novelraw Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8. What to Do When the Body Is No Longer Under One’s Control
It was strange—so strange that, from certain angles, one could call it blasphemous.
Completely against Leticia’s intent, it left her horrified. For some reason, in that instant, her mouth had not obeyed her will.
“Why do you think so?”
Priest Marshall’s tone lost some warmth and grew stern, though his eyes flickered with conflicting light.
No, no, no, she had to calm down. It was only the single word “air.” There was still room to fix this!
Her thoughts raced. Leticia took a deep breath and explained: “Because I think the Lord is like the air that accompanies our lives. Though we cannot see His presence, He truly exists, omnipresent, and without the Lord, we cannot live at all...... That’s what I think.”
She resisted the urge to give examples. In such an inland place, using something like “a fish out of water” would sound odd.
Here, water came only from a village well. Fish? It's impossible to have seen them.
She had no choice but to smooth over her slip with flowery words. For now, her intent to stay low-profile was completely shattered.
Why? One only needed to see Priest Marshall’s expression.
“......Good, good.”
He nodded calmly on the surface. At first, he had thought that regarding the Lord as air was nothing less than blasphemy. For nearly a thousand years, this ambiguous idea had never been entered into the scriptures. But because it came from Leticia—the same child who had spoken the words “the Lord is in the heart”—he believed she could say something extraordinary.
And indeed, she had not disappointed him.
“Alright, you may all go now. In two days, I will summon those chosen to walk the ‘Path of Sanctity’ once more.”
Priest Marshall swept his gaze across the five children, pausing on Leticia. “Children, your performances today were all commendable.”
......
“What’s wrong with Leticia......”
Watching her walk away alone, Laila pouted. “Why does she seem so strange since earlier......”
“Don’t worry about her.”
The boy skilled at flattery spoke. His name was Diego. Though plain in looks, he carried himself with confidence, almost like the leader among the children. “This matter today is very important. But I think we shouldn’t tell anyone. Until the results are out, we’d best keep quiet!”
“But what if my parents ask?”
The boy who had said the Lord was endless bread asked. “If I lie, they’ll beat me......”
“No problem!”
Diego said proudly. “Just tell them they’ll know in two days. That’s all!”
Childish indeed......
But that was the best delay tactic such a pretend-grown-up could manage (playing mysterious) ╮(╯▽╰)╭
“Anyway, about that question earlier—what do you think the Priest will decide?”
In the end, the topic circled back.
But each child more or less already had a guess.
While they chatted, the perspective returned to Leticia.
From the end of the meeting in the church onward, she had noticed her body changing—something beyond her control.
And after leaving, it was only getting worse......
“Hey!”
She slapped her right hand away with her left. While she had been distracted, her right hand had gone rogue—touching her chest!
Though she had no curves, not even developed yet, it was still a sensitive place. She immediately knocked her hand down and gripped her wrist tightly.
But the next instant, she realized her right hand was perfectly under control again, without the slightest anomaly.
Even when she dared to release it, the hand behaved—no rogue gentlemanly antics.
“What’s happening to me?”
She ran to a deserted spot, leaned against a wall, and panted heavily, staring at the hand that had misbehaved. Fear began to sprout. “Is something inside this hand?!”
Her nerves had reached the limit.
Yet she felt no pain, no odd force gnawing at her body beyond logic or science......
Wait, wouldn’t it be stranger if she could feel it?
“Could it be that I really touched some mysterious force without knowing?”
As she wondered wildly, her left hand—which had been touching her chin—suddenly rose and tugged at her lip.
“Wah!”
She screamed at the touch, but quickly clamped her mouth shut, smothering the cry in her throat.
“What was that? Sounded like someone shouting?”
Two villagers soon came over. What they saw was only a child leaning against a wall, rubbing her ankle.
“Eh, you’re...... Leticia? What happened?”
One asked.
“Ah, nothing. I just twisted my foot a little while walking. I’ll be fine after a rest......”
Leticia focused on rubbing her foot, showing a pained expression. “Thank you, but I’m alright.”
To prove it, her left hand lifted and waved, as if to say “I’m fine.”
The two exchanged a look. Clearly, they believed her.
“If you really can’t walk, I can fetch John.”
Though they didn’t talk much usually, villagers still looked out for each other.
Of course, it could also be that they didn’t trust her loitering there and wanted her taken home quickly.
“Okay, I’ll be leaving soon.”
She spoke kindly, watching them go. Only then did she realize her left hand was still raised, dangling like a puppet on strings, twitching absurdly......
“Ugh, so sore......”
She yanked her misbehaving hand down and pinned it. From holding it aloft so long, her arm ached. “What’s happening to my body?”
Could it be some incurable disease unique to this world?!
“No way...... I’m still so young, not even grown......”
She muttered bitterly. “I don’t want to die......”
If she died inexplicably, how could she see this world and search for a way home?
“First the left hand, now the right?”
Could it be spreading—and spreading this fast?
“Should I go to the Priest? Or secretly chop the hand off......”
No sooner had she said it than her mouth moved on its own, speaking without her will!
“You, are...... what, who, is going on?!”
The words from her mouth overlapped hers, twisting into something strange and eerie—yet oddly amusing.
It was as if two wills had been crammed into one body, both wrestling for control.
“Who are you? You’re...... presumptuous, do you know...... Shut up! Let me...... Presumptuous, how dare you......”
She babbled with herself for quite a while, until finally she and her rogue mouth reached an agreement.
Find a proper place—then talk this out!