Chapter 152: Tina’s going to get punished today

You know,

These days, the time I spend praying to the Goddess is the most enjoyable part of my day.

I am an ugly person who doesn’t even deserve to borrow the Goddess’s ears, but when I think that the Goddess is listening to my story, my heart races without me even realizing it, and I feel happy.

You know, Goddess,

The first time I had faith was with you.

Maybe the Goddess took my ‘first’ from me. Hehe.

Thank you for existing, Goddess.

Just knowing that you are there brings me comfort.

I’m not sure if it’s okay to say this to the Goddess…

But, I like you. And, I’m really thankful, Goddess.

I will continue to come every day to pray.

I want to visit you every single day without missing one.

Sometimes, I think…

If the Goddess were actually here in front of me, I would be willing to give everything I have…

Ah, of course, the Goddess probably wouldn’t want someone as ugly as me.

But, if the Goddess wants it, I can give anything.

Even someone like me, if I could be of help to someone, that alone would surely make me incredibly happy.

Ah, it looks like Lillian is waking up.

I guess I should get up too.

There’s still a lot I want to say to the Goddess, but I’ll come back tomorrow to tell you.

I’ll make sure to pray briefly before I sleep.

So… you have to listen, okay…?

Thank you for being there today, Goddess.

Maybe I am just one of the countless people scattered all over the continent…

But to me, the Goddess is the one and only, unique existence.

Well, I’ll see you next time, Goddess.

.

.

“Your patience is better than I expected, Tina.”

I opened my eyes slightly at Lillian’s voice.

I took the hand she extended and stood up.

“Isn’t it hard to pray for hours?”

“Not at all! Actually, it’s a little exciting, you know…”

“Oh my.”

There was a look of admiration and contentment in Lillian’s eyes as she looked at me.

“Tina, you’re really devout.”

“Oh, no. Don’t others do the same as I do…?”

“Praying for hours every day is difficult even for mid-level priests. Just sitting and praying is actually harder than you think.”

“R-really…?”

It wasn’t hard for me at all.

“Plus, Tina, you haven’t been praying for long, right? That’s really impressive.”

My face reddened from the continuous praise.

As much as Lillian thought of me so admirably, I hoped the Goddess would feel the same way about me.

Today marks the 5th day since I started praying.

Every morning, I enter the temple with Lillian, and by sunset, we return to her mansion.

Nia has also become quite accustomed to praying now. Her face, which didn’t look so good at first, gradually regained its vitality over time.

Curious about what kind of prayer she, a demon, would offer to the Goddess, I asked her.

“She prayed to make me the strongest demon in the world!”

It was a ridiculous prayer, but I thought it was just like Nia.

“Huh? Nia.”

I felt a little awkward, so I approached her. When I stared into Nia’s eyes, she took a step back.

“Hey, if you stare at me like that, I’ll get embarrassed! I-I don’t mean I dislike it, but… W-well, still, marriage is…”

Was it just my imagination?

The cross reflected in Nia’s eyes seemed to shine brighter than before.

Well, it might have just appeared that way because of the warm light from the temple.

I brushed it off lightly and left the temple with Lillian.

“Hey, Tina! How about having dinner together and then going for a walk later?”

On our way back, Nia cheerfully asked. It wasn’t me who answered her, but Lillian.

“No, Tina has plans with me for dinner.”

“Again?! You two always have dinner plans! I want some time too!”

Nia glared at Lillian with wide eyes, but she lowered her gaze as she saw Lillian’s cold, unreadable expression.

“What, what do you two do every evening?”

“It’s something necessary. It’s time to atone for Tina’s sins.”

“Atone for sins?”

“It’s time for punishment, I suppose.”

Lillian gave a slight smile, casually placing her hand around my waist.

At that, Nia’s face twisted into a scowl as she forcibly pulled me away from Lillian’s embrace.

“Let me join too!”

“Eh?”

At Nia’s sudden suggestion, Lillian blinked in confusion.

“Do you think you two will be alone? I have plenty of things I’ve done wrong too! If Tina has to be punished, I’ll take it with her!”

“…Hmm.”

A look of annoyance passed over Lillian’s face. But Nia’s sparkling eyes relentlessly followed her every move.

“Well, alright. Then, Nia, you can watch from the side as Tina receives her punishment and reflect on your own actions.”

“Okay, I get it!”

A mischievous smile appeared on Lillian’s lips. Meanwhile, Nia, happy that she could still be with me during dinner, grinned.

“Is that okay, Tina?”

When Lillian asked, I felt a bit uneasy.

If it’s a punishment, it might be something similar to what we’ve done before…

I honestly didn’t want to show that kind of side of myself in front of Nia.

“Please allow it, Tina! Huh? Huh?!”

But seeing Nia’s desperate look, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

“Alright…”

“Great!”

Nia’s face lit up with joy, and it seemed like she didn’t care about anything else.

Well, whatever the punishment was…

As long as Nia was with me, I figured it would be fine.

Nia’s eyes were filled with shock.

A weak voice escaped from between her lips.

“Ah…! Ah…! Ugh…!”

On the other hand, only breathless moans escaped from my lips, unable to even breathe properly.

“L-Lillian…! H-How long…?”

“Just thirty more minutes. And you should call me ‘onee-chan’, okay?”

“Ah, ugh…! Ah…! It hurts… onee-chan…!”

“Hehe, it’s okay, Tina. Once you get used to it, it’ll feel comfortable.”

“T-Tina… are you okay?”

“Ah, ugh! Ah, haah…!”

How did it end up like this?

I had decided to accept any punishment, no matter what it was.

And Nia had said she would be fine with anything, as long as she was by my side.

Lillian took us to the basement of the mansion.

The same basement prison where I had once been trapped.

But when I came back this time, the place had changed quite a bit since I had last been here.

When I had been trapped here before, it had been nothing but an empty dungeon.

But now, things were quite different.

A bed with red sheets, ropes hanging from the ceiling, and a rocking horse with strange triangular shapes on it.

There were also bizarre furniture scattered throughout the room.

“I bought all of these thinking about Tina.”

Lillian held my hand with a cold smile on her face.

She led me to the strange triangular rocking horse that I had noticed from the beginning.

This bizarre wooden object… was it a chair?

But if I sat on it, the pain would make me stand up again almost immediately.

It wasn’t sharp enough to cut through the skin, but considering the weight of my body, it was a different story.

“This is the punishment Tina will receive today.”

“…Huh?”

“This time, it’s easy. Tina doesn’t have to do anything at all.”

Lillian gently stroked my head with a faint smile.

“I don’t have to do anything…?”

“Yes, just trust me.”

Without much doubt, I followed her instructions.

Lillian tied my arms behind my back and hung the rope from the ceiling.

“L-Lillian?”

Then, Lillian lifted me up in a princess-carry position.

“Before you put me down, could you help Nia?”

“Huh? Me, me?!”

Nia, confused, pointed at herself.

“Yes, I think Tina will need Nia’s help.”

“Uh, okay! Got it!”

Nia, hearing that she was needed, came running with a confident smile.

“I’ll hold Tina’s body, so you just need to tie her legs to the rope below.”

“Is it this one? Alright.”

Nia picked up the chain lying on the floor and securely attached it to both of my ankles.

Then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she clenched her fist and looked at me.

“Let’s do our best! I don’t know what the punishment is, but we’ll get through it together!”

“Ugh… thanks, Nia…”

I still didn’t know what the punishment was, but the triangular rocking horse right below me felt strangely uneasy.

If I sat on it like this… it would probably hurt a lot.

“Did you tie them well?”

“Yeah! Just like you said!”

“Hehe, good.”

A faint blush appeared on Lillian’s face.

She slowly moved me to the center of the triangular chair.

“Alright, now I’ll slowly let you down, Tina.”

“Ah, um… Yes…”

“Tina, you just have to stay still. Don’t move and hold on.”

Honestly, I thought it would hurt a little, but I wasn’t too worried.

I was somewhat used to pain.

Sitting on a small chair with limited space was something I could endure.

“When I give the signal, press the switch on the device below, Nia.”

“Ugh, okay? Got it.”

Lilian quietly nodded, then slowly lowered my body.

And just before my butt touched the tripod chair…

Lilian suddenly spread my legs wide, then seated me so that the chair touched between my legs.

Sssnk-

A sharp pain spread through my lower body.

“Ugh!?”

“Now, Nia.”

At the same time as Lilian’s words, the chains binding my legs were pulled strongly downward.

Sssnk-

“Ugh?! Ah?!”

Then the rope binding my arms was roughly pulled, forcing my arms behind my back.

“Ah, ugh?! Ah…! Wait, hold on!”

This wasn’t the posture I had expected. I thought I would sit on the chair with my legs together…

“This, this… I think the posture is strange…!”

I shouted in panic towards Lilian. But she just smiled faintly.

“No, this is the right posture.”

She spoke softly, gently holding the back of Nia’s neck, then took a step back.

“We’ll be watching from here. Tina just needs to stay still.”

“T-That…! B-But, ah…!”

No, even so…

To think I have to sit in this position…!

“Ah, it hurts…! Th-this… is weird…!”

A sharp pain spread through my lower body.

And in between that, a mysterious, hot sensation gradually seeped in.

My waist began to tremble.