'Pasha, Your Excellency, this is the fifth story I've told for you. I hope it was to your satisfaction?' In the resplendent palace of Sargon, a blue-haired Messenger, dressed in attire markedly different from those around her, stands at the foot of the steps, bowing respectfully toward the Pasha seated on his throne. On the high platform, the richly dressed Pasha gestures to his attendant, whispering something to him. The attendant's face briefly shows a hint of surprise, then he steps forward to loudly announce the Pasha's decree— 'Messenger, my lord had never heard of such ruins hidden within the Black Flow, nor of the history buried within Victoria's ancient battlefields. Your stories have greatly pleased him, and he is willing to forge a friendship with Yvangelista XI from afar.' 'Thank you very much.' The blue-haired Messenger gives a polite and confident Sargonian court bow and begins to turn to leave. But the attendant speaks again, 'Don't be in such a hurry, Messenger. My lord has one more question for you.' 'Please, go ahead.' 'My lord wishes to ask if you would stay and tell him the remaining nine hundred and ninety-five stories?' 'Does... His Excellency the Pasha mean that he wishes for me to relinquish my role as a Messenger, and remain by his side?' 'Precisely. My lord offers you wealth and luxury here, in exchange for sharing with him all your enchanting stories.' The blue-haired Messenger smiles. 'I thank His Excellency for his kindness, but I am accustomed to my life of freedom; such riches and luxury are not suited to me.' The Pasha whispers a few more words to the attendant, who then steps forward again. 'You are already an outlier among the Sankta. Your kin will not accept you, and your homeland has no place for you. Why go to such lengths on their behalf?' This time, the blue-haired Messenger pauses to think before answering, 'I don't journey for my kin, nor do I long for my homeland. In the beginning, it was an old friend who set me on my travels. Now, I travel out of curiosity for a certain story.' 'What kind of story?' 'An old man once told me a story before I left. It was a silly story about everyone eating ice cream together under the sun. But as I traveled, I began to see what was intriguing about it—and as I reflected more and more on it, I discovered even more stories.' The blue-haired Messenger gives another courtly bow. 'You should instead let me travel as far as possible, so that when I return, I may regale you with even more wondrous tales.' The Pasha no longer tries to persuade her, only ordering that, whenever the blue-haired Messenger returned, the palace gates would always be open to her. As they walk out of the palace, her red-haired companion, who had been silently listening all along, finally can't hold back and asks, 'Did His Holiness really tell you a story like that?' A smile appears at the corner of the blue-haired Messenger's mouth. 'What do you think?'