I Healed the Cold Dark Goddess’s Loneliness, and Now She Won’t Let Me Go! - Chapter 3

It’s been a few days since the village recognized me as their Shrine Maiden. Thanks to that, I’ve managed to secure food, clothing, and shelter… though, to be honest, it’s all a bit much for someone like me.

After all, my “job” is to deliver the words of Reine—er, Lady Reine to the people. Whenever I try to help the villagers with their chores, they stop me, insisting that they couldn’t possibly let a Shrine Maiden do such manual labor. To be frank, it’s pretty awkward.

Mina and the others tell me it’s fine for me to just relax, but my conscience won’t allow it.

And so… of my own volition this time, I found myself climbing that long staircase to the temple once again. Technically, I’ve become the Shrine Maiden. To fulfill that duty of delivering Lady Reine’s will, I have to actually see her again.

It’s not like the villagers ordered me to do this. If anything, they were worried, saying things like, “Is it not far too irreverent to visit the Goddess so frequently?”

So… if I’m being honest, the bigger reason is probably just that I personally want to know more about her.

Besides, now that my life has stabilized, a bit of ambition has started to creep in. I have a small goal.

In the game, Reine had become a calamity, a being that blanketed the world in curses. To tell you the truth, the person who suffered most from those curses was my “fave,” Alford, and his entire bloodline. If I can change the events of this era that led to Reine becoming a disaster, I might be able to prevent that entire tragedy. That’s my hope.

…I’ll just turn a blind eye to the fact that intervening five thousand years in the past might cause a butterfly effect so massive the game’s story won’t just change. The characters might never even be born. If I stop to think about that, it’s already way too late, and besides, the less misery in the world, the better.

When I arrived at the temple, it looked completely empty at first glance, just like before. I suppose I can only see her if she chooses to invite me in.

“Um… Lady Reine? I’d like to talk to you…”

As I called out timidly, my vision shifted just like last time. However, instead of the dark void from before, the scenery changed into a room that looked like a smaller, more refined version of the temple itself.

It was a miniature of the empty hall, but with one major difference: a throne sat in the center, and Lady Reine was perched upon it.

“Oh, um—”

“Why have you come? Leave.”

She cut me off before I could even get a word out. It didn’t seem like she had any intention of being friendly, but I couldn’t just leave quietly.

“Well… first off, where exactly are we? Compared to last time, this place feels a lot more real.”

“…”

When I ignored her dismissal and voiced my question, Lady Reine’s expression grew even more displeased. Then, after a sigh, she actually bothered to answer me.

“This is the upper stratum of the temple. A domain that cannot be stepped into without my permission. Last time, I summoned only your soul, but today, I have brought your physical body up to this place.”

“Whoa, I see. Wait, does that mean you literally pulled my soul out last time…?”

I decided not to think too deeply about the implications of that experience and instead processed what she just said. In other words, this place physically exists within the temple, but there are no stairs leading here from the lower level where I was standing. Come to think of it, the temple’s architecture was grand enough that it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a hidden space at the top.

“Now, what is your business? Leave.”

“No, see, I’ve officially become the Shrine Maiden serving you, Lady Reine, and—”

“…I know. I know everything that happens within my domain. Though I have not recognized you as such.”

“Oh, so you knew.”

Wait, did she just say she knows everything that happens in her domain? If that’s true, I can’t keep any secrets from her… but anyway, now isn’t the time to worry about that.

“So, since I’m technically in your service, I thought I could help out with your daily needs or—”

“Unnecessary.”

An immediate rejection. Reine finally looked down at me, her face full of exasperation.

“I do not partake in human activities.”

“Ah…”

True, there was absolutely no sense of “daily life” in this temple. No bathroom, no bath, no bed—none of the things humans need to live were anywhere to be found. If she spends all her time here, I guess she really doesn’t need “looking after.”

“Well then… how about a massage?”

“What is that?”

Reine knit her brows. Since the concept might not exist here, I tried to explain while making a kneading gesture with my hands.

“You know, like anma? You rub the body to work out the stiffness and…”

“Were you not listening? My body does not suffer from human malfunctions.”

“Right, of course…”

Well, she is a Goddess. Since she doesn’t live like a human, it makes sense that she’s a stranger to human problems like stiff shoulders or back pain.

“Hmm…”

This is bad. At this rate, I’ll be kicked out before I can even find an excuse to get closer to her. As my panic rose under her increasingly chilly gaze, I looked at her face and had a stroke of brilliance.

“Then, let’s do something stylish! A makeover!”

“I will not.”

Another immediate rejection.

“But Lady Reine, your ‘visuals’ are so top-tier…”

I let my honest thoughts slip. Truly, her beauty was staggering. It wasn’t just the “perfect” beauty of a Goddess; she just had incredible “raw materials,” so to speak. The sheer amount of wasted potential made me itch to try out different looks on her.

“You… cease your empty flattery.”

“Eh? No, I’m serious!”

It seemed she had heard my muttering, and her expression soured even further. She clearly thought I was just trying to suck up to her, but she couldn’t be more wrong.

“Your skin is so pale and perfect I almost want to touch it. I mean, it’s so translucent I’m jealous! And your hair, you just leave it hanging there, but I can’t help but imagine how amazing it would look if it were styled. And your purple eyes, they’re so mystical and beautiful it makes my old self, who used to feel proud just putting on colored contacts in front of a mirror, feel totally embarrassed…”

As I rambled on, forgetting to filter my thoughts, I realized halfway through that Lady Reine had turned her head away. From my position, I couldn’t see her face as she spoke.

“…Enough. Begone.”

The next instant, I was back in the lower level of the temple. It seems I had been forcibly ejected.

Still, that final reaction.

“Could it be… was she blushing? …Whoa!?”

The moment I whispered that to myself, a loud pop, like air exploding, echoed from the floor beside me, followed by a small shockwave. I jumped back in surprise.

…That definitely didn’t seem like a natural phenomenon. Which meant the most likely possibility was…

“…Was that divine punishment?”

The villagers said that Lady Reine communicates her will through natural disasters or bountiful harvests. If that’s true, it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to interfere remotely like this.

It was a little scary, but the fact that she went out of her way to threaten me at that exact moment… did I hit the mark?

If so, that’s actually kind of cute, I thought to myself, as I internally decided to visit her again tomorrow.