Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 104
104. Mari-nee and a scene in plaza that [Looks like her]
While waiting for Joshua to calm down, I took out the thread from a giant spider and used it to weave fabric with my thread manipulation skill.
After the battle at the deepest part of the <Cave of Oath> my skill level had increased to the point where even while using the [Thread Manipulation] and [Manipulator] skills on Gils, I could still control one thread freely.
It didn’t take much time to weave a simple piece of fabric, like a scarf.
Compared to the time when my younger siblings asked me to weave a picture of a popular character back then, this was a piece of cake.
As I draped the finished fabric over Joshua’s feet to cover the chains, his murmuring stopped.
“…Why?”
Instead, Joshua uttered a short question.
Perhaps his emotions stirred, as his eyes seemed to contract slightly.
Those eyes seemed to ask, “Why would you do such a thing?”
It reminded me of the first time I met Ryle.
When I gave Lyle a high-grade potion for the injured Retya, he also asked, “Why would you do so much?”
It felt nostalgic.
It hadn’t been long enough to reminisce about the past, but it felt like we had been together forever.
Now, both of them are important to me.
Especially Retya, who has the invaluable skill of stopping rampaging companions… without her, who knows where my soul would be wandering right now…
Oh! That was close.
Just thinking about such a “what if” nearly made my soul fly away, but during that time, Joshua continued to stare at me.
His gaze was filled with doubt and a small hint of expectation.
So, I decided to reply with the same words I used back then.
“Why indeed? I don’t really know myself.”
I simply act on my feelings.
When I said that with a small smile, Joshua seemed to see me for the first time as a fellow human.
After closing his widened eyes and looking down for a while, Joshua slowly raised his face and started to talk about himself.
Joshua’s story was fragmented, but I got a rough understanding of how he became a slave, about Xenoa, and their relationship with Liberta.
There were many points of interest, but this wasn’t the right place for a detailed conversation. It was time to move on.
I had asked Gils to draw attention, but there must be a limit to what he could do… right?
When I turned my eyes towards Gils, I saw an unbelievable sight.
I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and rubbed them, but when I opened them again, the scene hadn’t changed.
If only it had been an illusion…
There hadn’t been even ten people in the square at first, but now more than a hundred people had gathered, surrounding Gils in multiple layers.
“This is…”
Sure, it was probably because of what I asked him to do, but still…
“How did this happen!?”
Feeling the need to do something, I swallowed my embarrassment and shouted loudly.
“Gils!”
The moment I called his name, Gils leaped over the crowd and landed in front of me.
I wondered how he could hear me so well amidst all the noise and chaos, and what kind of physical ability it took to leap over a distance of more than ten meters.
“What is it, Maria!”
“No, what is it, I should be asking you… who are all these people?”
“Hm? I was just performing as you asked, and they gathered on their own.”
Gils said this with a serious face, implying he had done nothing wrong.
I didn’t doubt he hadn’t done anything wrong, really.
But based on past experiences, the definition of “wrong” often varies greatly, especially between me and those around me.
Upon further inquiry, I learned that as Gils was making birds with thread and flying them around, more spectators gathered, and they started asking him to do different things. He complied with each request.
As more people gathered, someone requested him to create something “sacred,” and so he decided to create an image of me.
As a result, the number of people swelled several times over, leading to the current situation.
“…By the way, what exactly did you create of me?”
I regretted asking almost immediately.
“It’s nowhere near capturing your true magnificence,” Gils said, manipulating the magical silver thread to create a depiction of me, resembling the statue I had seen in the church.
It shone silver, thanks to the thread, and unlike the statue, it had wings sprouting from its back.
I was speechless.
If there were a skill called [Speechless], mine would be at a very high level.
While my exceptionally high level of being speechless caused my soul to nearly leave my body again, the crowd’s attention turned towards us.
“Isn’t that the Holy Maiden from the Small Saint’s Cafeteria?”
“It’s the Holy Mother!”
“A divine image with the founder!? Such sacredness in her youthful form… I must record this for the noble gentlemen and ladies worldwide!”
Correction, the crowd’s attention was solely on me.
Whoever made the last comment must be from the cult, right?
And when you say noble gentlemen and ladies worldwide, just how widespread is this, and what world are you referring to!?
Though we succeeded in diverting attention away from Joshua, I ended up being the center of focus…
With silent tears in my heart, we fled the square.
Later, Gils handed me the tips he had collected while drawing attention. The amount was so large that my [Speechless] skill leveled up yet again.