Chapter 167. Who Am I?
[First, you must remember.]
“Mmm... Huh?”
Bright sunlight poured down.
Birds chirped outside the window.
Unlike usual, I woke up feeling confused, as though I had just had a strange dream.
I stretched pleasantly, rubbed my eyes that refused to open properly, and let out a long yawn.
Then I slowly pulled back the soft blanket and got out of bed.
“Ha! Mm! Good morning!”
In the mirror was a young face with lightly golden, wavy, short hair.
There was even a mischievous quality to it that didn’t quite suit my age.
Mm!
I’m feeling great today!
I lightly moved my legs and tried going around the room as though I were doing ballet.
People who do ballet really are amazing...!
Knock, knock.
Ah!
Someone must have come to wake me up.
Everyone sure works hard this early in the morning!
“Yes~!”
“Sister, you need to come to morning prayer.”
Ah!
That familiar grandmotherly voice.
I giggled and approached the door.
When I opened it wide, the kind old woman standing beneath the warm sunlight smiled at me.
“Sister, the Light is always watching us everywhere.”
I smiled.
“Which means there’s no real need to go all the way to the prayer room to pray!”
“...Sister~”
“Hehe... I’ll be there soon!”
The Church of Light.
An order devoted to the Light said to have once blessed the Great Hero of Hope long ago.
Within that order, I was a child of the Light whom everyone called Sister.
When I was younger, I had even followed adventurers on their journeys.
But their violent actions and reckless methods frightened me so much that I eventually ran away.
But!
I don’t think they were only bad memories.
Because those experiences made me want to train myself more!
Someday, a monster might attack one of my companions.
Someday, someone might get hurt in an accident nobody expected.
The priest said something about post-traumatic stress disorder or whatever...
But I don’t really understand things like that.
“I’ll get dressed and come out right away! I can’t exactly go in my pajamas! Hehe!”
“Breakfast today has all your favorite foods, Sister.”
“If you want to eat a lot, you’d better hurry.”
“Wow~ Really? Then I’d better get out there fast~!”
After changing clothes at lightning speed, I dashed into the prayer room and prayed to the Light together with everyone.
The sun that always watched over all people.
Even during the night ruled by darkness, the moon borrowed His light so that the world would never be without illumination.
“May Your light illuminate even the pitch-black darkness....”
The world I had traveled through with the adventurers had been incredibly dark.
So much pain.
So much sadness.
They curled up in places where not even a single ray of light could reach.
And recently, some terrifying witch called the Witch of Corruption had been wandering around.
The entire world had truly fallen into chaos.
Even within our Church, there were people suffering from lethargy and obsession because of her influence.
That alone showed how terrifying her power was.
I heard she was around my age too.
Scary.
“By the way, Sister, did you hear?”
“About the heretic who was captured recently?”
“Ah, the person who supposedly traveled with the Witch of Corruption?”
I nodded.
“I heard about that too.”
Right now, that person was probably being subjected to horrible torture by the Inquisitors....
Was that person really so evil?
I sometimes wondered.
The Inquisitors currently looked in the same direction as I did.
But their hearts were filled not with Light...
But with the darkness of suspicion.
The Light surely illuminated everything fairly and embraced all with warm sunlight.
Would His teachings really tell us to call others heretics and judge them?
That too...
I didn’t know.
“May the blessing of the Light reach everyone....”
“Sister, you truly are too pure.”
Someone laughed.
“To think you’d pray for even those pagans.”
“All humanity are children of the Light.”
I smiled.
“They merely strayed from the path for a moment.”
“Even upon them, the Great One will surely shine His light of love.”
If only everyone could be happy together....
What a shame.
After prayer, I spent the day handling the Church’s work with the children.
I also studied and trained various forms of magic.
Every day was peaceful and happy.
But I always prepared for the worst like this!
A warrior I traveled with during my adventurer days once told me—
“The decisive moment is born from carelessness.”
“That human feeling, that laziness and complacency, is what pushes us over the edge into the abyss.”
I still couldn’t forget those words.
They were the last words he spoke while tightly gripping my hand with his blood-covered one.
They were probably words born from regret and lingering attachment.
Because the one who had let his guard down...
Was him.
“Sister! Sister!”
A child came running.
“A Hero came to the Church! They say he’s the Hero of Insight!”
“Hmm~ I’m a little uncomfortable around people carrying swords... Hehe....”
After that incident, I found it difficult to face warriors.
They always reminded me of him.
Many adventurers, knights, and Heroes visited the Church to ask us for blessings.
And every time, my heart twinged.
“But he’s someone who directly fought against the Witch of Corruption!”
The child continued excitedly.
“He’s apparently marrying a woman from Power this time, and they want a blessing!”
“Hmm? But didn’t that person already have a son?”
“T-That was a premarital pregnancy...!”
The child declared dramatically.
“Their love overcame all the painful gazes of the people around them!”
“Wow!”
I clapped.
“Just hearing about it makes them sound incredible!”
Then I laughed.
“Hehe. Still, there are plenty of others besides me who can do the blessing.”
I was curious because I had heard stories about him before.
But getting too deeply involved in someone else’s life didn’t feel right either.
I had my own life to live!
Who else was going to live my life for me?
That was something I had definitely learned during my adventurer days!
“Sister! Sister!”
“Ah! Kids! What is it, what is it~? What were you playing?”
“Sister, come play with us too!”
“Should I?!”
During the day, I ran around the Church courtyard with the children, laughing and playing happily.
It was such a fun time.
We played hide-and-seek.
We picked up fallen branches and pretended to be soldiers.
Spending time with children who shone as brightly as the sun was always so enjoyable!
“Sister! Sing us a song!”
“A song? Songs are great! What should I sing?”
If one of the children playing house asked me to sing, we would hold hands and sing hymns together.
When the other children of the Church heard the familiar melody and joined in...
The entire courtyard would fill with song.
I couldn’t help smiling warmly as I gathered the children into my arms.
“Sister, it’s time to go inside now.”
“Ah, Grandmother! Is it already that late?”
I turned toward the children.
“Kids~! Should we go inside and eat a deliciooous dinner?”
“Yeees~!”
“Sister! Sister! I’m going to get there first and eat the moooost~!”
“Woooow~! Really? Are you going to eat lots and grow biiig and strong~?”
“Yes!”
Those days...
Playing with the children.
Praising God.
Warmly caring for one another beneath the gentle sunlight.
I was happy.
Those peaceful and unchanging, almost boring days...
Were beautiful and precious to me like jewels.
Like gems that caught the light and sparkled beautifully.
At the end of another day, I sat beside the window and absentmindedly looked up at the sky.
Just like always...
I prayed that this precious daily life would continue forever.
“Foooolish... hereeetics....”
But prayers do not reach God.
And even if they did...
There would be no way for me to know.
Only when the peace I had endlessly longed for shattered like this...
Did hatred toward God begin to rise within me.
“...Kids!”
The instant I saw the obviously dangerous monster, I rushed out of my room and ran toward where the children were sleeping.
I was desperate.
Flames rose beyond the windows.
Strange black figures squirmed as they approached the Church building.
I grabbed the children’s hands and ran.
We kept fleeing from the twisted angels drawing closer.
“Sister!”
I soothed and encouraged the children as we ran.
I didn’t know how far we had gone before we encountered the priest.
He looked like he had been injured while fighting the monsters.
“Father! W-What in the world is happening?!”
“...This place is dangerous now.”
The priest panted.
“This entire area has been surrounded by fragments scattered by that monster!”
“Then... what are we supposed to...?”
The priest hurriedly pulled a small map from his pocket.
It resembled a map of a massive cave system.
And its passages extended beyond the city.
“This is...!”
“A map of the sewers...!”
He pushed it toward me.
“Take the children and escape through here!”
“B-But Father! What about you?!”
“I...”
He smiled weakly.
“I must buy you time.”
“What?! That’s dangerous! Those things aren’t normal!”
“...May the Light shine upon you.”
He pushed me toward the passage.
