Chapter: 336
As Phoebe sobbed against my shoulder, she eventually dozed off.
You could tell she hadn’t gotten much sleep, and with all the chaos from the previous day, it was no wonder she was worn out.
I gently laid her down on my lap, spreading my divine energy around her to keep her cozy so she could rest comfortably.
There was no rush; if she didn’t wake up soon, I could just carry her back later.
With that thought, I turned my attention to the divine essence within Phoebe.
As my mastery of handling divine energy improved, so had my ability to sense it emanating from others.
From my perspective, the divinity contained within Phoebe was strikingly similar to the divine presence I carried.
Could it be that Armadi acknowledged her purity?
Hah, yes. That makes sense.
Phoebe is far too precious to be with that pathetic perverted god.
In fact, the audacity of that deity to deny acknowledging her is outrageous. Who does he think he is, to decide if Phoebe is worthy? He’s a useless god who can’t achieve anything without me!
Lost in these thoughts, I caught sight of Phoebe murmuring in her sleep and gently patted her head.
“Grandpa.”
[What is it now?]
“You know, don’t you?”
It would be tough for someone who’s usually quick-witted like him to suddenly pretend he didn’t notice. Surely, he wouldn’t claim to have forgotten something like being hailed as a hero, right?
[Yes, you were right. This child indeed bears the name of a saint.]
“See? You were wrong, old man!”
Even if I could overlook other people doubting me, Grandpa doubting my words was just too much.
After all I had shown him over the years, to suddenly question Phoebe was ridiculous!
“How can this noble holy knight not trust people like that?”
[…I have no excuse. I’m sorry. This was clearly my bad habit.]
“Anyway, now you have to pay the price for your doubt.”
[What do you mean by ‘price’? ]
“Because I was hurt by your disbelief, you need to suffer too.”
Oh, I already knew exactly how I would make him suffer.
I had planned to pay a visit to his dolls during this vacation.
I would make him explain the hidden meanings behind every single action and line of those dolls.
Hehe, imagining the look on his face as I made him revisit his past failures made it impossible for me to hold back a chuckle.
[If my punishment is as it should be, I certainly will not evade it.]
“Really?”
What a surprise. I thought he’d try to make excuses saying he was just looking out for me.
[But I wasn’t the only one at fault here, was I?!]
…Forget what I said about surprises.
I would have preferred it if he stuck to excuses.
I couldn’t believe he would drag someone else down with him to share the blame.
Is this truly what a legendary holy knight is like?
Was there something awry in the stories told about him?
As I ignored the old man’s ramblings, I noticed Phoebe’s eyelids fluttering.
“…Huh? Young Lady?”
“Did you wake up?”
“You’re already awake? What a shame~ You were so cute mumbling like a baby.”
Before I could finish my teasing, Phoebe shot up and started nervously glancing around, avoiding my gaze.
“I-I’m sorry! I dared to disturb you, Young Lady…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
“No! I dribbled tears all over your uniform, then fell asleep on your knee and even murmured in my sleep! I’m so sorry!”
Her face turned a bright shade of crimson as she bowed her head repeatedly to apologize for her rudeness.
I didn’t even think it was that big of a deal, and honestly, I found it pretty cute.
But saying that would only make things weird, so I decided to wait for Phoebe to calm down.
“…I can’t believe I’m an emotional mess like this.”
“That’s enough! Phoebe.”
“Phoebe? If you keep pushing it, it’ll become a burden! Did you lose your intellect while crying?”
“Not quite, but…”
“Instead… How do you feel about having the divine essence of that pathetic god?”
Phoebe, who had believed in Armadi since she was little, saw hearing his voice and receiving his blessings as the ultimate dream.
You’d think she’d be happy about that dream coming true, but her expression was oddly mixed.
“Not happy?”
“What? You’re not happy? Is this not enough for you? Pretending to be pure but actually greedy?”
“No! That’s not it! Having the deity watch over me is indeed a joyful thing!”
As she zealously explained how long she had awaited this moment, she suddenly paused, then added hesitantly a few seconds later, “However…”
“However, enjoying that happiness wholly is tough with all the darkness lurking in this world.”
Having accepted that she now bore the will of the deity, she felt she couldn’t act like a carefree child.
I knelt to match her gaze and requested her to look me in the eye.
Despite it being a bizarre request given the circumstances, Phoebe obliged without complaint.
At that moment, I lightly tapped her forehead.
“Yikes?!”
Had she not seen that coming? Covering her forehead with both hands, she looked at me confusingly.
“Foolish Phoebe♡ If you say I’m a disgrace for showing my joy, that means you think I’m a disgrace too, right?♡”
“…W-What?! That’s not what I meant!”
“Hmm~♡ So you thought of me that way, huh? I’m so disappointed!♡”
“It’s really not like that, Young Lady!”
Her flailing arms and flustered excuses finally made me burst out laughing.
Hah, really. She’s not even graduated yet, and she’s already trying to act like a Savior.
…Wait, maybe it’s because she hasn’t graduated yet that she’s trying to act like a Savior?
Considering Phoebe’s age, it wouldn’t be odd for her to have a bit of that juvenile delusion.
“Why exactly do you look at me like that?”
As Phoebe protested her innocence, I gave her forehead another light tap, watching her on the verge of crying.
“Look at you, newly blessed with divinity, trying to act all high and mighty♡ Anyone would find that laughable!♡”
“That’s… true.”
“Puhahaha♡ I’ll have to share this with that silly one later!♡ Just how foolish you were, lost in self-adoration!♡”
When I exaggeratedly mimicked her, a high-pitched voice squeaked out of her mouth.
“Y-Young Lady!!”
You see…
While I liked the holy saint Phoebe from the game, I don’t want her real-life counterpart to go that far.
A revered figure looks splendid from afar, but up close, it’s somewhat painful.
Phoebe.
Just like you didn’t have to carry everything in the game, why can’t you trust that things will work out just fine now?
I really just want you to stay as you are.
With my masked skill creating laughter, I hid my complicated feelings and quietly led Phoebe out of the basement, wishing she wouldn’t mention this to Joy.
*
Two days had passed since Phoebe received her divine essence.
If I were to share some details about the happenings over this time…
Well, first off, I need to say this.
Having left the orphanage, I halted Karia’s insistence to return.
I needed to make her pay for doubting me.
Knowing I’d probably react this way, Karia shrugged it off, telling me to do as I please.
So, I did just that.
“My silly father told me that back in the day, Auntie was an unsociable loner.”
“Did you mean the master?”
“Humans are untrustworthy creatures, after all…”
“STOP! Please, no more! Employer! I was wrong!”
Even Karia, normally perceptive, must not have expected me to spill her dark history in front of her disciple, as she desperately tried to shut me up.
But, there was no way she could overpower me now.
“And then…”
“HOLD ON!”
I began my next tale, leaving Karia’s yells behind.
While Karia didn’t appear in the game, I certainly had plenty of emo stories to tell about the “Shadow of the Whole Kingdom.”
In my mind, I had 101 ways to make Karia scream.
Sadly, I couldn’t share them all in one go, as Karia’s expression began to turn fierce.
Seeing those eyes that suggested she’d rather kill me than let me continue got me to shut up right away.
[…If this is Karia’s punishment, could it be that mine is…?]
Someone watching the scene realized their dark future but that wasn’t important enough to dwell on.
Oh, I should mention this too.
After receiving the divine essence at the orphanage, I wondered if tormenting Phoebe until I returned to the dorm made any difference.
When I met her the next morning, she didn’t once mention her burden or mission.
What’s more, she seemed flushed, almost like she acknowledged she had rambled earlier. My ’middle-school syndrome’ treatment had worked flawlessly.
However, I wasn’t ready to be satisfied just yet.
Having gone through that traumatic phase I never want to revisit, I knew the seeds of juvenile delusion could have a stubborn life.
That’s why, after confirming her recovery, I implemented a procedure to prevent any relapse.
What nonsense is that?
“That happiness, it’s too—”
“Ugh! Ugh!”
“Young Lady! I’ve begged you not to do this!”
“It’s just too cute~!”
I ignored Phoebe’s pleas and spilled the whole thing to Joy.
Because if I didn’t manage to entertain myself with that day’s antics, I’d probably regret not doing so as soon as the day is over!
Of course, I omitted the serious bits; otherwise, the mood wouldn’t be amusing enough to tease.
Either way, thanks to our combined efforts, Phoebe’s middle-school crisis had perished under the soil.
Though there were some side effects where Phoebe ended up genuinely sulking,
that was nothing compared to the damage had she fully embraced the syndrome.
Outside of that, my dungeon had received high praise in an academic paper.
A few days later, when Frey saw my face, she bolted out of the training grounds.
And Arthur, upon receiving my book on dungeon gimmicks, screamed with joy at my command to memorize them all before the break.
So, the last couple of days were truly peaceful and joyous.
…
If only I had known that this was all the calm before the storm.
“Joy, what do you think of this outfit? With the doll-like look of the Young Lady, it suits her perfectly, right?”
“It’s fine, but let’s see it on first. We’ve still got plenty of time.”
“Uh, Joy…”
“Joy? Are your eyes okay? Don’t you see the mountain of clothes in her hands?”
“We’re trying to try this on, and that on… Young Lady.”
Joy seemed to ignore my words as she handed over another outfit to Karl, who had tagged along as our porter.
Whoa. How many outfits were piled onto Karl’s arms, almost touching his shoulders?
Just how long would it take to try all those on?
“Phoebe, how about this one?”
“It wouldn’t have suited the previous Young Lady, but now it would be super charming!”
“Right?”
…Do they think I’m just some living doll meant for dressing up?
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