Case 95: Sylvia Everwood – The last Saint of [Aria].
Case 95: Sylvia Everwood – The last Saint of [Aria].
Stepping out of the car together with my companions, we are greeted by the familiar sight of the Crimson Palace.
Now we just need to get to the top of this palace, where there's a broadcast stone.
I heard that there are only two right now in the world, one here, another one belongs to the dwarves. It works like a giant projector but doesn't need a surface to project the image on. How truly curious.
''Phew~...'' I sighed.
''You can do it.'' Liana tap on my shoulder a few times.
''Yeah, don't be too worried.'' Tina said.
Anna silently grabs my hand and flashes a silly smile.
*chu*
And Emy kisses me on the neck for some reason.
''Thanks!''
An attendant walks over to us.
''Please go this way, Your Holiness and her companions.'' He bows respectfully.
-----
*clack*
Opening the door to the room on top, I could see familiar faces sitting on a few rows of chairs.
Is that the broadcast crystal? It's so huge...
The blue-red crystal is around my height, but significantly fatter, and shinier as well.
''You're here, lass.'' The bald Saint waves, smiling wildly.
''Hi everyone~'' I said, earning simple nods from most of them.
''Your Holiness! I'm honored to see you here!'' Archbishop Henry stands up and bows.
''Glad to see you too, Archbishop.''
''Sylvia.'' Dad nods at me.
''Dad.'' I nod back at him.
Seeing that, he smiles contently.
...Was he trying to say something...?
''Let's sit first.'' Liana nudges me.
''Alright, alright.'' I replied. ''There's empty seats there, let's go.''
Let's sit beside the mermaid one.
-----
''My~ Look at how smooth your skin is~...'' Mermaid Queen exclaimed, stroking my forearm. ''Mind sharing your skincare products? I'm jealous...''
It's semen, ma'am. A lot of them. Apply straight inside your stomach and your skin will never be the same.
No, seriously though, I barely use anything myself. I just get a lot of things applied to my skin by the maids...
''I don't actually know...'' I replied awkwardly.
''I see~...'' She said dejectedly.
*clack*
''Good morning, everyone.''
Oh, the Emperor and William dude is here.
''It's almost time. Forgive me for being late.'' The Emperor said, I could see faint dark circles under his eyes.
Probably he is still distressed about the late Crown Prince's death.
Talk about the Crown Prince, dad said that they'll announce his death later, cause, like, it'll ruin the whole festival, so...
''I'll start my speech right away. After that, I'll leave it to Saint Sylvia.'' He and William nod at me intently.
Seriously, what's going on with the whole nodding trend...?
The Emperor steps out to the balcony and presses a button on the banister. Immediately, a piece of the huge crystal flies out and hovers in front of the Emperor. So that's the recording part?
''Good morning. People of Xeno.''
Oh, so the crystal shoots a beam through the hole in the roof and then forms a giant screen in the sky...
Roughly scanning below, I could see a literal sea of people, all looking at the sky as well. Jeez.
''I am James Alistaire Aragon, the 12th Emperor of this realm.''
''My fellow citizens, today we celebrate the 516th anniversary of the founding of our glorious empire. On this day, more than half a millennium ago, our ancestors united under one banner, one vision, and one destiny.''
''And today, we honor their memory and their achievements. We remember their sacrifices and their struggles. We acknowledge their contributions and their innovations.''
That's a lot of baloney. But okay.
''Today, we also celebrate our present and our future. We rejoice in our prosperity and our progress. Today, we reaffirm our commitment and our loyalty to our empire. Today, we express our gratitude and our appreciation to all who have contributed to the success of our empire-
Okay, let's just skip the cutscene here.
-today, we declare to the world that we are proud to be part of this magnificent empire. We declare that we are confident in facing any challenges or opportunities that may come our way. We declare that we are optimistic about the future of this glorious empire.''
''...''
''My fellow citizens, as we celebrate the 516th anniversary of our empire, let us also remember the ones who made it all possible.''
''Of course, I am talking about the great heroes, the Saints.''
''Throughout our history, they have always been there to help us. Throughout the continent's history, they have always been there to help peaceful life itself.''
''And today, I am honored to have the 24th Saint of [Aria] here with us. Please, Saint Sylvia.''
Instantly, murmurs from below could be heard even here.
The Emperor turns back and walks inside.
William then signals me to go out.
''Phew~...''
I stand up and look behind one last time. My lovers, my dad, Archbishop, Stephen, and the old Saints all nod at me, smiling gently.
...Well, I have no idea what to talk about now. I've forgotten most of it by this point.
But that doesn't matter. I just need to freestyle it.
The important thing is that I get my message across.
*clack* *clack* *clack*
I walk slowly to the balcony, the sound of my heels echoing through the room.
Finally, standing before the small crystal, it is time for my debut.
''Hi, people.''
I smile confidently.
''I am Sylvia Everwood. Crown Princess of the Everwood Kingdom, and the 24th Saint of this continent.''
''First of all, I apologize for hiding until now. But there was a good reason for that.''
''Don't worry, I'll still be a proper Saint. So put your pitchforks away, please?''
''What? How can I trust you?''
''Hahah, remember the big fish a few days ago? Yeah, the scary one.''
''I killed it.''
''Together with the former Saints and such, of course. But I was the one who dealt the final blow.''
''What? How can I trust you?''
''See this then.''
I pull out a single tip of Gungnir that I made in my free time after the Leviathan incident. Launching it high into the sky with telekinesis, and then...
*snap*
A small star shines on the spotless sky, followed by an explosion so big that it paints the whole sky a deep blue color, sending shockwaves across the whole city.
*BOOOOM*
It looks like there's no broken glass, good. I sent it far enough.
''Now you're convinced, yeah?''
''...''
''Anyway, now that you know about that, let me share something about myself.''
''I... Have four lovers.''
''I know, that's a lot to handle. But I sincerely love them, and they sincerely love me as well.''
''The point is, I want to make families with them, and live peacefully for a long time moving forward.''
''But... The world is in danger.''
''Not only are the demons stronger and smarter than ever, but this time we have a serious opponent.''
''Again, remember the giant fish? That's the work of an evil goddess.''
''We will have to deal with her this time, not a normal demon king anymore.''
''And since the evil goddess is the one who summoned the demon kings since the beginning, if we defeat her, it'll all be over.''
''So technically, I will be the last Saint. And being the last one is always stressful.''
''Ah~... I didn't sign up for this.''
''But anyway, what's the point of me talking about this? Spread fear? No.''
''We defeated the giant monster. So what's there to fear anymore? The evil goddess is not omnipotent. We can defeat her.''
''Also, we've made an alliance, you know? The Empire is in it, three former Saints are in it, my home country - Everwood is in it, Ranka, Atlas, Vurgon... They're all in it.''
''We have decided to fight against her instead of cowering in fear.''
''So, I want you to fight, too. I want each and every one of you to do your utmost to support the Alliance.''
''I'm not telling you to go to the frontier, I'm just telling you to do your best at what you're doing.''
''Armies need supplies to fight. And you, the normal worker, are one of the people making those supplies every day. So do your best.''
''That way, we can come together as a whole and fight our enemies properly.''
''...Well. I've been rambling for quite a while already.''
''Today is a great day. I like festivals, I like seeing people, seeing you guys happily talking, drinking, playing on the streets.''
''You know, I visited Saint Vivian's tomb recently. He told me to learn to love the people that I'm going to protect.''
''It'll give me more strength to fight, he said.''
''So, I will try my best to love you guys, as well as the peaceful people living on this continent together.''
''Let the festival begin, lovable people. I am Sylvia - Your last Saint.''
*clack* *clack* *clack*
I turn around and briskly walk back into the room.
''...''
''WOAHHHH!''
That's loud.
I don't think my speech was that great.
...But I mean, if they like it, then it's all good.