Chapter 13
I was dumbfounded by the incomprehensible situation.
Ding.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, di-ding—!!
Suddenly, the notification sounds started going off like crazy. Startled by the noise, I covered my ears.
[The God of Water and Benevolence, Envy, has donated a total of 500 Florins!]
[Due to excessive donations, the status window will be simplified.]
‘Huh?’
So, other gods besides Lady Arte can talk to me through the status window?
‘And what’s with that huge sum…’
No matter how much you have to say, who suddenly spends 500 Florins?
Wondering what he wanted to say, I stared at the status window, and soon his words came pouring out.
[Envy: What? You don’t trust me now? You trust Arte? Are you out of your mind?]
[Envy: Seriously… Ha. Unbelievable. Have I ever failed you? A handsome High Priest, a spacious temple, even words describing me as benevolent – it’s all written right there.]
[Envy: Frankly, after seeing that description, is it normal to want to remove your name from the temple? Are you a T? Are you completely lacking in empathy?]
[Envy: You’re going to regret what you’re doing right now. Do you think a god like me is common?]
[Envy: Lady Arte is just a passing fancy. No, that fancy has already passed! You know it too, right? Huh?]
‘……What in the world?’
Benevolent, my foot. I’d believe he was the embodiment of jealousy; Envy’s words seemed endless.
It was Lady Arte who finally cut off the ear-splitting lecture.
[Arte: That’s enough… Sierna has decided to become my saintess.]
[Envy: So what? Then you should have taken someone from your own sect, why are you taking my devotee? Are you picking a fight with me?]
[Arte: Eeep.]
Of course, even Arte couldn’t completely stop Envy’s rampage…
‘What a complete mess of a family.’
I never dreamed in a million years that Lady Arte would be stammering like that.
Well, I should have realized from the mention of them having left their home that the gods had tempers too.
As I watched their squabble, shaking my head, Tete patted my arm with his front paw.
‘You’re all I have, Tete.’
Now I can’t even trust the gods to be straightforward. Is Tete really the only one I can rely on after all…?
Changing my focus, I slowly stroked Tete while observing Envy diligently pecking at Arte.
Envy’s rampage showed no signs of stopping.
If Arte had coaxed him gently, he might have reluctantly given in, but Envy’s opposition only grew firmer.
[Envy: Anyone else, but Sierna is absolutely not allowed. She’s someone I cherish so much!]
What kind of talk is that now?
‘For someone you cherish, you didn’t even give a single ounce of divine power…’
Besides, the fact that he cherished me was strange in itself.
Because I disliked both his saintess, Izelle Yudit, and his High Priest, Shine Adiel.
‘Tch. And you have so many devoteates.’
Frankly, wouldn’t you be fine without one like me?
‘It’s not like I was a devout follower of Envy anyway.’
The number of times I had prayed to him could also be counted on one hand. Envy should know that well.
‘Haah.’
Well, how could a mere human like me fathom the heart of a god?
I just prayed for this conversation to end quickly and swallowed a yawn.
‘Mmm, I’m sleepy…’
If I let my guard down for even a moment, it felt like I’d drop my head and fall asleep right there. To fight the drowsiness, I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them wide.
But perhaps because of the yawn. My eyes felt moist, and then tears trickled down.
“Ah.”
Oh no! The tears were unexpected. Worried they’d realize I was sleepy, I quickly wiped them away.
But the sharp-witted gods and the cat had already seen it, it seemed.
“Mew!”
The first to react was Tete. The cat, who had been swishing its tail discontentedly, sprang up and looked at me.
His pupils were also round and wide, unlike usual.
‘Shh, shh!’
I gave an awkward smile, placing my index finger to my lips, signaling him to pretend not to know.
But then, ding.
[Envy: Ah, no. Are you crying?]
[Arte: Sierna!]
‘I’m doomed…!’
They were already fighting because of me; if they found out I was yawning, how much longer would this lecture become?
Rolling my eyes as I looked at their bewildered faces, I then bowed my head deeply.
In times like this, it’s better to get the first strike in, so I quickly offered an apology.
“Ahem, I’m sorry.”
Perhaps because of the tears, my nose was completely blocked. Because of that, my voice sounded a bit stuffy, but it should be fine, right?
Ding.
[Envy: No, Sierna. Don’t apologize.]
[Arte: Yes, yes. It’s not your fault.]
‘Oh? You’re being quite gracious!’
Well, it’s true that yawning, like love, poverty, and sneezing, is something you can’t really stop.
But I didn’t hastily agree with a ‘Right?’
‘Just in case. It might be a test?’
If I agreed too readily, they might scold me, saying, ‘You rascal, you apologized without even reflecting!’
‘I’m not that tactless!’
I shook my head vigorously, showing even greater signs of remorse.
“No, it’s because of me… I’m sorry, *sniff*.”
Ugh, really. Why is my nose being so tactlessly stuffy?
I glanced sideways at the status window and covered my nose with my clenched fist.
But of all times, why did another yawn have to come out then!
‘Ugh, what’s wrong with me today?’
Arte was one thing, but I didn’t want to be singled out by that jealousy incarnate, Envy.
But a yawn is, after all, an irresistible force…
‘Hup, huuuup.’
Trickle—.
My body heaved once, and tears flowed again.
‘I’m really doomed…’
At this rate, I was going to experience Envy’s rampage with my whole body until nightfall.
I could already feel blood coming from my ears as I squeezed my eyes shut.
But how strange? The words that came back were unexpectedly different.
Ding.
[Envy: Sierna, you really… Haah, fine. I give up. I’ll remove your name from the register.]
[Arte: See, Envy says he’ll remove it! So don’t cry. Okay?]
“Huh? Ah, yes, yesss…”
What, could it be they think I cried because of the yawn?
‘I’ll gratefully accept that misconception!’
They say all roads lead to Rome. However it happened, it was a relief that my name was being removed from the register.
“Eek!”
Just as I was inwardly grinning, soft fur touched the tip of my chin.
Unable to bear the ticklish sensation, I burst out laughing, *pfft*, and soon a ‘meow’ was heard.
“Hee, ugh. Hehehe. Tete. Stop, stop that.”
He had always been affectionate, but this was the first time he rubbed his face against mine.
But why did it have to be the tip of my chin? Now I felt like tears would come from the tickling.
“Meow.”
Fortunately, after rubbing against me a couple more times, Tete cleanly jumped off.
‘Huh? What’s this?’
Strange. The moment my eyes met Tete’s, I felt like I read some emotion in them. Like, well, pity.
‘Aww, it must be my imagination.’
No matter how smart Tete is, he couldn’t be smarter than a person.
Still, touched by that gaze, I gave Tete a tight hug.
Usually, he would have meowed discontentedly, but for some reason, he stayed still in my arms.
‘Gasp, I’m touched…!’
It was clear he had definitely chosen me as his butler. It was the moment I was about to rub my cheek against Tete’s once more.
[Envy: Tch, cease that action! Where do you think you’re pulling that fox act?]
“Eh, what?”
Fox act? Tilting my head at the incomprehensible words, ding, Envy’s words followed in rapid succession.
[Envy: Sierna, get away from that thing right now!]
[Envy: That卑鄙한 (mean/low-down) bastard… How dare he do that to our Sierna!]
[Envy: I won’t let you go that easily! You’re our Shine’s bride-to-be!]
“Whaaaat???”
I don’t even know who he’s calling卑鄙한 (mean), and besides, who? Shine?
“Why would I be High Priest Shine’s bride-to-be?!”
What a world-shattering thing to say so lightly!
“And the High Priest doesn’t like me either, you know?”
That man only has eyes for Izelle, you know. And of course, I’m not interested either!
I shook my head side to side, vigorously expressing my refusal.
‘So that’s why he didn’t want to let me go— he had that kind of idea—’
[Envy: Tch, I was planning to tie you completely to the temple through marriage, at least.]
‘……Huh?’
Tie me down through marriage to do what?
[Envy: It was irritating that you didn’t trust me, but you were the number one donating devotee in our order!]
[Envy: Grr, to have you snatched away like this. I’m jealous! It hurts!]
“What…”
What kind of money-grubbing god is that? My common perception of ‘gods’ was shattering to pieces.
‘So that was his real motive.’
No wonder he said he cherished me but never gave any divine power!
I was fuming, feeling utterly incredulous, when Envy said something else incomprehensible.
[Envy: Then at least get away from that creature. He’s not the kind of cat you think he is!]
