Watching Irina sink into her own religious delusion, Xenovia thought about the "abstract" painting her friend had bought. She took a deep breath, deciding not to argue with the idiot. Irina had grown up in the Church; she was as pure as a white lily and just as easily scammed. If she wasn't a world-class warrior, she'd probably have been sold into a brothel by now.
"So that's why you went to Issei's for lunch," Ethan laughed. "You guys are broke."
Irina looked at her toes—or tried to, but her massive tits blocked the view. She whispered, "We don't know how long we'll be here... a free meal is a free meal..."
"You can stay here until the mission is over," Ethan offered. "Meals included."
He wasn't going to let this chance slip. Xenovia was a natural-born Holy Sword wielder with a unique lineage, and Irina was a busty, airheaded fanatic—both were perfect additions to his collection.
"Thank you," Xenovia said bluntly.
Irina opened her mouth to argue, but the thought of a hot shower and a soft bed won her over. She had spent the previous night "meditating" to ignore the grime on her skin.
As the talk of sex subsided for the moment, Ethan gave them the keys to their room. "Dinner is at seven on the first floor. Don't be late."
Ethan left them and found Yuuki in the courtyard, practicing her swordplay.
"Yuuki."
"Ethan? Is there news?"
"Not yet, my girls are fast, but not that fast. Listen, I talked to Xenovia about the Holy Sword Project. You shouldn't hate the swords. They're just metal. You should hate the man who did this to you."
"I don't even know who he is," Yuuki sighed, her magic sword vanishing into sparks. "They told us the project leaders were punished."
"They lied," Ethan said. "The man who led the experiments, the one who treated you and your friends like disposable garbage, is named Valper Galilei."
"Valper Galilei..." Yuuki's mind filled with flashes of pain and white lab coats.
"He was an Archbishop. He's a genius in his own twisted way. He figured out how to extract 'Holy Sword Factors' from children. That's how Irina became a wielder—she was injected with factors taken from others. But unlike your experiment, the Church now has a way to do it without killing the donor."
Ethan explained that Valper had "defected" and become a Stray Exorcist. "He's working with the Fallen Angels now. He wants to use Kuoh as a testing ground to forge a new Excalibur. He's the one behind the theft."
"Is he still alive?" Yuuki's voice was cold with fury.
"He is. And he's coming here. If we find him, you can have your revenge."
Revolving his plan around killing Valper Galilei effectively replaced Yuuki's obsession with destroying the swords. Now, she had a face to put her hatred on. But Ethan knew—once he turned Yuuki back into a woman and spent a few nights "cultivating" with her, her heart would be far too full of him to care about old metal swords anymore.