Filling and Filling Again (3)
As she offered her prayers, filling it over and over, a sudden light burst forth from her body. Sara was thrilled and flustered by this unprecedented event. It wasn't just popping out randomly. When she rolled it to the right, it went right; to the left, it went left. It felt as if an invisible arm had sprouted from her body, grabbing and shaking it—and despite this being a brand-new organ she'd never had before, it adapted to her body with astonishing naturalness.
"Oh, ooooh!!!"
"The light!!!"
The followers fell into a frenzy. Feeling the pressure to show them something more in response, Sara cried out,
"Alright, now I'm gonna do something!!!"
"Waaaaah!!!"
What should she do? What would get an even bigger reaction? Ah, right!
"Behold, the divine shell game I've attained...!"
"Today's prayers end here."
"Huh?"
Lenoir abruptly shattered the mood. The space, mad with cheers just moments ago, turned ice-cold in an instant. The followers shot him somewhat resentful glances, but he remained resolute.
"The allotted prayer time is over. Return to your lives. Distributions will begin shortly, so form lines."
"Eek! Already time?!"
"Gotta hurry!"
Of course, a light springing forth was miraculous, but to them, bread and soup mattered more. Snapping back to reality at Lenoir's words, the followers surged toward the dining hall.
Sara was left alone on the platform, lips pursed tight, arms still raised to the heavens. She glared at Lenoir with pure resentment.
"That was just getting good...!"
"It was not good in the slightest, little Sara."
Lenoir let out a deep sigh.
* * *
The process had been a bit chaotic, but the results were pure perfection. After all the followers had left that day, Lenoir met Sara again before the brazier.
"Shall we try once more?"
"I don't really remember how I did it..."
"Simply think of drawing forth the light from your body. It is merely exercising your natural right, so there is no need to doubt its realization."
"Light, light..."
"If it proves difficult, I shall guide you. The root of my power lies within your soul."
Lenoir placed his hand over Sara's clasped ones. She flinched in surprise at first, then began to smirk. He felt something wriggling in her palm and narrowed his eyes.
"Concentrate."
"Y-Yes! Concentrating!"
Sara squeezed her eyes shut. In that moment, Lenoir sensed a handful of divinity gathering within her soul. This was no fleeting phenomenon. True faith had been refined.
A tremor rose to the back of his throat. Suppressing it, he continued.
"You must have felt warmth in your chest. Slowly draw it out, as if guiding it forth."
The divinity bounced and rolled restlessly inside her chest, every bit as mischievous as its owner.
"Out... out...!"
As Sara muttered and focused, the divinity began to peek out from her chest, gradually emerging into the air.
"D-Did it work?"
"See for yourself."
Lenoir's gaze wavered. So small, yet it evoked such longing right before his eyes. Immaculacy itself. A light of perfect causality, and at its full swell, it would embody an irresistible absoluteness—the most flawless power.
This was no mere first step. Though challenges remained in securing faith, this progress was remarkable proof.
Multiply it, fill the brazier. When the flames soared to the heavens from filling and filling again, that would be the goddess's revival.
As he sank into sentiment,
"Oh, ooooh...?"
Sara opened her eyes and marveled at her own feat, her face beaming with pure joy. Her smile was utterly innocent.
"I-I really was the goddess! With this, I can just! Just! Pull it out whenever!"
"Indeed, you shall surely forge a utopia..."
"No more lighting candles for nighttime bathroom trips!"
"?"
"Sneaking midnight snacks... no, rummaging for food when I'm hungry will be a breeze!"
"...?"
"And get this, my lord!"
Regardless of Lenoir's stiffening, Sara's eyes sparkled brighter.
"For the shell game, I put this light under a cup, shuffle 'em. Then make the light vanish for a sec and sneak it under the cup nobody picked! We'll be rich in no time, right!?"
"..."
"We can make a ton of money and blow gold coins like crazy, yeah!?!?!?"
It was an idea that could extinguish even a millennium's emotion. Lenoir was truly at a loss for words, lips flapping silently. As he did, Sara fiddled with his fingers and said,
"N-No more skimping. I can buy all the praise I want...! Uh-heuk...!"
She panted heavily. Obsession crept into her eyes. Lenoir murmured with a sigh,
"Little Sara, how is it that such a small body harbors greed as vast as the sea...?"
"You mean I've got a big vessel?"
"...Ah."
Dizziness hit him.
* * *
Sara learned about the light emerging from her body. She now knew it was called divinity, the substance that truly made a god a god, and that becoming a god meant gathering this power to perform miracles.
Of course, she couldn't do anything with it yet. But someday, it would part the seas.
Sara had never seen the ocean, so "parting the seas" didn't quite click. In the end, more important than producing divinity was that Lenoir was pleased by it. The intensely sweet scent of his when he first faced it became her guiding light.
She wanted him to be even happier. That feeling spread like wildfire, soon taking refined shape.
"Y'know, I wanna see my lord smile."
[A demigod's smile...?]
"Yeah, never seen it. He's cracked fake laughs a few times, but that's not real joy."
Her grandest goal was to change the world someday—a world where many could smile without cruel farewells. But that was too distant.
Right now, she wanted Lenoir's smile. It was closer, so it filled her thoughts constantly. At first, that's how she saw it, but now she wondered if the two weren't so different after all.
"Maybe my lord doesn't smile 'cause he hates the world?"
[Sara, you're saying such profound things...]
"He hates everything—people, what they make, what they do."
[Not you, Sara...]
"Hey! Hold still! I'm thinking so hard my head hurts! Anyway! Connect the dots: if my lord smiles, the world changes!"
Sara told Orin,
"We gotta make my lord like people! So, how 'bout a party for him? Everyone praises him! If that's enough to make him smile, the Church of the Goddess becomes a party church every day!"
A party church. The Church of the Goddess. It sounded promising. Lights every night, booze, card games, laughter. Sara imagined herself at the top, legs crossed, slicing meat. Piles of gold coins beside her; each flicked to the floor would earn a head pat from Lenoir, bonus smile included. The drinks would carry floral notes—surely fragrant.
"...What is this, paradise?"
[Exactly, Sara...!]
"Praise, right?"
Sara glared at Orin, but the quivering Orin just rippled with giggles after hearing the details.
Action-girl Sara Lorojin. Trifles were brushed aside. She bolted straight to Lenoir and declared,
"My lord! From today, the Church of the Goddess is a party church!"
"Sara, have you finished your reading lessons for today?"
"..."
"Indeed, at an age rich in imagination, something delightful must have bubbled up. Yet one must not neglect duties amid such joys. If alone proves difficult, I shall oversee your studies today..."
"I can do it by myself."
Lenoir Astirnus. Sara's beloved guardian, but a tough taskmaster for lessons. She backed away slyly—a tactical retreat.
* * *
Sara Lorojin was clever. Sara Lorojin was also bright and sunny. Sometimes it led to tomboyish antics, but everything Lenoir had seen her do—shell games aside—was rooted in goodwill, without exception.
Thus, he never scolded harshly. He would inquire the reason, and if it satisfied him, he enjoyed correcting only the method's flaws.
This time would likely end the same. But Lenoir found himself hesitating. Did even this warrant asking why?
"Hee hee... tickle tickle..."
"..."
"Tch, not even the waist...!"
Lenoir went to the kitchen each morning to brew tea—a habit. He knew Sara was hiding there, too. Ignoring her moderately as he prepared it, suddenly a hand reached for his side to tickle.
Best ask anyway, he thought, opening his mouth.
"May I inquire what you are doing?"
Sara, deep in thought, replied,
"...I was pondering how to make my lord smile. 'Cause if you smile, the world'll change...!"
First off, it was clear she'd veered into weird conclusions from deep pondering.