The scout, meanwhile, finished his ale and shrugged.
“He seems... alright? Sane and reasonable, that is what people say — apparently, he
wants to help. He was like an uncle to our lady when she was a child, anyway."
Pill scoffed.
“So was Anvil of Valor"
His tone was dark.
The lively atmosphere around the table suddenly turned somber. The guards remained silent for a long while — but eventually, one of them spoke in a hesitant tone.
“Still. What if he really is like they say? Just imagine what having another righteous Supreme would mean for us. For all humans."
The other guards did not answer, but Rain could see that their eyes ignited with hope and wistfulness.
The guard who had brought the news even allowed himself a hopeful smile.
“We'll know for sure in a day or two. Lady Changing Star is set to make an announcement."
The conversation turned away from the new Supreme after that.
The wagons had to be repaired, and the damaged Echo needed time to restore itself, so the caravan ended up lingering in Red Hill for an additional day. Rain used that time to explore the city and take in its many peculiarities.
Eventually, however, it was time for the caravan to leave, and for her to enter the Citadel and use its Gateway to travel to NQSC. From there, she would walk through the Dream Gate with the latest group of settlers and return to Bastion.
Before departing, Rain found Pill to say goodbye.
He seemed regretful.
"It was nice to see you again, Rani. It's a shame that you have to go... where are you headed, anyway?"
She shrugged.
“I'm returning to Bastion. I have some work lined up there."
Rain hesitated for a moment, then smiled and slapped the older man on the shoulder. “That's where that imaginary Sovereign resides now, as well. Who knows? I might even see the bastard with my own two eyes."
She was joking, naturally. She was planning to stay as far away from the man called Asterion as possible, and her brother seemed hellbent on preventing the two of them from meeting at all costs.
Rain expected Pill to chuckle, or at least smile...
However, his reaction was a little strange. Instead of giving the caravan's running joke a lighthearted sendoff, he regarded Rain with an unamused scowl.
In fact, his expression was downright disapproving.
She raised an eyebrow.
“What's wrong?"
Pill studied her silently for a few seconds, then sighed and glanced away.
His voice sounded even:
"I am saying this as a friend, Rani... but you might want to watch your tone. That is no way to speak about a Supreme. Especially not about Lord Asterion."
With that, he patted her on the shoulder and walked away.
Rain remained standing motionlessly, deeply disturbed.
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
‘What the hell just happened?'
She stared at Pill's back for a while, then frowned and turned toward the distant Citadel.