The Thief (3)
“Sister?” The only person who could approach me unhindered in the early dawn was Sister Melody. The thought that she had returned made me bolt upright from my seat.
“Sister Melody!”
When I opened the door and stepped outside, there she was. I hadn’t seen her for just a day, yet I couldn’t understand why my heart lifted so much at the sight of her.
“Are you all right?”
I first checked whether she was injured anywhere. Fortunately, she didn’t appear to have any serious wounds. Her expression, however, was far from good….
“I’m sorry, Priest. It seems I’ve woken you.”
“No. I wasn’t sleeping.”
“Were you waiting for me?”
“I can’t deny it. I was rather anxious.”
I had been waiting so eagerly, neck craned, that I couldn’t claim otherwise.
“I see… You should have been resting.”
“I couldn’t settle down because I didn’t know how things had gone for you.”
The uncertainty had kept me from focusing on anything at all.
“Mm… it didn’t go well.”
“You couldn’t find any trace?”
“Correct. I followed the trail, but it vanished midway. I combed the entire surrounding area in case any clue remained, which is why I’m so late.”
“Then…?”
“I couldn’t find it. I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to apologize for? I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have guarded it better…. You won’t face disciplinary action over this, will you?”
What had we done wrong? The security had been airtight.
“This was beyond your control, Priest. You did everything possible.”
How in the world had they known we possessed it?
“Oh! Look at me, keeping you out here. Shall we go inside and continue tomorrow?”
It felt wrong to detain someone who had only just returned at dawn, so I resolved to wait.
“After staying awake this long out of curiosity, can you truly wait any longer?”
Sister Melody smiled faintly and suggested we go inside to talk.
“Are you certain you’re all right with this?”
“If I leave you now and you lie awake all night wondering, my own heart would be far more troubled.”
In the end, I returned to my room with her.
“Besides… it’s cold. Perhaps you should put on some proper clothes.”
“Huh? Oh!”
Only then did I realize I was still in my nightclothes. Thankfully I wasn’t the sort to sleep naked; I usually wore the pale apricot tunic and trousers from the supply stores. At least I hadn’t shown her anything unseemly.
My hair was a mess from tossing under the blankets, so I quickly smoothed it down and offered her a seat.
“Please, sit here. I’ll make you a warm cup of tea.”
“Thank you.”
I hurried to boil water and soon brought the tea. Her face looked drawn, no doubt from the ordeal outside. She had barely emerged from the Labyrinth after destroying an entire band of thieves, caught her breath for only a moment, and then spent the whole next day chasing traces of yet another thief. The situation had unintentionally driven her into an exhausting forced march.
That was why I felt guilty. It was impressive enough that she had endured so much already, yet here I was detaining her when she should have been resting.
“What will you do now?”
“First, I’ll report the situation to the Holy Empire and order a full sweep of the heretics.”
“So you believe it was their work as well, Sister.”
“Yes. No one else could have done this. Moreover, this incident carries great significance in several ways.”
Great significance?
“How would heretics have learned the location of the Holy Relic? It must be that the Evil God has moved.”
“Ah!”
“They are plotting something under its influence. Though we lost the relic, we now know they are preparing separate schemes. That knowledge alone means this isn’t entirely a bad outcome.”
“Does this mean another war with them?”
At the word “war,” Sister Melody’s expression hardened.
“Not war. Retribution.”
“Ah… retribution.”
“This is not something you need to concern yourself with, Priest.”
“What?”
I was taken aback when she suddenly drew a line between us after we had agonized over the relic together.
“From now on, I will handle all matters concerning the Holy Relic. Please behave as though you know nothing about it.”
“You’re telling me to pay no attention at all?”
“Dealing with heretics is my original duty. You are a healer. The more you know about such matters, the worse it becomes.”
In the end, she was saying this out of concern for me. What good could possibly come from a healer meddling in heretic affairs? It had never been my place to begin with.
Therefore, when the chance to step back arrived, the correct choice was to take it at once. After all, I already had more than enough work.
“Still, since we began this together, I cannot withdraw halfway.”
“What you have already done is more than enough. I am deeply grateful. Please leave the rest to me. To be precise, other inquisitors will take over.”
“Ah… Then there truly is nothing left for me to do.”
It seemed she intended to contact the church and move in earnest. Even so, I felt a pang of regret at ending things without seeing them through to the finish, so I left the door open just a little.
“If you need any help, please tell me. Anytime at all.”
“Understood.”
In the end, I had to withdraw completely from the incident, left with only the hollow result that the Holy Relic had not been found. Something about the way she withheld information from me still nagged at me, but when an inquisitor told me not to interfere further, I could not stubbornly push my way in.
I had expected an enormous uproar, yet the matter ended more quietly than anticipated. The group hit hardest by the aftermath was, surprisingly, the knight order. Their failure to prevent the theft had been deemed too lax. The current knight commander seemed determined to ensure it never happened again.
It was rather haphazard before.
The order had only recently been established, so it lacked systematic rules. As a result, I often witnessed relaxed behavior, and some people actually preferred that lack of rigidity. If the knights became too strictly by-the-book, it would only exhaust us priests living in the temple.
But those comfortable days were now over. Every day brought fresh complaints from the knights, and the priests whispered that something must have happened. The knights who appeared after their intensive re-education were unrecognizable.
“I am on duty. I cannot accept this.”
“Huh? You took it last time.”
“We must follow regulations. Your cooperation is requested.”
Their attitude was completely different from before. Casual conversation during duty or accepting snacks had once been commonplace; now the guards on duty had eradicated every trace of such behavior.
“It’s good that they’ve become more dependable, but it feels a little disappointing too. I thought we had grown somewhat close….”
“He’s on duty, so shouldn’t we understand?”
“Mm, that’s true. I’d probably get angry if someone interrupted me while I was working.”
Since their work involved protecting lives, being disturbed could earn someone the label of lunatic with no room for argument.
“It means we’re safer now. So everyone, don’t feel too upset. Why not speak with them after they’re off duty?”
“Shall we?”
Their eyes sparkled with interest. The moment I saw those shining eyes, I understood.
They’re in love.
I suddenly wanted to cheer on the chick’s earnest first love. Indeed, the fact that she was stomping her feet simply because the knight’s demeanor had grown rigid was hardly ordinary.
Everyone’s enjoying their youth.
Why was I the only one who couldn’t?
I want to date someone too.
I could barely remember the last time I had spent sweet, fluttering days with a lover. While others chatted about romance and amusement, I had fought the illnesses patients carried with them. Thanks to that, I had gained far greater skill than my peers, yet watching a young girl begin a love that made one smile just to witness it left an ache in my side and the thought: What was the point of any of it?
What glory or riches was I hoping to gain…?
Had I become too consumed by the healer’s path? I had been granted an entirely new life unlike anyone else, yet I was wasting that precious time on work alone. It suddenly seemed foolish.
“Everyone was living properly. I was the only one doing it wrong.”
Even with this realization, nothing changed right away. There were still too many unresolved matters; I could hardly begin a romance simply because of a sudden epiphany.
I wonder if Princess Reciel is doing well.
The potions she had taken. I was curious how far the investigation had progressed. Although she hadn’t been back long, Princess Reciel would undoubtedly have begun by examining the potions’ true nature, so there was reason to hope.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t even checked on the princess.
Where had my mind been? Last time I returned, I had gone straight to where Princess Canaby slept out of worry for her. This time, the sudden whirlwind of events had made me forget entirely.
It was fortunate I remembered now. Soothing my lonely heart by visiting Princess Canaby seemed strange, yet I decided not to postpone what I had already planned.
“Where are you headed, Priest?”
“Ah—just taking a short walk.”
It wouldn’t work right now. I realized belatedly that I tended to draw attention wherever I went.
“Rest well. We’re handling everything properly.”
“Of course. I trust you.”
…It would be wiser to be cautious, wouldn’t it? The Holy Relic—something no one should have known about—had been stolen as easily as if my eyes and nose had been sliced off. I could hardly open the secret space while people were still moving about.
I would wait until everyone had finished their duties and the area grew quiet before opening the door.
Or perhaps I should call the princess. She might miss her sister too, so we could go in together.
If her younger sister accompanied me, Princess Canaby probably wouldn’t complain about the late hour. Of course, the sleeping woman herself would have no way of knowing whether someone had come to her side or how late it was.