The church was very quiet. Only Marlena was there with him.
"She really had grown old," Chen Xuan said softly.
Joan of Arc's dazzling golden hair had turned gray-white, and deep, ravine-like wrinkles lined her forehead and the corners of her eyes. She had also taken off the armor that had almost never left her body and changed into plain linen clothes. She had worn this outfit back when she concealed her identity and lived as a village woman tending cattle in the mountains. It was clear that she felt little resistance toward that part of her life. Instead, she regarded the end of her natural lifespan as another retreat into seclusion.
"I still don't believe gods exist... but at this moment, I hope her god will accept her." Marlena clasped her hands together and prayed for her.
"I suppose... you must be the Your Excellency Divine Envoy who brought the miracles Joan spoke of?"
Suddenly, a weathered voice sounded behind them.
Chen Xuan turned around and saw an elderly woman speaking. She leaned on a cane, her entire body shrouded in a black robe. It took him several seconds of scrutiny to realize that it was the standard robe of the Witches' Assembly. She was also a witch.
"Lady Joy!" Marlena cried softly, placing a hand over her chest in salute.
Who? Chen Xuan could not recall her for a moment.
However, he noticed that she had not used an honorific when referring to Joan, and her tone carried a certain intimacy.
"My name is Aidal Joy, leader of the Witches' Assembly... at least, until today." The old woman introduced herself. "You look exactly like the statue... no matter how many years pass, you remain as radiant as ever."
Chen Xuan immediately remembered. Of the three statues standing outside