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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
In a classroom at Saint Amamiya Academy, a certain male student was teasing Kokoro.
“Kokoro-chan, since you are a child of God, I guess you won’t be lonely when you play with your dolls once you head back home.”
Kokoro did not know what was so funny about this statement. However, the other children around them laughed.
Kokoro, on the other hand, nodded as if it did not matter to her.
“Yes, it’s my daily routine.”
“How boring. Why don’t you play with us once in a while? You also only have to play with God once in a while!”
Kokoro looked troubled when the child said this with such enthusiasm.
“I can’t do that.”
“It’s fine, it’s going to be fine! Let’s just leave the Gods, who don’t play with us and play amongst ourselves!”
Kokoro just shook her head in silence at the unusually persistent boy.
“Sorry…”
“Darn it!”
The boy who said this and then clicked his tongue, unable to give up. He finally resorted to force.
“Forget it! Let’s just take her!”
“What!?”
To their surprise, the other children tried to force Kokoro to go with them.
Boys and girls alike were forcibly pulling on Kokoro’s hands and pushing her back.
“No, please stop!”
“No! We’re all going to play together today!”
“We’ve invited you here, so it’s fine if we do it once in a while!”
For Kokoro, what she did in her spare time was none of their business. But for the other children, they were trying to be kind by inviting her to play.
Kokoro, who typically goes straight home under the pretext of training, was thought of as lonely by her classmates. To them, it seemed as if she did not know how to play.
Of course, it was true that Kokoro was always busy with training, but it was not true to say that she does not play with her friends. She typically plays during school recess. Even after school, she might go out to play with some of her friends if her schedule allows it.
However, the only difference was that she has far less time to spare than the other children.
“What are you doing!?”
The children’s noise was silenced by the voice of a woman.
Their eyes all turn to the source of the voice.
“Mia-sama…!?”
When one of the children surrounding Kokoro muttered this, the children all suddenly stood back a certain distance.
Mia was a celebrity, who was as famous as Towa. She was the object of admiration for many female students.
Incidentally, the students in this class were aware that Kokoro and Mia were Half-Sisters.
Mia came straight to Kokoro, receiving the students’ stares. She checked from top to bottom, making sure that Kokoro was not injured.
She had seen Kokoro, at the center of the commotion, being forcibly taken away.
She had left her alone for a while, thinking that Kokoro would be able to escape on her own, but when it became clear that she would not be able to, she stepped in.
“Kokoro has an errand today that I have to do as well. I’m going to take her with me. Is that fine with all of you?”
Although the tone of his voice was that of a question, it was in effect more like an order. Mia was deliberately speaking this way, and no student here could resist when being told to do something in this manner.
The only one who looked like he wanted to say something was the boy who had been heckling Kokoro at the beginning.
Even when she noticed this, Mia continued speaking, ignoring him.
“I know that Kokoro is busy with many things just like me. In fact, she doesn’t have much time for me as well. Still, I hope you can be friends with her. Kokoro, let’s go.”
Finally, Mia looked at Kokoro and urged her to follow.
“Okay.” Kokoro hurriedly picked up her bag and followed after Mia.
Her classmates simply watched as she did so.
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“What on earth are you doing?” Mia asked Kokoro once they moved quite a distance away.
“I’m sorry. It was just so sudden.”
“It was sudden, but… if it had been just boys, it could have gotten really dangerous, and you know that right?”
Kokoro seldom finds herself in situations like that. This was partly because Kokoro was training to be a shrine maiden, and due to her keen intuition. Unfortunately, her keen intuition only worked on those who approached her with negative intent. Everyone back there had approached her with good intentions. So, she did not know what to do.
This situation was unlike what Mia had experienced, where those with pure selfish intent approach her.
For Kokoro, this ordeal did not cause her to worry until the children became forceful.
“…Yes.” It appears that this incident was a great shock for her, and she looks relatively dejected and downcast.
“Anyway, we’ll talk about what happened later, over dinner.”
The reason why they would talk about this more during dinner was because Floria and Sylvia would be sharing a table for dinner.
“W-well, that’s…”
For Kokoro, it was just a problem between kids, and she wanted to keep it that way. However, Mia shook her head.
“No, that’s just not right. Even if I overlook them forcing you to play with them, there were some inflammatory comments that we cannot overlook.”
“What!?” Kokoro, who had no idea what was going on, seemed surprised.
Seeing this, Mia let out a long sigh. “I knew you did not notice. There were some words there that made fun of your training as a shrine maiden, weren’t there?”
“Oh!?” Kokoro covered her mouth with her hands, as if she had only just realized what she had heard.
“If you leave that alone, it might still be forgivable since it had been muttered by a child. But, you know the consequences better than anyone if the Gods get enraged, don’t you?”
“Yes…”
What was said earlier was just words from a child. Even so, there were things that Gods would never forgive. Typically, to avoid the wrath of the Gods, parents would teach their children about such things. In fact, it was serious enough for the academy to cover theology.
Unfortunately, Kokoro’s cohort that year did not study it in too much depth.
Still, ignorance does not mean the offense would be forgivable.
“That’s why I need to report what happened earlier. You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t be so sad.”
Mia said this with a wry smile as Kokoro followed her with her head down.
In the end, Mia continued to console a dejected Kokoro as they walked home.
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“I never thought something like that would happen at school.”
Floria, who had heard what happened from Mia, looked at Towa with interest.
“…Did you know this was happening?”
Towa, who had been stared at, quickly shook his head.
“No. I only found out about it when I spoke to Mia earlier. It appears that this is the first time something like this has happened.”
“I see. …But I can’t ignore it.”
“Yes.”
“Do the parents know?”
“Of course.”
The conversation progresses with only Floria and Towa present, leaving Kokoro, who is a party to the situation, out of the loop.
Kokoro, who was watching them, looked slightly pale.
“Um… if you don’t mind, I’d rather not make a big deal of it…”
Kokoro, who had just started to say this, was stopped by Sylvia, who was sitting next to her. Sylvia even shook her head.
“Kokoro, you can never be so lenient. Especially when this is a matter that concerns the Gods. If you leave it to fate, the whole country can be held responsible. You know that, don’t you?”
Kokoro had already been taught many of the legends of the Gods by her Mother. It was only through word of mouth but those legends included divine punishment.
“…Yes.”
Kokoro understood that this matter had now reached a point where it could no longer be ignored as a childish prank. Still, she could not help but hang her head in defeat.
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