My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 30
Was the Grand Temple simply too vast? The priests’ quarters and the dining hall were quite a distance apart. One might expect it to become a chore, trekking back and forth several times a day to tend to the Saintess’s meals, but the child’s steps were always as light as if she were walking on clouds.
Today was no different. Leaving the dining hall with a tray containing the Saintess’s lunch, Sena hurried along, humming a wordless tune.
The mere imagination of that gentle voice saying, ‘Thank you,’ without hesitation, and that faint smile, made a giggle leak out of her.
In truth, thinking of the Saintess always made her happy. Her heart felt so full, as if she’d eaten a feast, that all sadness and worry were utterly forgotten.
To borrow the words of His Holiness the Pope, the moment she became the Saintess’s ‘fan’ happened when she was even younger than she was now.
Sena vividly recalled that miraculous moment when she first met the Saintess.
Sena’s hometown, a place prone to disasters, had been tormented by a massive flood that summer as well. Their meager belongings were submerged, and the days when they couldn’t even afford a bowl of thin corn porridge grew more frequent.
The child’s thin body became as gaunt as the stalk of a water-damaged plant. Her hunger moved past mere craving into a dull ache, and mysterious spots began to spread across her skin.
It was a life closer to pain and misery than comfort and peace.
[The Gods only give us as much pain as we can bear. Once you overcome that pain, you become a person so strong that no one can hurt you.]
On nights when the child whimpered in sorrow, her mother would say those words through lips so parched they bled.
Was that really true? Her patience felt like it had only enough left to be hidden behind her small palms. If she truly couldn’t bear any more, would the endless hunger and pain finally disappear then?
All the helpless child could do was offer prayers to the Gods at the old temple located at the edge of the village.
And just when her patience was down to the size of a single grain of corn, the Gods truly did grant a miracle. High-ranking individuals from the Grand Temple visited the village.
They wrapped them in warm blankets and distributed porridge filled with meat. But what made the child happier than any unexpected gift was the Saintess standing in the distance.
The Saintess of the rumors looked exactly like the Goddess painted on the worn murals of the old temple. After staring blankly for a long time, unable to take her eyes off her, the child finally snapped to her senses at a savory scent.
She had to get a portion for her mother, who was too sick to move, before the food ran out. The child belatedly squeezed her body into the swarming crowd.
However, despite her arduous efforts, the child had to taste disappointment once again.
“There are so many people trying to take multiple portions… I’m sorry, but we can only give one serving of food per person,” the woman distributing the porridge with a large, round ladle said apologetically.
“Ah…”
The child bit her lip hard, unable to hide her distress.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have eaten her own portion and would have brought it to her mother instead. She hated herself for greedily filling her own stomach. Thinking of her starving mother made her feel like she was going to cry.
Just then, a voice as kind and soft as a feather drifted down. The Saintess had approached her before she knew it.
“Give my portion to this child.”
“B-but…”
Thinking that the Saintess might go hungry because of a child like her, she couldn’t readily accept the favor.
As she hesitated and glanced around, the Saintess grabbed the child’s grimy hand without a moment’s hesitation and personally pressed the food into it.
“I won’t die from skipping one meal, so take it.”
The child finally managed to lift her gaze from the ground. Though she was only tall enough to reach an adult’s chest and still had the fine fuzz of childhood on her skin, the young Saintess had a face as composed as an adult’s.
“Go back carefully, and don’t let anyone take it from you.”
The moment those sun-like eyes curved into a smile, a star flew into the child’s heart and took root.
From then on, the Saintess became a being as noble and magnificent as the Gods to her.
When she thought of the Saintess, the star in her heart shone brightly even when she was hungry or when terrifying darkness fell. She was no longer tired or afraid.
Of course, she was deeply sorrowful later when half the village was swept away by a great flood and she had to send her mother away when a plague struck the village. So much so that the light of hope in her heart was momentarily forgotten.
However, as always, before her patience vanished entirely, the Gods showed mercy, and she was finally reunited with her star.
What’s more, she could now serve her from up close!
Days that used to be nothing but terrible were now filled with joy. Therefore, the child hoped that her star would always be as happy as she was.
‘But…’
Sena looked down dejectedly at the plate in her hand. A plate filled with nothing but green grass, just like before, was sure to bring the Saintess nothing but disappointment rather than joy.
‘I saw some pretty flowers blooming in the garden; maybe she’ll feel a bit better if I decorate it with those!’
Just as Sena, struck by a good idea, was about to change direction—
“Hey!”
“Mari?”
From the end of the hallway, Mari—no, Liri—wearing a mass veil, came running quickly.
“Are you going to the Saintess?”
“Yeah, it’s time for her meal.”
“Is that so?”
Whether she was in a hurry or not, Liri’s breathing was a bit heavy as she asked.
Between the fluttering folds of the mass veil following her labored breaths, purple eyes sparkled.
‘Huh? Mari’s eyes were red, like cherries.’
Had she seen wrong? While she was blinking for no reason, Liri suddenly thrust out a neatly folded note.
“I have a favor to ask. Could you deliver this to the Saintess along with the meal?”
“What is this note?”
“I happened to run into the Saintess’s friend earlier, and he asked me to deliver it.”
“A friend? Who?”
“A man wearing a robe. Will you deliver it to the Saintess for me?”
Sena let out a small gasp. When she had gone on an errand to the village, a strange man wearing a hood had been by the Saintess’s side. The friend was almost certainly that man.
However, one question remained unresolved.
“Liri, you could just bring it to her yourself, couldn’t you?”
“……I have to go wait for someone.”
Was she supposed to meet a friend? But her only friend should be me?
“Liri, you…”
Sena narrowed her eyes.
“You’ve been strange lately! You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you!”
The fact that she kept wearing the mass veil, which she usually didn’t wear, and that she stuttered excessively only in front of the Saintess, were all strange.
“I-It’s just that I get nervous seeing the Saintess in person.”
When she stepped closer and pressed her, Liri waved her hands and made an excuse. And to Sena, that was a very reasonable explanation.
‘Well, that makes sense.’
She herself had hidden behind the Pope at first because she was shy.
“So, please.”
“Umm, but…”
Delivering a note while bringing a meal wasn’t a difficult task. However, the Archbishop had repeatedly warned her when he entrusted her with this job.
He said there would definitely be people trying to create a connection with the Saintess through her. So, he told her never to deliver personal gifts or letters.
However, the Saintess had looked quite happy standing side-by-side with her friend in the village. So, perhaps this note would make the Saintess happier than flowers from the garden.
In the end, Sena took the note and nodded vigorously.
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
Cecilia wasn’t the type of person to trust in things like the ‘power of words’ or the ‘power of positivity.’ You know, those absurd claims that if you speak what you want aloud or think positively, it will actually come true.
However, it seemed that even such groundless claims became true in this other world.
Because she had been singing about how she wanted to rest and how tired she was, her entire afternoon schedule had been canceled. And because she had been thinking of ‘that person,’ an unexpected gift had surprisingly arrived.
“Actually, the Archbishop told me not to do favors for people who approach the Saintess… But still, I felt like I had to deliver this.”
What Sena handed over along with the tray when she came to bring the meal was a small note that looked like it had been torn from the corner of a book.
There was only one sentence, and not even a sender was listed.
“She said the Saintess’s friend asked her to deliver it.”
But the moment Sena added those small words, no further deduction was necessary.
There was only one friend Sena knew of—or rather, only one friend she had made in this other world to begin with.
‘Lien.’
The moment she realized who the note was from, Cecilia immediately ran out of the room.
That one line was all. However, thinking of the person beyond those letters, who must have pressed down firmly with expectation, her body moved of its own accord.
Holding the crumpled piece of paper preciously, she quickly climbed the hill.
Her long hem tangled around her legs, and her disheveled hair kept obscuring her vision.
Nevertheless, unable to endure the anxiety that kept leaking out like water from a sieve, she had no choice but to quicken her pace even more.
Her diaphragm rose and fell, and lukewarm air repeatedly filled and emptied her lungs.
By the time her breath, unable to find its place, had risen to the tip of her chin, she finally managed to reach the summit of the hill.
Under the massive tree known as the oldest Divine Tree in the temple, a man stood like a painting, his beautiful face fully revealed.
