Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Episode 84
Olivia Blue remembered.
The time when she first fled to the Holy City.
She had escaped to the Holy City, practically driven out of the kingdom.
Having given up even on fighting, she abandoned her lingering attachment to the royal family and became a priestess.
Because she valued her life.
-I'm sorry...
And as if it were natural, those who had trusted and followed her also had no choice but to abandon everything and flee.
Olivia regretted it later. She should have been courageous for the sake of those who believed in and supported her.
They had risked everything for her. Yet, she ran away without even trying to fight.
Because she felt wretched and pathetic, Olivia had no choice but to push herself.
-Olivia, you're pushing yourself too hard. Please rest for a bit.
-No, I'm fine.
Olivia knew.
How foolish her actions were. She just wanted to show her miserable state.
She thought it was atonement.
The more people around her worried, the more she believed she was on the right path. So she pushed herself and overworked.
-You're working hard, aren't you?
-...Huh?
And then she met a girl with long, white hair tied in a ponytail and mint-colored eyes.
-Do you want to go play with me?
Arietta was still an innocent girl back then.
-No.
-Why?
-I have to pray.
Perhaps happy to have met a girl her age, Arietta persistently clung to Olivia, who was clearly pushing her away.
-Why are you praying?
-To be forgiven for my sins.
-Hmm...
Arietta placed her hand on Olivia's head as she prayed and muttered.
-In the name of God, your sins are forgiven.
-...What are you doing?
-I forgave your sins! Now, won't you come play with me?
Olivia disliked Arietta. She disliked that expression of innocent ignorance. And because of that...
-Saintess! You were here?
-Eek... I've been found.
She resented Arietta.
Her, who continued a harsher penance than herself. Her unwavering cheerfulness despite that, her innocent brightness. It seemed too bright to Olivia back then.
But it didn't take long for her to realize that it was a misconception. That it was her own arrogance.
Because of her recklessness in pushing herself when there was no need, because of the foolishness of being intoxicated by her own misery.
Arietta had lost her sight.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Olivia saw a familiar look in Oz's eyes.
The look of someone endlessly sinking, no, deliberately sinking into despair.
Oz was taking on unnecessary burdens, sacrificing himself and pushing himself to the limit.
Those who were ready to abandon more because they had already lost everything, those who could only find peace of mind by diminishing their own worth.
"...Wouldn't it be alright not to force yourself down a difficult path?"
"Interesting expression. But I have to. If I want to change my destination, I have to take a difficult path, as you say."
Oz didn't deny it.
Olivia frowned at this. If he was doing this knowingly, it meant he was at least aware that the path was arduous.
"...It will be a sacrifice no one wants."
Sacrifice. Yes, sacrifice. Oz was wearing himself down.
They say there's pain that can't be avoided.
But deliberately hurting oneself to get used to that pain was foolish.
At least, Olivia, who had made such a choice once, thought so.
"There is someone who wants it. At least, I want it."
"Others might get hurt because of it."
She knew how unstable that path was. It was a path that could ruin not only oneself but also those who cared.
"That's why I'm doing this."
"No, that's not right. That can't be true. At least, the Saintess will be hurt just by looking at you. What you're doing is...!"
"You're being emotional."
Oz looked down at Olivia, who was clinging to him more persistently than usual, with cold eyes.
Only then did Olivia realize her mistake. She shouldn't have mentioned Arietta's name in front of Oz.
Knowing what he was striving for, bringing that up was a clear mistake.
"As you often say, it's presumptuous of you."
"I apologize..."
"Yes, it's fine if you understand."
Oz quietly nodded at Olivia's words and closed the door.
"But I'll keep your advice in mind."
Olivia sighed at the reply she heard before the door closed.
Oz was stronger than she thought. He was so strong that he didn't know if he was hurt.
Olivia didn't know how to persuade Oz.
Unlike her, who had been weak, Oz was observing every situation with [Contemplation].
In the end, it was just as he said.
'I still don't know what's right and wrong.'
It was presumptuous of her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Immediately after Olivia's presence disappeared, I contacted Tenebris to check the situation.
-Is it okay to be distracted while preparing for a date, Prince Oz?
"A date, what...?"
Perhaps I wasn't the only one frustrated by the lack of information; Lucia's voice was quite irritated.
"More than that, how's Noah doing lately? Does she actually seem stressed?"
-Is that even a question? Noah is in a far more precarious state than what's apparent!
"I-I see."
It seemed Eleanor wasn't the only one stressed.
Lucia was quite irritable.
-At this rate, Noah might snap and go on a rampage.
"She wouldn't go that far, would she?"
She was the protagonist after all. She wouldn't become a crazy murderer.
-Even if the target is only you, can you take that so lightly?
"...."
I could laugh it off until now, but this time, it was hard to dismiss.
It was chilling.
-You need to stabilize Noah's mental state this time.
"But what pushed Noah so far? Did something happen during her volunteer work?"
-Her so-called Master was flirting with the Saintess right in front of her eyes.
"...I wasn't exactly flirting. We've only met three times."
-The number of times isn't important, Prince Oz. What matters is who did what while Noah was working.
She wasn't wrong.
Even if it was only once, not three times, it was enough to make her feel resentful if she witnessed it.
-Besides, Noah's birthday was also glossed over, remember?
"...."
Honestly, I had forgotten. But back then, there was a problem with celebrating Noah's birthday, so it couldn't be helped.
Both she and I were hospitalized, covered in injuries, so how could we have celebrated her birthday?
Besides, there was a lot on my mind.
I was racking my brains over Prudence Loa's words and the upcoming main story, and Noah was probably deep in thought about the 'outside existence'.
-So, Prince Oz?
"...Yeah."
-This time, please don't mess things up by doing something weird like usual.
"I'll try."
-That's not reassuring at all. Keep the communication line open. If it seems really dangerous, I'll instruct you to do something Noah would like.
"Is that really necessary?"
-Unless you're fine with getting stabbed in the back with a greatsword.
"...."
Funny. I wasn't afraid of that. But since there was no harm in taking advice from a friend who usually shared a room with me, I should keep the communication line open.
-Sometimes I wonder if you're stupid...
Me too, sometimes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Despite chatting with Olivia, Lucia, and others, I was the first to arrive at the meeting place.
It wasn't strange; girls took a long time to get ready. Especially Eleanor, the attention seeker.
She would take even longer than others.
"Ah! Master, have you been waiting?"
"Yeah."
-You should have said no. Why don't you even know something so simple? And you should compliment her outfit first!
So noisy from the start.
Unfortunately, I had no intention of having such a typical conversation.
The other person was Eleanor, after all. Expecting normalcy from her would only result in unpredictable situations.
"What shall we do today?"
"Just something..."
-If you can't think of anything, suggest looking around.
"Let's look around for now."
I felt like a puppet on strings.
Was this how Pinocchio felt? No, he didn't have strings, did he?
I wasn't sure.
It was just so difficult.
"Oh... The usual Master would have suggested killing time, so this is unexpected."
"...."
-High comprehension skills.
Indeed, Eleanor's understanding of me was higher than I thought. As I had felt before, she had an absurd learning ability.
"It's truly unexpected. I wonder why?"
Eleanor smiled brightly and reached out to me.
This was it. The same feeling as when she saw through my [Contemplation] and covered my eyes.
Chills ran down my spine in an instant.
But Eleanor's hand wasn't aimed at my eyes.
"Hmm? Master, what's this?"
"...."
-....
Covering my eyes would have been better. But her hand went past my eyes and towards my ear.
To be precise, the small earphone of the communication device connected to Lucia.
"Don't you think it's a little rude to talk to someone else when you're supposed to be spending time with me?"
Eleanor's eyes were cold. Colder than my fully activated [Contemplation] that I saw in the mirror.
Was that [Contemplation]? How did she have such insight? Shouldn't there be no reason for her to call me Master anymore?
Couldn't I just let her graduate?
As countless question marks floated in my mind, Eleanor's voice, colder than the [Curse of Perpetual Snow], pierced through the communication device.
"Knock, knock~ Who's there? Won't you answer? I'm Noah. Do you want to play with us?"
-....
Lucia must have been desperately suppressing her voice. I couldn't even hear her breathing.
But seeing as she didn't cut off the communication even in this terrifying situation, she was definitely a professional.
"Well, fine. If you don't want to answer, it can't be helped. Then I'll take it as a yes, so please listen carefully, okay?"
With that, Eleanor picked up the small earphone.
I couldn't ask for it back now. I didn't have the courage.
"...Master?"
"No, no. I-it's not that, it's just, I didn't know what was around here, so I was getting some advice..."
"Haha, what an interesting excuse, Master."
Eleanor smiled brightly. But I couldn't laugh.
"It can't be helped. Since you have nothing but that face, I'll lead the way here."
"R-right... Thanks."
"Let's go!"
Eleanor smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and led me.
Clothing stores, restaurants, squares, fountains, etc. We went to numerous places.
There wasn't anything specific to do.
Surprisingly, Eleanor was just enjoying herself, just as she said at first. Perhaps because of her attitude, my fear had subsided considerably.
I could act as usual.
"I thought the food would be bland since it's the Holy City, but it's pretty good."
"That's a prejudice. The food they served inside the Holy City was decent too, right?"
"That's true. But it's fun to share our impressions. And didn't Master think the same way?"
"Honestly, I did."
I thought they'd use less spices since they lived a restrained life.
"Oh, a cat."
As we were walking and chatting, Eleanor suddenly ran towards a cat basking in the sun. She was smiling as she petted the cat.
"Did you like cats?"
"It's not that I like cats, I like how I look when I'm petting them."
"...That's a very honest answer."
How could she always defy my expectations?
I felt like I could finally read this attention seeker to some extent.
"Hmm..."
Eleanor was persistently petting and teasing the cat, which was wriggling as if annoyed.
The cat was gradually giving in to Eleanor's touch, as if being corrupted.
"Just in case, you're not thinking of keeping it, are you? You already have one at home."
That particularly sensitive and picky black cat.
"Hmm... Well? I'm worried because that cat isn't cute."
"...Lucia will be sad if she hears that."
"You started it, Master."
-...
Eleanor, lifting her head after petting the cat, had her usual playful smile.
Had her stress been relieved to some extent? Just as I thought that...
"Are you feeling a little better now?"
"What...?"
She said something unexpected.
"I told you, I thought we were both stressed."
"...."
I was a little surprised.
I was speechless at her casual question.
"I'm feeling better now."
I knew Eleanor had insight, but I didn't know it was to this extent.
Even the parts I tried to hide were clearly visible to her.
"How about you, Master? Are you feeling a little better?"
Even excluding the goal of the main story, I understood why people gathered around her.
It was because of her consideration.
Because she could create such a bright, sunflower-like smile.
Yes, even if she were an ordinary girl without the special quality of the [Key of Understanding]...
"...Yes, watching your silly antics made me feel a little better."
"I'm glad!"
Eleanor would have been the protagonist of a story surrounded by people.