The sun shone through the window of their room. It was the day when Aqua would finally learn what the elves of this world were taught. She stared at Azure and Sheira, who blissfully slept despite the sun rising.
"I will wake them up a bit later." Her lips curled into a smile.
She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a book on religion out of her storage. She had spent every night since arriving here analyzing and comparing with other sources she had managed to procure.
According to most sources available to the elves, there were thousands of gods, but only a handful of greater ones. The lesser ones were not rulers but more akin to spirits and were worshiped by small sections of mortals.
Her hands flipped through the pages, and she crossed her legs.
"The vile goddess that had cursed Azure is Laleyn, the goddess of misfortune. Such a vile being that mortals are terrified of her." In every text she had found, Laleyn was a cruel and petty entity. Cursing and smiting anyone for even uttering her name.
It was behavior fitting for a parasite.
However, Azure spoke of her as if she were benevolent. She understood what it meant. Laleyn was only kind to get Azure to obey without question. The moment her friend's usefulness expired, Azure would have been crushed in the cruel grip of the goddess.
A low growl could be heard from her. She would not accept it, if she had to fight the unknown goddess, then she would have done it so.
The world would suffer if she were as powerful as these texts state if we were to fight.
Her mind wandered to late Lira, who, before being crystalized, had a curse carved into her body and soul.
When it came to the previous world, she had not cared it would be left in ruins, but this time she wanted her home intact.
I could limit their influence or seal them. One thing was clear, and that was that the gods of this world were pathetically weak compared to the Supreme Parasite.
Still, she refused to believe them to be such easy targets. They would only be dealt with if they had made a move or stood in Aqua's way.
"Influence-wise, I need to be careful of Peron, Laleyn, Mortas, and Runas. Perhaps Lan and Len, but they seem to be rather passive entities."
Of course, it was unlikely that the texts had factual information, they were written by mortals. However, even the most outlandish text was often based on some semblance of truth.
The book closed, and Aqua threw it back into the void. Her legs spread, and she pushed against her knees, pushing herself up. Her eyes sparkled, and her body shook slightly. This was about to be a brand new experience.
She approached Sleeping Azure and leaned above her. The champion slept with her hand on her stomach, and a small drop of drool rolled down the edge of her mouth.
Aqua gulped, her face reddened.
Her friend was adorable, and she couldn't help but admire her. Aqua's hand pushed her hair back, and she got closer. She licked her lips and leaned down.
Azu, you are so adorable. She closed her eyes, and her lips got closer to Azure's. Her breathing grew shallower, and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.
She swallowed air again.
However, just as she was about to kiss her friend, she snapped back and placed her hands on her lips. "What am I doing?!" She shouted at herself, her sudden outburst startling both of her friends awake.
Her hands trembled, she wanted to slap herself for what she was about to do. If she had kissed Azure, she would have become permanently attached to the girl. It was not something she could allow herself to do.
Azure rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Aqua… What's wrong?"
Before Sheira and Azure even opened their eyes, she stepped back from Azure.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she yawned. Her eyes locked with Aqua's, and she quickly got out the bed. She stretched her hands above her head. "Why are you more red than usual, Aqua?"
Aqua quickly averted her gaze. "It's fine… I was doing something."
"Aqua," Sheira sat at the edge of her bed. "Did you watch Azu sleep all night? Naughty, naughty."
"N…No, I did not." Aqua's face turned as red as a tomato.
"Sure you didn't~" Sheira jumped out of her bed and touched her toes. "Ah, I slept so well. Even if you shouted for some reason." Sheira grinned and gave Aqua a wink.
Did she see me?
She was on the verge of teleporting herself into space, yet she held herself back. She coughed into her hand. "Alright, you two get ready, and let's head out to our class."
"I wish…" Sheira slumped. "My class is in an hour, and I do not have a religion study. But I will have math later, so we will see each other then."
"Sure thing, Sheira." Azure slipped into her uniform while Sheira talked. Aqua couldn't move her eyes away from her. Aqua, you moron. Stop it! She forced herself to stare through the window.
Azure adjusted her tie and grabbed Aqua under the arm. "Let's go, Sheira will appear later anyway."
Aqua's head bobbed. She let Azure drag her around. Her dragging me like this feels really good. The duo made their way out of the dorms and quickly entered the academy halls.
Just as they stepped inside, they were greeted by Avaros, "Lady Aqua, Lady Azure. I am glad we met again." His eyes scanned them top to bottom, "You know, you should refrain from displaying so much affection in public. You will set a bad example to the youth."
"I don't really see an issue. I don't want to let Aqua get lost, so I just pull her everywhere I go." Azure's lips stretched into a smile.
"I see. Well, it matters not to me, Lady Aqua is a lady of such caliber that her being lost is almost as impossible as me beating a Greater Dragon."
"He is right, Azu. You can let go."
She stared at Aqua and sighed before releasing her arm.
"Avaros, do you also have religion class?"
He nodded. "It's my sub specialization. I need to learn everything I can while I am here, and this set of subjects should fulfill that purpose."
The trio quickly headed to the second floor of the building. They soon approached a simple white door and pushed it open. A large circular room greeted them, in the middle was a podium with a massive board behind it.
The number of seats was elevated around the room, capable of hosting a large number of students.
However, most of the seats were empty, instead, three small cliques of students formed, everyone turned toward the important trio that entered, and the whispers began.
Aqua's eyes fell on the front two rows, which were completely empty.
"Let's just sit at the front." Aqua led the group, and the trio took their seats. The classroom was quiet, other than the occasional hushed whisper from the surrounding groups. Aqua stared at the door.
It swung open, and the most vile girl entered. Of course, Hikari is here. She should have expected a blessed child to study religion, but she had to have a deeper reason.
While Hikari was most certainly an elf, she was not to be trusted.
Her eyes switched from the vile being to someone she had considered a true friend. Azure, unlike Hikari, was forced into service by a terrible situation, thus, she could not blame her friend for carrying a divine nature.
What if Hikari became a blessed child in a similar situation to Azure? Aqua should have been the last person to judge the people for becoming servants of the divine, especially if there was a non-zero possibility of being involuntary.
She had to ask her, and only then would she decide if Hikari would forever be hated or tolerated.
As if on cue, Hikari approached them and took a seat next to Aqua. "Hello." The purple-eyed elf smiled at her warmly and placed her books on the table.
"I was hoping I would see you again, Aqua."
"Why?"
"You seemed not to like me much. I hoped to talk about a reason. I believe I haven't done anything to earn your ire." The girl looked at Aqua seriously. Her eyes pierced her. "Do you perhaps hate me because I am a blessed child?"
Aqua did not answer.
"If my siblings had ever done something bad to you, I profusely apologize." The girl closed her eyes and bowed her head. "If you remember their names, I will make sure they are properly punished. We, the blessed children, are supposed to be divine enforcers and peacekeepers, not mindless war machines." She peered at Aqua.