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In the end, though I had many opportunities to meet Bernard, I still failed to obtain any information regarding the evil god that was haunting him.

During our exchanges of administrative ideas, I listened to his complaints and troubles like they were casual topics, and it became a repeating pattern to follow up on those topics.

Doing so would defend him from being taken advantage of by the evil god, but the problem was that he held that weird suspicion about me being a “God’s Vessel” or whatever.

But no matter how many times we talked, he never brought up that as a topic.

It would be great if it was just Sofia’s misunderstanding, but if he was intentionally hiding it, it would be quite bothersome and I honestly wouldn’t want to get involved with it.

So I decided to ask Sofia instead.

“How is the pastor acting lately?’
“Well, he’s been quite preoccupied with the school matter, so I think things should be alright.”

Putting her glass of juice next to the teaching materials, Sofia tilted her head as if she was trying to remember it.

The church had been mostly finished other than the preparations of its school so things have calmed down considerably, so whenever she found time she came to me to be taught. I mostly taught her over the counter, but today I didn’t have any shifts so we were sitting alone in the private room on the second floor.

“…Rather than tired… I feel like he’s just been more absentminded these days.”
“Absentminded?”

While I was wondering if it was what I was thinking, Sofia didn’t notice my change and gazed up as she tried to dig up her memories.

“Yes… He did act like that sometimes when we were in Acradist too, but now he indulges in reverie whenever he has some time, or rather, he just blanks out. Like… I don’t know…”

I endured sighing while Sofia was pondering on it. It seems like he’s in the final stages already, isn’t it?

“Err… Did you see him suffering in any way?”
“Huh, oh! R-Right!”
“…Is he in pain?”

Sofia nodded and awkwardly lowered her gaze.

“Once he comes out of his daze, he often frowns like he’s in pain… and I feel like I heard him say something like, ‘What am I thinking?’”
“I see…”

For a moment I wondered whether he was being taken over through the body, but if she heard him say that, it must be a mental erosion, so that made me relieved a bit.

When the body gets possessed, the person’s mind remains intact even after being taken over.

It’s a living hell when you are aware of everything your body does while being possessed.

It’s fine if I was present the moment it happened, like back when it happened to Parsha… but a kindhearted person like Bernard could even end his life if he does something bad even if he was saved afterward.

Well, there was no change in his status so the possibility of a body takeover was low to begin with, so it’s probably good to approach this problem as a mental erosion.

That said, I can’t really do anything directly.

“Sofia, can you tell me if something happens with the pastor? He’ll probably tell you he doesn’t want to cause worry, so just do it secretly.”
“U-Understood!”

I felt really guilty towards her, seeing how readily she accepted it.

Unlike the possession based on skills like Shamanism, mental encroachment happens because of aligned wavelengths, so once the host is taken over it’s impossible to separate them anymore.

If his willpower loses, killing him would be the only option left.

Preparing the classrooms, recruiting and selecting teachers, making announcements and explanations to the citizens, and enrolling students—all of these tasks went smoothly. And now, a few months after the school was established, it was about to have its first opening ceremony.

…However.

“W-W-W-What should we do, Pastor! S-So many people are…!”
“Calm down, Sofia. Let’s take deep breaths.”
“P-Pastor your clothes are backwards!”
“O-Oh dear. It seems like I need to calm down too. Can you bring me some tea for the time being?”
“You’re already holding the cup…”

Pastor who would be the principal, and Sofia, one of the teachers, were acting like this every step of the way.

“Have you two had breakfast yet?”

Frank asked with a wry smile, and the two shook their heads in shame.

“No… I haven’t had an appetite since last night and didn’t have anything this morning.”
“We can’t have that. Illya.”
“Yes. I will borrow the kitchen for a bit.”

I reheated or boiled the items I brought and put them in dishes, then carried them on three separate trays. The first tray held milk, bread, stew, and salad. The second tray contained bread, Chinese soup with wakame and eggs, and hamburg steak. Lastly, the third tray featured bolognese spaghetti, omelet, and seaweed salad.

“W-What is all this…?”
“This is a trial menu for school lunch. We also have rice as a staple food, but we’re limiting it to bread today.”
“Please choose what you like. I haven’t had breakfast either. May I join you?”
“O-Of course.”

I actually brought it for lunch, but the three had late breakfast with Frank’s judgment.

Bernard and Sofia seemed to have forgotten their hunger due to tension, but once they took one bite after being lured by the smell, they couldn’t stop their hands.

They seemed to have forgotten about their tension while we talked about the menu, and afterward, Frank joined them and the opening ceremony at the chapel ended without a problem.

As I was washing the tableware in the kitchen, Sofia came to me after finishing the discussion with other teachers and guardians. Noticing that I was washing the dishes, she became slightly flustered and ran up to me.

“Big sister! Let me do it!”
“I’m almost done, don’t worry. You’re tired, aren’t you, Sofia?”

When you’re doing something you’re not used to, you feel tired even if you don’t work as hard as any other day.

She was apparently really tired as she didn’t argue back and did as I asked.

“Did the self-introductions go well?”
“Ugh… Please don’t ask me…”

She slumped over the table where she sat.

“Talking before the crowd is really tense, isn’t it?”
“You feel the same, big sister?”
“Of course.”

Or well, rather than being nervous I just start feeling like escaping from that place.

Doesn’t sound so authentic when a receptionist is the one saying that. Or so I thought, but when she lifted her face a bit, she seemed a little relieved to hear it.

“Pastor, Lord, and Branchmaster are all so amazing… They can act so confidently.”

Then she paused for a moment, thinking about something, and asked.

“Big sister, I would like to ask one question…”

Though she became an adult, it felt weird for her to be acting so roundabout and uptight, making me smile wryly.

“What is it for you to be so formal about it?”
“Err… Big sister, do you have a relationship with the Branchmaster?”

…Huh?

Her all-too-sudden question made me stumped for words, and seeing that she became flustered for some reason.

“U-Umm, I-I heard that you live under the same roof at the branch! P-Plus, you’re perfectly in sync, and errr… I thought you really suited each other…”
“…Sigh.”

I wasn’t sure what she was trying to do by that follow-up explanation, but seeing her panic with a smile, it instead helped me regain my calm.

Thinking about it, people got that misunderstanding back when the city was just remodeled.

From her point of view, I suppose it couldn’t be helped for it to be seen that way.

“Even if we live together, our rooms are separate like in hotels.”
“Oh, i-is that so?”
“Yes. And the reason I live there is because it came with the job.”
“I see…”

She had an expression that suggested she wasn’t fully convinced.

Wait, is this what I think it is?

“Is Frank on your mind?”
“Huh? Eeh?! T-T-There’s no such thing!”

She was shaking her head and hands in denial, but her desperate attempt to deny it made it more suspicious.

She never showed signs of liking him, so maybe it happened during today’s speech. He probably looked crisp and cool. If she learned of the contrast with his daily gentle atmosphere, she might be beyond help already.

“I-It’s not that, okay?! In the first place, we believers are banned from partial love towards another person!”
“R-Right. That was the case. Sorry.”

I tried to calm her down as she desperately tried to explain away, but she didn’t seem convinced that I bought it. Still, after we had some tea, her mood improved so perhaps she wasn’t that obsessed over the matter.

I think anyone should be free to love whomever they want.

As long as it doesn’t involve me.

“So this is where you were, Illya.”

Frank and Bernard arrived.

Frank looked a little troubled, while Bernard had clearly pushed himself and was feigning calmness.

Maybe there was some problem with the school, but if he was trying to hide it since Sofia was here, I think it’s better not to press him about it.

“Yes, are we going back?”
“Yeah. Pastor, Miss Sofia. We shall excuse ourselves. I wish with all my heart that the lessons from tomorrow prove to be rewarding.”
“Thank you.”

After exchanging goodbyes, Frank and I left the church.