"Was your nun of the Thirteenth Order?"
Sister Belen lowered her head and asked softly. Shade shook his head.
"No, she wasn't a demon—I mean, she was only of the Twelfth Order.
But she said she was close to advancing to the Thirteenth Order. Just now, I recognized at a glance that you were a Fire-Bearing Sister. The Mithril Blindfold passed down from the ancient Death Cult was still passed down among Fire-Holding Sisters even in my era, and even your style of dress is very similar."
Shade was trying to say that the lineage of the "Fire-Bearing Sisters" had never been severed, but Sister Belen showed no reaction to his answer. She merely kept her head lowered and continued following him forward.
They had already examined Miss Liard's gravestone. To avoid retracing their steps and wasting time, they headed in the opposite direction this time.
The gravestones in this direction were somewhat sparser than those in the previous one, but that was not a bad thing, since it allowed them to walk a little faster.
Shade was actually interested in the short candles atop the gravestones, which seemed as though they would never change, as well as the battered Kerosene Lamps before a few of them.
Those scattered points of flame were so fascinating in this wasteland, but instinct told him it would be best not to touch fires that did not belong to him.
Sister Belen continued her questioning:
"May I ask, how did your nun meet you? Or did you seek her out for power?"
Thinking of the past in Middlesburg, Shade could not help but smile as he swept his gaze across the surrounding gravestones.
"That was many years ago.
Back then, I was still immature. I went to the city where she lived to rescue