The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 26

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 26
“Ah…….”
Disappointment settled across the knight’s chiseled face.
That melancholy expression suited him far too well……. No, get a grip.
Cecilia’s fists clenched tight as she shook her head stiffly.
“That can’t be. I feel perfectly reassured having Miguel as our escort. Ha ha.”
It was an act so transparent that even a passing dog would have seen through it, yet the Holy Knight, bless his earnest heart, fell for it completely.
“Don’t you?”
The way his hand tapped her shoulder was infuriatingly gentle. She longed to deny it, but as long as Miguel’s face remained brightened by her false reassurance, her defeat was sealed.
After he’d had his fill of amusement, Nox gave a small bow to Kiar, who had been watching them in silence the whole time.
“Then I’ll entrust my sister to your care.”
“You’re leaving right now?”
‘But you just arrived.’
At her surprised question, Nox smiled faintly.
“Already feeling homesick? You’re well past the age for such tiresome theatrics, I’d say.”
“Yes, go well.”
‘And don’t bother coming back.’
Cecilia, unusually voicing her true feelings—at least in her own mind—turned away without hesitation.
“I’ll visit often, so don’t you dare cry missing your brother!”
She ignored his nonsense completely and stepped into the Temple.
Escaping Nox had gone smoothly enough, but she’d overlooked one crucial factor: her companions.
An awkward silence descended upon them.
Miguel had always been taciturn by nature, and the Archbishop was quietly shadowing the broad-shouldered knight, saying nothing.
Eventually, unable to bear the endless quiet, Cecilia spoke first.
“What a clear day it is!”
“Perfect weather for a heat stroke, one might say.”
“Ha ha. Is that so? Well, on days like this one really ought to rest indoors, shouldn’t one?”
“Indeed. Though I confess my dream is to rest eternally on a day like this.”
‘Forget it. I’m not doing this.’
Unable to overcome Kiar’s pessimistic response, Cecilia clamped her lips shut and followed them.
This was her third visit since transmigrating to this world, and as they passed through the now-familiar corridors, the building where the Temple priests resided soon appeared.
Kiar led them to a room on the highest floor and explained in a flat tone.
“You may use this room during your stay at the Temple.”
The room was larger than expected, though furnished only minimally—apparently following the Pope’s example of austerity.
“And I’ve brought attendants to help with your daily needs.”
As she was surveying the sparse interior, a small figure suddenly darted out from behind Miguel in the doorway.
“Holy Maiden!”
It was Sena, her dark hair tied back tightly, rushing toward her.
Cecilia had worried whether she might still be shaken from recent events, but fortunately her complexion looked good.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, thanks to you, Holy Maiden. It’s an honor to serve you, even if only for a short time!”
Sena’s earnest face, hands clasped neatly together and cheeks flushed pink, was utterly endearing.
“I’m counting on you too.”
Just as they were exchanging pleasantries in a warm manner, Cecilia felt a faint presence from behind the Archbishop.
A small child, her white Veil drawn not only over her head but covering her face as well, hesitantly stepped forward.
“I, I greet you, Holy Maiden.”
The child’s frame was so diminutive that the top of her head barely reached Cecilia’s chin.
So ‘attendants’—plural—was it.
The Pope must have taken considerable care, having already assigned Sena to her; to provide two seemed almost excessive.
At Cecilia’s look of mixed concern and confusion, Kiar gave a light shrug.
“One attendant would scarcely suffice for Lady Weberdine’s needs, I imagine.”
Surely he wasn’t insinuating that the noblewoman required extra hands because she was delicately raised.
He couldn’t be. The scandal of her actually cursing at the Archbishop would be too much.
As Cecilia’s frown deepened without her realizing it, the child before her gave a startled flinch.
‘Oh no.’
Cecilia hastily arranged her face into a saintly smile and extended her hand as gently as she could.
“I’m glad to meet you. What’s your name?”
“I, well, that is, um…….”
“Ri?”
“Ri, Riri! Please call me Riri!”
“Wait, but your name is Marie, not Riri, isn’t it?”
Sena, who had been clinging to Cecilia’s side, tilted her head in confusion.
At that, a sharp intake of breath sounded from beneath the veil.
“It’s a p-pet name! I was hoping the Saint would call me that!”
Whether from embarrassment or nervousness, the girl’s hand trembled visibly in hers.
‘Hm.’
If finding this pathetic rather than pitiful made her heartless, then so be it.
She was staring down at the small child whose face remained hidden when an enormous yawn suddenly filled the air.
“It seems the introductions are complete, so I’ll take my leave now.”
Whatever interest she’d held during the children’s greetings had evidently scattered like dust.
The Archbishop, his eyes grown darker with the fading light, turned away without hesitation.
“Well, from tomorrow onward things will grow rather demanding with all the purification rituals and such, so please eat your fill and rest comfortably tonight.”
He left behind a parting remark that sounded almost like a curse.
‘What?’
Cecilia dismissed his warning as just another of his typically gloomy utterances, giving it no particular weight.
She would come to regret that inattention by the very next day.
* * *
Just as Cecilia had feared, a day at the Temple proved relentlessly strict and wholesome.
There was apparently no tolerance for sleeping in or afternoon naps.
Early in the morning, children arrived at her room and abruptly drew back the curtains, throwing open the windows.
“Saint, you must wake up now!”
“Ughhh.”
“Come on!”
Cecilia, burrowing her face deeper into the blankets, barely managed to pry open her heavy eyelids.
Her body seemed to have some aversion to mornings, and getting up proved difficult.
But the moment she caught sight of Sena’s round face, the drowsiness began to lift.
“I think I could manage if someone helped me up.”
“Oh my.”
Sena flushed crimson and, with her small frame, grunted with effort as she helped pull Cecilia upright.
“Thank you.”
Having just managed to raise her upper body, Cecilia offered a faint smile—and felt the warmth of their contact slip away abruptly.
“N-no, I’m the grateful one.”
“Hm?”
Riri, who appeared to have been assisting as well and was halfway up on the bed, hastily withdrew.
Though Cecilia couldn’t fathom what exactly warranted thanks, she simply blinked slowly and eased herself out of bed.
Afterward, she washed her face with the water Riri had brought, and Sena braided her hair into a single plait.
Once dressed in the faded Temple garments hanging in the wardrobe, her miserable day had begun.
“Once you finish breakfast, you’ll go see the Archbishop!”
“Mm.”
Cecilia sat down at the table with all the enthusiasm of a stone as breakfast was served before her.
As she’d feared, today it was nothing but greens, a few fruit slices, and a cup of Holy Water.
It had already been four days since her arrival at the Temple.
On the morning of the second day, when she’d expressed dismay at the sparse, barely chewable diet, Kiar had explained matter-of-factly.
[A person performing a ritual must purify both body and soul for ten days before the ceremony. That is why we summoned the Saint to the Temple in advance.]
[……So you’re saying I have to survive on nothing but this vegetable slop for the next ten days?]
[Yes.]
His parting words on her first day—’from tomorrow things will grow demanding, so eat your fill tonight’—had been no jest!
Cecilia stabbed her fork listlessly into today’s offering of greens, no different from yesterday’s.
‘It’s not Buddhism, which forbids taking life. Why can’t I eat meat?’
There were beans and roasted almonds mixed in well enough, but no amount of balanced nutrition could fill the hollow ache inside her.
Worst of all was the Holy Water, which she had to drink half a dozen times a day.
Whatever was in it would be digested by stomach acid anyway. What on earth was it supposed to purify?
It only left her feeling bloated and deeply irritated.
Yet the moment her cup emptied, Riri, hovering like a shadow nearby, would refill it at once.
‘What in the world is in that stuff?’
It was pure suspicion of the beverage, but the girl, meeting her pointed gaze, startled and spilled some water.
“I’m s-so sorry.”
Beyond the translucent veil, her distressed face was briefly visible.
Was it that she was naturally shy, or that she was simply very fond of the Saint?
Whatever the reason, Cecilia gently stroked the back of the girl’s hand, which seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Don’t worry. Try not to tense up so much.”
But her overzealous kindness—dressed up as a saintly cosplay—had clearly backfired.
The child, startled even more, stumbled backward and stepped on the hem of her long robes, staggering forward.
Crash!
A chair toppled over, and a long sigh burst from Cecilia’s lips.
A sigh of relief.
“Phew, that was close. Right?”
Cecilia caught the child quickly and looked down at her, now suddenly near.
“Th-thank you.”
Beneath the veil that had slipped askew in the commotion, the child’s pale cheeks flushed a soft pink.
And what she saw was…….
‘Purple eyes.’
The unfamiliar hue stirred a memory—someone’s face flashed through her mind.
‘They’re just like Lien’s. That’s not a common eye color. Could Lien be in disguise?’
At the absurd thought that had sprung from nowhere, Cecilia shook her head firmly.
‘No, that’s ridiculous. Even if the nickname, the stammering, the flushed cheeks are all similar, there’s no way Lien would do something so creepy as infiltrate the Great Temple—the very heart of the faith—in the form of a child just to spy on her every move.’
It couldn’t be. It really couldn’t.
Yes, Lien had low self-esteem and sometimes did things outside common sense, and there was a gloomy side to her, but she would never do anything as bone-chilling as sneaking into the Great Temple in child’s form to observe Cecilia’s every action.
Even as she held fast to that belief, Cecilia heard herself ask the question anyway.
“By the way, how long has Riri been at the Temple?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————