Silvia was able to enter the divine tool without being doused in holy water, but she didn’t do anything particularly special.
This was evident from the reactions of the Temple Head and the others.
However, for those who didn’t understand, like Ademo, the reason was completely unclear.
Silvia herself did not attempt to explain it.
This was because she considered it to be the Temple’s role.
She felt that if she, an outsider, were to explain something that was already understood, it would be an embarrassment to the Temple.
More importantly, it was unlikely that anyone would reprimand Silvia, who was famous as the Avatar’s Shrine Maiden, even if she did explain.
Perhaps sensing Silvia’s thoughts, Laurel let out a sigh and turned her gaze toward her retainer standing by her side.
The retainer, understanding the meaning of that gaze, began to explain to those who didn’t understand. “Those who couldn’t discern the difference from the actions just now should restart their training from scratch. The Shrine Maiden did not do anything special. Rather, it was Ademo who acted against the teachings.”
“M-me…!? My training is insufficient?” Ademo protested loudly, but the retainer nodded without changing his expression. “Judging from the work just now, I have no choice but to say so.”
“Wh-what!?”
“Isn’t it obvious from the result? It’s useless to argue.” Ademo, drenched from head to toe, could only fall silent when told this.
Seeing this, the retainer continued his explanation so that others could understand. “When pouring holy water into the Water Mirror, pour it in a circular motion from the edge, not from the center. This is the most basic of basics that you are taught by your master when handling a Water Mirror, right?”
As the retainer said this, sounds of “Ah” and groans of “Ugh” could be heard from various places.
What the retainer had just said was considered one of the “rituals” for handling a Water Mirror, but many people tend to disregard such rituals. This tendency, especially among young people, could be considered somewhat inevitable in a way. After all, such things are commonplace in all fields and in the world.
The problem is when such “rituals” lose their original meaning and become mere formalities. However, it could be said that it was fortunate to realize that the Temple had not reached that point yet. Moreover, since there were those who clearly understood the difference in the actions of Silvia and Ademo, the worst-case scenario had not occurred.
The “ritual” of the Water Mirror this time was not limited to the divine tool right before them. Rather, it was precisely because it was a divine tool that Ademo retaliated by splashing water back at him (?).
Ademo, whose lack of training, or rather, knowledge, was pointed out, stammered, “Th-then, there’s no need for Lady Silvia to be the owner of this divine tool, is there? After all, anyone else can use it.” His current claim was completely different from what he had originally stated, and the discussion about who was more suitable between Silvia and Ademo had vanished entirely. Ademo’s mind was now filled with the irrelevant thought of not wanting Silvia to have it. He wanted to do something about the shame he had suffered.
However, such claims from Ademo were met not with a response from Silvia, but with the icy stares of those around him. It was already understood that Silvia was suitable to possess the divine tool simply because she was the Avatar’s Shrine Maiden. Even setting that aside, the earlier discussion of whether it should be Silvia or Ademo had reached a point where comparing them was now an overreach. Ademo was so cornered that he didn’t notice the surrounding gazes.
And Silvia, while aware of this, deliberately did not point it out. If she were to point it out carelessly, it would only provoke Ademo further. So, with a sigh, she turned her gaze to the Temple Heads. It meant she was leaving the rest to them. The Temple Head of Jamil Temple, who accurately understood the meaning of her gaze, said to Ademo, “Ademo, that’s enough. There’s no point in talking any further. No one will support you anymore.”
“Th-that’s not true!”
“Ah, that’s right. Your companions will support you, but it’s meaningless now. You should give up on that divine tool.”
“Th-that’s absurd…” Ademo mumbled, but he was not so foolish as to openly confront the Temple Head at this moment. Although it was impossible in this situation, even if he managed to acquire the divine tool, defying the Temple Head would mean no hope for future advancement. Ademo still retained enough reason to understand this. Realizing that it was impossible to change the Temple Head’s mind at this point, Ademo slumped to his knees.
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“I apologize.” As soon as they entered a separate room, the Temple Head of Jamil Temple bowed his head to Silvia. Seeing this, Silvia shook her head with a bitter smile. “There’s no need for the Temple Head to apologize. Rather, it is also my fault for staying silent.” Silvia had known about Ademo for some time, but due to Kousuke’s situation, she had deliberately not informed the Temple. Of course, she didn’t say that, but she conveyed that she had also made a mistake, implying that neither party was entirely at fault. The Temple Heads gathered here were not foolish. They understood exactly what Silvia meant and nodded. “Then, we can consider this a mutual issue, can we not?”
“Yes.” From the Temple’s perspective, it was best if Ademo’s rampage could be dismissed. In fact, Silvia appearing as she had meant that Kousuke was involved behind the scenes. The Temple absolutely wanted to avoid provoking Kousuke himself by carelessly poking around. Moreover, this incident was triggered by the divine tool. Each Temple Head understood that there was no guarantee that the Avatar would not intervene directly.
On Silvia’s side, it was also important to contain the situation as merely Ademo’s rampage. If she were to cause further disturbance, not only could the divine tool go berserk, but there was also a possibility that Kousuke would have to appear. She couldn’t tell this to the Temple Heads, but Silvia wished to avoid that if possible. While Kousuke wouldn’t necessarily refuse to appear if necessary, her true feelings were that she wanted to resolve it within the human realm if at all possible. Of course, this was also the opinion of the other women.
In the end, despite their differing thoughts, their shared desire to avoid further disturbance led to the resolution of this incident. Naturally, Silvia would retrieve the divine tool. While the Temple side might have wanted to keep the divine tool for themselves, they thought it would be better if the Avatar possessed it. They didn’t think they could earn much favor with this, but they didn’t intend to fight to obtain it. Thus, one of the divine tools lost from the Divine Realm finally arrived (?) at Kousuke’s side.
The first divine tool has finally arrived at Kousuke’s side. Whether the second and third will also be indirectly involved remains to be seen in future stories. And Ademo. In the end, he ended up as a clown. How pathetic.
