Chapter 419: Proof of Existence (7)
Chapter 419: Proof of Existence (7)
The rhythmic clatter of hooves added a touch of travel-worn charm to the journey.
As we left the city and hit the open road, unfamiliar landscapes and passersby greeted our carriage. Unlike those in the Empire, the guards here wore gray uniforms with crosses engraved upon their chests.
To be honest, this was my first time visiting a foreign country.
Until not too long ago, I was nothing more than the second son of a rural viscount. I had no reason to go abroad, and I was so focused on my training that I didn't have the luxury to do so anyway. After enrolling in the Academy, I had to pour all my effort into keeping up with the hectic curriculum.
The fact that I never really had a desire to go abroad also played a part. I figured cities would look more or less the same wherever I went.
But now that I’ve arrived in the Holy Kingdom, I understand.
I see why people say you should travel if you want to broaden your horizons.
Everything from the architecture to the language and customs was different. While I knew these things intellectually, standing in the middle of it all left me feeling a bit dazed.
Yuren, who was sitting next to me on the driver's seat and handling the reins, spoke up.
"Ian, can you speak any of the local tongue?"
"You mean the Siendel language? It was my primary foreign language major."
Yuren let out a sigh of relief. Even though he was returning to his homeland after a long time, his expression had been sour the entire way.
It seemed he wasn't pleased with this sudden trip to the Holy Kingdom.
Well, he had already lost a lot of training time by accompanying me. Now that he was expected to do volunteer work at the orphanage again, there was no way he’d be in a good mood.
One way or another, Yuren lived for the sword.
"That’s a relief, then. The brats at the orphanage don't understand a word of the Imperial language."
"Why would the children have any reason to learn it?"
"Why wouldn't they? It’s incredibly useful... at the very least, they wouldn't starve if they went to the city. I even went out of my way to hire a tutor for them."
Yuren clicked his tongue. It seemed his investment hadn't yielded much of a result.
"Anyway, my sister is just too impatient. How can she notify us of the schedule only a week in advance?"
I could only offer an awkward smile at Yuren's grumbling.
After all, I wasn't exactly innocent in this matter. Strictly speaking, it was the fault of the 'me' from the future, but I still felt a sense of moral responsibility.
My future self acts to help me. Since this whole situation arose from that, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.
Wait, was he actually trying to help me?
As I was lost in thought, Yuren spoke again.
"If anything feels uncomfortable or if you have questions, just say so immediately. You're a guest, so I'll make sure you're treated properly."
His tone was somewhat disgruntled, but I could feel the underlying consideration for me.
I let out a wry smile.
"Just sitting here on the driver's seat is enough for me."
A snort of laughter escaped Yuren.
He was now wearing a look of sheer disbelief.
"You really have it rough."
Those words were packed with a lot of meaning.
I silently turned my gaze to the surroundings. Summer had passed, and wild flowers were blooming across the meadows as autumn approached. It was such a peaceful sight.
I glanced back over my shoulder.
From the carriage interior, where several people were riding, only a heavy silence leaked out. I had fled to the driver's seat because I couldn't stand that atmosphere.
The mistake was that the group had grown much larger than I had imagined.
At first, Ria was fine. I could somehow justify the Saintess wanting to introduce her to her family. But everything after that was the problem.
Suddenly, Celine started expressing her desire to join the trip to the Holy Kingdom.
Naturally, the Saintess politely declined, but the sophistry Celine brought out was a sight to behold.
"I'm basically Ian's family too, aren't I?"
I wanted to ask what kind of nonsense she was talking about, but at the time, Celine had her arm around my shoulder. In other words, she could have applied pressure on me at any moment if she felt like it.
I could have shaken her off if I really wanted to.
However, I remembered the conversation I had with Reto not long ago. It hadn't been that long since I decided to reflect on his sharp criticism that I hadn't been paying enough attention to Celine lately.
Moreover, Celine's excuse weighed on my mind.
'Family'—of all things, it was the word I had been most sensitive to recently.
In the end, Celine joined the trip with my tacit consent, and that was when the Saintess's mood began to sour. The final blow that sent the Saintess's mood plummeting was the appearance of Senior Elsie.
Senior Elsie claimed it was a 'coincidence,' but there was no way it was.
On top of that, there was the appearance of Sir Reynold, which even Senior Elsie hadn't expected.
The scene when Sir Reynold called me his 'nephew-in-law' was still vivid in my mind. I remembered the painful memory of how the Saintess, Ria, and Celine all turned pale.
To make matters worse, that same Sir Reynold was now shamelessly sitting in the back of the carriage.
Everything happened so fast that I didn't even have a chance to stop him.
I tried to soothe my throbbing headache and muttered.
"Why on earth did Sir Reynold come along...?"
"I've already given up on trying to understand. If you ever find out, let me know."
Even Yuren, an oddball among oddballs, said as much. I also found it difficult to grasp the true intention behind Sir Reynold's actions.
Ultimately, I shook my head in frustration.
"Why are human relationships so difficult? In battle, you just have to swing an axe well."
"You solve your human relationships that way too."
I shot an annoyed look at Yuren. Of course, he didn't even care.
"At least your situation is better. You have more people around you who hold goodwill toward you."
"Are you talking about yourself?"
"No, my sister. She has a lot of enemies in the Holy Kingdom."
"Hmm," I hummed thoughtfully.
Come to think of it, just before Leoric died, he mentioned 'Archbishop Aindel.' I think the Saintess might have mentioned him in passing before.
I chose my question carefully to gather more detailed information.
"Archbishop Aindel?"
At those words, Yuren glanced at me. A look of surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Yeah, that man is one of them. My sister argues that the interpretation of doctrine should be applied more broadly, but Archbishop Aindel is the exact opposite."
"Sounds like a rigid person."
"He wasn't always like that."
I was about to add something but closed my mouth. Yuren continued regardless.
"He became that way after he lost his son."
"How did he die?"
"A doctrinal trial."
In the silence, only the sound of galloping hooves echoed. The orphanage was just ahead.
"Archbishop Aindel's son craved forbidden knowledge. That's why he died."
I couldn't bring myself to pry into the details. And so, the path led us to the orphanage.
To the place where a new incident awaited.
*
"Welcome, Saintess. And to you, Ian, the Hero of Humanity, and your friends."
As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, we were greeted by an elderly nun. The deep wrinkles on her face seemed to reflect the years she had spent dedicated to the weak.
While I felt flustered by the overly generous title of 'Hero of Humanity,' I looked around the orphanage with a fresh perspective.
It was incomparable to the Guildford Orphanage.
The facilities were excellent, and some of the buildings looked newly constructed. There seemed to be quite a few children watching us from the surroundings, but none of them looked hungry or poorly dressed.
It was truly an orphanage worthy of having produced a Saintess.
The Saintess and Yuren must have looked after it in their own ways, but it was clear the Holy Kingdom had invested even more. It made sense, as the prestige of the Heavenly God Religion was at stake.
Ria and Celine seemed taken aback by the unexpectedly clean facilities.
"Sister, this might actually be better than my room."
"That's because your room is filled with things Ian gave you... Ack?!"
Celine couldn't even finish her thought because Ria pinched her side.
On the other hand, the Saintess remained calm.
This was a place layered with childhood memories, yet she didn't even show a reaction of being deeply moved. She simply scanned the surroundings calmly before asking the Head Nun.
"The Head Nun has changed. And the facilities have changed a lot as well."
"Yes, it is now directly operated by the Holy Kingdom. There have been many changes since then."
The Saintess nodded a few times as if that was to be expected. Then, they exchanged common pleasantries.
"Are there any problems at the orphanage? Anything lacking...?"
"Oh, heavens, no. This is the very place where the Saintess herself stayed. The Heavenly God's care is overflowing beyond words."
It was a textbook polite response.
The Saintess didn't seem to have much desire to continue this conversation either. They could discuss more practical matters later.
It was then that I suddenly interjected.
"Is there really nothing?"
It was a question asked with urgency.
Because my voice was somewhat loud, everyone's attention immediately snapped to me. This included the Head Nun.
The elderly woman's bewildered eyes turned toward me.
"Like, have any children gone missing recently...?"
"Oh my, what an absurd thing to say."
The Head Nun replied with certainty, even while flustered. Not a hint of a lie could be felt in her unwavering voice.
"This is an orphanage under the management of the Holy Kingdom. Naturally, such a tragic thing could never happen. Even if it did, a report would have been filed immediately, and Holy Knights would have been dispatched."
It was a clear explanation. It was a clean enough excuse to let it go, but I raised my voice again nonetheless.
"If not that, then anything else is fine. Has anything strange happened recently...!"
"Ian!"
In the end, it was the Saintess, not the Head Nun, who stopped me.
Her face was already flushed bright red. She looked genuinely angry at my rudeness.
"How can you be so disrespectful! This is an orphanage managed by the Holy Kingdom. Are you saying you don't trust the authority of the Holy Kingdom?"
"No, well..."
I intentionally trailed off and looked away. This time, it was the Head Nun who was flustered.
"I-it's quite alright, Saintess. I heard that Sir Ian has been fighting the Dark Cult for the past few months. Since his movements might have been exposed in advance, I understand his anxiety."
As the Head Nun actively defended me, the Saintess's momentum softened considerably.
No, in fact, she might have been hoping for this.
This was the only way for both my face and the Saintess's face to be saved after I had been so rude.
The Saintess muttered in a voice filled with apology.
"But..."
"I say again, it's fine. Hoho... In fact, I will say this with confidence. Such a misfortune will never occur, at least not in our orphanage!"
Instead of meeting the Saintess's sharp glare, I feigned ignorance.
This was enough. The Head Nun seemed very confident, and I could just dig into the reasons for that later.
Actually, I had a different intended effect.
While the Saintess and the Head Nun entered the orphanage while sharing warm conversation, I felt a strange gaze and turned my head.
The area was filled with children. They must have come running, surprised by the sudden commotion.
Among them, there was one boy staring intently at me, and a girl standing next to him with an anxious look in her eyes.
I slightly curled the corners of my mouth.
Good. Children often sense things that adults fail to notice.
After burning the image of the two into my mind, I prepared to follow the group into the orphanage. Then, my eyes caught a stone plaque installed at the entrance.
The names of those who contributed to the establishment of the orphanage were written there. Judging by the recent date of construction, it seemed the orphanage had been rebuilt after it came under the management of the Holy Kingdom.
As I read down the list, my eyes suddenly came to a halt.
'Archbishop Aindel.'
"Hmm," I hummed to myself and took another step forward.
No matter how I looked at it, this orphanage was suspicious.
Just before I officially entered the building, I felt a sudden tug on my sleeve.
Startled, I turned around to see a pointed hat.
No, beneath it was a girl with an anxious expression.
"W-wait... Master, can we talk for a moment, just the two of us?"
It was Senior Elsie.