"Granted."
The Queen generously and kindly granted her beloved "daughter" the chance to speak with her friend.
"Thrud, stand down."
"By your command."
Thrud raised no objections, nor did she show any unwillingness to concede. After giving a slight bow, she backed away and returned to Scathach-Skadi's side.
Ophelia turned around, took a deep breath, and looked at Mash again.
"Mash Galahad."
"It has been a very long time since we last spoke face-to-face like this, hasn't it?"
".Yes, it has."
After a brief pause, Mash gave a slight nod.
"The last time was two years ago."
One year of the Incineration of Humanity, followed by another year.
It had indeed been two years.
"It has been a long time, Miss Ophelia."
Removing the visor-like head-mounted radar from her eyes and looking directly at Ophelia with her own, Mash's body trembled once more.
But her gaze swiftly regained its resolve.
"I have always wanted to speak with you as well. About Chaldea after that, and the journey to restore humanity. About who I was before, and who I became after."
"And... you Crypters."
She shut her eyes in pain.
"Now that I think about it, I truly never spoke properly with any of you. I only stated my opinions when the situation called for it, and I was even stingy when it came to expressing my own emotions."
"But now, things are different."
Letting out a forceful breath, Mash gathered herself.
"The person I am now is completely different from who I was before. In many ways, I have been taught by many people."
"I came to understand the meaning of my existence, the reason to continue existing, and the purpose for which I exist. Good and evil, ethics, humanity—I learned what these things were meant to be."
".This was