“R…really?”
[Yeah. I’ve seen her a few times since I crossed into this dimension.]
“Huh? You’ve seen the Goddess?”
[Don’t go seducing anyone recklessly; it’s amazing how adamant you are about it… she wasn’t exactly my type.]
My teacher casually mentioning the Goddess as if talking about a friend left me utterly bewildered.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.
According to her, I could meet the Goddess as soon as today.
The deity that spreads life and warmth across this land, who loves all living beings.
Naturally, I felt she was an unreachable existence, someone I would never meet in my lifetime.
But to think I could meet her?
Right now…?
“Uh… how do I meet her?”
If I could meet her, I had to do it immediately.
Why had the Demon King attacked? Why had Lily become a hero? Why was everything going awry?
The Goddess must have answers to all this.
[You just need to go to the temple.]
“……What?”
[That’s where the Goddess’s power touches most strongly. You just need to pray once there.]
“…….”
My hopes plummeted at my teacher’s absurd statement.
What kind of nonsense is this?
Just praying at the temple will let me meet the Goddess?
If this were true, people would be flooding the temple, praying for 24 hours straight, skipping meals.
After all, there are countless people with wishes more precious than their own lives.
Yet, not a single person has claimed to have met the Goddess.
There are those who say they’ve heard her voice, but even that has no proper proof.
“You’re joking, right?”
As I expressed my suspicion, my teacher raised her voice slightly.
[What do you take me for? I’ve met her several times!]
“…….”
When I didn’t respond, she sighed and continued.
[Of course, not just anyone can meet her. In fact, the ones who can meet her are extremely rare.]
“…So, I probably can’t meet her then?”
[But you can. I can guarantee that.]
As confusion danced across my face, my teacher added more explanations.
[You can tell just by looking at you how much the Goddess cherishes you.]
“Really?”
[Don’t tell me you didn’t know?]
My teacher sounded surprised.
“…What do you mean by that?”
The Goddess cherishes me? The me who has never even seen her?
[The Goddess’s life force is more distinct in you than in anyone else.]
“…..What does that even mean?”
I muttered to myself, caught off guard by her bizarre statement.
What is the Goddess’s life force?
And it’s inside me?
[It’s odd. The Saintess should have told you about this.]
Iris?
I hadn’t heard anything from Iris about it.
“Wait… hold on.”
As I reflected on my teacher’s words, a previous incident came to mind.
“Now that I think about it…”
While spending time with Iris over the weekend, she had once said she sensed the Goddess’s power from me, thinking I had a unique ability because of it.
But it turned out that the power I had wasn’t a unique ability but the power of the fox spirit inherited from my teacher’s bloodline.
The power Iris felt had vanished without a trace.
I had thought that she was just mistaken.
Could it really be that the Goddess’s power existed within me all along?
Since when…? No, why on earth…?
…Could this be related to the possession I underwent?
Or was Hela, the person I possessed, already someone extraordinary?
My mind bloomed with too many questions.
‘…Well, I’ll find out if I ask.’
First and foremost, meeting her was priority.
If what my teacher said was true, I could just ask her directly.
Although I had no confidence that I could actually meet her…
“So, if I go to the temple now, I can meet her?”
[That’s true, but you probably need to go with the Saintess.]
“Iris?”
[Right. To send you to the divine realm, you need a powerful medium. You could take the Sacred Sword, but you can’t wield it.]
“That’s true.”
The Sacred Sword is only light as a feather to the one hero recognized by the Goddess.
If it’s Iris… I feel like she would help me if I asked.
But calling it a medium sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it?
“…It won’t be dangerous, right?”
[Not at all, so don’t worry.]
Even though I felt worried, my teacher firmly reassured me.
With my teacher’s encouragement, I wasted no time and made my way to the academy using a disguise.
*
Having rushed into the temple holding Iris’s hand.
Is she really the Saintess?
At Iris’s single word, all the priests in the temple cleared the prayer room for us.
“You’re meeting the Goddess…??”
Iris looked at me with an expression as if she’d misheard something.
“…….Yes.”
Seeing Iris’s bewildered face sent a chill down my spine.
…This had better be guaranteed.
I felt a stab of doubt about my teacher’s assurance once again.
I had dragged Iris here claiming I would meet the Goddess, but if my teacher’s words were lies, it would be so embarrassing.
No, I must trust!
I am what’s called a legendary yokai, the nine-tailed fox.
A being that has lived for hundreds of years, accumulating power.
Surely such an extraordinary entity wouldn’t lie.
As someone unusual, she must know things others don’t.
…At least, that’s what I decided to think.
[You seem to be having impure thoughts.]
“Oops!”
A sudden jab from my teacher made me flinch.
[Enough of that. First, go to the cross over there.]
‘…Okay.’
Now that I was here, I had no choice but to follow my teacher’s instructions.
As I walked with Iris toward the end of the temple following her directions, a magnificent statue of a graceful woman and a sacred cross appeared before me.
“As you might know, this is the Goddess. She bestows us with her gracious blessings.”
Iris closed her eyes and prayed lightly before turning her beautiful blue eyes back to me.
“How do you plan to meet the Goddess, Hela?”
“…Uh… first, I think I’ll pray.”
“Pray?”
“Yep…”
Iris looked at me with wide eyes, and then her face turned slightly red as a shy smile adorned her lips.
“I’m so happy… to be greeting the Goddess with you, Hela… it feels like a kind of introduction…”
“…..”
It seemed Iris had completely forgotten that I was going to meet the Goddess.
After a moment of shyness, Iris ran up to me, her eyes sparkling.
“Have you ever prayed before?”
“Uh… no. This is my first time.”
“Hehe… then I’ll show you how.”
With a cheerful expression, Iris began to teach me how to pray.
I quietly knelt on the floor and gently placed my hands together, following her instructions.
“Make sure to keep your back straight. Bow your head a little lower.”
“Uh… okay…”
As I adjusted my posture, Iris started to admire me from the side.
“Ah… Hela… you’re so beautiful… could you stay by my side and pray forever?”
Lost in her excessive admiration, I felt a bit overwhelmed and let my head droop, tightly closing my eyes.
“Okay, just think about what you want to say to the Goddess in your heart.”
“Uh… okay.”
When it came to actually praying, I had no idea where to start.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm down my racing thoughts, desperately recalling my earnest wishes.
…Goddess.
Actually, I’m not sure if you’re listening right now.
I don’t think anyone like me would catch your interest.
But if, just if, you’re actually listening… please help me.
I want to protect this world I live in. I want to protect the people I love.
I want to create a world where everyone can smile without being hurt.
But my own meager strength just isn’t enough.
So, Goddess.
Please.
If you’re hearing my prayer, please help me just this once.
“…….”
I opened my eyes after finishing my heartfelt prayer.
What met my gaze were the still, unmoving statue and cross.
I waited for a moment, but nothing changed around me.
‘…I knew it.’
At that moment, I found myself resenting my teacher.
What was this talk about being able to meet her?
She’s a being that has never appeared even in novels!
The very idea that I could meet her through prayer was absurd.
But still, I prayed with desperation, clinging to anything I could, only to be met with a deep feeling of powerlessness.
“…I think it’s done now, Iris.”
I turned my head to shake off the embarrassment clinging to my face.
What I noticed was something odd.
“…Iris?”
Iris stood completely still, as if time had frozen.
From her body, faint lights began to seep out.
And not long after, I suddenly felt a bright light ahead of me.
Turning my head to look, I saw the once ordinary cross glowing brilliantly in pure white, pulsating intensely.
As if calling to me.
In a daze, I stared at the holy light emitting from the cross.
I was soon drawn to it, stepping forward without hesitation and reaching out my hand.
And then.
In an instant.
Without a sound, without any sign.
The scenery around me transformed completely.
“…..Huh?”
An infinitely stretched white space, void of anything.
In this white-filled place, only an eerie silence lingered.
I was undeniably outside the realm of understanding.
In confusion, I looked around in a daze.
Before long…
“You’ve finally come to find me.”
A voice flowed into my ears from above me.
A melodious voice that wraps around my heart and warms me from within.
As I turned my head in the direction of the voice, her… no, that figure caught my eye.
Dressed in a lovely flowing white dress that billowed beneath her.
Exposing her enchanting body above it.
Most notably, the six magnificent white wings gracing her back.
I could instinctively tell who she was without needing to ask.
The Goddess.
The Goddess had appeared before me.
“I’ve missed you, Savior… or should I say…”
With a benevolent smile, she continued.
“[Reader], is it right?]”
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