# 24. The Last Companion. The Saint Loves Holy Water (4)
Morning arrived with the chirping of birds.
Estia was trapped in a dream.
*'Test Subject 51. Begin administration. Bring the syringe, Eric.'*
*'N-no needles... P-please don't, I'm sorry...'*
*'Just close your eyes and when you wake up, it'll be fine.'*
*'N-no...'*
Without holy water, terrible memories resurfaced.
Children being experimented on in the church basement.
Today, 30 people.
Tomorrow, 28 people.
The next day, 24 people.
Estia was swimming through memories like a deep swamp where friends disappeared day by day.
*'N-no...! D-don't go, everyone...! Don't leave me behind...!!'*
Her friends had long since been swallowed by the swamp.
Only Estia's head remained above the surface.
In that cruel scene,
Estia heard someone's voice.
"...o...o...n..."
"Wa...u...n..."
"Wake uuup!!"
Jolt—
"Aaaah!"
Just as Luna predicted, Saint Estia immediately sat up.
Where am I?
Feeling a faint pain in her forehead, Estia turned her head from side to side, looking around.
"Where is this? It's not the Church, is it?"
"Ow, my chin... What are you doing suddenly sitting up like that!"
"What? Who are you?"
"I'm Lunacia Luna. Someone who was kidnapped just like you!"
The golden-haired girl Luna declared proudly.
She was rubbing her sore chin after bumping heads with Estia.
Estia couldn't understand this bizarre situation.
*'Wh-what? Why am I here? I was definitely at the Church...?'*
Memories from when she drank holy water didn't remain intact.
They came in fragments, scattered like pieces.
Estia tried her best to gather the fragments of memory.
The memories that surfaced in Estia's mind were...
*'Mask, brother, sky, crash? What?'*
She couldn't remember the process, but she could clearly understand the conclusion before her eyes.
I've been kidnapped, haven't I?
I was kidnapped by that Apostle brother who tried to make me his?
"Minerva's Apostle is a kidnapper? This could be really bad?"
Since he's the Goddess's Apostle, he probably won't kill me, but...
There are many things you can do without killing someone.
Like experiments, for instance.
*'...Experiments.'*
The moment she realized that fact, anxiety rose in Estia's heart.
Now, whatever happened to her here, she couldn't tell anyone else.
Fear consumed her body, and her hands trembled.
Holy water.
She needed holy water.
"G-give me a cup...! Where's the cup...!! I-I need to receive holy water!!"
"Huh? Why are you suddenly acting like this?"
"Ah, aah... I have no divine power..!! I-I'll be experimented on...! I-it might hurt more than dying...!! G-Goddess, please save this Estia from heaven...!!"
"Geez. I thought she wasn't in her right mind since yesterday, but she really isn't."
Luna sighed.
Estia's behavior was exactly like her own past self, which made it seem foolish.
"I used to be like that too..."
"L-let me out... O-or give me holy water... P-please save me, Goddess..."
Watching Estia struggle,
Luna was suddenly reminded of her past self.
Luna decided to set an example as a kidnapping senior.
She grabbed the shoulders of the frantically moving girl, made eye contact, and shouted firmly.
"You stay still! You can't escape anyway. Look at your leg."
"E-escape...! Aaaah! Wh-what is this...? Ch-chains...? I-I can't escape..."
"I said stay still! The old man will come later and explain. Just stay calm for now and listen to what he says. Got it?"
"..."
Nod.
Estia nodded for now.
Seeing this, Luna felt like she was looking at her own younger sibling.
*'My youngest sibling acts exactly like that...'*
Behavior no different from a five-year-old.
To calm her down, Luna headed to the desk.
There was one completely empty bowl and another bowl about half-filled with porridge.
*'I ate a little, but... well, it should be fine?'*
Luna picked it up and brought it to Estia.
Estia seemed hungry, as her gaze was fixed on the bowl.
"Here, say 'ah.' Eat this and calm down a bit. Okay?"
"...Ah."
"At least you listen well."
Nom.
Estia ate the porridge and her eyes widened.
It was delicious porridge made with various ingredients prepared with care.
"Wh-what, why is it delicious...?"
"The old man may be bad, but his cooking skills are good. A total unexpected charm! But I wish he was just a nice person who couldn't cook instead. W-wait. He didn't hear that, right...?"
"...You said your name was Luna? I have a question."
"Yeah, what is it?"
I have a question.
The calmed Estia took a deep breath and asked.
"You said you were kidnapped too. But why are you so calm?"
It's strange.
Normally, kidnapped people have shadowed expressions
and naturally cry for their lives until they die, right?
Estia couldn't understand Luna, who was smiling brightly despite being kidnapped.
Luna smiled at that question and said.
"Well, you see... honestly, being kidnapped is a bad thing. But it's not terribly bad."
"...Are you saying it's not bad even if you die?"
"N-no? Why would I die! Even though the old man is a bad person, he has manners, I guess? He won't kill us! Rather, he might even take care of us..."
Ah, I don't know, it's embarrassing!
Luna found it too cringeworthy to praise the old man.
It was very strange to praise someone who forcibly kidnapped her in the first place.
"Anyway! Calm down and wait. Then you'll roughly understand what kind of place this is."
"...Okay, I understand. Thank you. As a token of gratitude, I want to give you holy water that makes you happy—"
"I-I'm fine! I don't need it!"
Luna waved her hands vigorously, refusing Estia's holy water.
Estia expressed deep regret at not being able to give her that happiness.
"It really makes you happy and feels good though..."
"Ha, haha..."
Why does the old man bring abnormal children?
Luna couldn't understand the old man's intentions at all.
And so the two talked about each other until Lee Jun-woo arrived.
Explaining the situation and chatting about what had happened here.
And in that process, Luna naturally came to a misunderstanding.
*'What, now that we've talked, she seems like a nice kid... Her mental state seems okay too...'*
She's actually a pretty decent kid? Luna made a huge misunderstanding.
Not realizing in the slightest that Estia's fingertips were beginning to tremble
and withdrawal symptoms were setting in...
Hare, who was fast asleep hugging her pillow tightly.
Hare opened her eyes upon hearing the old man's voice from upstairs.
"Yaaawn~"
Is it because I went to bed late yesterday...?
I'm a little sleepy...
But I have to move.
Jolt—
She got up from bed.
As usual, she washed up, organized her bedding, and tidied her appearance in the mirror.
*'I want to look pretty for the old man.'*
Having a woman's heart, she always had to check her condition.
If even a bit of eye crust remained, the old man would be disappointed.
After finishing all her routines, Hare left her room and headed to the living room.
"The old man must be up..."
The smell of food wafted from the kitchen.
And the old man's voice could be heard from upstairs.
He must have cooked and then gone upstairs...
Following the old man's traces, Hare went up to the second floor.
He was having a conversation in Luna's room.
"K-kidnapper! Let me go right now!! I have to attend worship!"
"I can't do that."
"Why not!"
"You have work to do. It's the Goddess's will."
"Th-that can't be... I have to give happiness to people..."
The voices of the two conversing reached Hare.
The voice of the newly kidnapped child was young and used a childlike manner of speaking.
*'...I think I can chase her out quickly.'*
Hare didn't consider her much of a rival.
Until she spoke those words.
"Apostle brother! I'll give you happiness, so let me go...? Okay? I'm going to be late for worship..."
Brother.
Brother?
Did she just say brother?
Hare doubted her own ears.
However, Estia's voice came again.
"I have to give happiness to people... Okay? Brother, please get me out of here... I-I need to drink holy water too..."
"...There's no proper place to pray in this house, so divine power won't gather either. It's forbidden for the time being."
"N-no..! I-I'll die? I'm dying..!! Brother, think properly..!!"
The whining voice of a young child.
Hare quietly watched her from the stairs.
Her expression naturally crumpled.
*'Why, why does she keep saying brother...? He's an old man.'*
Who gave her permission to call him brother...?
The old man didn't even allow it...?
Jealousy bloomed in Hare's heart.
Her chest ached, and a suffocating tightness made it hard to breathe.
*'He's an old man. Calling him brother is absolutely unacceptable.'*
The old man will dislike a child who calls him brother.
But the old man is too kind to tell her not to.
So.
*'I have to get rid of her. On behalf of the old man.'*
Hare, who had decided to become a bad child.
A perfect opportunity to become a bad child had come to her.
Hare's first target to kick out of the house was 'Saint Estia.'
Luna's room.
Estia felt anxious watching Luna prepare to leave.
"Luna, where are you going? Is that brother going to torment you?"
"No, it's not that, I'm going to train."
"Train...? Why train?"
"I don't really know either! But the old man told me to train! He said if I win, he'll let me out of here, so I'm training hard to win!"
"Wh-what's that about..."
What kind of place is this...?
He kidnaps people but doesn't experiment on them...
Rather, he feeds them well and makes them train...
It's a strange place.
"Don't tell me he's raising us to eat us?!"
"...I don't think that's it! Anyway, rest by yourself, Estia. I'll be back!"
Lee Jun-woo opened the door for Luna, and only Luna escaped from the room.
Watching this, Estia was reminded of a past memory.
*'I-I'll be back, Estia. Wait for me!'*
A green-haired friend who greeted her with a bright smile.
After saying goodbye and leaving, she never returned.
C-could it be? Luna too...?
She was such a nice kid, is this the last goodbye?
"N-no... Still, I should have made her happy before she died? But I don't have divine power so I can't..."
How do I replenish divine power...?
Estia used objects around her to try to replenish divine power.
"Will my prayers reach the Goddess with this?"
A cross hastily made from boxes.
A cross that looked like it would collapse with a single tap—Estia began praying toward it.
"Give us happiness today, and furthermore, O Goddesses who give happiness in life, please accept my prayers..."
And so on and so forth.
Estia knelt and prayed for a long time.
Only for the happiness that would be waiting.
However, faith betrayed Estia.
"O-one drop...? Only one drop was filled!? Th-this is a lie! It's a lie!"
Divine power has the greatest effect when praying in a church.
Because a church is the place of God itself.
As an exception, religious people who have reached a certain level can obtain divine power even when praying in an empty field, not in a church.
Because God is in their hearts.
However, Estia, who had misguided thoughts and didn't understand the Goddess's faith,
could only obtain divine power in a church.
"Ah, ah... I want to drink holy water... Holy water..."
Estia was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not drinking the holy water she should have had today.
Her hands trembled, and she kept smacking her lips.
It was at that moment.
Knock knock—
As if heaven wouldn't let her die, a helping hand approached Estia.
Along with the knocking sound came a small girl's voice.
—Do you want to get out of here...? Should I help you...?
The Hero Party's Thief, Juliana Hare.
She extended a helping hand to Estia.
It was Hare's extremely selfish act, but Estia, who was being saved, had no way of knowing its meaning.