Chapter 429
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Mimosa tilted her head curiously at my sudden reaction.
"No, it's nothing. I just remembered something..."
I trailed off, not wanting to alarm her. If my memory was correct, the shrine's barrier system had been attacked before. But this girl—she seemed so innocent, so unaware of any danger.
"You look tired," Mimosa said, stepping closer. "The trial must have been really hard. I could tell something was different because the barrier kept flickering weirdly for days."
"Days? You could feel that?"
"Mm-hmm! The barrier reacts to everything that happens on the sacred mountain. When someone's going through the trial, it shimmers. But yours—" she made a wavy motion with her hands "—it went crazy! Like someone was shaking it non-stop for three whole days! Trades said he'd never seen anything like it."
"Trades?"
"My teacher! He's supposed to be teaching me, but he ran off somewhere when the barrier went wild. Probably checking on all the boundary points." She pouted. "He always does that. Leaves me alone with my studies whenever something interesting happens."
I couldn't help but smile at her frustration. Despite her important role, she seemed like any other child annoyed with their studies.
"So you maintain the barrier by yourself when he's gone?"
"Not alone! There are others. But I'm the main one right now—it's my turn." She puffed out her chest with pride, then deflated slightly. "It's a lot of responsibility. Trades says I have to study extra hard because if the barrier fails, bad things could get in."
Bad things. Like the Heretic Church.
"Your teacher's right to be strict," I said carefully. "The barrier's important. You should make sure you're always with someone when you're on duty. Just in case."
Mimosa blinked at me. "Why?"
"Because..." I hesitated. How much should I tell her? "Because important people sometimes get targeted by those who want to cause harm. And someone maintaining a sacred barrier? That's pretty important."
"Oh." She considered this seriously. "Is that why Trades is always hovering nearby? He tries to hide it, but I can always sense him."
I bit back a laugh. A child who could sense her teacher's presence through a divine barrier? Either Trades was terrible at stealth, or this girl's abilities were far beyond normal.
"Probably. Sounds like a good teacher."
"He's annoying," she declared, but there was affection in her voice. Then her eyes widened. "Oh! I forgot—the archbishop's coming! Trades told me before he ran off. Something about a record being broken?"
"Ah... that."
"You did something amazing, didn't you?" Mimosa's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "The barrier doesn't go crazy for just anyone. What happened in there?"
What happened? Three days of hell designed by bored gods who turned my trial into entertainment. But I couldn't say that to a child.
"Let's just say I had some unexpected... guests."
"Guests? In the trial?" She frowned. "That's not supposed to happen. The trial's supposed to be alone."
"Yeah, well. Someone forgot to tell that to the gods who were watching."
Mimosa's eyes somehow got even wider. "Gods were watching you? Like, actually watching?"
"Apparently my suffering made for good viewing."
She stared at me for a long moment, then burst into laughter. "You're funny! Suffering for entertainment—that sounds like something Trades would say about my study sessions!"
Despite myself, I laughed too. Leave it to a child to find humor in divine sadism.
"I'm Mimosa, by the way. I already said that, but—" She stuck out her hand formally. "It's nice to meet you, trial-breaker person."
I shook her small hand. "Liberta. And it's nice to meet you too, barrier keeper person."
She giggled. "We sound silly."
"We really do."
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor, growing closer. Mimosa sighed dramatically.
"Here comes the fuss. They're going to make a big deal about your record, aren't they?"
"Probably."
"Do you want me to hide you?"
I looked at her sincere offer and almost took her up on it. Almost.
"Tempting, but I should face the music. Your teacher would probably find me anyway."
"True. Trades is really good at finding people. It's annoying."
The footsteps reached the door, and several breathless priests appeared, led by the bishop from earlier.
"There you are!" the bishop exclaimed. "I've sent word to the Grand Temple! Everyone's coming! This is—" He finally noticed Mimosa. "Lady Mimosa? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at your studies?"
"Trades ran off and the barrier's calm now, so I got bored." She shrugged with practiced nonchalance. "I came to see what made the barrier freak out. Turns out it was him." She pointed at me.
The bishop's face cycled through several expressions before settling on resigned acceptance. Of course the barrier keeper would be curious. Of course she'd investigate. Of course she'd find the one place she wasn't supposed to be.
"...I see. Well, now that you've satisfied your curiosity, perhaps you should return to your quarters before Trades returns and panics?"
"Fine, fine." Mimosa waved dismissively, then turned back to me. "Hey, trial-breaker person? Come visit me sometime, okay? I want to hear more about the gods watching you. It sounds way more interesting than my studies."
Before I could respond, she darted past the gathered priests and disappeared down the corridor.
The bishop sighed heavily. "I apologize for that. Lady Mimosa is... enthusiastic."
"She seems nice."
"She's a handful. But talented—perhaps the most talented barrier keeper in generations." He shook his head. "Now, about the ceremony—"
"Still not interested."
"Please reconsider! This is unprecedented! The archbishop himself is on his way!"
I glanced toward the corridor where Mimosa had vanished, then back at the desperate bishop.
"Fine. But no fancy robes, and I'm not giving a speech."
The bishop's face lit up. "We can work with that!"
Great. Now I had a ceremony to look forward to. But somehow, meeting the barrier keeper had made the whole thing feel less like an ordeal.
Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.