The Royal Capital Barga (1)
"So, did you find anything out?"
I asked on the way back to the inn.
"Well, yes…"
For starters, the Academy party had apparently headed for the capital.
"That's the best news of all."
I'd already known as much, but it still mattered. It meant we wouldn't run into the Academy on the road to the capital. And given the sheer size of the place, the odds of crossing paths again were practically nonexistent.
As if a noble would show up in the commoners' quarter?
That girl Mia was still a concern… but she was an Academy student. She'd be staying at the Academy.
"Would you prefer we leave first thing tomorrow?"
"All of a sudden?"
I'd been planning to move out tomorrow anyway.
"Yes. I'd rather not run into that girl again."
The Young Master seemed just as uncomfortable about it as I was.
"Well, I was planning to leave tomorrow from the start."
"I see."
The village was beautiful and perfectly pleasant for a quiet stay—but there was nothing much to do.
We arrived at the inn, shared dinner, and returned to our rooms.
"Since you said we're leaving tomorrow, I'd better get things ready."
"What if the laundry isn't dry yet?"
The clothesline was heavy with more than a few pieces of washing.
"I'll just use magic."
It was still early enough, and I could practice Holy Magic under Sister Mary's guidance while drying the laundry with a spell. Multitasking practice—two birds with one stone.
Doing both at once turned out easier than expected. Casting magic mid-battle while reading the flow of a fight and planning your next move was multitasking too. I was just focusing on something I'd already done before.
"Whew. Holy Magic is really hard."
"Holy Territory is an advanced technique, after all."
My Master had called me talented, but I still couldn't quite get a handle on it.
"I've got a rough sense of it, but…"
Actually casting it would have to wait. I cranked up the output of the warm air flowing from my fingertips.
"It's getting hot…"
Keeping the warm air going for so long had left the room stuffy.
"Does the laundry look dry?"
"Yeah."
I'd been using magic for nearly two hours.
"All right—open a window, air the place out, and let's pack."
The words were barely out of my mouth before Sister Mary threw the window open. She must have been feeling the heat too.
I took the clothes down, folded them neatly, and packed them into my bag. I checked our luggage and reorganized everything.
Better get ready now so we can leave right after breakfast.
"Done packing! Time for bed."
I dove straight into bed and settled in for the night.
Come morning, we wolfed down our food and left the village behind.
"Fortunately, we didn't run into them."
That girl Mia and the boy Raimund must have been staying somewhere other than the inn.
"Yeah. No idea where they put up, but I'm glad we missed them."
I wasn't even curious about where they were staying—just relieved. If they'd been at the same inn? There was no telling what might have happened.
Especially with a high-ranking noble boy involved. He would absolutely have started something.
There was no need to dwell on it, and no reason to linger.
We left the village at once.
The early morning air was crisp and clean. Then again, compared to my previous life, the air was always crisp here.
On the road to the capital, I foraged whenever something useful caught my eye, and whenever we passed a river I climbed down to catch fish.
"Heh. Magic really is all-purpose."
I used water magic to catch them. Simple in concept, tricky in practice. Spot a place where the fish were clustered, cast a water-orb spell over it, and the fish would be trapped inside, unable to escape. All that remained was to carefully maintain the orb and haul it out.
That way I landed eight decent-sized fish.
Lunch became fragrant grilled fish skewers. The portions were a little tight, but it was good enough.
After eating, we set out again.
The capital was still four or five days away, so we walked at an easy pace.
"We may have taken it a bit too easy."
I'd gotten so sidetracked that the sun had set before we found another village.
"A few days of roughing it won't kill us."
Once we reached the capital, we'd be staying a good long while. No more hardship after that—so a little discomfort now was fine.
We camped out, woke in the morning, and walked on. Rinse and repeat.
"Are we really going to arrive without a single incident?"
The capital must have been drawing near. Cresting a ridge, I caught sight of a vast, imposing castle far in the distance—so enormous you could make it out even from here.
"So that's the capital…"
"Yes. The heart of our kingdom, Barga."
We could see it, but we still had a long way to go. It was already afternoon, and the light was fading.
"What a waste."
If I hadn't stopped along the way to mess around with alchemy, we could have arrived today…
"It's only a single day's difference. Does it matter that much?"
That single day mattered. Camping out meant thin meals, for one thing.
"Julian, once we enter the capital, where do you plan to go first?"
Sister Mary looked at me with pleading, wistful eyes.
Yeah, that look is pure "let's go to the temple first."
The temple… I would go eventually. But going straight there felt a bit much, didn't it?
"W-well, I'm not sure? What about you, Young Master?"
"I intend to stop by our family's residence in the royal capital."
Apparently the family kept a mansion under their name, used whenever business brought them to the capital.
"It hasn't been used in years, so I need to check on it."
"Really?! Perfect! I'll come help."
I could pitch in with the cleaning and organizing!
"You needn't trouble yourself. Please go to the temple and rest comfortably."
The moment the Young Master mentioned the temple, Sister Mary's eyes lit up.
"That's right. Julian, go to the temple, eat something delicious, rest, and do all the alchemy you want."
At the temple I'd be treated as an honored guest and could rest properly… but it also sounded stifling.
"E-even so, we're traveling companions. I should help."
I flailed for any excuse to dodge a direct trip to the temple.
"Miss Julian…"
The Young Master looked at me with a faintly moved expression.
"Besides, if there's a mansion, we won't even need to find an inn, right?"
"Yes. It isn't a particularly large house, but it should be comfortable enough to stay in."
"Then it's perfect!"
A noble's mansion would have a bathhouse and multiple rooms, wouldn't it?
"Please don't get your hopes up too high."
"Oh, come on, it'll be fine."
It was still a noble's residence, after all.
"Please… Julian, reconsider."
Sister Mary clearly wanted to drag me to the temple by any means necessary.
"W-we can always go to the temple later, right? It's right there in the capital."
The Young Master and my sister offered no opinion, staying quiet.
"…Very well."
"I'm not saying I won't go."
"Yes. I'll trust that you'll visit without fail."
Watching Sister Mary beam at me filled me with a twinge of guilt.
I will have to go eventually…
"All right—let's cover a little more ground while there's still daylight."
We finished our rest, got to our feet, and set out again.
"Gah!"
Damn Holy Knights! Why was the training this brutal?
On his father's orders, he had entered the Holy Knight order—and every single day since had been nothing but training. The problem was the sheer intensity of it.
By the time drills ended, he barely had the strength left to eat. He'd collapse into sleep, wake before dawn, train, eat, and train again…
"Worn out already?"
A veteran Holy Knight looked down at him with open contempt.
"That's what you get for causing trouble."
"Kh."
At those words, he forced himself back to his feet.
Right. This was punishment. Penance for the shameful thing he had done.
So he had no business lying down.
"Damn it, I know! I know already!"
One of the ten finest Holy Knights in the entire order.
The man before him held the title of Paladin—and he was a close friend of his father's.
"Heh. If you'd become a Holy Knight sooner, you wouldn't need training like this, would you?"
That was why they already knew each other. Ever since he was a boy, this man had insisted he had the makings of a Holy Knight and tried to take him as a disciple.
"I'm done talking."
He rose, cast Holy Magic, and settled into a combat stance. A fierce exchange followed.
Wooden swords clashed, shields swung, and the fight grew savage.
The man was old enough to retire—so how was he still this fast, this strong? Even with a body in peak condition, he was being pushed back.
"So? Think you can become a Holy Knight?"
"Damn it!"
It had only been a month. Barely a month of training—what did they expect from him?
In the end he lost and took a thrashing. He'd already dropped his weapon and lost the will to fight—was swinging a wooden sword at him after that really necessary?
"I've heard the story about the Saintess."
"Have you?"
"Yes. You nearly got yourself killed."
And yet the Saintess's mercy had spared his life.
"Your father intends to make you the Saintess's knight."
"What? Me?"
The order had any number of knights far more skilled and far more outstanding than he was.
Why his father would want him as the Saintess's knight was beyond him.
"He means to give you a chance to atone."
"I… don't think that's it."
"No?"
"You know what I did. I'd only be a burden to the Saintess."
"That may be true."
"Master, please persuade my father."
He knew full well that he was a sinner.
He understood that becoming a Holy Knight was his punishment.
For all that he had loved women and lived a dissolute life, his faith in the Goddess was real.
"He's choosing you because it's you."
"Because it's me?"
"If the faith in your chest is genuine—if the guilt is genuine—then won't you serve the Saintess with all your heart?"
"Any other Holy Knight would do the same."
"Perhaps. But your father named you."
He still couldn't understand it.
"This is only my own guess."
Hearing his master's words, he began to grasp a little of his father's thinking.
Other Holy Knights might—however faintly—try to constrain the Saintess's actions.
They might frame it as "offering counsel" while steering her to their own ends.
And at the same time, they could never be trusted completely.
"Holy Knights tend to be extremists."
In an order that held knowledge and wisdom as the highest virtues, these were the ones who had chosen to become knights rather than priests. Something in them ran to extremes.
"That's what makes him uneasy."
"And the others agreed?"
"They did."
He bit his lip.
"Then I'll have to get stronger."
"Oh? Done resting already?"
Before he knew it, he was on his feet again.
"Please."
He charged his master once more.
Two months into his Holy Knight training, he finally earned his master's recognition.
"You've grown strong."
"Have I?"
"I told you, didn't I? You have the talent for it."
Honestly, he didn't know what talent was. He had simply worked hard.
"The final test is facing the other Holy Knights."
The last trial…
Waiting for him was a group of excellent Holy Knights. Seven of them—eight counting himself.
Fortunately, he didn't have to fight all seven at once. It was a tournament.
Win three matches.
Could two months of training really overcome men who had trained for more than a decade?
Talent or not, wasn't it impossible?
Even so—for his father's will, and for the Saintess—he had to win.
No. He would win.
"You have grown splendidly."
"Father…"
He was kneeling before the Cardinal and the bishops.
"Daniel, as the final victor, we have decided to send you to the Saintess's side."
"I am humbled."
He had won every match through fierce combat. Yes—he had become the final victor and been chosen as the Saintess's guard.
"The Saintess is currently in the royal capital of Barga."
"I will leave at once."
"Good. You know what you must do, I trust?"
"I will follow the Saintess's will."
He would heed no other Cardinal or bishop. Only the Saintess's will.
He would offer no opinions of his own.
He would follow her wishes alone.
That was the proper bearing of the Saintess's guard.
"Go."
He bowed to them all, gathered his belongings, and set out for the capital.
"I only hope the Saintess doesn't refuse me…"