Chapter 07: Gossip
Six months have passed since I’ve been summoned.
“Sei, this part is a little difficult. Can you explain it to me?”
“We~ll, this is……”
I discussed the book with Elizabeth-sama, otherwise known as Liz.
Although I said we were discussing the book, we only see each other when I have business at the library so we don’t talk for very long.
The books are written in foreign languages or the ancient language so we only talk about the parts that she didn’t understand.
Liz was studying languages but I explained the difficult parts to her.
At first she also asked me about grammar but I’m afraid to say, I know nothing about it.
I only understand the contents.
“I see, so that’s what it means. Thank you.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m sorry. I’m always interfering with your work.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s a good breather.”
Why am I talking to an aristocrat in an extremely familiar tone?
I properly used honorifics at first.
But somewhere along the way, Liz told me to stop, you know?
I also called her Liz now instead of Elizabeth-sama. She asked me to talk normally with her.
I can’t refuse when a beautiful Ojou-san1) asked me to do that.
“By the way, there’s something I would like to talk to you about……”
“Mhm? What is it?”
It was unusual to see Liz looking hesitant to ask something.
It was rare for her to stall her words.
What is it?
It didn’t seem like she wanted to ask about the book. This may be the first time she’s ever asked about something other than books.
“Sei, you know Captain Hawk, don’t you?”
“Captain Hawk?”
The only person that came to my mind was the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order. Was his name Hawk?
I always called him Captain-sama so I’m not sure what his name is.
The Director called him Al so I don’t know his surname……
“So you don’t know him after all.”
“Is Captain Hawk the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order?”
“Ah, are you two acquainted?”
“If so, I know who he is because he’s good friends with our Director.”
It seemed that she was talking about the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order.
But, what about him?
“Mhm…… Can I ask you something rude?”
“What is it?”
“Are you on bad terms with Hawk-sama, Sei?”
“Nope ~, I don’t think so.”
Terms?
I don’t think we’re on bad terms.
Whenever I met him on my way back from the library, he always escorts me back to the research institute.
Riding on a horse together.
That was pretty embarrassing so I tried to refuse him the second time but he looked extremely sad so I couldn’t refuse him.
“What’s wrong with Hawk-sama?”
“It’s hard to say this but recently there’s been rumours going around about him riding his horse with a woman.”
Liz’s beautiful face twisted as if she was going to say, “I’m stumped”.
Sorry, there’s no doubt about it. I have a feeling that it was me.
At the beginning he took me straight back to the research institute but recently we detour around the royal palace. We were probably sighted then.
“I think that was me.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
When I confessed honestly, Liz’s face changed from a troubled one to a relieved one.
Huh? Why?
“As I thought, riding a horse with a member of the opposite sex doesn’t leave a good impression, does it?”
“That’s right. It’s no good for people who are engaged or have spouses to ride with other people of the opposite sex.”
“If both are single then it’s fine?”
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s harder for it to become a problem than with those who are engaged.”
“So that means, it’s inappropriate……”
She indirectly told me not to mind it but it seemed that inappropriate things were the same in this world.
Indeed, let’s refuse from now on.
Liz was troubled and followed up because I looked disheartened.
“But I don’t think it’s any problem if Hawk-sama was the one who invited you. He can discern right from wrong.”
“That’s the way it is?”
“Yes……”
Somehow, when I look at Liz’s unchanged trouble expression, I don’t think it’s fine at all……
Well, whatever.
It’s fine if I just refuse him.
“So, what about that rumour?”
“Eh?”
“No, you look relieved so I wondered what the heck is going on.”
“That is……”
Ah, she looked troubled again.
Should I not have asked?
She sighed and confessed just as I was about to tell her that it was fine not to say anything if it was difficult.
“I thought that my classmate might have been the one in the rumour with Hawk-sama.”
“Classmate? Does that person have a fiancé?”
Liz’s classmate. That probably meant that she was 15 years old, right?
If I’m not mistaken, seniors at the Academy are supposed to be 15 years old.
Eh ~, a 15 years old girl and the Captain…… That reeks of a crime.
Is that kind of an age difference okay in this world?
“No, she doesn’t have one but…”
“Mh~m. Then is their age difference the problem?”
“That’s, well, it’s rare but it’s not a problem.”
If the age difference was okay……
Then, what’s the problem?
“There’s a problem with the classmate.”
“Problem?”
“She’s very intimate with men who have fiancées at the Academy. It’s become quite the problem.”
“I see.”
“And so, at the academy, they’ve been saying that she would go as far as lay her hands on the Ice Knight-sama too.”
“Ice Knight-sama?”
“Ah, that’s Hawk-sama. People call him that because he never lets his emotions show, or rather he’s always emotionless……”
Emotionless?
My impression of the Captain was that he’s always smiling……
“But, your classmate? She doesn’t have a fiancé so wouldn’t it be fine if she rides with Hawk-sama?”
“That’s exactly it. Since Hawk-sama is also popular, people have been saying things like; his followers have increased again.”
“So that means, the men that she’s close to at school are all popular, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Liz lamented as she put a hand on her cheek and sighed.
In short, there was a misunderstanding stirring about that Liz’s classmate, who made popular guys wait on her, also laid a hand on the popular Captain.
But just because she was told so didn’t mean that Liz had anything to do with it, so why was she so gloomy?
“It sounds really depressing. Listening to the story, it seems that it’s your classmate’s problem, this has nothing to do with you. So what’s wrong?”
“Well, the fiancées of those men told me to do something about it, so I’m stumped.”
“That’s something the fiancées should say, not Liz, right?’
“They’ve already warned her but the situation still hasn’t improved.”
“Well then even if Liz says something, isn’t it impossible?”
“Yes…… I’m sorry for complaining. I’ll be happy if you could forget about this.”
“I don’t mind listening to you complain. Also once I leave, I’ll forget all about it.”
“Thanks.”
I smiled at Liz who was smiling sadly.
It was a good time so we finished our conversation and parted ways. I returned to the research institute.
I didn’t see the Captain today. Was it because I really wanted to refuse him?
Act 07: Magic
Seven months have passed since I’ve been summoned.
The sunlight that blazed down during the daytime was still the same but it felt like the days were getting shorter.
Every morning while I was watering the medicinal herbs, I felt that the sun was rising later. I think that it’s almost autumn soon.
“Good morning, Sei.”
Jude had woken up and was adjusting his outfit. He came out when I was watering the medicinal herbs with a watering can.
Although I was watering the medicinal herbs, it didn’t mean that I was watering all of them.
To begin with, the medicinal herb garden had expanded a bit, so it was impossible for me to manage the whole place by myself.
I was only taking care of the herbs I personally used, in a corner of the Research Institute’s medicinal herb garden.
There were many other researchers who had their own personal fields as well. They were all managed individually.
“If you had asked me, I would have helped out.” Jude looked at the watering can I was holding and frowned.
Jude could use water attribute magic so he could water all the herbs without having to use a watering can.
When he knew that I was watering the herbs every morning, Jude told me that he could water the herbs by using his water magic and had been helping me out.
But, he didn’t help out every day. I felt guilty about asking him to do it every day, so I only asked him to help out if I met him before I went out to water the herbs.
“Thanks. I’ll just accept your feelings.” I smiled and said my thanks. Jude laughed with a feeling of resignation.
I had just finished watering the herbs, so Jude accompanied me back to the Research Institute.
Jude didn’t have his own field, so it seemed that he came out just to help me water my herbs.
“By the way, were the medicinal herbs arriving from the shop today?”
“Yeah. There’s more herbs than usual, so Director-san said that the researchers also have to help move it to the warehouse.”
I confirmed today’s schedule with Jude on our way back home.
Since we sold the potions to the 3rd Knight Order at wholesale price lately, the medicinal herbs were not enough to cover the amount of potions sold, so we started to stock herbs from the shop.
By the way, the shop we stocked from was Jude’s home. Because of that, we were able to purchase the herbs at a cheaper price, so Director-san was happy.
According to Jude, his home was the biggest store in the Royal Capital and he handled various things at the shop. He was always the first to know what ingredients were being purchased for the dining hall.
I thought that I asked for unreasonable ingredients for the dining hall, so I was feeling a little apologetic.
“What time will the goods arrive?”
“Around the 3rd morning bell, right?”
“Then, I wonder if it’s alright for me to arrive around that time?”
There were clocks in this world, but they were very expensive. There were only a limited number of people who had them.
Therefore, commoners knew the time from when the bell, ringing from places like the church, chimed. The bell at the Royal Palace also rang at pre-set times.
The 3rd morning bell was about 9am.
I’d still make it on time even if I left when I heard the bell ring since the warehouse was next to the Research Institute.
I went to the warehouse when I heard the 3rd morning bell, but there was nothing for me to do.
The large number of boxes containing medicinal herbs piled up on the wagon was being carried into the warehouse by the other researchers and assistants.
The majority of the herbs were used by me, so I told them that I would help out, but everyone declined.
No, well, I got to see everyone’s strong point. I don’t usually get to see that so it was good eye candy for me. I wonder if it’s okay if I’m the only one who thinks it’s good?
I’m feeling somewhat guilty so I decided to stop watching them and went to go deliver the potions to the 3rd Knight Order in place of the assigned person.
The potions were delivered on a wagon pulled by a donkey, so it wasn’t hard work.
The assistants would do the loading and unloading.
Oh yeah, we have coachman for the wagon now.
I was worried about whether I could control the donkey well at the beginning, but it was pretty easy.
This is probably a really excellent donkey.
The donkey was a good boy who obediently listened to what I said.
This was probably something I wouldn’t experience in Japan just like making potions.
“Huh? Sei?”
I encountered the knights who just finished training while the assistants were unloading the potions from the wagon at the side entrance.
Since they were training, they weren’t wearing their usual knight uniforms. Their clothes are slightly rough.
I sometimes went on subjugations with them and they would sometimes help me investigate food effects, so I was on good terms with the 3rd Knight Order.
To the extent that they would call out to me like this.
The knights who called out to me, were headed my way. They saw that the wagon next to me was piled up with potions, so they could guess that I’d brought it here.
“Did you bring the potions here?”
“Yes.”
“The Research Institute’s potions are really effective. They really help us out during subjugations.”
“Thank you.”
After training, the knights shuffled in a circle around me.
Most of the knights were taller than me and they had good physique, so it felt like I was being surrounded by walls.
This is a real meat wall, just kidding!
“You’re always making a fair amount, isn’t it hard? Next time would be double this amount, right?”
“Eh? Is it increasing?”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard anything?”
I heard from a knight that the amount of potions would double next time, but I never heard anything from Director-san.
To be honest, I can make triple this amount by myself so there’s no problem even if it’s doubled.
When I asked about it in detail, he told me that the next scheduled subjugation would be conducted by the 2nd and 3rd Knight Order. So it wasn’t just the 3rd Knight Order that was ordering potions but also the 2nd Knight Order.
Director-san and Captain-san decided to do so because it would cause problems if only one party had effective potions.
Indeed, the amount of medicinal herbs delivered today was larger than usual.
“Are the Knight Orders joining up because a powerful monster had appeared?”
“It’s not like that. We’re going to the Ghosh Forest next, so just to be safe, the two Knight Orders are joining hands.”
“Ah.”
The Ghosh Forest is where the Salamander appeared and although time had passed since it appeared, there could still be another one out there. So they were going on a massive subjugation mission.
“Is the 1st Knight Order not going?”
Since the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders were going, I thought that the 1st Knight order would also join in, so I innocently asked. But, as soon as I did, the expression of the knights around me grimed.
I might’ve asked something bad, so I was confused and the knights around me began talking bitterly, “The 1st Knight Order will be protecting His Highness.”
“His Highness?”
“Ah, His Highness Kyle and his aides will be going to the East Forest to level up, so the 1st Knight Order will be guarding them. They won’t be joining the subjugation this time.”
Kyle, Kyle…… Ah, that red-haired prince?
I didn’t know who he was for a moment there when they told me his name, I certainly remember that Crown Prince had that kind of name.
“His Highness and his aides have already passed level 15. So even if they go to the East Forest, it would be pretty hard for them to level up……”
“Yeah. If they’re going, then it’ll probably be better for them to head to the South Forest.”
“If they have guards escorting them, it’s probably better for them to go to the South Forest, huh.”
What the Knights were trying to say was that the East Forest was for beginners, so students up to level 12 would level up well there.
Therefore, the Crown Prince and his aides who were already at level 15 would find it hard to level up at the East Forest.
The South Forest had stronger monsters than the East Forest and it was easier for people to level up from level 12 ~ 20.
After that, I asked about it and I heard that the Crown Prince used to go to the South Forest. I wonder why he’s going to the East Forest now.
“It’s because of her right? The Saint-sama”
“Well, it’s mostly because of her.”
“Saint-sama?”
“A girl being protected by His Highness. They call her that.”
When I inadvertently responded to the word【Saint】, the knights told me various things about Saint-sama.
I could guess who it was when they told me she was being protected by the Crown Prince and yup, it was about Aira-chan.
To summarise the Knight’s stories, Aira-chan was attending the Royal Academy and the Crown Prince and his close aides were looking after her.
The Crown Prince reasoned that because she was the 【Saint】, it was better for the kingdom if she levelled up faster.
She had entered the Royal Academy later than her classmates, so in order for her to level up faster, it was better for them to head to the forest with the 1st Knight Order, who’re higher level than her. This way they could level her up faster than usual.
Of course, the Crown Prince was royalty and his close aides were all sons of aristocrats, so the 1st Knight Order were accompanying them for safety reasons.
Since they were power-levelling her, it was better for them to do so at the South Forest. But the Crown Prince strongly opposed, saying that it was dangerous, so they were heading to the East Forest instead.
The other reason was that there was no longer a need for Aira-chan to level up and catch up to her classmates.
“He is really treating her like she’s glass.”
As a person summoned together with Aira-chan, I’m a little relieved that she didn’t have any bad experiences.
She is younger than me, I’m a little worried after all.
I thought I looked relieved, but the knights looked at me with a strange expression on their faces.
Eh? What is it?
“Sei feels more like a Saint-sama than that Saint-sama.”
“His Highness doesn’t have a discerning eye.”
“If something happens, tell us. If it’s something we can do then we’ll do it!”
They were trying to comfort me while looking at me with eyes of pity. Even if you don’t worry so much, I’m okay, you know?
I do what I want. I’m having fun living my ordinary peaceful life, you know?
“Ahaha, Thank you. I will let you know if anything happens.”
Everyone says that I’m like a 【Saint】. I’m really like a 【Saint】when something bad happens, huh?
According to my Status anyway.
But I will not confirm it, nor do I intend to publicise it.
I don’t intend to deny it either because it might be found out some day.
I’m still a little bit peeved at what had happened on the day I was summoned, so I’m not going to obediently admit it.
So I want to spend my life as an ordinary person until the day someone finds out.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
I recalled the story I’d heard from the 3rd Knight Order the other day.
Yeah, it’s about the girl who was summoned together with me.
She was taken by the Crown Prince and now attended the Royal Academy.
I thought she was still around that age to be a student, so that in itself didn’t matter.
What I was concerned about was that her level was lower than her classmates at the time of admittance.
After parting with the knights, I returned to the Research Institute and confirmed it with Jude. I talked to him about whether there were a lot of people around level 7 or 8 in their first year at school.
The knights said that there were many third graders who were level 12 ~16; the Crown Prince and his aides were excellent students, so they exceeded that and were at level 15.
Because she was being accompanied by her classmates, Aira-chan’s highest level would have been the same as the Prince and his aides, level 15.
I remember my level.
Or rather, I just checked it a while back. I didn’t raise my level and my level hasn’t risen since I’ve been summoned.
It remained at level 55.
Yes, level 55.
Comparing it now, Aira-chan is level 15 and I’m level 55……
Even if Aira-chan level is higher than 15, it’s probably lower than mine, right?
I was somewhat concerned and asked. Jude was level 20 and even most of the knights were around level 30.
I don’t think her level is higher than theirs.
What on earth is with this level difference?
I had a really unpleasant idea, but I didn’t want to think about it too much.
I didn’t want to think that it was because of our age difference, but I would hate it even more if I was the 【Saint】and Aira-chan wasn’t.
If it was like that, then I wouldn’t be able to live my normal peaceful life.
Aira-chan would also hate it, right?
She was summoned by the 【Saint Summoning Ceremony】, but she’s not the【Saint】.……
“Hey, you put a lot of energy into making it, huh.” When I turned around to the person calling out to me, I saw Director-san. He looked stunned.
I silently made potions while deep in thought, so I made more than what was originally planned.
The Research Institute recently started selling potions to the 3rd Knight Order at wholesale price, so I aimed to increase the efficiency by making a lot of potions at once. I was mixing 1~5 times more potions than what a normal pharmacist would make.
“I am sorry. I made too much while in deep thought.”
“It still looks like you have room for more, so could you double this amount by the end of today?”
“Well, if it is just that much, then I can make it.” I said to Director-san with a wry smile and his cheeks twitched.
When I first came to the Research Institute and he saw that I was making a lot of Basic HP Potions, he was worried about my MP getting depleted. Compared to back then, he was not worried anymore.
Instead, he worried about the herbs in the medicinal herb garden decreasing day by day.
Since they are used in Advanced HP Potions, he couldn’t allow it to decrease any further, so there was a current ban on using them.
It didn’t seem like my pharmacy skill level would rise any further. So lately, whenever I needed to make Advanced HP Potions for the 3rd Knight Order, the materials were purchased from the store, so I only made a small amount.
Advanced HP Potions were both effective and very expensive, so in the recent subjugations at the East and South Forest, the Knight Order didn’t use them unless they had to. So even if I made a lot of it, it would just accumulate.
This time, however, they were going to the West Forest for the first time in a long time, so it was better for them to use the Advanced HP Potions that they normally didn’t use. Therefore, I increased the production rate a little.
The only thing I could do as an ordinary person, was to make potions. So I made them enthusiastically, but the look on Director-san’s face told me that I overdid it a little.
I had planned on using the whole day to finish my work, but I finished everything in the morning, so I decided to go to the Royal Palace library.
I went to search for books on medicinal herbs that could be made into potions which were more effective than Advanced HP Potions.
I have been researching medicinal plants for a long time, but I still couldn’t find anything yet.
When I asked Liz about this previously, she told me that there might be books containing that information in the prohibited section, but ordinary people couldn’t enter that section.
I read all the books related to medicinal herbs since I didn’t have any other choices.
There’s still a long way to go.
Even now to kill time, I was searching for a book that seemed like it would be related to medicinal herbs, but then I found a book that interested me so I took it.
The title of the book included the words 「Holy Magic Attribute」.
My level is odd but what’s weirder is the level of my holy magic in my status.
What is ∞?
Levels that aren’t even represented by numbers might be related to the 【Saint】.
Since I came across the subject by chance, I was able to ask about basic levels. But, I haven’t heard anything about attribute magic levels, so I didn’t know what the average level was.
They’d ask questions if I’m too persistent, so I couldn’t ask any more than that.
I had timidly asked about basic levels, but thankfully no one asked me about my level.
Now let’s return to the main subject.
Although the book was about holy magic, I didn’t think that my level would rise any higher than this, so I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to study.
Also, my pharmacy and cooking skills were still levelling up, so it was way more fun.
But after coming here, I thought a little about what I’d heard about Aira-chan.
She was summoned at the same time as me, but her level was lower than mine.
Because of this, the possibility of her holy attribute magic being lower than mine was also high.
Of course, it was fine if she was the same level as me. I hoped that she was the same level as me.
That way, I could remain an ordinary person forever.
Because as soon as I become a 【Saint】, the chances that I’d have to be together with that Crown Prince would increase, you know. I really want to avoid that.
Ah, I strayed again.
Hearing about Aira-chan and the subjugation to the West Forest made me think that it was better for me to learn a little magic.
The subjugation would commence where that Salamander appeared.
I heard from the knights that the demons had decreased recently, but I was still a little worried after all.
A lot of people may get injured like that time. There may even be cases where potions just weren’t enough and magic was needed.
I remembered someone saying at that time that potions might not be enough and that they would need magic to heal the wounds.
If something like that were to happen, then I felt that it’d be better to have some knowledge of magic rather than have none at all.
That was why I was interested in the books about holy attribute magic.
“Are you interested in magic?” I turned to face the person who had abruptly called out to me and I was surprised to see a man standing close to me.
The book I took was certainly about holy attribute magic so it was quite difficult.
In other words, my eyes were dancing on the pages. I was so immersed in reading that I didn’t notice that someone had approached me until they had called out to me.
“That book is extremely difficult……”
“Yes. I was just thinking that it would be nice if I had something simpler.”
“Then how about this one?” He took a book from the opposite bookshelf and handed it to me.
I flipped through the pages. It was much simpler than the book I was reading earlier.
Even a beginner like me could understand it.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
We only talked to that extent but he was staring at me.
Yup, it feels uncomfortable.
Because he is very similar to him.
The man looked a bit older than me and I had a feeling that he didn’t suddenly just age.
The man was also a lot taller than me, but he was probably shorter than Captain-san.
When I looked up a little, I could see bright copper hair on his head.
His lips were drawn in an arc, he had gentle narrow eyes and a straight nose.
His features were well-balanced and really resembled that person.
Although their features were similar, his face deviation value was also very high.
Since he was older, I felt that he had more destructive powers than him.
What can I say, there’s a wide difference.
“It’s a bit late but I am Seigfried Slantania.”
I was sure that I looked doubtful.
His face changed from a laughing one to a serious one as he introduced himself and he bowed beautifully.
From his sophisticated graceful movements and his name, he’s definitely a loyalty of this kingdom, right?
Or rather, he is royalty right?
“Can I call you Sei?”
“Y-yes.”
Dammit, I was supposed to give my greetings.
I forgot to introduce myself because I was so surprised and dumbfounded. By the time I’d noticed, he’d already introduced himself and confirmed my name.
I should return his greeting now, right?
“My name is Sei.” I pinched my skirt like an aristocrat woman, bent my knees and bowed.
It’s called curtsy.
The other person seems to be from royalty, so I think that politeness is important.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
There are times I might meet aristocrats without knowing anything since I’m in the Royal Palace so it was good that I learnt a bit about mannerism from Liz.
“You don’t have to be that formal. I’m the one who should be apologising to you.” Seigfried-sama touched my arm, flustered and snapped me out of my thoughts. Even if he said so, I didn’t think that there was anything that he needed to apologise for. .
“I heard that my son has been very disrespectful to you. I apologise for his foolishness.”
“Your son?”
“Yes.”
“Mhm ~, your son is Kyle…… Is it about His Highness?”
“Yes.”
When the man in front of me said son, it reminded me of the Crown Prince.
I’m sure his name was Kyle. Looks like I was right.
“Ah, please raise your head!”
“But……”
“I did not mind.”
It was a lie when I said I didn’t mind, but I think that having a King lower his head was a problem.
I wanted him to stop, it was really bad for my heart.
“I originally wanted to apologise much faster in a proper place but…… I apologise that I’m doing it in such a place.”
“No, please do not worry about it. I would rather it be here.”
According to King-sama, there were various political problems and an official apology would take place later.
He, however, thought that doing nothing would also be a problem. King-sama heard that I often came to the library alone, so he went to the library often to meet me.
It seemed that we kept missing each other so he wasn’t able to meet me.
Well I didn’t need such an overwhelming apology in an official or informal place.
He politely told me in a roundabout way……
“I wanted to apologise. You’ve also made various achievements since coming to this Kingdom. I would like to award you, is there anything you want? For example, territory or rank……”
“No, thank you.”
“I see. Then how about a mansion in the Royal Capital……”
“I would also like to refuse that. I would not be able to manage it.”
“Then how about I prepare some servants there as well?”
“Servants!?”
After that, he offered me various things as reward, but each and every one of them was too much for me so I refused them.
He also offered me dresses and accessories.
I was interested in it, but I refused politely because I couldn’t take care of them.
Then he said, “It’s just like what Johan said”, while smiling bitterly.
I heard that conversations about giving me a reward had been brought up before, but Director-san put an end to those conversations.
He said I would probably refused.
Good job, Director-san.
“Oh well. I’ll give up for today, but if you can think of anything you want, please let me know. If it’s within my powers then I’ll prepare it for you.”
King-sama smiled bitterly and ended the conversation there. It was time for him to return and my sudden audience with King-sama was over.
Yup, it was bad for my heart in various ways.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
“Ouch.”
Today wasn’t my usual cooking class day, but I felt somewhat humoured so I was helping out at the dining hall.
The menu was already decided, so I was just cutting up the ingredients.
I carelessly cut my fingers while cutting the vegetables.
It didn’t look like I cut it too deeply, but blood was oozing out bit by bit.
I secretly glanced around and the chefs were all busy preparing for lunch, so no one was looking my way.
“『HEAL』.” I casted recovery magic in a small voice so that no one else could hear me. The cut on my finger healed in no time.
Magic is amazing.
I read the books I borrowed from the Royal Palace library the other day and learnt how to use magic.
Classroom learning just wasn’t enough if I really needed to use recovery magic, so I was actively using it when the opportunity arose.
It’s called practicing.
It seemed that I made the right decision to practice magic. At first, I couldn’t invoke it very well.
I tried different things with a book in hand and I was able to use magic, so I decided that it was good to practice.
Now it would be no problem if magic was needed for treatment when the Knight Orders returned from the Ghosh Forest.
The potion deliveries were finished and the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders headed to the Ghosh Forest in the West just as planned.
After the knights departed, I prayed for their safe return.
Then the subjugation mission at Ghosh Forest to the West of the Royal Capital finished and the 2nd and 3rdKnight Orders returned.
It was further away from the Royal Capital than the East and South Forest and it took them about two weeks to get back after they had left.
The potions seemed to be useful. When I heard that no one had died in the subjugation, I sighed in relief. That was a week ago.
Although no one died, there were still a few people who were injured. There were also people who needed to go to the hospital upon their return.
Immediately after coming home from the subjugation, there were various proceedings. I heard from Captain-san that he was busy, so I decided to visit the hospital after a few days had passed.
Because I heard that some of the knights from the 3rd Knight Order, who I had become friends with, were hospitalised.
I brought the cookies I always baked when I went to visit them in the hospital.
“Hello ~.”
“Oh ~, isn’t that Sei?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Just fine, I’m fine.”
“What’re you saying? You looked like you were at death’s door when you came back.”
“Shut up ~.”
The building that I entered to visit everyone certainly felt like a hospital. The room that the knights were in was big enough to fit 10 people.
There were many people still suffering from lacerations and puncture wounds in the first room I found the knights in.
I listened to their story. It seemed that a lot of demons had accumulated in the West Forest because no one had subjugated there for a while, so there were a lot of casualties this time.
They used potions as much as they could so luckily no one died.
The people in the room used the potions to stop the bleeding and returned to the Royal Capital.
It had been a week and they looked healthy, but there were still a lot of people who needed to rest.
They were taking a break from subjugation since a reasonable amount of people were hospitalised, but the people who could work had already left the hospital and returned to the Knight Order.
They said that it took them twice as long to catch up on training if they skipped.
It was normal for me, but I had a hunch that the knights were also workaholics.
“It must have been tough.”
“Even so, I’m glad I could return alive.”
“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Sei’s potions.”
“I’m glad the potions were useful.”
I felt a little shy since everyone was thanking me.
I’m glad that no one died.
We talked about various things and I found out that there were knights from the 3rd Knight Order were in the other rooms as well. So I said my goodbyes to the people in this room and moved onto the next one.
All the rooms I went to felt the same. Everyone was thanking me, so I was glad I worked hard on mixing potions.
I wondered how many rooms I’d visited leisurely like this.
I found a knight I knew in one of the rooms and lost my voice.
“Oh, did you come to visit me?” He greeted me with his usual grin but his left arm wasn’t there.
I nodded in reply, but when he saw how different my attitude was from normal, he put his right hand on his head.
I never thought that I’d be so shock to not see something that was always there.
What can I say? My words aren’t coming out.
“That arm……”
“Oh, I made a blunder.” He smiled and told me it was taken by a demon.
When I asked him if he could heal it with potions and he told me that the most potions could do was heal lost fingertips. Healing a lost arm was impossible.
He laughed and said that Captain-san got lucky that time with the Salamander.
“If you couldn’t heal it with potions, then what’s left is healing it with recovery magic?”
“Yup, well yeah but.”
I heard before that recovery magic was more effective than potions, but when I talked about it, he had a strange expression on his face and he hesitated.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s hard to heal the lost limbs even with recovery magic.”
According to him, level 8 holy magic was needed in order to cast recovery magic that could heal lost limbs.
The problem was that no one at the Royal Palace was higher than level 6, so no one could heal lost limbs.
“Is there no one?”
“There are only a few people who could use holy attribute magic within the Mage Division.”
There were only a few mages in the Mage Division in the first place and their magic attributes varied. Recovery magic couldn’t be used with most magic attributes, so only those who had an aptitude for holy attribute magic could cast recovery magic high enough to heal lost limbs.
If magic attributes were equally distributed amongst the mages, then just how few could use recovery magic?
“I’m just glad that I could use the potions to stop the bleeding. If not, then I probably wouldn’t have made it.”
It’s painful to listen to this.
“Thanks for coming today. I’m glad I could see you in the end.”
“Eh? In the end?”
“When I’m able to move again, I decided that I would quit the Knight Order and go back to my hometown. It’s hard to be a knight with this arm.” I agreed with what he was saying.
But I didn’t want to agree with it.
I stared at his arm that disappeared halfway down his upper arm.
Is it because the potion stopped his bleeding? Flesh covered beautifully over the open wound and I couldn’t see his bones.
I couldn’t agree with what he had said, just because his arm was gone.
He must had been a former commoner who entered the Knight Order after he graduated from the Royal Academy.
If he quits the Knight Order, then he would be a commoner once again, and he wouldn’t be able to come to the Royal Palace anymore.
When I thought about that, I got really lonely.
I softly touched his arm and his body shook in response.
“If…… If you can heal your arm, would you?”
“That……” His smiling face up until now scrunched up at my question.
Well yeah.
No one likes to lose their arm.
Level 8 holy magic was needed to heal a lost limb.
I fulfilled that condition perfectly.
I thought that it would be difficult to insist that I was an ordinary person if I healed him here.
If he was a stranger then I could just pretend that I didn’t see anything and walk away.
No…………
Perhaps even if he was a strange, I’d end up healing him anyway because I’d already seen him.
Even if I pretended that I didn’t see anything and left, I’d probably worry about it so much that I’d return.
I’d feel gloomy.
I’m quite the coward.
I channelled magic power into the palm that was touching him.
I could adjust how well he healed, depending on how much magic power I channelled.
This time, I was healing his lost arm, so I channelled more magic power than usual.
Please heal.
I prayed as I casted my magic, “『HEAL』.” A pale white light covered the knight’s body.
Something that looked like a white dense mist gathered around his missing left arm and gradually shaped itself into an arm.
The haze dimly radiated white. It was the same light that was covering his body, although the shades were different.
Gold particles intertwined like a lamé inside of the white haze and it sparkled.
The knight shone for just a few minutes and when the light settled down, his left arm was back.
The knight looked at his left arm for a while, dumbfounded and then gradually opened and closed his fist.
“Is there any discomfort?”
“………… None.”
He continued to open and close his fist so I got a little worried and asked, but there didn’t seem to be any problems.
I’m glad. I did it properly.
That somewhat made me happy and I smiled.
The knight stopped gripping his fist and stared at it, absentmindedly.
“Sei.”
“What’s wrong?”
He called out to me in a quiet voice, so I wondered what was wrong. He grabbed my hands which were placed on my lap.
It happened so suddenly that I inadvertently cried out in surprise, but the knight didn’t let go of my hand.
“…… Thank you.”
His usual light hearted personality was nowhere to be found. His brows were creased and he cried while thanking me.
“Mm, you’re welcome?”
“Why are you saying it like a question?”
“No, nothing……”
It was somewhat embarrassing being thanked so I inadvertently phrased it like a question. The Knight dropped his shoulders, crestfallen and returned to his usual self.
I’m a bit relieved.
It was sort of nerve wracking to not see him act like his normal self.
People usually touched each other casually, but when it was done seriously, it was too much.
It was the same for the knight. When we smiled wryly at each other, I unexpectedly felt eyes on me.
I was bothered by it so I looked around. All the patients in this room were staring at me.
Ah, yup, that’s right.
I suddenly grew his arm back.
I felt it when I first entered the room too, but all the patients in this room were suffering from the same type of injuries; they had all lost some part of their body, whether it be arms or legs.
It depended what they had lost, but the people in this room would probably quit the Knight Order after they were discharged from the hospital.
They were probably thinking that I’d heal them as well since I had already healed someone in the same room as them.
Well, the ship has already sailed so why don’t I heal them all?
I exhaled and asked the knight to bring me MP Potions from the Research Institute, regardless of rank.
Even though he’s injured, his arm is healed so it’s fine if I ask him to run an errand for me, right?
Although I have a lot of MP, if I heal everyone then I might run out half-way through.
He happily undertook the errand and I sent him off with, “Well then, see you”. When the knight got off the bed and took a few steps he raised his voice, “Huh?”
“What’s wrong?” I thought something was wrong and called out to him but the Knight didn’t reply. For some reason he was stomping and stretching on the spot.
“It even healed my old wounds.”
“What?”
What the Knight was saying was, that it wasn’t just his arm, but also his previous injured knee that was healed.
He said that the discomfort was completely gone.
When I said that magic was awesome because it could even heal old wounds, he told me that magic did not normally heal old wounds.
Eh? Is this also because of my accursed 50% increase?
Or did I just use too much magic?
But I would hate it if people didn’t recover because I used my magic half-heartedly, so I didn’t think too deeply about it.
Let’s think about the fact that I healed old wounds later. For now, I decided to concentrate on treating these people.
I healed everyone in the room, one by one.
Regardless of the wound: big or small, external or internal, magic healed everything.
If that’s the case then magic’s really handy, huh?
All the people who were treated were all surprised at what had healed and they were all tearing up while saying thanks.
No, some people were actually crying.
It’s the first time I’ve seen a man cry so I’m pretty impatient.
I finished healing everyone and turned around to go home when I saw a crowd of people by the entrance of the room.
They had noticed that I was finished because they started entering the room. They were listening to the people in the room.
I called out to one of them and talked to him. He said he’d heard a racket and came to check it out.
Well yeah. Some people who were healed were screaming loudly with joy.
The people who’d entered this room all knew the people in this room. So of course, they also knew how serious their injuries were.
Well, most of the hospitalised people were all injured from the subjugation, so they were all colleagues.
Anyone would be happy to see that their colleagues had recovered and shouts of joy were coming from here and there.
They tangled with the people who I’d treated and thanked me.
Well ~, ah, I did some good, I thought in self-satisfaction. I left the hospital room thinking that I should head back to the Research Institute and encountered the knight carrying MP Potions.
Oh yeah, I asked him to go fetch me some potions just in case I ran out of MP half-way through.
Surprisingly, I had enough MP to heal everyone in that room.
I’d intended on using a lot of magic power to heal the people with lost limbs but it seemed that 『HEAL』didn’t use that much MP.
However, I felt bad if I don’t use it because he went to fetch it for me.
Well, I’ve already practiced so should I heal the other people as well?
Yup, let’s do that.
At any rate, I felt that I was at a level where I couldn’t keep insisting that I was an ordinary person anyways.
I became defiant and decided to the treat the patients in the other rooms.
I tried to carry the MP Potions myself, but the knight and the other people around me stopped me and carried it for me.
I headed to the next room. There was a line of curious onlookers behind the knight who was carrying the MP Potions.
I felt like a doctor making her rounds in certain dramas.
It was extremely embarrassing to be observed, but it wasn’t like I could do anything about it, so I gave up.
Thus, I treated each person one by one while drinking MP Potions. But there were a lot of people in this hospital.
I got tired of just using 『HEAL』and then I remembered that I read about AOE magic before in a book.
I want to try it out.
I already finished healing the people with lost limbs and the only patients with relatively lighter wounds remained.
I could always use 『HEAL』again if the wounds were lighter, otherwise it wouldn’t activate.
In the next room, I walked all the way to the middle and stopped. This time, instead of channelling magic into my palm, I released my magic so that it filled the entire room.
Even if I said I released it, I had never done it before so I concentrated and imagined that magic was being pushed out of my body.
“『AREA HEAL』” While casting the magic, I felt magic power flowing out of my body. Something that looked like a magic circle appeared on the floor with me at the centre.
The lines of the magic circle were drawn in a white light. The area enclosed by the magic circle was covered in a white haze filled with golden lamé, just like when 『HEAL』was casted.
It was very magical. The scene that I thought was indeed fantasy, disappeared within seconds.
I looked around to see if it’d worked and everyone who was in the magic circle, all seemed to have healed.
Everyone checked the conditions of their injuries and smiled when they saw that it’d all healed.
Alright! I decided to make a triumphant pose in my mind when a voice called out to me from behind.
“Today you’re casting…… Area of effect magic?” When I turned around to face the owner of the familiar voice, I saw Director-san and Captain-san.
“Yes. Why are you here, Director-san?”
“For crying out loud! You were late in returning and the guy from the 3rd Knight Order came to take the MP Potions. I was worried so I came.”
“I’m sorry……”
He told me seemingly shocked. I didn’t want to receive punishment so I apologised and he smiled, wryly.
“Even so, you’ve really went wild.”
“No, I didn’t……”
“Ah, I saw people who’d lost their arms and legs regain them a while ago. I was surprised,” Captain-san said after Director-san, pressing for answers.
Yup, even I think I overdid it a bit, but it couldn’t be helped, you know!
They were expecting it.
I had to respond to their expectations.
………………。
…………。
……。
I’m sorry.
I also wanted to try out magic.
“Well, but you did well,” Captain-san said that when I hung my head down in shame while reflecting on my actions.
Director-san and Captain both tapped me on the shoulders in appreciation.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
“Sei,” A voice called out to me while I was walking through the Royal Palace.
I turned to face the voice and it was a knight I knew from the 3rd Knight Order.
I saw him smiling and waving so I waved back.
Since we were both working, we passed each other with a simple greeting.
Since I was summoned, only the researchers, who worked at the same place as me, called out to me like this, but recently the knights also started to call out to me.
I knew more knights now because of what had happened at the hospital the other day. So lately, people have been calling out to me when I walked around the Royal Palace.
Despite the fact that I only walked back and forth from the Research Institute to the Royal Palace library, like today.
I thought my world suddenly got wider because of that incident, even though I confined myself in the Research Institute.
I entered the library and returned the book I’d borrowed to the librarian and this time, I heard a small, “Ah”. The person who said that was someone wearing a robe. When I turned around, I accidentally met his eyes.
Judging by his appearance, he looked like a court mage but I didn’t know him.
I smiled ambiguously while tilting my head in confusion and he returned it with a similar smile.
The librarian had just finished confirming the book that I’d returned, so I could finally leave.
I noticed his voice this time, but I had a feeling that the random times when I raised my face and met the gaze of the person near me have increased.
I just feel that way for some reason.
I felt that I was being too self-conscious, so I quietly kept it in my mind without telling anyone.
After returning the book, I walked over to the bookshelf to find another book to borrow.
Since I’ve been to the library numerous times, I knew where the books I wanted were located.
I took the books I wanted one after another and when I found the last book I wanted in the top row of the bookshelf, I stretched out my hand. But, a stretched hand next to mine took the book first.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Was this person who was smiling while handing me the book, a civil official?
He probably was one since he wasn’t wearing the knight’s armour nor was he wearing robes.
It’s not like I couldn’t reach it or anything, but the book was a little bulky so he really helped me out by getting the book for me.
I said my thanks and once again returned to where the librarian was.
Come to think of it, more people have been coming here recently.
The image I had when I was here by myself was that only a few people visited the library. The only people I met here were Liz and the civil officers, but lately people I’ve never seen before were coming here. No matter when I came, there was always someone here.
It was nice that people were making use of the library, but I also liked to read books in peace.
That part is just a little too bad.
“Sei-sama!” When I stepped out of the library with the new books I borrowed, someone called out to me again.
This time it was a Knight from the 2nd Knight Order.
I didn’t have to see his face to know that.
Only people from that 2nd Knight Order call me with –sama.
There were times where I’ve been called that by shop assistants in Japan but it was always with my surname, never my first.
That was why being called that by people from the 2nd Knight Order was embarrassing. I asked them to stop attaching –sama to my name but they didn’t show any signs of stopping.
“I will carry your books for you.”
“Thank you.”
“No, no. Please leave this much to me.”
A pleasant smile appeared on his face and he easily took the books that I was barely able to carry.
This was also a recent event.
At the beginning, I felt really bad and tried my hardest to refuse them, but they wouldn’t back down so I gave up and just let them carry it.
The people from the 2nd Knight Order seemed to worship me a lot. They added –sama to my name and when I head home from the library, they walked with me and helped me carry my books.
It was certainly helpful since it was hard to walk from the Royal Palace to the Research Institute while carrying heavy books. But every time I go to the library there was always someone there.
It was always a different knight so it wasn’t like they were stalkers, but it was really unnatural for me to meet people from the 2nd Knight Order every time I go to the library.
They can’t be on standby duty near the library, right?
I want to believe that it wasn’t like that.
I chatted with the knight while walking and before I knew it, we’d reached the Research Institute.
Like always, I said my thanks and entered the Research Institute.
One of the books I borrowed today was something that Director-san wanted. I handed the other books to one of the researchers and headed to the Director’s Office.
“Director, I have brought the book you wanted.”
“Thanks, just put it over there.”
I knocked on Director-san’s office door and waited for a reply before entering.
Director-san was in the middle of writing up documents so I put the book I brought with me onto the place he’d pointed at.
“Did they escort you again today?”
“Yes.”
Did he finish writing the documents? Director-san raised his face and grinned. I returned it with a completely exhausted look.
Director-san once saw a knight from the 2nd Knight Order at the entrance, escorting me back to the Research Institute while carrying my books.
He asked me what had happened and I told him that they escorted me like this every time.
“I refused at the beginning but they wouldn’t give up so I gave up instead.”
“I see. Well, it’s no use.”
“It’s no use?”
“The other day you did various things, right? It seems that you’re already the 【Saint】to the guys at the 2nd Knight Order because of that incident. Well it seems that they’re not the only ones who think so.”
I smiled wryly, replied in my head with, ah! I thought so, and sighed.
I was far from being a commoner, in the public’s point of view.
That was how much I overdid it.
Rumours are called rumours for a reason. It wasn’t just the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders but also other people from the Royal Palace that talked, so it couldn’t be helped.
I expected this to happen, but I thought that it was inevitable at that time. I wanted to sigh.
If possible, I wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life.
Well whatever, it’s fine.
Everyone was really happy.
I remember the knights crying, shouting and hugging each other in joy, I’m glad I healed them.
I convinced myself and calmed myself down. I was once again shocked by what Director-san said next, “It’ll probably be clear soon whether you’re the 【Saint】or not.”
“Eh?”
“There was a message from the Court Mage Division a while ago. They want to check your status.”
The bomb that Director-san dropped was that the Court Mage Division’s Head Magician would finally perform status appraisal on me. To me, that was an extra-large bomb.
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Razogul
Chapter 07: Gossip
Six months have passed since I’ve been summoned.
“Sei, this part is a little difficult. Can you explain it to me?”
“We~ll, this is……”
I discussed the book with Elizabeth-sama, otherwise known as Liz.
Although I said we were discussing the book, we only see each other when I have business at the library so we don’t talk for very long.
The books are written in foreign languages or the ancient language so we only talk about the parts that she didn’t understand.
Liz was studying languages but I explained the difficult parts to her.
At first she also asked me about grammar but I’m afraid to say, I know nothing about it.
I only understand the contents.
“I see, so that’s what it means. Thank you.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m sorry. I’m always interfering with your work.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s a good breather.”
Why am I talking to an aristocrat in an extremely familiar tone?
I properly used honorifics at first.
But somewhere along the way, Liz told me to stop, you know?
I also called her Liz now instead of Elizabeth-sama. She asked me to talk normally with her.
I can’t refuse when a beautiful Ojou-san1) asked me to do that.
“By the way, there’s something I would like to talk to you about……”
“Mhm? What is it?”
It was unusual to see Liz looking hesitant to ask something.
It was rare for her to stall her words.
What is it?
It didn’t seem like she wanted to ask about the book. This may be the first time she’s ever asked about something other than books.
“Sei, you know Captain Hawk, don’t you?”
“Captain Hawk?”
The only person that came to my mind was the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order. Was his name Hawk?
I always called him Captain-sama so I’m not sure what his name is.
The Director called him Al so I don’t know his surname……
“So you don’t know him after all.”
“Is Captain Hawk the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order?”
“Ah, are you two acquainted?”
“If so, I know who he is because he’s good friends with our Director.”
It seemed that she was talking about the Captain of the 3rd Knight Order.
But, what about him?
“Mhm…… Can I ask you something rude?”
“What is it?”
“Are you on bad terms with Hawk-sama, Sei?”
“Nope ~, I don’t think so.”
Terms?
I don’t think we’re on bad terms.
Whenever I met him on my way back from the library, he always escorts me back to the research institute.
Riding on a horse together.
That was pretty embarrassing so I tried to refuse him the second time but he looked extremely sad so I couldn’t refuse him.
“What’s wrong with Hawk-sama?”
“It’s hard to say this but recently there’s been rumours going around about him riding his horse with a woman.”
Liz’s beautiful face twisted as if she was going to say, “I’m stumped”.
Sorry, there’s no doubt about it. I have a feeling that it was me.
At the beginning he took me straight back to the research institute but recently we detour around the royal palace. We were probably sighted then.
“I think that was me.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
When I confessed honestly, Liz’s face changed from a troubled one to a relieved one.
Huh? Why?
“As I thought, riding a horse with a member of the opposite sex doesn’t leave a good impression, does it?”
“That’s right. It’s no good for people who are engaged or have spouses to ride with other people of the opposite sex.”
“If both are single then it’s fine?”
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s harder for it to become a problem than with those who are engaged.”
“So that means, it’s inappropriate……”
She indirectly told me not to mind it but it seemed that inappropriate things were the same in this world.
Indeed, let’s refuse from now on.
Liz was troubled and followed up because I looked disheartened.
“But I don’t think it’s any problem if Hawk-sama was the one who invited you. He can discern right from wrong.”
“That’s the way it is?”
“Yes……”
Somehow, when I look at Liz’s unchanged trouble expression, I don’t think it’s fine at all……
Well, whatever.
It’s fine if I just refuse him.
“So, what about that rumour?”
“Eh?”
“No, you look relieved so I wondered what the heck is going on.”
“That is……”
Ah, she looked troubled again.
Should I not have asked?
She sighed and confessed just as I was about to tell her that it was fine not to say anything if it was difficult.
“I thought that my classmate might have been the one in the rumour with Hawk-sama.”
“Classmate? Does that person have a fiancé?”
Liz’s classmate. That probably meant that she was 15 years old, right?
If I’m not mistaken, seniors at the Academy are supposed to be 15 years old.
Eh ~, a 15 years old girl and the Captain…… That reeks of a crime.
Is that kind of an age difference okay in this world?
“No, she doesn’t have one but…”
“Mh~m. Then is their age difference the problem?”
“That’s, well, it’s rare but it’s not a problem.”
If the age difference was okay……
Then, what’s the problem?
“There’s a problem with the classmate.”
“Problem?”
“She’s very intimate with men who have fiancées at the Academy. It’s become quite the problem.”
“I see.”
“And so, at the academy, they’ve been saying that she would go as far as lay her hands on the Ice Knight-sama too.”
“Ice Knight-sama?”
“Ah, that’s Hawk-sama. People call him that because he never lets his emotions show, or rather he’s always emotionless……”
Emotionless?
My impression of the Captain was that he’s always smiling……
“But, your classmate? She doesn’t have a fiancé so wouldn’t it be fine if she rides with Hawk-sama?”
“That’s exactly it. Since Hawk-sama is also popular, people have been saying things like; his followers have increased again.”
“So that means, the men that she’s close to at school are all popular, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Liz lamented as she put a hand on her cheek and sighed.
In short, there was a misunderstanding stirring about that Liz’s classmate, who made popular guys wait on her, also laid a hand on the popular Captain.
But just because she was told so didn’t mean that Liz had anything to do with it, so why was she so gloomy?
“It sounds really depressing. Listening to the story, it seems that it’s your classmate’s problem, this has nothing to do with you. So what’s wrong?”
“Well, the fiancées of those men told me to do something about it, so I’m stumped.”
“That’s something the fiancées should say, not Liz, right?’
“They’ve already warned her but the situation still hasn’t improved.”
“Well then even if Liz says something, isn’t it impossible?”
“Yes…… I’m sorry for complaining. I’ll be happy if you could forget about this.”
“I don’t mind listening to you complain. Also once I leave, I’ll forget all about it.”
“Thanks.”
I smiled at Liz who was smiling sadly.
It was a good time so we finished our conversation and parted ways. I returned to the research institute.
I didn’t see the Captain today. Was it because I really wanted to refuse him?
Act 07: Magic
Seven months have passed since I’ve been summoned.
The sunlight that blazed down during the daytime was still the same but it felt like the days were getting shorter.
Every morning while I was watering the medicinal herbs, I felt that the sun was rising later. I think that it’s almost autumn soon.
“Good morning, Sei.”
Jude had woken up and was adjusting his outfit. He came out when I was watering the medicinal herbs with a watering can.
Although I was watering the medicinal herbs, it didn’t mean that I was watering all of them.
To begin with, the medicinal herb garden had expanded a bit, so it was impossible for me to manage the whole place by myself.
I was only taking care of the herbs I personally used, in a corner of the Research Institute’s medicinal herb garden.
There were many other researchers who had their own personal fields as well. They were all managed individually.
“If you had asked me, I would have helped out.” Jude looked at the watering can I was holding and frowned.
Jude could use water attribute magic so he could water all the herbs without having to use a watering can.
When he knew that I was watering the herbs every morning, Jude told me that he could water the herbs by using his water magic and had been helping me out.
But, he didn’t help out every day. I felt guilty about asking him to do it every day, so I only asked him to help out if I met him before I went out to water the herbs.
“Thanks. I’ll just accept your feelings.” I smiled and said my thanks. Jude laughed with a feeling of resignation.
I had just finished watering the herbs, so Jude accompanied me back to the Research Institute.
Jude didn’t have his own field, so it seemed that he came out just to help me water my herbs.
“By the way, were the medicinal herbs arriving from the shop today?”
“Yeah. There’s more herbs than usual, so Director-san said that the researchers also have to help move it to the warehouse.”
I confirmed today’s schedule with Jude on our way back home.
Since we sold the potions to the 3rd Knight Order at wholesale price lately, the medicinal herbs were not enough to cover the amount of potions sold, so we started to stock herbs from the shop.
By the way, the shop we stocked from was Jude’s home. Because of that, we were able to purchase the herbs at a cheaper price, so Director-san was happy.
According to Jude, his home was the biggest store in the Royal Capital and he handled various things at the shop. He was always the first to know what ingredients were being purchased for the dining hall.
I thought that I asked for unreasonable ingredients for the dining hall, so I was feeling a little apologetic.
“What time will the goods arrive?”
“Around the 3rd morning bell, right?”
“Then, I wonder if it’s alright for me to arrive around that time?”
There were clocks in this world, but they were very expensive. There were only a limited number of people who had them.
Therefore, commoners knew the time from when the bell, ringing from places like the church, chimed. The bell at the Royal Palace also rang at pre-set times.
The 3rd morning bell was about 9am.
I’d still make it on time even if I left when I heard the bell ring since the warehouse was next to the Research Institute.
I went to the warehouse when I heard the 3rd morning bell, but there was nothing for me to do.
The large number of boxes containing medicinal herbs piled up on the wagon was being carried into the warehouse by the other researchers and assistants.
The majority of the herbs were used by me, so I told them that I would help out, but everyone declined.
No, well, I got to see everyone’s strong point. I don’t usually get to see that so it was good eye candy for me. I wonder if it’s okay if I’m the only one who thinks it’s good?
I’m feeling somewhat guilty so I decided to stop watching them and went to go deliver the potions to the 3rd Knight Order in place of the assigned person.
The potions were delivered on a wagon pulled by a donkey, so it wasn’t hard work.
The assistants would do the loading and unloading.
Oh yeah, we have coachman for the wagon now.
I was worried about whether I could control the donkey well at the beginning, but it was pretty easy.
This is probably a really excellent donkey.
The donkey was a good boy who obediently listened to what I said.
This was probably something I wouldn’t experience in Japan just like making potions.
“Huh? Sei?”
I encountered the knights who just finished training while the assistants were unloading the potions from the wagon at the side entrance.
Since they were training, they weren’t wearing their usual knight uniforms. Their clothes are slightly rough.
I sometimes went on subjugations with them and they would sometimes help me investigate food effects, so I was on good terms with the 3rd Knight Order.
To the extent that they would call out to me like this.
The knights who called out to me, were headed my way. They saw that the wagon next to me was piled up with potions, so they could guess that I’d brought it here.
“Did you bring the potions here?”
“Yes.”
“The Research Institute’s potions are really effective. They really help us out during subjugations.”
“Thank you.”
After training, the knights shuffled in a circle around me.
Most of the knights were taller than me and they had good physique, so it felt like I was being surrounded by walls.
This is a real meat wall, just kidding!
“You’re always making a fair amount, isn’t it hard? Next time would be double this amount, right?”
“Eh? Is it increasing?”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard anything?”
I heard from a knight that the amount of potions would double next time, but I never heard anything from Director-san.
To be honest, I can make triple this amount by myself so there’s no problem even if it’s doubled.
When I asked about it in detail, he told me that the next scheduled subjugation would be conducted by the 2nd and 3rd Knight Order. So it wasn’t just the 3rd Knight Order that was ordering potions but also the 2nd Knight Order.
Director-san and Captain-san decided to do so because it would cause problems if only one party had effective potions.
Indeed, the amount of medicinal herbs delivered today was larger than usual.
“Are the Knight Orders joining up because a powerful monster had appeared?”
“It’s not like that. We’re going to the Ghosh Forest next, so just to be safe, the two Knight Orders are joining hands.”
“Ah.”
The Ghosh Forest is where the Salamander appeared and although time had passed since it appeared, there could still be another one out there. So they were going on a massive subjugation mission.
“Is the 1st Knight Order not going?”
Since the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders were going, I thought that the 1st Knight order would also join in, so I innocently asked. But, as soon as I did, the expression of the knights around me grimed.
I might’ve asked something bad, so I was confused and the knights around me began talking bitterly, “The 1st Knight Order will be protecting His Highness.”
“His Highness?”
“Ah, His Highness Kyle and his aides will be going to the East Forest to level up, so the 1st Knight Order will be guarding them. They won’t be joining the subjugation this time.”
Kyle, Kyle…… Ah, that red-haired prince?
I didn’t know who he was for a moment there when they told me his name, I certainly remember that Crown Prince had that kind of name.
“His Highness and his aides have already passed level 15. So even if they go to the East Forest, it would be pretty hard for them to level up……”
“Yeah. If they’re going, then it’ll probably be better for them to head to the South Forest.”
“If they have guards escorting them, it’s probably better for them to go to the South Forest, huh.”
What the Knights were trying to say was that the East Forest was for beginners, so students up to level 12 would level up well there.
Therefore, the Crown Prince and his aides who were already at level 15 would find it hard to level up at the East Forest.
The South Forest had stronger monsters than the East Forest and it was easier for people to level up from level 12 ~ 20.
After that, I asked about it and I heard that the Crown Prince used to go to the South Forest. I wonder why he’s going to the East Forest now.
“It’s because of her right? The Saint-sama”
“Well, it’s mostly because of her.”
“Saint-sama?”
“A girl being protected by His Highness. They call her that.”
When I inadvertently responded to the word【Saint】, the knights told me various things about Saint-sama.
I could guess who it was when they told me she was being protected by the Crown Prince and yup, it was about Aira-chan.
To summarise the Knight’s stories, Aira-chan was attending the Royal Academy and the Crown Prince and his close aides were looking after her.
The Crown Prince reasoned that because she was the 【Saint】, it was better for the kingdom if she levelled up faster.
She had entered the Royal Academy later than her classmates, so in order for her to level up faster, it was better for them to head to the forest with the 1st Knight Order, who’re higher level than her. This way they could level her up faster than usual.
Of course, the Crown Prince was royalty and his close aides were all sons of aristocrats, so the 1st Knight Order were accompanying them for safety reasons.
Since they were power-levelling her, it was better for them to do so at the South Forest. But the Crown Prince strongly opposed, saying that it was dangerous, so they were heading to the East Forest instead.
The other reason was that there was no longer a need for Aira-chan to level up and catch up to her classmates.
“He is really treating her like she’s glass.”
As a person summoned together with Aira-chan, I’m a little relieved that she didn’t have any bad experiences.
She is younger than me, I’m a little worried after all.
I thought I looked relieved, but the knights looked at me with a strange expression on their faces.
Eh? What is it?
“Sei feels more like a Saint-sama than that Saint-sama.”
“His Highness doesn’t have a discerning eye.”
“If something happens, tell us. If it’s something we can do then we’ll do it!”
They were trying to comfort me while looking at me with eyes of pity. Even if you don’t worry so much, I’m okay, you know?
I do what I want. I’m having fun living my ordinary peaceful life, you know?
“Ahaha, Thank you. I will let you know if anything happens.”
Everyone says that I’m like a 【Saint】. I’m really like a 【Saint】when something bad happens, huh?
According to my Status anyway.
But I will not confirm it, nor do I intend to publicise it.
I don’t intend to deny it either because it might be found out some day.
I’m still a little bit peeved at what had happened on the day I was summoned, so I’m not going to obediently admit it.
So I want to spend my life as an ordinary person until the day someone finds out.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
I recalled the story I’d heard from the 3rd Knight Order the other day.
Yeah, it’s about the girl who was summoned together with me.
She was taken by the Crown Prince and now attended the Royal Academy.
I thought she was still around that age to be a student, so that in itself didn’t matter.
What I was concerned about was that her level was lower than her classmates at the time of admittance.
After parting with the knights, I returned to the Research Institute and confirmed it with Jude. I talked to him about whether there were a lot of people around level 7 or 8 in their first year at school.
The knights said that there were many third graders who were level 12 ~16; the Crown Prince and his aides were excellent students, so they exceeded that and were at level 15.
Because she was being accompanied by her classmates, Aira-chan’s highest level would have been the same as the Prince and his aides, level 15.
I remember my level.
Or rather, I just checked it a while back. I didn’t raise my level and my level hasn’t risen since I’ve been summoned.
It remained at level 55.
Yes, level 55.
Comparing it now, Aira-chan is level 15 and I’m level 55……
Even if Aira-chan level is higher than 15, it’s probably lower than mine, right?
I was somewhat concerned and asked. Jude was level 20 and even most of the knights were around level 30.
I don’t think her level is higher than theirs.
What on earth is with this level difference?
I had a really unpleasant idea, but I didn’t want to think about it too much.
I didn’t want to think that it was because of our age difference, but I would hate it even more if I was the 【Saint】and Aira-chan wasn’t.
If it was like that, then I wouldn’t be able to live my normal peaceful life.
Aira-chan would also hate it, right?
She was summoned by the 【Saint Summoning Ceremony】, but she’s not the【Saint】.……
“Hey, you put a lot of energy into making it, huh.” When I turned around to the person calling out to me, I saw Director-san. He looked stunned.
I silently made potions while deep in thought, so I made more than what was originally planned.
The Research Institute recently started selling potions to the 3rd Knight Order at wholesale price, so I aimed to increase the efficiency by making a lot of potions at once. I was mixing 1~5 times more potions than what a normal pharmacist would make.
“I am sorry. I made too much while in deep thought.”
“It still looks like you have room for more, so could you double this amount by the end of today?”
“Well, if it is just that much, then I can make it.” I said to Director-san with a wry smile and his cheeks twitched.
When I first came to the Research Institute and he saw that I was making a lot of Basic HP Potions, he was worried about my MP getting depleted. Compared to back then, he was not worried anymore.
Instead, he worried about the herbs in the medicinal herb garden decreasing day by day.
Since they are used in Advanced HP Potions, he couldn’t allow it to decrease any further, so there was a current ban on using them.
It didn’t seem like my pharmacy skill level would rise any further. So lately, whenever I needed to make Advanced HP Potions for the 3rd Knight Order, the materials were purchased from the store, so I only made a small amount.
Advanced HP Potions were both effective and very expensive, so in the recent subjugations at the East and South Forest, the Knight Order didn’t use them unless they had to. So even if I made a lot of it, it would just accumulate.
This time, however, they were going to the West Forest for the first time in a long time, so it was better for them to use the Advanced HP Potions that they normally didn’t use. Therefore, I increased the production rate a little.
The only thing I could do as an ordinary person, was to make potions. So I made them enthusiastically, but the look on Director-san’s face told me that I overdid it a little.
I had planned on using the whole day to finish my work, but I finished everything in the morning, so I decided to go to the Royal Palace library.
I went to search for books on medicinal herbs that could be made into potions which were more effective than Advanced HP Potions.
I have been researching medicinal plants for a long time, but I still couldn’t find anything yet.
When I asked Liz about this previously, she told me that there might be books containing that information in the prohibited section, but ordinary people couldn’t enter that section.
I read all the books related to medicinal herbs since I didn’t have any other choices.
There’s still a long way to go.
Even now to kill time, I was searching for a book that seemed like it would be related to medicinal herbs, but then I found a book that interested me so I took it.
The title of the book included the words 「Holy Magic Attribute」.
My level is odd but what’s weirder is the level of my holy magic in my status.
What is ∞?
Levels that aren’t even represented by numbers might be related to the 【Saint】.
Since I came across the subject by chance, I was able to ask about basic levels. But, I haven’t heard anything about attribute magic levels, so I didn’t know what the average level was.
They’d ask questions if I’m too persistent, so I couldn’t ask any more than that.
I had timidly asked about basic levels, but thankfully no one asked me about my level.
Now let’s return to the main subject.
Although the book was about holy magic, I didn’t think that my level would rise any higher than this, so I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to study.
Also, my pharmacy and cooking skills were still levelling up, so it was way more fun.
But after coming here, I thought a little about what I’d heard about Aira-chan.
She was summoned at the same time as me, but her level was lower than mine.
Because of this, the possibility of her holy attribute magic being lower than mine was also high.
Of course, it was fine if she was the same level as me. I hoped that she was the same level as me.
That way, I could remain an ordinary person forever.
Because as soon as I become a 【Saint】, the chances that I’d have to be together with that Crown Prince would increase, you know. I really want to avoid that.
Ah, I strayed again.
Hearing about Aira-chan and the subjugation to the West Forest made me think that it was better for me to learn a little magic.
The subjugation would commence where that Salamander appeared.
I heard from the knights that the demons had decreased recently, but I was still a little worried after all.
A lot of people may get injured like that time. There may even be cases where potions just weren’t enough and magic was needed.
I remembered someone saying at that time that potions might not be enough and that they would need magic to heal the wounds.
If something like that were to happen, then I felt that it’d be better to have some knowledge of magic rather than have none at all.
That was why I was interested in the books about holy attribute magic.
“Are you interested in magic?” I turned to face the person who had abruptly called out to me and I was surprised to see a man standing close to me.
The book I took was certainly about holy attribute magic so it was quite difficult.
In other words, my eyes were dancing on the pages. I was so immersed in reading that I didn’t notice that someone had approached me until they had called out to me.
“That book is extremely difficult……”
“Yes. I was just thinking that it would be nice if I had something simpler.”
“Then how about this one?” He took a book from the opposite bookshelf and handed it to me.
I flipped through the pages. It was much simpler than the book I was reading earlier.
Even a beginner like me could understand it.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
We only talked to that extent but he was staring at me.
Yup, it feels uncomfortable.
Because he is very similar to him.
The man looked a bit older than me and I had a feeling that he didn’t suddenly just age.
The man was also a lot taller than me, but he was probably shorter than Captain-san.
When I looked up a little, I could see bright copper hair on his head.
His lips were drawn in an arc, he had gentle narrow eyes and a straight nose.
His features were well-balanced and really resembled that person.
Although their features were similar, his face deviation value was also very high.
Since he was older, I felt that he had more destructive powers than him.
What can I say, there’s a wide difference.
“It’s a bit late but I am Seigfried Slantania.”
I was sure that I looked doubtful.
His face changed from a laughing one to a serious one as he introduced himself and he bowed beautifully.
From his sophisticated graceful movements and his name, he’s definitely a loyalty of this kingdom, right?
Or rather, he is royalty right?
“Can I call you Sei?”
“Y-yes.”
Dammit, I was supposed to give my greetings.
I forgot to introduce myself because I was so surprised and dumbfounded. By the time I’d noticed, he’d already introduced himself and confirmed my name.
I should return his greeting now, right?
“My name is Sei.” I pinched my skirt like an aristocrat woman, bent my knees and bowed.
It’s called curtsy.
The other person seems to be from royalty, so I think that politeness is important.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
There are times I might meet aristocrats without knowing anything since I’m in the Royal Palace so it was good that I learnt a bit about mannerism from Liz.
“You don’t have to be that formal. I’m the one who should be apologising to you.” Seigfried-sama touched my arm, flustered and snapped me out of my thoughts. Even if he said so, I didn’t think that there was anything that he needed to apologise for. .
“I heard that my son has been very disrespectful to you. I apologise for his foolishness.”
“Your son?”
“Yes.”
“Mhm ~, your son is Kyle…… Is it about His Highness?”
“Yes.”
When the man in front of me said son, it reminded me of the Crown Prince.
I’m sure his name was Kyle. Looks like I was right.
“Ah, please raise your head!”
“But……”
“I did not mind.”
It was a lie when I said I didn’t mind, but I think that having a King lower his head was a problem.
I wanted him to stop, it was really bad for my heart.
“I originally wanted to apologise much faster in a proper place but…… I apologise that I’m doing it in such a place.”
“No, please do not worry about it. I would rather it be here.”
According to King-sama, there were various political problems and an official apology would take place later.
He, however, thought that doing nothing would also be a problem. King-sama heard that I often came to the library alone, so he went to the library often to meet me.
It seemed that we kept missing each other so he wasn’t able to meet me.
Well I didn’t need such an overwhelming apology in an official or informal place.
He politely told me in a roundabout way……
“I wanted to apologise. You’ve also made various achievements since coming to this Kingdom. I would like to award you, is there anything you want? For example, territory or rank……”
“No, thank you.”
“I see. Then how about a mansion in the Royal Capital……”
“I would also like to refuse that. I would not be able to manage it.”
“Then how about I prepare some servants there as well?”
“Servants!?”
After that, he offered me various things as reward, but each and every one of them was too much for me so I refused them.
He also offered me dresses and accessories.
I was interested in it, but I refused politely because I couldn’t take care of them.
Then he said, “It’s just like what Johan said”, while smiling bitterly.
I heard that conversations about giving me a reward had been brought up before, but Director-san put an end to those conversations.
He said I would probably refused.
Good job, Director-san.
“Oh well. I’ll give up for today, but if you can think of anything you want, please let me know. If it’s within my powers then I’ll prepare it for you.”
King-sama smiled bitterly and ended the conversation there. It was time for him to return and my sudden audience with King-sama was over.
Yup, it was bad for my heart in various ways.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
“Ouch.”
Today wasn’t my usual cooking class day, but I felt somewhat humoured so I was helping out at the dining hall.
The menu was already decided, so I was just cutting up the ingredients.
I carelessly cut my fingers while cutting the vegetables.
It didn’t look like I cut it too deeply, but blood was oozing out bit by bit.
I secretly glanced around and the chefs were all busy preparing for lunch, so no one was looking my way.
“『HEAL』.” I casted recovery magic in a small voice so that no one else could hear me. The cut on my finger healed in no time.
Magic is amazing.
I read the books I borrowed from the Royal Palace library the other day and learnt how to use magic.
Classroom learning just wasn’t enough if I really needed to use recovery magic, so I was actively using it when the opportunity arose.
It’s called practicing.
It seemed that I made the right decision to practice magic. At first, I couldn’t invoke it very well.
I tried different things with a book in hand and I was able to use magic, so I decided that it was good to practice.
Now it would be no problem if magic was needed for treatment when the Knight Orders returned from the Ghosh Forest.
The potion deliveries were finished and the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders headed to the Ghosh Forest in the West just as planned.
After the knights departed, I prayed for their safe return.
Then the subjugation mission at Ghosh Forest to the West of the Royal Capital finished and the 2nd and 3rdKnight Orders returned.
It was further away from the Royal Capital than the East and South Forest and it took them about two weeks to get back after they had left.
The potions seemed to be useful. When I heard that no one had died in the subjugation, I sighed in relief. That was a week ago.
Although no one died, there were still a few people who were injured. There were also people who needed to go to the hospital upon their return.
Immediately after coming home from the subjugation, there were various proceedings. I heard from Captain-san that he was busy, so I decided to visit the hospital after a few days had passed.
Because I heard that some of the knights from the 3rd Knight Order, who I had become friends with, were hospitalised.
I brought the cookies I always baked when I went to visit them in the hospital.
“Hello ~.”
“Oh ~, isn’t that Sei?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Just fine, I’m fine.”
“What’re you saying? You looked like you were at death’s door when you came back.”
“Shut up ~.”
The building that I entered to visit everyone certainly felt like a hospital. The room that the knights were in was big enough to fit 10 people.
There were many people still suffering from lacerations and puncture wounds in the first room I found the knights in.
I listened to their story. It seemed that a lot of demons had accumulated in the West Forest because no one had subjugated there for a while, so there were a lot of casualties this time.
They used potions as much as they could so luckily no one died.
The people in the room used the potions to stop the bleeding and returned to the Royal Capital.
It had been a week and they looked healthy, but there were still a lot of people who needed to rest.
They were taking a break from subjugation since a reasonable amount of people were hospitalised, but the people who could work had already left the hospital and returned to the Knight Order.
They said that it took them twice as long to catch up on training if they skipped.
It was normal for me, but I had a hunch that the knights were also workaholics.
“It must have been tough.”
“Even so, I’m glad I could return alive.”
“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Sei’s potions.”
“I’m glad the potions were useful.”
I felt a little shy since everyone was thanking me.
I’m glad that no one died.
We talked about various things and I found out that there were knights from the 3rd Knight Order were in the other rooms as well. So I said my goodbyes to the people in this room and moved onto the next one.
All the rooms I went to felt the same. Everyone was thanking me, so I was glad I worked hard on mixing potions.
I wondered how many rooms I’d visited leisurely like this.
I found a knight I knew in one of the rooms and lost my voice.
“Oh, did you come to visit me?” He greeted me with his usual grin but his left arm wasn’t there.
I nodded in reply, but when he saw how different my attitude was from normal, he put his right hand on his head.
I never thought that I’d be so shock to not see something that was always there.
What can I say? My words aren’t coming out.
“That arm……”
“Oh, I made a blunder.” He smiled and told me it was taken by a demon.
When I asked him if he could heal it with potions and he told me that the most potions could do was heal lost fingertips. Healing a lost arm was impossible.
He laughed and said that Captain-san got lucky that time with the Salamander.
“If you couldn’t heal it with potions, then what’s left is healing it with recovery magic?”
“Yup, well yeah but.”
I heard before that recovery magic was more effective than potions, but when I talked about it, he had a strange expression on his face and he hesitated.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s hard to heal the lost limbs even with recovery magic.”
According to him, level 8 holy magic was needed in order to cast recovery magic that could heal lost limbs.
The problem was that no one at the Royal Palace was higher than level 6, so no one could heal lost limbs.
“Is there no one?”
“There are only a few people who could use holy attribute magic within the Mage Division.”
There were only a few mages in the Mage Division in the first place and their magic attributes varied. Recovery magic couldn’t be used with most magic attributes, so only those who had an aptitude for holy attribute magic could cast recovery magic high enough to heal lost limbs.
If magic attributes were equally distributed amongst the mages, then just how few could use recovery magic?
“I’m just glad that I could use the potions to stop the bleeding. If not, then I probably wouldn’t have made it.”
It’s painful to listen to this.
“Thanks for coming today. I’m glad I could see you in the end.”
“Eh? In the end?”
“When I’m able to move again, I decided that I would quit the Knight Order and go back to my hometown. It’s hard to be a knight with this arm.” I agreed with what he was saying.
But I didn’t want to agree with it.
I stared at his arm that disappeared halfway down his upper arm.
Is it because the potion stopped his bleeding? Flesh covered beautifully over the open wound and I couldn’t see his bones.
I couldn’t agree with what he had said, just because his arm was gone.
He must had been a former commoner who entered the Knight Order after he graduated from the Royal Academy.
If he quits the Knight Order, then he would be a commoner once again, and he wouldn’t be able to come to the Royal Palace anymore.
When I thought about that, I got really lonely.
I softly touched his arm and his body shook in response.
“If…… If you can heal your arm, would you?”
“That……” His smiling face up until now scrunched up at my question.
Well yeah.
No one likes to lose their arm.
Level 8 holy magic was needed to heal a lost limb.
I fulfilled that condition perfectly.
I thought that it would be difficult to insist that I was an ordinary person if I healed him here.
If he was a stranger then I could just pretend that I didn’t see anything and walk away.
No…………
Perhaps even if he was a strange, I’d end up healing him anyway because I’d already seen him.
Even if I pretended that I didn’t see anything and left, I’d probably worry about it so much that I’d return.
I’d feel gloomy.
I’m quite the coward.
I channelled magic power into the palm that was touching him.
I could adjust how well he healed, depending on how much magic power I channelled.
This time, I was healing his lost arm, so I channelled more magic power than usual.
Please heal.
I prayed as I casted my magic, “『HEAL』.” A pale white light covered the knight’s body.
Something that looked like a white dense mist gathered around his missing left arm and gradually shaped itself into an arm.
The haze dimly radiated white. It was the same light that was covering his body, although the shades were different.
Gold particles intertwined like a lamé inside of the white haze and it sparkled.
The knight shone for just a few minutes and when the light settled down, his left arm was back.
The knight looked at his left arm for a while, dumbfounded and then gradually opened and closed his fist.
“Is there any discomfort?”
“………… None.”
He continued to open and close his fist so I got a little worried and asked, but there didn’t seem to be any problems.
I’m glad. I did it properly.
That somewhat made me happy and I smiled.
The knight stopped gripping his fist and stared at it, absentmindedly.
“Sei.”
“What’s wrong?”
He called out to me in a quiet voice, so I wondered what was wrong. He grabbed my hands which were placed on my lap.
It happened so suddenly that I inadvertently cried out in surprise, but the knight didn’t let go of my hand.
“…… Thank you.”
His usual light hearted personality was nowhere to be found. His brows were creased and he cried while thanking me.
“Mm, you’re welcome?”
“Why are you saying it like a question?”
“No, nothing……”
It was somewhat embarrassing being thanked so I inadvertently phrased it like a question. The Knight dropped his shoulders, crestfallen and returned to his usual self.
I’m a bit relieved.
It was sort of nerve wracking to not see him act like his normal self.
People usually touched each other casually, but when it was done seriously, it was too much.
It was the same for the knight. When we smiled wryly at each other, I unexpectedly felt eyes on me.
I was bothered by it so I looked around. All the patients in this room were staring at me.
Ah, yup, that’s right.
I suddenly grew his arm back.
I felt it when I first entered the room too, but all the patients in this room were suffering from the same type of injuries; they had all lost some part of their body, whether it be arms or legs.
It depended what they had lost, but the people in this room would probably quit the Knight Order after they were discharged from the hospital.
They were probably thinking that I’d heal them as well since I had already healed someone in the same room as them.
Well, the ship has already sailed so why don’t I heal them all?
I exhaled and asked the knight to bring me MP Potions from the Research Institute, regardless of rank.
Even though he’s injured, his arm is healed so it’s fine if I ask him to run an errand for me, right?
Although I have a lot of MP, if I heal everyone then I might run out half-way through.
He happily undertook the errand and I sent him off with, “Well then, see you”. When the knight got off the bed and took a few steps he raised his voice, “Huh?”
“What’s wrong?” I thought something was wrong and called out to him but the Knight didn’t reply. For some reason he was stomping and stretching on the spot.
“It even healed my old wounds.”
“What?”
What the Knight was saying was, that it wasn’t just his arm, but also his previous injured knee that was healed.
He said that the discomfort was completely gone.
When I said that magic was awesome because it could even heal old wounds, he told me that magic did not normally heal old wounds.
Eh? Is this also because of my accursed 50% increase?
Or did I just use too much magic?
But I would hate it if people didn’t recover because I used my magic half-heartedly, so I didn’t think too deeply about it.
Let’s think about the fact that I healed old wounds later. For now, I decided to concentrate on treating these people.
I healed everyone in the room, one by one.
Regardless of the wound: big or small, external or internal, magic healed everything.
If that’s the case then magic’s really handy, huh?
All the people who were treated were all surprised at what had healed and they were all tearing up while saying thanks.
No, some people were actually crying.
It’s the first time I’ve seen a man cry so I’m pretty impatient.
I finished healing everyone and turned around to go home when I saw a crowd of people by the entrance of the room.
They had noticed that I was finished because they started entering the room. They were listening to the people in the room.
I called out to one of them and talked to him. He said he’d heard a racket and came to check it out.
Well yeah. Some people who were healed were screaming loudly with joy.
The people who’d entered this room all knew the people in this room. So of course, they also knew how serious their injuries were.
Well, most of the hospitalised people were all injured from the subjugation, so they were all colleagues.
Anyone would be happy to see that their colleagues had recovered and shouts of joy were coming from here and there.
They tangled with the people who I’d treated and thanked me.
Well ~, ah, I did some good, I thought in self-satisfaction. I left the hospital room thinking that I should head back to the Research Institute and encountered the knight carrying MP Potions.
Oh yeah, I asked him to go fetch me some potions just in case I ran out of MP half-way through.
Surprisingly, I had enough MP to heal everyone in that room.
I’d intended on using a lot of magic power to heal the people with lost limbs but it seemed that 『HEAL』didn’t use that much MP.
However, I felt bad if I don’t use it because he went to fetch it for me.
Well, I’ve already practiced so should I heal the other people as well?
Yup, let’s do that.
At any rate, I felt that I was at a level where I couldn’t keep insisting that I was an ordinary person anyways.
I became defiant and decided to the treat the patients in the other rooms.
I tried to carry the MP Potions myself, but the knight and the other people around me stopped me and carried it for me.
I headed to the next room. There was a line of curious onlookers behind the knight who was carrying the MP Potions.
I felt like a doctor making her rounds in certain dramas.
It was extremely embarrassing to be observed, but it wasn’t like I could do anything about it, so I gave up.
Thus, I treated each person one by one while drinking MP Potions. But there were a lot of people in this hospital.
I got tired of just using 『HEAL』and then I remembered that I read about AOE magic before in a book.
I want to try it out.
I already finished healing the people with lost limbs and the only patients with relatively lighter wounds remained.
I could always use 『HEAL』again if the wounds were lighter, otherwise it wouldn’t activate.
In the next room, I walked all the way to the middle and stopped. This time, instead of channelling magic into my palm, I released my magic so that it filled the entire room.
Even if I said I released it, I had never done it before so I concentrated and imagined that magic was being pushed out of my body.
“『AREA HEAL』” While casting the magic, I felt magic power flowing out of my body. Something that looked like a magic circle appeared on the floor with me at the centre.
The lines of the magic circle were drawn in a white light. The area enclosed by the magic circle was covered in a white haze filled with golden lamé, just like when 『HEAL』was casted.
It was very magical. The scene that I thought was indeed fantasy, disappeared within seconds.
I looked around to see if it’d worked and everyone who was in the magic circle, all seemed to have healed.
Everyone checked the conditions of their injuries and smiled when they saw that it’d all healed.
Alright! I decided to make a triumphant pose in my mind when a voice called out to me from behind.
“Today you’re casting…… Area of effect magic?” When I turned around to face the owner of the familiar voice, I saw Director-san and Captain-san.
“Yes. Why are you here, Director-san?”
“For crying out loud! You were late in returning and the guy from the 3rd Knight Order came to take the MP Potions. I was worried so I came.”
“I’m sorry……”
He told me seemingly shocked. I didn’t want to receive punishment so I apologised and he smiled, wryly.
“Even so, you’ve really went wild.”
“No, I didn’t……”
“Ah, I saw people who’d lost their arms and legs regain them a while ago. I was surprised,” Captain-san said after Director-san, pressing for answers.
Yup, even I think I overdid it a bit, but it couldn’t be helped, you know!
They were expecting it.
I had to respond to their expectations.
………………。
…………。
……。
I’m sorry.
I also wanted to try out magic.
“Well, but you did well,” Captain-san said that when I hung my head down in shame while reflecting on my actions.
Director-san and Captain both tapped me on the shoulders in appreciation.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
“Sei,” A voice called out to me while I was walking through the Royal Palace.
I turned to face the voice and it was a knight I knew from the 3rd Knight Order.
I saw him smiling and waving so I waved back.
Since we were both working, we passed each other with a simple greeting.
Since I was summoned, only the researchers, who worked at the same place as me, called out to me like this, but recently the knights also started to call out to me.
I knew more knights now because of what had happened at the hospital the other day. So lately, people have been calling out to me when I walked around the Royal Palace.
Despite the fact that I only walked back and forth from the Research Institute to the Royal Palace library, like today.
I thought my world suddenly got wider because of that incident, even though I confined myself in the Research Institute.
I entered the library and returned the book I’d borrowed to the librarian and this time, I heard a small, “Ah”. The person who said that was someone wearing a robe. When I turned around, I accidentally met his eyes.
Judging by his appearance, he looked like a court mage but I didn’t know him.
I smiled ambiguously while tilting my head in confusion and he returned it with a similar smile.
The librarian had just finished confirming the book that I’d returned, so I could finally leave.
I noticed his voice this time, but I had a feeling that the random times when I raised my face and met the gaze of the person near me have increased.
I just feel that way for some reason.
I felt that I was being too self-conscious, so I quietly kept it in my mind without telling anyone.
After returning the book, I walked over to the bookshelf to find another book to borrow.
Since I’ve been to the library numerous times, I knew where the books I wanted were located.
I took the books I wanted one after another and when I found the last book I wanted in the top row of the bookshelf, I stretched out my hand. But, a stretched hand next to mine took the book first.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Was this person who was smiling while handing me the book, a civil official?
He probably was one since he wasn’t wearing the knight’s armour nor was he wearing robes.
It’s not like I couldn’t reach it or anything, but the book was a little bulky so he really helped me out by getting the book for me.
I said my thanks and once again returned to where the librarian was.
Come to think of it, more people have been coming here recently.
The image I had when I was here by myself was that only a few people visited the library. The only people I met here were Liz and the civil officers, but lately people I’ve never seen before were coming here. No matter when I came, there was always someone here.
It was nice that people were making use of the library, but I also liked to read books in peace.
That part is just a little too bad.
“Sei-sama!” When I stepped out of the library with the new books I borrowed, someone called out to me again.
This time it was a Knight from the 2nd Knight Order.
I didn’t have to see his face to know that.
Only people from that 2nd Knight Order call me with –sama.
There were times where I’ve been called that by shop assistants in Japan but it was always with my surname, never my first.
That was why being called that by people from the 2nd Knight Order was embarrassing. I asked them to stop attaching –sama to my name but they didn’t show any signs of stopping.
“I will carry your books for you.”
“Thank you.”
“No, no. Please leave this much to me.”
A pleasant smile appeared on his face and he easily took the books that I was barely able to carry.
This was also a recent event.
At the beginning, I felt really bad and tried my hardest to refuse them, but they wouldn’t back down so I gave up and just let them carry it.
The people from the 2nd Knight Order seemed to worship me a lot. They added –sama to my name and when I head home from the library, they walked with me and helped me carry my books.
It was certainly helpful since it was hard to walk from the Royal Palace to the Research Institute while carrying heavy books. But every time I go to the library there was always someone there.
It was always a different knight so it wasn’t like they were stalkers, but it was really unnatural for me to meet people from the 2nd Knight Order every time I go to the library.
They can’t be on standby duty near the library, right?
I want to believe that it wasn’t like that.
I chatted with the knight while walking and before I knew it, we’d reached the Research Institute.
Like always, I said my thanks and entered the Research Institute.
One of the books I borrowed today was something that Director-san wanted. I handed the other books to one of the researchers and headed to the Director’s Office.
“Director, I have brought the book you wanted.”
“Thanks, just put it over there.”
I knocked on Director-san’s office door and waited for a reply before entering.
Director-san was in the middle of writing up documents so I put the book I brought with me onto the place he’d pointed at.
“Did they escort you again today?”
“Yes.”
Did he finish writing the documents? Director-san raised his face and grinned. I returned it with a completely exhausted look.
Director-san once saw a knight from the 2nd Knight Order at the entrance, escorting me back to the Research Institute while carrying my books.
He asked me what had happened and I told him that they escorted me like this every time.
“I refused at the beginning but they wouldn’t give up so I gave up instead.”
“I see. Well, it’s no use.”
“It’s no use?”
“The other day you did various things, right? It seems that you’re already the 【Saint】to the guys at the 2nd Knight Order because of that incident. Well it seems that they’re not the only ones who think so.”
I smiled wryly, replied in my head with, ah! I thought so, and sighed.
I was far from being a commoner, in the public’s point of view.
That was how much I overdid it.
Rumours are called rumours for a reason. It wasn’t just the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders but also other people from the Royal Palace that talked, so it couldn’t be helped.
I expected this to happen, but I thought that it was inevitable at that time. I wanted to sigh.
If possible, I wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life.
Well whatever, it’s fine.
Everyone was really happy.
I remember the knights crying, shouting and hugging each other in joy, I’m glad I healed them.
I convinced myself and calmed myself down. I was once again shocked by what Director-san said next, “It’ll probably be clear soon whether you’re the 【Saint】or not.”
“Eh?”
“There was a message from the Court Mage Division a while ago. They want to check your status.”
The bomb that Director-san dropped was that the Court Mage Division’s Head Magician would finally perform status appraisal on me. To me, that was an extra-large bomb.
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Razogul
