FSFSLU 3

Chapter 3

Isabel turned her head this way and that, closed her eyes, then opened them again.

But the phrase still lingered before her eyes, as if etched onto her retina.

[ A quest has been triggered. ]

[ Stop running and take a calm deep breath. (0/1) ]

The unfamiliar words hovered at the edge of her vision, staying just out of the way so as not to block her sight.

Seeing the condition “Stop running” made it clear that the instruction had been directed at her, since she had just been running.

Other than that, there was nothing remarkable. The only thought left in her mind was, “Why blue, of all colors?”

Next, Isabel tried a more fundamental approach.

Quest?

She didn’t know what that was. And so, she wanted to know.

She was curious. What would happen if she did as written?

The quest told her to do two things: stop running, and breathe deeply.

One was already done. All she needed was the other.

So Isabel took a deep breath—

“Fwooo~”

—and let it out in an exaggerated way.

A moment later.

[ Stop running and take a calm deep breath. (1/1) ]

[ Quest completed. ]

New text appeared.

“Wow!”

Isabel was so amazed that she tried breathing deeply several more times.

But the numbers next to the strange word quest didn’t change any further. The number on the left seemed to show how many times she acted, and the number on the right how many were required.

She did it. She had completed the mysterious task.

With her heart pounding, Isabel eagerly awaited the reward that would come.

But what awaited her instead was—

“Sister Isabel.”

A warm yet terrifying voice, softly spoken behind her.

She knew that voice. Isabel turned in surprise.

There stood Susanna, Isabel’s former teacher during her convent days and now Auxiliary Bishop of Zeroprime, smiling at her with veins bulging on her forehead.

Overcome with emotion, Isabel cried out:

“The greatest reward ever!”

“…Reward?”

For a moment, an awkward silence hung in the air… and Isabel belatedly realized that Susanna’s appearance had nothing to do with the quest’s completion.

“Sister Isabel, what made you so happy that you went running about so recklessly?”

Worried about being caught in the crossfire, the other priests carefully slipped away one by one, leaving only Isabel and Susanna in the hall.

Susanna was an auxiliary bishop—that meant she had the authority to revoke the qualifications of priests belonging to the Sestina diocese.

Anyone with sense would bow their head and beg forgiveness immediately.

“But you see, Sister!”

Isabel had no such thing as sense.

She had been about to cry out that she was truly happy to see Susanna again, that thanks to a miracle from the goddess Sunya she had returned to the past, that she was overjoyed to meet her again—

But then.

[ A quest has been triggered. ]

Blue text flashed again at the edge of her vision, just like before.

[ Hide the fact that you came from the future and give Susanna an explanation. (0/1) ]

[ Go to a place where you can be alone. (0/1) ]

“Uh…”

Isabel faltered.

“Well… you see…”

Rolling her eyes around to find a suitable excuse, Isabel suddenly felt the sticky weight of her sweat-soaked habit and blurted out:

“I just wanted to work up a sweat!”

It was strange. She felt as though an unseen someone had just put a hand to her forehead.

Well—Susanna actually had pressed her forehead, hard enough to make a thunk.

“…A sweat?”

“Yes!”

“Even though there’s a training hall in the paladin barracks ahead, you chose to run in the corridor?”

“The hallway’s straight, so it’s great for running!”

Even a passing dog would laugh at such an excuse.

But Susanna knew Isabel far too well, and that knowledge eased her suspicion.

If it were anyone but Isabel…

To understand Isabel’s way of thinking, one needed both broad tolerance and infinite imagination. Without those, you’d always reach the wrong conclusion—hurting yourself or others.

And Isabel really might have run down the main corridor of Zeroprime, crowded with priests, just to work up a sweat.

After adding a few words of rebuke to her usual scolding, Susanna spoke wearily:

“At least you didn’t fall, Sister Isabel. Write a reflection letter and hand it in today.”

“Oh! May I write it alone in my room?”

Susanna didn’t know, but Isabel still wanted to meet the quest requirement “Go to a place where you can be alone.”

“That’s up to you, Sister Isabel. But you must write it sincerely. And wipe your sweat, fix your clothes.”

“Yes, Sister!”

“You should say ‘Auxiliary Bishop.’”

“Ah!”

Isabel gave a cheerful reply and skipped back to her room. Susanna thought her effort not to run in the corridor was at least commendable.

Was that… enough? Did it work?

I think it did.

Phew.

I flopped down flat on the sand of the playground.

Understandable—I was drained.

“Haa…”

Normally, I exist in my private space, in a sort of spirit state. There, I never feel pain anywhere in my body, never hot or cold, always in comfort.

So I thought I’d never feel exhausted again.

“But Isabel… every little thing she does is a landmine…”

My mind is what gets tired.

Running all over the place—that’s one thing. Meeting long-dead acquaintances again—it’s natural she’d be overjoyed.

But to actually try to tell Susanna that she’s regressed into the past?

If I hadn’t hurriedly sent that quest, Isabel would have blurted everything out.

For a regressor, it’s common sense never to reveal to others that you’ve come back in time.

The whole merit of regression lies in knowing the future. If you tell someone, and they change the future, it’s a disaster.

And especially considering what we need to do from here, lowering her credibility with something like “I actually came from the future” was out of the question.

But Isabel hadn’t thought of that. Foolish as ever.

Wait—was I expecting too much?

Maybe unlike modern people, who are used to countless regression stories, someone in this world really would just jump for joy upon returning to the past.

Well… though Isabel, once a member of the Hero’s Party, is hardly an “ordinary” person…

Anyway.

I checked on her condition. Isabel had returned to her assigned priest’s quarters.

She waved her hand in the air, marveling at the quest text still floating before her eyes.

Alright, time to tweak it a little.

After a few tries, I’d gotten the hang of putting quests before her eyes—or removing illusions I’d placed earlier.

[ Hide the fact that you came from the future and make an excuse to Susanna. (1/1) ]

[ Go to a place where you can be alone. (1/1) ]

[ Quest completed. ]

Good. At least I now had one way to control Isabel.

I was worried at first, since this world has no concept of “quests,” but it seemed like this intuitive system worked well enough for a scatterbrained fool like Isabel.

But a greater hurdle remained.

Now I needed to actually have a proper conversation with her.

I could issue quests, but I couldn’t give any real rewards. I didn’t even know if such a method existed—Sunya hadn’t told me anything.

So right now, with only quests and no rewards, I had to guide Isabel into contacting me first.

For a guardian angel to converse with a priest, the priest has to summon them through prayer.

Come on, Isabel. Your guardian angel’s right behind you. Won’t you call me?

[ Summon your guardian angel through prayer. (0/1) ]

Hmm, suddenly I felt uneasy. Did I order that too hastily?

Maybe Isabel would see it, grow wary, and look around suspiciously—or even run to Susanna for advice.

Considering how many times she was betrayed in her first life, Isabel might have developed that much caution.

Maybe I should have been more careful?

“Oh?”

Isabel, who had been happy about the completion messages, now frowned slightly as she read my new quest carefully.

She tilted her head, reread it a couple more times, and then suddenly—

“Yay!”

She leapt for joy, high enough that if this had been an apartment, the downstairs neighbor would have stormed up to scold her.

But I understood.

For priests, being chosen by a guardian angel is an extraordinary honor. It means a divine being has recognized them.

Even Isabel, once a saint, had only ever received the goddess Sunya’s blessing—never a guardian angel.

So perhaps that’s why—

“A guardian angel!”

—she looked so especially excited, eager to make contact.

Oh no.

Suddenly, I felt anxious.

What if Isabel’s image of a guardian angel doesn’t look anything like me?

I’ve never had much self-esteem. Long hospitalizations as a burden on the family will do that to anyone.

So I feared Isabel might look at me and think, “This is my guardian angel? Really? Oh… I see…” and feel disappointed.

Not that Isabel is the type to say such a thing aloud—but she could hide her disappointment politely.

And… honestly, there’s nothing more deflating for a guy than seeing a beautiful woman look disappointed.

But Isabel didn’t wait for me to prepare myself.

Perhaps because she once was a saint, she readied herself for prayer in an instant. She closed the door firmly, drew the curtains, cleared her throat, made the sign of the cross, pulled a crucifix from her breast, and clasped it tightly in both hands with her eyes closed.

“O Creator of heaven and earth, O hand that shaped the world. In the great and holy name of the Void, I call upon Thee…”

Her prayer continued in a soft whisper, without a trace of hesitation.

At the same time, I felt my body begin to shine.

It was a strange sensation. My dwelling space grew hazy, rippling like smoke, and I felt myself rippling along with it.

And in the next moment—

I opened my eyes inside the very room I had been watching through a window.

Floating slightly above the ground, glowing faintly.

Right before Isabel.

Wow…

She’s close. Closer than I thought.

So close I could see the tips of her eyelashes between her closed lids.

And unlike watching through glass, the sense of presence was overwhelming.

Then, suddenly, Isabel’s eyes snapped open.

Silence. Eye contact.

And then—

“…Angel?”

Isabel’s lips parted.