My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 10
It was late.
The moment she sensed she couldn’t avoid it, time seemed to slow down. She could see every detail of the sharp glass shards raining down over her head.
Or at least, that was how it felt.
Reflexively, she took a step back from the center of the impact zone, but the radius of the falling debris was far too wide. At this rate, she might avoid a critical injury, but she would certainly sustain minor ones.
“Kyaaa!”
At the terrified screams of the believers, Cecilia instinctively covered her head with her hands.
In that instant, a brilliant white light burst forth from her hands.
Crash!
The gruesome roar of glass shattering against the floor echoed right beside her.
However, even as time passed, she felt no skull-splitting pain. Nothing wet trickled down her face.
‘Huh?’
When she opened her tightly shut eyes, she immediately saw the people frozen in shock. And at her feet lay the glass shards—no, remnants that should now be called powder—scattered in a circle.
‘…Why is it the glass shards that are pulverized and not my head?’
As she lowered her hands awkwardly, glass dust tumbled off the backs of her hands in a heap.
Then, someone among the stiffened crowd shouted.
“Ooh! It’s a miracle! God has looked down upon the Saintess!”
That shout was the signal.
The believers, having witnessed a miracle, clasped their hands together and began to marvel at the Saintess’s majesty.
“To think such brightly shining Divine Power exists!”
“She truly is the Saintess!”
…Excuse me?
Her startled heart began to pound now for a different reason.
‘This is Divine Power?’
The Divine Power used by the Pope and the priests was for healing people, but this was…
Cecilia looked down dubiously at her hands, which still gave off a faint glow.
‘They say the essence of Divine Power is the power of purification… but was it physical purification?’
The fact that the form of her Divine Power was different, and that her two hands had become lethal weapons capable of turning even solid glass into powder, wasn’t actually the biggest problem.
The real problem was…
‘So, how do I turn this off?’
Surely she wasn’t expected to live the rest of her life with glowing hands.
Just as she was beginning to feel dizzy at the thought of a future with self-illuminating hands, the Pope, forgetting his dignity, ran toward her. He was so startled that his face was as pale as his vestments.
“Oh, heavens. Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere…!”
“I’m fine—”
Before she could even finish her answer, the Pope grabbed her by both shoulders and poured Divine Power into her. A massive white aura, incomparable to what had come from her own palms, enveloped her entire body.
It felt as though she were wrapped in a cozy blanket dried in the sun.
Enjoying the comfort for a brief moment, Cecilia gave a small shake of her head.
“Your Holiness, I am safe. As you can see, I am not hurt at all.”
Even if there had been a scratch, it would have vanished without a trace under the Divine Power he just poured into her. After inspecting her thoroughly with his eyes, he finally withdrew his hands.
“…So it seems. What a relief.”
The Pope let out a deep sigh of relief and gave a weak smile.
“Still, just in case, let us go to the treatment room.”
“I’m really fine, but…”
Cecilia trailed off, unable to readily agree.
It was partly because she wasn’t injured in the slightest, but more importantly, because she remembered the person who had shouted to her right before the glass fell.
“It is for my own peace of mind.”
The Pope lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. Behind him, she could see the still-buzzing crowd and priests. Far off, she even saw the family knights rushing over after noticing the accident.
In the end, unable to find an escape route, Cecilia nodded reluctantly.
“Then I will impose on you for a moment.”
In the short moment she turned around, led by the Pope, she quickly scanned the crowd.
However, the man in the robe had disappeared without a trace.
Where she was led, somewhat aimlessly, was a small room containing a couple of cots, a wooden table, and a long sofa.
‘I thought there would be many patients since they called it a treatment room…’
As if sensing her question, the Pope explained that it was a space for nobles who visited the Temple to receive treatment and blessings.
Setting down warm tea and snacks he had brought himself, the Pope spoke.
“You must have been very startled.”
Was “startled” even the word?
It wasn’t just a bolt from the blue; it was shards of glass. Though they were called “shards,” they were the size of windowpanes.
At the time, she was so shocked and frantic that it hadn’t felt real, but her head could have easily been split in half.
However, instead of confessing the truth, Cecilia offered an awkward smile.
“I was surprised, but I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”
The Pope before her was excessively worried, and above all, someone else who had entered the room with them had been dripping tears for a while now.
“Hic, I-I thought the Saintess was seriously hurt…!”
It was Sena, who had been by the Pope’s side from the beginning. That meant she had witnessed the accident firsthand.
The accident that happened before her eyes must have been quite shocking, as the girl, who had been too shy to even approach, was now sitting right next to her, repeatedly pouring Divine Power into her with clumsy skill.
And she was doing it right over her head.
‘M-My eyes!’
It was so bright that her eyes didn’t just sting; physiological tears were practically streaming down her face.
“Sena, I’m fine, so you can stop now…”
“B-But the glass, such a huge piece fell toward the Saintess!”
“Sena? I told you, I’m not hurt.”
“Sniffle!”
“Stop… Stop!”
With her vision becoming increasingly blinding, she finally grabbed the girl’s hands. Then, like magic, the aura of light faded.
‘Wow, I almost went blind.’
“See? Do I look hurt anywhere?”
“But you have tears in your eyes right here…”
‘That’s because of you.’
While Cecilia struggled to swallow the truth, Sena’s gaze lingered on various parts of her body before dropping.
“…You do seem okay.”
The girl looked down dejectedly with her damp eyes, then wiggled her fingers to clasp the hands holding hers. With just that, the child regained her composure like a miracle.
It was just as Cecilia, having barely saved her eyesight, reached out her free left hand to brush away a strand of hair stuck to the girl’s cheek.
Bang!
As they say, one commotion follows another; the door swung open without a knock.
The person who appeared through it was her brother, Knox. Breathing heavily as if he had run all the way there, he marched straight toward her.
“Cece! I heard your head exploded!”
His large hands grabbed Cecilia’s cheeks. He must have been genuinely frightened, as his hands were terribly cold and damp.
‘I guess he was worried, being my brother and all?’
“My head didn’t split, so don’t worry—”
“Even if it’s a useless part of you, it would be a disaster if it disappeared!”
Knox muttered seriously as he scrutinized her perfectly fine head.
What on earth did she expect from this man?
An impulse to tear off his own useless parts suddenly surged within her. Cecilia grabbed Knox’s wrists to pull them away and spoke softly.
‘Don’t worry.’
“Please, just get lost.”
“Cece, I think your inner thoughts leaked out again.”
Of course, it was intentional this time as well.
However, far from flinching at the insult, Knox’s eyes sparkled with an ominous glint.
“Are you perhaps saying that to your oppas?”
“Yeah.”
‘Wait, oppas?’
By the time she realized the subtle error, she had already voiced her affirmation.
Knox turned around with a smirk.
“Miguel. Cece says you should get lost, too.”
Only then did Cecilia shift her gaze behind him. The knight, who had been standing frozen at the threshold, unable to easily enter, flinched and his shoulders trembled.
“……I am sorry.”
‘What’s wrong with that man now?’
His slumped silver hair looked so pitiful that one might think he was the culprit who broke the window.
Knox, who glanced sideways at the flustered Cecilia, let out a deep sigh as if he had been waiting for the moment.
“Whew, I barely managed to bring him here while he was blaming himself for failing in his duty to escort you properly. If I’d known he’d be scolded so harshly, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“What? No, that’s not it…!”
“Poor Miguel. Just as our merciless Saintess said, you should get lost immediately.”
She clamped her mouth shut, dumbfounded. If she had her way, she would have gifted that mouth of his a fist in the name of mercy, but both the Pope and Sena were present.
‘I can’t shatter a child’s ideals.’
Cecilia, barely swallowing the vulgar words rising to her throat, called out to the knight. Of course, she completely ignored the obnoxious Knox.
“Sir Miguel.”
“……Yes.”
“Unless you personally broke the window, I don’t believe you are at fault in the least, so please come in.”
His assigned duty had only been to escort her to meet His Holiness the Pope. Therefore, there was no need for him to blame himself for failing to protect the Saintess from an accident.
Despite her words, the knight hesitated until the Pope gave a nod, after which he slowly stood before them.
“Thank you for your forgiveness.”
Miguel bowed to her formally, as if he had received a great favor.
‘No, I said there’s nothing to forgive…’
While it was quite a sight to see a beautiful man looking dejected, her heart was uneasy regardless.
After the Pope and Sena, was it now the Holy Knight’s turn to be consoled?
It was just as she barely swallowed a sigh of exhaustion. The Pope, who had been observing their conversation with a benevolent expression, spoke first.
“Sir Miguel. Have you settled the commotion outside?”
“Yes. For now, all the believers have been sent back.”
“You did well.”
“And during the cleanup, we discovered what is presumed to be the cause of the accident.”
“Is that so?”
The Pope asked, appearing surprised.
“It is this.”
Miguel abruptly held out what he had been gripping in his hand.
