They also walked off to their rooms and left me alone. It was a reasonable response. I did not know what they would do going forward, but I had to be ready. Going back to my room, I saw Chat in front of my door. "I don't know why you ran from the island if you were not the Devil we were looking for." I shrugged and said "I saw Chien fight the assassin and helped him. There night have really had been a Devil, but it was the war that let them thrive. It was also clear after running into Souris that I had to flee myself." He narrowed his eyes and I had to tell him about the night he came for me. I left out the fact that I killed him in the crypt. Chat still looked upset. "They didn't deserve to die like that. It seems that there are even fewer of us as time goes on. I thought the final test was bad enough." He then took a deep breath and released it. I did not see any of them look this tired before. "Now that even Florian is after you, you're a goner." he said. I assumed that was Agent XVIII. "Canan, do you... want me to comfort you one last time? It won't be too difficult to get it over with." he offered with a blank expression.
Knowing what Souris was capable of, I declined. Confusion sparked on his face for a brief moment before he quashed it. "Do you prefer Chien, then? I can tell you now that I'm not worse than him." he said as he leaned in to me. "I know that you don't like what I did. If you really don't like it, you don't have to push yourself to do something you don't want to do. That was the genuine thing I wanted for you four." Chat looked down as he took my hands and put them on his ass. "You don't have a right to say something like that. You might not be a Devil, but you were the one who make us think we needed to leave the island. We could have done our jobs if we did not know that our Master was lying." he said as he pressed me against the wall. Chat the nuzzled his head against my chest. I was certain that he was up to something now. There was no way to overpower him so I just looked away and down the hall. "Is knowing that painful? Being here couldn't be that horrible." Chat said "You do not get to tell us that. Let me comfort you." I said "Maybe after tomorrow. The funeral is still in progress."
He had to back off at that and said "In two days. We can end this then." "Why did you just say 'end this then'? Are you going somewhere after you comfort me?" I asked him. He looked at me and said "You'll see when we get there and I'm done." It was set in stone. He was going to do the seal thing after fucking me. I still had some time to get some distance from him. Because of Souris, I was probably the only one alive that knew that they could do something like that. That was blessing for both of us. If he really tried that, I would have to kill him. Killing him would mean killing them all. There was no way the others would take Chat's death lying down and with no acts of retribution. I went to my room and sat at my table until morning. In the morning, I got dressed and I waited in the main hall. Everyone came from their rooms to join me to walk. We slowly waked in silence to the church again. The coffin was now closed. The bells around the city rang and the mayor addressed the crowd in the street. He gave a generic speech about warriors and heroes. It was then my turn to speak to the crowd.
I kept it centered on the good. "I want Sir Daniel to be remembered for the young man willing to help those in need. I was forced to flee my home on false charges and he was the only one I could count on to see me safely pass into safety. He was a crucial ally in rescuing several children in a crypt. We crushed the hold the bandits had over the countryside of Sacrilmon. We smashed the evil intentions of religious zealots bent on destruction. His body was scarred for his bravery. He was killed for his helping others. I can honestly call him a friend and I was lucky to have known him. Thank you Daniel." I said. I then left the podium. Glenda went up and gave a terse commendation on the fighting he had done for the order. Father Joy and Sister Greta also had some nice things to say. After that there were no more people willing to speak. It was then time for the procession. The clergy all went in front. The six squires that brought him, now knights, were in full armor and picked up the coffin. The mayor was next followed by Glenda and I. The Protectors were behind us. After them were the other paladins.
An epic orchestral version of Astronomia began to play. It was the bards of the city supplying the music. We then went through the streets from the church to the noble crypt a mile and a half outside of the city. When we finally laid him to rest, we could do whatever we pleased. I knew going into it that NPCs could not be truly revived once dead. At best, they would be undead. I could go on without him, but seeing the finality of this was depressing. It was if I would actually miss him. As I walked back into the city I was stopped by five girls. "Are you Sir Canan Hawks?" one wearing all back asked. "How wants to know?" I demanded. I heard a familiar voice and I turned to see a Protector with a XI tattoo. I drew my sword and said "Who the hell are you!?" He raised his arms and said "I am Protector- Special Ops Agent 11, Guy. These are five members of the now exiled Protector- Black Ops. We fled as soon as we were purged. Garrison leader Sir Daniel told us you could help." I groaned and looked them over. "Yeah. Follow me. I'll help you alright." It was in Daniel's final letter to me so I had to do it for him.
