Chapter 34
Translator: True Detective
Interaction with The Saintess
The Saintess's request.
Fortunately, it was not a troublesome matter.
Come to think of it, should I say it was an obvious thing?
She is a Saintess who was purely cultivated in the Holy Kingdom.
There was no way such a Saintess would be able to dance dances suitable for a ball.
Hers was a life far removed from things like dancing, and such a Saintess was participating in a ball?
If she even received a dance request, she would inevitably end up in a very awkward situation.
Even if it was a ball, there was no need to necessarily dance, and she could just enjoy it in her own way.
It wasn't like anyone would think it strange that The Saintess couldn't dance either.
However, The Saintess had a different thought.
She had yearned for such balls and social parties while reading romance novels.
She definitely wanted to try enjoying something called a party when she entered the academy.
An opportunity came earlier than she thought, and she didn't want to end it just standing blankly and watching others dance.
So although she wondered if there would actually be anyone who would request a dance from her, she wanted to practice dancing for now.
But then again, it was awkward to ask just anyone to teach her how to dance.
Because it was also embarrassing and a matter of saving face.
After agonizing over it, she decided to ask Noel for help.
"Mhm, understood."
Noel, nodding her head readily.
The Saintess was an honored guest, and she was also a target that needed to be kept close and watched over like Clara to avoid the landmine known as the 'Saintess Route'.
If it was this kind of matter, she could provide as much help as she wanted.
However, even as she said she would help to the best of her abilities, Noel was puzzled.
'Why me of all people? Do I look like someone who dances that well?'
Honestly, Noel's dancing skills were neither good nor bad.
Thanks to the efforts of Sophie Ember and Viscountess Natalie, it was just around the average level where she wouldn't embarrass herself at a party like this.
So actually, it would be better to learn dancing from someone else, and she didn't quite know the reason why she came to her.
Although she had half-forced her to change jobs to an editor, considering what Sophie's original profession was, she would probably teach better.
Even if she committed a deviation for a moment intoxicated by a work, she was fundamentally a person with tight lips, so there wouldn't be anything for The Saintess to be embarrassed about.
Thinking it would be better to learn from a proper person if possible, Noel said so, and...
"That is... I thought you would kindly teach me, Sister Noel."
She replied that it was because she thought she wouldn't give up on her, who lacked confidence in dancing, and would kindly teach her well.
"Why did you think that...?"
"Seeing how you treat Sister Clara, it seems you also take good care of others."
At the unexpected remark, Noel blinked her eyes.
'Ah, so that's how it turns out.'
It seemed that in the eyes of others, or at least in The Saintess's eyes, Noel appeared to be someone who liked taking care of people.
She didn't particularly dislike it, but she didn't enjoy taking care of someone and being like that like a healing-type heroine either.
She wondered if she should correct the misunderstanding, but decided to let it go.
Because it wasn't some bad scandal, and she thought, 'Even if a nice-person frame can be tiring, correcting it? Is there a need?'
"I am not good enough at dancing to teach others either, but I will help you as much as possible."
"Thank you, Sister!"
The Saintess smiling brightly in joy.
Was it an illusion?
Receiving the feeling as if a white tulip was about to bloom fully, Noel guided The Saintess to a place with few people.
At first, she wondered if they should do the lesson in the guest room where The Saintess was staying, but then another priest might visit.
And the situation wasn't feasible to do it in Noel's private room either.
Because recently, Noel's private room was full of various materials necessary for creating novels and comics.
So they decided to do it in the flower garden in the backyard, where people were scarce and gazes didn't reach well.
For reference, it was a place Noah liked, calling it a secret base.
Although it was neither a secret nor a base at all.
As proof of that, there were two gazes watching the figure of The Saintess learning to dance while following Noel's lead in the flower garden.
It was the Imperial Princess and the Count's daughter, who had been wandering around looking for Noel, who was nowhere to be seen, and discovered the two dancing in the middle of the flower garden.
Looking at the flower garden visible down from the mansion, the two people had a sullen demeanor.
Then, the Imperial Princess, who was watching The Saintess learning to dance while being held in Noel's embrace, made a resolution.
'At the upcoming ball, the first one to dance with Noel will be me.'
Resolving that she would claim the glory of taking her ultimate favorite's first at this ball.
Because there was no rule saying that only men and women had to dance together at a ball.
There were quite a few ladies who requested dances from cool female knights.
Rosalyn too would often feel bewildered by the pouring dance requests from the same sex whenever she attended such gatherings to assist the Imperial Princess.
So it wasn't like the Imperial Princess couldn't ask Noel for a dance either.
However, there was someone who went one step further than that...
'As expected... I must not allow unqualified people to request a dance from my friend.'
It was another person who saw Noel teaching The Saintess to dance, Clara.
Following emotions originating from jealousy, she was thinking of completely screening the partners Noel would dance with.
By the looks of it, contrary to Natalie's expectations, it seemed Noel wouldn't have anything going on with a man at the party this time either.
If the Viscountess had known this fact, she would have wailed.
It seems this is why they say ignorance is bliss.
And it wasn't just Natalie who didn't know; Noel was the same.
'What is this?'
Noel shivering her body as a chilling feeling came over her for some unknown reason.
She wondered if she had caught a chill because the weather was cold.
While she was thinking she should have just done it indoors after all, The Saintess noticed Noel's condition.
"Let us rest for a moment and then continue."
Rest is also important in education.
Noel nodded her head, signaled Anna who was waiting on one side, and had her prepare something to drink.
The two people sitting in the flower garden for a moment to wet their throats while drinking warm tea that smelled like flowers.
Because it felt a bit much to just drink tea, the two people engaged in small talk.
"The flowers have bloomed even though it is winter."
"Yes, it is a hybrid of a hyacinth and a snowdrop, so winter is its blooming season."
It was a flower born during a time when various researches were conducted for a long while wondering if there was any way to farm even in winter.
It was a species that likely wouldn't exist in the Holy Kingdom, which pursued natural things.
"Actually, there is something I am curious about..."
While sharing trivial stories that didn't matter much as befitting small talk, The Saintess gauges Noel's reaction.
Wondering what she was going to talk about, Noel tilted her head and gestured for her to speak comfortably.
Gaining courage from that, the question The Saintess threw was...
"During this ball, by any chance... would it be alright if I went around asking for charitable donations for the children at the orphanage?"
"Charity...?"
To think of collecting funds to help the needy at a ball, should I say it's just like The Saintess.
Certainly, since it was a party where many VIPs gathered, the effect would be good.
"Please do. There's no reason you can't."
The Saintess, who was worried she might ruin the mood of the party, brightened her expression at those words from Noel.
Looking at such a Saintess, Noel fell into thought for a moment and spoke.
"You are doing a good deed, so I will help you as well. At that time, I will step forward to sponsor before anyone else. Like a shill. Then an atmosphere will form, and others will follow and donate too, right?"
Irina was startled by Noel's promise of active cooperation.
She hadn't hoped she would do that much, and she wondered if she wasn't receiving too much help.
However, considering that Iliad Publishing Company had benefited thanks to The Saintess, this much was naturally something she could do.
Irina hadn't intentionally helped, but just the fact that it was a work The Saintess was deeply impressed by was enough for Noel's work to strongly appeal to the believers of the Libra Church.
Even if she could have sufficiently competed with artistic value even without that, it is obvious that a good work does even better when it meets good marketing.
With the meaning of gratitude, thinking of it as paying promotional costs, Noel promised to help The Saintess.
'It would be good to completely make regular sponsorships and use that as an excuse to observe if there are any signs of the Saintess Route starting.'
Moreover, since a friendship with The Saintess was necessary if only to remove landmines, Noel thought this was a good opportunity.
"How about doing this additionally? Publishing a work for fundraising and donating the entire sales revenue of the work for a certain period of time──."
In her past life, when a specific hero skin was released in a popular AOS game, there were cases where events were held where all the sales money of that skin for a certain period of time was used for a good cause.
Noel too had readily bought it in her past life with the feeling of donating and enjoying the game at the game company's words that it would be used for a good cause.
Benchmarking that, Irina was startled seeing Noel saying she would prepare a short story specifically for fundraising.
"To that extent...?"
"Because there is also the saying noblesse oblige. It's money I won't be able to pack up and take with me when I die anyway, so it's a good deed if used like this."
"Ah..."
At Noel's nonchalant words, Irina made a deeply impressed expression.
"If there were more people like you, Sister Noel, in the world, the sorrow and suffering of the world would certainly have lessened compared to now..."
"You flatter me."
Noel backing off as if such an excessive overestimation was a bit burdensome.
Even though Irina had a somewhat ditzy side because she was purely cultivated after being put forward as The Saintess, she wasn't tactless.
Realizing that Noel was feeling embarrassed and burdened, she decided to stop the barrage of compliments at this level.
Actually, a big part of it was that she had something else she was more curious about and wanted to ask about that.
"What kind of story is this short story for donation... If it is alright, could I hear a little about it?"
Homer's new work.
Even The Saintess couldn't hold back on this.
At that question Irina threw with sparkling eyes, Noel readily nodded her head.
"It's the story of the Match── Candy Girl."
Right now, since she was also proceeding with the massive task of The Character Expedition, Noel, who didn't want to expend too much energy, decided to appropriately remake an Earth fairy tale like the fairy tales from before and use it.
"What kind of story is it..."
Noel's fairy tale story that started in the middle of dance practice.
It's an obvious story, but...
"Sob, sob..."
"S-Saintess?!"
"The little girl, the little girl is so pitiful... sniff..."
Hearing the story Noel told, The Saintess's tears burst out.
Certainly... as it was imbued with a nature of social indictment, it was a very intense and sad content for a fairy tale.
Even so, to think she would actually cry.
It seemed it wasn't a story to be told to someone with a weak tolerance for sad endings.
2,280 words
75 views