Small fox cubs were tumbling on the ground, playing with each other.
Nearby, an adult fox, presumably their mother, watched over the children.
The mother fox probably turned her gaze elsewhere intermittently to confirm the presence of enemies.
Beside the mother fox, the fox cubs continued to play without a care.
One of the fox cubs seemed to have found something, perhaps an insect, and hopped out.
Perhaps it was the most curious among its siblings, it began to play in various places, flitting here and there.
Even so, it hadn’t strayed far from its parent’s watchful range, a testament to its wild nature even as a child.
It was also true that the mother fox was carefully monitoring, ensuring they didn’t go too far.
Silvia, who had been watching the scene reflected on the surface of the water mirror, let out a soft sigh, careful not to disturb the water.
The scene reflected on the water’s surface was occurring somewhere on the Tower’s floors.
This scene, now reflected on the water’s surface, was the result of Silvia experimenting with what could be done after obtaining the divine tool, the water mirror.
“Oh. It’s quite clear,” Floria said, looking at the scene reflected in the water mirror from the side with an impressed expression.
“Yes. It must be because it’s a divine tool,” Silvia replied.
With a normal water mirror, distant views often appeared blurry.
Furthermore, there were various conditions, such as being able to reflect only under limited circumstances.
However, the scene now reflected in the divine water mirror was exactly the one Silvia had specified.
The vaguer the conditions, the more indistinct the scene appeared in a normal water mirror, but the divine tool clearly reflected a family of foxes.
To Floria, it seemed to be viewed under far better conditions compared to a normal water mirror, but Silvia’s expression was not very good.
“What’s wrong? You look quite dissatisfied?”
“It’s… well, compared to how Peach uses it, it just feels inferior.”
When Peach used the water mirror, she could reflect past scenes of the person who touched the mirror.
Compared to that, Silvia was not satisfied with a usage that was merely an extension of a normal water mirror’s capabilities.
Floria folded her arms with a troubled look at Silvia.
“I understand what you mean, but… I don’t think it’s good to be too impatient?”
At Floria’s words, Silvia put on a troubled expression.
“I don’t mean to be impatient… does it look that way?”
“Hmm. It does to me.”
Floria nodded at Silvia, who was looking at her as if seeking confirmation.
In a sense, Silvia had interacted with Floria more than with Kousuke.
She had worked alongside the Queen, officially assisting her with divine matters, for nearly twenty years.
If Floria said she was impatient, it meant that Silvia, though unaware of it herself, might be feeling that way somewhere.
“Is that so? I truly had no such intention…”
Because she had no self-awareness, Silvia faltered, as she had a level of trust that made Floria’s conjecture seem even more accurate.
“Is that so? Well, I can’t say for sure since it’s not that I can clearly see it.”
Floria wasn’t speaking based on any specific habit that allowed her to point it out clearly.
She was merely speaking based on her experience up to that point.
Upon hearing Floria’s words, Silvia decisively erased the water mirror image that was still being displayed.
“Hmm? You’re erasing it?”
“Yes. It won’t do any good to continue like this. I’ve decided to restart and try again with a fresh mindset.”
Silvia judged that continuing as they were would only lead to an extension of the usual method.
If she was feeling impatient somewhere, as Floria suggested, it would only become more so.
Therefore, she decided to reset and rethink everything from the beginning.
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Upon entering the lounge space for a change of pace, Silvia and Floria bumped into Kousuke.
“Hmm? Weren’t you out checking the floors?”
“Ah. I’ve seen the minimum required parts for now. I’ll go again if I feel like it later.”
Silvia and Floria both nodded in unison at Kousuke’s explanation.
“So it is.”
“And? Silvia, you seem a bit down. Did something happen?”
Kousuke asked directly, and Silvia instinctively brought her right hand to her cheek.
“Do I look that way?”
Silvia, who had no intention of looking that way, was surprised to be seen through not only by Floria but also by Kousuke, and her eyes widened.
Floria gave a wry smile as she glanced at Silvia, and briefly explained to Kousuke.
“Nothing much. The divine tool just didn’t work out as well as expected.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kousuke, who had confirmed that Silvia had been fiddling with the divine tool before going on her rounds of the floors, nodded in understanding.
He then leaned in to look at Silvia’s face and scrunched his eyebrows slightly.
“What is it?”
“I think I’ve told you this before, but there’s no need to rush, you know?”
Hearing the same thing from Kousuke, following Floria, Silvia’s shoulders slumped.
“Is it that obvious?”
Seeing Silvia’s dejected expression, Kousuke blinked and glanced at Floria.
Receiving Kousuke’s gaze, Floria gave a slight wry smile and nodded.
Sensing the situation from that, Kousuke shook his head slightly.
“It’s not so much that it’s obvious, but rather that it became obvious through our previous conversation.”
“Eh?”
As Silvia looked up and tilted her head slightly, Floria chimed in.
“It’s probably because my pointing it out made it even clearer. In fact, I think any of us members can see it now.”
By pointing out Silvia’s unconscious impatience, it became apparent and understandable when she herself became aware of it.
Whether anyone other than Kousuke could have seen it was debatable, but by forcing the issue, they also intended to lift Silvia’s spirits.
Silvia looked back and forth between Kousuke and Floria, and let out a small sigh.
“I still have a long way to go.”
One of the training exercises for a shrine maiden is to always maintain a calm demeanor.
Of course, this is an aspirational goal, but realizing how easily she could be flustered, she had much to reflect upon.
To Silvia, Kousuke and Floria then said with clear laughter,
“It’s not for nothing that we’ve spent over twenty years together.”
“Indeed. In fact, you could say that we’re being careless because of that.”
Floria didn’t explicitly state who, but Silvia understood perfectly.
Silvia knew that their words were not meant to scold her for insufficient training.
That’s why she was able to say her next words without any dissatisfaction towards Kousuke and Floria.
“Truly… I can’t compete with either of you.”
“That goes both ways.”
“Indeed, it does.”
At Kousuke and Floria’s words, Silvia finally smiled brightly at them with a clear and refreshed mood.
