Blacklist (4)
I had offered Canaby words of hope, urging her not to give up, but honestly, a sense of helplessness weighed on me far more heavily. I still hadn’t obtained Cardinal Karia’s book. In other words, there had been no progress whatsoever in developing a cure.
“New symptoms have appeared in the princess.”
On top of that, the curse was steadily consuming Canaby’s body. After complaining of hallucinations, auditory illusions, pain, and insomnia, the princess began reporting new symptoms shortly after hearing that the subjugation force had failed. It was a new symptom so severe that a knight had no choice but to rush over in desperation to request help.
“Who are you?”
She could no longer recognize people.
“It is not dementia.”
“Phew~”
“Haa…”
After examining Canaby, I reached my conclusion. This symptom was a temporary effect caused by the curse; it would not lead to dementia.
“Once the curse is lifted, it will disappear.”
Conversely, if the curse remained unresolved, she would continue to lose her memories of people, just like someone with dementia. After receiving treatment, Canaby remained silent for a long while. It was the knight who paced anxiously instead.
“What must we do? Please, tell us anything.”
The knight’s tone suggested he would throw himself into hellfire if ordered to do so.
“Because of the curse, the princess may cause unintended incidents. For example, she might issue an order and then forget she ever gave it. She could give commands that are completely inappropriate for the current situation. The problem is that your loyalty is so absolute that you would carry out even flawed orders without question.”
“Hmm…”
Knights lived and died by orders. Canaby nodded, apparently agreeing with the assessment.
“It would be wise to develop the habit of writing everything down. Even that habit itself might be forgotten, but it would still be better than having nothing.”
If the dementia-like symptoms grew severe, it would be best to record what she had done every hour. Because the illness erased memories, the danger lay in not knowing what had been missed. Written records would greatly help in tracking how serious the symptoms had become.
“Understood. I will make certain to pay close attention.”
“I wonder if you will be able to manage it…”
Recording the princess’s every movement would require constant vigilance. Would someone who was not family truly find such a task bearable? Yet I could hardly ask whether Canaby, who lived under constant threat of assassination, had any family or close acquaintances who could stay by her side.
“I will handle that matter myself.”
Something needed to improve, yet the situation only worsened with time, leaving me frustrated enough to sigh. Still, what choice did I have? Once again, I took hold of her left arm and searched for a new treatment. Of course, I left the room empty-handed, as usual.
A message arrived from the guild, so I went to see them. They had found a mercenary willing to accept my request. Since this was not a one-time commission but an ongoing request to acquire anything related to Cardinal Karia, I needed to choose carefully.
The knight accompanied me again. Even though I hadn’t asked, he followed of his own accord. I had visited the guild once before and still felt uneasy about going alone, so his presence was reassuring.
The guild hall was as noisy as ever, filled with mercenaries.
“Welcome, Father.”
Having been here once already, the knight led the way with practiced ease and brought me straight to the staff area.
“Father?”
“Yes. I placed a request last time and was told that the assigned mercenary had been decided, so I came to check.”
The staff member who saw me looked surprised at my priest’s robe, then asked me to wait while he went inside. Soon the same female employee from before appeared and spoke to me.
“Please follow me.”
I moved at once. Yet as a man, it was impossible not to notice the black stockings she wore, and my gaze gradually drifted downward along the striking lines of her legs and figure. I tried my best not to look, but my eyes refused to obey.
Is this what they call worldly desire?
With nowhere else to direct my gaze, I forced myself to look at the knight—only to find his eyes fixed on a similar spot. The sight made self-reflection unavoidable.
I must not be like that.
If the knight’s behavior, viewed from a third party’s perspective, had not looked so unseemly, I might have simply given in to temptation. Honestly, watching her walk while deliberately swaying her hips made it difficult not to look.
After struggling to manage my gaze, I stepped inside and saw a familiar face.
“Huh?”
“You are…!”
I brightened, while the knight’s expression darkened sharply.
“Surely you do not mean to hire this man? He is unacceptable.”
The knight’s reaction was understandable. This was the mercenary whose name had been placed on the temple’s blacklist, the one I had refused to treat. Of course, that was only what the knight knew. Since I had already healed her younger sister, the female mercenary had no reason to hold any grudge against me. On the contrary, if she had volunteered in order to repay that debt, it made perfect sense.
“Is this person truly the mercenary who agreed to take on my request?”
“Yes. It seems you are already acquainted. If you are displeased, I can assign someone else, though that will require additional time.”
At the employee’s question, I shook my head.
“No, that is not necessary. We happened to meet by chance… I was simply surprised because I never expected her to accept my request.”
If it were me, I would not have wanted to leave my sister’s side for a while after her recovery. There must have been countless things I would want to do for a now-healthy sibling. That was why I found it unexpected that she had taken on my commission.
“Please refuse, Father. We do not know what harm she might intend.”
Meanwhile, the knight, unaware of what had happened that night, had every reason to be suspicious.
“It is all right. She is not someone who would cause harm.”
“Father, you must not trust people so easily!”
“Listening to this is making me angry. Do you think I am some madwoman who wants to die, Sir Knight? My sister is still perfectly fine, so why would I do something like that? I did not come here to cause harm—I volunteered because I wanted to make a good impression on the Father! If I help him with his work, he might be willing to treat my sister again someday!”
“……”
The knight frowned, apparently finding her words not entirely unreasonable, and glared at the mercenary with clear displeasure.
“Then shall we proceed with this person?”
The employee asked in her usual indifferent tone, as though our argument was none of her concern.
“Yes. Let us do that.”
For me, it was not a bad arrangement. I had faith that this mercenary would carry out the task well. Though it felt awkward to say aloud, I was the one who had saved her sister’s life.
“I am rather pressed for time at the moment.”
I offered the explanation to the visibly dissatisfied knight.
“Yes, I dislike it, but if you are in a hurry, there is no helping it. Should she attempt anything suspicious, please inform me at once.”
“…If such a situation arises, I will ask for your help. Thank you.”
Even though no one had ordered him to protect me, the knight treated my affairs as his own. It was something I ought to be grateful for, not something to find troublesome or bothersome.
“Just give the order. No matter where it is, I will go and obtain whatever you desire.”
The mercenary’s eyes gleamed with determination. After a moment’s thought, I spoke to both the employee and the knight.
“I am sorry, but could the two of you step outside for a moment?”
“Of course.”
The employee rose at once, but the knight remained silent, clearly reluctant. The employee promptly linked her arm through his and said,
“You need to leave, do you not? The Father asked you to go.”
“Let go of me. What do you think you are doing?”
“My, you are so rough~ Are you this rough at night too? That is exactly my type.”
“!!”
Envious… no, that was not it.
Only after the knight and the employee left the room, leaving the two of us alone, did my anxious heart finally settle.
“How is your sister?”
“She is doing well. She says every day is happy. However, she has been refraining from going outside, worried that she might cause trouble for you. Not many people know she is my sister, so it should not become a major issue, but one can never be too careful.”
It seemed she had been taking precautions even without my warning. While I was grateful, it was still heartbreaking that her sister could not move about freely even after recovering. And it was difficult to understand why she would choose to travel far away while leaving such a sister behind.
“If you accept my request, you will have to travel to distant places. Why did you take it on?”
“I believed I was the right person for this request. Besides, it is better for my sister if I am not around right now. If people found out we were family, it would only invite suspicion.”
She had deliberately chosen a request that would take her far away in order to allow her sister to live a normal life in society.
“Did your family approve?”
“I only told my sister that I was going to work in order to repay a debt of gratitude.”
“She still needs an adult’s care…”
She was only sixteen, after all. Yet in this world, it was not unusual for children to work and earn money. Even younger children took on whatever tasks they could manage.
“She is my sister. She will manage on her own.”
Recalling the way she had voiced her resentment toward the priests when we first met, I could well believe she would handle things competently.
“If that is the case, then I understand. I will be counting on you from now on.”
I extended my hand first, and the mercenary grasped it firmly.
“I will obtain what you desire, even if it costs me my life.”
Why did she have to sound so dramatic? All I had asked for was a book.
“There is no need to go that far.”
Her enthusiasm was so overwhelming that I felt I needed to make it clear such extremes were unnecessary.