It seems the Central Nations have made their move.
We believe they are planning a Third Crusade,
in order to revive the church's flagging influence.
The White Night King, the one man the Centrals could influence,
was essentially dethroned after his disastrous loss.
And then the heroic Winter King appeared,
swaying the people to his side,
just as they produce more food than needed thanks to the Crimson Scholar
Finding their guard dog off its chain, the church must be panicking.
What do we do?
If we're going to do anything as the Alliance,
we must first form a new Council of Ten.
Which means...
I'm coming in.
A diplomat from the Ice Country is here.
Chapter 9
I Am Human
Would you be willing to help us?
Me?
You hail from the Bard Country,
where dance and flowery words rule all, making you perfect.
What would you like me to do?
I want you to stop whatever the current Council of Ten is doing,
and find some information for me.
If you need help, he'll provide it.
Wait, me again?
So basically,
you're attempting to buy time?
Yes.
I will not ask for victory, only time.
Does the same not go for your teacher, the Crimson Scholar?
I accept.
My only skills are dancing and spreading rumors, though.
No, the place we're headed is a battlefield all its own.
Yes, I know.
But I can definitely say
that I will not die with a puzzled look on my face there.
You're lying!
The Crimson Scholar can't be a heretic!
It's pretty crazy down there.
Some of them are saying she's a goddess.
The peasants all love her.
That really is the truth.
Whenever my sister and I walk down the road,
everyone smiles and waves...
"Look at all the potatoes we harvested this spring."
"This fall, we're raising plenty of wheat."
Offering us berries,
or giving us eggs to take back...
Or even quails.
There was never a day when our table was without some gift from them.
They were all wonderful people, and they loved us.
"Take good care of the Scholar," they would say.
"She's done so much for us,
but we can't do anything for her."
I see.
Sometimes, they'd bring a baby,
and let me touch its little hand that's like a little leaf.
"So that it would be smart and kind like you."
I was a mere serf.
But they called me important because I served the Scholar.
It's a nice place.
Everyone's doing what they can to help each other.
It's sad to say goodbye...
We should get going.
I should get going, too.
As leader of the Lakeside Convent,
having to listen to some slick-tongued messenger's lecture annoys me.
Don't be afraid.
You don't need to worry about anything.
The Hero will save you.
Yes.
We'll see each other again.
I'm off, too.
I'll keep an eye on the surrounding area.
Okay.
Um... I...
Nothing.
Okay.
Just wait, and have faith.
Right.
Why...
Why am I...
...so powerless?
I can't do anything...
There are many of them.
Yes...
The peasants of the surrounding villages have come in force.
I hope nothing will happen.
The Messenger will be here soon.
I'll post more guards.
Look at that!
The King!
No,
our King couldn't be so pale and seedy.
Then that's the Messenger?
He works for whoever is calling the Scholar a heretic?
The King...
The King is here!
Everyone!
Thank you for coming.
You've brought her as promised, yes?
Of course.
We'll turn her over to you.
The Scholar...
It really is the Scholar!
Surely, this is she.
You won't be able to fool us with a double.
That would be inconceivable.
It seems this is she, indeed.
Arrest her!
The church thanks you for your cooperation.
I'm sure you must be pleased that we have found
no connection between you and the heretic.
Indeed.
People of the Winter Country!
Look well!
She is a servant of the demons!
Align yourselves with her, and her fate awaits you.
We'll take her to the Capital.
Yes.
Scholar...
Scholar, you couldn't be a heretic, right?
Look at all that blood...
She'll die!
Why are they hitting my sister?
On your hands and knees!
Please control yourself, sir.
Innocent girl, I am sorry.
Someday, the world will have to atone for what it's done to you.
Look at the disobedience in her eyes.
They are the eyes of a heretic.
The servant of the demons, who disobeys
the Light Spirit's teachings, has something to say?
I...
As one who has a soul like your own,
I have something I must tell you.
I was...
I was born as a serf.
I was the third of seven siblings.
My brother broke his arm in the fields,
weakened, and was left to die.
One night, the land owner summoned my sister,
and she never returned.
On a clear winter morning,
my youngest brother went cold, and failed to wake from his slumber.
Another sibling caught smallpox.
I was powerless.
Only my sister and I survived.
And then, while we were on the run, we were given a chance...
It always seemed like fate,
but something troubled me...
For so long...
Fate was warm and kind to me...
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
But, everyone...
Nobles!
Soldiers!
Pioneers!
And serfs!
I must reject it,
even after all it's done for me.
I must reject it because of all it's done for me.
Because I am human!
I still doubt myself.
"The blood in your veins is that of a filthy serf."
"You're just an insect, less than human."
That is why
I must declare
that I am human.
Because I believe the first step to being human is to say you are.
Have you ever felt a warmth in your heart?
Like the summer sun on your cheeks,
and when you close your eyes, you can still feel its blessings?
Do you ever find happiness in simple acts of kindness?
That is the proof that you are human,
the Light Spirit's beloved children!
Enough!
H-Heretic!
It doesn't matter whether I'm a heretic.
As a human...
As one to whom Winter's Passage Village has given so much...
I speak to my brethren.
Everyone, you must never stop wishing, hoping, thinking, and working!
With her miracles, the Light Spirit brought life to humanity.
And with the earth's blessings, she brought us wealth.
And with her soul's fragments, she brought us freedom!
Freedom?
That's right.
The freedom to do better than you do now.
To be better than you are now.
The Spirit did not create us as perfectly good.
She gave us the freedom to keep trying to be better, every day.
Because that brings us joy...
So don't relinquish that, just to make things easier.
The Spirit's gifts are holy treasures!
Not even the King,
or the church, can take them from you!
Heretic,
close your mouth!
I will not!
I am human.
I will never surrender those treasures again!
I won't return to being an insect!
No matter how much pain they bring,
I won't return to that haze of darkness...
Because there is light!
Because they were kind to me.
S-Stone this heretic whore!
What are you doing?
Anyone who refuses to stone her is an enemy of the church!
Throw them if you wish!
Perhaps you must,
to protect yourself and your family in this cold world.
I will not blame you for that.
The freedom to choose also belongs to you, as a human.
I will shed blood in equal measure to that which is flowing in your heart!
But if you would stone me because someone else has ordered it,
then you are an insect!
You are an insect,
without a will of your own, who has given the Spirit's precious gifts to another,
and has ceased to think!
No matter how much peace that brings you,
anyone who abandons those treasures becomes an insect.
I despise insects.
I refuse to become one.
I...
I am human!
S-Stop it!
Throw the rocks at the filthy whore!
Stop this,
you disgusting, brainless serfs and peasants.
You are all enemies of the church!
What are you doing, Winter King?
Arrest them all!
Guards,
her heresy is clear.
Cut off her head at once!
No!
I'm sorry, Hero.
You asked me to leave it in your hands, but I could not.
Head Maid...
I never got the chance...
But may I call you "teacher"?
Kill her!
There is no need.
Can you stand?
What are you doing?
I am the king of this nation!
Until now, I've been under the yoke of the Central Nations.
I thought I knew the pain, suffering, and disgust of that fact.
But it seems that, at heart, I had become an insect.
To be shown this by such a young girl...
I am ashamed of myself.
I had no idea such pride dwelt in the hearts of my people.
King...
You...
Messenger!
As a servant of the Light Spirit, your actions shame me.
As do the actions of the church.
"You must master your sinful nature,"
said the Light Spirit.
The freedom to sin
is another gift we have been given.
D-Do you know what you're saying?
I declare, here and now, that my country extends
its protection to the Crimson Scholar!
The Lakeside Convent
hereby recognizes her as a saint!
The King protected the Scholar!
She wasn't a heretic, after all...
The nun said she's a saint!
Our Scholar is a saint!
Get lost!
Go back to your own country!
Leave, Messenger.
I'm sure this is all part of your plan,
but we will meet again under different circumstances.
For now, leave.
I'll get you back for this, you nation of blasphemers.
Don't think you'll be allowed to exist,
having disobeyed the Light Spirit's children, the Central Church!
Honestly...
Why has my seal eye gazed upon this girl?
I am the one who shall rule all the world eventually...
What is it trying to tell me?
I told you to wait.
I'm sorry.
That really was amazing, though.
Words alone can make an entire army withdraw.
Before this hour, many lights have vanished.
In this big, tiny world...
Each time a light disappears, pain shoots through my body.
The blinking lights are birth and death.
Just as he and I had hoped, the world may be saved.
However,
I am sorry...
I'm sorry.
I am the one who tore the world asunder.
This sin cannot be forgiven.
The warmth of fingers combing black hair...
A long, long, time ago...
The words and caresses we shared,
wind from the sky on our cheeks.
When we meet again, what should I say to you?
What do I want you to say to me?
I can say but one thing now...
"Salvation to all people,
and eternal peace to all the world.
And if I can, I hope to see you again."
Next Chapter
There's more to this story than useless flesh!