Olivia's Holiday (2)
“Hmm. Then I suppose I can rest for a while.”
If it were up to me, I would have preferred to loaf around for several months—fly out to the Demon Realm and drop a few meteors while I was at it. There was no real need to watch Ashtar’s face; I could just smash things without restraint. The problem was that I was still far too bound by the family, still far too careful about their opinions. Facing Pector would be a nuisance, true, but a clean hit-and-run of blast-and-bolt wouldn’t be half bad.
“What are you going to do while you rest?”
“I thought I’d wander around the area for a bit.”
Anywhere would do. One week. Just one week of rest, and maybe the color would even return to my face. Not that a mana-fused body cared much about such things.
“How about the North, then?”
“You mean the Ribelt side?”
Why Ribelt, of all places? Given my station, traipsing around with those stuffy types would only make things worse.
“The North isn’t bad. It’s freezing cold, after all.”
“Why on earth would I go somewhere freezing?”
I knew the place was bitterly cold. It was more developed than the grasslands, sure, but it was also crawling with the Empire’s vaunted cavalry. And above all, that Valen Ribelt was there.
“Honestly speaking, winter means nothing to you, does it?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“And it seems a festival is being held there just in time.”
So he was simply telling me to roam. For a holiday it felt more like a forced stroll than anything else.
“Hmm. I’ll take it as a recommendation for now.”
I preferred warm places to cold ones.
“But is there anywhere else worth going besides there?”
“Excuse me?”
Why? It wasn’t as if Ribelt were the only option. I could leave the Empire entirely and visit the Great Forest. Or drop by one of the kingdoms. Or take a look at that White King fellow—that wouldn’t be bad either. If war ever broke out, I, the Empire’s walking shadow power, would be endlessly bothered; if it grew truly unbearable I could simply cut the White King’s head off on the spot.
“Think about it. You’re already the Saint, the Taesa, the one who reclaimed Crad Castle, and this international conference has painted a massive target on your back.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, I really was a walking shadow power—one who kept the Emperor himself underfoot. The thought was enough to drive me insane.
“Wherever you go you’ll be fawned over instantly. You hate that sort of thing, don’t you?”
“Just imagining it makes me sick.”
The fact that the Emperor knew me so thoroughly was equally sickening.
“Exactly.”
“I’ll give it some thought. I’ve never even been to that place.”
To be perfectly honest, I had never once set foot in Ribelt territory. Meanwhile, as the Emperor said, any other region of the Empire would greet me with suffocating hospitality. Suppose I went abroad instead. Disguising my identity was a crime, and as an imperial citizen I would have to be twice as careful. Even if I managed a perfect disguise, the whole business simply didn’t suit my temperament. In every direction the situation was inconvenient.
If I traveled the kingdoms or the Great Forest while flaunting my name, they might treat me as an official envoy. That would be going too far. Better, then, to head toward Ribelt after all. At least that temperamental corner of the Empire would not make too much of a fuss welcoming me, and the North was far enough from the capital that I might actually breathe.
“All right. I’ll go take a look.”
Yes. I had never been, so I might as well visit once.
Academy Headmaster’s Office
The headmaster and Galedo wore matching expressions of blank bewilderment. That Olivia was throwing a tantrum about wanting a rest. The Saint, the Taesa, the young lady of Ashtar—Olivia of the endless honors?
“Hmm. A curious turn of events.”
“Well, honestly it’s not unheard of. She’s been through a great deal.”
Galedo had watched her train the students and been astonished. The method was brutish, yet she had driven noble-born youths long trapped inside their aristocratic molds to the edge of their minds, using the rebels to shatter those molds completely. Once this generation graduated, the era of corrupt nobility might well come to an end. And even with all the talk of corruption, with the Empire’s borders now expanded, those same students would one day lead the noble houses; the Empire’s future would again look bright.
“True. She was closer to faculty than to a student.”
“Uh… Headmaster. Honestly I still don’t understand why she even attends Attelina. Especially when she claims nothing works without her. This time she wants to escape, but circumstances won’t allow it.”
Last time she had insisted she needed to stay in order to overhaul the students. So it had been unavoidable then. Now she wanted out yet could not leave, and therefore asked for a vacation.
“Well, girls her age are all like that, aren’t they?”
“Hmm. True enough, but…”
Of course not every girl her age was the Taesa or the Saint. Still, this was no bad thing. While Olivia took her leave, the professors could finally restore some of the dignity she had demolished.
“Rather, it’s good to see a human side of her.”
She had been far too perfect for far too long.
“The problem is whether the students will actually follow anyone else.”
“Tell me about it.”
They had planned to use her absence to rebuild the curriculum she had destroyed. Contrary to every expectation held by Olivia, the headmaster, and the faculty, the students’ condition turned out to be far more serious.
“What? Young Lady Olivia is gone?!”
“The Saint isn’t here? I’m quitting Attelina this instant!”
“Impossible. Only Lady Olivia’s extreme training methods will do!”
“Olivia is a baby. We have to cherish her.”
“I just want to be with Young Lady Olivia even once.”
The noble daughters who had been receiving bridal lessons were relatively better off, yet even they had already absorbed everything Olivia could teach them; bridal training itself had become meaningless. The private-church circle all knew one another through family connections anyway, and Attelina was not a private-church academy to begin with.
The real problem was Attelina itself—specifically the students who had helped round up anti-imperialists and black mages last time. They had already deteriorated to the point where they seriously could not function without Olivia.
“At this rate they’ll demand she officiate their weddings as well, won’t they?”
“If we ran a survey, I suspect they would.”
The headmaster and Galedo both sighed.
Church
In the Empire’s church, Berna—publicly regarded as Olivia—served as Saint. For the first time in ages her heart felt light. The nuns outside the window, slaughtering monsters and growing into berserkers, looked today like nothing more than foolish children. Immersed at last in her role as a member of the Empire’s Goddess Church, Berna sipped coffee and savored the rare peace.
“Haa. We’ve raised the Goddess’s statue and even won recognition from that fox of a granny in the Holy Kingdom. Yes. Now I can finally breathe a little.”
One of the Four Heavenly Kings she might once have been, yet now she was only a half-baked Saint again. Because she had once served the Goddess in truth, she longed for this mad private-army training camp to become a real church. It would be better still without Nora, but she could simply regard the girl as a convenient leash on the corrupt Pope.
Then—
“Be-Berna-nim!”
“You’re noisy. I’m enjoying a rare moment of peace. At your age, what sort of disgraceful spectacle is this? Conduct yourself like a proper church nun.”
“The real Saint went on vacation!”
The wretched girl had the gall to interrupt before Berna finished speaking. The moment the words registered, Berna’s lips began to tremble.
“What did you just say?”
“Ah—that is… she went on vacation!”
“Fuck.”
Berna’s face drained of all color. She turned back to the window. The nuns were training hard, battling mana-circuit wooden dolls and artificial monsters. The same girls who had looked almost cute a moment ago now looked like monsters once more.
That fucking bitch didn’t even consult me!
Until now she had worked reasonably hard because Olivia kept those absurd nuns under control and Nora handled the mad, corrupt Pope. Nora could still handle the Pope, but without Olivia it fell to Berna herself to rein in those brats.
Gulp.
She wanted nothing more than to flee, yet instinct would not permit it. In truth she could not defy the child who was practically Lord Eldacrad’s successor—the one who had even received his memories. Until Olivia returned, Berna would have to train the lot of them… or at least give them orders. Deal with those clingy creatures herself. Good heavens. Those uncontrollable nuns were her complete opposite, and now she had to take direct charge.
Worst of all were the three sisters who played the role of eldest among them.
“““Saint-nim.”””
“Uh. Uh. Yes.”
“““What should we do next?”””
In that moment, facing the three sisters who stared up at her waiting for orders, the former Four Heavenly King Bernoa sincerely wished she were dead.
I left the capital. This time I was not even heading to Ashtar. Arrive there and chaos would erupt from every direction. Even after a reasonably pleasant stretch with the mage division, crowds still thronged to praise me. Kise was no better. That place was troublesome in every possible way.
“So you’re heading to the North first?”
At Celia’s question I merely shrugged.
“Just going with the flow for now?”
If I needed a destination, the North was not out of the question. While I was at it I might as well look in on the adventurer guild stationed at Crad Castle. Ashtar Territory itself might be problematic, but Crad Castle would be fine. Reach Crad Castle, then continue straight into the northern regions.
“How about Crad Castle?”
“Ah. I was just thinking the exact same thing.”
Celia really did match me well. How did her thoughts align so perfectly with mine? But… was she planning to tag along?
“Well then, shall we depart?”
“Are Attelina and the Magic Tower going to be all right without you?”
“Do I look like I need either of those?”
No. She did not.
“True—you’re already the next Magic Tower Master. And you only attended Attelina because of Lady Olivia in the first place.”
“Still, though…”
I had wanted a vacation alone. It was not that Celia was an outright hindrance, but this time I had hoped to rest separately under the simple rule that those who work hard should also be allowed to leave.
“Or would you rather go with the Hero Party?”
“Isn’t going alone also an option?”
Why was she so determined to attach me to someone else?