Calabast gave Ves the time to process the name of his future client.

The name of an outfit often revealed their essence. It described their values, their history or their aspirations.

Ves suspected there was a remarkable story behind the formation of the Penitent Sisters. If their names accurately reflected their history, then it was impossible for it to be an ordinary mercenary corps from the Hegemony!

"The word sister sounds ordinary in most contexts, but when combined with a word like penitent, it sounds like there is a religious connotation." Ves threw out his guess.

Calabast nodded. "You're on the right track. Go on. What else can you figure out?"

"Penitent is a word that is related to feeling remorseful and seeking forgiveness. Someone who is penitent wishes to repent for their sins, whatever they may be. This makes it distinct from general guilt. All of this leads me to conclude that the Penitent Sisters have something to do with religion. Are they related to hexism?"

"The Temple of Hexism founded the Penitent Sisters, but to say they are backing them is not entirely accurate."

"Because the Sisters are guilty of something, right?"

"Right. The Penitent Sisters are basically made up of devout followers of hexism who went astray. All of them consist of Hexers who believed in deviant interpretations of hexism. They're extremists, basically. Not only that, but every Sister believed in the same radical doctrine that made them run afoul with the Temple of Hexism!"

This sounded rather thorny to Ves. He really didn't want to participate in another religious dispute!

"What is so serious that caused these Sisters to run afoul with what passes for your state's religion?"

"Did Goriana tell you about the six phases of existence?"

"She did, though it makes no sense to me. It sounds too much like a fabrication!"

Ves couldn't determine from Calabast's vague expression whether she bought into this nonsense or not. He believed her to be a secularist like him, but who could tell with women and Hexers.

"Well, to many Hexers, the six phases of existence is an inviolable truth. I highly advise you to never mention your true feelings about it to Gloriana or other Hexers. I can assure you they will go absolutely mad if they hear you disparage their beliefs."

"I know." Ves sighed. "I'm not so cautious in your company because I know you aren't like the other Hexers."

He never dared to question Gloriana's beliefs. She would probably turn into a terrifying monster if he pushed her buttons!

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Calabast chuckled and tapped her finger against her forearm. "The point is that the concept of the six phases of existence is so accepted within our state that it is a very touchy subject to suggest any changes to any one of the phases! This is important because the Penitent Sisters all belonged to a cult that once dared to suggest a 'correction'!"

"What's the controversy?"

"List out the six phases of existence."

Calabast adopted a school teacher tone again.

Ves recalled the so-called phases from the back of his mind.

"The six phases are life, death, godhood, damnation, dust and.. woman, right?"

His school teacher nodded in satisfaction. "Good boy! At least your memory is better than your apparent age. Now what Gloriana probably didn't tell you is that the order of the phases is important. It describes the cycle of life, death and transcendence, with women as the penultimate phase that is the reward of all living entities. To become a woman is to become a top existence in life, death and the beyond!"

How could Ves accept such a self-serving explanation? Only Hexers could come up with this stupid belief!

He predictably grew sour. "Hexism didn't even bother including males."

"That's right, and there are several different interpretations why that is so. The orthodox belief is that the initial phase, meaning life, is essentially a euphemism for boy. Accepting this interpretation means that every human life starts off as a boy. Only after they pass through some of the other phases will they shed their inadequacies and become a woman!"

"This.."

"The reason why this is the most widely-accepted interpretation is because it explains why boys deserve to be treated the way they are in the Hegemony. They are newborns who have not experienced any waves or winds in their short existences. Boys are too immature and incapable because they haven't grown up, as it were. A woman has gone through at least several lifetimes that has slowly sublimated their existence to the peak form. Compared to the majesty of the superior gender, a boy will always be a juvenile no matter how old they grow in their initial lifetimes!"

What a creative story! Ves widened his eyes as he took in some of the implications of this interpretation.

Believing in it basically excused all of the derogatory behavior of female Hexers towards their male counterparts!

Men were boys, and each of them were toddlers compared to the wise and mature women who had already gone through several different evolutions!

This twisted logic gave no room for boys to gain any measure of equality in Hexer society!

Since Gloriana was a devout follower of hexism, Ves finally learned why she could never stop regarding him as a boy no matter how impressed she was at him! Even if he did his best to prove he was a man, he was still a couple of eons too young to match her status!

A strange thought flitted through his mind. Didn't this mean that Gloriana was a pedophile?

Despair struck his eyes for a moment before he quickly shook himself out of it. No matter what Gloriana believed, she genuinely respected him and always treated him more than just a 'boy'.

Perhaps in the future, Ves could slowly wean her away from the more extreme beliefs of hexism. As long as he kept her out of the Hegemony and away from other Hexers, Ves was confident he could temper some of her more undesirable Hexer traits!

His inner thoughts didn't escape the keen perception of Calabast. A twinkle appeared in her eyes. It was as if she looked forward to a show in the future!

She quickly recovered. "Regarding the phase of life as the initial form of existence that every human has to go through at the start is a very fitting narrative that neatly explains why boys are boys. They are young because they never grew up. They are irresponsible because they haven't been tempered. They are incapable because what could you expect from a bunch of brats? They are in need of care, guidance and protection because we women are older and wiser."

"That explains your attitude to me." Ves snorted.

"I don't need to resort to hexism to justify my treatment towards you." Calabast snarked back. "Let's get back on track. Now, since it's possible to infer that one of the six phases stands for boys, what if you apply it to the other phases?"

This threw Ves for a loop. "I take it there are a lot of implications and symbolism involved with equating or substituting the other phases with boys. If boys stand for death… doesn't that mean that every male must die?"

"There are indeed Hexers who believe in this deviant strain of thought. Even then, it's not necessarily the case that all boys must die. It's complicated and involves a lot of scripture, so I won't bore you with the details."

"Get to the point, then. What phase did the Penitent Sisters mess around with that caused them to be punished this way?"

"It's the fourth phase." Calabast finally answered. "The Penitent Sisters believed that the phase of damnation is equivalent to boys. The basic premise of this train of thought is that boys aren't young, innocent and deserving of care and protection. Instead, boys are a malignant existence, a cancer to life and a threat to society! Boys aren't dangerous and prone to brutality because they weren't raised right. They're outright evil and corrupted! The Penitent Sisters essentially regard every boy as an irredeemably evil demon who needs to be strangled in the cradle before they grow powerful enough to cause untold suffering! The latter half of the Age of Conquest is the clearest example of what could happen if boys are allowed to grow in strength!"

How brutal! From the way Calabast described these deviant Hexers, he had no doubt that they would truly kill babies just because of their extra appendages!

"Is this really an unorthodox belief?"

Calabast glanced at Ves as if he affronted her personally.

"We Hexers don't exactly have the best reputation, but we aren't mass murderers. Not only does that lower us to the same level as boys, we're quite aware our beliefs will never be tolerated by the male-dominant power structure of human civilization."

Ves already understood this argument. The Hexers aren't totally insane. At least they knew how to moderate their values and beliefs to avoid getting squashed by the Big Two.

"Then.. what is the matter with the Penitent Sisters? If their beliefs are so dangerous when spread, then why doesn't the Hexer equivalent of an inquisition lock them away or put them to death?"

"These punishments are too straightforward." She replied and crossed her legs, showing off her smooth, bare legs that shone like glass. "While death or imprisonment are heavy punishments, the Temple of Hexism is not satisfied with letting the cultists off. No. They deserve a harsher punishment. They must undergo the cruelest punishment for their temerity for challenging established doctrine!"

Ves grew confused. "Gloriana said that belief in hexism is rather relaxed."

"Oh, it's fine for Hexers to be relaxed or outright dismissive of hexism. The Temple of Hexism never bothers too much with them. It's when strong believers think they know better that touches their bottom line!"

"Okay.."

"Now, the members that now make up the Penitent Sisters riled up the Temple of Hexism so much that they have been issued with one of the cruelest punishments that they have come up with! It is so abhorrent that the very idea is incredibly repulsive to any Hexer!"

"What is the punishment?"

"The Penitent Sisters.. are forced to form a mercenary corps and wash their sins in battle. Only until they have made sufficient accomplishments in the Komodo War are they considered absolved!"

"That doesn't sound so bad." Ves blinked.

Wasn't this basically conscription? The mech pilots among the Penitent Sisters would have fought in the war regardless of what had happened.

Of course, it was never as simple as that. Calabast grinned.

"That is not the extent of their punishment. You see, the Temple of Hexism has imposed a cruel restriction for the Pentinent Sisters. They are only allowed to pilot mechs designed by boys!"

"What!?" Ves practically jumped in surprise. "That's considered to be a punishment?!"

"Oh, to a Hexer mech pilot, it is a great shame to pilot a mech designed by a boy, because how competent can they be compared to august women? Mechs designed by boys are considered shoddy, cursed or inferior compared to mechs designed by the superior gender!"

Ves continually felt more and more insulted. This was ridiculous!

"I suppose it's especially 'cruel' for the Penitent Sisters, right?"

Calabast chuckled. "This is the brilliance of the Temple of Hexism! The Penitent Sisters, who used to believe that boys are unredeemable, are forced to pilot mechs that are designed by those very same demons!"

Sure enough, if the Hexers truly believed in this nonsense, then they genuinely preferred to die rather than to work with a mech designed by a boy!

"Where do I fit in? Why come to me instead of some random male Hexer mech designer?"

"Well, when the Temple of Hexism came up with this punishment, it didn't take the laws, customs and traditions of the Hegemony's mech industry into account. Boys are forbidden by law to design their own mechs. They're not even allowed to be the lead designer! In addition, the only mechs that Hexers are allowed to pilot are those approved by a panel of matriarchs! However, it is a great shame for any panel to approve the use of a mech designed by a boy!"

"I see."

That really sounded like a messy situation! Though the Temple of Hexism could have revised its punishment for the Penitent Sisters, it would only humiliate itself in the process!

"Then what makes me eligible?"

"If the Temple of Hexism wants to solve this conundrum, some rules need to be bent." She said. "You just happen to fit in the picture!"

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