「God, huh……」
The girl looked at me with imploring eyes.
Why could she understand my voice, yet she can’t understand the voice of Hikari and the man from earlier?
That was the first thing that bothered me.
「Before that, answer me. Can you hear Hikariーーthis girl’s voice?」
「It’s not like I can’t hear her, I just can’t understand what she’s saying」
「Can’t understand?」
「I can hear her voice, but, uhm, it sounds to me like the wind or something……」
「……is it the same with other people?」
「Un. Up until now, I could only hear God’s voice. That’s why……」
The girl stared at me, becoming more and more desperate.
「Are you God?」
「I amーー」
「Caroline-samaーー」
When I was about to answer, I heard a voiceーーprobably a woman’s voiceーーfrom a distance.
The girl called Caroline didn’t answer nor react. She probably couldn’t hear her.
I thought for a second and hid myself and Hikari using my camouflage aura.
I thought of hiding the fact that she can understand me, at least until I understand why it’s happening.
「Oh God?! Where did you go……」
The girl looked around searching for me in panic.
Her eyes looked like they were about to cry, she seemed as if she was a child abandoned by her parent.
「Caroline-sama. You were here」
A middle-aged woman entered the church.
The woman who was wearing plain old clothes with faded colors talked to the girlーーCaroline.
「Caroline-sama, we have prepared your meal」
「Where are you? God, where……?」
「What a shame……it seems that God has not called out to you again」
The woman looked at Caroline with sad eyes.
She did not look at her with pityーーinstead, she seemed empathetic and sad about it as if it was about herself.
And even that woman, Caroline did not react with her voice.
「Caroline-sama」
「Oh God, please……please show yourself to me once more」
「Caroline-sama」
The woman called her loudly, but Caroline didn’t react after all.
When her hand was grabbed, Caroline finally looked at the woman’s direction. The woman held Caroline’s hand and traced with her finger.
I guessed that she was writing letters because I remembered Caroline saying “writing” earlier when she was dealing with Hikari.
「Food……」
「That’s right, food is ready, Caroline0sama. You need to eat a lot and become healthy, otherwise, you cannot hear God’s voice」
「Food……」
Caroline whispered.
How should I describe this?
「What an inconvenient constitution. With that, the voice you heard before was God’s voice huh」
「Yes! The words that God tells me, I remember all of it」
「Eh?」
「Caroline-sama?」
I raised a surprised voice along with the woman. The woman was surprised that Caroline suddenly spoke out with a reply-like tone.
But I was surprised that she could hear my voice, even though I was hidden by my camouflage aura.
This has never happened before.
This camouflage aura uses Eleanor’s powers, and only those who have equal or greater power than Eleanor could hear my voice and see my appearance.
But Caroline was able to hear me.
She is still looking around, and she would even look above.
It’s clear that she can’t see my appearance just beside her.
「Can you hear my voice?」
「Oh God!」
She showed delight and her eyes sparkled. It looks like she can hear me.
「She can hear Otou-san’s voice? That’s amazing〜」
「What about Hikari? Can you hear my daughter’s voice?」
「Daughter? No, I can only hear God’s voice」
She can’t hear Hikari’s voice huh.
This is becoming more and more strange.
Although we’re both enveloped by the camouflage aura, she can only hear my voice.
「Uhm……Caroline-sama. Can you really hear God’s voice once again?」
The woman who came for Caroline asked nervously. But Caroline can’t even hear the voice of the woman standing just by her side.
It seems that, she could only hear me. She could only hear my voice.
I don’t know the reason behind it, but I can use this.
If she can only hear my voice, if she can only hear my voice just like when she could hear God’s voice.
I thought that I could take advantage of this situation.
Now then, what should I do?
『Leave it to me』
Can you do something about the situation?
『Umu. I shall show you something like God’s Miracle』
Can you do that?
『I can, if we utilize what you’re doing with Althea』
It looks like she has an idea.
『Make that lass plant some kind of seed. I’ll make it grow』
I see. That’s sounds like a miracle.
「Caroline」
「Oh God?!」
「Do as what I am going to say」
「Yes!」
Caroline nodded with a face full of smile. She left behind the woman half in doubt and acted as I said.
She left the church for once.
She searched for fruits nearby and then planted it on the roadside.
It’s not a field. It’s beside the road that looks like it has very little nutrition.
She planted it there.
「Yosh, you did good」
『Let her offer her prayer. That makes it seem authentic』
「Now then. Caroline, pray」
「Yes, Oh God!」
Caroline placed her hands together and offered her prayers towards the fruit she just planted.
Caroline who suddenly prayed in front of the church gathered attention from the passers-by.
「Is she doing something again?」
「That quack. Probably wants to gather attention again」
Most of them were looking at her coldly. Gazes of disdain were being directed to Caroline.
『I made the connection. The only thing left is for you to send your powers』
I got it.
I reached out my hand and directed my consciousness towards the fruit.
Just like how I rejuvenated AltheaーーI sent my vigor at once.
While the townspeople were watching with scorn, a sprout emerged from the ground.
It was a small bud, but it was a sprout that symbolizes the breath of a new life.
「Hey, look at thatーー」
While most of the crowd were jeering, one man noticed the sproutーーsoon after.
“It” grew explosively.
From a small bud to a tree, from a tree to a huge tree.
It was as if it grew for years, no, tens of years. It’s as if it’s a time-lapse video compressing tens of years within a minute.
「Kya!」
Caroline fell to her butt. She was pushed away by the huge tree that grew while she was praying.
And the crowd.
Most of them opened their mouths dumbly. Their jaws dropped.
A planted tree turned into a huge tree in an instant. The crowd who witnessed that lost their words.
「I-It’s God. It’s God’s miracle!」
After one of them regained himself and started to kneel and offer his prayers to the tree, the other people who came to watch also fell to their knees and started praying.
They offered their prayers for the miracleーーit was directed to Caroline as well.
「Oh God……God has not forsaken me yet」
Caroline herself did not hear the voices of the crowd. She only seemed to be moved by God’s miracle.
『Good for you, “Oh God”』
Eleanor said mischievously.
With this, we have taken the first step to make Caroline the pope. The opening for her had just begun.