Usually, a hotel has only one shower room. No matter how many people stay in the room, there’s often just one shower and toilet because a typical four-person room is meant for families. Of course, that could change if it’s an extremely expensive hotel, but oh well. This hotel isn’t one of those.
They say this is the only hotel where humans can stay in the Gnome District. It’s not that there aren’t hotels large enough for humans, but that it’s a ‘large hotel as a Gnome hotel’ and it’s still not optimized for human size.
And it was me who requested the four-person room. I had a feeling it would be bothersome to deal with other guests if I were alone in a single room and someone came knocking.
So, sure, thank goodness I won’t have to shower with someone else, but the problem is the order of using this only shower room.
…Now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange to say this, but I’ve been hanging out with Linea and Aurora so much that their consideration has become second nature to me. I always used the facilities first, and even without saying anything, they would willingly step aside for me.
At first, I found it a bit uncomfortable, but before I knew it, I had completely adapted to that lifestyle—so much so that I couldn’t even thank the two for their consideration.
“So it’s weird, right? There’s just one shower, and somehow, I’m the first to use it for no reason. Don’t you usually set an order in places like this?”
Rina’s words were spot on. If we were equally related, it would be natural to act that way. Of course, even if we didn’t strictly follow an order, friends would usually take turns naturally. Still, when I was with Linea and Aurora, we acted like that without any agreement.
Come to think of it, the order seems to vary each time with Linea and Aurora. I’m not sure if they have their own rules or just wash up in the order they’re ready.
“Well….”
Aurora seemed to want to argue but closed her mouth quickly when our eyes met. Linea also stayed silent, unable to refute Rina’s point.
Maybe Aurora almost said it was obvious I was the saintess and the most important person among us here, or something along those lines.
When it comes to rank, it wouldn’t exactly be incorrect.
As long as I don’t assert that I’m equal to the Pope, I would live in the convent of the 21st District Cathedral, and of course, I lived similarly to the other nuns there. I cleaned when it was cleaning time, prayed when it was prayer time, and studied doctrine together.
However, if you were to ask if I was indeed on completely equal footing with those nuns, I couldn’t possibly answer affirmatively.
I wore the saintess’s robe, and unlike the nuns, who had to go through all the required training sessions, I could skip all that with just one word—a word that I didn’t want to do it. Besides, I regularly slipped out of the schedule. Not just me; I could even pull those around me along with me.
The Mother Superior tried her best to treat me the same as the other nuns, but the priests had no intention to hide the fact that they treated me as a saintess, and the surrounding nuns looked at me admiringly.
It was amusing that there was someone among the nuns who wields almost absolute power within the Church but attempts to treat me as just another nun.
So… if I think about the individual ranks, it wouldn’t be weird for me to do whatever I wanted, as the one in the top position. In fact, Aurora and Linea, according to the Church’s institutional classification, were somewhat like subordinates under the saintess.
But what if we approached it from the concept of ‘friends’?
“Well, if it’s because I’m the saintess, I can’t argue about it, but you three really see each other like that? Like a saintess and her two subordinates?”
Rina tilted her head and looked at me.
“If you ended up in the same room with Selena or Satsuki, could you still use the shower first as naturally as you do now?”
“…No, I couldn’t do that.”
I sat down heavily on the bed and answered.
“I’ll admit, it’s true that the relationship has solidified in a weird way.”
As I nodded willingly at Rina, Linea and Aurora looked at me with startled expressions.
“Come to think of it, this relationship has existed even before I became the saintess.”
That’s right. Back when we were in the somewhat awkward stage of being able to label each other as friends, the relationship we had, which stemmed from whether my actions were heresy or miracles, has continued up to this point.
Of course, while Andrea didn’t think I was a heretic, she wanted to draw me into the Inquisition, and probably Turner thought I truly performed miracles, so he attached Aurora to investigate me.
Now, in effect, they both settled down, and while Aurora completely changed her affiliation, Linea was still part of the Inquisition, but was also acting as my personal guard, so things weren’t very different.
So… strictly speaking, the relationship we initially had and the one we have now are indeed different relationships, both when viewed from the Church’s affiliation and when considered from person to person.
“You were like this even before you became a saintess? …Ah, yeah, I guess it was like that. Wait, were you treated like some kind of elite?”
“Of course!”
Aurora answered immediately to Rina’s question. Then, with a proud expression as if she were talking about herself, she puffed out her chest.
“Clara had exceptional holy power even before being canonized. She even performed miracles!”
“Well, certainly, she was a talent that the Inquisition coveted.”
Lineas supplemented Aurora’s remark.
“The Inquisition…?”
Rina, who seemed to have memories of being tormented by Andrea in various ways, made a startled expression at the mention of the Inquisition. Then she stared at my face as if thinking that I wouldn’t fit in there at all.
… And about three seconds later, her face suddenly changed as if she understood and nodded.
“Oh, thinking about it again, I do have some talent.”
“Is that a compliment?”
When I asked, Rina didn’t bother to answer and quickly turned her head away.
“So, what’s it like now?”
“What I can say about it is that I can’t say much.”
In response to Rina’s question, who was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, Linea replied with a wry smile.
“Originally, the Inquisition was supposed to fall under your leadership. So it’s already strange that Sister Clara is under the Inquisition. While it’s not entirely impossible according to the church’s regulations…”
Being a saintess is just a status, not a job. Of course, you can use it as a job if you wish, but that’s just an institutional device opened for the divine will to be expressed freely. Legally, the job of a saintess is the original job or changed job belonging to the convent of the saintess.
Thinking back, I don’t understand why they have to distinguish the two when saying that one can change these things by utilizing the ‘saintess status.’ But it seems that there were many people among the previous saints who wanted to maintain their existing way of life.
“Oh, that sounds good. How about coming under me?”
“If not coming under that position will cause the world to split in two, I’ll seriously consider it.”
Rina shrugged in response to my words without showing any regret.
“Well, anyway, that’s what I’m asking—do you want to maintain such relationships? I honestly don’t care, but I also won’t acknowledge being below you like you all do. If you choose to yield, I’ll be grateful, but at the very least, I will decide the order of using the shower on equal terms with Clara.”
“……”
Aurora had a very eager expression on her face as if she had plenty to say, but then she looked at me and seemed to give up, letting out a deep sigh.
Meanwhile, Linea was pondering with a rather serious expression. Is it even something to take so seriously?
“Then let’s decide with rock, paper, scissors.”
I presented my fist right in front of Rina. Seeing my fist, Rina grinned and extended her fist as well.
Then we turned our heads toward Linea and Aurora.
“Are we doing it or not?”
“Are we doing it or not?”
At our words, Linea and Aurora exchanged glances before timidly clenching their fists and extending them.
*
“Then I’ll wash up first. No objections, right?”
“…Yes.”
Could they really have any objections?
No, to be honest, it wasn’t that there were no objections.
I didn’t care about the order of washing at all.
My complaint was that I lost. And that to Rina.
Look at that expression. That satisfied, cheeky smile.
Clearly, the discussion about status and fairness among the three of us was all for this purpose.
Moreover, I lost in the best of three rounds of rock-paper-scissors after I initially argued that it should be played in that order, so I had no excusing to make.
“Hey, but you really played rock-paper-scissors in that order. Even if I didn’t notice, everyone else would have caught on, right?”
“Eek.”
Before I could answer, Rina flashed a smile at me and slipped into the shower room.
“…Did that really happen?”
When I asked, Linea and Aurora nodded quietly. Embarrassment washed over me, and I wrapped my head in my arms.
“……”
I heard a slight rustle, indicating Linea and Aurora’s discomfort.
“Sister Clara, it’s fine; I’ll yield my turn this time.”
“Indeed. There doesn’t seem to be a need to determine the order here any further.”
“……”
I raised my head after hearing those words. The eyes of the two meeting mine were slightly shaken.
“No, I can’t let that happen.”
At my firm response, Linea and Aurora exchanged glances before looking back at me and said.
“… Even if we are friends, yielding is an option. Even if we give up our order, as long as we decide on an order first, there’s no way our relationship will break.”
“Y-yeah, Sister Clara! Friends don’t care about such things!”
That might be true.
But that was something only valid for a relationship that had maintained a horizontal structure until now. If it’s just a show of hands and one round of rock-paper-scissors to decide the order, the relationship stays the same, doesn’t it?
Moreover, they noticed that I was playing it in the order of rock-paper-scissors. So it’s naturally that I ‘didn’t deliberately win.’ If Rina was winning, they too could’ve beaten me.
That means there was something wrong with the battle from the start.
I extended my fist toward the two again.
“This time, I’ll definitely choose differently, so let’s do it properly. If we decide with this, it should actually decide it.”
As I said firmly, Linea and Aurora hesitated as they extended their hands.
“Alright, then. Rock, paper, scissors!”
This time, I tried my best to avoid any regularity and—
In the end, I became the one who went last.
Whatever the order, I just seem to have terrible luck.
The fact that I won over them seems to make Linea and Aurora visibly uncomfortable. They had expressions like they had committed a crime, feeling guilty about it.
I think I understood why. While we’ve confirmed that we consider each other friends previously, apart from that, there had been a kind of hierarchical relationship between us. A person serving God has won a match against someone chosen by God in some way. The deeper the faith, the more uncomfortable they’d feel.
… But both of them really seem to have teased me a lot before heading to the battlefield. But at that time, I wasn’t a saintess, so let’s just let that slide.
Splash-splash The sound of water turning on in the shower room was heard. It was Rina washing up.
“……”
“……”
“……”
And amidst that sound, silence settled in.
Was it always this quiet when I took a shower? Hm, I didn’t think either of them wouldn’t speak a word to each other.
But at the same time, it felt a bit refreshing. When I got out from showering, Linea and Aurora could go in. Although it’s not that they always wash up in the shower together, they usually don’t mind entering together unless one of them has other tasks.
While I was busy drying my hair and preparing after showering, I didn’t have much room to think.
“… By the way.”
Ultimately, I was the first to break the silence.
“Are we three really friends?”
“Yes? Of course!”
“Certainly.”
Linea and Aurora answered immediately, their faces devoid of hesitation or doubt. At least it seems that what these two were saying was sincere.
“Then why do the two of you use honorifics with me?”
“Eh?”
“Excuse me?”
At my words, Aurora and Linea froze for a moment, making confused faces.
“Ah, no, I mean! I use the same tone with the saintess and others!”
Indeed, that’s true. Aurora spoke politely to everyone. Whether they were close friends, someone she just met for the first time, or someone unpleasant.
“More importantly, Sister Clara uses formal speech as well!”
“Well, that’s true.”
I acknowledged that clearly. Depending on the person, I use informal speech, but that’s only when I think it’s unnecessary for the other person. Be it the witches that have killed countless people, or high-ranking demons, or demons who can engage in conversation… Of course, Rina is different from such kinds of demons, so I would continue speaking formally to her.
And I even speak informally to gods who clearly know my identity.
…Hmm, thinking like this, I feel I can’t let anyone find out that I’m speaking informally with the gods. Whether in a good or bad way, something insane would happen then.
“I speak formally to others too, just like Aurora.”
Nonetheless, if one’s original way of speaking turns out to be like this, then there’s nothing that can be done.
I nodded. Then I shifted my gaze from Aurora to Linea, staring at her intently.
“I, um…”
With a very rare blush on her face, Linea seemed to want to argue with me but found no grounds since her tone to me and that to the children around her was completely opposing.
“You’re right, because Linea’s way of speaking to me and the way she speaks with Sister Clara is completely different.”
Maybe feeling relieved that my attention shifted from her to Linea, Aurora quickly chimed in. Linea glared at Aurora, but Aurora looked completely unfazed.
“…Sister Clara is my superior, a being similar to that. I think it’s natural to use honorifics.”
“Then what about Supervisor Andrea?”
If it was the Inquisition crew, they were all pious people. Andrea would be among the most righteous. Yet, she speaks informally with me. And her tone is quite similar to the one Linea uses to kids of her age.
“T-that person, um… Sister Clara asked her to, I think…?”
At my question, Linea replied carefully.
That’s not incorrect. To be honest, if Andrea started speaking to me formally all of a sudden, I would likely freeze up right there. It’s far more comforting for her to keep using the tone she originally had when she first met me.
“That means,”
I smiled gently at Linea, and upon seeing my expression, she gulped nervously.
“If I want you to, you could drop the formalities, correct?”
Even if that originally is their way of speaking, if it’s a distinguishing factor between people, I’d prefer to be excluded from that distinction.
*
“Ah, showering with good water pressure feels refreshing… what? What happened?”
Rina, coming out of the shower room in her bathrobe and drying her hair with a towel, looked at us with an astonished expression. It was a given. Typically, Linea, who would sit upright, was collapsed back on the bed, looking pale.
“Well, various things happened.”
As a result of putting pressure on Linea with both Aurora and me, I finally managed to hear “Ah, I understand. I get it, so…” from her.
Well, they say the first step is half the journey. It should get better from here.
Somehow, it felt more challenging to acknowledge that I was sent by a goddess than when I found out that I was. Wasn’t that a more pivotal moment?
And on the side, we even agreed on not sticking ‘sister’ after our names when calling each other.
From my point of view, it was a very fruitful conversation.
Of course, I was the only one wearing a satisfied expression.
Even Aurora, who escaped from my beasts just because she spoke the same way, seemed to be sighing with an expression of discomfort, so Rina’s flustered reaction was only natural.
“…Nope. Yeah, well, now that I think about it, I don’t really want to know.”
What was she thinking? Rina shivered and quickly fled to a distant corner.
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