Uncomfortable Cohabitation (15)
I threw on some clothes and headed to the temple with Sister Mary.
“Julian, you’re starting to look like an ordinary girl now.”
“Huh?”
“Your hair’s grown out quite a bit, and you’ve started wearing skirts normally.”
It was definitely a big change, if you could call it that.
Living like this, I’d gotten used to the comfort, so the inconveniences were bearable… and it just didn’t feel bad, so I was sticking with it.
“Well, yeah, I guess so.”
It didn’t take long to reach the temple in the capital. And once again, we entered through the back door instead of the main entrance.
“Is it okay to just walk in like this?”
“Yes. After that incident, they gave me a key.”
Sister Mary smiled as she unlocked the door, and we slipped inside quickly so no one would see us. The moment we entered the temple through the back, we ran right into someone.
“Mary?”
Judging by the outfit, it was a nun.
“Ah, Sister.”
“What brings you here today?”
“Well…”
Sister Mary glanced at me. I gave her a look that said to handle it however she saw fit….
“The Saintess has arrived. Please… quietly, quietly gather the people.”
The nun looked at me, her eyes widening as she sucked in a breath—and then she collapsed right there.
“…Well, that was unexpected……”
I’d thought she might be surprised, but fainting was something I really hadn’t seen coming.
Sister Mary let out a deep sigh, then took care of the fallen nun and headed inside, with me following behind.
First, we carried the unconscious nun to the chapel and laid her down properly.
“This place is off-limits to anyone but the faithful, so you needn’t worry.”
Hearing that put me a little more at ease. Sister Mary went to call people… and I tended to the fainted nun. Was it really tending, though?
And when the nun opened her eyes….
“Ugh, mm…”
“Ah, are you awake?”
I smiled as I looked at her, and the nun suddenly clasped her hands together—then fainted again.
“Um, hello?”
I left the nun like that and waited for people to arrive.
It didn’t feel like I’d waited long at all before a crowd of people came rushing in.
All of them with pious…….
No, with expressions like sinners, they entered, and upon seeing me, they all bowed their heads in repentance.
“Everyone, if you react like that, what am I supposed to do?”
“We apologize.”
When even the archbishop, the highest-ranking person in the temple, was acting like that, of course the subordinates would go even further!
“I came today because I have something to say.”
“Is that so?”
Looking at the devout attitudes of the faithful left me with a truly complicated feeling. If I said I hated it, I’d feel sorry for them…. It was annoying. So annoying!
“I plan to leave the capital in the near future.”
I’d expected them to make a big fuss, but everyone reacted calmly. Still, I had to say it.
“It’s not because of the temple, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Yes, we understand. A journey is your purpose, I take it.”
Well, something like that? Anyway….
“Still, I wanted to see your faces once before I leave.”
I could see smiles forming on people’s lips.
“That’s a relief.”
A relief…?
“Actually, the royal family contacted us yesterday.”
I could tell right away what that meant.
The rumor that a Saint had appeared in the Metis Church had already spread through the capital long ago. Of course, the church had denied it….
The problem was that it was a rumor. Unfortunately, rumors spread easily and twisted easily. No matter how much the church denied it, once a rumor got out, it showed no signs of dying down, and as it passed from mouth to mouth, it mutated strangely.
Actually, the church is imprisoning the Saint.
The church’s Saint is so ugly she won’t appear in public.
Actually, there’s no Saint and the church is just scamming people.
And so on—all sorts of rumors had spread.
Of course, these were the ones I’d heard… I didn’t know about the ones circulating in places I wasn’t aware of.
“There was once a rumor that the Saintess was attending the Academy.”
The Academy, huh…….
“We pretended not to know, but that rumor ballooned quite a bit.”
People started saying the Saint was of commoner origin, that she was a woman….
“The problem is that the rumor started matching the Saintess so precisely it was as if it was pinpointing her.”
What had particularly shocked the temple was when they got wind of the rumor that the Saintess had pink hair.
“There was a rumor like that?”
“Yes, though it was only circulating within the Academy.”
Pink hair, female, commoner origin—it all fit me perfectly. But calling it an exact identification was a bit of a stretch.
“It seems the royal family investigated the truth of the rumor as well.”
And the conclusion the royal family reached was that it was credible, apparently.
The royal family had sent an envoy to the temple—unofficially, of course. An envoy for the purpose of arranging a marriage between the royal family and the Saintess.
“We naturally said it was completely unfounded, but…”
The problem was that even the royal family believed the rumor to be true.
“It’s fine for now, but there’s no telling what might happen going forward.”
I didn’t know if the rumor was truly pinpointing me. But there was one thing I could say.
If things continued like this, I could come under suspicion too.
Especially if they looked at Sister Mary or Priest Daniel by my side, they might get suspicious.
“Exactly. We were about to inform you of the news, but the Saintess came to us first.”
Should I call it a coincidence? Well, it lined up strangely well.
“When exactly will you be departing?”
“I haven’t decided that yet. At the latest, before spring comes, once the weather warms up, I plan to leave.”
I could leave as soon as today, if I wanted.
“We would like to give you a farewell, at least…”
A farewell, huh…….
“Just accepting your goodwill… wouldn’t be enough, would it?”
At those words, the atmosphere plummeted. How gloomy had everyone become? Had the chapel ever felt this chilly?
“Keep it simple?”
“Understood.”
Just that one thing, and the mood brightened right up…. This is why religion is scary…….
Even calling it hospitality, there wasn’t much to it—rather, I was the one giving more. We just held a service together, had lunch together… and I even gave a simple sermon.
Well, I didn’t have much to say…….
I simply re-explained the importance of book classification methods in my own words. It was just a longer version of what I’d said in front of the cardinals, but the reaction was so good…….
The response was so positive it made me embarrassed, so after finishing the sermon, I fled the temple as if escaping.
“Whew, that was exhausting.”
Standing in front of people really is hard…….
“You’ve worked hard.”
Sister Mary replied with a brighter expression than ever.
“So, what did you get?”
She’d gone out with the archbishop midway through the sermon.
“Shall we call it a lecture fee?”
I’d been with Sister Mary for quite a while now….
In that time, she’d changed a lot. Sister Mary, who once didn’t understand the importance of money, was now in charge of the household finances….
“We can use that to get a carriage.”
“Yes, we’ll have to spend it on a carriage.”
Looks like she got a hefty amount.
On the way back to the mansion, I thought about the rumors.
A rumor from the Academy…….
The fact that it was the Academy of all places bothered me.
It had already been several months, but there was someone similar to me at the Academy. I worried that person might be getting misunderstood.
I couldn’t say it was because of me, but I still felt sorry.
“The Academy, huh…”
“Are you worried about the rumors?”
“How could I not be?”
“Once you leave the capital, it won’t have anything to do with you.”
Is that so?
“I’ll have to pile on the meat for dinner tonight.”
Uh, yeah……? Meat all of a sudden?
“You’ve worked hard, so you should eat something delicious.”
I’d been fretting over the extra weight I’d put on lately…….
Well, I can just moderate it myself, right?
I went shopping cheerfully with Sister Mary and returned to the mansion, but the young master wasn’t there.
“Sis, did you check out the carriages okay?”
“Yeah.”
“How were they?”
I could have asked Priest Daniel, but I asked my older sister.
If I didn’t show interest, she might get mad again, so I had to show concern whenever I got the chance.
“Expensive.”
“Well, that’s obvious…”
“Mm, we had to buy horses too, so it was really expensive.”
A slight smile formed on my face at my sister’s words.
“Couldn’t you buy them with the money you had?”
“No, it wasn’t enough.”
The horses must have been expensive after all. If they’d bought a cheap carriage, the money they had would have been enough.
“Horses that can pull a carriage are quite expensive, it seems.”
“Is that so?”
Priest Daniel shared what he’d heard and learned this time.
Apparently, horses for carrying people and horses for pulling carriages were completely different breeds.
Horses used by cavalry prioritized speed as much as endurance, so they used sleek, agile breeds, or something like that?
In contrast, horses for cargo transport were larger and used breeds with superior strength and muscular endurance.
“Huh, is that so.”
“Seeing them in person, they were easily over 1.2 times larger.”
“We got money from the temple, so don’t worry and just get them.”
“Yes, I’ll make sure to choose carefully.”
“Ah! Or go pick them out with Young Master Maximilian.”
“Together… you say?”
Priest Daniel’s expression wasn’t great.
“Yes. The young master graduated from the Academy with top honors as a knight, so he should know a lot about horses.”
As a knight, he’d know about horses.
Plus, I’d often seen him riding horses at the barony.
Since he rode around on horses himself, there was no way he wouldn’t know.
“I-I’ll think about it.”
Priest Daniel looked thoroughly reluctant.
“Well, do as you like.”
I’d left the carriage business to Priest Daniel, so he could handle it himself.
“Aah, I’m tired.”
Sister Mary was busy preparing dinner, so maybe I should rest a bit?
When I said I’d go rest in the study, my sister somehow followed and took the spot next to me. I was reading a suitable book when Priest Daniel brought snacks, but I didn’t eat them.
These snacks are the main culprit for gaining weight…! Sadly, I have to hold back!