After finishing their meal at Suiren, Olivia returned to her private chambers. Kaito had escorted her back to the Cathedral, and she had thanked him with a level of deference that bordered on excessive.
She cleared the table where they had shared tea and stowed away the chair she’d placed on the altar for him. In its stead, she returned the Symbol of the Divine Religion—the icon depicting the God Realm—to its rightful place.
With a fluid grace, she knelt and assumed a prayerful posture. As the very icon of the faith, her silhouette was a masterpiece of practiced devotion. Had any onlooker been present, they would have been struck by the sheer divinity of the sight.
Eyes closed, Olivia let her mind drift...
(W-w-w-what a wretched, foolish thing I’ve done! Simply imposing on Kaito-sama to attend the wedding was a sin in itself, but to go even further... Aaaah!)
In stark contrast to her captivating outward appearance, her mind was in an absolute state of chaos.
(In the first place, if it were truly for the sake of study, there were dozens of other ways to observe a wedding. The moment I made that request of Kaito-sama, I betrayed my own shallow desire—I wanted him to be the one to guide and teach me!)
Her thoughts raced until she finally stood up and whispered to the empty room.
“...My heart is in disarray. I must purify myself. I must wash away these shallow cravings.”
With a light flick of her finger, Olivia tore a rift in space. While residing in the Friendly City, she possessed power rivaling that of a Supreme God and wielded several abilities that bordered on true Authorities; manifesting a pocket dimension was child’s play for her.
Inside the rift lay a vast spring. As she stepped across the threshold, her clothing transformed into thin ritual robes.
She sealed the entrance, waded into the center of the spring until the water reached her waist, and resumed her prayer.
(Let us say the wedding was acceptable... but I should have stopped there. I was given permission by the ever-kind Kaito-sama to remain by his side before the wedding reception, but I took advantage of his goodness. I sat beside him as if I belonged there, and when I should have been focusing on the meal, I caught myself staring at his profile!)
As she focused, tightening her grip, the spring began to freeze. She remained motionless amidst the profound chill, locked within the heart of the ice, letting the cold ground her.
(And it didn't stop there! I should have returned home on my own, but I let Kaito-sama escort me. Worse yet, I detained him when he was clearly exhausted, inviting him for tea. I acted like a common harlot... and my reason? My only reason was my own vanity—I wanted him to know I’d studied the tea from his world. How pathetic! How foolish!)
She broke her posture and flicked her finger again. The ice shattered as waterfalls materialized on either side of her, drenching her in a deluge that felt like a flood.
Amidst the roaring thunder of the water, she restarted her internal interrogation.
(Regardless, I must repent from the depths of my soul. And those wagashi Kaito-sama prepared... He carries them in a magic box. Does that mean he is fond of them? If I were to study the art of wagashi and make them for him, surely he would be pleased—!?)
She stood up in a panic, her face flushing crimson—whether from shame or fury, it was hard to tell.
“How dare I be so insolent... Clearly, this level of penance is insufficient.”
She flicked her finger once more. The spring and the waterfalls vanished, replaced by a ring of roaring flames. The fire consumed the space in a heartbeat, driving the temperature to impossible heights.
The heat within the sub-space surged until it rivaled the surface of the sun. Yet, even as the magic-fueled hellfire raged, Olivia dropped to her knees without hesitation and began to pray.
(How far will this depravity go!? Empty your mind... empty your heart... Seek only silent prayer...)
Though she desperately tried to calm herself within the scorching hellfire, the more she tried to ignore the day’s events, the more vivid they became.
Her mind replayed every moment she had spent with Kaito.
...To be honest, it had been blissful. She had been so happy that she found herself wishing the conversation would never end, feeling a pang of genuine regret the moment he had to leave.
Her overwhelming piety refused to condone such feelings. Influencing Kaito’s actions to satisfy her own selfish whims was a shameful disgrace... or so she told herself.
(But Kaito-sama seemed to be enjoying himself. He said the tea was delicious... Ugh... Why!? Why are these worldly distractions so persistent today? I can’t concentrate. I need to push myself harder. Further!)
She remained in prayer for a long time, but her heart refused to settle. Her face alternated between flushes of red and soft, unconscious smiles as her thoughts circled back to Kaito again and again.
Word eventually spread among the faithful and the priesthood who caught sight of her exhausted state the following morning. Rumors whispered that she had been performing “unimaginable ascetic training”—a claim that wasn’t exactly far from the truth.
Serious-senpai: “So her faith and her other feelings are all tangled up in a chaotic mess... This seems like a good place to wrap up, doesn't it? What's next on the list?”
???: “The next one is Isis-san's story.”
Serious-senpai: “...I think I’m coming down with something. I’m going home.”
???: “You are home.”