MSR-V3-7

Her external allure was undoubtedly enhanced by her exuding confidence. The halo atop her head was directly given to her by an elevated existence. With that in mind, White was as confident as could be. Moreover, she had received reassurance, too.

(He said that it suits me well...)

White closed her eyes and recalled the event. In her eyes, the Demon Lord was a legendary rebel, fighting against the Great Light with black wings on his back. The good girls always seemed to be the ones who fall for a taste of evil, convincing themselves that ‘only I can understand him. Only I can protect him.’

(Lord Lucifer...)

Recalling his body enveloped in the white steam, her cheeks turned red. His devious brain, his dauntless attitude, his very presence, all ready to trample everything in his path, marching to the ends of Hell. He was the mythical fallen angel... the one who ruled the night in times of old! He had accepted White, and bestowed upon her the halo of an angel. One could only imagine the glee, joy, and elation she felt.

“Lady White...! What is on your...!?”

As White walked through the hallways of the Holy Castle, the commotion only grew louder. As people saw her, they ran to their coworkers to spread the news. The entire castle erupted in chaos until a certain someone emerged. Upon seeing her, everyone straightened their backs and tightened their lips. It was Gran, the living history of the Holy Church. While she was allegedly older than ninety, her presence was as strong as ever. As an advisor, her words carried extraordinary weight.

“White, what’s with all the noise!? Have they no respect for the Holy

Castle... Aghhh!”

Upon seeing the Angel’s Ring glow above White’s head, even Gran faltered at its sacred glow, falling to the ground. White rushed to help her up, but Gran’s words failed her.

“W-White...! T-That thing... Your head...!”

“It was given to me by someone...”

With a smile, Angel clasped her hands in front of her large twin peaks. An unmistakable angel.

“W-Who might that be...!?”

White didn’t answer, but only smiled quietly. She had been repeatedly

sworn to secrecy. Gran picked up something from her response, too. White must have been holding back from taking in vain the name of an existence who had bestowed a halo, of all things, upon her. The angels had vanished from this world long ago. They couldn’t take any chance, no matter how slim, of offending such an existence. This was the one glimmer of hope they had been waiting for.

“I-I see... I won’t ask much. But tell me this. Is this deity in our country?

They wouldn’t forsake us by turning to another country, would they?”

Gran had a desperate look on her face. They couldn’t let anyone else catch this glimpse of salvation. White answered deliberately.

“I won’t let that happen.”

“A-All right...”

“Yes. I will serve him by his side, and...”

White couldn’t help but blush at her own choice of words. She couldn’t help but recall how close they were in the hot spring. Gran saw this, and her eyes widened. She picked up on a particular scent.

“Ah! Ah, unbelievable... Don’t tell me that... a c-c-child!? With a Holy

Maiden...? W-What is happening...!?”

“N-No... I’m not...!”

“I know, I know. Our situation is much too dire...!”

Gran immediately decided to put a gag law on most of these details. The fact that a Holy Maiden was given an Angel’s Ring was good. Very good. This information could serve as an intimidation against enemies and a brimming hope for their own people. White was popular among the people to begin with, but if they were to cause a ruckus about who exactly bestowed the halo upon her, he might disappear. Legends told of higher beings with various personalities. Angels and humans were the same, in that sense. Some were quiet, some were boisterous, and some even spent their days in solitude, away from worldly trifles.

“I’ll leave the matter to you, White. Don’t let him go.”

“Yes, I will always... k-keep him close.”

“Hah ha ha! Well said.”

Even as she blushed, White’s determination came through her timid nature. Gran smiled in return. She had known White since she was very young, but had never expected her to experience romance. Gran must have felt a sense of relief for that fact, too.

——A meeting room in the Holy Castle.

When White returned to their usual meeting room, Queen was looking bored, her feet up on the roundtable and her hands behind her head. When she saw the glowing ring above White’s head, she and her chair tumbled to the floor with a loud crash.

“S-Sis! W-What the fuck is that!? A-Above your head...!?”

Uncharacteristically, White wore a teasing grin. Normally, White was the one being surprised and tormented by her sisters. Now the tables had turned.

“T-That’s an Angel’s Ring... What the hell is happening!?”

“Yes. Someone... gave it to me.”

White gave Queen the same answer she gave Gran, but had a clear picture of the Demon Lord as the man he was. Who could have blamed her? While their encounter was short, much had happened during that time. He had seen her naked, sipped from her glass, and pulled her by the waist to accompany him for the execution of a miracle. Then he gave her the Angel’s Ring. He smiled, and said ‘it suits you well.’ Finally... he promised they would meet again. Every time White recalled the encounter in her mind, she felt a warmth kindle in her chest. While it was short, every event was a shock, full of mysterious danger. Her heart pounded faster with every reminiscence. Queen picked up on something.

“What’s going on... Why do you look like such a woman, Sis?”

“L-Like a woman...!?”

“I don’t give a shit about the Angel’s Ring anymore. Who is it? I can smell the guy on you from a mile away, now.”

“W-Why should I tell you...?”

White misspoke in her sister’s presence. Now she had admitted that there was a man behind it.

“Woah... You, of all people? Does he have a Holy Sword, or something?

Or is he like a dragon...?”

“That’s who you’re into! I feel grateful for him, but I...”

“Huh!? You got a problem with Sir Zero!? I won’t take that shit! Even from you, Sis!”

“I-I don’t have a problem with him... I just prefer, you know, a distinguished, mature...”

“You fucking moron! Don’t get it!? Sir Zero’s innocent smile! His power!

His gestures! His clothes! Don’t you get how cool he is!? He’s undefeated!

Un! Defeated!”

“U-Undefeated? So what...? He performed a mir... N-Never mind.”

White nearly spoke of the miracle in the heat of the moment, and caught herself. Even to Queen, she wouldn’t dare speak of it lightly.

“In any case, I have to meet him. If he can take my punches, he’ll have my approval.”

“And why exactly would I need that!?”

“Huh? I just don’t like this guy. Let me beat him up.”

“Beat... You know you’re a Holy Maiden, don’t you!?”

“Who gives a shit?”

“I do!”

As the pair of sisters continued their screaming match, the sun set on the Holy Castle. However, White had no time to rest. In order to find a deeper meaning behind it all, she had requested the presence of someone.

Considering the busy schedules on both sides, it did take a while to make the meeting happen, but it was finally scheduled. She had contacted Madame Butterfly, the woman who continued to affect Holylight in a major way without the aid of any organization.

## The Meeting of the White Butterfly

A carriage arrived in front of the Holy Castle, commencing a tense day for all. The carriage was adorned with crests and banners, unmistakable by anyone in Holylight. It was an elegant crest of a butterfly spreading its wings.

Any noble would have watched themselves in the presence of this crest. The Madame exited the carriage, wearing a deep blue dress with a beautiful butterfly pattern. The guard straightened his back with a nervous expression and greeted her as loud as he could.

“Oh, you have a lot of energy, don’t you?”

The Madame brushed the guard’s cheek and slyly put a silver coin into his pocket. The guard was startled by it, but couldn’t disrespect the high noblewoman by refusing. Instead, he straightened his back even more to show his gratitude. While nobles were usually disliked by the commoners, the Butterflies were less so. It wasn’t that the Madame in particular had influence over everyone in the country, but more because of monetary reasons. From the mines that the Butterflies owned, they produced good quality Spell Stones well-suited for Earth spells. For the mostly dry Holylight, those were an important resource. For generations now, the Butterflies had never overpriced these Spell Stones, but rather flooded the market with them. The people recognized this, and held the Madame in a slightly better light than most nobles. The Butterflies knew that if they were to overprice the Spell Stones, the land would worsen, and end up biting them later. Their policy wasn’t for compassion or mercy, but self-preservation.

(I can’t remember the last time I was here...)

The Madame walked to one of the farthest rooms from the gate, with ample soundproofing, where (coincidentally) White and the Demon Lord had had their first meeting. As the Madame sat down, she was immediately served tea and cookies (baked mixture of flour and water). Without hesitating, she took them with an elegant gesture. It was a tense moment for those in the room. While the Madame wasn’t a food critic per se, she had a perceptive tongue. Coupled with her blunt remarks, a negative reaction from her could spell doom for any restaurant or chef. Ordinarily in noble society, one would compliment any food prepared by a notable restaurant or chef, regardless of its quality. If one were to criticize them, they would simply be laughed at for being a brute, ignorant of those things. However, the Madame did not follow this unwritten rule. As long as the food was good, she would eat it, even if it was prepared by a nameless sous chef. When someone of her status judged things by their content and not their reputation, those around her were thrown for a loop. She was unyielding in her thoughts and her desires. By living that way, she had many enemies and allies along the way.

(Ordinary...)

The Madame did not make a single remark for the tea (the most important part of the snack) nor the unusual cookie, filling the room with both relief and disappointment. She wouldn’t sacrifice etiquette to comment on something that wasn’t noteworthy, for better or worse.

Soon, White appeared in the room, causing everyone to exit with a bow.

“It’s been too long, little White.”

The Madame made the first move right off the bat. With subtext, she made it clear that this was no official meeting, but a private visit. In fact, this wasn’t an official meeting, and would not be accounted for in records.

(She really is something...)

The Madame couldn’t help but squint at White. Everything about her almost seemed fake, as if she was made completely to order. She possessed the beauty and aura of someone who’d received the Angels’ blessing all to herself. Even other women couldn’t help but see White with adoration or awe, except for the Madame. She alone, thanks to her nature, did not look away from White’s beauty, but faced it head-on. Because of that, the Madame felt a powerful sense of envy towards White. This was both a show of her pride and her weakness. Until now...

“Yes, it’s been too...”

White froze for a moment. It seemed like the Madame had shrunk since the last time they had met. On top of that, she noticed that the Madame’s skin was brighter. White couldn’t chalk this up to the Madame’s sickness she was told about. On the contrary, the Madame was the embodiment of health, glowing in a way she hadn’t been before — the glow of a woman’s confidence. The Madame lived each day feeling growth and progress, the fulfillment of which could not be put into words. She was filled with hope for tomorrow. How could anyone like that not glow? The guards and servants only didn’t notice her change because they had seldom seen the Madame before.

“...Thank you for seeing me, Madame.”

White managed to conceal her shock and took her seat. Still, she could feel the pressure from the Madame. White’s honest reaction was that the already-intimidating Madame had evolved into someone even more troublesome. And White was indeed troubled, just for a moment, by that glow. The Madame didn’t miss the slightest indication of that, even though White herself hadn’t noticed.

“Aha ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, the Madame burst out laughing. Cackling, without even covering her mouth with her fan, forsaking any semblance of noble etiquette.

Even White couldn’t help but frown at the disrespect.

“What is so funny?”

“I never thought I’d see anything this hilarious in my lifetime. You’re jealous of me, little White. Even though everyone from here to the Northern

Nations knows of your beauty.”

“I-I would never...!”

“Yes, you are. I can tell... I’ve lived with jealousy that burns hotter than anyone else’s. That’s how I can tell.”

The Madame left no room for debate. In fact, White had felt a slight sense of envy for the Madame. The glow of a woman who lived each day with fulfillment, progression, and the satisfaction of having her hard work pay off was not to be underestimated.

“I’m not here to discuss something like that.”

“Really? It was already worth the trip for me. Much more than that, in fact.”

Even the Madame, notorious for being hard to please, was ecstatic today. The last time she had felt this much joy was when she first set foot into the salt sauna. White, the sole object of the Angels’ blessings, jealous of her? The Madame wanted to roll on the floor and bang her hands on it in excitement. White watched the Madame’s excitement with a cute little squint as she started the conversation:

“I invited you today, Madame, so that we may converse about the man known as the Demon Lord, heart to heart.”

“Oh...”

With this, the Madame’s attitude changed. She hadn’t expected the conversation to go in this direction.

“Please be frank. How do you see him, Madame?”

“Let me think...”

The gears in the Madame’s head were turning as she perceptively picked up on White’s tone. There was no animosity towards the Demon Lord when White spoke of him.

“I have a few theories, but it’s hard to describe him concisely.”

The Madame put off answering the question, a bit ceremoniously. It wasn’t that she was teasing White, but she was just following the custom of noble society. Even the blunt Madame didn’t dive right into confessing all of her thoughts when it came to an important topic.

“Let me ask you something in return, little Wh— aghhh!?”

Now the Madame shouted in astonishment. White had placed the Angel’s Ring, which she had kept hidden in her pocket, on top of her head. The Madame’s eyes widened and her body trembled at the halo’s divine light.

“W-What is that...!? I know the Angels spoiled you, but that’s just not fair! How much must you mock mortal womanhood!?” the Madame shouted, bearing her emotions.

It was ridiculous to the Madame that, on top of all of her blessings, White now had an angel’s halo on her head. It seemed like White was striding over with ease the steps that the Madame and other women were struggling to climb.

“You should have an idea, Madame, about who could possibly bestow an Angel’s Ring to a human.”

White’s collected tone quieted the Madame like a bucket of cold water. An Angel’s Ring... Who could bestow such a thing? The Madame considered the answer and controlled her emotions. After a few deep breaths, she responded as calmly as she could.

“Yes, I have an idea... I’m sure of it now, in fact.”

“I see. Perhaps you and I have drawn similar conclusions, Madame.”

With that, a prolonged silence filled the room. If that conclusion was to be made the official opinion of Holylight, that would cause quite the commotion. It was chilling to imagine how, not only the people of Holylight, but the Tzardom of Light would react. That was a nation that worshiped the Great Light. Naturally, it would become a national mission for them to hunt down a rebel against their deity.