[ Rem presses her lips together, abruptly looking up at him when he mentions the Crystals being a nuisance. It's an automatic, defensive response, which makes her address that first before even going into what's the current state of her world. ]

The Crystals... give their blessing to us. [ A brief hesitation, but she then continues without missing another beat. ] They take souls by their proxy, the l'cie. But only when necessary, like when calling a verboten Eidolon that calls for hundreds, sometimes thousands of souls to be sacrificed. [ Another pause, and her shoulders slope down, looking that defensive edge. ] I know it sounds terrible [ it is terrible ] and it is scary, but this is all for the benefit of our nation, and the well-being of our Crystal.

[ It's child solider indoctrination o'clock. ]