I fled from the funeral home and hid in the church's reception room. I gently pulled back the curtain to peek at the chaos outside, but when I made eye contact with the people of the church, I hurriedly dropped the curtain.
“Oh, oh! The incarnation of the Goddess has looked at me! She will give me inspiration!” “That person wasn’t looking at you! She was looking at me!” “Don’t talk nonsense! The Goddess’ gaze was directed at me!”
The solemn atmosphere of the funeral was nowhere to be found as the scene outside had turned into a mad frenzy, and once again, I felt the presence of that Goddess and her followers.
Ordinary followers I could understand, but why were the high-ranking figures, like the high priest and bishops, acting this way? Truly, they were her followers, just as the Goddess was.
Frowning with a feeling of disgust, I scanned the window. With a sigh, I turned my head inside.
There were a mangy dog and a bald man with their heads pressed to the ground.
Despite their master's discomfort, they had not come to protect him but had just been watching, which seemed to be a punishment. Still, the two of them looked quite relaxed.
Though they were just knights in the Arlen family, elsewhere they likely held more significant roles, so bowing their heads probably wasn’t a big deal for them.
Knowing this, I didn’t bother to change the nature of the punishment. After all, the intention seemed less about the physical discomfort and more about shaving away their pride.
“...Hey. Lucy?”
“What is it? Other than your soft fur, you’re nothing but a useless fox.”
“Shouldn’t you let me go soon? If you keep this up, I might actually lose my mind.”
“You really are lacking in intelligence. That’s the point—to make you lose your mind. How dumb.”
The fox in my arms shuddered, trying to protest with a trembling voice, but I ignored her complaints.
She used to say she would protect me from the other perverts, but now, when I actually need her, she joins them?
I’ll never forgive you. Until you leave the church, you’re just going to be my doll for mental healing.
I easily subdued the fox and sat down on the sofa, looking around.
Before I gained the Aesthetic Sense skill, I had looked around this reception room without much thought. It just seemed neat and nice.
But now, with the skill, things were different. Having received a blessing from the stalker crow, I could understand just how meticulously this reception room had been designed.
From the arrangement of the furniture to the color scheme between the furniture and walls, the design of the dishes used, and even the small, seemingly insignificant details—all of them were infused with an artistic sense.
The one who designed this had to be the perverted apostle. No one else could have pulled off such eccentricity.
As I marveled at the greatness of the perverted apostle, I suddenly had an interesting thought.
In the game, the Aesthetic Sense skill was useless except for buying expensive items cheaply.
It was a handy skill if you were playing as a merchant and wanted to maximize your profits, but it had no real meaning otherwise.
But that was in the game. Now that the game had become reality, maybe the situation could be different? For instance, finding the beauty in martial arts and optimizing it...
“Trash dog.”
“Yes! Lady!”
“Can’t you stop barking? It’s so noisy. Or are you trying to protest against me on purpose?”
“I’m sorry. I will correct it.”
“Ah, you don’t want forgiveness, huh? You want to insult me on purpose? You perverted bastard. You’re so disgusting I don’t even want to step on you.”
“I’m truly sorry, Lady.”
“Shut up. Don’t say anything. Just get up and swing your sword.”
It could have been a rather strange request, but the sword immediately got up and followed my command.
In an instant, the sword drawn from the sword belt cut through the air. The sword, which I had seen countless times in the Arlen territory, now appeared new to my eyes.
The first thing that caught my attention was the hand holding the sword. His hand, which had swung swords for a long time, was perfectly molded to the sword.
To someone who didn’t understand martial arts, it might seem impressive, but to my eyes, having gained Aesthetic Sense, the hand seemed like a work of art.
The sword path created by him was the same. At first glance, it might seem like nothing, but to me, now, it looked as precious as gold.
But it didn’t seem perfect. Something was missing. Just a little more, and it would truly be beautiful, but I couldn’t figure out what that missing part was.
Ahhh! It’s so frustrating!
“Do you need more?”
I frowned as I thought, and the sword cautiously asked.
“Try again.”
I focused on finding the flaw in his sword path, but the more I furrowed my brows, the more frustrated I became.
Eventually, unable to find an answer, I returned the sword to its place and sat down on top of the bald man.
“Ah, Lady!?”
“Am I hearing things? Why is the chair speaking?”
The bald man said, his voice full of confusion, but after my next words, he closed his mouth tight. He had realized he was the one being punished.
The sword too, I imagined, must be wondering why the bald man had taken his place now.
Though I didn’t know why, I crossed my arms while sitting on the trembling bald man's back and thought about the potential of the Aesthetic Sense skill I had just witnessed.
In the end, Aesthetic Sense was, as the name suggested, instinctual. It was something you naturally learned by seeing with your eyes and feeling with your body.
In the game, I hadn’t been able to find a way to describe it, so they had turned it into a useless skill. But now that it had become reality, things were different.
Now, I could not only recognize the value of things but also find beauty in everything I see and feel.
No wonder the crow had been making such a fuss.
This is truly a broken skill!
I hummed in delight, and as I thought I now understood why the fox and the perverted apostle were making such a fuss, I stood up from the bald man’s back.
Hmm.
Hmm...
It is certainly pretty and cute.
But is there really anything to touch?
It does naturally draw attention wherever I go.
But is it really worth causing this much of a fuss?
I looked at my reflection in a full-length mirror, wondering if it might be different if I acted coquettishly. I tried moving around, but in the end, I couldn’t relate to the perverts.
No matter how pretty I am, I guess it’s hard to immerse myself in myself. Narcissists must be something truly special.
Thud!
Hearing a sound like something crashing, I turned my head and saw the perverted apostle collapsed outside the door, frozen in place.
Oh. How long has he been watching? Probably not long! Right!?
<Since you were puffing up your cheeks.>
"...Why didn’t you say anything earlier!?"
<Does it matter? It’s a heartwarming thing to watch a cute kid acting cute.>
‘It’s not heartwarming for the person involved!!’
Blushing in embarrassment and stomping my feet, I heard a cough from the side.
Erin and Alsethin were trying hard to stifle their laughter, turning their heads.
Realizing there was no way out of this embarrassing situation, I pulled my knees to my chest on the sofa and buried my face in the fox’s fur.
The fox, who had long since fainted, quietly covered my flushed face.
The entire church gathered to see Lucy Arlen off. After she left, the priest of the art church, drenched in heat from the street outside, returned to his workplace and let out a long sigh.
He knew he had more than enough work to do, but none of it seemed to matter. The inspiration left by Lucy Arlen, who was hard to believe was the same person, almost seemed more convincing as the incarnation of the Goddess herself, stirring his heart.
If he weren't the high priest, he would have already been embracing his inspiration, like the other followers.
...Do I really have to work now?
It would be fine to postpone the tasks, but this inspiration, if I don’t follow it now, might just slip away.
Even if some problems arise, wouldn’t completing this artwork that raises the prestige of the church benefit the church in the long run?
As the high priest continued rationalizing, the door to his office opened, and Frete appeared.
Entering without knocking was certainly against manners, but neither the priest nor Frete seemed to care.
For the two of them, the little formalities had no meaning anymore—they’d been working together for a long time.
“Did she leave well?”
“She shouted that all the perverts here should be thrown into prison before leaving.”
“Well, it seems I won’t be able to bring the young lady back.”
“Who knows. She did say that she would never step into a place with a perverted bastard like you as an apostle before.”
Frete’s smile made the high priest’s expression harden.
You bastard. You’ve been monopolizing her all this time. The other followers, fine, but as the high priest, you should have shared that joy with me!
“Hmm. Your expression looks strange.”
“It’s not strange, I’m glaring at you.”
“Not showing proper respect to an apostle?”
“And you, shouldn’t you be showing respect to the high priest of the church?”
“Respect?”
When Frete let out a chuckle, the high priest’s face twisted, but his anger didn’t last long.
Before the high priest could truly shout, Frete pulled a painting from his coat.
The image of Lucy Arlen, puffing up her cheeks in front of a mirror, was captured so vividly in the painting, it seemed to capture the scene perfectly.
“Who should be the one showing respect?”
“...What is this?”
“It’s a painting of the young lady when she was looking into the mirror and being all coy. I swear, as an apostle, I guarantee this painting perfectly captures the real scene.”
The high priest, unable to stop himself, swallowed his saliva as he gazed at the painting, but after a long moment of contemplation, she shook her head to dispel the temptation.
“There are at least five more paintings like this. Are you sure you don’t want them?”
“...I’m sorry! High priest apostle! I didn’t know my place!”
She couldn’t say it. There was simply too much in Frete’s hands to argue against.
Even though the high priest quietly admitted defeat and bowed his head, Frete’s arrogance didn’t seem to lessen at all.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
“Is this all the high priest of the church is capable of?”
What’s this? Does he have something else? What more is there?
Seeing the high priest’s confused gaze as he slowly raised his head, Frete folded his arms smugly and continued.
“I’ve come to ask for permission to freely work on artwork related to Lady Arlen.”
“...Really?”
“Really.”
“On the Goddess’ name?”
“On my artwork’s name.”
“Fuck! Hey! Frete! I love you, you bastard!”
“Please leave, High Priest! Why are you making such a scene between us!?”