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The next morning was quiet. The new members cleaned the mansion halls.
Elias sat in the garden. He drank a cup of hot tea.
Dee sat across from him. She built a small tower out of sugar cubes.
Bell walked into the garden.
He looked worried.
"Elias, you have visitors. They asked for you specifically."
"Who?"
Elias asked. He didn't look up from his tea.
"Yamamoto Mikoto and Hitachi Chigusa,"
Bell answered.
"From the Takemikazuchi Familia."
Elias set his teacup down.
"Oh, can you bring them here,"
He said. Bell nodded and ran back inside.
A minute later, two girls walked into the garden.
Mikoto wore her dark purple ninja clothes. She stood very straight.
Chigusa wore a simple kimono. She hid her face behind her long bangs.
She was trembling.
Elias pointed to the wooden chairs across the table.
Mikoto sat down first.
Chigusa sat down slowly beside her.
She kept her eyes on the ground.
"Why are you here?"
Elias asked.
Mikoto placed her hands on her knees. She bowed her head deeply.
"We came to talk about the compensation,"
Mikoto said.
"The fine you demanded from our God."
Elias leaned back in his chair.
"The fine is for what you did in the dungeon,"
Elias stated flatly.
"Your leader, Ouka, threw a horde of monsters at us. He used us as bait to run away. That is a crime in the dungeon. A heavy fine is a very light punishment."
"It is a massive amount of money,"
Mikoto said.
"Our Familia is very poor. We can't pay it. It will ruin our God."
"That isn't my problem,"
Elias replied.
"You made a choice. Now you pay the price."
Chigusa suddenly stood up.
Her chair scraped loudly against the stone floor.
"It was my fault!"
Chigusa cried out.
Tears fell down her cheeks.
"I was hurt! I was slowing them down! Ouka only did it to save my life!"
Elias looked at her coldly.
"So we should die instead of you?"
Elias asked.
Chigusa flinched.
She grabbed the fabric of her kimono tightly.
"No,"
Chigusa whispered.
"They didn't deserve that. I deserve to be punished. Not Ouka. Not our God."
Chigusa walked around the table.
She dropped to her knees right in front of Elias.
"Please,"
Chigusa begged.
"Take me instead."
Elias frowned.
"Take you?"
"Yes,"
Chigusa said. She looked up at him.
"I will give myself to you. I will do whatever you want. You can use me for anything. Just please, forgive the debt. Don't punish my family for my weakness."
Mikoto quickly stood up as well.
She walked over and knelt right beside Chigusa.
"I will join her,"
Mikoto said firmly.
"I was there. I didn't stop Ouka. I ran away while your friends fought our monsters. I share the blame. I will also give myself to you."
Elias stared at the two girls on the ground. He didn't look surprised. He just looked tired.
"Does Ouka know you are here?"
Elias asked.
"No,"
Mikoto answered.
"He would never allow this. He thinks he can find a way to pay the money."
"But he can't,"
Chigusa added.
"It will take years. We cannot let him carry that burden. It is our fault."
Elias sighed.
He looked over at Dee.
Dee knocked over her tower of sugar cubes.
She giggled softly.
"What do you think, Elias?"
Dee asked.
"Two loyal servants. They seem very dedicated."
"I think they are being stupid,"
Elias said bluntly.
He looked back down at Mikoto and Chigusa.
"I refuse."
Mikoto raised her head.
Her eyes were wide.
"Why?"
Mikoto asked.
"We are strong. We can fight. We can work. Our lives are worth the money!"
"I don't want your lives,"
Elias said.
"I don't want slaves. I don't want servants who only follow me out of guilt."
"But we have to pay!"
Chigusa cried.
"We have to make this right!"
"You cannot make it right by throwing yourselves away,"
Elias told her.
"That is just running away from the problem. You are taking the easy way out."
"How is this easy?"
Mikoto asked. Her voice rose in anger.
"We are giving up our freedom! We are leaving our God! That is the hardest thing we can do!"
Elias shook his head.
"It is easy because you don't have to face Ouka. You don't have to face true consequences. You know I wouldn't do bad things to you."
Mikoto bit her lip. She knew Elias was making sense. But she was incredibly stubborn.
"We will not leave,"
Mikoto said.
"We made our choice. We will stay here until you accept us."
"I will sit here all day,"
Chigusa agreed.
"I will not go back."
Elias rubbed his temples.
He hated dealing with stubborn people. He looked at Dee again.
"Do you want to tell them for me?"
Elias asked.
Dee smiled and leaned forward on the table. She looked at the two girls kneeling on the stone.
"You really don't get it,"
Dee said casually.
"Elias doesn't care about the money at all."
Mikoto looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Mikoto asked.
"He is the one who set the fine."
"He set the fine to teach you a lesson,"
Dee explained.
"He wanted your Familia to feel the weight of your actions. He wanted Ouka to understand that choices have heavy consequences. He never actually expected you to pay for it."
Chigusa wiped her eyes.
"He didn't want the money?"
Chigusa whispered.
"No,"
Dee said.
"He just needed you to take true responsibility."
Mikoto looked at Elias. Her expression changed. She stopped looking angry.
She started to understand.
"Responsibility,"
Mikoto repeated the word slowly.
"Yes,"
Elias said.
"You threw your problem onto someone else. Now, you are trying to throw your lives away to fix it. Both are wrong."
"Then what is right?"
Mikoto asked.
"How do we take responsibility if you will not take our money or our lives?"
Elias looked her straight in the eyes.
"You learn from it. You get stronger. You make sure you never have to abandon someone in the dungeon ever again."
Chigusa looked down at her hands.
"But the guilt..."
Chigusa said softly.
"It hurts so much. I hate myself for what happened."
"Good,"
Elias said. His voice was not mean, but it was strict.
"Keep that guilt. Remember it. Let it drive you to be better."
Mikoto stayed silent for a long time.
She thought about everything Elias said. She thought about Ouka, who made a terrible choice to save them.
Finally, Mikoto bowed her head again. This time, it was not out of shame. It was out of deep respect.
"I understand,"
Mikoto said clearly.
"But my decision does not change."
Elias frowned again.
"Are you deaf?"
Elias asked.
"I just told you I don't want you."
"You said you don't want slaves,"
Mikoto corrected him.
"And you said we must take responsibility. We cannot pay the money. But we can pay with our loyalty."
Chigusa nodded slowly.
She looked up, and her eyes were a little braver.
"We will not hide behind you,"
Chigusa said.
"We will fight beside you. We will protect this Familia. That is how we will pay our debt."
"We will serve you,"
Mikoto added.
"Not because we feel guilty. But because it is our responsibility to make up for our sins. We choose to do this."
Elias stared at them.
They were not trembling anymore. They looked completely determined.
They had found their resolve. He knew he could not send them away now.
If he sent them back, they would just carry the debt forever.
They needed this to move forward.
Elias let out a very long sigh.
"You are both incredibly stubborn,"
Elias said.
Dee laughed out loud.
"You lost this one, Elias,"
Dee teased him. Elias ignored her.
He looked back at Mikoto and Chigusa.
"Fine,"
Elias said.
"You can do whatever you want."
Chigusa smiled for the first time.
"Thank you,"
Chigusa whispered.
"But,"
Elias raised a finger.
"You will tell Ouka and your God. You will explain exactly why you are doing this."
Mikoto nodded firmly.
"We will tell them today."
"And you are not my servants,"
Elias added.
"I don't need people bringing me tea. You will train and get stronger. You will help Bell in the dungeon. If you fall behind, I will kick you out."
"We will not fail you,"
Mikoto promised.
"Get up,"
Elias told them.
"The stone floor is dirty."
Mikoto and Chigusa stood up. They brushed the dust off their knees.
They looked much lighter. The heavy burden on their shoulders was finally gone.
"Go talk to Bell,"
Elias said. He picked up his teacup again.
"He will show you around. Tell him you live here now."
"Yes, Elias-sama,"
Mikoto said. She bowed one more time.
Chigusa bowed as well. They turned around and walked back into the mansion.
Elias took a slow sip of his tea.
The tea was cold.
"Elias-sama,"
Dee repeated. She smiled a wide, teasing smile.
"That has a nice ring to it."
Elias glared at her.
"Don't start,"
He warned her.
"You just adopted two runaway ninjas,"
Dee laughed.
"Hestia is going to be very confused."
"Hestia wanted a bigger Familia,"
Elias said calmly.
"She has it now."
He looked at the empty chairs across from him.
He didn't have a reason to refuse them anymore.
They understood his lesson.
They took true ownership of their mistakes.
That was all he ever wanted from them.
"This world is exhausting,"
Elias muttered to himself.
Dee just kept laughing.
She reached for another sugar cube.