CH 239

Chapter 239 – Conversation With Kagaya

“Ah, but she really hasn’t been confessed to before?” (Torimoto)

“Ah, she never wanted to stand out, so she grew out her bangs to hide her eyes and always wore plain clothes, so…” (Shakuhara)

“She didn’t want to stand out?” (Torimoto)

“Well, she’s pretty tall, as you can see. So that was why she always stood out even though she didn’t want to. That’s why guys used to make fun of her when she was little.” (Shakuhara)

I see. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t comfortable with men.

When men were just little boys, they would think of females as small and weak. And girls would turn against other girls too. So a girl like Saniwa, who was bigger than them, would have become an easy target.

When I was a little kid, there was a girl that I used to tease. She was half-Japanese, so she had blue eyes. I remembered calling her names like ‘foreigner’ and ‘blue eyes’ to make her cry.

Why do people reject those who are different from them? We are all humans, and we all have our own lives and emotions.

Saniwa had probably been hurt whenever she was called names like ‘big girl’ or ‘giant’. That was most likely why she didn’t want to stand out and lacked self-confidence.

“I think being tall is a pretty attractive quality.” (Torimoto)

“…If the men around her thought more like you do, she would probably have more confidence in herself.” (Shakuhara)

The way that Shakuhara stroked Saniwa’s head as she said that made her seem like a big sister who cared about her little sister.

At that moment, someone approached us.

“Torimoto-sama, would you be able to spare a moment, please?” (Kagaya)

It was Kagaya. Her showing up made me feel wary. I felt like she had some other troublesome matter to bring up.

Shakuhara hurriedly sat up straight and moved away from Saniwa, thinking that she was being improper for holding her.

Kagaya saw them and gave them a disapproving look.

“You two call that fulfilling your role as guards? Pathetic.” (Kagaya)

“S-Sorry…!” (Shakuhara)

“Ah, you had to speak with me, right? Did you want to talk here?” (Torimoto)

“Ah, no. I would appreciate it if you would follow me.” (Kagaya)

After I agreed and began to follow after her, Shakuhara spoke up.

“U-Umm…!” (Shakuhara)

“You two don’t need to come.” (Kagaya)

Kagaya coldly dismissed them, and Shakuhara closed her mouth and fell silent.

“Shakuhara-san, I’ll be returning to my room after this, so if you want, you and Saniwa-san can take a break in your rooms.” (Torimoto)

“B-But…” (Shakuhara)

“It’s fine. Besides, you… don’t really seem to be on great terms with this person anyway.” (Torimoto)

“…Fine.” (Shakuhara)

I left behind the reluctant-looking Shakuhara and followed after Kagaya.

—

Kagaya led me to a room that I had never been to before. It was pretty spacious, and it might have been Kagaya’s own room.

There were several followers inside. Upon my arrival, all of them smiled, which was pretty disconcerting for me since I had mostly been met with hostility in the past here.

I was told to take a seat on the one-seater couch and was offered tea and cake. I was clearly being treated like a guest, but I couldn’t help but feel wary instead.

“U-Umm…” (Torimoto)

“What is it? Are you feeling unpleasant in any way? If so, please let me know. I will correct it right away.” (Kagaya)

I couldn’t hold in my feelings of wanting to run away and began to speak, but Kagaya responded in a flustered manner.

“N-No, there’s nothing unpleasant. It’s just that… I’m a bit confused because I’m being welcomed so kindly…” (Torimoto)

“Ah, so that’s what you meant? This is only natural. You are God’s Messenger after all.” (Kagaya)

Oh, so it did have something to do with that…

“I wish you’d stop calling me that.” (Torimoto)

“What are you saying? You are the one chosen by God!” (Kagaya)

The other followers voiced their agreement.

“In the first place, the person you should be looking up to and following is Sayuri-san, right? I’m just an outsider.” (Torimoto)

“…Yes, it’s true that we had originally gathered to follow Founder-sama… Sayuri-san.” (Kagaya)

“So…” (Torimoto)

“But we don’t intend to follow Sayuri-san anymore as she is now.” (Kagaya)

“…Why?” (Torimoto)

“…Because Sayuri-san herself has acknowledged that you are God’s Messenger. And that you are not the messenger of the god that we worship, the God of Heart and Mind, but a true messenger of God.” (Sayuri)

“…! Sayuri-san said that…?” (Torimoto)

“Yes. The other day, she said that in front of everyone.” (Kagaya)

I never imagined that Sayuri would have said such a thing. After all, saying something like that would be denying all of the women of what was originally their source of emotional comfort.

…Why did she make such a remark when she knew it would divide the religious order…?