I felt the gaze around me change.
Especially on the way to School, the attention I was receiving was different from before.
Even after becoming a Saintess and receiving my first blessing, I did attract some attention, but after attending school every day, that sense of novelty dulled. The focus of the people living around me had gradually faded away.
However, places like shops or cafes I visited after school treated me as just a slightly special regular customer. Well, considering I got a lot of freebies here and there, they didn’t treat me entirely like a normal customer.
No one really approached me to start a conversation, but most people passed by with a casual, “Ah, there was a pretty famous religious figure living here,” vibe. It felt like observing the locals who got used to having a famous celebrity living nearby.
But since meeting the President, whoosh—I felt the way people looked at me had completely changed.
Before, many people would glance at me carelessly and go about their business, but now, more often they would stare at me intently only to quickly look away as soon as our eyes met. It was a typical reaction for those meeting me for the first time, but seeing people from this neighborhood, whom I had crossed paths with several times, respond like this made me feel out of place.
How strange it is that the reaction to the same person can change so drastically. It seems the influence of the media is indeed not something to be taken lightly.
“…….”
Of course, I felt very awkward with this uncomfortable atmosphere, so my steps towards School became quicker. I didn’t run outright but took longer strides and walked a bit faster to reach School.
As a result, I arrived faster than usual despite setting off at the same time.
…Well, if anything positive came from this, I could say it was a change for the better. After all, my school arrival time was earlier now.
I was already fast to begin with.
“Sister Clara, are you okay?”
“Ah, yes, well….”
I was lost in thought and had a dazed expression when I realized Aurora was looking at me with concern, holding two brooms in her hands.
I reached out to take one without saying anything, but Aurora subtly pulled back. As I stared at her, she still wore a worried expression.
“If you’re not feeling well, you don’t have to force yourself. You can just sit and rest if you want.”
Then she turned her gaze towards Linea as if seeking agreement. Linea, who had been observing me closely, nodded as well.
“Yes, if you’re struggling, there’s no need to push yourself.”
I looked between the two of them and slowly spoke up.
“Are you really saying that because I look ill?”
“Yes?”
Aurora blinked at my words, prompting me to ask more clearly.
“You’re not hinting that I should step back from being a Saintess, right?”
“Y-yes?”
Aurora’s eyes widened.
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean that… right?”
Flustered by my unexpected question, Aurora stammered. Linea, receiving Aurora’s awkward gaze, quickly nodded in agreement.
“Yes, as we discussed before, to us, Sister Clara will always be Sister Clara.”
“……”
Hearing that made me sigh deeply and roughly toss my hair back.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I just feel on edge since this morning….”
“Oh, no… everyone has those days.”
I nodded slightly and accepted a broom from Aurora’s hand.
“Is it because of the change in people’s stares around you?”
“Did you notice it too?”
At my words, Linea smiled bitterly.
“In fact, I also felt strange stares, though not to the same extent as you. It’s probably because I was standing next to you that day.”
“Me too.”
I guess Aurora felt relieved that I wasn’t actually angry, as she sighed deeply and chimed in.
“You probably felt extra pressure, Aurora. Your clothes have changed too.”
Even though Linea had changed her armor, she was still in her nun’s outfit. Sure, it was more custom-fitted than the standard nun’s outfit she used to wear, but to others, it probably didn’t look all that different. Those with a keen eye who saw Linea every day might notice that it was new, but… Linea didn’t have a body that screamed averages, to begin with.
Still, there’s always a gap.
When people saw a woman in shiny full plate armor suddenly appear in a delicate nun’s outfit, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to exclaim, “Wait, that person was like this?”
If Linea were wandering alone, one might just miss her, but given she was hanging around me, it made sense that more people would recognize her.
As for Aurora… well, if I had to say, she also had a figure that stood out among her peers, just like me.
Aurora, who used to wear a slightly baggy nun’s outfit like my former self, was now dressed in simpler attire resembling a Saint’s Robe. Of course, it made her figure more apparent than when she first wore the Saint’s Robe.
With two people like that together, attention would naturally be drawn to us, whether they knew I was a Saintess or not.
“I think I can understand Sister Clara’s feelings completely.”
The three of us sighed simultaneously and took our time to clean the classroom. Since it hadn’t been cleaned for a few days, we were quite thorough, but concentrating on one task helped shake off distractions.
We meticulously cleaned every corner of the classroom, even the spots the cleaning service wouldn’t reach. Just as we were putting away the cleaning tools, the front door of the classroom creaked open.
“Hey! You all look doubly reverent today!”
The cheerful voice that brought us back to reality belonged, of course, to Selena.
“Doubly?”
I asked, and Selena hung her bag on her chair and replied.
“Well, there are two people in white clothes, so of course.”
At Selena’s words, Aurora’s face turned slightly red.
“If Linea were in her armor, it would’ve been three times!”
With Selena’s comment, Linea chuckled softly. To that Linea, Selena raised her shoulders slightly.
“…Did you watch the broadcast?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Selena leaned sideways in her chair, resting her elbows on the back and cradling her chin.
“Maybe it’s because I saw it on camera, but you looked much brighter than usual—physically speaking.”
If it were the power of miracles, it wouldn’t have been caught on camera, but given that I was just using regular Holy Power throughout that day, it likely aired on national television. It’s too late to be worried about it now, but I guess having a halo above my head all day was a bit much.
Ultimately, the Saint’s Robe I had worn and the veil I put on my head continued to emit light from where my hair touched them even after taking them off. The church folk loved it and thought of it as a sacred relic, but honestly, since I could easily produce holy relics if I wanted to, I wasn’t too thrilled about it.
For some reason, after receiving all that, the way people looked at me filled with expectations felt burdening.
“Yes, I was indeed brighter. Since I had Holy Power over my head.”
“I figured as much.”
After hearing my response, Selena smiled widely.
“By the way, did you find the culprit?”
“Yeah, I asked the President directly, so of course I found out. It’s a complicated enough case that I can’t just point to one person as the culprit.”
“…Uh….”
I might have stated it too casually, as Selena momentarily lost her words.
“I think it’s okay since I’m sure they won’t meddle in similar matters again.”
“Oh, really?”
Was that too grand a tale?
While Selena was momentarily flustered, the classroom door opened again, and Jian entered.
“You’re a bit late today.”
Selena, who usually arrived almost at the same time or met Jian halfway, turned her head his way and asked.
“I had a small errand this morning. I set off just a little later than usual.”
Jian took his seat, looking somewhat tired.
“What happened?”
Seeing Jian’s expression, which was unusual for him, Selena’s eyes went wide, prompting her to ask. Jian turned his gaze toward me.
“…What are you staring at?”
With that puzzled look, I frowned and questioned Jian, who sighed softly.
Seriously, what is it? Seeing the most powerful being in the world look at me like that was incredibly scary. Did I accidentally ignore a call or something?
“Uh, did you perhaps anger the Demon Lord?”
“……What?”
Where did that come from?
Ah.
“I see.”
As I made that realization, Jian rubbed his face with his hand.
“Not that I forced you or anything drastic.”
“……What do you mean by ‘forced’? By God?”
Selena blinked widely at my words.
Not just Selena; both Aurora and Linea were looking at me with similar expressions. Of course, these two weren’t just simple parishioners; they belonged to the church, so they would be even more shocked than Selena to hear this. Even if they knew I was a being sent by the God, they definitely wouldn’t know that I was living conversely with God’s voice pouring forth from my mouth.
“No, it was more of a request… like that kind of thing…”
“…….”
Silence.
Oh, right. Mentioning the actual existence of God in a world that knows God exists might be too shocking.
Even in a world without gods, if someone claimed they could get a response from a deity by asking, it could very well overturn society.
“What… did they say?”
When I asked Jian, who had fallen completely silent upon hearing my words, he pressed his fingers against his temple and replied.
“I think they said it would be nice if the leader of those who believe in them was a bit more compliant… or something like that. I don’t precisely remember as it was in a dream.”
“…….”
Are they really presenting their grievances in front of a deity?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. No matter how powerful a being is, if they’re being bombarded with requests all day long, it would get annoying. The more self-aware a person is, the more they’d get irritated and angry about such things.
They probably just told me to accept it when I groused to Ariel.
“Any other messages?”
When I pressed again, Jian looked at me intently and said.
“So they told me to establish my own church and be its leader.”
“Whaaaat!?”
Ugh! I jumped in surprise as Selena suddenly knocked her chair back, standing up abruptly, and all the students around us stared.
“W-wait, wait, wait—did you really accept their offer!?”
…Ah.
Right.
Thinking it through, if one becomes a clergy, they can’t get married or anything, huh?
If the person they love becomes a clergy, even I would probably oppose it, regardless of the ongoing possibilities.
“Oh, I’m—”
Just as Jian was about to respond, the classroom door bang! opened with a loud sound.
Oh wait, it didn’t explode, but the door creaked loudly enough to give that impression. Typically, the person to arrive at this time would be Satsuki, and she wasn’t the type to open a door like this, so there was only one person in our class with such unruly character.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp….”
Despite the weather getting chilly, a girl whose hair was damp with sweat stood at the entrance.
With her pink hair wild and blowing in the wind—she hadn’t even tied it properly and it looked as if she had just gotten up and ran, creating a scene that left her surprisingly cute features overshadowed by an expression that reminded one of the existence of actual demons.
Well, of course, as she was a demon herself, that factor made perfect sense.
Without caring that her bag flew off her desk with a loud thud when she hurled it in the corner, Rina marched over to me boldly.
…Um, what’s going on?
Did I do something wrong?
I hadn’t even met her in days since I was out of town.
Standing before me, Rina trembled slightly, looking down at me.
“Y-you, you, you—”
And then she produced a sound akin to a malfunctioning radio.
“….That’s an awfully strange way to express joy.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Rina’s hands grabbed my shoulders.
Then she began to shake me vigorously back and forth.
“What did you do!? What nonsense did you say to the God for them to say something like that to me!? I want answers!”
Rina shouted, her voice breaking in a way that wasn’t characteristic of her at all. The fact that she used honorifics when addressing the deity was admirable as a fellow clergy… or absurdly humble for a demon, either way.
Wait, hold on a second.
Not long ago, Rina hated living in the church with a passion. So why was she addressing God in this tone? Even in the original story, Rina called on Ariel to bring forth miracles, but she didn’t seem to have such inclinations in this world.
“……Calm down, please.”
I gently grabbed both Rina’s hands to stop her. It was impossible to communicate properly when my head was being shaken this way.
“What exactly happened to cause all this?”
“…….”
As Rina slowly regained her composure and released my hands, she let her arms drop.
“Yesterday, the Demon Lord came to see me.”
“…….”
Oh, dear lord, how desperately did that deity come to seek out its believers?
Well, technically, there were only three of us if you counted myself, but still.
But they hadn’t approached me, so counting that makes it only two-thirds of the believers— no, wait.
“Did you receive a revelation or something?”
“Yeah.”
Rina said, her eyes a little clearer now.
“You seem mismatched with Him; thus, He suggested I should be the leader of my own church. Technically, since I was a being made from what He created, it isn’t out of the question.”
“…….”
Hearing that, the attention of all the kids who had been looking at Rina shifted simultaneously to Jian.
“……I rejected it, so….”
Oh, how bold of you, really.
After hearing that, Selena sighed in relief, trying to return to her seat. Only then did she realize her chair had toppled over and sheepishly propped it up again.
“You rejected it?”
As Rina stared at Jian with a blank expression, Jian averted his eyes and answered.
“…I received a similar proposal too.”
“…….”
With wide eyes, Rina walked slowly towards Jian. Then, she yelled,
“Was it you?!”
Therefore, she grabbed Jian by the collar and shook him.
“Oh, s-sorry!”
Rina’s frantic outcry only halted when Satsuki entered.
*
Well, even if Rina couldn’t establish the church alone, I thought it wouldn’t go smoothly, but I was surprised that the Demon Lord directly told her to set up the church.
…Had I just been that unapproachable?
Well, it was needed, but still.
Since I had revealed the existence of the Demon Lord, it was only a matter of time before this became public within the church. Currently, it was being discussed internally, but at some point, she would have to be properly respected.
Even if both gods were equal, it would be quite challenging to devote oneself to both at the same time. Simply put, the workload would double, and in personal perception, balancing devotion to both gods would likely become convoluted.
Especially when Ariel and Baal’s natures are almost opposite. Even if they were friends, the followers of Ariel would likely clash with those of Baal.
So, as much as I would want to be cautious about the church dividing, it would be appropriate to create separate factions to honor these deities. That is, assuming they don’t engage in conflicts with one another.
Thus, while I did find Baal’s viewpoint reasonable, it seemed he held some grudges considering he felt the need to tack on that quality of character.
“So, before establishing a church, I believe it’s crucial to first recognize your identity, Rina.”
Exactly. Rina is a succubus.
First, I guess it makes sense to reveal that a demon exists within the church and then tackle the rebellion that arises from it.
“……Damn it.”
Ultimately, unable to retort against my statement, Rina simply muttered that out.
Honestly, no matter how much of a demon one is, if a deity comes and gives a revelation, they wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on.
If the God says to do something, what can be said?
“Just accept it. It’s easier on your mind that way.”
I patted her back gently as I said that.
“……Damn it.”
Once again, Rina simply murmured in response.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
