Anomaly

Certainly, until now, as long as she asked politely, most requests had been granted.

To be fair, she hadn’t made any particularly difficult requests either.

They were relatively light requests, such as wanting to see something or taste something.

Therefore, she thought this request would also be granted if she just asked in that cursed ‘polite tone’.

“Um… That place is a bit…”

However, for some reason, the child refused as soon as she realized what place her index finger was pointing at.

Even though it didn’t look like a particularly dangerous or harmful place by any means.

“Why, why not?”

“…I have a bad feeling about it.”

But the child didn’t even properly explain the reason for the refusal.

Unlike before, the child was slightly avoiding her gaze, which clearly suggested that something was being hidden.

Nevertheless, once she had become interested and curious, the option to give up didn’t exist.

Therefore…

“Just for a moment, can’t we go there for just a very brief moment? N-no, can’t we, sir?”

Despite having already been refused once, instead of saying she understood, she persistently asked for quite a long time.

The child’s face showed deepening concern as her persistence continued relentlessly.

If only the child had explained why it wasn’t allowed, she might have reluctantly accepted it, but since the reason wasn’t even given, she became stubbornly determined.

Not long after, it was the child, not herself, who finally raised the white flag.

“…Just for a very brief moment, okay?”

For some reason, the child wore an uneasy expression, but she didn’t particularly care.

And so, the three shadows that began walking again arrived at an [arcade game center] filled with brilliant signs and matching sounds.

It certainly wasn’t an appropriate place for a ‘saint’ to visit. She had been nagged for years about maintaining a stance withdrawn from the entertainment and pleasures outside the Holy Country.

But she ultimately set foot inside out of pure curiosity and a bit of rebelliousness.

After all, people naturally want to see what they’re told not to see and do what they’re told not to do.

Even on a journey meant to understand how the world operates, surely it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little time like this.

If it were truly inappropriate, Iji, her attendant, would have said no before the child refused.

But seeing how even Iji was busy exploring various classic game machines and the latest hologram experience facilities, it seemed there was no real problem.

In other words, right now, she just needed to focus on enjoying herself without thinking too much.

“Ah, ah… Got it!”

“No, no way! Why doesn’t this match?!”

And so, she began to thoroughly enjoy herself, temporarily setting aside her identity as a saint.

However, for some reason, since entering the arcade, the child had only sat beside them watching as they experienced various games.

Occasionally, Iji would suggest or recommend that Ms. Lua try a game too, but the only response was a few shakes of the head.

She found it strange that the child, unlike her usual self, kept looking around with a slightly tense gaze.

But she didn’t bother to worry about it too much.

For a young child, such a noisy and chaotic place might not be particularly familiar.

Of course, it was also Daina’s first time visiting a place like an arcade game center, but after all, she was an adult.

It would be unreasonable to compare herself to a child who seemed intimidated by this kind of atmosphere.

‘…A child is still a child after all.’

What her bright yellow vision captured when she briefly looked to the side was a figure slightly hunched over with tightly closed lips, the opposite of the previous chatty demeanor.

Well, whatever.

She indulged in a bit of mischief by keeping the child in the arcade longer than necessary, partly because she had been slightly tormented earlier by being made to repeat the same words two or three times. There was no real need to stay in the arcade for so long.

The results of trying out anything that looked fun while walking around various parts of the arcade were quite satisfying.

Just from what she could remember right now, she had saved a world covered in creepy spirits, won the world motorcycle championship, and lifted the championship cup in a fighting championship using alternating fists and weapons.

It would probably be a memory she wouldn’t forget for a long time. …Though the strict people in the Holy Country would shower her with endless nagging if they found out.

Anyway, she had tried almost everything there was to try. She rose from the plush leather chair to really go back now, when.

–Thud.

“Shh. Keep quiet if you don’t want a hole in your precious body.”

Something cold and hard touched her back.

Her attendant, Iji, was still stuck in the hologram world.

Normally, she could have handled the sudden appearance of a thug without even blinking an eye.

She could have just blown them away with the goddess’s power without needing to ask Iji for help.

However…

‘Saint, please stop now. Why do you keep trying to waste your precious holy power?’

Unfortunately, she had already excessively drawn on her holy power a few hours ago.

The aftermath of using power equal to that ‘Asha’ had not yet completely subsided.

To make matters worse, the aftereffects of forcibly removing the sacred object she had placed on the willful child’s neck also remained.

Come to think of it, no one had told her to use her holy power.

In other words, the karma of wasting the goddess’s power had come back in the worst form.

“…Follow me.”

–Squeeze!

“Ugh…!”

She knew she shouldn’t feel wronged, but she did.

How could someone’s luck be this bad?

It felt like she was being played on a stage set up by someone else.

Nevertheless, to preserve her life right now, she had no choice but to follow the instructions of the man standing behind her.

In the end, with her lips beginning to tremble slightly, she forcibly maintained her composure as she headed toward the back door of the arcade.

Still, if Iji noticed she was gone, he would come looking for her, even if belatedly.

Even if belatedly, he would come to rescue her…

–Creak!

“What are you just standing there watching? Get in.”

…Would he be able to come in time?

Could even Iji catch up with kidnappers fleeing in a car?

Even if the Lunatic Guild started looking for her, could they find her before something went wrong?

These were people who recognized her as a saint at a glance, despite her extremely ordinary attire that could be seen anywhere in the city.

These were people who were willing to risk being counterattacked to kidnap her.

Perhaps they had even prepared ways to neutralize her power as a saint.

Once she started thinking negatively, all sorts of negative assumptions and thoughts followed one after another.

But right now, she had no choice.

With her holy power, which had made all miracles and supernatural abilities possible, now bottomed out, all that remained was helplessness.

“P-please spare me…”

She unconsciously pleaded, facing a fear so intense it felt like reality was being distorted, something she had never encountered before.

“Don’t worry too much, Saint. Do you know how much we’ve prepared for this day?”

But the response that came back was an unpleasant laugh suggesting that someone as precious as the saint was more valuable alive.

The words added right after were of the vile kind that viewed human life as nothing more or less than a money-making opportunity, saying she would be safe until they made their big score.

In the end, with an even faster heartbeat that she herself could feel, she was forcibly pushed step by step toward the wide-open car door ahead.

No matter how hard she tried to struggle, the sharp blade presented in front of her again soon made her abandon even the slightest resistance.

And so, when her shadow, elongated by the streetlight, was finally cast somewhere other than on the ground.

At that moment when her mind was filled with the gloomy word ‘over’.

–Click.

“W-wow… Kidnapping. It really happens. In real life.”

A childish voice that seemed to bring the term ‘bad acting’ to life flowed into her ears.

The problem was the sound that had been heard before that, the sound of capturing the secret scene that shouldn’t be discovered by anyone in a photograph.

“…Get rid of it.”

The men, each holding different types of blades, rushed toward the child without any hesitation or reluctance right after.

However, even before that, the child quickly picked up a board lying on the roadside, and with just that thin board, managed to block all the attacks aimed at themselves.

“What the—”

–Crack!

“Kuhuck!”

“N-next!”

Moreover, somehow the child was instantly knocking out the burly men and gradually approaching her.

Everyone except the child was taken aback by these sudden anomalies.

But the real anomaly occurred next.

“Run!”

The childish voice urged her to quickly run to them, taking advantage of the confused situation.

Her body, relying on instinct rather than the still-creaking gears of reason, moved first and barely escaped from among the men.

Right after that, the men’s vehicle began to charge toward them, invading the sidewalk.

It was a terrifying sight that conveyed their determination to kidnap her, Daina, the saint, by any means necessary.

…However.

“Close your eyes for a moment. It’ll be over soon.”

What actually reached her ears was a voice more calm than ever, far from trembling with fear like herself.

Even though rationally thinking, hiding behind such a young child was literally nothing short of madness.

Within less than a second, she merely watched as the child once again raised the thin board toward the vehicle that was rushing right up to them.

And, crash.

“…Huh?”

A sound of something harder being crushed, rather than the thin board shattering, struck her ears for a moment.

The sight that met her bright yellow gaze as it slowly became clearer was a scene so seriously surreal.

“How in the world… did this…”

The thin board, still held in small, soft hands, without even a tiny scratch.

And beyond it, a black sedan crushed as if it had been hit head-on by a large truck.

For some reason, the childish voice, which had started to tremble slightly compared to a few seconds ago, flowed into her ears once more.

“Are you… okay?”