Feibi, who had been leaning on my shoulder and crying, eventually fell asleep.
She looked visibly exhausted, likely from not getting any proper rest the previous night, and after facing so much today, it’s no surprise she collapsed from fatigue.
I gently laid her head on my thigh, spreading divine energy around her to let her rest peacefully in a warm embrace.
There's no rush, anyway. I’ll wait a bit, and if she doesn’t wake up, I’ll just carry her back myself.
With that thought in mind, I inspected the divine power embedded within Feibi.
With my own level of divine power increasing, I've beco more skilled at handling it.
And now, I can sense the divine power in others with ease.
The divine energy within Feibi resembled closely that of the Pathetic God I held within .
So Aramadi acknowledged Feibi’s purity?
Hah, well, it makes sense.
Feibi is far too precious for the likes of that worthless god.
In fact, it's arrogant that the god hadn’t recognized her until now.
Who does he think he is to decide whether or not Feibi is worthy? He’s nothing without , a useless god who can’t manage a thing on his own.
While I was lost in these thoughts, I noticed Feibi murmuring in her sleep, so I gently patted her head.
“Grandfather.”
“You know, don’t you?”
It’d be troubleso if you pretended not to know now, with how perceptive you usually are. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, especially since you were once hailed as a hero, right?
“See? You were wrong, weren’t you?”
Honestly, I think it was too much that you doubted of all people.
After all the things I’ve shown you, you still felt the need to test Feibi?
“What kind of virtuous holy knight can’t even trust people?”
“Well, either way, you’ll have to pay for your distrust, Grandfather.”
“Since your lack of faith hurt , you’ll have to suffer too.”
Oh, I’ve already decided what kind of suffering to inflict.
I was planning to visit the place where Grandfather’s doll resides during this break anyway.
I’ll make him explain the aning behind every single one of the doll’s actions and lines.
Haha, just thinking of him having to recount his cringe-worthy past makes it hard to hold back my laughter.
“Oh? Really?”
How unexpected. I thought he’d make excuses, saying it was for my sake or sothing.
...Forget what I said about being surprised.
It would have been better if he’d just made excuses.
I never thought he’d drag soone else into this to share the bla.
Is this really the legendary holy knight?
Maybe the stories got a bit exaggerated over ti.
As I half-listened to Grandfather’s grumbling, I noticed Feibi’s eyelids twitching.
“...Miss Feibi?”
“You’re awake?”
“Oh, you’re up already? Too bad~ You were mumbling like a little baby, and it was so adorable.”
Before I even finished speaking, Feibi sprang up, darting her gaze around to avoid looking at .
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t an to be a burden to you, Lady Allen.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Sure, don’t worry about it. You just bawled your eyes out until you soaked my uniform, then used my lap as a pillow, and even babbled in your sleep. No big deal.”
“I’m so sorry!”
Feibi’s cheeks flushed bright red as she repeatedly bowed to apologize for her supposed rudeness.
I didn’t think it was a bother at all—in fact, I found it cute.
But if I said that aloud, it’d probably get weirdly interpreted and only make Feibi even more embarrassed, so I just waited for her to calm down.
“...To think that I couldn’t control my emotions.”
“It’s over now, Feibi.”
“Feibi. You don’t think that constantly harping on it makes it an even bigger nuisance? Did you cry so much that your intelligence leaked out too?”
“It’s not like that…”
“Anyway…”
“So, how does it feel to be blessed with the divine energy of the Pathetic God?”
Feibi, who had believed in Aramadi since she was young, had always dread of hearing his voice and receiving his blessing.
Now that her dream had co true, she should have been overjoyed, yet there was a subtle expression on her face as she looked at her own divine power.
“Aren’t you happy?”
“What? You’re not happy? Is this not enough for you? For soone who always acts pure, you’re actually pretty greedy, huh?”
“No! That’s not it at all. It’s certainly a joyous thing that the god has acknowledged .”
Feibi explained passionately just how long she had yearned for this mont, then fell silent for a few seconds before continuing with a “But…”
“But, there’s just so much wrong with this world to celebrate freely.”
Hearing her say that as soone who had taken on the will of the god, unable to revel like a child, I told her to kneel down and et my gaze.
Though it was a strange and unexpected request, Feibi complied without hesitation.
As our eyes t, I gave her a playful flick on her smooth forehead.
“Eep?!”
Didn’t see that coming, did you? Covering her forehead with both hands, Feibi looked at , baffled.
“Silly Feibi♡ Are you saying that showing my joy openly makes an immature brat?♡”
“Wha—?! That’s not what I ant!”
“Oh, so you thought of that way all along, huh, Feibi?♡ I’m so disappointed~♡”
“That’s really not true, Lady Allen!”
Watching her flail her arms wildly, trying to explain herself, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Ah, seriously. Pretending to be so kind of savior even though you haven’t even graduated yet.
...Or maybe it’s precisely because she hasn’t graduated that she feels the need to act like one?
Considering Feibi’s age, it’s not all that surprising she might be going through a phase.
“Why are you looking at like that?!”
As Feibi whined, I gave her another flick on the forehead, this ti leaving her on the verge of tears.
“To a newly blessed amateur flaunting her godliness, it’s only natural to look down on her a bit♡”
“Th-That’s…”
“Haha♡ I can’t wait to tell Joy all about this♡ How ridiculous you looked, basking in self-glory♡”
Feigning her exaggerated expressions, I elicited a high-pitched, embarrassed squeal from Feibi.
“Lady Allen!”
You know, I like Feibi—the noble saintess from the ga—but I never wanted her to beco that way in real life.
Respected icons seem impressive from afar, but up close, it’s just painful.
Feibi.
Like in the ga, you don’t need to bear everything yourself. Everything will work out regardless.
So I hope you’ll just stay as you are now.
Concealing my complex feelings behind laughter courtesy of my sugaki Skill, I led Feibi out of the basent, as she pleaded for not to tell Joy about this.
Two days passed since the day Feibi received the god’s blessing.
As for so of the things that happened during that ti…
Oh, I should start with this.
When I left the orphanage, I imdiately stopped Karia, who wanted to head back right away.
To make him pay for doubting .
Karia, as if he had expected my defiance, shrugged and told to do as I pleased.
So, I did as I pleased.
“This is sothing my silly father told … Apparently, you used to be a lone wolf who couldn’t even communicate.”
“The master said that?”
“He believed that people were untrustworthy ani—”
“Aaagh! Stop! Please, stop! My employer, I was wrong!”
Even Karia, as perceptive as he is, hadn’t anticipated that I’d spill his embarrassing past right in front of his pupil. He desperately tried to cover my mouth.
But with his power mostly diminished, he had no chance of overpowering .
“And then…”
“Enough already!”
As Karia shrieked, I launched into the next tale.
Though Karia doesn’t appear in the ga, he had plenty of stories that could make him scream, the kind you'd expect from a forr shadow of the kingdom.
I had no shortage of ways to make Karia squirm.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t go through all of them.
After two tales, the look on Karia’s face beca downright vicious.
That death glare of his made it clear he’d kill and himself if I kept going.
Soone, having watched it all, seed to realize their grim fate, but let’s just gloss over that for now.
Oh, I should ntion this too.
After teasing Feibi all the way back to the dormitory on the day she received the god’s blessing, it seems my efforts had an effect.
The next morning, Feibi didn’t bring up anything about her “mission” or “burden.”
She even admitted, blushing, that she must have been spouting nonsense due to overwhelming emotions.
The sugaki therapy was a complete success.
However, I wasn’t ready to relax just yet.
I’d lived through a ti I never wanted to revisit, so I knew how tenacious the seeds of that phase could be.
So, after confirming that she was better, I conducted a “procedure” to prevent any recurrence of Feibi’s symptoms.
What do I an by that?
“The world is too…”
“Mm. Mmhm.”
“Lady Allen! Didn’t I beg you not to!”
“Mnrgh hrrgh drrmph~”
“Haha! Feibi! Why not use that line in your next sermon?”
“Aaaargh!”
Ignoring Feibi’s pleas, I told Joy all about it.
After all, I’d only promised to hold back for one day.
Once that day was over, nobody could restrain this sugaki!
Of course, I left out the more serious details when telling Joy.
If I had shared everything that happened, it wouldn’t have been as fun to tease her.
Anyway, thanks to my and Joy’s combined efforts, Feibi’s phase was safely buried underground.
Though there was a minor side effect where Feibi actually got genuinely upset with .
But compared to the damage if that phase had fully blood, this was nothing. Yep.
There were a few other things—like my dungeon getting high praise in the Academy newsletter, or Frey, who hadn’t shown up in the training ground for days, bolting the mont she saw .
Or Arthur shrieking with joy when I handed him my dungeon gimmick manual and told him to morize it before the break ended.
Yes, it was a peaceful, joyful few days.
…
If only I had known it was the calm before the storm.
“Joy, what about this outfit? Wouldn’t it look perfect on Lady Allen, like a doll?”
“It looks nice, but… let’s try it on and see. We still have plenty of ti.”
“Hey, Joy…”
“Joy? Do you have vision issues? Don’t you see the pile of clothes in her hands?”
“We’re just trying everything, Lady Allen.”
Joy ignored my words, handing yet another piece of clothing to Carl, who had co along as our pack mule.
Wow. The stack of clothes on Carl’s arms was almost reaching his shoulders.
How many hours would it take to try all of these on?
“Feibi, how about this one?”
“It wouldn’t have suited the old Lady Allen, but now… I think it would look wonderful.”
“Right?”
...Do they see as a living dress-up doll rather than a person?
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