Sermon with Pie and a Splash of Tea
A large pie sat on the small table. Freshly baked, steam rose gently from it, and its sweet aroma filled the room. Normally, I'd have devoured it in a heartbeat. But not today. Yuria was glaring at me with a terrifying expression.
My throat felt parched. I took a sip of the tea in front of me.
"So, Noel."
"Uh, yeah?"
"You've gotten close to Kirke, have you?"
"No, really, it's not like that..."
I hadn't gotten close to Kirke. If anything, we'd gotten into an argument.
"Cecily wouldn't lie about something like that."
"Yeah, it wasn't a lie. You and Kirke seemed pretty friendly."
How the hell was I supposed to explain this? I glanced at Kirke. She looked tense, peeking at Yuria's reaction. Kirke swept her long bangs back and took a deep breath.
"Noel. You have to face this head-on with confidence."
"What?"
"Just tell the truth. There's nothing to hide, right?"
......Really? For real? You're gonna say it? That we fought? You're actually going to tell her in this situation?
Our eyes met. Kirke gave a slight nod and spoke.
"Do it. Right now."
This woman was seriously planning to go through with it. If that's what she thought, then she should just say it. A heavy silence fell between us. The tension was thick.
Kirke and I opened our mouths at the same time. And together, we confessed the truth to Yuria.
"Kirke and I already knew each other!"
"Today, I fought with Kirke! We're absolutely not close!"
......Ah.
That was what you meant? Not the fighting part?
Inadvertently, we'd dropped two bombshells. Kirke was breaking out in a cold sweat. Flustered, she stammered.
"Th-that's what you meant?"
Looks like she'd misunderstood something too.
"Now, say 'ahh.'"
"...For real? With everyone watching?"
"Yes. It's your punishment."
"Kirke's here, Cecily's here too? Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Doesn't matter."
I meekly obeyed Yuria's command. I parted my lips slightly, and she slipped a piece of pie inside. I chewed on the morsel. It tasted good, sure, but...
Right now, I was sitting on Yuria's lap. She was treating me like a doll. Being handled like this in front of everyone was too harsh, too unfair a punishment. Sure, I'd gone off on an errand and come back after fighting, and I'd hidden that I already knew Kirke from before. But still, this was overkill. Getting punished like this just for lying and hiding things was unjust.
Cecily watching didn't bother me. She thought I was a little girl anyway. But Kirke was different. She'd known me since my hero days. To her eyes, this must look like a neighborhood guy pretending to be a girl—a pitiful, horrifying sight.
It was mortifying. I wanted to crawl into a hole. Kirke had been avoiding my gaze since earlier. Probably too awkward to make eye contact.
Kirke kept dodging my eyes as she spoke.
"What can I say, Noel. You've changed a lot."
"......"
"You're not the Noel I knew. Back then, you were cooler."
Kirke, nothing lasts forever. People change. In my case, including my gender, a lot had changed. Come to think of it, your hair's different too, isn't it? You used to have a bob, but now it's long.
"Kirke, did you change your hairstyle?"
"Hm? Yeah."
"It suits you. The bob was nice, but long hair looks even better."
With the short bob, she had that lively, straightforward female knight vibe. I remembered her charging through battlefields. I owed her a lot back then. That look was great, but I liked this even more. Straight blue hair cascading softly. Glossy strands that begged to be touched. Sitting at the guild desk, she'd exude an intellectual air. The perfect capable, smart office lady older sister type.
I preferred this.
"It suits you. You look cooler now."
"I-is that so."
Kirke gave a short reply and bowed her head deeply. Her face seemed flushed red. Why was she reacting like that? Did I say something wrong?
"Noel."
Yuria called my name in a low voice, not hiding her anger.
"Yeah?"
"Shut your mouth."
With that, she stuffed a huge chunk of pie into my mouth. So much that I couldn't close it.
"Urk... guhblugh..."
"You need to be scolded properly. This isn't enough."
I chewed and swallowed the mouthful as best I could. My throat clogged up, so I chugged some tea. Barely clearing my mouth, I complained.
"What did I even do wrong?"
"Not knowing what you did wrong is the biggest problem."
Unfair. At least tell me why you're mad. I genuinely had no idea.
Cecily, who'd been watching, suddenly muttered to herself as if something had just occurred to her.
"Ah, Kirke's the guild master, right?!"
"That's true, but?"
"And Yuria's here too... Perfect, the guild master Kirke is here as well..."
She alternated glances between Yuria and Kirke, clapped once, and declared.
"This is perfect! Everyone, listen to my idea."
Cecily made a proposal to Yuria and Kirke. It was unexpected. I hadn't seen it coming at all.
To sum it up, it was a recovery potion dependency treatment program led by Cecily. First, select a few adventurers from the guild who suffer from recovery potion addiction. Send them to Cecily's church. Lure them in with promises of recovery potions. At first, give them the potions for real. Then, gradually reduce the amount provided at the church over time. Very slowly. Carefully control and taper their dosage.
"What do you think of the program?"
Yuria pondered Cecily's idea before responding.
"Did you really come up with that yourself, Cecily?"
Cecily nodded in place of a verbal answer.
"The plan itself is excellent. No flaws. I like the gradual reduction too."
"Right? If you tell them to quit cold turkey, they'd all refuse."
All the necessary people were right here. Kirke, the guild master who could manage the adventurers. Yuria, who could supply the recovery potions. If they agreed, it could start immediately.
But...
"No, we can't do that."
Kirke rejected the proposal. Cecily asked calmly, unflustered.
"Why not?"
"It's dangerous."
"......"
"Do you think you can handle those junkie adventurers? They're still active adventurers, you know."
She had a point. Even if they were hooked and unhealthy, adventurers were adventurers. If they got any bad ideas, Cecily could be in danger. That was valid.
"Besides, they're just..."
Kirke trailed off, swallowed hard. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued.
"...best left alone. No need to help them."
Cecily pressed.
"Why do you think that?"
Cecily straightened her back, placed both hands on her knees, and listened intently to Kirke.
"Because they're already broken, fallen people. Useless to society now that they're ruined."
"......"
"They can't get any better. So just leave them be. No need for you to get involved."
Kirke forced the words out, straining her voice.
"You really think they can't improve? That they should just be weeded out?"
"......Yes. Better if they just disappear as is."
Cecily let out a deep sigh and muttered.
"These people, really..."
She clenched her fist tight. It trembled. Then the tension released, and she gently lifted her teacup. Turning to Yuria, she asked.
"Yuria, you prepared this tea, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, I did."
"Sorry. Mind if I?"
She shot up from her seat and dumped the contents of her teacup right onto Kirke. Despite being blind, she nailed it perfectly. Kirke's face was drenched. Water droplets fell from her wet bangs.
To the soaked Kirke, Cecily smiled brightly, looking refreshed.
"Snap out of it."
......I wanted to bolt. An ominous vibe filled the air. I might get caught in the crossfire. The anxiety hit hard. I quietly prepared to slip away. Soundlessly, I tried to rise from Yuria's lap.
But Yuria grabbed my nape.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"...B-bathroom?"
"No. Hold it."
Caught firm, I was plopped back onto her lap. Looked like I was stuck here for the lecture too.