The Cost of Protection
Now that I had heard every problematic detail of the situation, it was time to work toward a solution.
“Miss Marichel, you want your sister to have nothing but good experiences, but that’s the wrong way to think. If she grows up sheltered like that, she won’t become a resilient person.”
“Does she have to become resilient? I’ve lived it myself, so I know exactly how shitty it is. I don’t want my sister to go through the same thing.”
Yes, I could understand that. When you cherished someone, the urge to shield them was only natural.
“The feeling itself isn’t the problem. What is the problem is that the material you’re using to wish for your sister’s peaceful life is your own life.”
“My life…?”
“Exactly. That’s why your sister can’t accept it. What sane person could possibly accept their family sacrificing their entire life for them?”
The woman who had seen her sister’s refusal of an easy life as mere childishness now wore a stunned, vacant expression.
“I… never thought of it that way.”
“Try flipping the perspective. If your sister said she would sacrifice her life for you, could you really tell her to go ahead without hesitation? If you couldn’t, then you shouldn’t force that same burden on her either.”
My words seemed to have given her a great deal to consider. She needed time to sort through her thoughts, so I decided not to press her and simply waited in silence.
After she had organized her feelings to some extent, she finally spoke.
“If my sister had acted that way because of me, I never would have been able to accept it.”
“Until now, the circumstances left you no choice but to watch her make those sacrifices. But now that she’s healthy again, she wants to carry her own weight.”
“But looking after my sister is only natural. Isn’t calling it ‘sacrificing her life’ a bit much…?”
“You skipped meals you wanted to eat. Even when you could have rested comfortably, you only spent the bare minimum. You’ve been fiercely sacrificing your own life for her sake.”
“That’s just saving money. How is that a sacrifice?”
“It is a sacrifice. You’re saving that money because you want to give your sister more. Can you really deny it?”
The way she pressed her lips together tightly told me she had no rebuttal left.
“So, what will you do now?”
“Even so, I have to make her quit that job. You don’t know what working as a tavern server is really like, Father.”
“I do know.”
It was the kind of work that came with constant harassment and contempt. I knew the details quite well because a former tavern server had once poured her grievances out to me. She had even mentioned a customer who mistook her for a prostitute waiting for clients.
“See! Even you admit it, Father. That job is absolutely not okay.”
“Then instead of letting your sister do that work, wouldn’t it be better for her to take a safe, respectable position somewhere else?”
“A safe, respectable place? Where would that be?”
“Well, it happens that we need more hands. How would she feel about working at the temple?”
“My sister at the temple? Is that even possible? Wouldn’t my situation make it impossible?”
The obstacle to this plan was the fact that Marichel was on the blacklist. Without that, her sister’s employment would have been no issue at all. She already carried heavy guilt over her sister being unable to receive timely treatment because of the blacklist; if employment became impossible for the same reason, she would clearly sink into deep depression.
“It should be fine. To be precise, she wouldn’t be employed by the temple itself, but by an affiliated organization.”
Besides, if I gave a recommendation, they were unlikely to refuse.
“It’s safe and decent work, but it probably won’t be easy. She would be taking care of children.”
“Taking care of children?”
“It’s an orphanage connected to the temple.”
“So they do that kind of work too. I had no idea. Since meeting you, Priest Arthur, my view of the temple has changed completely. Before, it was nothing but a bad place to me.”
Having been refused treatment for her sister, her feelings were entirely understandable.
“Now it just feels like I was unlucky.”
“How can you say that? The priest who committed such a vile act must have received his just punishment.”
Serving the divine while committing corruption—there was no way he would escape retribution. In the afterlife, he would never be permitted to enter His garden.
The reason priests served Him was not only out of reverence, but also in hope of entering His garden after death. We called that garden Utopia.
“I hope that’s true, but I don’t care about that bastard anymore. I’m just relieved I don’t have to hate the temple any longer.”
“You were in a position where you had every right to hate it. The temple shifted the blame for the incident onto the victim. Still, one day you will surely be removed from the blacklist.”
Once someone was placed on the blacklist, removing them was no easy task. But if we kept trying, perhaps it would eventually succeed. The important thing, I believed, was the determination not to give up.
“Even if the blacklist is lifted, I doubt I’ll go to the temple for treatment.”
“When you can walk through those doors with your head held high, I’ll introduce you to my colleagues. They’re all good people.”
Though many of the old, accumulated feelings against the temple had faded because of me, she still harbored a deep aversion to priests. But once she met the priests of our Labyrinth Temple, that would quickly change. Talking with them would make it impossible not to see their true nature.
“If they’re your acquaintances, Father…”
It seemed the fact that they were connected to me made her reluctance ease somewhat.
“Now, shall we return to the main topic?”
I had given her enough time. It was time to circle back.
“Ugh. I still haven’t finished sorting my thoughts.”
“You want to reconcile with her, don’t you?”
“That’s true, but it means I’ll end up owing you again. I never seem to handle anything properly on my own.”
With a heavy sigh, she finally nodded.
“Thank you for helping. I swear I’ll repay you for the rest of my life, Father.”
“You’ve made the right choice.”
With that, the mediation between the younger sister who stubbornly insisted on working and the older sister who opposed it was complete.
Princess Reciel seemed deeply impressed as she watched me reconcile the pair.
“It wasn’t anything special.”
“No, this isn’t something just anyone can do. It seems remarkable to me.”
“Others could manage this much as well.”
“I’m not so sure. I haven’t seen that many priests, but this is the first time I’ve witnessed someone resolve a conflict so smoothly.”
“It wasn’t a conflict—it was a quarrel between sisters. The kind of fight that’s like trying to cut water with a blade.”
Despite my explanation, Reciel continued to shower me with impressed praise.
“Thanks to you, living here has become much more comfortable.”
“You didn’t seem bothered at all before.”
As far as I knew, she had gone her own way regardless of whether the two were fighting. Besides, neither of them were the sort who would dare make a princess walk on eggshells.
“I don’t mind silence, but I do think a warm, harmonious atmosphere is nicer to see.”
Ending the sisters’ fight was not the truly important matter. What mattered now was which direction Princess Reciel’s decision would take.
“Have you given it thought?”
“Yes, I have.”
“And?”
Would she choose to accept the Holy Empire’s help?
“It feels absurd for someone in the position of receiving aid to say this, but if possible, I would like to receive that support.”
Our current team faced the possibility that most of the nobles wielding significant military influence might withdraw. They had declared they would follow the princess even if it meant leaving their houses, but she had stopped them from doing so.
“Still, I’m curious what kind of support you intend to provide.”
“Would you like to consider what requests you might make?”
It was not yet certain whether the Holy Empire would accept my proposal, but when I considered what was necessary to topple Prince Loras, supporting Reciel was an excellent way to resolve a major issue with relatively little cost. The likelihood of acceptance was therefore very high.
Reciel and I spent time discussing in advance what demands we should make of the Holy Empire once they accepted the proposal.
The matters we discussed among ourselves were not limited to receiving support from the Holy Empire. Even with imperial backing, finding a way to save Princess Canaby inside the Labyrinth would not be easy.
“Searching directly is all well and good, but I believe it’s time we tried other approaches as well.”
“Other approaches? What would those be?”
There was certainly an answer inside the Labyrinth. In truth, this problem had a simple solution: kill the monster possessing the key to lifting the curse. Yet there was no guarantee we would find it simply by continuing to enter the Labyrinth.
What if luck was not on our side? We needed to prepare for the possibility that our team might fail. Moreover, it was not as if our team alone could obtain the item capable of saving Canaby.
“We will obtain it from others.”
“???”
To the confused Reciel, I offered one method as an example.
“How about offering a bounty?”
“A bounty!”
“We promise a reward to whoever brings us the monster’s head. However, since Prince Loras might grow suspicious, the person posting the bounty must conceal their identity completely.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. In that case, we should also commission items related to curse-breaking. We don’t know what might cure my sister’s affliction.”
Reciel’s eyes sparkled. She had been convinced she must solve everything by entering the Labyrinth herself; learning there were other paths clearly filled her with relief and joy.
It was important not to become too fixated on a single method.
“That’s a good thought. Let’s proceed that way.”
If we offered valuable compensation, many people would bring us what we sought.
“I understand that quite a few items from the Labyrinth have already circulated. With luck, we may find a clue to saving my sister among them.”
I doubted events would unfold so favorably, but if we secured the Holy Empire’s support, we could simply use that support as the reward instead. There would be no problem. For us, this was a no-lose situation, so there was no reason not to try.