◆ Chapter 17: Acting like the Priestess I am

 

 

 

◆ Chapter 17: Acting like the Priestess I am

 

“ARE you nervous, Lady Mizuha?”

“Y-Yeah, hard not to be…”

I’m currently waiting outside the audience chamber with Lex.

“Cia said she was going to create an opportunity for me to speak with the king, but I didn’t expect it to happen the next day. Not to mention for it to be an official audience…”

“Would you rather turn back?”

“…No. I don’t want that. I’ve already made up my mind.”

I’m aware that being indecisive and a coward are my two worst traits. So I want to become the kind of adult who takes action on the things I have decided.

“You may enter, Priestess Mizuha.”

“Th-Thank you!” My voice cracks in response to the doorkeeper.

This isn’t good—I’m more nervous than I thought. Careful breathing isn’t helping me take that first step forward. The doorkeepers are eyeing me funny because I’m not moving, which only inflames my panic.

Before I know it, I have tunnel vision. But it goes away in an instant because of the large hand resting on my right shoulder.

I look over at Lex’s smiling face. “You are welcome to express your thoughts with His Majesty without conforming to court formality,” he tells me.

“B-But I can’t stop thinking I might say something offensive…”

“I will be standing right beside you. Whatever may happen, I, Lex Irvine, shall protect you till the end, Lady Mizuha.”

Lex is the kind of man who always tells me exactly what I need to hear when it counts—even though he’s a weirdo. It’s not fair. Curiously enough, it lightens the load crushing down on me mentally and physically.

“Thanks, Lex. I’m okay now.”

Lex nods with a serene smile as if he sensed I had gotten over my fears.

The doorkeepers open the double doors in time with my first step. I sharply suck in my breath. I’ve visited the royal audience chamber many times before, but my impression of it changes with each passing day since the king has regained his throne. The chamber has grown more extravagant. The drastic change is even more overwhelming this time because it has been a while since I last came here.

I nervously step inside the audience chamber. The king is obviously sitting on his throne. Beside him is Queen Lia. She’s as beautiful as you would expect of Cia’s mother. Cia and Sir Oden are also present, as well as a good number of castle guards and royal knights.

The atmosphere is more imposing than it has ever been. I move only my eyes to survey the surroundings while I approach the throne. It goes without saying that I don’t know the proper etiquette in this situation. I just mimic Lex at my side and go down on one knee with my head bowed.

“Please be at ease, Priestess who hath devoted yourself to saving us.”

Normally I would correct him by saying I’m not as big of a deal as he makes me out to be, but right now I feel like that title is the only leg I have to stand on. I rise per his command and lift my head.

“Thank you for making time for me today, Your Majesty.”

“Cia informed me you wish to continue our discussion from the other day. Is this true?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” I reply. Here comes the decisive moment. I quietly take a deep breath and begin making my case. “I would like to purify the Trade City of Cladorca. However, I cannot take on such a feat alone. Is Grantz Kingdom willing to lend me their aid?”

“My decision regarding this matter has not changed since we last spoke. Purifying Cladorca will lead to external pressure to purify all of Torstana. Once we do that, our kingdom will be placed in danger.”

The king’s opinion hasn’t changed, which I expected. If anything, his word choice is even harsher than last time.

“I hear that Cladorca is not only overrun by thousands of zombies but is also patrolled by a flying dragon. Even if, on the off-chance, I lent you my armies, is purification actually possible?”

“I have already consulted Pino—Master Pino—and worked out a solution for the dragon and the zombies rampant around Cladorca,” I explain.

“Let’s say this solution of yours works for argument’s sake. How do you intend to handle Torstana once it’s purified? Torstana’s king is likely to invade our kingdom once he realizes there isn’t a greater threat to stop him,” His Majesty argues. “It’s highly conceivable he will massacre the Ladans while they are still zombies!”

The king is normally a compassionate and lenient man. However, he is addressing me with the full might and authority of his station. I recoil from the censure in his voice.

“...I will persuade them not to. I may not be of much assistance, but I will help in any way I can.”

“I’m sorry to say they are not the type of people to obey just because you are the Priestess who saved them,” he swiftly rejects my flimsy reasoning.

I hadn’t realized we had entered into a battle of words. I didn’t come here to debate the king. I clench my fists behind my back and look him in the eyes.

“Goddess Sadia said this world was originally overrun by zombies because the two world powers were at war. In other words, the apocalypse was brought on by the ugliness of the human heart. If that is the way things work in this world, then I strongly believe that leaving the other major kingdoms to their doom and choosing peace for ourselves will lead us to repeat the same fate.”

The king must have come to the same conclusion as evidenced by the slight grimace creeping onto his face.

“Furthermore, I don’t believe it is our right to decide who does and doesn’t deserve to be purified. Does that not make us the same as the Dark Djinn?”

Nervous tension courses through the audience chamber. The castle guards squeeze their sword hilts. I don’t blame them because I essentially just lumped their king in with the Dark Djinn.

Maybe I pushed too hard. But I won’t be able to reach the king if I mince words. I manage to stop myself from cringing and continue my case. “I also wish for things to remain peaceful forever, but it is up to humanity to walk that path. In the end, even if someone creates a path for you, if you don’t know how to walk, you can easily go off track.”

They might all be thinking I have some nerve to be challenging the king like this. But this is the decision I have come to. I am going to boldly voice it to the very end.

“I have touched on the various reasons why we should help them, but in the end…the biggest reason is that I personally can’t stand to leave things the way they are.”

Did my last comment come off as too childish? Everyone looks dumbfounded. I had debated wording it that way, but I’m also a human being. I need them to know that before I’m their Priestess, I have my own thoughts, feelings, and biases as a person.

“Your Majesty, please allow me to speak,” Sir Oden requests while everyone else is still in shock. Once the king gives him pardon, he speaks his piece. “If we decline the Holy Priestess’s request, we will sustain a dire loss.”

“Tell me: what is that loss?”

“Our kingdom’s strongest knight, Lex Irvine.”

“C-Captain! I asked you to keep that matter between us!” Lex cries out in a panic.

I shift my gaze to him to wordlessly ask what this is about, only for him to turn his face away. Seeking an answer, I redirect my question toward Sir Oden.

“Why would that happen?”

“Last night Lex came to me and said, ‘I will act on Lady Mizuha’s behalf even if Grantz is uncooperative,’” Sir Oden imparts, a slightly mischievous smile encroaching on his face.

Lex said something similar to me before too. Though I didn’t expect him to inform Sir Oden as well. A mix of joy and shock cause my mouth to fall open.

Meanwhile, a hearty “Ha! Ha! Ha!” comes from the king’s throne. “Why has the Goddess put me in such a predicament? Not only has my beloved daughter turned against me, but even my kingdom’s strongest knight has his sword at my throat!”

“Y-Your Majesty! I would never draw my sword on you!” Lex splutters.

“It’s just an analogy.” Quite the violent analogy. Still, the king seems to be in awfully good spirits. Things might work out—or so I thought, but I jumped the gun. In a single instant, the sternness returns to His Majesty’s face.

“Unfortunately, this matter is far too important for me to be swayed by a purely emotional appeal.”

“F-Father—”

“Hold your tongue, Cia.”

Cia tried to help, but she was immediately dismissed. His Majesty always dotes on Cia, but he places a greater emphasis on maintaining his authority during public affairs. Now that it’s come down to this, I have no choice but to carve open a path with my own words.

“If everything goes well in Cladorca, we will surely face similar issues elsewhere in the future. Thus, I plan to do what is right as ‘the Priestess who Aligns with Grantz Kingdom.’”

I currently have my title as Goddess Sadia’s Priestess. I’m the only human capable of purifying zombies. I’m confident that will make others view me as the most important existence in this apocalyptic world. By aligning myself with one kingdom, I’m giving them a huge advantage over the others.

“…Good heavens, my kingdom has the terrible problem of having too many talented people.” His Majesty suddenly laughs.

It sounds like he realized Pino gave me a hint on how to convince him. But the king seems so delighted by it, the smile reaches his eyes.

“You have persuaded me. I hereby vow Grantz Kingdom shall assist Holy Priestess Mizuha with Operation Purify Cladorca.”

At long last, he gave the permission I was waiting for. I’m skeptical I misheard him, but the smile on Cia’s face tells another story. I’ve felt such tremendous pressure to do right by this issue, that now I can finally breathe easy.

“However, you only have my permission once you are fully prepared.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I promise to make sure we have a plan in place that guarantees everyone’s safe return!”

Our opponent is a dangerous dragon that makes the Boneless Hams look like kittens in comparison. Maybe I shouldn’t be throwing around promises and guarantees when facing such a threat, but it’s a promise I want to make.

“Things turned out just the way you wanted, Lady Mizuha.” Lex rejoices over my victory as if it is his own. He not only worked behind the scenes to help me, but I’m even more grateful he continued to stand by me when push came to shove.

“Yeah! All thanks to you, Lex. Thank you!”

It was touch and go there for a moment, but it all worked out in the end. Now comes the real challenge. I have to work harder than anyone to repay the people who bent for my ambitions.

Time to get serious!