19. You Repent! (3000 words)

Ikusis’s Perspective.

After making the request to Sister Urasiru, the head nun who usually completes her assigned tasks, that the “blessing ceremony needs to be moved up,” even at night when she would typically fall asleep the moment she hit the bed, Ikusis found herself unusually restless, unable to sleep. Anxiously, she kept using her prophetic abilities to gauge the success of this matter.

After all, the content of the prophecy indicating that she would be stabbed to death was becoming increasingly clear! If she stayed in the church, she was certain she would meet her end! So, if she could just move up the blessing date for her master and Kefiel, then she could escape with her master sooner, and that way, the prophecy of her being blown to bits could surely be avoided, right!?

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Ikusis couldn’t even sleep well, constantly confirming with her prophetic abilities, and she had only managed to get seven hours of sleep that night!

Fortunately, the prophecy indicated that Sister Urasiru did not go back on her word; she indeed agreed to Ikusis’s request, and the earlier blessing time somewhat eased Ikusis’s worries. The next day, she secretly began packing her belongings, preparing for a “soft escape.” However, some things lie in the shadows that even prophecy cannot foresee.

Later, in Ikusis’s room.

At this moment, as Ikusis was stealthily stuffing her “collectibles” from her years in the church into her bag, taking whatever she could, an unexpected event occurred. Sister Urasiru, who usually knocked before entering, this time opened the door and walked right in.

“Yikes, ahhh!!!! Sister Urasiru!?”

Startled, Ikusis nearly threw her toy in panic and fled, but after forcing herself to calm down, she realized that Sister Urasiru’s expression was just as stern as usual.

“…Your Holiness, what are you doing?”

“Uh? I, I… um…”

Indeed, running away to find her master and dragging him off was impossible, even without thinking. It would only cause trouble. Before the blessing was over and her master had a chance to help her escape, she had to at least pretend!

Her usually lazy mind began to spin rapidly, and Ikusis quickly thought of a brilliant excuse.

“Ah! I’m just cleaning up, Sister Urasiru! After all, I can’t make you angry every time, right? Hehe…”

After saying this, Ikusis nervously watched Urasiru’s every move. She didn’t notice, did she? She couldn’t have figured it out!? If Sister Urasiru found out about her preparations for a “soft escape,” she would have to “silence” her to prevent her from reporting to some important figure!

The next moment, Urasiru’s response finally allowed Ikusis to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

“…Then please put down what you’re doing.”

But it was only “temporary.”

“I have already prepared the ‘blessing’ you requested in advance. Right now, please follow me to the designated location to complete the ‘blessing’ ceremony, Your Holiness Ikusis.”

After speaking, she turned and left.

Ikusis was momentarily stunned.

Indeed, in her haste to ask her master to help her escape the church, the sooner the blessing ceremony began, the better. However… to start it in just about a day’s time seemed rather premature, didn’t it? Although the abbess was known for her high efficiency, this was pushing it a bit too far.

Yet, aside from foolishly following her out, Ikusis had no other choice. After all, how could the upcoming “blessing ceremony” proceed without her? It was one of the few opportunities to interact with her master and subtly suggest that he prepare for a hasty escape.

But…

“Um… Abbess.”

After catching up to Urasilu’s pace, Ikusis began to mumble. The world outside the temple was a dreary gray, and the wind was picking up, with raindrops already beginning to fall from the overcast sky.

“R-right now, it’s windy and raining outside! Are we really going to start the blessing ceremony?”

In the past, various ceremonies held by the church always began on bright, sunny days. If inclement weather occurred, they would be postponed. While this wasn’t a strict rule, starting a blessing ceremony in such conditions felt rather odd.

However, the abbess’s response was simple and blunt—she ignored the weather outside and walked straight into the rain.

“Your Highness, the Saint, it was you who wished for the ceremony to be moved up. At this point, do you still want to complain about the weather?”

“Of course not!”

After a moment of surprise, Ikusis hurried to catch up!

That’s right, as long as the ceremony could be completed quickly and she could escape, it didn’t matter if it was raining. Even if it hailed or thundered, she would see it through! As long as she could escape the church, she now had a master! Wouldn’t it be a hundred times more comfortable to lounge around with her master than to be crammed in a small room at the church every day? As for the price of living off her master, she had already thought it through: wasn’t it just a matter of her master eventually pushing her onto the bed for some “fun”? After all, she didn’t dislike her master; as long as she spread her legs and called out a few times, she could exchange that for a comfortable life—what a guaranteed profit!

In her anxious rush to complete the ceremony, Ikusis failed to notice more of the “strangeness.”

“Um… Abbess, isn’t the ceremony supposed to start in the main hall? Why are we heading to the outdoor goddess statue?”

“…The main hall is in use. Since Your Highness, the Saint, requested an earlier start, this time the ‘ceremony’ will be held beneath the outdoor goddess statue.”

“Eh? Ah… haha, okay, okay.”

Ikusis’s hurried steps felt out of sync with the abbess’s calm pace. The slightly cold raindrops falling only added to Ikusis’s sense of unease, along with a feeling of something called “danger.”

Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it! Right! As long as the ceremony was completed, her master would find a chance to take her away, and then the part of the prophecy that foretold her demise would surely vanish, right!?

Thinking this, Ikusis hurriedly utilized her abilities, but…

Huh? Why… is it still here?

Her script of demise is still intact!? She was so close to escaping, why hasn’t this prophecy of death changed!?

“Your Holiness…”

Could it be that her abilities were malfunctioning!? Or perhaps…

“Your Holiness.”

“Ah! Yes!”

The voice of the head nun jolted Ikusis awake!

“We have arrived, Your Holiness.”

At the same time, she realized: during her frantic thoughts about escape and the contents of the prophecy, she had already followed the head nun into the church, specifically to the site dedicated to the Goddess of Order, standing before the enormous, towering statue of the goddess at the center of the divine relics!

This was a relic preserved in the church town specifically for the faith of the goddess, completely untouched and unaltered, with only the imposing figure of the Goddess of Order before her, as if watching over everything in the church town.

Calmness was utterly impossible to maintain amidst Ikusis’s anxiety, for she soon discovered: around her… there was nothing! No ceremonial tools prepared; no clergy to fill in; not even the two main characters of the blessing ceremony, her master and Kefiel, were present!

All that surrounded her were the cold raindrops; the fierce wind stirring up dust; and… the head nun, Urasiru, who had come to a halt before the goddess statue and turned back.

Ikusis forced a smile, after all… she wasn’t a fool!

“Head Nun, where is everyone? It must be because of this windy, rainy weather that everyone has bailed! Can we hurry back? I just remembered I haven’t finished my homework for the saintly studies today, heh heh~”

“No, Your Holiness, the people needed for the ceremony are already here.”

Urasiru’s voice remained steady, “Completing this ‘ceremony’ does not require extra people; you and I are already sufficient.”

“Ha~ ha ha… Head Nun, you’re joking again! How can the two of us complete any ceremony? Are you looking for a chance to teach me a lesson? I-I can correct my mistakes, can’t I!? Please! I promise I’ll study hard from now on!”

“Your Holiness, the ceremony we need to complete is called ‘Judgment.’”

Just as Ikusis was about to make a run for it, she felt a sharp pain all over her body, as if pricked by needles, and her legs trembled with an inexplicable chill and tension, making it impossible for her to take a single step.

After all, at this moment, what was more “bone-chilling” than the cold voice of Sister Urasiru was the change in her very being.

Following an action that resembled a plea before a goddess, a sword appeared in Urasiru’s hand. The pious yet icy cross-shaped hilt seemed to speak of her faith in the goddess, and as the blade pointed forward, Ikusis could see the change in her eyes.

Just like how the master of Nilu had given her his “mark,” did the head nun have one too!? But, but she was not a fairy, not one of her kind!

The wild wind howled, and the raindrops roared. Ikusis realized that the one standing before her, the fairy who had become the “Saint” through prophetic powers, seemed to be the true “Saint.”

The blade of the goddess of order; the goddess’s… representative.

Then… what she was about to do must also…

“Your Highness Saint Ikusis, you have forsaken the faith of the goddess of order, serving the goddess while recognizing others as your master, harboring a divided heart.”

“Though the goddess’s mercy has granted you the opportunity for forgiveness, you remain obstinate, even attempting to escape the blessings bestowed by the goddess of order.”

“Thus, for your betrayal, the goddess of order must deliver punishment upon you. By the blade of order, a judgment of faith shall be rendered upon you…”

Raindrops… fell! That was because Urasiru’s figure had vanished from the spot!

And she had already appeared before Ikusis!

“Repent in the face of death.”

Illustration: Pure White Nun Urasiru