Ignoring his panic, Calliope abruptly leaned forward and stared hard at him. As she did, a soft golden light bloomed within her pupils, spreading out until it filled her eyes completely.
Simultaneously, a very similar effect occurred in the beads in her hair.
Hunter was briefly distracted by this, wondering if those decorations were actually part of an artifact or something, then quickly remembered the ‘looking at his soul’ thing and went back to freaking out in that direction.
Did she mean that literally? God, he had an awful feeling she did, and if so, what the fuck did a soul even look like?
He had no idea, but knew that his couldn’t possibly look good, so he suddenly had to resist the urge to cover himself with his hands even though he was fully clothed.
“Well… huh. You’re really something, aren’t you?”
Oh no. That sounded like the magical equivalent of a doctor going, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this before!’
Judging by the fascinated expression on Calliope’s face, she’d have been furiously snapping photos to send to her colleagues if she could have.
Still glowing, she stood up and began to inspect him closely from every angle, even circling him twice, all the while clicking her tongue now and again in between awed and incoherent murmuring.
“Incredible. I really have no words… Moros, sweetheart, may I borrow a pen and paper from you?”
Moros handed over the requested items as Calliope sat back down in a flumph of white fabric, and then she began to draw. She hummed happily as she sketched, pausing occasionally to squint at Hunter and then muttering to herself as she resumed.
The two clerics politely averted their eyes the entire time, neither one attempting to take a peek at her work.
“Well, my dear,” Calliope said as she scratched a final flourish on whatever it was she’d been drawing, her fluffy hair bouncing with the motion, “I can tell you’re human, at the very least. You said you’re Euphrosyne’s father from her past life, correct?”
“Yes, um… I don’t suppose she ever mentioned me…?”
“She might have, but not to me. Anyway, if I recall correctly, your claim was that you asked the Dread Lady to send you here, so you could assist and protect your daughter in this life?”
Those flame-like eyes of hers stayed resolutely fixed on his as she neatly tore out her drawing, folded it, and stashed it in her robes before handing the items she’d borrowed back to Moros.
“Yes!”
Her tone becoming a little more serious, she continued, “Hunter, do you in any way directly or indirectly, in the past or present or plan to in the future, work with, communicate with, or support the goals and directions of the King Undying or any of His followers, or desire the destruction of this country and her peoples?”
“What? Uh, um… I, no, of course not!”
“Welp! Okay, that’s good enough for me,” Calliope declared, standing and slapping her knees with all four hands as all the light she was emitting winked out at once.
“… It is?” Hunter asked, glancing between her and the clerics in confusion.
“Yes, you passed!” Iphis cheered, lunging forward to sweep Hunter up in a crushing bear hug. “Congratulations!”
Really? Just like that?
Considering all the sturm und drang he’d endured to get to this point, the fact that it was resolved with a little old lady's quadruple knee slap felt so anticlimactic that he was too dazed to immediately react to the hug.
So did this mean he could finally go meet his daughter?
What about the demon? Had the Saint been unable to sense it? Shit, didn’t that mean he had to say something? But he didn’t want to say anything, what if they changed their minds and decided to lock him up anyway? He just wanted them to let him go so he could see Euphy, he…
… Finally noticed he’d been picked up by Iphis, so he struggled and hissed, “You bastard, put me down!”
“Sorry, I got too excited, I’ve been rooting for you,” Iphis said, dropping him obediently. “Oh, and Moros was rooting for you too!”
They both looked to Moros, who blinked back and softly said, “… Hurray.”
“Alright, settle down, all of you,” Calliope interrupted, flapping a white-gloved hand. “Iphis, what time is it?”
Iphis pulled out his pocket watch and replied, “A quarter till.”
“Good, good, the little Saint should still be in class, someone needs to go fetch her and break the news—”
She reached out without looking and grabbed Moros’ sleeve before he could flee.
“—And by ‘someone’ I meant Iphis, not you, love. I know you mean well, but you break news like a brick to the face.”
Iphis and Moros were instantly upset by this statement.
“What if I swear I’ll explain it gently…?” Moros bargained, clearly hoping there was still a chance she’d let him leave as he tried and failed to tug his sleeve from Calliope’s grasp.
“Moros, saying shocking things in a soft voice does not make them less shocking. Iphis, what’s your excuse?”
“She’ll be in class for another half hour, won’t she? I was hoping we could all spend some time together—”
“—Iphis, I understand, but after this I’ve got to go and counsel that little prince you traumatized,” Calliope cut him off, her wavery voice coming off as unusually firm. “Perhaps, if you hadn’t unnecessarily tormented him, I’d have had more time to sit and chat.”
Iphis stared at Calliope in shocked surprise for a few seconds before both his expression and his shoulders fell, crushed by the consequences he’d wrought.
He let out a pathetically small, “Oh.”
“Anyway,” Calliope continued more gently, taking hold of Iphis’ hand and patting it with two of her own, “You’re the only one I trust to be careful with the Young Saint’s feelings. Euphrosyne needs you right now, are you really going to refuse?”
Iphis squeezed Calliope’s hands unhappily and agreed, “No, of course not, I’ll go, I’ll go...”
“Don’t make that face. If you’re good I’ll let you escort me back to Eleusis tonight, alright?” Calliope consoled, leading him towards the door.
Iphis, every line of his body implying a bone-deep reluctance, let her drag him along but still protested, “If the others are there, it’s not the same…”
“Then if I manage to wrap things up early, we can have dinner together after we discuss your punishment. Now, get going!”
Suddenly panicked, Iphis asked, “Wait, what punishment—?”
Only to be cut off by Moros, who slammed the door shut on him.
The Saint and Moros exchanged an identical exhausted look in the ensuing silence.
“You’ve had it hard, haven’t you, Moros?”
“The longer you’re away, the… stickier he gets,” Moros sighed.
Hunter, who’d been quietly enjoying this free drama, thought to himself, “Bubbe, I think your dog has separation anxiety.”
Moros and Calliope both turned their attention to him, and he belatedly realized he’d said that aloud.
Clearing his throat to cover up his mistake, he quickly corrected, “I mean, your grandson obviously cares about you, it’s very sweet…”
Calliope let out a snort, and Moros said to her, “That reminds me, Hunter has actually been pretty useful for distracting Iphis… can we hire him?”
Hunter, who’d been planning to use Moros for that exact same purpose just yesterday, hypocritically felt betrayed by this suggestion.
“Oh?” Calliope asked. “You’re sure it’s not just because the Calamity is about to start?”
“Mmm, I do think that’s part of it, but… he’s been a lot less listless and broody than usual, even when it’s just the two of us.”
… Huh?
That sunshiny madman?
Hunter tried to imagine a version of Iphis that wasn’t constantly generating some sort of manic energy, and failed.
“Well, I’m open to the idea, but I think that depends on our new friend’s feelings.”
Returning to take a seat on the pews, Calliope folded her hands in her ample lap and said to Hunter, “You know, considering how my grandson has treated you so far, you’re a lot friendlier with him than I expected.”
“Uh, I am?”
“Yes, perhaps you’re just more tolerant than most… Either way, that reminds me, before we wrap things up, I heard about what Iphis did to your arm, and I wanted to apologize to you on his behalf.”
“You do?”
Her muted purple eyes were solemn as she nodded. “Yes, his behavior was out of line. If there’s a way to make amends, I hope you’ll let me know.”
Hunter blinked back at her in confusion.
He’d honestly expected that entire event to be swept under the rug. While it had been undeniably unpleasant at the time, as far as interrogations went, since nothing was broken and he’d kept all his teeth and nails, by his standards it hadn’t really been that bad.
Of course, he still planned to hold a grudge over it, but he’d also decided not to kill Iphis in revenge, which said a lot.
“Thanks, but it’s alright… anyway, I can’t be too angry, since it was on my daughter's behalf.”
Calliope clicked her tongue and said, “Regardless, he’s my responsibility, so I owe you a big favor. I’ll also see to it that he writes you an apology letter, one that’s at least five thousand words! Oh, and if you decide to file a complaint with the Temple courts, I’ll instruct the arbiters to have him officially disciplined.”
Wait, was she referring to that complaint process Iphis had breezed through during the initial part of his questioning? He’d made it sound like it was entirely useless at the time, and Hunter had believed him, but now…
“Ma’am, are you offering to help me sue your grandson?”
“Well, you’re a father, aren’t you? Do you think shielding your child from the consequences of their actions is always good for them? Especially when the welfare of other people is involved?” the Saint asked, her round shoulders rising and falling as she let out an angry little huff, looking as steamed as a dumpling at the thought.
Recalling some of the easily avoidable troubles Euphy had inexplicably gotten into again and again, Hunter sympathized with Calliope’s struggle and felt grateful that she took keeping Iphis in line so seriously.
Then again, if she didn’t, there’d probably be a higher body count.
“Anyway, it’s not the first time this has happened,” Moros added with a shrug. “Let me know… if you need help with the paperwork. I keep copies of the form in my office.”
Hunter considered all of this and thought, Wow, Iphis… you’re being sold out by your grandma and your boyfriend. How pitiful.
If Hunter were a kinder person, he might be tempted to show the guy some mercy based on that alone.
Instead he replied, “Thanks Moros, I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Well, now that that’s settled… Moros, would you mind giving us some privacy?”
Moros looked at Calliope in confusion, only for his eyes to slightly widen at whatever he saw on her face. Pushing up his glasses, he flicked a somewhat disdainful glance down at Hunter, let out a quiet laugh and said, “I see... so I was right.”
Then he turned on his heel, headed to one of the walls, and leaned back against it. Crossing his arms over his chest, he fixed Hunter with a threatening stare.
Hunter was just about to ask what was going on when a faint blue barrier sprang to life between them, summoned by a lazy gesture from Calliope. He flinched, half convinced he was about to be attacked again, but calmed somewhat when he realized this type of shield spell was most often used for blocking sound.
“Now,” Calliope said, clapping her two pairs of hands together, “How about you and I discuss that stray demon you’ve picked up?”
Oh.
So she had noticed the demon.
… Fuck.
Breaking out into a cold sweat, he waved his hands and tried to explain, “Oh, haha, yeah, about that… so, I’m possessed, but not possessed-possessed…”
“Yes, I know.”
“Oh, good—“
“—Because if you actually were a demon, I’d have eaten you by now.”
…
He wasn’t sure if he’d heard that correctly, and had to mentally review her statement a few times.
“… Metaphorically?”
“No.”
“… Haha, okay.”
Belatedly, he put a few things together.
This brand new alarming statement, added to Iphis saying earlier that the scent of demons made him hungry, plus the way the demon had been frightened into hiding the moment Iphis tried to find it, and how it had stopped bothering him once they’d started living together…
“Sorry, I don’t mean any offense, but by any chance, do divine mages… eat demons?”
“Oh, you know. Sometimes,” Calliope replied, blinking innocently at him.
How!? Hunter thought, all of his energy focused on keeping his expression neutral. Oh, God, don’t tell me you eat possessed people? No, that would be too disgusting, there must be some kind of magical bullshit involved, there has to be.
Even so, he was too afraid to ask.
“Anyway,” Calliope said, moving on from this subject without bothering to elaborate, “Even if I tried to take a bite out of them, I don’t think it would work considering your circumstances. At best, I might be able to injure them further, but that might also result in giving you permanent spiritual or mental damage.”
“So… you’re saying you can’t get rid of it?”
“Unfortunately, my child, no. Demonic exorcism is a bit of a lost art I’m afraid, and there’s never been much demand for new research. I suppose it says a lot about the state of the world that most people lose interest in their loved ones once they start craving souls,” she said, letting out a disappointed sigh.
“… Okay. Thanks for letting me know,” Hunter nearly sobbed, putting his face in his hands.
Well, there went the last of his hopes. At least she’d been polite enough to crush them quickly. Now he could give into despair early and save a lot of wasted time believing things could ever get better.
“Now, hold on, don’t be like that, I didn’t say that was the end of the discussion, did I? Hunter, you’re still mostly human, and that’s something we can work with, we may just have to, ah… improvise a little!”
Reaching out to give his knee a consoling pat, she continued, “Anyway, look on the bright side: even if you’re possessed, the Lady is the one who brought you here, and now She’s sent you straight to me. Most people stay on my waiting list for years, so in a way, you’ve really lucked out.”
He lifted his face from his hands, thinking that when she framed it that way, it really did sound pretty convenient…
If one ignored the fact that the Lady was the one who’d put him in a possessed body in the first place.
“Hunter, let’s start with the basics: I’m guessing the demon was here when you arrived?”
“Yes. As far as I know, it's been possessing Ianthe for most of her adult life before it moved on to me, but… isn’t that, you know… not supposed to be possible?”
From what he’d read, possessing spirits attached to bodies, whereas demons attached to—or, more accurately, directly consumed—souls.
Therefore, when Ianthe’s soul left her body, the demon should have gone with her.
“Normally it wouldn’t be, but Ianthe clearly had access to some sort of magic normal people don’t, and while it’s amazing she managed to excise her own soul, I can tell you that she wasn’t able to do it perfectly. From what I saw, I’d say she left a good chunk of herself behind, presumably whatever part the demon was attached to, and when you arrived, you must have… let’s say ‘absorbed’ it.”
…
What!?
It was bad enough he’d stolen Ianthe’s body, now he was fucking ‘absorbing’ parts of her soul, too?
Noticing how pale he’d gotten, Calliope quickly waved all four of her hands and followed up with, “Of course, I’m not saying you did it on purpose! But it does explain why you’re possessed and she isn’t, so there’s one mystery solved—yay!”
She clapped in excitement as he lifelessly replied, “… Yay.”
Then he squeezed his temples and tried not to glare at her, thinking that, as much as he appreciated her help, it felt like she was having too good a time with all of this.
“Now for some more good news: since your demon is so seriously wounded, I doubt they’ll be able to wake up any time soon.”
He finally perked up, thinking, Wait, ‘wounded?’
Did that mean hurting the demon in his dream had hurt it for real?
That pernicious little gummy worm made it sound like he was the only one who could actually get hurt! And like an idiot, he’d believed it!
Thank goodness he’d beaten the shit out of them both anyway.
“Um, about that… Ma’am, can you tell me what exactly it is that you saw? Honestly, other than knowing it’s—uh, I mean they’re—there, I’ve kind of been running blind here.”
“Of course, that’s no problem. From what I can tell, your setup is essentially like this…”
She held up two of her hands and framed a little rectangle, then mimed opening a door with a third hand.
“Imagine someone’s trying to break through your front door to come and kill you, when wham—!”
A fourth hand slammed the imaginary door shut, trapping the third one in it.
“Before they could get very far in, someone else slammed the door shut on their fingers! And then they nailed the door closed, just like that, with some kind of seal!” she continued, enthusiastically miming this grisly analogy by hammering her third hand to the door frame and wiggling her trapped fingers in a mock distress so convincing that Hunter flinched and hid his left hand, which had begun to ache in nauseous sympathy.
“And then—well, or maybe it happened before they got stuck, I’m not sure—but regardless, someone or something came along and kicked the intruder stuck in your door half to death!”
Her poor third hand, which had already been slammed in and nailed to a door, was now ruthlessly jumped by her fourth hand. It then hung limp from the doorway, twitching a few times before going still.
“Anyway, that about sums it up. I think the main takeaway is that while, yes, you might have a killer stuck in your front door for the rest of your life, that’s still much better than having them in your living room, right my dear?”
She beamed at him and folded her hands together, her expression expectant as though she was waiting for a review.
Despite the fact that this strange performance had been about his own upsetting prognosis, he gave her a hesitant applause, upset yet genuinely impressed by the finger puppet capabilities of a four-armed woman.
“Wow, that was, uh… really gripping. Have you done theatre before?”
“Oh, not for a long time. You can tell?” she replied, cupping her cheeks with two hands in fake humility and waving his compliment away with a third.
“Yeah, definitely,” he nodded, thinking that if he didn’t know better, he’d have assumed she and Iphis were genetically related. “Uh… I do have one question, though. You said the demon was sealed, right? Can seals really do that?”
From what he knew, seals worked by capturing mana in what was essentially a magical puzzle. This was a problem for spirits and humans, because failing to solve it meant the only way to exit the trap was to leave all of one’s mana behind, which was impossible for spirits and killed the hell out of humans.
In contrast, demons had a sort of ‘get out of jail free’ card: as long as they could kill their physical body they could opt back out of reality, thus escaping the seal.
Granted, that also meant they’d lose access to this world and the power they’d accumulated in it, but that was still a good option in comparison to eternal imprisonment.
“No, not usually, but I’ve never seen a seal like the one on you before. I can tell it was made with divine magic, but I can’t say how—actually, I’m not sure a human could make something like it at all. Here, I’ll show you.”
She pulled a paper from her robes and handed it to him. As he unfolded it, he realized this must be what she’d been drawing earlier.
Before him was a seal of mind-numbing complexity, its patterns and design so convoluted that it made his eyes swim. Ianthe’s knowledge of seal-breaking made him try to solve it on reflex, only for him to realize with a chill that if he ever got trapped in something like this, he’d probably starve to death before he could even begin to crack it.
Calliope pointed out a few sketches she’d done around the main one and said, “Terrifying, isn’t it? The worst part is, no matter how I looked at it, it’s different from every angle! I suspect it’s impossible to actually see the whole of it. All I could do was sketch out one of its potentially infinite shadows.”
She let out a girlish sigh that sounded a century younger than she actually was and added in a wistful tone, “Isn’t it just about the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? Honestly, I’d love nothing more than to knock you out and lock you up for a few months so my team and I could get a better look at it… but I’ve always taught Iphis that that sort of behavior isn’t appropriate, and I don’t want to confuse him…”
Hunter pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed through his nose.
She and Iphis really were just peas in a fucking pod, huh?
Were they sure they weren’t related?
“… Of course, it might be a different story if that demon of yours wasn’t dormant. They haven’t woken up while you’ve been here, have they, sweetheart? If they’ve been able to influence you in any way, even a small one, well… that could be a big problem.”
Hunter froze, trying to hide the surprise he felt at her question.
Right. Even if she could do something as absurd as see souls, she’d only seen his today. She hadn’t been around when the demon was causing trouble, so as far as she knew, it’d only ever been in its current sleeping, injured state.
… God damnit.
Suddenly, he couldn’t help but feel a little wronged.
Ever since he’d resolved to meet her he’d been thinking that he had no real choice in this matter, that the demon would get revealed and the Saint could help him and he’d go free or she couldn’t and whatever happened next was fate and therefore not his fault.
Now he found himself with a surprise third option, which was to take advantage of her misunderstanding and lie to save himself anyway.
It wasn’t a completely unreasonable desire, was it? Who would want to be imprisoned for something horrible that had happened to them against their will? Especially considering how badly things had gone for him the last time that happened.
Plus, weren’t the Gods really the ones at fault here? If the Goddess, or even whoever made that seal, had put in a little more effort, surely the demon wouldn’t have been a problem at all? Why the hell should he have to suffer because of someone else’s fuckup?
He looked down and noticed he’d started scratching at his wrist again. Frowning, he forced himself to stop.
Anyway, was being semi-possessed really such a big deal? Sure, the demon had messed with him a little, but he’d muddled through on his own so far, and he’d even managed to injure it. Plus, Calliope herself had explained how it couldn’t escape the seal, so it wasn’t like he was about to turn around and start attacking people tomorrow, and regardless, he didn’t plan on hiding the truth forever.
He just wanted to see his daughter for a little while, make sure she was okay, and then if the demon woke up again in the future he’d turn himself in…
Assuming that he could.
Assuming that it didn’t manage to get stronger again without him noticing, that it didn’t subtly mess with his mind like it had when he’d tried to find the Library, that it didn’t have a way to make him see or hear or believe something that wasn’t true.
His daughter might still be in the dark, but he knew very well what kind of terrible things he was capable of, and that he’d been tricked into doing them before.
“… For fuck’s sake,” he muttered angrily, balling his hands into fists.
“Pardon me?”
Screw it, how he felt didn’t matter. In the end, the most important question was what his daughter would think of him if she found out he’d hidden this.
Euphy used to say that only the worst kind of person would hide a zombie bite, and he’d been skirting that line by waiting even this long.
He’d already given her enough reasons to hate him, was he really going to give her one more?
“It can influence me, alright? It—sorry, they were awake until recently,” he forced himself to admit, his voice bitter with resentment.
At the same time, now that the truth was out, he felt a lot lighter.
Sure, he was terrified by the idea of being imprisoned again, but he knew from experience that fear was too exhausting an emotion to maintain forever, and once it ran out whatever was left behind would become the new normal.
Who knows? If his captors were feeling generous, maybe they’d still let him see Euphy? He made a mental note to ask someone about the Temple’s visitation policy.
“Oh, and… I apologize for cursing,” he added with a cough.
Waving away his apology, the Saint asked, “In what ways can they influence you, exactly?”
”So far? Mostly small stuff, like confusing me when I’m trying to do something, or making me forget things, or giving me weird dreams.”
“Have they given you any hallucinations, or otherwise manipulated you into doing anything?”
“No, but I can’t say those things are impossible.”
Calliope’s soft, round face was solemn as she thought things over. Finally, she spoke again,
“Hunter, if they have the ability to alter your perceptions, then… I don’t need to explain how that could become dangerous in the future, do I?”
“Nope,” he shook his head, having already thought up plenty of those scenarios himself. “Hey, uh… I’m guessing this means you’re not going to let me go, are you?”
Next to him, the Saint let out a tired sigh.
“Well… No, probably not. That said, I don’t think it’s necessary to imprison you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“… What?”
“Now, mind you, I’m sure that’s what a lot of my people would prefer, but personally I don’t think it’s right to treat you like that because of something you only ‘might’ do.”
“You… you…”
He trailed off, so shocked at being ejected from his doom spiral that his first instinct was to try and climb back into it.
“Aren’t you worried the demon could try to hurt people through me?”
“Yes, and? People are always a danger to other people, that’s just how the world works. Why, are you interested in eating your students?”
“No, of course not!”
“So what’s the problem? Then again, if you’d lied to me just now, I might have felt differently... However, since you have at least a shred of integrity, I’m willing to negotiate.”
She stared at him with a bland expression and he blankly looked back at her, her words uselessly ricocheting between his ears a few times before he finally grasped their meaning.
“… You already knew they’d been awake, didn’t you?”
“Oh, I’m sure they think they’re being very clever by playing dead right now, but I know a possum when I see one,” the Saint scoffed, folding two of her arms over her chest like she was offended it had even tried to fool her. “Really, I’m tempted to make them read my CV, who the hell do they think I am?”
Unable to keep the irritation out of his voice, he asked, “So all of this bullshit was just to jerk my chain?”
“No, everything I told you was true, and believe me, I wish I didn’t have to resort to tricks like this, but… you weren’t a very good person in your last life were you, Hunter?”
…
Okay, she had him there.
“Regardless of why the Goddess sent you, if I let you go you’re going to be in a very influential position around a collection of very important children. If you genuinely want to be a better person in this life then that's one thing, but if you’re selfish enough to put them in danger for your own desires, then…”
Hunter darted a glance at the cleric still glaring at him from beyond the barrier, then put up his hands defensively and said, “Alright, I get it, I get it.”
“Look, I’m not going to ask what you did to have a soul that looks like yours, but now that you’re here I hope you’ll work hard to reflect on your past behavior and aspire to become an upstanding citizen. That’s not too much to ask, is it, Hunter?”
After a moment of hesitation he nodded, because otherwise he’d have had to say aloud that he’d do that when he probably wouldn’t, and clearly trying to lie to the Saint was a terrible idea.
Giving him a warm, grandmotherly smile, Calliope clapped him on the shoulder and said, “Good! I always appreciate it when people are willing to cooperate. As for how we’ll handle your possession, Iphis told me you don’t like those cuffs, but I’m going to ask you to keep them on until my team can draw up a reasonable alternative. However, they’ll be deactivated so long as you don’t cause any trouble, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, does that sound alright?”
Nodding again, he had to admit that while this result wasn’t great, it was still much better than not being able to use magic at all, or getting indefinitely detained by the Temple.
Looking down at his ankles, Hunter frowned at the cuffs hidden behind his pant legs and briefly wondered if Iphis also wore a pair because he’d once struck a similar deal with Calliope.
“Now, I’ll let you go, but before I do, there’s just one thing left I was hoping you could shed a little light on. I do believe the Dread Lady sent you—in fact, there’s a faint trace of Her divinity lingering on you even now. What I don’t understand is, if that’s the case, why hasn’t She blessed you?”
“Sorry? Was She supposed to?” he asked, once again feeling like the least She could have done before dropping him into this pile of zealots was leave him a holy business card.
“Well, not necessarily, but… the fact that She let you remember your encounter with Her and your past life at all is strange unless She favors you. I’d have expected you to get a divine blessing out of your encounter at the very least, but the fact that you have no blessings from Her at all, not even a little one, makes me wonder what the hell is going on. If I didn't have so much trust in my eyes, I’d think you were fooling me somehow.”
“Uh…”
While he did have some of his own ideas on that matter, right now most of them were nothing more than half-baked suspicions. Plus, he really didn’t want to risk upsetting the Temple a second time, so he decided to share only what he felt confident in.
“To be honest, when I met Her, I kind of got the impression that She doesn’t care for me much?”
“Is that so?”
“Well, I mean… think about it from Her perspective, right? She must have been planning this Calamity for a long time, she’s already carefully picked out all the people She wants on Her team, but then I show up and gate crash the entire thing,” he explained with a shrug. “If I was Her, I’d be mad too.”
“I see… but is that really your only idea?”
“It’s the only solid guess I have right now,” Hunter equivocated right back, focusing on keeping his nerves steady under the Saint’s scrutiny.
“Well, alright… if you say so,” Calliope replied with a small smile, “And here I was thinking it might have had something to do with your new blessing.”
“What? What new blessing? From whom?”
“Oh, what a shame, I guess you hadn’t noticed it,” Calliope sighed, placing one of her palms against her cheek and making a regretful expression. “Perhaps if you come up with anything else you’d like to tell me in the future, we could talk about it then.”
He suppressed a twitching smile and averted his eyes.
He didn’t think she was lying, but he had enough experience with passive aggressive bubbes to know it was better to feign ignorance than try to call her out on her petty behavior.
Apparently unbothered by the fact that he was still holding out, Calliope clapped her two pairs of hands together and asked with a cheerful smile,
“Anyway, now that almost everything’s settled, Hunter, are you ready to see your daughter?”