Vol 5 (Before) - Chapter 9

I didn’t even have to go to Mari and Sofie to meet them.

“— Eleanor!! Found you!”

We met in front of the dormitory. It was already so late that the lights from the windows started to go out.

I stood dumbfounded when Mari, whose expression quickly changed as soon as she spotted me, rushed towards me even before I could set a foot on the entrance.

It was almost bedtime, but instead of sleepwear, she was still dressed as if she was just about to go out, carrying a lantern in her hand and shoes on her feet.

“You, where did you go, huh!? It’s already so late!”

She stared daggers at me while looking like that.

I faltered seeing her unexpectedly menacing glare.

“Where… I was in Kami-sama’s place.”

“You didn’t come home yesterday, didn’t you!? You didn’t go to the dining hall during today’s mealtimes!!”

That was Sofie.

She also had the same getup with Mari, and she was also holding a lantern.

“Why didn’t you return to the dorm!? Where have you been, and what were you doing!?”

“Where and what —”

Kami-sama flashed to my mind.

The reason I didn’t come back was because I ended up staying the night at Kami-sama’s room, and as for what I was doing —

‘I-I didn’t do anything! I-I just lied down on the bed! Ah, Kami-sama was only buck naked then!’

Kami-sama was only buck naked then — the moment this thought crossed my mind, I ended up imagining Kami-sama’s figure this morning.

Heat rose up my cheeks, so I hurriedly shook my head, totally flustered.

“I-I was just in Kami-sama room as usual! I-I-I didn’t, w-w-we didn’t do anything that I should be guilty about! It’s just that there were a lot of things that happened, so…”

Yeah, there’s too much going on that I can’t even explain it in just a single sentence.

Mari glared at me again when I desperately tried to explain myself.

I could totally feel her zero trust in that burning gaze.

“…A lot of things, huh.”

Her voice was low.

Her grim face became even more sullen, then she exchanged glances with Sofie who was beside her.

Then, both of them sighed deeply at the same time.

“Ah-ah, we’re like idiots. We’re about to go out and search for you, but you were just having fun with your Kami-sama!”

“Ah, we wasted our time worrying about you! Let’s go back to our room, Mari. Ugh, I feel sooo tired now.”

“N-No, no! W-w-w-wait!”

Both of them were exasperated as they turned their back on me, so I hurriedly chased after them.

I feel like they’re having a huge misunderstanding about me!

“What do you mean by having fun!? I-I was in a dilemma, you know!? Besides, worrying —”

‘Hm?’

I swallowed the words I was about to say and blinked.

Worried? About to go out and search for me?… At this hour?

Come to think of it, why were they so relieved the moment they saw me?

Yeah, I know, it’s me who didn’t return to the dorm, but actually, it isn’t a big deal for saintesses to be away.

Although it’s not as much as the higher-ranked saintesses, lower-ranked saintesses do have their own jobs too.

They would accompany the higher-ranked saintess outside the Shrine as part of her retinue.

Visiting the slums and other jobs that higher-ranked saintesses didn’t want to do also frequently got assigned to them.

That’s why it’s odd that they’re so worried just because I was gone for a day, but —

“…Did something happen?”

I quieted down, and the two of them finally turned back.

They were still glaring at me, but the impression was different from how they were earlier.

I flinched when I saw how grave their expressions were.

“You didn’t hear about it, huh. The whole Shrine has been in an uproar since this morning.”

“Uproar…?”

Sofie nodded at me, affirming what I just repeated after hearing what Mari said.

“Filth appeared again. Not only that, it’s far more powerful than the ones we saw, and they said a few people had already been sucked in.”

“There had been missing priests and the saintesses since yesterday. Besides, other than the people of the Shrine, there’s also a young son of a noble who is nowhere to be found, apparently.”

I couldn’t utter a single word as I listened to their story.

As I held my breath while standing stock still, their words kept on repeating themselves in my mind

‘Filth. People had been absorbed… Young son of a noble?’

Very few nobles deigned to visit the Shrine.

If some of the nobles come here to worship, there are also some who come to forge connections. In the first place, many of the saintesses came from noble families too, so there should be sisters simply visiting them too.

Still, I couldn’t shake off this uneasiness.

The young noble son who visited the Shrine yesterday… I have an idea who it was.

“Mari, Sofie… That young noble son.”

“You didn’t hear about that too? All the priests were gossiping about it!”

Mari frowned when I asked.

She seemed more confused than angry.

Mari then clutched her head, looking as if she was about to break down any moment, before speaking to me in a rugged voice.

“Count Cervan said he’s going to appeal to the kingdom and make the Shrine bear responsibility over him! It’s a crisis for the Shrine!”

Mari yelled, but I couldn’t even say anything in response.

I could only gape at her and swallow my breath.

My mind was spinning.

‘The young master of Count Cervan’s House.’

I knew that person all too well.

We met yesterday, the day he supposedly disappeared. We even talked.

Well, the exchange had been utter trash, but — there wasn’t any sign that he would disappear.

And yet —

‘Eric is missing?’

Gloating, sadness — I didn’t feel anything like that.

It was way too surreal that I could only stand frozen in place.