The girl didn't say anything to Fenix when he gave her his condolences. All she did was nod in appreciation, and stare at the ground. A second later, she started walking again, and--of course--helping Fenix along. Thankfully, he changed the topic of conversation soon after.

Mayako nodded slightly. "Th-that's what a lot of people call him, yes . . ."

It actually wasn't a bad change of topics. Mayako loved discussing things like religion, philosophy, and literature--more than anything else, actually. Granted, this was still a really close topic to her father, so she continued to show rue, but Mayako was much more comfortable talking about this in detail.

"M-my father believed that-- that Saqin is a benevolent god, a-and . . . and it was almost k-kind of monotheistic, you know? Th-that he believed Saqin was the only god-- but . . . he saw him as a benevolent god. S-someone with a moral code th-that wanted people to be just and kind. He believed that there was a god out there that genuinely cared."

Whether or not that was the case, she might not ever know. The only facts she knew about Saqin Krynes Rasche came from books and testimony--biased, unreliable testimony--even in the cases of Eldridge Tsukimono and Etsu Hikane. People either loved him or hated him, enough in either case that all personal accounts from those that met Saqin (which may or may not even be true) were unfair, and difficult to find absolute truth in. The only common factor was a description of his appearance.

"Certainly a different point of view," Fenix noted. All he knew of Death were from legends he'd read; he'd never heard any believable accounts of meeting him, or any other god, for that matter.

He wasn't one to question others beliefs for the most part, but on an academic level he did have one question: "Why just him? Every legend I've read depicted him as one of three brothers."

Whether or not the gods actually existed was something of a moot point to Fenix; the artifacts he hunted for could be left behind by them or simply have had fables created around them, but they were valuable all the same.

Not that he'd ever found something even supposedly connected with Death...

"Mm," Mayako nodded, "It's a lot like other religions, l-like . . . have you ever heard of a religion th-that believes in a trinity th-that's . . . that's . . ."

An academic discussion was even better! Actually, it was the best sort of discussion she could get into. Mayako may have been only sixteen years old, but she was as effective as a full-fledged scholar when it came to philosophy and religion.

"Ohhhh, I knew it just a second ago." It took her a moment to remember, "Oh, r-right! Th-there's one faith th-that believes in something called the Holy Trinity--"the father, the son, and the holy spirit," b-but even then, they only see one supreme God. A-and other faiths see God a-and some k-kind of dark, antagonizing figure, l-like an underworld ruler, you know? I-it's a lot like that. Lucien a-and Ezekiel and Saqin are all acknowledged, a-and even the legends about Saqin a-and all his battles--but Saqin Krynes Rasche i-is the only one th-that's considered God. Lucien a-and Ezekiel a-are both dark antagonizing figures."

Fenix asked a question--and she gave him the most educated answer that she could, but her affinity for this subject had her saying a lot more than she would've on any other topic . . .

Fenix had indeed heard of the religion that worshiped the holy trinity, but knew very little about it; very few legends revolving around it associated it with any kind of treasure (at least none that left even the slightest suggestion they might actually exist or hinted at a possible earthly location) so he didn't know much more than the basics.

To find out that the church here had been similar, recognizing other beings of mystical power but ultimately declaring only Saqin as God (with capitalization) was a bit surprising, considering that the more common belief seemed to be that he was more or less equal in power to his brothers.

"Aha." He spend a few moments in thought before musing idly, "I wonder how a view like that came to be..." While it wasn't unusual to find people worshiping a deity usually considered evil, it was unusual to find them worshiping one but claiming he was actually the good deity. The kind of cults that worshiped them in the former case were (he believed) responsible at least in part for his mentor's distaste of religion...

Unaware that Mayako was the daughter of the founder of the church, Fenix had no idea that she might actually have an answer for him.

"Well, most legends h-have Saqin turning out t-to be the guardian of souls, r-right?" Mayako asked rhetorically, "D-Death is the ultimate judge; he decides wh-where we go when we die, right? O-or, at least . . ."

Mayako recalled conversations she'd had with Eldridge Tsukimono, conversations that shook her faith a little--but rather than breaking it entirely, helped to reshape her beliefs. Hers and her fathers faiths were similar, but different in many ways.

". . . he p-protects the dead, and passes them on. B-but . . . in all the legends, what do Lucien and Ezekiel do? Th-there are n-no old legends that we know of th-that depict them helping the dead in a-any way, you know? Ezekiel s-seems to have n-nothing to do with the dead in Heaven, a-and Lucien d-doesn't even deal with p-punishments of damned souls in Hell. From all th-the old legends, Saqin is the only one that actually does anything for mankind--a-and, if there's something out there that preys on lost souls, Saqin's protection w-would be much more valuable after death, you know? S-so . . . because Saqin i-is the only one that helps us at all, a-at least in all the old legends--th-the original legends, you know?--i-it's just . . . sensible, I think. E-even if Saqin isn't the nicest person in the world, like my father thought . . . h-he might be the only god that actually cares, you know?"

It was odd. Mayako didn't intend to sound preachy--and while she may have a little at times, she wasn't overall. It was, more than anything, a logical explanation behind how a religion could be founded on such a premise. When compared to other religions regarding Death . . . it actually made sense.

"I see..."

It was actually a valid, well thought out interpretation. Granted, Mayako had a bit of an advantage in that she knew someone who (probably) met Death, but Fenix didn't know that.

What he did know is that, for a teenager living in a small village, she was quite smart. But if the church had once been filled with literature, like the one he grew up in had, that wasn't entirely unexpected.

"I'm usually too busy searching for what they left behind to put to much thought into their nature," Fenix admitted. Not that he wasn't interested, but he felt a bit out of his league. It was an unusual feeling--normally he felt like the only one with any sense.

"I don't suppose Saqin left any ancient treasures around that you know about?" It was probably difficult to tell, as his inflection didn't really change, but it was Fenix's attempt at a joke...

Treasures? Why would a god leave treasures behind? Oh. It took Mayako a moment to realize that Fenix was joking--or, she at least had to presume that he was joking. It seemed it was going to be hard to tell with this guy.

"N-not exactly . . ." Mayako replied softly.

She didn't know if she was supposed to laugh or not--so she did neither, and instead smiled awkwardly. Fenix might have been serious, after all . . .

"W-well . . . not the kind of treasures that . . . th-that most people would call treasures, I think. A-and I don't think Saqin himself l-left them--b-but in a lot of legends, there are pieces missing, a-and whole stories missing a lot of the time, too! N-new slates can still be found, a-and archeologists a-and historians would p-probably pay a whooooole lot f-for just a few words, I think. Th-then they have to be translated and published. I . . . I've read a lot on it, a-and it seems like new developments c-come in every year. Why do you ask?"

Why do you ask?

Fenix stopped, turned towards Mayako, and stared blankly for a few moments. It was true he was mostly joking, but if there really was something, he'd be interested, after all.

I never told her what I do for a living? He thought he'd mentioned it as some point--or had that been to Emma? Or did he just think he did? He knew he talked about the orphans he helped take care of, but perhaps he never mentioned how he and Zach earned their income.

"I guess I forgot to mention it. I'm a treasure hunter," he informed her.

"A . . . treasure hunter?" Mayako asked if she initially didn't believe him.

She did, though. Stranger things in her life had happened, all generally because of much stranger jobs. Compared to ome of the people she had met, a job as a treasure hunter actually seemed kind of tame. But it also had its merits, too . . . all the excitement of certain occupations, without all the horrible drawbacks.

For a moment, Mayako imagined Fenix as a treasure hunter. He was wearing a brown leather jacket over a white button down shirt, which was tucked into a loose fitting pair of brown slacks. He had a gun at one hip and a whip at the other--and, of course, a brimmed hat upon his head. He charged through ancient ruins like it was nothing, dodging antagonists and traps, sometimes narrowly, but surviving each and every time, and coming out for the better after each journey! He journeyed all across the world in search of ancient artifacts for the betterment of history and archeology, and always got the girl in the end.

That was kind of a silly image.

Mayako decided to try and forget that she ever imagined that.

"Like . . . like what kind of treasure?"

"Whatever we can get our hands on." They couldn't afford to be picky, so they generally took whatever they could; the worst that could happen was that they wouldn't be able to sell it.

"Mostly, though, it's similar to what you described: we find carvings, or pottery, or old jewelry, and we sell them to scholars who want to study them." That was the part he was good at: finding clients who wanted something, or buyers for what they already had, and negotiating a price.

While he certainly couldn't tell what Mayako was thinking, he knew what most people thought of when they thought of treasure hunters. "It's not like in the novels, with traps and ancient artifacts and evil organizations..."

He trailed off, staring into space as though remembering something. "Usually," he amended after a moment.

"Wow . . ."

It was a pretty awe inspiring thought. Granted, her idea of what a treasure hunter was and the reality Fenix was talking about were two completely different entities, but that didn't change the fact that Fenix probably saw other countries and continents regularly. That in itself was pretty awe inspiring.

Mayako couldn't help but think about what it was like outside of Hillcrest. She wasn't like Emma--she didn't hate the town for all its worth, but . . . what was left here? What was left to find any solace or joy in? Even the people around her were depressed.

That didn't mean other countries were better off, though--but still, it was a fun thought to entertain, seeing the world and all. Mayako always wanted to go to a place like Greoul, a veritable center for research and knowledge . . . or even a country like Prompt! With so many religious studies done there . . . she could talk to or maybe even go to school in a place like that, and learn from the masters of philosophy . . .

"I-I bet you travel a lot then, huh?"

"Yeah."

After spending most of his life in the confines of a single building, shifting to traveling all the time when he lost his foster father and was taken in by Zach Kaiser had been difficult. But by now he'd been to most of the major countries at one time or another--save for Cizok, which his mentor refused to enter for reasons he wouldn't go into--and even the relatively short time he'd spent (awake) in Hillcrest was long enough to get him antsy to hit the road again.

This being the first day he'd spent any significant time out of bed didn't help matters.

Fenix fell silent; he'd run out of questions to ask for the moment, and having answered hers all he could do was wait for another one. He wasn't terribly good at conversing, not for any appreciable length in time; the few sentences he'd spoken already were about as talkative as he got.

It was a little awkward when they sunk into silence. Mayako was a good conversationalist--to a point. Once conversation effectively died, she was horrible at trying to revive it, and that's what happened here. Conversation died.

Coincidentally, she actually had a thousand and one questions about his profession--like if he ever found ancient texts or something, or old tomes from long dead civilizations. Something like that would have not only been worth more money than all the lives in Hillcrest were worth, but it'd probably also win Mayako's heart without argument. She also wanted to know if he ever looked for the old myths that seemed to be lost to time. Those would have been amazing finds! If he had done his client a huge favor like that, he might even be able to go see them or something--and maybe take her on a road trip out of . . .

No, that'd be too much to ask. She'd just met him not too long ago, after all.

"O-oh! H-here it is . . ." Mayako suddenly stammered when she realized she and Fenix had reached the base of the last trace of tranquility in all of Hillcrest . . .

Indeed they were. Fenix looked up the hill; it wasn't terribly steep on this side, but it didn't need to be to give him trouble while on crutches. A medium-sized rock rested at the top of it, and were he uninjured he would have climbed it. He preferred to perch himself on high places when possible, and not just for the tactical advantage. He rather liked being up high.

They'd traveled along not so much a path as a beaten down trail to get there, through a smattering of trees, and by a particularly large one in a clearing. It was clear that at some point, people had come here often. Unknown to him, and likely Mayako as well, at the base of the hill on the side opposite from where they came from there was a hidden stash of weapons, from when the villagers fought off the bandits several months ago.

"Are you ready?" he asked Mayako. He would need her help to get up there, and thus waited for her to guide the pace.

This hill . . . just looking up at it, Mayako felt a rush of memories. Some of them weren't even her own; she hadn't been there for most of the events that transpired up there, but she heard about them in great detail. She could picture Etsu tackling Eld off of the side of the hill to save him from losing his will, and taking the brunt of all the damage, all for him . . .

It was no wonder why Eld left with her.

N-no-- I shouldn't drudge that up. Not now. Not . . . ever.

It was a much larger hill than the one they climbed to get to Mayako's father's burnt and broken down church. This would actually take a lot of work, for both Mayako and Fenix. She was going to have to stay behind him, practically, with one hand upon his middle back at all times, and the other ready to reach for his side so she could fix any tragic balance issues before they could ensue.

"Mm," Mayako hummed with a nod, "Y-you start, okay? I'll w-walk behind you--l-like this, okay?" Mayako stepped back one step, and then moved to the right to stand behind Fenix, with her hand upon the middle of his back, "I-it's the easiest way to keep you from falling o-on a steep hill like this. A-all you have t-to do is walk a-and always try to keep your balance--a-and don't rush things, okay? It might take time to climb it, but y-you'll hurt yourself if you go too fast."