Don't Be Holy! - Chapter 25
Originally, when the witch she saw at Granny’s funeral said she would help just once, Eir had planned to consult about this, but that card had been used up dealing with Rubel, the divine hound sent by God.
Just as she was sighing while suppressing the curses rising to her throat—
Knock knock knock-
Suddenly, there was a knocking sound from outside the door. It seemed like a visitor had come. Mr. Linden muttered ‘We’re not expecting anyone.’ to himself while telling them to wait a moment as he headed to the entrance.
Meanwhile, Otis, bored, stuck his tongue out at Eir and teased her.
“I can read this, but Eir can’t, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Mr. Linden said I just need to start from the middle again, you know?”
While yawning at such meaningless words and turning her head away without interest, she found herself making direct eye contact with the man standing at the entrance.
Rubel, Rubel Shinote.
Eir muttered blankly.
“Volte…….”
[Damn it…….]
She had unconsciously muttered in the holy language, and Mr. Linden’s ears, who she thought was distracted greeting someone in the distance, suddenly perked up.
“What? Vurte?”
“Sorry?”
With a delighted face, he rushed to where she was and pointed to a word somewhere in the book.
“Yes! This is ‘Vurte’! Hat! You’ve finally learned to read one word! After three years. My goodness. God has blessed you.”
Mr. Linden’s hands were warm as they firmly gripped hers. Eir couldn’t bring herself to explain that she had actually muttered a curse that had become second nature upon seeing Rubel Shinote.
Mr. Linden eagerly took it upon himself to share this joyous news with Rubel before anyone else could.
“You must be a blessing! For the longest time, Eir couldn’t read a single word properly, but as soon as you arrived, she correctly pronounced ‘Vurte’! What wonderful news!”
He was so excited that he almost embraced Rubel in his joy. Rubel smoothly avoided his reach while saying:
“That can’t be. I just came to observe.”
“Ah, right. You said the village chief sent you! Come in, come in.”
Eir hid her trembling hands under the desk.
After all her efforts to avoid hearing Rubel speak the holy language, now he was coming to her holy language class of all places.
“Lu, what brings you here?”
She spoke with an almost horrifically strained voice. Mr. Linden explained to Eir and Otis what Rubel had told him at the entrance.
“The village chief was concerned about Lu’s proficiency in the holy language and sent him here. Since Lu also lost his memories……. Ah, not ‘also.’ You still have your memories. Of course you do.”
Mr. Linden muttered this while subtly criticizing Eir’s terrible holy language skills, but no one paid attention to that.
Rubel was still standing near the entrance looking around the house, Eir was lost in this terrible catastrophe, and even Mr. Linden himself was busy preparing textbooks and chairs.
Only Otis snickered, saying ‘They say you still have your memories.’
As soon as everything was ready, Mr. Linden gestured for Rubel to come in from the entrance. Rubel bowed his head politely and entered.
The scene of Rubel walking in one step at a time seemed unusually slow. It might have been because of his long legs, but for Eir, it was more likely because this could be the last scene of her life.
It felt like the God of Death himself was walking toward her, and unable to bear this terrible anxiety, Eir suddenly stood up and shouted.
“Why does Lu need holy language lessons? Lu is so good at the holy language! He can even recite prayers fluently!”
“Ah. Is that so?”
Eir realized she had dug her own grave and closed her eyes in despair. She knew Mr. Linden would surely ask him to demonstrate. Then Rubel would recite prayers in that deep, solemn voice…… and well, to skip to the end, Eir’s head would surely roll.
While she was making a fuss, frantically grabbing and releasing a cushion that might hide the light that would soon emanate from her hands, she failed to notice Rubel watching her intently.
“Well, I may know how to recite prayers, but I’m not sure if I remember how to read the letters.”
“Such enthusiasm for learning! Very good, very good. Well, first, let’s try a prayer…….”
At this rate, he was really going to recite prayers right here. Eir frantically racked her brain until suddenly, she remembered Otis’s presence and decided to use him.
She grabbed Otis’s shoulder and whispered.
“Otis, ask that man if he can read this character right now.”
“Why? The teacher will handle it.”
“If you do, I’ll help you get close to Molly.”
Molly was a little lady of Otis’s age who loved flowers and was the object of his crush. Startled by this sudden proposition, Otis blushed, but deciding to seize the opportunity, he raised his hand high.
“Hey! Uh, bro! Can you read this character?”
Rubel bent his upper body toward Otis’s book. He smoothly read the character Otis was pointing to.
“Pare.”
His way of simply pronouncing the word without any explanation, as if saying ‘since you asked, I’ll tell you,’ felt particularly irritating. Mr. Linden clapped his hands in surprise at Rubel’s excellent pronunciation.
