“She’s zealosly praying all morning, huh…”
Early morning, I transformed into a little boy and went to church to see Miria.
When I opened the door and peeked into the nave, Miria was kneeling in front of goddess Quira’s statue, offering her morning prayers.
“… but she’s sure taking a long time”
Doesn’t her knees hurt doing the same things every morning?
After more than 30 minutes passed, her prayers finally finished and Miria rose to her feet.
Then, Miria noticed my presence and waved at me.
“My my, aren’t you the little lamb from the other day?”
Miria rushed over to me with a smile covering her whole face.
“Morning onee-san …… wait, whoa!”
I was suddenly picked up and lifted [high and high] by Miria.
“Oh child with wise and prudent eyes, you must have come here wanting to understand more deeply about goddess Quira’s teachings, right? You must! This is such an auspicious day. Ah … Lady Quira, I thank you for this precious meeting”
Miria spun round and round while still holding me up high.
Even though I’m in the body of a child, she’s still quite the strong one.
Miria’s slightly wavy blonde hair shined in a golden light under the morning sun.
“Are you really that happy I came …?”
“My my, of course I am!”
Miria let me down onto the ground and this time hugged me close.
I can feel the softness of her breasts through her habit.
… they, were larger than they looked.
And they’re supple, too.
It felt about twice as large as Liu’s.
She must be the type to look slender in clothing, absolutely awesome when it’s off.
“The townspeople of Coura here don’t come to church. Whenever I went and preached they would say ‘Ah, nevermind all that …,’ and run away for some reason …. So I am really happy that you came here a second time.
Miria was happier at my second visit than I expected.
This was a good start.
“By the way little lamb, I’ll be cleaning up the church now, so please wait in the room until I’m done —”
“Ah, I’ll help!”
I volunteered, and Miria said, “My my what a gentle little lamb” with a broad smile.
Then together with Miria, I polished the church’s ornaments, swept the floors, and plucked the grass on the gardens.
It was harsh work for a child’s body and I was totally exhausted, but I kept on going in order to deepen my bonds with Miria.
In order for this plan to succeed, I need to strengthen the bond between Miria and myself in the form of a child.
**
“Oneesan, have you always worshipped goddess Quira since you were small?”
Miria and I were eating our lunch bread in the church courtyard when I asked her.
“When I was small? No no no. It was from long before that. I have always been Lady Quira’s servant even before I was born. Faith never begins and never ends, it is eternal. It is obvious — I was sent to this world in order to spread Lady Quira’s teachings”
“Is that so …”
“Yes, yes, it is so — by the way little lamb, if it’s alright with you, I wonder if you can bring your papa and mama to church too? I’m sure your parens will understand Lady Quira’s teachings, as well”
“Ah, sorry, both my parents already died …”
That’s my setting.
“Well … Is that so? I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Will you forgive my rashness?”
“Mm, I’m not angry”
“Thank you, you’re a gentle little lamb”
Miria laid her hands gently on my face.
She lovingly caressed my cheeks.
… what, so she’s normally a good girl.
All the townspeople were unanimous that “Miria is totally bonkers, she never listens to what people say,” calling her a crazy girl, but that’s not the case.
Sure, she has times when she doesn’t listen to people, but that much was part of her charm, right —
“Say, little lamb, I want to pray for your parents,” said Miria abruptly, “you and me, let’s pray for your parents until nightfall”
“N, nightfall …?”
It’s lunchtime right now.
**
And thus Miria actually prayed until nightfall.
She knelt in front of the statue, in the same pose the whole time.
She doesn’t allow movement during prayer.
No sounds, either.
Now, that’s a problem.
What will happen to your body if you keep it in the same pose for over seven hours straight?
… you’ll get horrible pins and needles all over your body, some of your muscles can’t move, and your kneecaps will inflame and throb painfully.
Most of all, staying in the same pose without any change for a long period of time is harsh mentally.
You feel dizzy and nauseous and will tear up for no reason at all.
That was halfway torture.
“……………”
After we were done with the prayer, my body felt heavy as lead even though I wasn’t exercising at all.
I stole a glance at Miria and as she finished her prayers she let out a satisfied “phew…”
She had plenty of strengh remaining.
And it never occured to her that she was doing something bad to the child that was me.
… I see, so this was the reason why the townspeople were calling Miria a nutcase.
She was under the impression that everyone in the world had the same level of faith as herself.
And speaking of the reason why