12. Follow your heart, serve the divine command. For this lifetime, never part, never abandon. ()
Meeting Ikusis openly required both sides to act in concert, which was unavoidable. It was fine when the queen’s knights followed the saint, but once the knights withdrew, Ikusis’s situation reverted to what it had been before—merely a change in the church’s controllers.
Using my connection with Kfir to seek a prophecy was our last chance to contact Ikusis in the short term. After this, until the start of the “Blessing Ceremony,” it would be nearly impossible for us to meet Ikusis safely and discreetly. Thus, I could only hope that foolish fairy wouldn’t do anything stupid in the near future.
After all, we really had no opportunity to protect her directly. The dangerous script had already spread to me. After the pretense of meeting Ikusis, we, who had decided to stay temporarily, were arranged by church members to a deeper part of the temple, naturally further away from Ikusis. Not only that, but I also heard that the couples receiving the saint’s blessing had various church-arranged “ceremonies” to undergo during their waiting period.
Honestly, it was quite troublesome, but for the sake of the script that already had clues, I had no choice but to endure for now.
Later, we moved into the accommodations provided for guests within the church.
At this moment.
“Mr. Oghlid, I have packed your luggage and placed it in the largest room.”
“Nilou! Who told you to meddle with our room! Oghlid was supposed to share a room with me!”
“Miss, it should be no problem for a maid to handle her master’s itinerary and belongings. How could we let our Rodmard Empire’s ‘king’ lower himself to squeeze in with another woman? As for your things, rest assured, I haven’t touched them at all~”
Even when it comes to something as trivial as packing, Kephiel and Nilu, these two big shots, can still end up arguing. I was just thinking that maybe I should take this opportunity to slip away and avoid the commotion, while also taking a moment to check out the surroundings and the corresponding script. But as soon as I opened the door, the scene outside truly startled me.
A girl in a black robe stood silently outside, and I had no idea how long she had been there! After my heart gave a little flutter, I finally recognized her.
This wasn’t some obsessive stalker; rather, she was the head nun of the church’s domestic staff, the one who had said she would arrange accommodations for us after the prophecy of the Saintess. I remembered her name was…
“Urasiru… Miss?”
After all, this was the first time I was seeing her face-to-face, and it was more fitting to call her a “little sister” than a “miss.” At first glance, the girl could only be described as a “slightly grown-up midget.” Not only was she petite, but under the cloak of her long black robe, she seemed to shrink even further.
However, I quickly noticed something odd. Hidden among the white curls of her hair were a pair of long ears that no human would possess—this was a symbol of her elven identity!
“…Is it strange for an elf to come to the church to serve the Goddess of Order?”
Despite her seemingly taciturn demeanor, the girl was far from dull. She soon noticed my gaze and posed a question to me in a voice that was cold and devoid of emotion.
Unlike Icarus, whom I had encountered earlier, whose fairy-like qualities made her sound robotic and icy, this girl spoke with a tone that was almost as light as a cloud, as if she were expressing that my presence didn’t matter to her at all.
“No… it’s not strange, I was just taking a look.”
“It’s fine. Your awareness of my existence will benefit your actions moving forward.”
Then, the girl bowed slightly and said something unexpected.
“Because, from now on, I will be serving you all, guiding you and Miss Kephiel through the preparations before receiving the blessing from Her Highness the Saintess.”
At the same time, the script appeared!
[Urasiru will participate in the blessing ceremony throughout.]
It felt a bit strange, but I couldn’t argue against it. After all, I knew well that the church had far too many troublesome rituals. If we wanted to maintain our disguise, we had no choice but to go along with it.
[Urasiru is testing Euclid!]
The thoughts that had just appeared in the girl’s script likely meant… she was verifying whether Kephiel and I were truly worthy of receiving the Saintess’s blessing, much like an examiner.
What a hassle. My relationship with Kephiel didn’t need a foolish fairy pretending to bless us. But since this was the church’s rule, it was best to comply for now.
“So, what exactly do we need to do?”
Moreover, the appearance of Urasiru also caused Kephiel and Nilu, who had just been arguing with each other, to pause their “battle.” This… might be considered a good thing.
“Because what you expect is a formal blessing, and you might even receive the blessing of the Goddess of Order. Therefore, what is needed is the perfect fulfillment of the request to the Goddess of Order, and I will assist you in completing such a ceremony.”
After a brief pause, the girl continued, “If there is something that must be done recently, then… please practice abstinence.”
“What!?”
What had initially been a rather sacred and meaningful topic suddenly took a turn. I rubbed my ears, unable to comprehend what Urasiru had just said.
“Abstinence, to put it plainly: please refrain from any intimate acts with your fiancée or your servant in the near future. If you have any needs, I will provide you with the necessary tools, and if necessary, I will personally release your thoughts.”
What the girl said was simply the best weapon to prevent Kephiel and Nilu from fighting among themselves… because the flames were burning right at me!
“You two, wait! I didn’t say anything! It’s this little girl who’s just talking nonsense!”
Wha-what does ‘personally release’ even mean? I don’t understand it at all, nor do I want to! Have the nuns you taught now resorted to such strange things!?
Even for the sake of my own innocence, I hurriedly explained to the two women, lest they think I had turned into some kind of self-propelled cannon. By the way, Miss Urasiru, I can’t believe you can remain so calm in this situation, just standing there like it’s nothing!
Come over and help me explain! Otherwise, if you anger these two big shots, you’ll be in trouble too!
“…So, can we begin the preparatory ceremony for the blessing? First, please do not display any ‘favor-seeking’ behavior; the Goddess of Order would not appreciate such chaotic and lewd happenings. At the very least, let’s take turns.”
Sister, please just stop talking and don’t add fuel to the fire!