Act 6: The Saint

Act 6:
The Saint

 

IT WAS TEN MONTHS after my summoning, and some time had passed since our expedition into the western forest. After the way it ended, things got a bit crazy for me. How could they not, given that I had managed to display such indisputably Saintly abilities?

Judging by the results of the expedition, my mysterious magic was the legendary power of the Saint the stories had spoken of since antiquity. The magic had wiped out every last trace of the monsters and the weird swamp.

The second I cast the magic, I remembered the Saint’s magic was supposed to be able to annihilate monsters, but I hadn’t expected it to actually take out the swamp, too.

We still didn’t know much about what that swamp really was.

On our way back to the palace, Yuri and I discussed several things, and of course the swamp came up as well. We surmised that because the monsters emerged from the swamp and the fact that my magic wiped it off the proverbial map, it was highly likely that the swamp was made from the miasma itself.

Yuri had never seen or heard of such a swamp before, and judging from Albert’s reaction, neither had he. However, Albert was also of the opinion that the miasma made the swamp. Meanwhile, Yuri proposed that since such a sizable mass of miasma had disappeared, we had just witnessed the hallowed purification of the Saint’s magic.

Right, so we also had to talk about the power of the Saint.

Words couldn’t express just how excited Yuri was during this whole talk. He was like a different person, which freaked me out a little. But I got the feeling it was all because he had just seen a rare kind of magic rather than because I’d just been confirmed to be the Saint or anything.

In other words, he was acting like his normal hyper-focused nerd self. It wasn’t just him, either. Albert was similarly more interested in the event than the implication, which made me feel a bit optimistic. Maybe things could stay the same once we returned to the palace.

About a week after our return, that fantasy was crushed.

I was heading from the institute to the library to return a borrowed book when I noticed everyone was acting…different around me.

For example, whenever I encountered someone walking toward me from the opposite direction, they would move to the side and bow their head as if in reverence. The palace corridors were pretty wide, so they certainly didn’t need to move out of the way. The only time you really needed to do that was when you turned a corner and almost ran into someone.

Admittedly, I frequently got lost in my thoughts and failed to pay attention to my surroundings, but I was pretty sure people hadn’t done the bowing thing before.

Now that I had noticed it, I started keeping an eye out for other differences. They weren’t so obvious, but I did notice some.

For example, when I went to return the book, usually only the librarian who was at the desk would receive me, but now all of the librarians filed out of the break room to greet me, like a guest of high station had arrived. Also, the rooms where I took my classes changed—they were now held in rooms that were noticeably more extravagant than before.

Furthermore, the official I talked to about my classes was the same person, but he seemed more nervous whenever he had to talk to me. It wasn’t just that official’s demeanor that changed, either—a ton of knights and mages seemed anxious around me now, too. Although, the knights from the Second Order who turned up every time I went to the library still acted the same as usual…but they had already seemed to worship me.

The people at the institute didn’t act any different, either. Most of them weren’t interested in anything but research. I wasn’t sure if none of them had heard the rumors about the expedition, or if they had but didn’t care because it had nothing to do with their work.

I hoped it was the latter. If it was the former, they might start treating me weirdly, too.

“What are you spacing out about?”

“Oh, Johan.” I had stopped making potions and was staring off into the empty distance as I reflected on the recent, perturbing changes to my life.

How could I even begin to respond? I hadn’t told Johan about my invocation of the Saint’s power during the expedition. When we came back, he was just happy I had escaped injury and didn’t ask for any details. Considering how everyone in the palace was acting, though, I had a feeling word had spread far and wide. There was no way he didn’t know.

“I was just thinking how things have been a bit odd, lately,” I confided.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, how everyone’s suddenly acting like I’m special. People get strangely stiff with me whenever I go to the palace.”

“Aha.” He clearly knew what I was getting at, as his expression changed from an idle smile to a wry one. “Well, it seems everyone in the palace can’t stop talking about the Saint’s awe-inspiring power.”

“And I’m guessing they can’t stop talking about who used that power, either?”

“That goes without saying.”

“I knew it.”

“I heard from Al. You accomplished quite a feat out there. It would be difficult not to talk about.”

I agreed, I supposed, but I still wished things could have stayed the same. Before, people had been for the most part polite with me, but there was a new kind of politeness that didn’t sit well.

“If it weren’t for you, I doubt anyone would’ve made it back alive,” Johan said.

“You really think so?”

“And that purification isn’t the only thing that’s caught their eye. The people you healed during the battle prior are especially grateful to you.”

“That wasn’t special—I only did what I could. Plus, if they’d stayed hurt, I would have been in danger, too.”

“Sure, but—”

“To tell the truth, if they are so grateful to me, then they can show it by treating me like they used to. I don’t think I can get over all this new stuffiness.”

“I’m sure you will in time.”

“I don’t want to, though.”

My sulking only brought a strained smile to Johan’s face. After a moment, he said softly, “I’m sorry.”

I glanced at him to find he wore one of those unusually serious expressions of his.

Why is he apologizing? Because of how things turned out? But Johan wasn’t remotely responsible for anything that had happened. If anything, I was the one who could’ve said “no” when they asked me to go on the expedition.

That strained smile didn’t ease as he said, “I’m afraid I’m just as grateful as they are. So although I wish I could grant you your every desire…”

“Oh, Johan…”

“Unfortunately, your life is likely to grow more complicated from now on, and I fear we won’t be able to give you everything you hope for. I suspect it’s difficult to fully grasp, but to us, the Saint is a profoundly special person.”

I kind of got that, at least given what I’d gleaned from past conversations about the Saint. However, as my colleagues at the institute and the Knights of the Third Order all treated me like one of their own, I had never really felt the difference… Although, I did get a taste of the whole Saint-hood business when I started associating with the Second Order. In hindsight, their reverence was obvious, even if it had taken Johan spelling it out to really drive it home.

“When you say things will get complicated, do you mean I might have to leave the institute?” I asked.

“I have no intentions of encouraging you to do so, but I expect you won’t have as much time to spend here if you have to keep joining expeditions.”

“Well, that’s true. I was away for several days on the last one.”

“The western forest isn’t all that far away when you consider that next time you might be recruited to go all the way out to the countryside. That will take considerably more than a few days.”

“It’s that far?”

“Indeed. There’s a crisis brewing out there. Quite a large quantity of monsters has amassed, and the lords have frequently petitioned the king to send one of the Orders.”

“So the monsters don’t just manifest near the capital.”

“I’m afraid not. The crown is monitoring the situation, but if this last expedition has successfully quelled the number of monsters in our area, you’ll probably be heading out there next.”

The countryside. I heard it took about a week to travel to Salutania’s nearest neighbor. That was probably just as the crow flies, too. Depending on where the trouble was, it might take even longer to reach. And it wasn’t like the actual monster-slaying part would be over in a single day. We probably wouldn’t visit just one place, either.

“So… I guess going to the countryside means I’d be out of the capital for over a month, if not more.”

“Yes.”

“A whole month… And I guess I don’t know how frequently they’ll want me to join the expeditions, but that really will cut into my time here, won’t it?”

“I’m sure you’ll return to the capital to rest between ventures, but that might be the way of it until things have been sorted out in the countryside.”

It made sense, I supposed. I really didn’t like having no idea how long I would be away, though. Even worse, given this new responsibility, I couldn’t see myself remaining a researcher in the long-term. I’d feel bad staying on despite hardly ever being able to do any work. From an employment perspective, it might make more sense for me to transfer to the Royal Magi Assembly, since expeditions were part of a mage’s responsibilities.

But if I had to choose, I’d work here any day of the week—any month of the year. I love my work. I love my research.

My upset showed, and Johan asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I was just thinking that, even though I want to stay here, I won’t be able to do much work, so…I won’t be pulling my weight, and…”

“You think you would be a drain on resources?”

“At the very least. Maybe I should transfer to the Royal Magi Assembly or something.”

“But why? If you ask me, I think your research opportunities have expanded.”

“Huh?”

“The countryside is crawling with herbs only found in particular territories—and there are unique potions brewed from each of them. I don’t see any problem with keeping you on if we think of it as you heading out to pursue new inquiries.”

“Are you sure?”

“I just said I didn’t see a problem with it, didn’t I? Don’t worry.” Johan smiled. I could just picture a halo around him!

If I wanted to keep working at the institute, then he would use his authority as head researcher to make it so, even if someone did try to move me elsewhere. Thank you, Johan!

But if it was so easy to keep me here, then what desire of mine did he think would be so difficult to grant?

“Ah, well,” Johan trailed off when I asked.

I wished he would stop stalling and just tell me already.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to live quietly like a regular person before?” he finally answered.

“Yes, very much so.” I did remember saying something like that to him.

“I don’t believe that will be possible anymore.”

Unfortunately, I agreed. It was far too late to insist I could still live a normal life. “Well, there’s not much that can be done about it now. I already half-gave up,” I admitted.

“Just half?”

“Yes. Since, if possible, I would still like to live a quiet life,” I said with a self-conscious smile.

“I see. I’ll do everything I can to make that happen,” he poked me as he said that.

So he said, but was he really going to? I couldn’t tell from his tone if he was serious or joking, but I wanted to believe him.

 

***

 

“Let’s end today’s lesson here, then.”

“Thank you.”

My magic class with Yuri once more came to an end.

I continued my lessons after we returned from the expedition. After all, I couldn’t instantly pick up everything there was to learn about magic in this world. Despite my interest in it all, I had a very normal set of brains. I bet if I were as smart as Yuri, I’d be able to remember everything the first time around.

“Are you heading to the barracks of the Third Order now?” Yuri asked.

“That was the plan.”

“Would it be all right if I came along?”

“Do you have the time with all of your other work?”

“It can wait for a bit.”

There was something unsettling about the way Yuri smiled, but it was okay, right? I had a feeling Lord Smarty-Glasses would come to retrieve him before long anyway, like he had done a few times before when Yuri followed me to the Third Order’s barracks.

The first time, Yuri had become so absorbed in my Heal practice that he skipped out on some important meeting. Lord Smarty-Glasses and some other mages had turned the palace upside down looking for him.

I couldn’t say for sure if that would happen again, but it was probably best to send a message to Lord Smarty-Glasses and let him know where Yuri was going. At the very least, it would be easier for him to wrangle his grand magus later.

“Shall we get going?” Yuri asked with a grin.

“Yes.” I nodded, and we left the room.

I flagged down a mage who was passing by as we left and asked her to relay where Yuri and I were headed. The mage looked tired as she caught my drift and said, “I shall inform the magus at once.”

I could only assume this mage had been part of the Grand Magus Search Party before.

Along the way, Yuri and I talked magic. However, we didn’t discuss my current studies but rather the power of the Saint. There was just too much we didn’t know about it. We had gone over the event and everything we knew several times since returning from the expedition.

We were in agreement that, based on the effects of the magic, it was indeed the power of the Saint. However, beyond that, we knew just about nothing—for example, how to cast it—which only made sense, since even I couldn’t explain how I did it.

It might as well have been luck that I managed to invoke the power during the expedition; I had no idea what conditions summoned the golden wave of power I used to make the spell (or whatever it was) take effect. The light seemed to just flow out from inside of me, and from there all I did was…ask it to do things?

Try as I might to remember if I had done anything special to summon it, I couldn’t come up with anything. Things had been so tense, and it all just happened at once.

As we went over it again that day, we noticed some kind of commotion up ahead as we passed through an open-air corridor that looked out onto the palace courtyard. What’s going on?

I looked over at Yuri to find he wore a puzzled frown as well.

“I wonder what happened,” I said.

“I’m not sure, but let’s stop and take a look—it’s on our way, after all.”

The closer we got to the commotion, the more officials and maids we ran into.

Is everyone trying to figure out what’s going on?

This corridor was one of the palace’s main thoroughfares, so any business nearby inevitably garnered notice. People whispered amongst themselves as we were swept up in the river of movement, but I couldn’t tell what anyone was saying.

As we got closer, we realized we were headed toward an argument between a man and a woman. A lovers’ quarrel, perhaps?

This was sure to be a point of gossip for the maids later. Since they didn’t have forms of entertainment such as TV or magazines, people working in the palace often adored gossip, and a fight between lovers was their favorite topic.

“You’re so insistent!”

“But, Your Highness—”

As we slipped through the growing crowd of people, the woman’s voice sounded familiar to me. I quickened my pace until I could finally see just who was arguing.

Oof, I knew it. The woman was Liz.

“Continuing as you have will only be detrimental to her. Do reconsider,” she pleaded.

“Don’t tell me you’re serious about your offer to help.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I heard you’re the one who’s been telling everyone to isolate Aira.”

“Whatever are you referring to?”

But the topic of the argument was somehow disquieting.

Despite how many people had gathered, they kept a fixed distance from the two at the center of the disruption. I got it, don’t get me wrong; the person Liz was arguing with was none other than Kyle, the red-haired crown prince. No one dared intercede in an argument between two people of such high status, even if they were worried sick.

At that point, I realized Liz and the prince weren’t alone. With them were a number boys standing behind the prince—presumably the entourage of followers I had heard about before. I recognized a few of them from my summoning.

And next to the prince was the girl from my world, on whom I hadn’t laid eyes for nearly a year: Aira. I was relieved to see she didn’t look worse for wear. It looks like they’ve been feeding her properly. Thank goodness for that.

From the cute pink dress she wore, I could tell she was being well taken care of. However, her expression was full of anxiety as her eyes darted between the prince and Liz.

The argument continued, but I was focused on Aira. I could already guess what this was about. Prince Kyle thought Liz was the cause of everything the other noble girls had done to Aira, things Liz had told me about before.

It had started off as excluding Aira or scolding her, but on top of all that, the ladies had begun destroying her important possessions, such as her textbooks.

However, I was pretty sure Liz had actually tried to put an end to all that. That was why I was certain it wasn’t just the ladies who needed to change their behavior—something needed to be done about the guy most directly involved with Aira’s situation, too. Liz had told me all about how frustrated she was that the prince kept getting in her way so she couldn’t actually talk to Aira.

“You were jealous…” Prince Kyle trailed off.

“Jealous, you say?” Liz asked.

“Of course. You’re my fiancée, after all. You don’t like how I’m with Aira all the time.”

“Ah. If you believe this is a matter of concern, why do you not agree to my proposal? This goes for you lot as well.” Liz directed her fiery gaze at the prince’s entourage. “Of course, you understand it is considered ungentlemanly for a man who is already engaged to devote the majority of his time to a woman other than his betrothed.”

“Be that as it may, as the one who supervised the Saint Summoning Ritual, I am responsible for Aira. As the one who summoned her without warning, I must protect her from harm. This is nothing to feel guilty about.”

Liz paused for a moment. “Aira was not the only one you summoned, though, don’t you remember? Yet you have not done a single thing for the other woman.”

“Other woman? Oh, you mean the one everyone’s been talking about? There’s no way she could be the Saint.”

“What did you just say?”

“People know the ritual was a success, and they want to see results. But Aira still needs to get used to going on expeditions. However, the people are clamoring, so in order to appease them, the officials attributed the knights’ recent achievements to the fake Saint to make it look like we were moving forward, right?”

“Your Highness, do you understand what you just said?”

Uh oh, Liz just snapped. Even the guys standing behind the prince looked startled at Liz’s newly alarming aura.

Thank you for getting mad on my behalf, Liz. Even I want to beat him up a bit right now. I mean, I don’t really care if people call me a fake, since I wanted to stay an ordinary person anyway. But this is the future king they’re listening to here, and he’s calling the Saint’s accomplishments propaganda? And in front of so many people? If it were true, he would’ve ruined all those efforts. And even though it isn’t, who knows—maybe tomorrow everyone in the palace will be talking about how the Saint was actually a fake.

Dazed by the prince’s abject ridiculousness, I suddenly made eye contact with Aira. Her eyes widened in surprise.

What’s with her? Oh, now Liz noticed me, too. Aaand so has the prince. Though I’m not even sure he knows who I am.

“Sei,” Liz said, bringing everyone’s attention to me.

“Uhhh, hello?” I responded.

I didn’t think I was imagining how pale the officials who had been watching suddenly turned. Of course they were freaking out. The prince of their country just called me a fake, basically right to my face.

People started to scuttle off, perhaps in search of someone important. Frankly, I really hoped they’d find someone who could bring this situation under control.

“Who are you?” Prince Kyle asked.

I met his eyes and resisted rolling my own.

Seriously? You don’t remember me? I knew it’d get bad if I didn’t respond, but I really didn’t feel like dignifying him with an answer. Unfortunately, it would have been immature to ignore him, so I reluctantly gave my name with a proper bow, just like I had practiced in class. “My name is Sei.”

I performed the bare minimum, anyway.

The prince finally seemed to recognize the color of my hair. “You’re the Saint everyone’s been talking about?”

Now I ignored him and turned to Liz. I could tell he was offended, but I kept at it. Surely I could get away with that much. “Say, Liz, if you two are going to argue, wouldn’t it be better to do so in another room? You guys are making quite the scene.”

Liz gave a too-bright, brittle smile in response. Most likely, she had suggested the same thing to the prince only to be ignored.

I didn’t know exactly how this argument had started, but the prince had really lost his cool. If he had kept his composure, he might have realized the harm he caused himself by having what amounted to a royal tantrum in the middle of the palace courtyard—even some of his followers had to be cringing.

Or wait, was that Liz’s intention the whole time?

At that moment, Prince Kyle grew impatient and reached out toward my shoulder with a, “Hey!”

Let me think. Based on what I’ve learned in class, isn’t it a breach of etiquette for a man to casually touch an unmarried woman? Does he think that because he’s a prince, he’s exempt?

I considered brushing him off, but his hand never reached me—because Albert had suddenly arrived and blocked him.

“Knight Commander Hawke!” Prince Kyle yelped at Albert for grabbing him, but Albert, unmoved, merely dropped the prince’s hand.

I did notice that Albert was a bit out of breath, which meant he had rushed over here.

The prince glared at Albert in annoyance. But before he could act, another person arrived.

“What’s all this ruckus about?”

“Father!”

It was His Majesty, the King, and behind him came the prime minister. The officials had run off to summon none other than the two people guaranteed to command this situation.

“These people—” the prince began, but the king interrupted him.

“I am aware of what’s happened. You and your idiocy have caused a scene, and in front of such a crowd, no less.”

“But, Father!”

“To top it all off, you’ve been terribly rude to the Saint.”

“I was no such thing. They are the ones who—”

“Oh? But didn’t you just accuse the Saint of being an impostor?”

“Is it not true that she’s an imposter—one you prepared yourself?”

The king was silent for a moment before responding, perfectly measured. “Now why would you think that?”

“Aira was the only one truly summoned during the ritual.”

“But Lady Sei here was also summoned.”

“Huh?”

“I suppose I could have forgiven such an oversight if it were temporary. But didn’t you hear all the reports that two women had been summoned?”

“Well… But…”

“Moreover, according to the results of Grand Magus Drewes’ Appraisals, Lady Sei is unmistakably the Saint.”

Huh? Really? I looked at Yuri reflexively, but all he did was bow in the direction of the king. He didn’t even glance my way. Maybe that’s just what he concluded after what I did during the expedition?

The king continued. “And this is not only a matter of the grand magus’s assessment. Knight Commander Hawke reported Sei brilliantly fulfilled her Saintly duty on the most recent expedition. Of course, similar reports were filed by the Knights of the Second Order as well.”

The prince went silent.

“I understand you feel responsible for the outcome of the ritual and wish to keep Lady Aira safe,” said the king. “But in that case, do you not see how you’ve failed to do the same for Lady Sei? Worse, you’ve treated her as an impostor. After all she’s achieved, everyone has acknowledged Lady Sei as the Saint. But what has Lady Aira done? She has yet to accomplish a single thing.”

“I…”

“Even putting these events aside, you have no true basis for your accusation. On that note, I believe we should continue this conversation elsewhere.”

The prince remained silent.

The king looked at his son in disappointment for but a moment before his expression went back to normal. He ordered the knights waiting for his command to escort the prince and his followers elsewhere. The deflated prince and his entourage quietly followed.

At that, the audience began to return to their duties.

“I would like to hear more about this from you as well, Lady Ashley. Would you mind accompanying us?” the king said to Liz.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“As for you, Lady Sei, I shall speak with you later.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.” It seemed like I was allowed to go.

The king gave me a surreptitious but apologetic nod before going in the direction of his son. Liz and the prime minister followed after him.

It was all over before I was able to really grasp what had happened, but…it seemed like the school problems Liz had told me about would finally be resolved?

At least, as I left with Albert and Yuri, I hoped they would.

 

***

 

We walked the palace halls with Mary in the lead. Two other maids and two knights accompanied us. Since I was clad in the same white robe I had worn during my official audience with the king, everyone bowed as they cleared the way.

What the heck is going on? People’s attitude toward me had only grown more respectful. Everyone who worked in the palace now acknowledged me as the Saint, so I guess it couldn’t be helped. Although I had given up trying to fight it, I still wasn’t used to being treated like this yet.

I suppressed a sigh and kept walking down the hall in silence. We were headed to a certain room in the palace.

When we arrived, Mary knocked on the door. Someone responded, and the door opened from within. Mary stepped aside so I could enter.

Inside the room, I found two girls waiting. One gave an elegant bow while the other girl’s curtsy was somewhat tense.

The door closed. The knights were waiting outside, so the only ones with me now were the two girls and the three maids who had accompanied me. A girls-only tea party had been prepared.

“Hello, Sei.”

“Hello, Liz. And…” I glanced at the girl who stood next to Liz. She looked awfully nervous with the way she tightened her lips into a flat line. “I suppose it would be best to start with introductions.”

Aira smiled stiffly. “I’m Aira Misono. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Sei Takanashi.” Her nervousness was getting to me. My smile probably looked forced, too. At least that was over with, but it would be awkward if we all just kept staring at each other. “How about we sit down, then?”

“What a lovely idea,” Liz agreed.

We headed over to the round table that had been so well prepared. After we sat, Mary gracefully poured us cups of steaming tea and placed them before us. I took a sip and glanced at Liz and Aira again.

We were here together today to strengthen our friendship with Aira.

After the scene he caused, Crown Prince Kyle had been relieved of all matters concerning the Saint. He had taken responsibility for all that had happened and was temporarily being confined to the palace. He was due to graduate from the academy within the next few months, so his house arrest would most likely be lifted right before the graduation ceremony.

Also, Second Prince Rayne was to take over as the individual responsible for monitoring Aira’s well-being.

I found out about all of this from the king himself, but only after he had made all of these decisions. He wanted me to know since the dispute had involved me, too.

Prince Kyle’s followers were also put under house arrest until the graduation ceremony. Luckily, they were all talented students, so not going to school until the ceremony wasn’t impacting their ability to graduate.

The only person who escaped punishment was Aira. The public reason was that she hadn’t been directly involved in the dispute. While the way she had let herself be put on a pedestal and simply followed the directions of everyone around her was problematic, you had to factor in something rather important. In brief, Aira had been summoned from Japan just like I had, and back in Japan, she was still young enough to require the protection of adults. You couldn’t blame her for relying on Prince Kyle and his entourage after her sudden summoning. In any case, after some political discussions, it was decided that Aira wouldn’t be punished.

However, everyone Aira knew was now under house arrest. According to Liz, up until now, no one but Kyle and his entourage had been able to get close to Aira, so she didn’t really know anyone else. It would be irresponsible to leave her alone, so Liz had decided to be by her side from now on.

While Prince Rayne was ultimately responsible for Aira, after what happened with Prince Kyle, it was probably best to provide Aira with the company of another girl. So now, finally, Aira had a friend—one to whom no one could object.

Liz also took care to clear up all of the misunderstandings surrounding Aira, and they finally had a peaceful life at the academy. We were holding this tea party now that everything had settled down.

According to Liz, Aira had asked to meet me herself. Aira was interested in me since we were from the same hometown, in a manner of speaking, and ever since she learned I existed, she had been dying to talk to me. Apparently, she wanted to know everything about the past year or so of my life.

In other words, we had a ton to discuss today.

“I hear things are a lot more relaxed at the academy, too,” I said.

“Yes, finally,” Liz said.

“And I heard it’s all thanks to you, Liz. Good job handling all of that.”

“Thank you.” Liz smiled bashfully.

It seemed Liz had a heck of a time trying to get everyone on the same page at school. Some girls still held a grudge against Aira, but thanks to Liz’s efforts, most of them were now on good terms with her.

As the fiancée of the crown prince and the daughter of a marquis, no one was able to openly defy Liz’s request. Even in the academy, classism had its say. But Liz didn’t force anyone to do anything, and I knew she was a skillful mediator.

“How about things for you, Aira?” I asked.

“It’s going great for me now, thanks to Liz,” she said with a smile.

She had a whole bunch of friends now, all of them girls, and was delighted to be able to relax and chat about girly things like she used to back home in Japan. She was especially pleased to talk about fashion, which led to us derailing our whole life-update thing as we discussed the latest trends in the capital.

Aira apologized for going off-topic, but I didn’t mind. The way she gushed so excitedly was seriously adorable. Heck, even the way she apologized was cute.

Seeing her and Liz smiling like this soothed my soul. Happy, beautiful young women just have that effect on people.

“How about you, Sei?” Liz asked.

“Well, I guess you could say things have settled down for me a bit, too.”

“I hear you’ve been officially canonized as the Saint now.”

“Don’t remind me.” I sighed, wearing a gloomy face, which made Liz chuckle.

It was true, though. Things had actually settled down now that everyone treated me as the Saint. I had resigned myself to the recognition due in part to what I had done, but I was a bit tired of being treated like a VIP. I was just a commoner, after all. Did they really think I could endure having every single person I passed bow to me? No way!

Liz understood, thankfully. However, it was because she got it that she teased me.

Aira understood how I felt as well. While listening to my woes, she gave me a sympathetic nod. She had been subject to the VIP experience in the palace while she was stuck with Prince Kyle, after all. I could only assume that as a fellow Japanese person, she had felt the same discomfort.

“But I hear things are going to get busy for me soon,” I said.

“Really?” Liz asked.

“I might have to head out to the countryside for a little while.”

“I see.”

While there were fewer monsters around the capital thanks to the expedition in the western forest, the countryside was locked in a state of turmoil. The officials had received numerous requests for a dispatch of the Knightly Orders.

The crown was currently investigating the swamp we had seen, but everyone suspected that the glut of monsters in the countryside meant more swamp-type things were out there, too. Therefore, you-know-who had to go, as it was my sole responsibility to purify them.

Liz seemed to be mulling this over, as she didn’t try to expand on the topic. Instead, her look changed to one of apologetic worry.

Oh, please don’t look at me like that! It’s not your fault.

“Are you going to have to quit working at the institute, then?” Liz asked. She seemed particularly concerned about this. I think she understood just how much I liked working there.

“It seems I don’t have to. The head researcher said he’d ensure I can stay.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Liz smiled delightedly again.

“Yeah. I’ll have to do something to pay him back.”

As Liz and I laughed, Aira piped up with a soft, “Um…”

We both gave her a questioning look.

Aira bit her lip. “Have you been working at the palace since you got here?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m a researcher at a place called the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora.”

“Can you tell me a bit about it?”

“I don’t mind, but…”

When I asked Aira why she wanted to know, she confessed she wanted to figure out what she might do in the future. Up until now, she had been under Prince Kyle’s protection and lived as the Saint in the palace, doing whatever she was told. However, since separating, she had started wondering what her life might become.

It wasn’t that anyone was forcing her to change her life, but she was racked with an intangible uneasiness about whether she herself wanted to remain where she was. She knew why she felt this way: during that dispute in the courtyard, the king had said clearly and in no uncertain terms that Aira had yet to achieve anything. Therefore, the thought of what she would do after she graduated from the academy tormented her.

“Isn’t there anything you’d like to do?” I asked Aira.

“Well, I suppose if it were possible, I would keep studying magic.”

“Magic? In that case, maybe you should join the Royal Magi Assembly.”

“I think that’s a good idea, too,” Liz agreed.

Of course, Aira would have to pass a test in order to become a mage, but I doubted that would be much of an obstacle based on her current abilities. Plus, I had heard Aira was magically gifted.

Normally, it was sufficient to be proficient in a single type of elemental magic, but Aira actually had an affinity with three types. Liz told me excitedly that only one person in a hundred years had ever possessed such talent.

However, Prince Kyle had only concentrated on Aira’s Holy Magic level, so her other affinities were lagging. Given all this, Aira hoped to deepen her understanding of magic all around.

“If you have natural talent, that’s even more reason to join the Royal Magi Assembly,” I said enthusiastically. “The mages are experts, so I’m sure they’d have a ton to teach you. I’ve been taking classes with their grand magus myself.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I think it’s a great idea to home in on that skill. Plus, as a mage, you’ll be asked to join the expeditions, so I’m sure you’ll be able to achieve something worthy of recognition in no time.”

After hearing that, Aira seemed quite interested in joining their ranks, though I’m sure Liz’s eager recommendation had something to do with it, too. Not to mention, her eyes seemed to sparkle when she mentioned we might be able to see each other more often, seeing as I had to go to the Royal Magi Assembly’s barracks for my lessons.

I guess it must be reassuring to be able to spend time with someone from your own world.

After hearing what Liz had to say, Aira decided to join the Royal Magi Assembly after she graduated from the academy. When she came to that conclusion, her expression entirely transformed from how it had been at the start of our discussion—it was now a brilliant smile.