Although she was curiously asking about the name of the person beside Jane, Syl was actually thinking about how to quickly complete tasks and become stronger.
Jane did not notice Syl's absent-mindedness at the moment. She scratched her cheek and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um... it's just today..."
Perhaps because she had made a mistake, Jane stuttered a bit when speaking, seemingly too embarrassed to reveal the foolish thing she had done.
Vera, standing beside her, interrupted Jane directly and introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Vera, Saintess of Wisdom. If you don't mind, you can just call me Vera."
"Hello, I'm Syl." Syl greeted Vera with a smile and then asked, "What brings you to see me, Vera?"
"I wanted to ask why you would give Jane such advice," Vera said straight to the point, "Publishing it in the newspaper, borrowing the Joker's blade to kill Frank."
Syl tilted her head, seemingly not understanding why she had come to find her over this.
Then, Syl's pure, light blue pupils shifted slightly to look at Jane.
It was as if she were asking, "How could you sell me out?"
Jane could not resist this gaze that held a hint of grievance at all. She raised her hands in surrender and said with a mournful face, "I really didn't sell you out! It's just that Vera is too cunning. I tried my best not to say anything, but she still guessed it..."
Vera, standing to the side, shook her head and said, "Jane's movement patterns are not hard to predict, especially since she has been wandering around the Ivisa District these past few days. How could it possibly escape the eyes of an Investigator?"
"It only required investigating who paid for the front page of the newspaper, and then connecting it to what she has been doing recently. Witnesses were effectively silenced by Frank, and existing laws cannot impose the death penalty on wealthy people like Frank. Given her personality, she certainly wouldn't let this matter pass."
"And Jane's brain certainly couldn't come up with this plan, so it must have been you, Her Highness Syl, who was acting with her... Why would you think of borrowing the Joker's blade to kill? Do you know her? This kind of behavior doesn't seem like something someone from the Church of Hope would do."
"I apologize for investigating these things without permission, but I hope you can give me an answer."
Vera explained her line of reasoning and then asked Syl the question directly at the end, though she used honorifics throughout, with no intention of pressuring her.
However, Syl could still tell that although this Vera in front of her looked somewhat detached, she seemed like a good person.
After all, in her previous words, Vera had still tried to excuse Jane's behavior of being tricked, taking the blame upon herself; it seemed she did not wish for her investigation to affect the friendship between Jane and Syl.
"What do you mean my brain couldn't come up with something like this?!" Jane, standing to the side, seemed to bristle at this. She flung her cloak aside, extended her right hand, and pointed at Vera, saying, "You explain yourself clearly! Otherwise, don't even think about leaving this door!"
Watching Jane's puffing, angry appearance, Syl pursed her lips, forcing herself to maintain a lady-like expression, keeping her face straight.
Vera glanced at Jane indifferently and said calmly, "Because you look like a smart person, so you wouldn't think of such an irrational plan."
"Huh? Is that so?" Jane was stunned for a moment. She retracted her hand into her cloak in embarrassment, nodded, and agreed, "Indeed."
"Pfft—" Although Syl covered her mouth quickly, she still couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Thanks to Jane; she was probably the only one who could make her laugh just after learning that she was about to be in trouble.
"What are you laughing at?" Jane looked at Syl with some curiosity.
"Nothing, I thought of something happy." Syl took a breath to calm herself down, then smiled and pointed to the round table nearby, saying, "Let's sit and talk."
"Thank you." Vera nodded politely and sat in the seat opposite Syl.
As for Jane, she naturally sat in the seat between the two and began to look around Syl's room with curiosity, seemingly unconcerned about what they were going to discuss.
"So, Her Highness Syl, could you answer my question from before? Time is quite tight... Just as we were arriving, the parade in Ibiza had already reached the police station entrance."
After everyone was seated, Vera continued her previous line of questioning directly, appearing quite focused on efficiency.
This time, Syl finally shifted her attention from thinking about the position of Saintess to the current situation.
She... seemed to have had her motives suspected? Also, a parade? Had the crowd gathered this quickly?
Syl only then realized belatedly that the current situation did not allow her to be careless.
"Uh..." Syl repeated the question, "You are asking why I gave Jane this suggestion, and whether I know the Joker?"
Syl asked this in return just to give herself a little more time to think and deliberate; this was also a common negotiation stalling technique.
...What now? Do I know the Joker? How could I not know myself? But I can't say that.
But if she couldn't explain it clearly, she might really have her secrets uncovered by the sharp-witted Vera sitting before her.
She couldn't very well say she had deduced it from the newspaper, could she? Even if she had deduced it, why would a Saintess of Hope do something like borrowing a blade to kill?
Say she hadn't anticipated this consequence? Forget it; that would be no different from exposing herself.
Syl rested her right index finger against her chin, her face still maintaining a smile, while making an unconscious "Hmm—" sound, seemingly organizing her words.
This gesture, leaning towards that of a young girl, was something Syl had put on deliberately; nothing else, just to stall for time and, incidentally, leave an "harmless" impression.
Gradually, Syl had an idea... To completely distance herself from people like the Joker, she had to take an unconventional path.
Syl opened her eyes, her gaze becoming serious, and her whole person seemed to be illuminated by holy light—in reality, it was just that there was a window behind Syl, and it was noon, with the sun shining brightly.
Syl spoke softly, "I have a dream."
This seemingly sudden utterance made Vera's brows furrow slightly; she wasn't quite sure what Syl was planning to say.
As for Jane, she also stopped looking around and turned back to look at Syl, her eyes filled with some curiosity. A dream—this was a word rarely mentioned after growing up.
"The people of Ibiza have suffered oppression for too long. Their participation in the parade and rally today is proof of that. Because of the insane exploitation and unequal wages, they simply have no qualification to even look upward..."
"...In the present and the future, I still have a dream. This dream is deeply rooted in Ibiza."
"I dream that one day, people will awaken and share the same creed as me: 'All men are created equal'."
"I dream that one day, in the classrooms of the White Rose District, the children of former Ibiza laborers will be able to sit together with the sons of former Factory Owners, sharing in brotherly camaraderie."
"I dream that one day, even the Ivisa District, a place where justice is hidden and oppression is the norm, will be transformed into an oasis of hope and justice."
"... I dream that one day, the valleys will rise, the mountains will descend, the rough and winding roads will become smooth, and the holy light will shine forth, illuminating the world, regardless of status."
"And I believe... that justice and fairness are like the waves of the sea, surging and rolling forward. I believe that the people of Ibiza can achieve this; I saw this in their longing for the Joker."
"So I was thinking... to stir up a struggle, to let everyone see the cries of the people of Ibiza; this might be the only remedy to change the current state of oppression in Ibiza."
Syl looked at the two dazed young women before her, narrowed her eyes slightly, and performed a ritual of the Church of the Goddess of Hope with her hands in front of her chest.
"... Darkness and oppression will eventually fade away, and light and hope will return to Ibiza—may the Goddess be with them."
After these words fell, the room fell into silence.