The text mentions a portrait of Sai. What is the backstory of this image and the nine-year delay in explaining its placement?

Chapter 41 recounts a story about a specific portrait of Sai. The narrator and a priest named Ismu had privately made a firm decision that this powerful image should be kept in a particular location and that the narrator himself should be the one to offer it. Although the narrator presented the image as planned, there was no time to explain the long story behind their determination. An entire nine years passed before the narrator and the other individual had an unexpected meeting. This reunion finally provided the opportunity to recall the past history and connect it to a wonderful dream, revealing the marvelous Leela behind the event.