Thus Spoke Lord Gaph
It was late at night when the sound of the window opening woke me.
I kept pretending to sleep as something pink crawled in through the window.
Heh, just as I thought. Fast asleep at this hour.
Perfect. Now's my chance to grab the Star Piercer.
I didn't want to do this either, Captain.
But this is your punishment for sabotaging my recruitment twice.
Once during the survey, and again with that pyramid scheme.
So have a nice long reflection in your dreams.
Classifying that as "sabotage"... She's got some nerve.
But... will Lord Gaph hate me for stealing...?
No, no, no! Muriel, get it together!
This isn't stealing. It's punishment for the Captain!
Right, once I become the next High Saintess, I'll give it back. Then the Captain will forgive me. Yep.
Says who?
Eek?! I'm sorry, Lord Gaph! I'm so sorry for making excuses to steal!
...Huh? Did I hear that wrong?
Whew... That scared me. Must've been the Captain talking in his sleep.
I mean, why would a god bother meddling in the affairs of a lowly priestess like me...? Hmph.
She looked oddly disappointed.
Come to think of it, for all her antics, her faith really was... oddly sincere.
The real issue is, can someone who faints at a slime build courage...? It won't be easy.
B-but she does seem motivated to finish, so maybe she'll pull it off somehow!
Hang in there, Captain!
Maybe that sincerity will help on the Journey after all.
Ugh... Rummaging through someone else's room really does feel criminal...
Where is it...? The Star Piercer's gotta be in here somewhere...
I spoke in a low voice to Muriel's back as she dug through my drawers.
Muriel, do you steal from your own comrades?
Eeep!
L-Lord Gaph? No, it can't be...
No way... Is this a real revelation? No, I must be just hearing things, right...?
But why now of all times...?! This can't be real!
Wait a sec—Aaagh!!!
She must've stubbed her toe on the dresser. Muriel grabbed her foot and hopped around in circles.
Ow! Ah! Ugh! Hrrng!
Behold! The unfaithful shall receive due punishment!
No no no no. This isn't real! It's not real...!
And your next punishment shall be twice as severe!
Th-there's no way that's really—!
Hopping on one foot, Muriel lost her balance and slammed into my bookshelf.
–Gyaah!
The shelf crashed down right on top of her.
Gahhh?!
She got flattened underneath it.
...Honestly, I was just ad-libbing, but it lined up scarily well.
I-I didn't hear that wrong...!
Lord Gaph, he really was watching me!
Repent now, and you shall be forgiven.
I-I repent! Forgive me, Lord Gaph!
I'll never sneak into the Captain's room again! I won't even pray for bird poop to hit him in the morning! I swear!
You were still praying for that?!
Hiiieek!
I'm sorry! I'll just go now! Goodbye!
The moment Muriel scrambled out the window, I heard a cat's angry yowl outside.
I looked out and saw Muriel being chased by a cat.
Kyahhh! Stop chasing me!
I didn't mean to! I didn't step on your tail on purpose!
Then the cat leapt up and bit the back of Muriel's head.
Muriel froze mid-run, stiff and trembling.
Ack!!
With the cat still clinging to her head, Muriel disappeared into the night...
The next day, Muriel showed up wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
Hehe... Hehehe...
What happened to you?
Hehe, this is just between us, but...
I actually got a revelation from Lord Gaph while praying last night!
But then, BAM! A lion from the zoo showed up and pounced!
I'm sure the underdwellers set it up to interrupt my holy vision!
So these are battle scars from my fight with that lion.
...
Out of all those aiming for saintesshood, I bet I'm the only one who's ever received a true revelation.
Doesn't that just prove my faith is the real thing? Heh heh heh ♪
Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that, Captain?
It's awfully suspicious... What are you hiding from me?
Nothing.
Guess I'll just keep what really happened last night to myself...
After all, sometimes we lie for good reasons.