I Healed the Cold Dark Goddess’s Loneliness, and Now She Won’t Let Me Go! - Chapter 20

“Well then, I’m off.”

“……Understood.”

At the upper level of the temple, Lady Reine was seeing me off. Today was my promised outing—once every five days. It was the day I finally got to visit the village again. Since there are no stairs or anything leading down from this divine penthouse, I need Lady Reine to warp me out.

…I have everything I need and I’m having fun, but come to think of it, I am technically in total confinement.

“Oh, by the way, Lady Reine. I have one request…”

“What is it?”

I broached the subject just as I was about to leave. It was a bit of a risky move, but there was something I wanted to ask of her regarding my time outside.

“Last time I went out, you were talking directly into my head, right? If possible, I’d like you to stop doing that.”

“……And why is that?”

Her voice grew sharp. Lady Reine’s face twisted into an obvious pout.

“Well, how do I put it? It’s about contrast? If we can talk the whole time, it’s basically the same as you being right next to me. I think the time we spend truly together shines all the brighter because we have time apart!”

“Even without such measures, my time with Haruno always shines brightly.”

“Even more so! Make it shine even more!”

“……Mmuu.”

Lady Reine didn’t look entirely convinced, but perhaps still feeling a bit “weak” after the events of yesterday, she seemed to waver. Seizing the opening, I pressed on.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you properly when I get back!”

“……Fine. I shall refrain from telepathy.”

“Thank you!”

To show my gratitude to the yielding Goddess, I hugged her. Lady Reine wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back gently.

“However. Should anything happen to you, I must fly to your side at once. To do so, I must keep my eyes upon you at all times. You understand?”

“Yes. Of course!”

In other words, even if she wasn’t talking to me, the eyes of a God would be watching. One could call it surveillance, but it felt more accurate to say I was being watched over to ensure nothing went wrong. If anything, I was grateful for it.

“And come back quickly. I cannot settle my heart when Haruno is not here.”

“I will! I’ll be back before you know it.”

After one last squeeze, I was enveloped by Lady Reine’s power. A moment later, my vision shifted, and I was standing at the entrance of the temple.

I descended the long staircase and headed toward the village. It hadn’t been that long since I started living with Lady Reine, but it felt like an eternity. I suppose breathing the outside air every once in a while really is a good thing.

The moment I stepped into the village, the inhabitants noticed me.

“Ah, it’s the Oracle!”

“The Oracle has come!”

One person called to another, and soon a crowd gathered as if a celebrity had just strolled into town. I had expected this, but the way their gazes lingered on me felt… different than usual.

“The Oracle… she is so beautiful…”

“Like a goddess herself…”

“……Huh!?”

I blinked, wondering if I had misheard the praises mixed into the chatter. As I stood there confused, a woman timidly approached me.

“Um, Oracle. Those robes are…”

“Oh, these?”

Following her question, I looked down at my clothes. They were jet-black robes reminiscent of the night sky, just like Lady Reine’s. They were a gift from her and my personal favorite.

“Lady Reine actually made them to match hers.”

“Matching the Goddess!?”

“How divine…”

A stir ran through the villagers. I mean, sure, the quality of these clothes is way better than what everyone else is wearing, but I felt like it was more than just that.

“Um, everyone. You don’t have to be so formal.”

“No, please! We wouldn’t dream of being otherwise!”

“The Oracle has been transformed. She truly stands beside Lady Reine now.”

“Transformed? …Ah.”

Is it that…? Is it because I’m taking a bath every day?! Well, compared to my previous life of just splashing myself with water, of course I’d look different. But that’s thanks to the corporate efforts of the Japanese bath and cosmetic industries and Lady Reine’s incredible reproduction of them. I haven’t actually done anything amazing. If anything, I’m just becoming a more pampered, useless person by the day. Ugh, this unearned respect is starting to hurt!

And “standing beside Lady Reine”… I’m nothing compared to her. But wait, Lady Reine never shows herself to the villagers. So, I guess it’s only natural they’d overstate my importance?

Just as I was getting fed up with the “wall” of reverence between us, I heard a familiar voice.

“Haruno-san!”

“Mina-chan!”

The only voice that hadn’t changed. Mina-chan pushed through the crowd and ran toward me, hugging me without a second of hesitation.

“I finally got to see you…!”

That unchanging attitude made me so happy. I hugged her back. Since she’s basically the only person in the village I’m close to, you could say I came here just to see her.

“Ahaha, it hasn’t been that long, has it?”

“Maybe… but still.”

Mina-chan gripped my clothes tightly.

“I just can’t get used to you not being in the room… it was lonely.”

“……!”

My heart ached at her words. Come to think of it, I rarely see Mina-chan talking to anyone other than the Village Chief. She’s learning to cook and such, so she must talk to some people, but… if I’m not being conceited, I was her closest friend. To have me suddenly vanish, I feel like I’ve done something terrible.

“I’m sorry, Mina-chan. But I’ll be coming here once every five days from now on.”

“……Okay.”

Mina-chan gave a lonely smile. It was the face of a well-behaved child forcing themselves to be okay, and it was painful to look at.

“More importantly, Haruno-san, is life in the temple… okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fun.”

“I see…”

Actually, I’m being so spoiled that I feel guilty toward the villagers, but mentioning that would probably go against Lady Reine’s wishes, so I kept quiet.

As I was thinking that, Mina-chan’s gaze fixed on a single spot, and her expression completely changed.

“……?”

Wait, did I do something wrong? I started searching my recent behavior for mistakes, wondering what had upset her, when she spoke in a trembling voice.

“……Those on your neck…”

“Eh? Ah—these?”

Mention of my neck made it click. The reason Mina-chan had turned pale was the marks on my neck. They should have faded quite a bit, but it seems that from this close, she could see what Lady Reine had left on me yesterday.

“Huh! Come with me!”

“Whoa!? Wait, Mina-chan?”

Mina-chan grabbed my hand forcefully and dragged me away from the crowd to a deserted area. She probably felt it was a topic we couldn’t discuss in front of everyone, and I appreciated that, but…

“Haruno-san…! What happened? Why… why would she do that…!”

“Um, well… ahaha.”

Put on the spot, I didn’t know what to say. Every time Lady Reine saw these marks, she’d get depressed with self-loathing, but for some reason, she never healed them. I’m pretty sure she could make them vanish instantly if she wanted to.

I had thought that was a bit mysterious, but I hadn’t really minded. Looking back, though, it was only natural that Mina-chan who knew nothing of the context would be worried sick. It was my fault for not thinking that far ahead. I probably should have hidden them.

“……It was Lady Reine, wasn’t it?”

Perhaps my silence was the wrong move; her voice rang out with pure hostility. Looking at her, I saw an anger in her eyes I had never seen before. I scrambled to explain.

“No, no! It’s not like it’s her fault… well, it is, but I’m the one who was in the wrong!”

“In the wrong? …It’s obviously the person who hurts you who is in the wrong, Haruno-san!”

“……T-True…”

That was some bulletproof logic. I couldn’t win. This was bad. I didn’t want Mina-chan to make a face like that.

“Did Lady Reine do anything else to you?”

“She didn’t! In fact, she’s been incredibly kind to me!”

I wasn’t lying at all, but to Mina-chan’s eyes, it probably looked like I was just putting on a brave face. Her expression didn’t lighten.

“I knew it, this is wrong. Haruno-san, you should come back and live with me like before.”

“I… I’m sorry, Mina-chan.”

“Huh!”

At my words, Mina-chan’s face contorted. I’ve already made my decision; I can’t back down on this.

“I’ve decided to live with Lady Reine. Even though the time I can spend with you has decreased… I still cherish you just as much. So Mina-chan, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“……”

Mina-chan looked up at me with a pained expression. Even though it couldn’t be helped, seeing her like that made my chest tighten.

“Um… really, it’s okay? Lady Reine is very, very kind to me.”

“……There’s no way…”

Mina-chan shook her head. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

“You’re too kind, Haruno-san. That’s why you’re protecting Lady Reine even though you’re a victim…”

“That’s not it.”

I cut her off.

“I know the real Lady Reine better than anyone. Yes, she can be scary. But more than that, she’s kind, and lonely and she cherishes me more than anyone else.”

“……”

“Okay? I want you to trust me. Don’t you trust my words, Mina-chan?”

“Of course, I do! ……But…”

Having been pinned down by my slightly unfair phrasing, Mina-chan had no choice but to back down, and she looked at the ground.

From then on, she had a troubled, brooding look on her face. I tried to change the subject and talk about various things, but her reactions were distant. It was a rare opportunity to see her, but the atmosphere remained heavy. I made a mental note to myself: next time, I have to make sure I don’t give her anything to worry about.