Thanks to more help from the older children, we managed to bring Father Otto back to the cabin. He awake to see Theresa. "Father? You're awake!" Said Theresa. "Theresa... I... what happened? I'm sorry you had to see this. This is your favorite bitter melon biscuit. Sorry... it's not hot anymore." Said Otto. It doesn't matter, Father. Why did you collapse in the snow? What are those wounds?" "A minor discomfort... this ailment shall pass with a night's sleep."

"............" Bronya didn't say anything. What is it, Bronya Onee-Chan? You seem... worried..." Asked Seele. "The Bronya is alright." Answered Bronya. I laid back against the wall with my arms crossed. As much as I hated the idea of helping Otto, this was not him from our reality. However this reality's version of Otto brought back bad memories of what our reality's Otto has done.

*THUD* The door opened. Joachim looked extremely anxious. "Father..." He returned fo his usual expression once he saw that Father Otto was fine. "I'm glad that you're alright." Said Joachim. "Have you packed your things, Joachim?" Asked Father Otto. "Yes I did." Joachim stood by the bed with his head bowed. Otto tried to pat him, but he flinched away. The priest stopped trying to comfort him and felt the crucifix he wore around his neck.

"You leave tomorrow morning, so you should get some rest. Please... help me take care of this cross." He gave the cross to Joachim, but Joachim did not accept it. "......I went to the market to look for a gift for you. But I felt this cross is most fitting. It averted calamities for me. I hope it can give you God's blessings." "I don't need it......" Said Joachim. "Please take it, Joachim." Said Theresa. "I'm sorry... I can't... God's blessings... will God bless those who kill in the name of goodness?"

Theresa suddenly got an angered expression. "What are you saying, Joachim? Father gave you the cross because he wants you to..." It's alright Theresa." Otto interrupted her. "... you never understood what Father wanted..." Theresa finished. But then Joachim got an angered expression too. "............ You're the one who doesn't know anything!" Joachim screamed. "Wait! Joachim!" To everyone's surprise, Joachim ran out of the room. The Father tried to follow, but he collapsed onto the floor.

"The sun is setting! He'll be in danger!" Shouted Theresa. "Theresa, take care of the priest. The Bronya shall return with Joachim." Said Bronya. "I'm coming too." I said. Bronya and I ran out the door to find Joachim. "...the tundra has changed. Bubble composition has been altered. Did Joachim do this?" Asked Bronya. "It looks like he did. I'm afraid that I might have no choice but to hit Joachim and say to him "let's see you grit those teeth" to knock some sense into him." I said. "Please don't do that. We'll try to use words first." Said Bronya. "Fine. If that doesn't work, we might have to use force." Ice Honkai beasts appeared but we used fire DMG and destroyed them instantly.

We finally caught up to Joachim. "Joachim, please tell the others what you think. Everyone is worried about you." Said Bronya. "You never cared about me... you only cared about Father Otto! I don't want to think about this... just... just leave me alone!" Joachim was still angry. "Now wait just a minute! That's not true. We don't just care about Father Otto! We care about everyone including you!" "No! You're lying! Leave me alone!" Joachim snapped back at me. 'Very well. You leave me no choice.' Before I could use force on him.

"...!!" Honkai Beasts appeared. "...!" Joachim got scared. "Honkai Beasts defected." Said Bronya. "Better knock some sense into him later. Let's destroy these monsters." I said drawing out the Dragon Guns in sub machine gun form. "Roger." Said Bronya making Project Bunny appear, then we opened fire. We had to protect Joachim from the Honkai beasts. However we split up and took them out one by one but then a Honkai Beast already got to Joachim.

"Get... get away from me!" Shouted Joachim. "Stand up, Joachim..." Bronya suddenly stopped speaking. "H... help! HELP!" Before the Eldritch Knight could kill it. Someone shoot it and killed it. "... Father?!" It was Father Otto holding the Judgement of Shamash. "Good... you're alright. It isn't easy to escape Theresa's sights..." Otto stopped speaking and was collapsing. "Bronya rushed forward to break his fall and found out that he had passed out. I changed the Dragon Gun's into Water Gun form and shot out huge streams of water and extinguished the fire.

Though the priest was tall and well-built, he was extremely weak. Lifting him was difficult, even with my help. "The priest passed out... Please help carry this priest, Joachim... he did save your life." Said Bronya. "That's right, help us carry him back. Obviously you still haven't forgiven him for what he's done to your Father. You have to forget about the fears of killing someone in the future, Joachim. He could die and there will be no one to take care of the orphanage." I said. "............" Joachim could only tremble. The sight of this angered me and Bronya. She picked the cross on the ground and threw it at Joachim. Now we had to act like the older brother and sister to him.

"What is Joachim running away from? Nyet. Joachim is running away from himself because Joachim is afraid." First Bronya spoke. "And he won't accept anything from Father Otto because you never really forgot about what he did and never put the past behind you." Then I spoke. "............ I don't know...... What should I do to make this right?" Asked Joachim. "............" "............" "The world is not a dichotomy or right and wrong...... Right and wrong applies only to a few things, but not people. Good people take responsibility for their actions." Said Bronya. "But the bad people never take responsibility for their actions just like how your father never did." I said.

Our angered expressions changed to saddened expressions. "The Bronya knows it's difficult... The Bronya and Patrick-kun acted like you... If Joachim is afraid, he should describe the cause of his fear. Tell the people who Joachim cares for, and vice versa. The orphanage is Joachim's family... do not do things you might regret in the future." Explained Bronya. "If you do, then you will end up in a dark bad place." I finished for Bronya. "............" Joachim said nothing. The rest of the children came running. Together, they carried the unconscious priest back to the orphanage

The next day: Theresa knocked on Bronya and Seele's room the next day. Then she knocked on my door too. All four of us went to Joachim's room but found that he was gone... The boy left without telling anyone. "He's gone." Said Theresa. "............" "............" "............" Bronya, Seele, and I said nothing. "The Father has something to say to us." Said Seele. "Bronya, Seele, and I glanced at each other and followed Theresa to a room in the heart of the orphanage.

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The blond man tried to turn around. Crimson red veins spread across his body. Threatening to split it apart. He was getting infected by the Honkai. "Theresa... my cross... I think I left it out there in the snow." Said Otto. "Rest well, Father. I'll find it for you. I'll send you to the hospital next week... no, tomorrow! You'll get better..." Said Theresa. "I'm alright... Joachim left didn't he?" Asked Otto. "The children were silent. The answer was obvious. "He did... I understand how he feels. I was the one who orphaned him." Said Otto. "Father you did the right thing." Said Theresa.

"Right and wrong doesn't answer every question in this world. I kept asking myself if I could have done something else to save Joachim's father... But no matter how I thought about it, the truth was I chose to kill him on that day... His father whom I condemned to death... I saw myself in him..." Explained Otto. "Father..." Theresa wanted to say something, but she failed to voice them out.

Otto continued explaining. "I dabbled in the dark, forbidden arts... and hurt... no... I killed many innocent people. The Paladin saved me. She liberated me from the dark abyss. We ran away together... and buried the Origin of Sin in a secret place... But it took it's tole on us... the Paladin... she died after 2 years... I asked her whether she regretted anything when she drew her final breathes... Listen, children. These were her final words. "There are three steps in our lives. The first step teaches us how to tell the right from the wrong. The second step teaches us that there isn't just the right and wrong. The third step is to do what we believe is right and take responsibility for the outcomes.""

The priest's eyes sparkled. He spoke calmly, but the words trembled with emotion. He must have remembered something that even time itself failed to erase. I laid her to sleep in a foreign land... and came here to build this orphanage. I understand how Joachim felt... I know what it meant to be lost and confused... I must... respect his choice." "Father..." Theresa felt tears in her eyes like she was going to cry. "I'm sorry. children. But there is no turning back for me. I have committed sins beyond counting... I can only seek atonement... I'm happy that you're here. You are the proof that I can still create warm and happy memories."

"Father... you'll be alright..." Theresa wanted to deny it but then I put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Theresa, but... there is nothing we can do... he won't last any longer... you now have to move on without him and Joachim." I said. "Joachim...... he should be here to hear this..." Said Bronya.

CREAK~ The door opened and it was none other than Joachim holding the cross. We were all surprised and shocked at the same time. "......Joachim?" Asked the Priest. "............ Father, I found the cross you lost last night. You wanted to give it to me." Joachim clutched the cross like a child holding fast to a well-loved. "I'm lost, Father. I don't know what to do. But there's something I must say... I'm willing... let me follow your path, inherit the orphanage, and uphold your duties. ... please treat me like your family... don't let me go astray." Joachim knelt by the bed and cried. Theresa gently embraced him without a word.

"I trust you, Joachim. You will forge your own path." The priest held his pendant tightly. His eyes sparkled bright with the final embers of his life. "I fought brilliant battles... I marched in the name of the righteous... ...I upheld... the Path of the Paladin... I've stayed true... for you..." A drop of tear fell on the wooden floor. Gentle light washed over the entire world.