Fiiru was in the Déman palace gardens with a number of people.
They were not maids; instead, there were people who wished to consult her for advice, people who had brought gifts for her, people who had come to learn from her sublimity as well as a host of other reasons. There were sons of aristocratic families, princes from neighbouring nations, and on top of it all, even a priest was present.
In the eyes of some of these princes, perhaps this garden itself was not very large, but with Fiiru there, the very scenery seemed to change.
Even these dull flowers would seem to bloom brightly in red and gold. Even the ba.n.a.lly aligned trees seemed to all be perfectly positioned.
And standing there amongst all this was Fiiru. Fiiru, whose clean beauty brought to mind an angel, completed the painting that was this garden.
Dressed as beautifully as ever, Fiiru looked up.
Her eyes, like sparkling sapphires, softly beheld the skies.
And as she did, long lashes narrowed around those gems as she gave a meaningful look.
“Look! Fiiru-sama is looking up at the sky.”
“Heavens… She’s breathtaking…”
“She must be pondering some issue too profound for us to understand.”
Amidst all the clamouring, Fiiru was thinking to herself.
(What nice weather…)
Today the wind was cool, and the sunlight was gentle and warm.
It was so comfortable that her eyes had begun to droop. For a while, she considered how pleasant it would be to simply have an afternoon nap on the spot.
But there were guests here today, and thus, it would not be permissible to do so. To start with, she had never had an afternoon nap in her life, much to her disappointment.
It was truly a nice day, however. Just s.p.a.cing out in the garden like this was more than pleasant enough.
Even these guests who would normally approach her so incessantly were now happy to leave her alone to enjoy herself. Because of that, Fiiru was able to bask the afternoon sunlight as she pleased.
As she was doing so, she noticed a b.u.t.terfly flutter past.
(Woww, it’s a b.u.t.terflyy…)
Still in a daze, she reached out without thinking too much.
Suddenly, one of the n.o.blemen shouted. In shock, Fiiru froze in place.
“Wha… What a mysterious pose Fiiru-sama is taking!”
“Ah-! That pose is…!”
“Do you know of it, Father Priest!?”
The priest gave the prince a serious look.
“I am certain. That pose is the pose of prayer towards G.o.d, pa.s.sed down in the ancient texts of the Prase Faith. It is said that upon the completion of this prayer, the surroundings will be purified and fortune will befall all.”
“Heavens! So Fiiru-sama was actually attempting such a thing!”
“No wonder they call her the Miko of Soothing!”
“So when she gazed into the sky, she was actually thinking of the world in preparation for her prayer.”
(EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!?)
screamed the girl in her mind.
“Then tell me, Priest. You said ‘upon completion’ did you not? How long will this prayer take to complete?”
“The prayer will succeed if she maintains that position without moving for eight minutes.”
“I see! In other words, Fiiru-sama is presently trying to reach that mark.”
(I-, I can’t moveeee…!)
After that conversation, it was impossible for her to move now.
The best way to describe her current pose was a strange one where only her left leg was touching the ground. The right one was lifted forward at roughly a thirty degree angle, and her two arms were stretched out before her.
(I, I have to stay like this for eight minutes…? T-, That’s impossibleee…)
To be very frank, it was a very difficult pose to hold.
Not only that, but Fiiru had been brought up like a princess.
Having done almost no exercise, she had little strength. Very little strength. Very, very little strength.
Before even thirty seconds was up, her left leg was already trembling and the blood had left her face.
(Why… Why did it turn out like this…)
She had just been enjoying the sun when she wanted to chase after a b.u.t.terfly. How had that managed to turn into publicly challenging her to keep this strange pose for eight minutes?
Fiiru’s eyes started to water a little.
She held out for about a minute.
(I, I’m done…)
By now, her entire body was trembling.
But just before she collapsed…
Loud clatters and crashes could be heard from afar.
In the background, they could hear the sounds of shouting maids.
“Fii-sama has suddenly gone berserk!”
“The flowerpots and vases are…!”
“A-, Again!? The other day I was wondering why she was so quiet when she suddenly broke into a rampage. Why is she doing this again…!”
Even the men who had been staring at Fiiru’s “praying” began looking the other way now.
“W-What on earth is going on!”
“Apparently some woman called Fii is causing a fuss.”
“That completely dissimilar sister of Fiiru-sama!?”
“Kuh! We cannot allow this to affect Fiiru-sama’s praying! I shall go catch her!”
“I will come as well!”
“I won’t let you steal a march on me!”
“I will come too!”
With that, all the men began running in the direction of the disturbance. The maids also followed behind them.
After dazedly watching them depart, Fiiru was finally able to stand normally.
Her eyes were looking towards the garden bushes where someone’s shadow waved to her.
It only took an instant to recognise her. It was her older sister, Fii-neesama.
She had probably spotted what happened and caused a fuss as a distraction.
(Thank you, Neesamaa…)
Fiiru shed tears of grat.i.tude.
With a warm smile on her face, she waved back at her gentle older sister.
After that, Princess Fii continued her game of tag in the castle, and fifteen minutes later everyone returned to Fiiru completely out of breath. Fii-neesama had succeeded in her escape.
Thus concluded another day in the life of the two sisters.