☀️ Arselia and Akonia

Some clever person might say they anticipated this would happen, and even a not-so-clever person could have guessed it, but still, she wanted to hope that this event would pass without a hitch. Don't cough up cosmic microbes, don't offer prayers to alien pagan deities, or at least don't do it out loud, and don't constantly talk about Nihon and its Rhemic oppressors – it's simple. And yet, the restless abbot decided to bring up the topic. Could he be blamed for it? How would she herself act if their roles were reversed?
"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," her reason replies, displaying a hologram of Aria standing behind Naria with a knife, as if it were perfectly normal. But she can't hold onto that thought – the situations are clearly not identical.

In a fraction of a second – but not because of the excitement of a pounding heart, but simply from the realization of the pointlessness of each of them – possible scenarios of what could be done in this situation flashed through her mind: make a joke, nod as if nothing had happened with a serious expression on her face, "see, I told you so," burst into tears like a fool, run away in distress and wait for someone to comfort her, promise to leave that very hour and dramatically walk away to the river, leaving her wind-blown figure as a final memory... None of them would address the problem that the others had decided to ignore.

Therefore, she did the only thing that seemed meaningful to her at that moment – she stepped back a couple of steps, leaned both hands on the grassy bank, and lowered her head to the ground:
- I'm sorry. I should have remembered my place,” the answer was not intended for the priest, but for the others present. She did not add any drama or pity to her voice, so as not to darken the situation by putting pressure on other people's emotions.