Table of Contents
Table of Contents Page
Chapter 51: The Great Saint’s Rose
Chapter 53: A Dinner with Saviz
Chapter 54: A Dinner or a Saint Debate?
Interlude: The Captains Visit the Royal Villa
Chapter 55: The Saints of the Royal Castle
Chapter 56: The Healing Flower of Náv
Chapter 57: The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 1
Chapter 58: Saviz, Younger Brother of the King
Chapter 59: The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 2
Second Popularity Poll Results
Side Story: Serafina Gets Hit on by Sirius While Incognito (Three Hundred Years Ago)
Side Story: The Man Fia’s Gunning for Becomes Her Caretaker
Side Story: Fia Goes on a Date with Cyril on Her Day Off
Side Story: Fia Brazenly Takes Zavilia for a Walk
Side Story: Making Strides as a Saint
Side Story: Quentin, Deceived by a Weak Baby Chick?
Side Story: Fabian Checks Whether Fia is a Saint or Not
Newsletter
Copyrights and Credits
The Story Thus Far
THE STORY THUS FAR
FIA, ONCE THE GREAT SAINT in her past life, now hides her saintly powers and leads a new life as an ordinary knight—albeit a life fraught with its own challenges. But despite her best efforts, she has failed to completely hide her true capabilities and drawn the attention of many knights and captains.
When Fia learns of Saviz’s engagement, she decides to celebrate by putting on a wonderful performance for him. Thus, she begs the jesters to make her their apprentice. On Cerulean’s suggestion, she goes on a “mini-quest” with the jesters, donning a saint costume and heading out to perform in town—but this becomes a recipe for disaster. While she’s out, she heals an ailing saint, then learns of the secrets surrounding Colette, who is Lloyd’s younger sister and Cerulean’s fiancée.
New Kingdom Character List
World Map
New Kingdom Royal Castle
Chapter 50: Meat Tour
Chapter 50:
Meat Tour
“HEY, FIA, DID YOU HEAR? The church plans to make an announcement about holding a new head saint selection.”
I was eating breakfast when Desmond burst into the dining hall with this news. It had been a while since he last showed up here.
I smiled, still holding a white bread roll (a favorite of mine). “No, I haven’t!”
Lloyd told me last night that they’d hold the selection soon, but the official announcement truly was news to me.
Desmond frowned for some reason, then sat before me like that was a perfectly normal thing for him to do.
“Uhh, Captain Desmond? This is the dining hall for ordinary knights. The captains’ dining hall is that way,” I said, pointing.
He ignored my polite rebuke and remained in his seat. Without so much as a word, he snatched the last roll from my tray.
“Hey, thief! Why are you stealing bread from a recruit?!”
He took my orange juice as well and, exhaustion weighing down his words, said, “Fia, I’ve hardly had a wink of sleep since yesterday because of that blasted church. Indulge me a little and let me have a snack.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” I said with genuine pity. Still, the bread and juice were all-you-could-eat, so he should have grabbed his own… Or maybe he was so exhausted he couldn’t even walk that short distance? After considering it, I offered him my meat as well, which, unlike the rest of the food, was limited. “Captain Desmond, eat some meat so you feel better!”
He pretended to wipe a tear from his dry eyes. “You’re real kind, Fia. If only you weren’t a woman, my heart would’ve skipped a beat just now. Not that I like men.”
He scarfed down a piece of meat. I figured if he could eat like that, he was probably all right. Before I knew it, nothing remained of my meat but the bones, and the bread and juice vanished entirely.
Satiated, Desmond leaned back in his chair and sized me up. “Anyway, I came by to tell you we need to postpone our plan to go eat meat in Dhital for a while.”
“Oh, that. Figures.” I had kind of forgotten, but not long ago, I promised to go do that with him. The reminder dredged up the memory of that time.
***
About a week ago, while picking herbs within the castle grounds, Desmond stopped by.
“Out picking weeds again, Fia? Do we not pay you enough or something? Is that why you have to subsist off weeds near the end of every month?”
I planned to toss these herbs into the green healing potion spring, but he seemed to believe I planned to eat them. Thanks to the castle’s dining hall for knights, there was obviously no way I’d ever get hungry enough to resort to eating weeds.
There was wickedness in his grin, and I glared, realizing he was teasing me. There was no way he was up to anything good out here. I tensed, but to my surprise, he started talking about foreign food, of all things.
“Did you know the Holy Kingdom of Dhital has some crazy-good meat dishes?”
The reminder of food distracted me from my wariness. “Really?! Like what?”
“All kinds—grilled meat, fried meat, steamed meat! There’s a monster native to the country that apparently has incredibly delicious meat.”
“Oooh. I’d love to try that at least once!”
The Holy Kingdom of Dhital was a small country located between the Náv Kingdom and the Arteaga Empire. It didn’t exist three hundred years ago, so I never got to try their unique food in my past life. Their food had to be incredible if Desmond was going out of his way to mention it.
I thought about using my vacation time to visit some day, when out of nowhere Desmond seemed to read my mind and said, “Then why don’t we go try it together?”
“Huh?”
“I can use my authority as captain to take you to Dhital! I even got permission from Cyril already!”
For the first time in my life, I regarded Desmond with respect. Happy as could be, I replied, “Perfect! Let’s do it!”
***
The reminder of that promise to visit Dhital and try their famous meat left me crestfallen now that it was postponed. But a trip like that, fully paid for by the knight brigade, was too good to be true anyway. I mean, why would they send a knight to another country just to eat meat?
Reading my expression, Desmond hurriedly said, “The trip is postponed, not canceled! Okay?!”
“Yeah, yeah. I know how this goes. The trip’s going to be postponed indefinitely, then canceled at a later date.”
“No!” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Look, this stays between us, but the whole reason I have to postpone is because the head saint selection thing is happening sooner than I expected! As soon as the selection’s over, I’ll be able to take you on our meat tour!”
“Huh?” I cocked my head. What could our meat tour have to do with the head saint selection?
With a frown, he explained. “So, basically, to the west of the royal capital is the royal family’s villa. Hyacinthe, the queen and current head saint, as well as Commander Saviz’s mother, lives there. She is to take part in the selection of the next head saint, so Clarissa, Quentin, and Zackary have been chosen to escort her here to the royal capital.”
“Oooh, that’s incredible!”
I heard about Hyacinthe from Fabian the other day. All around the world, they called her Náv’s great “Healing Flower.” The captains were truly lucky to get to escort someone so amazing!
Desmond shrugged and said, “I guess. But we can’t have five captains leave the royal capital at once, so we had to stagger the queen dowager’s escort and our meat tour. Of course, I also have to be in the royal capital for the duration of the selection process.”
That made sense. As the captain in charge of royal castle security, it’d be weird for him to leave at a time like this.
“They originally planned to hold the head saint selection a bit later, so I thought we had time to go on our meat tour and come back,” Desmond said. “But they moved the selection up, so the other three captains will be leaving for the royal villa first.”
“Fair enough. All we need for our meat tour is some hungry stomachs, so we can push it back as much as we need to! But isn’t it kind of disrespectful to treat the queen dowager’s escort and our meat tour as if they’re on the same level?” As I spoke, I realized a weird inconsistency in Desmond’s explanation. “Wait, you said you can’t have five captains leave the capital at once, but you plus the three headed for the villa would only equal four, right?”
“Ah, right, that’s… Okay, just between you and me? Enoch is way too scrawny. It’s been bothering him, so I promised to take him to Dhital to eat meat so he can pack on a few pounds. That’s why he’s coming along with us on our meat tour. In fact, a number of other meat-loving knights are too.”
It appeared we would be visiting Dhital as a small party. It was a personal trip, but with two captains and a slew of knights in tow, well…I could only hope no one would mistake it for official business!
Ignorant of my worries, Desmond slammed a hand on the table. “Anyway, our visit to Dhital is only postponed! Not canceled!”
“Yes, sir!” I said, matching Desmond’s positive energy.
This postponement actually worked out really well for my schedule. For the time being, business kept me near the royal castle. If Desmond had come by to say we were leaving for the Holy Kingdom of Dhital right now, I would have had to decline.
“What perfect timing! It must be fate for me to eat the Holy Kingdom’s meat one day!” As soon as I spoke, I spotted the source of my busyness standing at the entrance of the dining hall.
Desmond noticed me freeze up and turned to follow my gaze—making eye contact with Lloyd as he approached. Both men grimaced as though to say “Why are you here?”
Lloyd recovered first. With a mocking smile, he said, “Oh, Desmond. How strange to see you here. Doesn’t the captains’ dining hall serve more lavish food? Or did you want to eat breakfast with Fia that badly? Unfortunately, it seems your time with her is up, as I’ll be borrowing her now.”
“Huh? I mean, go ahead, but…” Desmond shot me a questioning look, clearly wondering why Lloyd, someone I’d hardly be expected to know, was here for me.
“Uhh, so, the other day, Duke Alcott and I—” I began, but Lloyd cut me off.
“Fia and I have become friends, Desmond. Fia, why do you feel the need to call me ‘Duke Alcott’ in front of Desmond? Are you not allowed to speak freely around him? Does he scare you?”
Silence cloaked our pocket of the dining hall as we all churned over our own thoughts. Quietly, I mumbled, “Captain Desmond isn’t scary…”
Chapter 51: The Great Saint’s Rose
Chapter 51:
The Great Saint’s Rose
“I’LL TAKE MY LEAVE HERE THEN, Captain Desmond.”
As the tension between Lloyd and Desmond mounted, I hurried to pick up my tray and rise from my seat.
Lloyd was a bit too frank with his thoughts, perhaps because he was a duke, a high noble rank. He had a habit of teasing people, which likely stemmed from his time as a jester. Desmond had a hobby of teasing people as well, and that similar tendency inspired the disharmony between them. I’d heard they were chess buddies, but I had to wonder if that was even possible.
“R-right, sure… See you later, Fia.” Desmond looked on in confusion as I prepared to leave with Lloyd.
I didn’t want him to jump to any wild conclusions, so I leaned in and whispered, “Yesterday, Cerulean, Dolly, and I disguised ourselves as a jester troupe and went into town. Lloyd came by to get me because he wants to talk about what we did there.”
“Huh? Wait, so you dressed up as a jester too?! Oddly enough, I can totally see you pulling off a jester look. …W-wait, no! What’s a proud knight like you think you’re doing?!”
As expected, Desmond was too embroiled in dealing with the news of the head saint to learn of my outing yesterday with Cerulean and Dolly. He grumbled but seemed to accept Lloyd’s presence now. Perfect. With this, he’d simply think I got dragged along according to the jesters’ whims.
I played along, saying, “You’re right! A proud knight has no business doing such a thing. I’ll make sure to tell Duke Alcott off!” before running to join Lloyd. Of course, I preferred to avoid conflict and never bothered scolding Duke Alcott.
Lloyd led me to the castle garden. Of the dozen rose bushes, two had become Roses of the Great Saint. He strode to those before turning back toward me.
“Fia, do you recall how we asked you to pick a Rose of the Great Saint for us last night? Well, after you left, Cerulean and I took some time to flesh out our course of action from here on out.”
“Oh, okay.” I waited for his next words.
“We decided it was best to borrow the new head saint’s power and have her ready to heal Colette after she wakes up. The ceremony to choose that head saint will take place two weeks from now, but the actual selection will likely take another two weeks. Hence, we’ll be waiting a month at best before we can beg the head saint’s aid. We want you to pick out the right rose for us before that time.”
“Oh? So I don’t have to make a choice for a whole month?” Honestly, not having to choose right away came as a relief.
He nodded. “The Third Mage Knight Brigade will preserve the rose in its current state, so you can pick it as soon as today or tomorrow if you’d like, or wait a month if you prefer. You can even pick every rose that catches your eye, then choose the one you think is best when the time comes. And if you can’t find a rose you feel is right, we can postpone things further.”
“Huh? Is that all right?” I thought we were kind of in a rush.
With a wry smile, he said, “My sister has slept for ten years. Another week or two won’t change much. Of course, it’d be best if you could find the right rose within a month, but do as you will.”
So he said, but I recalled someone mentioning last night that Colette was reaching her limit. Sooner was probably better than later.
“You know, I kind of get the feeling I’ll find the right rose within a month!” I said, then began taking stock of things.
The roses in this garden looked like ordinary roses, but they were actually a special breed that would turn into Roses of the Great Saint if I gave them my mana every day. If I started now, the whole process would take just about a month, lining up perfectly with Lloyd’s deadline. It had taken me about a month last time, when I made a Rose of the Great Saint for Saviz, so I was confident in my estimate.
Incidentally, to prevent crossbreeding between these roses and other strains, we’d removed all rose varieties but Roses of the Great Saint from the castle garden three hundred years ago. It seemed they still strictly maintained that standard, as all the roses before me now were the special breed that could become Roses of the Great Saint.
The question was how many Roses of the Great Saint I should make…
I felt prickling at the back of my neck and looked up to find Lloyd watching me. Hoping to deflect suspicion, I said, “I’m just picking whatever rose feels right, so if it winds up having the effect you need, it’s only a coincidence. Got that?”
He smiled and said, “Of course, but from the sound of things, you seem confident you’ll pick the right one. After all my failures to help my sister, it’s rather refreshing to see you like this.”
He sure was putting a lot of pressure on me, but this was better than when he was in utter desperation and despair. The mere possibility reminded me of what happened last night.
***
“Each petal from a Rose of the Great Saint produces a different effect, so, please…pick out a petal that will awaken Colette from her sleep!”
My chest tightened at the pleading look in Cerulean’s eyes.
Ten years was a long time. For that entire duration, Cerulean and Lloyd had lived in constant worry, each day praying that it would be the one Colette finally woke up while simultaneously fearing it would be the one she passed away. It was only right that I helped ease their worries.
“Sure! I’ll pick out the best rose petal for you, one that’ll wake Colette right up!” I replied.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kurtis bite his lip, but surely he could let this go, right? Besides…
“If Colette’s really asleep because of the Spirit Lord’s Blessing, then we can’t be sure she’ll wake up even if we do find a rose petal with the right effect.”
I said this because not even I could do anything about the Spirit Lord’s Curse that afflicted Cerulean. The Spirit Lord’s magic was powerful and fundamentally different from ours. There would be no dispelling anything cast by them unless they specifically meant for a human to be able to dispel it.
Colette’s deep sleep was a result of the Spirit Lord freezing her time in response to Cerulean’s wish for her not to die, so as long as the Spirit Lord deemed she would live, it should be possible to dispel her sleep status.
“…Cerulean trying to wake Colette might be enough for the Spirit Lord to consider the conditions met,” I mumbled, saying what came to mind.
Cerulean rubbed at his tears and nodded. “You bring up a good point, Fia. The biggest problem we face is the fact that the one who cast the status ailment on Colette is the Spirit Lord. But like you say, as I’m the one who made the wish, there’s a high chance we can dispel the effect if I wish it as well. However…” He paused, seeming troubled. “Things are never so simple when the Spirit Lord is involved. Though they responded to my desperate wish and put Colette to sleep, they won’t respond to my desperate wish for her to wake up. After finding the Rose of the Great Saint, I finally understand. The Great Saint has also inherited the Spirit Lord’s blood, so her rose must be the key we’ve been waiting for. If we can pick out the correct petal and use it, we should be able to wake up Colette, I’m certain.”
It was all rather optimistic, but the royal family was descended from the first Spirit Lord and a human, so they all had the Spirit Lord’s blood running through them. I could only hope that meant things would go well.
Cerulean scowled and said, “To show it’s my wish for Colette to wake up, I’m thinking of giving her black tea made with the Rose of the Great Saint, but…Fia, I’m sorry to be selfish, but do you mind if it’s just Lloyd, Colette, and me when we do it?”
“Huh?” I’d assumed they’d want me around for that.
I’d noticed a recent trend where the effects of the rose petals changed depending on what I was thinking as I gave them my mana. For example, when I thought about how paralysis worked, my petals made people’s bodies twitch uncontrollably, and when I thought about how everyone always looked so serious and how nice it would be if there was magic that made everything seem funny, my petals caused just that. But I didn’t recall thinking about something as specific as dispelling the sleep status effect when I made all of the current Roses of the Great Saint, so there weren’t any petals that did that right now. That’s why I planned to choose a random harmless petal for Colette and discreetly use my status-ailment-dispelling magic on her as they gave her the tea, but…
“Colette’s body is at its limit. She’s so thin that even the slightest exertion might push her over the edge. That’s why…I want it to just be the three of us. Just in case.”
I closed my mouth at the look on his face. He was already bracing for the worst. If she did die, he wanted it to happen in private, where outsiders couldn’t intrude. Colette was just that dear to him.
“…Colette’s time was frozen when she was in a poor state, right? Won’t you need the head saint here to heal her as soon as she wakes up?” I recalled him mentioning she was on her deathbed.
Eyes downcast, he said, “I was thinking of having the head saint on standby in the neighboring room. That way we can call her over if Colette wakes.”
“In that case, could I be on standby as well? I swear I won’t come over until you say it’s okay, and I promise not to peek!” Plus, I was a saint as well, so I wanted to do what I could. “You know I have lots of holy stones, right? It might be worthwhile to keep me around as a spare in case something happens with the head saint.”
Apologetically, he replied, “Can we really ask so much of you?”
“It’s fine! We should do everything we can to save Colette. And you should rely on people more. Not only do you bear the Spirit Lord’s Curse, but you’re also paying the cost of the Spirit Lord’s Blessing. You shouldn’t be trying to do everything alone.”
Cerulean was in no condition to push himself like this. The Spirit Lord of three hundred years ago cursed him, and meanwhile he was paying for the first Spirit Lord’s Blessing by having his life slowly shaved away.
“When you put it like that, I guess you might be right…” He frowned as if only just now remembering his condition.
My, what a carefree king we have. But if Cerulean’s curse and blessing were both a result of the royal family bloodline, wouldn’t it affect Saviz as well? The Spirit Lord’s Blessing probably wouldn’t come into play if he didn’t wish hard for something, but apparently past members of royalty also had the curse of the Spirit Lord from three hundred years ago. Did it only affect the king? Or did it affect Saviz too?
…No, it definitely didn’t. I’d met with Saviz many times. I would definitely have noticed if he were cursed. Well, that was a relief.
Cerulean, looking more cheerful than before, interrupted my musing. “Fia, thank you for accepting our request! And thank you for offering to help even further.”
Lloyd thanked me as well, emotion shining in his eyes. “Fia, I thank you from the bottom of my heart as well. No matter what comes to pass, I’m grateful for your help.”
I’d never seen these two so serious. Colette was clearly so dear to them. I swore once again I would do anything I could to help.
Apologetically, Cerulean said, “It’s gotten late. Sorry I’ve kept you so long.”
Only then did I realize how much time had passed. Darkness pressed thick against the window, pierced by a sliver of moon that spoke to the late hour.
“You must be tired after everything that happened today,” Cerulean said. “Let’s leave things here for tonight and talk further tomorrow. Our request was a bit impulsive, so please allow Lloyd and me to hash things out and get back to you.”
“All right,” I said.
Kurtis and I left so they could talk.
Chapter 52: Crisis Part 2
Chapter 52:
Crisis Part 2
“WHY, IF IT ISN’T THE SAINT from the other day. To think we would meet again.”
A shiver ran up my spine at the sound of that kind voice. Oh no! He’s finally found me! I prepared to dash away, but a hand caught my arm.
“Oh, don’t be so cold. Won’t you be so kind as to grace this lowly knight with your divine presence?”
“Wh-what? A captain like you shouldn’t be saying that…” Realizing I couldn’t escape, I forced a smile and slowly turned around.
Cyril, Captain of the First Knight Brigade, stood before me wearing a far more cheerful smile than I expected.
This is bad, this is bad! He’s absolutely livid! I’d known Cyril long enough to know I was in deep, deep trouble.
Smiling as gently as I could, I pointed out his error. “Captain Cyril, I couldn’t help but notice you called me a saint, but as you can see for yourself, I am none other than your loyal subordinate Fia, clad in what is unmistakably a knight’s uniform.”
Cyril lifted an eyebrow in doubt, but I suppressed my desire to flee, boldly meeting his gaze and intent on winning this standoff.
Just the other day, Cyril spotted me in town dressed as a saint while I was out with Cerulean and Dolly. I was only a pretend saint, of course, and openly wore my necklace of holy stones around my neck, but Cyril still promised to give me a good scolding later.
“Why, hello there. Aren’t you an adorable little saint? That is a lovely necklace you have. I would love to have a nice, long talk with you if the opportunity should arise.”
They say the world is a vast place full of all kinds of people, but Cyril was probably the only one who could threaten someone while wearing such a sunny expression. I’ve avoided Cyril ever since that day, terrified of what he might do. He was a busy man anyway, so avoiding him wasn’t difficult—at least I thought it wouldn’t be, but he caught me off guard just two days later.
He intercepted me on my way to the dining hall for lunch, when my mind was preoccupied with the menu and my vigilance had lapsed. By the time I noticed him, it was already too late. Despair washed over me as he gripped my arm, cutting off any hope of escape. He must have known how I felt, but he maintained a cheerful smile regardless.
“Oh my, you make it sound as if I’m a fool who’s easily confused by one’s clothes. Oho ho ho, no, you were definitely a saint when I saw you in town the other day. After all, only a saint can use healing magic, and I see no reason why you, with all the healing stones you wore, wouldn’t be able to use healing magic.”
“That’s certainly one way of interpreting things.” I answered vaguely, trying my hardest not to say anything that would set Cyril off.
“Surely you agree that even if you changed clothes, you would still be a saint?”
“But as you can see, Captain Cyril, I’m not wearing any holy stones right now. By your logic, wouldn’t I be an ordinary knight, not a saint?” I couldn’t let him win this or I’d definitely regret it, but I pushed back gingerly.
He pondered for a moment—or pretended to, at least—before saying dryly, “I see. Even though you could become a saint whenever you please simply by wearing your holy stones, you choose to be a knight by your own volition. Is that correct?”
Something clicked in my mind. Oh! This has to do with how he replied to Dolly’s provocation!
Dolly had challenged him, saying, “Mm, I wonder about that. Just look at how she’s dressed. Isn’t she an adorable little saint? Fia’s future is full of possibilities. Why should you decide what she’ll become?”
With an icy smile, Cyril had replied, “I do believe the fact she’s here at all is proof she’s chosen to be a knight.”
Thank goodness I remembered how worked up he got about that. My self-preservation skills really came in handy here!
“That’s right, Captain! Being a knight suits me far better than being a saint!” Here was my chance to switch to offense!
Cyril narrowed his eyes, but I’d grown wise in my time here and picked up on an important fact—it didn’t matter what the truth was. Anything could become the truth if you said it sincerely enough.
I clasped my hands and met his eyes. “I aspire to become a fine knight like you, Captain Cyril!”
He took a step back, seeming overwhelmed by my zeal. “You aspire to become like me? I’m…I’m flattered, but…in what ways, exactly?”
Victory bells chimed in my mind as he floundered. I did it! He’d completely forgotten about scolding me.
Careful not to mess up after gaining so much ground, I thought hard before saying, “Well, you’re quite a bit taller than me, for one thing. It might take me a while, but I plan to catch up.”
“Huh? You genuinely believe you could reach my height one day? Fia, that would take no less than three hundred years.”
“A-all right, um…I’ve still got a ways to go with the sword before I can match you, but I did duel Commander Saviz to a draw at the entrance ceremony. I’m sure I’ll catch up by the time I’m your age.”
“No, that duel was declared void, not a draw, because your sword happened to be a treasure from the Golden Age. And the difference in skill between the two of you was still plain as day, even with you using a legendary-grade magic sword.”
I, a new recruit, was expressing my genuine hopes for the future, yet Cyril mercilessly shot them down one by one. “Captain Cyril! Do you enjoy crushing the dreams of the young and hopeful?! I was only answering your question, so why are you tearing apart everything I say?!”
His eyes went wide as he realized his rudeness. Hanging his head, he said, “I apologize. I should encourage your growth, not discourage it. Yes, I’m sure in five…no, in fifty years, when I start to hunch, you’ll match my height. And by the time you reach my age… Well, given how unexpected things seem drawn to you, I’m sure you’ll find another legendary-grade magic sword and reach my level of strength.”
He smiled then, a soft look of relief. He seemed to honestly believe his words were encouraging. Meanwhile, I was starting to question his sanity. I shot him a glare, flustering him.
“Fia, I wouldn’t lie to you about such a thing. That was my honest appraisal of your potential growth.”
You’re kidding me. Surely there were tons of actual good things he could say about me!
“That’s all you’ve got?! I’m shocked! I found a flaw in our otherwise perfect captain! Despite being in a position of leadership, Captain Cyril has a fatal inability to praise people! Let me show you how it’s done… ‘Captain Cyril’s hair is so silky smooth, he doesn’t even need a brush! And he’s so good with a sword, he can just waltz over to the forest and hunt monsters if he ever gets hungry!’ Now that’s how you praise someone!” I tilted my chin up in triumph, but he just furrowed his brow at me.
“For praise, I certainly don’t feel particularly happy. Your example aside, I don’t believe my ability to offer praise stands to improve. There’s a qualitative difference between us in what can be praised, as one of us is lacking in noteworthy traits… Erm, no, I shouldn’t make excuses.” At my glare, Cyril quickly changed topics. “Incidentally, Fia, Cerulean has put in an official request to have you temporarily assigned as his personal guard. He may act arrogant, but he hasn’t actually made many demands like this up until now. He was utterly insistent he have you, and for a full month…”
Cyril’s eyebrow rose in question. I had to wonder how much he knew about Cerulean’s circumstances. I suspected he knew everything, even though I had no evidence to back that up. But just in case, I kept my answer vague.
“Cerulean is thinking of offering Colette a Rose of the Great Saint. He’s entrusted me with picking one out.”
“For Colette, you say…” Cyril nodded, seeming to understand something. I took that to mean he did indeed know the truth: that Colette was alive, only asleep with her time frozen.
Eventually, he narrowed his eyes and said, “I had a feeling something was up. The area with the Roses of the Great Saint is kept off-limits to most, but Cerulean requested permission for Lloyd and a few others to enter.”
Come to think of it, I did recall seeing knights standing guard around that area. They never stopped me, though. I tilted my head as I pondered over that thought. The first time I went there with Lloyd, he raised his hand as though signaling to the knights standing guard. Did that signal somehow extend permanent permission to me? Huh. I guess so. I just didn’t notice since Lloyd never mentioned it.
I shook off my musing and found Cyril studying the ground.
“If Cerulean is having you pick out a rose for Colette, then he and Lloyd must have decided to bet everything on you,” he said. “How peculiar. After a single audience with the king and one outing, you’ve captured their interest.” He smiled softly. “Ha ha. You must have been a terribly cute saint.”
I wisely kept my mouth tightly shut. He met my eyes again.
“In that case, I’d like you to indulge Cerulean’s wishes until he’s satisfied.”
I thought he was going to say I had no business playing around with a bunch of jesters, but he was surprisingly open-minded about the whole thing. “Huh? Really?” I said.
His smile wavered. “Indeed. Consider it a request from me as well. What happened may seem like a stand-alone incident, but that’s far from the truth. If it weren’t for the Lament of Sutherland, Colette might still be with us today.”
His words caught me off guard. I thought the whole Lament of Sutherland thing was done, but it seemed there was more to it than I knew. This clearly wasn’t the right moment to ask, however, so for now, I had to let it be.
Chapter 53: A Dinner with Saviz
Chapter 53:
A Dinner with Saviz
RECENTLY, I’D HAD MORE FREE TIME than I knew what to do with. My only regular task was pouring mana into the roses at the royal castle garden. Cerulean took me off royal family guard duties, claiming I needed to be in tip-top shape this month and couldn’t risk getting hurt during work—but I was a knight! It was weird that I’d basically become a gardener! What was the purpose of all those etiquette lessons and dance classes I suffered through to become a brilliant knight worthy of the First Knight Brigade?!
With such complaints in mind, I made my way to my new “gardening job,” only to find the knights guarding the perimeter weirdly on edge. I cocked my head, but understanding dawned once I entered the rose garden and saw who waited inside: the commander of the knight brigades himself, Saviz.
“Good morning, Commander Saviz. Have you come to see the flowers?” I asked as I approached.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Do I look like the type to have a taste for flowers?”
No, not in the slightest, I thought, but I couldn’t say such a thing, so instead I simply smiled. “I can’t presume to know you well enough to say.”
“What a shame. I should create opportunities for you to get to know me better then.” He didn’t crack a smile, so I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.
Hm, this was tough. Should I laugh and say, “Oh, you’re so funny,” or do I take the super serious route and say, “I would be honored, sir”?
In the end I went with the middle road and half smiled, but that only deepened his frown. Man, I just didn’t get him.
“Cerulean was supposed to treat you to a meal, but I hear he hasn’t fulfilled that obligation yet,” he said.
I vaguely recalled such a promise. “Oh, right, but I ate some of the royal castle’s cuisine instead, so it’s fine.”
Cerulean had planned to treat me to a luxurious dinner the day we went out disguised as jesters and a saint, but we ended up stopping by Earl Peiz’s place instead, derailing our dinner plans. We ate in Lloyd’s room in the royal castle afterward, which was close enough as far as I was concerned. Saviz didn’t seem pleased, however, and pursed his lips.
“The food you eat at the dining hall every day is also royal castle cuisine. He should be treating you to something new for once.”
He was technically correct, given that the food at the dining hall was served on castle grounds, and thus “royal castle cuisine,” but comparing the two was a stretch.
“The food served at the dining hall is just meat, meat, and more meat! And it’s all quantity over quality! It’s nothing like the refined and dainty portions of the royal castle. You can’t go around comparing food eaten with a knife and fork to that eaten with more fancy cutlery than you have fingers!”
In truth, I only used a single fork when I ate in Lloyd’s room, but Saviz didn’t need to know that. The food I ate in Lloyd’s room had the feel of fancy, dainty food that required all kinds of cutlery, and that was all that really mattered.
Saviz nodded at my zeal. “All right. Then why don’t you try royal castle cuisine that requires fancy cutlery once more? Come to the banquet hall at six tonight.”
“Huh?” My mouth dropped open at that reply. He had to be referring to that banquet hall, the glamorous one the royal family used. I was being invited to dine with none other than the knight brigades’ top dog.
“The king has business elsewhere, so it’ll just be you and me. I’ll overlook any poor dining etiquette, so please be at ease,” he said.
Poor dining etiquette? I’ll have you know I used to be a princess! I almost declined his offer before he went and challenged me. “Oho ho ho. You won’t find any breach in etiquette from me! My older sister trained me well.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps you can point out flaws in my etiquette instead. I’ll see you tonight. Wear something other than your uniform, as this isn’t part of your duties.”
Oh. Shoot. I missed my chance to turn him down, but it was already too late. He turned to walk away. Left with no other choice, I saluted.
“Yes, sir!”
Once he was out of sight, I let my shoulders droop and my head hang.
“Did he come to the rose garden just to invite me to dinner?” I wondered out loud.
If so, did he do it to fulfill the obligation Cerulean hadn’t? Perhaps he felt compelled to see it through since he’d suggested Cerulean treat me to a meal in the first place. But Saviz was an incredibly busy man. I kind of doubted he would care about something as trivial as this.
“How suspicious… But I feel like if the commander were plotting something, Captain Cyril would attend the dinner as well. Maybe he really was just trying to follow up on the obligation his older brother had failed to fulfill? Hmm… It’d be nice if there were an easy way to tell if he had something up his sleeve.”
As I thought out loud…
“Ack! I’ve really done it now!”
I snapped to my senses. I’d been on autopilot this whole time and started giving a rose my mana.
“Oh no! The effects of these rose petals change depending on what I’m thinking as I feed them my mana! Wh-what should I do? I probably just made a petal that causes you to dance if you’re thinking wicked thoughts!”
Cerulean would definitely be livid if I gave Colette tea made from such a petal. I refocused and earnestly thought about dispelling the sleep status effect for the rest of the mana-charging session.
Evening eventually rolled around.
I changed into the best clothes I had and entered the royal castle. The farther inside I went, the more dazzling my surroundings became, but perhaps I should have expected that from the royal family’s home. The polished floor was covered in a carpet so luxurious it felt wrong to step on it, and the pillars lining the corridor were made of some kind of shiny stone. Plinths placed evenly between them displayed vases and other old-looking decorations. I got the sense they were all super important too.
I gawked at my lavish surroundings, but the décor made sense, as Saviz was the king’s younger brother. Somehow, I was going to the banquet hall to eat with him—meaning I would partake in the same luxurious meal royalty ate! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I probably should’ve requested something I specifically wanted to try.
“How could I be so silly! I missed my chance to ask for meat and cake!”
Meat and cake made by the royal family’s own chefs had to be out of this world. I didn’t know what I’d do with myself if neither appeared on the menu tonight.
Finally reaching the banquet hall door, I prayed, “Aaaah, please, please, please! Let there be meat and cake tonight!”
***
Five minutes before the meeting time, I knocked on the door and entered to discover only Saviz inside. I scanned my surroundings warily. Saviz didn’t say anything about anyone joining us, but I knew better than to get my hopes up with the folks of the knight brigades. I half expected Cyril and Desmond to leap out.
To my surprise, it seemed like it really was just the two of us. Saviz stood in front of the mantelpiece wearing plain clothes.
“Oh? Wow! I didn’t know you wore anything other than your knight uniform!” I said. I’d never seen him in anything so casual.
“But of course. Would you be surprised to hear I have nightwear as well?” he said calmly.
…Of course he wore things other than his uniform. I simply only ever saw him during work.
Realizing my rudeness, I clasped my hands nervously. “F-forgive me! I just have a hard time imagining you in anything else because of how good your uniform looks on you!”
I looked him over in an effort to find a compliment about his casual wear and found myself genuinely admiring how handsome he looked tonight. He wore a collared shirt with a dark overcoat, a simple but stylish pairing. Despite the fineness of his clothing, the subdued colors tended toward dashing rather than pompous.
“I’d expect nothing less from you, Commander! Your incredible muscles make you look good in anything you wear!” I said.
He grinned slightly. “What a unique way of complimenting someone. Yes, it must be my muscles, and nothing else, that makes me look so good.”
I cocked my head, but he urged me to take a seat before I could figure out if I’d said something odd.
I glanced toward the side of the room as I sat. A number of maids were waiting on standby, but not a single knight. Given Saviz’s status, he should always have members of the First Knight Brigade guarding him. He must have dismissed them so I could enjoy the meal in peace.
“What would you like to drink?” he asked as I eagerly awaited the arrival of the food.
I thought it over. Typically, a server would present a list of all the liquors on hand at times like this, but it seemed the royal family didn’t mess around and I could name any drink I wanted. Truly impressive. The problem, however, was that I knew very little about liquor, brands, and other such things.
“Whatever you’re having!” I said. I figured it was better to leave things to someone who actually knew their liquor.
We began dining soon thereafter. The table held more cutlery than I could count on both hands and both feet. That must mean we had a wide variety of food coming our way! To think this was all happening because I said I wanted to eat a meal that required more cutlery than I could count on my fingers. Go me!
I joyfully pierced my food with a fork. It took only a single bite for me to understand that the castle chefs took their work very seriously. But perhaps that was to be expected. The best chefs using the best ingredients made this meal, so of course it was top of the line. It blew restaurant food away. I was really hitting the jackpot being treated to the castle’s cuisine instead of restaurant food!
“Mmm, delicious! I’ll probably never get a chance to try food made by the castle’s chefs again, so I should eat till I’m ready to burst!” I declared.
The food was phenomenal. I always thought nothing could taste better than meat and cake, but even the vegetables, mushrooms, and fish blew my mind.
Come to think of it, I’d eaten this kind of stuff every day in my past life, hadn’t I? Hard to believe.
Saviz grinned as I shoveled food into my mouth. “It’s hard to believe you’re smaller than me with how much you can eat.”
I sipped my drink between eating and chatting. “Heh heh heh. I may seem small now, but I plan on growing several inches soon! My pigging out is an investment in my future!”
He stared at me. “…How old are you?”
“Fifteen!”
“Right. So I hadn’t misremembered… Fia, physique is important for us knights, but it isn’t everything.”
“Pardon?”
Was he trying to comfort me? Before I could wonder too long, he said, “If there’s anything you want more of, simply name it and I’ll have someone bring it.”
What a generous boss Saviz was! But with all the cutlery laid out, I doubted I’d be able to finish the dishes still to come if I ordered seconds of anything, so I held off.
After several more dishes, it was finally time for the meat. I clenched my fists in anticipation as a maid set a large plate before me. Three different kinds of meat awaited my ravenous stomach.
Whoa! How lavish! The meat looked wonderful. Of course, the true test would be the flavor, but I had faith it’d live up to my expectations. Excitedly, I selected a piece, letting it melt in my mouth. “What?! Meat can melt?! I can’t believe it. I’ve been alive for fifteen years, and I’m still discovering new things!”
Saviz smiled and said, “That would be quite the surprise. I’ve been alive for twenty-seven years, and I’ve never experienced meat melting in my mouth.”
“Then I guess I’ve experienced more than you have in my short fifteen years!” I laughed. A maid waiting behind me refilled my dwindling wine glass. “And my wine glass keeps being refilled when there’s a third left. Perfect timing! I can drink more comfortably than I ever have before.”
By the time the ice cream and cake arrived, my stomach only had enough room for dessert. Or rather, I thought my stomach was full, but the moment I laid eyes on dessert, I discovered a whole new capacity within me. The human body was truly a marvel.
“Whew. I’ve filled my stomach without leaving a bit of space! I must be a food-packing genius!” I said, having discovered a new hidden talent.
Saviz raised an eyebrow. “Your appetite is really something else. I thought you’d leave half the food behind, but you actually ate everything. I have to wonder where all that food and liquor fits inside your body.”
“Heh heh heh. I told you, it’s all invested into my future self! In other words, the fact that I can eat this much is proof I’m going to grow taller!”
He toyed with an empty wine glass, seeming bewildered before he set it aside and met my eyes.
I cocked my head. “Heh heh heh. Is something the matter, Commander?”
Was he captivated by my beauty? Or maybe I had sauce on my face? Figuring it was more likely the latter, I wiped my face with my hands, but he cut in with something unexpected.
“Fia, Cerulean isn’t imposing an undue burden on you, is he?”
“Huh?” I sat up a little straighter.
His look was level. “By nature, Cerulean is affable and knows how to keep a respectful distance, but all that crumbles when Colette is involved.”
Oh shoot. This sounds kind of serious. I sat up straighter as well. I had drunk a lot of wine by this point and was conscious of the fact I might not be able to process a difficult conversation…but I gulped down another mouthful to calm my nerves.
The maid behind me quickly topped off my wine glass. Not wanting to be rude, I drank yet another mouthful. Glup glup.
“Cerulean noticed your potential and is relying on your help, but this was originally a matter he and Dolly were meant to handle themselves. The entirety of the responsibility lies with them for gambling on you, so don’t let the end result weigh on you, whatever it might be.”
Water prickled at the backs of my eyes. “Aww, you’re trying to cheer me up before I even fail! I’m so lucky to have such a kind commander!”
He narrowed his eyes and said, “Fia, I can’t help but notice you’ve been saying every single thing that comes to mind for a while now.”
He was right. I had started to notice it myself, in fact.
I spread my arms and said, “I have nothing to hide from our great commander, so there’s no reason I should hesitate to speak each and every one of my thoughts freely!”
He cocked his head. “I see… I just hope you won’t regret it tomorrow morning.”
Warmed by his kindness, I smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t! I’ve drunk too much, so I definitely, definitely won’t remember a single thing from tonight! There’ll be nothing to regret!”
He flinched but soon collected himself and nodded. “That’s…quite the positive mindset you have.”
Chapter 54: A Dinner or a Saint Debate?
Chapter 54:
A Dinner or a Saint Debate?
THE PRAISE LEFT ME SO ELATED I completely forgot what we were talking about. Shoot.
“Uhh… What were we discussing again?”
“I was wondering if Cerulean might be imposing on you,” Saviz answered flatly.
What a kind, patient man he was to remind me. I was so moved in that moment that I thought he might be the kindest boss in the world.
He turned to the maid behind him and requested fruit water for me.
I take it back, I thought with a scowl. No kind man would take this delicious wine from me and try to replace it with flavored water! Before the maid could take my wine away, I gripped my brimming glass tight.
“Oh, right,” I said. “I’m Cerulean’s apprentice now, so I kind of have to do anything he says. But that’s fine! I willingly chose to become his apprentice.”
It all started when I learned Saviz was getting married. I wanted to give him an excellent performance at his wedding celebration, so I apprenticed myself to the jesters.
“I became his apprentice because I wanted to put on a good show for your celebration, so even if Cerulean does impose a lot on me, I’ll just think of it as a test of my love for my commander! It’ll be fine! Yep, yep.” I put a hand over my heart as though swearing an oath.
Saviz lifted his hand. Without a moment’s delay, the maids scurried out of the room. They left a glass of fruit water before me and, as I had feared, removed the wine bottle.
Nooo. If they were taking the liquor away, then perhaps things were winding down for the night. I sipped despondently on my last glass of wine as Saviz questioned me.
“What do you mean by ‘my celebration’?”
“Heh heh heh, you know what I mean. I heard how you’ve waited ten whole years for one woman! Since you’re marrying Náv’s greatest saint, I’ve apprenticed myself to Cerulean to put on the best possible performance for you!”
…Whoooops. I went and said it. This was supposed to be a surprise, but I revealed everything prematurely.
I watched carefully for his reaction, but he just narrowed his eyes.
“H-huh? What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.” I tilted my head.
He replied in his usual low voice. Nice and husky. “I see. I doubt you could’ve come to that conclusion yourself, so it must’ve been Fabian. Your friend is quite sharp.”
“Uhhhh…” Confused, I tilted my head to the other side.
He gulped down his wine in one go, then set the empty glass on the table. “If you won’t remember a single thing from tonight, then I might as well speak my true thoughts… The truth is, there’s not one thing worth celebrating about marrying someone as selfish, self-righteous, and attention-seeking as a saint. The thought alone curdles my blood.”
“Huh?! It’s not like you to say such a biased thing! N-not all saints are the same! I mean, I know at least Charlotte’s a good girl. And shouldn’t you marry someone you like since you’re going to be with them for the rest of your life?”
“Marriage is an act of duty for me. If it weren’t required of me, I’d live my life as a bachelor.”
“What?! B-but maybe it’s kind of good you have such a duty then. Being with someone is definitely more fun than being alone.” At the very least, my life had become a whole lot more fun ever since Zavilia entered it. Having someone to talk about your day with and to laugh and get angry with made life all the more enjoyable.
Saviz didn’t seem to agree, though. “I see things differently. I find being alone fulfilling… Incidentally, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you. You previously said that saints were meant to be the knights’ shields. Do you still hold such an opinion?”
I didn’t quite get why he was asking this again, but I answered immediately. My opinion hadn’t changed after three hundred years, so it certainly wouldn’t change after only half a year.
“Of course! My feelings haven’t changed at all! Saints are the knights’ shields, always there to help them.”
“I see…” Disappointment soured his tone.
Maybe he wanted me to say something else, to tell him I hated saints, but I could never do that. From the bottom of my heart, I truly believed saints were something wonderful.
“Commander Saviz, I’m sure you simply haven’t met a proper saint yet.”
A proper saint could protect knights with ease and make them many times stronger in battle. As impartial and fair as he was, there was no way Saviz could hate a proper saint.
“If only you could go to battle with a proper saint, then you would understand what I mean…” I said. But there was no way I could be the one to go with him, so what could I do about it? I folded my arms and thought hard, and soon he tapped the table with a finger.
“Like the saints of three hundred years ago? The knight brigades had a brigade with saints in it back then. I’m sure they must have fought alongside knights, just like you envision.”
“Oh, yes, exactly!” I said. He really knew his stuff if he was familiar with the brigades of three hundred years ago.
“But we lost such saints long ago,” he continued, “and I am not one to pine for the old days. Either way, we can’t expect anything of the saints of today.”
“Perhaps.”
With the spirits gone, the mana saints could access was very limited. It didn’t help that the very existence of saints had become warped; they’d forgotten the proper way. Plus…
“With the church controlling when and where they can use healing magic, it’s become harder for talented saints to appear. Just as one needs to wield a sword to improve, saints can’t grow if they don’t heal. If anything, they’ll lose their skill from lack of use,” I said.
Even so, I wanted Saviz to know what it was like to fight with a proper saint. Just once would be enough, I was sure, for his opinion to change.
“I hope you can meet a proper saint someday. I’m certain your views would do a complete 180!”
Saviz frowned. “You’re a child. That’s why you can speak of ideals with such hope in your eyes. You haven’t yet experienced what it’s like to see your wishes unfulfilled and feel helpless in the face of reality.”
His eyes grew distant and he fell silent, as though recalling the past.
Perhaps he was remembering what happened with Cerulean and Colette, or Cyril and his mother, or maybe it was something that happened to him personally. Maybe he was thinking of something else entirely. I had no way of knowing, but his expression hurt to look at regardless.
I had a feeling I wasn’t meant to say anything in this moment, but I couldn’t help myself. Staring down at the table, I said, “You’re right. Some wishes do go unfulfilled, but if you don’t give up and keep trying, they might come true one day. At least, that’s what I tell myself.”
When he didn’t respond, I looked up, only to find him staring straight at me.
It might have been because I was drunk, or because the room resembled the one I had dined in so much with him, but in that moment I saw Sirius, the strongest knight of three hundred years ago, overlapped with Saviz. He, too, had stood as a pillar of the knight brigades and bore the heavy responsibility that came with that. I could only watch him back then, but it was clear just how great of a burden Sirius’s position imposed. He always had me to smile and shed tears with, but Saviz had nobody.
Unable to accept that sad fact, I spoke before I could contain myself. “You say you refuse to accept the way saints are, but you bring them up again and again anyway. I think saints are actually something dear to you, you just haven’t realized it yet. If you ever find yourself at the end of your rope and need a saint, come find me. I’ll show you what a proper saint looks like.”
He stared at me for a while. Eventually, for confirmation, he said, “You believe you can show me a saint that meets the ideals you speak of?”
“I do,” I answered, meeting his gaze.
Interlude: The Captains Visit the Royal Villa
Interlude:
The Captains Visit the Royal Villa
IF ONE TRAVELS DUE WEST from the royal capital, they’ll eventually reach Set Beach at the edge of the continent. Thanks to its long and beautiful coast of clear-blue waters, Set Beach became a popular tourist destination in the summer, but it also played host to the royal family’s villa, the Set Villa, where King Laurence and Commander Saviz’s mother, Queen Dowager Hyacinthe, lived with a number of other saints.
Three captains—Quentin, Clarissa, and Zackary—paid a visit to Set Villa in order to escort the queen back to the royal capital. They did not immediately enter the building itself, however, but instead stopped at the entrance and glared at the door. Not a single one so much as twitched.
Clarissa broke the silence first in a bid to end the deadlock. “Quentin, you’re the youngest. Be a good boy and open the door for me all cheerful-like.”
Quentin recoiled. “Er, a youngblood like me has no business here. First impressions are important, so the most senior of us should be the one to do it. That’s you, Zackary.”
Zackary laughed dryly and said, “Very funny! But a brusque man like myself can’t be the one to intrude in a woman’s domain like the Set Villa. The one to open this door should be a lady like the queen dowager. In other words, you, Clarissa.”
As all three insisted on somebody other than themselves making the first move, a voice from behind interrupted the stalemate.
“My, how rare it is for the captains of the capital to come all this way.”
They tensed as they spun toward the voice. A second later, they were dropping to one knee and bowing their heads.
“It has been a while, Your Majesty Hyacinthe.” Zackary spoke for the group without delay, as though they hadn’t been bickering over who would take on the role mere seconds prior.
“Indeed, it has. I’m happy to see such nostalgic faces again. Please, lift your heads.”
With permission, the three raised their heads to regard the queen. As undeniably beautiful as ever, she held red hyacinth flowers that contrasted with her white dress. Her red hair spilled freely down her back. As always, one eye was hidden behind a curtain of bangs.
Hiding one eye had the strange effect of drawing attention to her hair, an intentional effort to highlight its vibrant color. Clarissa couldn’t help but admire how the queen dowager picked the one hairstyle that highlighted her most charming point.
Zackary began to explain the purpose of the knights’ visit. “Forgive our sudden visit first thing in the morning. Under His Majesty the King’s orders, we have come to escort Your Majesty to the royal capital. As it has been some time since we’ve last had the honor to meet with you, allow me to reintroduce us. I am Zackary, and these two are Clarissa and Quentin.”
Hyacinthe nodded, smiling tenderly. “Laurence gave the order, did he? Oh, how he’s grown. Has he been keeping well? I hope his heart hasn’t become childish as well, and that he’s finally given his pranks a rest.”
The three met her playful comment with blank, stony expressions. According to the last report they read, Cerulean had dressed up like a jester and gone to town with Fia, a new knight recruit. That news would only serve to reinforce the queen’s fears, but they had no reason to tell her about it, so instead Zackary said, “He is as admirable a king as ever.”
With a soft gaze, the queen said, “And how is Saviz? He’s always been one to feel a strong sense of duty. I can only hope he hasn’t overworked himself.”
She sounded genuinely concerned, so Zackary reassured her. “Commander Saviz is as hale as ever. He remains steadfast as our leader, ever guiding us.”
“Is that so? Good. Since I live so far away, I’m counting on you three to be there to support him.”
“We shall serve him with all our hearts!” The three captains lowered their heads and responded in unison.
They were then led into the villa and brought to a spacious parlor. They stood in a corner and watched as Hyacinthe spoke with a group of saints. She lived in this villa with five saints plus several maids, the knights of her royal guard, chefs, and gardeners, and she appeared to be in the middle of giving instructions for their departure.
Incidentally, she called her royal guard, composed of about a half dozen knights, the Royal Red Flower. They wore a smoky-purple uniform contrasted with touches of dark red and stood guard around her in a tight circle.
As the knights of the Royal Red Flower and Black Dragon Knights rarely met, the captains eyed the queen’s guard curiously. After some observation, Zackary and Clarissa turned their gazes forward and spoke quietly and discreetly.
“Her Majesty’s knights are all real lookers,” Zackary said. “Their faces put the Black Dragon Knights to shame.”
“Not necessarily,” Clarissa said. “If you ignore their personalities and judge solely by appearances, Cyril, Desmond, Kurtis, and even Quentin, among many others from our brigades, are quite fetching. Even you put up a good fight with your manly features, Zackary.”
“Hmm, you bring up a good point. Our knights have such strong quirks, one forgets what their faces look like. We don’t have a single knight as meek- and harmless-looking as Her Majesty’s royal guard, so it’s safe to say we lose from an aesthetic standpoint. Either way, her knights are way too lanky. There’s no way they can swing those swords properly.”
Just as Zackary claimed, the knights of the Royal Red Flower were all tall but thin. To the captains, they sorely lacked muscle. But perhaps such knights were perfectly suited for standing guard in this all-woman environment. Reaching that conclusion, the captains continued to observe while Hyacinthe talked to her people.
She explained that only one saint would stay behind in the villa while the rest would accompany her to the capital. Her saints listened intently, admiration clear in their bright eyes, while her knights attended her with pride and devotion.
Though the captains of the Black Dragon Knights were far from fond of Hyacinthe, the same could not be said for those closest to her. That’s the Healing Flower of Náv for you, the captains thought simultaneously.
Zackary quietly added, “The current head saint’s extremely popular with the citizens. I suppose we should take extra care to ensure she makes it to the capital without a scratch.”
“We should be doing our utmost anyway, no matter who it is we’re escorting,” Quentin chided.
“Right. You got me there,” Zackary said.
As the villa had been informed beforehand of the captains’ arrival, they were already set to leave. It took only an hour after the three’s arrival for Hyacinthe, four saints, a number of maids, and her royal guard to set off for the royal capital. Guarding them were two dozen knights from the Black Dragon Knights, including the three captains.
Chapter 55: The Saints of the Royal Castle
Chapter 55:
The Saints of the Royal Castle
“OH? WHY AM I in my bed?”
I sat up, confused. The last thing I recalled was drinking with Saviz.
“Shoot. My memory of last night cuts out at some point. I remember drinking a bottle of that wine Commander Saviz recommended, but nothing after that. We were only halfway through dinner by that point. Maybe I don’t remember anything because I went home? Nah, that’s unlikely…”
There was no way I would miss a chance to try the royal castle’s meat and cake…not that I could remember if there was any on the menu.
I glanced outside to check the sun’s position, then grimaced. It was already close to noon, so odds were I had dined late with Saviz. It might have been a holiday, but sleeping in late like this was rare. I must have eaten and drunk a lot if I wasn’t hungry after all this sleeping.
It took me a bit to work up the courage to look at Zavilia, who lay balled up on my knees. “Zavilia, I need to ask you something, but let me start by saying I don’t need the whole truth, just enough to set me at ease, so go easy on me. What kind of state was I in last night? Did I say anything weird?”
He blinked at me, then tilted his head to the side. “You were in rather high spirits. You said you told that commander of yours he could count on you whenever he’s in trouble.”
“What?! I would never say something so outrageous to the leader of the knight brigades! I’m a humble sort of person who knows her place! Or at least I should be…”
I shot down the possibility immediately, but then paused to reconsider. I didn’t remember much of last night, so it was hard to entirely dismiss Zavilia’s report.
“Hmm, I wonder what kind of conversation could have led me to say such a thing. I would never say something like that to the commander under normal circumstances, so I must’ve had a reason.”
I folded my arms and tried as hard as I could to remember last night.
“Did the commander encounter some trouble? Hmm… But what kind of trouble? Maybe he lost a drinking battle against me? …No way. Commander Saviz is really good with his liquor. Then maybe Captain Quentin and Captain Desmond’s eccentric behavior worried him. It’s possible. Just the other day, they…”
I was still mumbling to myself when Zavilia seemed to recall something.
“Come to think of it, you mentioned telling that commander of yours you would be too drunk to remember anything, so you wouldn’t feel any shame, at which point he commended you for your positive mindset.”
“Really? I said that to him?” That was a pretty important piece of the puzzle.
“You did, you did. I remember thinking he probably wasn’t actually commending you…”
“Is that so?” I could have done without that little addition to his explanation, but this was valuable information, so I hugged Zavilia tight. “Yay! I can’t believe I made sure to tell the commander I lose my memories when I get drunk! This works out perfectly, Zavilia!”
“It does?” He gave me a doubtful look.
I nodded vigorously. “It does! Commander Saviz is an understanding boss, so he won’t hold any promises I made while drunk against me.”
I was in the clear! I didn’t have to worry about what I might’ve said last night after all!
“You have a rather positive mindset indeed…” Zavilia muttered.
“You think so too?” Happy at the praise, I stroked his head.
Spirits high, I changed and made for the dining hall to snag a late breakfast.
I left the women’s dormitory and started toward the dining hall but encountered Desmond along the way. I hoped to escape with a brisk greeting, but he tagged along all the way to the dining hall for some reason.
Suspecting he might be after my food again, I glared up at him. “Captain Desmond, I’ve told you before, this is the dining hall for ordinary knights. You have your own dining hall for captains, and it has better, more delicious food made specifically for you!”
He took a tray and began chucking food onto it as though totally unaware. He seemed intent on eating here. I guess I could be happy he wasn’t after my food, at least.
“Fia, a dining hall is a dining hall. The food’s roughly the same. It’s not like we’re served food meant for the royal family like in the castle.”
Something about the way he said that bothered me. I glared at him as he piled food high on his tray and took a seat in front of me.
“You must’ve drunk yourself silly if you’re getting breakfast at such an odd hour, but that’s fine. The problem is whatever you said to the commander during your dinner. According to the knights assigned as his guard, he spent a long time in the garden afterward just staring at the moon, even though he isn’t normally the type to do such a thing!”
“Huh?!” How in the world did Desmond know I had dinner with Saviz? Then again, it was his job to know everything, which often resulted in him scolding me. Like right now…
My mind wandered until I felt a sharp gaze on me and looked up. Desmond was glaring, apparently angered that my mind meandered to something else before responding to him.
He wasn’t going to stop glaring until I replied, so I racked my brain to recall what happened last night in order to deflect his piercing gaze, but nothing came to me no matter how hard I tried.
“Uhhh, right. With me being such an exemplary knight, I probably complimented him on how handsome he looked and thanked him for choosing such an excellent wine?”
I used what little I recalled to lob out a harmless answer, but Desmond’s eyebrows rose. “Y-you did what?! Nobody in their right mind would call the commander handsome to his face, even if they did think it! This is the commander of the knight brigades we’re talking about here! A-and you had him choose your drink for you?! You can do that yourself!”
“Huh?!” I sat up straighter. Why was Desmond nitpicking something like that? He made it sound like I lacked common sense! I decided it’d be best to keep my surprise at seeing Saviz in clothes other than his uniform to myself.
Desmond sighed. “Well, whatever. Those things are problematic, sure, but it’s still within normal parameters for you. The commander is magnanimous enough to overlook it, so that can’t be the reason. You must’ve said something even more outlandish. Just what could you have said that would make him stand in the garden for so long?”
That was what I wanted to know.
I muttered, “Right, um… I might’ve said he could count on me if he ever had any problems?”
His eyes shot wide. “That’s it! How could you say such a thing to him?! Aaah, you might as well have said he looked so pathetic he needed someone like you to help him! He must’ve been shocked out of his mind! Just stop and think for a moment, won’t you, Fia?! Never in a hundred years would the commander ever need your help!”
With a huff I said, “Well, I don’t know about that! I don’t know if you’re aware, but it just so happens Cerulean and Dolly have been counting on me to help them for all kinds of things lately! And seeing as Commander Saviz is related to Cerulean…”
I said no more, smiling triumphantly instead. Desmond gaped, his mouth hanging open. “Wha… You… No, stop, leave Commander Saviz be! If you make him of all people go weird, I’ll make sure you hear about it for all eternity!”
No way. Desmond lacked the attention span to stick to one thing for long, so how was he supposed to pester me for all eternity?
“I understand,” I said with mock sadness and wiped an imaginary tear from my eye. “I have no choice but to relent if you’re going to threaten me, even though I love the commander dearly.”
“Don’t tease me!” he snapped, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “Wait. Clarissa did say in a recent meeting that you were gunning for him…” He clammed up again and blushed like a maiden. “W-wait, you’re serious?!”
“What? Of course I’m serious. But if you don’t want me doing things for him, then we’ll have to find a new performer for his celebration. Since you’re the one being so insistent, you should take responsibility and…”
I had fully given up on performing and was going let Desmond take my place beside Cerulean for Saviz’s wedding celebration, but then Desmond stared right past me.
Sheesh. There’s that short attention span. Exasperated, I glared steadily at him, but he paid me no mind and pointed behind me. Frustrated, I said, “Captain Desmond, we’re having an important discussion here. Can you ignore whatever amusing thing has distracted you?”
“Fia, look. It’s…Saint Priscilla.”
“Huh?” I spun around and, sure enough, Priscilla was standing at the dining hall’s entrance with Lloyd.
***
“I guess they’ve come to eat?” I said, blurting the first thought that came to mind. This dining hall was for knights, but I could believe Priscilla might want to eat here too.
Desmond frowned. “No way. Lloyd has been staring at you almost without blinking. He’s definitely here for you.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense.” I’d visited the Alcott manor the other day but only spoke with Priscilla a little. They must’ve come by so I could talk to her some more!
I sprang up and went to greet them. Ever polite, Desmond followed.
“Hello, Lloyd, Saint Priscilla.”
Lloyd beamed. “Hello, Fia. I see you have the day off. I hate to bother you, but Priscilla and I plan on paying a visit to the saints of the royal castle. I know Saint Charlotte is your friend, so I figured I’d ask if you’d like to join us.”
“Absolutely, I’d love to!” I said immediately.
Today was shaping up to be a great day! I was going to meet the saints of the royal castle, not just Priscilla!
All smiles, I turned to Desmond. “Captain Desmond, I’ll be leaving now to go visit the saints.”
I had already finished my breakfast, so I had no reason to delay. Desmond looked like he was about to say something, but Lloyd spoke up first.
“How interesting. You claim to have no interest in women, but it seems Fia is the one exception. I’ve encountered you two eating alone together twice now. Do you perhaps eat together every day?”
Despite the obvious teasing, Desmond rushed to refute him. “Hell no! And it’s not just me she eats with! Just last night, she…” Desmond’s voice stalled.
“Yes?” Lloyd awaited Desmond’s next words, eyes glinting, but the latter clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.
“Never mind. More importantly, if you’re taking Fia with you, you should probably have her change into her knight uniform.”
Watching this exchange made me feel like Desmond wanted to keep my dinner with Saviz under wraps. That worked for me. I couldn’t remember what I talked about with Saviz, so if someone asked me how things went, I’d be hard-pressed to answer!
I appraised my attire: Since I wasn’t working today, I’d thrown on casual clothes. Maybe Desmond was right and I should change into my uniform.
However, Lloyd waved to dismiss Desmond’s suggestion. “It’ll be fine, I’m not bringing Fia along to escort us as a knight. Oh, but I suppose she might be mistaken for a saint if she wears that white dress she has on.”
He smirked, apparently amused by the idea. He probably thought me being mistaken for a saint would be a good jab at the real saints… Which was par for the course for him, I suppose.
First Cyril, then Lloyd… So many people had mixed feelings toward the saints. I was really getting tired of it. Hopefully it ended with these two!
Just like that, I wound up tagging along with Lloyd and Priscilla, but the latter wasn’t all that talkative. She hadn’t been last time either. Perhaps she was just the quiet type. She mostly nodded along to whatever Lloyd said until we reached the royal villa, where the saints lived.
“I hardly ever encounter any saints because their villa’s all the way in the back of the castle grounds,” I murmured to no one in particular.
Lloyd grinned. “That works out for everyone involved. It is better to admire them from afar than to see what they’re really like up close. The mystique lends them beauty, wouldn’t you say?”
He was gutsy, using such sarcasm right in front of Priscilla, a saint. Instead of replying, I took in the villa before me while Lloyd spoke with the knights at the entrance.
A man, likely a butler, appeared and led us inside. We followed him down a long corridor while Lloyd explained the purpose of our visit.
“Today, I’m hoping to have the saints show us how they normally spend their time. I used my influence to arrange this, so technically we’re here on official business. Try to put on your best ‘at-work’ face, okay?”
I couldn’t help being impressed. Oooh wow. That’s a duke for you. He’s not afraid to brandish his influence when he needs to.
The butler took us to a spacious parlor awash in sunlight. Peeking around Lloyd, I spotted about a dozen saints sitting here and there on the sofas. A few read or chatted in groups, while others examined bottles filled with medicinal herbs or gazed out the window.
I was still taking them in when a distant voice called, “Fia!”
Charlotte skipped over to me. She smiled and said, “I heard the duke was bringing a saint raised in the cathedral, but I didn’t think you would be coming too, Fia!”
I returned her smile. “I have the day off, so Lloyd invited me to come along.”
“Lloyd?” She cocked her head in confusion. Amused, Lloyd gave her a little wave. Her eyes went wide as she realized “Lloyd” referred to Duke Alcott. “Fia, you’re on a first-name basis with the duke?! That wasn’t the case when we went to his manor together. You’re amazing! You can become fast friends with anybody!”
I tilted my head to the side. “Weeeell, this is more a case of a bunch of weird coincidences lining up. To keep it simple, I became friends with Lloyd after becoming a jester apprentice.”
“Huh?” Her eyebrows rose, and I couldn’t blame her.
“Basically, I was doing one thing and a completely unexpected result came of it.”
“Oh, I see.” She almost certainly didn’t understand, but she let it be regardless. What a good girl she was. I patted her head as a reward.
A brown-haired saint in her early twenties approached us. She walked straight to Lloyd and introduced herself. “I am Dorothée Auber, saint. I manage the saints of this villa. A total of twenty live here. Of them, ten are currently dispatched to Starfall Forest with the knights.”
“Ah, I see. No wonder there were fewer saints than I expected,” Lloyd said.
Dorothée glanced up at him and said, “I was told you would be observing us today. Would you mind introducing yourselves before I show you around?”
“Not at all. A gentleman like me would never forgo introductions.” He took in the room. At some point, all the saints had stopped whatever they were doing to regard us. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I recently adopted Priscilla, a saint from the cathedral. I brought her here today in hopes she could observe how the saints of the royal castle live. And this is Fia.”
The saints looked Priscilla up and down, then for some reason did the same with me. Oh my. These ladies are brimming with curiosity! This warranted a cheerful greeting. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Fia Ruud.”
Only silence followed, with not a single saint so much as twitching.
***
None of the saints reacted to my greeting, and I began to wonder if I was wrong about their curiosity. Abruptly, however, a single saint applauded. Charlotte clapped as hard as she could with her small hands, trying to make me feel welcome amid the stony silence.
It was a bit odd to receive applause for introducing myself, especially when I was a nobody only here to observe, but I appreciated it. The saint standing next to Charlotte chided her, however.
I wanted to say something. She was being scolded for my sake, after all. But Lloyd spoke up before I could. “Please don’t be too hard on her. Saint Charlotte was only trying to make us feel welcome, and I quite appreciate it.”
The saint that chided Charlotte paled, turning her head away with a huff. Lloyd grinned wryly at Charlotte.
Dorothée silently watched this all unfold, then picked up where she left off like nothing had happened. “Few women are blessed enough to call themselves saints. If you discount the saints of the cathedral and some large churches, we twenty of the royal castle are the only saints who exist. Our three main duties are joining the knights on their expeditions, curing the sick, and creating healing potions.”
I cocked my head. Something was off in her explanation. If curing the sick was part of their main duties, then why hadn’t they healed Earl Peiz’s daughter Ester? Earl Peiz should have been able to leverage his noble status to request the saints of the royal castle heal his daughter.
My question must have shone on my face because Lloyd turned to me and elaborated on what Dorothée had said. “The duties of the royal castle saints are limited to the royal castle. As healing the sick requires a great deal of mana, they generally only do it for members of the royal family. If a high-ranking noble or minister found themselves on death’s door while in the royal castle they might receive healing, but otherwise they would not.”
We’d needed three saints to heal one person on that monster-hunting expedition I joined. If that was standard, then healing diseases had to require many times more saints. It made sense then that they would limit who had access to healing.
“Oh, I see,” I said with a nod.
Lloyd threw his hands up and said, “It’s a real shame. Twenty may be a lot compared to other institutions, but given the size of the royal castle, it really isn’t enough. They can’t spare a single saint to help others.”
Oh, so there are way fewer saints than I thought. Half of all women were saints three hundred years ago, so that’s a bit of a surprise…
Lloyd grinned sarcastically. “Those who receive their blessing probably don’t even realize how lucky they are, but the fact that saints accompany the knight brigades on their expeditions at all shows how much preferential treatment they enjoy because of the queen dowager being the head saint.”
Come to think of it, when I went monster hunting with Red, Green, and Blue, I was surprised that they fought without letting themselves get hurt. I asked why they fought so carefully, and they said it was because saints only work with royalty and nobility and would never join up with adventurers. Healing potions took time to work as well, so it was better to focus on not getting hurt than risk it. In other words, the fact that saints joined us knights on our expeditions was the exception, not the rule.
“Wow. Saints are really rare, huh?” I murmured.
Lloyd nodded. “Indeed. And the head saint stands at the top of those very few saints in what is a tiny hierarchical society. As a general rule, a saint can’t defy a higher-ranking saint’s orders.”
“I see. So it’s like the knight brigades!”
I remembered learning a while ago that the saints were ranked by ability. I’d assumed that ranking was established when they selected the head saint. But if they only held a head saint selection every couple of decades, could one’s ranking never change until the next one? Where did new saints like Charlotte fit in?
A flurry of questions swirled in my head, but I didn’t want to bring them up in front of Charlotte, so I stuffed down my queries for later.
Cyril, Desmond, Kurtis, Fabian, Cerulean… There were tons of people who could answer my questions later. How nice it was to live in a world filled with smart people! Even if I couldn’t count myself among the brainiacs, it didn’t matter since I could ask them about whatever I wanted to know. It went to show that having ties to smart people was more important than actually being smart.
I giggled proudly at this grand truth. Lloyd sighed down at me for some reason.
He collected himself and asked Dorothée, “Incidentally, what are the saints doing in this room?”
Dorothée glanced around the parlor before regarding Lloyd. “As we saints are bound by our mana, we limit ourselves to only using a certain amount per day. After occasions where we use up much of our mana, like expeditions, we refrain from using magic for three whole days. For that reason, we pursue non-magical means of refining ourselves.”
Like what? I wondered, blinking.
Lloyd seemed to understand and smiled. “Ah, I see. That saint reading by the window must be improving her knowledge of medicinal herbs, I take it?”
“That is correct,” Dorothée answered. “There are eighty-two varieties of medicinal herbs, and some look like common weeds or can only be found in specific locations, so we learn them by reading a field guide and comparing it to real specimens.”
A table near the sofas was laden with books and a basket of medicinal herbs. “They’re quite passionate, aren’t they?” Lloyd observed, but I ignored his admiration of the saints as something else caught my eye…
I met Charlotte’s eyes. She’d been staring at me restlessly.
Right. I was surprised before when she told me there were only eighty-two known kinds of medicinal herbs. There had been far more back when I was the Great Saint, but it seemed something had happened in the past three hundred years. Of course, varieties beyond the eighty-two still existed, but knowledge of them had been lost. They were seen as common weeds now. It was a real shame. In the past, we’d had about three or four hundred known varieties of medicinal herbs, but these folks knew of less than half that.
I tuned back into the conversation as Priscilla drew herself up to respond to Lloyd. “I’ve actually memorized every single medicinal herb in the field guides.”
“That’s incredible. Have you used all eighty-two varieties before?” Lloyd asked.
Priscilla hemmed and hawed, then, somewhat prickly, replied, “Well, of the eighty-two, around twenty are extremely difficult to obtain. Furthermore, of that twenty, five are incredibly rare, enough so that the field guides says one would be lucky to see even one in their lifetime.”
I glanced at Charlotte again. In the past, she’d asked for some uncommon medicinal herbs from Sutherland as a gift, and I brought back a few I thought she might like. Instead of thanks, I encountered shock, however, as I brought her things that were apparently all listed as super rare in her field guide.
I had brought back three medicinal herbs in total: a yellow snowdrop, a red sweetfruit (the actually sweet kind), and an ocean perilla. I only chose them because I thought an assortment of yellow, red, and green would be pretty, so I was surprised to learn of their rarity.
I clamped my mouth shut and studied my feet, thinking I should avoid saying something and unintentionally causing a scene, when a saint—likely irked by Priscilla’s haughty attitude—mockingly spoke up. “Oh, but they can’t be that rare. I mean, even a child like Charlotte easily found some of those supposedly super rare medicinal herbs.”
“Pardon?” Priscilla looked sharply at Charlotte, who jumped in surprise.
Charlotte floundered until a saint behind her spoke up on her behalf, a mocking lilt in her tone. “That’s right, Charlotte obtained a yellow snowdrop, a red sweetfruit, and an ocean perilla! Oho ho ho! I do believe the field guild lists all of them as among the most difficult to obtain, no?”
Ah, so Charlotte had shared them with everyone. Come to think of it, that made sense. It wasn’t like her to monopolize something so precious for herself.
I took in the saints of the royal castle as Priscilla glared furiously at their self-satisfied smirks. Meanwhile, Charlotte hung her head.
***
“What’s with this hostility?” I wondered aloud as Priscilla and the saints clashed in the parlor.
Not only were there fewer saints now compared to three hundred years ago, but they’d lost a good deal of knowledge and technique. Rather than bickering, they should have been sharing knowledge. Besides, fighting was no fun.
Priscilla turned on Charlotte. “A yellow snowdrop, a red sweetfruit, and an ocean perilla?! Not even the cathedral sees those very often! You’re telling me you found all three? I find that hard to believe. How exactly did you obtain them?”
“H-huh? Well…” Charlotte clammed up. It seemed she wasn’t sure whether to mention me or not.
Priscilla narrowed her eyes at Charlotte’s hesitance to speak. “Oh? You can’t say?”
“Charlotte said she got them from a knight who visited Sutherland,” another saint spoke up, affronted.
Lloyd immediately fixed me with a tight-lipped expression.
Why’d he reflexively think of me? Sure, I was a knight, but there were tons of other knights who’d gone to Sutherland. He was looking at me like I was the obvious culprit, even without evidence!
…Of course, this was only a problem because he was right.
Backed into a corner, I attempted to explain, speaking as calmly as I could. “Oooh, right, right! The knights brought little Charlotte some pretty-looking yellow, red, and green plants as a gift! Man, they were really surprised when they found out they were all rare medicinal herbs! They totally thought they were just random weeds, but Charlotte was keen-eyed enough to know otherwise!”
It was kind of true. I picked the red sweetfruit, but the people of Sutherland collected the ocean perilla from the deep ocean floor, and Kurtis found the yellow snowdrop when he was out collecting ingredients for the yellow-speckle fever medicine. I only chose them as gifts because I thought the mix of colors was pretty; they just so happened to be rare, and it was in fact Charlotte who pointed that out. All of which was to say, we should have been praising Charlotte for her deep knowledge!
For some reason, a heavy silence followed my explanation. Lloyd broke it, sounding dubious. “Is such an unrealistic coincidence even possible?”
He could just as easily have nodded along and let this pass. Why did he have to go out of his way to cast doubt on me?
I shot him a “just be quiet, will you?” look as I said, “Of course! I mean there’s definitely more than eighty-two kinds of medicinal herbs in the world, so if you picked plants at random, it’s totally reasonable for some of them to end up having medicinal properties—even yet-to-be-discovered properties. It’s an ordinary everyday occurrence, really.”
Even three hundred years ago, when we had about four hundred known medicinal herbs, many remained undiscovered. In that light, finding medicinal herbs that were actually listed in the field guides was hardly noteworthy at all.
Lloyd trembled, perhaps overwhelmed by my insistence. “I see…is all I can really say here. I’ve never known such an ‘ordinary everyday occurrence.’ It would seem you and I experience completely different everyday lives, Fia.”
What nonsense was this now? My life was completely normal and banal!
With the saints gone silent as well, I needed to deflect, so I patted Charlotte’s head. “The one you should be impressed with is Charlotte. She remembered all of the medicinal herbs in the field guide and identified her gift as medicinal herbs right away.”
“Fia, that’s…that’s only because I’ve learned from the other saints.” Charlotte raised her head to regard the other saints, who looked rather pleased with themselves. She could certainly read the room well for her age.
Some of the tension ebbed. Now might be a good time to ask Dorothée something that had been bugging me for a while. “By the way, you mentioned that saints spend a few days without using magic to recover their mana, right? Why not just drink magic restoration potions?”
It was mere idle curiosity, but Dorothée glared in response. “Absolutely not. Unless there was a truly dire need, we would never do such a thing!”
Huh? Did I say something wrong?
Lloyd’s mouth twisted in amusement. “Ha ha, you really don’t know anything, do you, Fia? Most saints refrain from using magic restoration potions because they cause them to feel many times more pain than healing potions.”
“What?! Many times more?!” I’d experienced the pain of healing potions when I tested one myself. I couldn’t imagine something many times worse than that. It hurt so bad I swore I’d never drink one again—but somehow magic restoration potions hurt many times worse? “I’d never want to try something like that!”
Lloyd nodded. “Right. And it can take a day for the effects to show. The amount of mana you recover is only around half one’s full capacity, so it isn’t very practical. If I were a saint, I’d rather spend three days refraining from using magic instead.”
“I totally get it! I’d just eat food myself.”
He grinned wryly. “Is that so… I’m not quite sure being out of mana and having an empty stomach are comparable, however.”
They were to me. At any rate, I never wanted to try those horrific-sounding magic restoration potions!
All that aside, it seemed like magic restoration potions had worsened over the years just like healing potions. That only made sense, though. If they were making common healing potions incorrectly, surely they were making the more uncommon mana restoration potions incorrectly as well.
“Hmm, but the pain’s many times worse, huh? I really don’t want to test that out,” I muttered. Normally I would use my own body to test a potion’s side effects, but I didn’t have the courage to endure that kind of pain. That was fine though. It was more efficient for me to recover mana by eating a whole lot.
Then again, there might be times when Charlotte and the rest of the saints had to drink magic restoration potions. Perhaps I should make a few proper ones for them? No, it’s not like I’d always be around to make them. It’d be better if they could make them themselves… Hmm…
“Fia, what’re you thinking about?” Lloyd tilted his head at me as I pondered with my arms folded.
Deep in thought, I answered, “I’m thinking about a way to make magic restoration potions that don’t cause pain.”
“Huh? Is that even possible?” he asked.
It was. In fact, I had a flash of inspiration and figured out just how! Oho ho ho. I must be a genius to come up with a solution so quickly!
In awe of my own greatness, I whispered, “We can use that one rose. You know, that rose. If we can find a petal with the effect of taking away pain and mix it with some magic restoration potions, we could create some that don’t cause pain when you drink them.”
Come to think of it, we could use this method for healing potions as well. My own genius scared me sometimes.
I looked at Lloyd with fresh hope, but he frowned. “I have to wonder if a rose with such a convenient effect actually exists. Don’t you think you’re being a little too optimistic?”
“Oho ho ho. Don’t worry, this’ll be easier than making water from ice!”
For me, at least.
Of course, it would be easier to simply make magic restoration potions properly—like I did with the spring of green healing potion—but then people would come looking for the creator and that would lead to its own set of problems. Already, I couldn’t publicly do anything with the green healing potion I made and had to use it to feed the familiars in the stables.
A number of people knew about the strange effects of the Rose of the Great Saint, however, so no one would find it odd to use its petals for a specific cause.
Lloyd eyed me doubtfully as I smiled, but eventually relented with a sigh. “It’s pointless to think about this. You always subvert my expectations, Fia, in one way or another. Luck seems to have a habit of finding its way to you.”
It must’ve seemed to him like I got lucky all the time, but there was no luck involved! In truth, I was hiding a lot from him. I carefully and thoughtfully planned everything I did…or so I’d like to say, but I’ll admit I did tend to dive headfirst into things—which was sort of the same as leaving it up to luck.
Regardless, my flash of inspiration put me in high spirits.
***
From there, the saints showed us around their villa. Dorothée escorted us to all the main places they used, and the other saints followed, assisting with her explanations. Though quite prickly on the surface, it seemed the saints were actually quite kind.
Even so, Priscilla glared when she spotted me walking hand in hand with Charlotte. “Hmph. Are you two close?”
“We are! Charlotte has lived away from her family ever since she was young, so I’m both her friend and a replacement mother!” I puffed up my chest.
Charlotte shot me a wide-eyed look. “But Fia, you’re only fifteen! You can’t be a mother! I turn eight today, so…you’re more like a big sister. That is, if you want to be…”
What a sweet and considerate girl she was. But more importantly—did she just say it was her birthday?
“What?! Today’s your birthday?! I had no idea! I need to get you a present!” I racked my brain for a good option.
She smiled. “Just being able to see you is enough. If you’re my big sister, that means I was able to see family on my birthday.”
“Oh, Charlotte!”
How could somebody possibly be this sweet?! As her new big sister, I needed to get her the perfect present, no matter what!
I continued scrambling for a good gift when I noticed Priscilla studying me again.
Oh. Shoot. I had been in the middle of talking to her, huh?
She’d originally asked if Charlotte and I were friends, so I asked a similar question in return. “Do you have any friends you’re close with back at the cathedral, Saint Priscilla?”
Her cheeks flushed for some reason. “I don’t need any frivolous accessories like friends!”
“Frivolous accessories? I can’t say I’ve ever thought of friends as accessories. What an interesting idea!” I wondered what kind of accessory I was to Charlotte.
Lloyd, who’d been listening in, joined the conversation. “An interesting idea indeed. As a good friend of Fia’s, I wonder what kind of accessory I’d be. One she could wear anytime, I’m sure, given my dashing looks.”
“Singing your own praises is kind of uncool, Lloyd…” I said. He was genuinely rather fetching, so his bragging didn’t come across like a proper joke. It left some room for improvement in his role as a jester… Oh, but I guess he was in Duke Mode and not Jester Mode at the moment, huh? Fair enough.
Besides Charlotte, what other friends did I have? Zavilia, Cyril, Fabian… They were all a bit too dazzling to wear as accessories, though… Yeah, let’s not think about this anymore.
I pushed aside thoughts of friends and focused on Priscilla. She was finally talking to me! I couldn’t let this chance slip away.
“Saint Priscilla, you lived in the cathedral, right? I heard you’re a powerful saint. Can you tell us about yourself?”
Charlotte beamed, saying, “I want to hear about you too. I heard you’re the likeliest candidate for becoming the next head saint. I was thinking you could teach me some things.”
Priscilla blushed, apparently pleased with our praise. We’d reached a nice stopping point in our tour, so we returned to the parlor and sat around a big table to talk. The other saints sat nearby, as though just as eager to talk about saints as we were. How nice.
With all eyes on her, Priscilla made a big show of sweeping her hair back, then interlaced her fingers on the table. “They discovered I was saint when they tested me at three years old. Initially, I lived in a church near my hometown, but they called me to the cathedral when I turned seven.”
Lloyd, sitting behind me, added, “Girls are tested for saint powers when they’re three and ten years of age, but most saints are discovered when they’re ten. Only a very few are powerful enough to be discovered when they’re three.”
Charlotte had also been discovered when she was three, so it seemed she was every bit as powerful as Priscilla!
When I nodded, Lloyd continued. “Furthermore, only the saints with the strongest magic gather at the cathedral. They are our nation’s pride and joy, but number less than fifty in total.”
Priscilla wore a triumphant expression. “The turnover rate is high at the cathedral. They seek the best of the best and regularly swap out those who are lacking in favor of newly discovered promising saints.”
The other saints had been listening attentively but frowned at this last bit. One spoke up, apparently voicing the thoughts of the entire group. “You don’t need to say it like that! The cathedral also dispatches talented saints to other regions, so it’s not as if all saints who leave the cathedral are lacking!”
Irritated, Priscilla ran a hand through her hair. “Oh my. Are there saints here who were once at the cathedral? I suppose it’s true a saint may leave the cathedral for a reason other than their abilities, but I’m sure you all know the cathedral would never let go of a saint they truly deemed worthwhile!”
“Wh-what was that?!”
“Who do you think you are?!”
As the saints clashed, I wondered if this was just a matter of conflicting opinions. It wasn’t wrong to have pride in being a saint, nor to believe in one’s own abilities. I considered letting them go at it a bit more, but Priscilla’s phrasing really could have used some fine tuning.
Lloyd tugged at my sleeve and whispered, “Fia, if you want to play the peacemaker then you should try bringing up the fact that you’re going on that meat tour with Desmond. That’ll be a nice change of topic.”
Huh? How does Lloyd know about my meat tour with Desmond? Surprised, I blinked, but he merely smiled. Right… He was a duke, so he had eyes and ears everywhere. Besides, it wasn’t a terrible suggestion. I cut into the conversation.
“Speaking of the cathedral, that’s in the Holy Kingdom of Dhital, right? Right after the head saint selection, I’ll be going there to eat meat with Captain Desmond!”
I intended to ask for restaurant recommendations, but the saints cut me off.
“With Captain Desmond? That’s the Second Knight Brigade captain, right? The one in charge of royal castle security? What business would he have that would bring him all the way to the cathedral?!”
“More importantly, why are you going right after the head saint selection? Is there something you need to report to the cathedral immediately afterward?”
Uh, I was just going to eat meat. I wasn’t going anywhere near the cathedral… Hm? Wait a second… With sudden realization, I snapped my mouth shut.
Why was the knight brigades paying for this meat tour anyway? Could Desmond be planning on working while he was there? And wait a minute, Desmond said he got permission for me to go on this meat tour from Cyril, didn’t he? If he had to go out of his way to ask my captain for permission, then maybe this really was somehow tied to work stuff.
If so, I needed to be careful about what I said here. If Cyril ever found out I said I was going to Dhital to eat meat rather than work, he might snatch away all the budget allocated for the trip! Desmond would chew my ear off if it came to that! Better to play things safe…
I smiled cautiously. The saints scowled at me, but—come to think of it… I grinned as I realized I had actually managed to change the topic. They’d all forgotten about quarreling with Priscilla thanks to my excellent topic-changing skills!
My joy deflated when I remembered their looming question: Why was I going to Dhital with Desmond? I wanted to be on good terms with the saints, so I had to answer what I could while glossing over the fact it might involve work and leaving room for me to talk my way out of troubles at a later date. My, how I’d grown.
“Uhh, so Captain Desmond and I are going to Dhital to eat meat together. It’s got nothing to do with our jobs. It’s got so little to do with our jobs, in fact, that even Captain Enoch is coming along.” I strongly emphasized the fact there was no deeper meaning to our trip by bringing up Enoch, but the saints only questioned me even harder.
“Both the man known as the Tiger of Náv and the genius mage are escorting you on this trip?!”
Huh? People think Captain Enoch’s a genius? No, wait, that’s not what’s important right now…
“‘Escorted?’ N-no, I mean, I may be weaker than them, but if it came to it, even I could protect the two of them! Well, probably… Maybe…?”
They had to be really strong to become captains, but I was also a proud knight of the brigades!
Sharply, one of the saints said, “And that red hair! Just who are you?!”
“Uh, me?”
I was a knight, of course…
My mind flashed back to pleading recently with Saviz that I was a knight. Recycling the words I used then, I said, “I am but an ever-obedient, useful, and one-hundred-percent ordinary knight!”
I was suddenly reminded of how Saviz, Cerulean, and Cyril reacted to me saying this back then. By which I mean they barely reacted at all, staring blankly and mutely instead.
As for why I would suddenly remember such a thing? It was because the saints reacted the exact same way.
***
Lloyd cheerfully broke the sudden silence. “Wow, you’re incredible, Fia. You’re a genius when it comes to causing chaos and misunderstandings. You’ve created a situation many times more incredible than the worst-case scenario I envisioned. I tip my hat to your genius.”
Come to think of it, his advice had pushed me to change the topic to my Dhital meat tour. I glared, realizing he was likely to blame for this awkward silence.
He threw up his hands as though in surrender, but wore a bright smile. Looking at the saints, he said, “Fia really is a knight like she claims. She may have abnormally vibrant red hair, but red hair doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a saint.”
Judging by the saints’ expressions, it seemed they’d assumed I was a saint until this moment.
“Oh jeez, Lloyd. Was this another one of your pranks?” I said nervously, my eyes wide. I secretly was a saint, so this was kind of cutting it close.
The saints narrowed their eyes at Lloyd, which he kind of deserved. He showed no sign of being flustered, however, and beamed right back at them.
“Forgive me, everyone. My daughter Priscilla received a rather unique education at the cathedral and has difficulty interacting with others. But there’s only so much one person can do on their own, so she will need to rely on you all at times.” Seeing he had the saints’ attention, Lloyd continued. “I was hoping she could grow close with all of you today, but things turned sour rather quickly. I believed this little joke I prepared with Fia would help lighten the mood, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. I only have my lack of people skills to blame.”
He hung his head. Having known him for a while, I saw this for an act.
His feelings toward saints were complicated and often manifested as sarcasm. That may have been the case here as well. Regardless, it seemed he’d convinced the saints. They were apparently even more naive than him.
The mood in the parlor lightened, and the glares softened. With a bright smile, Lloyd said, “Priscilla plans on living in the royal capital and will likely visit the royal castle often. As her fellow saints, I’m sure you’ll all be the first people she comes to for advice, so I’m hoping you can get along with her.”
The saints seemed flattered by Lloyd’s request, but Priscilla stuck her nose up haughtily. “I received the greatest of educations at the cathedral. I don’t see what advice I could possibly receive from another saint.”
“Priscilla…” Lloyd chided. Despite his best efforts, the mood soured all over again.
She paid him no mind, frowning. “I’ve always been number one at the cathedral, and I will be number one again at the upcoming head saint selection! I have no equals! There’s nothing anybody could possibly teach me!”
She must have been under an immense amount of pressure to become head saint if she was being so stubborn. It was awfully romantic of Saviz to wait ten years to marry a woman, but if you really thought about it, knowing he was waiting for her put a lot of pressure on her. She’d probably had people telling her she’d become the head saint from the moment the cathedral took her in at age seven. I could only imagine how strict her training was. She clearly felt a need to live up to the heavy expectations placed on her. It made me feel sorry for her.
The saints, however, seemed hurt by her words. “Well, I can see you think highly of yourself! But from what I’ve heard, Head Saint Hyacinthe hasn’t summoned you even once!”
Priscilla paled, but I could only wonder what this was all about.
Other saints joined in. “I don’t know how strong of a saint you are, but I doubt you’re a match for the saints under Hyacinthe!”
“Yeah! The next head saint will be one of hers!”
I looked back and forth between the saints and Priscilla, still confused. Lloyd was furrowing his brow and scowling as well.
He met my gaze and attempted a smile. “Rumor has it Her Majesty Hyacinthe is hiding a star pupil, one who can match her benevolence and carry on her will.”
Hyacinthe was Cerulean and Saviz’s mother, as well as the current head saint. Even as we spoke, Clarissa, Quentin, and Zackary were on their way to the royal villa to meet her.
“Of all the saints the cathedral knows about, Priscilla is the most powerful, but we don’t know much about the saints surrounding the queen dowager. The only thing we do know is that this rumored star pupil of hers has vivid red hair the likes of which we’ve rarely seen.” Lloyd shot a look at my hair before continuing. “At any rate, the queen dowager should reach the royal castle in a few days. I’m sure she’ll leave only a single saint behind to manage her villa and bring the rest with her, so we’ll get to see this star pupil of hers sooner or later.”
Lloyd then leaned close to whisper, “Cerulean has wished for the past ten years to have a queen who comes from House Alcott. Plus, Priscilla seems dead set on becoming head saint. If the queen dowager brings a strong saint with her, sparks are sure to fly.”
Chapter 56: The Healing Flower of Náv
Chapter 56:
The Healing Flower of Náv
“WOW! THE GREAT Healing Flower of Náv is so popular! I came early to catch a glimpse of her, but both sides of the street were already filled up when I arrived!” I smiled up at Fabian.
The people of the royal capital learned beforehand of Queen Dowager Hyacinthe’s return. She was immensely popular among the people, being not only the queen dowager but also the current head saint, and thus a grand welcome awaited her.
I arrived thirty minutes early to try to get a look at her, but people were already lined up along the sides of the streets. I attempted to squeeze my way into the crowd and up to the second row, but the mass pushed me back and I found myself at the back of the wall of people.
“Oh no! I won’t be able to see anything from here!” I lamented.
I jumped to look for open spots when I happened to make eye contact with Fabian in the front row. He waved at me, then looked down at the women standing around him and smiled all Prince Charming-like. Then, just like magic, a path opened up for me, and I managed to reach him.
I reached Fabian, who was surrounded by smiling women, and asked, “Are you a wizard or something? Or do princely pretty boys come with special powers? I’ve never heard of anyone parting crowds of women with a smile!”
He laughed and said, “Nothing like that. Everyone around me just so happened to be a kind soul and allowed a good friend of mine to pass through. That’s all.”
There was definitely more to it, but cheers rose nearby, distracting me. I followed the exclamations.
“Eeeek! It’s Her Majesty, Head Saint Hyacinthe!”
“Aaaaaah! She’s so beautiful! Look at her red hair! Never have I seen someone so picturesque!”
“And her eyes are golden! Just like the Great Saint’s! Oh, how wonderful!”
“She’s like the second coming of the Great Saint!”
Hyacinthe slowly came into view. The sunlight shone on her red hair. She rode an open-topped horse-drawn carriage and waved at the crowd as she passed. Members of her royal guard in smoky-purple knight uniforms surrounded her, as well as the blue-uniformed knights of the Black Dragon Knight Brigades. I also recognized a few familiar faces in white: Quentin, Clarissa, and Zackary.
As Hyacinthe neared, the crowd’s fervor intensified.
“Aaaaaaah! Wonderful, wonderful! Head Saint Hyacinthe! Just look how red her hair is!”
“I can see her! Her eyes are so golden! Eeek! My hangover from yesterday has vanished without a trace!”
From my spot in the front, I got a good look at Hyacinthe. Sure enough, her hair was a vibrant, unmixed red. I could only see one of her eyes under her bangs, but it was as golden as the rumors said.
Fabian spoke as the queen passed in front of us. “I don’t know whose idea it was, but her hairstyle is ingenious. It makes her seem all the more divine. Her Majesty Hyacinthe generally keeps one eye hidden, but the wind always happens to lift up her hair and show her eyes during important events. Her golden eyes and red hair are reminiscent of the legendary Great Saint. Seeing that rare coloration gets everyone all excited.”
I took another good look at her red hair and golden eyes from up close.
“Red hair and golden eyes, huh?”
“Yeah. Just like you, Fia.”
“Oh yeah.” Fabian’s words reminded me of something Saviz had said a while back about the color of my hair and eyes being one-of-a-kind. “Commander Saviz told me my combination of red hair and golden eyes was something only I had, but that’s clearly not true if the queen dowager looks the same.”
I doubted Saviz would forget the hair and eye colors of his own mother. I guess he was just trying to flatter me! How unlike him.
Overhearing me muttering to myself, Fabian said, “The commander might be right in a sense. There are various shades of red. Her Majesty Hyacinthe’s certainly differs from yours. You match in the sense that you share the same colors, but I doubt there is anyone with golden eyes and hair a red as vibrant as yours.”
“Really?” I didn’t think it was that deep. Red was just red to me.
Fabian smiled wryly, then leaned down to whisper in my ear. “When I first saw Her Majesty Hyacinthe, I was beside myself with admiration for her splendid red hair. But after seeing your hair, hers seems lackluster in comparison. The vibrancy doesn’t even begin to compare. And though it may be impudent of me to say, when I look at portraits of the Great Saint, I can’t help but think your hair is the exact same color as Her Holiness.”
Come to think of it, Saviz had mentioned my hair was the exact same red as the red on the flag of Náv. I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but I learned some days later from another knight that the red of the flag was meant to recreate the Great Saint’s hair color.
In other words, Saviz probably thought my hair looked like the Great Saint’s. Which made sense, given that my hair color now was exactly the same as three hundred years ago.
“Most who see your hair probably think little of it, but it would be a problem if it got out that it was the same exact shade as the Great Saint’s. Certainly, many would envy you for that,” Fabian warned.
It seemed like a bit of an exaggeration. “Oh, I dunno about that. From what I’ve heard, the queen dowager brought a red-haired saint with her. I don’t see her in this parade, so I can’t confirm how red her hair is, but it does show that red-haired women aren’t that uncommon.”
He shook his head firmly. “Even so, I sincerely doubt she has the red of the Great Saint.”
After Hyacinthe passed, the crowd began to disperse. I was reminded once again that everyone came here just to see her.
“Wow! The head saint’s real popular!”
That was a good thing, of course, as it indicated people felt close to and liked the saints.
Having no reason to linger, I headed for the royal castle with Fabian. We walked for a while before Fabian suddenly spoke up.
“Oh, right. Captain Cyril wanted me to pass along a message to you.”
“Huh?” That stopped me in my tracks.
Fabian held up his hands to reassure me. “He said that if I happened to spot you at the parade, I should talk to you afterward, so I doubt it’s urgent. There’s no need to worry. He just wants you to come to the First Knight Brigade captain’s room when you have a spare moment.”
“Whaaat?!”
Oh no. What could he possibly want with me? Did I do something wrong?
I racked my brain, trying to remember recent events, but I couldn’t think of anything he could possibly be mad about, and so, without any worries, I parted with Fabian and made my way to Cyril.
Chapter 57: The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 1
Chapter 57:
The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 1
“PARDON THE INTRUSION, Captain Cyril!”
With a knock on the First Knight Brigade captain’s door, I entered, and Cyril greeted me warmly.
“Fia, I’ve been waiting for you.”
I took a step back out of reflex when I caught his perfect smile.
This did not bode well. He only smiled like that when he was up to something. Having been his subordinate for more than half a year now, I knew he wanted me to lower my guard so he could drop a bomb on me. Wary, I refused to smile in return.
“What’s the matter, Fia?” he said. “Do you have a toothache or something?”
Of course not. I was merely bracing for impact, and he had to know that. “Not at all, I feel just fine. What business did you have for me?”
He scowled but answered. “I’m sorry for summoning you so suddenly. I was actually hoping to have you join me in guarding Commander Saviz this afternoon.”
Oh? I thought I was entrusted to Cerulean for a time.
“Is the commander going somewhere?” I asked. It made sense that they would need the support of an excellent knight like myself if he was going somewhere dangerous.
But Cyril quickly shot down that notion. “No, he’s scheduled to spend his day here within the bounds of the royal castle. In the afternoon he’ll have tea with the queen dowager, but that is all.”
It was for the briefest of moments, but Cyril hesitated just before mentioning the queen dowager. I narrowed my eyes. “…With Her Majesty Hyacinthe, you said?”
“Yes. The queen dowager is Commander Saviz’s mother, after all. As she’s Cerulean’s mother as well, he’ll be there too.”
So it would be a tea party for Hyacinthe, Saviz, and Cerulean. In other words… “Oh! So it’s a family tea party.” I locked eyes with Cyril. He, who should have a heart of steel, shifted slightly. I wondered why that could be. Before he could reply, however, the answer came to me. “Wha—you’re in love?!”
Could Cyril have been in love with Hyacinthe? That would explain why he was so nervous about meeting her.
It all made sense. He couldn’t remain calm in her presence, so he needed my ever-so-levelheaded self in attendance to support him!
“And just who do you suppose I’m in love with?” he said sternly. He grimaced, returning to his natural state, and I discarded my conjecture.
“Oh, you’re not nervous anymore? I guess you’re not in love then. But, yeah, that makes sense. You’re blood-related, after all.” Hyacinthe was Cyril’s mother’s older sister, making her his aunt. That made for a difficult romance. They were too close in relation to marry.
“Fia, your guesswork always leads you to strange conclusions. But, yes, as this will be a tea party between family, we can’t bring a large entourage of knights. That’s why I thought having you there would be perfect, seeing as you look nothing like a knight.”
He dissed me right to my face, but I was magnanimous enough to let it go. “I see!”
“Furthermore, it was Commander Saviz and Cerulean who requested to have you on guard detail for the tea party.”
Oh my. The country’s de facto number one and number two had directly requested me? “Whoa! Is my merit as a knight finally being recognized?!”
Cyril narrowed his eyes. “I do not believe so. I’m afraid your…merits are a well-kept secret.”
“Aww. Oh well.” It left me both disappointed and relieved that my awesomeness was still a secret.
Cyril looked rather conflicted himself. Maybe something was weighing on his mind, but I couldn’t be so forward as to ask. Instead, I said, “You’re related to the queen dowager, right? Are the two of you close?”
He closed his eyes. “This is the queen dowager we’re talking about. She’s not a person one can easily meet with.”
“That makes sense. She’s so popular. She must be very busy,” I said, nodding to myself. Hyacinthe was both queen dowager and the head saint. Being the Great Saint three hundred years ago had kept me plenty busy, so I couldn’t begin to imagine how bad she had it.
Cyril smiled faintly as though recalling something. “Indeed. She’s always been busy. But I grew closer to King Laurence and Commander Saviz because of that.”
Cyril and Saviz were the same age, and Cerulean was two years their senior. Being so close in age, they probably played together as children.
“I told you before, but when I was young I wanted a little brother. My mother refused me, however, saying a measly duke family had no need for a spare.”
Right, he’d mentioned that when he told me about his youth back when we were in Sutherland.
“Circumstances were different for House Náv, being royalty, but I found myself envious of King Laurence and Commander Saviz for having a brother. And I saw Her Majesty Hyacinthe as praiseworthy for bearing two children despite being head saint.”
“Oh, yeah. I hear childbirth is difficult!” I said, recalling how Quentin had declared he would become a mother. It was his familiar who laid the egg, but as she had no intent to incubate it, he proudly took it upon himself to keep it warm and become the egg’s mother in her stead. He’d been deathly serious when he spoke of human mothers sometimes dying in childbirth and how motherhood was a grave undertaking. “Captain Quentin really drove that point home with his own efforts at childbirth.”
“I know you’re being fully serious, but I can’t bring myself to take what you say as anything but absurd,” Cyril said.
That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem, I thought, though obviously I didn’t say it. His weary sigh suggested he understood regardless.
“I digress. Fia, I’ll be going to Commander Saviz’s office now. Would you like to join me?”
“Yes, sir!” I replied cheerfully, and we set off together.
***
When we entered Saviz’s office, we found Cerulean awaiting us. But instead of his usual jester costume, he was wearing the plain shirt I’d seen him wear before. He sprawled on one of the sofas.
“Saviz, reverting back to the body of a child seems to have reverted my tastes as well. I don’t enjoy black tea one bit.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have orange juice prepared for the tea party,” Saviz replied.
“You know what I mean to say…” Cerulean grumbled. He jumped to his feet. “I think I’ll pass on the tea party after all. A child like me has no place drinking tea with the queen dowager. Saviz, take care of things for me.”
He started to speed away but only managed a few steps before Saviz caught him by the collar.
“Wha—Saviz! How dare you grab your older brother like this!” exclaimed Cerulean, frantically swinging his arms.
Saviz paid his protests no mind and held on firmly. “I was thinking you’d prefer your throat constricted so you wouldn’t have to drink any tea.”
“I don’t need any such consideration from—geck!” Cerulean choked himself fighting Saviz’s grip, issuing a croak like a squished frog.
This was only my second time seeing the two of them together, but it was obvious they got along well. No wonder Cyril had grown envious of them and wanted a brother himself. I nodded in understanding.
Glancing at me, Saviz said, “You’ve come, Fia. You’ll be my good-luck charm today.”
“Huh? Your good-luck charm?” I repeated. I didn’t recall being known to bring luck.
His lips curled into a sarcastic smile. “That’s right. You’ll be protecting me from the queen dowager.”
Chapter 58: Saviz, Younger Brother of the King
Chapter 58:
Saviz, Younger Brother of the King
“I’LL BE PROTECTING YOU from the queen dowager?”
No matter how you looked at them, Saviz was definitely stronger than Hyacinthe. I cocked my head, confused.
“Fia, it is my understanding that you tend to forget conversations you have while intoxicated. I, on the other hand, do not.”
“Huh?” His strange statement left me bewildered, and I blinked a few times before catching on. “O-oh, wow, your memory is very good, but I can’t help but notice you’re implying I would be so discourteous as to forget one of my precious conversations with you! Oh no, no, no. I simply value the words you share with me so dearly that I forget them preemptively so they can remain something for the two of us alone!”
Saviz was likely alluding to the discussion we had a few days ago when we ate dinner together in the royal castle. No matter what happened, I couldn’t admit that I had forgotten what we discussed, even when I had him all to myself. I’d make an enemy out of all the knights who adored him (that is, every last one of them).
As I squirmed, Cyril nonchalantly said, “Ah, indeed. Liquor does tend to make Fia exasperatingly forgetful.”
“Oho ho ho. Oh you, Captain Cyril! You may be my direct superior, but you can’t presume to know everything about me,” I said, willing Cyril to keep his trap shut.
Humored, Saviz said, “Is that so? Then, Fia—do you recall who my first love was?”
“Huh?!” No way. My conversation with Saviz was one of those conversations? Nooo! What a waste it was to forget a thing like that!
I hemmed and hawed, but ultimately my desire to weasel my way out of my predicament lost to my desire to hear this juicy gossip.
“As both of you say, my memory is known to lapse at times, but to think I would forget such an important conversation! This shame shall hang over me for the rest of my days. I swear to never forget again, so would you please tell me the name of your first love one more time?!”
Saviz chuckled at my begging. “How am I to tell you the name of somebody who doesn’t exist?”
“What?!” He smiled, and I had to wonder if this was the exact same conversation we’d had at dinner. Or maybe such a topic never came up at all and this was bait. …Judging by his amusement, it was probably the latter. “Geck.”
I croaked like a squished frog, and his smile grew.
“It appears you really do forget the conversations you have while intoxicated.”
Trying to outwit him would only dig me a deeper hole, so I threw in the towel. “I do.”
“I, however, do remember what was said, so I’ll proceed as though you do too.”
He forced events along just like anyone with power would—but then again, he was the commander of the knight brigades as well as a member of the royal family. Such high-handedness must have come naturally to him.
Or so I thought, but then he reminded me of something I’d forgotten that night.
“During that dinner we shared, I told you I view the saints as selfish, self-righteous, and attention-seeking.”
“Huh?! It’s not like you to say such a biased thing! N-not all saints are the same! I mean, I know at least Charlotte’s a good girl.”
He grinned. “Even sober, your thoughts remain the same, I see.”
“What?” Did we have a similar exchange during our dinner? Or perhaps he’d laid out another trap and I took the bait again. …Judging from his amusement and what he said, it was probably the former.
His good mood made it hard to tell how serious he was, so I pressed for confirmation. “Uhh, I take it you’re not too fond of saints, Commander Saviz?”
His mother was a saint, and his future wife would be a saint as well. Surely nobody could hate family so much, but then I recalled how my brothers from my past life hated me. Maybe it was possible.
“Sadly, all the women around me are saints, aside from you and Clarissa, so I am indeed not fond of them. Drinking tea with the queen dowager is grueling for me. That’s why I want you, somebody who has qualities a saint would die for but isn’t saint-like herself, to serve as my good-luck charm.”
Interesting. In other words, Saviz didn’t see the upcoming tea party as a gathering with family but rather an engagement with a saint—meaning he saw Hyacinthe as a saint more than he saw her as his mother.
Hmm… Royalty sometimes couldn’t meet with family, so maybe they had naturally grown distant? Cyril did mention that Hyacinthe was always busy.
I nodded thoughtfully.
Suddenly, Cerulean broke his silence. “I’ll have you know I find it just as grueling! I hate saints even more than you, Saviz, and I hate tea as well!”
Goodness. It seemed the royal family was competing to see who could complain the hardest. I glanced at Cyril, wondering if he was going to throw his hat in the ring as well given his close ties to them. He kept his mouth shut, however, and furrowed his brow at Saviz and Cerulean.
Oh, right. Cyril sided with saints no matter what. He probably took issue with the two openly criticizing saints.
Or so I thought, but as though reading my mind, he turned his gaze on me and shook his head. “I understand and can accept their aversion to saints.”
“Really?!” I exclaimed. Despite always praising saints, Cyril put Saviz and Cerulean first. They were childhood friends, so I supposed the strength of their bond outweighed his feelings toward saints.
Kurtis, who had been waiting quietly in the corner of the room, stepped forward. He just so happened to be in Saviz’s guard today and therefore already in the room when Cyril and I arrived. Or rather, he was the only guard in the room when we arrived, so I assumed the rest were sent away.
Despite being someone who usually took his work seriously and did not speak while on duty, Kurtis unexpectedly broke that rule. “Commander Saviz, may I have permission to remain on your guard detail for the rest of the day?”
Saviz weighed the request. Seeing the look in Kurtis’s eyes, he said, “You may. It’s decided then. Cyril, Kurtis, and Fia will comprise my guard detail for the tea party.”
A knight entered then with a message from Hyacinthe. It said she was tired from using her saint powers earlier in the day and wanted to postpone the tea party.
Card in hand, Saviz furrowed his brow. “It seems we have some free time… How about we go monster hunting in the forest?”
“Huh? Right now?” I said. Sure, we had some time to kill, but shouldn’t we use it to prepare, maybe change into fancier clothes? Saviz showed no interest in anything like that, however. The fact that monster blood might dirty his clothes ahead of the tea party didn’t even seem to cross his mind.
Cerulean tried to slip out unnoticed, but Saviz caught him by the collar again and ordered him to return in three hours. Then he grabbed his sword, apparently quite serious about heading to the forest.
His decision struck me as too spontaneous for a man of his position, but nobody said anything, so perhaps this wasn’t uncommon for him. Maybe it was even necessary. When I was down, I liked to practice uncommon chants and healing magic to blow off steam. Hunting monsters in the forest must have served a similar purpose for Saviz. I was sure he had plenty of worries to contend with.
“Fia? Is something wrong?”
He met my gaze, but I couldn’t bring myself to directly ask what was on his mind. I thought about cracking a joke instead, when I recalled something.
“I was just thinking,” I said. “Earlier, you moved the conversation along for your own convenience just like Cerulean would. You really are royalty, huh?”
Cerulean frowned sulkily, but Saviz smirked.
“You really don’t remember anything from that night, do you? I only spoke my true thoughts then because you claimed you wouldn’t recall a thing. I never intended to speak of any of that again, to anyone, ever.”
“Huh? Then why’d you reveal what you really thought of the saints again?” I asked, even though I could have let the matter lie.
He stared at the Náv flag that adorned the wall, a standard the same red as my hair. “It’s because of you. You spoke to me of a dream, one that I couldn’t help but want to witness. I can’t bring myself to let that night come to nothing.”
“Huh? Wh-what exactly did I say?” I spoke to him of a dream? I didn’t recount an actual dream, did I?
…Yikes. I totally might’ve.
Cold sweat prickled down my back. I couldn’t recall a thing from that meal with him, so I shouldn’t have felt ashamed or embarrassed. Why was it that I yearned to remember what I said back then?
He leveled a meaningful look at me. “That’s something for you to recall yourself.”
***
Immediately after that, Saviz, Cyril, Kurtis, and I set off for Starfall Forest. No saints accompanied us, so if anybody got hurt we’d have to rely on healing potions.
It was a bit reckless for Saviz to do something like this with only three knights and no saints in tow, but if he needed this to sort through his thoughts on saints, then I supposed it made sense that he wouldn’t want them to join us.
Along the way, Cyril said Saviz regularly went out to the forest to hunt. “He’s been too busy to do so lately, so the tea party being postponed presented a good opportunity.”
Since the tea party with Hyacinthe took priority over everything else, it effectively cleared his schedule.
“This is merely my opinion,” Cyril continued, “but I believe Commander Saviz finds using his blade helps sort his thoughts when worries or doubts are weighing on his mind.”
Looked like my assumption was right. Hunting monsters was Saviz’s way of blowing off steam.
I glanced at him from the side. Not a hint of emotion in his placid expression, but I had a feeling he was thinking about saints.
The instant we dismounted, Saviz proceeded straight into the forest without a beat of hesitation. He’d previously defeated a flower-horned deer here, a B-rank monster, in a single strike. Normally, it would take thirty knights to hunt a B-rank monster, but Saviz could handle it all on his own. Still, he could stand to take a little more caution…
Or so I thought.
Only thirty minutes later, I understood just how little Saviz required moderation. He was exceedingly strong. There was never an instant we, the knights assigned to guard him, had to lift a finger to help him cut down the monsters that assaulted him.
We didn’t travel very deep into the forest, so we only encountered monsters of C-rank or lower, but the way Saviz dispatched them while hardly lifting a finger left me in awe.
For the longest time, I thought Cyril was the strongest person in the knight brigades, and he probably was, but recently Kurtis displayed a surprising strength as well. Watching Saviz now, though, I had to wonder if he could equal either of those knights.
“Maybe he’d be even stronger than Captain Cyril if he had his right eye.”
Having only one eye limited Saviz’s field of view—a considerable handicap when it came to battle. The fact that his injury held him back had to infuriate him. Any knight who could stand at the top of the knight brigades was someone who yearned for strength. A little more could be the difference between defeating one more enemy or saving one more ally.
With such thoughts in mind, I met his gaze.
“What’s the matter? Do you feel like using your sword as well?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. You’re so strong there’s no need for me, or anyone, to do anything. I was just thinking, if you had both eyes, wouldn’t you be even stronger?”
If he wished it, I would heal his right eye. Restoring a lost eye was simple enough, after all. With some assistance from Charlotte or Priscilla, I could even do it without revealing I was a saint.
“I have no need for a right eye,” he said flatly. His expression didn’t shift in the slightest.
“I see…” I said neutrally. Modern saints were far weaker than the saints of the past, so he might’ve believed there was no way to restore his eye and, not wanting to ask for the impossible, claimed he didn’t need it. That was very like him, being the realist he was. A man like him in a position of power couldn’t voice his true desires so easily. But I got the impression none of that was the real issue. To me, it seemed he genuinely believed he had no need for his right eye.
Come to think of it, three hundred years ago there was a knight who was intent on not having their scars healed. It taught me that everybody has their own history and circumstances, and not everybody wants to go without injury or illness.
“Shall we return to the castle? Considering how long it will take to secure Cerulean, we should probably head back now,” Saviz said as he checked the position of the sun.
I knew he was trying to change the subject, but I said, “Good point, Cerulean seemed pretty hesitant about going to the tea party. I doubt he would go against something you told him to do, though. At most, he’ll probably hide somewhere.”
“You understand Cerulean well.”
“Do I? I mean, I’m a fully grown adult, so I can’t say I completely understand the feelings of a child. I can tell the two of you are rather close, though.”
Members of royalty could sometimes be rather distant from one another, like how Saviz and his mother Hyacinthe seemed. The two brothers got along well, however.
“Your parents must be pleased to see their sons getting along,” I said cheerfully. It was just Saviz, Cyril, Kurtis, and me here, so I assumed it was safe to talk about the two of them as brothers.
“I wonder about that,” Saviz mused. “It wasn’t like they had me with those expectations in mind.”
Ah. Right… The most important duty for the royal family was maintaining the family line. On the off chance something happened to the heir, somebody else had to be around to take over. Logically speaking, that was what Saviz, the second son, was for.
Cyril himself had told me how his mother said a measly duke family didn’t need a spare. Clearly, she believed only royalty needed to worry about the family line to such an extent. It was a completely ordinary thing to expect.
But what did Saviz himself think of being the “royal spare”? Most would chafe at being viewed as an emergency replacement. Humans wanted to be needed on their own merits, and I’d like to believe Saviz’s role as commander of the knight brigades fulfilled that need. But that was a position he would vacate soon. Ever since Cerulean received the Blessing of the Spirit Lord at nineteen and began regressing in age, Saviz had probably begun preparing himself to part with his post. It wouldn’t be long before Cerulean ceded the position of king so Saviz could live up to his duties as a spare. I’m sure he felt the irony of his circumstances.
As though to confirm my hypothesis, Saviz muttered, “I’m told that when I was born, the queen dowager took one look at me and said she had no need to bear any more children.”
I could only pray his mother spoke those words out of love because she saw him and was satisfied with her efforts. I didn’t want to believe she could be so cold as to suggest her duty to the royal family had been fulfilled by bearing two sons, but the cynical look on Saviz’s face suggested that was exactly what she’d meant.
***
We journeyed back to the entrance of the forest, exchanging few words along the way. Cyril and Kurtis were not a talkative bunch to begin with, but they were even quieter than usual today. They were probably feeling gloomy after the conversation between Saviz and me. It certainly left me down.
Kurtis drew close to whisper, “Lady Fi, are you all right? If you would rather skip the tea party, I could talk to Cyril for you.”
He peered worriedly down at me. He’d looked similarly concerned only a few days ago when we were in Lloyd’s room in the castle. There, he’d pleaded from his heart, saying, “Lady Fi, please do not forget what is most important here! No matter how much your heart pains you, no matter how much you wish to be of aid, do not forget what must come first! If anything, I advise you to leave now before you feel compelled to help!”
The thing of “utmost importance” was probably my life. He was warning me to take better care of myself and not get too involved with Cerulean and Dolly. A good portion of his worry likely stemmed from Colette, Lloyd’s eternally sleeping younger sister. He must have thought I would need to use my saint powers to wake her and considered it too much of a risk. But by using the Rose of the Great Saint, I didn’t have to use my magic directly. Kurtis’s fears were entirely unfounded.
Yet he had persisted, even extending his worries to Saviz and Cyril. “The same goes for Commander Saviz and Cyril! The two of them carry a burden equally dark and grave! Please, I beg you, do not become involved with any of them any further!”
I didn’t understand what he was so worried about back then and have wondered ever since, but it must have been connected to whatever happened in this forest if he was approaching me with such a concerned expression now. In other words…
In a whisper, I asked, “Was there something about my conversation with Commander Saviz that worries you?”
His expression went blank and he didn’t utter a word, but his lack of reply said enough.
Kurtis couldn’t lie to me. That’s why, in situations like this where the truth was difficult for him, he simply held his tongue.
In my conversation with Saviz, we talked about two things: healing his eye and his status as a royal spare. He dismissed the idea of healing his eye, so that couldn’t be it. Which meant whatever Kurtis was worried about likely had to do with Saviz’s status as a royal spare, and that further meant there was more going on here than I knew.
Kurtis was unlikely to fill me in even if I asked, though. Instead, I shook my head and replied to his initial question. “No, I’ll see my duties as a knight through. If the commander is going to the tea party as planned, then I shall accompany him.”
“I understand.” Kurtis seemed like he wanted to say more, but he left it at that and stepped away.
I wondered why he was so worried, but I wasn’t going to push it if he was willing to back down. The whole matter with Cerulean and Dolly would be over soon anyway once the Rose of the Great Saint was ready, so whatever was going on with Saviz and Cyril would probably be fine by that time as well.
Feeling a bit better, I met Saviz’s gaze. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s the matter, Fia? Don’t tell me you’re nervous about meeting the queen dowager.”
“Huh? Oh!” I guess he’d overheard me whispering with Kurtis and misunderstood. Still, Hyacinthe was the previous queen and the current head saint. That kind of made her a big shot. It would be rude not to be nervous. Though it was a bit late, I put a hand over my heart and said, “Yes, sir! The thought of meeting someone this important has my heart pounding!”
An awkward silence filled the air.
Huh? He’d brought this up, yet Saviz looked doubtful at my answer. What was up with that? All I did was reply like he wanted!
Even Cyril was looking at me like he didn’t believe me. What was with the two of them?
I doubled down on the bit. “Don’t worry! I’ll still do my utmost to protect you as part of your guard detail, Commander Saviz!”
“I see… I have high expectations for you.”
That was odd. A man in a position of power should be able to hide his true thoughts, yet I could easily tell he meant the exact opposite of what he said! But why would he request I serve him if he expected nothing of me? And why would he make his thoughts so obvious?
“Fia, there’s something I’d like to ask you,” Saviz said. “This is just a hypothetical scenario, but…”
“Yes?” It was unusual for a realist like him to speak of hypotheticals.
“If you were a saint about to wed into the royal family, and the royal family was cursed to never produce girls, what would you do? Suppose you were a talented saint, but none of your abilities would be passed on to the next generation.”
That was a bit of a strange hypothetical, but the answer was obvious, so I replied instantly, “I would help as many people as I could!”
“What?” His eyebrows drew together in confusion.
My answer wouldn’t change no matter how many times he asked me, so I just repeated it. “If I had that kind of ability, I would help as many people as I could!”
He looked at me blankly for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. “Ha…ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I see! What a sublime answer!” Once the mirth subsided, he murmured, “So you would choose to do everything yourself instead of entrusting things to the next generation…” He nodded, seeming to come to some decision. Determination shone in his eyes when he looked at me. “I wonder why. For some reason, I feel as though that’s exactly what you would do if you were a saint.”
“Huh? Uh, yes, of course.” In his eyes lurked an emotion I couldn’t make out.
He grinned. “Fia, you’ve yet to show me what you said you could that night, but…your words have at least allowed me to continue to dream.”
He was probably alluding to that dream talk I apparently had with him during the dinner I couldn’t remember. I was a bit worried I might’ve said something outrageous, but it seemed he was actually quite happy with whatever it was.
“Huh? Are my dreams, like, super interesting or something?” I murmured. No one contradicted me, so I chose to believe that. It was nice learning something new and positive about myself.
Chapter 59: The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 2
Chapter 59:
The Queen Dowager’s Tea Party Part 2
I FOLLOWED SAVIZ down the corridor, the clacking of our boots echoing. We didn’t get far before Cerulean began to whine at Saviz’s side.
“Ugh… Why can’t you overlook me just this once, Saviz? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have fewer people suffer through this rather than more? Since you’re going regardless, I’d rather just leave this to you.”
Saviz must have wanted nothing more than to chew Cerulean out and tell him he had a responsibility to attend the tea party as one of Hyacinthe’s sons…or maybe not? Cerulean was smart, so he must have understood his duty and was just complaining for complaining’s sake. Only moments earlier, we’d found him in a terrible hiding spot, his leg sticking out, so I doubted he was serious about avoiding this.
No one responded to Cerulean’s complaints, and shortly we reached the room designated for the tea party. Servants opened the door, and everyone followed Saviz inside. Two women sat on a sofa: Hyacinthe, with her iconic red hair, and another woman with red hair who looked just a bit older than me. Hyacinthe’s personal royal guard stood behind them wearing smoky-purple knight uniforms.
Hm… Her royal guard looked strong, but Saviz, Cerulean, and Kurtis could wipe them out in an instant in a fight. The three of them were simply on a different level.
Cerulean had gone quiet the moment we entered the room. Saviz was the first to speak.
“Pardon our lateness.”
As though anticipating those words, Hyacinthe stood and extended a hand to Saviz. “Nonsense. You’re right on time. Ever punctual, aren’t you?”
Saviz took her hand and touched his forehead to the back of it. Despite the grace of the gesture, it was hard to overlook that normally someone in his position would kiss the queen’s hand instead. That couldn’t be an accident.
He wasn’t anywhere near as rude as Cerulean, however. While Hyacinthe was busy with Saviz, Cerulean nabbed the seat farthest from her without so much as a greeting.
Saviz sat next to his brother, while Cyril, Kurtis, and I positioned ourselves behind them.
Hyacinthe regarded her sons warmly and said, “It has been a long while, Laurence, Saviz. I’m relieved to see you’re both in such good health.”
“Indeed,” Saviz replied, offering only the bare minimum. Cerulean, meanwhile, stubbornly remained silent.
With a wry smile, Hyacinthe swept her red hair back. She wore it in the same style as at the parade, letting it cover one eye. Her visible eye was the same golden color as mine are, but seeing it gave me a weird feeling.
Saviz had once said the color of my hair and eyes belonged only to me, but Hyacinthe’s features more or less matched mine. Fabian tried to explain that inconsistency away by pointing out that my hair was a more vibrant red, but that was a slight difference at most. The crowds at the parade certainly hadn’t noticed as they clamored about how Hyacinthe had the same coloration as the Great Saint and was the second coming of her.
Hyacinthe introduced the woman next to her. “This here is Rose Barthet. She originally worked as a servant at the cathedral, but I took her under my wing when they discovered she was a saint. She’s lived with me in my villa ever since.”
Streaks of yellow cut through both sides of Rose’s hair, which was otherwise the same shade as Hyacinthe’s.
Cerulean and Saviz, neither of whom had any interest in meeting another saint, said nothing. Perhaps this was to be expected given how often they’d mentioned disliking saints and loathing the thought of coming here when we were in Saviz’s office.
Perhaps used to this treatment from them, Hyacinthe continued speaking, unperturbed. “Rose was only nine at the time. When they examined her when she was three, they deemed her not a saint, but from the moment I laid eyes on her, I doubted that assessment. So I had them make an exception and examine her early, and it turned out I was right.”
Rose’s expression didn’t so much as flicker as Hyacinthe spoke. She stared down at her hands, utterly still and silent.
Her face was rather cute, and she sat nice and straight on the sofa. Her hair was short, not quite reaching her shoulders, but she styled it to hide one of her eyes. Perhaps Hyacinthe wanted her to succeed her as the next head saint?
She introduced herself sparsely. “Rose Barthet, eighteen years old. I plan on participating in the head saint selection.”
“I’ll be sponsoring her as the current head saint and suspect she’ll be chosen,” Hyacinthe added. “Saviz, be sure to welcome her as your queen once the announcement is official.”
Just about everybody stiffened as the queen dove right to the heart of the matter, but Saviz remained indifferent, as though his mother had simply asked him about the weather. “Very well.”
Cerulean immediately piped up. “Don’t just go along with whatever she says, Saviz! I know you’re thinking it’s fine to let something small like this slide, but you’re wrong! It’s precisely because it’s no big deal that you should say no without hesitation!”
Hyacinthe regarded him like he was a child throwing a tantrum. “Laurence, don’t be so childish.”
He stuck his chin out and scoffed. “Can’t you see I am a child?! I can’t marry, and I have to abdicate the throne. I’ve been stripped of everything I have, so at least let me complain, will you?!” He grew even more heated as he continued. “Sure, Saviz has to marry the head saint if he’s to become king, but that doesn’t mean he’ll marry the one you handpicked and trained! You took her in when she was nine? Then she’s definitely been taught all your saint supremacist values! The thought of Saviz marrying a woman who thinks like you sickens me! He should be with someone better!”
Hyacinthe touched her forehead and grimaced. “Laurence, your body may be a child’s, but you’re twenty-nine now. Could you speak a little more calmly? As royalty, you shouldn’t use such coarse language. Besides, Saviz’s situation is your fault, is it not? If you weren’t so irresponsible as to discard the crown, Saviz wouldn’t have to become king or marry the incoming head saint at all.”
Cerulean floundered for a moment before exclaiming, “That all happened because you wouldn’t heal Colette!”
“Oh my. You criticize me to my face so much but want my help when you need it. So shameless. I must not have raised you properly.” She cast her gaze down at this.
Even more enraged, Cerulean shot back, “I have no memory of ever being raised by you! You only cared about Saviz and never so much as looked at me!”
She smiled broadly. “Oh, were you lonely? The fact that you ended up like this means you never had the qualities to be king, anyway. You were never fit to inherit.”
It took everything I had to keep my face still as this argument unfolded before me.
Cerulean and Hyacinthe got along like cats and dogs. He acted even more childish than usual with her. Meanwhile, she kept calm on the surface, even while going tit for tat with him. I suspected she was just as worked up as him and probably blurting out things she’d usually hold back.
Cerulean needed to get himself under control before he said something he’d regret. Unfortunately, his anger burst free and he slammed the table.
“Ha! You might be right about that! But even if I wasn’t fit to be king, I still became king! And as king, I have authority you can’t deny!”
His glare hardened, and I worried he was about to say something he couldn’t take back. It was outside my duties as a guard, but I attempted to speak up. Unfortunately, Cerulean beat me to the punch.
“I originally said I wasn’t going to sponsor anyone for the head saint selection, but I’ve changed my mind! As king, I’ll give my recommendation to Fia Ruud!”
“…Huh?!” My eyes shot wide. That was even more outrageous than anything I could have anticipated.
Uh, come again? I’m going to participate in the head saint selection?! …C-Cerulean, what are you saying?!
Second Popularity Poll Results
Side Story: Serafina Gets Hit on by Sirius While Incognito (Three Hundred Years Ago)
Side Story:
Serafina Gets Hit on by Sirius While Incognito
(THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO)
POPULARITY POLL: 1ST - SIRIUS ULYSSES
THIS IS A STORY from when I was sixteen.
As I paced through the royal castle, I encountered two of my knights. I smiled at their casual attire. “Canopus, Scheat, shall we be off then?”
“As you wish,” Canopus said after a beat.
Scheat didn’t reply, instead attempting to halt Canopus. “What are you doing, Canopus?! You don’t have to go along with your master’s every whim! If anything, a proper knight would know when it’s appropriate to push back!”
The bickering intensified from there.
Oh dear, I thought, but this was common enough that I allowed things to play out. Surprisingly, Canopus raised his voice.
“In that case, why don’t you chide her?!”
“W-well…”
“Don’t force something onto me just because you can’t do it yourself!”
“…Ngh.”
I had planned to explore the capital incognito with Canopus and Scheat. I wanted to hide my status and see witness life organically, but it was too dangerous to go alone, so I brought Canopus, my personal knight, and Scheat, a member of my royal guard.
The three of us had changed into commoner clothing and were about to head out when the bickering started. The argument ended soon enough in Scheat’s defeat, and I figured we’d be on our way, but then he turned his pleading on me.
“Lady Serafina, won’t you please reconsider?”
“Huh? Are two knights not enough?” I only called for two because a large entourage of muscular men would draw too much attention, but maybe I needed more?
He shook his head. “No, I can guarantee Canopus and I are more than enough to keep you safe, but great dangers lurk in this world! If Captain Sirius ever discovers you snuck out with only two knights guarding you, there will be hell to pay!”
Scheat’s red and yellow hair made him gaudy. He was tall, blessed with a muscular physique, and could count himself among the strongest of my royal guard—yet he was always unreasonably afraid of Sirius.
“Oh Scheat, you goof. Sirius wouldn’t get worked up over something like this. Well, okay, he might have to pretend to get mad given his position as captain of my royal guard, but he wouldn’t actually get mad.”
“Aaaah! I can’t believe you’re being serious right now! You don’t get it! You seriously don’t get it!” He clutched his head and curled his massive body into a ball.
I smiled wryly and faced the large mirror. I was wearing a simple dress fit for a commoner, as well as a black wig. No way Sirius would be able to tell I was Princess Serafina. As for my knights, Scheat wore some super gaudy-looking clothes, and Canopus dressed in vivid colors. Neither looked anything like a knight. No one would see through our disguises. Scheat’s fears were entirely unfounded.
“You’re usually so confident, Scheat, but you become a worrywart the moment Sirius gets involved. Since you kept complaining, I specifically waited for a day he was out of the capital on business, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“The fact that you’re involved at all is cause for worry! Captain Sirius is mind-bogglingly sharp when it comes to you! I’ve looked at our plan dozens of times and can say with utter confidence that it’s perfect and there’s no way Captain Sirius will find out about us…and yet he absolutely will! Because that’s just who he is!”
Scheat contradicted himself amid his own rambling. I glanced at Canopus, hoping he might talk some sense into Scheat.
Canopus’s mouth was a hard, thin line. “Scheat’s claim is without basis and holds no weight. However, I agree that Captain Sirius will find out about this sooner or later.”
“Oh my…” Now even Canopus was talking nonsense, but it wasn’t like I could cancel my plan because of baseless hunches. I smiled at my knights and said, “Then we better have as much fun as we can before he catches on.”
***
As it turned out, our plan to explore the town succeeded beyond my wildest dreams! No one realized I was a princess, and I had a great time observing the lives of normal people.
When dinnertime rolled around, I bought some meat skewers at a street stall. A simple table with chairs sat beside the stall.
As we settled to eat, I flashed Scheat a smile. “See, Scheat? Nothing bad happened!”
“Nothing bad happened yet, you mean… Aaaah! I’m going to have to live in fear of Captain Sirius finding out about this until the day I die!”
He was blowing this way out of proportion. I ate my skewer in silence until a voice called out behind us.
“Why, hello there, young lady.”
A fashionably dressed man joined by two attendants approached us.
“My name is Baron Audubon, and I would like to invite you back to my estate.” He spoke rather pompously, his invitation presumptuous given this was our first meeting.
“Uh, n-no thanks?” I replied, flustered. Maybe my cover was blown and he recognized me as a princess. Why else would a noble like him extend an invitation like this?
He huffed and frowned. “Do you not understand what an honor it is to receive an invitation from one such as I? Ugh. This is the problem with commoners, I tell you…”
He shook his head and reached out to grab my arm. Canopus and Scheat cut him off, but before they could reprimand the baron, someone grabbed his outstretched arm from behind.
“Huh? Who—”
His entire body spun into the air, his arm cracking.
“Gyaaaaaaaah?!”
He thudded to the ground, cradling his arm against his body as he rolled back and forth and screeched.
Familiar silver eyes stared expressionlessly down at the baron. It all happened too fast to process, but somehow this gray-haired man had appeared out of nowhere and tossed the baron to the ground. My eyes went wide as the man planted his foot on the baron’s shoulder to stop his rolling about.
“Eeeeeek?!”
The man glared down at the baron, mouth twisted with annoyance. “I seem to have broken your arm,” he said indifferently. “Do you need my address to bill me for the medical fees?”
His voice cut like a honed blade. Even the simplest fool could hear the threat he leveled at the baron. If someone shared their address with you, it was customary to share yours in return—but that would mean this demon of a man knew where you lived.
The baron was wise enough to grasp his peril. He squirmed under the man’s foot but couldn’t escape. This time, when he shrieked, he foamed with fear.
“Th-th-th-th-th-there’s no need for that, sir!” one of the baron’s attendants said, pale-faced. He and the other attendant quickly hoisted the baron up so all three could scramble away.
“See?! See?! See?! What did I tell you?!” Scheat whispered like he was chanting a magic word.
Canopus gritted his teeth and lowered his head as though waiting for a scolding.
But the gray-haired, silver-eyed man—that is to say, Sirius—didn’t so much as glance at the knights, instead extending a hand to me.
“Why, hello there, young lady.”
“Huh?” My eyes shot wide. He was treating me like a stranger.
He took one of my hands and stared at it. “Your hands have been looked after well, almost as if you were royalty or nobility.”
“O-oh, well, that’s because…”
“Ah, where are my manners? I am Sirius Ulysses, a knight.”
I blinked at him, bewildered, and wondered at his introduction. “U-um, right. Why—”
“Can I ask your name?”
“Huh? I’m Serafina,” I replied out of reflex.
He nodded to himself. “I see. You share the same name as an acquaintance of mine.”
“Huh?!”
Wait, does Sirius actually not realize it’s me? He’s treating this as though it’s our first time meeting… I cocked my head.
Scheat spoke through clenched teeth.
“As if! Hell would freeze over before he failed to recognize you!”
“It’s as Scheat says. Captain Sirius most definitely recognizes you!” Canopus added.
…Right. A black wig isn’t going to be enough to fool him. The next question, then, was what Sirius was doing in the capital when it was only evening. “You’re back sooner than I expected, Sirius. I thought you would spend the night outside the capital.”
“Ha ha, you warm up to others rather quickly, Serafina. You speak to me as though I were an old acquaintance.”
“Huh?”
Wait, maybe he really doesn’t realize it’s me? My brow furrowed.
In unison, Canopus and Scheat said, “Lady Serafina, do not be deceived! Such a thing is impossible!”
“O-oh, right.” I collected myself and cut straight to the point. “Sirius, you know who I am, don’t you?”
He clasped my hand in both of his and kissed the back. His silver eyes narrowed, heat roughening his voice. “Of course. It took but a single glance for your charm to strike me. You must be the one I’m fated to be with. I never suspected my future partner would be a woman with black hair and golden eyes.”
“S-S-Sirius?!” I stepped back, but he followed, body pressed against mine. “S-S-Sirius! W-w-we’re touching!”
“I’m aware.”
“You’re aware?!”
Just what has come over him?! I shot a look at Canopus and Scheat, but the knights were pale and shaking their heads. “Oh, come on!”
I couldn’t count on any help from them, it appeared.
“So you would seek the aid of other men while making advances on me? You’re quite the sinful one, Serafina.”
“Advances?! Sinful?!” I exclaimed.
He drew even closer, coiling my hair around a finger. “Just how far must I go before you only have eyes for me?”
“S-S-Sirius! You…!”
“Tell me, Serafina. How far must I go?” As he spoke, he slowly drew closer, and then…my legs gave out on me.
A strong arm caught me before I fell flat on my face. Draped over his arm, I looked up to find him smiling broadly.
“Ha ha, your legs gave out, did they? Have you learned your lesson at all, you rascal?”
“S-Sirius! So you did know it was me all along!”
He simply shrugged.
“But of course. If anything, it’s your own fault for thinking there was a world in which I’d fail to recognize you.” He took off the mantle covering his shoulders and draped it around me, then carefully lifted me into his arms.
I clutched his shirt. “But if you knew it was me, why’d you pretend you didn’t?”
His expression was frightening. “I’ve warned you before not to leave the castle without me, and yet you thought it would be okay to slip out so long as you had Canopus and Scheat with you. I had a duty to show you how wrong you were.”
“Huh? Wait, so that’s why they didn’t help me?”
“Exactly. Now do you understand that there are threats in this world even Canopus and Scheat are helpless against?”
There was real pride in his voice. I stared at him blankly before bursting into laughter. “Oh Sirius, you’re so funny. You’re the one and only exception, you know.”
“You can never be sure. You could encounter other unexpected threats, such as myself, lurking about.”
“No, I mean… When it’s you, I know right away that you pose no threat. Of course, Canopus and Scheat understood that too.”
“Serafina?” His brows drew down.
“You would never hurt me in a million years, no matter what. Am I wrong, Sirius?” His attempts at playing the villain fell flat.
“You’re…not.” His expression soured.
I smiled and, still in his arms, wrapped my own around his neck. “I love you, Sirius. That’s why I would never hurt you in a million years. I’ll protect you from everything that tries to harm you.”
He said nothing for a time, then averted his gaze. “What an evil witch you are to make such a mess of an upright man like myself.”
“How rude! Is that really how you’re going to respond to my promise to protect you?” I pouted.
Pain glinted in his eyes as he regarded me. “I’ve long since come to terms with the fact you don’t grasp my feelings. I was the one who raised you to remain this way, so I only have myself to blame. This is my just desserts.”
I didn’t quite get what he was saying, but I understood enough to glare.
He sighed, looking up at the sky before changing the topic. “It’s getting dark. It’ll grow cold once the sun sets, so why don’t we return?”
“You must be really tired from traveling out of and back to the capital in the same day.”
“I’m fine. Don’t underestimate a knight’s stamina.” He made a show of lifting me even higher.
“Really? You’re not forcing yourself? Then would you like to see the nightlife with me?” I offered.
“As a group of four?” he asked.
With an impish smile, I replied, “I was thinking maybe just the two of us, but I know the captain of my royal guard would scold me for not thinking of the risks.”
“Hmph. So long as you’re with me, there are no risks. Very well. Seeing as you’re in disguise and I’m not in uniform, I see no reason to stand on ceremony and have knights escort us.”
As he was on non-knight-brigade business, he wore noble clothes for once, but did that really matter? I cocked my head, but if he was on board with the plan, then that was fine by me. I grinned.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Canopus and Scheat salute. They took a few steps back before spinning around and briskly walking away like criminals who’d been set loose.
I was still in shock when Scheat stopped to give me a thumbs-up. I guess he approved of how I’d gotten Sirius back into a good mood.
“Look, Sirius. I’ve been given the seal of approval by Scheat.”
Humored, Sirius smiled and lowered me to the ground. “Good for you. Are you able to stand on your own yet? Of course, I wouldn’t mind carrying you around if you prefer.”
“I can stand on my own.” When he looked doubtful, I held out my arm.
“We wouldn’t want you to stumble. How about we link arms?”
“Good idea,” I said. His gaze softened. I looped my arm through his. “Can I ask you one thing, Sirius? Do you often chat up women you don’t know?”
“Of course not. I called out to you because I knew it was you.”
I sighed. “Thank goodness. You seemed so casual it made my heart ache. Half of why my legs gave out was the shock of it all, but the other half was thinking you might chat up women that way all the time.”
He grimaced. “I see. I’m sorry I worried you.”
Seeing him be so earnest, I spoke from the heart. “Hey, Sirius? Even if you find your special someone, I want you to keep making time for me, okay?”
Sirius raised an eyebrow, but his tone was serious. “Serafina, you seem to misunderstand me. No matter what happens, you are the only one I’d make time for. I have not a second to waste on other women.”
My heart skipped a beat. I covered it up by forcing cheer into my voice. “Right. You’ve been with me since I was young, so you think I’m the easiest to keep in line, huh? Fine! I’ll spend my whole life with you if that’s what you want!”
He regarded me for a beat before issuing a sigh from deep within. “I really did raise you wrong. You better not go saying that last bit to anybody else, you hear?”
“Why would I? You’re the only one I can see spending my life with.”
I thought that would reassure him, but the creases in his brow only deepened. “…really, really did raise you wrong. Serafina, do not ever speak a word again unless you fully understand its meaning! Not to me or to anyone!”
“Huh? But I’m not dumb. I understand what I’m saying.”
“No, you don’t! You absolutely don’t! You…”
Sensing a lecture coming, I tightened my arm around his and smiled up at him. “Then will you teach me?”
His shoulders slumped. “Where did you learn to act so coy?” He rested his head on my shoulder. “I admit defeat, Serafina.”
Yay, I won! As much as I wanted to, this clearly wasn’t the right time to boast, so I simply patted his head.
After a while, he scowled at me. I smiled right back and said, “I’ll give you my victory, Sirius. I really do love you, so I want you to have everything of value that I have.”
He clenched his teeth like he was bracing against something and said, “Please, spare me any more of this. I know you don’t understand a word you’re saying, but it’s still too much.” He then chanted what had recently become something of a magic spell for him. “Pull yourself together, Sirius! You’re the captain of the Royal Red Shield for crying out loud!” He shook his head and gazed up at the sky as though searching for relief there. “…The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
I followed his gaze. The moon shone the same color as the silver-haired knight beside me. The way it reminded me of him only made it all the more beautiful.
“It really is,” I answered. I wondered what he saw when he looked at the moon. When I glanced aside at him, his silver hair glistened in the moonlight. But my own moon here is beautiful as well.
Side Story: The Man Fia’s Gunning for Becomes Her Caretaker
Side Story:
The Man Fia’s Gunning for Becomes Her Caretaker
POPULARITY POLL: 2ND - SAVIZ NÁV
IT ALL BEGAN with something uttered during what should have been a completely serious meeting, attended only by my brigade captains.
“Heh heh… About that, I actually know someone who Fia won’t get angry at no matter what they ask. She told me herself which man she’s gunning for! And would you believe it, it’s Commander Saviz!” Clarissa boasted.
I doubted I was alone in thinking we would have been better off if she hadn’t shared such information. Everyone was lost for words.
We should have known Fia was unlikely to have feelings for me, as Clarissa claimed, or any ulterior motives for lying about it. She had never once shown that sort of affection for me, nor was she the type to flatter her superiors to curry favor.
She was, however, absurdly prone to causing misunderstandings despite her often-keen perception. That had to be the case here too.
Desmond grew frantic, trying to bury Clarissa’s accusations and prevent her from saying any more. Not a soul spoke up to argue against him, indirectly agreeing.
Interesting… It appeared they all objected to the idea of Fia being my life partner, but I suppose I could understand why.
I spared a moment to envision a life with her—and glimpsed a future full of hardship. The thought of trying to keep her, of all people, in check seemed like a greater undertaking than subduing the Black Dragon…which was under her thumb now, come to think of it.
“In other words, to spend my life with Fia would mean having to keep two walking calamities—her and the Black Dragon—in check…” I muttered to myself.
It was an absurd challenge. I kept that to myself, however, and listened without interrupting for the rest of the meeting.
“Commander Saviz!”
Several days later, after the sun had fully set, I encountered a rather jovial Fia Ruud in the royal castle garden.
“Are you on your way home from work? Hmmmm, but if you’re heading home at this hour, then you must have worked tons of overtime! Wait, but you still look so energetic and fresh, like you’ve only just popped out of bed. I guess you’re simply built different, huh?” She took me in in awe. Pink lit her cheeks, bright enough I could make it out even in the moonlight.
“I’d say you’re more energetic than I am. I take it you’ve been drinking?”
“Outstanding, Commander! You got it! Captain Desmond and his friends invited me out for drinks, so I had a few with them. Just a few.”
“I see.”
No one who described their consumption as “just a few” actually ever drank “just a few.”
I dismissed my guards, saying, “I’ll be heading straight to my room from here. There shouldn’t be any danger, and even if there is, your fellow knight from the First Knight Brigade will be enough to protect me.”
The knights hesitated but eventually swallowed their words, saluted, and left.
If Fia was worried about guarding me alone, she made no sign of it, smiling and giggling. “Five, six, seven… Heh heh heh. Seven knights swapped posts with me. I’m worth seven whole knights!”
“I suppose you could interpret things that way,” I said. “You must’ve drunk quite a lot tonight.” She was clearly in high spirits.
“Just a bit. Surprisingly, Captain Quentin didn’t have a single drop, so I tried to make up for him!”
“Was he feeling ill?” Quentin could usually hold his drink well, consuming large quantities with ease.
“No, but he arrived with his griffon egg on his stomach and said, ‘How could I possibly drink when I’m with child?!’ The other captains tried to argue his child was an egg, but he didn’t care.”
“Interesting…” I’d forgotten, but the captains’ get-togethers could get rather lively. “It sounds like you had fun. Incidentally, can I ask where you were headed?”
I figured she planned to see Cerulean since she was headed toward the castle.
She flashed a toothy grin and said, “I was on my way back to the knight dorms!”
“I do believe the dorms are in the opposite direction, are they not?”
“Huh? But I was told if I walked while looking at the moon, I’d reach the dorms.”
“I’m sure you already know this, but the moon’s position changes with time. It must have been quite a while since you were told that.”
“Outstanding, Commander! You got it! I was told last weekend, when I last went out drinking.”
“I see. I’ll walk you to the dorms then.”
“Heh heh heh. The great commander of the knight brigades is walking me back! I feel like I’m going to pass out from the overwhelming honor.”
“I think you’re just drowsy from drinking too much. Let’s get going before you fall asleep.”
To my surprise, Fia talked the whole way back to her dorm. Her indefatigable stream of words put me in mind of something Clarissa said.
“Oh, right. Am I correct to believe you’re ‘gunning for me,’ Fia?” I asked, curious to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Outstanding, Commander! You got it!” she said for the third time this night. Perhaps it was a new pet phrase she wanted to try out. She screwed up her face in concentration for a moment before proudly puffing out her chest. “Heh heh heh… So even the commander has finally recognized the extent of my loyalty, which is even greater than Blackpeak Mountain is tall! ‘Gunning for’ is special knight slang for who you think is the strongest in the knight brigades! A while back, Captain Clarissa asked me who I was ‘most invested in’ and ‘gunning for,’ but being such a loyal knight, I remembered I had promised not to leak the fact that Captain Cyril is stronger than you!”
“I see.”
“That’s why I named you the strongest knight in the brigades! Gosh, aren’t I so loyal? But y’know…” She glanced at my eyepatch. Without a hint of ulterior motive, she said, “I think you’d be the actual strongest if you healed your right eye.”
Such keen perception. She really did have the eyes of a ruler. However…
“I have no need for a right eye,” I said, repeating what I’d said a while back.
The wound was already more than a decade old. There was no hope of restoring the eye, and I wouldn’t wish to even if I could. I didn’t mind living with only one eye.
Fia nodded. “Your own feelings on the matter are the most important. There’s no need to heal it unless you want to.”
She really did hold saints in high regard. There wasn’t a saint alive who could heal the eye I lost, but she believed I was all that stood in the way of getting it back.
“Having only one eye is a big handicap when fighting,” she said. “You likely know that better than anybody, so I’m sure you must have strong reasons not to heal your eye. But you know…the world looks extra beautiful with two eyes.” She spoke softly, as though she truly understood the difficulties I faced with my impaired vision.
Every once in a while her words carried a resounding truth to them that stirred the heart. These in particular lingered in me well after she finished speaking.
“Indeed,” I said. “A day may come when I yearn for this world’s beauty and wish for the return of my right eye.” I didn’t make a habit of dreaming of the impossible but replied so anyway.
Fia smiled and nodded, and I was glad I’d responded the way I had.
We walked on in silence for some time. Spotting a light just ahead, Fia exclaimed, “Oh! Hey, that’s the dorm!”
She seemed to have forgotten that was our destination and treated this sight like the discovery of the century.
“Wow! I’ve finally managed to find the dorm even while drunk!” she said.
Well, that was worrying. This apparently wasn’t the first time she’d wandered around drunk at night.
Looking up at me, she said, “Wait, but the commander doesn’t live in the dorms! Oh no! I was supposed to escort you back to your room in the castle!”
“If you did that, I’d just have to escort you back here again.”
“Hwuh?”
“I can return to the castle on my own. Let’s just say I was acting as your caretaker for today. It’s the least I can do for the one ‘gunning for me,’ right?”
I’d dismissed those knights on the promise that Fia would be enough to escort me, but in the end I had escorted her. How comical.
She nodded deeply and repeated that new pet phrase of hers. “Outstanding, Commander! You got it!”
As I gazed at her bright eyes and rosy cheeks in the moonlight, I couldn’t help thinking that nights like this weren’t so bad.
Side Story: Fia Goes on a Date with Cyril on Her Day Off
Side Story:
Fia Goes on a Date with Cyril on Her Day Off
POPULARITY POLL: 3RD - CYRIL SUTHERLAND
“FIA, WILL YOU GO OUT with me for the day?”
Cyril, the dashing captain of the First Knight Brigade, paid me a visit at the women’s dormitory early in the morning.
“Oh my. You mean like out on a date?” I slapped my hands over my cheeks like a maiden in love.
“Pardon? Um… Is that what you want it to be?”
“Huh?”
If a man asked a woman out, what else could it be but a date? That had to be what he was doing, so why was he trying to make it sound like I wanted it to be a date?
“Wait, whoa, whoa, why are you flipping things around and making it sound like I’m the one who wants to go on a date with you? Aren’t you the one who…” I snapped to my senses. There was no possible way he, of all people, would actually come here to ask me out on a date. Shaking my head, I said, “Er, never mind. You just need me to keep you company for the day, right?”
I was still a fresh recruit in my first year with the brigades. It made sense for a captain like Cyril to call upon me to serve as extra protection or his bag mule or something.
“In a sense,” he said. “I was hoping we could enjoy an outing together. I have some shopping to do.”
Bag mule it is. I nodded and he told me to meet him in an hour so we could leave together.
***
“Zavilia, I’ll be going to town with Captain Cyril later. Do you want anything?” I asked.
Zavilia lay curled up in a ball on the protruding bay window. He gestured at the item hidden under him. “Another one of these golden dragon statues would be nice.”
Tucked under his belly was the golden statue I had received from Cyril as a thank-you gift for the holy stones I’d given him. It was way too expensive for a gift, though, so I was hoping to find an opportunity to return it. Unfortunately, Zavilia found it and made it part of his nest.
I guess it was in a dragon’s nature to collect shiny things. He even put things like holy stones full of healing magic and magic stones with absurd enchantments in his nest.
I scowled at the dragon curled up atop his collection of rare items. My cute little Zavilia had no sense of how money worked. I couldn’t have bought that gold statue Cyril forced onto me even with a full year’s salary! How was I supposed to buy him another?
“Oho ho ho, you have quite fine taste, my dear Zavilia! But you’ll have to wait until I wed royalty or high nobility if that’s what you want.”
“You’ve been using that excuse a lot recently. Until this point, I’ve taken those words at face value, but now I see what you really mean to say. Since such a marriage is impossible for you, you’re telling me you’ll never buy me what I desire.”
“Zavilia! You can’t crush a young maiden’s dreams like that! You never know, a noble might come out of nowhere, find some hidden qualities in me, and decide to marry me.”
“Uh-huh… I had no idea you wished for such a thing, Fia. Why don’t you reveal that your familiar is this nation’s guardian beast then? You’d certainly have your pick of whatever noble you’d like if you did that,” he teased.
I grimaced. “No way! I love you too much to use you to make myself look better!”
“Heh heh. So I’m more important to you than marrying a noble, huh? But if that’s the case, then you’ll never marry one.”
That was fine by me. I didn’t want to marry royalty or nobility whatsoever. Zavilia had to know that already and was just teasing me for fun. Still, he seemed pretty pleased with himself when I left to meet Cyril, one of those high-ranking nobles I’d never marry.
“I’m just a bag carrier to him, after all.”
Or at least, that was what I thought…
“Fia, what do you think of this bathrobe? It seems quite absorbent and warm, but maybe it isn’t to your liking?”
Shopping with Cyril was not what I expected. It was more like shopping with a close friend than serving as a bag mule. He even asked my opinion.
Come to think of it, Cyril and I are friends, aren’t we? Maybe he invited me out as a friend? I cocked my head as I answered his question. “I think it looks good, but it isn’t for me. The baths in the women’s dormitory are communal, so I couldn’t wear such a glamorous bathrobe. I’m definitely not brave enough to walk the long corridor back to my room wearing this.”
Cyril’s expression soured for some reason, but I was only saying this would look out of place in the women’s dormitory! It’d look fine in a high-class duke’s home!
Pulling himself together, he moved on. “What do you think of this nightcap then? Apparently it helps curb bed head and can save you time fixing your hair in the morning.”
“Whoa, how useful! If I wore this, I’d be able to sleep an extra five minutes every night!”
“This’ll do then,” he said with a nod. With the nightcap in hand, he made for the cashier, leaving me to wonder why his whole shopping list was women’s items.
Oh, I hadn’t mentioned it yet, but Cyril was only buying women’s items on this shopping trip. Puzzled, I asked him about it, but he just said, “I’m buying these for myself.”
Yeah right, he was definitely buying them for someone else! And he kept asking what I thought of each item. I appreciated having someone recognize my good taste, but I could totally bomb the whole thing if the person receiving these gifts had different tastes than me.
I was still wondering about it as he took up the bag with his new purchase instead of handing it off to me.
…Wasn’t I supposed to be his bag mule?
Afterward, we ate lunch at a restaurant. He’d made a reservation beforehand, so they seated us and brought out all my favorite foods the moment we arrived.
“Amazing! Only my favorites! Just what kind of magic did you pull?” I exclaimed a bit too loudly.
Instead of chiding me, Cyril grinned impishly. “I heard you dined with Commander Saviz in the castle, and so I asked what dishes were your favorite.”
“Wowie. You’re perfect in every way, aren’t you, Captain?” I said. He was captain of the First Knight Brigade, the most preeminent brigade, for good reason. He wasn’t just skilled with the sword but also attentive and capable. “I see why you’re captain of the First Knight Brigade!”
He laughed. “Is it because I have the funds to buy my fellow knights lunch?”
“That’s a factor, of course, but it’s mainly your attentiveness to others and your ability to get things done!”
“Ha ha. In other words, abilities related to getting you this food?”
Oh. I guess so? “Incredible, Captain! You summed up everything I wanted to say so easily.”
He really was on a different level. I gobbled up everything all the way down to dessert, then left the restaurant with him. He somehow paid for both our meals without me noticing, which I felt bad about but thanked him for anyway. Then we ran into two captains out on the street: Desmond and Zackary.
I grimaced, wishing I could avoid them. They’d just caught Cyril and me, a man and a woman, leaving a restaurant together smiling. No matter how you sliced it, it looked like we were on a date.
I braced for the teasing, and sure enough, Desmond smirked and said, “Well, what’s the meaning of this, Cyril? You said you were busy today, but here you are, running errands with Fia!”
His sharp eyes skimmed over the paper bags Cyril carried, but I still didn’t get how he’d reached this conclusion. Did he think we were on official business?
“Errands?!” I exclaimed with a frown. Huh? When you see a man and a woman out together, your first assumption should be that they’re on a date, right?
Zackary glanced back at the restaurant we’d just left and shook his head. “There’s no way this place filled you up. It’s all style and not enough substance. I came here once on Clarissa’s recommendation, but they take these big plates and only serve scrawny portions on them! Even if you order enough to fill the table, you’ll only satisfy a corner of your stomach. You should’ve gone to the meat place next door; they serve heaps.”
Like true knights, they only thought about quantity and not quality, but perhaps it was my fault for expecting them to have a single romantic bone in their bodies.
Cyril smiled. “Thank you for your advice, but Fia and I aren’t here on business today. We’re here on a date.”
“Huh?!” I exclaimed with a start. Didn’t he say earlier that this wasn’t a date?
Exasperated, Desmond said, “Just because you’re a man and a woman walking together doesn’t mean it’s a date! If that were the case, then me making rounds in the castle with Clarissa would count as a date too!”
No, that’s obviously different since it’s work…
Zackary chuckled. “Ha ha ha! In that case, me going on monster-hunting expeditions with Clarissa would count as a date too!”
Cyril ignored their lack of common sense to regard me instead. “Shall we get going?”
It would be a waste of time and energy to continue talking with these two, so I said, “Let’s! Gorging on so many yummy foods has made me sleepy, so I’m just about ready to go home and nap!”
“My, how healthy you are.”
Hee hee. Captain Cyril complimented me!
No matter how many times I told him not to, Cyril insisted on seeing me back to the women’s dorms. When we arrived, I thanked him for the pleasant day.
“Captain Cyril, thank you for today! I had fun looking at so many stores with you, and lunch was nice. You even walked me back to the dorm.”
“You’re very welcome,” he said with a smile. Then he held out his bags. “It might be a bit heavy, but these are for you.”
“Huh?” Confused, I blinked up at him.
He smiled and forced the bags into my hands one by one. “You were right this morning. What we went on was a date after all, so surely you should allow me to give you a few gifts?”
“Huh? But didn’t you indirectly imply it wasn’t a date?”
“I was wrong. What else could taking you out on a non-work day be called if not a date? Desmond and Zackary made me realize my mistake.”
He wore the same smile he had when he forced me to take that golden dragon statue as a return gift for the holy stones. Thinking he was up to something similar, I squinted warily at him. “But you bought these gifts for someone else, didn’t you? I couldn’t possibly take them.”
“Ha ha, there’s no need to worry about that. I bought these with the intention of giving them to you from the start.”
“What?!” That meant he would’ve given these to me even if he hadn’t found a proper excuse. “But why?”
“It’s completely natural to give a few gifts to someone on a date, is it not?”
Hmm… He seemed to believe he could give someone whatever gifts he wanted so long as he called it a date, but I wasn’t so sure. He put up his hands in surrender.
“If it’s a bit much, you can think of it as extra thank-you gifts for the holy stones you gave me. The statue I gave you last time was in no way enough, after all.”
I finally understood. Cyril planned this whole day as a continuation of his repayment for the holy stones… He didn’t need to go this far, though. All I did was give him some stones I got for free in Sutherland that I filled with a splash of my magic. All this was way too much…
While I hemmed and hawed over what to say, he forced the last paper bag into my hands. It was way heavier than the others for some reason. It had to contain something dense, like holy stones, or… “Gold?!”
Before I could stop him, Cyril vanished like the wind.
***
Left with no choice, I returned to my room with all the bags from Cyril. I opened the final bag first. Inside was a box I didn’t recognize. Wary, I creaked the box open and found a golden dragon statue that was a match for the one I’d received before.
“When did he find the time to buy this?!” I grumbled. I was about to put it back in the box so I could return it when Zavilia flew down from the window.
Shoot, I thought, but it was already too late. His eyes sparkled as he took in the statue. “Fia, you bought me another golden dragon statue, just like I asked!”
“Huh? Oh, right!” Come to think of it, he requested this, didn’t he? “No, no, this is something unrelated that I’m definitely returning this time.”
I tried to hide the statue behind my back, but he snatched it out of my hands and carried it back to the window.
“Oh no!”
Zavilia was back in his Zavilia space, this time with two golden statues under him.
“Aaah, what do I do! Trying to get a treasure back from you is next to impossible!” I quickly gave up on that idea and pulled out a fluffy blanket from among the other gifts. I tossed it on my bed and dove under it, curling into a ball. “I can make my own nest, Zavilia! Captain Cyril called me healthy for planning to take a nap, so I’m going…to do…just that…”
I dropped off mid-speech. The delicious lunch filled me up nicely, so I drifted away with ease, aided by the soft blanket.
What a luxury it is to take an afternoon nap like this. I owe it all to that wonderful lunch and this blanket Cyril bought me. Today’s date was perfect! I smiled, both in bed and in my dream.
Side Story: Fia Brazenly Takes Zavilia for a Walk
Side Story:
Fia Brazenly Takes Zavilia for a Walk
POPULARITY POLL: 4TH - FIA RUUD
I BURIED MY FACE in my bed as I reflected on my cowardice. “Aaah, why am I so gutless?! Zavilia left his birthplace to be with me, but I’m too chicken to openly walk around with him!”
I slammed my fists into my pillow as Zavilia spoke calmly from above.
“What’s come over you all of a sudden, Fia? Did somebody say something? Or maybe that popular book you read influenced you in some way?”
I bolted upright and said, “Well, Captain Desmond did recently tell me ‘A true friend is someone who stays with you no matter what!’”
“That knight on my hit list? Hmph. I guess even a pest like him can say something sensible every now and then.”
“That book also mentioned doing everything you want while you still can so you don’t have any regrets!”
“Don’t you already do whatever you please, Fia? You’d only cause trouble for everyone if you acted even morefreely.”
I ignored him, caught up in my own thoughts. “I was thinking—I should openly hang out with you without caring what other people might think! I mean, you left your home to be with me, so it’s not fair that I’m chickening out and not spending time with you!” I balled my hands into fists, steeling myself. “I’ve probably been worried for nothing this whole time! I mean, you haven’t worn your Blue Dove disguise once since you returned from Blackpeak Mountain, but you still fly freely around the castle grounds, and not a single person has said anything about it! I thought it would cause a commotion, but I guess knights are more carefree than I expected. And it’s not like that’s suddenly going to change at this point, right?”
He cocked his head and grimaced. “That kind of leap in logic is really like you, Fia. The kingdom’s knights are all highly paid elites; do you really expect them to see a black, winged creature and not connect the dots? I think you’re a bit optimistic. Still, I don’t mind playing along. I’d rather not wear that humiliating Blue Dove disguise ever again, and I doubt anybody would dare make a fuss if they noticed me. Even supposing they did, they wouldn’t get to complain for long…”
“My, my, Mr. Dragon King. That’s a very scary thing you’re implying there. Wouldn’t you rather go for a stroll around the castle with me instead of tormenting the weak? We’ll be able to see if knights are really carefree enough to let the world’s strongest dragon pass by unnoticed.” With a grin, I lifted Zavilia onto my shoulder and walked out of the room.
What have I been so worried about this whole time, anyway? Knights were all kinds of rough around the edges. They probably couldn’t tell a cat from a rabbit, so they’d likely mistake Zavilia for a bird or something! I’d prove Zavilia could stay by my side.
“You’re really something to genuinely believe this will work. All right. I’ll spend the entirety of today riding on your shoulder. Let’s see if you’re right.” Smirking, he slapped my shoulder with his tail.
***
Leaving the women’s dorm behind, I took a stroll through the castle garden with Zavilia.
“I know you often fly around openly on your own, but I’m always hiding you under my uniform when we’re out together. This’ll be the first time I’ve ever brazenly walked around with you on my shoulder! Whew, my heart’s really racing. I doubt anybody will figure you out, but on the one-in-a-million chance somebody does, what should we do? Should we have you fly off? Or maybe just play dumb?”
I was still debating my options when Desmond approached. This seemed like perfect timing for our little experiment, but he froze the moment he spotted me, a terrible grimace overtaking his face.
Maybe he’d pulled an all-nighter at work and was tired? I considered leaving him to his own devices, but then he waved and strode up to me. “Hey, what’s up, Fia? I heard you apprenticed yourself to some powerful people who like disguising themselves as jesters. Really took me by surprise! A normal guy like me can never predict what you’ll do next!”
…I take it back. There was no way he was tired if he had the energy to hit me with so much sarcasm right out of the gate. If he did actually pull an all-nighter and was still like this, then I didn’t want to know what he’d be like fully rested.
He seemed to sense my annoyance and clamped his mouth shut. His eyes went wide, focusing on a single point—my right shoulder. He stared unblinkingly, his face draining of blood and sweat dripping down his brow. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but since he was fixed on Zavilia anyway, I figured now was as good a time as any for introductions.
“I see you’ve noticed my cute little friend here, Captain Desmond! I followed your advice and am trying to be with him as much as I can. Oh, but he’s no ordinary friend. You see, he’s actually—”
Desmond cut in before I could finish. “Fia! I haven’t slept in two whole days!”
I blinked. “Uh, whazzat?”
So he did pull an all-nighter like I thought—or rather, a double all-nighter. I felt bad, but all-nighters were rather common for him, so he was probably used to the strange sleep schedule.
Maybe he was actually having a rather rough time if he was interrupting me, though? My heart ached for him as I thought about all that lost sleep.
He rushed on, frantic. “Sleep deprivation causes all kinds of symptoms! Headaches, dizziness, nausea, trembles, and once you reach my level, both visual and auditory hallucinations!”
“Wow, you’re really familiar with sleep deprivation, huh?” I said. I didn’t quite know what these “levels” were, but he often worked overtime, so he was probably at some super high level of sleep deprivation.
“You bet I am! To your eyes I may project the very image of an energetic, talented, capable captain, but the truth is I’m practically asleep!”
“Uh, whazzat?” I cocked my head.
He elaborated. “To avoid the symptoms of sleep deprivation, I’ve mastered a technique that lets me look like I’m awake while I’m actually asleep! So despite how it might seem, I’m actually asleep right now! And would you believe it, while I’m asleep I have a habit of sometimes saying the exact opposite of what I think!”
“What, really? That sounds like a problem.”
“It is! That’s why I sound like a sarcastic jerk when I’m asleep, even when the real me is a gentleman with a heart of gold who’d never badmouth anybody!”
“Uhhh…”
What was he on about? I’d never once seen Desmond act like the “gentleman” he was claiming to be. He did say earlier that sleep deprivation could cause hallucinations; perhaps he’d hallucinated this “gentlemanly” Desmond.
He was more of the careless sort and didn’t have very sharp intuition, so I doubted he realized the small, friend-sized creature on my shoulder was the one and only Black Dragon. I had planned on introducing Zavilia to him, but talking to Desmond while he was acting all weird didn’t seem worth the effort. I needed to excuse myself as soon as possible.
With that in mind, I tried to say goodbye, but he launched into a booming declaration before I got a chance. “That’s all to say that what I actually meant earlier was: ‘Wow, Fia! You’re so perceptive to realize those foolish jesters were actually a group of really powerful people! And they even accepted you as a member! A plebeian like me can’t understand your greatness! I’m so moved!’”
“That’s nothing like what you said earlier!” I exclaimed. He had a real problem if his inner voice and what he said aloud were that different.
He barreled on. “What’s more, I’ve been in a half-asleep, half-awake state for so long that my third eye has finally opened! And through my third eye, I can tell there’s a calamity-class monster riding on your shoulder!”
“Whazzat?!”
He was definitely right about Zavilia being a calamity-class monster, but how did he know? Was this the power of this “third eye?”
“N-no way, don’t tell me the usually dull and unperceptive Captain Desmond actually reaches his full potential when he’s asleep?!” I’d been drunk then so I didn’t remember it, but apparently, after I returned from Sutherland I’d let the captains have their pick of some holy stones I brought back for them as gifts. Desmond picked a normal holy stone while everyone else hit the jackpot, so I figured he was just the unperceptive sort. What a surprise to think he turned super sharp while asleep.
“Wait, what? Fia, I’m not dull or unperceptive! No, that’s not the issue. The issue is that I can recognize the creature on your shoulder as a calamity-class monster! T-toward whom I of course hold nothing but respect!” He slapped his hands together like he was praying.
“Oh, okay. So if you went and got some proper sleep and were wide awake, you’d still be able to recognize my friend here as a calamity-class monster?” I asked.
If that were the case, I wouldn’t be able to walk around with Zavilia where I could risk encountering Desmond. Too bad.
He stood up stiffly, floundering for words. “Huh?! Um, well… R-right, like I said earlier, I can only recognize him because my third eye is open from being half-asleep for so long. When I’m fully awake, I’ll only recognize your familiar as a blackish, extremely handsome creature, so I pose absolutely no threat! And everything I’m saying right now is just sleep talk, so I’ll forget it as soon as I wake up!”
“You mean you’ll forget our conversation? What a waste!”
He grimaced and said, “That’s rich coming from someone who forgets everything when they’re drunk! Ack, no. I mean… That was my bad habit again, I didn’t mean that. What I meant is you’re always right on the mark, Miss Fia! Ah ha ha ha!” He frantically amended his words, then regarded Zavilia seriously. “To summarize, I greatly respect this nation’s guardian beast, the Black Dragon, from the bottom of my heart! Náv only knows peace because the Black Dragon keeps watch over us from his mountain far to the north…or perhaps even from this castle here in the royal capital!”
Oh, wow. I guess I really was wrong about him being unperceptive. He praised the Black Dragon right in front of Zavilia! But it could just be a coincidence… Surely if he knew Zavilia was the Black Dragon, he would just come out and say it. He had no reason to hide his knowledge; in fact, I’m sure he’d love to boast about his discovery. What a coincidence that he just so happened to start talking about how much he liked the Black Dragon in front of Zavilia.
The whole thing left me wide-eyed.
Desmond took a few steps back and bowed to Zavilia. “I have nothing but gratitude toward the Black Dragon for remaining Náv’s guardian beast! In fact, I’m sure my third eye opened precisely so I could show my appreciation like this!”
He didn’t even know Zavilia’s identity but thanked the Black Dragon anyway. I guess he was just that grateful.
In high spirits, I smiled at Zavilia. “You hear that, Zavilia? It sounds like Captain Desmond’s a big fan of the Black Dragon. Don’t you think you can remove him from the top of your hit list now?”
Desmond shrieked shrilly and fell to his backside.
“Captain Desmond?!” I whipped toward him.
He stared up at me pale and flustered. “Wh-wh-what exactly is this ‘hit list’ thing?” he asked, trembling. “W-wait, no! Don’t answer that! I’m not losing my life over a little curiosity! Fia, I have an elderly mother and father! You wouldn’t make me depart this world before them, would you?!”
His sleep deprivation started to manifest as dizziness and quivering. Maybe he needed medical attention, but he put up his hands and exclaimed, “I beg you, if you feel any pity whatsoever for me, leave me be! I’m the type of person who finds lying on the bare ground comfortable, so I’ll recover if I stay here like this!”
“O…kay…” If he said so. I certainly wasn’t going to argue otherwise.
I guess the world’s full of all kinds of people, I thought as I parted with Desmond.
***
“See, Zavilia? Captain Desmond isn’t that bad. He spouts a lot of nonsense because of his sleep deprivation, but he works really hard as a captain and is usually a lot better than we see him as.”
Zavilia scrunched up his nose. “Is that so? From my perspective he’s always been the same insufferable man. Also, he seemed to believe I wanted to eliminate him because he wasn’t respectful enough toward me, but it’s actually his disrespect toward you that I cannot stand.”
“Well, he praised me quite a bit today. He even praised you as the Black Dragon without even knowing you were the Black Dragon. He’s a big fan of yours, Zavilia!”
Zavilia gave me a sidelong look. “You’re really something, Fia, to say such a thing after witnessing all that. I hear people can’t help but use themselves as a benchmark when judging others. Heh. I think I know why you believe knights are so careless now.”
“Hm? What’s that mean?” Was Zavilia saying I was the careless one? No, he’d never do that.
We continued through the garden while chatting, but encountered no other knights. This was a problem. How was I supposed to test my theory if nobody came by? Eventually, however, I spotted a very familiar face—my father, Dolph Ruud.
Wow! I haven’t seen him since before the entrance ceremony! We couldn’t meet at all because he was vice-captain of the Fourteenth Knight Brigade, in charge of border patrol in the far west. Just what was he doing here?
He noticed me just as I noticed him, and he hurried over. “Is that you, Fia? I haven’t seen you since you got assigned to the First Knight Brigade! How have you been?”
Oh? Had he been worried?
“I’ve been well. My training period is over, so I’ve started guarding the royal family in earnest.” I covered my mouth like a high-class lady and offered a nonchalant response.
His eyebrows rose. “That so? You probably don’t know this, but the First Knight Brigade is full of nothing but elites! They’re all first-class with the sword and can read a room in a second. Can you really keep up with such incredible people?”
Come to think of it, the First Knight Brigade supposedly contained nothing but elite knights. I must have been quite something to be able to keep up! I tilted my chin up and said, “Of course I’m keeping up! Heh heh, I even fought Commander Saviz to a draw at the entrance ceremony!”
“That was only because your sword just so happened to be national-treasure class!”
Wow. He had a good memory.
“It’s not just that!” I said. “As someone born to a knight family, I grew up learning how to read a room! Guarding royalty is a piece of cake for me!”
“Really? But I could swear you’ve let snake oil salesmen into our house dozens of times. I can’t really see you reading the room that well.”
I scowled. His memory wasn’t usually this good. Why’d he have to have such perfect recall now of all times?
He ignored my frown and scanned our surroundings before leaning in and whispering, “More importantly, I’ve come by the royal castle today to gather information at my captain’s request. We only get bits and pieces of rumors out in the west, so we have to come all this way to hear what’s really going on. And believe it or not, apparently someone spotted the second coming of the Great Saint in Sutherland—and they’re not even a saint but a knight. How weird is that?”
“Guh?!”
Why did he know that?! It didn’t sound like he knew the important details at least. I just had to avoid saying anything silly.
“Oh… Yeah, I heard about that,” I said carefully.
“Have you ever met the knight in question? Which brigade do they belong to?” His eyes narrowed.
I smiled awkwardly under this rapid-fire barrage and searched for a suitably vague yet honest reply. “Uhh, I think she was in the same First Knight Brigade as me? I get the feeling I might’ve met her before. But, uh, she’s a woman overflowing with class and benevolence, so I can see why the people of Sutherland might mistake her for the Great Saint.”
I slipped up and started hyping myself up a bit too much. Maybe I’d gone too far, but my father simply grinned.
“Incredible! She’s that amazing? I’d love to meet her sometime!”
You’re meeting her right now.
“That might be a bit hard,” I said. “You can’t just meet with somebody said to be the second coming of the super holy and sacred Great Saint, you know.”
I was just riffing, but my father replied, “Ah, that’s true. And she’s in the First Knight Brigade.” He fell silent for a while before lifting his head and crossing his arms. “Actually, there’s another rumor I heard. Apparently, part of the royal castle grounds has been sealed off—and it’s the rose garden, of all places. I thought it was a bit strange that knights would protect that area around the clock, but…”
As red washed into his cheeks, a kernel of worry tickled my mind. Was he really here collecting information for his brigade? There had to be more important things to worry about, like the appearance of a demon, or the fact the king was disguising himself as a jester. It worried me that he’d show such concern over a rose garden. Maybe he wasn’t the right man for this job.
Or so I thought, but his next words elicited a yelp of surprise.
“Listen here, Fia. This stays between us, all right?” He cleared his throat. “I have it on good authority that this rose garden is a secret rendezvous spot for a couple’s tryst… That couple being none other than Commander Saviz and a female knight of the brigades!”
“Whaaaat?!”
I’d long dreamed of discovering a secret couple within the brigades before anyone else, but he beaten me to the punch, and the couple even involved a superior I knew well!
“Shush! Quiet down!” He flapped his hands at me.
“O-oh, sorry. Do you know who this female knight is?”
“I was hoping to ask you, actually. From what I hear, she’s short and has red hair, but…”
“Ah.”
Wasn’t that me? Come to think of it, I encountered Saviz in the garden once when I went to check on the Roses of the Great Saint. His love life must be really sad if people were misunderstanding a small thing like that for a tryst. No, wait, that was rude to think about a superior. All right, that thought never happened!
I tried to tell my father the truth. “You know, I kind of fit that description. And I’m pretty sure I’ve spoken to the commander in the rose garden before. Maybe people saw us and misunderstood?”
“Get real, as if the two of you would ever be alone together! Even if by some miracle you were, who would possibly misunderstand and think it was a lover’s tryst? They’d just assume he was lecturing you for screwing something up.”
It’s the truth, though, I thought with a pout. How else could such a rumor exist?
Suddenly remembering something, he said, “Oh, right. You’re of age now, huh? Have you found anyone you like yet? If they’re a knight, I can use my influence as vice-captain to pull some strings for you. Is there anyone you’re gunning for yet?”
There was that phrase again, “gunning for.” This was knight slang for “who do you think is the strongest knight?” Clarissa asked me the same thing a while back, so maybe this was a popular topic among knights.
“I’m gunning for Commander Saviz, of course!” I answered.
He choked and coughed. “Y-you’re what?! That’s…no, I can understand, I suppose. Even men would fall in love with someone like him, but still… Ah, wait! It must’ve hurt to hear me talk about his secret tryst then, huh? I’m sorry, Fia! Forget I said anything!”
I didn’t get it, but he seemed really worried about my feelings. He looked away, flustered, and finally noticed Zavilia on my shoulder.
“Eek! Th-that’s that blackish, dragonish creature from before!” He leaped backward, falling onto his behind like Desmond and staring wide-eyed at Zavilia. “Eeeeek! Y-you’re still with this terrifying thing?! L-Listen up, Fia! You gotta hide a creature this powerful! If it gets out that you’ve tamed this beast, I’ll be unfairly promoted and made a captain by extension! I don’t want to move up in such a dirty way!”
With that, he sped off.
***
“Hmm, it looks like my father has realized your identity, Zavilia. What a surprise,” I mumbled as we watched him retreat.
In all the hustle and bustle of recalling my past life, I’d clearly said I’d made a pact with the Black Dragon in front of my father, brothers, and sister. That’s why Oria so readily accepted that I was friends with the Black Dragon back when we met in the Gazzar Borderlands. My whole family already knew the Black Dragon was my familiar.
I’d completely forgotten that I told them and made them promise not to tell anyone else, but since there were no rumors going around they must have been keeping my secret. Oria was probably doing so out of kindness, but my brothers probably just didn’t care enough about me for it to come up in conversation.
“And my father hates the idea of using his connections to move up the ladder, so he’s keeping quiet too. Huh… But would they really promote him to captain if it got out that the Black Dragon was my familiar? …Would they promote me to captain?”
Would that make Cyril my subordinate? Yikes. That thought alone turned my blood to ice. He’d scold me every day for not working hard enough as his boss!
“I doubt anybody will realize you’re the Black Dragon, and I doubt they’d ever make me a captain, but juuust in case, I think you should be a little more careful about what you do, Zavilia!”
“Ha ha. So we’re back at square one then.”
“Huh. Yeah, I guess so.”
How strange, I thought as I meandered deeper into the castle garden. I stopped when I encountered Cerulean, dressed as a jester and observing the Roses of the Great Saint. Leon and Dolly flanked him, and some knights stood a respectful distance away guarding the entirety of the rose garden.
I approached, wondering if the trio was hunting for a good flower to give to Colette. Zavilia noticed something along our way; I followed his gaze to find him appraising the shining water springing from the fountain.
“They say dragons like shiny things, but I guess this fountain’s water counts too, huh?” I let Zavilia down by the fountain. “Wait here for me while I go chat for a bit.”
I headed back to the jesters. Their attention never wavered from the roses, so they didn’t notice me approach.
“Looking closely, the color of the petals are slightly different. Hm… I personally associate awakening with the first rays of morning, so maybe a red petal mixed with orange hues would break the spell on Colette?” Cerulean said thoughtfully.
Scoffing, Dolly said, “This is Her Holiness the Great Saint’s special roses we’re talking about here! There is absolutely no way they operate so simply! As for what I would pick, hm… I feel as though the largest flower, this one right here, contains some special power.”
Leon rebuked them both. “Oh, c’mon! Both of you are just choosing the ones you like best! Have you forgotten what we came here for?!”
Interesting. Leon proved himself the most logical and sensible of the trio. As for the roses, I wasn’t done feeding them my mana, so none of them could cure the sleep status effect as of now.
Dolly finally noticed me and exclaimed, “Well, if it isn’t Fia! Have you come to see the roses as well?”
“Hello, Dolly. I was just strolling the castle grounds with a friend and happened to pass by.”
I thought my reply was pretty neutral, but Dolly pressed his lips together.
“You’re with a friend, you say?” he said. “Hmph, well isn’t that something? Do you realize how many times I had to ask before you finally let me be your friend? Just what kind of person are they to meet your criteria so easily?”
How could I describe what kind of person Zavilia was? “Well, I suppose my friend is kind, intelligent, and downright adorable!”
I answered honestly, but that only deepened Dolly’s scowl. “Are you flaunting your friendship in front of me?! I’m hurt, Fia! Am I not kind, intelligent, and downright adorable?!”
“Don’t be such a narcissist, Dolly. Fia’s just listing her friend’s positive traits. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.” Leon tried to smooth things over, but Cerulean cut in.
“Stay out of this, outsider. While you were away, Dolly and I became friends with Fia. It’s only natural that we would compete to see who’s the greatest among all her friends—which is easily me, because of how I’m simply overflowing with class!”
“My, what is this child saying? Her number one friend is me, of course! Do you not see all the beauty and talent I exude?” said Dolly.
I wasn’t quite sure what they were arguing over, but it was kind of annoying. Just then a black creature descended from the sky to alight on my shoulder, spreading its black wings as it landed gracefully. When I looked, sure enough, Zavilia perched on my shoulder. He must’ve grown bored of the fountain water.
“Aaaah?!” the jester trio exclaimed, their eyes wide.
I stood up straight and proud. Clearly, they now saw my friend Zavilia’s kindness, intelligence, and downright adorableness up close.
Dolly’s lips trembled as he sputtered, “Th-th-that’s…!”
I introduced Zavilia while I had their full attention. Gesturing at him with both hands and grinning, I said, “Ta-da! This is the friend I was talking about! Do any of you think you could beat him in kindness, intelligence, and downright adorableness?”
Without missing a beat, Dolly said, “I-Impossible! I surrender!”
Well, that was fast, I thought. I guess Zavilia’s good qualities were apparent at a single look.
“I-I surrender too! There’s no way I could win!” said Cerulean, also rather quickly.
Leon, the last to speak, glanced between his fellow jesters, pale and blinking. “You two folded way too quickly! Um, just putting it out there, but I wasn’t competing from the start!”
Looking to Zavilia, I said, “It seems like you scored a clean sweep!”
The jester trio agreed profusely.
***
After parting with the jesters, I turned back toward the dorm with Zavilia still perched on my shoulder. I had walked for quite a while but only met a handful of familiar faces.
“My father aside, it looks like nobody realized you were the Black Dragon, Zavilia. They saw you from up close and couldn’t tell, so it’s probably safe to assume nobody will figure it out. Looks like you can hang out with me from now on!”
“Interesting. You saw how they reacted and that’s your conclusion? …Of course. There was no real point to this experiment to begin with, was there? The moment you decided the outcome, there was no swaying your opinion.”
“Huh? Are you saying we should’ve skipped the whole thing? Ha ha, looks like the most careless one of all was you, Zavilia!” Struck with sudden brilliance, I added, “Oh, I know! You spoke human words in front of Vice-Captain Gideon, remember? He was surprised, but he never realized your true identity, so you can probably use human speech in front of others! And if anyone ever says anything about it, we’ll tell them your voice box is damaged like we did with Vice-Captain Gideon.”
“Hmm, yeah… You’re definitely the most careless one of all, Fia.”
“Whaaat?!” No way!
My adorable little friend smiled and said, “At any rate, I’m more than happy to stay with you from here on out like you wish. I’ll enjoy dealing with anybody who’s rude to you on the spot.”
“Hwuh? W-wait, what?! Hold on, where’d that come from?! Look, I’m a full-fledged knight, so let me try to deal with my problems myself first.”
“Hmph.” He frowned.
I slapped on a toothy grin. “You’re my trump card, Zavilia! A trump card isn’t a trump card if you use it all the time! In other words, uh… You’re just that important to me, so you don’t need to do a thing.”
“…Fine.” He sounded quite pleased with himself after my explanation and flexed his wings. “So all I have to do is discreetly make my presence known from behind you. I can handle that.”
That wasn’t quite what I wanted, but he seemed happy so I let it go. To distract him, I said, “Heh heh. I’m gonna get some dinner at the dining hall. How about we go together?”
“That sounds good. Let’s.”
I made for the dining hall in high spirits with Zavilia riding on my shoulder, thinking about how wonderful it was to have your friends with you all the time.
As for whether or not we caused a commotion at the dining hall…I think I’ll leave that to the imagination.
Side Story: Making Strides as a Saint
Side Story:
Making Strides as a Saint
POPULARITY POLL: 5TH - CHARLOTTE
“THAT’S INCREDIBLE, Charlotte! You must’ve worked really hard to maintain the effects of the green healing potion spring!”
While Fia was in Sutherland for her knight work, I visited the eastern side of the castle grounds every day to give the green healing potion spring my mana. It was all worth it once she returned and started heaping praise on me, enough that I actually felt bashful. Was I blushing?
“Thank you, Fia… But I only barely kept it working. You’re so amazing. You gave the spring so much healing magic. That’s the only reason its effects lasted as long as they did. My magic isn’t enough; in the month you were gone, the spring has weakened so much.” My shoulders slouched at the thought.
Fia tried to encourage me. “No, you really are incredible, Charlotte! Not many saints can do this much.”
Fia was a super talented saint herself, and kind on top of that. That became all the clearer to me when I attempted to copy her and learned what an unbelievable amount of mana she put into the spring. Even when I drained my mana dry to try and maintain the spring, it dulled a little more by the day.
Despite her incredible mana, Fia didn’t put on airs or make fun of me for failing to match her. Far from it, she praised me for doing what I could. Thanks to that, new strength welled up inside me, encouraging me to keep trying my best.
“I’m so happy I got to meet you,” I said from the heart.
“Me too, Charlotte!” Fia pulled me into a hug, and I smiled like I always did around her.
***
“Saint Charlotte, might I have a moment?”
I was checking on the familiars in the stables when a knight from the Fourth Monster Tamer Knight Brigade called out to me, a mellow woman named Patty Conaghan.
“There’s a deer-type monster here that has lost her hearing. We plan on sending her to the rest home in a week.”
“The rest home?” I’d never heard of such a thing.
She smiled. “It’s where we send the familiars who have become injured or sick, or who otherwise can no longer fight. It’s outside the royal capital but surrounded by mountains, so it’s a nice, relaxing location for retired familiars.”
“I didn’t know we had such a place. How nice,” I said with a smile.
She frowned a bit. “Indeed, but parting from the masters they’ve fought with for so long and leaving behind the place that’s become their home puts a lot of stress on the familiars. Somehow, they always sense that they’re about to part from their masters and grow restless.”
“Oh, I see.” Monsters had fairly sharp intuition, so they probably read the truth in their masters’ expressions.
“Familiars who know they’re being sent away become easily agitated and always wind up exhausted on the day they have to move. That’s why I was hoping we could give them some colored healing potion to calm them, even if it costs significantly more.”
“You mean like the green healing potion?” I asked, knowing no other colored healing potion.
She nodded. “Familiars usually spend their last night here with their masters, but because they’re so exhausted from stress, they’re irritable and often quickly fall asleep. From the reports we receive from the rest home, the familiars always seem to regret not spending a better last night with their masters, so I was thinking some green healing potion might help soothe the familiars and let them enjoy it.”
“I see…” Having been separated from my mother at the age of three, I sympathized. I wished I could have spent my last day with her talking and hugging, but instead I cried the whole night due to the suddenness of it all. I’ve regretted that ever since and would rather the familiars and their masters avoid those same regrets. “It’d be nice if everyone could part without having to feel sad afterward. I’d be more than happy to share some green healing potion.”
“Really? Thank you so very much, Saint Charlotte. In that case—”
“Rose! Oh, Rose! Forgive me for having to part ways with you!” A hoarse voice echoing through the familiar stables cut Patty off.
I turned toward a well-built knight clinging to a familiar. I racked my brain trying to figure out how I recognized him. “Who’s that?”
Patty blinked, bewildered. “Well, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but what perfect timing… Saint Charlotte, allow me to introduce you. That man is my brigade’s vice-captain, Gideon. The monster he’s clinging to is his familiar, a flower-horned deer, the one I mentioned that’s being sent to the rest home next week.”
“Huh? Oh no, what’s wrong with her?” I asked. She didn’t appear hurt in any way.
Patty furrowed her brow. “Recently, she’s completely lost her hearing… Just between you and me, Captain Quentin has started keeping a griffon chick, and Vice-Captain Gideon keeps insisting his familiar lost her hearing to it.”
“I saw that griffon chick myself a while ago, but it was smaller than me.” Meanwhile, Gideon’s familiar was so huge I had to crane my neck back to take it in. I found it hard to believe a chick could hurt it.
“Right. The vice-captain isn’t one to lie though, so I think he believes it. But his claim is so outrageous that nobody knows what the truth is. Personally, I think it’s possible the griffon chick used its small body to peck at and worsen the flower-horned deer’s preexisting damage, but I’m not really sure…”
“I suppose that’s possible.” I didn’t know much about monsters. Maybe there really was something a small chick could do to harm a much bigger monster.
“At any rate, Vice-Captain Gideon has been with his familiar for a long time and really dotes on her, so parting ways will be rough on him. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to use your healing potion to enjoy a peaceful last night with her.”
“Is that so…” Patty’s solution didn’t seem like it’d address the root of problem, but I smiled anyway and said, “I’d be happy to help!”
Bereft of other solutions, I agreed for the time being. After more discussion, we parted ways, and I left the familiar stables behind. I snuck a glance at Gideon as I exited, my chest clenching when I caught him clinging to his familiar, tears streaking down his cheeks.
***
“You seem down, Saint Charlotte. Did something happen?”
I was strolling the castle grounds when a voice interrupted me. I startled, finding Desmond, captain of the Second Knight Brigade, standing before me.
“Oh, uh, I was just thinking about how I haven’t seen Fia around lately,” I said truthfully.
He scowled. “Oh, her? She’s busy with a special job right now. She found this somewhat uncommon rose and has been tasked with checking on it every day and going, ‘Yeah, that’s still a rose,’ or something.”
That explanation didn’t really clear anything up, but it did sound like a task only Fia could do. I hunched. If she was busy with work, then I couldn’t go to her for help.
Desmond tilted his head at me. “Did you have some business with Fia?”
“Not quite, um… I was hoping she might have some of the greenorb fruit we found in Starfall Forest before.” What I really wanted was for Fia to make a hearing restoration potion for me again, but I didn’t want to bother her if she was busy. Maybe I could copy what she did and make the potion myself, but I didn’t have the ingredients to try it. I could find all the medicinal plants I needed except greenorb fruit around the castle grounds, but if I was missing that one key ingredient, it wouldn’t matter.
Desmond pointed at himself and said, “Oh, is that it? I could go pick some for you if you want. I’ve actually been looking for something to do to kill time, ha ha. This is my first day off in two whole weeks, but it’s still too early for the bars to open.”
“Oh, but I couldn’t impose. Isn’t Starfall Forest full of dangerous monsters?”
He laughed. “I appreciate the concern, but going through that forest is no different than taking a stroll through a garden for me. I’m not heading there to hunt monsters, so there shouldn’t be any real danger. I take it you’re making another hearing restoration potion? I still owe you for the one you made for me. If helping you means some other poor sap can get their hearing back, then I don’t mind one bit.”
The hearing restoration potion from last time had indeed healed Desmond’s left ear, but this time I wanted to make one to heal a familiar, not a person. Fia had made most of the potion herself, so the chances I could replicate it by myself were low.
“Um…” I said. “I’m actually trying to heal a familiar serving the Fourth Monster Tamer Knight Brigade. It’s actually quite a hard thing to make, and I only succeeded last time by chance, so I’ll probably fail this time. I can’t ask you to put yourself in danger for that…”
He stood up a little straighter. “In that case, I’ll bring along a captain who values familiars just as much as people. Should be easy enough if I tell him the potion’s for a familiar, and he’s got skill with a sword so we’ll have even less need to worry about the risks.”
“U-um…” I didn’t know which captain he meant, but I hesitated to impose on yet another person.
He left without another word, gallantly striding off and waving over his shoulder without looking back.
“What do I do?” I muttered to myself, but it was too late, so I just stood there fretting.
Only a couple of hours later, Desmond returned looking much the same as when he left. He handed me a large bag stuffed full of something and said, “Here’s the greenorb fruit, as promised. I made sure to get a lot, so don’t worry about messing up your potion-making. I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite heading to the forest and back; I get the feeling tonight’s drink will taste extra good. Let me know if you ever need me to fetch something again.”
He didn’t make a face even when I looked him up and down, checking for injuries. Rather, he promised to help me again if I ever needed it. What a kind man he was.
“Oh, right,” he continued, “Quentin wanted me to pass on a few words: ‘You have my gratitude for working to aid the familiars of my brigade.’ He’s grateful for the effort you’re going to for the familiars, regardless of whether you succeed or not.”
Desmond was such a kind man, he even made sure I wouldn’t feel bad if I failed.
“Thank you very much,” I said happily.
He shook his head. “Not at all. You’re trying to make potions for my fellow knights’ familiars. I should be the one thanking you.”
***
Immediately afterward, I went to the green spring and picked the remaining medicinal plants I needed for the hearing restoration potion. I then tried to recall what Fia had done as I carefully stuffed the ingredients into a small bottle. Somehow, she didn’t need to measure anything last time, but that meant I didn’t know the right proportions for everything. I tried not to lose heart as I faced a daunting task only I could undertake.
When we made the hearing restoration potion together, my mana alone hadn’t been enough, so Fia supplemented it with her own. Keeping that in mind, I used smaller quantities of the ingredients. Fia produced a miracle medicine that could completely restore hearing in only a single dose. I couldn’t make anything that potent, but maybe I could manage a fraction of what she had if I set my sights lower. I had a whole week before Gideon’s familiar left for the rest home—hopefully that was enough time for me to slowly feed his familiar working hearing restoration potions.
I poured as much mana as I could into the small bottle in my hands as I began my first attempt.
Thirty minutes passed. I brought the finished product to the familiar stables and found Gideon standing outside. Perfect timing. I wanted to ask his permission to feed the potion to his familiar.
He ran over when he noticed me. His scary face and intimidating size were even more apparent from up close. I couldn’t help but tense, but I would have to ask many other older, scary-looking adults if I could feed their familiars untested potions as I continued this work, so I couldn’t back down now. I swallowed, working up the courage to speak.
“Um—”
“Um—”
My voice overlapped with his. We gawked at each other, and his eyes went wide, stripping away a bit of the intimidation factor.
“Forgive me! Please, go ahead!” he said.
More relaxed, I gathered my resolve. “I was told your familiar is having problems hearing. I don’t know if it’ll work or not, but I made this potion. Can I feed it to your familiar? It shouldn’t have any negative side effects.”
Without missing a beat, he bowed and exclaimed, “Absolutely, yes!”
Well, that went smoother than I expected. Perhaps Desmond or Quentin had talked to him beforehand.
He lifted his head, tears shining in his eyes. “Thank you so much, Saint Charlotte. I heard from Captain Desmond and Captain Quentin that you’re making a special, difficult-to-produce potion for my familiar. I’ll be thrilled if you succeed, but even if you don’t, the effort you’ve put in means so much.”
“Huh? N-no, you don’t need to thank me that much!” I squirmed. I didn’t even know if this potion would work. The expectations people placed on saints weighed down my shoulders. With a bow, I said, “Um, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best.”
Every day afterward, I made hearing restoration potions in the morning, afternoon, and evening, then brought them to the familiar stable to feed the deaf flower-horned deer.
As a high-ranking knight, Gideon should’ve been busy, but somehow he was always present when I did the feedings and would bow his head to me when I finished. The sincerity of his concern over his familiar struck my heart, fueling my desire to see this succeed.
Gideon’s captain, Desmond, must have revealed certain things to him—including the fact that the potion Desmond drank had completely restored his hearing in one go. Gideon seemed disappointed the first time I fed his familiar a potion and it produced no noticeable change. Still, when he caught me watching him, he tried to smile. Even with my failures, he didn’t want me to worry, but that only encouraged me to work harder so this kind knight wouldn’t lose his familiar.
On the morning of the fourth day since I started this experiment, I went to the familiar stables with a potion in hand like usual and found Gideon waiting outside. He wore a strange expression and, upon seeing me, bowed with great vigor, his face streaked with tears when he lifted his head again.
“Last night, I watched my familiar eat her dinner. I began putting her dish away, but accidentally dropped it, and she stiffened with surprise! Thank you so much! She can finally hear loud noises!”
“Really? Oh, that’s so good!” Relief washed through me. I grabbed his hands. “I’ll do my best to heal your familiar over the remaining three days!”
“Thank you! Thank you so very much, Saint Charlotte!” he exclaimed in a voice several times louder than mine while bowing repeatedly.
From that day on, the effects of the potion became more and more apparent. The change was gradual, but the flower-horned deer showed clear signs of hearing. On the seventh morning, her hearing returned completely, to the extent that she could even hear sounds too quiet for Gideon and me to pick up.
“This is incredible! My Rose’s hearing is completely back! Now she doesn’t have to go anywhere! We can stay together!” Gideon hugged his familiar, crying all the while. The flower-horned deer pressed her nose against him.
Emotion welled up inside me as I observed the pair. Desmond, Quentin, and Patty—who had all come to witness the last dose—smiled at me with admiration.
Desmond met my eyes. “You’re incredible, Saint Charlotte. You’ve succeeded in making a new, unheard-of potion not once but twice.”
“N-not at all. This isn’t anything that special…” I said bashfully.
He shook his head. “I was too excited from having my ear healed to fully comprehend the greatness of this deed, but I understand now. To succeed in healing the same issue twice is proof this potion is the real deal. You’ve created a potion this world has never seen before.”
Fia was the one who showed me this potion… But she wanted to hide that fact, so I couldn’t say anything.
“Thank you, Saint Charlotte,” Quentin said next. “Gideon has hardly slept or eaten these past two weeks. This familiar is like family to him. I know how deeply he loves her and I’m as happy for him as if she were my own familiar.” He grimaced before continuing. “According to him, his familiar lost her hearing due to my chick. I didn’t believe it was possible given how small it is, but Gideon insisted, so I’ve started to wonder if he was right. My baby is rather talented, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for it to harm a monster many times its size. For that reason as well, I’m glad Gideon’s familiar recovered.”
I didn’t miss the bragging beneath Quentin’s thanks. He really liked monsters and truly embodied the spirit of the Fourth Monster Tamer Knight Brigade.
At any rate, I was just glad the potion worked.
Lastly, Patty grabbed my hands, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Thank you so, so much, Saint Charlotte! I only requested your help with giving them a wonderful last night together, but you’ve done so much more! You’re a real miracle worker! Thank you so much!”
“I’m happy if you’re all happy.” Their smiles elicited a smile of my own.
Just then, a familiar voice spoke up at the entrance to the stables. “Oh? Everyone’s gathered here?”
I turned to find Fia cocking her head at us. I ran to her immediately, exclaiming, “Fia!”
Desmond heaved a sigh. “Yeah, we’ve been gathered. You’re late! I called for you over thirty minutes ago! I don’t care how short your legs are, there’s no way you’re that… A-ahem, never mind! I, uh, I got a bit carried away there.”
Desmond cut himself off as though suddenly realizing something and turned his gaze to the ceiling. Whatever he was searching for, he didn’t find it there, so he breathed a sigh of relief and scratched his neck.
“I’ll leave the scolding at that since we’re celebrating Saint Charlotte’s wonderful achievement,” Gideon said. “Actually, there’s no need to scold an excellent knight like you in the first place, is there? All right, listen up, Fia! Believe it or not, Saint Charlotte has recreated the potion she used to heal my hearing to heal Gideon’s familiar!”
Nervously, I looked to Fia, wondering how she would react. This achievement should belong to her. She had every right to resent me stealing it. But Fia quickly reminded me how contrary that was to her nature. She smiled broadly and said, “That’s incredible, Charlotte! Making a hearing restoration potion all by yourself is a real feat. You’re a saint who can make many people happy now.”
Everyone smiled at me, and the flower-horned deer leaned happily against Gideon. The whole scene reminded me that Fia wasn’t just a super talented saint—she was also kind. That’s why she didn’t hesitate to share her potion with me in the first place, and why she was happy for my achievements.
By staying by her side, I could become a real saint.
“Thank you, Fia.”
I gave her my brightest smile yet. Any day spent with Fia was always so fulfilling and fun.
Side Story: Quentin, Deceived by a Weak Baby Chick?
Side Story:
Quentin, Deceived by a Weak Baby Chick?
POPULARITY POLL: 7TH - QUENTIN AGUTTER
“MWAH HA HA HA HA! Incredible! I’ve given birth to the cutest child this world has ever seen!”
My tiny griffon chick gazed up at me with small, round eyes. That look brought out an overpowering protective instinct in me.
I’d been sitting in my office when something suddenly felt off. My vice-captain, as imperceptive and dull as ever, didn’t notice a thing and continued to drone his report at me.
“Captain Desmond of the Second Knight Brigade has requested we help strengthen castle security. I believe having knights with winged familiars join the… Captain Quentin? Are you listening?”
I set my hands on my stomach and gazed at my adorable familiar. How could I listen to him at a moment like this? “Be quiet, Gideon! …Ah, it’s time! My child is about to be born!”
The egg hadn’t moved under my clothes, nor had it grown warmer, and yet, instinctively, I knew it was time. Perhaps carrying the child so long had forged a bond between us, granting me a mother’s instincts.
(Disclaimer: Quentin is merely reading the aura of the chick within the egg.)
“Huh, it’s being born? As in, right now?!” Gideon ran around the room, documents still in hand.
I ordered him to be quiet, then gently pulled the egg out of my uniform. I took my uniform off and rested the egg on top of it, and in no time…
“Ah, it hatched! It really, really hatched! Incredible, it broke out of its thick shell all on its own! Look how strong it is!” I clenched my hands as I watched the chick peek its head out of the egg shell, its yellow wings wet and stuck to its body. It regarded me with small, round eyes, already adorable beyond words. I laughed. “Mwah ha ha ha ha! Incredible! I’ve given birth to the cutest child this world has ever seen!”
Gideon peeked cautiously around me and blurted, “Huh. This is a griffon chick? More normal than I imagined. It’s yellow too, so it must not be a mutated variant or anything special like that.”
“Why, you…! Do you not see how adorable and dignified it is?! It’s clearly a very special, one-of-a-kind griffon chick!” I yelled.
He recoiled but then followed up with yet more rudeness. “I’m sure it’s special in the sense that human hands birthed it, but it’s still nothing more than a chick abandoned by its mother as an egg. I can’t see it having any special traits or anything.”
“How could you say something so horrible right in front of my darling child?! Have you no heart?! And its mother isn’t Gizara but me! I’ll raise it well, no matter how weak it may be!”
“Well, I never said anything about it being weak. It may not be a mutated variant, but a griffon is a griffon. I was just saying… Huh?! U-uh, Captain, did you see that? Just now, the chick leered at me with this really nasty look on its face! Why’d a baby chick that’s not even a mutated variant and can’t possibly understand human speech scowl like it understood what I said?! Th-there’s something sinister about this chick, Captain Quentin!” Out of nowhere, Gideon shouted baseless accusations about my newborn.
“How could you say something so horrible about my darling little baby? It’s only just born! We don’t even know if it can hear yet! The only thoughts it’s capable of are ‘I’m hungry’ and ‘I’m sleepy.’ There’s no way it would leer at you! You must be seeing things.”
I wrapped the chick in my uniform and carefully swaddled it in my arms, then carried it out of the office so it wouldn’t have to hear any more of Gideon’s rude comments.
I took the chick straight to Gizara and triumphantly reported, “Look! The egg has finally hatched!”
She lifted her head and replied equally triumphantly. “I see. So has mine.”
She gestured down. A chick leaned against her body, several times larger than the one in my arms. I gawked.
“The egg you warmed grew quite a bit bigger than mine!” It left a sour taste in my mouth, like this was a competition I’d somehow lost. “And it’s a mutated variant like you!”
It was only a chick, but it was already the same scarlet color as Gizara. I knew it was wrong to compare the two, but my chick was several times smaller and the color of an ordinary griffon. Something inside me ached. My chick was so much weaker than Gizara’s. At the same time, that only hardened my determination to protect this tiny being.
“Indeed, mine is a mutated variant. But yours…”
My chick popped its head up from where it rested in my arms. Gizara stared at it, losing her train of thought for once.
“Oh, right! This chick came from your egg! And I hear powerful monsters name their own children, so I’d like you to give this child a name.”
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. This child already recognizes you as their parent. It’d receive more power if you named it. …I’m sure it will live up to whatever name you give it, so go ahead and give it a glorious name it can take pride in.”
“Got it!” That was quite the tall order, but it was also an honor to name this chick. I left the stables in high spirits.
Despite my burning determination, the task proved harder than I expected. I just couldn’t come up with a name that felt right no matter how much I thought.
“A glorious name it can take pride in? When I think of someone glorious, I suppose Commander Saviz comes to mind. Should I use his name? Or maybe Miss Fia’s?”
Nearby, my chick was making puddles on the floor as it struggled to drink from a saucer.
“Are you all right?! Oh dear, you’re not the best at drinking, are you?”
I scooped it up, and it was sopping wet. Grabbing a towel, I wiped it off, taking care to be gentle.
“You’ll catch a cold. Come now, get in my clothes.”
As though it understood, it slipped past my collar into my clothes and curled up in a ball near my stomach.
“You’re still a baby, huh? You want your mother to dote on you.”
I pet it softly as it nestled against me.
***
With the chick being more delicate than I imagined, I often kept it in my clothes after that.
“You’re so much smaller than the chick Gizara hatched, and so clumsy and timid too. You struggle to even drink water alone and can’t fully chew meat or eat right. I left you alone one time to find you stuck under a book. I really can’t take my eyes off you, can I?”
The poor thing would die if I so much as looked away, but keeping it in my clothes all day kept it from getting exercise and growing, so I started letting it roam my office while I worked.
Also, to acclimate it to other monsters, I let it spend about an hour a day at the familiar stables—supervised, of course.
The other knights in my brigade got used to my schedule and even helped look after the chick from time to time, but one day…
“C-Captain Quentin! Your griffon chick just beat up my familiar!”
Gideon came to me spouting utter nonsense. Just the other day, he’d claimed my chick was reading a book on familiars in the office. His delusions were getting out of hand.
“Gideon, get real! Your familiar is a flower-horned deer! How is my little baby supposed to beat up something like that? My child is much too timid. It’d never pick a fight with another monster.”
“You’re being deceived, Captain! Your chick is frighteningly strong and aggressive! Rose just so happened to step on that ribbon tied around your familiar’s neck as it was coming loose, and it flipped out!”
“That ribbon was a gift from me.” I smiled and lifted up my chick. “Ha ha, did you get angry because Gideon’s familiar stepped on it? Maybe you pecked her a little? Ha ha, no, you wouldn’t do that to a monster many times your size, now would you?”
My chick lovingly nuzzled against my chest. Something this small and adorable could never do what Gideon claimed. It wouldn’t last five seconds against a flower-horned deer.
“C-Captain Quentin, please don’t be deceived…” said Gideon, but I knew it was nonsense. There was no way a young chick could read human books or defeat a monster many times its size.
Ah… Perhaps this wasn’t about my chick at all but rather me neglecting my duties to dote on it. “Forgive me, Gideon. My work ethic has been lacking lately. Thank you for bringing that to light.”
He swung his arms desperately. “No, your work ethic has been fine! If anything, you were working too hard before! The amount of work you’re doing now is ideal! That’s not what I’m getting at! I’m saying maybe you should stop doting on that chick. It’s a hundred times stronger than you think; it’d be fine on its own if you let it loose.”
“You must be joking! This child isn’t ready for the world yet.” My chick pressed itself weakly against me.
“I can’t believe it. You’re fully under its control.”
What was he on about? I wasn’t under anyone’s control. However…
I regarded the chick in my arms. I was certainly looking after this griffon chick 24/7, but it was so frail and adorable. I couldn’t help but worry about it. It drew out my maternal side. I decided then and there that I would raise it until it reached adulthood, no matter what.
The arrival of a guard pulled me out of that memory, announcing I had visitors. To my delight, it was Fia together with the Black Dragon King, both hoping to see the chick.
I was doing paperwork at my desk when they arrived, and my chick was sprawled lazily on the floor, napping.
Fia glanced at the chick, then me. “I heard you’ve had your hands full looking after your griffon chick. You aren’t exhausted, are you? Is everything okay?”
Her kindness left me in awe. Many others had come to comment on my chick, but she was the first to show actual care for me! “You’re as kind as a goddess, Miss Fia! No, perhaps I should say you’re as benevolent as the Great Saint of old! Everybody only ever tells me to give up on this frail, helpless baby chick, but you’re the first to show some concern for me as well!”
She cocked her head. “Is that what they say?”
“Yes! It’s not as though I don’t understand where they’re coming from, given how small my poor baby looks. Oh, but Gideon even goes so far as to claim my chick is wicked and evil for some reason.”
As I explained, my clumsy chick somehow found itself buried under a few books. It cried “Pii! Pii!” weakly while scattering feathers on the desk.
“Oh, you silly little thing! Apologies, please give me a moment.”
I rescued the chick from the books. Fia and the Black Dragon King muttered to each other, but I was too caught up in saving my baby to hear what they had to say.
***
“Quentin is completely under that griffon chick’s spell. I’ll bet it’s an even rarer mutated variant than their mother, or maybe something in a category of its own. Quentin hasn’t caught on to the fact that it’s several times stronger and keener than a normal griffon, or that everything that chick is doing is an act.”
“Yeah… That chick doesn’t look frail to me at all.”
“The aura its carrying within itself is abnormal. I’m sure it’ll develop a rare coloration. But it’s strange. I thought Quentin could use his almost animal-like instincts to sense the strength of others, yet he’s completely blind to his chick’s strength.”
“That’s probably because he’s stuck in Mommy Mode. He’d be able to tell if he wasn’t caught up with babying it all the time.”
“Come to think of it, Quentin hasn’t even named his chick yet, has he? That’s why it’s remained so small and hasn’t changed color. Of course, his chick is taking advantage of that to feign frailness. A being on its level should understand human speech at birth, but it’s chosen to act ignorant and clumsy.”
***
I reclined on the sofa in my office with my chick cradled in my hands. Fia cocked her head and asked the Black Dragon King, “But why though?”
Exasperated, the Black Dragon King replied, “It just wants to be doted on, I’m sure. Quentin’s spoiled it rotten. At least we don’t have to worry about the worst-case scenario of the chick eating him. Not with how much it likes him.”
I had heard such concerns crop up during a past conversation. They’d warned me the chick might grow up to eat me if it was a more powerful mutated variety, but what hatched was only a normal griffon, so I didn’t need to worry.
I poured some tea and presented it to Fia. She thanked me stiffly, eyes narrowing in thought. When she spoke, she did so slowly, as though weighing each word. “Um, Captain Quentin… I think it might be a good idea for you to try a little harder to see others for what they really are. If you let a monster deceive you so easily, then people will run circles around you. Especially your future wife.”
“Deceived?” Was she suggesting this adorable little chick was tricking me somehow? Even if that was true (which it wasn’t), I couldn’t envision a future where I fell in love with a human woman, so I didn’t need to worry about that.
Confidently, I said, “There’s no need to worry on that point! I’m not being deceived, and even if I were, my heart already belongs to my child here! I have no time to waste on human women in this life!”
“Oh… I see…” Fia seemed a bit taken aback.
“This man has a real problem if he loves monsters more than humans.” The Black Dragon King sighed, but amusement snuck into his voice.
Believing he might sympathize with me, I spoke my mind. “I would be more than happy to raise my baby to be smart enough to deceive me!”
“Oh… Sure…” said Fia with a little scowl.
“I wonder how long it’ll be before he realizes he’s already succeeded in that,” the Black Dragon King said cryptically.
I finally named my chick after much agonizing—but the instant I did, it grew all at once and turned dark purple. That left me plenty shocked, but that’s a story for another time.
Side Story: Fabian Checks Whether Fia is a Saint or Not
Side Story:
Fabian Checks Whether Fia is a Saint or Not
“YOUR HOLINESS!”
I was walking around town with Fabian on my day off when a child cried out. I spun around to face a young boy, perhaps around five years old, his eyes twinkling.
Oh shoot. He’s calling out to me, isn’t he? I recognized the boy as the one whose scraped knee I’d healed during my pretend saint performance at the central plaza.
“Your Holiness! Thank you for healing me the other day!” he said.
I tousled his hair.
“What’s this about, Fia?” Fabian said, exasperated. “Since when did you change jobs from knight to saint?”
“No, er, well…” I scrambled for an excuse, looking to the boy for help, but he ran off to join his friends. “Wha—hey!”
Fabian laughed. “Looks like your only lifeline is gone. What’ll you do now, Your Holiness?”
“Oho ho ho, oh Fabian. You know I’m a knight! This is all a misunderstanding. Remember how I invited you to become a jester disciple with me? You declined, but I actually went through with it.”
“Seriously?” His eyes shot wide. “That’s…quite something. You’re a woman of action, I’ll give you that.”
“As part of my jester training, we went into town to perform together. I dressed up as a saint, not a jester. Oho ho ho, but my performance was so excellent that that boy thought I was a real saint! Not that I am a real saint, of course.” I put a heavy emphasis on that last bit.
He smirked and said, “Is that so? I have a hard time believing somebody, even a child, would mistake you for a real saint. Why don’t you try your best to trick me into believing you’re a saint?”
“Huh?”
He was asking me to do the impossible.
Did he know about the holy stones? Now that I thought about it, he was sitting a bit away when I received them in Sutherland, so he might not. Holy stones were top secret, so I had to play it safe and avoid bringing them up here.
“Uhhh, you seem to be in tip-top shape, and saints can’t do anything for you unless you’re hurt or sick.” It was the first excuse to come to mind.
Fabian grinned impishly and bowed with exaggerated politeness. “Please look more closely, Your Holiness. I was struck during sword practice and have a bruise around my stomach.”
To my horror, he began to unbutton his shirt and revealed the entirety of his chest.
“Whuh?”
W-was Fabian always the type to strip like it’s nothing?!
“F-Fabian, what are you doing?! Y-you can’t just expose yourself in the middle of town like an exhibitionist!”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Pardon? All I’ve done is open the front of my shirt. I sometimes bare myself far more during sword practice. Many knights take off their tops completely.”
“Aaaaaah! That’s okay because it’s at the training grounds! Not out in public like this!”
“Perhaps, but all I’ve done is open the front of my shirt to show you my bruise.”
“I am a dainty, unwed lady and will absolutely not check out your bare chest!”
“I see. I apologize,” he said. He quickly buttoned up his shirt, smiling pleasantly. “You’re a lady who’s too dainty to check out a man’s chest, huh? Then you must exclusively work with women as a saint.”
“Huh? O-oh, sure!”
Thank goodness. He seemed to buy my excuse, and it was all thanks to my good sense when it came to public decency!
Seeing how well this went, I swore to continue being a lady of good sense. But ladies don’t chortle, nor do they go for seconds at mealtime, so I soon gave up on that idea.
Side Story: A Dinner with Fia
Side Story:
A Dinner with Fia
IT ALL STARTED when I got curious about whether Cerulean had kept his promise to treat Fia to a meal. He owed it to her as an apology for his rudeness toward her, but I suspected she deserved it as a reward for the way she’d seen through his jester disguise and identified him as the true king.
When I checked up on the status of this meal, I was surprised to learn it hadn’t happened, so I invited her to have dinner with me instead.
Thinking back on it, while part of me did intend to see Cerulean’s obligation through myself, another part of me likely wanted to get my thoughts in order before the head saint selection.
“Wow! I didn’t know you wore anything other than your knight uniform!” Fia said, eyes wide with surprise.
I feared she’d see this dinner as work if I wore my uniform, so I changed into plain clothes.
Her comical expression prodded me to joke right back, though my words came out more stern than I intended. “But of course. Would you be surprised to hear I have nightwear as well?”
She didn’t laugh, instead apologizing for making assumptions. Belatedly, I realized my jokes were unlikely to land if I made them so infrequently—an obvious fact in hindsight.
I let her talk for a while, and she somehow started complimenting my physique. I caught myself smiling at that. She could be incredibly sharp at times and completely nonsensical at others. It seemed tonight she tended toward the latter; absurdities rolled out of her mouth one after the other.
“I may seem small now, but I plan on growing several inches soon!”
“What?! Meat can melt?!”
“I’ve filled my stomach without leaving a bit of space! I must be a food-packing genius!”
She seemed to say whatever came to mind. I pointed that out, thinking she might regret it in the morning, but she proudly replied, “Don’t worry, I won’t! I’ve drunk too much, so I definitely, definitely won’t remember a single thing from tonight! There’ll be nothing to regret!”
She had quite the positive mindset, to say the least.
She didn’t hesitate to blurt out whatever was on her mind. It made me wish I could be so unreserved. But I quickly realized that wasn’t my true wish. It wasn’t that I wanted to get something off my chest but rather that I wanted to know how she, specifically, would react to my full, honest opinions.
“If you won’t remember a single thing from tonight, then I might as well speak my true thoughts… The truth is, there’s not one thing worth celebrating about marrying someone as selfish, self-righteous, and attention-seeking as a saint. The thought alone curdles my blood.”
The liquor hadn’t hit me the way it hit her, yet I blurted out my true feelings about saints to somebody other than Cyril.
Fia responded by defending saints and going on about her ideals about them.
I understood she was young and could only speak from that limited experience. She had yet to witness the saints’ ugliness and get disillusioned, nor did she know what it was like to see your wishes unfulfilled and feel helpless in the face of reality.
She met my eyes as she said, “If you ever find yourself at the end of your rope and need a saint, come find me. I’ll show you what a proper saint looks like.”
Her words struck a chord with me. After dinner, I stepped outside to observe the night sky.
Fia said I mentioned saints a lot when I was with her. It had to be because I loathed them so much, but perhaps that wasn’t the whole truth. Perhaps I wished one would reach out and save me.
“It’s true that I’ve never met a proper saint, but does one even exist?”
A saint who put her all into supporting knights and who would heal anybody without hesitation. I’d always believed such a saint couldn’t possibly exist, but talking to Fia tempted me into believing she could be right and I just hadn’t met the right saint yet.
Thanks to her, belief in a proper saint existing somewhere out there stirred within me, a tentative ray of hope.
“To think a little hope can change how one sees everything.”
For the first time, when I thought about saints, antipathy didn’t well up inside me. Maybe the change would only last the night, or maybe she’d truly changed the way I would see saints from here on out. I had no answer.
For tonight, I basked in the moon’s gentle light, pondering what the future might bring.
Afterword
Afterword
THANK YOU for buying this book! We’ve made it to Volume 9. Incredible stuff. I appreciate you for sticking with me this far.
In this volume, we’ve begun getting closer to the heart of the conflict between the head saint and the royal family. I’m a bit emotionally invested in this part, so I’ve taken my time to carefully write things out. I know some of you are out there shouting, “Hurry up!” but please trust in the process. You’ll find there were things unexpectedly foreshadowed here and there if you just wait.
Once again, chibi provided the wonderful illustrations for this volume. This was our first all-girl cover, and it turned out great! I regret not doing one sooner. As always, thank you very much, chibi!
Anyway, there’s this one scene in the volume where Saviz asks Fia what she wants to drink without offering a list or any choices, basically saying, “Name whatever you want and you’ll get it.” It really shows how incredibly resourceful the royal castle is. Now, I’ve never been offered drinks at a castle before, but I have flown business class on trips (that’s close enough, right?).
As my scheduled airplane failed to arrive, I was given a free upgrade on another flight. I had only ever flown economy class up until then and only knew the drinks offered on that menu, so I was really surprised when the flight attendant came over to ask what I’d like to drink without offering a menu. I looked around and saw other folks ordering stuff stylishly like “Get me a gin with a slice of lime,” so after a bit of thinking I used them as an example and said, “I’ll take a cola with a slice of lemon.” It tasted great, of course. I was really happy with myself afterward as I felt like I had experienced business class fully, something I knew I’d probably never fly again.
Different people value different things, though. There was this vice-president of a big company who was going to be late to a meeting who asked to swap plane tickets with a close friend of mine, but my friend flatly refused even though their ticket was economy class and the vice-president’s was first class. Why? In their own words, it was because “the flight attendants on my flight are all pretty!” See? People really do value different things.
There’s this other scene in the volume where a drunken Fia encounters Saviz as he gets off work and expresses surprise over how he looks so “energetic and fresh” despite having worked late. I have a similar experience I can share.
After the bell rang at our office to signal the end of standard working hours, I plodded down the corridor to get a snack for overtime hours and ran into my boss, completely full of energy. “Touya-kun!” they exclaimed.
I was beside myself with surprise, wondering how they could have such morning energy this late in the day. I thought maybe they would be able to go a full eight hours from here, even? We chatted for a bit, but everything they said was super positive and about starting new tasks. It was definitely not the kind of conversation one has when it’s already pitch black outside. I guess people who could work endlessly like them really do exist in the world. Oh, and they were almost sixty then too.
I should also mention they were the picture of success, having surpassed many others who graduated from higher-level universities to become fourth in the company, something generally unheard of. I remember feeling such admiration in the moment, thinking it must take someone with vitality on their level to rise up so high. I certainly would never be able to have such energy and willingness to start new tasks while already working overtime, not even in my next life.
Anyway, we held that character popularity poll I mentioned in the prior volume. The characters from the main series and the spin-off (A Tale of the Secret Saint ZERO) were both eligible for voting, but eight characters from the main series placed in the top ten! The main series is still popular, huh?
The poll was open for only half a month, but we received a whopping 4,633 votes. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who participated. Also, thank you for your comments and all your requests on what kind of stuff you’d like to read! I really enjoyed reading them and took what everybody wrote to make some short stories for the top six characters of the main series. I hope you liked reading them!
That brings us to the end. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to make this book a reality and to all my dear readers. This volume was made possible by all of you. I hope you enjoyed reading.