Shade fell silent for a few seconds, reaching out to rest a hand on the gravestone before him. A moment later, he carefully took the Youthful Immortality Leaf from his pocket. After examining it for a while, he asked:
"Sister Devlin, do you know what the Tree Father gave me within this leaf?"
"You said it was a Spirit Rune."
"Yes. Miracle—Envy."
Then he raised his head and held the leaf before his right eye. Sunlight illuminated every vein in the leaf. Golden light flowed along those veins, then entered Shade's eye and became part of his soul.
His Destiny Ring appeared behind him. Miracle—Envy, the third Spirit Rune of the ninth ring, was successfully obtained after Enlightenment—Ice and Snow and Whisper—Sword. Then the Dark Moon Grace that the owner of the gravestone before him had taught Shade also transformed into a thaumaturgy associated with this Spirit Rune.
Clearly, "Envy" was not one of Shade's Great Sins. Yet at this moment, facing Sister Belen's gravestone with Sister Devlin behind him, Shade felt that he completely understood what kind of sin it was. He also understood how two generations of sisters, separated by a thousand years, had each escaped this Great Sin.
Obtaining this Spirit Rune here truly gave him a sense that it had been "destined." Thus, Envy successfully became the ninth rune upon the Great Sin Chains. Shade did not even need to perform a ritual to add this sin, which did not belong to him, to it.
"Envy."
Sister Devlin softly repeated it. Shade withdrew his Destiny Ring and put the Youthful Immortality Leaf back into his pocket. He felt somewhat relieved, though only somewhat:
"When night falls, I'll use moonlight to make a bracelet. I'll need your help to put it back in the box and bury