Intermission: Useless Goddess Theatre(4)

"I'm amazed to see you here, Lady Aqua. I never imagined we were in the same caravan!"

A guy with a magic sword had driven off the crabs and the ogres. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but who could blame me? It was all so sudden.

"Yeah, it's been a long time, Magic Sword Guy. Wow, fancy meeting you in a place like this…" "Yunyun! Oh, Yunyun! Thank you for saving me, Yunyun! Now you have to let your Big Sis give you a hug of gratitude!"

"You haven't changed a bit, Cecily!"

While I was having my reunion with Magic Sword Guy, Cecily was embracing Yunyun.

"To think, Lady Aqua, when you were most in need, we just happened to be in the exact same place. This must be fate, or a miracle, or…" "Yunyun, let's eat some crab! Thanks to Lady Aqua, we've got a big haul of Blue Crabs! We can all have a crab party tonight!"

"Stop that, Cecily. Mr. Mitsurugi is trying to be serious… Did you say a party?

A crab party…all together…" Magic Sword Guy frowned a bit at the way Yunyun kept muttering "together, together." "N-no, we can't have a party here, okay? Besides, I took out those ogres, and ogres have a strong sense of loyalty to their comrades. I'm sure they'll come around trying to find out what happened to the others.

Remember, we're here to help Lady Aqua on her journey to defeat the Demon King. Now that we've found her, we need to make for the king's castle as fast as we can…" "Y-yeah, that's right! I guess… I guess this is no time for a crab party…" Outwardly, Yunyun agreed with Magic Sword Guy, but you couldn't miss the way her shoulders slumped.

"No crab party? Well, I never! Lady Aqua provided these crabs for us! I don't care how hunky you are, big guy—I won't accept this!"

"I'm sorry, you're…Miss Cecily from Arcanletia, right? I think we met at the church there."

I guess Cecily and Magic Sword Guy knew each other.

"Goodness, we've met before?" Cecily said. "Oh, that's right—you're the magic sword guy who came to the Arcanletia church and tried to pick me up by saying you wanted a priest!"

"I wasn't trying to pick you up! Anyway, I would have been happy with any Axis priest. I never said anything about you specifically!" Then, though, Magic Sword Guy seemed to snap out of it. "Lady Aqua, I let myself get distracted there, but please allow me to be clear. We came after you in order to aid you on your quest to rid this world of the Demon King. Long ago, the foremost fortune-teller of the Crimson Magic Clan read my fortune, and this is what she said: 'You will meet an Axis priest, a pivotal person who might well influence the destiny of this world.' She went on to say, 'Whatever happens, you must protect this person.' I realize now! She must have been speaking of—" "Lady Aqua! A hunky younger guy is proposing to me!"

"I'm not talking about you, Cecily! Oh, Lady Aqua, wait! It's extremely important that we talk about—" Magic Sword Guy and Cecily seemed busy, so I decided to enjoy some crabs.

We ended up spending the whole night enjoying our crab party.

"Lady Aqua, Lady Aqua. There's something the unworthy Cecily wishes to confess." Sitting in the Arcanletia-bound carriage, Cecily was looking at me seriously.

"Why so concerned all of a sudden, Cecily? I don't know what you did, but you know I'm happy to forgive most any sin you commit, right? I can come apologize with you if you need me to."

"Is that true, Lady Aqua? I've done so many— Ah, ahem. No, that's not what this is about." She looked like she could hardly bring herself to speak. "Lady Aqua. I, Cecily, attempted to delay you as much as possible in meeting up with Megumin and the others, but it seems I've done all I can do. I brought along all kinds of games to distract you, milady, but it seems we'll arrive in Arcanletia within the hour."

"I'm sort of bothered that you would attempt to do that, but knowing you, I'm sure you thought it was for the best. First that ghost girl, now you… I wonder why everyone keeps trying to slow me down. But it's all right; I forgive you."

Cecily smiled at that and said, "Out of all the adventurers I've known, I would say that your party might have the strongest chance of actually defeating the Demon King. But you know, as for me personally…" She stopped before she could say anything more. "It would be inappropriate for me to speak further.

From this point on, a low-level priest like myself could only be a burden. I beg you to stop by the Axis church when we get to Arcanletia. And make the following request of Lord Zesta and the others…" Then Cecily whispered something in my ear. Finally, she concluded, "Unworthy as I am, I pray for your safety and success! Let me give you the best parting gift a poor excuse for a priest like me can manage… May Lady Aqua's blessing go with you! Blessing!"

Smiling broadly, she pronounced a magical blessing on all of us.