Miniature Sanctuary

“WAAAAAH!!!”

I screamed as I woke up and found myself falling from the bed.

“Lapis-sama! Lapis-sama, are you alright?!”

Ollie was banging on the door as he kept calling for me, his voice was full of desperation and worry.

“Y-yes! I’m fine, Ollie-kun! I just fell from the bed!” I answered quickly as I picked up myself from the floor.

My back hurts, I just hope that I didn’t break a bone when I fell.

I touched my head and heaved out a long breath.

Was that a dream?

No, it was too vivid to be a dream…

Whatever that was, it’s definitely not a dream.

I opened the door and Ollie greeted me while holding a tray of food, just like yesterday… or was it really yesterday?

“Good morning, Lapis— W-what happened to you? Are you okay?”

I’m pretty sure I look horrible right now, but was that expression really necessary?

Well, I can’t blame him. I haven’t fixed my hair and my face definitely looks as pale as a paper.

Because of that dream– or nightmare… Whatever that was, it was so frightening.

“Good morning, Ollie-kun. Come in first, we have something to talk about.”

“O-okay.”

Ollie entered the room and just like yesterday, he put the tray of food on the table and sat on one of the chairs. I also sat on the other one and faced him.

“Ollie-kun, I met your original god. I’m not sure if it was a dream or not, but I remember talking to him.”

Ollie was listening intently, then he nodded in understanding.

“I see… So it wasn’t just me,” Ollie muttered. “Actually, I’ve gained new information from the original god when I woke up this morning.”

“Really?! What is it?!”

“About Plot Holes, the cycle of this world, and what Lapis-sama can do for the next cycles.”

Wow, that’s actually generous.

“That’s really helpful.”

“Un, but he didn’t give me the whole information about the cycles because he said that it was to protect me,” Ollie mumbled. “I only remember the last cycle, I don’t know about the cycles before that.”

I reached out my hand at Ollie’s head.

“That’s more than enough. Having someone who knows what’s going on is really reassuring, at least I know that I’m not being crazy.”

“I don’t know what to say about that, but Ollie is Lapis-sama’s guide, I will do my best!” Ollie said enthusiastically.

Ollie is really a sweet child. I don’t care if it was only out of duty that he decided to stay by my side, but I was still grateful nevertheless.

I smiled gently at him.

“Alright, Ollie-kun, this cycle was a repeat of the last one, right? Is there something we can do to prevent the Parade Incident?”

“Ah, this might be a repeat, but the Parade Incident won’t happen this time. A similar Plot Hole won’t appear on consecutive cycles.”

“Eh?”

“That’s according to what I knew from the original god. The next Plot Hole will occur at a different instance.”

“I… I see…” I furrowed my eyebrows out of confusion. “Does that mean the royal parade won’t happen?”

“It will still happen, but it will be successful this time. Do you want to see it, Lapis-sama?”

Actually, I don’t feel like it.

I just witnessed everything froze because of a Plot Hole, I don’t want to bring the misfortune there again.

“I’ll pass, once is enough.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Let’s have breakfast now before it gets cold,” I said and we started having our breakfast just like how we did on the last cycle.

___

The day repeated, the same people, the same scenery, the same event…

It was like reading the same lines of a story because you dissociated while reading it.

But in my case, I’m no longer reading it but reliving it personally.

“Ollie-kun, let’s go somewhere today.”

There goes the diversion of the plot.

“Really? Lapis-sama finally has something that she wants to do?” Ollie exclaimed brightly.

“Ahaha…” I laughed awkwardly. “Is that really something to be happy about?”

“It is!” Ollie beamed brightly. “For Lapis-sama to finally do something that she really wanted, it was a great thing!”

I froze at Ollie’s words.

I pursed my lips together.

No one has told me those words before. After all, I was never allowed to freely do something that I really wanted before without facing circumstances.

That’s why Ollie’s words make my chest hurt.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal, Ollie-kun. The original god just asked me to go to a building around here.”

“Eh? He did? I see…” Ollie pouted in disappointment. “I just assumed it, sorry.”

“Sorry for disappointing you, but if I have something that I want to do soon, let’s do it together, okay?”

“U-un! I’m looking forward to it.”

Ollie-kun is really cute.

I see him as a little brother, but maybe for a little, he is also like a son to me.

Given my age from my past life, it wasn’t that strange to have a child, though after reincarnating here, my appearance became slightly younger, I’m still mentally an adult.

Right, as the one who created this world, it wouldn’t be odd to consider Ollie as my child… in fact, everyone here can actually be considered as my child if you think about it.

…

…

Let’s not think about that. For now, having Ollie is more than enough.

As we were walking, I decided to have a small chat with Ollie.

“Ollie-kun, I’ve been wondering…”

“Yes, Lapis-sama?”

“If you just manifested at the same time that I woke up in this world, where did you get money?”

“Hmm? Is it really that strange?” He looked at me with a curious look.

Maybe because he’s a fragment of a god that he doesn’t have any common sense of regular people, but it really is bothering me now.

“Ollie-kun, you might not know this but money doesn’t just appear out of thin air. People have to work to earn money, some have to trade goods or services. Only by giving something in return can they earn money that they will spend on goods and services for their own survival.”

“Really?” he said in confusion.

“Yes, and just like that, the cycle continues, over and over again…”

Just like in my past life.

People spend the majority of their lives working to earn money to buy things that will let them survive the following day only to repeat the same routine.

“Lapis-sama, does money really not appear out of thin air?” he innocently asked.

“Yes, money should not appear out of thin air.”

“Ah…”

Ollie looked away with a guilty face.

He’s hiding something, he definitely is!

“Ollie-kun, where did you get the money?”

I stared at him intently and waited for him to speak no matter how much he tried to avert his gaze.

When he could no longer take my pressure, he finally relented.

“It just appeared out of thin air! Don’t look at me like that, I’ll surrender it,” Ollie blurted out with a flustered face.

“Eh? Really?”

“Yes, please believe me! I didn’t steal it!”

“Okay, okay, I believe you, I don’t think someone as sweet as Ollie-kun could steal someone else’ money.”

But if that was the case, where did it come from?

I pondered to myself as I tried understanding the mystery of the money.

Ollie is looking at me with a pitiful expression. He looks like he really doesn’t understand why he has that kind of money in his possession.

Well, if something like this happens to other people, they will treat it as a blessing from a higher being.

…

Ah, that’s right.

“Ollie-kun, what if it was from the original god?”

“Oh, that’s possible! He probably gave me an allowance to make sure that Lapis-sama could live comfortably! I’ll give them to you now.”

He was about to pull out something in his pocket, but I stopped him.

“You don’t have to, it’s Ollie-kun’s money. I’m not a horrible adult taking money from a kid, you know.”

“Hmm… okay! Ollie will hold it for safekeeping!” the boy firmly said.

I think that allowance was the way of the original god to make sure that Ollie will not have a hard time as well.

If you put it that way…

Was it some kind of child support?

Hmm…

Before I realized it, we finally arrived in front of the same building that the nameless god showed me on the last cycle.

I wasn’t able to see it properly then, but now that I look at it, it looks like a humble two-storey building with a balcony on the second floor. There are no surrounding houses beside it and it was unexpectedly isolated from the town.

“This place is… a Miniature Sanctuary?”

I turned to Ollie after hearing an unfamiliar term.

“What does that mean, Ollie?”

“It’s like an abode exclusive to a god… if Lapis-sama knows this place, that means that this is your Sanctuary!”

“Eh? But the original god showed this to me first.”

“Other gods can be aware of a fellow god’s territory, but they can’t enter it without the permission of the owner of the Sanctuary,” Ollie explained. “I see, that’s why I wasn’t informed about it because even if I knew, I’m still a fragment of a different god. I still can’t go here without Lapis-sama’s permission.”

A Sanctuary… huh.

That sounds like something a god would have…

But why is it ‘Miniature’?

Not that I’m complaining, but that miniature title is really making me curious.

Was it equivalent to me being a powerless goddess at the moment? Or was it something else?

“Ollie-kun, what can this Miniature Sanctuary do?” I asked the boy.

“I’m glad you asked, the Miniature Sanctuary is like a temporary home for gods in human society. Common people won’t recognize this place unless you gave them permission to, or if their prayers reached you.”

“So like a church? But why is my sanctuary looking like a house?”

“A Sanctuary reflects the nature of the god in-charge of it. Actually, once upon a time, there was a god who had an extravagant way of running things, his Sanctuary was a temple made of gold,” Ollie recounted.

Uwah, maybe this is actually better.

I don’t want an overwhelming place like that.

“Just so we’re clear, that god is not your original god, is it?”

“Nope,” Ollie said brightly. “The original god’s Sanctuary is a theater, but it wasn’t as grand as the others.”

A theater…

I think I can imagine that, but I can’t say what kind of god was the original yet.

If it’s a theater, it can be a place for both the truth and pretences.

Going back to my Sanctuary, the fact that this is a humble house probably reflects my desire. I haven’t opened the door yet but I can already tell what’s inside.

I stepped forward and touched the knob, a gentle light was emitted from it before I could finally open the door.

As soon as I could see what’s inside, my intuition was right.

“Let’s go inside, Ollie-kun.”

This time, I offered my hand to him.

He gladly took it and we entered the house where shelves of books greeted us.

“Is this a library?”

“I think so,” I said with a small smile.

I took a book from one of the shelves and opened it only to find it empty.

It wasn’t surprising, but given that this is my Sanctuary, I can pretty much guess that this place is the reflection of my desire to write once again.

This is basically telling me to start writing whatever I want to write.

The first floor is full of bookshelves, while the second floor consists of the living quarters such as the bedrooms, the kitchen, and other common areas needed for living.

It honestly looks bigger inside than it is outside.

It wasn’t on the level of a mansion but it’s certainly wide inside.

This place is much better than my cramped apartment no matter how you look at it.

Aside from some dubious architecture here and there that I would rather not question given that this place is obviously not something created by human logic, I am really satisfied with this place.

“From now on, I guess this is going to be our home,” I said to Ollie with a smile.

“U-un…!”

“Let’s get along well, Ollie-kun!”

“Yes!”

With that, we officially had our own home.

It was technically a Sanctuary of a god, but I don’t really think that it’s necessary to prohibit common people from going here.

“That’s why, I’m thinking of starting a business,” I said to Ollie as we were having our lunch.

“A business?”

“Un. I want to have a bookstore. I actually really liked books, that’s why I started writing, but in my former world, it was impractical.”

“I see… so your world was like that before…” Ollie frowned.

“Yes, it was like that… and it’s not like I’m a special writer, so in the end, I quit writing altogether,” I confessed to Ollie. “But after we went to the stall that sells books, technical ones are widely accessible, but creative ones aren’t. It gave me an idea to try something for once.”

“Oh, that’s right! In this world, entertainment was monopolized by the nobility… but aren’t you going to be troubled? Nobles might come after you for your work.”

I shrugged uninterestedly. “It’s not like I’m a great writer, I know more than anyone that I could no longer write a masterpiece, [Dream-colored Sky] was actually my last decent work and I wasn’t even able to finish it.”

Ollie frowned worriedly.

“I’m worried for Lapis-sama, but if it’s as you said then I’ll support you to the best of my abilities.”

“Thank you, Ollie-kun!”

_______

We spent the rest of the day roaming around the house.

I can only say one thing…

It’s much bigger than I thought!

I said the same thing earlier but it’s actually even bigger, the hallway on the second floor stretched farther, seemingly not having an end, same with the bookshelves on the first floor.

For now, Ollie and I agreed to just use the rooms that are closer to the common areas so that we won’t get lost in the house.

“Ah, right! The god actually said something about whatLapis-sama needs to look for.”

“Yes, I was told about that too. What is it?”

Ollie stared at me intently and spoke,

“The story of this world.”

“Eh?”

I froze as soon as I heard it.

The story of this world… Does that mean the story that I wrote, [Dream-colored Sky] is inside this Sanctuary?

“It might be hard to believe but he said that and he also said that you’ll know what to do once you see it.”

I put a hand on my forehead because of a headache.

“That god really likes riddles, doesn’t he?” I sighed. “Let’s look for it tomorrow, since the world hasn’t frozen today, I guess we’re safe from the Plot Hole for now.”

“Un. Good night, Lapis-sama!”

Ollie and I resigned to our rooms after that.

I quickly flopped myself to the bed and burrowed my face on the pillow.

Was it really possible for [Dream-colored Sky] to exist in this world?

As far as I remember, I wrote it on my laptop, it’s not like there is a physical copy of an unfinished novel after all.

Unless my laptop somehow ended up here…

As if, right?

I just fixed my position on the bed to prepare myself to sleep when I felt something hard with a rectangular shape under the sheets.

T-there’s no way… right?

I slowly took it out, bracing myself for whatever it is…

And…

I sighed in relief when it was just a good old book.

“Haah… of course, it’s a book.”

I put it on the bedside table as I closed my eyes.

But then… why was a book here of all places?

I opened my eyes quickly and picked up the book once again.

The familiar letters of the language of my former world were written on the front cover.

I swallowed the lump on my throat.

I found it, the story of this world: [Dream-colored Sky].