< 40 : Estasia (1) >
A mountain range in the southwest of the empire.
There was an angel there, descending with a holy light.
Curly silver hair.
And blue eyes with no expression.
The name of the girl who came down to the earth with a small stature was Estasia.
Estasia, who came down with bright radiance and spread her large wings wide, looked around with bored eyes.
“Yawn…”
She saw a quiet mountain scenery with no one in sight.
The earth where she descended was a strange place even for angels.
If Estasia had not been summoned by the god of another world, she would never have come here in her lifetime.
It required a tremendous amount of magic to break through the boundary of heaven and come down.
Flutter.
As Estasia folded her large wings, the brilliant light that wrapped around her disappeared.
Estasia, who had put away the light, sat on a rock and gave her impression of the surrounding scenery.
“So this is the earth.”
Only a few angels ever came to the human world.
Moreover, recently, due to the rapidly tilted celestial balance, it was rare for goddesses to send angels to the earth.
It was a very unusual thing for Estasia, a seraphim, to come down to the earth.
The one who called her to the earth was none other than the god of the outside world.
The reason why the god of another world called her was simple.
To gather the souls that went astray, and to spread his will on the earth.
Only a few angels, including Estasia, could answer such a call.
“But it’s annoying…”
Estasia had already crossed the boundary of corruption due to her unique personality.
She had a bad reputation in heaven for her personality.
The halo that symbolized the angel emitted a splendid light.
The angel’s halo was the only way for them to communicate with their master.
As Estasia’s halo absorbed the light, tiny star dust scattered around her.
Anyone who saw it would feel reverence.
Estasia, in the midst of such sacred and majestic scenery, offered a sincere prayer to her master.
“Please give me some bread.”
That was the end of her prayer.
As the light of the halo went out and she folded her wings, the radiance that enveloped Estasia also disappeared.
Estasia, who finished her prayer in an instant, looked up at the sky with sparkling eyes.
She thought that something might react from the sky since she had finished her prayer.
And as if to answer her expectation, a piece of bread fell from the sky.
What fell from the sky was a baguette with the length of a human arm.
“It’s a baguette.”
“Wowaaak…!”
As Estasia caught the baguette that fell for her, a scream rang out around her.
She turned her head and looked at the direction where the sound came from.
There was a man screaming around the table where Estasia was sitting.
He seemed to have approached her after finding Estasia praying.
He looked like he had hurt his leg while climbing the mountain, as he was limping.
“A human?”
The human man looked at Estasia with confusion.
She remembered the command she received from the god who brought her here when she faced a human.
Harvest souls.
That was the order of the great being who sent Estasia down.
Estasia looked at the man in front of her and wondered for a moment if she should kill him.
“…”
But she soon erased that command from her mind.
She didn’t have any attack magic or anything like that.
And it was too bothersome to move and attack him directly.
Estasia gave up on attacking and bit into the baguette in her hand.
The man in front of her asked her a question as she ate the baguette.
“Are you… an angel…?”
Nod. Nod.
Estasia agreed with his words.
She even spread her wings on her back to show him her large wings.
As Estasia spread her wings, a light burst out around her.
The man knelt down reflexively and prayed at the sight of the light that wrapped around Estasia.
“Holy goddess in heaven——.”
“You won’t get a baguette even if you pray there.”
“Thank you for sending us an angel.”
The man continued to pray while Estasia was eating bread in front of him.
The sight of him praying was also a good spectacle for Estasia.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to get a baguette like Estasia just by praying.
She watched him pray until she finished eating all of her baguette.
The man’s prayer ended only after Estasia finished her meal.
The man, who had finished his prayer, got up from his seat with a devout expression.
He then looked at his leg and exclaimed in a loud voice.
“No way! My leg healed completely after I finished praying…?”
“Oh, I did that.”
Estasia was an angel specialized in healing and defense.
It was natural that the man’s natural healing ability increased when he entered her domain.
His leg seemed to have mostly recovered while he was praying.
The man, who was healed by Estasia’s power, kept bowing to her and thanking her.
It was not an easy thing to move around the mountain with a hurt leg.
“Angel. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll come back again.”
“Don’t come back next time.”
Estasia saw off the man who thanked her and left.
She thought he wouldn’t come back since she had scolded him.
Estasia got up from her seat and yawned after sending the man away.
She started to feel sleepy after finishing her meal.
It was usually time for a nap.
She was full too.
It was a perfect situation to go into the cave and sleep.
Estasia, who got up from her seat, slowly walked into the cave.
And then she started to sleep in the cave.
Estasia’s nap in the cave lasted until the next morning.
***
The third day since she came down to the earth.
The front of Estasia’s cave was more crowded than yesterday when she opened her eyes in the morning.
All kinds of fruits were piled up on the table that Estasia used, and many people were kneeling down in front of the table.
Estasia tilted her head at the incomprehensible sight, and an old man at the front of the crowd stood up.
He introduced himself as the village chief and spoke to Estasia.
“These things here are all offerings for you, angel.”
“Offerings?”
“Yes. Please harmonize the earth and heaven well, and make the world peaceful.”
Offerings.
That meant that all the fruits in front of Estasia’s eyes were hers.
Estasia’s eyes scanned over the fruits on the table.
Grapes. Strawberries. Apples. Oranges.
They were all fruits that Estasia liked.
She preferred fruits over bread.
There was no reason not to touch them if she saw her favorite fruits in front of her eyes.
“Are these all mine?”
“Yes. They are our sincerity for you.”
“Okay.”
Estasia, who sat down, reached out for the fruits.
The first fruit she touched was a grape.
As she put a grape in her mouth, sweetness filled her mouth.
It was the taste of fruit that she hadn’t had in a long time.
Estasia’s mood improved with the sweet taste and she spread her wings wide.
The people who were in front of her started to pray together.
“Holy goddess in heaven———.”
“Please make this year a good harvest———.”
“Please make our youngest not sick———.”
Estasia thought as she ate the fruits while watching them pray in front of her.
She thought it would be annoying if there were humans, but they brought fruits to her on their own.
It wasn’t such a bad thing to have humans around.
Then, wouldn’t it be possible to eat only fruits without doing anything if the number of humans following her increased?
Such a thought crossed Estasia’s mind.
“Goddess in heaven———.”
Estasia, who bit an apple, got up from her seat with the apple in her hand.
And then she put a halo on her head and emitted a bright light.
The people who were praying looked at Estasia intently as she shone brightly.
It was the moment when the angel they liked showed her full power.
There was no one here who wouldn’t look at her.
Estasia, who was emitting a bright light, coughed lightly and looked around.
“Ahem.”
“The angel speaks!”
“Everyone listen carefully!”
Estasia, who coughed once, looked at the people who were looking at her.
There were many people lined up in front of her, young and old.
They seemed to have a shallow understanding of theology regardless of Estasia’s presence here.
They all accepted Estasia and the being behind her without any doubt.
“Oh, angel…”
“So let’s all pray together to the great one.”
Estasia’s voice, which showed a devout attitude, made the people bow their heads again.
And then they started to pray again to the god in heaven.
But the target of their prayers had changed greatly from before.
As they prayed to the god of another world, Estasia admired her competence while eating an apple.
