better. Become more resilient to diseases, the cold and heat. She’d slow in her aging, which was already slow as it were, and many of her old scars would fade and heal as if she’d never had them before. And, even kind of like Landi, it’d help her in other ways too. Even if only in small amounts.

All of those things were good. I was happy that she’d become stronger, healthier, and have a longer and more fuller life… but…

There was now a risk. One that I’d need to be on guard for. The main reason I had not just allowed her to absorb Miss Beak’s heart, the one I’d originally planned to have given her.

Many who absorb hearts like she’s done eventually become corrupted. They become… broken. Kind of like Landi’s madness, though she had already been mad before taking in a heart there was no doubting that the act had made her insanity considerably worse. Back during the wars, when monarchs had been far more common, there had been many who had absorbed hearts. Out of the small percentage that had succeeded… I’d say more than half had gone insane because of them. For most it had happened almost instantly.

Was Renn going to be able to handle it…? Could she endure? Was her soul strong enough? Her mind? I honestly didn’t know, and wouldn’t, until it happened… but it terrified me so all the same.

It was forming. Slowly, but surely.

A fault of mine. I had allowed her to hold onto her ancestor’s heart for too long. I should have known better.

It was rare for someone to absorb a heart without actually taking it physically into their own body… but it wasn’t something I’d never heard or seen before. And the worst part is I had thought of it before, and had been why I had occasionally taken Miss Beak’s heart from her as we traveled with it. I had not allowed her to hold onto it for too many days in a row, just in case.

Why had I not done the same for her heart…? Why had I been so oblivious?

It was almost as if I’d done it on purpose. But I hadn’t. I genuinely hadn’t. Why would I endanger the woman I loved in such a way…? It wasn’t as if I knew how to cure the insanity that came with absorbing a monarch’s heart, after all… if Renn did indeed end up becoming… different, because of it, there’d be nothing I could do. Nothing but hold her hand as she descended into madness, becoming someone I didn’t know.

Closing my eyes, I tried to not think too deeply on the momentous thing… that Renn didn’t seem to even care about, for some reason. Upon being told that she had absorbed her ancestor’s heart, she was only surprised for a few hours. After that she had seemingly stopped caring about it, as if it was no big deal at all.

It was though. Bigger than she knew.

Absorbing a heart was not impossible… obviously, and it wasn’t like it was that rare either. Even in the Society right now there were others like her. Sap. Landi. Corvo to the east, and another here. I wasn’t sure who it was, but I sensed them the other day. If Martin was still alive, as Lilly assumed, it was likely him.

But this wasn’t just someone absorbing a heart… this was Renn.

My wife. One destined to give birth to a saint.

What was fate playing at now…?

The door finally opened again, freeing me from the terrible thoughts, and I watched Renn who turned to glance at it. She put another piece of fruit into her mouth, quickly chewing it, as she stood to greet Light who entered.

Light didn’t enter alone. Less followed, and I noticed the people who closed the door behind them were unfamiliar faces.

I’d heard a few familiar names recently, names of people who were supposedly here with Light… but I’d not met any of them yet. Wasn’t really sure if I wanted to, to be honest.

“Hello, Rennalee… I’m ever so glad to finally meet you!” Light greeted Renn with a huge smile, one that made me grow even more apprehensive.

That smile wasn’t forced or fake at all. By my parents, she looked absolutely delighted…!

Renn shifted a bit and her ears fluttered as she studied Light who drew closer. She looked like she had been about to say something, but Light interrupted her with a glance to me.

“Can I hug her, Vim, or will that cost me my life?” she asked.

About to answer, it was my turn to be interrupted as Renn laughed and stepped forward. “Just for that you’re getting a hug!” she said.

My eyes twitched as I watched the two happily embrace; doing so a little flamboyantly… as if they both knew and intended to make me as annoyed as possible.

Half tempted to walk over and wrap them both in a hug they’d never forget, I decided to look away… and found something almost as annoying. On Less’s face.

Pure utter jealousy covered Less’s face as she watched Light and Renn hug. It made me sick to my stomach as I looked away, and decided to sit down.

Sitting down at the table that Renn had just been sitting at, I took her chair and sighed.

I heard some giggles behind me as I reached out to grab one of the fruits Renn had been eating. I picked up the half peeled one, and stuck the whole thing in my mouth. Stem and all.

If my soul didn’t hang on the scales concerning the results of this little meeting I wouldn’t have come. I almost felt sick.

“Let me look at you…!” Light spoke happily as I heard them move around. She must have made Renn do a little twirl, as to look her up and down, based off the sounds I heard. I kept my eyes on the platter of fruit and bread, though I had to admit my ears were fully focused on them behind me.

I wasn’t an idiot. Although I had expected us to clash… after meeting Light yesterday, I knew we weren’t enemies. Not really. Not in the sense I wanted us to be. So I knew Renn was not in danger with them, and was likely the farthest thing from it.

Their prophecies had grand designs in mind for her. So in their eyes, she was someone to be cherished and protected… at least until she fulfilled those prophecies. The minute she did however, things would change. But until then…? She was safe.

Was I though?

“You’re a little taller than I expected!” Light said happily.

“Hm… and you smell like Witch. Which honestly I shouldn’t be surprised over, since you’re a saint,” Renn said.

Hm…?

I turned, glancing at them as Light frowned and raised an eyebrow. “I smell like your saint friend? Really?”

Renn nodded, rather seriously. “Nearly identical,” she said.

Well that was utterly fascinating. “Ha,” I scoffed a laugh, which got me some glances but nothing more.

“Well… I mean… it is possible, I guess…? I never knew my parents, after all,” Light said as she crossed her arms in thought over it.

“Huh…? I didn’t mean that! I uh… wait…” Renn stood up a little straighter, stepping back a bit as to get a good look at the saint before her.

“I’ll genuinely cringe so hard I’ll break something if you actually try and say they’re related,” I said. The time didn’t add up. Even with Renn being far older than we had all assumed, Light was still just as old if not older. There was no way…

Renn hummed as Light happily smirked and waited for Renn’s words. Less glanced between the two, seemed to hesitate a moment, and then looked over at me. “Vim…?” she asked, since Light and Renn had gone quiet.

I ignored Less’s look of worry as Renn seemed to calm down a little. “I’m… not sure. You smell just like her… almost to the point it worries me. And you kind of look like her, to a point, but… maybe not? Your hair is different, and you’re smaller in frame,” Renn said with a gesture at her.

“I could be related to her, Renn. Even if only distantly. I’m told your witch friend had been human, though?” Light asked.

Renn nodded. “Yes. She’d been rather sure of that.”

“Though a sign it’s unlikely… it also isn’t. Being saints, odd things happen sometimes. She could be some distant relative of mine for sure, it’s not like there are many saintly blood-lines anymore after all,” Light said.

“You’re welcome,” I stated.

I got more looks.

Light sighed. “Shall we sit, Renn?” she asked as she gestured at the table, not me.

“Sure! I’d say ignore him, but you seem to know full well what he’s like,” Renn said happily as she stepped over by me. She pulled the chair next to me back, and sat in it without even a glance at me.

“I do… I’m proud to say I’m one of the few who do anymore. Or at least, that’s what I’d like to say… but to be honest the Vim before me now is not the Vim I knew before,” Light said as she sat down across from us.

Less didn’t sit down; she instead went to standing behind Light… seemingly eyeballing the platter of fruit on the table as she did. Either she was hungry, or she was trying to distract herself from what was happening. Like me.

“He’s not…? I assume you don’t mean appearance wise, so you mean to say he’s acting oddly to you?” Renn asked with a glance at me.

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Light nodded, rather seriously. “Very much so. The Vim I knew had been somewhat affable, but distant. There, but not. Reliable, but not someone to sit and have a simple conversation with. Though that might have simply been because of how chaotic the world had been back then,” Light said.

Renn hummed at that as she reached out to grab another fruit. Light and Less watched her as she went to rolling it in her hands a bit, as if it was some toy.

“Vim has changed a bit, in my perspective… but only in certain ways. To me he’s not much different than he had been in the beginning. He’s even still prickly and rude about some things, such as right now,” Renn said with a light nod to me.

Light chuckled lightly. “Well that is no surprise Renn… he’s your mate, after all.”

Renn smiled at that, as if proud to hear such a thing said aloud. “He is,” she agreed.

Light smiled gently at her, and I did my best to not notice the weird look on Less’s face. She looked sick all of a sudden, as if from worry.

“You know… I see you as a sister, Renn,” Light then said.

It was my turn to feel sick.

“Sister…? Do you mean of the cloth, or…?” Renn asked.

“No. Or well, maybe… I’m supposed to look at everyone as siblings of my faith. But no, when I see you… I see a sister. As if we were born from the same mother. And not just because we might be related, even if distantly,” Light said with a smile.

Renn’s left ear fluttered a little, and I knew it was because of what Light had said at the end there. About being related.

I knew it was not because of their earlier hypothesis that Light was related to Witch, since Renn hadn’t been related to that human saint. It was likely because Light was thinking of Renn’s future daughter. The saint she’d give birth to.

All saints believed themselves family with each other. Even the ones who killed each other saw their fellows as siblings. As sisters. And not just in sympathies or association.

“Can I ask why…?” Renn asked softly.

Light nodded and then pointed at me with a gentle finger. “Because of him. I’ve always seen Vim as something of an older brother, or maybe an uncle. So you, being his wife, thus in my eyes become family,” Light said.

I wanted to scoff at that, but Renn leaned closer to the table. “Not as a father-figure?” she asked.

Light blinked at that, and Less shifted on a heel. “That had been a possibility, at one time… but sadly Vim hadn’t allowed that future to become,” she said.

Renn’s ears fluttered again as she glanced at me, but only for a moment. “I’ll not apologize,” Renn said.

I smirked at that, and then smirked even more as Less shifted and groaned.

Renn glanced at the badger, obviously noticing and hearing her distress. “You’re Less, aren’t you?” Renn asked.

Light remained calm, smiling gently even as Less blinked and suddenly looked scared. “Yes…?”

“I had wanted to meet you. You’re my friend’s sister, and I had been interesting in meeting someone who had taken such a different path than their sibling…” Renn said, going quiet as she studied Less.

Less looked like she had started to sweat as she glanced at Light, then at me… and upon realizing neither of us were going to speak up and save her, she gulped and looked back at Renn. “Um… and now…?” Less asked, obviously knowing where Renn was going with her statement.

Renn sighed softly as she nodded. “I’m trying hard to not be upset with you. You were rude to Mapple, and Merit too… but I’m not sure if you had been so rude as to justify hating you just for that.”

Less’s pupils got tiny as she reached out and grabbed the top of one of the empty chairs. She looked like she was about to fall to her knees, as if Renn’s judgment had been the same from a god.

“You’d be upset with her for that, yet not her antagonism with her sister?” Light asked, not even looking at Less as she did.

Renn’s tail shifted under her chair, swaying near me. “I myself had a similar relationship with my own sisters. I had fought them often, nearly to the death. So I’d not judge her for such a thing. In fact, I’d almost say it’s to be expected, I think,” Renn said.

Light smiled softly and sighed. “Saying that right after I just tried to claim you as a sister is quite a blow,” Light said.

I smiled at that. “I know, isn’t she lovely?” I said.

Less made a whine of a noise as Light glared at me.

Renn gave me a look, but she softly smiled as she did so. “I’m… unsure of what to think of you, Light. A part of me wants to be furious with you. For causing me, and others, so much drama and stress. But another part of me wants to understand you. To find a common ground… and yes, if able, even become your sister in truth. I’d hate to be your enemy, or even just at odds with each other, to tell you the truth. I think you’re an important person to the Society, to the world, and so us not being friends would be… bad I think,” Renn said, speaking her real thoughts on the subject.

Light’s smile grew, rather strongly. As it did Less visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to no longer be the focus of their conversation. “How beautifully said. I too wish to be close to you, Renn. I know that many of the things I do… and believe in, disturb Vim greatly. I am no fool. But I can’t change who and what I am. Would you be willing, together, to find a way to co-exist? To live side-by-side, without incurring his wrath… or even worse, his disdain?” Light asked.

Her words, to me, felt like they were laced with poisonous honey. But I kept my mouth shut as I glanced at Renn… and sadly wasn’t too surprised to see her look of utter hope and excitement.

Renn nodded quickly. “Yes…! I’m sure we can all figure something out!” she said.

Light had been about to say something, but I shifted just enough to make my chair squeak. They all glanced at me as I leaned forward, putting my arms on the table and clasping them.

“If this was only about my own personal… issues, this would not be a problem. But it’s not. You conveniently left out the fact that your actions are causing problems for far more than just me,” I said to her.

“I assume you to be speaking of Randle,” Light said simply.

I nodded. “For starters.”

“And what about the vote! Because of the vote so many have spurned Vim’s help,” Renn added.

Light nodded. “Yes. But those who would use the vote as an excuse to push aside Vim’s assistance are those who would have done so at any opportunity,” Light said.

Renn’s ears fluttered as she squeezed the fruit in her hand so tightly it made noise. I glanced at it, finding she had dug her nails into a little. “That sounds like an excuse someone would make to a child,” Renn argued.

“Because it feels like one, to be honest,” Light said softly.

Renn furrowed her brow. “Then… why do it? Why support the vote? Why let it happen at all?”

“Because it needs to happen. If it doesn’t happen now, something much worse will happen instead. It’s… one of those lesser evils we must endure, regrettably,” Light said.

Renn huffed and leaned back, as if suddenly exhausted. She softly shook her head at the woman and then glanced at me. “Is this how it felt talking to Celine?” she asked.

I smirked at that. “It had been worse, actually.”

Light smirked too. “Yes. Even I had sometimes gotten frustrated with mother. She liked riddles, and was particularly bad at them,” she added.

Renn must have found the idea of such a person cute, for she smiled happily and then went to take a bite of the fruit she’d been squeezing this whole time. Thanks to her rough handling of it, she made a small mess upon biting into it.

Light seemed to find Renn’s messy eating interesting for she patiently waited until Renn had taken a few bites and swallowed before leaning forward, as if to mimic me she clasped her hands before her just as I had.

“I have a proposition for you, Rennalee,” Light then said.

I tried not to stand up and end the conversation, and mentally praised myself for not doing so as Renn finished her fruit and nodded. “I’m ready to hear it,” she said.

Light happily smiled, as if overjoyed to hear Renn say such a thing. She lifted her hands a bit, as if to display something… but her hands were empty. “I want you to take Vim away from us. All of us. The Society. To give him time to calm down. To give us time to re-solidify the Society, and restructure and rebuild. I would like to ask you for five years, at least, if possible.”

Now that was not what I had expected to hear at all.

Renn shifted a little, and reached up to wipe her mouth. Likely because it was still covered in some of that fruit’s juice. “What…? You want us to leave? Really?” she asked.

Light nodded, and gestured lightly at me. “Vim is upset. In a way that won’t be reconciled with mere words or actions. Plus, I’m not asking for you to leave the Society or even go too far. You can visit, communicate with us and whatnot… in fact I’d hope you would, just in case we need Vim for something dire,” Light said, explaining further.

“What…? So you want us to leave, yet not…? I don’t understand. And I also don’t understand the reason. Vim’s upset, yes, but I feel he is both justified in being so… and also not that badly, honestly. Look at him! He’s calmly letting us talk,” Renn said with a wave at me.

Calm? Sure. In a way.

Wasn’t like I was about to jump into the nearby sea and swim until I hit the wall of ice up north. Then I’d climb it. Then I’d run across it. Then who knows where I’d go next.

“His feelings aren’t the only reason I ask this of you. As I said, I want the Society to rebuild. To re-structure itself. I also want the… drama, as I call it, to shift focus. Away from the current issues, and to ones more manageable,” Light said.

“What…? You’re phrasing it as if us leaving for a few years would make everyone calm down. To stop blaming Vim for their issues, or something,” Renn said, shaking her head in a way that told me she didn’t understand.

“That’s exactly what she’s saying. I’m not the only cause and issue, but she’s using me as the main vector for it,” I said.

“Huh…? Vect-what Vim?” Renn asked. Light and Less also glanced at me.

“I meant it in the sense of like a disease. She’s saying my presence, and the drama it causes, is the way the disease and poison of disillusion and resentment is given life. That if I left, even if for only a short time, the members who are anxious and upset will calm down and or switch their targets for their disdain,” I explained.

Renn frowned at me and then looked back at Light with a small smile. “Here I thought you were trying to allude that we should go have some time alone, as so I could give birth,” Renn said.

Less’s eyes went wide, and Light’s single eye began to grow far brighter as I groaned and reached up to cover my own face. As to stop looking at everyone around me.

They were all fools! And I the worst one, since I too had such thoughts!

But that was my fault. I had asked Renn to play along with their misconception. So that was all she was doing… but still!

“I have no reason to hide that such a thing too had been a reason. But that’s not all, Renn,” Light said as she turned a little to gesture at Less. My head felt like it wanted to hurt as Less went stiff again. She didn’t know why she was being pointed at, nor did it look like she wanted to be. “You see, I want the Society to realize something. And it can’t happen without the two of you stepping away for a moment,” Light said.

Less glanced at Light, then back at us… and I could tell she herself didn’t understand at all what Light was trying to say.

“And what is that?” Renn asked.

Light looked back at us, at me, and softly smiled. “That they can survive without Vim’s help,” she said.

I scoffed at that. “Not only do most of them know such a thing, they also believe in it. You don’t need me to leave for them to realize that,” I said.

“That is true, to a point, Vim. Just as there are members who do not want your help, for one reason or another, there are those who feel like they can’t do anything without you. That they can’t move to a new home, unless you both escort them there and help them build it. Or even something simple as building a dock, or repair a roof,” Light said.

Renn’s ears fluttered. “Why would it be a bad thing for someone to rely on Vim? What’s wrong with them wanting him to do those things, or feeling like they need him to do so?” Renn asked.

I didn’t comment on the fact that Renn herself had gotten frustrated with the people who asked me for such help and just recently too, such as with the quails.

“Because then, after they try to do it themselves… and fail, they’ll realize how important he actually is,” Light said.

My eyes narrowed at her. “How very Celine of you,” I said lowly.

Light’s smile softened even more, and it was clear I had just hurt her. But I didn’t care, since it had been the truth.

“Wait… you’re saying you want us to step away, you want Vim to, so that our members can suffer without him…? So that they will realize how valuable he is to them?” Renn asked.

Light only nodded.

Renn quickly shook her head. “I don’t like that. At all. That means you’re fully willing to sacrifice members just to make a point! A point that doesn’t even need to be made! One that most don’t even agree with in the first place!” Renn said, her voice getting louder as she became more emotional.

“I did mention that I didn’t want you to go too far. To stay nearby, so we can reach you when the need is greatest,” Light said softly.

“That’s not…!” Renn sat forward, grabbing the edge of the table as she did. I knew I wasn’t the only one who noticed the way her tail and ears twitched.

She was rather upset.

I didn’t tell her to calm down, since I didn’t just agree with her anger over such a stupid idea… I also knew the reason behind it.

As Renn had pointed out earlier, with her comment about giving birth… I knew that was the real reason for this strange plan.

They wanted Renn to give birth to their supposed saint. And well… thanks to the little heart Renn had eaten last night, there was no doubt that Light was not just under the impression that Renn was pregnant, but rather that she was sure of it.

I didn’t outright know what a saint felt, or saw, concerning those who had given birth or not. But I knew it was akin to a small heart, at least in those like themselves. In a normal person, a normal human or non-human who had no divinity at all, they likely only saw and felt a slight disturbance. But when it came to their fellow saints, or those with hearts inside them, it was likely not as black and white. They were too bright, too noisy, in their eyes to really tell one way or another.

So Renn having absorbed one heart already, and now having eaten that smaller one just recently, I had no doubt in Light’s eye’s Renn was pregnant. Since she likely saw or felt two divine auras within her.

Honestly I had not thought it would have worked, but I’d noticed Light kept glancing down at Renn’s stomach. A little too much for it to be normal.

But… that didn’t answer why they’d want me to take Renn away from them.

If Renn’s daughter was supposed to be so important and special… why give me an opportunity to keep her hidden away…?

Or did they so firmly believe in their prophecies that they had no qualms with testing my patience and limits?

“I should have better worded it… but basically Renn, I want you and Vim to step aside for a moment. Not entirely, not forever, just a moment. To give me and the others time to calm the Society, restructure it, and properly prepare it for what is to happen,” Light said.

“Restructure it how?” I asked, before Renn could say anything. She glanced at me, almost with a snarl, but allowed my question to be addressed first.

Light shrugged ever so lightly. “Do you know how many people I’ve brought back with me, Vim?” she asked.

I blinked. “No.”

“Five hundred and thirteen. Regretfully… twenty-six died on the way here, and two others perished from the stress of the journey,” she said.

Renn squeezed the table and leaned forward a bit more. “That many…? Are they all here?” she asked, no longer sounding angry.

“Most are. But they’re not all who will come. Once we have prepared a proper place for them, another thousand will return as well,” Light said.

I wanted to sigh, but didn’t. Because in all honesty… this news was anything but bad.

“So most of your survived,” I said. I had helped a little over three thousand cross the oceans back then. So that was about half, and I assumed a good portion didn’t want to return and so would stay there.

Light smiled happily and nodded. “We did!”

“Wait… you’re saying all of you who left are coming back?” Renn asked.

Light and Less nodded, both of them looking a little proud as they did so.

Renn’s ears twitched a bit as she glanced at me, and I saw the look of awe on her face.

“That’d be like doubling the Society!” Renn said happily.

“Not quite, but nearly yes,” I said. They were short a thousand, but who was counting?

Light nodded. “By restructuring, the only thing I mean is preparing the Society for the return of so many at once. We will need to house them, feed them, and… well… you know Vim,” Light said with a smile.

I did. I knew well how difficult it was to transplant a thousand people. Particularly the non-human variety.

“So… why come back now, then?” Renn then asked the question that I had been avoiding.

Less startled, but Light remained un-phased as she smiled and tilted her head at Renn. “You should know, I think,” she said gently.

Renn at first didn’t seem to know what she meant, but then she blinked and her ears went stiff as she side-glanced me. “Oh.”

Ignoring them, I gestured lightly at myself. “I plan to step down,” I told her.

“Yes. Thus another reason for my plan. I’m hoping the five years will give you time to think, and relax a little. Honestly Vim, how long has it been since you’ve had a break? A real one? And it’s as I said, it’s not like I’m asking you to cut all contact or anything. Just… pick somewhere, and stay there. No traveling. No drama. It’d be utterly delightful if you chose here,” she said, her voice becoming a tad bit higher in pitch as if she was suddenly very happy at the idea. Probably was.

Renn made an odd noise, one that told me she wanted to be angry but wasn’t. “I don’t like that plan. Or idea. At all,” Renn then finally said.

“His five year vacation or his plan to step down?” Light asked.

“Both…?”

Light grinned and nodded, as if agreeing with Renn. Even though one of those was her plan.

I sighed at the two. “Either way I have duties. I’m leaving in a few hours to head east,” I said.

“Yes…? And I do hope you’re not taking Renn with you. That’s quite a trek!” Light said with a gentle point at me, as if I some child to be scolded.

“Trek…?” Renn whispered the word, and I wondered if it was because she remembered the duck who died recently or if she didn’t understand why Light would say such a thing.

“She will be staying here. I’ll only be a few weeks anyway,” I said. Especially now that I’ve concluded Renn was in no danger here.

Light would sacrifice her whole parish to keep Renn safe, by the looks of it. And back at the guild, with Merit, she was safe too.

Plus…

“Oh my! How lovely! Maybe I should move to the company too, then?” Light wondered as she glanced at Less.

Less grimaced at that. “Stay there…?” she groaned at the idea.

Renn shifted too, her left ear fluttering in the way that told me she too wasn’t really keen on the idea. Though I wasn’t sure why.

Taking a deep breath, I stood from my seat. My body felt stiff, as if I was sick or exhausted.

“Oh my. I do believe he’s done,” Light said as she watched me step away. I reached out to pat Renn on the shoulder, while glaring at the one-eyed saint.

“Seems so…” Renn said as she too stood.

“At least consider it, Renn. It is but one many of possibilities, but it would be one that would lead us all to great joy,” Light said as I turned to go.

“I… need to think about it all. But I will. I promise,” Renn said.

I heard Light shift a bit, but she didn’t stand. She remained seated even as I neared the door. I paused at it, grabbing its handle, and glanced back at them.

Renn still stood there, at the table. Her tail was hung low, and I could tell she wasn’t ready to leave.

But I needed to. And I wanted to talk to her before I departed.

“Renn,” I said gently.

Her ear fluttered as she glanced at me and nodded. “Can I come back? Later?” she asked Light.

“Rennalee… you never need knock on my door. Simply open it,” Light answered.

I felt nauseous as Renn brightened up with a huge smile and nodded. Then she waved at Light and Less and turned away, hurrying to me.

Glaring at the saint still sitting at the table… who was grinning like a master chess-player who just won their hundredth title, I shook my head and left the church.

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