After the practice match, the knights watching all acknowledge my strength.
I defeated their captain, the strongest person in their chivalric order, so regardless of how they feel, that made them have to accept how strong I am.
Like Isolte says, for people like them, a match is worth more than a thousand words.
Afterwards, I cast Full Recovery on the captain, and heal the wounds he sustained in the practice match. Iris could have done it, since she’s a saintess, but I ask her to let me do it.
Full Recovery heals both the target, fixes their equipment, and fully heals their stamina, but it ends up healing an old wound on his left knee too. The captain is so happy about that, that he gets three times more excited.
He’s a nice older man, but it feels like he got his flashy and high spirited ways from when he was younger back.
“Oh, my body feels light as a feather! I feel like I can do anything!
Loyd, do you want to face me in another practice match?”
“No no, I don’t believe I would be able to compete with you as you are now, so I’ll just take the win and run with it.”
“Hahaha, you win then!
But if you ever want to join the kingdom’s chivalric order, just say so. I could even relinquish the position of captain to you!”
“Eeh!?”
“Hahaha, joking! But I do wish you’d join us. There is no reason not to welcome a strong mage like you.”
The captain is overwhelmingly in a good mood. Is it because his old wound has been healed? It really comes across that he used to be an energetic guy when he was younger.
The captain then calls everyone and makes them stand in a line, before yelling.
“You’re going to be hard at work from now on! I’ve been holed up in my office and not watching you train, but thanks to Loyd, I have my elegance back!
The days of staying in my office are over! From today onward, I’ll be joining you in your training!”
“Ah?”
“Eh? The demon… I mean, the captain!?”
“Awawa!?? Y-you’re kidding. That demon captain is going to watch us every day!?”
“That’s just the start. From today forward, training hours in the kingdom’s chivalric order will be extended to be from eight to sixteen!!
You can be stronger! Surely that’s good news to you too!!”
“““Hogeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?”””
Yes yes, at least the captain is having fun. Thank you kind showy old man. I want to be an elegant old man like him one day.
I thank him for his help again, and we leave.
◇ ◇ ◇
After leaving the training area, we head to the mansion of someone Isolte knows.
It’s not as big as Isolte’s, but it’s pretty big too, and its owner is pretty nice.
We’re led to a luxurious guest room, and take it easy in the mansion.
Our dinner is luxurious too, and I have a nice time eating with Iris.
She’s the type that eats a lot, and asks for more a few times, which gets her a scolding from Till. Gu… Cute!
Iris actually has two more attendants, a maid called Sephilia, and a cook called Nero, but I haven’t seen them even once while we’re eating.
Till is with Iris a lot, but I get the feeling that the other two are often doing things away from her.
Apparently they don’t get along badly though, and are very friendly in private. It’s just that they’re in their work mode now.
“Mister Loyd, open wide.”
Iris sticks a bell pepper between two pieces of meat and tries to feed me.
“Iris, eat your peppers. Don’t be rude to the owner of the mansion.”
“Yes…”
“Thank you very much for admonishing Miss Iris.”
Says Till.
After dinner, I relax in a large bath. I start thinking about what if Iris and the others came in, but this is obviously not a mixed bath.
And after leaving the bath, I go to the bedroom feeling refreshed.
But then Iris wanders in here all alone, without an attendant. She smells faintly of soap.
“What is this? Do you need anything?”
“I can’t see you unless I need something?”
“No, we can chat on the sofa over there.”
“Yes.”
What we talk about is a little different from usual. It’s mostly about my time as an exclusive mage.
It’s the first time anyone has wanted to know what it was like for me back then, so it feels kind of fresh.
“So you went to Area Zero a lot to pick materials?”
“Yes, and they were all dangerous places. It wasn’t a fun time, so you should avoid them.”
I don’t know how many times I almost died.
“That is tough advice to follow. If I receive an oracle from the goddess Emeraude, I have to go regardless of how I feel.”
“That Emeraude sure works her people hard.”
“But I would have you come along if the time came.”
Sounds like the great saintess is like her goddess.
I’m done talking about my past, and now it’s Iris’ turn. Normally I would ask inoffensive stuff, but today, I feel like going a little further.
“There’s something I want to ask.”
“Ask away.”
“Why were you expelled from the Holy State of Roland?”
This is something she’s never told me. Last time, she politely refused to talk about it, so I don’t know the details.
It’s in the past, so we could just let it stay vague, but just like how Iris wants to know about me, I want to know more about her.
“It’s embarrassing, but I was expelled for being unsociable.”
What do you mean!? That’s a word that feels very much unrelated to Iris. I’ve never seen a girl so full of emotions.
“At the time, I tried my hardest to fulfill my duty as a representative of the goddess of order. I just silently focused completely on my job, without smiling once.”
“Is that a bad thing? You were just doing your best to do a good job as a saintess.”
“The problem is that the line between my work and my private life was fuzzy.
I always behaved like the representative of the goddess of order. I was inflexible, and became someone who was hard to approach.
Prince Ghise became sick of my attitude, and gradually distanced himself from me too.”
“Prince Ghise?”
“The first prince of the Holy State of Roland. Since our country is a confessional state, he is also called Archbishop Ghise.
Prince Ghise is my former fiancee, but because I’m usually like this, he broke off our engagement, and expelled me as a false saintess.”
All this religious lingo is confusing me, but apparently this archbishop and first prince are the same person, the first in line to succeed Emperor Agnis of the Holy State of Roland.
So not being liked by the first prince Ghise shook her position as saintess a lot, and she completely lost her place when someone else was backed as a new saintess.
Also, the fact that she had no romantic feelings towards her fiancee was one of the reasons for her to have lost the favor of people around her.
So basically, it’s like this.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
○Why she was expelled
The first prince Ghise broke off their engagement, and backed another saintess, leading her to no longer have a place there.
○Why she’s being pursued
Black Raven was probably right, it’s probably to uphold the tradition of one saintess per country.
The Holy State of Roland being a confessional state means that they place more importance on that than any other country, and they’d definitely try to kill her if she ran to another country.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
“I’m very sorry for getting you involved, even before I told you anything about my circumstances.”
Once she’s done talking, she apologizes and bows deeply.
“I don’t see it that way. I’m doing this because I want to.”
Is what I respond, and some tears well up in her eyes. I approach her, and wipe them with a handkerchief.
She’s an honest girl, so she might feel guilty over getting me involved, and I have to make sure she understands that’s wrong.
“Hearing that makes me feel better. Thank you very much, Mister Loyd.”
I feel the same way. What she said before to the knights made me feel better.
I should be the one thanking her. Thanks, Iris.
Now that we’ve both talked about our pasts, our relationship has progressed a little.
Iris can now talk about her time as a saintess. And from what I hear, it does sound like she carried out things without any emotion, and I really feel that she tried her hardest to be a good representative of the goddess.
As we keep talking, Iris starts to feel sleepy, and eventually dozes off. And so, I hold her in a princess carry, and take her to Till.
And then I go to bed too.
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