After finishing her meal at Suiren with Kaito and thanking her extremely politely for escorting her to the Cathedral, Olivia returned to her room, the Founder’s space.
She tidied the table and chairs where she had tea with Kaito, put away the chair exclusively for Kaito on the altar and once again enshrined it with the totem symbolizing Godism.
Then, smoothly kneeling down, Olivia assumed the posture of prayer. As one would expect from a being who could be described as one of the symbols of Godism, the Founder’s posture as she prayed was majestic, and if anyone were to see her in such a state, she looked so divine that they couldn’t help but admire her.
With her eyes closed, kneeling on the ground, Olivia……
(W- W- W- What wretched stupidity I have done! Not only have I done the sin of unreasonably asking Miyama Kaito-sama’s permission to participate in the wedding ceremony, but on the contrary, I had even…… Aaaaahhh!?)Despite the appearance of her prayer form that attracts the viewer, her mind was in turmoil.
(To begin with, if it was for the sake of studying, there were plenty of other ways for me to observe a wedding. I can’t deny that I had the wretched desire to be taught and guided when I had requested such a thing to Miyama Kaito-sama.)
After having such thoughts in mind, Olivia silently stood up and muttered to herself.
[……My thoughts are becoming stormy. I must clean myself once and wash away these wretched desires……]
With a light wave of Olivia’s finger, another space was created in front of her. When she’s in the Friendship City, Olivia has power comparable to that of a Supreme God and possesses multiple abilities close to an Authority, so creating space is no big deal for her.
Inside the created space is a wide spring, and when Olivia entered this space, her clothes changed to light vestments.
Closing the entrance to the space, Olivia moved to the center of the spring, immersing half of her body in the water and assuming the posture of prayer again.(……Let’s just put the matter of the ceremony to a stop. However, what happened after that is something I should reflect on intensely. Even though it was already good that the kind Miyama Kaito-sama gave me permission to stand by his side before the reception party, acting like I owned the place, I sat down next to him. Even though I should be concentrating on my meal, I found myself occasionally admiring Miyama Kaito-sama’s side profile……)
As Olivia’s thoughts began wandering again, her hands clenched and the spring froze. In the center of the spring, encased in ice and considerably cold, Olivia continues to pray without flinching.
(M- Moreover, I even had Miyama Kaito-sama send me home when I should have just gone back by myself…… Keeping the tired Miyama Kaito-sama from going home and inviting him to tea, wretchedly acting like a harlot…… and the reason for that…… the reason for that…… was because I wanted to let Miyama Kaito-sama know that I had studied the tea of his world, how extremely wretched foolishness……)
And so, once again, Olivia stopped thinking and releasing her prayer posture, she waved her finger. Thereupon, a waterfall appears on either side of Olivia, and a flood of water poured down on her head.
Amidst the roar of the water, Olivia once again returned to her prayer posture and went back to her thoughts.
(Anyhow, I need to reflect from the bottom of my heart…… The confectionery prepared by Miyama Kaito-sama…… If Miyama Kaito-sama carried them around in his magic box, does he perhaps like such confectioneries? If I can learn how to make such confectioneries, would Miyama Kaito-sama be plea———-!?)
Olivia stood up, looking flustered, and her face reddened, though whether it was because of shame or anger, it was something she herself do not know.
[W- What rude thoughts…… A- As expected, just this much isn’t enough……]
As she muttered this, the spring and waterfall disappeared, and this time, blazing flames appeared around her. The flames engulfed the space in an instant, quickly raising the temperature in the space by an order of magnitude.
The tremendous heat from the magical flames made the space as hot as the surface temperature of the sun, but Olivia didn’t hesitate to get down on both knees and start praying.
(H- How wretched can I be!? Empty my mind…… Empty my heart…… A peaceful prayer……)
As she prays within the searing heat of the blazing flames, Olivia desperately tried to calm her thoughts, but by trying not to be aware of her thoughts, she becomes more aware of them instead.
In Olivia’s mind, the events of the day she spent with Kaito flashed through her mind one after another.
……If she were to be honest, those times were fun and happy. She wanted to talk to him longer, so much so that she’s feeling reluctant to see Kaito leave……
However, Olivia’s overflowing faith won’t allow her to feel that way. It’s a shameful folly for her to influence Kaito’s action for her own desires…… is what should have been.
(……However, Miyama Kaito-sama seemed to have had fun and said the tea I brewed was delicious…… Uuuuuu…… W- Why!? Why do all these worldly thoughts keep on popping out of my mind…… I can’t concentrate on my prayers. I need to push myself harder……)
Olivia continued to pray for quite some time after that, but her thoughts never settled, and she continued to think only of Kaito, occasionally blushing and smiling unconsciously.
……Also, this is digressing from the story, when the believers and priests saw Olivia looking tired the next day, rumors began to circulate that “Olivia was adhering upon an asceticism beyond their imagination”…… which isn’t necessarily wrong.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [She’s feeling confused because she’s mixing up her faith and other emotions…… This seems like a good spot, so I suppose this would be the end of this arc? What’s the next arc about?]
? ? ? : [Seems like it’s a story about Isis-san.]
Serious-senpai : [……I’m feeling rather feverish, so I’ll go home.]
? ? ? : [This is your home.]
