The Saintess Appears
When I was anxiously worrying about the future that was rushing towards me, Madame Palinya let out a scoff, thinking that Elysia was stalling for time.
“…… Hmph! As expected, nothing comes out. I knew this would happen.”
“Madame Palinya. The sacrifice is in progress. Please remain silent for a moment.”
“Dear me, Baron Zeke, do you like such comedies too?”
“I am working as an Imperial Church supervisor. I may not follow the Goddess Astasia, but if I didn't have a basic understanding of gods and the church, I wouldn't have been able to take on such duties.”
“Just do as you please. I can't understand it at all.”
“After all, their lies will be exposed soon. The Goddess would never respond to such a false witch. It would be no surprise if she sent down punishment instead. Please bear with it a little longer.”
But Madame Palinya's patience didn't last long.
Elysia, who had been conducting the ritual for a while in front of the altar, seemed to have noticed the situation.
She took the lead before Madame Palinya could throw a tantrum.
“Before the main ceremony begins in earnest, I have something to say to the brothers and sisters who are with me here today. A precious guest has arrived from the capital today. However, they seem to have a slight misunderstanding.”
The harp sound stopped, and in the quiet atmosphere, Elysia continued.
“As a priest who offers sacrifices to Goddess Astasia and Goddess Ragnea, there should be no impure doubts. Therefore, I will first ask the Goddess directly about this doubt. The doubt is……”
“That you are the witch Elysia.”
Before Madame Palinya could interrupt, a chill was poured into the calm and holy atmosphere.
The people began to murmur one by one.
“Witch? Witch? Are you talking about the witch Elysia who caused an accident 10 years ago?”
“Priest Ria is a witch? What is this person saying? That can't be.”
Among the spectators, there were quite a few citizens who had come specifically to see Priest Ria. It was unlikely that Madame Palinya, who was calling Elysia a 'witch' in front of such fans, would be well-received.
“Start quickly. I'm a busy person too.”
Elysia stood in front of the Astasia statue as if being pushed aside.
Her hand, which was lowering her head silently, trembled slightly.
Was she nervous?
Or perhaps she was afraid.
She had said she would trust me, but the idea that a normal priest could obtain an answer from the gods was flawed from the start.
Even if it felt like she was standing on a podium in front of countless spectators, it wasn't strange.
There was no prescribed behavior for communicating with gods.
Elysia's actions were bound to seem strange.
To communicate with the goddess as a priest who is not even a saintess?
Even if it wasn't Elysia, no one would have tried it up to now.
“It’s over now. Baron Zeke.”
“… Well. Show your true form, witch Elysia.”
I didn't care where Baron Zeke's confident mutter came from.
At the moment, I had no choice but to prepare for the appearance of an even more worrying existence than those guys.
Astasia... No, she wouldn't really come down, would she?
The communication cut off abruptly after the last inscription that had been interrupting Astasia's impulsive outing.
No way... No way...
If only the oracle would just give the answer.
That would be enough...
But perhaps that wish turned into poison.
The feared event finally came to pass.
“…………!”
Someone swallowed and let out a yawn as a signal.
People were gently falling asleep one by one, as if being stroked in the air, like being embraced warmly by someone, sinking into sleep like fallen leaves in their places.
Peaceful, floating descent and gentle breathing.
It was a strange situation that looked like broken dolls suddenly stopping all movement, but no one took it as a threat.
They didn't.
The most natural expression was that they couldn't dare to.
It was something close to the natural instinct that humans are born with.
The being who caused this phenomenon was confident that it would never harm them, and they believed it was not a target to fear. Reverence towards the supreme being. Respect. And adoration.
“……… Chipi. Do you see anything in the air over there?”
“P-priest... Sir... Th-that... Over there... From the sky... A noble being...?”
Chipi pointed to the sky with a face as if she would cry.
It was just a faint light shimmering, but Chipi, who had received Ragnea's oracle for a long time, must have had a special sense for 'such beings'.
Baren and Cherny stiffened their faces, Lucia kept looking at me repeatedly with a shocked expression asking 'what on earth is happening?', and finally Neir's whistle.
A light breeze blew.
It was the scent of cool sea air with a salty taste, something hard to imagine inside the temple built on the grassland on the hill.
No one questioned the anomaly of sea wind inside the building, as it was beyond common sense.
Compared to the woman slowly descending in front of my eyes, the beautiful mist and water droplets filling the surroundings and the warm sun's feast were unnoticeable.
It was simply the last action they chose: reaching out to the noble being who had appeared from the sky.
“Ah... The angel... is descending to the lower world...!”
And the world stopped moving.
The flow of water and wind stopped, and only sound and light flowed purely.
“Oh my.”
The being who came down from the fluttering wings greeted me first.
I greeted her with a bitter smile mixed with relief and anxiety.
At the same time, she warmly hugged me.
There was no time to refuse or react.
Swoosh.
And the soft, cool scent enveloped me gently.
A vague sensation passed through the thin angel's clothing.
The soft hug was a bit embarrassing, but I already knew that was Elaim's way of greeting.
“Long time no see! Lord Gray.”
“……… So it was Lady Elaim.”
The body that was being hugged fell away, and she smiled brightly.
On the back of the woman who slowly brushed her hair flowing like a waterfall and smiled bitterly, black wings sprouted.
“… Hah. I barely managed to stop Astasia from coming down.”
“You always work hard.”
“No need to say that. Hearing that from the person who worked the hardest because of Lady Astasia makes me feel embarrassed.”
“By the way, you didn't appear too flamboyantly, did you?”
“Ehehe? Was it not good? Since I didn't know, I stopped the time for everyone except the two of you...?”
Elaim said, looking around at the unmoving people.
Most were asleep in the stopped time, but Elysia was the exception, it seems.
Between the stopped time of the angel, Elysia cautiously approached me.
She asked with narrowed eyes first.
“…… Gray, who are you?”
Elysia, who studied theology, wouldn't not know about the wings on Elaim's back, but it didn't seem like an important consideration for her now.
“Wow, it's the person I've only heard about in rumors. Nice to meet you, 'Elysia'.”
“……….”
“…… Eh? Did I do something wrong?”
Instead of answering, Elysia pulled me closer with a cold expression and warned Elaim.
Elaim only tilted her head at her reaction.
Fortunately, Neir explained.
“Ku ku ku... You should be careful, Elaim. You seem to have been quite surprised by how much you hugged Gray.”
“Eh...? Lord Neir? What do you mean?”
“Hugging young people of the opposite sex here is not very natural.”
“… What?! That can't be! B-but, until a moment ago, humans didn't usually greet with hugs, did they?”
“Hmm~ If I go back 500 years, it seems there was such a culture. But in this empire now, hugging between men and women is only allowed between family or lovers. Quite conservative, isn't it?”
“I-I didn't know!”
“That’s why I always say it. If you stay next to Astasia all the time, you can't follow the latest trends. You have to come to the lower world often or you won't get any teasing, right?”
“…… I don't want to hear that from Lady Ragnea, who just runs around playing instead of doing all the work for the angels.”
“I’m not particularly running around. I’m just organizing my mind.”
“… Because of that irresponsible attitude, Lady Astasia always chases you away.”
“Hahaha, Elaim, you talk well~”
“I can’t help it~ I’m also avoiding Lady Ragnea like the goddess, you know~”
“Ugh... I have to try harder from now on. I have to invade once using Gray as a shield. Astasia won’t be able to move either?”
“U-using Lord Gray as a shield! How do you know the goddess's weakness and think such a thing?!”
Elaim grumbled, but Neir skillfully changed the topic.
“By the way... Is it okay to keep doing this here?”
“Stop talking... Ah...! That’s right! Although I only set up a barrier in the temple, if I stop time for so long, I might get scolded from above. It was nice to meet you, Elysia. I’ll get to the point.”
Elaim glanced at the sleeping Baron Zeke and Madame Palinya and continued.
“You wanted the goddess's answer, right?”
“………… That is...”
“Don’t make that face. It’s hard to ask you to testify that you are not Elysia, right?”
“I tried to request a lie to the goddess. As a priest, it doesn't seem like it can be tolerated at all...”
“Fufufu! It’s okay anyway! The goddess doesn’t hate lies blindly. After all, our goddess secretly ate snacks and lied, you know!”
Elaim patted Elysia and said.
“Moreover, this request is also Lord Gray's request! The goddess will happily accept it!”
“………….”
“I’ll make up a plausible memory for them. Then it will be solved smoothly, right?”
When Elaim said it enthusiastically, Neir chuckled.
“Oh, Elaim. Do you have a good idea?”
“Fufu... Of course! I already thought of about thirty cool entrance scenes and came down. From the sky, I say this beautifully. ‘Dear lambs, in the name of the most beautiful, elegant, and wise Astasia in the world, I announce to you, that the priest Ria is not the same person as the witch Elysia, the goddess...’”
Elaim, who was speaking enthusiastically, lightly shrugged with the ominous words left behind: 'expect the rest'.
“Eek! Time’s up. I have to go up soon. If I stay too long, I’ll get scolded.”
Elaim lightly hugged Elysia and said goodbye.
“Finally, let me say this: rest assured. I am a good friend of Lord Gray. There will be no need to worry about anything.”
“… I apologize, Chief Angel Elaim. Please forgive my rude behavior.”
“No need to apologize. Rather, I was happy to see your cute side. Gathering your prayers and offering them to the goddess has been my role for the past 10 years. It’s like an inner closeness that I didn’t realize.”
Elysia’s face, which had been straightening her expression until just now, suddenly crumbled.
Elysia unconsciously grabbed her hair and covered her face.
“......... Yes. Yes...? No way... Did you hear all the prayers...?”
“Of course. There’s no need to be so embarrassed. I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Th-that... Aah... U...”
“May the wisdom of Lady Astasia always be with you.”
It would have been better if Elaim's unnecessary parting words, smiling warmly and slowly dispersing into the light mist, hadn't been said...
“… Ah, but if you delay too much, it might be dangerous! There are a few angels who are targeting me among the ones I know!”
“………….”
Elysia’s eye sockets suddenly cooling down might not have been just her mood.
Elaim left like that.
I had thought about it before, but she’s a really chaotic angel.
Well, there are so many things piled up, so it’s inevitable.
The stopped clock started moving again, and until the people opened their eyes one by one, I hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation yet.
Thud!
Suddenly, people began to wake up from their sleep one by one.
The moment their gazes, which were looking around with unfocused eyes like drunk, finally reached Elysia, their mouths began to tremble slightly.
... Elaim had said she would make up memories...
“… A second saint has appeared from the Astasia Church!”
I could clearly hear someone kneeling and shouting that.
“The saint! The saint! Priest Ria is the new saint! The angel came down directly! It’s the same as the goddess recognizing it directly! A new saint has appeared!”