Transcendent Hati

'Though I've transformed like a butterfly, my heart remains unchanged!'

Brought forth from the Divine Body 'Womb,' she concealed the name of 'Plague'—one of the Four Calamities—beneath the surname 'Ganelon.' She knew she didn't belong here, yet couldn't recall where her true homeland lay; she didn't know where to go, nor who her real self was.

But her father's hand-sewn cloak caressed her cheeks, her brother's gift of Wolfsbane rustled in her bag, and Sheila's bloodline flowed through her veins... These cherished mementos wrapped around her more warmly than any armor.

—Home was never just a place on the continent; it exists wherever cherished memories gather.

—She has always been that little girl from the Lupine Forest, and Hati Ganelon has never changed.

Hati has disappeared.

While searching for her, I learned that many alchemists were gathering in Mouret, seeking mushrooms rumored to cure the Black Blood disease. But if they reopened the sealed grounds, the Black Blood would spread once again.

Yet when I arrived at the forbidden area, besides the dead alchemists on the ground, there was another figure—

Hati, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, unconscious among the flowers outside the forbidden grounds.

Hati didn't find Clive. Instead, she was once again protected by that mysterious person.

Perhaps it was revenge for the deaths of those alchemists that led to Hati being targeted. When I found her, she had only minor scratches, but on the alchemists' bodies, I saw familiar fatal wounds.

Unlike before, however, the being protecting Hati left words written in blood on the ground: 'Don't look for me.'

Even after I drove away the alchemists surrounding her, Hati continued to lie there pretending to be unconscious.

'The one who protects you didn't appear.'

'Maybe they knew you would save me, so they didn't come out.'

'There could be other reasons. For instance, did you do anything special before you lost consciousness?'

Hati fell unusually silent. After a long while, she finally spoke again, her voice hoarser than ever:

'I used... that Covenant power.'

When I entered Hati's room, the sight before me stirred something deep within—

The walls, floor, blankets, and table... every surface that could hold ink was covered with her messages of greetings and gratitude.

'Why... are you here?'

Facing her unease, I concealed my concern and calmly asked about her reasons for doing this.

Perhaps due to her continuous use of Covenant, she looked terribly worn, but I could see her usual stubbornness in her eyes:

'I'm waiting for his response!'