Volume 6, Chapter 5 – In Calvara

“Once again, welcome to Calvara. Saint Fiene Argentata-sama, Holy Knight Christina-dono, and all your attendants—I, Eustache Capotrias, and the Capotrias Margrave territory, welcome your arrival from the bottom of our hearts. You have endured a grueling journey; allow me to express my deepest gratitude for all your efforts. I sincerely rejoice at your return to the White Moon Kingdom.”

Eustache-san knelt with immense politeness as he delivered his formal address.

“Y-yes. Thank you very much.”

I was completely overwhelmed by being treated as a Saint again.

I think I was treated with a fair amount of importance as a guest in the Red Sky Empire, but honestly, it wasn’t to this extent.

“Eustache-dono, Fiene-sama is exhausted from a forced march from Yan’an, the imperial capital of the Red Sky Empire, with hardly any rest along the way. If possible, I would like her to be taken to the lodgings.”

Chris-san stepped in to take charge.

Perhaps it was because of what we had just gone through, but since returning to the White Moon Kingdom, Chris-san’s overprotective side had resurfaced, as if she had reverted to her old self.

“Oh, my apologies for my lack of consideration. However, all the hotels suitable for Saint-sama are currently closed. Please, make yourselves at home in my manor.”

Chris-san shot me a look, so I decided to gratefully accept the offer.

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“Thank you, Eustache-san. I gratefully accept your offer.”

“Hahaha. It is the honor of the Capotrias family to have Saint-sama stay with us. Please, relax and make yourself comfortable.”

And so, we ended up staying at the manor of the Capotrias Margrave.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Still, this is my first time visiting the White Moon Kingdom, and it is a strange country indeed. I cannot believe that the lunatic gatekeeper and the gentleman from before are both nobles. Why is that lunatic even a noble? I find it unbelievable that such a man could be of high standing,” Shizuku-san remarked, her voice a mix of surprise and exasperation.

“This is Onee-sama and Chris-san’s country, but there are a lot of scary people here too. I don’t really have a good impression of it.”

Hmm, it’s true that Lu-chan probably doesn’t have many fond memories. After all, this was the country she was sold to as a slave.

“It is embarrassing, even for my own country. There are many nobles who mistakenly believe they are great just because of their history and lineage. Of course, there are those who are not like that…”

Chris-san murmured with a self-deprecating tone.

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Personally, I feel like other countries are pretty much the same, and we just haven’t happened to see those kinds of scenes there.

“However, please rest assured that that man will be properly judged. Since the Demon Lord Alert level is expected to rise and monsters are predicted to swarm in great numbers, the Order of Knights cannot allow a man who behaves in such a manner to go unchecked in order to maintain discipline.”

“I see.”

Personally, I think the Hero-sama will handle the Demon Lord, and as for the Saint, we can just let Char do it, since she wants it so badly.

So, in reality, I’m treating this as someone else’s problem, but I’m not about to say that out loud.

I have at least that much common sense.

“Speaking of which, I wonder where the Hero is?”

The question occurred to me as I was thinking, and I spoke it aloud.

“Indeed, I have heard no rumors of one. Though the Saint-sama is right here before us…”

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“Maybe we’ll meet them eventually? I feel like Onee-sama would be the type to just bump into them on the street. Oh, or maybe they’ve already met?”

“Hmm, I wonder.”

“Fiene-sama, it is said that a Hero receives an Oracle suddenly one day. There are no omens, and lineage, birth, or upbringing have absolutely no bearing on it, so it would be difficult for us to search for them.”

“I see, so that’s how it works.”

“Yes. However, I hear that Oracles are often granted to Heroes when a Demon Lord appears, so this is likely proof that the Demon Lord has not yet appeared.”

“Even though the Demon Lord Alert is out and so many monsters are attacking?”

“It is still a Level 3 Elevated Alert. This means that the Demon Lord Eggs are growing and the number of candidates is being narrowed down. At this stage, it is possible for the level to return to Level 2 by defeating a powerful candidate, as Fiene-sama did previously.”

Right, right, that did happen. How nostalgic.

“But if that does not occur, the Demon Lord Alert will be raised to Level 4—a literal Alert. When that happens, monster attacks usually settle down temporarily. It is said that this is because the monsters are gathering under the Demon Lord, preparing to destroy humanity. And once it reaches the Level 5 Final Alert, a massive tide of monsters will swarm towns, villages, and castles like a dam breaking, to wipe out mankind.”

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“I see, so that’s the way it is.”

Just then, there was a knock on our room door, and a voice called out.

“Saint-sama, Holy Knight-sama, and attendants, dinner is ready. If you like, I can bring it to your room. How would you like to proceed?”

“Ah, food!”

Lu-chan reacted instantly.

“Right, it’s a little early, but let’s have dinner.”

“””Yes!”””

And so, we asked the maid to bring dinner to our room, and after eating an early meal, we went to bed early to recover from the fatigue of our journey.