Operation Execution

“Lady Seremees, have we been noticed?”

“It’s fine. Just be careful about the sound when opening the door.”

“Understood.”

I placed my hand on the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open… and an unpleasant creaking sound echoed. It really seemed like a room that wasn’t used often.

“No one seems to have woken up.”

“That’s a relief. Then we’ll proceed.”

Rebecca and I exchanged glances and nodded before quietly stepping out into the hallway together. Right in front of us was the woman’s private room we had first considered entering, and the hallway stretched straight out to the right.

“Beyond the door at the end of the hallway is the shared space. And one of the doors in that shared space leads to the corridor connected to the chapel.”

“Understood. We’ll go to the shared space first.”

Step by step, we moved forward carefully, making sure not to make any noise. This building seemed to be made of stone rather than wood, so at least the floor didn’t creak.

Each door had a nameplate indicating whose room it was, and since all the names were female, this must have been the area with the women’s private rooms.

“Ugh.”

Hearing a strange sound from Rebecca behind me, I instinctively turned around. Rebecca was pinching her nose with teary eyes.

“…Sorry, I almost sneezed.”

“It should be fine, but if it happens again, pull my clothes and we’ll go to the Divine Domain.”

We whispered to each other quietly enough that even we could barely hear it, and then continued slowly down the hallway. Soon we reached the door at the end without any trouble, and I placed my hand on the doorknob.

Phew… opening a door was the most nerve-racking moment.

“Lady Seremees, is there anyone on the other side?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

I slowly opened the door, slipped my body through… and quietly closed it behind me. After confirming that no one was in the shared space, I let out a relieved breath.

“That was the most nerve-wracking part.”

“Yeah.”

—Clatter!

“…!”

Just as Rebecca and I were exchanging smiles, a loud noise suddenly shook our ears. Both of us flinched and shrank our bodies instinctively.

“Luca! To the Divine Domain now!”

“…Y-yes!”

The moment I heard Lady Seremees’s voice, I grabbed Rebecca’s arm and moved us into the Divine Domain… and Lady Seremees let out a sigh of relief when she saw us.

—That was terrible for my heart.

“What happened?”

“It seems a man woke up to use the restroom. The restroom is only in the shared space, so you would have run into him if you stayed.”

Seriously… I was glad we managed to escape in time.

“Thank you for warning us.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Ugh… we’ve only been infiltrating for a few minutes, but I already feel exhausted.”

Rebecca stretched widely and gave a weak smile. I completely understood how she felt. It was a different kind of fatigue than usual.

“We just have to push a little longer.”

“Yeah. Alright, let’s refocus. It might actually be good that we came here once.”

“That’s true. If we had tried to go all the way through in one stretch, we might have lost focus halfway.”

Rebecca and I both stretched to relax the tension, then looked at the Water Mirror that Lady Seremees was peering into.

“Ah, is that the person who woke up?”

“Yes. He’s already returned to his room, so it’s fine now. As for the other rooms… everyone is asleep.”

“Understood. Thank you. Alright Rebecca, let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

Quietly returning to the mortal world, Rebecca and I hunched down again and crossed the shared space. Then we opened the door leading to the corridor connected to the chapel and left the shared space.

“Ah, is that the chapel’s back entrance?”

“Looks like it.”

“Let’s hurry.”

Since we were now some distance away from where people were, we moved quickly. The back door wasn’t locked, so we entered the chapel without any trouble.

The chapel at night… felt sacred, yet also slightly intimidating.

“It kind of feels like we’re doing something bad.”

“Well, we technically are. But Lady Seremees gave permission, so it’s fine.”

“That’s true. Let’s swap the divine statue quickly.”

Rebecca and I approached the statue radiating presence and reached out to touch its cold surface.

“Rebecca, you’re coming to the Divine Domain with me, right?”

“Of course. Don’t leave me behind.”

“Understood.”

When I activated Divine Domain Interference… the statue that had been in the chapel moved into the Divine Domain without any problem. Comparing it with the divine statue placed nearby, they looked extremely similar.

However, the divine statue was cleaner and had less grime. The statue from the church had a bit of dust on it.

“Should we put some dust on the divine statue?”

“Yes… I’d rather not if possible, but it’s better than letting anyone realize the statues were swapped.”

“Understood. Then I’ll transfer some dust from this one onto the divine statue.”

When I grabbed some dust and scattered it over the divine statue, a sense of guilt welled up inside my chest.

“…It feels bad, like we’re putting dust on Lady Seremees herself.”

“I know. It feels worse than illegally entering the church.”

With slightly conflicted expressions, we continued the work, and within a few minutes it became impossible to tell which one was the divine statue. No one would notice the swap now.

“Lady Seremees, is this alright?”

“Yes, thank you. Now please place it.”

“Of course.”

Rebecca and I returned to the mortal world with the divine statue… and when we set it where the other statue had been earlier, it blended perfectly into place without any sense of mismatch. No one would notice.

“Rebecca, step back a bit and check the angle.”

“Got it. Wait a moment. —Hmm, maybe a little more to the right. And it’s slightly tilted. Try rotating it a bit to the left.”

“Like this?”

“Ah, maybe that’s a little too much. Turn it back a bit.”

After adjusting the statue’s position several times following Rebecca’s instructions, the statue-switching operation was complete.