Chapter 57 – Battle of Nerves

Battle of Nerves

‘Goddess Cael. Please hear the prayer of your humble servant.’
In the temple, bathed in warm sunlight.
There, an incredibly beautiful young girl was kneeling before the goddess’s statue, offering a devout prayer.

It was a scene reminiscent of a painting, with onlookers speculating as they watched her.
“Look at that. The Holy Maiden is praying to the goddess.”
“Surely, she must be praying out of distress over the empire’s chaotic situation due to power struggles.”

“That’s not it. The Holy Maiden is still praying for those who have suffered at the hands of demons.”
While their opinions clashed sharply, their common belief was that the Holy Maiden praying before them was praying for the well-being of others.
Meanwhile, the girl—Riste—who was still praying with her eyes closed,

‘Please allow Ariel to come to my private room, enable us to share passionate love, and let us be together always. I earnestly beseech you.’
was offering a prayer that was all too faithful to her own desires.
‘To indulge in Ariel’s soft skin…’

[Stop, stop it! Wh-What kind of wish is this, you!]
“G-Goddess?!”
Riste was startled by the sudden voice of the goddess in her head. Her confusion was amplified by the fact that it was the first time she had heard the goddess’s voice.

“Oh. It seems the Holy Maiden has received a revelation from the goddess.”
“As expected of our benevolent goddess. The Holy Maiden’s earnest prayer must have reached her. Ho ho.”
The surrounding believers, unaware of the situation, were busy praising Riste.

[Shameless! You’re shameless!]
Ignoring their gazes, Riste spoke in her mind to the Goddess Cael who was addressing her thoughts.
And with a tone so cold it could hardly be considered words directed at a goddess.

‘…You didn’t answer when I prayed so earnestly before, so what are you saying now?’
Her words were tinged with undisguisable hostility towards the goddess.
And for good reason, as the goddess had never once responded to her prayers until now.

From her perspective, the goddess suddenly responding to her prayer now couldn’t be seen in a positive light.
[Th-That’s… I’m sorry, Riste.]
…Of course, the goddess hadn’t ignored or disliked her.

The goddess had only been watching from afar to let her forge her own path, but Riste had no way of knowing this.
Understanding this, the goddess only offered words of apology to Riste instead of excuses for the past.

‘…It’s fine, Goddess. That’s all in the past now. By the way, why did you speak to me? Is it to fulfill my prayer?’
Riste asked her in a slightly softer tone compared to before.
Of course, it wasn’t because the goddess’s apology had softened her heart, but because of a faint hope.

…A hope that her prayer might be fulfilled.
[There’s no way that could happen! A-Asking for such things with Ariel… Sigh…]
‘Then, why did you speak to me?’

Riste’s tone turned cold again.
[W-Well, I am a goddess after all… Sigh. Actually, I wanted to give you some news that might be helpful.]
‘News that might be helpful?’

[Ariel is in the capital now. Right now… she’s in a good mood with a certain woman you know.]
“Oh. The Holy Maiden has risen. But… where is she running off to in such a hurry?”
“Could it be… she received an ominous revelation about the future?”

Riste’s actions were swift upon hearing the goddess’s words.
Quickly rushing out of the temple, she immediately addressed the goddess.
‘Why are you only telling me this now! If it’s a woman I know… it’s Marian, right? Quickly, tell me their location!’

[Ah, alright. Calm down a bit.]
Riste, who had been observing Marian all this time, knew. That Marian’s feelings towards Ariel were not ordinary.
Although Marian herself didn’t seem to realize it… Riste guessed that those feelings were no different from what she herself harbored.

‘The quiet cat climbs up to the kitchen first!’
Who would have thought Marian would make the first move.
Forgetting even to grab her usual hood, she hurried towards the location the goddess had told her.

Although there was a somewhat unexpected incident, the patrol with Marian afterwards proceeded smoothly without any particular events.
Even in the capital, there are bound to be underdeveloped areas with poor security towards the outskirts.
But this patrol route didn’t include such places, she said.

Surely, Henri must have calculated even this when sending Marian on patrol. Her loyalty warms my heart. Almost to the point of envy.
“…We’ve arrived.”
As we walked, chatting about this and that with Marian, the Guard building suddenly came into view.

…It’s quite an impressive building, now that I look at it again. The Green Guard is an organization that functions like the police on Earth, so it’s only natural.
‘So does that make Marian the Chief of Police? Well, there’s no point in comparing.’

Creak.
As we opened the main gate of the Guard building and entered, Henri came out to greet Marian and me.
“Thank you both for your hard work on the patrol duty.”

“Yes. By the way, how is Edrail who caught a cold? Is he resting at home?”
“…His cold has improved and he’s returned to duty.”
Henri answered Marian’s question nonchalantly, without changing her expression.

“He’s already better?”
“It was just a cold.”
“I-I see… Colds these days are strange.”

Seeing a scene that felt like watching a sitcom, a warm smile naturally formed on my face. This must be what a workplace with a real family-like atmosphere is like.
“Is Ariel here?!”
Just then, a familiar voice was heard as the door of the Guard building opened.

“Lady Riste? What brings you here…”
“Excuse me for a moment. Ah, there you are, Ariel.”
After asking Henri’s permission, Riste approached me with purposeful strides.

Her gaze, reminiscent of a snake that had found its prey, made me unconsciously take a step back.
“R-Riste?”
Then, she naturally squeezed herself between Marian and me, and gently pulled my arm towards her as she spoke.

“Ariel. Can I see you for a moment? And Marian, let’s have tea sometime when you’re free. Well then, goodbye.”
“Oh. Let’s meet later then… Ariel, good work today.”
“Y-Yeah. Take care, Marian. But, Riste, where are we going?”

“It’s a secret.”
Why do I feel like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse? Even though Riste is still smiling gently.
“Fufu. Looks like you had fun with Marian, Ariel.”

…Is she really smiling?

“They left…”
How did Riste know Ariel was here and come looking? She’s probably not monitoring her.
‘Did Ariel contact her first? No, Ariel looked surprised too.’

What does it matter anyway? I’m in a position where I need to work now.
“Marian-nim. Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry. My chest suddenly felt a bit tight.”

Riste definitely liked Ariel, didn’t she?
Although Riste never told me directly… we’re comrades who have been together for a long time.
I’m not so insensitive that I couldn’t notice that much.

‘Surely, there’s no rule in the goddess’s teachings that prohibits dating or marriage.’
What if… Riste and Ariel start dating?
“…”

It was strange. Both Riste and Ariel are comrades I cherish the most.
Especially Riste, we were acquainted even before joining the hero party.
If her love were to be realized, as an old friend, I should be blessing it.

‘Why does my chest feel so tight?’
As if… I had fallen for Ariel myself.
“Marian-nim.”

“…Hm?”
She sighs deeply while looking at me.
“Sigh. Why don’t you just follow them? Didn’t you want to see Ariel-nim?”

“Not particularly…”
“Are you sure?”
“…”

As I hesitated to answer, Henri suddenly clutched her stomach and collapsed on the floor.
“Urgh…”
“Ah, Henri?! Are you in pain somewhere…”

“…Due to a sudden stomach ache, Marian-nim will have to take over my patrol. Please go quickly. I will handle Marian-nim’s work.”
Henri spoke in a completely unaffected, dry tone.
…I wasn’t so stupid as to not understand what she meant.

“…Please go quickly. You’ll lose them at this rate. Ugh. Stomach pain.”
Now she’s even pushing my back.
Her expression carries an unspoken pressure to follow Ariel and Riste right away.

“Thank you, Henri.”
Tap tap tap.
In the end, after thanking Henri, I immediately went out to follow Ariel and Riste.
…To confirm the reason for this tightness I feel in my chest.

.
.
.
In the Guard building after Marian left.
Henri, who had been sitting clutching her stomach, calmly stood up and thought.
─A subordinate with a high-maintenance superior is really tiring.