An Awkward Cohabitation (1)

A priest I had run into at the main temple.

After everything that had happened, he was the last person I wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to see.

I glared at him in silence. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What was he doing here? Given that he was a priest, this had to be church business, right?

Had Sister Mary brought him here on her own authority? I was just about to sink into fretting over what to do when he dropped to his knees.

He hit the floor so hard it made a thud, loud enough that Maximilian and my sister came out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about.

No — Maximilian had probably been watching from behind the whole time. He knew exactly what this man had done. After all, Maximilian was the one who had protected me from him. Of course he would know.

So of course he was worried.

Maximilian's face had gone rigid as he watched the situation unfold, already poised to leap in at a moment's notice.

"You're going to explain this, right?"

I directed the question not at Priest Daniel, who was still kneeling with his head bowed, but at Sister Mary. Her expression was nothing like her usual self as she began to speak.

"So in other words, the Church assigned him to me as a knight?"

"That is correct."

Priest Daniel — or should I call him a knight now? — still kneeling with his head down, held out a letter to me.

It bore the Church's crest and a Cardinal's seal, still sealed and unopened. Sister Mary's eyes went wide. Clearly, she hadn't heard anything about this letter.

I accepted it carefully. Meanwhile, Maximilian had positioned himself right beside Daniel, ready to restrain him at any second.

That really didn't seem necessary…

Without a paper knife on hand, I carefully opened the letter with whatever tool I could find. Sure, the seal was meant to prove who had sent it and that it hadn't been opened — but for the person receiving it, it was just a nuisance.

"Let's see…"

That was what the letter said.

Even so — they couldn't leave the Church's Saint without a single Holy Knight, so they'd held a selection trial and decided to send one young, exceptional knight. That much was written clearly.

Young and exceptional…? Wasn't that man a priest? He'd always been big, and now you could see muscle filling out under his clothes… but he had been a priest, hadn't he?

A little over three months had passed, and he'd changed this much?

I glanced at Daniel again and finished reading the letter.

The first part had been the Church's collective will, more or less… Below that was the Cardinal's personal message.

He didn't know how the other bishops and cardinals felt, but he wanted to respect my will. He was worried that putting a Church believer — especially a zealous one — at my side might constrain my choices and actions.

Hmm… He had a point. Having someone hovering over me telling me what to do would be a real pain. And if whatever they said actually made sense? I might end up going along with it.

Thinking about it that way, someone like that could steer my behavior in whatever direction they wanted.

I looked up at Daniel again.

"Do you know what's in this letter?"

"Yes. My father gave me the general idea."

So the contents were genuine, then.

I let out a long sigh and looked at him.

"And you agreed to this?"

"Yes."

His calm reply, and the look in his eyes, made something in me soften. Those were the eyes of a man seeking atonement. He wanted to make up for the mistake he had made… by protecting me.

"Hah, honestly…"

I rubbed my forehead as a headache started to form. I understood the Cardinal's intentions. But personally, I would have preferred to just live quietly without any knight at all.

"What do you think, Mary?"

I asked the woman who had declared she would serve as my attendant for life.

"My opinion, you mean?"

"Yes. I just want to hear it."

"I believe it would be best to accept him."

Hmm, is that so? She must have her reasons.

"Right now, Lady Julian has Young Master Maximilian and Emma at her side, so she is safe enough. But there is no telling how long those two will be able to remain with her, is there?"

Ah…? Sister Mary's words were entirely correct. If I stayed in the village, my sister would be nearby, sure. But could she stay at my side forever? Well……? She was reaching the age for marriage. For a commoner, she was already late.

And if she got married? If she got pregnant? No matter how much of a Knight Class warrior she was, leaning on her under those circumstances would be unconscionable.

Maximilian and my sister both reacted to Sister Mary's words. She was right — this was something worth thinking about.

Maximilian looked displeased, but even he seemed to concede that Sister Mary had a point.

"You're right about that."

"Is he not someone you can freely put to work as you please? I think you can simply think of it that way."

Daniel said nothing. He seemed prepared to follow my orders and nothing more.

There was no need to ask my sister or Maximilian for their opinions. The moment I heard Sister Mary's reasoning, my mind had already been made up.

"Haa… What a hassle…"

I understood what Sister Mary was saying. I had no idea what kind of life lay ahead of me, but having a skilled knight as a bodyguard was undeniably a good thing.

"Fine. I'll accept him."

"Thank you."

"I expect you to follow every word I say."

"Without question."

"First — no honorifics. No calling me Saintess. Don't act like a priest. Make an effort to look like a commoner."

As soon as I finished speaking, Daniel's expression turned awkwardly uncertain.

"You understand why, don't you?"

There was no need to explain further.

"I understa— no. Got it? I got it?"

Daniel's struggle was a little funny. Sister Mary had gone through the same thing.

"As for a room…"

I looked at Maximilian.

"He can use one of the servants' rooms on the second floor."

He was looking down at Daniel with clear displeasure.

"Work out any leftover bad blood on your own. Everyone, out of my room."

Ahh, I'd been planning to rest a bit and get back to alchemy… What a headache.

Sister Mary and Daniel left without a word. Maximilian hesitated a moment before following…

"Julian?"

My sister came over and pulled me into a firm hug.

"You've been through a lot."

"I haven't been through anything."

"Managing people is work too."

Well, that was true. As the next village chief, she would have learned a thing or two about that… I rested in her arms for a while, collecting myself.

Once she left, I flopped onto the bed alone and rolled around.

"I really hate this. I hate it…"

But what could I do? I'd already said I'd accept him…

It was a hassle, but fine — I'd just think of it as gaining a porter! I could send him on errands, make him carry things, put him to work however I wanted!

I was lying there blankly, resting, when something noisy started up outside.

"What is that?"

It sounded like steel striking steel. The sound was quiet, but the room was so still that it carried to my ears.

Normally I would have just let my sister and Maximilian have their sparring match and moved on… but right now I was on edge, and it grated on me.

I got up from the bed, opened the window, and looked down. In the mansion's courtyard stood Maximilian and Daniel.

Both of them held swords… then they moved, and the clash began.

"Ugh…"

So noisy……

A fierce exchange of tactics, the sharp clash of sword auras, flashy techniques…

I'd learned enough myself to follow what I was seeing. But a man who had been a priest, transformed like this in just two months? He seemed stronger than me, honestly.

A genius… was that it?

I stretched, loosened up, and left the room.

Then I stepped out of the mansion and took a seat at the edge of the courtyard.

The moment the two of them saw me, they lowered their swords.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to fight?"

Maximilian, who had been swinging his blade with a murderous expression, completely changed his face the moment he saw me.

"You've come out?"

"Yes. It was too loud."

I said it with a smile, but my tone came out a little sharp.

"I—I'm sorry."

Maximilian immediately bowed his head. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It wasn't that serious… I was just being sensitive.

"It's fine. Go back to sparring. I want to watch."

With me there, Daniel's expression and posture went completely stiff, and his movements turned strange.

"So, can you actually show me what you can do?"

"My apologies…. I will correct myself."

Oh dear… This one still had a long way to go…

The two of them were about to cross swords again. And somehow my sister had appeared at my side without my noticing.

"Juli, you're cold."

She draped a coat over my shoulders.

"Thanks."

Then the two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of them clashed again, fighting fiercely with real blades.

Maximilian used mana, while Daniel used Holy Power… and the way they used them was completely different. Was that how Holy Knights fought? I wasn't sure.

"With skill like that, do you think you can protect Lady Julian?!"

Maximilian shouted as he pressed Daniel hard. Daniel didn't answer, only grunted as he met each blow. Something about his movements was off.

Incomplete, somehow? And defensive, too. It wasn't just because Maximilian was on the offensive.

"Defensive swordsmanship…"

"You think so?"

My sister's eye for this would be far more reliable than mine.

"He doesn't have a shield."

Hmm? Could his awkward movement just be because he was missing a shield? Not that we could produce one for him on the spot.

Maximilian seemed to have overheard our conversation.

"Hah, is this all you can do without a shield?"

Daniel clenched his teeth and held on. Even without a shield, his movements were fluid.

A genius, then…

Their exchange lasted about twenty minutes and ended in Maximilian's victory.

"Good work."

Both of them were skilled enough that even watching from the sidelines had been useful for me.

I handed Maximilian a towel.

"Thank you."

Then I casually dropped the other towel on top of Daniel's head.

"Good work. You're strong."

"I am still far from adequate."

If that was inadequate…

I carefully stepped back and looked the two of them over. Yeah — the hostility radiating off them was practically visible.

Well, it was a hassle, so I wasn't getting involved……