"Do you think I could make church mandatory?"
"Uh… I don't think so, no… I mean, maybe? But wouldn't that contradict with the idea of believing?"
"Great point! That's why you are my right hand, Carina!"
"But I'm the only other member…"
"Makes you all the more special!"
The two walked around the flat space where the church once stood, talking measurements of some kind.
"Didn't you say we were going to hold a speech… And are you sure you don't need anything to take the measurements?"
"Just looking at it will suffice… And do I look like some beggar talking on the streets? I don't talk to people. People listen to my talk."
"Ah… But will the emperor be alright with you doing that? You two seem to know each other, but I'm not sure how—"
"Ah, there seems to be major misunderstanding here. Because of that, you get special education!"
"I do…?"
"Yes! First lesson, who is the church worshipping?"
"Uh… The Absolute Deity of course."
"Wrong! Who was it, that saved this town?"
"…The Absolute Deity by sending you to appoint our new emperor Yamato?"
"No, you idiot! It was no other than Yamato, who saved you! And because of his divine nature, I was drawn to support him on my own accord~"
"…"
"Which is why he should be seen as far above any other deity, including my humble self."
"…Oh. You shouldn't joke around like that, Yuki. What if people hear us?"
"…Idiot."
"What?"
"Nothing. You're totally right. I am so careless. But that's just how I am with my friends sometimes."
"Don't worry, bo harm was done after all!"
"Right…"
"Not that easy, huh… Well, she was a member of the old church for quite a while, if I recall correctly. So maybe it would be best to start with those who weren't, as they would be more open to my, the correct and far superior, ideals. Then Carina will be pressured into accepting what she seems to be in denial of for now… I'm such a genius! I wish I could go and get praise for this. But it's supposed to be a surprise!"
As Yuki looked around, she remembered she still did not have a place to hold her speech. Of course there was the castle, but that's where Yamato was. And she could not use the magic radio either, since she did not know if Yamato thought to use it solely for crises and such, which would mean her misuse could hurt the image he tries to build. But then she remembered something which would take care of this problem.
"Hey, Carina, y'know what? Great work for today! That's was all. See you tomorrow here at 10 a.m."
"Huh? But we just got here? And I didn't do anything and have nothing to do and—"
"Hey, I hear you. But we I have a lot of work to do as preparation for tomorrow. Until I finish that, I don't have anything for you. So just take the day off, since you'll have plenty to do soon."
"Okay… But you are acting very weird right now!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Bye."
"Bye…"
Yuki flew off back to the castle, leaving Carina to be. Yuki would be working throughout the night, so relaxing during the day would be fine. Meaning she just laid down on the couch again and watched Yamato work.
"Is your church stuff already finished? You were barely gone for an hour… And here I thought you'd be gone until late."
"I was gonna! But I've run into complications…"
"I'm guessing you won't tell me since it'd be defeating the purpose of you trying to relieve my stress?"
"You're so smart…"
"…Well, I can't help you like that."
"Good. You're supposed to accept my help not the other way around!"
"Uh huh… Am I correct in assuming that your church work is intended to benefit me then?"
"Uh… No…! That's a silly conclusion… Anyway, I am here to ask of one tiny little favor… It's just a permission thing, so you don't have to waste a single thought on it!"
"I will try…"
"So, I need part of the castle for my thing."
"Okay? As in, it will be occupied?"
"No, not exactly… More like, renovated… Yes!"
"Will it affect this room?"
"No!"
"Then I don't care. Do what you want but take responsibility if you annoy someone else."
"Understood!"
She said way to motivated for someone who did not move a muscle right now and just laid on her side.
"…Aren't you going to go do what I just permitted you to do, whatever that was?"
"Nuh uh."
"…Okay."
"Aren't you going to ask why?"
"Why?"
"Glad you asked! Because I will be starting tonight, while everyone is sleeping!"
"…Okay."
"Won't you miss me…?"
"I'm sure you won't be gone for as long as you make it seem right now."
"But I could be! What if I'm gone when you wake up, and my face isn't the first thing you see when you open your eyes? Doesn't the thought of that fill your heart with dread? Who's gonna make sure you wake up at a reasonable hour?"
"I'm sure I will wake up on my own… And if not, Petrisha will probably wake me up once she notices I haven't started working."
"Gasp, oh no she won't! I trained her to not enter our private chambers! Haha, that's right, only in emergencies is she permitted to even touch the door knob!"
"Oh no, you outsmarted me…"
Though Yamato's tone was clearly laced with sarcasm, it went completely past Yuki, who seemed to take pride in the fact that Petrisha was scared to death to interrupt them during certain activities.
As the day came to an end, Yuki supervised Yamato going to sleep, as she always does. Though this time she would not be participating yet, which filled her heart with longing. But sacrifices must be made, she thought as she gave him a good night kiss before leaving to use this night as productively as possible.
As Yamato woke up the next day, to his surprise, Yuki was where she always was. Right up in his face.
"Good morning, Master! I hope you had a restful night!"
"Good morning, Yuki… How come you are back already?"
"I finished!"
"I see… Congratulations, I suppose."
"Thank you! I gave it my all~"
"Do you want to show it to me?"
"Sure! Though, I think you will see it rather quickly anyway…"
"Alright then… Let's eat something and then get to it right away."
After they had breakfast and their usual morning routine, Yamato dropped by his office, which was when he already saw it.
"…What is that?"
"Well? What do you think? Not too bad for one nights work, right? Though admittedly, I only really worked two hours, and then since I was done just cuddled up to you. You were so inviting~"
"…"
Yamato stared out the window at the giant black cube in the center of the town, where once the stood the church. Each side approximately being 150 meters long, at least 100 meters tall. It had already become the center of attention, as people gathered around it.
"Oh, right, you asked what it was… Though I think it's kinda obvious. It's the new church!"
"…It's a cube."
"It's the first floor! It's still under construction, okay? But I had to work with what I had."
"With what you had? And what exactly was that?"
"Oh, well…"
The door suddenly opened and an out of breath Petrisha stumbled into the room.
"Pardon the sudden intrusion, Sir… Oh, and mistress Yuki… I think we are under attack!"
"Why do you think that?"
"W-well… A part of the castle is just… Gone! Including my room… I woke up on the street today and had to find my way back into the castle first!"
"What are you… Ah… I think I get it now."
"Y-you do, Sir?"
"Yuki…"
"Hm~? You gave me permission to take part of the castle, so I did. You also said you wouldn't care as long as I take responsibility for all the people that are affected by my actions. I will take full responsibility for Petrisha's discomfort. Don't worry, Trishy… I'm sure we can figure something out, just the two of us~…"
At Yuki's predatory gaze Petrisha only trembled in fear, thinking of what Yuki could possibly do to take responsibility for her.
"N-now that I think about it… It wasn't that big a deal… None at all, actually! I liked walking through the entire town and waking up without the faintest clue of what was going on! It was such a… Unique experience, thank you, mistress Yuki!"
"Ah, there you have it, Master!"
"And the cube?"
"What about it? It will be expanded upon once I get the required materials. I'm thinking, since you will eventually move out of the castle anyway, we build something in there. The blueprints are already finished, and you can take a look at the whole thing if you want!"
"…Just put it on my desk. As long as it's functional… About that hole in the castle…"
"It's not a hole! There is just a piece missing now. But don't worry! I put up a warning sign so no one wonders about it!"
"Oh, in that case never mind…"
"Great! I will be off to some more church stuff! I'll bring the blueprints with me once I come back. Bye, bye~"
"Goodbye…"
As Yuki shut the door behind her, Petrisha let out a deep sigh of relief, while Yamato just moved on with his work.
"Uhm… Sir?"
"What?"
"Is this… Okay? The church, I mean…"
"Why wouldn't it be okay?"
"N-no reason! I just thought… Mistress Yuki's actions could have displeased you, is all…"
"Not at all. The thing that bothers me most is the aesthetic… But since she said it's just a foundation, I can overlook that too if the end result is less unsightly."
"I-I see… And about my room?"
"Just move into another one. There should still be an unoccupied guest room somewhere, I'm sure. If that was all, you may leave."
"Okay then, thank you… I will be outside if you need anything."
"Uh huh…"
Meanwhile, at the imperial capital Vancia, in the emperor's castle's conference room, a heated discussion about how to proceed with Yamato's self declared Absolute Empire took place.
"You said this wasn't a problem we should concern ourselves with, your majesty! How can it be that the strongest person of our country is forced to retreat against a single town?! We want answers!"
"The first minister is right, your majesty! Nakahara Hana's failure is a national embarrassment, and should be punished accordingly! What should our neighboring countries think when they hear about this?!"
Emperor Arctinus, dressed in a white robe that reached to the ground and covered his entire body from neck to toe, and with golden accents that made him look both royal and divine, calmly stood up from his throne like chair at the table with his six ministers, which silenced them all at once.
"Gentlemen… I understand your concerns… I really do… But this is no time to be panicking about such trivial matters… Hana's defeat was but a momentary setback, only delaying our inevitable victory. This Yamato guy is by no means my equal, just because he calls himself emperor now. So don't let yourself think of this minor slip up on Hana's part as prove of his ability to affect us in any way. His claims are illegitimate, his authority nonexistent and with that, he is nothing. After all… We have heaven on our side. Isn't that right, Natsumi?"