Handling Uninvited Guests - Part 2
Elysia ignored Rosa and Theo's protests and stepped out of the temple.
Baren, Cherny, and Nea'r were the first to appear. They all wore the same expression of someone who had bitten into something foul, chewing their lips as if to say, "How do I even explain this..." Only Nea'r was giggling and lazily waving his hand.
That alone would have been fine, but according to Theo, four uninvited guests were following right behind him.
The first two among them were people Elysia recognized.
One was the now thoroughly annoying Baron Zeke.
The other was the crying priestess she had met yesterday—the one named Chipi.
Elysia didn't need much thought to guess why Chipi, who had boldly claimed she would obtain the seal from Baren and Cherny, now stood with a sullen face and drooping shoulders.
She couldn't imagine they would return with three "buts" attached.
One of those "buts" was a middle-aged man with a solid build.
Even if he subjected himself to hard exercise and binge drinking every day, how could he possess such thick, solid lines? The man who was the sole parish priest of the small Ragnea sect—and who actually acted as its bishop—was right in front of her.
He had a somewhat grotesque appearance with a massive frame composed of muscle and fat, yet his impression carried an oddly human scent that clashed with his size, leaning close to a sullen expression. From his face alone, it was clear he hadn't come because he wanted to.
The problem was the noblewoman fanning herself beside him, and Elysia let out a quiet sigh.
She hadn't recognized the noblewoman, but she could tell her tendencies from that unmistakable atmosphere.
"... Welcome. We welcome you at the Astasia Temple."
... Truly disgusting makeup and perfume.
"Oh my. What temple is there in this rural backwater? It's already narrow, and now it's stuffy enough to choke on. And why is it so remote? It might get all muddy. ... What if the clothes get dirty."
"Heh heh... Please don't say that, Madam Palinya. If the Astasia Goddess hears it, she'll be displeased. Look around. The Astasia Goddess prefers places where the night sky is bright. Isn't that beautiful and auspicious?"
"Oh my, the head of the Ragnea sect praising someone else's temple—does that even count?"
"Heh heh, it's not someone else. According to myth, the Astasia Goddess has a close relationship with our Ragnea Goddess, right? For that reason, the Ragnea sect has maintained a sisterly alliance with the Astasia sect since ancient times."
"Tsk, I don't care if it's a sister sect or what—let's get to the point. Baron Zeke, what you said to me is true, isn't it?"
The noblewoman shot a glare at Baron Zeke.
Baron Zeke smiled quietly.
"Of course. There's one suspicious woman suspected to be a witch... Here, I swear on my honor, madam."
"If that's true, our Palinya family has gained a tremendous opportunity. Not only Her Highness the Second Princess, but how much will His Highness the Prince value our family... Hohoho."
The purpose was so obvious that even awkwardness didn't arise.
Elysia quietly glanced toward the temple staff and subtly placed the blame on them.
"Temple Head Baren, could you introduce them?"
"Eh? Ah! Ah! Yes! Yes! Of course, hahaha...... haha... Th... I'm sorry for suddenly bringing a group without notice..."
Baren laughed awkwardly, sweating profusely, and the noblewoman called Palinya let out a clearly displeased sound.
"Oh? Wait a moment. Are you apologizing to this person? I feel uncomfortable because I feel like an uninvited guest. I know the name Palinya well—I've heard it so often that it has a permanent mark on my ears. You know, as a noble from the imperial palace... There's no reason for such treatment."
As a noble, her pride was immense, and she declared herself the mistress of the Palinya family.
She fluttered her fan and headed straight into the temple with a bad temper.
Elysia sighed inwardly and looked at Rosa and Theo.
Guests are guests.
Even if she didn't like them, at least the minimum of etiquette had to be observed.
She subtly told them not to engage in conversation but only to guide the visitors.
She also didn't forget to warn Lucia in advance.
The reason for this situation wasn't particularly complicated.
Regarding the letter incident from before, Chipi had successfully obtained the seal from Baren.
The one issue was that before Chipi could return, the Ragnea parish priest himself had come here with Baron Zeke.
The parish priest of the Ragnea sect had been pushed halfway here because of debt, just like when he sent the letter last time. Apparently, both Baron Zeke and Madam Palinya owed him gambling debts.
For the noblewoman, it was an opportunity to raise the family's honor by claiming there was a vicious witch in the temple, so Baron Zeke had been bribed.
It was complicated.
By doing all this, he was trying to prove she was a witch—was that the supervisor's scheme?
Cherny explained it briefly.
The other guests had been guided to the reception room as planned.
Baren, caught between the noblewoman, Baron Zeke, and the parish priest, was sweating profusely. Nea'r was watching with a grin, holding back laughter. Cherny, fed up with the atmosphere, followed Elysia with a haughty expression.
"So, sorry about that."
"...... No. You couldn't help it either."
"Hmph, Baren tried to send you away on the way here, so don't be too harsh."
Cherny added a few protective words for Baren, perhaps because she was worried about the temple relationship cracking or because she hated the idea of a man she liked being misunderstood.
She didn't particularly want to insult him, but...
Elysia said while pouring tea for the guests.
"By the way, that noblewoman... I've never heard of the Palinya family name."
"Really? Coincidentally, we also heard the name for the first time, so we quickly looked it up. I don't know about nobles or anything, but I heard it's a quite famous family that bought noble status with money."
"Money... you mean?"
"First time hearing? Yeah. If you live as a priest around here, your ears might be dull to such news. Um... why, there's that. Buying the family register of a family that fell due to money. Those people in the family were originally just rich merchants, but about 15 years ago, they got noble status and rose."
Cherny, usually sharp-tongued, answered carefully.
Palinya family...
If they bought noble status with money, it was swindling—new nobility.
Elysia, who had been born as the daughter of the Cardelis family, good or bad.
From childhood, she had been surrounded by an environment where she had to learn the traditions and history of noble families to the point of giving her a headache, so she naturally carried a negative impression of the word "new nobility."
"... But why did Baron Zeke bribe the parish priest of the Ragnea sect and the new nobility?"
"Well, isn't it just because they're close?"
"Baron Zeke is a civil servant holding the position of supervisor. If I really am a witch, I should report to the imperial family through some method and receive appropriate support."
"That's because the higher-ups treat idiots. 'Witch Elysia' is alive... Even if it's second to dying 10 years ago, how can she hold the priest position? If I report honestly, the imperial family will think I'm crazy?"
"......... So, you bribed a new nobility who is relatively far from the political world but has power."
"And our parish priest was pushed here because of gambling debt. No matter what, same sect, but no choice."
Cherny sighed with a sour face.
She looked at the teacups on the tray and asked, "Want me to help?"
Elysia was about to say it's okay, but handed one teacup to her separately.
"Thinking about it, the tray is short on seats. Could you ask Temple Head Baren?"
"Baren...? Wh... huh? No choice."
Cherny took the cup with a slightly raised tone and led the way to the reception room.
As they reached the reception room, a sharp and shrill voice was heard loudly from inside.
When asked what happened to Rosa and Theo who were fidgeting outside the door, they pointed inside with troubled faces instead of answering.
"This isn't elegant at all!"
It was Madam Palinya's voice.
"I can't see any aesthetic sense. No matter how rural the temple is, the reception room for guests must have dignity. Hoo! Look at this lamp. How... this design must have been popular 200 years ago?"
"Heh heh... Is that so? Since we used it since long ago... But the light is still on. Still, it's quite retro, isn't it?"
"Oh my, Priestess Lucia. The problem isn't whether the light is on or not. That small thing alone divides noble humans from non-noble ones. Ha... But this might be in the realm I was born into."
"Sorry, but this is a temple built to worship the goddess. It seems difficult to fulfill your desires."
The face of Lucia answering like that was already stiff.
Seeing her, who has managed the temple's affairs inside and out for 10 years, unable to control her expression this much, it seemed the atmosphere had been like this even before Elysia and Cherny returned.
Elysia entered inside with a short knock.
"Tea has been served. Please have one cup each."
Baren, looking dazed, looked at Elysia's eyes.
Cherny, not liking even that reaction, stepped on his foot hard and handed the teacup separately.
"Oh ho! The scent is very good. Right, Chipi. It seems like black tea. Try a little. And Temple Head Baren, don't just hold your feet, have a cup too."
"Yes, yes... Parish priest. It's delicious."
"Aish...! It hurts... Haha... By the way, the tea is really good. As expected, Priestess Ria's skill is amazing.... Hey, Cherny! Stop stepping!"
The Ragnea parish priest tried to change the mood somehow.
Whether out of courtesy or sincerity, the tea was all praise.
If it ended there, it would have been good, but Elysia's wishes went awry.
For a while, as the tea conversation went on, Madam Palinya, wanting to stand out in the meantime, started boasting about tea knowledge.
"Um, the interior isn't my taste, but she served at least something decent for black tea. Well, a cultured person should drink at least this much without tongue-tied."
"Heh heh, Madam Palinya seems to know a lot about tea."
"Of course, Parish Priest. I'm a person with a strong preference for drinks. Especially, I'm very picky about black tea. The variety I love most is Shine, a variety grown in the bright sunshine of the Shamir Kingdom. You may not know, but the cold sun and clear water of the Shamir Kingdom make the tea leaves grow very sour. In my opinion, the black tea you're drinking now is definitely grown in the eastern... No, southern part of the Shamir Kingdom. It's accurate. This taste can't be forgotten."
At this point, Madam Palinya started listing things like what variety of tea, what climate, etc.
Even started talking about how to hold the teacup.
"Drinking tea is also one of the etiquette that nobles should have. The way this priestess is holding the cup is wrong."
She pointed to Elysia.
Elysia didn't react with any expression change, but rather, Lucia, with eyebrows twitching, changed the topic.
"Ria. Did you buy imported tea leaves?"
"Well, I heard the shop auntie recommended it, but I didn't hear the details."
Since it was an official place, even Lucia couldn't speak casually like usual.
As the conversation became formal, a cold tone naturally came.
'That tone, I can't get used to even if I hear it.' This was something Lucia often said.
Elysia silently brought the teacup to her mouth.
Since it was the first tea leaves unwrapped and poured, she was also drinking it for the first time.
Starting with a light orange scent, clean aftertaste.
Unlike the image of dark color, light throat with sour freshness that pops, but the point is no sweet aftertaste in mouth.
She doesn't usually enjoy tea, but coincidentally, she had learned how to simply distinguish for the etiquette of nobles in her childhood.
Moreover, if it's black tea with such unique characteristics, she could guess the variety.
"...... It's not foreign. It's called Mente. It's a variety grown in the Empire's Mente region."
"Eh? How did you know? Can you know the cultivation area too?"
"No, not that... but since I often drank it when I was young, I think I know."
It was more like forcing herself to drink rather than enjoying.
But at the moment she put the teacup down without thinking, she felt Palinya's glaring gaze.
"...... How can someone who is not even a noble know about that? It's accurate?"
"The Shamir Kingdom hasn't cultivated this variety yet. Probably because it's a newly improved variety from the Empire recently, the guarantee is strong. Even among those grown in the Empire, I think they are protected at the imperial level. If it's not produced only in Mente region, it would be illegal..."
Elysia regretted that she answered so readily.
She didn't want to have a conversation with this kind of person for long.
She knew that breaking pride would just make it more troublesome.
Madam Palinya's 'nobility'. It was just the beginning.
"Tea, put it away over there. Drinking it makes me tired."