Reconciliation

Even at the break of dawn, Orphea was exploring Soul Net with eyes bright and wide awake.

It was fun.

For someone who had spent her entire life locked away, unable to so much as glimpse the outside world, the world inside the internet was nothing short of rain after a long drought.

People living their lives. Countless topics and streams of information. The sight of them laughing, chattering, raging, grumbling, and bickering with one another — all of it felt fresh and wondrous to her.

Each morning she would wake up and binge through the Net Novel serials on her reading list, then dive straight into the galleries without remembering to eat or sleep, scrolling through every Soul Best post of the day.

And after that came Kraken time.

She would binge Age of War 2 match VODs and snicker at all the various mashup videos. She watched other people fall in love, watched how other people lived their lives.

It was delightful.

It was fun.

But every so often, a hollow emptiness crept in.

It would strike in the moment she collapsed into bed after browsing until dawn and closed her eyes — the moment she realized she hadn't spoken to the Goddess in who knew how long, and a chill would run through her at how absurdly she'd wasted her time.

Doesn't matter!

Wouldn't she have frittered it away all the same, even without Soul Net? If it came to that, exploring Soul Net looked a whole lot better by comparison.

No one could ever take Soul Net away from her. It was the first means she'd ever had of connecting to the world. If this too were to vanish, she might not be able to hold on any longer.

Then one day, after falling asleep wrapped up tight in her blankets with those thoughts in her head and waking up the next morning—

"Huh?"

Orphea's eyes flew wide open at a chat that had arrived from a most unexpected presence.

And beneath it sat one of the funny memes she'd seen floating around the very gallery she frequented.

The moment she saw it, a snort of laughter escaped her. Partly because the meme itself was funny — but even more because she realized exactly who had just messaged her.

Orphea snorted at the message — and then, at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same time, hesitated.

What was she supposed to say back?

It had been only a few days since she'd openly screamed that she hated the Goddess and thrown a proper tantrum. Nearly a month had passed since she'd last spoken with her at all.

She'd never imagined the Goddess would actually connect to Soul Net. It was novel, it was shocking — and at the same time she had no idea how she was supposed to act, which left her flustered.

But the Goddess's chats showed no such hesitation. And for good reason.

"You're doing great! You've already threaded the first needle. Now just play together while you're on Soul Net."

"Play... together?"

"Play a game with her, or watch videos together on Kraken, or enjoy all sorts of activities side by side. I'll recommend videos and films that are perfect for the two of you to watch together."

After all, the Goddess was operating these days with Elsy Bwenner's full, generous support.

At the Goddess's words, Orphea burst out laughing all over again.

This was the Goddess of Fire and Purification. The largest and most ancient goddess in the God Realm. One of the creators of the Wirod Dimension itself.

And a being of that magnitude — of all things — had connected to Soul Net, sent her a chat, and asked to hang out together?

The sincerity behind it, the depth of how much the Goddess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truly cared for her, came through so plainly that Orphea found herself utterly unable to refuse.

And so the Goddess and the Saintess played games together on Soul Net.

Naturally, under the firm direction of one Elsy Bwenner.

"Yes, that's right! Now break that wall with a water bomb. An item will pop out — go eat it. Movement speed up, blast radius increased. Yes! You're doing wonderfully, Goddess!"

Under the steadfast guidance of Soul Net's creator, the Goddess and the Saintess teamed up and crushed their opponents with overwhelming results.

Orphea was having a blast.

And how could she not be?

The Goddess was genuinely, frighteningly good at the game.

And so the Saintess and the Goddess spent the entire day playing.

It was a trivial little game — run around a grid of rooms, trap your opponent with water balloons, and pop them — but it was, truly, a joyful time.

And after a full day of nothing but playing and eating, evening fell.

Late in the evening, inside her solitary cell where impossibly beautiful moonlight poured down, Orphea settled in to watch a film with the Goddess.

"There's a folk tale from the Kingdom of Valerheim that's been adapted into a film with illusion magic. I researched everything, of course! It's a story about the conflict and reconciliation between a mother and her daughter! Watching it will soften the Saintess's heart — and when the mood is right, at that very moment, you can speak to her openly and honestly!"

"Excellent counsel. Very well."

The movie Elsy Bwenner had carefully, deliberately selected was a tearjerker that wrung out gallons of tears.

The tale of a mother who was a huntress, setting out to slay the monster that had snatched her daughter away. The daughter had always resented her mother, and her mother had never had time to talk with her. But when the daughter was carried off by the monster, the mother embarked on a journey to save her — and in the end, she rescued her daughter at last, only to succumb to her grievous wounds and die.

And so the film ended with the daughter weeping as she received her mother's heart at last, and the mother, understanding that her daughter had finally known her love, closing her eyes in peace.

A folk tale like that, brought to the screen.........

"Hnngh! Waaahhh! Hic— hnnngh!"

.........Or at least, that was the plan — but for Orphea, who had lived alone in a monastery cell speaking to no one but the Goddess, the story turned out to be far too much of an emotional sledgehammer.

Even after the film ended, she couldn't hold back the surging tide in her chest, and she cried and cried for a long, long while.

It took nearly a full hour of uncontrollable sobbing before Orphea finally calmed down.

Deep night. The monastery was silent, the moonlight was beautiful, and the story had taken root somewhere deep in her heart.

There could have been no better atmosphere, no better hour, for a conversation that needed to go deep.

And then.........

"At last! Elsy Bwenner!"

At Orphea's long-awaited message, the Goddess and Elsy alike could hardly hold back their cheers.

The truth was, Orphea had known all along.

She had screamed and raged that the Goddess had burdened her with a divine power she never asked for, ruining her life — but that had been a lie.

Parents who died the moment she came into the world. And to protect the soul born with a saint's qualifications, the Goddess had poured her divine power into Orphea without reserve.

Her extraordinary soul had drunk in that vast authority and blossomed into a new gift — and that gift had tormented her all her life.

But if the power were truly taken back......... her empty, brilliant soul would quickly become prey for the other Demon Kings.

The Goddess had been protecting Orphea's soul all along.

And now, at last, Orphea understood it — truly understood.

She typed through her sniffles. The Goddess fell silent for a moment before answering, carefully.

The Goddess paused again, then added one more line.

At those words, Orphea dissolved into tears all over again.

That a being so vast and magnificent would bend so low for someone as insignificant as her. That she herself had thrown petty tantrums and hurled hurtful words at the very being who had shielded and protected her.

She was so ashamed of herself, and her remorse toward the Goddess surged up like madness.

Orphea hastily closed the chat window.

And instead of chatting, she began to truly talk with the Goddess.

The two of them spoke deep into the night, Orphea sometimes laughing and sometimes crying as she took in the Goddess's heart and her intentions.

It was a funny thing, really. A bond that had once splintered, once mended, came back tighter and closer than before.

Orphea resolved to cut back on her Soul Net hours. Soul Net was fun, and it was her safe window to the world — but no matter how wonderful it was, it wasn't as precious as the Goddess.

And in that conversation, Orphea made up her mind to put her talents to use in the Goddess's service, for the sake of the world. It was an utterly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unexpected turn of events — but now that she understood her own purpose and usefulness, wasn't it only right to put them to work?

"Lord Elsy Bwenner. There's something I'd like to ask of you."

"Yes, Saintess Orphea."

The Saintess, her eyes hidden behind a thick black blindfold, stood trembling before me like a leaf in the wind.

This was a woman who could see straight through souls and emotions.

.........She wasn't reading the thoughts in my head right now, was she?

"Don't worry. With this blindfold on, I can only read surface-level thoughts. I can't reach deep emotions or feelings, so please rest easy."

She IS reading them!

I scrambled to fill my head with good thoughts, wholesome thoughts, took a careful half-step back from the lady, and answered.

"So, Saintess. What exactly would you like to ask of me?"

"H-hire me! At the Black Magic Tower! The Goddess told me there are all kinds of crimes and people with wicked hearts and minds on Soul Net! She told me — if meeting people in person is too hard, then let's take it slow and get used to people on Soul Net first. That's what she said!"

Clack-clack-clack, her shoes tapping, she stepped toward me and held out a shaking hand.

"F-for the Order! For the Goddess! A-and for m-myself! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll struggle with everything I've got! I won't just hole up in my cell doing nothing and letting time slip by! I want to bestow purification on the world! That's how I'll repay the Goddess! S-so please! H-hire me!"

It seemed the shut-in Saintess had worked up one hell of a lot of courage.

The mind-reading thing made me a bit uncomfortable, but still.........

Frankly, she was talent I should have been begging on my knees to recruit — and here she was, coming to me first. If anything, I was grateful.

"Of course, Saintess. Honestly, I needed you desperately. My deepest thanks to the Goddess for sending someone like you to the Black Magic Tower. If any major incidents or problems come up in the future, I'll be counting on you to solve them."

I gently took her hand.

The Saintess flinched hard.

But the trembling didn't last. A moment later, she gripped my hand back, firm and steady.

"I look forward to working with you, Elsy Bwenner. And thank you — for making the space for me to reconcile with the Goddess."

"It was nothing. Your compensation will be paid to the Holy Fire Order in the form of a long-term retainer for your services. Naturally, a generous personal salary will be sent to you as well, Saintess."

"Ah — actually, about my salary. Could it be paid in Mana Fruit instead of cash?"

"........."

"I got really hooked playing Crazy Water Balloon, and apparently you need Mana Fruit to buy other games, so.........."

Truly, this Saintess was a character and a half.

But hey — the IT industry, Black Magic Tower included, was a place full of weirdos to begin with. It suited her, if anything.

"Understood, Saintess. We'll pay you in Mana Fruit."

"Thank you! I'll work so, so hard!"

And so the Black Magic Tower gained a brand-new security hire.

A gloomy shut-in hikikomori, community-and-gaming-addicted — and also a buxom young Saintess of unearthly beauty.

Any commenter who typed a creepy ohhh-la-la based on nothing but her face and figure would soon find the Holy Fire Order's paladins knocking on his door. She was a terrifying new hire, indeed.