As the Goddess Lirenna mumbled out her answer, she slowly reverted to her now-familiar groveling pose. I no longer had any qualms about seeing her shining hair flow out over the mud.
“At first,” Lirenna said, “Kuon tried to reincarnate as a human in our world, but the curse I scattered everywhere prevented him from doing that. But even without his powers, Kuon was still technically a representation of the world itself, and so he couldn’t reincarnate in yours either. Eventually, he ended up possessing some poor soul in your world...”
“Wait, possessing?!” Lord Endoh asked. “He’s not his own person?”
“You don’t mean...Kuon Kirise?” Lady Kobayashee said in shock. “He’s being controlled by the God Kuon?!”
Lirenna looked up for a moment when the gods began to shout, but quickly ground her temples back into the floor. Her form was so perfect that I began to think we ought to replace all the statues in our churches with a groveling version of her. This pointless fantasy was far more palatable than the situation I faced at present, and it only got worse as Lirenna quietly answered in a voice oozing with remorse.
“That’s right. To make matters short, Kuon used Kirise’s body to create Magikoi. His plan is to use the game as a medium to summon Fiene to your world, since she has Eve’s soul. Overall, Magikoi—”
“Wait, wait, what?!” Fiene screamed. “Hang on! I heard you say something insane!”
Lirenna paused her explanation and stared at Fiene, puzzled. In return, Fiene slowed down and asked her question more explicitly.
“Um, does this mean I’m Eve? Or at least her reincarnation?”
“...Duh? That’s why I clung to Lady Lieselotte, since she shared the same jealousy toward you as I did.”
The way the goddess made it sound like the news was beyond obvious struck a nerve with Fiene. Her voice turned into a low growl, and her question sounded more like interrogation.
“What did you mean when you said he wants to ‘summon’ me to Lady Kobayashie’s world?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Kuon wants to rip your soul out of your body and plop it into a fresh corpse, or someone who’s already dead inside. Then, I’d imagine he wants to act all lovey dovey with you until you both die.”
“Oh my gosh, all this ‘fresh corpse’ and ‘dead inside’ stuff is so messed up,” Lady Kobayashee whispered.
“That means Kuon’s willing to prepare something like that in our world for Fiene, right?” Lord Endoh asked, his quiet voice rippling through the air.
Without a soul to inhabit her body, Fiene would likely be dead or all but dead in our world. Realizing that she was the target of such a diabolical plan drained all the color from her face. She stumbled backward, and Baldur promptly stepped in place to catch her. The news stirred up our emotions, and Liese and I glared daggers at the groveling goddess.
“I-I’m so sorry!” Lirenna said, bowing once more.
“An apology does not suffice,” Liese said in a harsh tone. “I can accept that I was attacked due to my emotional shortcomings, but Fiene is innocent! To think that your other half would go so far as to harm a blameless person in another world in a sick attempt at winning my sister’s love... How foolish can he be?!”
“Kuon and I are incompetent fools, and I can’t apologize enough for what we’ve done.” Lirenna gradually buried her head under more dirt, only to suddenly shoot up with tears in her golden eyes. “B-But! Your heart is beautiful, Lady Lieselotte! When I linked my soul to yours, you saved me! I’ll bear the responsibility of my own crimes, but I refuse to let you deride yourself in this way!”
The goddess’s desperate objection managed to overwhelm Liese, causing my fiancée to bite her tongue.
“I agree that my Liese is a wonderful girl loved by all,” I said, and in her stead asked, “but what exactly do you mean when you say she ‘saved’ you?”
“At first, I thought Lady Lieselotte was the same as me,” Lirenna said, still facing the floor. “Plus, she’s physically and magically strong, so I just thought of her as a convenient target. But Lady Kobayashi and Lord Endo protected her, and what’s more, you showered her with love, Siegwald. Most important of all, she has a virtuous heart that shines with the brilliant rays of true love. In the end...I realized that we’re nothing alike.”
Beside me, Liese hung her head. The embarrassment of being praised caused her face to flush a bright red.
“As I came into contact with Lady Lieselotte’s emotions, I slowly remembered the love I had once held for Kuon and the world we built together. She let me return to my purest form. The attack that accompanied my resurrection was just the last bit of my corrupted soul lashing out... I’m so sorry. Oh, and the lirene only withered because it represents me and all of the things that were going on in my heart. I wasn’t trying to threaten you or anything, it’s just, um—”
“We don’t have all day. Skip all of the excuses.” My order caused Lirenna to pause and take a deep breath.
“When I was the tainted Witch of Yore, I could only fuel myself with unsightly feelings. The jealousy, resentment, and grief I absorbed only twisted me even further. However, my forgotten self was able to collect the warm adoration of all who worshipped me as Lirenna in that time. The hope, love, desires, fortunes, and prayers that you and your ancestors offered at Festivals of Gratitude throughout history all gathered to nourish me. That’s why I have all my powers, and even a real body again! Look at me, I have legs! The Mother Goddess of Creation is here in all her glory!”
Lirenna jumped to her feet and showed off her holy shine. Her platinum hair fell past her waist, and her arms and legs were long and slender. Even the pieces of dirt clinging to her seemed divine as her entire body glowed in a brilliant radiance.
“The second coming of the Goddess Lirenna...” Being a devout priest, Art had tears in his eyes. He didn’t seem to mind all the mud on the goddess’s forehead, hands, knees, and even hair.
Of course, the Creation Goddess regaining her true powers was cause for celebration. Her renewed ability to know the truths of our world and beyond was great and all, but...
“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Lieselotte! Thank you so much!” Lirenna exclaimed. She then turned to Art with clasped hands. “And so, um...do you think you could arrange for her to be honored by the Church in some way?”
...The way the Goddess Lirenna begged a priest of her own religion was just so pathetic. I could hardly believe she was divine.
“Of course!” Art said. “I’m sure she’ll be exalted as a saint...which means other countries will want her on their side. Can you two hurry up and get married already? If you do, we can invite Her Holiness Lirenna to show up with a hurrah and announce Lady Lieselotte’s sainthood then and there.”
Apparently, my best friend did not share my concerns, and he casually threw together a wedding plan for me and Liese. My brain paused at the sudden shift in conversation, but my bright red fiancée began shouting without skipping a beat.
“M-Marry?! What in the world are you saying?!”
“No, no, I’m serious,” Art said. “Lady Lieselotte, you’re the daughter of a marquis who also happens to be the head general of a kingdom, and you’ve been training to be a queen since childhood, plus you’re beautiful. If you ascend to being the saint who revived the Goddess of Creation, people will start wars over your hand in marriage. So if you and Sieg can hurry it up with a wedding sponsored by the gods themselves, that would do wonders to stop a lot of strife.”
“I agree! Endo and I are totally on board!”
Art’s calm explanation was immediately followed by Lady Kobayashee’s excited voice. As the second party in this wedding for two, I was bewildered.
Wait, give me a second here.
“Then I simply won’t become a saint!” Liese said. “I haven’t done anything noteworthy to begin with, and a holy title like this is better suited for another. In fact, if you’re so keen on these theological pursuits, why don’t you take my place, Artur Richter?”
“No, nope, nuh-uh. I’m not lying about this,” Art said. “Her Holiness is back, and I’m not about to pretend she isn’t. There are other branches of faith outside of our country, so I doubt I could hide her presence for long anyway. Besides, if you have the Mother Goddess’s backing on the day of your wedding, your position as queen will be set in stone. You’ll never have to worry about your husband having an affair, and who will dare to politically oppose a literal saint? It’s good for the kingdom, so can you please just go along with it? I’m pretty sure the higher-ups at the Church will tear me to shreds if you don’t...”
“Say what you will, but my marriage is not mine alone.” The two were exchanging verbal blows so quickly that I couldn’t get in a word. “Affairs of the state dictate when we can hold our wedding. More importantly, His Highness’s opinion on the matter supersedes everything.”
Please, I’m begging you. Just give me a moment. There’s a process to this sort of thing...
“Come on,” Art said. “That’s an easy fix. Or maybe... Could it be? Lady Lieselotte, do you not want to marry Sieg right now?”
“No, I do...um, but...”
Thank goodness. Hearing Liese admit that despite being too embarrassed to look up, I squeezed her hand tight.
“Liese,” I said. With a gasp, she turned her gaze to me. I loosened my grip, sliding in front of her and getting down on one knee. “It’s a shame my proposal has to come at a time like this.”
I awkwardly struggled to make a smile. Yet even so, Liese watched me with glistening eyes, trembling at my words.
“Soon, I will graduate, leaving you here alone for another two years. I’m sure it’s going to be difficult to find time with one another. That terrifies me. I know you’d never leave me for another, but I can’t stop those around us from loving you. So I want to show the world that you’re mine. I want to live with you to spend even a minute longer by your side. I can’t bear to wait another moment to ask... Will you marry me?”