Kousuke was concerned about Ririka not just because he could sense Reiko’s divine power. There was another, bigger reason.
“Ririka, since you’ve been coming to this temple, have any unusual things happened?” Kousuke asked Ririka cautiously. He understood that if he made a mistake here, everything would be in vain.
Meanwhile, Ririka tilted her head at the sudden question, wondering who Kousuke was. “Unusual things, you say? Not particularly…” she replied, unable to think of anything immediately. However, Ririka then remembered something.
“Now that you mention it, when I’m adventuring with my companions, I feel like I find rare materials more easily. Of course, it could just be my imagination.” While not a drastic increase, she was encountering rarer materials more often than before. She remembered laughing with her companions about whether it was because Ririka had started frequenting the temple.
“That’s…” Kousuke stopped Sylvia, who was about to say something after hearing Ririka’s story, with a look. Sylvia also understood and stopped speaking.
“? Did something happen?” Ririka, not being slow-witted, naturally noticed their reactions.
“Ah, no. It’s nothing… or rather, it’s not nothing, but there are other things I want to confirm, is that alright?”
“?… Huh…” Ririka was bewildered by the sudden turn of events. Looking around, everyone, including Alec, was watching with keen interest. Nobody was trying to stop Kousuke. For Ririka, even though he was someone she had just met, she felt no distrust, only confusion. It was strange, but seeing the amazing group around her, she decided it was probably because of them.
“When did you start being able to sense divine power?”
“I might have felt it before, but I distinctly became aware of it about a month ago. Well, I didn’t think it was divine power then.”
“Ah, that’s fine. As long as you can sense this atmosphere… And did your material discovery rate increase around that time?”
“Hmm. If you put it that way, it doesn’t feel quite right.”
“Oh? Then how long ago was that?”
“About two or three weeks ago, perhaps.” Ririka answered Kousuke’s questions concisely. She didn’t understand the meaning behind these questions, but she answered them one after another without much thought. In retrospect, she realized she had been subtly guided from the beginning, but at that time, she didn’t. That’s why she easily allowed him to approach her.
“I see… And? Do you feel anything now?” Kousuke approached Ririka and lightly touched her forehead with his index finger.
“…Ah.” Ririka stumbled as if she had a momentary dizzy spell, but Kousuke, as if he had known it would happen, supported her. Sonia, who had been watching their interaction, was about to protest, but her biological daughter, Floria, interrupted her. Specifically, she covered Sonia’s mouth with her hand—Sonia had already removed her mask—and shook her head, left and right. Seeing this, Sonia reconsidered, thinking there might be some meaning behind it, and decided to remain silent. By the way, Alec had remained silent from the beginning. Of course, he understood that Kousuke was doing this with a specific intention.
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Ririka was supported by Kousuke, but her eyes remained closed. While in that state, Kousuke began to speak. “It’s okay to keep your eyes closed. Do you feel anything?” Completely under Kousuke’s guidance, Ririka was doing as she was told without any questions.
“…Warm…”
“Hm?”
“Something warm…” Hearing this, Kousuke couldn’t help but give a wry smile, but Ririka, with her eyes closed, couldn’t see his expression.
“Where do you feel it?”
“Around my chest…”
“Then, try touching it.” He didn’t mean physically touching it. Ririka, now completely compliant, tried to touch the warmth as she was told, though she couldn’t articulate what it was. However, at that moment, she felt as if she had touched it.
“Did you touch it?”
“…Yes.”
“Then, you can slowly open your eyes now.” As Kousuke instructed, Ririka opened her eyes.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Kousuke was right in front of her, of course. And the moment she saw him, she understood who Kousuke was. Or rather, she was made to understand. She instinctively tried to bow, but Kousuke stopped her. “No, you don’t have to do that.”
“But…!!”
“It’s fine.” To Kousuke, who shook his head again, Ririka looked to Sylvia for help. Sylvia, receiving her gaze, gave a wry smile. “It’s alright. Kousuke-sama is like this.”
“Hah…” Although she didn’t quite understand, Ririka had no choice but to grudgingly accept it.
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Sonia had been watching the entire exchange in astonishment, but she finally began to understand the situation during the last interaction. “So, this is it? You understood that person (?) as Kousuke-sama?” she whispered to Floria, who was right beside her.
“Apparently so.”
“…How?”
“Who knows? I don’t know about that part either.” Matters concerning gods were entirely Sylvia’s domain, so even Floria had no idea what had just happened. Peach, who had overheard their conversation, chimed in to help them. “To put it simply, did you expand the divine presence of Kousuke-san that Ririka-san was originally feeling~?”
“Divine presence? But it was completely suppressed, wasn’t it?” After all, it was only because they could now completely suppress their divine presence that they could enjoy the festival this time.
“Yes~. That’s why I said ‘that Ririka-san was feeling’.”
“Inside… Meaning that.” Floria finally understood what Peach meant. However, she also realized it was too early to say it. After all, Kousuke hadn’t told Ririka yet. She understood that he couldn’t say it himself. Sonia, completely left out of the loop, looked at them suspiciously.
While Ririka was still confused, Kousuke turned his gaze to Sylvia. Understanding the meaning of his gaze, Sylvia began to assist Ririka. In these situations, it was best to leave it to Sylvia, who understood clergy matters the most.
“Ririka, are you alright?” Sylvia asked Ririka, who was still struggling to process the power within her.
“Ah, yes. It’s just that I haven’t quite sorted it out within myself yet…”
“Don’t try to think about it. It’s better to accept it as you feel it.” What Ririka was feeling now was a piece of Kousuke’s power itself. Because Ririka had trained as a shrine maiden, she was only in this state; if someone else were in the same situation, it would be difficult for them to maintain such clear consciousness. However, it was unlikely that someone who hadn’t trained would accept divine power.
Ririka, having received advice from Sylvia, closed her eyes again. Closing her eyes and accepting power was something often done as part of training. Kousuke felt that Kousuke’s divine power within Ririka was gradually being properly accepted. Kousuke reaffirmed that in these matters, it was better to leave it to Sylvia.
It’s been several weeks since I decided to change the plot. After agonizing over how much to write, I always end up without changing it. I have a feeling I’ll keep it the same…orz
