Mister Ilma and the people from the other village are very excited about the creation of a picture book about the miko. Now that I think of it, Phyto and Mister Ilma met by chance, and it went a lot smoother than I expected.
Part of it is because Phyto is a ‘knight of the miko’, but Mister Ilma looked at her with a shine in his eyes.
Phyto didn’t introduce herself as the daughter of god, we talked about that beforehand. I get the feeling that Mister Ilma might have had conflicting emotions if Phyto called herself daughter of god.
Things that don’t really bother me might bother him. He worships me, so I have to keep these things in mind, and if I can do a good job balancing this, that means I’m growing.
“What about the content of the picture book? I was thinking about a fairy tail style of sorts based on the real story of Lerunda’s life.”
“Yes… We received the divine message and attempted to take Miss Lerunda to the temple, but we made a mistake. Ahh… Thinking back now, I was so foolish. If only I did a better job describing Miss Lerunda appearance… I would have saved her a lot of hardship.”
“…Hum, I’m glad, I wasn’t taken there. If I wasn’t abandoned, I wouldn’t have met everyone. It wouldn’t be like this, so don’t think, about that.”
I thought Mister Ilma was going to answer with excitement, but instead he’s looking at me like he’s apologizing for something terrible.
I don’t want to be looked at like that. I was really sad when I was abandoned, and couldn’t contain my worry about what was going to happen to me, but that was what led me to meeting everyone.
I love everyone here, and I wouldn’t be here with them if I wasn’t abandoned.
The gryphons, Scifo, Gaius and the other beast people, Freinet, Mister Sileva and the other elves, Phyto and her people. I met so many people, and I wouldn’t have met them if I wasn’t abandoned. Without that, I wouldn’t have the life I have now.
It sounds strange saying I’m glad I was abandoned, but I’m glad I met everyone.
“Miss Lerunda…”
Mister Ilma sounds touched. I still have no idea what kind of things move him so much.
“Hum… Starting from when I was abandoned?”
“Yes. I want to capture that part of the story in the picture book first. We will have to also touch on Alice, who was taken as the miko.”
Says Miss Lan, and Mister Ilma responds.
“Alice… She was a very selfish girl, and unfit to be the miko. I despaired at the thought of her actually being the miko. It was quite a shock to see the god I feel so much respect and affection for make someone like Alice the miko. How happy I am that the true miko is here, and is so filled with compassion. We should include in the picture book how rude Alice’s behavior was. It seemed the great temple was aware that Alice is not the miko when I left the country, but I have no way of knowing if Alice is still calling herself the miko or not. If she is, the great temple truly is… Alice’s presence caused so much trouble for you, the true miko.”
“Hum… I don’t hate my sister. I don’t feel, the way you do.”
As I listen to Mister Ilma, I start thinking about how I feel about my sister. I don’t hate her or anything. I don’t feel any negative emotion towards her.
I think my sister is just that, she’s just my sister. I don’t feel anything like disrespect or anger.
Mister Ilma wants to write bad things about her in the picture book, but I don’t feel that way. I don’t like the idea of writing things that make people have a bad impression of someone.
“…If we’re going to make, the picture book, I think it’s better if my sister’s role is small. I was abandoned, because she was there, that’s enough. Me meeting Reimar and the other gryphons, is a lot more important to me.”
I don’t think the picture book needs more information about my sister than that. What’s important is that I met Reimar and the gryphons, and then Gaius and the beast people.
Mister Ilma looks like he’s almost moved to tears again, but Miss Lan ignores it and responds to me.
“I see, then how about this for starters?”
Miss Lan tells me what she came up with.
『In a certain village, there were two sisters.
The oldest was beautiful and adored, and the youngest lived in her shadow.
The lonely life of the younger sister changed when the older sister was taken away as the miko.
The younger sister was abandoned.
She was thrown into the forest where she wandered alone, and met a kind-hearted monster.
The girl met a kind-hearted horse, and smiled broadly.』
“I think we can add simple illustrations, and shape it as a picture book. There is no need to write more than necessary. We can tell the story through drawings and short sentences to draw people in, and I think all we need for this first part is the story until you meet Scifo and become friends. There is no need to portray Alice negatively. What do you think?”
“Yes. I think it’s good.”
Miss Lan is so excited, she said it all in one breath.
I say yes, and wonder how the picture book of this first part of the story will turn out.
—Girl and picture book – Part two
(The miko talks about the contents of the picture book, and looks forward to seeing how it will turn out.)
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