Even though Natsumi had officially become part of the Absolute Empire, her devotion still remained to the actual God of this and any other world. Thus, Yuki and she were still far from sharing true sisterhood once again. Meaning it would take Natsumi additional credit, to make up in the areas she was lacking, such as her faith. However, if that was a flaw Yuki would even be able to see past at all was a whole different story.
"You came back later than expected yesterday… Did something happen?"
"Nope! Nothing at all."
"Common, just tell me!"
"Well, if you must know… My boo and I undressed in a conference room and did what grown ups do. Then there was also a djinn and stuff and a fake murder or whatever, but besides that nothing."
"D-did you have to open with that!? Or mention it at all!?"
"I thought you might run away from embarrassment and stop bothering me."
"I'm just trying to hold a conversation!"
"Well, unlike you, I'm busy."
"Then maybe I could help you!"
"Great idea! Can you organize all these date plans I made into a schedule I can work off one by one?"
"S-sure, I could do that…"
Yuki handed her a massive stack of papers and as Natsumi grabbed a few to skim over, she blushed and put them back.
"Do they all go into detail like that and end the same way!?"
"Problem?"
"You have problems! I'm not reading those, I already read that much too many!"
"Yeah well, then you can get lost, I guess. Unless you wanna be in the same room as me while I do them."
"Watch it or I will!"
"Okay, bye~"
"Goodbye! Have a productive and nice rest of the day!"
Natsumi slammed the door behind her but stopped it at the end, so it only looked slammed but was gentle in the end. Now outside of Yuki's office, she realized what she had done and that it did not go as planned at all. Squatting down against the door, she scratched her head trying to think of an excuse to come back in. But she would have to wait at least half an hour in front of the door so it would look like she had gone somewhere in the meantime. Seeing this as a true master plan of deception, she was filled with confidence and pride.
"It's genius!"
"What's genius, miss Natsumi?"
Natsumi turned her head to see Petrisha standing next to her, most likely having stood there the entire time and witnessed Natsumi's entire display.
"N-no, it's—! I hate it here!"
Not sure what else to do, Natsumi ran away and disappeared around the nearest corner. Though, her steps could still be heard for a while longer, until she was finally out of reach. In her desperate escape, she did not look where she was going and as she cut another corner, bumped into Yamato, causing her to fall over, tripping over her long white robe which was not designed for running in the first place.
"Ouch… Ah! Not you! You were the last person I wanted to run into!"
"I'm sorry? Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened! You jerk! But thank you for your consideration!"
"You're… Welcome…? You seem lost."
"I'm not lost! I will have you know that I memorized the entire structure of this ridiculously large display building on the first day of my arrival! I just happened to not know where exactly I'm going right now!"
"Isn't that… being lost?"
"No! Because if I had a goal, I would know how to get there! I just don't have one, as simple as that!"
"Oh, okay."
"…"
"That's kinda sad."
"No it's not! You and your mean words, I can already sense you have evil in mind! Do you wish to crush my hopes and dreams by making me doubt my own feelings!?"
"What are you talking about…"
"This is all your fault to begin with! You promised I'd become sisters with Yuki again, but she hates me! And I embarrassed myself in front of that demon maid, being the total disgrace of an angel that I am, while I house in the residence of the devil himself… Everyone hates me!"
"Are you crying?"
"N-no…! Maybe… What's it to you?"
"…There, there."
Trying to soothe her the same way he did her sister, he patted Natsumi head. However, at the first touch, a paper, compressed to an needle like arrow strong enough to pierce through solid rock found its way through the hallways and straight at Natsumi's head. Though not able to penetrate her skin, despite being capable of killing regular humans, the impact through Natsumi abruptly over onto the ground, away from Yamato's hand.
"Ouch…! D-did you hit me just now!?"
"No… Though it does look like it, I guess. Maybe I shouldn't touch your head. Seems like someone's getting annoyed by that."
"Yeah, me! Don't touch my head!"
"I didn't mean you, but whatever. If you're so depressed, maybe going outside would do you good."
"That's a… Very normal and nice idea from the incarnation of all that is evil… Thank you very much. I will keep an eye on you!"
She said, literally walking backwards to put emphasis on her statement. Walking into a wall in the process and hitting her head again. Then quickly running off once again.
"You didn't see that! I also have eyes in the back of my head, so don't try anything dubious! And have a nice day!"
"Okay… Who say dubious like that…"
"I heard that!"
Which was impressive since Yamato said it quietly and more to himself, and Natsumi was already pretty far away.
Now outside, Natsumi walked her usual route through the city, already friends with most of the people she came across. She was so liked in fact, that she even got gifts from the people. Nothing fancy, but still nice gestures she appreciated very much like bread and occasional sweets. Though a lot was just her kind nature, the main reason for this was her connection to Yuki and Yamato, who were quite literally viewed as deities in the entirety of the town. Coming across a few children playing near a support arch of the Absolute Citadel, she shared her food without a second thought. She did not need it anyway, though she found eating to have become a hobby of hers.
"You be blessed, my innocent children. I will go buy you more if you are still hungry."
"Thank you, Natsumi! But we have to get to church soon, so we wouldn't want to send you away just for us to have already left…"
"It's no problem, really. I could bring it to you faster than you can say your morning prayers, which I heard you cut short today~!"
"Wha- Who told you that!? It's because I overslept and was late for school! The teacher scolded me for being late again… But luckily I wasn't written up."
"But that doesn't mean you can let it become a habit. Just because you got away this time, you might not be as lucky the next!"
"I understand, which is why I prayed to Emperor Yamato that he come personally wake me up if I oversleep again!"
"T-that's smart… But maybe prayers to someone else could be of more help?"
"Hm? Like who? Ah, you mean your sister, right? Yeah, Lady Yuki can come wake me up too! Then I will be sure to wake up and get to school in time!"
"Sigh… Yeah, sure… Well, I will be on my way then. Wouldn't want to keep you from going to church. Even if its this church…"
Mumbling the last bit, she watched as the children ran up to their parents and entered the Cube section of the Absolute Citadel, where Carina was waiting at the entrance and welcomed everyone inside. Natsumi had only talked once to her, and was unsure how to deal with someone so hopelessly devoted. Though that was to be expected of the person managing the entire church affairs of the country, not just the town whenever Yuki felt like she had something better to do. However, Natsumi decided she should have another go at it.
"Hey, Carina, getting ready for church?"
"Lady Natsumi, what a surprise! Have you come to participate in today noon session? There is always room for one more!"
"No thank you…"
"Oh… Well, I'm sure you are busy. Apostles of his Holiness must be busy. So I'm glad you came by anyway. But, if not to participate, what could be the reason for your visit?"
"I just came to chat a bit, if you are not too busy."
"Oh, not at all! Or, actually… Maybe a little, haha. But I can spare a couple of minutes for you, of course."
"About the religions present within the Absolute Empire…"
"Oh, you needn't worry in the slightest! The Absolute Church becomes more dominant in territory outside of town day by day! Word has it, people from other countries have even shown interest in it! Though, I can't confirm any members in other countries for certain as of now, there is a real possibility, I'm sure!"
"And other religions? Surely there is some diversity within the beliefs of well over millions of people?"
"Naturally! But again, no need to worry! Because our glorious lord has provided us with a new recource to deal with violent Deficients!"
"Deficients?"
"Yes! DB's, for short, standing for Deficient Believer, of course. Either is fine, really. It is the term I came up with to categorize people who are unable to be efficiently converted. I usually try to hold onto the belief that everyone can find back to the right path of the Absolute Church, but sometimes that just seems impossible… So in these very rare, isolated instances, to prevent their ideals from negatively effecting other people's lives, we remove Deficients from their environment!"
"If you have a whole term for them these instances can't be too isolated, can they?"
"Ahaha, no, no, I assure you there are almost none!"
"And about removing them, what do you—"
"I'm sorry, I'd love to dive deeper into that with you, but I'm needed inside. Yuki should be able to tell you all about it though, if you are interested in providing support! Have a blessed day, and may his holiness continue to bestow grace upon us!"
"Yeah, you too…"
Natsumi felt as if that had went even worse then with the children, but at least she learned something new today. The term "DB" or "Deficient", or rather the context to it. It was something she feared Yuki would not give her straight answers about, and therefore required personal investigation. Though, Natsumi seemed to have a lot of free time around here anyway. Then there was this mention of a "new recource", that was supposed to be connected to the Deficients, making Natsumi even more curious as to what this was all about.