Chapter 203: The Opening and the Welcome
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: The Opening and the Welcome
A short while later, Constine and her party returned to the square after their tour of the village.
“A hotel in a hot spring village... the North is quite different from what I imagined,” Constine remarked, her expression clearly dissatisfied.
“Just what on earth were you imagining until now...?” Demich muttered under his breath. He had been wearing a sour look ever since the Saintess arrived.
It was time to move on.
“Do you like the village?” I asked.
Constine glanced back at the residents still surrounding them and gave a thin smile. “It seems like a very beautiful and peaceful village. The Elder was boasting about it so much that I’m almost tempted to stay here myself once the hotel opens.”
“That’s why I was thinking of holding the welcoming ceremony here.”
Constine’s voice grew a bit thin. “...A welcoming ceremony?”
I tilted my head, watching her react as if she were hearing the idea for the first time. “I heard you requested a welcoming ceremony be held for you. Was I mistaken?”
A Saintess requesting her own welcoming ceremony. She clearly hadn’t expected me to bring it up so boldly in front of everyone.
“It’s not so much a welcoming ceremony as...” Constine said with an awkward smile. “I simply wished to share the Goddess’s blessing with the imperial citizens of the North.”
She curved her eyes softly, adding that coming to the North was a rare opportunity.
“Though my power is meager, I truly wished to share a divine aura with as many people as possible.” Her dark gray eyes stared straight at me. “Since I have no connections here, I was going to ask Your Highness the Grand Duchess to arrange a venue for me.”
“I thought a modest gathering at the Grand Duke’s Castle would suffice,” Constine added, trying to seize the initiative.
“No. I think it would be better to hold the welcoming ceremony here in Porcelain Village.” I met her gaze with a firm look.
“In this... tiny village?”
“As I mentioned, the grand opening of the Blois Hotel is scheduled to take place soon.” I looked around the wide square. “On that day, every major figure in Blenheim will be gathered here.”
In fact, I was planning to hold a grand opening festival spanning three days.
Hmm.
Constine’s eyes shifted as she weighed my proposal.
“So, I think it would be best to hold the Saintess’s welcoming ceremony in conjunction with the hotel’s opening.”
At those words, Loik looked flustered and tried to stop me, but then held his tongue. He seemed worried that the hotel opening he had worked so hard on would be overshadowed by the Saintess.
Constine also narrowed her eyes, seemingly suspicious of my intentions. “Would that really be alright? I’m worried I might be an inconvenience.”
I flashed her a bright smile. “On the contrary, it would be an honor to have the Saintess attend the hotel’s opening. The visitors will be absolutely thrilled.”
“Since you put it that way, I have no choice but to accept,” Constine said, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. “Then I shall leave it in your hands.”
Just as she signaled her consent, I spoke up again.
“Where will you be heading now, Saintess?”
Constine’s mouth hung open slightly, caught off guard. She had obviously assumed she would be coming with us to the Grand Duke’s Castle.
Sorry, but I have absolutely no intention of letting someone like you sleep in my house.
“Ah, you’ll be heading straight to the temple, I assume? After all, Pogen Temple is just a short distance from here.” I naturally gestured toward Miel. “This is Priest Miel; he is in charge of Pogen Temple.”
Miel bowed politely toward Constine. “A servant of the Goddess greets the Saintess.”
“Are the preparations to receive the Saintess complete?” I asked.
Miel nodded confidently. “I have tidied the interior of the temple thoroughly.”
Constine hesitated, her lips trembling. “I understood Pogen Temple to be a small place. I’m worried whether it can accommodate such a large group.”
“I’ve partitioned the space so that about ten people can stay comfortably,” Miel said with a wide grin. “I’ve even cleared out my own quarters and the storage room, so you needn’t worry.”
“The... the storage room...?” one of the priests standing behind her muttered, looking horrified.
“Then where will you sleep, Priest?”
“Do not worry about me. I plan to stay elsewhere for the time being so that the Saintess may use the temple at her convenience.”
Miel looked exceptionally happy. He’s probably glad he doesn’t have to stay and wait on the Saintess’s party hand and foot.
“Then, I hope you stay comfortably at the temple until the opening ceremony.”
Right on cue, Gamon, the Captain of the 3rd Knight Division, appeared with his men. Loik gestured for Gamon to come forward.
“This is the Blenheim knight division that will escort the Saintess during her stay in the North.”
At Loik’s words, Constine smiled graciously and declined. “I appreciate the offer, but I have the Holy Knights who came with me, so I will be fine.”
“It is not fine with us.” Loik looked down at Constine with a cold, resolute gaze. “I am not particularly fond of entrusting protection to strangers.”
Constine’s eyes cleared as she spoke softly. “If you are worried about my safety, I would rather you allow me to call for the Holy Knights currently stationed outside the walls.”
“I am not worried about you, Saintess,” Loik said, narrowing his eyes. “If you were to be injured, the Grand Temple would hold Blenheim responsible...”
His chilling gaze swept over Constine and her party. “I see no reason why I should take the fall for that.”
Wow, go Loik.
He had put up the same kind of iron wall when I first arrived. Now that we were on the same side, he couldn't be more reliable.
Constine bit her lip in displeasure, but in the end, she headed toward Pogen Temple under the escort of Gamon and his knights. Since there were only ten people in her party, it looked less like an escort and more like they were being taken into custody.
“Annette, did things go as you wished?” Loik asked, watching me with an uneasy look.
“It was perfect.”
I’d make sure she never breathed a word about a "welcoming ceremony" ever again. I began plotting even before I stepped into the carriage.
*
It’s night this time.
I thought to myself as I walked through the corridors of the Grand Temple, bathed in moonlight. This was already the third time. I was having a dream as vivid as reality.
Is this really a dream?
Strangely, the dreams I’d been having lately didn’t fade after I woke up; they remained in my mind as if they were part of my own memories. Last time, I had dreamed of healing knights from the Imperial Knights who were injured while fighting monsters.
One of the priestesses following behind me, perhaps out for a stroll as well, spoke to me.
“Saintess, they say Duke Kyle came by again today.”
Words flowed out of my mouth regardless of my will.
“They say he left with a look of great dejection when he found out you were out?”
“Someone is being indiscreet with their gossip again.”
Just as I turned to scold her for creating strange rumors, I realized with a shock that the priestess who had spoken to me was Constine. She was dressed in the simple robes of an ordinary priestess.
“Honestly, it’s a fact that both the Grand Duke and the Duke are completely smitten with you, Saintess.”
At Constine’s words, another priestess standing nearby chimed in. “I heard earlier that the Duke asked the High Priest if there really weren't any more spare rooms in the temple.”
“Really?”
“He’s definitely jealous of the Grand Duke!”
“Well, it’s not like he could sleep soundly with his romantic rival staying right here in the temple.”
“Saintess, honestly, which one do you like more?” Constine asked with a suggestive glint in her eyes.
“What do you mean, 'which one'? We don’t even know when the Dragon might attack, and you’re all talking about such trivial things.”
“The war will end eventually. When it does, they’ll both propose to you, so you should think about it in advance.”
At that, the priestess next to her stepped forward. “I’m for Duke Kyle! First of all, his looks are practically divine.”
“But isn’t the Grand Duke also incredibly handsome?”
“He looks too scary.”
“Besides, if you marry him, you have to go live in the North.”
“I’d hate that. I absolutely loathe the cold.”
“He seems blunt, too. I like someone kind, like the Duke.”
Just as the consensus seemed to be leaning toward Duke Kyle, one of the priestesses spoke up, her nostrils flaring with excitement.
“You guys didn’t see the Grand Duke kneeling before the Saintess the other day, did you?”
“When the Saintess’s shoelace came undone...!”
“The Grand Duke tying it for her himself? I saw that too!”
The priestesses stamped their feet in excitement. “That was so heart-fluttering, wasn't it?”
“Constine, who do you like more?”
At someone’s question, Constine looked up coyly. “The one who confesses first.”
“What? That’s not fair.”
“Even a day sooner to get out of this gutter—!”
Constine, catching my eye as she spoke, quickly changed her wording. “No, I mean, I don’t care who it is, as long as they can set me free.”
“Is temple life that difficult for you?” I asked.
“You know it is,” Constine grumbled. “I’m only enduring it because you’re here, Saintess.”
The others seemed to feel the same, as they all let out sighs.
“I’ll try to get you some time off this week, somehow.”
“Forget it, Saintess. How could we leave you here alone?”
The priestesses grumbled, but their wide smiles showed they weren't actually displeased.
As I turned to continue walking, I stopped again after only a few steps. Loik was lingering near a small fork in the path ahead.