Scout submitted his resignation with complete sincerity.
He didn't truly want to leave. He wanted to sacrifice himself to protect Rhodes Island—prevent a future where Sankta and Sarkaz clashed within its walls.
Amiya, however, smiled brightly.
"No, Mr. Scout. You're not allowed to retire."
"I still have your employment contract. You need to work for Rhodes Island for ten more years before you can resign. If you leave now, you'll have to compensate us for the loss."
"Considering what your next ten years of service are worth, I estimate the compensation would take you ten lifetimes to pay off. So please relax and continue working~"
Scout actually laughed bitterly. "My next ten years of contribution costs ten lifetimes to repay... what sort of logic is that? Are we really a heartless black-company?"
He'd ignored the jokes before.
But now it seemed Rhodes Island's darkest force was their own young leader—this fourteen-year-old child-labor rabbit was the most ruthless of all.
But jokes aside, Scout was serious.
"Listen, Amiya. Rhodes Island is an ark for the Infected, and I'm proud to be a knight of that ark."
"Here, young Sankta and Sarkaz can live peacefully together. They don't need to inherit the grudges of the past. They can build a new era."
"But someone like me can't."
He spoke with unshakable certainty.
"We're the lingering poison of history. We don't get the chance to wash our sins clean. Blaze and Ace—they still have more to offer Rhodes Island. But I've reached the end a bit earlier. I must answer for my past. Let me go."
"Mr. Scout..."
Amiya's eyes welled with grief, almost to the point of tears.
Then she steadied herself and pulled something small from her pocket.
Scout squinted—realizing it was a recorder.
Amiya pressed play. Scout heard his own voice from moments earlier:
"'Blaze and Ace can still serve Rhodes Island in their later years...'"
Amiya beamed. "Question time! If I play this for Blaze—what do you think will happen when she hears you grouped her age with Mr. Ace?"
"A. Mr. Scout is chainsawed cleanly at the waist."
"B. Mr. Scout is chainsawed into two neat halves."
"C. Mr. Scout is chainsawed into chunks and then cremated."
"All right, Mr. Scout, pick one! I'll do my best to persuade Blaze to choose whichever option you prefer!"
"...A... A... Amiya... y-you set me up!"
Scout's voice trembled pathetically.
Amiya laughed with pure, childish delight.
Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, she spoke gently:
"Mr. Scout, you're worrying too much. I'm truly grateful for your dedication to Rhodes Island. But please remember—Rhodes Island abandons no one. That is the true meaning of an ark."
"And it's also Mr. Lucian's belief."
She spoke as if she were talking about herself, her large eyes shining.
"I've spoken openly with Mr. Lucian. Even Doctor Kal'tsit has acknowledged him. You said the younger generation shouldn't bear the burden of old hatred, right?"
"But Mr. Lucian and I want to go further. We want to find a way to eliminate all of it."
It was still a childish thought—not even an ideal yet, just a dream.
The hatred between the Sankta and the Sarkaz ran too deep. No single person or two could erase it.
And Terra was one tightly bound whole. No nation, no organization, no political power would sit quietly while the world shifted beneath them.
And Rhodes Island wasn't a shelter only for these two races, but for all of Terra.
"...Impossible."
Even after the shock, common sense won out in Scout's mind. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Forget the distant future. Right now—no matter how much you trust that Sankta called Lucian—can you guarantee everything he says is true?"
"Even if they are willing to coexist with Sarkaz peacefully... what about other high-ranking Sankta? The Faith of a Sankta binds them into one. If one war-class Sankta is here, then all war-class Sankta will know about Rhodes Island. Even if Lucian doesn't try to kill me—what about the others?"
Amiya scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Mm... that part is a bit difficult to explain."
She had promised Lucian she wouldn't reveal his secrets unless he wanted to.
But Scout absolutely refused to gamble with Rhodes Island's safety. He'd rather disappear himself than endanger the ark.
I'm sorry, Lucian! Forgive me this once!
Amiya apologized inwardly, resolving to call him "big brother" every time they were alone from now on to make it up to him.
So she said:
"Mr. Scout... do you know about the Holy Son of the Sankta?"
"...! Amiya, where did you hear that?"
Scout tensed immediately.
He had fought in the Sarkaz civil war. Killed countless enemies and allies alike. He had even faced war-class Sankta head-on.
He had witnessed the Divine Punishment Weapon—a tool capable of killing any Infected in a single strike.
Unease washed over him.
"After that weapon appeared, rumors about the 'White-Crowned Holy Son' spread across the battlefield. But that's just superstition—like the Sarkaz myth of the Black-Crowned Demon King... Amiya, why bring this up?"
"What if I told you Mr. Lucian is that Holy Son?"
—Thud. Thud. Thump!
Scout shot to his feet, voice cracking.
"Impossible! It's just a legend! And the Divine Punishment Weapon can't actually be 'divine blood'—it's just propaganda!"
"If something that absurd were true, the Sankta would have already wiped out every—"
"The only reason the Sankta didn't exterminate all Sarkaz... is because Mr. Lucian stopped them."
Amiya smiled peacefully.
"Please believe me, Mr. Scout. Mr. Lucian is the genuine Holy Son. But he isn't only the Holy Son of the Sankta. His ideals are the same as Rhodes Island's—he exists for all of Terra."
"If you label him just because he appears in the legends of the Sankta, and assume he'll act exactly as they say... then you'd be no different from those who discriminate against the Infected."
"Mr. Scout, this world shouldn't run on 'destiny.' Don't you think so?"
Scout fell silent.
The battle-hardened Sarkaz veteran was overwhelmed by the tiny rabbit's compassion and vision.
The truth Amiya revealed would take time to process.
But he had already accepted it.
She had spoken this far—he couldn't respond with ingratitude—
"...Wait!"
Scout suddenly leapt up again, startling Amiya.
This time he was even more frantic; his glasses nearly shattered.
"If Lucian really is the Holy Son, then we absolutely cannot let him meet one particular person! Didn't Doctor Kal'tsit prepare for this!? Why!?"
"Please calm down, Mr. Scout... who do you mean?"
Amiya was genuinely confused.
Kal'tsit had never mentioned anyone Lucian must not meet.
Scout nearly tore his mask off as he shouted:
"The one who joined Rhodes Island recently to treat her companion's Oripathy! The one in the medical department—the demon woman in black robes with white horns!"
"The Confessarius—Lady Shining!"