Volume 22 Chapter 5, Changes to Lirica

Kousuke’s concern about Lirica was not only because he sensed divine power.

There was another major reason.

“Lirica, has anything unusual happened since you started visiting this temple?”

Kousuke asked Lirica cautiously.

He understood that if he made a mistake here, everything would be lost.

Lirica, on the other hand, who had been wondering who Kousuke was, tilted her head at the sudden question.

“What’s changed? Nothing in particular…”

Lirica couldn’t think of anything to say, so she replied, but then she remembered.

“Come to think of it, when I’m adventuring with my friends, it seems like it’s easier to find rare materials… I feel like it’s becoming much easier to find. It might be just my imagination, I suppose.”

There was no dramatic increase, but it was sometimes easier to encounter unusual materials than before.

She recalled laughing with her companions and saying that perhaps it was because Lirica had started attending the temple.

“That’s…”

Kousuke stopped Sylvia, who was about to say something after hearing Lirica’s story, with a look.

Sylvia also sensed this and stopped speaking.

“? Is there something wrong?”

Lirica was not a dull person either, so naturally she noticed the situation.

“Oh, no. Nothing… But there is something else I need to check, okay?”

“? Huh…”

Lirica was puzzled by the suddenness of the situation.

Looking around, everyone, including Alec, was looking at her with interest.

No one was trying to stop Kousuke.

For Lirica, it was the first time she met him, but even though she was perplexed, there was no sense of distrust.

It was strange to say the least, but she decided that it was probably because of the remarkable members of the surrounding group.

“When did you start feeling the divine power?”

“I may have felt it for a while, but I guess I only became clearly aware of it about a month ago. No, well, I didn’t even think of it as divine power.”

“Oh, that’s all right. As long as you can sense this atmosphere… So, was it around that time that the rate of finding materials increased?”

“Hmmm. If you ask me specifically, I think it’s a little different.”

“Heh. How long has it been going on?”

“About two or three weeks ago, if I remember correctly.”

Lirica answered Kousuke’s question in a straightforward manner.

She had no idea what these questions meant, but she went on answering them one after another without particularly doubting them.

In hindsight, she knew she was being guided from the beginning, but she didn’t know it at the time.

That was why she allowed herself to be approached so easily.

“I see… So? Do you feel anything different right now?”

Approaching Lirica, Kousuke touched her forehead with the index finger of his right hand.

“…Ah.”

Lirica stumbled for a moment as if dizzy on her feet, but Kousuke supported her as if he knew what would happen from the start.

Sonia, who had been watching the exchange so far, was about to raise her voice in protest, but Floria, her own daughter, interrupted her.

Specifically, she covered Sonia’s mouth, which was already unmasked, with her hand and shook her head from side to side.

Sonia, seeing this, also reconsidered what it meant and decided to keep quiet.

Alec, by the way, remained silent from the beginning.

Of course, he knew it was because Kousuke was doing it with some intention.

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Lirica was being supported by Kousuke, but her eyes were still closed.

In this state, Kousuke started talking to her.

“Just keep your eyes closed. Do you feel anything?”

Lirica, who was completely in Kousuke’s state of being guided by him, did as he said without question.

“…Warm…”

“Hmm?”

“I could feel something warm…”

Hearing this, Kousuke chuckled involuntarily, but Lirica, with her eyes closed, could not see his expression.

“Where do you feel it?”

“Around my chest…”

“Well, try touching it.”

He didn’t mean to physically touch it.

Lirica, who was completely at Kousuke’s command, did as she was told and tried to touch the warm thing.

If asked specifically why, she could not answer, but at that moment, she certainly felt that she was touching it.

“Did you touch it?”

“…Yes”

“Then, you can open your eyes slowly now.”

Lirica did as Kousuke asked and opened her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, Kousuke was right in front of her.

And as soon as she saw Kousuke, she understood who he was.

No, he made her understand.

She involuntarily tried to pay tribute, but was immediately stopped by Kousuke.

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

“But…!”

“It’s okay.”

As Kousuke shook his head further, Lirica looked at Sylvia, as if asking for help.

Sylvia, who was looking at her, chuckled.

“It’s okay, Kousuke-sama is that kind of person.”

“Haa…”

Somehow, Lirica could not understand, but she had to force herself to agree.

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Sonia watched the series of exchanges in amazement, but managed to understand the situation after the last exchange.

“What is this? Does this mean that she understood that person was Kousuke-sama?”

She asked Floria, who was standing right beside her, in a whisper.

“It seems so.”

“….How?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really have any idea when it comes to that stuff.”

Since matters concerning Gods were completely within Sylvia’s scope, even Floria had no idea about what exactly just took place.

Peach, who had been listening to their conversation, followed up with them.

“To put it simply, I guess you could say that Kousuke-san’s Divine Presence that was originally felt within Lirica-san has been magnified~?”

“The Divine Presence? But wasn’t he trying to suppress that completely?”

Now that he was able to completely suppress his divine will, he should be able to enjoy the festival like this this time.

“Yes~. Therefore, I said it was inside Lirica-san…”

“Inside… That means…”

Floria finally understood what Peach was trying to say.

But she also understood that it was still too early to say anything.

After all, Kousuke did not tell Lirica yet.

They understood that they could not say it themselves.

Sonia, who had been completely left out of the loop, looked at the two of them with a questioning look on her face.

With Lirica still confused, Kousuke turned his gaze to Sylvia.

Sylvia understood the meaning of his gaze and followed up with Lirica.

In a situation like this, it was better to leave it to Sylvia, who knew the clergy best.

“Lirica, are you okay?”

Sylvia asked Lirica, who was still trying to sort out the power within her.

“Oh, yes. I’m still trying to sort out what’s going on inside of me…”

“You can’t think with your head. It’s better to just accept it as you feel it.”

What Lirica felt now was a part of Kousuke’s power itself.

Lirica was able to stay in this state because she was trained as a priestess, but if someone else were in the same state, it would be difficult for them to even maintain a clear consciousness.

It was unlikely, however, that an untrained person would accept the power of a God.

Lirica, advised by Sylvia, closed her eyes once more.

Closing her eyes and accepting power was something she often did as part of her training.

Gradually, Kousuke sensed that Kousuke’s Divine Power in Lirica was being fully accepted.

Kousuke felt again that it was better to leave such matters to Sylvia.