Sisters and Siblings (1)
“I can’t give it to you right away. As you can see, I’m completely broke right now—I don’t have anything on me.”
Escaping the imperial palace must have kept her busy enough; there was no way she could have brought any valuables with her. That said, it wasn’t as if the princess was truly penniless. The idea of a member of the imperial family having no money was absurd.
“It’s really fine!!! The priest has already taken such good care of us, so you don’t need to give us anything extra.”
“No, I can’t just let this slide. If I don’t pay a proper price, it would mean my life is worth that little. Besides, it’s only natural to give a bonus when someone does a good job.”
“Priest…!”
Her eyes seemed to plead with me to step in and stop the princess instead of just sitting there. But I betrayed her expectations with a simple shrug of my shoulders.
The emperor of the Deltrack Empire had deployed a massive number of soldiers. The fact that they had made it all the way here without being caught was no small feat—it would have been impossible without extraordinary resolve. It must have taken both effort and luck, and clearly the goddess of fortune had smiled upon them. Anyone who could pull off something like that deserved proper compensation.
‘Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s giving a gift to raise her favorability.’
After coming to the Labyrinth together this time, it made sense that she would be interested now that she had seen the princess’s abilities firsthand. I couldn’t keep taking on requests for her and looking after her forever. Removing someone from the Blacklist was already difficult enough.
‘And the money I give her, she tries not to spend it anyway.’
Since I was her benefactor, she probably felt she couldn’t use it recklessly. But if Reciel took her in? Since they would have no prior connection, she could spend freely on herself without hesitation. And from a social standpoint, becoming a subordinate of the imperial family was far more advantageous than staying with an insignificant priest like me.
“It’s better to just accept what your superior offers. Especially since she’s giving it as praise for a job well done.”
“Still, with the situation being so difficult for Her Highness… hup!”
“…It seems you’ll need to learn how to speak to your superiors properly.”
The chilling tone made the woman—who had already shrunk back from her verbal slip—turn deathly pale.
“I-I’m sorry. My education is lacking, so…”
She had lived as a mercenary for a long time. When would she have had the chance to practice polite speech? The princess, who clearly wanted to keep her around for the long term, seemed to be mentally cataloging everything she needed to teach her. Her gaze was particularly intense as she stared at the woman’s ashen face.
‘The princess is showing positive interest, but she hasn’t noticed at all?’
Having nearly lost her sister to the schemes of a high-ranking noble, it was understandable that dealing with Reciel would be difficult for her. Even so, misinterpreting that look and becoming terrified of it seemed a bit much.
“You have something on your mouth.”
“Ah? Ahem, it’s been so long since I’ve had proper food.”
With her mouth stuffed full of food, cheeks puffing out as she chewed, and sauce smeared around her lips, she looked adorable rather than intimidating.
‘So this timid woman turned into such a fierce person for her sister’s sake? Stubbornly so.’
And now that she had met a real person of power, she had shrunk back into her original self. It was a situation I could somewhat understand. The unusually rough attitude she had shown me before was because her sister had been on the verge of death. No matter how gentle someone was, that was enough to make anyone’s eyes roll back in desperation.
“Still, she’s making quite an effort. She used to be awkward with polite speech too. She’s gotten much better at it now.”
“Ahem, no, it just… comes out naturally now… yo.”
She had been part of the imperial family, after all. Someone like me might not feel it, but there must have been a unique aura that people born into nobility—like the princess—naturally possessed. If she was going to become one of Reciel’s subordinates, she would have to deal with many more nobles, so correcting her speech early was not a bad thing.
“It looks much better this way.”
Speech and manners were what shaped people’s impressions of you. The crude language mercenaries used could make those of higher status uncomfortable. It was something that absolutely needed to be fixed if she was to become the princess’s subordinate.
Even without knowing the princess’s true intentions, the woman showed determination to improve.
“I’ll work on it more… yo.”
Perhaps the attention focused on her felt burdensome and embarrassing, because she kept darting her eyes around and answered timidly. It was so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘She’s a bit scared right now, but if it’s Princess Reciel, she’ll treat her well. She already earned a lot of points by shaking off the knights and bringing her all the way here.’
It was truly fortunate that they had arrived safely. Just imagining what might have happened if the two of them had been caught midway sent chills down my spine. The princess might have been one thing, but a mercenary like her would never have returned in one piece.
After listening to all the adventure stories they had experienced, Reciel seemed ready to move on to more important matters.
“I was about to say this earlier but got sidetracked. We need to discuss what to do going forward.”
“You mean entering the Labyrinth, right?”
“Yes. We have to go back in, but the situation isn’t good. I’m not sure if we can gather the team members again. They must have heard the rumors about my poor circumstances.”
People’s hearts could change between entering and leaving the bathroom, so the princess might be right. But I believed there was a high chance our team members would regroup.
“They will definitely come back together. Didn’t everyone make a solid amount of money in the Labyrinth?”
However, the princess didn’t seem to find my words very convincing.
“Just for a few coins?”
“It’s far too much money to call it ‘just a few coins.’”
Especially since Reciel hadn’t entered the Labyrinth for money in the first place and had generously shared with the team members. That would be even more attractive to them.
“I’m certain the team members will be fine.”
“Then the problem would be my close friends.”
“Would it be all right to contact them?”
“Are you worried that Prince Loras might be monitoring my friends?”
“Yes.”
“To put it bluntly…”
The princess paused for a moment before continuing.
“We may have to enter the Labyrinth without them.”
Reciel’s childhood friends had shouldered a significant portion of the combat responsibilities. If they left the team, not only would safety drop sharply, but the team itself might not be able to continue functioning.
“Is that really okay?”
“It’s not. We’re already short on personnel, and there’s nothing we could accomplish with just the remaining members.”
“Then… are we in a crisis right now?”
“Correct.”
The team had been assembled to save Canaby, yet it had become far smaller than when we first started. We were the ones who had succeeded, while Loras was the one who had failed.
“The situation has become rather strange.”
If this was the result of success, who would put in the effort to desperately achieve it?
“S-Should I fill the empty spot?”
Had she grown uncomfortable just listening? Marichel suddenly volunteered to become one of the members entering the Labyrinth.
“You have a sister, yet you say such reckless things?”
What if she lost her life in the Labyrinth?
“It’s fine!”
“Don’t say such nonsense. Besides, my request isn’t finished yet. You still need to get me that book.”
“You said you don’t have enough people. My skills aren’t amazing, but I can still pull my own weight.”
“No.”
I shook my head firmly. Everything had its proper order, and what Marichel needed to do right now was resolve the issues waiting for her at home. She had cherished her sister so desperately, yet now that the girl had recovered, she was neglecting her. That made no sense.
“And you have something else you need to do. I know you want to repay the favor, but that isn’t the most important thing in life. You need to think about your sister.”
“Of course it’s not the most important thing. But I’d say it’s second.”
Repaying the favor was second? Just how heavy had the burden on her heart been?
“You don’t need to think that deeply about it.”
“Of course I do!! I’m going to repay it no matter what.”
I could clearly tell how grateful she was. But the real problem right now wasn’t repaying that debt—it was that the ‘sister’ she claimed was so important was having strange thoughts all by herself. And the bigger issue was that she herself hadn’t even realized it.
“I think there are more important things you should be paying attention to right now than that.”
“Me?”
I had given her this much of a hint. I hoped she would realize there was a problem with her sister… Unfortunately, the person in question seemed completely oblivious. Strangely enough, it looked like Reciel had caught on instead.
“Now that you mention it, you said you have a sister, right?”
“Yes.”
“She must have gone through a lot at such a young age. Since she received your grace, I assume Priest Arthur cured her illness.”
“Th-There were some circumstances…”
She began fidgeting, perhaps worried that the princess might ask about her situation. The fact that she was on the temple’s Blacklist was already critical, but the bigger secret was that I had treated such a person. If that came up, it would also reveal that I had secretly healed someone on the Blacklist. No wonder she was anxious.
Noticing Marichel’s suddenly pale face, the princess seemed to realize this was a sensitive topic she shouldn’t probe. Instead of asking questions, she shifted the conversation toward the sister.
“How old is your sister?”
She started simply with age.
“If her illness is completely cured, she must be at the age where she wants to try all sorts of things and is busy doing so. What does she want to learn?”
“Um… she’s just trying this and that for now.”
“It seems she’s still in the process of discovering her talents.”
“Yes.”
“Do you talk with your sister often?”
“Well, because of work…”
When her sister was sick, she had to earn money and couldn’t talk much. After the girl recovered, she left home again to repay the favor. Since the sister had long been used to being alone at home, she probably thought there was no need for her to pay special attention. The sister had made friends, and if they found out she had an older sister like her, it might have a bad influence.
“I also have a good older sister.”
Was she talking about Canaby? Given Canaby’s difficult situation, Reciel usually avoided talking about her to others. It seemed she thought quite highly of her. Or perhaps, even though their positions were different, she wanted to give advice to someone in a vaguely similar situation.
‘Since she lived under Canaby’s protection, she would understand her sister’s position better than anyone.’
The misunderstanding between the sisters might be resolved more easily than expected. Whether Reciel would cooperate, however, remained to be seen.