The holy man of the church creek

Kuoh academy part 1

The way his ears had turned as red as his hair was something she couldn't help but find adorable while she looked up at his face from her position pressed to his chest. In fact, not only did Shirou's face flush upon hearing Mother Griselda's question, but his body had also tensed too. In which case, the arms that he had had tentatively wrapped around her before seemed to press her even closer to him.

Not that she was complaining.

The fragrance of morning oak still lingered on his clothes, but that was reasonable as he had not had the time to change attire since arriving. Yet, somehow, the sent was enough to reassure her that he was really here, and not just some fabrication formed from the Holy energy of both Durandals.

Yes, indeed.

In the time that Shirou had yet to appear, she had been comforted by the images of him returning within her mind in a sense. As she was the inheritor of Durandal, it was the sword that had been the one to recognize her as its wielder. Thus, it could sense her mental state. In which case, the Holy Energy emitted from both Durandals had been used as a conduit to try and alleviate her pains.

Holy Energy, was the power of the Heavens, and thus naturally exhibited a calming aura which was directly opposite to the destructive tendencies of Devil energy. Thus, all that both the Durandals had done was concentrate said Holy Energy entirely around her. However, no matter how relieving the energy was and the images it produced, they would never last; which was what happened moments before Shirou had returned. This had caused her to disregard etiquette of any kind drilled into her by Mother Griselda, and reach the present situation because of her own anxiety.

Still, it was a good thing that her hood was up, as she didn't want to be in a similar position as Shirou who had his features exposed. Although she knew she was thick-skinned, even she had a breaking point. It would be a lie to say that she was unaffected by what Mother Griselda had said. As a matter of fact, it greatly resonated with her, but she was always a straight forward person.

It was how she was raised.

She pulled her hood down further over her face as she contemplated, hiding the growing redness of her cheeks as she blew out a breath. A baby? Picturing a pint-sized brat calling her mommy sent a warm feeling across her chest that made her body tingle. Even more so when she realized the potential of child whose blood was related to that of a Holy man. Although she didn't have the exact mindset as her mother Griselda, she did inherit a significant portion of her world views. Thus, it was impossible that her mind wouldn't drift to the potential of her own child. Yet, staring up at Shirou once more, it made her thoughts simply vanish.

If she could describe what she was feeling right now, she pressed herself even closer to him before closing her eyes and burrowing her head into the crux of his shoulder, it was simply content.

But the moment had to be ruined by the interjection of the Head Priest coughing into his hand.

She couldn't help but release a genuine glare, and it wasn't an expression that could be misinterpreted.

Fact is, even Griselda could not hold back a glower.

As to why Griselda would glower at the Head Priest who was just trying to return the situation to normal, only Griselda would know.

Suddenly feeling pressured, the Head Priest quickly began talking in succession, attempting to defend himself against the stares that apparently weren't just coming from Griselda and herself. The whole crowd of examinees and even the younger priests and nuns were giving him looks of disbelief and outrage as if he had been the one in the wrong. As a senior of near a hundred years in age, he could not understand what it was that had caused such a detrimental effect, and could only chalk it up to the younger generations foolishness.