“Oh Holy Light! Nun Cheryl, is this the work of gods?!”
In a short ten minutes, Teresa’s unease has been replaced by two jumping little fellows on the magic network.
Teresa’s worried expression had disappeared and was replaced with a spirited look. Her fingers were tapping in midair.
“It would be great if the gods were able to create such a fascinating thing...”
Cheryl was unable to refuse the help request from her exceptionally figured junior and close friend. She first allowed Teresa to listen to the musical record she brought back from Norland.
Even though this nun lady was very excited by those emotional songs, the musical record was unable to remove the mutterings from her mind.
Because of that, Cheryl decided to open the Mage Forum’s ‘Games Special District’ as a test. She wanted to see if the games there could divert Teresa’s attention to the mutterings.
Judging from the current response, Cheryl had succeeded. This nun who has never left the Holy City her entire life and rarely even left the church had, in a few short minutes, grown to love the game about a ‘dwarf on a mission to rescue a princess.’
“Then... who is the creator? Nun Cheryl, you’ve been to Norland before. This must be created by a certain renowned Sage of Norland, right?”
To this nun lady, this ‘miraculous’ magic could only be a work of gods... or, one of Norland’s rumored omnipotent Sages.
“Sage? How could those boring old men like Desireless be able to create such a thing... wait! Teresa, you’ve missed a mushroom that could give you another usage of the resurrection magic.”
Cheryl did not reveal the truth to Teresa. If this nun lady was to find out that the game she believed to be a masterpiece from the gods was actually created by a ‘demon,’ she will definitely enter a state of panic again, immediately withdraw her hands from the virtual keyboard and shout ‘This is the demon’s trap!’ or something similar hysterically.
But, even if this was really the demon’s trap, the nun lady was thoroughly enjoying herself with the game.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
“A mushroom with resurrection magic?” After being reminded by Cheryl, Teresa wanted to turn around to find the mushroom.
Unfortunately, as her controls were not very skilled to begin with, her sudden change in direction caused the dwarf uncle wearing a red hat to run into a monster.
The nun lady successfully lost her first blood in the game.
“How could this be... he died?”
The death of the game character caused Teresa to feel extremely remorseful. Even her hand movements stopped.
“That dwarf has been blessed by the gods. Once he dies, he is able to obtain countless blessings of resurrection. Thus, you don’t have to worry. It is our mission to guide them to rescue the princess.”
Cheryl duped the naive nun lady. With the nature of this nun lady, she shouldn’t be in such a cruel and ruthless place like the Heresy Tribunal.
Unfortunately, Teresa was inflicted with a strange illness at the age of fourteen.
In order to continue living, she chose to hand over all of her to the so-called God, to the Heresy Tribunal.
But, in the five years she has joined the Heresy Tribunal, she was not once dispatched to a mission.
“If the path is that dangerous, I think that it is better for the two dwarf misters to live together instead of attempting to save that unknown princess.”
Teresa voiced her own opinion toward the game’s plot.
Cheryl was left momentarily stunned as to how to reply to the nun lady’s words. She ended up looking at Teresa with a flabbergasted expression.
“...Let’s continue.”
Teresa seemed to want to conceal something. On top of that, she had the desire to clear the game. As such, she urged to continue and controlled Mister Mario, the dwarf with the red hat, to set foot onto the journey to rescue the princess again.
The joy brought upon by the game gradually allowed Teresa to forget about the mutterings in her head. But, Cheryl entered an anxious state of waiting.
She hasn’t been able to write her latest entry for ‘Diary of an Inquisitor’ yet. Thinking about the mages waiting to read the latest update, Cheryl became extremely worried.
Cheryl had no idea where her sense of guilt came from. It was her first time showing to others what she wrote. But, to her surprise, her writings caught the interest of so many mages.
The motivation to ‘let more people read it, let more people appreciate it’ urged Cheryl to continue writing.
But, if she stopped updating with a new entry today, would those mages lose interest in ‘Diary of an Inquisitor?!’
Cheryl had found the reason for her worries. Unfortunately, tonight was destined to become a night without sleep.
A knock once again came from her door.
“Who is it?”
Cheryl immediately sat up from her bed and loudly asked for the identity of the person knocking on her door.
“Cheryl, is that child Teresa in your room?”
A male voice sounded from outside. It was a priest with the position of an inquisition leader. He was also the person who was in charge of handling those ‘defects’ earlier in the night.
Hearing his voice, Teresa who was controlling the dwarf uncle and chasing after a mushroom suddenly trembled. Her hands immediately distanced themselves from the virtual keyboard and were placed on her thighs.
“She’s in my room... is there anything you need?”
Cheryl did not open the door. She was unable to confirm the purpose of this priest’s coming to her place. It was very possible that he had discovered Teresa to be a ‘defect.’
“That child Teresa has been acting somewhat perplexed recently. I’m worried for her. In addition, Nun Cheryl, I have a mission to hand you. Please open the door.”
The priest’s voice was very soft and gentle. It was a skill the clergies needed to master.
Cheryl was not deceived by his words. Unfortunately, the priest was an inquisition leader, a position within the Heresy Tribunal far surpassing her own. She had no choice but to open the door to him.
The priest walked into the room. His line of sight focused onto Teresa. Then, his expression changed slightly.
“It appears that the confusion within your heart has disappeared, Teresa,” said the priest.
“Yes, Lord Father...”
“Perhaps it’s because she heard the Saintess’s singing tonight.” Cheryl added. After all, that naive nun lady wouldn’t know how to lie.
“Very well. I hope that the gods will forever bless you two. Nun Cheryl, another heretic has appeared. The Holy Church will need your strength again.”
The priest took out a gospel from within his robe’s sleeve and handed it to Cheryl. The gospel was completely blank. Only Cheryl was able to see what was written on it.
‘The giant dragon entrenched in the base of the Ancient Tree has entered eternal rest. Praises for God’s recovery...”
It was a series of difficult to understand words. Cheryl deciphered the content to be... she was tasked to proceed to the Kingdom of Farucci’s Blackwood Forest in three days’ time.