Yggdrasil-san and I finally arrived at the church.
「Well, I’m glad we made it here without any trouble, right?」
「There ‘was’ trouble!」
「…………」
…Well, I guess you could say there was.
When we left the house to head toward the church, it happened the very moment we stepped outside.
We ran straight into Ralina-chan, who had come over to play.
「What was with that girl just now…」
「Um….normally she’s really kind and a good person, you know? But sometimes she sort of… loses herself…」
「She lost herself ‘too much’!」
It was still early in the morning.
A boy and a girl leaving the house together at that hour――Ralina-chan had witnessed the most suspicious scene possible.
Surprisingly though, she hadn’t turned expressionless like a Noh mask.
――Her face looked more like a wrathful Hannya mask.
As Yggdrasil-san’s coordinator and bodyguard, I had no choice but to step in front of her to protect her.
That only made Ralina-chan even more furious.
And so――
『Onii-chan, get out of the way! That girl is――』
『W-wait, Ralina-chan! You can’t go any further!』
『Let go! Let go, Onii-chan!』
『Y-Yggdrasil-san! Please, get back inside the house for now!』
『W-what!? What’s going on!?』
『Shhh! Hisss! Hissss!』
『R-Ralina-chan? Um, you’re kinda losing your humanity here… C-calm down, please? Come back to us, Ralina-chan――ah, so strong! F-father! Father, I need help!』
…And that’s how it went.
Afterwards, I explained to Ralina-chan who Yggdrasil-san really was and why she was here.
I desperately tried to tell her, 「She’s a god, that’s all. It’s not some weird relationship」.
It probably took two hours before Ralina-chan finally calmed down and regained her humanity.
As a side note, of course I never mentioned that 「we spent the night together in the same bed」.
If she knew that, Ralina-chan might never have returned to being elf again…
「Anyway, there was a bit of a commotion before we left, but the important thing is we made it here in the end, right?」
「A ‘bit’ of a commotion? That was a full-blown uproar!」
By the way, I had to ask Ralina-chan, who’d only come over to play, to head back home.
Even if she’d calmed down, I judged it would be too difficult for the three of us to go around together with Yggdrasil-san.
…Having both the person I’m guarding ‘and’ the person I need to be on guard against in the same group would be way too much of a burden for me as a bodyguard.
「Well, in any case, since we’ve arrived at the church, let’s head insi――ah.」
「What is it?」
「No… would you mind waiting just a moment?」
…Something tells me it wouldn’t be a good idea to just bring Yggdrasil-san straight inside.
After all, Yggdrasil-san is, in a sense, the very top of the church.
And knowing Laudette-san, she’s probably the same as always…carefree and a bit disappointing. If I let this play out, she’d basically be getting a direct scolding from the highest authority in the organization.
But I actually find that easygoing side of Laudette-san rather likable.
If she got scolded and reformed… well, yes, reforming would be a good thing, technically speaking.
But honestly, I can’t imagine her reforming all that much anyway…
「What is it, what’s wrong?」
「Well, it’s just… there might be some preparations needed, so would you mind waiting a little?」
I hesitated, but I couldn’t bring myself to set things up so Laudette-san would end up getting scolded. So instead, I asked Yggdrasil-san to wait.
「Preparations? What preparations?」
「Um, well, since we’re welcoming the great World Tree-sama, I thought it’d be proper to at least make things look somewhat presentable…」
「No need, no need. I only mean to exchange a few words and thank her for her daily efforts. I don’t intend to make a big deal out of it. …Actually, whose position are you speaking from anyway?」
From the position of a fellow villager, I guess…
I mean, I’m indebted to her in various ways, and it’d be hard to watch her get scolded.
Still, “thank her”, huh. So it really ‘is’ like a president-employee sort of relationship.
Though whether Laudette-san actually does anything worth being thanked for… well, that I can’t really say.
「But even so, if it’s all so sudden, I think Laudette-san will be pretty shocked.」
「Laudette? Ahh, yes, the nun here had that name, didn’t she.」
「Yes. For Laudette-san, meeting face to face with the very World Tree-sama she worships would surely require some mental preparation.」
「I said there’s no need. Come, let’s go.」
「Ah, w-wait――」
Yggdrasil-san ignored my attempt to stop her, pushed open the church doors, and went right inside.
I-is this going to be okay…?
N-no, it’s not certain she’ll get scolded yet. There’s still a chance Laudette-san is actually working diligently today. The odds are slim, but technically the possibility exists.
For now, I’ll just pray that Laudette-san is being serious about her duties. Fortunately, we’re in a chapel, the perfect place for praying.
「Ooi, Laudette or whatever your name was. Are you here?」
Calling out for Laudette-san, Yggdrasil-san walked further into the chapel.
I followed after her, praying all the while.
「Hm?」
「What is it?」
「There’s some insolent fool sleeping inside the chapel.」
「Zzzzzz……」
Following her gaze, I spotted Laudette-san sprawled out asleep on a pew.
Ralina-chan, Laudette-san… why do the people of this village keep picking fights with gods like this…?
…Ah, I guess I do it too. Yeah, this whole village really is like that.
「That person there is Laudette-san.」
「Eh? …She’s sleeping though?」
「Yes, she’s asleep…」
For a moment, I considered going with the plan of saying, 『That’s not Laudette at all』.
But then I remembered how my 『I’m not Alec』 plan had already failed. Better not repeat that mistake. Besides, I could already see the plan failing in the future.
「So, this one is the nun of this church?」
「That’s right…」
There she was, Laudette-san, sleeping with her mouth half open as usual. Even Yggdrasil-san looked exasperated.
「Is she always like this?」
「Well, no, it’s just that…ah! Look, over there!」
「Hm? …A broom?」
I quickly noticed a broom lying beside the pew where Laudette-san was sleeping.
「Yes, a broom! Which means Laudette-san was in the middle of cleaning!」
「That may be so, but I don’t see why you’re so excited about it.」
Huh? That reaction wasn’t what I expected from Yggdrasil-san…
Doesn’t she realize what a miracle this is?
「B-but this means Laudette-san was actually cleaning, you know…?」
「…So you’re saying this woman is so lazy that the mere act of cleaning is enough to astonish you?」
「Eh? Um, well, that’s—ah.」
Before I realized it, Yggdrasil-san had grabbed Laudette-san’s face.
「You fool.」
「――!? Ow ow ow ow! That hurts! It hurts!!」
Ahh… what a pitiful sight…
And after she finally made an effort for once, too…
next chapter: Me and Laudette-san’s Combination
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