The Young Lady
Ha… Annoying. Really.
My father has been overprotecting me too much lately. Of course, because of “that incident,” most young ladies from good families are being cautious, but... this is too much overprotection.
I have to ride in a second-rate noble carriage pretending to be a third-rate noble. If they knew it was the Duke's carriage, wouldn't they leave me alone even more? I know what Dad thinks, but... I just don't get it.
Since I was already bored, I was taking out my frustration on my butler—Alfred. It's fortunate that Alfred is so kind that he takes my tantrums. The carriage I was riding on, speeding through the lush forest path, suddenly jolted to a stop right in the middle of the road.
“What’s it, Alfred? Go check outside...”
The carriage door opens, and rough-looking men surround the carriage. At least a dozen. Hah... Looks like we've run into a bandit gang. The Empire says they periodically clean them out, but I don't know where these trash keep coming from. Obviously, they're from the slums. Predictable, predictable.
I cautiously tapped the brooch on my chest to send an SOS signal. It should be... about 10 minutes until the rescue arrives. Just then, Alfred got hit by one of those dirty bandits.
...Disgusting.
Then, the bandit suddenly says to me, "Won't you become my concubine?"—I got angry and spat in his face. O... Scary. It was almost a killing intent. If you're going to kill me, then do it. As long as I have the brooch, none of them can touch me.
"Yo! You trash! What are you doing with a fragile girl like this!"
...What? Suddenly, a man and woman in leather hoods appear from far away, starting to provoke the bandits. Crap... It hurts... The bandit chief, apparently scratched by that line, runs towards the two instead of leaving me.
“...Ah, right, Alfred, are you okay?”
“Yes, I'm fine, Master. But... is that the new mercenary hired this time?”
“...No?”
I sneak a smile under the hood and our eyes meet. It seemed like they winked at me just now. A sign to run away? ...I'm grateful for the help, but I don't want to run away from here in a flashy way. Judging by the looks, they seem like amateur adventurers who don't know their place, and after getting beaten by the bandits, the rescue should arrive any moment.
Just as I thought that, Alfred opens his mouth in astonishment and stares at the direction where the battle is happening.
...What is that.
Behind the girl who was boldly provoking the bandits—a massive angel appeared. The angel lightly waved her arm, and the bandits were swept away without even landing a proper attack, and in an instant, only the bandit chief remained.
“Th-this... What kind of strange sorcery are these guys using!”
He looks pitiful while swinging a club, which is understandable. The girl in tattered clothes lightly overwhelmed the bandit group. The girl in the hood pressed the bandit chief with an annoying tone, as if enjoying it.
“Aunty, be careful with your words. If I slip up even a little—Aunty might really die?”
“Yo... Die? Who said anyone would die...! Y-yes... You, you're a witch. I see it clearly...”
The girl suddenly reached up to the sky, and thick clouds gathered in the clear sky—thunder began to rumble.
...What is this girl's identity? It's clear she's not some ordinary level mage. No one uses weather manipulation magic without chanting or scrolls, even on the zodiac... Is she a hidden expert?
The situation ended quickly and rather anticlimactically. When the girl showed the performance of dropping a lightning bolt right in front of the bandit chief, the chief completely lost the will to fight. In an instant, the bandit chief, like a child, cried and begged for his life.
“Hic... Hic... P-please... Save... Save me... I didn't know you were such a noble person...”
“... Aunty, do you have any money?”
---
I thought, it might be okay to earn money by catching bandits like this... If I add up the money I took from the bandit group, there are over 20 gold coins in my pocket... It's more money than I've ever touched in my life.
... If I have this much money, I could go somewhere far away and live comfortably with oppa, just the two of us. I don't know much since it's the first time touching this much money, but...
Ah, right. That young noble lady over there. I need to recruit her... This one, oppa should do it.
“... Oppa, that noble lady with her arms crossed over there. We should recruit her, right?”
“I got it. I'll talk to her once... well.”
...What? Why is the atmosphere between the two of them like this? Unnecessarily sweet. I don't like it. The thing about handsome guys was just a joke. Are they really trying to seduce that girl? Judging by how the girl fell for it, they're not bad. Not bad.
“If the talk is over, come, oppa.”
I deliberately grabbed one arm and linked arms. We're at that level of closeness.
The noble lady's eyes briefly furrowed slightly.
“... Don't say anything. Don't worry too much. Alfred, ask these people for 'that'.”
“... Here it is.”
The butler named Alfred handed over a small jewel box-like thing towards us. When I opened it, inside was a brilliantly shining—small ruby. It's amazing, but... troublesome.
Oppa seemed to think similarly, with a troubled expression.
Of course, if a beggar with a shabby appearance says "I'm selling a ruby" at the jewelers, they'll probably suspect it's stolen goods. From our perspective, silver or copper coins would be much more attractive.
“... Wouldn't it be better to give it in silver instead?”
“Th... We don't have silver... We have some gold, shall I give this as gold?”
Hah... That's why nobles are useless. They use gold as currency, but from our perspective, gold is an enormous amount that we can't even touch. One gold coin is worth 500 silver coins. Where are we supposed to spend gold coins...
“Just give it as gold.”
“... Oppa? No, what are we going to do with gold...”
“Well, we don't have anything else to receive anyway?”
Right, that's true. There's no good item to receive from noble lords without suspicion. Just as we were thinking that, we heard horse hooves from afar and people shouting "Young Lady!" repeatedly...
I sensed the timing to slip away. Swiftly, I grabbed a few gold coins from Alfred's hand and started running in the opposite direction with oppa.
---
“Are you okay! Young Lady!”
“... Frederick is too worried. I'm fine.”
I had just warned them to hide their identities... Just then, passing adventurers came and beat the bandits, so I quickly made up a story.
“Huh? Then, as a reward befitting the family name...”
“It's fine. It seems like a hidden expert. They don't want to reveal who they are. They seemed reluctant about the ruby too, so I just gave them a few gold coins.”
“... But, Frederick. Are you hurt? Your face has bruises, which isn't like you.”
They look like they're about to answer but can't, stuttering. What?
“... Who did it. Tell me straight.”
“Th...”
After listening for a while... the puzzle pieces clicked in my head.
The girl in tattered clothes who freely uses divine power and her brother.
... There are many people in the world who are similar, but not this similar. Definitely... The girl who helped me and Alfred earlier is the one who defeated Frederick. Almost certain.
But according to Frederick's words, if she's really a witch, why did she help me? There must be a grudge against our family...
If she's not a witch... No. This situation has no meaning. If she can defeat Frederick, I swear—there is no one in our territory who can match her in skill.
Witch or not, if we pursue her now, she'll see us as enemies. Since we can't win in a fight, there's no need to turn her into an enemy.
“... Then, are you looking for that 'girl' and 'boy'?”
“Yes, Young Lady. We're searching with all our might right now, but... it seems they've hidden in the forest...”
“It's fine. Don't bother searching.”
“... Huh?”
I had no choice but to tell Frederick the situation as it happened to persuade him.
“... Young Lady, even so, there's a possibility she's a witch...”
“If she were, I would have died earlier. If she were really a witch, she wouldn't have kept me alive. Frederick?”
“If you say so... I'll stop the search.”
“But... personally, do a separate investigation. I'm curious who they are. They're not ordinary skill... Is there a reason to hide like that?
Or... From the Empire, the commoner-born... either way. The best is to investigate in advance and pull them to our side.”
---
After the situation was settled, we were riding in the carriage again with Alfred. The sun was starting to set, and we entered the nearby village. Is there some festival in the village? Everyone seemed busy... Several priests from the cathedral were roaming around.
“Announcement! Announcement! The Goddess has issued a prophecy that the Saintess has descended to this world again!”
... Saintess? Isn't that a being only in legends? It's been over 200 years since she disappeared... Again?
Suddenly, the image of the girl in the hood I saw earlier flashed. The power to command angels, and that unique golden eyes. While lost in thought, a woman with short black hair suddenly approached and spoke.
I've seen her somewhere before, ah—was it the aide of the Cardinal? Yes, probably named Cheryl.
“... Long time no see. Aide Cheryl. But what brings you to such a remote place?”
The aide subtly checked the atmosphere and continued speaking in a quiet place.
“You've heard, right? A prophecy has been issued.”
“I know. I was happily talking about it earlier. The Saintess has appeared, right?”
“That's the problem. ...Since the Saintess appeared, the Eastern Front has been losing without a fight. What a twisted divine prank... The Saintess herself hasn't been found, but the last detected divine power was in this area... We're searching, but there's no clear method.”
“... If we find her?”
“Like the previous Saintesses, we must perform an 'ritual'. Sacrificing a beloved is inevitable.”
The girl's face flickered. Probably... she's looking for that girl. If that girl is the Saintess, everything fits. But as someone who knows what "certain humans" the cathedral is, I couldn't tell the truth.
“... Yes. Well, good luck finding the Saintess.”
Just as I was about to respond casually and turn away, the aide continued.
“I heard a rumor that Lord Frederick lost to some beggar girl... Considering the ways the Saintess has been chosen so far, isn't it obvious that someone of Lord Frederick's level of skill would be defeated by someone?”
“Young Lady Chatrin, you can't cover the sky with your palm. I won't ask further—in the end, everything will be according to the will of the great Goddess.”
“... Please stop with the unpleasant speculations. Since I haven't heard anything before, I don't know what you're talking about.”
Then, the aide, as if he had said everything he needed to, turned and walked away.
... I already knew everything. Those two, being caught... is just a matter of time. Rather... I hope she wasn't the Saintess.