Ch.277Side Story: Group Project Evaluation Day

I immediately returned to the club room with Leona and informed everyone about Aria’s situation.

Among our usual members, Karna wasn’t present. Not only was she somewhat distant to be told about matters concerning Aria, but she was also overwhelmingly busy with Sword Saint affairs and wasn’t even in the club room anyway.

“That woman…”

“Hmm…”

Everyone wore complicated expressions upon hearing that Aria’s time was gradually starting to gather. Though their feelings were probably 99.5% hatred and 0.5% affection, she was still, in one way or another, an object of love and hate.

“Anyway, we don’t know when she’ll be revived, right?”

“Yeah. They said her time is slowly being restored, but since the speed differs for each body part, they can’t give a definite answer. They also said it’s currently impossible to forcibly pull time together or scatter it.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“We also sacrificed ourselves in time, so it can’t be helped! B-but we are trying our best, so please don’t scold us too much…”

The Celestial God shriveled up, and the Demon God, who was confident at first, gradually lowered his voice and kept checking our reactions. I gently patted his head. Both of them had sacrificed enough, so I had no intention of scolding them.

The Demon God no longer rejected my touch.

“Anyway, since things have turned out this way, I think it’s time for us to decide.”

“Decide what?”

“What to do when Aria returns. Of course, it’s for you all to decide, not me.”

The four people fell silent. Leona and Latina, who weren’t in a position to be involved in this decision, stepped back and observed the situation. The Celestial God and Demon God quietly retreated into the spirit spear.

“What do you want to do? Just send her away? Or welcome her normally? Or do you have some other idea in mind? Any option is fine. It’s not for me to decide, but for you. I’ll follow whatever decision you make.”

When Aria decided to sacrifice herself by throwing herself into time, the atmosphere was somewhat good, but now, after seven years, it might be different. At least now we can make a more objective assessment.

“…I feel the same as Mira. Whatever decision you make, I’ll follow it.”

Leona spoke up while I was taking a moment to think. She too seemed to have made up her mind. We had already had plenty of conversations about the pain the four had experienced, and she said she understood.

Leona was too gentle a person to ask for trust based solely on the fact that she was a childhood friend. Whether Aria would be forgiven or not was for the four possessed individuals to decide, not Leona.

“If even one of you objects, that’s the end of it. I promise you’ll never see her again. You are my priority, not Aria. But if everyone agrees to give her a chance… it wouldn’t hurt to give her one opportunity.”

“I’ve made up my mind.”

Rosaria was the first to step forward.

“I’ve decided, but I won’t speak first. That’s Laura’s role. After all, Laura suffered the longest among us, right?”

“I agree that is correct. The person who suffered the longest should be the first to make a decision.”

With those words, all eyes turned to one person. Laura calmly responded despite being the focus of attention.

“To be honest, I haven’t made up my mind yet. I haven’t recovered all my lost memories. I don’t know what decision I’ll make once I recover my memories, or if I’ll be too broken to make any decision at all.”

Her fingers caressed the diary on the desk. It was an object where Laura’s memories were sleeping, with the final seal still unbroken. I had deliberately suggested bringing it.

Making a decision while looking at the diary containing her sealed memories would feel distinctly different from making one without it.

“Conversely, it means that without recovering my memories, I’m more inclined to forgive her. I’ll have to judge the rest when the time comes. So Priscilla’s opinion would be much more accurate than mine.”

“I’m okay with forgiving her.”

Priscilla answered without a moment’s hesitation. When the words of forgiveness came out much more easily than expected, Rosaria asked in surprise.

“Are you sure?”

“It doesn’t matter. It was hard and sad in the past, but those old memories have faded now. Even if I try to recall them, they don’t come back easily. I’m much happier now than I was then. Maybe even happier than before I became Priscilla. And besides, I met Yuseong this way, didn’t I?”

Priscilla took my hand, rubbed it against her cheek, and smiled happily. Even though her current personality might have been influenced by the regression, it was hard for us to say anything when this was her own will.

“But if you hadn’t met—”

“If I hadn’t met Yuseong, things might have been different. Maybe they could have been. But we did meet, didn’t we? We’ve already met, so what’s the point of assuming we hadn’t? I don’t think there is any. All that matters now is that we can be together like this.”

“…Alright. I won’t say any more.”

Recognizing her firm resolve, Rosaria quietly backed down. Priscilla was still happily rubbing her cheek against my hand. Elysier, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.

“I am opposed. I was trapped in the Demon King’s body for hundreds of years against my will, and I saw too many terrible things. Sadly, those memories are still vivid in my mind. I’ve just gotten used to them.”

“Then—”

“However.”

Her red pupils briefly turned toward me, then past my shoulder. That was where Leona was standing.

“I can somewhat understand Aria. She too suffered in a world where time had stopped, for longer than the time I suffered. I can’t say I don’t understand her feelings at all, and it would be too harsh to drive her away like this. Even if I can’t forgive her, it’s fine to keep her around.”

“Are you sure?”

“If she has any conscience, she’ll come with her head bowed. I have no hobby of tormenting such a person. If she doesn’t and keeps her head high, that’s a different story… but we’ll only know which way it goes when we face it.”

With even Elysier half-consenting, there was only one person left. All eyes naturally turned to that one person. Rosaria smirked.

“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

“Have you changed your mind after seeing us?”

“Do I have any reason to?”

No, she doesn’t. Everyone knew that fact, so their gazes naturally dispersed. Leona sighed in relief, patting her chest, while Latina patted her back beside her.

All I could do was gently stroke Priscilla.

“Are you really okay—”

“I’ll hit you if you make me say it again. How many times do I have to tell you I’m fine?”

Laura, who had been checking on Priscilla several times after Mira left, finally let go of her concerns after hearing such words.

She had wondered if Priscilla was so broken that she couldn’t even recognize her own distortion, but if she herself said she was fine with it, there was nothing more to say.

After all, Laura didn’t know what kind of person Priscilla used to be either. No matter how many sincere conversations they had while Mira was away, it was ultimately only what the current Priscilla had told them.

There was no way to know if something had been distorted or twisted. Just like the memories of all other humans. Laura tightly gripped the diary in her inner pocket.

“Now we should worry about the other side. Are you ready?”

“…Yes. I’m ready.”

Rosaria, looking extremely tense, nodded. Priscilla shook her head.

“You don’t look ready.”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“Very.”

She looked so tense that anyone could tell. Priscilla offered her own form of comfort.

“It’s fine. With your body and face, you’re no less impressive than the lewd nuns in the doujinshi we showed you. Look, even now in your nun outfit, your chest, hips, and buttocks are all prominently displayed. That’s innate talent, so you just need to change your mindset. I wish we had a hypnosis app or something.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

Rosaria retorted, dumbfounded. Unless it was those two who were otaku even before possession, no one would be happy to hear they looked exactly like the lewd nuns from adult media.

Those two were the odd ones for being happy to hear they weren’t much different.

“Leave her be, Priscilla. In the end, it’s her decision to make. Even after we’ve chewed it up and put it in her mouth, if she spits it out, I’ll personally put a chastity belt on her lower body.”

“It’s okay. Rosaria will definitely do well. It’s a cliché that the public morals committee members or student guidance leaders are the most lewd, and that nuns become the most lewd once they get a taste, right?”

“I understand immediately. That was an excellent explanation.”

“What are you understanding?!”

“…It’s bigger than I expected.”

I looked up at the pointed spire rising from a corner of the Bellium Academy grounds. Perhaps because the church followers had built it with all their devotion, every detail was extremely elaborate and splendid.

But why did they finish the event in the morning and tell only me to come in the afternoon? With that question in mind, I entered.

“Welcome, believer.”

Rosaria, who had been sitting modestly with her hands clasped and eyes closed in the spot where the afternoon sunset shone best, greeted me.

Her entire body was covered in an orange silk made of sunlight. Wearing a saint’s outfit, with more skin exposed than covered, made the orange silk look even more radiant.

“You haven’t been dressed like that all day, have you?”

“…Of course not…”

She replied with her lips tightly pressed together. After barely calming her emotions, Rosaria took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.

“Believer. It is time for you to confess your sins.”

“Confess my sins? What do you—”

Her index finger moved quietly.

It was pointing to a small confessional booth placed in a corner of the cathedral.