Some time later, the trio was standing before the Pope in his chambers. Amongst them were Henrietta, Agnés Tiffa, and Julio. Louise knelt before the Pope, handing over to Julio what looked like a mirror to Saito. "I thank you, from the bottom of my heart for your actions," he said gratefully. "Miss Valliére, Miss Tabitha, and you Sir Saito Chevalier de Hiraga." Henrietta turned to the boy, "How are your wounds, Saito?"

Saito smiled gamely at her, "I'm doing much better thanks to your healing magic." "Be sure to take it easy these next few days," she cautioned. "Your body will still need to recuperate from the blood loss." "I will," he promised, turning back towards the Pope and his Familiar. "Julio, that gun you gave me earlier came in handy." "I'm glad," he smiled back. Saito's face then turned a bit serious, "But, you only gave me that because you wanted me to kill Joseph, didn't you?"

Julio looked taken aback as Saito elaborated. "There's too many coincidences. First you make Louise a Shrine Maiden, then she gets kidnapped by Joseph. I have to go save her, and take him down in the process. It's almost like all of this was part of some bigger plan." He looked sternly at the Pope, sitting on his chair, "Am I wrong?"

Louise turned to Saito, aghast at his accusation. "Saito! How can you say such a thing!?" Julio lowered his gaze from Saito, as if confirming the boy's suspicions. Finally, the Pope spoke, "Indeed, I cannot deny it outright." The others turn to him in surprise. "We made a Void Mage into a Shrine Maiden, hoping not to convince him, but provoke him," he continued, a tone of regret in his voice. We expected Joseph to take some sort of action, or rather, hoped he would. If that happened, we would have reason to launch a holy war against Gallia and oust Joseph from power."

Saito grits his teeth, he didn't like being played. "But you must believe me," the Pope continued. "When I say that it was never our intention to put Miss Valliére in such a dangerous position. Nor did we expect Joseph to cause so much destruction. I sincerely hope you can forgive us..." The Pope and Julio bowed their heads to Saito and Louise, who for a moment could say nothing.

"I can't speak for Louise," said Saito. "But it's been a long night. Right now, I just wanna rest and not think about things for a bit." The Pope nodded, "There's a room down the hall, you're more than welcome to use it." Saito nodded, turning and leaving the room. Siesta, he thought to himself. It's finally over, please be at peace...

Saito stirred in the morning, turning in his bed to see Louise of all people, laying next to him. "You're finally awake," she said softly. "How long was I out?" He asked. "Almost 10 hours, it's noon right now," Louise replied. As if on cue, a great bell sounded in the distance. "Not used to sleeping this late," said Saito, rubbing his eyes. "I actually came in hours ago to wake you," Louise said. "But you looked so peaceful, I couldn't do it. You weren't talking in your sleep or anything this time, so I decided to wait."

The boy blinked, "I talk in my sleep?" Louise nodded, "Ever since what happened to Siesta. Mostly, you'd mumble her name or something about Sheffield, but once in a while you'd yell and thrash about. When that happens, I hold your hand and stroke your head until you settle down."

Saito blushed slightly, "Jeez, I'm sorry I put you through all that. Why didn't you say anything before?" "You were grieving," she said simply. "If I spoke up, it likely would've added onto your frustrations." "But still," he said. "And you... really did all that for me? The head and hand holding thing, I mean..." Louise smiled, "Of course! It's actually quite effective. I only had to do it twice, but each time, it worked like a charm!" "Huh," Saito was at a loss for words. "I guess you know me better than I thought..." "Well we are Partners, after all," she replied. "We look out for each other, right?"

Saito smiled back, "Right." He stood up from the bed, stretching a bit. "So what now? We going back to the Academy?" Louise nodded, "First we'll need to get our things." "Alright then, lead the way," Saito replied. The two walked down the hall towards the exit. "So, what happens now? With the whole Void Mage gathering?" Saito asked. "I mean, one of them's gone now, right?"

Louise nodded, "Another Void Mage will likely be born soon. I'm sure, then, it'll be much easier to join forces." "Makes sense, I guess," Saito shrugged. "But still, you were almost killed in the process. We should've been let in on the plan. I could've prepared better." Louise stopped walking, "It doesn't matter, you were there to protect me." She looked into his eyes, "I knew back then that you'd pull some kind of stunt to come and save me."

Saito paused, "Honestly, I could feel it, too. When we were trying to figure out which ship you were on, it's like I could see you waiting for me..." Louise smiled softly, "I know you'll always be there to protect me. That's why I'm not afraid of anything." "Louise..." She held out her hand, "Shall we? I'm sure they're all waiting for us." Saito paused, then smiled, taking her hand into his own. "Let's go." The two walked together a short distance before getting to the great doors. And just as the doors opened...

"THERE THEY ARE!!!" A great cheer went up as a crowd of people surrounded the cathedral. There had to have been at least a thousand people. "It's the Saint of Aquileia!" "And there's the Hero!" "So wonderful!!!" Others came over, Saito and Louise recognizing them as members of the Undine Knights and Academy students. They hoisted the two on their collective shoulders, bringing a great cheer from the crowd.

"Everyone's praising you two," Guiche explained. "You're the Saint and the Hero!" The crowd continued to cheer for their new idols, and all the two could do was humbly accept their praises. Saito looked at Louise, and smiled. He had saved his partner and in turn the city. What's more, he had finally begun to heal over the loss of Siesta. And while there was sure to be some further conflicts down the line, Saito was now confident that as long as Louise had his back, there was nothing the two couldn't accomplish.