“Last time, I was too flustered during the hunt to have a proper conversation, but I look forward to working with you from now on.”
The princess said we should get along well, but the gap caused by social status couldn’t be bridged by a few words.
She probably knew that, so she didn’t point out the awkwardness between the nobles and commoners.
However, since we couldn’t keep our distance from the commoners during the gathering, she singled someone out to focus her attention on.
And, unfortunately, the person who had to endure their overwhelming attention was none other than me.
“I guess a priest is easier to handle than a commoner.”
I understood their feelings, but the overwhelming attention was burdensome.
“I, too, look forward to working with you.”
“What happened to the evil god’s altar that was discovered last time?”
“Oh! I was curious about that.”
“As for the altar, I know it has been reported to the Church, and they are currently investigating the matter.”
“I heard you can experience all sorts of things in the labyrinth, but I didn’t expect it to be an evil god’s altar.”
“If it weren’t for the priest, we would have touched it and probably ended up cursed, suffering terribly. We were really lucky.”
“I didn’t realize how reassuring it would be to have a priest here.”
I never expected to be groomed like this by the nobles.
It was too overwhelming to actively agree with them.
“The priest seems flustered.”
“Did we make you feel uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all.”
At first, I received a flood of attention about who I was, and once that ended, the questions started pouring in.
“Your workplace is the temple in the labyrinth city, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I visited last time, but I guess I was unlucky. I heard it was your day off.”
“Was it? I didn’t have many days off… I wasn’t informed that you had come.”
“I told them not to mention it. I didn’t want to burden you.”
There were people who had visited the temple to see me.
“When I received treatment from the priest and then from another priest, my condition didn’t improve at all. They say you’re the youngest head healer? Is it difficult to become a head healer?”
They complimented my healing skills through reverse feedback.
It was getting tough, but would it be too much if I shifted some attention to someone else?
I was starting to feel exhausted, but finally, they started focusing on someone else.
“But this person is very quiet.”
“Oh! I should have introduced Sister Melody…”
I made a mistake in my rush.
I quickly introduced her to the nobles.
“This is Sister Melody, who will be guarding me.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Sister Melody finally spoke.
“If you’re guarding, does that mean you’re a paladin?”
“Yes.”
“This is my first time seeing a paladin up close… If you have time later, would you be willing to spar with me?”
Sister Melody spoke to the man who revealed his competitive spirit.
“I’m on duty, so I can’t give a definite answer.”
“I’ll ask when the time is right!”
I knew the nobles used swords, but I had no idea how skilled they were.
Since the paladins were the most famous in the Holy Empire, it couldn’t just be considered a simple duel.
A duel between the paladins of the Holy Empire and the knights of the Deltrak Empire.
It could be a battle representing each nation.
“What is your name?”
“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Baron Moil, the second son of the Count Tenness family.”
Though he was a childhood friend of Princess Lasiell, they weren’t all the same age.
They had grown up together as classmates with the princess, but there was a gap of five or six years between them.
Everyone thought they were the same age because they were childhood friends, but it was rare to assign younger children as friends to royal children.
“If they’re too young, they might not have the judgment to avoid trouble.”
What would a child know?
They are honest about their feelings, and sometimes their stubbornness could make them seem devilish.
What would happen if they showed that kind of stubbornness to royalty?
That’s why royal children are usually given older friends.
These friends, too, were older than the princess.
However, since the princess was so young, their ages were still only in their early twenties.
In other words, they were at an age full of impulsiveness and vigor.
“Yes, Baron Moil.”
It was likely said as a reminder to remember his name.
But Baron Moil was waiting for Sister Melody’s next words.
Normally, someone would have continued the conversation with something else.
But as you know, Sister Melody wasn’t someone easy to engage in conversation with.
Everyone looked at Sister Melody with puzzled expressions, and naturally, silence settled in.
At this point, I thought it would be best if I spoke up, so I said,
“Sister Melody is a bit quiet.”
“Ah…”
“She didn’t talk much from the start, but it turns out she’s truly a very quiet person.”
Fortunately, they didn’t see Sister Melody’s silence as a flaw and seemed to kindly accept it.
“Is it because you don’t drink, perhaps, because you need to guard us?”
“Yes.”
The curiosity about me naturally shifted to Sister Melody.
“Come on, there are quite a few people here. Why not relax and enjoy yourself today? The princess herself gave her permission.”
“I’ll decline.”
Even though they had heard she was quiet, they didn’t stop trying to prod her with questions.
It seemed like they were trying to break through her silence by any means.
“I thought it was because I was a priest, but it seems like she acts like that with everyone.”
Sister Melody, who had a strong personality, wasn’t someone who would just take the barrage of questions like I did.
“Where did you originally serve?”
“It’s a secret due to my mission, so I can’t tell you.”
“Oh, a secret mission? That sounds interesting.”
She was skillfully refusing to answer, which seemed to be disheartening their curiosity.
Rather than feeling offended by the refusal, it seemed like every time they were turned down, their curiosity about the paladin grew even more.
“Do you also hunt demons?”
“It’s classified.”
“Why don’t you kill all the heretics? There’ve been so many problems with those bastards causing trouble across the empire.”
“……”
It seemed like the nobles had too many questions, to the point where I thought they should stop.
“Can you at least tell me why heretics keep appearing? Is that also classified? They know they’ll be killed if caught, so it’s strange that they keep showing up.”
When I saw she was silent again, seemingly unwilling to answer, I decided to step in.
“They can’t resist temptation. The evil gods dig into their hearts and offer to grant them their desires.”
“Oh, so if someone wanted to become a sword master, would the evil god grant that?”
“Yes. They would promise to grant it.”
“Wow… That’s a scary thing to say. Anyone can’t just become a sword master. But I’ve never heard of a heretic becoming a sword master.”
“Of course, that’s impossible. The evil gods don’t give their rewards immediately. They say they’ll grant it if the person follows them and accomplishes things.”
“Ah, definitely a nasty piece of work.”
Thanks to my quick thinking, I managed to prevent the atmosphere from becoming irreparably chaotic.
However, if Sister Melody’s unapproachable behavior continued, problems would eventually arise.
I needed to redirect their attention elsewhere.
Of course, when people show interest, it means they want to know more about that person and become closer. So, it was a bit bitter that I had to intentionally divert their attention.
‘Everyone has a different time frame for becoming close.’
It’s not right to force a friendship on someone who struggles with it.
I decided not to regret stepping in for her.
“I heard you’ve been childhood friends with Princess Lasiell.”
“Ah, yes. We’ve known the princess for a long time.”
“This is a secret, but even now she’s cute, but when she was younger, she was unbelievably cute.”
As soon as Princess Lasiell was mentioned, the nobles’ faces lit up again.
“It must have been a difficult decision to enter the labyrinth. How did you come to that decision?”
Baron Moil answered my question first.
“It was something we had to do, of course. We are nobles of the empire, after all. Noblesse oblige!”
Since the princess asked for their help so earnestly, there was no reason to refuse, he said.
“I was actually interested in the labyrinth. If the princess hadn’t suggested it, I would’ve gathered a team and entered the labyrinth myself.”
Some came because they were personally interested in the labyrinth itself.
Listening to their reasons, I realized that my own reason for entering the labyrinth wasn’t all that special.
However, there was one noble who joined the team for what seemed to be the most special reason of all.
“Because of Princess Kanabi?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
It was a somewhat dramatic response.
He was a handsome young man, with delicate features, still youthful enough to be called a “pretty boy.”
“Tsk tsk.”
The surrounding nobles shook their heads as if they couldn’t say anything in response, suggesting there was some story involving Princess Kanabi.
“As soon as I heard it was related to Princess Kanabi, I immediately agreed. Princess Lasiell has relied on Princess Kanabi, who’s been like a sister to her since childhood. I couldn’t refuse something that was for her.”
“Are you implying the priest wouldn’t understand if you beat around the bush? Just say it clearly. You’re doing this because you have a crush on Princess Kanabi.”
“Ah, a crush…”
Since it was called a crush, it seemed like it was a difficult relationship to pursue.
“Why are you concluding it’s a crush? Who knows, right?”
“Why would someone like her marry someone like you? Maybe if you were the firstborn, but you’re the youngest.”
If he were the firstborn, he would inherit the family and have power.
But usually, the youngest child receives a share of the wealth and has to figure out how to support themselves. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t express his feelings properly, even though he had feelings for Princess Kanabi.