“Return to labor.”
“Um, so, I mean, Idelira………………”
“Mm, I’m here.”
Idelira looked relaxed as she rubbed the flesh on Hailey’s cheeks, as if the first thing she did after regaining her sight was to enjoy herself.
Hailey had also grown lazy—anyway, a few pieces of flesh wouldn’t be spared; if she wasn’t pinched today, she would be pinched tomorrow.
“Could you stop staring at me all the time? It feels like time is dragging on forever. Don’t your eyes get sore?”
Being stared at constantly with such an ambiguous gaze really made her uncomfortable… it was just like being watched, making her skin crawl.
“Is that so? I feel like time passed especially quickly today. I really want to just stay here like this without moving.”
At the thought that leaving this place might mean encountering those troublesome people whose names alone were irritating to hear, a chill ran through Idelira’s heart.
There couldn’t possibly be another Mandela, Medela, or Godzilla popping up again…
Here, with only her Hailey by her side, she didn’t need to worry about other meaningless people or matters.
For Idelira, it seemed she didn’t particularly like the identity of being a saint, nor was it the simple kind of “work fatigue” that Hailey had.
She was not disrespectful to the gods; on the contrary, toward the goddess who had granted her a second life, she held incomparable reverence and devotion.
But what she could not understand was why she had to do those self-proclaimed “kind” things for those believers.
What meaning did it have?
I give them blessings, I grant them healing, but for what reason am I helping these people who have nothing to do with me?
She was like a machine, mechanically following the steps spoken by the Pope to pray for the believers and carry out healing, performing “miracles”………………
Aside from feeling the traces of magic power draining from her body, Idelira did not feel that there was any clear meaning in this at all.
Even Isar, the one who had dragged her into the Church—right, that guy has already climbed his way up to the position of Pope now.
“Looks like you and I are the same, both very selfish people, though you seem a bit more obsessive……………”
When Idelira broke free from her thoughts and returned to reality, Hailey had already been staring at her dazed expression for quite a long time. The two suddenly met eyes.
“Y-you, when did you notice me? I was just curious………………. I definitely wasn’t staring at you, not at all!!”
Heavens, she had just been complaining about someone staring at her for too long, and now the boomerang had whooshed right back at her.
Idelira looked at Hailey’s flustered expression—her face flushed red as she desperately tried to explain.
She froze for a moment, then let out a soft snort of laughter.
Seeing this, the already shy and red-faced Hailey grew even more annoyed and directly reached out, intending to forcibly shut the other’s mouth.
Being treated like this, Idelira instead laughed even harder. Without noticing, the two of them fell together onto the lawn.
Hailey ended up firmly pressed against her chest, held tightly in her arms from behind, unable to move.
“Hailey is so proactive…… why don’t we just lie here like this until night? Don’t you think this place is perfect for counting stars?”
Counting stars? Hailey suddenly recalled some unpleasant memories…………… Could it be that she was going to do that kind of thing here?
“W-wait a moment, doing that kind of thing here would bring divine punishment from the goddess, right? I think you should reconsider it carefully.”
Putting aside whether the goddess would agree or not—even if the goddess herself enjoyed watching this, she would absolutely not agree.
Perhaps because during this period Idelira had only ever stopped at a shallow taste each time, Hailey had almost forgotten that “hysterical” state from back then.
Back then, the way Idelira looked at her was just like looking at an orange on a fruit platter—peel it lightly, and it would be eaten clean.
“Hm? Does counting stars in the garden also require the goddess’s permission? Could it be that the goddess has a grudge against the god of stars?”
‘What does that mean? What do you mean by a grudge? So that’s the kind of counting stars you meant! I thought it was……’
“Ah—thought what? What what what, I can’t hear you—”
Having long seen through someone’s little inner trick, Idelira deliberately acted curious and swayed back and forth in front of Hailey.
This made the already fully flushed face once again steam up. Hailey shyly buried herself into her embrace.
‘Damn it, this woman is clearly doing this just to see me make a fool of myself! And she still pretends to be all innocent in front of me?’
“Let me go, I’m not staying here anymore. I’m going back to sleep in, sleeping until I’m forced to get up for work tomorrow morning!!”
“How could the bed at home be softer than me, how could the blanket at home be as fragrant as Hailey?”
Idelira lazily held her, unwilling to let go. She seemed to recall some things again.
She felt like she finally understood why she liked Hailey so much, why she was so reluctant to part with Hailey, ‘why she wanted to possess Hailey so badly………………’
It had to be said, that old undead Isar actually wasn’t wrong sometimes.
She and he were the same kind of existence—selfish, obsessive, insatiable.
She loved Hailey because everything Hailey did would exist for her; she herself would become the meaning of Hailey’s life………………
Just like how she used magic power as an excuse to bind Hailey to her side, she hoped Hailey would never be able to leave her.
Her kindness to Hailey was for Hailey to be kind to her; her love for Hailey was so that Hailey could continue to love her. OPD……
“Hailey, don’t you think the name Idelira is a bit troublesome? Four syllables every time, it’s so tiring.”
It’s common for people to think their own name is too long, but why are you asking my opinion………………
“Can Hailey give me a special name, the kind of special name that only Hailey is allowed to call me?”
Speaking of which, even though Hailey usually calls that little girl “Little Mary, Little Mary,” she doesn’t actually call her Mary.
That Little Mary once showed off in front of her, saying her name was Marian, and only people close to her could call her Mari—
“I don’t want Hailey to call me Idelira like everyone else. It sounds like a stranger.”
Heh……………… aside from me, who else would dare to call your name directly? Even the Pope or high priests have to add “Saint” after it.
But if she really had to think of a name herself, she couldn’t come up with anything.
She couldn’t exactly imitate herself and call her “Lira.” It didn’t sound like a saint at all—rather, it gave the feeling of a girl-next-door older sister.
“If Hailey doesn’t say it out loud, then don’t even think about leaving today. This is an order, an order from the saint to her apostle.”
Seeing this woman’s look of not giving up until she got what she wanted, Hailey could only helplessly and somewhat aggrievedly mutter a timid name in a low voice.
“Li……………Lira? Idelira? No, it still feels a bit strange………………”
“Alright…………… Hailey can call me whatever she likes. But Hailey will always be my Hailey, my most beloved Hailey.”
“Only mine, the only one, Idehai………………”