=== Alear & Chloé === --- C --- [Alear] ... [Chloé] Hehehe, you're so adorable when you sleep, Divine One. [Alear] Huh?! [Chloé] Oh, good morning. Did I wake you? [Alear] Were you watching me sleep? Again?! [Chloé] Yes. Sorry about that. [Alear] You should just leave me be if I nod off while I'm sitting outside. [Alear] It's unnerving to wake up on your own and find someone staring at you. [Chloé] Oh, I never mean to do that, Divine One. [Chloé] But you slept for a thousand years, just like a character from a fairy tale. [Chloé] Your sleeping form is so heavenly that I can't help staring at it. [Alear] I get that. But I still must have been a ridiculous sight, sleeping here of all places. [Chloé] Oh, no! Not at all. [Chloé] But I have a compromise in mind. Hear me out. [Chloé] If I'm always there when you wake up, maybe you'll get used to it and it won't be so startling. [Chloé] All we'd have to do is set up an extra bed for me in your chamber. [Alear] Nope! Not doing that! [Chloé] Oh dear. Shot down... --- B --- [Chloé] You slept for a thousand years. [Chloé] And when you woke, you were thrust into battle against the forces of evil. [Chloé] You're the absolute picture of a fairy-tale hero! [Alear] Uh...am I? [Chloé] Oh yes. One doesn't meet people as extraordinary as you every day. [Chloé] Yours is not the average person's life. You are fated for exhilaration and excitement! [Chloé] Oh, how I wish it were mine... [Alear] I don't know... [Chloé] What? Why not? [Alear] There are many burdens I must bear, and while I don't regret this life... [Alear] You're absolutely right that my days will never be considered average. [Alear] Sometimes, average seems like it might not be so bad. [Chloé] Oh. I'm really sorry about that. I was just so swept up in my own desire for a fairy-tale life... [Chloé] I didn't stop to consider how someone already living one might feel. [Alear] You don't have to apologize, Chloé. I know you didn't mean anything by it. [Chloé] I still feel a little guilty, though. [Chloé] Oh, I know! I'll bring you a special, delicious treat as an apology. [Chloé] There's this rare, pickled, deep-sea fish I've been into. It's sour enough to knock you flat! [Chloé] I'll go fetch some right now. You're gonna love it! [Alear] No need! Really! I'm getting queasy enough just picturing it! --- A --- [Alear] You know, I've noticed how often you bring up your wish to live a fairy-tale life... [Chloé] Uh-huh. I've wanted that for myself ever since I was a child. [Chloé] I was born into a noble family. Everything in my life was planned out for me by my parents. [Chloé] My role as a noble daughter was to get married and then devote myself to my partner's family. [Chloé] They wouldn't even let me eat the street food I love so much. [Chloé] It wasn't ordinary for a noble girl. I hated every part of that life. [Alear] I had no idea. [Chloé] The life I wanted for myself was free, thrilling, and very out of the ordinary. [Alear] I didn't mean to stir up so many painful memories, Chloé. [Chloé] Oh, it's OK. They're just memories. And my dream came true when I got to be a knight. [Chloé] Meeting Princess Céline─and you─let me live the kind of life I always fantasized about. [Chloé] Isn't fighting alongside the Divine Dragon and the royal family better than any fairy tale? [Alear] When you put it like that, you might be right. [Chloé] I wonder if they'll tell stories about this war someday. [Alear] It's certainly possible. And when they do... [Alear] I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up as a major character in them. [Chloé] What?! I...never thought about that. But it's a nice idea! [Chloé] I must become the kind of virtuous knight little kids aspire to be when they hear the story. [Alear] You're already well on your way there, Chloé. [Chloé] Haha, thanks, Divine One. --- S --- [Alear] I think you've been rubbing off on me, Chloé. [Chloé] I have? How? [Alear] Just like you wish for a fairy-tale life, I've been thinking about a dream life of my own. [Chloé] Well, I think that's wonderful! [Chloé] Now that you have an idea of what your dream is, you can start to make it real. [Alear] It might not be that simple. [Alear] There are parts of this dream I can't fulfill by myself. [Chloé] What else do you need? [Alear] You, Chloé. [Chloé] Me?! [Alear] When I think about the life I want after the war, it feels hollow if you're not in it somewhere. [Alear] And if you're the hero of your own fairy tale, I want to be your supporting character. [Chloé] Oh my goodness... [Alear] If you feel the same way, then I hope you'll accept this gift. [Alear] I saved it just for you. [Chloé] This is the Pact Ring... [Alear] You were right when you said that mine is not the average person's life. [Alear] And it may be a lot to ask for you to share in that life, knowing it won't be ordinary. [Alear] But I had to know. [Chloé] You had only to ask, . [Chloé] I never wanted an ordinary life. The chance to see myself in your story... [Chloé] I can't think of a happier ending than that. [Alear] Well? [Chloé] Of course I'll wear the ring. And I'll be right there, building your dream along with you. [Alear] Thank you, Chloé. [Chloé] Today is the opening chapter of the tale of the Divine One and me. A story for the ages!